Xbox One Game Reviews
Catch as catch can't.
Ever since THQ released WWF No Mercy and WWF Wrestlemania 2000 for Nintendo 64, fans of “sports entertainment” (or professional wrestling, to the uninitiated) have been crying out for a game that emulates the exciting, epic battles that take place inside the squared circle. Unfortunately, despite some half-decent efforts,...
Review LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham (Xbox One)
Nananananana - Batman!
Sorry. Well, not sorry – it had to start like that. The Batman theme tune from the old TV-show is probably one of the most iconic TV themes of all time and Batman himself is probably one of the most iconic superheroes. Just like LEGO is one of the most iconic toy brands on the market. Throw it all in a blender and you should...
Review Pro Evolution Soccer 2015 (Xbox One)
On the up
The annual soccer head-to-head battle is on once again, given that nobody else has come forward to try and bring a new entrant into the fight. Konami are making the step up to the new generation properly – last year’s effort can hardly be counted – with Pro Evolution Soccer 2015 and the early demo-fuelled hype suggests that the game...
Pure and too simple
When it comes to sports simulations, snooker and pool have a rich and varied history. From the simple Trick Shot for the Atari 2600, via Side Pocket on the NES, Archer Maclean’s Pool for the Amiga and Atari ST, Virtua Pool for DOS, Pool Paradise on PlayStation 2 and Hustle Kings for the PlayStation 3, we’ve reached our...
Review Assassin's Creed Unity (Xbox One)
Divided you'll fall
When you load up an Assassin’s Creed title for the first time, you kind of know what to expect. Every entry in the series adds another layer of things that we assume will continue through to appear in the next game. From the basic free-running of the first title, through to the sprawling open-world adventure that was Black...
Review How to Survive: Storm Warning Edition (Xbox One)
The hitchhikers guide to a zombie apocalypse
What’s more humbling than being devoured by a swarm of bloodthirsty undead? Why, being struck with a bolt of lightning as you swing your axe at the crocodile directly opposite said swarm, who proceeds to toss you around like a ragdoll in a death-roll and in doing so, gets his own crocodile self...
Review The Legend of Korra (Xbox One)
Elementary elements
When you hear that Platinum Games is working on a title, you generally sit up and listen, such is the general quality of their titles. You even take notice when you hear that they’re working on a title based on a Nickelodeon TV show for Activision, despite the quality of game that sort of sentence would usually result in. Even...
Review Sunset Overdrive (Xbox One)
Chaos never tasted so good
Insomniac Games has been responsible for creating great exclusive software for the PlayStation brand over the years. With franchises like Spyro the Dragon, Ratchet & Clank and Resistance earning both critical praise and impressive sales numbers, it’s easy to see why Sony has held the developer so close to the chest...
Review Skylanders: Trap Team (Xbox One)
Fool us once...
To say that we were sceptical about the latest Skylanders title, Trap Team, would be an understatement. Having not had a great deal of experience with the series, but having seen the shelves upon shelves of toys for sale at seemingly ludicrous prices in every supermarket and specialist store for the last couple of years, we thought...
Review The Evil Within (Xbox One)
Survival horror revival
The Evil Within is the best Resident Evil 4 imitation to date, and in no way is that a bad thing. The similarities are nearly endless — zombie-like creatures, chainsaw-wielding maniacs — but the most common thread is that both games are created by survival horror mastermind, Shinji Mikami. With the bar raised so high, you...
Review Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments (Xbox One)
Welcome to 221b Baker Street
There hasn't been that much written about Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments - in fact, so little has been said that one could almost end up thinking that the developers really wanted it to fly under the radar. Which is a shame...no, really. Sherlock Holmes: Crimes & Punishments takes place in the gritty,...
Review Disney Fantasia: Music Evolved (Xbox One)
Not taking the Mickey
Enough words have been written about the history of Microsoft’s second attempt at motion controlled gaming and how it was a mandatory purchase for all bleeding-edge Xbox One owners. We all know how a lot of people – probably the majority, in fact – don’t see even the second iteration of Kinect as being a viable input...
Review Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition (Xbox One)
Let sleeping dogs lie.
Square Enix are at it again with their "definitive" release of a previous generation title, this time bringing United Front’s open-world, third-person action title Sleeping Dogs to Xbox One with a new coat of polish. But are the visual improvements and included DLC enough to lure you in for another go, or is this purely for...
Review Pinball FX2 - South Park (Xbox One)
Salty balls
South Park hasn't had the most luxurious history when it comes to getting the video game treatment. There's been a decent release here or there throughout the years, but for the most part we've been subjected to repetitive first-person shooters and uninspired platformers. That is until earlier this year when South Park: The Stick of...
Review Alien: Isolation (Xbox One)
"The perfect organism."
Throughout cinematic history, very few films have influenced a genre like the Alien saga has. In 1979, Ridley Scott's initial vision of horror far away from home resonated so strongly with audiences that the film almost immediately became a cult hit and introduced us to Ellen Ripley, one of the most dynamic heroines ever to...
Review Divekick Addition Edition + (Xbox One)
Paper champion
Divekick is going to be a game that splits opinions, that much is sure. The hardcore fighting game fans will love the action/reaction playing style, but a large proportion of people will be left cold. A good portion of that first group will already own it on another format, too. That doesn't set things up all that well for the Xbox...
Review Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor (Xbox One)
Dark and delightful
We’ve been hearing about Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and its innovative Nemesis System for a while now, but we’d be lying if we said we weren’t skeptical of the game living up to its potential. Delivering a brutally violent and relentlessly grim look into the Lord of the Rings universe might alienate too many fans of the...
Review Watch_Dogs: Bad Blood (Xbox One)
Teaching an old dog new tricks
It should come as no surprise, but Watch Dogs’ first piece of single player DLC is essentially more Watch Dogs. That means if you enjoyed cruising around the beautiful virtual Chicago hacking every little thing in sight, then you’ll know exactly what to expect out of Bad Blood. There are times when it treads that...
Review Forza Horizon 2 (Xbox One)
Bring us the horizon
Every so often, a game comes along that you imagine that you’ll be reminiscing about as a ninety-year-old while sipping a cup of weak tea in an old people’s home with your friends. Of course, the games of your youth will come up first. The arcade game that you beat with a single credit when you were on holiday with your...
Pulling dead weight or reinventing the wheel?
We play good games all the time. Heck, it’s safe to say that we play great games on a fairly regular basis. What’s surprising, though, is how few of those great games genuinely feel fresh or inspired. Take the platforming genre for instance. For every Rayman Legends — a superb game that introduced...
Review Titanfall - IMC Rising (Xbox One)
The final DLC pack
The third and final DLC pack for Respawn Entertainment’s Titanfall was released this week, but is it worth your time and money? Well, IMC Rising is consistent with previous expansions, bringing us three new maps each with their own theme that help to further our understanding of events unfolding after the conclusion of the...
Review D4: Dark Dreams Don't Die (Xbox One)
Look for D
Remember Deadly Premonition? It’s one of the most divisive games ever to be released upon the world. Poor production values, bizarreness to the extreme, and campy…well, everything else, meant it was one of those wonderfully weird games that either clicked with you, or it didn't at all. Now, four years after the release of Deadly...
The keeper fluffs it.
Here we are once again. It’s that time of year that - if you’re in the UK at least - the releases of EA’s annual Madden and NHL franchises are nothing but a precursor to. It’s FIFA time once again, and no matter what we say about the game here, it’ll undoubtedly be a massive success and sit at the top of the sales...
"I'm your density. I mean, your destiny."
It goes without saying that we all expect big things from the creators of the Halo series. And it’s not just because they bestowed upon us one of the best science-fiction gaming franchises of all time, it’s also due to the epic promise that their new IP will be an intergalactic journey so grand that...
Review KickBeat - Special Edition (Xbox One)
Bass dropped.
If you haven’t heard of Kickbeat before and are looking at the screenshots, you’ll probably get the idea that it’s a fighting game that has something to do with music. On the surface of it, that’s true, but the fighting itself is mere decoration for what is a relatively standard rhythm action title. The game is set around...
Those ninjas came from the past!
It was way back in the year 2000 that Digital Extremes announced a new game entitled Dark Sector was in the works. This game was initially envisioned as a space-faring third person shooter where players would don a mechanical suit providing them with powers beyond that of the average soldier. As the development cycle...
Breaking baa-d.
Did you ever play Lemmings? The classic A to B puzzle game were you were supposed to guide a crowd of small, green chaps through levels and past obstacles? The goal was to get as many of them out safely, sometimes leaving a few brave lemmings behind for the greater good. Team 17's new game Flockers is very much like that ... only a...
Skating backwards going forwards.
NHL 15 was supposed to be a celebration of hockey. A true coming of age that would have us flying banners and cheering EA’s name as they masterfully took the step up to the new generation and showed us their skills on previously untouched ice. When the puck dropped, it would provide the graphical and gameplay...
Review Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate (Xbox One)
Hit, hit, hit, hit, hit...and miss.
If you’ve not played any of the seemingly hundreds of titles that have been released as part of KOEI Tecmo’s Warriors series, then you’ll probably not be aware that whether you’re playing the Samurai, Dynasty, or Orochi flavours, you’re playing much the same game. Hacking, slashing, and the deaths of...
Review Stick it To The Man (Xbox One)
Where the sun don't shine
You know you have a great game on your hands when you start a new game immediately after the end credits have rolled. That’s exactly what happened after experiencing the weirdness and strangeness of Stick it To The Man, the latest from Swedish developer Zoink! Games. The weird and the strange is what makes Stick it To The...
