The Order 1886 PS4 Review: "Lacking in gameplay, but the most photorealistic story experience you’ve ever seen."

 The Order 1886 PS4 Review

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Patch Version: 1.02 -- 

Having played The Order 1886 for ten minutes I had to stop.  I remember the moment precisely. The moment when I thought: in what crazy ass world did this masterpiece not receive more critical acclaim when it was first released back in 2015?  It's beautiful, by far the best looking game, graphically, ever made to date!  TO DATE!  Yes... graphically better than Uncharted 4, Horizon Zero Dawn and the rebooted Tomb Raider series!  It’s the sort of game I dreamt about playing as a kid.  A game that is so photorealistic it baffles the eye.  So much so it's hard to tell the difference between gameplay and the cutscenes. It's that seamless!

The Evil Within PS4 Review: "Spent the entire time on the edge of my seat!"

The Evil Within PS4 Review

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Patch Version: 1.06 -- 

You know how most games allow you to settle in to their world before ultimately building to that first moment where your heart pounds and your adrenaline courses through your veins?  Yeah… The Evil Within is not one of those games!

Don’t get me wrong, The Evil Within starts like any other game, the short opening cutscene showing your main character (Detective Sebastian Castellanos) riding in a squad car with his colleagues, Joeseph Oda and Juli Kidman having just finished up some prior case, but when a call comes in over the radio ordering all units towards a mental hospital, things from this point forward take a very drastic turn, and before you know what-is-what you’re being brutally chopped up OR sliced up OR pummelled with no mercy like you’re a piece of meat waiting to be cooked!  These unfolding sequences are actually rather difficult for a first hands on experience too.  I was in a survival horror game, of that I had no doubt!  My mind thinking back to the first couple of tranquil minutes in that car, which were now completely eclipsed by the preceding twenty, because what I came to learn is that this is not some ordinary survival horror game; it’s an experiment in pain and punishment, so much so it will test your sanity as well as your patience!  The sole purpose of this beginning segment it seems to teach you one lesson and one lesson only…

Farcry Primal PS4 Review: "A prehistoric behemoth worthy of your time and money."

Farcry Primal PS4 Review

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Patch Version: 1.03 --

Farcry Primal is an interesting beast.

It establishes the date, then starts with a simple but informative cutscene detailing your tribe's relocation to greener pastures, but having found somewhere lush and full of promise then tells how your tribe are soon set upon by the Udam; the flesh eaters.

Wolfenstein: The New Order PS4 Review: "A very polished and well designed first person shooter!"

Wolfenstein: The New Order PS4 Review

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Patch Version:  -- 1.01

Within moments of booting up Wolfenstein: The New Order and starting a new game, I was smiling to myself.  Why? Because there are five difficulty settings.  What’s funny about that?  Well, the easiest setting is called: Can I play Daddy?   What’s more, shows your main character wearing a baby bonnet with a dummy in his mouth! This amused me.  Clearly, the makers of Wolfenstein have a serious attitude towards first person shooters.   We will see.

I choose the medium setting, which reads: for the average gamer and press on.  Instantly we are greeted with a cutscene.  You’re dreaming, but the roar of something stirs you.   Quickly we are awoken as a nearby aircraft explodes.   The sky is full of planes and you’re in one of them!

Styx: Master of Shadows PS4 Review: "A challenging old school stealth game that lets itself down due to inconsistent polish."

Styx: Master of Shadows PS4 Review

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Patch Version:  -- 1.00

Having watched the opening cutscene, which sees your character captured and questioned by the humans of this world, Styx: Master of Shadows, begins in the past.  Your first taste of gameplay tasks you with navigating your goblin character through the underbelly of some castle-like dungeon in pursuit of your dagger.  This, your main weapon that was taken from you when you were captured.  All of this serving as a tutorial that teaches you the systems and mechanics of the game as you traverse your way towards your objective.  Your overarching goal though is very clear right from the start.  To reach and steal the heart of the world tree.

The majority of this early portion of the game revolves around sneaking through the environment, snuffing out torches and clinging to the shadows to avoid the humans that will kill me in seconds if they become alerted to my presence. 

Having claimed my dagger though, it is now that the game opens up.  Killing and fighting my adversaries becomes available.  However, it quickly becomes apparent that Styx: Master of the shadows should be played exactly how it sounds.  This is a stealth game.  Make no mistake.

Destiny 2 BETA PS4 Review: "An impressive and explosive experience, leaving me excited for the full campaign.”

Destiny 2 BETA PS4 Review

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Patch Version: 1.02

Having selected which of the three classes from the original Destiny I wanted to play as, Destiny 2's Beta begins with a cutscene set on earth in the Tower amid a rumbling thunderstorm in the backdrop.  Something is not quite right.  You can feel it.  All your favourite characters are here.  Cayde, Ikora and the ‘firefly’ chemistry they always bring to the mix.  Oh, and Zavala of course, but before you can blink, all hell breaks loose.  It’s an invasion!

This explosive and impactful cutscene then switches to a relatively calm sequence.   It is now that we see our character for the first time, along with your ghost.  You’ve been out on patrol, and having lost contact with the Tower, make an expedited journey home to discover the horrific reason behind the loss of communication.

It is here where we enter actual gameplay for the first time.  Having landed, you’ll be instantly taken aback by the environment around that is ablaze and in ruin.  Quickly you are thrown into the affray and forced to battle your way through the burning and destroyed mess that once was a bustling harbour of life.  Everything is hauntingly familiar.   Passageways you will have travelled down in the original Destiny are destroyed shells of their former selves.   What was once a safe place for all, has become a battleground filled with death!

Infamous Second Son PS4 Review: "A truly exhilarating experience from start to finish."

Infamous Second Son PS4 Review

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Patch Version:  -- 1.07

Infamous Second Son begins with a short text introduction, detailing how a small group of humans seven years ago emerged called 'Conduits'.  These conduits had the power to manipulate and even weaponize unique forms of matter.  Fearing them, the Department of Unified Protection was formed to hunt them down; reclassifying the conduits as Bio-terrorists.

Today, the Department of Unified Protection is being taken over by the military.  Their first official order of business?  To relocate all prisoners to a military prison in Washington.

However, the first transport it seems will never arrive…

Infamous Second Son then cuts to scene showing said truck speeding along a country road, but then just as quickly switches to small and quiet coastal town in what I imagine is America given the topography.  It is then where we see our first human character.   The unfolding cutscene switching back and forth between the truck and this person.  You know something is going to happen.  You can feel it…

Alienation PS4 Review: "Repetitive, but chaotically addictive!"

Alienation PS4 Review

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Patch Version:  -- 1.06

It’s been a long time since a game with such a simple premise has allured and suckered me in so immensely.  I was intrigued by it and quickly became surprised by how addictive it is, but before I get into all that, let’s start at the beginning….

Alienation opens with a view of Earth from space, detailing a secret conflict that has been raging between humanity and a hostile alien force for decades. The cinematic intro then goes on to tell us that these aliens invaded with humanity barely even noticing; largely in part because early incidents were covered up by the world’s governments in an effort to avoid panic.  But the Great War is nearing its end and humanity has all but lost.

However, as alien forces close in on the last strongholds of humanity, we learn that the world government named UNX has developed combat exoskeletons that grant the user superhuman abilities, and you’ll need them... because the future of earth rests on your shoulders!

Destiny (Vanilla) PS4 Review: "Fantastic gunplay, let down by a short, unsatisfying and cold Campaign"

Destiny (Vanilla) PS4 Review

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Patch Version: 1.31 --

Having chosen between three class types (Titan / Warlock / Hunter) and designed the facial look of your character, your Destiny begins with a rather high quality albeit short intro cutscene that details the discovery of a massive floating orb that arrived on Mars.  The humans of that era calling this entity: The Traveller.

Luckily for humanity, this Traveller had not come to destroy, quite the opposite in fact. Humans, as a result, attaining new heights in technical advancements as well as accelerating their own evolution.  The combination of which seeing them colonising the solar system and transforming it into a place where life could thrive.
However, the Traveller had an enemy; a darkness.  It took hundreds of years to catch up, but when it did, this golden era of human-kind ended…

Horizon Zero Dawn PS4 Review: "An experience not to be missed"

Horizon Zero Dawn PS4 Review

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Patch Version: Day1 --

Horizon Zero Dawn is all about the story.  This much clear right from the get....

Even before reaching the main menu it treats you to a cinematic that begins to set the scene and introduce what the world, our world, has become.

This introduction though doesn't end there; a second cinematic begins the moment you choose to start a new game that further elaborates upon the story and your character, who is a baby named Alloy that is branded an outcast because she has no mother; the reasons for this a mystery.  You are hooked and reeled in immediately.  The bond between you and her cemented in a way that few other games are able to do or even bother to attempt with any serious commitment.  A connection that is only made stronger because you begin the story witnessing Alloy's hardships as not only a newborn, but also as a growing infant. Your guardian during this time teaching the both of you the lessons you will need to survive in this cruel and metal inhabited world.

Homefront the Revolution PS4 Review: "An unpolished diamond"

Homefront the Revolution PS4 Review

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Patch Version: 1.11 --

The first Homefront back in 2011 was a gritty and grim story showing the KPA occupation as oppressive and cruel. It was dangerously reminiscent of certain real life events from humanity's past; the mass burial grave scene for example that tasked you with hiding amongst the white-phosphorus-burnt bodies to evade the KPA choppers for example had people all a buzz.  The campaign had a few moments like this; moments that were thought provoking. The problem was, just as you were getting into the game it was over; the campaign only lasting around 3 to 4 hours. Value for money on release from a single player aspect it was not. So when I heard a sequel was on the cards AND it was going to be open world, I was excited.

Thief PS4 Review: "A kleptomaniac's wet dream"

Thief PS4 Review 

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Patch Version: 1.02 --

For a game that was released in 2014, and having been spoilt with the likes of Rise of the Tomb Raider and Uncharted 4, I was not really expecting much if I'm being honest when I picked up Thief from the PSN store at a bargain price.  I had never even played any of the Thief titles before, so I was going in totally blind, but boy was I pleasantly surprised and extremely shocked, because not only did I discover a gem of a game, but a game that is rammed packed with neat little gameplay mechanics and features galore, which frankly put some AAA games released last and this year to shame in comparison.