Thief – Xbox One
In the tall clock-tower in the centre of dark, dreary Dayport, Garrett prepares for yet another thieving escapade. There is an attempt to cobble together a story but ultimately, the majority of your time is spent taking candlesticks out of drawers. For the first couple of missions it’s quite fun, looking in all the nooks and crannies for a shiny object, but after a couple of hours it becomes horribly tedious. Outside of thieving is an awkward combat system that lacks imagination, leaving a lot to be desired. Unlike the older Thief games, this instalment does not steal your heart 4/10
Titanfall – Xbox One
From the masterminds behind some of the best Call of Duty’s, comes Titanfall, developed by Respawn Entertainment. Abandoning single-player altogether, focussing on a much more in-depth multiplayer was risky, but it paid off. Familiar to FPS players but with fantastic additions such as Titans, Parkour, marvellous environments, Titanfall is as refreshing as it is familiar. Superb controls, fast and fluid games, and a wide variety of gadgets, weapons and maps leaves every player wanting more and coming back for it. A brilliant debut for Respawn Entertainment; fun and innovative, the future looks very bright for Titanfall and its newfound developer 9/10
Battlefield 4 – Xbox One
Ignoring the horrendous server issues, the horrible glitches and the fact that EA and DICE sold an unfinished game to us, Battlefield 4 is superb. Huge, sprawling maps and fantastic physics make for incredible firefights where multiplayer is concerned. The single player is, in typical Battlefield style, awful. Uninspiring characters fill a story that is one of the most unimaginative in years, and when you eventually decide to carry on with the campaign, lo and behold it’s been deleted. You cannot ignore the utter mess that this bitch slap of a game is. Bags of potential, little of it realised 4/10
Forza Motorsport 5 – Xbox One
Forza has always been a very serious racing games (discarding Horizon). Where it lacks in police chases and mile-long drifts, it makes up with precision and very sophisticated AI. Forza Motorsport 5 has gone one further with the inclusion of the embarrassingly-named Drivatar. Ignoring the name, it’s a fantastic piece of tech, as you are entered into friend’s races as an AI based on your driving style. The graphics are themselves pretty good, but no better than a racing game needs. Endless cars, limited tracks and repetitive gameplay make for an experience you may come back to every other week 7/10
Lego Marvel Super Heroes – Xbox One
Obviously the next venture for Lego where gaming was concerned was the infinite Universe of Marvel. Combining addictive collectibles, a unique and riveting story, and a huge roster of Marvel characters that will have you paralyzed in awe, Lego Marvel is one of the most fun Lego games ever. With so much to do, it’s easy to become overwhelmed, but if you tackle each mission and objective methodically, it becomes a huge bag of organised fun. Despite some of the controls being a bit dodgy, flying especially, gameplay is solid. You’d be hard pressed to find a game as jam-packed 8/10