Category: XBOX

XBOX Games

  • Battlefield 6 – Review
    SCORE
    8.5/10

    Battlefield 6 – Review

    I’ve always enjoyed the cat and mouse relationship that Battlefield and Call of Duty have had over the years. They seem destined to contrast each other with every release, with each one striving for different goals. As Call of Duty strays more toward slop territory, Battlefield 6 feels like a much-needed reset in the contemporary military shooter space, even if it feels like a slight step backward in some ways for Battlefield itself.

    First and foremost, I should say this game captures everything Battlefield is known for. Big, sprawling battles with vehicles, destructible buildings, customizable weapons, classes, you name it. Graphically, the game looks phenomenal and runs surprisingly well with a refined feel to it. On the base PS5, this game will maintain a solid 60FPS while looking amazing the whole time.

    There’s a big emphasis on class progression in this game, with each character archetype having its own skill trees and goals needed to move into new abilities. Some of these are a bit steep, frankly (like the need to kill 15 stunned enemies with the Assault class in order to unlock the next Assault class subclass) but it adds a lot of engaging goals during matches that add more to the game beyond striving for kills and capture points.

    The ground gunplay in this game feels much more refined than previous entries in the series, feeling snappier and more like Call of Duty when you’re running and gunning (in a good way) than before.

    Vehicles are all here and accounted for, to varying effect. If I am disappointed by anything, it’s the bizarre lack of jet gameplay in this release. BF1 and BF4 before it had really fun, comprehensive flight gameplay that saw me in the pilot seat most of the time. BF6 flight gameplay has a few issues that I hope can be addressed in the future:

    1. Flight area is way too small, making a jet feel like a fish in a bowl as you barely have room to leave the bounds of the battlefield. This greatly reduces the amount of epic dogfights you could potentially get into like in previous games.
    2. Bombing is weak, confusing and difficult to play.
    3. Anti-air vehicles can reach way too far, leading to them camping in their home base for the entire match, harassing flying craft from afar.
    4. No jet loadouts. This is a really bizarre omission when you consider every other vehicle gives you load out options and customizable weapons.

    It really feels like jets were an afterthought in this game, which sucks because they were always so much fun before. Otherwise, BF6 is a solid multiplayer shooter that gives you mostly everything you expect from the Battlefield franchise, and a welcome contemporary military game.

  • Elden Ring: Nightreign – review
    SCORE
    8.5/10

    Elden Ring: Nightreign – review

    Like many gamers, I’ve been playing FromSoftware stuff for a long time now, dating all the way back to Demon’s Souls on PS3 over 15 years ago. When Elden Ring came on the scene back in 2022, it was a very solid culmination of years of refinement of Miyazaki’s “souls” formula brought to a new(ish) IP to great success.

    When Nightreign was first announced, I was skeptical about the entire idea of a Fortnite-inspired Elden Ring spin-off. I mean, I actually thought it was just a DLC until it actually came out. However, after nearly 100 hours on the game, I can faithfully say that Nightreign has become a new favorite of mine for its addictive gameplay loop and fast-paced action.

    Fast-paced is the keyword here. From the moment you load into the map, you have what feels like mere moments to accomplish everything you need to accomplish. The basic idea of the game is Elden Ring gameplay and vibes, but with a Fortnite-inspired toxic ring that slowly shuts down the map every few minutes and funnels you toward the boss fight. Starting at level 1 every time, you have this limited amount of time to gain as many levels as possible (maxing at 15), collect as many weapons and buffs as you can, and face the boss with up to 2 of your best friends (or random players–or solo).

    Writing this out, it doesn’t sound fun, but it ends up being a frenetic and extremely engaging time where you’re absolutely locked in for every moment. This is ultimately what makes the game so addicting, and you can expect each match to last about 45 minutes from start to finish (if you make it to the end “Nightlord” boss).

    Replacing the iconic character creator from Elden Ring is a selection of 8 set characters with unique classes and abilities (plus 2 more if you get the recently released DLC). Each character fills a specific role:

    Wylder is a kind of standard warrior type with a small shield and big sword, Recluse is a wizard with a big hat, Guardian (my favorite) is a defensive role with a big shield and a halberd, etc.

    Initially I was disappointed at the lack of a customizable character creator, but the game is designed to be fast, simple and broad enough to accommodate the game loop. I do think it would be nice if each archetype class had an ability to customize the character, but at the very least, you can unlock a number of different skins for each one.

    My biggest complaint about the game is the relic system, which is basically a gacha gambling roll for a stone that you can equip that gives you some stat-bonuses. The issue with it is that, with 10 characters in the game, you often get stones that are completely irrelevant to you, and there’s very seriously no way to influence what stones you get. Each run through the game rewards you with a handful of them, and they are 100% random. It would be nice to have some kind of crafting system where you can at least combine certain effects to make new stones that you can actually use. As it is right now, the system is more frustrating than anything else.

    But that’s a minor gripe to an otherwise strangely addicting Elden Ring romp. It might seem like “SlopSouls,” but Nightreign has weirdly been one of my favorite games of the last year.

  • Resident Evil 4 – Review
    SCORE
    9/10

    Resident Evil 4 – Review

    If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably already put hundreds of hours into the original Resident Evil 4 in its many iterations and incarnations. Originally released for the Gamecube in 2005, the original RE4 was widely considered a masterpiece and one of the most influential games of all time. It was a massive departure from the titles that came before it, leading the series into more action-driven territory and completely redefining what Resident Evil is. The game was subsequently released on nearly every platform known to mankind since then.

    If there’s anything anyone can hold against the original RE4, it’s that many see it as too far of a departure from what made the original titles great. RE4 replaced the slow-burn survival-horror-puzzle-solving-mansion-navigating with intense and often over-the-top action-horror. Many see RE4 as the harbinger of the series’ flop era that defined nearly every title after it until 2017’s incredible Resident Evil 7 that would revitalized the franchise and lead to the remakes we have today.

    With the 2023 Resident Evil 4 remake, Capcom has decidedly inched RE4 back toward the direction of horror. Ironically, RE4 Remake successfully borrows a lot from the Resident Evil 2 remake we got in 2019 (which actually borrowed a lot from the original Resident Evil 4), from overall tone to basically the entire look and feel of the game.

    While both RE2 and RE4 are remakes of their respective classics, RE4 somehow feels much closer to its original than RE2 did. Naturally, since the behind-the-shoulder third person camera is unchanged, but even the environments and the overall progression of the game are much closer to the old RE4 than I was expecting. Beat for beat, nearly everything from the 2005 classic is here. There are some minor things that have been cut, but mostly in the service of streamlining the game and making it feel like a more natural and realistic.

    For instance, classic RE4 often felt like a series of sandbox encounters. You enter a room, the door slams, and you have to kill everything before you can proceed. In the new game, each area feels less like an arcade shooting gallery event and more like you just walked in on something you weren’t supposed to. The castle in particular has gotten a massive upgrade from being a kind of hokey and strange area to being a truly creepy place that feels like it belongs there.

    Graphically, RE4 has gotten the ultimate glow-up 18 years later. The RE engine that Capcom has developed has truly delivered on its next-gen promise since it hit the scene a few years ago. I played the game on PS5, which had full ray-tracing support and even an optional hair simulation for Leon (instead of standard hair cards). Everything from character models, lighting, effects, are all absolutely top-notch and really add to the horror atmosphere.

    Overall, RE4 remake starts at a baseline of being as good as the original 2005 classic, and simply improves upon it in every conceivable way. The gunplay and enemy encounters are just as tight and intense as they used to be, only now it looks profoundly more realistic with modern graphics. It is faithful to the original title while simply being incredible in its own right. My first play through took about 16 hours, which is comparable or a little bit longer than the original, and the game has plenty of replay value in the form of rankings and unlockables.

  • Modern Warfare 2 (2022) and Warzone 2.0 – Review
    SCORE
    8/10

    Modern Warfare 2 (2022) and Warzone 2.0 – Review

    For many years, Call of Duty was stuck in a strange limbo of days of future-past warfighting between World War II and future sci-fi that I personally found to be somewhat of a slump. The 2019 Modern Warfare reboot was a solid return to form for the Call of Duty franchise that brought the series back to some form of contemporary reality. Modern Warfare 2 is the worthy continuation of that reboot, as well as a new chapter for the Warzone Battle Royale mode.

    Modern Call of Duty is a difficult game to objectively review, because it’s really 3 entirely different games altogether. You have the single player campaign, the standard (classic) multiplayer modes, and then the new(ish) Battle Royale game mode of Warzone.

    The single player game this time around is intriguing, and as always you can expect outstanding production value. The story drags a little bit, but I think the callbacks to real life events (such as the assassination of Iranian General Soleimani) make it interesting enough.

    Probably my favorite part of the single player campaign is near the beginning, when you have to engage with terrorists in an American suburban town along the Mexican border. The game plays out in a traditional Call of Duty fashion (which I find to be give or take), with first-person cinematic action set-pieces unfolding all around you while you engage in what always boils down to a shooting gallery section.

    Where I spent the bulk of my time with this game was in multiplayer, and specifically the “traditional” multiplayer modes. There’s something about some classic Call of Duty Team Deathmatch that really scratches that itch. The twitch-gunplay handles as well as it ever has, and remains as addictive as it was when the original Modern Warfare II came out in 2009.

    The game offers an unprecedented amount of customization for your weapons and your builds. Each weapon delivers attachment slots for nearly every piece, allowing you to change out the barrel, buttstock, sights, and even the pistol grip (and much more).

    To be frank, I’m not a huge fan of Battle Royale games in general, but I do find Warzone 2.0 to be a fun time if you’re in the right mood for it. Battle Royale modes have a tendency to be tense, sweaty-palmed exercises in survival, and Warzone 2.0 is no different. I think Warzone occupies a needed place in the sea of the battle Royale genre as essentially the only contemporary military game. If you played Warzone before, there’s not much here that is different (other than upgraded graphics, map, etc). A key addition to Warzone that makes it interesting is the Gulag, where you go when you die, and where you can win your freedom back. The Gulag gives Warzone more incentive to play, as you feel like you at least have a chance at getting back into the match.

    The whole package of Modern Warfare 2 delivers exactly what you probably expected, nothing more and nothing less. In this sense, it’s a pretty solid game all-around. If there’s anything about it to nitpick about, it’s the typical annoying Call of Duty-isms that have permeated the series over the last 10 years, like Battlepass micro transactions, spammy menus, sweaty chromed out prestige players wearing bright “fuck you” colors in multiplayer, etc.

    But, such is gaming in 2023.

  • Elden Ring – Review
    SCORE
    9/10

    Elden Ring – Review

    It’s basically impossible to talk about Elden Ring in a vacuum. The game is not officially part of the Souls series from the same creator, but it is the same tried and true formula (including some very familiar art and sound direction). If you’ve played any of the following games beforehand:

    • Demon’s Souls
    • Dark Souls
    • Dark Souls 2
    • Bloodborne
    • Dark Souls 3
    • Sekiro

    …You’re going to feel very comfortable starting up Elden Ring.

    Where Elden Ring surprises and exceeds expectations is in its sprawling open-world design. Not since 2017’s The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild have I felt so immersed and transported into an open world. Like Zelda, Elden Ring doesn’t hold your hand when it tosses you into the Lands Between. You are dropped into the dark fantasy world, given a basic rundown of your moveset, and given the keys to the kingdom to go anywhere you please. There’s an undeniable and rewarding sense of discovery and awe as you traverse the vast landscape on your mystical mount, finding little pockets of story and adventure around every corner.

    As I said before, it’s impossible to talk about Elden Ring on its own, because the game borrows so much from so many other games. Obviously, the previous Miyazaki/FromSoftware titles, but also nearly as much from Zelda and Dragon’s Dogma. It’s the blend of genres and ideas, filtered through the good taste and eye of its director, that make Elden Ring an experience of its own that is hard to put down.

    Combat in Elden Ring is essentially the same as any Dark Souls game, with the main difference being the new Ashes of War system (weapon arts), that allow you to imbue essentially any weapon with powerful skills featuring distinct animations and effects. It adds another layer to the formula that makes it unique enough to feel fresh.

    I will admit that the boss selection in Elden Ring was not my favorite. The highs of Dark Souls and Bloodborne are hard to top, but there are some memorable encounters that will certainly test your skill (and your sanity).

    These games have a reputation for their difficulty, but I never felt like being difficult was the point. Like the titles before it, Elden Ring is a game that refuses to help the player. It presents itself to you as it is, gives you the tools you need to succeed, but requires that you rise to the challenge. There’s no difficulty slider here, you either win or you lose and try again.

    As far as art direction and lore goes, the game was heavily advertised as a creation of George RR Martin. I wasn’t particularly excited about this aspect, because I felt like Miyazaki didn’t need George RR Martin to make something interesting. As such, I actually found Elden Ring’s world to feel more generic high-fantasy than Dark Souls or Bloodborne, but it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. I think the open world environment demanded a more sprawling idea. You can go deep if you want into item descriptions and background, but the game doesn’t require you to. (I still barely understand half of it)

    As a huge fan of FromSoftware’s selection of games mentioned above, I really enjoyed the 130 hours I put into my first play-through of Elden Ring (pure STR build, Greataxe). After I finished the game, I found that the open world was the game’s greatest strength and also its greatest weakness when compared to the other titles. It’s easy to jump into a second round of the tightly-woven Dark Souls 3, but I have yet to have any desire to do another run of Elden Ring. The sense of discovery and wonderment as the sprawling map opens up to you is part of the experience, and without it, the game loses a lot.

    With all that said, I found the game to be an impressive feat of both technology and gameplay. I played the game natively on PS5, where load-times were diminished to fleeting moments (only when fast-traveling). It’s truly a masterpiece in many ways, and one that will keep you hooked from start to finish.