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Tom Orry, Editorial Director – Forza Horizon 3, Xbox One, NBA 2K17, PS4
Forza Horizon 3 is a brilliant game. I’ve seen some people complain that it’s essentially Horizon 2 in a new location, but a) that wouldn’t be bad, and b) it has a lot more going on than Horizon 2. Having gone back to 2 a little, that game feels empty in comparison to 3. There’s so much to do in a world that is far more detailed. I love it.
Something I don’t love but appreciate a lot, and hope to one day at least find very enjoyable, is NBA 2K17. As someone who went into it knowing very little about basketball, the learning curve is pretty steep but there is a neat tutorial mode that introduces the basics and what all the buttons do. Basketball is a fast sport and it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by everything, players whizzing back and forth without a moment to think. There’s undoubtedly a great game here, though, if you are willing to invest the time to learn it.
Dave Scammell, News Editor – Forza Horizon 3, Xbox One
I was always going to love it, wasn’t I? The terrific handling model mixed with that summer party flair, Forza Horizon 3 feels a bit like the best of Codemasters mixed with elements of Criterion’s Need For Speeds. Now sure, it isn’t quite the same but there’s something very Most Wanted 2012 about Horizon 3, and like Criterion, Playground just ‘gets’ how to make racers fun. Maybe we can convince them to make a new Burnout instead?
I’m around 6 hours in now, and while the loop is starting to become more apparent (complete events to earn more fans to level up your festival to unlock new events), it doesn’t (yet) feel as repetitive as you might think. The side stuff helps, with exploration now a lot more enjoyable than it was in Horizon 2 thanks to Australia’s diversity, the new convoy system, and the greater amount of things to do.
At this stage, then, Horizon 3’s looking like it could be the best Xbox One console exclusive yet. And for my money, it’s without doubt the best open world racer in years.
Alice Bell, Junior Staff Writer – Virginia, PS4, Xbox One, PC
Virginia is like the X-Files except it’s not, I guess? I liked it a lot, even though there’s a hugely trippy ‘I just dropped acid for no reason’ section where you attend the ritualistic sacrifice of a buffalo and then your mask falls off and it turns out it was a mask of your face the whole time! Spoilers, but not really, because not much in Virginia makes sense in isolation anyway, least of all this bit. That whole section seems to be the most divisive amongst reviewers, I suspect because some of the imagery used is a bit tropey (see previous), but it’s very good if you like games that can be categorised as walking simulators, which I do.
Half of Virginia is investigating the case of a missing teenager, and the other half (which I found more interesting) is about investigating your own new FBI partner for non-specific crimes (possibly lesbianism??) A lot of it is up to interpretation. The score, though, is something else. Nobody in Virginia speaks, at all, and instead there’s music. Big, orchestral violins, lending weight to certain scenes and letting you know which bits might be important. And other times there’s silence and you realise your character is asleep and dreaming about a door, and then suddenly what do you see on your right? Another f***ing buffalo.
It’s honestly very good.
I’ve also been playing Mad Max but I’m not going to talk about in depth that because one of the first things to happen was the suggestion that my mechanic was f***ing the weaponised end of a harpoon, and instead of going “Mate, I’m not touching that…?” Max just went and collected it from the hammock.
Samuel Riley, Junior Content Editor – Sunset Overdrive, Xbox One
Has it really been a week already? Christ. Where does the time go, ey? Certainly not on playing any actual games. In retrospect, I suppose the decision to leave both of my main consoles back in Manchester – to be sent down after me, like one of the many ex-cons i squealed on while in prison – may not have been for the best. I probably could’ve dragged at least one of them down in my suitcase, but which one? It’s all a bit Sophie’s Choice for my tastes. I’ve effectively clambered aboard the lifeboats without waiting for the kids first. Ah well.
I can tell you that before this week i was merrily working my way through Sunset Overdrive, a game that i’m ludicrously late to the party on. Still, it’s bloody good fun – of the sort that you never really tire of. It reminds me a bit of the unbridled carnage i used to unleash on the streets of Vice City, except here there’s actual mutants, as opposed to whatever Tommy Vercetti’s crab hands entitled him to on the benefits register.
