Reviews

Latest Reviews

  • Review RIDE (Xbox One)

    Burnt out

    When it comes to simulations of motorcycle racing, there's really only one name left in the business. When you buy a game based on MotoGP, Motocross, Superbikes, or anything else that runs on two wheels and has an engine, Italian developer Milestone is likely who will be behind it. With so many titles under their belt, we were expecting...

  • Review Tower Of Guns (Xbox One)

    Bulletproof...We Wish It Was

    Tower of Guns is a very simple game at its core. You play the protagonist, running through room after room of the eponymous tower, shooting anything mechanical that tries to do you harm. Once you've cleared a room, you shoot the door and move into another one to do the same, then repeat until you meet a boss character...

  • Review Stealth Inc 2: A Game of Clones (Xbox One)

    Sneaky Fun

    It is quite fitting that Stealth Inc 2: A Game of Clones, a 2D stealth action game developed by Curve Digital, crept up on us. With the previous title being generally enjoyable, this was a game that was anticipated, but no more than your standard sequel. With this one though, you'll decide to play "an hour" before bed, and find that five...

  • Review Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty! (Xbox One)

    It's an odd, odd world.

    Gamers may claim to be sick of remakes, but they keep selling. These remakes serve the purpose of updating past titles and allowing new people to experience them for the first time. The latest remake to hit Xbox One is Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty!, a remake of 1997's Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee. Has time passed Oddworld by or is it...

  • Review Pool Nation FX (Xbox One)

    Rack and ruined

    Back in 2012, a game by the name of Pool Nation launched on Xbox 360. Pretty much overlooked by everyone other than hardcore fans of cue and ball action, it was a surprisingly good take on the sport, featuring a ludicrously addictive Endurance mode, great visuals, and smooth gameplay. Fast forward to 2015, and Pool Nation FX has...

  • Review Fruit Ninja Kinect 2 (Xbox One)

    Orange you glad we didn't say banana?

    There weren't a great many solid titles released for Microsoft's first foray into motion-controlled console gaming, but few could argue that Fruit Ninja Kinect was anything less than a cracking game. Easy to get into, fun to play, and devilishly addictive, the game was ported from mobile platforms with aplomb by...

  • Review LA Cops (Xbox One)

    Police Brutality

    Los Angeles is an odd location for a cop game. While the Los Angeles Police Department is one of the more famous precincts in America, it's famous for the wrong reasons. The LAPD is famous due to racism, unneeded brutality, and for being the catalyst for the 1992 LA riots. So unless you're trying to make some sort of larger point,...

  • Review Battlefield: Hardline (Xbox One)

    Gettin' tough?

    Like the Call of Duty franchise, Battlefield has been doing the same thing for a few years now, and some could argue that the result is becoming a bit stale. While Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare aimed to shake things up with futuristic weaponry and gadgets to spice up both the single-player and the competitive space, it still largely...

  • Review Resident Evil: Revelations 2 - Episode 4: Metamorphosis (Xbox One)

    Loose ends

    Good or bad. This is what it all comes down to when discussing the fourth and final chapter of Resident Evil: Revelations 2. No, we aren’t simply talking about the quality of the episode — which remains as consistent as the previous ones — but rather the type of ending players will receive in the final act. Episode 4: Metamorphosis...

  • Review Bladestorm: Nightmare (Xbox One)

    Nightmare is right

    When Bladestorm: The Hundred Years' War was released on the Xbox 360 back in 2008, it was a game that pretty much passed everyone by. Those who did play it tend to remember it with fondness, even though it was far from perfect. A genuinely inventive game that saw players leading battalions of troops across France while racking up...

  • Review Ziggurat (Xbox One)

    A spell-cial surprise

    While PSN and Steam have been quickly accumulating a substantial number of roguelikes, the Xbox One has certainly been lacking in this area. In fact, we aren’t sure if there’s a single game currently available for purchase in the Games Store that's built around this increasingly-popular design choice. Hope is not lost,...

  • Review Resident Evil: Revelations 2 - Episode 3: Judgment (Xbox One)

    The one with all the puzzles

    Playing Resident Evil: Revelations 2 in its current episodic state really is like coming back to your favourite TV show each week. The quick recaps that preface each instalment do a good job highlighting all the important stuff, while at the same time, achieving a level of excitement for the next. Episode 3: Judgment...

  • Review White Night (Xbox One)

    Fade to black

    With over-the-top prose, a very, very distinctive visual style, and with the potential for real thrills, White Night is absolutely stacked full of promise. A relatively low-key release, the game takes place exclusively in black-and-white, with the darkness only pierced by the occasional electric light and the lead character's ability...

  • Review Shiftlings (Xbox One)

    Shift into turbo

    The reopening of legendary video game publisher, Sierra, was met with much fanfare late last year. Now a part of Activision, Sierra's focus is on bringing high-quality downloadable indie titles to consoles. Their first release, Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions, was met with critical acclaim and proved to be a perfect jumping off point...

  • Review OlliOlli (Xbox One)

    A bit of bump and grind

    It's been a while since a decent skateboarding game has hit the shelves. The surprise resurgence in popularity of EA's Skate 3 with the YouTube generation, combined with the excitement over a new Tony Hawk's Pro Skater title being announced though, show that there's still a market for the genre. Hoping to kickflip into the...

  • Review Resident Evil: Revelations 2 - Episode 2: Contemplation (Xbox One)

    Better than the first

    Without a doubt, the second episode of Resident Evil: Revelations 2 knows how to up the ante. The story is more compelling, the action more exciting, and the enemies significantly more challenging. While Episode 1 was a solid opening chapter, it also felt predictable and played things a little too safe. Episode 2, however —...

  • Review DmC: Devil May Cry: Definitive Edition (Xbox One)

    Here’s your chance to atone

    Great games don’t always get the appreciation they deserve, and that’s a damn shame. Look at 2013’s Tomb Raider reboot, which was a smash hit with critics and most that played it, yet somehow it didn’t meet sales expectations. It’s a top-notch production all around, with refined gameplay, stunning art design,...

  • Review Ori and the Blind Forest (Xbox One)

    An unforgettable journey

    Some people are bothered by the term Metroidvania, which we’ve never really understood. We’re fully aware that it’s an unnecessary subgenre classification that derives its name from two of the industry’s most respected franchises, Metroid and Castlevania, but we're quite alright with that. For those of you unfamiliar...

  • Review Zombie Army Trilogy (Xbox One)

    Probably Nazi game you were looking for

    Zombie Army Trilogy began life as standalone downloadable content pieces for Sniper Elite V2 on PC. The initial release was a fun diversion that saw Adolf Hitler summoning his own army of zombies to help defend an almost-defeated Germany in the final days of World War II. A second edition that followed on from...

  • Review ScreamRide (Xbox One)

    Scream if you wanna go faster...

    Every so often – with increasing rarity – a game comes along that provides genuine doses of innovation on a wide scale. It may be entirely original. It may build and improve upon notes taken from another title, or even from more than one. But with more and more copycat products just rehashing the same old...

  • Review Pinball FX2 - Iron & Steel Pack (Xbox One)

    Catapults and six-shooters aplenty

    It feels like ages since Zen Studios created pinball tables that weren't based on comic books or cartoons. Actually, it's been three years. In that three years time, we've watched this talented studio craft fantasy pinball experiences that excel beyond anything we could ever expect to find standing on four legs in...

  • Review Resident Evil: Revelations 2 - Episode 1: Penal Colony (Xbox One)

    Prison break

    The debut episode of Resident Evil: Revelations 2 won’t have you convinced the horror series is back on track, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still have fun with it. Sure, it isn’t the prettiest game out there, and the voice acting — after all these years — can still be grating; but Revelations 2 succeeds in creating the...

  • Review Pneuma: Breath of Life (Xbox One)

    God us

    We weren't quite sure what to make of Pneuma: Breath of Life before getting our hands on it. Early trailers gave the impression that it was to be a Myst-like puzzle game that took itself very seriously. The visuals looked stunning and, although certainly having an artistic spice to them, appeared to primarily be concerned with realism...

  • Review Roundabout (Xbox One)

    You spin me right round

    Every year without fail a new release is heralded as the 'Citizen Kane' of video games. It's a baffling, completely unfair comparison, as movies and games are two totally different mediums; but it's one that is easy to make when recognizing a quality product. While No Goblin's revolving limousine arcade game, Roundabout, is...

  • Review Don Bradman Cricket (Xbox One)

    A great knock

    Over the years, there have been a fair few attempts made at replicating the incredibly complex sport of cricket. Some have come close to perfecting the mix, with the likes of Codemasters having multiple attempts at getting things right. But there's always been the feeling that the developers who are trying to emulate the sport have...

  • Review Evolve (Xbox One)

    Natural Selection

    With an obnoxious marketing campaign, a controversial amount of planned DLC, and multiplayer betas after discs have been pressed, it has been hard to not hear about Evolve in the past few months. Lost in the media shuffle though was that Evolve - despite whatever concerns one may hold over its business plan - is a fantastic game...

  • Review Rugby 15 (Xbox One)

    Rucking terrible.

    When it comes to forming an opinion of the annual sports titles that we love to hate, it can be really easy to overlook all the things they get right. The little things that build up into the overall picture, such as the pace of the game, the way players move, and the intelligence of the AI. We tend to focus on the new features...

  • Review The Escapists (Xbox One)

    A Great Escape

    As a reviewer of video games, every now and again you can fall into a bit of a dull patch. Every game looks the same. Nothing is interesting. Nothing on the horizon really excites you the way that games of old did. It all gets, for want of a better phrase, a bit "meh." Generally though, you'll find that something comes along that...

  • Review Dying Light (Xbox One)

    Are you afraid of the dark?

    To say that Dying Light is influenced by developer Techland's other main franchise, Dead Island, would be something of an understatement. Entire gameplay features are reemployed in this title, which admittedly, contains a heck of a lot more polish and refinement than any of the Dead Island games. That isn't to say that...

  • Review Unmechanical: Extended Edition (Xbox One)

    The little robot that could

    Sidescrolling puzzle games are truly a dime a dozen these days, and we’re getting to a point where it’s hard not to wince every time a new one is announced. That's not to say that a strong selection of these games haven't been knockouts — Braid, Limbo, and Fez, for example, have been absolute homeruns — but even...