Mafia III

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Written By: Graham Lewis

Publisher: 2K Games
Developers: Hangar 13, 2K Czech and Mass Media Games
Genre: Action-Adventure
Series: Mafia
Released: October 7 2016
Certificate: 18
Consoles: PS4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows and OS X

Mafia III completes the trilogy of entertaining, crime-based tales of retribution and power. Before writing this review, I took the time to complete the game on PS4, just to be absolutely certain I was giving it a fair chance.

So how has the series’ transition to current-gen consoles gone, I hear you ask? Well, it isn't exactly perfect.

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WWE 2K14

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Written By: Mark Armstrong

Publisher: 2K Sports
Developer: Yuke's and Visual Concepts
Genre: Wrestling
Series: WWE (Previously SmackDown! and SmackDown vs. Raw)
Released: October 29 2013 (US) and November 1 2013 (UK)
Certificate: 16
Consoles: PS3 and Xbox 360

So, at last we have the much-hyped WWE 2K14, the latest instalment of the lengthy WWE videogame series, and the first to be published by 2K Sports. Considering the quick turnaround after THQ folded in early 2013, it was likely that this would be a transitional game in some ways, and that is the case, with little in the way of major new features and a greater emphasis on minor tweaks, for the large part. However, the changes which have been made are almost all for the better, resulting in arguably the greatest WWE videogame since the mid-2000s.

Let's start with 30 Years Of WrestleMania, a mode which celebrates WWE's biggest event through a series of matches from the history of the show, along with in-game challenges. If that sounds familiar, it's because the WrestleMania Tour option from the 2009 game WWE Legends Of WrestleMania offered something very similar. Where 30 Years exceeds WM Tour is that the mode covers the entire history of WM so far (WM 29 is the most recent Mania so this is where the mode ends, despite its name), with a load of unlockables, photos and video content in the manner of last year's Attitude Era mode, and with a greater range of characters and a larger spotlight on the entire legacy of WrestleMania.

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WWE 2K15

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Written By: Mark Armstrong

Publisher: 2K Sports
Developer: Yuke's, Visual Concepts and n-Space (Mobile versions)
Genre: Wrestling
Series: WWE (Previously SmackDown! and SmackDown vs. Raw)
Released: November 18 2014 (US), November 21 2014 (Australia) and November 21 2014 (UK)
Certificate: 16
Consoles: PS4, Xbox One, PS3, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows, Android and iOS

The WWE videogame series, which seemed to have peaked in the mid-2000s under the SmackDown! and SmackDown vs. Raw names, appeared to be making a comeback earlier this decade: WWE '12 set the series on a new path in terms of gameplay, with a surplus of content provided by WWE '13 and WWE 2K14, resulting in the best games since the heyday of WWE titles.

This, combined with a new publisher in the form of 2K Sports and the potential advancements that new technology could provide with the fresh PlayStation 4 and Xbox One consoles, all suggested that WWE 2K15 could have ended up being the greatest wrestling game ever seen.

Erm, not quite.

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WWE 2K16

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Written By: Mark Armstrong

Publisher: 2K Sports
Developer: Yuke's and Visual Concepts
Genre: Wrestling
Series: WWE (Previously SmackDown! and SmackDown vs. Raw)
Released: October 27 2015 (US), October 29 2015 (Australia) and October 30 2015 (UK)
Certificate: 16
Consoles: PS4, Xbox One, PS3, Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows

The latest WWE videogame was under big pressure to deliver. The much-ballyhooed 2K15 was a low point for the long-running flagship WWE series, with many features removed for the PS4/Xbox One iterations and a lack of real development for PS3/Xbox 360 copies. If 2K16 flatlined, it could have sent WWE games on a downward spiral from which it could take years to recover.

Fortunately, 2K16 is a big improvement on the previous entry in the series. Not everything is perfect; that's an understatement. But enough features have been restored, along with some nice improvements across the board, that this year's WWE game provides a far more satisfying playing experience.

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Grand Theft Auto V

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Written By: Luke Mythen

Distributor: Take Two Interactive
Production Companies: Rockstar North and Rockstar
Producers: Leslie Benzies and Imran Sarwar
Scriptwriters: Dan Houser, Robert Humphries and Michael Unsworth
Main Cast: Shaun Fonteno, Ned Luke, Steven Ogg, Gerald Johnson and Vicki Van Tassel
Released: September 17 2013 (Worldwide)
Platforms: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Windows PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One
Average Completion Time: 50+ Hours
Certificate: 18

One of the most anticipated games ever at its release back in September 2013, and rightly so. For over a decade now, Grand Theft Auto has been extraordinary, controversial and evolutionary in the gaming world. Since GTA IV released in 2008, Rockstar have been working on its follow-up and, looking back 18 months later, how does the game hold up?

Well simply, it is still one of the greatest videogames, if not the greatest videogame that I have ever played. Everything from its gameplay to the story to the graphics - all of it is simply close to perfect. For the first time, the story follows three different characters:Michael, Franklin and Trevor. Each is acted brilliantly, and all three bring something new to the table and ultimately could lead the game alone. Michael is a retired ex-conman who his family hate, and he even hates himself. We are introduced to Michael in a therapy session, which you can continue to do throughout the game as Michael evolves as a character. Then comes Franklin, a small-time gang banger on the streets of Los Santos or Los Angeles. He enjoys the fast life, stealing cars, buying street hookers; however, he doesn’t have the money to sustain it, so he is looking for a better, richer life. And, finally, comes one of the most talked-about characters in the series, Trevor. Trevor is a narcotic, sarcastic, evil, and funny man, and quite frankly, a psychopath. But playing as him heralded some of the best moments of the game and allowed you to escape reality for a while, as some of his missions do push the boundaries of natural law.

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Call Of Duty: Advanced Warfare

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Written By: Luke Mythen

Distributors: Activision and Square Enix
Production Company: Sledgehammer Games
Directors: Glenn Schofield and Michael Condrey
Scriptwriters: John Maclnnes, Eric Hirshberg and Mark Boal
Main Cast: Troy Baker, Paul Telfer, Kevin Spacey, Gideon Emery and Khay Payton
Released: November 4 2014
Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
Average Completion Time: 6+ Hours
Certificate: 18

I have been a COD (Call of Duty) fan for a number of years now, mainly since its reinvention on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 with Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. Ultimately, the series has not lived up to those standards for a long time. We have been introduced to mediocre game after game, ranging from Ghosts (which might as well have been a game of darts because it was that boring) to Black Ops 2 (where I managed to skip certain missions, finish the game and still know what was going on). It’s fair to say that the latest instalments have not excited me, and therefore I was apprehensive regarding this latest outing. The idea of moving the story 45 years into the future didn’t really excite me, and to me it sounded more of the same game with lasers and bigger cities and flying cars. I am happy to report that this is not the case and I enjoyed the game more than I thought I would. Before I start properly, I would like to stress that this is not a review of the online gameplay, just the story.

The series was not going anywhere fast; they needed something to bring fans back to the story mode. The online is the real draw for most players when it comes to Call of Duty and rightly so; it is by far the greatest online FPS (First Person Shooter) out there. Because of this, the story has had to take a smaller role and that has disappointed me. This year, however, with a new developer comes a new story. Kevin Spacey has been employed to help sell the story mode this year, and without spoiling anything, his is a great character that has a number of twists and turns along the way in the six-hour story. Yes, the story is short, but it is packed with excitement. From fighting in the North Pole, which reminds me of a certain classic Star Wars game, to the stealth missions around a heavily guarded house, these are the most diverse level types we have had for a long time, and what we had been screaming out for since the last generation games.

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