Turbodowg

The Ascent is a true gem, a creative masterpiece compared to many of the bland AAA games released over the past year. All the more impressive considering it was worked on by a small team of 11 people. The game is visually stunning, blending bright neon against a dark, industrial cyber-scape. There is so much detail to the world which makes exploring it a joy. It feels like you are in the world of Blade runner, mixed with Starwars and Cyberpunk 2077. The visuals are complimented by a haunting synth-wave soundtrack that pumps up during the battle sequences. Some of the tracks are so good, like the Dream World nightclub track, I have downloaded them to listen to away from the game. The combat is exciting due to a large arsenal of weapons to choose from. Add an enhanced cyberdeck into the mix with cool augmentations and tactical weapons and you have diverse ways to cause carnage. Leveling your character skills will make you a stronger more efficient killer, so it’s worth exploring to find upgrade material and rare items. Characters appearances are customisable so you can create the perfect cyberpunk to traverse the dystopian future. There are tons of missions to complete throughout your playthrough providing hours of gaming. You’ll meet loads of interesting NPCs (human an alien) as you progress. Side quests can offer some great rewards and have some fun questlines so they’re well worth doing. You can play online or couch co-op. I played a large part of the game with my daughter at home. The couch co-op worked perfectly and provided a really fun experience. There are some downsides to the game. The mini map needs improving. It’s frustrating having to pause the game and scroll across to the map. You’ll end up doing this often to find chests. A quick map button would make life a lot easier. There is a bit of back tracking, but once you have unlocked the taxi service, it makes life a lot simpler. All in all I really enjoyed The Ascent. It could have ended up just another generic twin-stick-shooter, but the addition of RPG elements coupled with the beautiful visuals and imaginative setting has really made the game stand out. Free on XBOX Game Pass it’s well worth checking out.

*Reviewed on Series X. No review page available yet. I love a good multiplayer FPS. I usually have a main MP on the side which I play regularly either alone or with mates in-between questing in RPGS or other single player genres. But, sadly over the past year, there has not been many great frag fests to sink my teeth into. Battlefield 5 is stale and Call of Duty Cold War is a broken mess. The free to play market is dominated/saturated by Battle Royale’s. Warzone is plagued with cheaters; Apex is old news and Fortnite… Well I’m 40 years old so, Fortnite is not really my thing. Friday nights playing online with the boys got more infrequent as we got tired of dying to cheaters in Warzone. I stopped playing Cold War because I was fed up with the high ping lobbies, aim resist and lag. Multiplayer was fading out of my gaming life until, SPLITGATE came along. I had seen a few YouTubers playing SPLITGATE, they all seemed to have good things to say about it. I decided, since it is free-to-play, I would give it a try. I was very pleasantly surprised by how good the game is on SERIES X. It runs buttery smooth on very stable servers. There’s a big player-base on XBOX, even bigger with the cross-play feature. Games are very quick to find, and due to no annoying skill based match making, games are found based on ping. Ping is king! Instantly there is a massive difference in quality compared to Cold War, which is shocking, considering Cold War is a full priced game. I have to play Cold War in 120fps just to make it feel mildly smooth online. I’m running SPLITGATE at 60FPS and it feels like it has a much higher framerate than Cold War at 120fps. The controls are responsive, movement is fluid and there is no lag. Finally I can play a game that rewards skill, no more shoot-first-die-first. Hit detection is spot on, and the game is well balanced. SPLITGATE is a classic multiplayer FPS. It is basically Halo, everything from the weapons to the blue vs red team is “inspired” by Halo. But SPLITGATE is not a cheap rip off, it has a key selling point that makes it different to Halo. The use of Portals. SPLITGATE merges the fun classic action of Halo with the strategic use of Portals taken from the game PORTAL. It works well and adds an extra layer of skill. You can, of course, play without using your Portal. But, if you want to become a good player, you will need to start learning how to effectively use Portals early on. The graphics (while not the best you will ever see) suit the game well. They are bright, bold, and colourful. Enemies are easy to spot, and if you do come across a camper, the well designed mini map will soon help you to hunt them down. The majority of maps are well designed, some are slightly messy but there’s no terrible maps. SPLITGATE is a free game, so obviously there are microtransactions however, there are no pay to win mechanics. Hopefully it will stay this way. If it does then I’ll be happy to keep playing and supporting the game. If you are looking to break away from the more mainstream multiplayers and want something a little different, or want to satisfy your thirst for Halo until Infinite comes out, then SPLITGATE may just be the game for you.

What Remains of Edith Finch is a precious little gem ****. It was free on PS Plus a few months ago; I’d added it to the library and ignored it. I knew nothing about the game and passed it by thinking it was just another dull walking simulator. How wrong I was! I was going through a bit **** drought one Sunday. Flicking through the PS Plus library I stumbled across Edith Finch and decided I’d give it a quick look. Within 10 minutes of loading the game I was absolutely hooked, drawn in by the fantastic, surreal visuals and intrigued by the fascinating narrative. Edith Finch starts like any other walking/exploration game. You walk through a forest area; admire the plants and trees, the lighting and water effects; it’s all very nice, but familiar. Then suddenly as the protagonist begins to narrate her journey, bright text appears on the screen like a book coming to life. Things are getting interesting. Next I walk through a clearing in the forest to be greeted by the Finch house. A strange, dreamlike structure that defies the laws of physics (and building regulations) yet feels believable. On first glance it appears to be a normal large house, but something is off, unnatural. I scan my eyes across the structure and notice rooms eerily stacked upon each other forming turret like structures high above the main house. What are they? What’s inside them? My imagination is running wild, barely ten minutes into the game. I get comfortable on the couch, I want to see more. I walk towards the house and notice a giant metal snake resting in a pond. On closer inspection it appears to be a slide. It looks like an abandoned theme park attraction. But why is it here? Edith uncannily answers my thoughts, declaring her Grandmother told her that the snake killed her Grandfather. I eventually get inside the house by squeezing through a dog door. The house feels uncomfortable, it clearly holds secrets. Many of the doors are sealed and the rooms beyond can only initially be viewed by looking through a spy hole. Further exploration leads to discovering secret tunnels and hatches that take me into each room within the house. Once inside I search each authentic room that belonged to a family member who passed away. Eventually I get to discover how they died. And this is where things get really interesting, because you play the character up to the point of their death. These sequences are often surreal. They do not show the actual event but bring to life the over exaggerated story behind their death. I don’t want to give anything away but these sequences are some of the most impactful, artistic, moving and beautiful sequences I’ve ever seen in a game. And this is where I will stop. I went in with no knowledge of the game, and I feel this is the best way to play Edith Finch. Discover it on your own. The game is beautifully crafted with a narrative you will not forget. This is one of those games you will talk about when discussing the greatest games ever made. An absolutely phenomenal game that must be played.

I bought Ni No Kuni 2 Revenant Kingdom shortly after release. I played if for a few hours and gave up. My problem and mistake was comparing it to the phenomenal Ni No Kuni Wrath of the White Witch. In comparison it is hard to live up to the first game, the original is the better game, but Revenant Kingdom is not a bad game, in fact it’s a very sold JRPG. So before I praise the great stuff in this game, I’ll get the comparison out the way first. Ni No Kuni WotWW had a much better story and characters. It’s hard not to miss Mr Drippy while playing RK, the game feels like it’s lost some of the magic that made the original so great. The original story was much more intriguing and kept me wanting to play to discover more. It was also complemented by the beautiful Studio Ghibli anime cut scenes. The animation style is what really set the game apart from other JRPGs at the time and made it a truly spectacular game. It’s a shame they are missing from RK. Combat was better in the original game, mixing classic turn based combat with a more modern action style of combat worked beautifully and added a deeper layer of tactics. The lack of Familiars has also really affected the game. With over 400 different creatures to collect and level up in the first game it feels like a big part of the game is missing in RK, The above complaints were what made me completely dismiss the second game and leave it to go dusty until 2020. Around a month before writing, I decided to give RK a second chance. I went into playing it with an open mind, assuring myself I would not compare it to the original and I’m having a lot of fun. The story may not be as good, but it’s still interesting enough to keep you playing. The characters aren’t as good, but they grow on you. The combat isn’t as great but once you get into it, it’s surprisingly deep and varied. The tactic tweaker adds extra layers to the combat system making it much deeper than it first appears. The cutscenes are dull in comparison, and there’s way to much text, voice acting would have been preferred, but the animation does try to feel like studio Ghibli. The Familiars have been replaced with Higgledies. Which are admittedly cute, and can help in battle and are fun to collect. The world is well designed and the sound score is fantastic (mainly because it’s a rehash of the first games). The game has a fair bit of variety with the Kingdom management system, which is a welcome change and Skirmish battles which are large scale battles that take place in a isometric view and require a different form of tactics than the main combat system. There’s a lot to love when not compared to the original. Ni No Kuni 2 is a fun action RPG with hours of entertainment to offer, if you can forgive the changes and just give it a chance!

Apex Legends is a great game, when the servers are running smoothly it can be incredible fun. I’ve been playing Apex off and on since launch. Over the first few months of its life-cycle I put in a lot of time and played through season 1. For those few who don’t already know, Apex is a hero based Battle Royale made by the Titan fall creators ad set in the same universe. There’s a cool list of characters to play with, each with unique abilities that all help in different situations. There’s a reasonable level of skill to winning, and you must work as a team. As it is a Battle Royale there are RNG elements that can make winning and losing based on luck instead of skill, but that’s part of the fun. As I mentioned, Apex is the most fun playing in a full party of friends. Playing with random can be hit and miss, if you get a good team who are willing to work together you can get some good games and wins. If you’re matched with morons, who run off, get killed and repeatedly ping themselves, the game can be a nightmare. It’s odd that they never added a solo mode, which would have been great for those times you want to go at the game alone. I stopped playing after season 1 and have recently in 2020 got back into Apex. There have been some noticeable improvements, new heroes, a new map and map changes to the original map. There are new modes, timed modes, ranked mode and challenges. These updates have all improved the game and made it feel fresh. On the downside, the servers can be choppy at times, resulting in lag spikes, packet loss, poor hit detection and magic bullets. In a Battle Royale this is not acceptable. In a game where you have one life the servers really need to be better. Dieing because your bullets wont register or you receive all bullet data in one packet, resulting in almost instant death can be very very frustrating. This happens at random, you can have a week of great games and connection and then suddenly you’ll have a night of frustration when these issues very noticeably happen. The Apex store is weak. The items aren’t particularly interesting, they’re overpriced and there’s a very strange system in place using 3 types of currency. One of them is completely useless and can only be spent when a new hero is released, this is the currency you get the most of, so you end up with 1000’s of these credits with nothing to spend it on. Loot packs are rarely unlocked and usually contain junk, so there’s no desire to spend extra money on them. The season pass is okay, but there’s often nothing worth doing the tedious grind for. All in all though, Apex is a fun game, the core design is solid and when it works can be exceptional.

Titanfall 2 made the stupid mistake of launching right in between COD IW and BF1. It has been completely overlooked by many and may have done much better if they had waited until January for launch. I played the MP for a good few hours and felt it was bland, lifeless and dull. The maps were uninspired, the combat weak, the gameplay slow and the titans felt sluggish and useless. The game is littered with bots and it's a rarity you end up fighting other online players. The team should have stuck to modern warfare style games as they produced the best call of duty ever made; MW2. Its sad that this is a result of some great programmers. I cant see there been another titanfall after this game. So really theres no point buying into this franchise when there are two far better FPS games out currently. EDIT: In 2019 I re-purchased the game in a sale after playing the brilliant Apex Legends. I played through the single player campaign and put a good amount of time into the multiplayer (which as still very much alive). And I completely regret my original scoring of 3. The game is far better than I had made out. The campaign was excellent although a little short. The multiplayer was good fun and well balanced. I enjoyed the game and regret not playing it in its prime. So I've changed the score to a 8.

I’m reviewing Kingdom Hearts 3 as a relatively new comer to the series. I had played bits of Kingdom Hearts 1 on the PS2 but never owned it. I also played bits of one of the DS games but never completed it. I bought the remastered versions of Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2 on ps4 but again struggled to get through them as they didn’t age too well. So I don’t have an in depth knowledge of the series or the story. I bought Kingdom Hearts 3 in a sale to play with my youngest daughter (age 6) and we have both thoroughly enjoyed the game. Visually the game is beautiful, imaginative and looks as if you were really inside a Disney movie. The detail to each level shows Square Enix clearly has a passion for Disney. The wealth of characters and worlds really is amazing. The game takes you to visit characters from Toy Story, Frozen, Tangled, Big hero 6, Pirates of The Caribbean and many more. Each world is crafted with love and has a real sense of magic. The voice acting and animation during the many cut-scenes is top notch. Each world has its own story that incorporates the characters that live there. Kingdom Hearts 3 is an action RPG, on the surface it looks like a game for kids (it can be on easy settings) but crank the level up and you get yourself a pretty hard-core action RPG. Combat is similar(ish)to Final Fantasy 15, in that all action is in real time. Battles are in real time so in-between bashing X to attack you will need to evade, cast spells, use items and change Key Blades (Your main weapon). Fight long enough and you get to use special attacks, each Key blade has different abilities which grow in power as you fight. The coolest features of battle are the special attacks and link summons. Special attacks create famous Disney World attractions that are used as weapons these include; The Pirate Ship, Big Magic Mountain and The Mad Tea Cups. They are amazing fun and brilliant to watch in action. The link characters allow you to summon strong allies to help you in battle. Each summon will unleash a powerful attack and an insane finisher; they are a graphical marvel to watch. My favourite is the first summon unlocked (Wonder Balloon) which is a cute looking chubby, bouncy creature that you jump around on until it explodes into hundreds of smaller creatures that fill the screen with colour. Level design is interesting and fun, I don’t particularly like that enemies tend to respawn over and over, but that’s a staple of JRPGs so to be expected. Traveling from world to world via Gummy Ship is always enjoyable; at this point the game becomes a space shooter. The game is packed with fun things to do, the many mini-games along your journey add variety, and you never feel bored. The sound score is big and conveys the sense of magic throughout the game. But there is one let down for a new comer; the main story line. This may not be an issue to long term fans but to me and my daughter it was very confusing and at times very long. The story goes back 2002 and has spanned over around 15 games (I think). So there’s a lot of characters and talk of things you have no idea about. Characters linger too long on dialogue that makes no sense to a new player and I found myself skipping the scenes that didn’t contain Disney movie characters. I liked Sora, the main character but a lot of the other characters I didn’t care for. But that criticism is entirely because I haven’t played the other games. Luckily within a Disney character’s world the cut scenes are fine, and easy to follow as they are almost separate mini stories. So overall I loved the game. My daughter also loved it, she found it easy enough to play (on easy settings and with my help) and we both enjoyed the story within Disney worlds. Graphically the game is stunning, the music sound and voice work are top quality, the gameplay is fun and the action and combat are brilliant. I’d highly recommend Kingdom Hearts 3.

As someone who grew up in the 80’s and 90’s I absolutely adored Undertale. Styled and influenced mainly by 1989’s JRPG Mother, Undertale takes you on a fun, funny, bizarre and at times challenging adventure through a monster filled underworld. Full of unique and interesting characters who are complimented by hilarious dialogue; the story draws you in, allowing you to move beyond the 16 bit style graphics and lose yourself in your imagination. The art style is basic but very deliberately basic as a love letter to the golden era of gaming and classic role playing games. The world is nostalgic and fun to explore. The combat system is unique and fun. You can either fight enemies or choose to spare them by engaging in witty dialog. When you are attacked you must control a heart (representing your soul) through a series of bullet hell, platforming, dodging senarios which get more and more insane as the game progresses. Boss fights stand out as the most interesting and challenging parts of the game. These include battling against Doggos, Giant spiders, skeletons, Ghosts, killer robots and heroic warriors. Boss fights are made even more awesome by the fantastic individual boss theme that plays during battle. The music is simply amazing in the game and will stay with you long after you’ve completed the game. The soundtrack adds to the depth of the game and conveys sadness, joy, fun and adventure, enhancing each scenario it is used for. The game is around 8 hours long which leaves you wanting more, this encourages further play-trough’s to get alternative endings. If you haven’t played Undertale yet, go play it! And see what you’re missing out on!

Death Stranding is a phenomenal game, a piece of art and a masterpiece. I urge you not to listen to the negative reviews written by the moronic, brain-dead hordes who buy AAA live service games and are fine with micro-transactions because they 'help ease the grind'. The people down voting and making unoriginal comments like 'Death Stranding is an Amazon simulator' are only regurgitation their equally moronic YouTube hero's opinion. They haven't played the game and find it difficult to process any type of game that strays from the norm. They are the type of 'gamer' who viciously defends rubbish like Modern Warfare and tell those who rightly dislike the game to 'lEaRn aNd aDaPt'. They buy Ubisoft games at launch. They purchase EA games at launch. They are the dumb uneducated masses tricked into thinking their pre-installed opinions make them intelligent. They simply do not understand Death Stranding and the confusion it causes them makes them react like dumb angry apes. The anger they feel leads to them writing poor reviews in an attempt to put others off, so they don't feel alone in their shame at not having the brain power to process a piece of art. Basically Death Stranding is an awesome game. It is stunningly beautiful exploring the varied landscapes which are complimented by a haunting soundtrack, a mind blowing storyline and excellent gameplay. This is a must buy for any real gamer.

The campaign was great but the multiplayer is the worst in cod history. They've cloned battlefield and created a frustrating mess. The maps are awful. There's no flow to them at all and they encourage everyone to camp. No one moves at all. Every game plays the same. Walk a few steps and get instantly killed from some bizzare angle. It's no fun at all. No one will want to grind which is why the likely removed the prestige system. They also removed red dots on the mini map which also encourages camping. Every decision they've made has made this a terrible multiplayer experience. This could have been brilliant if only they'd made it more like the amazing mw2 or mw3. I have no idea what they were thinking. The game will be dead in a month.

Darksouls remastered on PS4 is a phenomenal game. I have had the pleasure of playing it fresh for the first time as a latecomer to the series. I started with Bloodborne when it first released, then Played Dark Souls 3, Dark Souls 2 Scholar of the first sin, Demon Souls and lastly Darksouls Remastered. Darksouls RM took a bit of getting used to since there is no bonfire warping until much later in the game, at first I found it frustrating until it dawned on me that the entire game was intricately linked in possibly the best game design I’ve ever seen. The world of DS1 has always been fascinating, macabre yet beautiful and DS1 clearly set the series standards highly from the offset. DS1 more than ever invites the player to explore and develop an intimate relationship with the game world. As you can’t simply get past an area, save at the bonfire then warp straight back skipping the in-between, you find that familiarity leads to discovery and small details you may not have previously noticed become obvious. Graphically the game looks stunning in places (Anor Londo) and utterly terrible in others (Demon Ruins). Which is a shame because the two mentioned areas are worlds apart. Anor Londo looks neat and sharp with breath-taking vistas, giant gothic buildings and a sky straight out of a painting. The Demon Ruins however looks like a really bad ps2 game. Although this didn’t ruin the experience, it did at the time brake the emersion and I found my self hurrying through the ruins to get back to the better part of the game. Combat is as perfect as ever, the new 60 fps seemed to make combat flawless which is imperative during some of the more difficult boss fights. Although the combat is more slow and methodical than say Bloodborne or DS3 it still works nicely and I never felt I died because of anything other than my skill level. The sound contributes to the ambience of the game well. The game mainly uses sound effects over music when grinding through the levels but it adds to the sense of despair. This clever bit of design makes the player rely on their ears to help progress through the game. Hearing a guttural moan break through the silence in a dungeon gives a hint that something will be lurking ahead. But the game is far from quiet, it’s filled with sound effects that bring the world alive, the clashing of metal as you battle, the thuds of weapons smashing against shields, the sound of cracking bones as you walk on top of the dead in the catacombs keep the player fully immersed. When the sound of music finally breaks through, it is used to perfection. The calming tune played as you rest at a bonfire, the epic boss music signalling the game is really going to ramp up or the haunting symphony played when you meet the Sun Goddess after fighting the series most challenging bosses really creates the feeling of accomplishment as well as a small respite before jumping back into the madness. The remaster also comes with the DLC that is complete with 4 more bosses, a number of DLC weapons and spells and a PVP arena. The DLC is as well-crafted and adds more to the DS lore as well as providing some brilliant and unique locations. I thoroughly enjoyed DS remaster. It isn’t perfect but is still one of the best games of recent years and should be appreciated for what it achieved and along with Demon Souls shaped the Souls-like genre that has inspired many more similar games.

The War Machine is yet again another poor effort to inject life into a stale, unenspired and broken game. Cod ww2 has been plagaued with lag, inconsistant hit detection and hackers since day 1. They should really be trying to fix the broken servers and hit detection before making money off more weak dlc. Anyway thats unlikely considering we are now half way through the games lifescycle. They have patched the game again before the dlc in hopes of creating a better experience but its had the opposite effect. The classes have been changed up hindering the classes we had created and got used to. Theyve added unlimited sprint which only makes the already terrible spawns even more noticable. You often find your self shooting an enemy to be shot by two other players who werent in sight. Its laughable how poor the spawns are: something they should have fixed before making everyone able to run faster. Anyway the broken mechanics aside how is the dlc? Utterly average. Below are the maps in best order. Dunkirk Dunkirk is a well designed map, the layout reminds me of Bog from cod 4. Set against the beaches of Dunkirk, the map is vibrant, colourful and detailed. It has good lines of sight for long range players and enough cover, buildings and flank routes for rushers. It plays best on domination and hardpoint. V2 V2 ia another decent map (sadly spoilt by very poor spawns). The map has a main powerpoint in the middle with multiple tiers surounded by buildings and cover. Again its a detailed map with some good colour. It plays well on most game modes. If only tue game had the same coding as the great mw2 because it would be a great map if spawns and awful lag didnt make it more frustrating than fun. Egypt. Egypt is a terrible map. It has way to many dark camping spots and multiple ridiculous angles and routes to get shot from. Its a bizare mess with no logic and no flow. It could even be one of the worst maps in cod history. Its bright and detailed and looks nice but the flow is so off it is one I skip everytime it comes up in rotation. War map. The war map is like every other war map. The same old. Its fun once or twice but theres nothing to it other than camp or get killed by campers. Dull objectives and a dull mode. Zombies I dont play so have no idea if its good or not. So for 11.99 you get 2 good maps, and when i say good thats in terms of good ww2 maps compared even to the very worst mw2 map these are worse. You get one war map that feels the same as every other and a zombies map which youll only play if youre a zombies player. On top of that theyve made the class system worse and messed up the pace of the game by introducing unlimited sprint. So really it should have been a free dlc to apologise for releasing a broken mess **** and along with ghosts and aw one of the worst cods weve seen. Thankfully theyve kept shipment 24/7 so we at least have 1 good map in the game.

Grand Kingdom was a nice little surprise as a freebie for the month of Feb 2018 on PS+. I've put in around 12 hours so far and thoroughly enjoyed them. Even if I stopped playing at this point I feel I've got value out of the game (since it was free!) The graphics are nice, sharp and colorful. Character designs are interesting and pleasing. The combat works very well and gameplay is fun and exciting. The mechanics work well and the game is polished. I'm not keen on the war mode, at times there's a fair bit of unexplained info such as war stats popping up when you log in. I much prefer just playing the campaign. The campaign lacks a good structure and story but the gameplay has kept me playing. The sound and music are good and complement the game's style. It's easy to play but much deeper under the surface and there's a lot you can learn and do. All in all a solid fun JRPG and free on ps+!

The Resistance is a very weak DLC. It feels as if it should have been free considering the main game only comes with 8 Multi-player maps. The DLC comes with 2 new MP maps, 1 remaster from MW3 and 1 War map. The two new MP maps have now provided the game with the correct amount of maps WW2 should have had at launch, a very pricey addition to the COD franchise when you add it all up. The resistance also comes with a zombies map, which I don't play but I'm sure will please the many fans who play COD just for zombies. Out of the two new maps you get, one is okay the other absolutely terrible, meaning for 11.99 you get one map worth playing and a map from MW3 which was remastered last year in COD IW so hardly feels fresh and exciting. Occupation: Occupation is a remaster of the map Resistance from MW3. It was remastered again last year in COD IW with a few twists that made it work well with the exo abilities and movement, it worked very well and was a welcome return, so why did Sledgehammer remaster the map again? Bizarrely the IW remaster was only released in July 2017, less than 6 months ago. There's so many brilliant past maps to choose from to remaster such as Favela MW2, Scrapyard MW2 or Quarry MW2 it really does show a lack of creativity from Sledgehammer. Despite the odd choice to remaster Resistance again, it's the best map in the DLC. Which says a lot. It plays well on all modes and flows well. Lag does ruin many of the games but when you finally find a good lobby with limited lag it's a great map. Valkyrie: Valkyrie is the second best map. Set in and around a series of bunkers and surrounding woods the map is based on The Wolfs Lair which was **** Eastern-Front headquarters. The map plays well on most modes, has a good flow, and sticks to the classic 3 route structure. Graphically the map is good with some nice use of colour due to the surrounding greenery. Anthropoid: This is the worst map in the DLC and possibly now the worst map in the game. It's an illogical mess. There are way to many angles to get shot from. Most of the time you run round aimlessly without encountering anyone only to be shot be a camper in a building or sat in a corner. It plays badly on all modes and only really favors long range weapons. There's way to many flanking routes,head glitch spots and random corners and angles. The flow is completely off and most players just camp. War map - Operation Intercept: This is another poor map. It's lifeless and dull and has little character. It feels smaller than the other war maps and there's only one way to play it. Thinking is not encouraged as the map is just a series of three very tight choke points. You just need to charge and hope the enemy isn't a team of campers, otherwise you are not going to be having much fun. You'll likely play it only 3 or 4 times before never playing again. Little has been done to fix the lag issues and the DLC is no better. You never know when you will shoot first and die first and 90% of deaths are due to poor hit detection and lag. It's a very frustrating experience. There are no free weapons with the DLC or skins. This is it. 2 new maps, a remaster that's been done twice before and a dreadful, unoriginal War map. For 3.99 I'd feel this DLC was almost a fair price, but 11.99 is a rip off.

Assassin's Creed Origins is a fun game, not perfect but is well worth playing. Set in ancient Egypt (which provides an interesting and refreshing setting) the game is familiar to past games in the series but feels a lot more open and varied. The game now plays like an open world RPG. A basic RPG but not in a bad way, kind of like Horizon Zero Dawn in the sense it's very RPG light but has enough menus, skill trees, weapon's, items, quests, and upgrades to feel deeper than a basic action game. This is both a positive and a negative. The positive side to the upgraded style of game means there is plenty to do, see and explore. There are tons of side quests with a selection of varied mission styles and sub plots. Assassin's Creed had previously suffered from mission fatigue with the old follow this person quest, eavesdrop on this person quest, kill this person quest etc, Origin's however has a little more variation making quests much more interesting. Some quests have you rescuing a prisoner others stealing a horse drawn cart of food supplies, some ask you to track and solve murders and others retrieve a stolen item. Most end in killing a few soldiers and sneaking around patrolled areas, because movement is fluent and you can leap and climb and assassinate with ease they are usually good fun. You also have a pet bird that you can use to stake out locations, highlight enemies, loot and objectives and harass lone soldiers so you can sneak up and kill them. It's a good feature. Combat has changed slightly, battles are no more methodical and require a bit of intelligence. You can block and roll like in a Dark Souls game, use light and heavy attacks, unleash combos and fatalities. You can swap weapons during combat easily and have a good selection of weapons ranging from bows, heavy melee weapons, mid weight weapons like swords and light weapons such as duel daggers. Every weapon feels slightly different and can help in certain situations. However the one let down is that the lock on function is frustration and doesn't work well against multiple enemies. This can lead to erratic fights where you die as a result of the game mechanics and not skill. The story line is decent enough as are the sub plots. The main narrative is enough to keep you playing but lacks the detail and story telling that top RPGs like The Witcher 3 have. The map is large with lots of detail. The graphics are stunning and the scale of the world is at times breath taking. Sound is well done with some good unique composed pieces adding to the ambiance. Subtle sounds like a horn blowing when a Phylake is close by (an over powered hired assassin that will relentlessly hunt you) appears giving a real sense of dread. Swords clash and clang, winds blow, the sea crashes, horses hooves pound the ground, the game is full of vibrant sound effects that make everything feel alive and real. The great graphics, rich sounds, varied mission design, plot and action all make this a well made and solid Assassin's creed game and my favorite since Black Flag. It's a worthy purchase if you like the series and is easy enough for new players to get into. By no means one of the best RPGs made but a solid game well worth the price that will last many many hours.

Cod WW2 is IMO one of the worst in the entire series along side Ghosts and Blops 2 and 3. It is basically broken. I have no idea what they've done to the servers but for the past two weeks they no longer work. The lag is game breaking and completely destroys all the fun. It makes the game a frustrating mess. Nearly every game I play I see the enemy first, unload a full clip into them getting 10 hit markers while they kill with one bullet. Even playing with steady aim and firing from the hip doesn't work, as soon as you see an enemy -as you are pulling the trigger- you are dead. On the rare occasion you will beast but sadly knowing it's because everyone else is lagging. Sometimes it hilarious; like when I came up behind a camper facing the opposite direction, unleashed a series of bullets into his head only for him to suddenly teleport around and quick scope me. Sometimes you could cry - like the round I played and went 0.20 because not a single bullet from any weapon would register. I switched back to IW and there I was, top of every game pulling high scores and low deaths. No other game I own lags like COD WW2. Battlefield runs perfect, Overwatch runs perfect, COD IW runs perfect, COD 4 remaster runs perfect yet WW2 is like playing on a 46k modem. The social hub is still a ghost town which they haven't bothered to fix, but made sure they added COD Points to buy loot crates! Maps are a mess, badly designed and boring. There's next to no content. The war maps are actually pretty fun and for some bizarre reason don't lag anywhere near as much as the standard maps, but there's only 3 of them! With the season pass you get a remastered map from COD2 which is insulting considering they didn't give enough maps with the main game, no doubt it was removed simply to entice people to buy the season pass. Basically it doesn't work, we should all be refunded for paying for a product that is basically in alpha stage still. Worst Cod in the history of cod. Avoid at all costs. .................................................... Update 06.01.18 Two months after launch I have deleted COD WW2. The servers are completely broken to a point where it is now impossible to play. Lag com, poor hit detection, teleportation and spawns are destroying any fun that could have been had. Every game is a constant frustration and doing well is not based on skill but if you have lag comp for or against you. It's beyond frustrating to shoot first, get 12 hit markers and die to see in your kill cam you haven't even fired a bullet. This is officially the worst COD in the entire history of COD. It's a cheap rushed bare bones mess.

A pitiful little indie game. So boring that within 5 minutes I had uninstalled and forgotten about it. The game is so forgettable that I had to search the back catalog of free ps+ games just to remember the name to write this review. Avoid at all costs if you have any self respect and enjoy actual video games.

As I gamer in their 30's I was absolutely thrilled at receiving Kung Fu Panda for free in December 2017! I mean who doesn't want a cheap movie tie in from a film from 2008? As you can imagine I installed this straight away and have been playing it since. Thank you so much Sony! You've made my Christmas extra special this year! (Hint for American readers: Sarcasm)

The first Battlefront was an insult to gaming. I'm still waiting for EA to apologise to the customers who bought it on day 1 to receive just 5 maps, then they had the audacity to charge for the rest of the game through a season pass. If EA had had the decency to give away the season pass as an apology then they may have saved a few customers who would be willing to purchase Battlefront 2. Thankfully because of their poor business practice I wasn't foolish enough to fall for the nostalgic advertising that **** me in the first time and instead suffered the slight misfortune of playing Battlefront 2 at a friends, thankfully saving me from spending money on it. Battlefront 2 is an even bigger let down than the 1st game and has in no way improved. The game looks pretty but it's a free to play model disguised as a AAA title. To make matters worse EA exposed them selves as the selfish frauds they are when making an insulting post claiming pay to win transaction were in the game but they made the epic hero's so hard to get to give players a sense of achievement when they finally unlocked them. It's been worked out it would take around 6000 hours to unlock all the content behind paywalls by playing the game. Battlefront is the epitome of everything wrong with modern gaming. They have slyly appealed a game to Starwars fans with the full intention of ripping them off. Shame on you EA.

The Observer is one of those neat little hidden gems you find. I'd heard nothing about it, I accidentally stumbled on it in the PSN Halloween sale. Within minutes I was drawn into the interesting dystopian sci-fi world that resembled Bladerunner mixed with George Orwell's 1984. The world has a rich detail complemented by lighting and a foreboding synth sound score. The protagonist is voiced well by Rutger Hauer who plays the aging cop like a film noir character. Game-play consists of searching for clues, questioning NPCs, exploration and a bit of stealth. The story moves the game-play along and keeps you wanting to know more. The protagonist is an observer, someone who can hack into peoples minds to find out what they have witnessed, when inside their minds game-play because very trippy and a little disturbing. The observer is one of those games that sticks with you and gets you thinking. It's a good and solid story driven game and I hope the studio behind it keeps on producing unique games like this. It's not perfect and there are some frame-rate drops and at times the mind sequences can leave you a little puzzled and go on a little too long. But I'd definitely recommend this game to horror and sci fi fans.

As a Souls/BB veteran who has beat every FromSoftware game since Demon Souls I was very surprised by NIoh. I had put the game off for a while as the trailer and demo footage IMO didn't do it any justice. They showed off the most bland parts of the game unfortunately and I believed this to be a cheap souls rip off like Lords Of The Fallen. But it is far from it. Nioh has taken the souls concept and built on it in a way that makes it fresh, interesting, engaging and challenging for jaded souls fans. The game is very challenging and this makes for a very fun experience. I had gotten used to the souls games, the combat, the leveling, the weapons and items. Nioh however presents everything in a new way meaning you have no idea what anything is or does which adds to the engagement. I had no idea you could gain back KI (stamina) during battle by pressing R1 while the gauge flashes until it happened by accident and I noticed. , I didn't know you could use items to replenish magic used to unleash a guardian spirit attack until I stumbled across it while trying to figure out what items would help in a boss fight. I worked out that you can chain combos with different stances and that different stances work well with different enemies. There is so much to discover and learn making Nioh an exciting new experience that makes you think and use your intelligence to win battles. Nioh has a deep system that is refreshing and exciting, it has solid graphics and sound and good level design. Nioh is not a perfect game though and after putting in many hours it is not as good as the Souls games. There are some unfair spikes and some of the bosses can be very unfair (including a very challenging boss on just the second level). I don't like the summoning system, you use an item to summon help (ochoko cup) which can be a real pain when they run out and you're stuck in the bowels of a dungeon running low on items. You also lose all progress in the dungeon if you return back to the level select screen. The level select screen feels out of place when in Souls games the world was one giant map that linked together. My other issue with summoning a player is that I summoned on one level where I thought I was on a boss. I couldn't be bothered to spend the next hour fighting it so I summoned only to find out it wasn't the level boss and there was an entire dungeon afterwards meaning I ran behind a high level summon who destroyed everything in his path and lead me to the boss who he defeated withing 5 mins. This completely ruined the level for me. I preferred the souls system where you summon before a boss for help with the boss only. And my final complaint is that I don't like the protagonist. It feels strange that he has an Irish accent and looks like Geralt from the Witcher (which is truly bizarre). The voice acting works so much better in Japanese (which is a language I love hearing anyway). For me personally I thought the protagonist should have been Japanese, I know the story fits around a foreigner traveling to the far East, but it just didn't quite work for me. When you do meet the characters who speak Japanese it feels much more authentic. But these issues are far from game breaking and exist because I'm comparing Nioh to one of my favorite game franchises. However I still feel Nioh is a fantastic game and I hope we see more games in the series. There are a range of interesting enemies (all requiring knowledge of their movement, attacks, strengths and weaknesses) and some brilliantly designed bosses that can really break you until you figure them out! Nioh has re-vitalised the rogue like genre and is a welcome addition. If you can get into it and learn the complex system it will be one of those games you talk about for years when discussing great games.

Destiny 2 or Destiny 1.5 the very expensive DLC is everything that is wrong with the gaming industry. Destiny 2 is aimed at a dumbed down audience whose girlfriends tag them in Destiny promo vids, so they can show the world how amazing they are for buying their BF's the latest pile of garbage for mainstream casuals. The type of gamer who buys this trash are the same ones who buy two games a year Fifa and Destiny and repeat the cycle each year the new shiny version comes out. I feel sorry for Destiny players because the rest of the gaming scene sees them as non gamers (the equivalent to mobile gamers) but they somehow think they are the real deal. Now you may wonder why I'm so annoyed at these sheeple who buy the latest pop songs because everyone else does, watch the latest Hollywood blockbuster because the TV add told them to and play mass produced corporate titles like Destiny 2? Well I'm annoyed because while the sheep are wasting cash on shaders, DLC to find out how the game ends and paying micro transactions for virtual boots in a generic wave shooter fighting hordes of identikit Halo enemies, the rest of the gaming industry follows suit. So it becomes the norm to release half completed DLC's as if they are a full game for full price. We all suffer due to the actions of the easily fooled. And that is what Destiny 2 is doing, it is fooling people into spending a fortune on a very average FPS, they've even stripped it back meaning you're getting less than Destiny 1. Even the PVP is only 4 v 4, not that it's worth playing as no skill is required (which is why it appeals to casuals). To win in multiplayer you just need to type in your credit card number, buy some loot, win a legendary weapon, equip the weapon and one hit kill your opponent. You might as well let a bot play Destiny for you for a monthly fee. The graphics have had a slight lick of paint but it still lacks any fine detail and looks the same as Halo or any other generic space shooter that came before it. Nothing has changed since the first game, same classes, same enemies, same character models, animations, weapons etc etc. In fact it's not even a DLC, it's more like a re-master. No doubt the unimaginative among us, the ones who believe fake news and like and share couple prank videos online will buy into this disgrace **** and play it all year spending hundreds on micro transactions and badly made DLC. And then after a year of wasting your hard earned cash and many many hours repeating the same thing over and over on the same few maps over and over just so you have a golden set of armour, a gun with a skull on it and a silly hat on your character. Look deep into your soul and ask 'was it worth it?'. If the answer is yes: then ignorance truly is bliss.

Sadly after the fantastic 3rd DLC that took the game back to the classics like MW2 with three route medium sized maps, Retribution has gone and blown it. Clearly inspired by the worst COD of all time: Ghosts, the maps are all massive confusing messes. There is no logic, multiple silly angles to get shot from and vast dead open spaces. It's a campers paradise. Gameplay is slow, poor spawns mean you get many frustrating deaths and the maps tend to favor long range weapons, so forget about using the super fun 1887's. Altitude looks pretty set on a floating island resort, but it is a horribly slow map with way to many long lines of site and places to hide. It only works well on Domination and even then it turns into a long range camp fest. It's a frustrating map that doesn't flow right. Heartland is a remake from the god awful Ghosts. Yes its as bad as it was back then. Carnage again looks nice, set at a race track in the woods (which I originally thought was a music festival) but suffers from vast useless empty spaces and multiple camper spots. Depot 22 feels like it was made in an IW map creator mode by a kid. It recycles from the weaker IW maps like Crusher. Its another large slow map with nothing exciting to shout about. Like I said, its a real shame since the last map pack encouraged all out melee brawls where any play-style suited the maps. This one however favors long range weapons only. Obviously some idiot dev loves Ghosts and got their wish to create maps in the same style. Unfortunately we all suffer. So unless you bought the sesson pass, dont bother wasting cash on the forth and final map pack. You'll be very disappointed unless you were one of the few who foolishly enjoyed Ghosts.

Pokemon Shuffle had the potential to be a fantastic game. On first playing I really really enjoyed it. After a few hours I was addicted. The premise is simple yet genius. Compete in head to head battles with Pokemon using a (candy crush) style mix and match game. Level up and collect and catch Pokemon. Sounds fun? It's fun until you slowly realise that an intrusive pay to win system hinders progress at Level 90. An impossible level unless you spend money on Jewels (ranging from 6 for 4.99 to 105 at a laughable 64.99). And that's where the fun ends. There is literally no way to win jewels, you have to pay for them. You can earn coins to buy extra moves and delay enemy special attacks but it takes forever to earn enough. There is no way to get past this level without hardcore grinding or spending real world money. So the quick bursts of fun stop and you will likely give up at this point. I very nearly gave up because **** is designed that the only way you can beat a puzzle is to buy moves and specials then there is no game, there is no skill, your interaction doesn't matter. There may as well be a bot that plays it for you while debiting cash from your account. It's a shame because I would have paid a tenner for a full unlock of this game, I refuse to buy Jewels that run out. And I have no idea who would spend 64.99 on a mobile app. I paid less on the Witcher 3 and all DLC (one of the best RPGs ever made). Edit. So after days and days and days of grinding I finally got past level 90 (using extra moves I had grinded coins for). Now that my main party of Pokemon are high level the last 20 levels or so I have breezed through, so you can play without spending cash. So I'm back enjoying the game again with the knowledge that when a tough Pokemon appears I can grind to beat it. Still not perfect and the heart system is annoying (losing hearts even when you win and only getting 5 every 90 mins) but it's addictive, and a great puzzler, such a shame the micro transactions slow it down.

Horizon. is a fantastic game. It combines brilliant story telling with beautiful graphics, heart stopping action and a good sound-score. Combat works very well and the machine designs are interesting and unique. The main protagonist Aloy has a solid backstory that powers her narrative. She is a great example of how to do a female protagonist right. She is believable as a strong warrior because we witness what she has gone through to become a strong hero. There are no skimpy outfits and big boobs in this game, Aloy is to be taken seriously. although she still has personality, weaknesses and a sense of humor. She often has to use intelligence to fight the many robotic beasts that hunt in the wild. The map is large with many unique areas to explore. The rpg elements may seem a little light for hardcore rpg veterans but they suit the games style. There are no complex skill trees, the skill system is simple and easy. Items, weapons and armor can be buffed but again it's all very accessible to gamer's unfamiliar with rpgs. The weapons used all fit within the lore of the universe and feel authentic. There's not many downsides I've experienced. Frame rates seem to hold nicely with little in the way of drops. Quests seem varied at this point (20 hrs in). The only downside to me is that the constant gathering can be a bit of a pain, as it distracts from looking at the scenery. The HUD at first was way to cluttered until I discovered the dynamic HUD which is much better. And the night, day, rain cycle appears to be quite fast. But small gripes that in no way spoil a brilliant game. I'm looking forward to completing the game and unraveling some of the interesting mysteries.

BattleJack is a great little mobile game with a cool premise. An RPG mixed with the card game BlackJack. You battle through dungeons with a team of heroes. During battle you play BlackJack. The hand you get determines the power of your attack and your defense. Getting 21 gives you a large multiplier allowing a stronger attack. Like an RPG you will use potions and buffs, collect chests and level up characters. It really is addictive. What surprised me is how liberal Nexon M Inc are with the freebees, unlike most free play games they actually give you a decent chance to play without paying hard cash. There's log in bonuses, daily free chests (that contain in game currency - Gems -, hero cards and potions), free heroes cards, key challenges and much more. So with a bit of skill and patience you can play for hours. The micro-transactions for once don't ruin the game. The price of Gems is laughable though the premium pack at 93.99 was hilarious. You could buy 2 of the latest ps4 AAA games for that price! But the silly pricing aside which again doesn't ruin the game, I really enjoy BattleJack and will continue to play until I'm either bored or the game requires real word cash to progress. I do wish there was just a full version for a tenner, it would make a really great little game and would be much better without the micro transactions.

Uncharted is a well designed, slick, beautiful looking game but the experience doesn't last long and once it's over it's forgettable. I loved the first two uncharted games. The reason I bought a ps3 early on was just to play the first uncharted game. At the time it was ground breaking. It had a fantastic engaging story, great characters, brilliant set pieces and exciting gameplay. Uncharted 4 has lost a bit of the magic that made it such a big game on last gen. It feels and plays like a last gen title. The story while decent doesn't have the thrill of the earlier games. Some of the sections feel tired and the smoke and mirrors that fooled us in the earlier games are now see through. For example when a building is crumbling and explosions are going off around you you know you can just push forward and press x to jump out of the way of any danger. At times I could predict that when I leaped to a platform it would break leaving drake hanging on for dear life, this caused a heart attack in the first game but now is utterly predictable. The QTE slows the game down and often gets in the way of any fluidity. The QTE in the boss battle just wasn't fun at all. Combat works well and I actually wanted more in the game as it felt you never really got into a good fight. The game wasn't challenging and some times I felt myself pushing on just to beat it and not out of fun. This could all be down to fatigue, the same thing happend with GOD of War. These are great last Gen games but don't fit with the modern consoles. PS4 needs a fresh IP for ps4. But the game was a nice little farewell to uncharted (although they removed the mystical elements that became a part of the series, even hinting at 'Ghost pirates' that we never got to see). So I'm glad this is the last Uncharted (it took way too long to end! I think there was three endings, like Lord of the rings! The Last Of Us is the game that Naughty Dog rightly are focusing on next and after the brilliant first game I think it's the right direction for them to move in. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed most of the game but because it's such a short game compared to the real greats of this gen Bloodborne, Dark Souls 3 and Witcher 3, it seems a lot to pay full price for 12 hours gameplay. Multiplayer is terrible and always has been in the series and is just tacked on to please casual gamers who want a bit of online fun. But Uncharted 4 truly is a AAA. It does look amazing and there was only one or two bugs I experienced playing. Controls work perfectly, combat is perfect and the music score is brilliant. It's the equivalent of a Summer Blockbuster big, good looking action but not much else. The story (although just a modern Goonies!) works well and left me satisfied. A lot of work clearly went into this game, and it really does look amazing! Vehicle sections are cool, climbing in the later levels is awesome in fact the last part of the game is phenomenal apart from the boss battle. So it is far from perfect, but still a solid game. The weakest in the series next to UC3 (UC1 and 2 are still the best by far) but still high enough quality to have at least one fun play-through. Buy it, but trade it two days later!

At first I didn't like Absolution. It takes a while to get used to especially when playing maps like Ember (a remake of Resistance from MW3). Often I hate the remake maps at first because I'm stuck in my ways of how I used to play them, and when that doesn't work and you end up getting killed by boost jumping soldiers in places they original couldn't get to, it can lead to turning the game off and declaring it broken! But change your style, adapt and soon you are having fun again and now resistance remake has fast become one of my favorite maps again. It is the most fun when everyone seeks out the middle building (that is now a torture chamber instead of an apartment) and a full on chaotic melee ensues! Now that I've put a fair few hours into the map pack I'd go so far as saying it's the best map pack so far in IW. Bermuda Bermuda is an excellent map, it feels similar to Evac is Blops 3. It has a great flow using the old school 3 lane style that Cod fans have grown to love. It's bright with lots of color set in a beach setting with crashed spaceships. It plays well on all game types and is perfect for close quarters battles but there are some good lines of sight for snipers and campers. Permafrost Again this map has an old school vibe and would fit in with the earlier golden days of MW2. The map is a square route around a large mid section set in a frozen town. The roads have been destroyed leaving sneaky underground shortcuts into the buildings where you'll often find campers keeping warm. It plays well on all game types in particular domination. The map is bright and detailed. It has some great choke points and flanking routes creating some intense battles. Fore At first I didn't like Fore because it's a large and complex map, but once I learnt the routes and hiding spaces to look for scrubs, I started to really enjoy it. The map is a crazy golf course with different zones like a theme park. You'll fight among medieval castles, fire breathing dragons, Aztec structures, haunted forests, giant Ice creams and dinosaur bones. It really is insane the amount of cool locations they crammed into the map, and it works well. It reminds me of messed up version of Favela from MW2 (the layout of the map feels quite similar). Most game types work well but domination seems to be the best by far due to the size of the map. Resistance As I said before, I dint like this map at first but I really enjoy it now. It is nearly a perfect remake, they forgot to put the sneaky sniper hole in the middle building (you had to stand on a table and could look through a missing brick to shoot campers to the left of C flag). It flows well, works well with all classes and game types. It is a darker map than the original but still feels the same. One of the better remakes in IW along with Terminal. Zombies I can't comment on because I can't stand to play it longer than 10 mins, I really don't like wave **** it looks nice and has a cool setting (1950's monster movies). All in all a very solid map pack that brings a few more hours fun to a game I had pretty much given up on. I just wish they would get rid of the p2p hosting that can really frustrate by causing unnecessary lag and the old emptying a full clip only to be insta killed by a guy who had his back to you! So far the best of the map packs. Update on 07.08.17 I've been playing these maps non stop since launch and can say with absolute positivity they are not only the best DLC maps but the best in the game. This DLC has outdone its self. If they stick to making more classic 3 route maps for future cods I think they'll gain the love back for the franchise. I've not had this much fun since MW2.

If you are a fan of Horror and Sci-Fi games; SOMA is a must play. I bought the game in a sale around a year ago and payed little attention to it. I finally got round to playing and was totally drawn in by the unbelievably mind blowing story-line, beautiful but terrifying environments, fantastic voice acting and sound score and (at times) slick game design. SOMA is a game that you will need to keep playing right to the end, it will keep you up at night due to the just-one-more-hour factor. The narrative is so intriguing and well written that the mystery of why you are under the ocean exploring the dark tunnels of abandoned research facilities keeps you fully engaged until the mind blowing climax. SOMA has one of the best narratives I have seen in any video game, it really is. I don't want to explain why because you need to experience it without any spoilers. The graphics are fantastic. The world that has been created deep beneath the ocean is magnificent. At times its a place of wonder and other it's one of your worst nightmares. Everything is detailed from the lush underwater environments complete with rusty abandoned underwater buildings to the dark other worldly landscapes at the bottom of a truly terrifying abyss. The interiors to the many research facilities are reminiscent of Ridley Scott's Alien. Everything seems lived in, worn and real. The many computer terminals have a retro vibe and the rooms and corridors give a claustrophobic feeling that adds to the dread. The use of lighting works wonderfully adding to the already creepy environments. The sound-score and effects also help with the ambiance. The creaking of metal adds suspense making you always aware there are thousands of gallons of water above you. Sound is always around you, bleeps, creaks, groans and moans keep you on edge even when safe. The game-play mechanics work well. Controls make sense and interacting with the environment is simple. Puzzles are entertaining and always have a reasonable and logical conclusion. You don'[t have any weapons so when you encounter any of the monsters or killer robots you have to use stealth and intelligence to outwit them, when that fails you may often find your self running in a blind panic. The moments when you are been stalked by a beast in the dark -under the ocean in claustrophobic environments - really do make the heart race. I literally screamed on a few occasions causing my wife to shout 'what the hell are you doing in there!' SOMA seriously delivers on the scares. There are not many negatives, there's the odd drop in frame rate but that's rare and doesn't greatly affect game-play. It also would have been nice to get gold and platinum trophies for going through such a heart pounding hell! So I highly recommend SOMA. It all adds up to create an unforgettable game and by far the best horror game I've played this Gen of consoles.

Nier: Automata is one of my favorite games of this year. I had no expectations for the game and would have ignored it if I hadn't read reviews on this site. So I decided to give it a go. Within an hour I was hooked. After my current play time of 45 hours I'm still hooked! Nier: Automata is an action role playing game with a lot of focus on combat. It at first appears to be a straight forward action rpg but dig deeper and you find it is an absolutely genius game packed with quests, deep story lines, beautiful graphics complemented by an unforgettable soundtrack, a unique and insanely varied combat system, multiple endings, secrets and many items and weapons. Nier is a game you must play through more than once or you will miss out greatly. The first play through is like the tutorial to the the world, combat and characters, the second is the main game. I realised after first completion I'd barely scratched the surface. My play time was 15 hrs at the end of my first play through, I've since added an extra 30 hours (at time of writing and have still not finished the second playthrough.) There is so much more than simply completing the main story. The characters you play with have varied combat styles making each playthrough different. They also have different story sequences. 2B the female android used two weapons along with her pod (a machine used as a long range weapon). When using her the game works like a part shooter part brawler. 9S has the ability to hack machines, hacking takes the form of a top down bullet hell shooter. During battle you can instantaneously jump into hacking a machine and within a second be back to hand to hand combat, it works flawlessly. I've enjoyed everything about this game. The dungeons are unique, once you enter the game changes from the 1st person perspective to top down to side scroller which adds an interesting variety that shakes up gameplay. Boss battles are fun and varied with memorable boss characters. The soundtrack is absolutely beautiful, so good that you will want to buy it separately. It's such a unique soundtrack and unlike anything I've heard in a game before. Anyway, I've praised the game enough. So here are a few small issues I have with it. The first is so small and pedantic you may not even notice but it did irritate me. The o button is used to open chests and pick up items. The o button is also used to interact with your AI partner. The amount of times I'd pressed o and started a conversation instead of opening a chest was bloody annoying! The other issue is that on second playthrough I couldn't chose to equip items onto 2B which would have been a cool feature. And the biggie; frame-rate can drop badly. It is by no means gamebreaking but can pull you out of the action. These are insignificant compared to the overwhelming list of positives. So I believe it deserves a 10/10 score. It isn't 100% perfect but it is a game so beautifully crafted and so fun to play it fully deserves top class recognition. Edit. I've no beat the entire game and must point out that there is a 3rd play through with an entirely new character A2, a new story-line that continues from where ending A&B finished and entirely new areas. There is so much content to this game. Even the ending (ending E) throws in a genius surprise. Absolutely epic game!

When I first played Journey on the PS3, I couldn't get into it. I didn't get the point. It felt slow and unnecessary. So I gave it a poor review and moved on. It was free on PS+ for the PS4 last year, so I downloaded it and kept it tucked away in the games library, until after completing Nier Automata and needed something to fill the gap between the next big game. So I started to play. Taking in the visuals, the sound, the atmosphere and suddenly it clicked. Journey is what it says on the box, a Journey. It's not about anything more than reaching your spiritual destination and taking in the wonders along the way. The game is a build up to a beautiful and mesmerising last act complemented by a haunting and moving soundtrack that (if invested in the game) can bring you to tears by the end. The sound track builds from calm flutes and woodwind instruments to a beautiful flowing and powerful crescendo using a wide variety of classic western and eastern instruments. The soundtrack as a standalone is worth purchasing. Journey really is a special experience. Journey is a piece of digital art, an experience. A small bit of escapism from reality. It is a relaxing experience, refreshing and thoughtful. Many modern games are all about stress: fast reactions, battles, violence and explosions. Journey is a rare break from the norm, a moment of relflection and peace. After playing I felt content, happy and warm. Along my Journey I met other players in the world I traveled with some for a while and simply sat down and reflected with others, one I communicated with through sounds, it was a very unique experience. The graphics are stunning at times, they are simple but the use of color and lighting add an artistic depth to the imagery that leaves a lasting impression. At one point the camera changes to a side angle while sliding down a sand dune into an ancient building, the sun is setting and the light shimmers off the ground making it look like water, if you took a screen shot and printed it, it would make a gorgeous framed picture. As a game, it's basic, there's no skill needed but that's not the point, it's more like an interactive piece of art, the trophies are annoying, It's unfair to throw in silly trophies like finding 10 creatures or a desert flower. It breaks the experience and I didn't want it to be broken for the sake a boring collection trophy. Journey needs to be judged different to the normal game type. That's why I can happily give the game a 9. Compared to masterpieces like The Witcher 3 or Dark Souls this may seem strange to rate a two hour game a 9, but in it's own category it achieves brilliance. Journey will be one of those games you will mention when discussion games as art and will stay with you as a a great gaming memory.

I downloaded Killing Floor 2 free from PSN. It was not a game I would have bought but was willing to give it a try for free. It wasn't a bad game and for fans of the genre I'm sure it's fairly decent but for me I don't enjoy wave shooters, I find them shallow. It's basically Zombies from Call of duty, which I have played once or twice and didn't enjoy it. I don't like a game that is repetitive with no goal apart from surviving wave after wave of identikit monsters. I cant be bothered playing longer to unlock more weapons and classes because I don't see a point in the game. Guns are overpriced and it takes hours before you can unlock more classes. The idea of spending time doing the same thing over and over is unappealing. There are so many better games to play currently so Killing Floor 2 is pointless.

I feel like I'm in the minority with my opinion on Persona 5. Most gamers appear to really love this game. I'm not someone who hated it, but as a new comer to the series did not understand the hype. At best I thought it was an average game with way too much unnecessary dialog and little freedom for the player. But I'll start with the good points. The graphics are unique and the game is full of style. This does wear off quickly though and it can get tiresome watching the same animation after every battle that lasts longer than the battle its self. But visually there's no denying that at times it looks fantastic. The animated cut-scenes look gorgeous and are very well produced. The soundtrack is great, although tracks are often repeated there are some very cool and interesting tracks that fit well with what is happening on screen. The combat system is very well done. It is simple and effective. Battles are exciting and interesting and the use of personas are a really cool feature. The negatives and the reasons why I stopped playing are as follows. Firstly it takes a long long time for the game to get going, around 10 hours to get through the training and character introductions and 20 hours before you have beat the first dungeon. It felt like a real slog to get through. The problem was that in that 20 hours very little happens in terms of story or character development. Characters seem to repeat or dwell on the same issues without moving forward, it can become a laborious task reading/listing to the masses of unnecessary dialog. Gameplay. As I said before, combat works well, but a lot of the time is spent outside the dungeons. These parts of the game have you attending school, doing leisure activities, planning a dungeon raid or progressing story. This sounds cool but it's all very linear, you are often forced to do things you don't want and if you do go exploring and decide to watch a movie or play baseball the day ends, you are forced to sleep, then go back to school, then another bit of story pops up, then you are forced to do something else and by the time you get back to exploring the town 5 hours of real time have passed. SP (magic) is limited in dungeons, so early on before you learn how to stockpile magic recovery items you run out quickly, when you leave the dungeon to purchase an item to restore SP you often end up again been forced into story and dialog that takes days wasting more hours of your time before you can get back to what you wanted to do originally. Now I'm aware that one of the game mechanics is time management, so I'm not going to score the game down for it because I'm sure many people enjoy this and it is part of the Persona series, but for me it just isn't fun. Dungeons are fun and well designed. They are relatively barren and lack fine detail but each one is different and reflects the character they are based on well. I don't like that you can't just grind a dungeon and that it takes hours upon hours of progressing and leaving and then waiting for days in game for the boss to reveal them-self. It all seems a bit slow. And that's probably my main issue. This game requires patience. It's not like other recent RPGs, it is clearly designed for fans and doesn't make concessions for gamers outside the series. And that's fine, the game is clearly selling well and loved by many, it's just not my thing. Persona 5 has clearly been created with love and care. It has high production values an offers 100's of hours gameplay if you can get into it. I appreciate it as a game, but I've given up on it for now. Maybe one day I'll realize its true brilliance but until then I'll keep it on the shelf.

I enjoyed the first Dishonored. At the time it was a great game, it had issues but they could be forgiven as it was the first game in the series. Dishonored 2 however can not be forgiven for not improving over the first game. It actually feels more like a long DLC rather than a new, fresh game. So here are the problems I have with Dishonored 2. The Heart. The heart is basically a navigation tool used to locate bone charms and runes. These are used for leveling your character. Because they are vital to creating a stronger and more versatile character you really need to find them. This is when the problems occur. You spend most of your time getting frustrated by following the heart only to find a dead end and no reasonable route to get to where the bone charm/rune is located. So you walk around, look for gaps or platforms or ladders or cellars or windows. This becomes a repetitive annoyance that breaks the immersion and simply irritates the player. I felt like most of my time i was looking at the rune/bone charm icons instead of enjoying the game. This was such a big deal that it completely ruins the game. The second issue I have is with enemy AI. It is ridiculously sensitive meaning that stealth seems impossible. Many times I was completely hidden only for enemies to know exactly where I was, alerting every other enemy in the area to all come to the same point. It was laughable at times. It meant I stopped bothering to try and sneak and scope the area out, I just ended up storming in and fighting. Story. The story just didn't appeal this time. It didn't seem worth investing time into and I didn't care what about the characters. There is fun to be had in the game, especially once you do level your character up but it seemed a long slog to get there. The graphics were decent enough and the world looked decent. Sound and music were fine but nothing outstanding. Dishonored 2 doesn't feel like its moved on from the first game. It's not a bad game, but an average one at best. It's a shame that the dev team didn't improve on the leveling system or combat or story or AI because it could have been a good follow up. Sadly it didn't quite work.

Continuum is a pretty decent DLC. The maps are all unique, and play differently. Graphically most of the new maps look good with some nice details and quirks. I'll discuss them in order of my personal favorite to least favorite. 1. Scrap – Scrap is a great map. It looks fantastic. Set on a scrapyard on the moon with earth in the distance it provides a great backdrop for multiplayer action. The map is medium sized and flows well. There are magnetic pads that allow you to flip upside down in the air but no one uses them as they just make you a sitting duck. The map works well with most game types. 2. Turista – Again this is a good looking map. It's set on a holiday resort built on an alien planet, in the background giant skeletons from alien beasts litter the sci-fi landscape. This is the largest map out of the new DLC. It plays well and accommodates all play styles. A good map for sniping but rushers have enough flanking routes. Works well on most game types. 3. Archive – This map looks good but the flow can be off at times. Set in an art gallery complete with a giant great white shark model in the middle, the map appears fun. Sometimes you can have a good game on this map but the tight interior where most of the action happens has to many entry points meaning death can come from any angle. It can be frustrating playing this map as at times you find campers outside not moving the whole game. When everyone is moving it can be a fun map. 4. Excess – Although I've had fun with this map and had some good games, it is certainly the worst. I don't think they should remake MW2 maps because they don't feel or play anything like the originals. The original rust was small and you racked up 100's of kills, yet this remake feels bigger, with more buildings blocking lines of site. I've found that at times I've circled the map twice in a full lobby and not seen anyone. On the original map you couldn't move without seeing an enemy, in fact I'm pretty sure the original was smaller than shipment in cod 4! Anyway they've managed to again change a great map beyond recognition. The map colors are off and it feels darker than it should be. Once used to the new style of the map you can have some good games, but do not expect it to be anything like Rust in the genius and far superior MW2. I got this DLC with the season pass so unsure yet if all are worth it, but DLC 2 is by far better than DLC 1. I've not played Zombies yet as I personally have no interest in it. If you are looking to extend the life of IW then I'd recommend the Continuum map pack.

Another weak month on ps+..... sigh. This month we are treated to a terrible indie title that no one asked for or ****! The graphics are shocking, game play is laughable, sound is irritating and the most fun you will have is pressing X to delete. Avoid this drivel designed for those poor creatures who cant afford real games but sadly have to rely on ps+ each month. Sad times in gaming indeed!

Drawn To Death is utterly appalling. I'm shocked that this was given away this month on ps+. Someone seriously needs to be fired for this very deliberate insult to Playstation gamers. The game looks awful, the ugly, crude, pretentious art style makes the game look like it was drawn by a loner teenager who is planning to shoot up his school. The characters are tacky, cliched and unimaginative. I'm sure the game designer watched the terrible movie Middle School and copied the childish art style the kid uses in it when drawing in his note pad. The game has a constant annoying voice over, the dialog is cringe worthy, out dated and embarrassing. The humor is suited to 14 year old skaters in the 90's who think swearing is cool and grown up. I was embarrassed playing the game, I felt pity for the developer who had this as his 'grand vision'. It must be awful for him having no originality and been so boring and predictable. Graphics are terrible, sound is terrible, art style is terrible and also the gameplay is terrible. It's basically a very weak 3rd person arena shooter. It's boring, you run round the arena trying to make out what everything is, shoot someone or get shot and repeat. There's no progression, no reason to carry on playing. I'm actually offended by how bad this game is. After 15 mins of playing (sitting through the long loading screens for most of it), I uninstalled. I very nearly cancelled PS+ but remembered I need it to play real games online. So avoid this game and please please don't spend any money on it, you will just be funding a lazy developer to make more dross and unimaginative games to rip off hard working gamers.

As a new comer to the series I really enjoyed Final Fantasy XV. I've been gaming since the 80's and played many RPG's, but could never get into the FF series. I've enjoyed many turn based JRPG's and now I think about it, regret not playing the older FF games so I''ll be sure to play them, starting with the remake of FF7 on PS4. Anyway, I bought the game in a sale and thought I'd give it a go and got hooked within the first hour. The game world is stunning, it blends reality with fiction beautifully. It's a really great cross over to have real world shops, hotels, houses, restaurants, towns and resorts blended with fantasy landscapes and creatures. I love how one minute you are in a modern town doing fetch quests for 'normal' looking people and the next in the middle of a battle with a giant beast surrounded by surreal landscapes. Quests are varied enough to keep you occupied. The main story is not particularly deep but is interesting enough to keep you playing. A few have complained about story and I presume they are hardcore fans who have seen better from the series but as a newcomer I didn't mind. Roaming the world and creating your own unique story through exploration was imo more enjoyable than watching lengthy cutscenes. The main characters are okay, they do seem a bit dated like earl 00's emo kids and don't really look like royal warriors, but I've played as much more bizarre characters in JRPG's before so it wasn't game breaking. It would have been nice to have a bigger range of costumes that changed the style of the characters so I could make them look better suited to my tastes. I liked the combat it wasn't perfect but it worked although simple. FF XV is not a hard game and some aspects have been made overly simple but I presume that's to ease in new comers, As someone who understands and has played many RPG's a deeper battle system would have been welcome. The map is large and your main mode of travel is by car or Chocobo. The car is manual or auto but manual driving doesn't give full control which is annoying. Chocobo however are super fun to run around on. The graphics look great, character models are good and the environments detailed. Sound is decent and voice acting is reasonable. I'd definitely recommend this game and look forward to playing past and future FF games.

Yakuza 0 is a great game. It reminds me of when I first played the fantastic Shenmue on the dreamcast. In fact they are pretty similar games in comparison. I love the beautiful open city full of culture, neon lights, restaurants, arcades, clubs, bars, casinos and erm porno theater's! There is so much to see and do in Yakuza. The game looks stunning and has an engaging story line. The cinematics are very well done with some brilliant voice acting. The action and fighting is smooth and controls well. The missions are varied and interesting. There are many well rounded characters and the two heroes are well crafted and their stories are enjoyable to play through. It is story heavy so be prepared for lots of reading. I personally enjoy this style of RPG. There is so much to do in this game, playing old Sega arcade games, pool, darts, karaoke, bowling, RC car racing, fishing and much more. There's so much that you can lose your self for hours just roaming round the city and finding new things to do. I'd highly recommend this game to fans of the series and new players.

Resident Evil 7 is a return to form after the utterly terrible Resi 6. The move to a first person perspective works very well and immerses you even more in the Resi universe. Graphics are fantastic. Every room and environment is detailed. The mansion and houses all have a unique feel and look gritty and horrifying. The game-play is similar to the early games and rewards exploration. The story is good although not mind-blowing it still has an interesting narrative that will satisfy until the end of game. The VHS levels are a unique twist and offer some variation in game-play. 'Happy Birthday' is the stand out tape and reminds me of the film SAW. Sound and music help to create the atmosphere well. With more sinister tracks playing when you about to encounter something dreadful and the traditional calming track when you finally find that safe room! Combat works well and the bosses you encounter are all varied and interesting. I preferred the first part of the game been staled around the mansion by the Baker family, this part of the game reminded me a lot of Texas Chainsaw The fear is much more intense knowing you cant kill any of the grotesque Baker family until you enter their boss arena. The other enemy type are The Molded, beasts that look like they are made of dripping black mold or tar. At first they are scary but after slaying a few they lose their impact. There are variations of them but a few more monster types would have kept the game fresh all the way through. Two DLCs are out at the time of writing. Normally when you beat a resident evil you get a survival mode, in this case you have to pay extra for it which is a little annoying. I've yet to play them so they wont affect my score. I would recommend Resident Evil 7 to past fans and new players. The game is a little short and not overly challenging but more than makes up for it with atmosphere, game-play and some stunning graphics. I really enjoyed playing and will certainly give it another play through when I have a VR headset.

Based on the Beta (which is pretty much a glorified demo) I am disappointed. After 2-3 hours I was already bored, it felt like an empty experience almost like a free to play rather than a full priced game. I cant really see why anyone would put more than a few hours in to the game. Level design is bland, the sound is bland and combat (which is the main feature) is average at best. I didn't struggle with the combat in any way but felt the blocking system was bizarre and unnatural. After a few fights I dint see what else the game could possibly offer. It feels like there should be a grand campaign and this is the cheaply tacked on multiplayer. The game is littered with vulgar micro transactions making you wonder why the hell they think it's okay to charge full price for this free to play model. So no I wont be purchasing and I predict withing a few weeks this will meet the same fate as games like Evolve which had little substance. Not even worth renting so wait until it's reduced to £5 so you can buy it as a cheap book end!

Utter joke that Sony think we deserve this as February's free ps+ game. Disgraceful, ugly little game made my a developer who clearly has no understanding of what made retro games fun. Avoid this snooze fest like the plague and pray the developer is never allowed to program garbage like this again!

Sabotage is not the perfect DLC but 3 out of the 4 maps are pretty decent. Noir, Neon and Renaissance are all fairly good maps. Noir is a night time map lit up with many Neon signs. It looks nice and flows well. Neon is a ultra futuristic map that feels very clinical with its all white design. The nightclub is especially cool as you fight to an awesome little piece of retro synth-wave style music. Renaissance is bright and fresh and again has a good flow. But... and this is the real big let down, The Afghan remake Dominion is utterly terrible. It has ruined what was once one of the best maps in mw2. It is ruined by been overly cluttered which makes the map feel claustrophobic and small instead of the wide open fast flowing original. It doesn't feel grand, it feels more like a series of smaller interconnected maps. The action is slowed to a snails pace on the map and the bad spawns make it a real frustration. Such a shame as IW got the Terminal remake map right. I've not played the Zombies map because I personally have no interest in it. As I got the season pass I cant tell if the maps were worth the money yet but like I said, 3 out of 4 is fairly decent. Lets hope they don't ruin anymore MW2 maps next DLC.

I really enjoyed the Last Guardian. It was far from a perfect game but the heart that was put into its creation really shows. I found the game a moving and emotional experience leaving me thinking about it long after completion. The graphics have a beautiful style similar to ICO. The design of Trico the beast and your companion is truly a technical feat as it feels as if hes a living breathing and very real creature. You fall in love with Trico as you play and you learn his subtle movements and behaviors. Some have complained about the way you control Trico, but I believe that if he respond instantly to commands he would not feel like a real creature. You learn how he moves, how he thinks and reacts and by the last quarter of the game it feels like he responds much better because you have picked up on these small cues. The level design is at times fantastic and breathtaking. The feeling of height can be dizzying and spectacular. Puzzles range from easy to taxing but always had a logical conclusion. The story plays out through the bond between characters and their adventure rather than regular cut-scenes and this works well meaning the story is created through game-play. Sound and music really add to the ambiance and fit the story and style very well. There are some technical issues and the camera angles at times can be frustrating but they didn't spoil what was a magical experience. Like I said I love this game and preferred it over other PS4 exclusives like Uncharted 4. I'd highly recommend it.

Originally I scored IW a 3.0. Multiplayer was initially broken with game breaking lag and very quick time to kill. Now after putting a good few days into the MP and learning the maps, weapons, perks and traits I have changed my opinion. The lag seems to have improved with the many patch updates, that's not to say its gone but I feel I'm having far more decent games now and fair gun fights. The dev team are supporting the game relatively well and are on top of improvements and patches. They removed two maps to fix them which took longer than expected with Grounded still not making an apperance at the time of writing, but Genesis is back with the bugs fixed, which shows me they actually care about the game. So how is it playing now compared to release? Much better. I'm finding the games to be very fun, skilled, fast paced and enjoyable. It is very addictive and one of the better futuristic cods. Much better than Blops 2, Blops 3, AW and Ghosts. I'd say its on par with MW3. The new movement (once used to it) works very well. All weapons can do a good amount of damage and you can play well with them. Some of the maps are excellent such as Frost, Precinct, Genesis, Mayday and Frontier and play well on nearly all game modes. The larger maps however only tend to work with objective based gameplay and can slow the pace of the game right down. There are some really decent weapons that feel good to use. Most weapons in the game are more than usable including sniper rifles. Shotguns need a bit of a boost and you still get hitmarkers and short range meaning they don't tend to play a role in the game. Scorestreaks are too high. Getting the larger ones seems an impossible task considering spawns flip too easily meaning you get shot in the back a lot. If you run care package then you do get to ise the higher ones now and then but most games the highest scorestreak you see is the warden and then any below it. The warden is a bit of a pain and really I think the game would be better off without it. Lots of people run hardline rendering perk 2 slot useless as you really need it to achieve scorestreaks. The nuke is impossible, never seen one and the youtubers who've got them seem to be playing against the braindead (or their friends who just so happen to not be able to kill them). A pointless streak unless you are a booster. Micro-transactions come in the form of supply drops. You can unlock them with keys instead of paying. You also get salvage which takes a long time to build up. Supply drops are way overpriced, and considering you have no idea if you are going to get that legendary you really want are not worth the money. Despite its hang ups, IW is shaping up to be a really fun addictive game. The graphics are nice and colorful and bold. Multiplayer is the best we've seen since MW3 and I actually enjoy playing this COD. By no means better than MW2 (the best cod imo) but way better than the modern CODs. It comes packaged with COD4 remaster, but it's aged badly and is no fun anymore, I've totally ignored it. So if you want a fun MP experience with sharp addictive gameplay give it a go.

Unfortunately COD4 remastered does not warrant the 65.00 you have to pay to get the game. If it was say 10.00 -15.00 it would be worth it. Also playing COD 4 again just doesn't excite any longer. I reached prestige 10 back in the day and enjoyed the game but really cant be bothered again. I know the maps and guns and perks inside out and honestly felt bored going back to it. I feel its best left as a great memory rather than playing it again. Also I personally thought MW2 was the superior game and would have preferred they had remastered that instead. The other issue I find is that I'd forgotten over the years the major frustrations with COD 4, such as sniping. In MW2 you really could rush yet in COD 4 each game is slowed down by the constant snipers one shotting you from across the map, so games feel quite and slow. Also my favorite mode in COD history was Demolition which didn't come out until MW2. Cod 4 also lacks any fun kill-streaks, you have 3 streaks and that's it. At the time this was genius but doesn't cut it anymore. I also feel their is lag there which didn't affect the original as badly. I also find the maps a little off in COD 4. There are some great ones like Crash and Vacant but maps like shipment are an awful mess and Bog is dull and badly designed. So if you really want to play COD 4 get it in a steam sale, if you've already played, like Goldeneye it's best left as a ,memory rather than spoiling the nostalgia you had.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

Overwatch is simply brilliant. It is fun. And that's something many of the big MP franchises are missing of late. Fun. Overwatch is not a serious game, there is no KD, it's all about winning the short, sharp, hectic games using intelligence, map knowledge and character knowledge. Team work plays a big role. If you're not working as a team and choosing the right class you are not going to win. Classes are well balanced. Each character has strengths and weaknesses and there's a counter for everything. Its all down to your own skill and knowledge. Servers are smooth, I've not once experienced any sort of lag or glitches. Graphics are bright, crisp and detailed. The characters and environments are fun, cartoony and over exaggerated. It kind of reminds me of the awesome TF2. There is no play to win nonsense and according to Blizzard all maps etc in future DLC are free. Well worth your money if you want a little different, crazy, addictive new MP.

A phenomenal game, full of atmosphere. The best in the souls series. Still looks great in 2016 and plays beautifully. Brilliant level design, graphics, game play and musical score. A perfect game.

I originally rated this game a 3 because it was broken and after playing BB it felt like a step back. They have since fixed the 'weapon brake' issue/bug and I decided to buy it again in a PSN sale. And finally I have got to enjoy the game it was supposed to be played and it is fantastic. Not my favorite in the Souls/BB series but still highly enjoyable, addictive and challenging. I'm really glad they patched the game and I can now enjoy it properly. I'm having a lot of fun with the game. Some great locations, beasts and bosses. Another success in the DS series.