Dying Light The Following: Game Review

Reviewed by Michael on 18th May 2016

Our rating: 7.5/10.0

Platform(s): PS4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows 

Genre(s): First-Person Shooter/Melee, RPG, Zombies, Horror

Dying Light The Following is a brilliant expansion that builds upon the already intriguing game mechanics from the core game. The game introduces Kyle Crane to a new area of Harran, a more open countryside environment with a much larger map than the original, and with this brings the ability to drive a dune-buggy to help you get around.

The addition of the buggy along with the quests that come with it such as racing quests, gives players a new mechanic to work with in the game as players build and upgrade their buggy to be more deadly across the environment.

The storyline, though not as long as the core game, still manages to keep the player compelled throughout. New quests include fighting off giant zombies, that either take wits and a lot of experience from the player to defeat, or you must team up with a number of other players online and take it down as a team. As players complete quests they can build upon their skill trees to unlock to abilities. The Following introduces a whole new skill tree, The Driver skill tree, where players earn upgrades from completing driving quests, by doing driving stunts, or by completing side-quests like mowing down zombies.

The Following also brings with it a number of new weapons, including the cross-bow, as well as many more melee weapons including swords, scythes, axes and throwing grenades. This gives new styles of gameplay, especially with the cross-bow, as the player can use a stealthy approach to not alarm the zombies, while also using the speed, range and accuracy to pick of zombies from a distance.

Pros: 

- Stunning environment

- Large Map

- New quests and weapons

- Dune Buggy

Cons:

- Shorter story

- Less captivating characters

- Hard to find co-op players

To find out more about the game click here

Fallout 4: Game Review

Reviewed by Michael on 13th May 2016

Our rating: 9.2/10.0

Platform(s): PS4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows 

Genre(s):Open-world RPG, Shooter, Action

Fallout 4 is the fifth instalment of the widely popular Fallout video-games, developed by Bethesda Game Studios. The game is set in a post-apocalyptic Boston in the year 2287, over 200 years after nuclear warfare devastated the landscape, in which the player emerges from an underground vault, after being frozen for all those years. Gameplay is similar to the games predecessors, for those that have played them, where the player completes various quests to earn experience points to level up there character. The player can play in both first-person or third-person perspectives depending on their play-style allowing non-linear gameplay. 

What makes Fallout 4 such a step above it's previous titles though, is its endless customisation abilities. At the beginning of the game, the player must customise the default characters face to how how they want. Their are endless ways of doing this, with the ability of adjusting eyebrow contours, to cheek width, to jaw alignment, the list goes on. 

Fallout 4 also features countless customisation for weapons and armour, giving the player numerous ways of adjusting weapons and armour for their own enjoyment.

 This feature really reaches it's mark once the player discovers how they want to play the game, through their choice of levelling up their character, as their are a number of perks that allow for different playing styles. The perk tree allows players to level up their character according to how they wish to play the game. This adds a level of choice to the game, and also gives more advanced players who play through the game a number of time, a chance to play it a different way each time as each perk carries its own abilities and power-ups, etc.

Another added feature to Fallout 4 that differs from it's predecessors is the ability to create and customise settlements. Upon clearing or completing a quest at a settlement the player gains this settlement as a safe house, or place to store their items. Each settlement is fully customisable, with the ability to add structures, buildings, furniture, market stalls, and much more. Each settlement can be connected to each other through its settlers to create supply lines, where all your items are shared between each. I found this to be one of the most enjoyable parts of the game, as it gets your creative side going and gives you reward for all the scrap items you pick up throughout your exploration of the wasteland. 

Pros:  

- Customisable weapons, armour and settlements

- Massive map

- Over 300 places to explore

- Unique enemies and NPC's

Cons: 

- Storyline often falls flat

- Buggy features

To find out more about Fallout 4 click here.