On the positive side, the stellar gameplay that has long been associated with the series is again, even better than it was last year. The slow and steady improvement to visuals continues as Sony tinkers with lighting and textures. Diamond Dynasty continues to grow and it has become the best collector mode in any sports video game. On the negative side, the franchise mode and Road to the Show are integral parts of The Show experience and haven't seen much improvement. Luckily, both were already fun, but how long can Sony continue to deliver such small improvements to key modes? At least one more year.

It's a sublime distillation of everything that makes the Souls games so amazing, but it truly is more challenging than any of those games by a very long mile. I am not exaggerating here. I think Sekiro may be one of the very best games ever made, but it is not going to be for everyone. I still recommend that everyone gives it a shot. It takes patience but it's just such a well-crafted action game, I've never played anything quite like it...I'm playing the game at my own pace rather than rushing through. I'd get too frustrated, I think. So I'll take my time to finish this beast. And I'm okay with that. I'm in no hurry to be done with the world of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. It's the best game I've played since Bloodborne.

As someone who plays this genre more than any other, there is too much that The Division 2 does right to ignore, and it’s doing it right from launch, which is a mountain of points in its favor. I have sunk in 60 hours in a week and a half and I have no plans to stop playing any time soon. This is a big win for Massive, Ubisoft and players themselves.

DMC 5 is beautifully rendered and the action is fun. However, the weak story and less-than-compelling character development and audio presentation remove the game's heart. Instead of being a masterful and complete action game, it's instead far more shallow than it could have been.

Anthem may thrive. Anthem may fail. It has the bones to be something great but I am tired of saying that about so many games in this genre and five years after Destiny 1, I can’t believe we’re here yet again. Get it right the first time, because everyone is losing patience.

a very involved game, both functionally and narratively, but on each count, these aspects of the game can be awkward and difficult to fully understand, especially for newcomers. If you are one of the many people that have waited patiently for this installment and the chance to stick it to Xehanort, then you will definitely enjoy yourself a great deal.

DOA 6 is a capable fighting game that will probably entertain hardcore fans of the series. However, it's hard to imagine it adding to its fanbase as it offers nothing that broadens horizons, and fails to provide the sort of depth expected. DOA 6 can be fun in spurts but doesn't have the staying power of some of the elite fighting titles.

Visually, Dirt Rally 2.0 is stunning in most areas. The cars have excellent weight and feel, and while the feature set isn't stacked, including a limited online multiplayer suite, the cupboard isn't bare. Dirt Rally 2.0 is for hardcore fans of rally racing who demand the most authentic experience from a video game that dares to emulate their sport.

While it still doesn’t justify my purchase of PlayStation VR, it does dramatically change how Ace Combat 7 plays, not least for how you track enemies and, most importantly, acquire missile locks.

Gris is a wonderful, gorgeous puzzle-platformer with a unique art-style, a phenomenal score and a powerful yet subtle message. I was engaged from start to finish, unable to set it down (though I hadn't planned to play through an entire game in one sitting.) The ending is surprisingly poignant for a game with no dialogue and no text. The journey to that ending is endlessly creative and fun.

Easily the best in the series thus far and is something I can happily recommend for anyone that enjoys large explosions and destroying giant aliens en masse.

This experience isn’t ruined by other players trolling or harassing me or breaking immersion, it’s ruined by the mere concept of being on a live server itself, and the fact that this was rushed out before any engaging story elements were able to be crafted to populate this map. This is a huge, rare, total miss by Bethesda, and even if it’s improved in time, I can only judge it by the hours I’ve lost to it so far.

Pokémon: Let’s Go is definitely something fans of Pokémon will have fun with and will also be familiar to newer players who have enjoyed Pokémon GO. However, don’t be fooled by the sweet looking presentation, as there is a solid challenge to be had here.

Pokémon: Let’s Go is definitely something fans of Pokémon will have fun with and will also be familiar to newer players who have enjoyed Pokémon GO. However, don’t be fooled by the sweet looking presentation, as there is a solid challenge to be had here.

It’s been an absolute blast playing through these games again, and it’s also served as an extended gaming history lesson.

Castlevania Requiem is an excellent collection of two very important as well as very different Castlevania games. If you have enjoyed the recent Netflix series and don’t know much about the games it is based off, then this is probably the perfect collection to get to grips with the saga.

A bonafide toys-to-life title in many respects, if more of a hybrid flavor than past efforts, and that will probably scare certain people away. But even if you strip out all the expensive extras, you can still play everything digitally (the deluxe digital edition includes all ships, characters and weapons), and on top of that, the game is simply really, really good.

If you're only here for the campaign, there's no reason for you to buy Black Ops 4. But if you're a multiplayer gamer and enjoy battle royale games, there's plenty of great, addictive content to keep you playing for months on end.

Both its triumphs and its failures live at grand extremes: maddening, beautiful and awesome. The game hits each every one of its moments with grace and force, whether they're bombastic gunfights or a small moment on a boat in a lake outside Blackwater. I'm leaving my playtime overwhelmed, emotional and drained in a way that I haven't quite felt since the original Red Dead Redemption.

If ever there was a game that could be boosted by an instant replay feature, it's NBA Playgrounds 2. There are times when you pull off a completely over-the-top slam, and having the option to watch it over from different angles would be fun.

WWE 2K19 maxes out all of the incumbent concepts from recent games in the franchise, and this is a solid and more polished release than we've seen from some recent versions. You'll likely have fun with the game and all of its layers. However, there is potential for true greatness with this series, but the WWE and the development team have to be willing to take some chances.

I feel like this game is just…a bit much. A bit much so soon after Odyssey, and a bit much where it literally takes almost 60 hours to complete all four main questlines and hit level 50. That’s without 100%ing the map in the least, which would take a few dozen more hours I’m sure. For some, especially the “dollar per entertainment hour value” crowd, that’s a good thing. For others, this may be a game that you may not finish by next summer, given how much time it requires. For me personally, it was a tad exhausting.

The standard game is an excellent high-definition remaster and is the best version of the game to date. The VR mode ruins that impressive achievement and is wholly unnecessary. In short, play this for the high definition remaster and give the VR mode a very wide berth.

FIFA 19 is visually stunning, fun and deep. Aside from a few small issues, it delivers the goods and firmly establishes the latest version and the franchise as the one to beat in the virtual pitch wars.

NHL 19 is still a fun virtual hockey experience, and that’s the biggest thing. The World of CHEL adds a much-needed layer of personality, playability, and lightheartedness to the franchise. The depth of each mode goes a long way toward meeting almost every virtual hockey fan wherever they are with their fandom. On the downside, there is a lack of customization, some collision-detection issues, as well as some dated and less-than-impressive presentation elements.

While combat could still use some fine-tuning, Shadow of the Tomb Raider is a master class in turn-of-the-century-esque exploration awe, and I hope this serves as a springboard for Lara into the next generation of gaming technology.

Whether you're a person who plays single-player, multiplayer, offline or online, this is the most complete sports game I've ever played. There is no such thing as a perfect sports game, but this is as close as it gets.

While the gameplay and consistently improving modes are the obvious strong suits of NASCAR Heat 3, the game is still just a touch short of an elite racing title because it lacks personality and high-level presentation. That said, the groundwork and the second floor are in place for a complete racing experience, the developers and publisher just need to add a rough and some pops of color.