Vanquish on Xbox One feels like a snapshot of the past. While the enhancements have done little to spice up the experience, the wonderful feeling of combat remains. It’s a punchy but hollow experience, but it knows what it is. It doesn’t particularly break any new ground, but it’s a reminder of the simple joys a linear based adventure can invoke.
Ori and the Will of the Wisps on Xbox One is an amazing work of art that happens to double as a truly fantastic game. Moon Studios have outdone themselves here with an emotional, engaging, difficult but above all enjoyable game that should delight gamers everywhere.
If you have a regular group of friends who can be gathered together, thrown on a couch and want to play games as a few drinks are taken in, then Baron: Fur Is Gonna Fly on Xbox One is a great entry into the genre. If, however, you don't have that regular group who are always around, drinking your beer and eating your biscuits, then it’s most definitely a somewhat harder sell.
Unfortunately, Ganbare! Super Strikers on Xbox One is it’s own worst enemy. I admire the development team’s ambition to create something new but unfortunately it doesn’t strike any of the right chords.
Mega Man Zero/ZX Legacy Collection on Xbox One is a rock(man)-solid compilation of some classic GBA and DS titles. The presentation is great, the games are incredibly polished and fun, and the value is undeniable.
Visual pop-in and map confusion aside, this game is a great deal of fun, and with so many characters to choose from finding your ideal team has never been so challenging. If you have enjoyed the previous games in the series, then this is a no brainer, but if you haven't then Warriors Orochi 4 Ultimate could well be the stepping stone you need.
It may take a while to get going at first for new players, but get over that first hour of pretty much just cutscenes and the game completely opens up into one of the finest examples of storytelling in gaming. This, along with the sheer abundance of side activities and people asking for a punch, makes Yakuza 0 an exquisite game, and a perfect benchmark for newcomers to dive straight into.
If you’re a sucker for jumping behind the wheel of a car and going round in circles all day, think that Tony Stewart is an utter legend or just love a bit of good old fashioned motorsport then Tony Stewart's Sprint Car Racing on Xbox One delivers the goods.
House Flipper on Xbox One is a wonderful surprise. It does not have the deepest gameplay, but it sucked me right in. It may not be a game I remember for years to come, but it will surely stay installed on my Xbox One so that I have something quiet and calming to play the next time I feel the need to be alone with my existential thoughts.
Townsmen – A Kingdom Rebuilt on the Xbox One looks like a simple city builder with its cutesy and warming art style. But there can be a lot of depth also, especially if you go looking for it.
If you want to be scared out of your wits, but love the adrenaline rush that terror games bring, then Infliction will be right up your Nightmare on Elm Street.
60 Seconds! is an interesting beast. What’s important isn’t really the story or gameplay, but how those things show themselves. Little interactions of gameplay and narrative are what make this game fascinating.
Hayfever on Xbox One has the looks of a solid platformer but is a completely misjudged experience. The control system makes the game borderline unplayable, the sound design wears thin extremely fast, and irritating glitches have the potential to prevent progress. Much like actual hayfever, it’s disorienting, frustrating and downright annoying.
I’ve read a fair few of the Assassin’s Creed comics that are available - The Fall and The Chain for one - and while most of them are a worthy read from both a comic-book fan point of view and for fans of the Creed, Bloodstone Vol.1 from Titan Comics has sadly left me confused rather than excited for the next entry in this potential-filled premise. That said, there is definitely fun to be had in exploring the Vietnam war from the perspective of the Assassin-Templar war.
