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Tom Orry, Editor – Football Manager 2016, PC
I’m in an endless cycle of hope and disappointment. My Forest team looked to be getting it together, going on a brilliant run and climbing to 5th in the Championship. Then they lost five in a row, and had no wins in eight games. I’m down to 11th now and wondering how to turn things around. I’m trying to offload some of the deadweight, especially those who for some reason won’t be granted work permits (one of them is homegrown, so I don’t understand that at all?). Keen to bring in young players, I’m currently offering everything and the kitchen sink for a hot prospect goalkeeper. I doubt I’ll get him and end up sticking with my current man, who likes to concede seven goals now and again.
Simon Miller, Head Of Video Production – Amplitude, PS4
I used to love Guitar Hero and Rock Band. Their novel approach to rhythm action games and dedication to capturing ‘the performance’ – as opposed to just being score attack thrills – was in my mind, the perfect way for the genre to evolve.
While that was true for a while, eventually the bubble burst, and even the recent resurgence hasn’t done much to convince me I need to go back in. What has, though, is Amplitude.
As old-school as they come – and most definitely designed to test your gaming skill – Amplitude does very little differently to its predecessors but manages to feel instantly more obsessive because of it. After a few hours of learning the ropes your hand will be flying around the pad like no one’s business, and with that comes an odd sense of satisfaction.
Why it’s pleasing to be good at pushing buttons in time with music I don’t know, but it is.
Either way, Harmonix’s decision to return to this format feels like a far smarter one to me than the recent returning Rock Band 4. It may not be to everyone’s tastes, but I continue to enjoy it.
TL:DR – Amplitude is good if you like Amplitude.
Dave Scammell, News Editor – Unravel, Xbox One
It’s lovely, charming, romantic, and all those little words that Burns hates – but is it actually much fun? I’ve only played the two levels offered up in the EA Access trial, but I haven’t yet fallen in love with Unravel as much as I’d been expecting to. I don’t know what it is about it that feels lacking; maybe it’s the fiddly physics or minimal narrative, but for whatever reason, what I played just felt a little… dull.
And that’s sad, because it’s certainly a labour of love for the developer – the team’s passion for the project becomes immediately obvious from the outset. But whether that’s translated into the game I hoped it would, I sadly can’t yet tell.
Alice Bell, Junior Staff Writer – Bloodborne, PS4
I’m still in training for Dark Souls 3 (I doubt I’ll ever not be in training for Dark Souls 3). I’m enjoying Bloodborne more than playing e.g. Dark Souls 2, because it’s faster and just a little bit more stylish. This does not mean that I’m not frustrated by my own slow progress, however. I’ve fought the same mobs so often that it’s like seeing old friends.
If I could, I would speak to them. “Hello again, you. We’re trapped forever in this macabre dance, you and I. In many ways we are so, so alike…” Then there’s a slow zoom out from my twitching face as The Sound of Silence by Simon & Garfunkel plays.
I’m getting better, though. I have to be getting better.
