Angelo Bianco

“MLB The Show 24 welcomes the new Major League season with many modes but few noteworthy new features, still proving to be the best baseball game on the market. We appreciated San Diego Studio's work in telling the most significant stories of the Negro Leagues, but on the other hand we were disappointed by the developers' inability to take full advantage of next-gen consoles to improve the technical aspect of the game.”

“Skull and Bones proved to have a stable enough structure to stay afloat and not sink as long as the French publisher decides to support one of its most controversial projects ever. With more profound and enveloping gameplay, we would be talking about a worthy rival to Sea of Thieves. Still, Ubisoft Singapore's pirate-based adventure is just a decent video game experience more likely to be appreciated for the management aspect and the considerable amount of playable content.”

“Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is not an absolute disaster, but it fails to reach the same levels of the excellent adventures of the Batman: Arkham series. The third-person shooter developed by Rocksteady Studios is certainly fun (especially when played together), dynamic and chaotic, but except for a good but not excellent gameplay it does not have much to offer in terms of overall quality.”

“The Last of Us: Part 2 Remastered is the best way to enjoy Naughty Dog's masterpiece, not only for the graphical improvements and the full support for PlayStation 5-exclusive features (DualSense included), but also for the addition of very good extras such as the excellent No Return.”

“KarmaZoo is a cooperative platformer that manages to entertain in its simplicity and fun, allowing up to ten players to join forces to overcome a series of procedurally generated levels. The rich roster of characters is one of the strengths of the new game experience made by Pastagames, which is characterized by problems related to a game structure that may bore you after a few hours of play.”

“Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III turned out to be what many feared: a sort of DLC of the previous chapter developed by Infinity Ward. Although undoubtedly fun for fans of arcade and fast-paced multiplayer shooters, Sledgehammer Games has done nothing but focus only on the nostalgia effect and few notable innovations, also creating an uninteresting and barely sufficient campaign.”

“RoboCop: Rogue City is an old school shooter that aims primarily to entertain fans of the franchise, who will have the chance to fight crime in the role of the robotic vigilante. Teyon's new project is good enough to provide more than a dozen hours of fun, between gunfights and investigations to solve. Despite the use of Unreal Engine 5, the visual experience of RoboCop: Rogue City is not the best although the direct involvement of Peter Weller.”

“After developing the excellent Humankind, Amplitude Studios has shown what it is capable of with a challenging and fun twin-stick shooter. The ideal sequel Dungeon of the Endless is not perfect, however, due to some flaws related to the narrative and technical aspects, nevertheless it manages to entertain for hours with its endless loop of alien creatures to face and the exploration of procedurally generated scenarios.”

“Fun and spectacular, Payday 3 marks a decent return of the Payday gang by offering refined gameplay and several new features that are also quite interesting. However, the various positive aspects, such as the possibility of swapping hostages and completing most robberies silently, are contrasted by a small number of missions and a progression system that is too slow.”

“With its abundance of playable content and a very attractive setting such as the island of Oʻahu, The Crew Motorfest attempts to chase the success of Forza Horizon 5 by proposing the same structure proposed by the racing game developed by Playground Games. The result is all in all positive, although Ivory Tower's gaming experience fails to stand out for originality or being qualitatively flawless.”

“In some ways, Immortals of Aveum can be seen as a wasted opportunity to give shooter fans a memorable experience with an outstanding graphics. Instead, Ascendant Studios' debut game turned out to be just a good first-person shooter that entertains without being boring, thanks to a surprising RPG component and gameplay that excellently does its job of entertaining players. In addition to a decent story and a not particularly long campaign, Immortals of Aveum also has to contend with a less-than-stable frame-rate and other flaws that do not allow it to be one of the best shooters of the last years.”

“Atlas Fallen is a decent action-RPG that, with all its merits and flaws, attempts to emulate God of War with a fun and dynamic combat system. Unfortunately, in addition to the challenging confrontations with the imposing desert creatures Deck13 Interactive's game does not have much to offer from a quality standpoint. An unsteady frame-rate, along with some problems related to enemy lock-on, prevent the developers from taking the next step after the good results achieved with the two chapters of The Surge.”

“Exoprimal has several merits, including making dinosaur hunting fun and challenging fights between exosuits. At the same time, however, Capcom has made several mistakes, such as focusing on only one mode and launching a game that cannot entertain in the medium to long term. In short, after the missteps made with Resident Evil Re:Verse and Resident Evil: Umbrella Corps, Capcom has again missed the opportunity to make a noteworthy multiplayer experience.”

“Aliens: Dark Descent is certainly not the best Alien-themed video game ever made but, thanks to several very intriguing ideas regarding the gameplay, it has proven to be a decent RTS that manages to perfectly recreate the mood of the famous film saga.”

“Even though Super Mega Baseball 4 is a good game that fans of this sport will surely appreciate, after three years, we would have expected a general step forward that has yet to quite happen. Franchise mode was further improved, and the addition of some baseball legends is still welcome, but some athlete animations still need to be fixed, and the HUD felt too confusing. In short, if you are looking for an excellent alternative to MLB The Show 23, Super Mega Baseball 4 could be a good choice, even if the series developed by San Diego Studio undoubtedly remains the best on the market.”

“Plagued by several problems and with gameplay far from modern standards, The Lord of the Rings: Gollum is not the third-person adventure that we would have expected from Daedalic Entertainment. Except for the good characterization of the main character and for an overall appreciable plot, the new game of the German software house fails to be convincing and represents a wasted opportunity to offer the right amount of entertainment to all Tolkien fans who have a good passion for video games.”

“LEGO 2K Drive is a racing game suitable for younger players and fans of the famous Danish bricks. Still, it is not highly recommended for those seeking a more severe and refined driving experience. However, Visual Concepts has created a motorized adventure full of activities and mini-games, supported by many contents that aesthetically follow the cheerful philosophy of the colorful LEGO universe. Although it is a fun racing game, especially if played with other players, the poor management of the game economy and other more or less essential defects end up limiting its potential.”

“EA Sports PGA Tour is a good golf simulation that marks the return of the series after years of absence from the green, even if EA Tiburon hasn't managed to make a "hole in one" despite offering satisfying gameplay. The realization of the courses and the physics of the ball is truly remarkable, while the pleasant visual appearance clashes with some technical defects linked to an imperfect use of Frostbite. Overall, EA Sports PGA Tour is an enjoyable gaming experience, designed primarily for golf enthusiasts.”

“Meet Your Maker is an interesting mix between FPS and tower defense, quite satisfying to play when you have to face outposts full of traps and when creating an impregnable fortress. But if the gameplay can be considered a strength point, the few contents available at launch and the various unpolished aspects limit the potential of Behavior Interactive's new multiplayer experience.”

“As a prequel designed to expand the narrative universe of Road 96 by offering a much more classic gameplay, Road 96: Mile 0 is an appreciable first-person adventure that abandons the roguelite elements to accommodate game dynamics typical of Rhythm games. However, this time the developers of DigixArt Entertainment have yet to tell an intriguing and profound story, despite a multiple-choice dialogue system and alternative endings, which unfortunately do not solve the problem of poor longevity.”