Gears 5 manages to be not only technically impeccable, but its amazing gameplay and quality of life improvements over Gears of War 4 make this one of the best games in the whole franchise. Truly a masterpiece.
Gears of War 2 takes what Gears of War did amazingly and manages to do it even better. Without taking into account the obvious graphical superiority in comparison to its predecessor, everything, from the level design and the gameplay mechanics, to the story and character development, excels the quality achieved in the first installment of the Gears of War franchise. The level design in Gears of War 2 feels like it was made with a refreshed, more interactive and immersive formula. The campaign provides a wide variety of mission types, the majority of them with unique mechanics that will allow the player to experiment a far more enjoyable story mode with better engagement between the player and the environment around it. The characters, while still having the same super strong, alpha male attitude seen in the first game, show more emotion, making it easier to sympathize with them. The story is also more compelling, dramatic, and deeper, as it takes the narrative design presented in Gears of War even further. Some of the cutscenes in the game offer a better knowledge and backstory of the main characters, the enemies and their leader, and the war itself. Gears of War 2 should be an example to game developers of how a great sequel should be done. The higher-quality graphics, its better-polished gameplay mechanics, better level design, better writing and overall better direction are more than enough to consider this one of the best games available in the Xbox 360 catalogue.
A balanced mixture of live-action entertainment and gameplay make Quantum Break a perfect example of an unique game with revolutionary direction. With its amazing story, innovative mechanics and impressive graphics, it is a game that deserves to be experienced by every Xbox One owner. The way in which narrative is presented, using traditional cutscenes and a live-action TV series that is affected by the choices you take throughout the game, is something that has never been seen before in any game of any genre. While the TV series is not necessary to understand the main story of the game, it complements it greatly by deepening on the characters and providing additional information that will allow a better understanding of Quantum Break. The story is absolutely fantastic and intriguing, capable of keeping anyone hooked, as the pace is excellent, and combined with its stunning visuals, it will leave the player wanting more all the way through the end. The gameplay is also good, there’s enough enemy variety, and it's clear Remedy Entertainment knew how to take advantage of the time-controlling aspect of the game to make its mechanics feel fresh. There’s not a lot of weapon variety, which may result in a more null experience. However, the character special abilities do make up for that. Quantum Break is a game that deserves a lot more recognition and I personally hope that Microsoft Studios and Remedy Entertainment analyze the possibility of developing a sequel, as this is one of the new Xbox exclusive franchises with the most potential out there. This is a must-play title for those that love excellent storytelling and fun gameplay.
Even nearly 5 years after its original release, Ryse: Son of Rome continues being of the best-looking game of this generation. The graphics aspect in this game is impressive, with highly-detailed character models, environments and some breathtaking cinematics. It’s definitely a showcase of the power of Crytek’s CryEngine. The gameplay, however, can become repetitive, as it lacks a varied, deep and unique combat system. Even when there’s a certain difference between enemies, these all feel the same and it would be difficult to tell each other apart if it wasn’t because of their different physical appearance. The multiplayer mode can be fun for some, but the gameplay overall is not as great as someone would like. The story is good, entertaining and very interesting as well. Its character development allows the player to get attached with the characters, understand their motives and feel like wanting to help them reach their goals, even with the story’s short 7-hour duration. While it does not have the best combat system in a videogame, Ryse: Son of Rome doesn’t stop being interesting and fun to any player that enjoys a game full of violent battles, blood, a great story or simply to anyone wanting to experience the difficult lifestyle of a Roman gladiator.
As someone who has never finished a single Halo campaign in his entire life, Halo: Reach’s story mode has left me very impressed. Its excellent story, full of interesting characters, good dialogues and brilliantly designed sound effects make this game something amazing for those who prefer narrative over gameplay, while never sacrificing any of its already well defined mechanics that make it a great first-person shooter. The character design is wonderful, as it develops effectively on their motives, making it easy to get attached to any of the protagonists and feeling fully immersed as Noble Six. The artificial intelligence, however, is sometimes bad and feels like it lacks depth, especially when letting an ally drive a vehicle. The open world feel of Halo: Reach is executed appropriately, with all the wildlife and big maps, but it can result confusing, especially to those who have never played through a Halo game. Halo: Reach is a very entertaining first person shooter, full of action-packed, epic battles and a fascinating, emotional story that deserves to be experienced by any Xbox 360 or Xbox One owner.
While the game manages to entertain and be fun most of the time, Super Lucky’s Tale is seen affected by some technical and design decisions that are hard to enjoy. The fixed camera angles are never helpful in making the jumping and movement feel precise. It became a common thing for me to die throughout the game, purely because its camera angle made me think I was going to land somewhere else to where I ended up falling. The game can be easy for genre experts, though it will be challenging for both children and players who have rarely played a platformer game. The levels are varied, with both 2D and 3D perspective levels. As the 2D levels are not affected by the game's awful fixed camera view of its 3D counterparts, they are far more enjoyable. Each world has a set of puzzle mini games, all of which are very fun to play. Super Lucky’s Tale is not a revolutionary platformer game or anything like that, but I recommend it to those who want to have a good time, as its colorful and optimistic world will surely provide happiness to the player's heart for around 8 hours.
Sunset Overdrive is, without a doubt, one of the best Xbox One exclusives since the console launched in 2013, thanks to the game's brilliantly-executed sense of humor and its beautifully-crafted world, full of things to do and fun to have. The story mode is entertaining and every single aspect of it offers unique style: the characters are full of personality and the missions will guarantee hours of enjoyable content. Even when there was a lot of action on-screen, no noticeable framerate drop occurred, which is impressive for these types of games. Its gameplay, its story, its characters, its visuals and its humor make Sunset Overdrive a must-play for any Xbox One owner. Insomniac Games has created a masterpiece.
The gameplay's basic mechanics are well-polished and present very few flaws. The flaws presented, however, can noticeably affect the player's experience, making it a little tedious to play. It offers a 10 to 12-hour campagin mode, with an interesting and intriguing story that will keep the player hooked. All robot companions (corebots) are varied and fun to use, especially because of their unique abilities. The difficulty shouldn't be a challenge for the expert players, but it can become quite hard in a few occasions. The simplistic combat system is fun, but ultimately becomes repetitive for its lack of depth. ReCore: Definitive Edition is an ambitious game with elements worthy **** platforming game, with these being its strongest attributes. It is definitely a game that should be played by a lot more players.
The visual aspect is simply stunning: a magnificent representation of the sea life mixed with fascinating elements of antique cultures. The game is very simple and it consists, for the most part, of exploring the ocean, task that never becomes boring in ABZÛ. The soundtrack is beautiful and conveys the peace and serenity of the sea life. The narrative offered is unique, but fails at keeping the events together in a few occasions. I recommend ABZÛ for player looking to relax for a few hours or people who would like to try something different.
For a 2006 game, Gears of Wars still offers some magnificent and extremely well done graphics thanks to the spectacular Unreal Engine of Epic Games. The gameplay, without a doubt, is very good, but it’s even more fun. But while its story doesn’t manage to be as captivating and profound as its “Mad World” trailer, it’s still one that without a doubt will leave the player intrigued and interested. However, it lacks a development that helps understanding it better, but a game like this is not supposed to be narrative-driven. The gameplay it has is intense and capable of keeping anyone hooked. The enemies are well designed, both the AI and mechanics, along with the variety of these offered throughout the whole story mode, are more than enough to make you have 10 hours full of fun. Its gloomy and dreadful atmosphere, packed together with its sound effects and soundtrack will definitely manage to immerse you in the impressive world at War mood the game tries to transmit. There’s not much to say about Gears of Wars, except that it’s a 12-year old gem, that even today, is considered one of the best third-person shooters found in any console, and it without a doubt deserves that title.
