2017

I can't believe it's that time again either, the 2017 gaming review! So many games were played this year, some good, some bad, some disappointing and some surprising. So, why not pick a winner for each category? Also, there'll be a best and worst DLC too. If you see a game mentioned that has not yet had a review, they will be coming in the next few weeks. Dont forget; this is a selection of games I played through for the first time, not exclusively games released in the past twelve months. So, onto the winners (and losers) of 2017.

Best game I played in 2017 - Uncharted 4

Runners up: Shadow of War, Titanfall 2

Honestly, once I finished Uncharted 4, there was never any doubt it wasn't going to be my game of the year. Being a sucker for Naughty Dog and a huge fan of the Uncharted series, the fourth in the series not only lived up to my expectations, but surpassed them and became the best Uncharted for me. A great story, fantastic gameplay and graphics, amazing locations and mechanics. It had everything. My one criticism; why didn't they bring back Cutter?! Uncharted was only 0.2 points off equaling my current highest rated game - The Last of Us, the Magnum Opus of Naughty Dog. It's unclear if we'll ever see another Uncharted starring Nathan Drake, but I'll certainly stay hopeful. Excellent work once again.

Worst game I played in 2017 - Hydrophobia

Runners up: Walking Dead Survival Instinct, Dear Esther

Fuck me. First of all, it's part one of what was meant to be three parts, so it's not even a complete game because they never bothered to release the rest on console. Besides the aesthetic look of flowing water, this game had nothing going for it. Don't even get me started on your supposedly whimsical sidekick, who was the most annoying, poorly acted, useless character I've seen in a video game. The story sucked, the voice acting was horrendous and the gameplay was poor. Story, likeable characters and good acting is a must in any story driven game, and here, they all failed MISERABLY. The worst part was that the city you end the game in looked great, if you got to explore that in the second part it may have redeemed itself, but of course this piece of shit ends as it starts to look interesting. GARBAGE.

Most disappointing game I played in 2017 - Watch Dogs

Runners up: Life is Strange, For Honor

Pffft. All I can say is I had huge hype for this back in 2013. Watch Dogs and Quantum Break were two games I genuinely thought could be the best games ever to have come out on this generation of consoles. Both disappointed. Although I quite liked Watch Dogs overall, it was bland in comparison to my expectations. Average looking characters, repetitive, simple gameplay, unimaginative story, it was just average. Also, why does a hacker need a cliché raspy, tough guy voice? All he does is press a button on his phone, he's not Rambo or anyone. I did really like the unique ways of taking out enemies through the cameras, but it wasn't enough. The sequel looks great, but first impressions last.

I'm just gonna throw this out there too; I said in the 2016 review that my most anticipated game to play this year was Amazing Spider-Man 2, because of how much I liked the first... It fucking sucked!

Most surprising game I played in 2017 - SpeedRunners

Runners up: Call of Duty Advanced Warfare, The Escapists

SpeedRunners had no competition here, it was really difficult to come up with 'speed'runners up. (sorry) The sad thing is that I'd never have played this had it not gone free in the Games with Gold program. Hands down the most fun I've had on a game in recent years, if you've got a friend to play this with, do it. I guarantee you'll have a great laugh, I physically couldn't stop laughing my first night on this. It's fun, competitive, cool race maps, great abilities and weapons, fitting music, and there's nothing more satisfying than swinging around on the map to stay in the lead. I will 100% buy a sequel if they make one, and I pray that they do.

The new ones!

Best DLC I played in 2017 - Far Harbor (Fallout 4)

Again, there wasn't much competition. The thing with DLC for me is that it's either really bad or disappointing. This is one of the few that overcomes the DLC stigma, Far Harbor is fantastic. A whole new island, and it's huge, plus there's plenty to do. It's own story and a number of side quests, new enemies, factions and followers. If you're a huge Fallout fan like me, get this DLC if you haven't already. It's one of the few worth getting and you don't feel like they've cashed in.

Worst DLC I played in 2017 - Dark Forest (Dante's Inferno)

Jeez, wtf is this? Seriously. It's one puzzle, split into three sections, with a wave of enemies in between each section. It's even set right at the beginning of the game and has no impact on the story. Remember that guy who killed your wife at the start? Well, you're chasing him, that's the premise of the story. Oh, and it's about twenty five minutes long if you stretch it out. Yeah, they seriously wanted money for this. The puzzle itself is better than most in the full game, but who the fuck wants to pay to play a puzzle section in a hack 'n' slash game? Nobody on Earth that has a functional brain. Yet, I paid for this, so I deserved the pain I endured. 

Here's a list of games I played this year that I didn't review and my thoughts on each.

Toy Soldiers: Cold War (Xbox 360)

Toy Soldiers is a strategy game, I'm not really a fan of these kind of games, and I rushed through its campaign to say I'd done it. That's why I decided not to review it, it'd be unfair as I didn't play the way you're meant to. I like how you could actually control the weapons you planted, and even commandeer tanks and choppers, that made it more fun. The commando who could gun down everything too was fun to play. Ultimately, not my kind of game and only had it due to it being free on the Games with Gold program a few years back.

Disney Pixar Cars (Xbox 360)

ACHIEVEMENTS. That is all.

I would like to say I bought this on PSP back when the movie came out and loved it. I always felt I missed out when I heard the console version was free roam, so I felt I owed it to myself to get that version one day. I definitely didn't miss out.

Mortal Kombat X (Xbox One)

I'm not really into fighting games, but I still always buy them. I'm not sure why, I never put any effort into them and never bother trying to learn moves or master a character. I just button mash and bumble my way through the story modes. How would that be fair to review? I have always had a thing for MK though, probably the gruesome fatalities. I love Scorpion too.

Serious Sam (Xbox 360)

I love the original Doom, it's fun and the music is the best. Serious Sam is a very similar game, except better graphics and constant rushing enemies. Sam is more crazy and you're nonstop shooting. I love the mass amount of different enemies and weapons, but the music pales in comparison and the levels aren't really fun to explore. The puzzles really slow the game down and I just played through the entire game while watching videos on YouTube, paying next to no attention, so no review. I didn't even get an achievement for finishing the game when I was supposed to, so fuck you Sam!

Fable Heroes (Xbox 360)

It's a four player party game I played alone. Basically a hack 'n' slash, it's boring to play alone. It might be fun to play with others, but I doubt it'd be much better. There's something about the Fable series, I always think I love it, I loved two and three back in the day, but when I think of them, it's overshadowed by the boring combat. I'm yet to play the original in fairness, but they brought out some spin off games that didn't go too well. I'm glad Fable Legends got cancelled too, it looked crappy to me. I doubt we'll ever see Fable 4, I'm not sure if I'd like it anyway.

For another year, Last of Us sits pretty as the king of games, despite its close call this  year. There's plenty of big hitters coming out in the next twelve months and I already have some stellar games waiting to be played. Will we see a 9.6/10 or higher? It's certainly possible Hopefully more retro reviews will come out next year and possibly pick the classic game of the year. I'm planning on adding some new topics to my blog over the next few months too, so look out for them. Thanks for reading.

Happy 2018.

Rainbow Six Vegas 2 (Xbox 360)

Rainbow Six Vegas 2 is the sequel to the popular Tom Clancy series, it released in 2008.

This is a multiplayer game, that's the selling point here. A popular and enjoyable multiplayer was probably the reason most people played it. The best aspect is definitely terrorist hunt, which is a cooperative horde mode. These are the reasons to play Vegas two, it's an online shooter basically.

Now, the reason I play game; story. BLERGH. Absolutely terrible, if it wasn't coop, I wouldn't have bothered at all. I didn't think the first game was great either, but I at least enjoyed some of the campaign. Here, it's just there to add more to the game, but don't bother, seriously. Cliché, pointless and just generally shit.

Here's my main issue though, this game came out in 2008. That's one year after Call of Duty 4. Just compare these two for a second. Back when they were developing this, they must've realised that was their competition and the heights they had to reach. The graphics are ugly as fuck, the people look like test dummies dressed in SWAT gear. The controls are outdated, they were in the first game and they still didn't update it. The game is boring, weak story and bland voice acting. It's really poor and I was expecting more because I heard so many good things.

I really don't know what else to say. The multiplayer is good but it's not that popular now, terrorist hunt is by far the best and fun with friends, if you can get past the poor controls, the story should just be skipped completely. It's a short review, but in my eyes, that's all it deserves. They didn't even seem to try and beat CoD 4, it's not a surprise that it never became a trilogy and why there was a seven year gap until Siege came out in 2015.

6.3/10

Gone Home (Xbox One)

Gone Home originally released in 2013, it was released in 2016 for consoles. It is a walking simulator, featuring a girl who is returning to her family home after living away for a while.

There is no gameplay besides walking and interacting with objects. You find a note on the front door from your sister, telling you she's left home but not to worry about her. You spend the entire game discovering more about your sister's life and why she actually left.

The game looks beautiful. You feel like you're in a real home. It amazingly designed, so many small features and so well designed. The house was great to just look through. Family photos, old boxes of possessions, detailed books on shelves, there's so much detail and you won't even see most of it.

There's lots of reading involved, reading notes helps guide you around the house and you even discover a number of hidden areas around your house. You find out a lot about the characters faster too, who is a struggling author. You even find a number of post cards your character sent to the family.

The sound work is amazing and so is the voice acting. It's all done perfectly. There were two issues I had, it all felt very sinister. I really wasn't sure if this was a horror game or not, I knew nothing about it when I played it. Hearing the pouring down rain and the thunder, the fact it was night and some of the creepy rooms and secretive notes I found, I thought it was gonna become a horror or discover something disturbing, but there was none of that. It was also really short too, if you didn't explore you could easily finish in less than an hour.

It ends up being a really well told story, and a nice story at that. I couldn't help feeling let down though, not only was I expecting it to be a different genre, I was expecting something bigger to happen. Although I had a good time playing, mainly because I was waiting for something, this game doesn't really serve much of a purpose, and there's no reason to play it again. It walking, reading and small puzzle solving, but at the end you feel it wasn't worth it.

It not worth buying unless it's really cheap, if you have it already, definitely give it a go and see what you think. You'll at least get a kick out of the brilliant design like me.

6.9/10

FIFA 18: The Journey (Xbox One)

FIFA 18 unsurprisingly has continued the hugely successful Journey mode, following Alex Hunter's story one season at a time is a really good way to approach it and I hope it continues. Spoilers ahead.

The story continues where you left off in the first season. At a very young age Hunter is considered a future star and rumours of Real Madrid making a move to sign him. The rumours get to his head, and even though the club you originally chose to sign for, Hunter suddenly no longer cares and just wants to move to Madrid.

Ultimately the move fails. Hunter has gone down the pecking order after seeking a move to way. He is told he'll be playing in the reserve team to earn his place back. I was happy because I got to stay at the club I chose and thought they were setting up a story of redemption. Sigh. If only that were the case. Hunter gets wind that LA Galaxy are in for a loan deal for him. The next big thing in football goes to America at the age of 18? What were they thinking? Players go to America at the end of their careers.

You spend the first half of the Journey in America trying to win the cup competition, not even the league. I really struggled to stay invested. Leaving the Premier League, the most exciting league for me, to go to the American league which is poor in comparison. While in America, Hunter's father who helped seal the move to Galaxy is now back in his life. Things drastically change as Hunter finds out he has a younger half sister. Like Hunter, she herself is an up and coming young American soccer player making her debut for the national team. I thought this was great, I thought it was even better when we got to play as her for the game.

I didn't enjoy my time in America at all, the highlight was certainly playing as Hunter's half sister and she begins to make a name for herself, and seeing the two start to form a relationship with each other. The cheesy relationship between Hunter and Thierry Henry went on too long, the needless cameo from an NBA star, just to link EA's games together. I play FIFA because I like football, I don't like Basketball, yet they're throwing it in your face during a football game. We should have been given a choice of America or playing in the reserves.

After our time in America, forget about going back to your old club. You do get the choice between three top clubs this time at least. Athletico Madrid, (Spain) Bayern Munich, (Germany) and PSG (France). I chose PSG as they had some huge stars like Neymar and Mbappé (even though he was still at Monaco because of the slow update). A great feature was we were told we needed a strike partner and given a choice of three brilliant players to sign, Dele Alli,  Antoine Griezmann and Thomas Muller. I chose Alli, so him and Hunter had the English pairing and both future stars.

It started to pick up when we moved to a big club, the partnership idea was a welcome addition too. I enjoyed making sure to link up with my new partner as much as possible. Once again you're knocked out of the Champions League, I assume they are saving that and the World for the next game.

After a very short time at your big club, Hunter is hit with a two month injury, his first major injury. It was a good idea, and a good way to keep you playing football even when Hunter couldn't, was to go and play as your best friend, Danny Williams, who now plays for your original club as he was signed as your replacement. He's struggling and you're given a choice to play as him and save his career. I honestly don't know why it's even a choice, why wouldn't you? See? They're capable of giving you a choice, just not when they force you to America. What happened to Harry Kane though? He was the big signing in the first year and he's no longer at your club. There wasn't even any mention of that, just like they pretended it never happened. It shouldn't have ever happened for the record.

My biggest issue with the Journey now, thanks to this year, is that we have played for four different teams in two years. At the age of 18, he's moved about too much. The next couple of FIFA's they need to have you stay for the big club you've just signed for, but will they commit to that? I'll be surprised, you should've stayed at your original club much longer.

If I stay at PSG the whole season and we get a crack at the Champions League, I'll be happy, maybe even an attempt at the World Cup seeing as it'll fall into that year. Keep up the amazing off the pitch story, the relationships between the characters and the performances really are fantastic. Just stop making me change teams constantly. Also, thanks for actually making the good players start this time, I was sick of playing every game with the reserves in the starting eleven. If you could update the squads quicker for the Journey too, so I don't have to play a season with someone who's already left the club, that's be nice.

7.1/10

Spec Ops the Line (Xbox 360)

Spec Ops released in 2012 and was a game I was left wanting from the moment I saw it. It's a third person shooter set in Dubai.

You play as Martin Walker, sent on a scouting mission for survivors after deathly sandstorms hit Dubai. Sent in with Delta squad members Adams and Lugo, their journey to Hell begins. This is a shooter, but it's got a real story, it's shockingly good and has some intense themes.

The landscape is beautiful, it would've been nice to explore the area of Dubai, but it's not that time of game. As shooters go, there's nothing new here really, good mechanics with cover and guns, you're able to crouch down while using a turret and there's a nice supply of weapons. You can use sand as a weapon too, sand trapped behind glass is a great way to dispatch of enemies as the sand sweeps like an avalanche.

Delta squad are toyed with throughout the entire game, by the man on the radio, the voice of the rogue unit occupied in Dubai. Often during your gun battles, he plays fitting music and pumps up the action scenes very well. The three man team must battle with the dangerous locals, as well as the 33rd battalion, who have taken over Dubai and exiled the failed coup members. There is a fantastic twist that is hidden throughout and some very heavy scenes. Story was the focus and they done a brilliant job.

There are choice you can make during the story, ultimately they don't change the outcome of the story or make a big difference during, but they make you think of the consequences. The graphics of the environment are fantastic, amazing sun glare and the sandstorms do a great job of making you feel claustrophobic and blind. The facial graphics aren't too bad either, but the voice acting is sublime. Hearing the tone of your team's feelings change is extraordinary, and how their relationship changes through this devastating journey.

There are very few stealth sections, they let you use a silencer but they're far too frequent. You can also do melee takedowns on downed enemies, but there's little point as they won't be getting back up anyway. You have to play on hard before you can unlock the fourth difficulty, Fubar. It's annoying I couldn't try on the hardest difficulty, but hard was certainly challenging at points, but definitely doable.

I don't want to go into the story too much, because it's worth exploring and it's an excellent story in a game where you wouldn't expect it. This was one of my top games back in 2012, and it still holds up today. If you missed this one, go back to it because it's worth it.

8.2/10

Titanfall 2 (Xbox One)

Titanfall 2 is the sequel to one of the biggest current multiplayer shooters. Released in 2016 and unlike the first, we have a campaign this time. A real fucking campaign.

It's best to start with multiplayer here, it's like the first fun and exciting, good to play with friends, a couple new modes and features. There's a health bar above enemies so you can see how close they are to death. The smart pistol has been removed from the online which is a shame, but I get it and they've also removed weapon challenges, which is my favourite way to earn XP and explore the different guns. Anyway, no matter what I say about the multiplayer you're probably still gonna play it, and you should, so enough about that.

If you played the original Titanfall, you'll know there wasn't a campaign, even if they did try to pass off that multiplayer mode titled 'campaign' as one, but after playing it, you could see how amazing the universe was with all the crazy creatures and things going on in the background that it had huge potential for one. Thankfully they gave us one this time, and it's pretty fucking good. I've always written off multiplayer shooter campaigns because of the decline of Call of Duty's campaigns and Battlefields recent weak attempts. I immediately thought it'd just be a throw away story, but it's really not.

You play as Jack Cooper, a rifleman for the IMC, while on a mission with his captain, they are attacked by the Militia and captain Lastimosa is killed. Before he succumbed to his injuries, he passed control over to Cooper to his Titan BT-7274. Cooper isn't an official pilot and has always wanted to be one, Lastimosa had been giving him pilot training behind closed doors. Cooper and BT have to continue the fight between the IMC and Militia, as well as Cooper learning to be a real pilot and together they build an incredible relationship. BT is adamant that he won't lose another pilot and will do everything he can to keep his new operator alive.

The relationship that builds between Cooper and BT is amazing, especially when it's in a game that originally never had a story and that BT is a machine. He really does care about Cooper's well-being and as a player, I cared a lot about BT. It was surprisingly emotional at times and is great how you can do everything in the multiplier as well as the campaign, the wall running, deploying and controlling a titan, cloaking, it works well.

During the campaign you'll face a number of bosses, each boss is unique and only one or two were not up to scratch as the stronger villians. Each boss has a different titan, so each boss fight is different. Playing the campaign on Master difficulty was incredibly tough, it got much easier as I got used to it, but the Viper boss fight was one of the tougher sections I've played in a game in recent years. During the campaign you pick up cores for your titan, which unlock a new special power. You can only have one active core and have to build up momentum before you can use it, but switching cores is instant.

There is a fantastic mission where you pick up a device that lets you switch between two timelines; past and present. You're navigating your way through a research facility and you have to keep changing through time to make your way through, as the way could be blocked in the present, but clear in the past. Enemies and creatures can attack you in one timeline, but switch and they'll be gone, it's a great way of regenerating your health if you get close to death. The boss fights are also a highlight, they toy with you during your missions and then when it comes to the confrontation, they get really intense and you feel good when you overcome them. (Especially on master difficulty)

You can disembark from your titan whenever it's convenient. There are plenty of times where you're separated from BT, but it's pretty well balanced between being on foot or in your titan. There are also health crates for your titan for when you're on low health, usually at the boss fights. The relationship also gets fleshed out more between the two, they talk to each other a lot, which really adds so much more, it's even better when you get the option to respond and ask BT questions, I loved their interaction. There's also a nice return near the end of the smart pistol, it automatically targets a huge number of enemies and kills all targets in one shot. It was nice to see it back in what was almost a cameo.

I'm so surprised how good this campaign was, without a doubt one of the best first person shooter stories I've ever played. If you're a multiplayer gamer, stop for a moment and give it a try. If you're a single player gamer and haven't tried it yet, get to it! Titanfall three, bring it on and keep up the stellar campaign.

8.3/10

Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor - Game of the Year Edition (PS4)

Shadow of Mordor is the first in a new series developed by Monolith, set in the world of The Lord of the Rings. Released in 2014 and the clue is in the game's title; it's just that, my game of the year in 2014.

You play as Talion, a Gondorian warrior. He is killed alongside his wife and son by Sauron. He is revived and linked to an Elven smith who forged the one ring. Bound together, the only way Talion stays alive, the two seek revenge against Sauron and work to bring the forces of Mordor down.

While playing SoM, I felt it was heavily inspired by a number of quality games, Assassin's Creed, Far Cry and Batman Arkham series where they use a similar combat system. All these stellar franchise built into one, plus it's own and best feature; the nemesis system. I don't think there's a better brand new feature than this.

The nemesis system and how it works. It tracks orcs and presents them in a table. Captains dominate the screen, the higher up and stronger orcs are warchiefs and are at the top of the table. Each orc has its own unique name and personality, they also have their own strengths and weaknesses. That can be anything from being immune to certain attacks or even running in terror at the sight of a beast that walks through Mordor. What makes this system so good, is that any orc can be implemented. If you're fighting a bunch of grunts and one manages to get that last hit and kill you, he gets prompted to a captain and gets his own name, strengths and weaknesses. Orcs will always replace the dead ones and means that it can go on forever if you enjoy playing the game. Myself, I found the system addicting and loved it.

As Talion has already died and is now bound to the Eleven Smith, Celebrimbor, he is banished from death and cannot be permanently killed. This means you can die, but you'll always come back to life. An orc killing you is how they get promoted to captains and replace dead ones. If an orc kills you, you will be given a side mission to get your revenge. There are a number of side missions that let you attack other captains, there are even mission that involve multiple captains trying to kill each other. Orcs aren't not so friendly to each other and will often attack each other to increase their chance of becoming a warchief. Every time an orc survives or escapes a side mission, their level increases and they become tougher to beat.

The story is definitely interesting and it's great to be back in the world of Middle Earth, but the missions I found boring when they weren't relevant to orcs and the nemesis system. When I was with the side characters and freeing slaves, I felt deflated and just wanted to stop playing, I wanted to try and kill captains and the orc side missions, there way more fun. The story involves a lot of captain and warchief missions though, so don't worry. Torvin the dwarf has the worst missions, his are all about hunting the wildlife, but he's definitely one of the most interesting side characters. The best side character is Ratbag, a small and weak looking orc, he helps you and in return you help him build his way to the top of the orc clan. The story is far too short and they also throw in Gollum to remind you you're playing in the world of Lord of the Rings.

There's also mission to upgrade your sword, dagger and bow. You unlock runes for each which give off bonus against orcs. There are also liberation missions to free captured slaves. It's open world, there's a lot of empty zones, but there are also plenty of enemy camps filled with orcs, a great way to get around is by taming the wildlife. There are Caragors, which are similar to Sabertooth Tigers and Graug's, which are like giant Cave Trolls, both can be tamed and ridden for faster travelling. There are also Ghul's, they are like small, wild orcs and attack ferociously. There are also collectables and hunting/flower challenges.

So, the combat is similar to the Batman Arkham series. you can use your bow and sword, the dagger is for your stealth. Stealth is pretty easy, you can crouch walk very close to enemies and be fine. You can do attack from ledges and from above to ground targets too. You can also hide in bushes and attract enemies to bring them  to you or lure them away. The stealth works well. You can build up combos and counter attacks, ground takedowns, stealth takedowns. When your combo flashes red, you can do an execution which instantly kills an enemy, besides a captain unless it's a weakness of theirs. There's lots of upgrades too, your red combo can do a number of things if you've chosen the right upgrades. You also have wraith vision, which acts as detective mode and you're also able to recruit orcs and have them on your side fighting for you by branding them. The game of the year edition also includes the DLC's which I've reviewed recently.

This was my game of the year in 2014, it's an amazing first game in what is now a franchise and if you don't appreciate the nemesis system, you really have tried it out enough. It can easily keep you playing the game long after you finish the campaign, you really do grow attached to orcs, even the ones that try and kill you.

8.8/10

Retro Review: Simpsons Hit and Run (PS2)

My first Retro Review with many more to come in the future. Retro Review's in my eyes will be pre-Xbox 360/PS3 generation. Instead of just scoring them on how good they are, I'm scoring each game out of 5 on how well they hold up today.

Simpsons Hit and Run released in 2003 and was developed by Radical Entertainment. This is a game I've always held in high regards, being a big Simpsons fan growing up I played this a lot. It's a GTA clone, more friendly to a younger audience and starring the Simpsons, sounds great, right?

The game spans seven levels, most levels have a new area of Springfield to explore and every level you change character. Homer, Bart, Lisa, Marge and Apu are all playable (Homer and Bart star in two levels). Each level you're free to explore by your own means, and it's worth doing. There's lots of detail and you'll recognise so much from the show. Even better, you can enter some of Springfield's well know locations like Moe's and the Kwik-E-Mart. You'll also find lots of your favourite characters out and about too. There's a mass amount of vehicles and you'll remember seeing most of them, the Plow King and Marge's Canyonero are just a couple for you to drive.

Each level has seven missions, most missions are racing, destroy a vehicle and collecting items on foot and in vehicles. There's plenty of missions and most are fun. As well, each level has four races, doing all four will unlock a new vehicle. Each level has three costumes for you to wear relevant to each character and straight from the show. There's lots of collectables to pick up, cards featuring an item from the show, coin boxes and mechanical wasps for you to destroy.

The driving is perfect, easy to control and really fun to do a. Doing bad things will cause the police to chase you down. Fighting, driving into people and smashing objects around the world all contribute. The fine is fifty coins if you get caught. You'll need your money to buy new vehicles and outfits, so drive safely! Each level also has a special mission, featuring a character from the show who gives you a task and you'll unlock their vehicle.

There's so many secrets, hidden areas, gags that are taken from the show and even a zombie level as the final level. Some of the most fun levels are the destruction ones, there's something so satisfying about smashing into a car and blowing it up. Careful though, bang up your own car too much and you'll blow that up. Not to fear though, as you can go to a phone booth, which is where you spawn your vehicle's, and there you can pay a small fee to repair your car. The racing missions can be frustrating, sometimes you feel you did everything you could to win and still come up short.

14 years later, I played Hit and Run and went through all seven levels. I loved every minute on my return. I had as much fun on this as I did over a decade ago. This game easily holds up today, if you never played it, why? Go get it! All we need now is a remaster and a sequel.

5/5

Battlefield Hardline (Xbox One)

Battlefield Hardline released in 2015, it's overall theme is cops and robbers, and for an online multiplayer, it's got great potential!

So, the reason everyone plays Battlefield... Campaign! I'm not gonna got into the plot much. Did you see that old cop movie? The one where the good cop gets framed because he isn't a dirty cop, so after his prison stint he decides to get revenge and bring down the corruption? There's hundreds of them, and thanks to Hardline, there's more! Cliché story equals bland.

The graphics are ok, the facial detail looks great, but the faces on the bodies looks awful. It just doesn't look good at all. Some of the characters are likeable and the voice acting well done, but most other characters are one dimensional and you've seen a thousand times in movies. The angle of being a cop is awesome, and surprisingly it's not something video games do much. Cop chases and arresting is cool, although cuffing criminals gets repetitive eventually.

The stealth is ok, it works most of the time but it's very finicky. You can get stun guns too for the cop approach. You can use a scanner to search for evidence and complete side tasks, but the scanner sucked, it was very poor at detecting objects and was always a chore to use. For some reason there are out of bound zones in the story just like the multiplayer. Instead of letting you walk out the map, use invisible walls like most games. I'd rather that than get stuck out the map and then killed by leaving the area. The missions can really drag, although some are fun. The humour is so flat, but credit for trying, it didn't take itself too seriously.

So the real reason people play Battlefield, the multiplayer! So there's new modes for the cops and robbers theme; Heists is easily the best mode and it's ridiculously fun. The robbers must break into vaults, while the cops defend the areas. Blood Money has players pick up money and take it to their areas, most money wins, you can also steal money from their area and players. Hotwire has players find cars and drive them around while you rack up points, the longer you drive the more points. It's practically vehicle combat and really fun when you have a small army in your vehicle. Other times it can be boring, all players can be just driving around with no gun battles at all. The other two modes were completely dead and I couldn't get in a match.

This game really just feels like an expansion. After playing this, I feel terrible for everyone who paid full price. The story isn't worth playing and although the multiplayer is fun, only Heists is worth doing. Take out Heists and put it in the next Battlefield, don't make a full game around one mode! 

I got this game dirt cheap and all the DLC for free, that was definitely worth it, but when I remember this was a full price game and a season pass, it's criminal. Get to fuck EA, and remember you wouldn't be where you are without us gamers. Don't fuck us over.

7.1/10

Splinter Cell Double Agent (Xbox 360)

Splinter Cell Double Agent is the fourth game in the franchise, it originally released back in 2006. I've never played any of the original trilogy but don't worry, I own the HD trilogy for PS3, but I think it's worth mentioning for this review.

So I first played this back in 2009, me and a friend completed it playing in turns. I didn't remember much from back then. This time I played all the way through on my own, one thing I can say; this game feels really old. It's not aged that poorly, but the controls have a lot. Playing this on hard and trying to get to grips with the control scheme doubled the already challenging difficulty.

Sam Fisher is given a new assignment, going undercover as a terrorist for the JBA organisation. Although he's already a spy, you can make choices of how the story plays out. Do you risk cover and stick to National Security Agency or do you blend in and follow the terrorists plans all the way through.

The stealth is really good, it's certainly imported in the more recent years, but for over a decade old, I enjoyed it. There's lots of items to help you get through missions, smoke grenades, thermal vision, they're all pretty useful. You can turn off lights using your secondary fire on the pistol. Using guns isn't that great. If you get discovered and find yourself in a gun fight, I'd just restart, the gameplay isn't up to scratch for that. The platforming is the same level as stealth, works well and fun to play.

There's optional objectives that add more to the game, the story isn't too long, but finding and stealthy path can take a lot of time. I thought the lock picking sucked, the hacking was slightly better but neither was fun. One huge flaw for me was the lack of tutorial. I struggled to play the game because of the controls and I didn't know if I was picking locks right, I had to look online at how to do it. It was a huge negative.

Even though there are different choices to make, I wouldn't really say there's much replayability. In my eyes there's no reason to play through the game again, unless you really liked it. Once was enough for me. Love the current Splinter Cell series, it's been four years since the last, so, you know, hurry up!

6.4/10