MoCaubet

I'll only talk about the game itself, as I know Bethesda and Microsoft have had their share of run-ins with the public regarding the closure of the studio behing Hi-Fi Rush (thankfully saved since Microsoft's announcement). What an authentic gem, a pleasure to play and an riveting experience from start to finish. Being a rhythm-based platformer/Hack and slash with boss fights, music is proeminent and therefore very important, and the game didn't miss. The soundtrack is an absolute pleasure to listen to while running/sliding and fighting across the levels. The graphic design of the game is stunning to me, colourful and visually vibrant, without being too full or blinding. Gameplay is extremely solid, based on combos that you make hitting your buttons on beat, and can be rewarding and satisfying when you get the gist of it. Despite being a solo adventure, the companions you have throughout make it very alive and dynamic, just like the writing which is top notch. It never feels tedious or boring, however I'd take a point off for some fights in which I felt like the difficulty was a bit artificially high (mainly the last two bosses, and some of the "bigger" base enemies. It's a great addition to the Game Pass, and a must play.

This is what video games should be most of the time: a fun, rich, thoughtful experience that rewards players for their curiosity and endeavours. Blame it on the poor lineup of the PS5 at launch (some might cheekily say it is still poor today), but Astro's Playroom was already one of the best games on the platform, an authentic love letter to PlayStation. This instalment is no different: it goes slightly beyond the PlayStation realm alone, and offers cameos from beloved video game characters. Its "gatcha" mechanic to gather puzzle pieces and therefore collectibles never feel tacky or forced. The whole game is a flawless ride of fun and smiles, accessible to the young, the old and all gamers at heart, not without its challenges (last few challenges are interestingly hard, obviously not unfeasible). Game design is incredibly solid, maybe not as revolutionary as some unanimous gems in gaming history, but with many good ideas and interesting choices. Sound is absolutely amazing, the soundtrack once more is on point. Graphically, it's a stunning game, and the art direction is superb. Finally, I would simply say that I felt the sheer joy I would feel years ago, when still a child, discovering this virtual adventure, and that has become a rarity these days, at least in my humble opinion.

Somehow this is one of the best selling games instalment after instalment, yet Activision doesn't seem to have reached a ceiling in terms of how little respect they give the players. It's either a bit of masochism from the player base, or an overall majority of thick customers not looking beyond the comestic appeal of hundreds of skins to show off during games, despite the gameplay being catastrophic, especially online. This is not a broken game, mechanically, but everything that touches it is. In Warzone, loadouts disappear, games crash, crossplay with PC players is forced (ludicrous with the thousands of cheaters plaguing the game without any care or remorse) and servers are more often than not difficult. That is if they don't decide whether you hit a target or not (I genuinely feel like retention-based matchmaking is a thing, when playing this title, and previous ones). It is common in a lot of games (and god knows how technically hard it still is today to have a decent experience for every user and their internet access), but Call of Duty does it worse than most. Most multiplayers maps are too small for 6v6, and feel crowded and suffocating, adding to the rather frustrating experience. Even as a freebie on Game Pass, it feels like a robbery. Campaign is alright, I didn't feel it was anything to write home about, but it definitely isn't the worst. Too bad Call of Duty isn't known for being a solo player game, and everything affecting multiplayer is either lacking or failed. I genuinely only play it because one of my friends only plays Warzone, otherwise I would leave it aside without any hesitation. All in all, 3 is a generous grade for a game that isn't done mocking its player base. Definitely don't buy over 20£/$/€.

Honestly, gameplay isn't really that good. I get that we don't really ever have good tennis games on console, and that Top Spin 4 is 13 years old, but the nostalgia shouldn't hide all of the games issues at launch.Obviously, outside the court, the absence of matchmaking with friends is a travesty, and so is the fact that match format is randomised every time you start an exhibition match online (crazy that the option to select a few filters does not even exist). On the court, if the gameplay base is solid, it is terribly outdated, and really akin to Top Spin 4 (which was great in 2011, not so much in 2024).Like in other 2K games (I know they only edit this Top Spin game), gameplay is heavily relying on animation, more so than timing in my opinion, and that limits the possibilities **** looking like real tennis. I feel like Tennis Elbow is 100x the game Top Spin is right now, only it is much more basic graphically, and therefore does not please the crowds (Full Ace Tennis is another example, but as for TE only available on PC). Players are slow to move, react to your stroke input, not really to your movement.Online, the games flaws look even worse, as matchmaking seems to favour the (not) bold, with powerful players like broken Sharapova being able to hit full power counters on any type of ball (lift, slice, both with perfect timings) and from any corner. Serve feels incredibly fast even at lower speeds, and the slow movement I mentioned makes it a guessing game every time, except on slow serves, for which you can pretty much just press the stroke button to return.Overall I'm hugely disappointed by the game at launch, leaving it a chance to redeem somewhat itself down the line (before the servers close in 2026 that is), and the pleasure of coming back to a franchise that was at its peak a decade ago quickly wore off.

It's difficult to excuse anything in this new installment of Activision's greed/incompetence. Frustrating to see it doesn't take finished, polished gameplay and UI for a majority of players to enjoy the game, despite its huge shortcomings. It should be illegal in 2022 to release a game with such capricious servers, that many bugs and glitches, poor UI design, and less to be excited about compared to its predecessor. Sound design is still - if not even more - horrible, weapons don't bring any balance to the game, and bugs ruin the experience, provided you still had a bit of joy in you.

I've just read the first comment saying "we have a real football simulator". I'm baffled at how blind, or oblivious, this person might be. This might not be the worst FIFA in franchise's history, at least not in every category, but it is an awful game. Anything, from offline to Ultimate Team and Pro Clubs is made to be completely random, controlled by the omnipotent AI which decides your fate as a player, in many circumstances, and this is what so many people refer to as "scripting". This could not be further from a real game of football, if we except the graphic value of the game, the only reason for which I give a point to it. You would think playing with friends against other people on the Pro Clubs mode would minimise the influence of the AI. But it still finds a way to destroy your/your opponent's game somehow. Sometimes through a full match, sometimes for just a period of time. Through balls in the air are overpowered, AIs completely unbalanced between one team and the other, and the "momentum" shifts completely without any warning, after scoring a goal or two. In a good game, controls are meant to be accessible and hard to master, making the gameplay rich and a strong player should most of the time beat an average player, or a bad player. In FIFA, this goes to the bin. The dumber you are, the more likely you are to win games and have the game help you at that. Of course, there is a threshold, and people who triumph in worldwide competitions most likely understood the broken mechanic of the game, and use it to their advantage, but this only proves my point which is that the game is not fun, and those players don't play it for fun anymore. There is input lag, again, from time to time, on certain plays, which you can do without any issues in other circumstances, but all of a sudden your player takes an extra touch, or slows down his movement, without being tired. Even so, other tired players (often AI players) find a second wind out of nowhere despite their stamina meter clearly showing they're tired. I used to think scripting was a myth in FIFA, because the game was much more balanced, and fun to play. This hasn't been the case for years now. I believe most people would forgive EA even with their marketing campaign, promoting features that already existed in old games of the franchise, before disappearing and being used as newly introduced content to make sure people tune in. That gameplay is unbalanced, biased, chaotic, random, sometimes hand in hand with luck. What is worse, is that it has spread in the mind of the dumbest, sweatiest players that you only complain because you're not good at the game. I can hold my hands up high and say without a shadow of shame that I'm not good at this game anymore, because this game ****. But I don't know if what worries me more is the fact no competitor is offering anything decent to fight EA's monopoly, or the fact so many people seem to believe this is actually a good game.