Matt Cox
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Writing For
Rock Paper ShotgunLatest Reviews
Knights and Bikes
Apart from the merely functional combat, my only real criticism is that I had some difficulty figuring out what I was supposed to do in later sections. I resorted to a guide a couple of times, even with the help of an AI companion that would often step up and...
Even if you don't care about disjointed storytelling, repetitive levels or cringe-worthy jokes, I can't recommend Youngblood. If you're desperate to shoot bads with a bud, go play Borderlands, Destiny 2, or Far Cry flipping Five instead. MachineGames clearly felt the need to tread some water before Wolfenstein 3, but...
Observation
Observation is clever, but it's also astoundingly dumb. You're placed in a unique perspective, where onscreen inhumanity accentuates your oh-so-human instincts. Then it subverts that! But then it makes you control a sphere that can't move directly up or down, furthering the nightmare of navigating already labyrinthine spaces. It asks...
Rage 2
Still. These are the rough edges to a game I'm tempted to call a diamond, or at least a bit of beryl. The parts I like far outweigh the parts I don't. I've got my weirdo NPCs, my Ark hunting, my Whoopinkoffs and Dimbledicks. I've found every Ark, now, but...
Mordhau
I wrote part of this review in my bed at 5am in the morning, because I couldn't stop thinking about it. Love can be unhealthy. I also dreamed about it, but then again I also recently had a dream where I was fighting Horace the Endless Bear, so maybe let's...
Far Cry New Dawn
That's good, because you need to plough on with the main missions if you want to unlock that double jump - and trust me, you do. Jumping down slopes and hammering the wingsuit button in the vain hope it will open has long been a central tenet of Far Cry....
Resident Evil 2
That's where Resident Evil succeeds. Not in the drivel spouted from its character's mouths, but in the bullets spewed from their guns. Or better yet - the clicking of empty chambers, or the spine-chilling scratches of scrabbling overhead. I may hate lickers, but I'm also a little bit in love.
Insurgency: Sandstorm
Thing is, the dirt's getting kind of old. I know I'm never going to play enough for the good times to outnumber the bad. Certainly not compared to dedicated players, who already dominate the servers. Ultimately, I've only got so much patience for games where the victor is nearly always...
Artifact
Ultimately, though, Dota and Artifact both appeal to me for the same reasons. Both can feel overwhelming and unfair, but both those feelings can be quashed with experience - at least, outside of the competitive modes. For now, those are the preserve of the wealthy - and a question mark...
Phantom Doctrine
For a game about spies, Phantom Doctrine is atrocious at providing you with information. It doesn’t set up its pieces in an interesting way, it just pretends to - and while it has some neat ideas I haven't gone into detail on, that's because I so rarely needed to engage...
Metal Gear Survive
Metal Gear Survive is the game I want it to be about... 10% of the time. When there’s a rare section where stealth is the best approach. When I just manage to defeat the final wave on a protection mission, thanks to strategic placement of defences. When I’m thinking my...
Cuphead
As frustrating as that can be, it was why I found myself punching the air in jubilation after difficult bosses. And they're all bloody difficult - but I wouldn’t have it any other way. If that sounds enticing rather than off-putting to you, then I can unreservedly recommend Cuphead. If...