CC_Andyman

Only 3 hard-coded controller presets, all of which are essentially the same. No button mapping at all. Really? I especially love (not!) how the in-car camera jerks around so much, you feel like you're watching the Blair Witch Project. Completely, inexcusably lazy coding. It's unplayable. Refunded immediately.

No controller configuration = you get a big fat ZERO score from me! Completely, inexcusably lazy programming. Uninstalled and refunded with quickness. Extremely disappointed.

Absolutely incredible game. I never thought I'd love a Bethesda game more than Oblivion (and I have about a thousand hours into that one), but Starfield has very quickly shot to the top of my list of favorites. There's virtually limitless fun things to see and do. I have nearly a week of total play time into Starfield so far, and I still feel like I've just barely scratched the surface of this enormous game. Shipbuilding alone has eaten many, many hours of my time. Space hot rod FTW! Here are some handy tips to help folks enjoy the game more: You can skip those "forced" cutscenes by using the Set Course button (X) and by fast-traveling. Both of these features make the game a LOT more enjoyable to play. Also, you can fast-travel from inside most locations, unlike their earlier games where you had to go outside to do it. You can move things to and from your ship's Cargo Hold if you're within 500m of your ship. This makes the scavenging much, much more pleasant and helps keep you from being overencumbered. And don't forget you can fast travel straight to your ship from virtually anywhere on a planet by pulling up your scanner (LB), then the surface map (RB), then to your ship (Y), as long as you're not overencumbered.

No... no. Just... NO. WTF is this? Need for Speed: Into the Speediverse? The obnoxious animated overlays are just beyond distracting. Stop trying to be "hip" and make a racing game that's actually fun to play, y'know? And don't even get me started on the hard-coded controller mappings. Many of us don't want to be forced to use the triggers, OK? It's 2023 - give us OPTIONS. So glad I didn't buy this. Uninstalled.

I still can't believe this masterpiece was essentially free via Game Pass on day 1. It's the best in the series, and that's really saying something, considering how awesome all the Horizon games are. I could take or leave the constantly-updated Season content, but hey... at least there will always be something fun to do because of that.

It's everything the first game was, but expanded upon and polished. Some might find it a bit simple, but I think it's endearing, relaxing, and addictive because of it. It's magical, and the soundtrack is on heavy rotation in my game music collection.

Other reviewers have talked about bugs. I guess those must have been corrected by the time I played Empire of Sin, because I noticed none of significance when I played. I had a total blast, start to finish. In many ways, this is XCOM: Mobster Edition, and the developer captured the vibe so well. The soundtrack is an especially nicely done element. My favorite game of 2020.

The production values are off the charts, and I appreciate that. However, that doesn't make up for the game's incredibly tedious presentation. It's Monster *Hunter*, guys. Not Monster *Talker*. Less dialog and more hunting, please.

You'll either love or loathe this game's over-the-top obnoxiousness. It rubbed me the wrong way.

How do I say this politely? OK, I really can't, so I'll just say it bluntly. Calico is like someone dropped a pastel paint bomb on Animal Crossing, left out the fun parts of that game, wrecked the camera, and released it with a different title. Who thought this was OK to do? I mean, they even included the warbling "speech" to go along with the text bubbles, just like Animal Crossing. Could they possibly make it more obvious of a rip-off? I'm amazed Nintendo hasn't sued. I deleted it, immediately.

Infinitely irritating, more like. It's a potentially great game utterly ruined by the absolutely obnoxious religious atmosphere. Yeah, yeah... Comstock is the prophet and the Columbia residents are his cult followers. I got the message the first time. You don't need to cram it down my throat every three seconds. Let's head back down to Rapture for the next game, complete with the love and care put into the first BioShock game. Is that too much to ask?

Loving it so far! I hope Wizards of the Coast are paying attention and release a D&D game done this way and with this much care and attention to detail. Well, maybe a little TOO much attention to detail. Solasta can be bewildering in its complexity at times.

The completely obnoxious, heavy-handed, over-the-top political overtones turned me off almost immediately. If I want that nonsense, I'll turn on the news. No, thank you. I should also note that said politics were completely omitted from the trailer. Gee, I wonder why? I'm glad I just checked it out on Game Pass... if I had bought this game, I'd be angry. 3 for its original concept. 0 for everything else.

Giving this already-great game a perfect 10 for something I discovered last time I played it. It works with my Logitech G920 wheel+pedals setup on the Xbox One and Series X! Think about that for a second - a 12-year-old game works with an accessory that doesn't even work with the console it was released for! Insanity! (But ridiculously awesome!)

WHEEL+PEDAL USERS BEWARE: Though this game claims to be compatible with various wheel accessories, it absolutely is NOT. Oh, the wheel and pedals themselves work fine... but any in-game button-presses or menu navigation simply don't work on the wheel itself. You're forced to keep a gamepad close in your lap for that. Whose idiotic idea was that? The game itself seems like it'd be pretty fun with an update to address this fatal flaw, but alas, that's clearly not happening. Returned for a refund. So disappointing.

You know a game is abysmal when you ask for - and receive - a refund for a game that was a mere $1.99 on sale. I'm giving it +1 each for the official license and overall polished presentation, but the game itself is an unplayable buggy mess. Giving it the benefit of the doubt as well, I spent about 10 minutes being berated by my co-driver, to the point that I felt verbally abused by the time I turned it off. Completely inexcusable.

Outrageously magnificent experience. If you're on the quest for something completely different and eye-poppingly gorgeous, The Artful Escape is your game. It pulled me into its gloriously exotic world immediately and didn't let me go until the wild ride had reached its destination. I loved every second of it - even my (frequent) missed notes - because I'm terrible at music games. Oh, and it's very forgiving. I appreciate that.

Anyone giving this game anything less than an exemplary review should check to see that they haven't misplaced their heart somewhere. It's extremely rare for a game to elicit strong emotions from me, but this one did from the start. By the end, I was nearly in tears, and that's a very good thing. A game doesn't have to explain everything in detail to be exceptional, and Edith Finch does a masterful job of leaving the unspoken details for your imagination to run wild on. I suppose if you have no imagination, this isn't the game for you... but that in no way makes it any less of a masterpiece.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

The most fun I've had with a puzzle+platformer, maybe ever. It's a game clearly made with love. Laid out in a very intuitive way, never unfair, rarely frustrating, with lots of nice touches, plenty of smile-inducing moments, and an absolutely gorgeous soundtrack. It just keeps getting better right to the unforgettable ending. Even the Achievements are just right. It's a phenomenal short-but-sweet experience, made all the better because it's free via Game Pass.

I've been playing Forza since the beginning in 2005. I deliberately waited until now to render my verdict on Forza 7, thanks to a whole lot of misinformation and irrational hate floating around the web. I wanted to get the full experience for myself. After 2.5 years, what do I think? It's an absolute masterpiece, that's what. I've had more fun playing 7 than any other release in the main series, and that's really saying something, because I've enjoyed the heck out of all of them (even 5, which felt like it was 2/3rds ****). There's a completely ridiculous amount of content in the game, and endlessly customizable ways to enjoy that content. Whether you're a casual driver or hardcore competitor, you'll be able to dig deep into Forza 7. What's not to love?

Anyone bashing this game who got it for FREE as a Game With Gold should be ashamed. Not only is this game a LOT better than the "professional" reviewers gave it credit for, it's easily one of the best freebies we've ever gotten. If you loved Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance, Diablo, or Torchlight, you'll love Van Helsing. The story is amusing, there's a ton of varied loot, and a nice assortment of hidden goodies. What's not to love?

Maxing the score to offset the review bombers (why do people do that, anyway?). Back in the Groove is every bit as great as the original game on the Genesis, and better in many ways. It's ridiculously fun and endlessly replayable. Even the price is right!

Nothing at all bad to say about this game, especially since I picked up 27 tables in the Retro pack for a mere $1.99. If you're a pinball fan, you need this game in your life.

I can't believe no other games have written reviews for this abomination yet. Your car doesn't accelerate (I actually thought I was pressing the wrong button!), and it doesn't steer. The AI runs you off the road constantly, but if you do it back, you wreck and they continue on... WTF? The ludicrously long race intros can't be skipped. The annoying announcer can only be muted if you mute all other sound effects. Don't like using the triggers to go and stop? Too bad, because you're stuck with them! If this game was completely free, I'd give it a 1. It's that bad. Absolutely, positively, do not waste your time or money.

A potentially very fun racer, dragged down into unplayability by some absolutely awful (and lazy) design choices. The controls are beyond bad, and it's very easy to lose track of your vehicle in the pack - even on a huge HDTV. Don't like the supremely annoying announcer? Your choice is to mute all the effects or put up with him. Don't like the (absurdly long) race intros? Too bad, you can't skip them. Completely inexcusable in 2019.

A phenomenal game utterly ruined by one completely boneheaded design decision - forcing players to press a button to fire, in addition to the firing direction input. It's a twin-stick shooter, guys... just fire the shot wherever we're pointing. At the very least, it should be an option to set it up how you like. Inexcusably lazy coding.

I have friends who don't like sports games at all... they all love Mutant Football League, and Dynasty Edition just makes it that much more awesome. Easy to learn, challenging to master, and always hilariously entertaining. It just never, ever gets old.

I have friends who don't like sports games at all... and they all love Mutant Football League. Easy to learn, challenging to master, and always hilariously entertaining. It just never, ever gets old.

I **** this on sale a couple of weeks ago, and I wouldn't have guessed this little $3 gem would become one of my favorite games on the Xbox One. It's a throwback to a simpler time in video gaming, when games didn't try to be all things to all people. Submerged is all about exploring the absolutely stunning submerged city where the game's story takes place. As the developer says, there's no combat. No fighting, no shooting. It's challenging but fair. Relaxing yet compelling. The game's story and events are related via an incredibly immersive combination of universal-language pictograms and a sparse-yet-gorgeous piano soundtrack. Let yourself get pulled into its world and it won't let you go until you've found all the secrets and saved your little brother. It's an experience with greatness on par with Shadow of the Colossus, in my opinion. The only thing keeping this game from a perfect 10 is its length - I took my time and finished it in about 10 hours. It left me aching for more. I have to add this as well... why do people bash a game for doing something new, and then turn around and whine because there's too few fresh ideas in gaming? In particular, Hardcore Gamer completely, utterly, and hilariously missed the point.

I've loved this series since the very beginning. Yes, even the action-RPG Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel. I've played them all to death, and I can say with complete confidence... I'm having as much fun exploring post-apocalyptic West Virginia as I've had everywhere else the series has taken me. In some ways, Fallout 76 is the best one so far, in my opinion. Since it's online-only, there's no pause feature, so I better find a fairly safe place to hide when I need to step away from my Xbox for a minute. More than once, I've returned to find that some beastie has turned me into a snack. It's intense. They've included many of the Survival Mode features from Fallout: New Vegas as mandatory game requirements in 76, and that adds another layer of intensity. Instead of providing a pile of groceries to sell for caps, you now have to scavenge for and craft food and drink to consume, or your hunger and thirst will weaken you and eventually get you killed. Ammo now has weight, so you can't stockpile bullets and cells without taking a serious hit to your Action Points as you explore. I love it. The crafting has been expanded, and because I'm a natural born hoarder in games like this, I just can't get enough of this change. If it isn't nailed down, I'm taking it and making something cool with it. =D But probably my favorite change is to the game world itself. It's easily the most vibrant wasteland in the series and the abundance of color reminds me so much of Oblivion's game world, another welcome change from the oppressing grays and browns of the last few games. In addition, they've greatly varied the lighting levels - many indoor areas are so dark that you're all but forced to use your Pip-Boy light... which makes you a monster magnet, adding yet another layer of intensity. It all adds up to a fantastic experience, in my book. It's not trying to be Fortnite and I wouldn't be playing it if it was. I can't wait to see what they add, if Elder Scrolls Online is any precedent! That said, I feel compelled to finish my review by asking the zero-score bombers one simple question and then setting some things straight... What did you think you were getting? Bethesda made it very clear from the beginning what Fallout 76 would be: A vast desolate post-apocalyptic exploration game with online multiplayer features in place of the previous games' NPC interactions, set in the hills and valleys of West Virginia, while still enabling the wonderfully lonely solo play we all know and love - and that's exactly what we got. Enjoy the game or go play something you do like. Fallout is the game it has been since 2008. Stop with the hate already.