Rise of the Tomb Raider Lara Croft Xbox One 1

Rise of the Tomb Raider: REVIEW

by with No Comment Reviews

Rise of the Tomb Raider videogame review by Martin Wharmby 

Rise of the Tomb Raider Lara Croft Xbox One 1

stars 4.5

DEVELOPER: Crystal Dynamics
PUBLISHER: Square Enix, Microsoft Studios
RELEASE: Out Now
FORMATS: Xbox One, 360 (PC, PS4 2016)
RATING: PEGI 18
PRICE (RRP): £54.99

Rise of the Tomb Raider picks up the pieces of Lara Croft following the dramatic events of the 2013 reboot, and puts her together again as a much stronger, more determined adventurer, hunting the secret that cost her father his life.

Following a quick adventure in Syria, Lara’s quest to find the mythical Divine Source takes her to the chilly Siberian mountains, as the forces of Trinity hound her and snow, ice and freezing waters make her quest an uncomfortably cold one. Rise is a much more open and explorable experience, fully linear but with a series of large hub areas you’re free to return to and examine at your own pace, with many areas locked metroidvania-style until you find specific upgrades later in the game.

Rise of the Tomb Raider Lara Croft Xbox One 2

Tombs are far more frequent, important and logical this time around – no more lit candles and modern weapons in untouched catacombs – and thanks to some ancient wisdom hidden within ‘Challenge’ tombs, far more useful and essential. Of even more importance is the need to keep Lara stocked with supplies such as wood, berries and specific materials needed to craft arrows, special ammo and to turn objects into makeshift weapons. Combat and movement are once again snappy and weighty, ensuring the action is never frustrating.

Rise of the Tomb Raider Lara Croft Xbox One 3

At no point does Rise of the Tomb Raider feel anything short of thrilling, as it pushes you through at least 20 hours of story, and offers up tons of additional, enjoyable content and secrets. The final act is a little too familiar to the previous game’s finale, but Rise is a new high watermark for the 19-year-old series.

Rise of the Tomb Raider Lara Croft Xbox One 4

• Fallout 4: GAME REVIEW
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Fallout 4 Behemoth

Fallout 4: REVIEW

by with No Comment Reviews

Fallout 4 videogame review by Martin Wharmby

Fallout 4 Behemoth

stars 4.5

DEVELOPER: Bethesda Game Studios
PUBLISHER: Bethesda Softworks
RELEASE: Out Now
FORMATS: Xbox One, PS4, PC
RATING: PEGI 18
PRICE (RRP): £49.99

There’s a sad beauty to the desolate wastelands of the Fallout games. Despite the world’s drab colour palette, its tales of survival, salvaged settlements and shenanigans are fascinating – from the missions and side quests to the way stories are woven into the world itself, the very fabric of this post-apocalyptic realm is mesmerising to explore. In Fallout 4, this is better than ever.

After a brief stay in pre-apocalypse Boston, you’re frozen by Vault-Tec and awaken hundreds of years later, emerging from Vault 111 with a dead spouse and an abducted child to find. The Commonwealth is a harsh and unforgiving place, but it’s not long before you meet a few friendly faces in Lexington, who are intent on making your old home of Sanctuary Hills a new community.

Fallout 4 Fatboy

The first of many settlements, in Sanctuary you’re thrown into the new base-building system. This sees you clear out ruins and build up new homes and infrastructure, planting crops and assigning settlers, as you craft defences and housing out of the junk you find while exploring – what was once vendor trash now can be broken down into resources. It’s a brilliant idea, completely let down by how optional it is, the atrocious interface, and the way Bethesda leaves you to figure it all out for yourself.

It’s a huge shame that such an intriguing new feature is so badly laid out, but thankfully many other systems have been overhauled and improved. The V.A.T.S. auto-targeting system now no longer pauses the action, making combat more immediate, and fits with the much improved shooting controls. Followers you meet can be sent back to specific settlements and will happily hold some loot for you, and certain characters will occasionally provide some insight into the situations you end up in. Looting’s now simpler, there’s a Perk that will give you routes to follow on missions, and many missions now fall under Miscellaneous, clearing up which are the more important tasks.

There are also smart changes to weaponry and armour, with degradation no longer a factor. Instead, there’s an elaborate upgrading system, as you use the scrap you collect to mod weapons and armour, customising them to your tastes and even allowing you to swap around modules you no longer use. Even Legendary items you find can be modded, keeping their special bonuses.

Fallout 4 suit

Fallout 4 feels comfortingly familiar for fans, and is relatively welcoming to newcomers, but there are so many predictable problems that tarnish what should be one of the best games of 2015. For a start, the performance on consoles occasionally borders on unacceptable, with huge framerate drops, regular freezes while loading in new overworld sections, and lengthy load times. It wouldn’t be so bad if the game at least looked nicer: there’s no avoiding it, Fallout 4 is not a particularly pretty game, and the amount of crazy glitches and jank dent the enjoyment.

Ultimately, these technical issues can’t undo just how incredible Fallout 4 truly is. It may seem like just more of the same, but there’s no beating that feeling of emerging from a vault and exploring every last spot on the map, and squeezing every last story from this magnificently crafted world.

Fallout 4 Deathclaw

• Rise of the Tomb Raider: GAME REVIEW
• Halo 5: Guardians GAME REVIEW
• Call of Duty: Black Ops III: GAME REVIEW

Halo 5 Guardians 2

Halo 5: Guardians REVIEW

by with No Comment Reviews

Halo 5: Guardians videogame review by Martin Wharmby

Halo 5 Guardians 2

stars 4

DEVELOPER: 343 Industries
PUBLISHER: Microsoft Studios
RELEASE: Out Now
FORMATS: Xbox One
RATING: PEGI 16
PRICE (RRP): £49.99

Halo 5: Guardians is an ambitious statement by 343 Industries, proving to the world that it is not afraid to make big changes to the Halo universe or potentially risk alienating core franchise fans, for better or worse.

Campaign mode has been designed for co-op play, and is centred around two teams: Master Chief and his Spartan Blue Team, and newly minted Spartan Jameson Locke and his Fireteam Osiris. Chief is on the trail of Cortana, so Locke and Osiris are sent to haul him back, but things aren’t so simple. Guardians‘ story is good but has serious pacing issues throughout, it’s well-written but your extended time with Locke is nowhere near as interesting as the Chief’s journey.

Halo 5 Guardians 3

It’s certainly entertaining to play through with friends, and thanks to the new suit abilities it’s a good laugh too. Fighting the remains of the Covenant and the Prometheans is every bit as fun as ever, with smart level design and challenging scenarios. Perhaps the only downside to combat is the reappearance of a frustrating boss throughout the final missions.

Warzone is also a fantastic new addition to multiplayer, adding layers of additional objectives for large pitched 12-v-12 battles, with progressive weaponry unlocked the deeper into a match you get. That ties into the controversial new REQ system, which turns multiplayer weapons into random cards you buy with points. Thankfully, this is only tied to Warzone, leaving Arena mode free for traditional multiplayer matches.

Halo 5: Guardians isn’t the best Halo game, but it goes a long way towards fixing issues many had since Bungie left the series.

Halo 5 Guardians 1

 

• Rise of the Tomb Raider: GAME REVIEW
• Fallout 4: GAME REVIEW
• Call of Duty: Black Ops III: GAME REVIEW