Review No. 147 Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection - PS4 (16+)

Strong Points:
Strong characters
Humour
Stunning graphics, detail and animation
Great set pieces
Intriguing story...
Great use of parkour, especially in the latter two games...
Nice gunplay
Throwing grenades back mechanic adds a touch more strategy... (Uncharted 3)
Brilliant voice acting
Great value for money (the collection)

Weak Points:
...That sometimes feels too quick or too long
Jet-ski levels (Uncharted 1)
...Although the objects used can be quite samey (Uncharted 1)
...Until you throw a grenade at a wall (Uncharted 3)
Sometimes feels like there's little point to any of this
Some large difficulty spikes
Detailed environments but lack of climbable objects (Uncharted 2/3)
Boss fights (Uncharted 1/2)
The villains don't get quite the attention of the heroes

Review No. 143 Kingdom Hearts 0.2: Birth By Sleep - A Fragmentary Passage - PS4 (12+)

Strong Points:
Beautiful graphics
An interesting development on Aqua's character
Smooth and fluid gameplay
Good pacing
Brilliant soundtrack
Helps to explain odd plot holes from the previous games
And sets up Kingdom Hearts 3 nicely
Customisation surprisingly works
Good voice acting
The animation in cutscenes is top notch
You can straight away see Aqua's power

Weak Points:
Some gameplay elements such as the clock gears were little more than gimmicks
Yearned for more
Ice ramps aren't properly explained and a slight change in environment will affect them

Some spoilers ahead:

Review No. 141 Bloodborne - PS4 (16+)

Strong Points:
Makes you keep going back for more
Satisfaction of winning
Intricate level design with plenty of shortcuts
Enemy design
No hand-holding encourages experimentation
Tight controls
More aggressive than Souls series
Great world building...

Weak Points:
Voice acting at ends with the polished game
Can be overwhelming without help
No hand-holding can quickly remove options from the game
Some bosses are plain cruel
...Doesn't constitute a great story

Review No. 132 Rocket League - PS4 (7+)

Strong Points:
Original gameplay idea
Lots of collectables
Microtransactions aren't needed to play the game...
Movement feels good
Skill based instead of power-up based gameplay
The AI is usually competent
Addictive
Crisp graphics
Variety of game modes
Two camera types
Good music...

Weak Points:
Some difficulty spikes
Difficult to find some game modes
Still, a huge amount of content locked behind paying
Season mode lacks replayability
No local split-screen multiplayer
...If a little repetitive
The handbrake turns can get some getting used to...
...As can aerial shots
Rocket Labs is only available online

Review No. 130 Horizon: Zero Dawn - PS4 (16+)

Strong Points:
Beautiful, varied world design
Awesome combat
Intriguing story with unexpected philosophical depth
Great voice acting
Varied weapons for most play styles
In-depth characters
Great connection between old and new
Bursting with energy
Multiple routes when climbing
Nothing is blocked off - free to specialise or go Jack-Of-All-Trades
Astounding graphics
Photo mode
Ability to find tracks without the Focus (mostly)
Lots of collectables and extras
Interesting change to the 'Tower' quests in open-world games

Weak Points:
Lip-sync problems
Repetition of dialogue
Difficult to estimate how much an attack may damage you
Frustrating having to find that one climbing point
A journal keeping details of the story would be nice
Tutorial quests have to be equipped to progress
The map is packed and could be overwhelming
Can't attack animals in villages - breaks the immersion

Spoilers ahead:

Review No. 124 The Last Of Us: Remastered Edition - PS4 (18+)

Strong Points:
Varied gameplay
All weapons are usable and will be
Amazing graphics
In-depth character development
Superb story
Nice landscapes
Brilliant and varied characters
Deals with themes with care
Lots of collectables - give more backstory to the game
Enemy AI is great, with them flanking you etc.
Stealth sections through Clicker groups is a different twist on the stealth genre
Makes you have a huge range of emotions
Lack of music creates atmosphere
Realistic shooting mechanics and sounds
Superb voice-acting
Multiplayer is a surprisingly fun and unique gamemode
Everything is justified

Weak Points:
AI of companions was lacklustre, during stealth sections
AI just aren't noticed by enemies when moving - breaks immersion
Forced walk sections are atmospheric, not good for patience
Bushes and plants move as one sprite
Achievements are hard to get
Listening mode is never really explained
Some mechanics seem to be more like gimmicks as they are used once and never again
Multiplayer is very frustrating
Some of the environment is there purely for looks and can't help you in battle

Nitpicks:
If the world is in apocalypse why is there still food and equipment scattered around?

Some spoilers ahead:

Review No. 122 Overwatch - PS4 (12+)

Strong Points:
Extremely well polished
Likeable and distinct characters
Great graphics style
Accessible for beginners while also challenging enough for pros
Lots of unlocks
One change or elimination can change the course of the battle
You really feel like your helping, whatever you do
Physics objects!
Interesting story...

Weak Points:
...That hasn't been fleshed out fully yet
No single-player mode/campaign
Some choke points on maps are a bit one-sided (especially with Torbjörn or Bastion involved)
Some heroes can be seen as slightly 'cheap'
Arcade brawl mode is a good idea but at the moment just limits the heroes available
No cross-platform play
Different updates per platform
Play-of-the-game isn't refined enough
Not enough communication options on consoles
Some ultimates are a little more 'ultimate' than others

Nitpicks:
Never enough maps are there?
Lots of maps look like they have potential flanking paths only to double back on themselves

Behind-The-Team: Overwatch Experiences

I was going to do a first impressions of firstly the Overwatch open beta and then Overwatch itself, however, time was not on my side and I feel I have played too much of the game now for a 'first impressions'. So instead I've gotten the rest of the team who have played Overwatch to give their thoughts on the game and the characters inside. Enjoy:

First Impressions: Doom Open Beta

So I played a bit of the Doom open beta over the weekend and I found it... All right to be honest. Having not really played the original Doom (got Quake and Wolfenstein instead) I don't really have to much to compare this to but overall I did have a fun time, even if it wasn't quite what I expected

Review No. 118 Just Cause 3 - PS4 (18+)

Strong Points:
Fluid movement
Massive open world
Lots of vehicles
Lots of guns
Gear mods add depth and customisation
Grappling hook is great to use
Wingsuit is awesome
Great story
Good voice acting
Great characters
Massive bases have lots to do and explode
Funny
Vehicles handle nicely
FOW's are awesome...
Explosions are just nuts
More sanboxy than JC2...

Weak Points:
Learning curve for wingsuit
Some bugs/lag
Not enough missions (side quests)
Environment and bases could be more varied
Can't throw GE-54 unless using the parachute
...but disappear once you complete the story mission
Each act follows the same formula
Wingsuit makes vehicles not needed
Can't shoot while using the wingsuit
Beginning can be slow without gear mods
Could've worked so well with multiplayer
Always online functionallity
...Less of a collectibles game than JC2

First Impressions: Final Fantasy 15: Platinum Demo

I'll be honest. I haven't really paid much attention to FFXV, as it was, in my opinion, just an obstacle to Kingdom Hearts 3. That is, I didn't pay much attention until I played this demo and got transported into a Kingdom Hearts-esque RPG with great mechanics and mind-boggling graphics. Here are my experiences of the Platinum Demo, a separate prologue to the main game: 

First Impressions: The Division Open Beta

Even though I only recently found out that The Division was actually an MMO akin to Destiny instead of a single player narrative like The Last of Us (I only saw the first trailer then it went off my radar for a bit), I decided to download the open beta to have a go and see the graphics everyone is talking about. Well, after I deleted 2 games for the 27GB anyway. These are my thoughts after around 2 hours playing the game:

First Impressions: Helldivers

For liberty! For democracy! For why the hell not?! Helldivers is a co-op top down shooter that I first played back in EGX a couple of years ago, enjoyed and then forgot about, due to not having the necessary console to play it on. However, after giving in and buying PS+ so as to play some games online, I downloaded Helldivers (it was the free game of the month) and am really enjoying it.

First Impressions: Middle Earth: Shadow Of Mordor

I got this game for Christmas after having my eye on it for a while. I was really interested by the nemesis system and the general themes of Lord of the Rings and wanted to see how they were carried over to this game. Here are my thoughts but be warned, one does not simply ignore the initial story line spoilers in this First Impressions.

First Impressions: Just Cause 3

I am writing this post for one single reason. Why? Just Cos... Wow, that pun has been used too much. Anyway, boarding the hype train early, I pre-ordered the collector's edition of the game in August/September after playing Just Cause 2 and thoroughly enjoying it. Booting up the game a day late due to other commitments and the hype being close to breaking point, I started playing. Just cos!  

First Impressions: Dragon Quest Heroes: The World Tree's Woe and the Blight Below

Being Dragon Quest fans and after first playing Hyrule Warriors and thoroughly enjoying that as well as seeing a 12cm Slime plushie in the rewards, we pre-ordered the Slime Collectors edition. So far, the game has equal charm and frustration in its massive branches and roots.

First Impressions: Star Wars Battlefront Open Beta

I downloaded the beta on my PS4 due to it being Star Wars. Personally, I thought it was going to be okay, probably a Battlefield clone with a couple of new mechanics and, most importantly, need PS Plus (like the Battlefield Hardline beta). Thankfully, I was wrong. Oh so wrong.

First Impressions: Rocket League

I recently got this game on the PS4 after watching a couple of videos on YouTube and liking what I saw. I've got to say, this being my first football-esque game since PES 09, I was a bit apprehensive as I'm not very good at sport games, but I was quickly proven wrong.

First Impressions: Dragon Age: Inquisition

I have been debating with myself on whether or not I should buy this game. Do I really have the time? Will I enjoy it? Will it live up to the likes of Skyrim? I decided to take the plunge and buy the game on Amazon for £20 and have never looked back since. This game is awesome (however, I don't think it is better than Skyrim just yet, place your vote in the comments).

First Impressions: Blacklight: Retribution

I got this game for the PS4 a couple of days ago on a whim because I was bored and it was free. While it was downloading I watched a few streams on the PlayStation service and was instantly reminded of Left for Dead and Call of Duty. This piqued my interest as I had been wanting to play a decent shooter on the PS4 for a while now (I'm just not that good at PC games), so I jumped in.