McCoyPauley

A compelling crafting/building MMO. Boundless is a very interesting game. What it does well can kind of sneak up on you. The basic gameplay loop is nothing we haven't seen before -- gather resources with tools, craft stations to craft items to craft better tools. Where Boundless really shines is with its multiplayer focus. Players are encouraged to work together to build settlements, and it makes approaching and cooperating with total strangers quite easy. Everyone wants to see the settlements grow, wants to see the cities and planets progress. I've made friends with countless strangers, and you'll find most are eager to help you in whatever way they can. It's quite an interesting and friendly community. Seamless portals can connect players to different worlds. You'll find player-created portal networks that connect to trade hubs. This part of the game is impressive, and really ties together the player-economy. To unlock the full potential of Boundless requires significant time investment. If you don't tolerate the familiar grind, you might struggle to appreciate the game. You may have seen some discussion of Boundless being pay-to-win, or pay-to-continue. I really don't know where people get that impression. As you level up, you receive a constant stream of cubits, in-game currency that allows you to permanently claim land for building. Buying cubits with real money really wouldn't give you much of an advantage at all, in my opinion. Boundless is a fairly ambitious twist on the Minecraft/Survival game genre. I think it works, due to the strength of it's MMO features and outstanding community.

A brilliantly-designed and executed multiplayer thrillfest. Laser League is, quite simply, an excellent game. It is very easy to grasp the basics and have fun, but the gameplay also holds tremendous depth. Multiple classes with unique abilities and perks leave room for much strategizing and synergizing, but it is the gameplay at its core that is so thrilling and tactically brilliant. No two matches will ever be the same, despite utilizing the same maps. As laser-nodes change hands, the battlefield morphs in intoxicating and surprising fashion. This is a game where you must always be on your toes. Reflexes are important, yes, but what the game rewards more than anything is quick-thinking and awareness. On PS4, the game runs great and does not exhibit performance issues of any kind. My only real complaint is player-count at launch. In the evening, it is pretty easy to find matches, but at off hours you can find yourself matched with some AI. The AI puts up a real challenge, but this is a game deserving of a serious following. One can only hope that this game gains the traction it deserves.

An enjoyable -- if rough around the edges -- coop multiplayer experience. Guns of Icarus is not a game for everyone. I would only recommend if you are interested in PvP. There is a PvE component, but I did not find it very compelling mainly due to poor enemy ship AI. But for those looking for competitive multiplayer, Guns of Icarus shines. It is a team game that rewards knowledge and cooperation. Some will find the gameplay tedious, and I can understand why. But to those who give it a chance, the real joy of the game is knowing your role, working seamlessly with your team, and blowing enemy airships out of the sky. Performance wise, this PS4 port is not great. It seems strange that a game over 5 years old cannot run at a consistent 60fps on console. Even with crossplay with PC, the player counts are fairly low. At launch, the waits for games have not been too bad, but I would expect the player numbers will soon dwindle. If you enjoy cooperative PvP games, try it out for $15, especially if you have a crew of 3 friends to bring with you. Maybe you like it, maybe you won't. For a particular type of person, this might be their favorite game in many years.

A niche motorcycle simulation that hits all the right gameplay notes. There is one aspect that this game had to nail: the core gameplay of driving and handling a motorcycle at ludicrous speeds. I am happy to report that TT Isle of Man does this better than any other motorcycle game I have played. The sensation of speed is simply unmatched, and after a little bit of an initial learning curve, the bikes handle quite well. The gameplay here is simply thrilling. My preferred method of play is in first-person, and the game performs better in this view than any other motorcycle title I've come across. Just a balls-to-the-wall experience. The famed Mountain Course is the main attraction, and it is both beautifully rendered and a real challenge to master. But the included fantasy tracks are surprisingly fun to play and well-designed, as well. There's no getting around the fact that is no AAA game, and the amount of content will be lacking, for some. The overall presentation is very barebones. At $60, this game is difficult to recommend to all but the the most hardcore of motorcycle fans. But with a reasonable price-cut (which is sure to come, and soon), I think this a well-crafted game that executes its core gameplay in thrilling and triumphant fashion. A niche game, to be sure, but one I am very much enjoying.

If you're readings reviews of Hearthstone, you've probably come across some common complaints. All of these are founded, and cripple an extremely well-polished foundation. Many users complain of the gameplay's reliance on RNG. While it's true that your starting hand and the cards you draw can win or lose you a game -- and will, quite frequently -- it's hard to imagine how this can be remedied, at this point. Skill, while important to some extent, does not seem the focus. Even more troubling for me, a relatively new player, is in difficulty you will find in building a competitive deck. The game will generate daily quests for you, with the ability to earn in-game currency to buy packs of new cards. Unfortunately, these grant relatively small amounts of gold, and may require you to use decks and cards you have no interest in. The game allows you to craft any card, so long as you have the requisite dust, a resource gained by disenchanting other cards. While this is a fantastic idea in theory, the amount of dust you receive for disenchanting even the most valuable of cards is so disgustingly minimal that new players will have to trash their entire collection to build the deck they want. The only way around this is to buy packs with real, cold hard cash. Spend enough real-world money, and you can build any deck you want. Because ranks are reset every month, a new player will inevitably encounter experienced foes with perfect, meticulously groomed decks, implements they have paid hundreds of dollars to acquire. This leaves a bad taste in the mouth. When it doesn't feel like it's stabbing you in the back and openly mocking you, the game can be fun and addicting. Alas, the core gameplay is flawed, and neutralizes most measures of skill. Additionally, by any reasonable interpretation of the term, this is indeed a pay-to-win title. Or at least a pay-to-be-competitive title, because the RNG will still prevent your victory a times, no matter what your skill or deck.

Open-world hunting done solidly. TheHunter takes a great idea, and delivers a servicable product. Roaming the game's large, open environments is -- for the most part -- very enjoyable. Exploration is one of the title's strongest aspects. On console, there are two hunting reserves. Both are a pleasure to explore and offer a variety of sights and points of interest. The actual hunting gameplay is a bit of a mixed bag. Guns are relatively fun to use, and can be upgraded with a small selection of sights and ammunition. You'll earn money for each confirmed kill, gaining extra money for quick and clean kills based on shot placement and the stats of your weapons and ammunition. Use a gun too powerful, and you'll ruin the quality of your trophy. Sound is an important gameplay mechanic. Moving slowly and avoiding the rustling of foliage and the crunch of your footing is critical to stalking your prey. Wind and scent must also be accounted for. You have a multitude of lures at your disposal. Unfortunately, the best strategy is usually to just spam the correct call until you attract something. There are quite a few bugs, mainly pertaining to animal behavior. You'll see creatures getting stuck on rocks and trees extremely often. The animations of the animals leave something to be desired, as well. The roster of species available to hunt is a little thin. Multiplayer is much appreciated, but lacking. You cannot discover points of interest when in another player's game. This essentially kills any hope of coop exploration. TheHunter is a solid game, and the basic template it establishes is one that should be followed for all hunting games to come. Yet, this is a game lacking in polish. One is left thinking another studio, one with more resources, perhaps, could do this great idea justice.

Helldivers is a game that shouldn't be as good as it is. My first impressions were of an utterly unremarkable twin-stick shooter. After hundreds of hours of gameplay, I can assure you that could not be further from the truth. Boasting infinite randomly-generated missions and maps, dozens of unique weapons and stratagems, high skill cap gameplay that rewards awareness, quick decision making and constantly teaches the player new tricks, Helldivers is a brilliantly designed and executed game that stands amongst the best titles of the generation, and never stops giving. As you rank up, you will discover certain tools and strategies that worst best. However, the real joy of Helldivers is trying out every weapon, every stratagem, and making them work. The developers have released generous DLC in the form of new equipment. These are all worth the purchase, but there is no pay-to-win, here. All missions are beatable with the stock weapons and stratagems, but the DLC is there for those that love the game and want more. Helldivers is almost certainly the best co-op title available on PS4, and there is an argument to be made that it is the best game, period, on the system. To call it an underappreciated gem would be an understatement. This is game that knows exactly what it is, and executes that vision to flawless perfection.

A game of admirable ambition that fails to deliver the goods. The concept of Evolve, of a team of player-controlled Hunters taking on a player-controlled Monster in asymmetrical multiplayer bouts, is a great one. That's why it's such a shame that Evolve stumbles like it does. First and foremost, the gunplay is really quite floaty, and lacking in visceral punch and feedback. This is an aspect taken for granted in many of the top shooters of the day, and it sticks out like a sore-thumb in Evolve. The Hunters are relatively well-designed, most with unique and interesting tools at their disposal. Unfortunately, the weak gunplay renders a lot of these cool ideas moot. Graphically, the game is very drab. I'm cool with a dark atmospheres, but the environments of Evolve just feel dead, and lacking imagination. The game is far from smooth, performance-wise, and framerate can be an annoyance. Nowadays, in 2017, it can be difficult to find online matches, making the purchase of the game at any price a very questionable decision. The highly-publicized DLC controversy certainly didn't help in this regard. Even so, Evolve is not as bad as many would have you believe. It's not a good game -- even less so now with annoyingly-long matchmaking times -- but neither is it a complete abomination. It's a game brimming with good ideas that just weren't executed upon. Overall, it really feels like the game was rushed out-the-door. Had a sequel been greenlit, I'm fairly certain the developers would've delivered a game worthy of Evolve's launch-hype. Unfortunately, with the disaster that was the launch and reception of Evolve, we may never see the promising ideas of Evolve realize their potential.

A slick city-builder with surprisingly good controls and great simulation depth. I wasn't expecting too much from a console city-builder, but Cities is a really impressive effort. Controls are much more intuitive than expected -- no small feat for a console game of this type. The game runs pretty damn well for a title of such scale. You'll notice pop-in when zooming very close to the ground, but I really haven't been bothered much by it. The whole presentation is pretty slick -- it's a game of profound scale and capable of looking quite beautiful at times. A slew of visually-pleasing management-filters are a nice touch, and really help with managing your cities. The gameplay is nothing groundbreaking, but it's very well-executed. If you've played a game of this sort before, you'll be well at home. The tools at your disposal are relatively simple, but quite versatile. There's always some aspect of your city that can be tweaked, be it optimizing traffic, planning expansion, building public transportation, reorganizing zoning or any number of other things. One of my favorite gameplay elements is the ability to form districts, and assign these areas of your city with particular specializations and policies. This not only increases the depth of gameplay, but adds an almost RPG-like facet to the game. Cities isn't a revolutionary title, but what it does, it does extremely well. There's really nothing else like it available on PS4.

Outstanding and addictive gameplay, simple and accessible yet packing surprising depth. Excellent course design and a fun and powerful character creator. Everybody's Golf is an extremely fun game, plain and simple. A few strange design decisions keep it from being the essential game it is painfully close to being. There is no multiplayer matchmaking, and the game relies on an archaic server browser style system to play rounds with up to 3 other players. Curiously, the source of character progression (improving your clubs) is absent in these matches. The lack of matchmaking also affects the balance of these games, as players with highly upgraded clubs will inevitably be matched with new players. Other multiplayer modes exist, including a daily solo challenge and a mode called Turf-War. The daily challenge is fun, but I've found Turf-War lacking. While the game's courses are excellent and fun to play many times over, they are locked behind a considerable singleplayer grind. It can be tedious, especially at the beginning, to put in the 10 hours or so required to unlock even the second course. Even these annoying quirks can't hold back a game that is simply a joy to play.

A hardcore space simulation with a relatively steep learning curve. There is a lot of Elite that is very well crafted, but several puzzling design decisions hamper what could be an outstanding title. The core flight and combat gameplay is tight and engaging. You're free to pursue whatever profession you desire, trading, combat, smuggling, piracy. Where the game really stumbles is through the reputation system by which you unlock missions. It essentially forces you to grind reputation through repetitive tasks. This could almost be completely ignored, if Elite's biggest flaw didn't exist. Player interaction is extremely minimal. Exciting and compelling encounters with real people is what this game desperately needs. If you're a big fan of space sims, it's a no brainer. Sci Fi fans in general should check it out. But it's certainly a niche title with a couple really frustrating shortcomings. The potential for greatness is there, but unfortunately seems just out of grasp.