After 20 years of playing every game I can get my hands on, I can now be found selling my soul for anything Resident Evil, Gears of War, or Gamerscore related... all of which will be mastered after a good cuppa!
Should you be after a game that can provide hours of fun or even some engaging experiences with friends, then Tetsumo Party isn’t likely to be your go-to game. It has a nice idea and if done better - dare I say maybe even with Kinect from back in the day - we could have been looking at a very interesting game. Sadly, that’s not the case
For a yearly release based on one of the biggest racing franchises, NASCAR Heat 4 doesn’t quite do it justice and even though those wanting a functional racer will find enough to be going on with, there aren't many reasons to pick this over any other racer on the market.
When it comes to survival horror, the first thing that many will want to talk about are the classic titles that kicked it all off; the Resident Evil’s and the Silent Hill’s of this world. Of course, since that point, survival horror has come a long way, evolving a lot, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t people out there who appreciate the roots of where it all began. With DAYMARE: 1998, that’s what the focus is centred around.
So, after the months of anticipation, and many hours spent mastering one of the best betas we have ever laid hands on, Battlefield 1 is finally upon us. And after years of fans of the FPS genre clamouring for a title to return to the famous World War era, it seems DICE have acted on one of their player’s biggest requests as Battlefield 1 takes players back in time...to the dark era of World War One.
As a casual player of the Call of Duty series, the futuristic settings of the last few entries aren’t something that I’ve paid much attention to. Sure, I’ve noticed the change, it’s hard not to when a series decides to send you far into the future, but for many, these changes have proven an unpopular choice. However, with release just around the corner and the four-day beta coming to an end, what can we expect of the upcoming FPS blockbuster? – Honestly, much of the same.
Many will find themselves happy with their current Xbox One, but there were certainly plenty of people out there who were excited at the prospect of a new console when Microsoft announced the Xbox One S back at E3 2016. Sure, they also announced the hotly anticipated Project Scorpio – but no-one really knows what that is. The Xbox One S on the other hand was a new and improved console that would be available this year. My initial response to a new machine so soon into the cycle was of surprise and uncertainty on whether it was worth upgrading or not, but Microsoft’s more recent announcement of the limited edition Gears of War Xbox One S that would be releasing alongside the game of the same name was certainly more than enough persuasion to ensure I coughed up for the upgrade. But just how good is Microsoft’s sleek new Limited Edition Xbox?
Having had no idea of what The Bug Butcher was before I sat down with the game, the only thoughts I had were of the local butchers on the corner where I used to live, how they got closed due to cockroaches in the back of the shop and how it made me cringe every time I walked past. Fortunately, though the butcher in this little indie title isn’t known as a butcher in the traditional sense, but more in the aggressive nature of the term.
Back at E3 2015, I was sat down for Microsoft’s briefing, waiting in anticipation to see which exciting new games I would be spending the next year emptying my wallet for. So when Phil Spencer got to the stage to announce something new and unique for console users, we had no idea the next thing we would see light up the show would be the Xbox One Elite Controller. With an elegant and sleek look alongside customisable features it immediately become an in demand product. So when E3 2016 rolled around, the announcement of an improved look to coincide with the release of one of the greatest franchises in Xbox history blew it out the park for me.
So how good is the Gears of War Elite Controller?
Necropolis is a dungeon crawler, and like all dungeon crawlers, Necropolis is designed to be played over and over, whether that be with friends or alone. Whilst fully functional solo, any real interest on progression in this game will certainly require a group of you if you wish to see much past the first few levels. However, I’m not sure if I know why you would bother.
The Xbox Game Preview program has been a big hit since arriving on the Xbox One, giving players the opportunity to buy and experience games as they go through various development stages, as well as helping to shape the future development of the various titles it includes. My favourite thing about the Preview program however is the arrival of space games on our home consoles. Whilst this genre of games were previously only something readily available to PC players, last year’s introduction of the Preview Program brought with it the widely popular Elite Dangerous. Now several months, on we have another interesting space title available to players in the form of Everspace.
There’s a good reason many of my favourite titles are the creations of talented indie developers. Sure, the big budget blockbusters can offer those great set pieces, engaging stories and frantic multiplayers, but if you’re looking for something truly unique and memorable then the smaller indie titles offer some of the best experiences on the market. Manual Samuel is another perfect example of this.
For every videogame genre there is always at least one standout title that people think of as soon as you mention it. For example, racing has the Forza series, sports have FIFA, shooting has Battlefield. If someone was to ask me what there was for fighting enthusiasts, I would probably point them towards Mortal Kombat, or the WWE series - dependent on how they felt about gore! With the constant arrival of new titles on the Xbox there is often something for everyone but not all games add value to their genres. In fact some can remind people like me just why they don’t favour a particular franchise in the first place. But what category does LASTFIGHT, the latest fighting title on Xbox fall under?
Most games I have played in my lifetime have usually started with some sort of tutorial or given aids, with a future option to disable them. One thing I can’t recall however was the last time a game required me to control every aspect of my character’s life to ensure they manage to make it through the day as the norm. I mean, difficult titles are out there, we’ve all seen them, but how many require you to do more for the protagonist than you do for yourself? Perfectly Paranormal plan to do just that with Manual Samuel on Xbox One, PS4 and PC.
When a game gathers a quick following it’s completely expected to hear news of a sequel, with fans wanting more of what they have already enjoyed so much. Should a game series receive success then spin-offs, remakes and remasters are things that can often get thrown in the mix too - often to shake things up, to try new ideas and also to expand stories or universes. As seen more recently it can be done to ensure it looks its best and is something that deserves praise. With Capcom devoting most of 2016 to their own catalogue of great franchises, I sat down with Dead Rising 2: Off the Record, Capcom’s self-described re-imagining to see just how praise worthy it was. Or if it is something we could have done without.
Dead Rising was a popular hit with fans back in 2006, so popular in fact, that when Dead Rising 2 released in 2010 it quickly became the fastest selling Xbox Live title at the time. Several years have passed since players were invited to return to the zombie slaying action in Fortune City, and with the years passing zombie games aren’t that much of a new thing any more, with many developers cashing in on the successful genre and its rise in popularity. But there is something about kicking objects into massive hordes of zombies to see how many it takes down, that just never gets old. Which is why I jumped at the chance to return to the misfortunes of Fortune City, as Dead Rising 2 arrives on Xbox One.
With two huge titles in the form of Dead Rising 4 and Resident Evil 7 due in the coming months, Capcom have dedicated much of 2016 to polishing up some of their most popular past franchises, before throwing them in the direction of the current gen platforms. With several Resident Evil releases now out of the bag, Capcom wasted no time in ensuring the remainder of 2016 was focused on its zombie infested Dead Rising series, with a nice HD remaster of a game that promises to be in no way related to George A. Romeros’s Dawn of the Dead.
Having been a gamer for many years now, I have seen countless titles arrive on various consoles, taking in everything from incredible masterpieces to games that resemble nothing more than development hell. Given that every genre has at least one title to fondly reminisce about, I thought I’d seen everything.
That was of course until Perfect Woman hit my Xbox. This is a game that invoked my first thoughts of ‘What the hell is this’ and my last ‘What the hell was that’. Yes, Perfect Woman is that strange.
With so many games releasing year after year it can be a tough task keeping up with everything. As gamers though, many of us feel compelled to try and play almost every title that releases onto our consoles. But with a handful of new games available weekly, many of which require hours of time and effort to complete, choosing a game to invest the time in can sometimes mean missing out on a bunch of great games that you may have enjoyed even more. With that in mind here are five under-appreciated Xbox One games (in no specific order) that are fully deserving of more time and effort.
Inescapable: No Rules, No Rescue isn’t a bad game, it’s just that others of a similar ilk, like Danganronpa, do the social thriller visual novel concept much better.
