XBox One Reviews

Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor was one of the best games released back in 2014, and received some major accolades from almost every media outlet. Even those who were not crazy about the subject matter and tone of the game, applauded the developers for what they did differently: creating the Nemesis System. At that time, it was hard to imagine Monolith Studios topping what they had done in Shadow of Mordor, but somehow, the seem to have elevated the franchise in almost every single way. For fans of the first title, expect much better things from the sequel!

Dishonored: Death of the Outsider feels less like a true standalone video game, and more like an extension of Dishonored 2, which was released last year, like with this release, had you exploring the streets and hubs of Karnaca. Despite feeling like an extension, Death of the Outsider is very much its own game, with characters you'll care about and a story that will push you through.

The thrilling video game marketplace has been steadily growing for the last 15-20 years, and Observer is just the latest in a long run of cyber-punk games to enter this particular marketplace. Creating a great thriller title for console is fairly hard - movies work because the directors have all the say, but in video games, you the player decide what to do and where to go, which can take away from the intended experience. Thankfully, during my play through of Observer, I rarely felt this to be the case!

When I played The Golf Club a few years back, I saw a lot of promise marred by some inconsistencies and lack of content that ultimately made that experience short lived. I was skeptical when I heard The Golf Club 2 was being released, but wanted to see if the developers had learned from past mistakes. The short answer is yes, and The Golf Club 2 proves to be a fairly deep and accurate golfing experience.

Injustice 2 isn't really your typical fighting game, and although it has all the makings of a solid fighting game - which it is - it is still not 'typical.' What is typical? Typical isn't a bad thing, but it's an industry constant that does get dated pretty quickly. This this case, typical is that multiplayer reigns supreme, single player is more of an introductory element, and if you cannot compete online, there is not point to even purchasing the game. That's a typical fighting game, and thankfully for me, that is not Injustice 2.

To say that a number of the previous Flatout titles were a disappointment would be an understatement, so heading into Flatout 4, I wasn't particularly enthusiastic about what I was about to play. When compared to other Flatout games in the franchise, the fourth iteration does a great job to cleaning up some of the problems present, but also introduces a few new ones. Flatout 4 is an enjoyable experience, but won't be for everyone.

Many companies are seeing the appeal of the "Dark Souls Formula" and are attempting to create difficult games in the same vein. While most of these games fall flat, The Surge gets pretty close, and yet still so far. However, unlike other games that attempt to make a stab at this type of game play, The Surge does stand on its own quite well, making it a worthwhile game for fans of the Dark Souls series.

The Xbox One and Playstation 4 have been inundated with stealth based titles, with each game trying to do something else that the others aren't, to set themselves apart. Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 feels a lot like Sniper Elite 4, although with more of an emphasis on story and current technology. Unfortunately, many of the great tactics in Sniper Elite 4 don't come across in Sniper Ghost Warrior 3, making me think that Ghost Warrior is launching at a really bad time.

Lately, I've wanted to spend my hard earned dollars on indie games as opposed to AAA releases. I feel like more heart and soul goes into an indie release, and when they are really good, I want to tell everyone. Shiness: The Lightning Kingdom is one such game, and outside of it not being available on Nintendo Switch, I think it is a fantastic experience.

For a long time, I've longed for the revival of Banjo and Kazooie, knowing full well that it would never happen. We got a small view of that when Nuts and Bolts released on the Xbox 360, but frankly, it wasn't the sam