Rick Lane
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Saros' narrative often feels at odds with the kind of experience it wants to be, but there's no denying this is another top-tier action game from Housemarque.
With spellbinding combat and high-concept maps, Marathon is far more than a cool aesthetic draped over the bones of an extraction shooter.
John Carpenter's Toxic Commando blends Left 4 Dead-style zombie blasting with systems borrowed from Saber's back catalogue. The results work well enough, but are undermined by flabby mission design and unnecessary meta-progression.
The sequel to Squanch Games' detestable FPS demonstrates significant improvement, though its biggest features remain its weakest - and technical issues hinder the progress made.
Combined with the fact that the game is riddled with generative AI, plainly evident in its calling cards and quite possibly present elsewhere too, the result is an experience that doesn't seem like it's been put together with much care or consideration at all. Black Ops 7 is truly Call of Duty for the slop generation, a rushed, inconsistent and soulless experience.
Rich PvE combat and an unusually friendly community make Arc Raiders a more approachable extraction shooter than most, but Embark Studios' continued use of AI voice generation is a black mark against its reputation.
Battlefield 6 delivers a thrilling multiplayer reset and a decent, if derivative single-player. But it still displays nagging doubts about what makes Battlefield special.
Borderlands 4 brings a more sensible script and a true open world to its cel-shaded gun-show. But these moderate improvements are undermined by frustrating exploration and combat that takes too long to properly shine.
Still a classic, but a little of that vital weirdness is gone.
FBC: Firebreak's madcap mission conceits are delightfully silly, but balancing issues and limited replay value hinder the fun.