ascedentevil

I've been waiting for this game a very long time, since E3 roughly. Now I've had enough time to play it I have to say, I'm really quite happy. First thing to hit you is the graphics and their fidelity is near unmatched; and I'm not even using a 4k HDR TV, not even a PS4 Pro yet this game looks unreal. The lighting, the textures and everything else is enough to make you stop and stare to no end, easily one of the best looking games for current gen. The sound is the second and it's crisp, clear and precise. I normally praise DICE for their sound effects work but Guerilla have hit the mark here. The music is also great, blending a sort of relaxed, slow, elder scrolls esque score with techno for the fights, it works really well. The story is intriguing and deep, you want to explore you want to learn and it's not just the main story that captures this. The ruins and side quests draw you in with a sort of "hey check this out" vibe and I often found myself of the beaten path, eager to discover new things. The combat is pretty good, not the best system I've seen and a lack of enemy lock on can be a bit tedious at times as you try to roll away and end up rolling towards. On a whole though the combat is solid and enjoyable and the machines are incredible, deadly and often clever. There are some issues, although small these do cause problems. The waypoint system can be frustrating as the game seems to generate a series of on screen waypoints that lead a trail to the objective which often conflicts with the compass waypoint. Clipping is also an issue as there are often hedges and grass covered in snow that is just clipped through by the character. A lack of water ripple effects and grass movement is pretty unacceptable for 2017, especially when there were rumours that this is running on "the most powerful next gen engine. It is worth noting I have encountered no bugs at all during my time with it and frame rate has been 100% consistent. That said, Horizon offers an open world with a difference, an intriguing story and machines. Gorgeous visuals and excellent sound work. Overall it offers a fun experience with mystery that is presented in incredibly well. TL;DR: Graphics 10/10 Sound 9/10 Story 8/10 World 8/10 Combat 8/10 Overall 8.6/10

(ignore my review for the Xbox version I accidentally chose the wrong platform) After debating whether or not to get this for a while (bearing in mind I have bought it twice before) I finally went for it and for the most part I am glad that I did. I have played through this game twice and then some, yes if you already have played it there isn't much new for you to experience less the mods. the mods are fairly good but there isn't as big a range with the Ps4 vs Xbox or PC as the PS4 has limited file sizes or something meaning the mods are sparse/not as good, the ones I did download were pretty good but most graphics and high end mods are not available. Visually, there is some improvement, better lighting a textures as well as draw distance improve the overall experience and, whilst it will never hold a candle to the Witcher or highly modded PC Skyrim, it does give just a little breath of fresh air and the densely detailed world has made me stop to stare a good few times. I've already put many hours in and as elder scrolls games it's a different experience every time, a with a fresh fantasy character and random experiences, I am free once again to live out a new characters life and sample some of the different things that I was never bothered with before, I may even start a different one to try out more things. Overall there is of course not much extra content but with a rich world filled with things to do, you're surely to find things you haven't seen before and generally experience new things, whilst enjoying the same character freedom that is to be expected. For anyone who hasn't played this before it's a must buy, hundreds of hours gameplay are available and with the price sat at around £20-25 it's a massive bargain. For those who have played it and enjoyed it, it's still worth a pick up but there are other games out there in this price range (Witcher 3 GOTY) that will perhaps suit you more.

After debating whether or not to get this for a while (bearing in mind I have bought it twice before) I finally went for it and for the most part I am glad that I did. I have played through this game twice and then some, yes if you already have played it there isn't much new for you to experience less the mods, which I haven't cared to touch yet. Visually, there is some improvement, better lighting a textures as well as draw distance improve the overall experience and, whilst it will never hold a candle to the Witcher or highly modded PC Skyrim, it does give just a little breath of fresh air and the densely detailed world has made me stop to stare a good few times. I've already put many hours in and as elder scrolls games it's a different experience every time, a with a fresh fantasy character and random experiences, I am free once again to live out a new characters life and sample some of the different things that I was never bothered with before, I may even start a different one to try out more things. Overall there is of course not much extra content but with a rich world filled with things to do, you're surely to find things you haven't seen before and generally experience new things, whilst enjoying the same character freedom that is to be expected. For anyone who hasn't played this before it's a must buy, hundreds of hours gameplay are available and with the price sat at around £20-25 it's a massive bargain. For those who have played it and enjoyed it, it's still worth a pick up but there are other games out there in this price range (Witcher 3 GOTY) that will perhaps suit you more.

First of, this game absolutely does not deserve to be rated 0/10 that is for unplayable games, which this isn't. Nor does it deserve the stellar reviews of 10/10 because that would state that it is perfect, both by todays standards and gaming standards it is miles from perfect. The story is slow paced to begin with and picks up later on, only to end at around 6 hours (a hallmark of this franchise) interesting secondary missions and oddly interesting space theme. However this gets thrown off by the inconstancies of the setting; apparently in the vacuum of space you can hear things and survive for short periods of time? Come on Infinity Ward, you used to have an eye for detail. The plot works quite well although I do suspect that's the Naughty Dog guys they brought in lending a hand but it is nice to have some good writing for a change. A stereotypical British villain and the notorious round it off. One point to note is the enemies in this game are pretty damn crazy and it is almost off putting and the time to kill initially is horrendously high, which is the cause of the slow pace to begin as you sit behind cover only to pop out occasionally to murder some loonies. Honestly speaking though, this is the best Call of Duty campaign in a while. Multiplayer, for me personally, is awful, yes it has a good pace (slightly slower than BO3) and yes it can be entertaining in small doses but I've never been less compelled to continue playing than I have with this. Hit boxes and lag are ludicrous and I am long past sick of being taken out by a sniper quick scope. Ice skating slides and Titanfall wall runs, combined with some awful weapon design, R3KT, really?? Make this game feel like they are quite literally being designed for eleven year olds, which is stale. Fast paced overall but stale, very stale. The loadout system remains similar to Black Ops 3 and the game benefits as a result with the pick 10 system and rigs offering a good level of customisation options. another thing I dislike is the supply drops are sill here and that Activation seem to have allowed Infinity Ward to copy the loot styles and even font styles from Destiny - another game published by Activision, I refuse to let that be coincidental, they also keep along the specialist theme, which is again ripped from B03 and Destiny. Zombies is fairly fun but again, ludicrous, Treyarch are the masters of the zombies and I'm not too fond of this attempt. It does add a fun feature where you play an arcade game to win your life back however this alone is not enough for me. Combine this with a ten year old recycled engine that's using the same animations, physics and graphics from the Call of Duty games of old and I just find this to be so far below what it should be and it doesn't recapture the magic of the old Call of Duty games, playing it alongside the remastered modern warfare only highlights this. In a year where the likes of DooM and Battlefeild 1 have redefined FPS games, Activision and Co. feel far, far behind in a genre they once dominated with their exquisite attention to detail and fast paced, well written story. really, with the kind of turnover that Call of Duty makes I would have expected a new engine, built from the ground up and the game isn't nearly as polished as I would like. The Campaign is well written and the best in the series for a long time but is let down from being too short, 7/10 Multiplayer is almost a straight copy and paste of the previous iterations with elements of Destiny and Titanfall included, in intellectual terms that's called plagiarism, however there is small amounts of fun to be had but it's the same stuff at the core 3/10 Zombies supplies good fun but not nearly close to the standard of Treyarchs zombies, evidently an attempt to capture the same market and even as a long time zombies fan this doesn't reach par for the course, 4/10 Graphics are good, but far below par with modern standards, take a look at Uncharted, DooM, the Witcher or Battlefield for reference of what a next gen game should actually look like, especially with the cash that Activision and Infinity Ward have, 4/10 Overall, the game falls flat on delivering innovation but does reiterate the same Call of Duty things fans enjoy. By modern standards it's not good enough, not for titans like Activision and Infinity Ward, who once created legendary games, sadly I have to score this 4.5/10 overall which is a shame because I wanted it to be good.

Having kept Battlefield 1 predominantly under my radar thus far, in order to prevent any overhype, I went on the off chance decision and got the game. I then ended up playing it all weekend because, quite honestly, it's bloody brilliant. The single player campaign is fresh and original, the way it's been constructed into 5 mini stories as opposed to one new one. this has you going from extreme to extreme, always in a different style of action. from driving a tank to flying a plane to sneaking around the desert, it has something for everyone. This creates powerful little set pieces and being all based on real events, the characters and their plights resonate with the player. That said, it's al a little too short, at just around 6 hours it's not enough, but heck that doesn't take away from the fact that it's a breath of fresh air in an era of stale modern shooters. The multiplayer sticks to the tried and tested battlefield formula and delivers much more, classics like conquest and rush return and an even bigger mode, operations will test even the best of players/. I never did like these huge maps as their often chaotic, being spawned into a crumbling building or running all the way to an objective to get picked off by some fella who's figured out how to perform 2000m headshots. Still, as a TDM fan I'm covered, whilst out of place the TDM still plays like battlefield and still feels great, on fantastic, dynamic maps with awesome guns. The visuals, for a console edition, are sublime, crisp textures and fantastic lighting and insane draw distance, I can image this looking ridiculous on PlayStation pro. Sadly having witnessed it on ultra at 1440p on a gaming rig, PS4 doesn't even come close. The sound are fantastic and guns sound and feel spot on, with screams of agony and the sounds of distant fire fights this game truly captures the essence and feel of war and damn it feels good to play. Campaign 8/10 dropped some points for length Multiplayer 7/10 this is a personal rating - I just **** at the huge game modes Graphics 9/10 Realism 10/10 Overall 8.5/10

As usual with these kinds of DLC I've mostly become bored of the multiplayer, more so with this iteration due to the supply drops. however the new maps are actually pretty good, although mostly because two of them are familiar as reskins. Micro is atrocious by design and seems made by a 4 year old. Revelations however is bloody brilliant, one of the best zombie maps ever with new weapons and upgradeable perks, it's a blast to play.

This is probably too late to be viewed by anyone but ah well Need for Speed is a reasonable return to form for the franchise, the modding is back and you can now create a bespoke car as ever. you can stance your car as well as stick decals where you want. A nice addition is the changes in sound you'll experience for different exhausts etc. The story is almost no existent and the characters and cut scenes are cringy as hell and you'll constantly be bombarded with phone calls from the story chaps. The world is fairly small and I feel like I'm always racing the same routes. The game is online only which is a nuisance. Frostbite graphics tip top but NFS seem to be obsessed lately with rain covered cars? Overall a mediocre experience.

I finally got the chance to play Uncharted 4 and from someone who's played the series from the start; I'm impressed. Note that this is a story review only because I really feel the need for Uncharted multiplayer, I have COD and DooM for that. The game is well paced, with some slower sections breaking up the huge action set pieces. When things go wrong they go wrong in spectacular fashion ands the series is well known for this; huge explosions and death defying leaps, it makes for an Indiana Jones game. you'll not find too much in the way of story unless you've played the first three as Uncharted 4 takes you on an emotional story, it takes the already heavily progressed characters and gives them new motives and purpose. It's obvious that the writers from he Last of Us had a hand in this given that I actually welled up once or twice. Naughty Dogs Initiative for Common Engine team has clearly been hard at work; the games engine is insane. The visuals are something else, I've seen some negative comments about them, one being that Crysis 3 was better? I've played both and the graphics on this game have advanced my play time by 90 minutes according to the stats (time spent stood still) as I often stop to slowly pan the camera and take obnoxious screenshots to annoy my PC elitist friends. The physics engine is great as well with: realistic rock slides and water trickles to name but a few. As well as this, the location designs are impossibly beautiful. The gameplay is a little stale over the previous instalments but has been refreshed in a way that climbing is much more natural and accurate and the gunplay has been polished to near on perfection, in addition to the tried and tested methods use in previous games, the action is fun and fierce and if you think it isn't, stop playing on easy you little b**** All in all, an emotional and seriously impressive send off to the series, from a studio who's quality control is immaculate in a world of buggy post-release messes, Uncharted 4 sets a bench mark for industry standards. Visuals 10/10 Gameplay 7/10 Story 9/10 Characters 9/10 Overall 8.75/10

A beautiful, vast, refreshing expansion to an already amazing game, a perfect send off for Geralt of Rivia. Once again CDPR put all the big developers to shame with mastercrafted environment's, intriguing story and just ridiculous value for money. Overall another very well polished instalment; BaW takes the already brilliant vanilla game and refreshes it with new monsters, a new area, new story and other bits like armour dyes and mutagen research. A must buy. Gameplay 10/10 Characters 8/10 Story 8/10 (based on 6 hours played) Visuals 10/10 Level of content 10/10 Value for money 10/10 Overall 9.3/10

A throwback to the old with pulse pounding action, beautiful visuals (the id tech engine 6 handles frame rates very well even with screens full of gibbed demons) and enough gore to put the SAW series to shame. In point of fact, DooM takes everything from the old school and invigorates it with some things from the new; there's no reloading, sprinting (the standard speed for the DooM Marine is approx. 50mph) or ADS, less a few weapon mods. The gore is there, rip and tear through enemies as though they were paper bags filled with ketchup. The glory kill system is actually very good and rewards you with bonus health for getting up close and personal and this can be a lifeline on harder modes, the same goes for the chainsaw; a one hit kill wonder that makes enemies spew ammo. The soundtrack is insane, top quality Industrial metal that gets heavier and heavier the further into the game and really makes the demon arena battles feel spot on, it's just a shame that it stops when the floor is littered with all the bodies. The updated demon designs are perfect, based clearly on the old ones the new HD models are great, with a few demons having slightly different behaviour and attack styles and the DooM marine modelling is perfect as well. The new stuff, in the form of mods and runes put a dynamic spin on the gameplay and let you tailor your experience to suit. the lore is there but is optional, personally I enjoyed the added reading, it was interesting. Secrets are there and extend the experience by enticing you to search high and low for goodies. Overall the campaign experience is a fun, gore filled experience, ultra violence is partially easy but nightmare is another level of insanity. Boss fights were disappointing however. the arenas themselves are a blast and can be played again and again and never quite be the same, with the mobility and plat forming you'll be dip, dodging and diving between demons whilst trying not to die and make them die. Snapmap is great and allows for endless, often hilarious concepts to be envisioned. For me the multiplayer is great, there are several weapon balancing issues and yes, it isn't a full on arena style setup. There are load outs and things like that but being someone who has never really played an arena multiplayer before and who is a black ops 1/2/3 veteran, this game suits me fine and I seem to have little to no issue dominating people. The power ups, power weapons and demons allow for dynamic shifts in the state of play, it's all fun and games being the dominant team with a baron of hell to have an enemy player show and kill all 6 of you with this BFG he found laying around. (I know some people won't agree with this multiplayer review and be aware that if I'd been an experienced arena player this may be different) Overall, a nostalgic and cracking experience from id software, very well done, can't wait for the next one..? Gameplay: 10/10 Graphics 10/10 Nostalgia 10/10 Story/game length/replayabilty 9/10 Multiplayer 8/10 Overall: 9.4/10

I've only just picked up Black Ops 3, I was sceptical, as I always am with Call of Duty, as to whether or not it would actually be any good. And it is, for me a return to form for the franchise after the awful ghosts and terrible Advanced Warfare. The story is full of intrigue and action with some brilliant set pieces and some great acting, it's reasonably long too for a Call of Duty game, I've been going for about 4 hours now and granted I am playing on realistic which is a great new difficulty mode, I would normally have stormed through by now. It's not the best story but it's by far better than the last few instalments. It's nice to have zombies back properly on next gen and not the rip off job that AW tried to pull off, interesting new characters and enemies make for constant fun. The new maps are pretty well designed and the gobblegum system adds some new dynamics, a little too assisting for me though. The multiplayer is great, the cyber augments give just the right amount of pace, there's jumping and wall running but no flying around to the extremes of advanced warfare; meaning you can take someone out with ease if you've a decent aim. The maps are easy to get used too with a few plays and they're just the right size to keep the pace going. the servers are pretty bad however and lad seems to prevail even on a wired connection running 40mb/s. Guns and explosions all sound good but the graphics are lagging behind; the dated engine struggling to keep up in some areas and it shows at times, alas the frame rate has been consistent. Overall a good return to form and Treyarch have proven once again that they are the only company of the trio that can pull off a decent Call of Duty. Story: 5/10 Multiplayer: 7/10 (would be 9/10 but Minus 2 for terrible servers) Zombies: 7/10 (Ditto above) Visuals: 4/10 Overall 5.75/10

By no stretch of the imagination is Primal a BAD game, but it is flawed in many ways. First up, the game feels almost like it's comprised mostly of side missions - mainly owing to the fact that the story seems badly paced and the characters are forgettable. whilst I feel for the Wenga tribe; I don't care for them too much , the game simply makes them a collectible so to speak. Couple this together with the fact that most of the missions feel like you need to get the thing to upgrade the thing to get the thing to upgrade the... The gameplay is the same Far Cry classic recipe but with the primal twist, that being said I can't help but feel like all they have done is send that previous protagonist back in time and taken his guns and cars away. Visually the game is stunning and the scenery is amazing - with very nicely modeled wildlife that dynamically interacts within itself and forms a sense of ecosystem. If I was to be perfectly honest I would say I am disappointing with the game, I love me some brutal barbaric combat and making my alpha wolf attack enemies as much as the next guy but with ll the changes it brings it doesn't bring anything new to the soul of the game and whilst I love Far Cry, I'm afraid I had much higher hopes for this one. Game play - 7/10 Visuals - 10/10 Characters - 5/10 Story - 4/10 Content - saturated but no real new ideas, so 4/10 Overall 7/10

The Witcher 3 was an amazing game, it won game of the year amongst other accolades and remains to be the only game in recent memory I saw fit to start a second play through. The game was a success. Then, CD Projekt Red decided to do some DLC. But what they've created here puts most full game releases to shame. The story doesn't pick up from where the wild hunt ended, more acts as an addition. A small portion of the map opens up for exploration with some additional markers to seek out and more monsters to hunt down, but back to the story. The unparalleled storytelling continues in this dark, deep and extensive expansion, it felt as good as the story in the base game and was better, in my opinion than some full retail games. A new rune crafting system comes into place which allows you to further enhance your weapons and armour; unlimited weapon enhancement time? Sure, armour that deflects arrows? Why not. Basically what I'm saying here is, you can pick this DLC up for £7.99 and it's as good as the base game was, albeit not as long, I managed somewhere around 20-25 hours all in but for that price, it' an absolute must for anyone who owns The Witcher 3, it would be rude not too.

Update: Despite how much time I have spent playing Fallout 4, I can't help but feel disappointment, disdain in knowing that this game should be better than it is, the inescapable feeling that Bethesda didn't give this 100% I am updating this review because I have finally gotten around to playing The Witcher 3 and by comparison alone, Fallout now looks terrible to me. The gameplay is good but not a lot more is brought to the table, the crafting system is good for weapons and Armour but becomes absolutely useless when building up settlements; and you'll constantly be over encumbered because of all the junk you're carrying around. Radiation has been nicely tweaked however. Visuals, once upon a time I thought they were good and to a certain extent they are; the lighting is brilliant and the radiation storms look amazing but on a whole, the creation engine is very old and even swimming, looks the same as it did in The Elder Scrolls IV. Textures are horrid and so is most of everything else; even the reflection in you weapon when it rains is a preset SUNNY image, what!? Overall, it just looks dated and not next gen, granted the world is big in this game and there's a lot too it but on this generation there really is no excuse. Characters are dull and not very memorable, the only memorable one I found, I was forced to kill as part of the story because my charisma was too low to save them, really? Thanks for the freedom Bethesda. I felt betrayed by my own character a lot due to the new "speech wheel" which has options that are essentially: yes, no, not sure, sarcastic and EVERY SINGLE TIME they will say something you really didn't want or intend them to say and it will ruin you relationship with your companion. The story is mostly predictable with one main twist that makes you think someone at Bethesda quit and someone new started telling the story. The side quest I found through exploring were more memorable. Bugs wise there are a few but none to serious, other than a time I killed someone for a mission, they died and the marker stayed on them telling me I had to kill them, I missed out on some loot because of this. Overall, distinctively average from Bethesda, it's painful for me to write a review like this for this game, I was so hyped up for this release but given that a huge company with a huge budget made this, when you compare that fact to how good the Witcher is, it makes you think; should war have changed?

Outstanding open world RPG that blends stunning artistic style with a refreshing level of challenge that doesn't go out of date very quickly and having spent a reasonable amount of time with this game after wanting to try it out for a while, I have arrived at the conclusion that it is a very well made and thought out game, with a very keen eye for detail. The game itself is beautifully realized; visually I can safely say it is one of the best examples of a true next/current generation game. With amazing lighting and fairly spot on textures, although a little rough around the edges at times, it has maintained a solid and consistent frame rate for me. Character modelling is very good, animations are nice and facial modelling is also very good. Enemy detailing is also very nice and some bosses have their own unique 'skins' if you will, allowing them to stand apart from their lesser compatriots. Monster design on a whole is unique and feels fresh; the creators not afraid to make up their own creatures as opposed to using set models the likes of which are usually featured in this type of game. Gameplay on a whole is very good from my point of view, even playing on normal difficulty there is a good level of challenge to be expected, as described by one CD Projekt Red employee: "it's on a scale between Skyrim and dark souls" with some of the harder difficulty levels edging closer to the dark souls side of the spectrum. Supplemented by a vast amount of lore and tying in very nicely with the in game bestiary; the crafting system plays a vital role in the game. If you are to beat the harder enemies in the game you are going to want to take advantage of the knowledge you acquire in order to craft potions and oils; to aid in your fight and these can often mean the difference between living to tell another day, or ending up as lunch for an angry werewolf. The writing side of the dice slightly lets the game down; with the main story feeling slightly typical and in no way too unique (this is mostly personal opinion) however it does not detract from the fact that it is above average in the story department. Side quests have equal depth however and some are very memorable and some unique moments arise from wondering off the beaten path, just try not to go too far down it at lower levels, or you'll get smacked back to the starting area so hard you'll probably turn the PlayStation off and cry in the corner, wondering how you can be so bad at this game (it's not you, it's not an easy game and this definitely DID NOT happen to be when playing on Death March mode) Overall, I would say a solid effort from a seemingly small company, they have outdone many larger companies with this game, not to shy of being a masterpiece, this game is definitely a must for any RPG fan.

I had GTA V pre ordered way back in 2012, long before it's initial release because I knew it would be something special, I knew that Rockstar, the greatest games producer on the planet next to Bethesda , would not let me down. And they didn't, when I played it for the first time on PS3 it was magical; a huge, detailed immersive world with a rich, powerful story and unforgettable characters the likes of which could be found nowhere else, but sadly there was no multiplayer and once I hit 90% completion I got a little bored and I strayed, and traded it in. Then they re-released it for 'new-gen' and my god is it now perfect. Everything has been upgraded, the visuals, as beautiful as they were before, have been overhauled to the max; rays of light penetrate tree leaves and hedgerows, cars glisten in the sun and the rain, textures look incredibly detailed, water looks real and everything just FEELS real. Draw distances have significantly improved. The world is more populated now, enhanced traffic and NPC modelling makes the world feel more alive, grassy areas have been improved so they they now appear to be fields rather than flat bits of dirt with the odd patch of grass. Overall the reworked world model appears more dynamic and real, as though it isn't a game at all. Attention to detail is present in the game now more than ever; tides come in and out, car drive trains work as they would in real life and the first person screen tints if you are wearing sunglasses, which brings me onto the first person mode. GTA has historically been a third person game, which has always been fine but imagine a world that made you feel part of it. Switch to the first person viewpoint and everything changes, movement feels fluid and real, weapon detail is enhanced, the whole system just works. The story-line and side missions all remain the same, there's nothing new there other than the same set of reworked visuals, you'll notice details you didn't before and the characters feel all the more real as a result; however the story is so good I happily played through it this second time. The multiplayer again, remains more or less the same, only this time it feels sometimes like call of duty, as you switch into first person for deathmatch modes and the like, but again, it was done so well the first time round it was still as much fun to play, you can even bring your character over from you PS3 account. The one main thing that Rockstar have stuck to is the deployment of free content downloads; there's no DLC and any extra content that's added for the multiplayer like cars and guns, carries over to the single player world. Meaning that your purchase of GTA V is a one time only event, you'll always be able to enjoy the full experience, it also means that the game world is always evolving, dropping in new cars to acquire or new weapons to play around with. I'd like to say this is the part were I make the review sound more balanced and point out the flaws but there are literally no flaws in the game, none that I've found anyway, so I guess I'll just have to sound like crazed fan or Rockstar spokesperson, but that's okay with me. GTA V, the best game you can buy right now.

Destiny. Destiny has had ups and downs. Anyone who isn't new to Destiny will know that the main mechanic of the game is to grind; which provides hours of frustratingly addictive game play. There is no doubt that destiny is a great game with a great concept behind it and Bungie have done a great job. That is, until they made the Taken King. For a ridiculous price of £39.99 you can download this 'DLC' from the Playstation store. Yep, £40, even though the RRP is $40 (or £26) and for this you get; two hours of story and leveling to 40, 1 new area, 4 new strikes a handful of PVP maps and PVP game mode and some bizarre new gear mechanics, which really isn't a lot if you think about it. What's that? You don't want to but it? well, good luck playing anything else then because Bungie/Activision in their infinite wisdom have locked out 90% of the game so that if you don't buy it, you are reduced to playing nothing at all. you literally will be reduced to 10% of the things you've spent 100% of your time doing. Oh, here's another thing; remember all that gear you spent hours and hours grinding and swearing and crying trying to get? well, that's all useless and obsolete now; expect to replace it all with green stuff. Essentially what I'm getting at here is; Bungie are making everyone pay £39.99 to unlock everything that they've already payed £85 for and have sprinkled on some DLC to try and cover it up. I've played the taken king for probably about 10 hours now and I am right back at running around the maps, waiting for things to spawn so I can kill them and then rinse and repeat the process. If you haven't brought it yet; don't. It is in no way shape or form worth £40. It isn't worth £20. Don't support this, don't believe the hype because this is a waste. Oh, the ghost **** even more now too.

I've put a lot of time into The Elder Scrolls Online, namely about two weeks and 30 or so hours and I've barley even scratched the surface of the game, I've managed to become a "master explorer" in 1 of the 17 available areas. So then, the size of this game is huge, I did read about a few chaps who surmised that it would take 8.9 hours of real time horse riding to travel from corner to corner of Tamriel and that's a long time. As we've come to know, Bethesda love packing their ES games to the max with content that will take you forever to complete and TESO is no different, It's literally impossible to go anywhere without getting distracted by something, be it a dungeon, area boss or quest, you'l always have something to do; be it saving someones family member or delivering a package. For the story driven fan, it is a little dry to begin with, with missions being handed out occasionally, you'll be keeping yourself occupied until the game says you can do some more campaign missions. Aside from the this the narrative is strong (and it ought to be considering none other than Michael Gambon himself will be guiding you); and you'll soon find yourself eager to learn what comes next. Alongside this all the standard guilds return, mages and fighters and a few new ones, will let you explore smaller scale stories that will turn your character into a powerful legend of the land. But also a new alliance feature comes in that allows you to clear areas of the map for the greater good of your people, giving you a feeling of duty and heroism. Skills are easy to level as usual and the leveling system offers an easy and intuitive approach to gearing your character in the direction you want. Each set of skills has passive and active abilities that will map to buttons on the controller, allowing you access to magic spells that can cause extra defensive and offensive effects. The games many crafting systems allow you to make Armour, brew potions and craft enchantments; giving you total freedom over how you play the game. Understandably it's the multiplayer that defines the game, truly showing off the size and polish of the game. Once you hit level ten you can group with other players to take on team dungeons and challenges, offering better loot and experience, not to mention a hell of a lot of fun; with each player having their own responsibility, team work becomes key. Then, when you're ready, enter Cyrodil for some intense PvP, with massive teams of players you can fight to literally become the emperor of Cyrodil. with rumors of the game allowing up to 1000 people at once, these matches can become HUGE. The only slight downside (and the main one to overlook) is the Visuals. Yes, they have improved over Skyrim, with better character models and some stellar lighting, but the lifeless looks on the faces of NPCs when they are describing terrible events sometimes takes you out of the fantasy. Overall a very well made and polished game from Bethesda with the usually quality and quantity we have come to expect form the franchise, a strong addition to any gamers collection.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]