Richard Dobson

Tokyo 42 was announced towards the back end of 2016 and immediately grabbed the attention of gamers with its unique and highly stylised aesthetic. Its isometric view of Tokyo and its rooftops really do make the game stand out from others available. The game is all set to launch on Xbox One, PS4 and PC on 31st May and for many people, the aesthetics are enough to warrant the purchase of £15.99. But for those yet to decide, what else does it offer?

When growing up, I was fortunate enough to have a father with a piqued interest in video games. After receiving our first home computer around 1994, he was quick to fill it with any and all games including Fury of the Furries, Jazz Jackrabbit and DOOM. I adored the first two but was never allowed to play DOOM for obvious reasons. It didn’t stop me though, and never failed to reduce me to a shaking mess. It was far from a scary game, but the atmosphere it presented was beyond creepy, and for a young naïve child, was very disturbing. BUTCHER has been designed to re-create the atmospheric feeling of wandering round the corridors of DOOM and Quake. And it has done so perfectly.

Tekken 7 is finally due to release on consoles, over two years since its arcade release, and has promised to tie-up the series’ Mishima Clan saga that has been running throughout the series over the past 23 years. As it has been over six years since the last canonical game (Tekken Tag Tournament is non-canon), Tekken: Blood Feud is a 4-issue comic arc that will bridge the gap between games 6 and 7.

Misogynists and sadists look away now because The Sexy Brutale is not what you are expecting. Unless you are expecting a review of a macabre puzzle adventure game set inside a casino mansion, then read on.

Growing up as a 90’s kid meant having to go round to our friend’s house and physically knocking on their front door just to see if they were in. There were three of us on my street and between us we had a Sega Mega Drive II, Sony Playstation and Nintendo 64. It meant we got to experience all the classics of the day, and many of those classics were platformers. Spyro may have been my favourite, Sonic 2 was the game I could ‘speedrun’, but Banjo-Kazooie was always the one I wish I had played more of. If we are ever to see another Banjo-Kazooie remains to be seen, but after my time with Yooka-Laylee then another one may not be needed.

In the four months of its release since the 10 year build up, Final Fantasy XV has been kind to its fans by offering a wealth of free game updates including additional music and a whole festival dedicated to two of the franchises most famous creatures, moogles and chocobos. The first paid-for DLC has now arrived and as advertised as focusing on each of Noctis’ companions, with this one concentrating on Gladiolus.

The first paid-for story add-on for Final Fantasy XV has arrived and as the name suggests, this story episode is focused around Gladiolus.

Yooka-Laylee is a game that feels like it needs no introduction, having been front and centre of a certain generation of gamers’ minds for over two years since its Kickstarter announcement back in May 2015. For the un-informed though, a quick history lesson is needed.

A King’s Tale was released as a pre-order bonus to select retailers for Final Fantasy XV back in November 2016. As of the 1st March 2017 the game became free on Xbox One and PS4, but even at that price, is it worth your investment?

For Honor may be a fresh and unique multiplayer experience - you can tell that by checking out our review - but it does come with the same issues that plague online games, the major one being connection issues.

Fantasy brawls between iconic characters and historical empires have long helped fuel late night discussions between friends. For Honor pits Vikings, Knights, and Samurai together in an eternal war with each other. But how did these factions end up in the same timeline? The game does explain this in the opening cutscene before allowing access to the main menu, but it is glossed over rather than fully explained; a natural disaster occurred that resulted in lava spewing everywhere and parts of the world lost forever. The lava remains in some areas of the world but really, For Honor isn’t about how this happened, more what happens next and I was all too keen to find out.

The Riptide GP series has been a mainstay on mobile platforms for a number of years now, but Renegade is the first in the series to be built specifically for consoles as well. After the success of the Riptide GP 2 port, how does the third game in the series handle?

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but its nearly that time of year again. The time where young couples have a romantic date at their local McDonald's, staring longingly at each other over a McFlurry, whilst old couples, typically sick of the sight of each other, are forced to make an effort on this special day. Yes that’s right it’s Valentine’s Day! But don’t go running to the nearest supermarket for a card just yet, because here are TheXboxHub’s Top 5 games for Valentine’s Day to get you back in the good books:

Hands up anyone who remembers the Ouya Android console? The tiny console that started on Kickstarter, raising over $8.5 million in the process? Anyone? Anyone? If you do not remember then you are the lucky one. As an owner at one time of said console, I unfortunately do remember. It was by no means a bad idea in concept, but it struggled to get much support from developers due to its pre-requisite of timed-exclusivity on new games, something which put a lot of developers off. One such game that took up this offer though was TowerFall releasing on the console in June 2013, arguably becoming the Ouya’s killer app. Over 3 years later the game finally makes its way onto Xbox One as TowerFall Ascension, with single-player capabilities of sorts. But is it a case of being too late?

My first draft of this review started with the line “polishing faecal matter and then applying glitter was designed for instances such as this” when referring to Crypt of the Serpent King. But after a bit more time with this game I would like to formally apologise and take that statement back. This game is by no means a diamond in the rough, but it is a better experience than having to watch paint dry. Shorter as well.