Seasons After Fall | Xbox One21/5/2017 The humble fox, where would we be without it? For starters, the Lylat system would have fallen to Andross and his evil armies decades ago, the animals of Farthing Wood would never have made it to White Deer Park, and, er, that Disney version of medieval Nottingham where all the inhabitants are woodland animals would still be toiling under Prince John’s ludicrous tax laws. Looking to further add to these (sort of) legendary tales of fox glory are Swing Swing Submarine, with their Metroidvania-like, 2D puzzle/platformer, Seasons After Fall. Asides from notably changing the land’s aesthetics, by drastically altering the weather and lighting, each season also has its own unique effect on the platforming side of things. Autumn causes mushrooms to expand their caps, creating makeshift platforms, winter freezes lakes, making them easier to cross, summer sees trampoline-like plant pods bloom into life, while spring rains raise water levels. Often, you’ll need to combine these abilities in order to progress deeper into an area, such as raising a water level with spring rains, and then freezing it with winter’s cold, but doing so, for the most part, feels rudimentary, and you’re never really presented with any kind of obstacle that requires too much thought. As well as the four seasons, there’s a small selection of local wildlife scattered throughout the game that players will be able to utilise from time to time, including some insect-like critters that have a smack of the metroid about them. Depending on the type, these can be used to grow mushroom platforms, sprout new trees, or break down progress-halting barriers. There’s also a Super Mario-style Piranha Plant that, depending on the season you currently have selected, will create makeshift platforms by spitting out snow, or douse well-placed tree seedlings with water to make them grow. Watching the brush-tailed avatar trot, sprint and leap through the beautifully hand-painted landscape was one of the highlights of the game. As a key feature, the game naturally relies heavily upon its season switching mechanic, but the small animation that comes with every change, in which the fox is lifted into the air and the surrounding landscape is transformed, isn't as rapid as it could be, which can get a little tedious when even crossing a small area can sometimes require three or four changes. Also, if you happen to be standing on a moving platform when switching seasons, which is at times necessary, then the brief moment you spend hanging in the air is usually just long enough for the platform to move out from under your feet, causing you to fall.
Little issues like this, coupled with floaty controls and some occasional input lag, cement the feeling that Seasons After Fall was never intended to appeal to hardcore platforming fans, with the game relying instead on its charm, unique presentation and novelty value to keep the player invested, much like Unravel did when it released just over a year ago. Unlike Coldwood and EA’s title however, whose thread-based puzzles and nostalgia-inducing narrative made it easy to forgive the game its basic platforming mechanics, Seasons’ issues - despite its beautiful visuals, soundtrack and sympathetic protagonist - are harder to look past. Pros ● Lovely, hand-painted art ● Charming soundtrack ● An endearingly cute protagonist ● Manipulating the seasons is cool… Cons ● …but feels like it could have been implemented better, especially in puzzles ● Floaty controls ● No objective indicator makes it easy to get lost 7/10 World To The West | Xbox One10/5/2017 When I sampled World to the West at EGX Rezzed this year, I found it to be a pretty, Zelda-inspired adventure that was pleasant enough, but not much more. As the wisest folks always say: “Don’t judge a book by its reader” and how right they truly are, chums, for World to the West is, in actuality, a charming adventure full of wonderful characters and rewarding exploration. As you progress, you’ll find yourself taking in rugged deserts, cool blue waters, icy mountains, evergreen forests, a lavish village that houses the hilarious “Affluent Society” (the game pokes fun at the pompousness of the higher classes splendidly) and many more small settlements and habitats. You’ll also find yourself spending a great deal of time puzzle solving and adventuring in the vast underground network of passages and rivers. These pretty much double the size of the already generous map, so you’ll be glad to hear that totem poles scattered across the world act as fast travel points. Going back to an earlier area with a new power will make you feel immortal, as you rip through a previously unreachable destination. “What kind of puzzle solving and combat can I expect to encounter throughout my adventure?” I hear thee ask. Well, the puzzle solving takes on various forms; some require you to switch between all four characters to unlock an area, taking it in turns to figure out which character is built for each part, whilst others offer more basic puzzles such as getting a key, breaking down a barrier, etc. that require the ability of just one of your band of merry chums. On the whole, the puzzles are great fun to solve, although some will frustrate with their long-winded nature - spending hours searching for stone tablets might irk some folks, but we actually rather enjoyed it! Going back to an earlier area with a new power will make you feel immortal, though, as you rip through a previously unreachable destination. Add to that the “eureka” moments that accompany many of the puzzles (often leading into an equally rewarding boss fight/new area to explore), and there’s a lot of fun to be had here. Combat, however, can unfortunately be a little hit-and-miss. This is largely due to Lord Clonington providing so much joy with his bashing and smashing, that the others don’t quite carry the same fun factor. Knaus’ dynamite hitting in the second half of the game can be good fun, as can Lumina’s bolts of electric, but they both suffer dodgy aiming issues. We died many, many times trying to defeat both character’s bosses, and felt that the balance was tipped towards the AI because of these accuracy foibles.
The soundtrack is worth its own commendation, with the sublime underground exploration theme being a particular treat. An army of instruments sway from sleepy harps to acoustic guitars, whistles, flutes, drums and horns. The Lynchian 50s electric guitar that features on one number is a particular favourite here at PTC. Regardless of where you are in the game world, WTTW’s music and sound effects not only work, but excel at injecting emotion into the experience. In summary, World to the West is an absorbing, delightful adventure that will appeal to many, not just genre enthusiasts. It’s perfect for those looking for a rich world to immerse themselves in, but not the associated time sink of 50 plus hours. A colourful, handsome visual veneer contains a fun, silly story, hilarious characters (play through Clonington’s Affluent Society trials for drink-out-the-nostrils laughter), lovely music, grand puzzles and a world of exploration that begs to be revisited. This game is a steal at £19.99 - in spite of a few minor bugs and issues (fingers crossed for a patch) - so don’t be foolish enough to let it pass you by! Pros
Cons
9/10 If World to the West sounds like your thing, enter our giveaway to be in with a chance of winning a copy on Steam.
Dreamfall Chapters | PS45/5/2017 Funded to the tune of more than $1.5 million by almost 22,000 backers on Kickstarter, Dreamfall Chapters originally released episodically on PC over the course of two years. The console version now bundles these parts into one complete package, reworking them with improved and expanded graphics and sound. Switching character perspective helps keep things varied in the early stages (imagine swapping between Deus Ex and Dragon Age now and then and you’re close), but the game really begins to build steam in the latter half. With the different universes and characters converging, the resulting crossovers are actually quite exciting when you’ve grown attached to a number of cast members. Strong scripting and voiceover contribute to making these connections, but, if you’re unforgiving of dodgy lip sync and facial animations, you might find it hard to do much other than be distracted. There are some oddities to the game as a whole, which finds it reminiscent of the likes of Fable and Eternal Darkness, in place of anything more modern - that said, a lot of people (ourselves included) still love those games. Chapters isn’t at all focused on mechanics, but weak gameplay can too often feel like a barrier between you and the story. There’s a lot of backtracking through the same areas, made worse by some vague objectives that lack explicit direction, setting a meandering pace. Puzzles can be time-wasters, too. They’re never illogical, which is a big plus point, but there were numerous occasions where what seemed like an obvious answer just wasn’t an option. Tasked with incapacitating someone in a busy tavern? You can’t accept an invite to join them and ply them with drink. Need to catch a rat? You can’t employ the services of that nearby cat. While these are very likely intentional red herrings, it’s hardly satisfying to discover they don’t work when they arguably should. Chapters is a long game that could easily have been made more concise by trimming unnecessary fat. Dreamfall Chapters has as many twists and turns as it does ups and downs, helping you stay engaged and justify powering through the sporadic doldrums. Its world, characters and narrative are strong enough to make the game’s weak mechanics worth tackling, even if only as a means to an end. With this in mind, and also accounting for the budget price point (£24.99), Chapters is a game adventure fans should still consider checking out.
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Score 7/10 Thicker than Water is a thrilling penultimate episode that spins its own gripping yarn, while escalating the stakes to lead us into the season’s fifth, and final, outing with baited breath. Thicker than Water escalates the stakes to lead us into the season’s fifth and final outing with baited breath. Returning with firearms aplenty in hand, Javi and the group hatch a desperate plan to go on the offensive. Not happy with his assigned role, however, Gabe - Javi’s nephew - blurts out a revelation that divides the unit. We aren’t quite ready to offer the bugger up as zombie bait, à la Ben, but he’s edging ever closer every time he ignores us and does something stupid. Why can’t all kids be like Clem? Now executing the plan with a dwindling group and Gabe sulking over our refusal to revise his role (deal with it), those guns come in handy. Telltale chose to forego the forgiving aiming mechanics they’ve used in the past, keeping shootouts frenetic with QTE button prompts instead; while less personal than engaging in fisticuffs, encounters are well-choreographed and still somewhat engaging. With their world falling down around them, and things becoming truly desperate, the key cast members - along with the player - gain some much-needed respite in a fleeting moment of normality. It’s touchingly human and reminds you that this fight is one worth seeing through. That tactical break from the action makes the closing chapter all the more impactful, as it quickfires the season’s first two properly difficult choices at you back to back. The community stats seem to reveal that most players were similarly torn, with (at the time) the decisions weighted a close 53.6/46.4% and an exact 50/50% split respectively. With the ending leaving us in limbo and teasing elements, both exciting and unnerving, to come, we’re eagerly anticipating not only the finale, but also where Telltale’s take on The Walking Dead might go beyond A New Frontier. With just a month between the release of this episode and the last, we can only hope Telltale don’t keep us waiting much longer than that for our next fix. Pros
Cons
8/10 Check out our reviews for the season’s two-part opener and third episode, if you haven’t already. To see Thicker than Water in action, check out Gabriella's full playthrough below. This is the Police | Xbox One26/4/2017 In This is the Police, players step into the role of Jack Boyd; a grizzled Police Chief who’s looking for one last big payday before he’s forced out of office. Whether you earn the $500,000 Jack needs from mostly legitimately means, or through more nefarious ways, is up to you - but with only 180 days in which to make your cool half million, you might find that the old adage isn’t actually true: crime does pay after all. As well as keeping Jack’s superiors happy, players must also take into consideration the wellbeing of their employees, many of whom will come up with any excuse to get out of a day’s work. Say no too often, and you may find disgruntled officers go over your head and spark an investigation into your performance, which could lead to a severe pay cut. You can fire troublesome officers, but doing so without reason can lead to messy legal challenges. Each officer has a numerical score and a coloured meter ranking their ability and mental state, which need to be taken into consideration when deciding who to send out on a call. Choose a weak or tired team and they may botch the response, leading to the perp escaping, or worse, civilians and other officers being killed. While a tragedy, a dead officer can also be an opportunity to earn some extra cash; by not declaring them officially deceased, Jack can keep on collecting their paycheck for himself, but at the cost of hiring a replacement officer Occasionally, a crime will pop up that requires a detective’s skills to investigate. Answering these calls works in much the same way as a regular crime, in that you pick which detectives respond, but the results are less immediate. Detectives provide witness statements and theoretical snapshots (some accurate, some less so) of crimes to give a summary of what went down, but it’s you who must piece it all together in the correct order. Do this, and it could lead to the chance to take down a much larger criminal organisation and earn a hefty cash reward. While breaking up crime syndicates can be satisfying, investigations sometimes end up stagnating if you can’t quite pin down the correct sequence of events with all the evidence your detectives have provided. There is an option to call on a retired veteran who can bring new insight to investigations, but at $50,000 a pop, it’s a steep investment. The way all these incidents spontaneously appear on the map might lead you to believe they are randomly generated encounters, but after a mishandled mafia war meant we had to restart the game from the beginning, it became apparent they are entirely scripted. Discovering this was slightly disappointing, rather than game breaking, but worse was learning that the earliest (and arguably biggest) of the narrative impacting decisions that the game occasionally presents the player with was not actually that much of a choice. The decision in question is whether to help out a friend who’s in trouble with the mafia by taking his place as the mob’s inside man. After deciding to be a good pal the first time around and agreeing to help, this time we had Jack refuse, thus sealing our buddy’s fate. As it turns out though, the outcome of this decision is the same either way, with the only real difference being that Jack is effectively forced into helping the mafia rather than reluctantly volunteering, and your friend and his family meet a gruesome end instead of getting out. Freeburg is overflowing with mobsters, petty criminals and caustic city officials, all of which can be used to your advantage. Knowing this took some impact away from the rest of the decisions we encountered, and had us questioning whether our actions were having any meaningful influence on the story. Despite this, some solid writing, morally ambiguous characters and a narrative that frequently blurs the lines between good and bad, wrong and right mean it’s still an engrossing story, even if the ending doesn’t quite deliver. In fact, it’s in the latter stages of the campaign that This is the Police really starts to struggle. After an initial flurry of cut scenes sets up an intriguing contest between Freeburg’s elite, the pace at which the story segments are delivered drops off massively, and the game’s second and third acts become increasingly drawn out. At around 20 hours of playtime needed to reach the finale, it’s not exactly the longest game out there, but with nothing to break up the core gameplay, This is the Police quickly becomes a repetitive slog, and not even the excellent soundtrack can rescue it. Towards the tail end of the campaign we found it increasingly difficult to care about the welfare of our officers or the people of Freeburg; a stark contrast to the pang of guilt we felt the first time we turned a blind eye to a crime to make a quick buck and it led to a civilian’s death.
It’s hard to say whether this is intentional from the developers, and that your discomfort as the player is supposed to reflect the increasing level of detachment Jack begins to display. There’s a line towards the end of the game where Jack says he simply doesn’t care anymore, and it’s a decidedly profound moment, as chances are, at that point, you won’t either. Pros ● Juggling the responsibilities of a Police Chief is surprisingly fun, if a little stressful ● Well-written dialogue with excellent voice acting ● Captivating power struggle between the city’s elite ● Busting your first crime syndicate is a rush ● Building up an effective crime fighting force is satisfying... Cons ● … Losing it all to budget cuts or bad decisions is not ● Outcome of the opening choice is the same either way ● Gameplay becomes repetitive towards the second half of the game ● Disappointing ending ● Outstays its welcome 6/10 Puyo Puyo Tetris | PS425/4/2017 Puyo Puyo Tetris released to a Japanese audience back in 2014, at the time forgoing a western launch due to licensing issues. With those now resolved, the puzzle game mashup arrives on our shores this week, having lost none of its charm in translation. With licensing issues now resolved, the puzzle game mashup arrives on our shores this week, having lost none of its charm in translation. There’s an absolute wealth of modes to choose from, each boasting their own further customisation options, all of which are playable solo, but Puyo Puyo Tetris has quite a heavy multiplayer weighting. For the most part, this isn’t your standard high score-chasing fare: though the classic modes are tucked away in the menus, the focus is very much placed squarely upon versus variants, in which you battle up to three opponents. Completing lines in Tetris and grouping Puyos in Puyo Puyo litters an opponent's board with garbage pieces, making it harder for them to stay afloat and bringing you closer to victory. This goes both ways, naturally, but as these pieces are annoying to deal with by design, some will inevitably lament the change in direction. For those that take to it, however, there’s a lot on the multiplayer front to keep you busy. We can easily imagine the game securing a dedicated player base between its ranked and casual match offerings, largely because it doesn’t place restrictions on Tetris or Puyo Puyo purists competing against one another. That inevitably raises questions with regards to balance, as players are engaging in two fundamentally different games, but, in our experience, SEGA managed to pull it off. If online leagues seem a little intimidating, you can also play locally, whilst finding a mode to suit any player’s skill set. Party adds power-ups that hinder opponents in a variety of ways, but to counteract any frustration that might cause everyone has infinite lives. Big Bang offers up frantic fun as you slot missing pieces into a range of preset boards as quickly and accurately as possible. Meanwhile, Swap sees each player juggle simultaneous games of Puyo Puyo and Tetris, switching between boards at frequent set intervals. There’s an absolute wealth of modes to choose from, each boasting their own further customisation options. While these modes are undoubtedly a good time, they don’t quite match the staying power of the game’s Challenge mode, which offers a more traditional take on its resident duo by (for the most part) tasking you with securing high scores in time-sensitive tasks.
Then there’s our personal favourite - Fusion. Fusion places Puyos and Tetriminos on the same board, each sticking to their established rule set, while also interacting with one another to afford the player new and exciting opportunities. Namely, this involves heavy Tetris blocks smashing through stacks of jelly-like Puyo, which then re-emerge from the top of the board and land atop the piece that ousted them, allowing you to setup and execute some impressive combos with a bit of lateral thinking. Throw in new piece configurations, and you have one harmonious take on two old school properties. Puyo Puyo Tetris could easily have been a Frankenstein’s monster of a game, though it’s anything but. It’s a fresh-faced and modern reimagining of a couple of all time greats, offering a huge amount of choice and longevity to players at a budget price, making it the best puzzler we’ve played in a good long while. Pros
Cons
Score 8/10 The second helping of season three content, following a two-part opener, plays to Telltale’s strengths and consciously avoids their weaknesses, offering up a pivotal and well-paced season midpoint in which characters and the broader narrative really begin to take shape. A pivotal and well-paced season midpoint, in which characters and broader narrative really begin to take shape. As things become personal, the season’s otherwise mediocre fight sequences become brilliantly grotesque, involving and cathartic as you play judge, jury and executioner. You can choose not to partake if you’re strictly the humanitarian type, but where’s the fun in that? Not only does the QTE combat come into its own, but there’s a complete lack of archaic point-and-click sections, which puts the episode at the top of the pile in terms of interactive gameplay segments, while also helping keep an engaging and consistent pace. Just as things escalate to a fevered pitch, those scamps at Telltale cut to black to leave us in suspense until next time (which isn’t far off now, as revealed earlier this week). Still notably absent was a sneak peek at what’s to come, so it’s safe to assume they’re out, unfortunately. Its mostly stable technical performance, focused through line, equal opportunity character development, and gameplay that complements the experience, rather than holding it back, make Above the Law a great episode. It got us properly invested in the season, to the point we’re excited to see where the penultimate episode takes us next. Pros
Cons
8/10 For a closer look at the episode, check out Gabriella’s let’s play below. Expect spoilers, mind. With the first season of Telltale’s The Walking Dead having been free for Xbox Live Gold members back in late 2015, and the second season currently gratis for subscribers until 15 May, there's arguably never been a more accommodating time for players on the platform to jump into the latest season. You’ll encounter the game’s first interactive adventure elements when the group stops to gather supplies, and you already know what to expect here if you’ve played a Telltale game before. Somewhat clunky animations, finicky cursor control, overly-simple puzzles, even lengthy stretches that are largely uneventful - it’s all present and accounted for. The returning QTE combat fares slightly better, but while engagingly violent, it lacks the stylish verve seen in the Michonne mini-series. While passable, as a means to an end, we’ve said it before and will say it again: Telltale need to update their engine and tweak (that’s all it’d take, no need for a complete overhaul) their formula. We’ve said it before and will say it again: Telltale need to update their engine and tweak their formula. While searching for fuel and food, bashing zombies along the way, Javi and co. find more than they bargained for when they cross paths with another group of survivors that don’t take kindly to their intrusion. In typical Walking Dead fashion, people tend to pose the greatest threat, so things quickly go bad. With Javi finding himself separated from his family and in dire straights, a stranger extends a helping hand. This shotgun-toting badass in none other than Clementine. While it’s great to see the girl you helped bring up again, the reunion is tinged with sadness, as she's well and truly lost her innocence. A tepid mood between Clem and Javi begins to lift as you inevitably endeavour to have them bond, though Clem’s occasional instability is cause for concern, leading us to wonder whether – despite our best intentions – we might have been creating a monster all these years. A pitstop at the town of Prescott introduces some peripheral characters to the mix, who join Javi and Clem as they endeavour to return for Kate and her stepchildren. Conflict ensues when they arrive back at the scavenging site, and it’s here that the episode ends on a cliffhanger, though, mercifully, thanks to it being a double-whammy the suspense didn’t last long. Ties That Bind: Part One makes a strong case for the new, expertly-voiced cast whilst welcoming you back to the brutal, grim and grounded world of The Walking Dead. It relies on some character archetypes and narrative beats that are already well-trodden within the series however, making it less impactful than it otherwise would be. Familiarity isn’t all bad, like the soundtrack reusing motifs to tug at your heartstrings, but the continued Telltale jank – antiquated gameplay and missing voice over in this instance – isn’t something we're as happy to see make a return. Ties That Bind: Part Two The second part starts with a look back at life before the constant horror of the apocalypse, instead focusing on the madness of regular family life, much like the first episode. Javi and Kate’s complex relationship is fleshed out here, and it feels right (despite being morally wrong), before we again rejoin the cast in the present day. It’s slightly disappointing to find the aforementioned cliffhanger moment skipped over as you begin amidst the aftermath, though the decision does serve to better set a sombre tone for the scenes that follow. Unfortunately, another issue not uncommon in Telltale’s body of work (though, to be fair, others are just as guilty) creeps in during these opening segments. Responses sometimes don’t match the tone you assumed when making your choice of dialogue, which irritatingly lead us to reload and retry one section three times before being satisfied. While the group don’t escape the previous episode’s explosive ending unscathed, they gain a moment's earned respite by returning to Prescott, though having made an enemy of the titular New Frontier – a no-nonsense group branded to show their allegiance – that, naturally, doesn’t last. With pressure and tragedy mounting, Javi’s nephew, Gabe, looks all but set to slip into the unreliable role of this season’s Ben. Now, speaking personally (and perhaps controversially), I hated Ben and took no issue in dropping him to his death over and over and over again. Luckily, Gabe hasn’t quite graduated to that category yet, though his younger age and situation do make it much easier to empathise with him. After being displaced once again, the expanding central group decide to head for the nearby settlement of Richmond, not realising they’re jumping from the frying pan into the fire until it’s too late. Along the way, they meet and befriend a character familiar to fans of the comics and/or TV show. It's a nice bit of fanservice that makes sense, while avoiding alienating those not in the know. Another of Clementine’s flashbacks follows shortly thereafter, continuing the fanservice by fleshing out the illusive period between seasons two and three. From here the plot just keeps thickening as Telltale introduce a number of their signature twists and turns, producing a relentless final act that leads to a conclusion even more tantalising than the last. Both a saving grace and a spanner in the works, it continues TWD’s penchant for shades of grey and ensures you’ll be back for more. That said, a sneak peek at what’s to come would’ve made it all the more exciting - we hope this isn’t a feature Telltale are ditching. Telltale introduce a number of their signature twists and turns, producing a relentless final act that leads to a tantalising conclusion. Despite more technical issues rearing their ugly head in frame drops and stutters, a narrative that, thus far, hasn’t really made strides into any uncharted territory, and few truly testing decisions – most of the time we come to snap conclusions, rather than mulling things over for minutes as we have in the past – more of a good thing is still a good thing. If you’re in any way invested in Telltale’s The Walking Dead series, it’s a no brainer, but for those that have been frustrated by bugs and limited gameplay in previous episodics, you’ll find no improvements here. Pros
Cons
7/10 If you’d like a spoiler-y look at the episodes in full, check out Gabriella’s playthroughs below. Blackwood Crossing | Xbox One15/4/2017 Story-driven, cinematic games are something we’re quite fond of here at PTC, and with that in mind we approached Paper Seven’s Blackwood Crossing with some degree of excitement. Despite technical niggles and a you-didn’t-need-binoculars-to-see-that-coming ending, the game still managed to meet expectations by enchanting and yanking at our rusty old heart strings.
We can’t mention the characters and game world without also dissecting the holy trinity: art style, music and voice acting. The former paints Blackwood Crossing’s world in Pixar-esque hues - if they let David Lynch direct their next blockbuster! From the deep colour palette, to the fabulously designed paper masks that the supporting cast wear, to Finn’s red cape, freckles and mop o’ hair platter, it’s a true feast for the eyes. The music backs up the art style beautifully, with subtle keys hiding underneath softly picked acoustic guitars - the added slide of a dobro here and there adds extra emotive power to a cracking soundtrack; it’s just a shame it doesn’t bridge over the overlong, bare loading screens. Play through to the end of the game to be rewarded with an original song from former Gomez man Ben Ottewell, too. Blackwood Crossing will make even the most stoic tin-man have feelings again... The voice acting is unfortunately a little bit hit-and-miss, mind. For the most part the performances are good, but in certain scenes (no spoilers, promise) the acting doesn’t quite match up with the beauty or emotion on screen. It doesn’t help that in an industry dominated with American accents, the cast’s crumpets-and-tea-old-chap accents take a bit of time to adjust to (not your fault Paper Seven, blame society!). Blackwood Crossing is effectively an interactive movie, and though it excels in its storytelling, the gameplay will often leave you frustrated. As with any story-driven adventure you’ll find yourself interacting with a lot of things in the game: doors, windows, characters and paper butterflies (another truly spellbinding scene that made this cynical bugger’s eyes moist). The problem therein is Scarlett’s constant bobbing, often resulting in having to reposition yourself three or four times before being able to interact with objects as desired. The dropped frames that happen here and there certainly don’t help proceedings, either. If Scarlett’s bobbing doesn’t get to you, then her lead-boots-at-the-bottom-of-Lake-Treacle movement surely will. Many of the puzzles require you to listen to each member of the supporting cast, matching their lines of dialogue with another cast member to create a conversation. Honestly, we loved this approach to puzzle solving, but often the characters are quite spread out (especially in the last Island scene) only highlighting how irritatingly slow Scarlett moves. All extremities crossed for a patch to sort these issues out ASAP. Yet in spite of its limitations, Blackwood Crossing kept us glued to the screen. Even the predictable ending still left us deeply moved, and for that reason alone we thoroughly recommend you pick it up. The game can be finished in 2-3 hours, which at its current price of £12.79 may raise an eyebrow or two, especially given the lack of replay value. Don’t let that dissuade you though, penny-pinchers, as Blackwood Crossing will make even the most stoic tin-man have feelings again.
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Score 7/10 LEGO Worlds | Xbox One26/3/2017 If you think LEGO Worlds seems out of the blue, rest assured, you wouldn’t be alone in that thought. The open-universe game (stay with us here) sees you jumping from world to world in your ship to collect gold bricks and unlock even more worlds. The worlds themselves are square blocks of terrain consisting of one or two different biomes on the surface and a few cave systems thrown in underground, feeling somewhat reminiscent of Terry Pratchett's Discworld - albeit without the giant turtle. The downside to this freedom, and very much the other side of the double-edged sword, is that with the ability to literally delete the entire map, so too do you have the power to spoil your own fun by seriously messing up the way the various worlds are put together. This can lead to NPCs, who may live in pre-established towns or settlements or just wander, getting a bit confused as well. With a game structured as loosely as this though, is that important? To an extent it is, in that it can make acquiring gold bricks more difficult, 10 of which you’ll need to unlock random worlds, along with 100 to create a world of your own from scratch. If you’re itching to get creating on a blank canvas sooner rather than later, then you’re confined by a more restrictive structure as a result. You could, however, simply bulldoze the tutorial level and start from scratch there (once you have the appropriate tools), which is a somewhat reasonable compromise. LEGO Worlds is well worth a look - especially at its budget asking price - and could be a great catalyst for creativity The game has been in early access on PC for the past couple of years, which has seen it go through countless changes alongside the development of the console versions. When you look at it from that perspective, you appreciate a little more the scale of what has been worked on here.
LEGO games come out frequently, with developer Traveller's Tales now masters of crafting enjoyable game experiences based on well-known franchises like Jurassic World and Star Wars, but Worlds is the answer to the question of what you would get if you take the big franchise names out and are left with a game based only on the building system itself. The result is a game filled with potential and, at its core, an incredibly simple premise which is based on what, fundamentally, has made LEGO as popular and successful as it is in the first place. Whether that is a game to suit your taste really depends on your willingness to experiment: Would you like to build a skyscraper? Should you trap an NPC in a snake pit of your own design, for your own amusement? Do you have the precision and patience to put something together brick by brick? As a starting point, the potential alone is enough to justify the game’s existence, and with the future possibility of sharing creations (models for now, but potentially entire worlds) online with other players could give rise to tons of different aspects which couldn’t come about in any other way. For the time being, LEGO Worlds is well worth a look - especially at its budget asking price - and could be a great catalyst for creativity, particularly in (but not limited to) youngsters. Pros
Cons
Score 7/10 |
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