Known for providing an excellent arcade-style racing experience, the Forza Horizon series takes its third installment Down Under, allowing players to race across a variety of environments throughout Australia. Fortunately, the franchise has not lost any of its quality while making the lengthy journey to the Southern Hemisphere.

Forza Horizon 3 takes a slightly different approach than its predecessors when it comes to the overall concept of how the player interacts with the Horizon festival. Rather than being a random racer merely trying to make a name for themselves, this time you play as the person running the entire festival, who also happens to take part in all of the events. From a plot-focused point of view, this makes far more sense when it comes to showcase events, as the festival’s boss is the one racing in all of these ludicrous scenarios rather than one racer who happens to have been selected for each of the events. As more races, Bucket List challenges and “PR Stunts” (the formal name for all speed traps, drift zones, jumps, and speed zones) are completed, the festival gains more fans, and begins to expand. Across Australia, four festival sites in total will be opened and expanded, unlocking even more events to complete. Given that you are the individual making all the important decisions surrounding the festival, you actually get to choose where to open the next location for the festival when it comes time to aggressively expand.The game will offer two choices and provide a brief description of the area, in addition to providing community statistics once your choice has been made, informing you what percentage of gamers made that same choice at the same time and who from your friend’s list did the same thing. For such a small feature, the inclusion of choice and statistics makes the title feel far more connected rather than the previous two games which felt more like solo adventures until you played some online multiplayer.

On the topic of multiplayer, Forza Horizon 3 introduces online co-op play, allowing for friends or strangers to play through their festival adventures together while adding to their single player progress. Obviously this addition has made a significant improvement in the eyes of those who may not enjoy racing titles alone but thoroughly love them when playing alongside friends. While you do need to choose to play co-op from a pause menu, the way it is handled is relatively seamless. I did not find myself waiting for extended periods of time, generally only between 10 and 15 seconds to find a game, and never found there to be any connectivity or server issues. When switching back to single player, all of the progress carrying over reduces the redundancy felt by players and helps keep everyone invested in the game. While certain tracks will be repeated during events based on whether you are taking part in a championship or exhibition, not having to redo the last hour’s worth of racing simply because it was online is greatly appreciated. You can also choose whether you wish to play strictly races, games, or both when online, or you can opt to have a large free roaming session of online multiplayer.

However, there is one technical issue which plagues the multiplayer component moreso than the single player. Occasionally you will find your car lodged in an awkward position against rocks, cliffs, trees, or houses. If your vehicle is flipped over or on its side for an extended period of time, the game will reset your car automatically and you can continue on. Sadly, if your car is still upright, or the game does not deem it to be flipped over, it will not reset your vehicle. In single player, rewinding time and avoiding the collision is a simple solution, but in online multiplayer, the rewind feature does not exist. This means that if your car gets lodged in a spot which you can not maneuver out of, you will be stuck there until an event ends or someone else in the game is kind enough to hit your car out of that spot unless you happen to have discovered the manual reset option which is never actually explained or detailed in the tutorial. If you get stuck, it is possible to pause the game and press in on one of the analog sticks to reset your car, but unless you happen to be looking carefully at everything on the screen when the game is paused, you will likely never know it exists. Without the knowledge of this button, you will believe you are simply stuck until a multiplayer event finishes. Considering a large number of the games available online require hitting other vehicles, you can easily be stuck in a spot. Not having the manual reset button explained during the tutorial is a gross oversight, and results in the enjoyment being sucked from playing almost immediately when you find yourself stuck between rocks or trees in online play, spinning your wheels helplessly.

Issues with the reset button aside, the control mechanics are as solid as they have ever been in the Forza Horizon games. The various terrains will still cause cars to handle differently based on their design and tuning choices, and given the vast number of choices available for modifying a vehicle allows players to customize their cars for specific tasks or challenges. A Lamborghini Aventador will clearly never be great for taking off-road, but changing the tire pressure, tired width, suspension, or reinforcing the body with roll bars will all affect the performance of the vehicle and allow for that fine-tuning which gear heads will eagerly search for. Over time, you will also unlock body kits from various companies, allowing for complete overhauls in performance and appearance with a single option selection.

One of the biggest staples in the Horizon franchise is the music associated with the festival. Typically the focus has been electronic music, and while there is still a large emphasis on that genre, hip hop, alternative rock, and classical music are included, as well as the ability to listen to your own music through the Groove service. While this service is something you have to pay for, it is still a viable option for those who wish to listen to their own custom soundtrack in-game. Not all of the stations are available at the outset, and following the trend of running the festival, you decide which stations are unlocked in which order. This means if you happen to be a fan of hip hop, you can choose to have this station available for your listening pleasure far sooner than the classical station you may not wish to hear at all. Of course, you can always opt to turn off the radio stations altogether while playing so that you only hear the roar of your engine and the squeal of your tires.

In terms of replay value or sheer content, Forza Horizon 3 is sure to please. With more than 400 unique cars, more than 130 races and championships, Bucket List events, barn finds, 150 hidden bonus boards, online auctions for buying and selling vehicles, the ability to create your own races or Bucket List challenges, photographing every unique car via Horizon Promo mode, and online play, players can expect to easily put 40 or 50 hours into the game without thinking much of it. Even if you only plan on completing races and PR stunts until you finish expanding the festival, you will still be putting 15 or 20 hours into the game, minimum. Once you are done drooling over the gorgeous scenery and you make your way to the various showcase events, some of the moments will make you sit back in awe. There are usually several key moments during any event which pulls away from the player’s point of view, placing the camera in a more cinematic location, and slows down time for a spectacular jump. Even if some of the showcase races seem to be eerily similar to past Horizon events, seeing them in a new setting, with these moments or improved details will feel fresh. It may be a matter of adding multi-coloured smoke spewing from a fighter jet’s engines as it races across the sky, or a freight train with enough flatbed cars to allow your car to jump overtop, but players will find themselves impressed with the visuals and the grandeur of these events.

While there is a significant issue with the reset button never being explained, particularly before going online, every other aspect of Forza Horizon 3 is guaranteed to satisfy players. The sheer volume of content available will keep any racing fan’s attention for extended periods of time and the beauty of Australia’s environment encourages exploring every inch of the terrain. Cars handle exactly how you would expect, community-designed liveries are available by the thousands, and you are constantly being shown how your own performance compares to that of your friends. Online co-op play is a monumental addition to the series, and hopefully one that continues to appear in any successors within the franchise. Forza Horizon 3 has set the new standard for arcade racers, making it a necessary purchase for any fan of the genre or series.

The Good

• Phenomenal quantity of content, both single player and multiplayer
• Co-op progress carries over to single player
• Breath-taking visuals
• Cars behave differently based on surface, speed, and tuning
• Increased variety in music and cars

The Bad

• Fails to inform player of manual reset button at any point, potentially leading to infuriating online situations

The Score: 9.6

Following Joule as she ventures across Far Eden in an attempt to terraform it into a hospitable planet, ReCore combines exploration, RPG elements, and creative platforming to create a memorable experience, albeit one not without its issues.

At the outset of the adventure, Joule has a solitary robotic companion named Mack. Contained in a familiar canine body, Mack’s core offers little in the way of unique advantage over his late-game counterparts, but serves as a fantastic introduction to the mechanics of the game. Over the course of the initial dungeon-esque segment, players are informed about the different colours associated with enemies. Red, yellow, and blue robots will attempt to interrupt your progress, and to better your chances of defeating them, selecting the same colour from Joule’s gun will inflict more damage to the enemy in question. When enough damage has been dealt to an enemy, the player is faced with a decision, as there are two separate ways to dispose of an enemy, with each method yielding a different benefit. You may choose to extract the opponent’s core (the powerful, coloured orb which acts as a power source) but doing so will immobilize you temporarily as you engage in a tug-of-war with the robot, or you may simply shoot the robot until it explodes and provides you with crafting materials.

Cores are used to upgrade Joule’s robotic companions and make them stronger, but crafting materials are needed in order to product stronger parts for them. While “Prismatic” foes (i.e. bosses) require you to extract their core, and “Corebytes” (i.e. incredibly weak enemies) simply get destroyed, the vast majority of aggressive robots will force the player to choose and reward them appropriately. This balancing act is an interesting one which adds an extra layer of intricacy or strategy to combat, but nothing is more infuriating than working through a dungeon location and having to discard some of your extracted cores simply because you found stronger ones and your inventory is full. Considering how integral the core extraction mechanic is, the inventory for cores is extremely limited and could benefit greatly from allowing players to hold an additional 10 or 15 cores at any given time.

ReCore does a satisfactory job sculpting the environment of Far Eden into a believable terrain. Clearly the society has focused heavily on robotics and technology, but without human care for decades, the harsh climate of the planet has reclaimed the majority of modified land. The drifting sand, rock formations, massive pieces terraforming equipment, and buildings still in existence all fit perfectly together. Unfortunately, while there are no shortage of collectibles to hunt down, there can frequently be times when you have nothing to keep your attention for several minutes as you explore. Obviously there should not be an endless stream of items to locate, but when you are traversing large open areas in the name of reaching your next objective, it can feel like quite a lengthy and chore-like task without puzzles or items rising intermittently. Instead, you will frequently see enemy robots erupt from the sand in front of you to distract you for a few moments. After dispatching each party of robots, the already lengthy trek feels that much more painful as it has been drawn out two be two or three times as long.

When you do see puzzles or collectibles, you may or may not be able to access them at that time due to which robot companions you have with you. There are five different robot frames in the game, all of which have unique abilities, and are needed for overcoming different obstacles, and you are able to select any two of them to travel alongside you at any given time. However, there are only a couple of cores used to animate these frames, meaning you will need to change which frames are activated depending on which puzzles you are presented with. There is only one place to activate different frames, Joule’s “Crawler” (the base of operations for our protagonist). Fortunately, each companion core will gain experience and level up, even if they are not with you as you explore Far Eden. This prevents the typical RPG issue of two or three companions becoming incredibly strong, but having several others who are far lower levels than your usual party members.

Returning to previously explored areas after unlocking a new robot frame will generally result in several more dungeons and powerups becoming accessible, but you will find yourself constantly returning to your “Crawler” and having to swap out companions before finding the closest fast travel station to where you had been and travelling back to that specific puzzle. It is also a very distinct possibility that there is no fast travel station near your previous location, and you must spend another 3 or 4 four minutes travelling across the wasteland to reach it again. The game would have benefited significantly from the ability to fast travel back to the precise location from which you had recently warped to your Crawler. If the argument is made that you need the fast travel stations in order to actually travel in that manner, why is it always an option to teleport back to Joule’s Crawler regardless of where you are? That same function should be available to revert back to that location, even if it disappears after you use it once or fast travel to a different location in the world.

There is a strong enough plot presence throughout the main quest line to provide players with motivation for their actions and provide some background information, but similar to Dead Space and Bioshock, there are audio logs scattered through the world which offer far more insight into the world and events leading up to the present situation. Those who strive to locate all of them will gain some far more interesting insight into the world of ReCore than those who do not put forth the extra effort. It would have been nice if one of the log sets (and similarly, the dialogue from companion robots) had not been in a completely fictitious language which makes no sense to the player. Even with subtitles, the dialogue is expressed through foreign symbols and blocks rather than actually providing context or meaning to the jibberish being heard.

Sadly, the end-game component of ReCore is anti-climactic, and forces the player to locate more and more prismatic cores before accessing the next floor of a tower. Players who willingly searched for as many prismatic cores as possible before reaching this point may be able to complete the entire tower without ever leaving it, but the majority of individuals will likely have to exit after each floor and hunt down more cores. This process is painfully irritating due to a combination of the fast travel mechanic and the lack of information regarding items in the overworld. While each dungeon will state from the overworld map just how many of its collectibles remain hidden, you are not able to see the locations of the overworld cores unless you happen to be in that section of the map. It may seem like a minor detail, but while hunting prismatic cores, it would make the process significantly simpler if you could see the cores you had not yet collected from a fast travel station or Joule’s Crawler. Instead, you must choose a part of the world to travel to and then open up the world map from there to find out if you happen to be near any or even in the same part of the world as any you have not yet located. If the cores were never displayed on the map, this would also not be an issue, but because they do appear in some circumstances, it results in an awkward and infuriating game mechanic.

Visually, ReCore is a phenomenal game, and taking a few moments to revel in the scenery is a must. However, the desire to explore every inch of the landscape will occasionally be marred by the obnoxiously long loading times. Any time you use a fast travel station, enter a dungeon, or progress to a separate area of the overworld, a loading screen will appear and remain there for a minimum of 15 or 20 seconds. Even returning to the main menu from the pause screen results in a lengthy load time. The worst I personally experienced was during a boss fight in which I died approximately 90 seconds into the bout. In order to reload the most recent checkpoint, which had been from just outside the door leading to the boss chamber, I had to wait just over a minute to resume playing. This was an extreme example, and I never experienced anything close to a minute after that, but the average load time is roughly 25 seconds. In the end-game events which require you to travel the world collecting cores until you reach specific numbers, this can be an extremely unpleasant aspect simply due to how frequently you need to fast travel and enter dungeons.

ReCore is an enjoyable experience that fans of open world exploration will find themselves drawn to, but players will need to exercise a great deal of patience while long load times and grinding for cores take their toll. The plot is interesting enough to keep players engaged, with audio playing on occasion as Joule walks through various environments, but only those who hunt down the additional audio logs will truly appreciate what has happened on and around Far Eden. The combat mechanic is relatively simplistic, relying on colour matching to do the most damage, but limited inventory slots render exploration and collection excursions relatively short in duration so as not to waste or lose resources. The platforming segments are incredibly varied throughout ReCore, but at no point are they perplexing or require extensive amounts of thought to overcome. The gentle difficulty climb allows the game to be accessible to younger or inexperienced gamers, although those looking for a significant challenge or a thoroughly polished title may have to look elsewhere.

The Good

• Interesting plot keeps players invested in quests
• Experience gained by inactive party members
• Beautiful environment

The Bad

• Incredibly lengthy load times
• Fast travel mechanic leaves much to be desired
• Only able to swap out cores and use resources in one location

The Score: 6.4

There’s no other way I can say it: if you have not been playing Batman – The Telltale Series, you should do so immediately. Following the revelation at the end of Episode One, the success of Episode Two: Children of Arkham hinged on how much Telltale was willing to differ from the established canon. That revelation is expanded in Episode Two, and allows Telltale to do what it does best: fantastic writing, unexpected plot twists and difficult moral decisions.

Children of Arkham demonstrates Telltale Games’ willingness to tell its own story rather than getting stuck in the trap of retelling familiar comic book stories. There were twists I didn’t see coming, and familiar Bat-Lore was turned upside down. Children of Arkham is a story about family and how our personal connection may distort our view of their actions. Following Falcone’s shock reveal at the end of the previous episode, Bruce Wayne is questioning everything he knew about his family and their legacy. Is Falcone telling the truth or is it just a ploy to point the blame elsewhere?

Troy Baker delivers a fantastic performance as Bruce Wayne and Batman, drawing the player into Bruce’s confused emotional state and drawing on that to fuel Batman’s determination. In fact, all of the voice acting in Batman – The Telltale Series has been superbly captivating so far, complemented by entertaining writing.

Telltale laid the foundation of the series last episode when it questioned how far Batman was willing to go to get justice. In Episode Two, the focus shifts to Bruce Wayne’s moral compass and how he should solve issues. Should he rely on the Batman persona, or would Bruce be more suitable? Who do you trust as Bruce Wayne, and who should you be weary of? This are questions I was constantly forced to consider. Telltale is doing the character’s justice, while also allowing players to experiment with the personalities of Bruce and Batman. At times I find myself asking, what would Bruce/ Batman do, but at other times I’m able to branch away and continue to craft my own versions of them.

Children of Arkham is also about choosing how Bruce and Batman will develop relationships with key characters. It’s great to be able to decide how Bruce develops his relationships with franchise mainstays such as Commissioner Gordon, Harvey Dent, Vicki Vale and Selina Kyle. It makes me want to start a new save and to see how they will react to me should I choose a different dialogue response. The mysterious relationship between Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle was a highlight for me this episode, in part thanks to the chemistry between Baker and Bailey.

As with Episode One, the few actions sequences mostly do a great job of controlling the pacing and breaking up the dialogue. The bar fight with Selena Kyle and Bruce Wayne fending off a bunch of henchmen while an acoustic guitar jukebox track plays in the background was a standout. Telltale has mastered the quick time event sequence, and that’s especially evident in this extended sequence.

Children of Arkham feels shorter than other Telltale episodes, and is about 30 minutes shorter than Episode One clocking in at around 90 minutes. As a result, the final act feels rushed and chaotic with too many narrative elements surrounding the action sequence. In the space of what feels like five minutes, a hostage situation takes place, another huge anti-lore plot point is revealed, the titular Children of Arkham make an appearance, and a major decision has to be made (of which I regret my choice). On the one hand, it’s a great depiction of the poise Batman has to have during encounters, but it largely left me flustered.

I have no idea where Batman – The Telltale Series is heading, but I’m excited to find out what other areas of the Batman mythos Telltale is willing to alter and how certain relationships will evolve over the course of the story.

Telltale Games has developed a track record of creating excellent interactive stories, and that’s looking no different with Batman – The Telltale Series. Where Episode One laid the foundation for a unique take on the Batman universe, Episode Two demonstrates Telltale’s willingness to go through with it. Whether you’re a fan of Batman or just a fan of Telltale games, Batman – The Telltale Series is establishing itself as a must play.

The Good

• Narrative that alters well known Batman-lore
• The bar QTE sequence
• Chemistry between characters
• Telltale is allowing the player to craft their own Bruce Wayne/Batman

The Bad

• The conclusion feels rushed

The Score: 9.0

Publisher Suprise Attack Games Developers Cybernate

Genre Action Platform Played Playstation 4

Satisfaction, Frustration, Fun, Boredom. All traits of Super Mutant Alien Assault, it’s a tough one. The game exerts both great and not so great qualities. Developer’s Cybernate have certainly found their groove in the niche market of retro-inspired indie games with their fun gameplay, unique art style and soundtrack. But it’s not to say this game doesn’t have its flaws.

Super Mutant Alien Assault follows a very straightforward and stereotypical alien story. Aliens are attacking Earth and the only defenders are some droids equipped with an arsenal of weapons and power-ups. While it’s a basic premise, the game provides enough basis to create an alien feeling environment in its various levels. The actual gameplay consists of a wave-based maps wherein the player must destroy a variety of aliens that spawn as a result of the impending invasion. All aliens and levels are randomly generated on each play through, meaning the difficulty can vary from super easy to very hard depending on what is spawned.

While the gameplay is fairly basic, it’s quite fun. Levels provide some weaponry which, depending on the randomly given weapon, allows players to either lay back and destroy aliens with ease or strive to beat that last one with the most basic weapon. The game does a good job at curbing the learning difficulty by explaining each gameplay mechanic or weapon before jumping into combat. It’s important for players to pick up weapons as soon as possible from one of the vending machines and boxes to avoid being ripped apart by those pesky aliens. Droids/Players can equip both a primary and secondary weapons in addition to grenades which comes to help in those moments when there’s no hope left and ammo is scarce.

A sleuth of power ups and abilities are granted to players as they progress throughout the levels, and by all means they don’t feel important. They allow players to side-dash, double jump and use a bubble shield and while they may sound worthwhile, they don’t aid players effectively when they’re struggling to fend off hordes of aliens. The aliens in particular can vary in size and difficulty, some fly, some don’t but you can be assured the majority are annoying and it gets pretty heated when dodging and attacking multiple enemies on screen at the same time.

The combination of randomness and varying difficulty amongst weapons, abilities and enemies keeps players on the edge of their seats but ultimately summarises Super Mutant Alien Assault itself, as either genuinely fun or insanely frustrating. Amongst all the alien killing there a few objectives to complete dependent on the level, one scenario involves moving batteries from one side of the level to another in order to charge a power source and achieve light speed, while another requires players to release pressure from canisters before they explode and injure them.

Super Mutant Alien Assault art style however exerts a fresh retro impression, reminiscent of the Super NES era of video games and the sound effects and soundtrack also exert a certain unique retro flair. Both audio and visuals appropriately accompany the fast-paced side stroller.

While Super Mutant Alien Assault captures player’s attention with its fast-paced gameplay and randomness after a few play throughs it begins to feel stale and unoriginal. Once players get stuck in the mantra of losing, trying again and losing again, the incentive to keep playing diminishes. This could have been aided with some form of power up or something to encourage players to keep going. The game relies too heavily on its difficulty and randomness factor to prolong gameplay, and begins to feel static in a player’s progression. Permanent power-ups or RPG-like elements could have helped create a more balanced game and steady character progression, but that’s overthinking it

Super Mutant Alien Assault is a great combination of quick gameplay with a great art style and soundtrack. The premise is basic but enough to get you initially hooked and playing the fast-paced experience. The weaponry puts you in the position to either conquer or cower as you oppose and defend against hordes of different aliens. While it’s combination of varying difficulty, randomness, enemies and weapons exerts the game’s best qualities it is also the game’s biggest downfall as it becomes stale and unoriginal after replaying levels over and over again. With a lack of character progression and relying too heavily on difficulty to prolong the game’s life, Super Mutant Alien Assault falls short. It’s a quick fun game that may entertain you for a few rounds, but nothing more.

The Good

• Fun Fast-paced gameplay.
• Great Retro Art and sound style.
• Great apporachability, easy to play.
• Randomness makes it spontaneous, initially.

The Bad

• Power-ups don’t accomplish much.
• Game relies on randomness and difficulty to prolong the playtime.
• Lack of character progression or character accopmlishment.
• No Incentive to keep going after replaying levels.

The Score: 6

If you have ever played a Worms game you know what you are getting with Worms W.M.D. It is a 2D, turn-based shooter in which teams of worms use all manner of crazy weapons to explode, machine gun, clobber or fire punch enemies in order to be the last team standing. The formula largely hasn’t changed throughout the franchise’s 20 years, rather, each new game has attempted to be a refinement of the core gameplay mechanics.

Worms W.M.D is marketed as a spiritual successor to 1999’s Worms Armageddon, returning to a gorgeous hand-drawn art style that makes the game great to look at whether you’re playing or waiting for your turn. Worm classes, and water physics are gone, creating a much more balanced gameplay experience. Worms W.M.D has turned its focus back to the core mechanics of the franchise, demonstrating that after 20 years they still have staying power.

Controlling your worms is simple, all you need is jump, shoot and weapon select buttons, as well as the left stick. If you are not as familiar with the controls, increase the turn time limit, or make it shorter for a frantic, fast-paced experience. The simple controls make the game accessible for players of all skill levels, as well as the fact that skill only contributes to a little bit of success in Worms; luck contributes to the rest.

Watching someone aim a grenade throw that ends up rolling towards their own worm is hilarious. It makes successful turns fulfilling, and sees fails laughed about regularly. Worms W.M.D is best enjoyed with friends, locally or online, but if you’re playing solo the AI has been balanced well enough that it still makes human errors like failing to jump out of the way of its own explosions or narrowly missing a crucial bazooka shot.

What differentiates Worms W.M.D from its predecessors is the new vehicles, turrets, buildings and crafting system. The vehicles and turrets are the standout, adding more destructive tools for players. Each vehicle has a different weapon, for example the mech stomps on worms and the helicopter rains down machine gun fire from the sky, so I enjoyed going out of my way to jump into vehicles on the map. They are also well balanced with the other weapons so you don’t need to control the vehicles to win a match, but I wanted to anyway.

The buildings were a nice edition to map design, with worms able to hide inside them and only be visible to any other worms in the buildings. They offer a form of shelter, although buildings can be destroyed like everything else on the map. They don’t change tactics completely, but are a nice new addition to the franchise.

Crafting, on the other hand, is not as revolutionary. Materials can be gathered from crates on the map (replacing coins), or by dismantling other weapons. There are some really cool weapons that can be crafted, adding to the chaos, like a dodgy phone battery that launches a chain of electricity through worms. However, many of the upgrades you can craft for existing weapons don’t change them enough to be worth the investment, and some of the newer weapons feel too overpowered to be satisfied when using them during a match. One weapon, for example, rains asteroids on the map, destroying everything in sight. It feels like an instant win, ending games too quickly. To make the crafting system worthwhile during matches, an extended period of time has to be spent customizing the game options to fine tune what can and can’t be crafted during a match. It could be that there is already such a great variety of powerful weapons that have been balanced over years of Worms games.

My biggest complaint with Worms W.M.D is the single player offering. The 30 mission single player campaign is very light on story elements, largely existing as a series of short scenario based introductions to the new mechanics. The challenge mode, however, offers some unique puzzles utilizing worms mechanics in different ways such as using mines and oil drums to destroy an enemy worm. It made me stop and think about how the mechanics actually work.

Worms W.M.D is a great addition to the Worms franchise. The core Worms formula is at a stage where it so well refined that it would be easy to let it speak for itself. However, Worms W.M.D adds new mechanics to the formula in vehicles, turrets and buildings which should become mainstays to the franchise. The crafting system is an interesting new feature, but it needs tweaking to become a worthwhile alternative to the standard weapons available like an airstrike or holy hand grenade. With its return to a 2D hand-drawn art style, Worms W.M.D is a great redirect for the franchise.

The Good

• 2D hand-drawn art style
• Same great balanced Worms gameplay
• Vehicles, turrets and buildings add more destructive options

The Bad

• Lacking interesting single player content
• Instant win craftable weapons

The Score: 8.0

Platform Played PlayStation 4

Developer IO Interactive Publisher Square Enix

Hitman’s episodic series has not been able to consistently deliver great instalments, but Agent 47’s latest adventure to Bangkok provides one of the strongest overall packages of the series thus far. While the episode still suffers from problems the series has been unable to amend, the latest episode of Hitman produces a well-rounded chapter that kept me coming back to see everything this episode had to offer.

The highlight of Bangkok comes in the form of the targets Agent 47 is tasked to eliminate. Unlike previous episodes that dealt with targets selling secret information, stealing money from the government, or other large scale issues; Bangkok pulls back the scale of the target and instead tasked Agent 47 to eliminate someone who murdered a young female movie star and got away with it. The grounded reality of the sins Agent 47 is tasked to correct was a welcomed change and helped emphasise the assassinations taking place. The two targets in question are Jordan Cross, lead singer for the indie band The Class; and Ken Morgan, the family attorney who helped make the murder Cross committed disappear. The generic reasoning behind previous assassinations made the targets forgettable and uninteresting, but Bangkok’s emphasis on a family wanting retribution for their daughter’s murder made hunting down each target extremely satisfying.

One of the biggest problems in relation to the episodic release schedule of Hitman is the poor implementation of the overall series narrative. As with previous instalments, Bangkok once again delivers narrative content in a small cut scene that concludes the episode. The latest story details actually aim to tie together the previous events in the series and explain why we should care about the overall story. While it does seem to lay the groundwork for an overall goal moving forward, I cannot help but feel this is far too little, far too late. Hitman has spent 4 episodes spinning its wheels trying to produce an entertaining narrative, and while it seems this plot will finally be incorporated into future episodes I find myself struggling to finally gain interest.

Each Hitman installment is only as good as its destination, with the standout location of Sapienza producing the most memorable chapter so far. Bangkok easily rivals Sapienza’s preceding beauty and delivers a densely packed collection of locations and interesting options to experiment.

Episode four is set in the Himmapan luxury resort on the edge of the Chao Phraya River and the picturesque location is full of unique areas to explore. Visually Himmapan has an extensive variety of gorgeous locations, from the majestic view of the river, to the forest-like atrium in the resort and a large variety of different areas that kept me interested while exploring. While Sapienza delivered an open outdoor location, Bangkok instead produces a multitude of indoor areas that offer an abundance of interesting assassination opportunities.

Bangkok does still suffer from the same issue as previous episodes, which is the lack of authentic voice actors. While a resort is bound to have an array of different accents and many English speakers, the staff themselves still sound identical to previous NPC’s from other episodes; despite being on the other side of the country. Bangkok’s lack of diverse accents doesn’t stand out as much as Marrakesh, but it is still an issue I would love to see rectified to further emphasise Agent 47’s international adventures.

Due to Bangkok’s variety of locations packed within the resort, Agent 47 has access to a selection of interesting assassinations and a plethora of different outfits to utilise in order to reach these goals. These opportunities range from large scale carnage to reach the intended target, or more stealth based options allowing Agent 47 to watch his target suffer from nearby; or simply lure someone to a darkened room before throwing a fire axe into their chest – the choice is yours. While the selection of assassinations on offer do not rival some of the most memorable eliminations from the series, each and every assassination the player has access to conduct are extremely fun and interesting along the way. Bangkok is the first episode where I felt encouraged to explore every single assassination opportunity, simply due to the amount of fun I was having along the way.

Hitman’s fourth installment brings with it some new issues the series has not produced thus far. At least a dozen times Hitman’s audio sounded like I was playing a severely scratched CD, with audio drop outs and skips frequently occurring. On the other hand, the Bangkok episode also increased the amount of time it took to actually access the save file menu. While loading the save files is still at an increased speed in comparison to the initial episode, accessing the save file screen took double the amount of time than actually loading a save file; there was also a handful of times when access to the save file screen simply did not work.

If you have read any of my previous Hitman episodic, you will know I have been a big advocate for including a search function to Contracts Mode. After four episodes a search function has finally been added – sort of. The only way to actually use the search function is to have access to the assassination contract ID that is given once a contract had been created. While this option is certainly better than nothing, this is still not the most functional and user friendly option to searching through the thousands of contracts already created.

Hitman Episode 4 Bangkok is the first episode in the series that kept me playing for hours on end, as I wanted to explore every area and achieve every assassination available. This is a true testament to the strong overall package of the Bangkok episode, which provides an interesting location, fun assassination opportunities, and a grounded reasoning behind each elimination.

Hitman’s episodic structure is still suffering when it comes to an overarching narrative, and the latest installment brings with it some new technical issues, but Bangkok feels like a big step in the right direction for the series.

Next stop – the US of A!

The Good

• Grounded reasoning behind each assassination target.
• Varied locations of the Himmapan resort.
• Fun selection of assassination opportunities.

The Bad

• Overarching story issues continue.
• Frequent audio issues.

The Score: 8.0

Developers Hello Games Publisher Hello Games

No Man’s Sky makes good on its promise to let us explore the vast and infinite reaches of space. The various planet surfaces, animals, and plant life are fascinating and exciting to name and discover. The main issues begin to arise after trudging through your 30th planet as the game gets repetitive and boring. But even after the game becomes a little dull, No Man’s Sky is a great game to play while relaxing, and provides a nice alternative to the first person shooters like Battlefield and/or Call of Duty.

You can retrieve your items if you die in space

As I said in my First Impressions, I hated the first several hours with No Man’s Sky. But only because I didn’t know what I was doing. After spending a lot of time with it, NMS is boiled down into a few key areas. Scavenging, Survival, Trade and Travel. 

Scavenging is the trick to learning your way around the world. Most plants give you the element Carbon, which is used to keep you alive. Certain plants and boulders will give you Plutonium or Platinum, which will help keep you in the air. And other things in the universe will derive all sorts of different elements that can be combined and resold for very high yield at multiple trading depots, or lifeforms you meet along the way.

I have to pay you to sell to you? Can I just shoot you instead?

Survival is dependent on your constant scavenging. You’ve got to use your found items to constantly increase the capacity and abilities of your gear and ship. The main tool you use is called your “muliti-tool.” It essentially fires laser beams at anything in the world to allow you to mine the element. Upgrades to the multi-tool allow grenades, bolts, and different items better suited to help you attack the pretty terrible sentinel defenses that live on each and every planet. I will tell you that I only upgraded my mining functions and scanner because the Sentinels are pretty terrible at their job. Even the most hostile planet that will flip out if you grab anything, will lose interest the second you take orbit and get some distance away from them. And while some combat tools help you raise your accuracy with the mining tool, the combat system is weak enough to where I’d rather take the time running and landing again, as opposed to wasting my time fighting.

The dog fighting mechanic in the ship is slightly better than the multi-tool system. It servers its purpose in letting you attack other ships and take their resources. However, the combat is little more than you rotating your ship 360 degrees and trying to shoot them down, while using your resources to recharge your shield or blasters. Upgraded blaster cannons make you more successful, but the ship is built more for travel than for combat. Which is disappointing because I really wanted to spend a lot of time in awesome space battles.

Trading Console

Trade is where you’ll make must of your money in NMS. There are certain elements you cannot find, and even more that you’ll find too much of. Trading depots are an excellent way to find some extra coin, hard to find gear, and free up some storage spaces as well. One of my favorite parts of the game is finding the “Galatic Average” of an item, and making sure I sold it when it was valuable, and bought or kept it when it was low. Sort of like a miniature stock-market within the game.

Travel is the last thing we’ll touch on since it is the meat and potatoes of NMS. There are no load times what-so-ever- between planet and space travel. Which is a magnificent feat unto itself. When you use your warp to other plants, it puts you in a bit of a loading tunnel you’ll be familiar with, but for the most part, travel is excellent and some of the best parts of the game. Every planet has their own species and lifeforms to discover. And my favorite part is exploring all of the ancient obelisk’s on each planet to discover more about that life-forms history, and to learn their language.

Because when you start NMS, you understand very little. Finding knowledge stones and meeting life-forms will teach you new languages, and for some reason those are my favorite parts of this game. If nothing else kept me wanting to play this game, it would be the constant pursuit of learning every language.

No Man’s Sky was as massive an undertaking for the team at Hello Games, as it is for the people that will play it. With an endless amount of planets to explore, every gamer will have their own experiences. NMS could definitely benefit from tweaks to its combat system, planet defenses, and integrating multiplayer elements into the game. While we are in the first year of NMS and Hello Games is sure to spend a lot of time patching bugs and adding updates, the game stands as a space explorers dream. If grinding for elements, space travel, learning languages, and surviving is your particular brand of vodka, you’ll want to buy this bottle.

The Good

• Excellent Space Travel
  
• Perfect Soundtrack
• Various life forms to name
  
• Great trading system
  
• Grand Scale
• Entire Languages to learn
• Few Load Times

The Bad

• Terrible Tutorial System
  
• Ground Combat is lacking
• Dog fighting is lacking
• No real punishment for death

The Score: 7

Developers Plastic Studios/Santa Monica Studios Publisher Santa Monica Studios

Bound is an elegant piece of modern art that captures the beauty of movement, while tackling a profoundly emotional story. While Bound doesn’t revolutionise the 3D platformer, its ability to produce a personal story with such beauty makes this memorable adventure worth experiencing.

Bound is not an easy game to explain, even watching Bound in motion with no context can be a confusing proposition. Players take control of a young unnamed princess within a crazy alternate world, and are tasked to stop a monster that is terrorising the kingdom. Bound’s story runs a lot deeper, but it is an experience that is best encountered without any preconception to the story that will unfold. With that being said, Bound relies on metaphoric imagery and representation of events to tell its true tale. Once this emotional narrative is finally revealed everything becomes a lot clearer, adding context to the insane moments and weird events of each stage. I found myself restarting my adventure as soon as the credits rolled to re-experience this heartfelt adventure with the newly added context at my disposal; which further emphasised the powerful and elegant beauty that developer Plastic Studios has produced.

Bound’s unnamed protagonist is like none I have seen before, as her entire library of movement is one of a professional ballet dancer. This unique method of traversal adds a distinct quality that no other game has ever produced. The princess’s movements are elegantly translated and it doesn’t take long before players are bounding, leaping and spinning like a professional. Bound’s unique movements are like an interpretive dance and it allows for the emotions of the character to become clear without a single piece of spoken English ever used. The princess will cower in fear when the monster roars, or will glide away in triumph after she has conquered her fear. Within the context of Bound’s deep story, the use of dance becomes an escapism for the character and it allows for such a grand emotional palette to be portrayed through such elegant movements.

Each and every single stage in Bound tells its own story that is interconnected with the overarching narrative. Completing each stage will see our main character face off against a different fear and essentially make this hazard obsolete. As players can choose to play any stage in any order, hazards that may have been an issue on your first playthrough may now be non-existent. While this is an interesting idea, the layout of each level is essentially identical, despite the removal of certain hazards. Once the story is completed a Speed Run mode is then unlocked with online leaderboards, incentivising players to re-experience each stage and utilise the altered hazards to set the fastest times. While Bound is essentially linear there are deviations within each stage that can be found to improve your time of each run, but due to the lack of variety each level is almost identical to the last.

While the incentive of replayability may interest some, Bound’s platforming aspects are essentially the weakest part of the overall package. There is no real punishment for failure, as players will respawn instantly right where their accident occurred. While the instant respawns upon failure is certainly convenient Bound never really produces any challenging platforming segments. Most jumps are very basic and even hidden areas can be accessed fairly easily. The most challenging aspect of Bound’s platforming comes in the form of the obnoxious camera. The camera constantly fought against me when I was moving it to get a better look at the path I needed to see, and in some cases locking itself into place, masking the area in question. The camera also auto corrects almost every time you enter a new area, which made me lose track of my location in the world all too often.

Bound also has a very distinct visual style, from the few characters you actually meet, to the world itself. The princess looks like a mixture of a human lifeform with alien features, which is certainly different from the images one would associate with a princess. Bound’s unique visual style is best showcased by the living and breathing world players will explore. Bound utilises a huge variety of geometry to create a world completely constructed out of unique shapes, while the ever-moving world below constantly ebbs and flows like a vicious ocean. Bound looks at its most gorgeous upon the conclusion of each level, as the princess glides off on an extended ribbon revisiting the entire level along the way. These moments were visually incredible as you see the hazards around you disintegrate and world breath and fluctuate as you rapidly glide to the stages conclusion. Bound’s brilliant use of geometric shapes and gorgeous colour palette make the entire adventure visually compelling.

Bound’s distinct style doesn’t end visually, as the musical score also produces a broad spectrum of unique sounds. Bound’s musical score ranges from beautiful electronica sounds that emphasis the spectacular style and wonderment of the world, to eerie and unsettling noises that utilise some horror-esque piano keys. Combining the princess’s graceful movements with the range of musical sounds, Plastic Studios is able to relay a profound emotional message to the player without utilising the spoken word.

Bound’s complexity was completely unexpected and I couldn’t be happier that it was. Bound produced something very special and it combines its most precious aspects together to form an incredible adventure.

While the platforming aspects themselves don’t offer much challenge (aside from an annoying camera), this three-hour adventure is something that will stick with you for days and weeks after the credits finally roll.

The Good

• A deep and powerful narrative.
• Use of movement to portray emotions.
• Distinctly beautiful visuals and musical score.

The Bad

• Camera issues.
• Simplistic platforming.

The Score: 8.5

Publisher Telltale Games Developers Telltale Games & Mojang

Genre Point and Click Adventure Platform Played Xbox One

Minecraft: Story Mode’s seventh installment brought forth a new chapter for Jesse and his friends. Just like its previous episodes, Access Denied, follows the method of a self-contained storyline. Where the episode differs however, is that it also attempts to introduce a larger ongoing crisis to help link the next and final episode of the series.

This episode builds upon the formula from previous episodes, where Jesse and co. travel to foreign worlds using a portal. The group chemistry emanates a dreary undertone as it’s revealed they have been travelling from world to world attempting to get back home. This idea of finding a way home is reminiscent of a sci-fi story and it’s clear that Telltale takes on this idea to flesh out well constructed self-contained stories. These stories allow Jesse and the group to feature in stories that span a multitude of different genres, it’s great.

Set in a dystopian-like world where an AI (Artificially Intelligent) machine rules supreme, Access Denied explores the age old Frankenstein-Creator relationship where players are introduced to Harper, a mysterious genius. It’s quickly found out Harper created the AI machine, PAMA. This AI-like villain sets the tone for the dystopian and bleak world they are faced with. Barron and without greenery, the world is shown to be teeming with robot-like zombies, humans and animals.

After a confrontation with PAMA it comes down to Jesse and his merry gang to take down the machine that’s hell-bent on making everyone ‘useful’ by implanting and controlling them with chips. This Minecraft take on the subgenre of a dystopian, almost Stanley Kubrick-like world shows that Telltale isn’t afraid to take the series in a different direction. While the premise comes off as an interesting direction, the execution of it ultimately results in a clichéd hero-villain story. And although Access Denied is filled with fun, humor, team work and other aspects that players have come to love from the Minecraft: Story Mode series, it does feel as if it’s lacking integrity and uniqueness.

The overall involvement of players actions is an immense factor that is lacking in Access Denied. The actions chosen by players didn’t feel as important as previous episodes while the puzzles also weren’t overly complicated. Most puzzles could be completed in a very quick fashion. This lack of player involvement makes the episode feel less like a video game and more like a TV show or Movie where the outcome is always the same regardless of audience interaction. What makes traditional Telltale games distinct is feeling the weight with every decision made by the player, holding a sense of consequence as a result of selecting to do one thing over another. This episode completely lacked in that regard.

Gameplay aside, Access Denied familiarized players with some history of the Minecraft universe with its introduction of Harper and presented an interesting new storyline that will come to fruition in the next and final episode. Some issues that existed in this particular episode can hopefully be resolved in the final episode through the inclusion of an end goal which can hopefully give it some integrity.

While some interesting characters were introduced with Harper and PAMA, it left me yearning for an episode following some kind of structure, beyond the basic idea of defeating the villain to win. The formula of a self-contained story that the series has been following is now starting to show its flaws through its use of generic hero, villain characters.

Without a general direction or end-goal a lot of the actions feel insignificant in Access Denied. The puzzles aren’t too special and exploration isn’t too prevalent either. While this episode was a letdown it does end on an intriguing proposition that will hopefully come to redeem the negatives of this episode, in the next and final chapter. If it can be skipped, I’d give this episode a miss.

The Good

• Some interesting characters introduced.
• Great direction premise with an artificially intelligent machine.
• Interesting to see team not get along so well.
• Ending made for an exciting follow up.

The Bad

• Plot was overall clichéd.
• No real end goal.
• Decisions felt insignigicant.
• Puzzles were fairly easy to complete.

The Score: 6

Genre Adventure Developer Giant Squid Publisher 505 Games

Abzu is a short but memorable experience from developer Giant Squid, taking place in one of world’s most mysterious locations – the depths of the ocean. Developer Giant Squid has done an incredible job at bringing a gorgeous, yet secretive world to life.

When you begin your Abzu adventure you will find yourself controlling a lonesome underwater diver. Abzu focuses on a unique brand of environmental storytelling to offer clues to the diver’s background and existence, and due to this the diver never once utters a single word throughout the adventure; actually there is not a single word of written or spoken dialogue throughout Abzu. Players must piece together the diver’s mysterious connection to the underwater depths for themselves, offering much room for interpretation.

Players will discover hidden artefacts, Egyptian-like underwater murals and other hints to the diver’s story, but nothing is ever clearly explained. Even if players do discover every single clue, there is a fair chance you will leave Abzu knowing very little about the world you just explored. That’s not to say the internet won’t dissect every clue to piece together the diver’s mysterious underwater connection, but due the lack of overall gameplay throughout Abzu’s screen time I found very little incentive to experience the adventure once more. Like its clear inspiration Journey, I feel Abzu is best left with the mysteries of this world undiscovered. After my Abzu adventure was complete I continued to think back to the clues I had found and the possibilities they could be hinting towards, but was never motivated to ensure I had a definite answer to the mystery. As they say – some questions are best left unanswered.

Abzu never informed me of the true goal, instead it merely offered an abundance of beautifully constructed areas to explore at my leisure. While later sections of Abzu require some evasive manoeuvres around obstacles, there does not seem to be any way to die or fail. Aside from the previously mentioned obstacles and a few areas requiring a few easily found objectives to be interacted with before moving on, there is very little in terms of actual gameplay throughout the entire experience. While players will master the well implemented swimming mechanics almost instantly, which allow them to breach from the watery depths in a serene water ballet (or do the exact same thing while holding onto a dolphin) there is almost next to nothing else to do in Abzu. I loved exploring the picturesque beauty of the underwater depths, but others may find the lack of “things to do” draining. Fortunately, Abzu does conclude its memorable experience rather quickly (under 2 hours if players do not choose to explore each area) which meant the lack of options never became an issue for me; but it is best considering this aspect before making your purchase.

The well-implemented swimming mechanics do allow for almost anyone to pick up and enjoy Abzu. Seasoned and casual gamers alike will almost instantly be mesmerised by the beautiful use of colour and almost watercolour-based art style. Each area of Abzu is uniquely coloured and styled creating an epic sense of scale to the adventure taking place. As previously stated Abzu doesn’t allow players to die or fail, and while this may seem off-putting to some, it actually allowed me to truly appreciate Abzu’s beauty without the stress or worry of failure. Abzu is a perfect incarnation of a true relaxing gaming experience, which offers scenic splendour as far as the eye can see, as players swim through schools of colourful fish and underwater wildlife.

Abzu’s visual beauty is only one piece of the serene spectacle, as Abzu contains one of my favourite soundtracks since the likes of Dust: An Elysian Tale, Bastion, and Fez. The phenomenal orchestral tones would constantly sweep me into the moment, creating some wondrous scenes that I will not be forgetting anytime soon. This incredible soundtrack and elegant visual display worked in perfect unison to create an evocative experience. Abzu may not be the gaming experience every player wants, but the atmospheric greatness created by such an incredible score cannot be denied.

Abzu does reward players that explore outside the main path, with more scenic murals hinting towards the narrative, hidden underwater creatures that can be unlocked and a series of collectables. Abzu also features a selection of Meditation areas, where players can simply sit and view each underwater creature as they go about their underwater life; think back to the classic underwater screensaver almost everyone had on their first PC. This is a perfect opportunity for players wanting to sit back and embrace the beautiful world of the ocean and see its population interact with one another.

Abzu is a serene, gorgeous and memorable experience that will greatly satisfy those who were enamoured by the critically acclaimed Journey. While Abzu is an extremely beautiful ride, I couldn’t help but feel I was merely a passenger throughout this exotic road-trip. But the sights and sounds Abzu possess are second to none, with Abzu producing one of my favourite soundtracks of 2016.

Those who decide to sit back and enjoy this picturesque journey will be greatly satisfied, but those wanting to take the wheel and interact with Abzu’s memorable world may feel disappointed once the credits finally roll.

The Good

• Gorgeous use of colours.
• Phenomenal musical score.

The Bad

• Lack of actual gameplay.

The Score: 8.0