Video Gamer is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Prices subject to change. Learn more
Tom Orry, Editorial Director – FIFA 17, PS4
I’m really enjoying FIFA 17. The on-pitch gameplay took a while to click, but now it has everything feels great. I’ve been messing around with Ultimate Team, which could well suck me back in if I’m not careful. It’s more of the same with some additions, but that’s pretty much what the hardcore fans want. The Journey is also excellent, although is probably getting away with being ropey in certain areas because it’s a mode we’ve never seen before. Still, the choice between FIFA and PES this year is a tough one. For me PES 2017 offers a slightly more fluid game of football, but FIFA 17 has a landslide victory when it comes to modes.
Dave Scammell, News Editor – Rock Band 4, PS4
Home cinema enthusiasts (or home cinema noobs, if you’re anything like me), be aware that Rock Band 4 has a fantastic calibration tool that can be used to help sort out any potential A/V sync issues. I’ve been fiddling around with my home theatre setup quite a bit this week in an attempt to find that perfect sound, and, as it turns out, Rock Band 4’s guitar has a built in camera and microphone that works perfectly with the in-game tool to sync up audio with video. And in my case, it also gave me some idea as to how to tweak my amp.
Unbeknownst to me, the audio on my home cinema has been running on a 292ms lag for years, with video input lag coming in at 52ms. That isn’t the end of the world, I guess, but it isn’t exactly ideal. With some tweaking, I managed to reduce the audio lag down some ~50ms, but while there doesn’t seem to be anything that can be done about the video, at least it gives me some indication as to why I might occasionally be out of a kill by a split second when playing online. So take heed: If you want an accurate, easy to use tool that tells you where you’re at with input lag, Rock Band 4 could be your answer.
Alice Bell, Junior Staff Writer – XCOM 2, PS4, Xbox One, PC
I didn’t get all the fuss about XCOM. Even though I play a lot of turn based tabletop games I like my video games to move a bit faster, because I get bored. However, I have dutifully made a squad (I haven’t made it to look like the VG staff because that’s an overdone joke now, and also I already have a virtual koi pond full of carp named after the boys). I quite like XCOM, anyway, although it does seem a bit janky. Sometimes it bugs out when you get more than one intel message at once in your command centre (we can say this is immersive because the resistance has basic comms right now, if you like).
My best soldier in the fight against aliens that look like people and also giant snakes (something, something, gene splicing, etc.) is Lt. Kelly. She’s a badass with a shotgun, and has been nicknamed Warlord, I presume because of her tendency to one shot, one kill everything that runs into her path. I have become unfortunately attached to her, as well as the heavy gunner Old Country (a blonde lady from Virginia who misses almost every shot). I am terrified that they will die whenever I take them out. Am I doing it right yet?
I also did a hands on with Dishonored 2, but you have to wait until next week to hear about how pants-wettingly excited I am about it.
