Total War Saga: Troy captures Ancient Greece, and smartly rationalizes mythology, but smart isn’t always the most fun

Some neat ideas and a decent enough 40K romp, but as a complete package it leaves some to be desired.

This version of Warcraft III has welcome graphical updates to a great game, but it's not reforged enough to justify its price.

In the end, Astra Exodus is a capable 4X game. It is much better than other similar titles out there and it is definitely worth a shot if you want something more straightforward than Stellaris or GalCiv. It as a very well-executed game, so if you are not put out by the 2D graphics and the cartoony, anime-like illustrations then give it a try.

In the end, Narcos: Rise of the Cartels is a game with good production values, let down by a tactical layer that doesn’t seem to have been fully thought-through. There are impressively few flaws here, but the ones it does have are so key to the nature of the game that they end up dragging down the whole experience. Like Pablo Escobar’s intrinsic arrogance which led to his downfall, so does Narcos’ rather basic assumptions ruin what could have been a very exciting tie-in game.

While The Bloody First is a decent start to the new era of Close Combat, it still needs a bit of TLC, and we hope some dedicated post-release support and future DLC will iron out the game and make it a title worthy of the legacy.

Personal bias aside, with all the influence coming from The Lord of the Rings: Living Card Game and the fact that the cards are essentially permanent, you would be as well just buying a deck and playing at your friendly local game store. The only real advantage to the video game version is the story and the ability to change card art by unlocking it with points - which is a nice change from paying for it though the groundwork is there for microtransactions to seep in eventually. However, if you want more stories about Middle Earth, then I guess it’s worth it for that. Just, maybe mute the game whenever Smeagol is involved.

Imperator: Rome has its moments, and some excellent foundations. But while there’s always the promise of what’s to come, right here and now there’s plenty to be found wanting.

A fun, functional but ultimately forgettable RTS in the style of Warcraft or Age of Empires.

This is C & C with a deep tech tree, modern graphics, and custom armies. It fails only because it was too ambitious.

It’s a solid but not exceptional middle-of-the-road game with some UI hang-ups but a wide variety of factions and a solid amount of the old 40K charm.

A solid foundation for a unique 4X experience – it just needs fleshing out a bit more before it can really shine.

We find it hard to recommend Mutant Year Zero as the frustrating combat, occasional bugs, slow movement, and awkward camera make us quit to desktop more often than not. But at the same time, the story and the world keeps dragging us back for more. And though it has aged us considerably, if you’re a fan of the source material, then it’s worth it to stick it through just to experience the story. Especially if you’re like the rest of us and can’t get a group together anyway.

Terraforming Mars is a great strategy challenge with huge replay value. But, while pretty and convenient, this adaptation currently has too many rough edges to recommend.

Evolution will amuse movie fans and infrequent sim hands, but linearity and lack of meaningful decision-making undermines its lavish production values.

Great maps, great units, great strategies, not so great online.

A fun and well made TBS title held back by lackluster plot and mission design.

Rise and Fall is a novel yet slightly disappointing expansion that accomplishes very little of worth. In fact, it often feels at odds with what Sid Meier’s Civilization is, changing the game’s flow into a senseless time intensive marathon. While past Firaxis expansions often gave you creative and interesting new tools to play with as you see fit, Rise and Fall instead seems hellbent on corralling the way you play, and the end result is a more restrictive game than what we had on launch.

Despite its charms, Railway Empire jumps the tracks with its dull tech trees, dated looks, and hobbled competitive modes.

Super-weapons are hella fun, but this expansion is oddly skippable if you're not sold by its lean feature-set.