Ahmed Mohamed
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Writing For
COGConnected 
Playstation Lifestyle Latest Reviews
Last year’s release of NBA Playgrounds harkened back to an era of zany sports game that delivered a radically different experience from their simulation counterparts. In a gaming culture that was focused on single-player adventures and couch co-op titles like NBA Ballers and NFL Street fit the mould and were rightfully praised for their over-the-top take on what some players saw as mundane cash-grabs in the way of yearly sports releases. Having played around with the first NBA Playgrounds on Nintendo Switch, I was curious to see whether the sequel would fall into the trappings of a quick yearly cash-grab or attempt to re-invent the formula and craft the next big party game.
Historically, video games haven’t been the best medium to tell compelling stories to audiences, but recent titles like Uncharted 4 and The Witcher III have proved that it can be done. The rise of studios like Telltale Games and their brand of adventure game storytelling has raised the bar for what most gamers expect in the stories they experience. Imaginati, a London-based studio, has made it their mission to raise the bar of storytelling and performance capture in video games and their first attempt is with the beloved Planet of the Apes license with Andy Serkis, who plays Caesar in the films, being involved in the making of Last Frontier. While much of the game has the potential to become what the developers have strived for, there are too many shortcomings to hail Last Frontier as the next evolution in video game storytelling.
From its very first moment, Gran Turismo Sport floods the player with a melancholic symphony of sound and picture that takes you back to the racing days of old. I say racing because that’s what it’s all about, not merely waltzing past mistake-prone AI on a quest to attain the next driver level. Sport is about the sport, putting all its focus on the sheer thrill and heavy disappointment that comes about from the result of a closely contested race. It’s this undying focus on identity that makes GT Sport a welcome game in a market flooded by some overly ambitious and mediocre racing games.
