While fans of arcade-style racing games have always gotten to drive dirt bikes on off-road courses, there haven’t been many lately where they’ve gotten to take motorcycles on to city streets or designated tracks. But while the on- and off-road arcade motorcycle racing game Moto Racer 4 (Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC) aims to fulfil that need, it’s somewhat undermined by a badly executed difficulty system and a generally cheap feel.
Some games are good; some games are bad. And some games are just so terrible that you wonder about the mental health of those who made them.
Here now, in no particular order, are the worst games I played in 2016.
While 2016 wasn’t the best year for video games, there were a bunch that I had a lot of fun playing.
Here now, in no particular order, are the best games I played in 2016.
The third-person, underwater exploration game Abzu (PlayStation 4, PC) was one of 2016’s more interesting and immersive games. And one element that made it so effective was the music, which really made you feel like you were scuba diving in a serene, fish-filled sea. With the score for Abzu now available on CD and digitally, I spoke to its composer, Austin Wintory, about how he came to make the music for this game and what he did to his score to make it work as an album.
Earlier this year, Square Enix brought the turn-based, mobile stealth puzzle game Hitman GO to the PlayStation 4 and Vita. Now they’ve repeated that move with the turn-based, action puzzle game Lara Croft GO, which is out now for PlayStation 4, Vita, and PC after being available on iOS, Android, Amazon, and Windows Phones for a year. Except that lady Lara is packing a little something extra, as the PlayStation 4, Vita, PC, and Mac versions of Lara Croft GO are also getting an expansion called Lara Croft GO The Mirror Of Spirits, which won’t be available for iOS, Android, and Windows Phones until March.
To find out what Lara Croft GO The Mirror Of Spirits is all about, I sat down with Square Enix Montreal’s Antoine Routon, the Co-Creator of the original Lara Croft GO, as well as Design Director Bronson Zgeb and Studio Director Saleem Dabbous from Ko-Op, who designed this add-on.
One of the common traits shared by the games published by Bethesda Softworks is how they always immerse you in rich, detailed worlds, whether it’s the medieval fantasy realm of The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim, the ’50s-flavored post-apocalyptic wasteland of Fallout 4, or the Hell-adjacent space base of the new Doom.
So it’s interesting to see how the equally skilled folk at Zen Studios have not only translated these games into excellent pinball tables for Bethesda Pinball, a triple pack for Pinball FX 2 (Xbox One, Xbox 360, PC), Zen Pinball 2 (PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Vita), and Zen Pinball (iOS, Android, Amazon), but have done so in a way that makes them as fun for pinball fans who aren’t into Bethesda’s games as those who do.
While dogs and small children can be adorable, they can also be a huge pain in the ass when you want them to do something. Sometimes, they just don’t listen. But that’s only one of the reasons why the third-person action game The Last Guardian (PlayStation 4) — in which you help a kid and a dog-like animal get around — is so infuriating and disappointing.
In honor of the upcoming movie Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and the recent release of the PlayStation Virtual Reality headset, EA will release a VR-only add-on for the PlayStation 4 version of Star Wars Battlefront called Star Wars Battlefront Rogue One X-Wing VR Mission on December 6th (the same day the Rogue One: Scarif add-on is released for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC editions of Star Wars Battlefront).
Developed by Criterion Games, this single-player mission casts you as a rookie Rebel pilot who flies their X-Wing into battle against The Empire in a mission that’s set around the time of, and narratively connected to, the movie. It even features an appearance by a certain someone from the film. Best of all, this short but super sweet add-on will be free. Well, assuming you own the PlayStation 4 version of Star Wars Battlefront. And a PSVR system. And you ask nicely.
In anticipation of the Star Wars Battlefront Rogue One X-Wing VR Mission‘s imminent release, EA invited some journalists (myself included) to their Los Angeles offices to play through the mission and then chat with Criterion Games’ Designer John Stanley and Art Director Kieran Crimmins.
The biggest stigma when it comes to free-to-play games is that they’re not as deep, involved, or as good as games you pay for. But while that perception has been slowly dissipating, it may be entirely obliterated when third-person action game Let It Die is released for PlayStation 4. A raw, gritty hack & slash beat-’em-up made by Grasshopper Manufacture (Lollipop Chainsaw, Killer Is Dead), Let It Die may not cost anything to buy, but after playing it for a couple hours recently, I can attest that it feels like, well, not a million bucks, but certainly sixty. Heck, they even got Mark Hamill to do a voice for it. Though in talking to Game Director Hideyuki Shin about it afterwards, he was pleased I not only didn’t think it was a free-to-play game, but that I thought it was a Grasshopper-esque as well.