GOD OF WAR (2018)

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PS4 exclusive.

God of War is an action adventure game published by Sony and developed by Santa Monica Studio for the Playstation 4.

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FE REVIEW

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PC version reviewed.

Fe is an action adventure game published by EA Games and developed by Zoink for the Playstation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC.

GAMEPLAY
A few bugs such as AI not quite working as intended, came across another bug that seemed to be a never ending game over screen even though I hadn't even failed that forced be to go back to the menu, luckily there was a nearby checkpoint.

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GRAPHICS

Strange filter that blurs the game can be annoying, it's like if you have glasses and they get blurry but you can't scrub it away. Some kind of option to turn this off would have been nice.

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Fe felt like a game that seemed to think it was more special than it was. Just because you have stylised graphics doesn't make you special at all and the ending that seemed to believe the player would be so absorbed by the whole thing come the end made it fall flat all the harder instead.

SHADOW OF THE COLOSSUS (2018) REVIEW

A colossal recreation.

PS4 exclusive.

Shadow of the Colossus is an action adventure game published by Sony, developed by Team Ico and remastered by Bluepoint Games for the Playstation 4.

Original reviewed here: https://theunorthodoxnetwork.blogspot.co.uk/2016/09/shadow-of-colossus-2005-review.html

DIFFERENCES FROM ORIGINAL

Overhauled graphics look fantastic. Usually with remastered games it would be a case of thinking that it's pretty cool that it looks better but little more than that however for a game that relies on portraying so much to you through the world and atmosphere this is a massive difference and major improvement.

No more FPS problems that the original had.

A couple of small new things, such as new collectable coins, New Game+, a stats page, photo mode and Easter eggs.

OVERALL

This is probably the definitive version of one of the best games of all time. If you've ever had a PS2, PS3 or PS4 and somehow haven't played this game before then now is probably the best time ever with a remaster that must be one of the best around, just as the original game was when it first came out. For veteran players the minimalist world looks more beautiful and alluring than ever before and at a lower priced release than most games these days there's little excuse not to experience this wonderful game again.

MONSTER HUNTER: WORLD

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PC version.

Monster Hunter: World is a RPG published and developed by Capcom for the Playstation 4, Xbox One and PC.

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AWARDS SEASON: BEST GAME OF THE YEAR 2017

Overall winner

Horizon Zero Dawn

I went into this game knowing little more than the fact it had robot dinosaurs in, something that would surely sell most people on a game. Surprise surprise, with such as premise it was fun to play but it wasn't just a fun game to play as it had an excellent world built upon many technical feats as well as a compelling, engaging story with nice world building and a great soundtrack. It may not have been the most original game in many aspects but everything it did it did so very well.

Full review: https://theunorthodoxnetwork.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/horizon-zero-dawn-review.html

Honourable mentions

Ōkami HD

In my opinion Ōkami is the greatest game of all time. It just does everything so brilliantly well from the really fun gameplay to the beautiful art style and the masterfully done soundtrack. Playing the game in HD at higher resolutions was amazing, it's incredible how fantastically the game still holds up and might just be one of those games that is timeless. However I still wouldn't call it the definitive version because the credits song "Reset" was missing. Regardless seeing this game on the Playstation 4, Xbox One and especially the PC was a dream come true.

This game would be my game of the year for 2017 but I don't give remasters the award. I did however give the original top marks and my game of the year for 2006, as well as it being my favourite game ever made. Now we just need to hope that PlatinumGames can make a sequel one day with Hideki Kamiya directing again.

Full review: https://theunorthodoxnetwork.blogspot.co.uk/2017/12/okami-hd-review.html

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Full review: https://theunorthodoxnetwork.blogspot.com/2017/03/the-legend-of-zelda-breath-of-wild.html

Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice

Whilst the gameplay was pretty basic and even at times too repetitive I admire the effort to shed light on psychosis, a topic rarely covered at all by TV or movies, let alone games. The story was good and Senua was a really great character because whilst she was determined she clearly wasn't unstoppable and reacted to things when they went wrong, rather than just shrugging it off. The way the game made you suffer with her was pretty distressing and challenging as well which is exactly what it was aiming for. She actually felt human, something many games fail to capture.

Full review: https://theunorthodoxnetwork.blogspot.co.uk/2017/08/hellblade-senuas-sacrifice-review.html

ŌKAMI HD REVIEW

Reincarnated.

PC version reviewed.

Ōkami HD is an action adventure game published by Capcom, developed by Clover Studios and remastered by HexaDrive for the Playstation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC.

Original reviewed here: https://theunorthodoxnetwork.blogspot.co.uk/2006/04/okami-2006-review.html

DIFFERENCES FROM ORIGINAL

HD, 4K support, higher resolutions and cleaner visuals. Surely better than the Wii or PS3 port in terms of gameplay as I didn't come across the supposed crashes of the Wii version and the loading screen mini-games have been added again after being removed from the PS3 version. I'm not really sure why they were removed but they're a welcome return as they make it feel even closer to the original.

End credits song "Reset" removed. Credits extended to include remaster staff and the Clover Studios staff have also been reintegrated into the credits after being absent from the PS3 version. What Capcom were thinking when they removed them is a mystery but it's nice to have them back.

OVERALL

There are no major drawbacks with this remaster although the removal of the fantastic end credits song is a shame. The visual improvements are nice and it's fantastically priced at less than half of what most AAA games release at these days. If you've never played this game before I would absolutely recommend it and if you have then now is a great time to pick it up again and experience this masterpiece once more with it looking better than ever before.

SUPER MARIO ODYSSEY

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Switch exclusive.

Super Mario Odyssey is a game published and developed by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch.

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