X-Men: Dark Phoenix Review (Are The Critics Wrong?)

 At the time of writing, Dark Phoenix sits at a 22% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, with many bashing the final real installment in Fox's X-Men movies as a lazy, uninspiring and disjointed mess. The wave of negativity surrounding this film has been staggering and it appears to have fatally wounded its box office potential, with many news outlets reporting the movie as a commercial and critical bomb. So we have two very important questions to answer. Firstly, why are the critics so universally panning Dark Phoenix? Secondly, is it better than the critics suggest?

 The premise is fairly simple, another spin on the popular X-Men Dark Phoenix storyline surrounding Jean Grey, the titular Phoenix. In this adaptation the X-Men are sent into space to rescue some astronauts when a powerful cosmic force attaches itself to a young Jean Grey, played here by Sophie Turner. Intrigue and tragedy insues, with the mysterious Jessice Chastain attempting to gain control of the force residing in Grey whilst the remaining X-Men try to save her. On the surface this seems like fairly standard storytelling and I can understand why critics are negative about the overarching narrative at face value. The script writing isn't fantastic and some of the story heavy scenes seem to drag on longer than necesarry. So far I agree with the critics. However. The acting and delivery by the cast (Sophie Turner, James McAvoy and Micheal Fassbender in particular) lend a certain weight even to the weaker portions of the script.

 Turner portrays an excellent Jean Grey. In equal parts troubled young adult and rage driven cosmic entity she delivers her lines dripping with emotion in an impressive American accent. There was always the danger that Turner could risk being type cast after her world renowned role in Game Of Thrones but in this movie she was nothing to me but Jean Grey, she completely embodied everything about the character and such an excellent young actress will hopefully have a stellar career to come. McAvoy plays a slightly more nuanced Charles Xavier this time around. An Xavier wrestling with his ever growing ego and struggling to come to terms with the fact that he has made mistakes, as ever, McAvoy is excellent. Some of the critics disliked Fassbenders portryal of Magneto and found him quite tired and boring but here's where I'd have to disagree. Fassbender plays Magneto with all the weariness of a man who has consistently lost everything he's ever loved, a character truly battered by the world but with the tenacity and power to do what he believes must be done. I must admit there is a degree of bias as Magneto is and has always been my favourite X-Men character, but I did almost whoop in joy at several points in the movie when Magneto was allowed to truly display his immense power squaring off against Jean and several dozen enemy at different points of the movie. Anyone who's a Magneto fan boy like myself will not be disappointed.

Turner is a standout performance

 Something worth mentioning in a paragraph of its own is the sound design of the movie. The sound track was scored by none other than Hans Zimmer and it shows. At several points during the film I got goosebumps, emotional or epic moments amplified by the low and haunting score that perfectly fits the Dark Phoenix character. Fight scenes accompanied by a frantic and high tempo version of the same "Dark Phoenix theme" really brought the film thematically together and gave it one solid identity. I have no shame when I say that I now have several of the soundtrack songs on my personal playlists. The score is far more memorable than numerous other X-Men films, Apocalypse and X-Men Origins: Wolverine but to name a few. The sight of Jean Grey floating in the air displaying her power to a Hans Zimmer score was definitely impressive.

 The cinematography is nothing mind blowing but it works. Cramped scenes in a train carriage or a building are shot well and the fight scenes aren't cut and chopped every micro second and look quite impressive. The effects used in the movie are quite good and I never saw anything that broke my immersion in the film. From a teleporting Nightcrawler to a 50 caliber machine gun mowing down bad guys it all looked believable in universe, although I'm sure there are critics out there who have a more discerning eye for such things.

The action/fight scens are impressive

  I've mentioned the story in an earlier paragraph and I must say I agree that the writing is in places poor, the story at times fairly predictable and lacklustre. There's a but coming. BUT. I feel like the overall theme of the narrative, one of dealing with trauma, of making mistakes and doing what you think is right to protect those you love is fantasticly communicated here. As someone who has suffered with mental illness I can't help but draw comparisons here, Jean Grey is a character full of demons both from the trauma of her past and from the force now inhabiting her. Her rage and grief and sadness envelop everything around her, she hurts the people she cares about without meaning to and she seeks help but does not know how to accept it when it is offered. I certainly don't think that this parallel was in the film makers' minds when they were writing the story up but it seems to fit perfectly. The theme of loss and making mistakes, the tight and enthusiastic perfomance of Turner and the bittersweet ending all lend credence to this. I left the theatre feeling like I'd connected with this film on an emotional level. Sometimes we are all a little bit like the Dark Phoenix, lashing out blindly because we're in pain and that hit home for me.

All rage and pain

 In conclusion, I feel quite sad. Sad when I think about how poorly this movie is doing and how badly it's been recieved, because in all honesty it is far better than any of the reviews I've read suggest. It is by no means perfect, it has its flaw and it has things it could improve upon and is certainly weaker than movies like Logan and Days Of Future Past. Critics are, well, overly critical and in this case I believe unjustifiably so. The cast and crew clearly put so much hard work into this movie and to see a very good but not quite great movie be labelled as a disaster is disheartening. This film is better than Apocalypse, certainly better than Origins Wolverine and in my opinion even better than the 1st X-Men film and The Last Stand. It's a travesty that X-Men Origins: Wolverine was better recieved by critics than this, with a score of 37% on Rotten Tomatoes. I think the message to take away here is that most critics are full of shit, you should find a movie you're interested in and go and see for yourself. I certainly recommend that you go and see this movie if you're at all interested in it because it simply is not a bad movie in any sense and is a solid final entry to the Fox X-Men universe.

 X-Men: Dark Phoenix is a solid, fun, imperfect, emotional, slightly messy but very well acted movie with an excellent cast, and (for me at least) a rather poignant reminder that we all struggle with our own Dark Phoenix but we should trust in the support and protection of the people we care about.

7.5/10

The State Of The Game

Hello everyone!

This is just a short post from me, Dan, author of most of the content here at VGN, just to keep you aware of what's going on and what's planned for the blog moving forward. This short post is also a bit of a workout for my brain as it's been a long time since I've written anything (which we'll get onto in a moment).

 Firstly, I want to thank everyone who has read or flicked through an article thus far. It is honestly a great encouragement for to see even one person reading my stuff, so know that I am and always will be extremely humbled and grateful. VGN was designed to be a bit of a variety blog where we could talk about movies and games both new and old as well as being an outlet for me to rant about the games industry goings on, and I intend to stick to a far more rigid writing schedule as of now.

 In all honesty, I stopped writing and posting because I lost my inspiration. I want to write because I love to write and I just wasn't feeling that, however that has thankfully changed. Depression is a disruptive beast and my struggles with mental health issues are well documented, but instead of moping about like I have been doing, I've decided to use my creative outlets to spread a positive message. To this end VGN will be re branding at the end of the month. New name, new design but the same content with only one slight variation, the focus will be on engaging people with mental health issues using discussions about the previously mentioned games and films. I'd like to open a healthy and frank dialogue about mental health and incorporate that into the things I love. My hope is that we can gather together as like minded people and support one another.

 So, the next few weeks will be busy for the blog! My current schedule is aiming for one post per week at least, with the following scheduled over the next month or so:

Godzilla: King Of The Monsters Review (End of May)

X-Men: Dark Phoenix Review (Early June)

Obscure Game Spotlight (May 10th)

Mental Health and Gaming (Mid June)

 Hopefully some or all of the above will interest you, in that case I'd love for you to hit that "Subscribe" button so you can be notified whenever I post! It's not mandatory, I'm just extremely happy that you've come to the page at all, so thank you for that and here's to the future of the blog!

Dan

Why Titanfall 2 Is A Significant Game

 October 2016, EA release two published titles in quick succession. One of those is Battlefield 1, the latest in the juggernaut fps series set in the first World War. The game is a financial success, it is marketed extensively and releases with all the fanfare of a typical Battlefield game. The other game was Titanfall 2. Released just seven days after Battlefield 1, Respawn Entertainments' sequel to Titanfall was released in relatively low key fashion. Titanfall 2 went on to sell in underwhelming numbers but to receive critical acclaim from both players and reviewers alike. So why is this significant? Just another fps in an overcrowded market, right? Well it's a little more complicated than that, and upon reflection, Titanfall 2 might just be one of the most significant and interesting games of the last five years.

 After the release of Titanfall, the developer began work on a sequel in 2014 with a view to improving existing multiplayer game play as well as adding compelling story elements, which many agree the original release was lacking. Those who played Titanfall 2 at the time were impressed with its competent, fun and kinetic online multiplayer and generally agreed that it was a superior experience to it's predecessor. However, the real appeal of the sequel was the campaign. A robust, colourful and heart wrenching story mode which connected with audiences on an emotional level and really proved beyond a shadow of at doubt that Respawn (a studio of ex Call Of Duty developers) had the ability to pull of a great, well rounded game. The campaign put the player in the boots of Rifleman Jack Cooper, a soldier in the Frontier Militia fighting against the IMC (Interstellar Manufacturing Corporation), a conflict borne from the IMCs lust for resources and the Militias desire for freedom. Rifleman Cooper is quickly thrust into a desperate situation where he comes into contact with a large bipedal assault robot (a titular Titan), from there Cooper and the Titan named BT embark upon a world spanning adventure full of excellent gun play, engaging story and colourful enemies (as well as some fantastically memorable missions). Perhaps the most iconic and endearing part of Titanfall 2 is the excellent storytelling, the relationship between BT and Cooper grows throughout the campaign and fosters a genuine and warm emotional connection in the player. It encourages the player to care. Care about what happens to BT. Care about the journey the characters are embarking upon. The relationship building is so effective that at several points during my play through I was visibly shaken when my robotic companions' life was in jeopardy, I was so invested in the world of Titanfall that I struggled to put the controller down before I'd finished the story.

 So why if the game was so good, did it sell so poorly? I believe the answer is simple. Timing. In their infinite wisdom, the publisher EA decided to sandwich the release of Titanfall 2 between the aforementioned Battlefield One and the years Call of Duty title. This decision seems at face value to be completely stupid at best and an act of deliberate sabotage at worst. Did EA want Titanfall 2 to flop? Did they even consider the date properly or was it just random? You can come to your own conclusions about this, many conspiracy theories exist online; some say EA deliberate screwed over Titanfall 2 because of Respawns policy on delivering free DLC to everyone, juxtaposing EAs stance on "live services". I'm not saying I believe that or I don't. But I certainly believe that something was going on behind the scenes which directly affected the sales potential of Titanfall 2.

 Buried as it was between the Call of Duties and Battlefields, Titanfall 2 shone like a diamond in a heap of shit. Destined to be far superior to its peers but to always be overlooked. Whilst talk of Titanfall 3 persisted into 2018/19 even though poor sales meant that may not happen the tale took an unexpected twist on the 4th of February 2019. Respawn Entertainment released Apex Legends.

 Apex Legends is the (now) world famous Battle Royale entry from Respawn, released with pretty much no prior warning. Set in the universe of Titanfall, the spirit of the franchise lives on in a new format full of fast paced game play and interesting character abilities. The game has been a storming success and the influence of Titanfall 2 can be felt everywhere you look. Many of the weapons are the same, the gun play is similarly satisfying, and the movement retains some of the unique momentum which made Titanfall 2 so unique. It is a little toned down, but sliding down hills and mantling up sheer walls gives the game a fantastic feeling of freedom of movement. Respawns innate talent for concocting good story is also present here. Set many years after the end of Titanfall 2, the characters are interesting and varied and many have curious links to Titanfall lore people might be familiar with. For example; One of the heroes named Mirage is the son of the woman who invented the pilot decoy ability, seen in Titanfall 2. The character Bangalore is an IMC soldier separated from her unit and Pathfinder is a model of robot that we gunned down hundreds of in the previous Titanfall games. As a Titanfall fan, Apex is at once familiar and refreshing. A polished and engaging take on what is by now a well-worn genre.

  In conclusion, the DNA of what Respawn has lovingly created can be found within its latest creation. 50 million players and counting, using systems first iterated in Titanfall, perfected in Titanfall 2 and now used in Apex Legends to enthral the masses. The legacy of Titanfall will certainly be felt for years to come, I for one am glad that the studio is getting recognition for their good work and I'm hoping that somewhere, sometime, Titanfall 3 gets announced so that we can once again experience fps done right, by a developer that cares.


Did you play Titanfall 2? Are you enjoying Apex Legends? Let me know in the comments and thanks for reading!

Review: Alita: Battle Angel

 This review arrives a little late, in fact a few weeks late as I went to see Alita: Battle Angel on the day of release at my local cinema. I've taken my time with this review as I wanted to get all of the negativity out of the way. In general the movie seems to be garnering a rather mixed response, with some reviewers praising the films special effects and action and others lambasting it for poor story and simple themes. So here goes.

 I really enjoyed Alita: Battle Angel. Like, REALLY enjoyed it. I'm by no means an expert or professional reviewer, merely a fat Northern man who knows what he likes and what I like is a lot of what makes up this movie. Firstly the special effects; As a general rule the special effects in this film have been received positively and I certainly wasn't disappointed. With WETA digital workshops and James Cameron involved it's hardly a surprise. In the trailers the face of the titular character with her giant anime eyes did kind of freak me out but in the movie itself everything looked pretty convincing. Whether it's a giant industrial City scapes, a human extensively upgraded with robotics or an energy infused sword slicing through robot tentacles the CGI looked very slick in all departments. It made the action look fluid and believable and the scenes and set pieces were breathtakingly impressive in places and made for a suitably raucous and exciting viewing experience, particularly during the films many fight/action scenes.

 In a sort of opposition of opinion with many reviewers I also found myself quite engaged with the story of the movie which surprised me as well. The premise IS admittedly a little bit cliche/typical; with a robot girl Alita found on a scrap heap and repaired by a friendly doctor where she then sets out on a quest to remember who she is and to protect those she grows to love it certainly isn't the most original plot, but is nevertheless engaging in no small part due to the excellent performance given by the films lead actress. Rosa Salazar proves to be a revelation as Alita, she delivers an extremely sincere, innocent yet strong performance that captured my attention throughout. Although there were a few strong performances from a few supporting cast members such as Christoph Waltz and Jennifer Connolly, Salazar remains the lone stand out in a movie full of fairly hit and miss performances which let down an otherwise exciting and interesting film.

 In terms of world building, Alita: Battle Angel doesn't pull any punches as it tries to pack in all of the fluff it can in 2 hours 22 minutes which DOES at times break up the pacing of the film in a negative way but DOES manage to get me invested in the world, to the point where I went home an read up myself on some of the things touched upon but not expanded in the movie. It felt like there was so much more left to explore by the time the movie ended and it was here where the movie faltered for me.

 The final 20 minutes of the film felt like a bit of a rushed mish mash of (good) action scenes intermingled with exposition at the speed of light, in what felt like an effort to set up a sequel as quickly as possible. Being totally honest, I didn't expect the film to end when it did and such clear sequel bait left an ever so slightly bitter taste in the mouth to round off an otherwise delicious experience.

 All in all, Alita: Battle Angel is a technical marvel, a beautiful and well made piece of action film making which suffers from a few average performances and a confusing final act preventing it from achieving true greatness. On a personal note, I enjoyed it a great deal and would hope for a sequel in the coming years but of course the possibility of a second movie remains to be seen. I highly recommend watching this film if you can, even just for the tight actions scenes and Rosa Salazars charm your pants off performance.


7/10

"I do not stand by, in the presence of evil"- Alita

Why I Enjoyed...Singularity

 Singularity was released in 2010 and was developed by Raven Software. The game was published by Activision and released for PC, Ps3 and Xbox 360 and was the final original IP that Raven software ever worked on. I wouldn't be surprised if you'd never heard of Singularity much less actually played the thing but I'm here to tell you that you should think about picking it up. Here's why I actually quite liked Singularity.

  A first person shooter with some interesting timey wimey mechanics and a decidedly cheesy military sci-fi theme Singularity might, upon first impressions, seem very run of the mill and in fact it is. The gun play is average but competent, the weapon selection is average but competent, the graphics are aver... You get the drift. I realise I'm not selling this particularly well BUT as someone who loves story driven single player experiences the STORY is the main draw here. This game suffers from what I like to call the "Spec Ops: The Line" syndrome; An average game-play loop but with a very intriguing tale to tell. That's not to say that Singularity shares much story wise with Spec Ops: The Line because it doesn't but what it does have is an excellent eye for environmental storytelling and a main story so bonkers that it actually becomes entertaining.

 You play as American army man person named Renko and you're sent along with your team consisting of Nathan Drake and some unimportant non Nolan North characters to the Russian owned Island of Katorga-12. Some exposition is given through cut-scene at the start indicating that a new resource had been found on the island, the Russians did some bad shit yada yada and so here you are to clean up the mess for some reason. Your arrival on the island is made messy when a giant pulse of energy wipes your chopper out and kills most of your team, you wake up alone on a dock and thus Singularity begins.

 First off the sounds design is incredible. From the first second stood on the dock the chills are real, the creepy night shrouded island given extra weight with an eerie, minimal soundtrack and some genuinely spooky ambient sound. As you explore the island you uncover some of the horrifying events that took place there leading up to your arrival and this is where environmental storytelling comes in. If you like Bioshock then you'll enjoy this, audio tapes, letters and video projectors galore reveal some well written and voice acted titbits from Katorga-12s inhabitants. You'll hear from scientists, soldiers and even the civilians who made the island their home as you traverse the ominous abandoned streets and buildings, the tensions rise quickly way before the first enemy is even encountered and as you listen to the panicked whimpers of a civilian running from some unknown horror on an audio log you can't help but to just allow the tiniest bit of poo out.

 I won't go into detail about the larger story-line and enemies as it would spoil the fun and hopefully you'll go play this for yourself! However I can talk about the time travel mechanics. Introduced a bit later into the game, your character gains the ability to manipulate time in some interesting ways courtesy of a device called the (pictured below) TMD or Time Manipulation Device (imaginative). You can rapidly age enemies so drastically that they turn into dust, you can point at some rubble blocking your path and reverse time to move it out of your way, you can send out a pulse of energy that will stun or knock back enemies amongst other more elaborate uses. The TMD is a great addition to the game and it gives slightly stale FPS mechanics just enough oomph to remain fun later into the game. I'm pretty sure in fact that the TMD directly inspired a certain level in the awesome campaign of Titanfall 2, so you know it's a good addition.

  All in all, Singularity was a depressingly under advertised and criminally underhyped game that Activision didn't seem too bothered about. The game undersold (surprise surprise) and Raven Software never made an original game again, instead being shifted to work with other developers on future Call Of Duty titles. Singularity was never going to be revolutionary, it was never going to define a genre or tread new ground, it was never going to sell millions of copies or break records but it was a damn fun game with an excellent atmosphere.
Available on Steam, Xbox 360 and PS3

(Also it had multiplayer but the less said about that the better)

First Impressions: No Mans Sky

 I was recently wandering around the high street with my fiancee when we meandered into a local money traders store. For those not in the know Money Traders is a second hand electronic goods store in the UK that sells and buys everything from microwaves to video games, the latter of course interests me so I found myself leafing casually through the stacks of games in a stuffy little corner of the shop. I found myself perusing the PlayStation 4 section and came across 3 copies of No Mans Sky on the shelf, usually that's not an odd thing I mean, these shops tend to come into multiple copies of the same game but what really caught my eye this time was the price. I was and am aware of the turbulent launch of No Mans Sky, a much hyped product with a spectacular fall from grace when it finally hit stores in 2016. I don't think I'd ever seen such a ferocious backlash nor so many undelivered promises at launch so needless to say I avoided that game like the plague.

  No Mans Sky is such a marmite game even now as Hello Games appear to have affected a monumental turnaround in the intervening time, churning out free updates at a rapid pace adding the once promised features to the game leaving many players finally satisfied with their space exploration experience, though with equal number voicing their displeasure, claiming that these features should still have been available from the start. I of course had watched from a distance, feeling sympathy for the players that had bought in to the lies but at the same time careless, as I was quite disconnected from it all.

  So here I stand, in Money Traders, looking at 3 separate copies of the same game with an ever furrowing brow of confusion. You see, 2 of the copies were priced at a hefty £28 (I could only assume an inflated price due to the games 'second coming') but the 3rd copy astonished me as I flipped it over and read the price tag. £7. Just £7...

"Huh" I said to nobody in particular.

  I'd heard the good things about the game in the past few months so I though hell, why not? I quickly went to the till and purchased the game before any of the staff could notice the price tag discrepancy and thought nothing more of it as I went about my day. Indeed it wasn't until after Christmas that I finally ended up powering on my console and starting the game up.

  As the music kicked in my excitement levels rose, the ambient and dynamic soundtrack of the game is certainly impressive, kicking in at just the right time to make otherwise dull times traversing the environment a wondrous and beautiful experience. My game juddered violently as I loaded into the universe, the frames lagged and stuttered and then suddenly there I was. My character awoke in a snowy clearing surrounded by huge thick trees. The wind blew through the leaves and battered my ears. I noticed a beeping and a robotic voice telling me that my thermal protection was failing. I begin to panic as the sides of my visor freeze up. Am I going to die straight away? I desperately follow the instructions in a small text box on the bottom right of the screen and fix my scanner and with the scanner I find the resources I need to recharge my thermal protection. "Phew". Panic over. My introduction to No Mans Sky is relatively quick and easy, I sort my life support systems out, I find my ship and am shown how to repair it and within about an hour of starting out I'm in space more or less free to explore.

  The game is certainly pretty although the occasional frame rate issues do sap a bit of the immersion away and the tutorial system seems to be robust enough to assist a new player. I'm not sure how things have changed from launch but a strong opening was just what this game needed, I'm off and to the next planet as soon as possible. I'm learning how to find and gather resources, how to craft, how to build things. There's a really cool photo mode that lets you freeze time and free-cam around the get some nice selfies and the ability to go from first to third person mode on the fly is a nice addition.

 I played for about 3 hours and haven't had the chance to try anything multiplayer related yet but between the robotic sentinels, passive and hostile flora and fauna and the occasional ship flying overhead as you explore a planet it never quite feels as empty as it could. My only real gripe came towards the end of my play time where the endless hunt for resources became something of a chore but in a few hour burst I had a blast and will probably do so again next time I play.

  In this experience I can see a really good, promising and robust survival exploration game with plenty to do but I can't help but feel kind of sad when I play it. I was lucky enough to get hands on with No Mans Sky over 2 years after release, when it was in a far better state than it launched in and playing with all the new features and goodies made me feel awful for the players who paid full price for what was an extremely bare bones product at launch. Yes it is good that Hello Games admitted their errors and made the effort to turn it around but why was there ever a mistake to correct in the first place? No Mans Sky is a fun experience but also a dour monument to what could have been, what should have been. You can almost hear the angry and disappointed cries of let down players but in space, no-one can hear you scream.

By Dan A. Fox

Games I'm most Looking Forward To In 2019

  2018 was a somewhat quiet year for games, at least for me. The only games I picked up that were actually released in 2018 were Red Dead Redemption 2, WEE 2K19 and Kingdom Come: Deliverance. I dabbled in others like Sea Of Thieves but found myself pretty underwhelmed with the years offerings. I was immersed by the worlds of RDR 2 and Kingdom Come respectively but never found the IT game, something that excited me to my core. Maybe 2019 can shake me from my melancholy, with a bevy of hyped titles on the horizon maybe it will be the year that a slew of new games find their way into my catalogue again. Here's a list of a few that are piquing my personal interest early on...

#1 Resident Evil 2 Remake

  A game due out in early 2019 (this month, in fact), the Resident Evil 2 remake is looking pretty damn good. I'm not usually one for "scary" games but even I can't deny that it's looking promising, fully updated visuals, a third person camera and tighter controls could be yet another step in the right direction for the veteran franchise after the amazing Resident Evil 7. The footage we've seen so far has already made me salivate with delight. Watch out for this on PS4, Xbox One and PC on January 25th.

#2 Metro Exodus

  Metro is a franchise that holds a special place in my heart. I loved the intense, desperate stealth oriented adventure of the first game and the frantic, terrifying shootouts of the second game and can only hope for more of the same from the beautiful in engine trailers we've already seen at E3. With the promise of beautiful visuals, more open world game-play and a continuation of Artyoms struggle in the Russian post apocalypse you can bet your arse Metro Exodus will be one to watch out for when it hits stores on February 15th. (PS4, Xbox One, PC)

#3 Total War: Three Kingdoms

  

  I've got to be honest, when the Creative Assembly announced their next historical title I wasn't too impressed. Don't get me wrong, I love (and I mean LOVE) Total War and was really impressed by their recent Warhammer offerings but the lacklustre Britannia title and the prospect of a historical period I wasn't familiar with really didn't fill me with excitement. However recent videos from the Total War YouTube channel have changed my opinion in a major way. The studio appears to be implementing HUGE changes to the political system (YESSS) which makes Total War: Three Kingdoms a much more promising prospect. All I know is that I'm now reading up on my Chinese history in preparation for the March 7th release. (PC)

#4 Crash Team Racing Nitro Fuelled

  I'm really excited for this. After the stellar work of remastering the first 3 Crash games last year I was pining for one thing. "PLEASE remaster Crash Team Racing" and here it is! The revamped kart racing game makes my list as I'll most likely play this a lot with my partner and I can already see the hours of enjoyment and frustration we'll get out of this. A purely fun experience at it's heart full of nostalgia, I can't wait to pick this up. Coming to PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch on June 21st.

#5 Gears Of War 5

 The opinions of many die hard Gears Of War fans were mixed upon the release of the 4th instalment of the franchise but I really enjoyed it. The story was interesting (if a little contrived) and the visuals and gun play were as slick as ever. I didn't really play much of the online with the exception of horde mode but found the whole experience at once familiar and refreshing. Gears of War 4 was an old friend with a new haircut so to speak and the ending of 4 (no spoilers!) left me howling at the screen demanding answers. I will almost certainly be chainsawing creatures into puddles of filth and gore when Gears of War 5 releases some time this year. Coming to Xbox One and PC (no exact release date yet).

So there we have it! Just a few of the games I'm looking forward to this year, there are of course others, I'm eagerly awaiting a release date for Cyberpunk 2077 like a drug addict awaiting his next fix but I can't see it being this year. I am also eagerly awaiting more the Last Of Us 2 news with baited breath. 2019 is shaping up to be a promising year for games, providing we can survive the inevitable onslaught or pre order bonuses, locked content, micro transactions and lootboxes without drowning in the monsoon of video game executives' anticipatory saliva as they imagine all the ways that they can fuck their consumers. Goodbye!

Written by Dan A. Fox