REVIEW: 'Uncharted 4'

So, the past two weeks have been leading all to this. Uncharted 4, the (for now) final game in Naughty Dog's most successful franchise. A game I've been both dreading and anticipating in equal measure. This is the big game that Sony have been promising justifies the purchase of a PS4 - a console which has really disappointed me. Since the XBONE and the WiiU are more or less dead already, Sony more or less has no competition. They've since used this rare privilege to be complete assholes to consumers, and I've feared Uncharted 4 would be Sony's unholy top hat.

REVIEW: 'Uncharted 2: Among Thieves' AND 'Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception'

I've decided to lump my reviews of the last two games of The Uncharted Trilogy (tomorrow it will officially be The Uncharted Quadrilogy) because 1. I'm out of time and 2. The gameplay is relatively unchanged. The first game deserved it's own review just because of how it influenced Triple A gaming, yet whilst there is a marked difference between Uncharted 1 and 2; it's only in terms of plotting and pace.

REVIEW: 'Uncharted 1: Drake's Fortune'

Uncharted 4 is coming up, and I'm both looking forward to it whilst kinda dreading it. On one hand; games these days are so focused on either sandboxes or multiplayer that it's rare to see a linear story that doesn't require an internet connection. Naughty Dog are one of the few Triple A developers who actually seem committed to furthering narrative art (see: The Last Of Us) rather than merely trying to turn a profit in an increasingly volatile industry. On the other hand: aside from Resident Evil 4 I can't think of a fourth instalment in any franchise that wasn't terrible. Plus the Uncharted series does have some serious inherent problems which I'll get into.

REVIEW: 'F.E.A.R'

First Person Shooters and Horror do not mix. This is perhaps a curious statement considering three of my favourite games are Horror FPS's - or at least FPS's with horror elements. System Shock 2, Half Life 2, and the Thief series. Part of the reason why the latter two work is that they aren't actual horror games. Out of no-where they suddenly spring levels from hell, where you find yourself stuck in an abandoned town infested with zombies or in a haunted catacomb.

REVIEW: 'No More Heroes'

2007 was such a landmark year for gaming. Not necessarily the best, but it was a year when gaming really felt like it had broken through as the brand new art-form of the now. A new console generation had kicked off, and it kicked off with some great games. In particular: it was the year of the Wii.

REVIEW: 'Shadow Of Mordor'

Despite being completely mad about fantasy as a child...I never really got into Lord Of The Rings. It's filled with empty characters and Tolkien was such a raging Bible-basher. A man obsessed with a binary good vs evil conflict, with absolutely no attachment to the endeavour of man. I know some people complain about how the movies made Gimli into a drunken idiot, Legolas's fighting ability is ridiculous, and every scene with Frodo and Sam made me scream: "KISS HIM YOU FOOL!!" But at least it gave these characters traits. At least it gave these people something.

REVIEW: 'Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare'

I've said some nasty things about Call Of Duty in the past. In my review of the Black Ops 3 Beta, I called the franchise "brain-corrupting filth" only redeemed by a mindless multi-player mode that's since become surpassed by every other multi-player game ever made. I've described this series as the lowest standard in gaming, and propagandistic filth.

REVIEW: 'XCOM 2'

It's so rare to see a genuine turn based strategy game these days, where you actually need to use tactics to conquer your foes instead of reflexes. All other games still have you battle in real-time whilst having to battle with a massive interface. Even Undertale's combat was just a mini-game that got old very quickly rather than a head-to-head battle of minds. I've said this before, but turn-based games should ideally be like Chess...except with explosions.

REVIEW: 'The Last Of Us - Left Behind'

Last week I reviewed The Last Of Us, and I still stand by my criticism. I think the gameplay itself is messy, and the plot doesn't acknowledge the monsters we're playing as. In fact, I'm annoyed that no-one's really debating me; since I by no means think that people who love the game are wrong. You can easily argue that we're supposed to feel this distance from the characters and look at the whole thing objectively. Also, if the gameplay adopted a more immersive, free approach a-la Half Life 2 then we probably wouldn't have got such excellent character development. Convince me, someone! I want to like this game!

REVIEW: 'The Last Of Us' (Remastered)

Remember 2013? It was that awkward time when the 7th Generation was dying yet a handful of games were trying to make this last gasp count. There was BioShock Infinite, The Stanley Parable, Grand Theft Auto V, Papers Please, Saints Row 4, Assassins Creed 4, Tomb Raider - I don't even like all of these games; but at least they were interesting!

REVIEW: 'Just Cause 3'

Thus, we come to the third installment of the Just Cause franchise. Or, as it's fans like to call it: "KABOOM!!"

REVIEW: 'Star Wars: Battlefront'

Oh, how I wish I could play a practical joke on you all and talk about the original Star Wars Battlefront - since EA couldn't be bothered to change the name despite this being nothing like a Battlefront game.

REVIEW: 'Fallout 4'

It was a week ago today when the reviewer embargo on this game was lifted. It was also six days go today that this game was available to us proletarians to play. Since then everyone and their head-lice has discussed this game. Alas: I must join them...

RE-REVIEW: 'BioShock Infinite' (1999 Mode)

...it's one of those times. I'm not really playing games and there aren't really any interesting games coming out. Well, there's Assasin's Creed - but I still can't believe this series is still going after the romp that was Black Flag. As much as I respect UbiSoft for writing a female protagonist, ultimately I care about gameplay and how well it services the experience. Ever since sailing the high-seas in one of the best pirate simulators I've ever played, every Assasin's Creed game since is a comedown. They might as well just stop and move onto something else.

REVIEW: 'SOMA'

It's October soon, which means it's time for the annual deluge of horror-related stuff. Whilst here in the UK we tend to quickly skim through Halloween because the last few months of the year must be dedicated to our saviour: Santa Claus, we have the global entiry of Steam to ensure that Halloween thrives across the world within it.

REVIEW: 'Civilization V: The Complete Edition'

I'm all for the whole 'Death of the Author' thing, which is why I refuse to call this 'Sid Meier's Civilization V'. Already I have to spell 'civilisation' the wrong way; stop making me bend over for you Mr Meier! I know you made Pirates! and this series, but you also made Beyond Earth, which sucked. I'll be the judge of whether you're a holy gaming messiah or not. That is my job, after all...

REVIEW: 'Mad Max'

This always happens. There's a long awaited, long hyped game released that I don't really care about - so instead I check out the quiet, more interesting release. This time it's Metal Gear Solid V that I have no interest in reviewing, so instead I'm going for the lesser hyped and seemingly more interesting game: Mad Max. 

REVIEW: 'Call Of Duty: Black Ops III BETA'

I'm about to do something I'd promised I would never do: I'm going to review a Call Of Duty game. Yes, the summer drought has gotten so bad that when Activision suddenly announced that the beta of Blacks Ops III is now free on Steam I had no choice but to wait the four sodding hours it took to download (which is longer than the average Call Of Duty story mode) and bash out this review in the space of a few hours. You're welcome.

ARTICLE: 'Gaming Is Now For The Elite'

Perhaps because of the recent election results, I've been extremely bitter towards the 1% of society who inexplicably own the entire world. This includes the arts sector, and just when I thought gaming was becoming socially accepted despite already being the highest earning entertainment industry, the average age of politicians has soared - meaning we can expect another five years of besuited gentlemen thinking that you steer a controller like a wheel and Zelda is the name of the hero.

RETROSPECTIVE: 'Half Life 2: Episode 1' AND 'Half Life 2: Episode 2'

Fans were disappointed when Half Life 2 ended on yet another cliffhanger, but subsequently delighted in 2005 when Valve released the confusingly named Half Life 2: Episode 1. It's basically 'Half Life 3' but split into episodic instalments so Valve could deliver games faster and respond to audience feedback as they went on. The whole thing seems laughable now.