Lucas Drathen

A sad end to a franchise that was once so strong. I had my issues with the previous titles after the first games but they all had their highlights, something to say and to add, but Veilguard is a generic, thoughtless game wearing the skin of a popular franchise. In reality, it has very little connection to the previous installments. The plot is incredibly weak, visual design feels like a step backwards from the last game and the choices built up throughout the series are not honoured or acknowledged in any way. The combat was more enjoyable, more action-focused, but the meat - the story, the characters, how everything connects from previous titles - just isn't there. There's also no shortage of modern identity politics forced down your throat, to the point where, for one of your companions, it is their identity entirely - and all they ever talk about. This is a title clearly aimed at the younger crowd who know nothing, or very little, about the franchise and isn't one for long-time fans. It's a very sad conclusion after a decade long wait.

A brilliant successor to the original Alien film, and a far more thoughtful effort than Prometheus and Covenant. Romulus manages to capture the look and feel of the original film while also paying respects to the various movies and games that have been added to the franchise over the years. Some questionable choices, particularly in the last 15 minutes or so, but nothing that truly spoils the film. If you enjoyed Alien/Aliens, you will enjoy this Romulus.

Ignoring the fact that this is yet another instalment of the Assassin's Creed franchise that was designed for everything but stealth gameplay, this is one of the single buggiest games I have ever played. I've now crashed to the desktop five times in the space of a single mission. The protagonist (I played as the female protagonist) is dull and boring unlike Kassandra in the previous instalment and her voice is incredibly irritating. Thus far the story has been fairly uninteresting, though it's not terrible, and once you give up on the hundreds of hours of tedious treasure hunt side activities added to pad out the game there's a hint that maybe by the time the story wraps I might give a damn about the characters. I'd really wait a few months for the price to drop and the bugs to be fixed if you're considering buying this. How companies are allowed to sell broken products I'll never understand. Ubisoft; the ability to patch a game after launch doesn't make it acceptable to sell people an unfinished product.

Easily the worst film in the Star Wars franchise, matched only by the Rise of Skywalker, which was predictably terrible after Rian Johnson thoroughly destroyed the plot points established in the Force Awakens and ensured the final film had absolutely nothing to work with, most notably a credible villain. I've seen people claim the Last Jedi is "original", which is fair. But original does not mean good. Rian Johnson disregards established material and tries to paint it as "twists"- while failing to recognise that twists should be clever and in-keeping with what's been established as true in-universe. Luke's character is thoroughly demolished, and instead of the hero who believed that even the evil Darth Vader could be redeemed, Johnson turns him into a bitter, cynical old man with a questionable moral compass. Worse still, it dismisses the protagonist's unexplained ability to conquer every challenge and opponent with ease and ends with no credible villains remaining. The prequel movies were poorly made but were, at least, original and had solid plotlines. These new movies have the opposite issue; they are very well made, but the writing is offensively bad. With a more thoughtful writer at the helm and several plot adjustments some of the ideas presented might have actually worked - indeed, many of the scrapped plans and ideas released show that the potential was there for something genuinely interesting and wonderful. Plenty of angry fans have tried to dismiss the criticisms as rantings - and certainly, the abusive behaviour of a minority of disgruntled fans towards the cast has overshadowed discussion - but the reality is the Last Jedi is a bad movie with poor characterisation and forced scenes, and Johnson's butchering of the plot ensured the final movie could be nothing but terrible - yet he appears to have sneakily got away with taking the blame for the damage he's done. In future, Disney should hire people who are familiar with the franchise and its characters - and they should have a plot written out beforehand rather than allowing a ridiculous free-for-all.

Amazing game. Something genuinely original and the reason I bought a PS4. Tribal warriors fighting robot dinosaurs across beautiful locations. What's not to like?

Content updates are few and far between (and don't take long to finish), though, meaning it's not a great choice if you're an active player looking for a world to invest in. That said, it's worth playing through all the content at least once. Story is ridiculous at times, but entertaining enough, and the gameplay is fun, albeit offensively easy these days. Raids are fun for newer players. PvP is, likewise, fun, but standard PvP is largely ignored in favour of providing content for the minority who play at the highest levels. There's little reason to PvP other than for the fun of it, but major class imbalances make it increasingly infuriating over time. Roleplay community is active, though not huge (at least on the EU side of things). Character customisation is average, but severely let down by a massive focus on cash shop items over items being earned through gameplay. Graphics are good compared to a lot of other MMOs I've tried, and the UI is probably the best looking and most flexible I've encountered so far. Overall, I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who likes MMOs, but specifically people who enjoy story, playing casually and aren't looking for a challenge.