The only wrestling game in town is back for another year of grappling fun with one of the biggest rosters in the series and a really fun set of modes to keep you going.

Now this is my first WWE 2K game since WWE 2K16 so it was interesting to see what is different this time around and how much the game has progressed since then. As I didn’t play 2K17 I may mention modes that were in that game but as i’m not sure what they are I’m going to review them like I have not seen them before (which is true)

So I have been playing the game for a few days now and I am going to run through my first impressions on the game and the various modes, stating with My Player

MY PLAYER MODE

This is a fun little mode which acts as this games’ story mode. You create a new superstar who has joined the ranks of NXT to work your way up to the big leagues on either raw of Smackdown. This is an updated, more polished version of the My Career Mode from 16 and 17, but what I loved about this mode is the little extras you get. Like the lady who sits in the hallway who you can select to make your own T-shirt, I love the promo segments, the backstage brawling and the run ins and to be honest I spent the first few nxt shows just attacking Roode. This mode does however come across as one of those modes that may get a little boring quick but the Road the Glory mode will hopefully keep you going inbetween.

WWE UNIVERSE MODE

This is pretty much the same as previous years, you can create your own WWE rosta and set your own titles and champs. You will have the chance to build up more in game point to buy classic titles, arenas and superstars here as well. This mode gives you the freedom to mix things up a bit, and for a solo player who enjoys the create a superstar mode you can make your own show up with whatever crazy creations you may have. Not much in way of changes in this though.

In other modes…..Wow the creation suite this year is bloody amazing, this is the first time I have ever really seen the created characters look just as good as the official superstars. This takes me back to the days of the old Smackdown games and makes me really want to spend a week creating random people.

The match types are pretty cool as always, all you staples are here Hell in a Cell, Money in the Bank and even the backstage brawls.

My only real criticism for the game is at some points it could be a little tedious and a little repetitive, and the commentary team are god awful but as a whole I am really enjoying playing this one. I like the realism in the superstar movements, like the roll to the outside when you are in multi person matches, of the crawling back to your feet when your stamina and health bar is low. I am also happy they have two different submission game modes here and I hate the swinging bars submission game.

This is THE game for Wrestling fans and a brilliant addition to the WWE game catalogue.
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It seems like all i am getting recently is interesting looking RPG games, and don't get me wrong I loved YS VIII but this time around I have been passed a game I have never heard of  before, Utawarerumono: Mask Of Truth, a game which unfortunately I really struggled to get into to the point where, if i'm honest, I didn't last very long with before giving up.

Now just because I didn't get on with the game, it doesn't mean that there isn't  a market for it. Alot of RPG fans, especially those who love the more story based elements of games and fans of Anime comics and shows, will lap this up but there are a few factors which didn't sit with me. For example I am not really a big fan of games where 90% of the time you are reading text. YES I know final fantasy is alot of text but with Mask of Truth it is more like a virtual novel, which i'm not hugely into. Un-Like the telltale series or Life is Strange there is no real interaction or choices to make to effect the story to any major degree, and while the fighting system is interesting there wasn't much to keep my coming back for more.

If you are an anime show lover, or a fan of japanese animated ladies with huge breasts, you may get something out of this but if you are lacking patience and time, or you are looking for a more action based RPG, this isn't really one I would suggest to western RPG fans. 

On a side note: If you ARE planning on trying this then I would suggest starting from the first game as there is ALOT of back story in this which will confuse you if you don't.

During my younger days as a gamer there are many random JRPG games that filled up my days for hours and hours. Games like Suikoden and Grandia were up there with the likes of Final Fantasy as some my favorite games of all time, but alas due to time, and the fact I spent my RPG hours playing mostly Final Fantasy games in my young adult life, alot of the more obscure JRPG games went under the radar for me. So why I was given the chance to review the 8th entry in the Ys franchise I thought what the hell, lets give this one a shot.

I am glad I did. Ys VII Lacrimosa of Dana was the throwback I needed to get me back into the mood for a lesser known (at least in the UK) series of games. The game follows the story of Adol Christian, an adventurer who is on his way to Xandria when the ship he is own is attacked by a monstrous sea creature. Adol finds himself shipwrecked on a deserted island, along with the rest of the ships passengers and it is your job to find the survivors.

The game has so many plus points. I love the survivor camp aspect, bringing all the shipwrecked survivors into the game with different skills to help Adol and his companions on their journey. I like the addiction of the mini game which sees the survivors fighting the protect the camp from monsters, it can give you a nice break from the travelling. The story is well put together, the setting is beautiful but there are a small amount of things that sets it back.

The graphics are very early PS3 style at times. While yes the look of the island is very beautiful, the animations of the actual characters were very old fashioned. For me that isn't a major issue, at the end of the day this is the visual style I grew up with, but for new fans I can see a few people turning off. Which is a bloody shame as the game is bloody good.

The fight system takes a bit of getting use to, and at times feels clunky. there are too many buttons doing to many different things. Final Fantasy XV showed us you can do this style of fighting well but with Ys VIII it may take you some practice not hitting the wrong bloody buttons when trying to fight off hordes of monsters.

Overall Ys VIII is such a fun game. The story is fun, the setting is great and the overall feel is a throw back to the JRPG games of the past. Gives this one a shot you will not be disappointed.

 Cities Skylines is an interesting little game. It is all you would expect it to be more or less but overall I couldn't stop comparing it to SimCity, a game which just destroys Cites Skylines in the fun and playability sector.

This is by no means an awful game, it has all the similar tropes of the Simcity franchise i.e building the districts, hooking up power and water, keeping the people happy etc however it does lack a simple style of play. This game feels a bit clumpy at times and can be frustrating while you are trying to learn the ropes. Some more decent explanations or tutorials would make the game feel better, it is a bit hard to get you head round from the outset but after a few play troughs  you will no doubt get the ins and outs of it.

The graphics are fine, the animations are nice and clear but the only issue really is I would of liked a faster speed setting choice. It isn't all bad though, generally the game is pretty fun to mess about with when you have a little time to kill, and it isn't too taxing. If you have played SimCity before this may be a little boring for you but for new players to build it sim games this is a good little starter.

Okay yes this has been out since November of 2016, and YES it is 7 months since the release but I really wanted to get this game completed (or at least the main story and most of the side quests) before I give this one a review.

Final Fantasy is my overall favourite series of games, it is pretty much the only game I will buy of the day of the release and have done for many many years. Even the side games Like World of Final Fantasy (which I will be reviewing once I finish playing through) and Tactics are some of my favourite games to play, but with the last few main series games being total flops, You had to wonder if Final Fantasy XV could make its way back to the top to the days of Final Fantasy IV, VII and IX.

The story, for those who have not played the game, is about prince Noctis and his three friends Gladiolus, Prompto and Ignis as they make their way to Noctis' live long friend, a love, Lady Lunafreya, who Noctis is set to marry. But a series of events lead to Noctis and his friends becoming wanted men, his kingdom destroyed and his father dead. With Lunafreya's life in danger the boys take on the empire, and a crap ton of sidequests as Noctis aims to take his rightful place of the throne and save the world.

What Final Fantasy XV is basically a road trip between four life long friends, it is not so much the story you experience, but the bond between these four very well flesh out characters. You will spend 90% of your time on Side Quests, all ranging from collect this or that and Monsters Hunts, and you will spend 10% of the rest completing the main story, and this is fine! You don't feel like you have to rush into the next portion of the game, and in all honesty if you went straight into the main story it would be over pretty quickly as the actually story isn't that long. What you find is that you will enjoy the interactions with all the minor characters, you will get lost in fishing and chocobo racing and you will rather spend your time hunting for frogs for a scientist than going to save Lunafreya from the empire.

Visually this game is gorgeous! the whole backdrop for the game is beautiful to view, the monster designs are brilliant and to be honest there is not much i can complain about. There is a few problems however, and while they are small they are still a bug bare for me. Firstly, while i dis initially enjoy the random car journeys and the choose an option mission that pop up it did get a little tedious after time and I found myself fast travelling more and more as the game progressed. The lack of an overall well expanded soundtrack was also a shame, especially as the Final Fantasy series is so well known for the soundtrack. Instead we get all the other soundtracks from every Final Fantasy game released (more or less). I am also disappointed in the lack of different costume designs and weapons, the fun of the series is the various different weapon designs, it is a damn shame.

Overall however Final Fantasy XV is bloody stunning, well thought out and it has a well rounded team of characters who you feel for more and more as the story progresses. I love the open world feel, and even though it feels like we have been cheat a bit on the original soundtrack front, I do love the old soundtracks on the stereo. Also with all the extras being added, for example the timed quests, the more powerful ring of Lucis, and the DLC, this game has so much content you will just keep going back for more.

​One of my top 5 final fantasy games of all time.

Two worlds collide in a hard hitting friendship destroying puzzle game which feel like something evil Nintendo could have created. Puyo Puyo Tetris brings the block crushing of the Tetris series with the Puyo popping fun of Puyo Puyo in one of the most entertaining experiences I have had since on a puzzle game since the days of Puzzle Fighter on PS1.

There are so many hours of game play on here, with a ton of extra modes Including Swap, which sees the game switch between Tetris and Puyo Puyo with out much warning and Fusion mode which mixes the two games together. there are also other modes here which will ramp up the tension while you play but if I am honest I have not tried them all as I have been working my way through the games story mode. The main mode in single player is the cute style adventure mode, but don't let the happy colourful look fool you, if you are not ready for it the adventure mode will chew you up and spit you out. I have killed hours trying to beat the later stages in the game, the AI on here is brilliant, it plays the way a person would, still making mistakes but ready to just crush you for the mistakes you make.

The one kind of negative for me, but is also handy, is the quick drop setting for Tetris but this is more sour grapes as it has screwed me over a good few times. The other slight negative is the lack of decent collectibles to spend your game points on. I mean the different designs are a nice change and the voices to unlock makes a change, but I would have liked to see a bit more in there to extend the game a little further.Other than that Puyo Puyo Tetris is a perfect game, a great party game but also a fun game to play solo too. This is a must have game and I would even say get it on physical disk.  

Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 tells the story of brotherhood, faith and betrayal in the most complete sniper experience ever, and thanks to Koch Media we have a very nice little video that gives you 10 things you need to know about the upcoming release.