Quick-Fire Video Games Reviews

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Doom: PS4, XBONE & PC

First person shooter – focussing on single player with a forgettable multiplayer.

Adrenaline and Dopamine, the two things that this title produces in spades.  Fast, challenging, graphically gorgeous depiction of Hell on Mars, welcomed departure from the previous offerings that leant uncomfortably towards the Dead Space vibe. Best revival of a genre-defining monarch. Hail to the King! Long may he reign. 10/10

Pick up a copy:

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Overwatch: PS4, PC & XBONE

Cartoony, online-only, first-person, team-based shooter.

Invoking the spirit of Time-splitters and Team Fortress, Overwatch brings us a highly polished, fast paced action game where all playable characters have their merit. More DLC and playable death dealing ‘toons on the way. Pick this and Doom up for the complete single and multiplayer 1st person shooter experience. 9/10

Pick up the ‘Game Of The Year Edition’:

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Tomb Raider: Rise of the Tomb Raider – New for PS4, also available on XBONE & PC

The second and most recent reboot of our favourite femme-fatale adventurer, now bundled with a plethora of extra DLC, all packed in a 20th anniversary edition and a first for the PS4 following an exclusivity deal with XBone and PC late last year.

If Tomb Raider games could be likened to confectionary, then this latest outing is a box of assorted, expensive but exceedingly good shortbread biscuits. The smell hints to early, happy childhood memories, the crunchy/crumbly ration of puzzle solving to action is all there. As always everything looks appetising thanks to the iconic, embossed metal biscuit tin of graphics being of the sharpest quality. A tonne of Longevity is in recipe, meaning this snack may ruin your appetite for similar delicacies. Of course we can always make a little room for a slice of Uncharted Gateaux but there’s less to choose between them…

9/10

Pick up the 20 year celebration edition:

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Battlefield 1 – XBONE, PS4 & PC

Developer: Dice have rolled a double 6 following the gamble to rebut the trend for modern team based shooters and focus their efforts into WW1 – hence the 1 in case you were wondering. Operations is the new online mode, which sews together multiple maps into a longer shifting campaign of attackers and defenders. The progress/regress to different areas of a theatre of war depends on which way the tide goes. Guns are beautiful, weighty hulks of death-dealing machinery, vehicles more ingenious – even horses can be utilised and the soldier classes have been rebalanced to make them fairer and more interesting. Graphics and sound provide breathtaking immersion. Solo campaign provides a useful tutorial that is far more playable than previous offerings. Reenact your favourite war films in safety in the best Battlefield to date.

10/10

Pick up the latest ‘Revolution Edition’ which contains the game plus the latest DLC.

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XCOM 2: PS4, XBONE, PC

The master-blaster of turn-based warfare, humans vs ET’s.

While the Unreal Engine pops out clean, simple graphics, under the hood the game mechanics are base management, war tactics & career progression for your band of brothers. Recruit, personalise, nurture and then mourn their passing, when they’re KIA its forever. Addictive? Even with minor bugs, it’s digital crack! 10/10

Grab a copy today:

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TitanFall 2, PS4 XBONE, PC

The best kept secret in the sci-fi shooter universe may just be the mech-friendly assault on your senses that is TitanFall 2. With this orbital-strike, destructive tour-de-force, the second instalment treats us to a welcomed, polished, single-player campaign absent the first time around. Lessons have been learnt on how to improve the series as a whole and as such the multi-player experience is simply breath-taking. Clocking somewhere around the in-game velocity of COD and Doom, graphics are sublime, with a wealth of maps, weapons (both for pilot and mech) that are varied and feel wholesome, with multiple load-outs available which thankfully all feel and behave differently, providing you with a wealth of experimenting and tactical use.

The diversity of online play-modes is potent and vary from the usual team death matches: ‘Attrition’  all the way through to, ‘Bounty Hunt’ with many variables including mech, pilot and AI enemies thrown in for good measure.

One all-important factor that deserves special praise is the decision by the developers: Respawn to include all forthcoming DLC for free, all unlocks are done so through natural progression and experience gained through playing. *This is an epic departure from the pay-to-play new content model currently being employed by many other developers and hopefully marks an important benchmark for future titles.

10/10

Don’t mech the same mistake, pick up a copy now:

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