It might be the biggest, most complex and action packed game in the franchise, but Mass Effect: Andromeda is also the least convincing one. The dated facial animations, the inconsistent writing quality and the regularly occurring bugs take you out of the experience too often. On top of that, BioWare has not used the concept of a whole new universe to its full potential, which often makes it feel like Mass Effect: Andromeda has not left our Milky Way at all.

Bigby Wolf is the perfect protagonist for this shocking Telltale adventure in the Fables universe, because of the convincing way you can mold him into a good or bad wolf. Too bad the game is lacking in the technical and gameplay department. [Aug 2014, p.63]

Age of Wonders: Planetfall is one of the better 4X science-fiction games of the last few years, which is mainly thanks to the exploration, the battles and how these are joined together with quite an expansive narrative. The base building and management is somewhat less interesting, but far from a chore.

Driveclub’s controls are brilliant and the single-player mode is fine but the online aspect is a joke and the whole Club thing has little to no bearing on the gameplay. Its problems might be fixed in the future but it's definitely not the best racing game of the fall in its current state.

First impressions are important, but they're definitely not everything. So give this adventure with Zitz, Rash and Pimple a chance, because it's one of the coolest beat-'em-up games released in 2020. And it sure as hell is one of the funniest.

If you want to take a fresh step into an RTS or a Starcraft game, you can add half a point to the score and this would be the perfect moment to get Legacy of the Void. But if you’ve played all the past parts, this feels more like a DLC with a disappointing story and a too-steep price.

The Siege of Paris does what it's supposed to do, nothing more, nothing less. It gives fans an extra fifteen hours of gameplay and an excellently told story to a familiar, robust, just not-routine gameplay experience.

Ultimately, we can only judge the product by what it is now, which is a rock-solid online multiplayer shooter. And despite all of us, like Tracer, experiencing that strange sense of déjà vu, Overwatch 2 is more than a 1.5 version of the original. It feels like an evolution of the original that makes for even better gameplay through subtle changes and additions. The new revenue model does leave a bad taste behind and is at odds with the sense of togetherness that Overwatch should radiate.

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is anything but a bad entry, with specially delightful gunplay, very streamlined integration with other modes and games and a great Zombies Mode. On the other hand, the game doesn’t really excel in anything, will definitely profit from the upcoming extra content and is mostly more of what we know and love.

Civilization 7 is an excellent 4X game that will have you saying “ah, just one more turn” until the wee hours of the night. There are plenty of possibilities now that we can mix leaders and civilizations, and the way your empire grows automatically makes for a wonderfully smooth experience. However, the game becomes more confusing with every turn, and there is little quality of life. It will be a few years before Civilization truly deserves to wear the 4X crown again.

Superhot’s conversion from gamejam demo to full product was a success in our book. The gameplay could do with a tad more variation but that’s compensated nicely by a nice package of extra modes and options.

EA Sports FC 26 has a distinct DNA. Action and spectacle are deeply ingrained in it. Even in authentic mode, almost every goal is a slam dunk, and rarely do we see ugly, scrappy goals that even a self-respecting striker would dare cheer. But that's FC. If you accept that, or even appreciate it, FC 26 is a very complete and diverse package.

This is a how a traditional JRPG is meant to be. Fans of that genre get exactly what they want but don’t expect any radical improvements on the classic conventions. [jan. 2016 / page 068]

Are you looking for an entertaining, arcade-like, sometimes even caricatural presentation of the noble 11 vs 11? Then you could consider a season ticket for PES 2015. Do you want your soccer to be more dynamic, realistic and, in the end, just plain better? In that case FIFA 15 is your game.

Star Wars Battlefront II offers a much bigger package than its predecessor, and delivers massively on that typical Star Wars atmosphere and spectacle, with versatile modes and gameplay. But the multiplayer progression is a complete misfire and the disappointing microtransaction strategy costs them a point.

Marvel’s Avengers is basically a high production value Marvel Ultimate Alliance style action RPG, built around the structure of a game like Destiny. This is a powerful combination, featuring spectacular action and endless possibilities, but developer Crystal Dynamics stumbles in their ambition. Therefore the game’s stability is horrendous (although the performance mode might help) and navigating its many options is unnecessarily convoluted. The future of Marvel’s Avengers does seem to shine bright though.

Styx: Master of Shadows feels like a stealth game from an earlier era. Whether that is a bad thing, however, is the question. If you can look past the somewhat dated graphics, you’ll find that the basic mechanics of the game are well constructed. Also, the open level design and the fun abilities Styx has, make this title well worth the small price tag. Just make sure you remain unseen, as our goblin is certainly not a master of combat.

Sonic Racing: Crossworlds is overflowing with everything. The entire trunk is crammed with so many ideas, options, neon, chaos, and mayhem that the quantity comes at the expense of quality. To a certain extent, that's exactly what you want from a kart racer/party game, and the game is a surefire hit for anyone looking for something to fill up nights with friends. Step one accomplished, in that respect. But the classics of the genre, the true greats, also possess a precision that will have you spending hours shaving off hundredths of a second on your favorite track, even solo. It's a level Crossworlds unfortunately never reaches.

When looking at the game objectively and trying to forget you're playing a Project-Cars-game, this is a fun arcade-style racer with a little more depth than normal arcade racers. But as a fan expecting a follow-up in the same style as former Project-Cars-games, this is a bit of a mindf.ck.

Gameplay wise this might be one of the best JRPGs in years. Too bad the rest of the game is cobbled together with re-used assets, enemies and characters from its predecessor. And the repetitious level grinding doesn’t help either. [Sep 2014, p.59]

A beautiful setting, convincing characters and a handful of heartwarming and heartbreaking moments make up for the inconsistent story and messy pace of True Colors. Hopefully Deck Nine continues this line, because this is the best Life Is Strange since part 1.

The Dark Pictures: Man of Medan is a thrilling story, has some nice characters and the player can influence both on an impressive level, giving the game lots of replay value. Replaying may be not as interesting as you would like though, due to a great amount of walk and search gameplay, but the multiplayer modes do a good job of balancing that out. The Dark Pictures Anthology is off to a good start and hopefully has a bright future.

Bionic Bay is a creative, humorous and atmospheric ode to old-school puzzle platformers. Despite using many recognizable gameplay mechanics of the genre, it is in its own way incredibly unique and entertaining. Due to the painful lack of story, freedom of exploration, worldbuilding and music it is just not the complete package, but for those looking for a polished challenge Bionic Bay is definitely one to try.

Riders Republic is the ultimate extreme sports collectible pack. The sense of speed will keep you on the edge of your seat and the varied controls of the different disciplines will challenge you long enough. A footnote is that you should be able to entertain yourself a bit in the graphically beautiful world of Riders Republic, because just like with Steep, the flow of the game is not very obvious. Oh, and give more Mass Races.

South Park: The Fractured But Whole is an easily accessible but moderately deep light RPG in which fun battles, nice collectables and a lot of crude humour will entertain you for almost 30 hours. But comparing it with its forebear, The Stick of Truth, is unavoidable, and in this it kind of disappoints, feeling a little too similar and not as funny or surprising.

Somerville is a beautiful game that will keep you glued to your screen from start to finish, thanks mainly to excellent camera use and a finger-licking art style. That makes the game worthwhile despite its short duration and disappointing puzzles.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is a good overall package that mainly implements refinements. Omni-movement is a fine addition and the single-player mode is a nice afternoon snack, but it is the Zombies mode that takes the cake with delicious improvements and a return to basics.

Far Cry 6 is again -and that doesn't surprise anyone- a gigantic game, and not everything in the enormous stream of (side) missions is equally fun, funny or seems to add something to the whole. So you will regularly wonder what you are doing and why, while you will often hope in vain that the next mission is one with a role for Giancarlo Esposito. But with so much content, there is more than enough fun to be had and you will definitely get your Yaran Peso value.