Matt Bertz
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Game InformerLatest Reviews
The Metro series has never delivered a runaway hit to elevate it among the most esteemed first-person shooters. But over the course of two critically acclaimed games and a well-executed redux collection, it has steadily gained an audience appreciative of its dynamic gameplay, grounded storytelling, and gripping tension. Developer 4A Games aims to step out of the shadows of cult fandom and challenge for mainstream acceptance with Metro Exodus, taking the action out of the cramped underground and into the irradiated Russian landscape. With a gorgeously realized world and a well-paced campaign, Exodus makes a compelling case for that acceptance, even though some anachronisms keep the story from realizing its full potential.
They say all is fair in love and war, but Battlefield fans disagree. The lead-up to the series' return to World War II was firebombed by controversies centered on the role of women in virtual warfare, the perceived lack of authenticity in the new soldier customization system, and confusion over what exactly would be in the game on launch day. Once the dust settled and we finally stormed into the battle ourselves, the resulting game is far from the charred husk of Battlefield’s remains many haters anticipated. In fact, Battlefield V is the safest, most calculated release in the franchise’s history. Like a seasoned general confident in his approach to battle, DICE doesn’t make any bold, redefining changes; instead, the studio equips the game with fan-requested improvements that solidify the series’ tried-and-true cooperative, large-scale warfare formula. Battlefield V is more iterative than it is innovative, and when it does push the war efforts into new territory, the results are decidedly mixed.
The world of Red Dead Redemption II is defined by violence, both in its passive and active forms. Bandits roam the highways, pilfering from the wealthy and poor alike. Predators mercilessly hunt and kill their prey in the unforgiving wilderness. Men of industry don’t blink twice stepping over the bodies of the sick and the dead to realize their economic ambitions. In this primordial stew of fear and savagery, the outlaw Van der Linde gang feels right at home.
Over the last couple of decades, the NBA 2K series steadily emerged out of the niche sports game genre and solidified its place in mainstream pop culture. These days, pro players eagerly announce their ratings on social media, hip-hop icons like Jay-Z and Pharrell Williams lend their talents for soundtrack curation, and the game stays high on the sales charts year round. The accolades are well deserved, because each year the development team at Visual Concepts improves all the game modes, tightens the on-court action in all the right ways, and takes risks to move the genre forward. NBA 2K19 continues this positive trajectory.
The police procedural is a wildly popular literary, television, and film genre, but relatively few game developers have successfully captured the thrill of cracking a case. Of the few interactive experiences that have tried to match the intrigue of classic detective stories like The Big Sleep and Chinatown, the Rockstar Games and Team Bondi collaboration L.A. Noire stands out most clearly in the lineup. Six years after its original release, the heady crime drama surprisingly arrives on Switch.
Nintendo console owners who enjoy sports sims have rarely had the chance to scratch that itch on the company’s recent platforms. Outside of some first-party arcade sports games, options on the Wii and Wii U ranged between subpar to nonexistent. Prospects are looking up for the fledgling Switch judging by what Visual Concepts pulled off with NBA 2K18.
When the opposition pushes all of its war assets toward one beachhead, sometimes it’s smarter to avoid that fight altogether and make headway by creating another front. While Call of Duty, Titanfall, Halo, Destiny, Gears of War, and many other shooters compete in a sci-fi battle royale, DICE instead dove deeper into the annals of military history to reveal a singular first-person shooter gem: Battlefield 1.
Elite NBA players enjoy the 24/7 spotlight of national television, lucrative endorsement deals, and even occasional crossovers into Hollywood. But underneath this veneer of the charmed life are thousands of hours spent in gyms perfecting shooting strokes, honing dribbling moves, and sculpting physiques to withstand the rigors of an 82-game season. For better and worse, NBA 2K17’s popular MyCareer mode looks past the glitz and the glamour to focus on the practical side of being a professional athlete.
What a difference 12 years makes. In the sizable gap between Doom games, the first-person shooter genre has evolved in myriad ways. Far Cry embraced the freedom of open worlds. Call of Duty set a new high bar for set-piece-driven linear campaigns and deep multiplayer progression. Games like BioShock doubled down on storytelling, while others like Team Fortress 2 abandoned single-player altogether in favor of dedicated competitive experiences. The further these offerings push boundaries, the less modern shooters resemble the game that put the genre on the map. This diaspora ultimately works in favor of id Software’s latest Doom title, an unrelenting, kinetic, and obscenely bloody return to form for the first mainstream FPS.
Letting a championship slip out of your grasp can be a harrowing experience for a franchise. Some teams never get over the hump, fading back into the pack never to emerge as a contender again. Others use the disappointment as motivation to improve and prepare for a second run. Visual Concepts found itself in this position after server woes sullied the launch of the otherwise impressive NBA 2K15. Using the offseason to retool, the series has emerged with its best effort in years.