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Mario Kart World just about makes the podium, but some strange design decisions have left me scratching my head
2:28 pm | June 13, 2025

Author: admin | Category: Computers Consoles & PC Gadgets Gaming Nintendo | Tags: , | Comments: Off
Review information

Platform reviewed: Nintendo Switch 2
Available on: Nintendo Switch 2
Release date: June 5, 2025

Mario Kart World has launched alongside the arrival of the Nintendo Switch 2. And with it, the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe curse has finally been broken. Of course, it’s reasonable to expect Nintendo to have supported its 68 million+ selling Switch game for as long as it did, but the time certainly felt right for something new.

And Mario Kart World absolutely feels new. Not in the literal sense, of course - that’s a given. Rather, it genuinely takes Mario Kart to fresh new heights with utterly stunning visuals and transformative racing techniques that feel so much more tactile than the underwater or anti-gravity gimmicks of the series' past.

The big draw to Mario Kart World? Well, the clue’s in the name. The game offers a gigantic open world for players to explore in Free Roam mode - either solo or in local or online multiplayer. The game’s circuits are also integrated into this map, as are hundreds of mini-challenges and collectibles.

World also introduces Knockout Tour, a non-stop endurance race from one end of the map to another, in which the goal is to remain above a constantly dwindling placement threshold to avoid being eliminated. It’s hands down the best mode in the game and really comes to life online, where races are almost impossibly chaotic.

While Mario Kart World does offer the most exceptionally satisfying driving model the series has ever seen, I can’t quite bring myself to say it beats out the excellence of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe just yet. Its main Grand Prix mode actually does the game’s otherwise wonderful circuits a bit of a disservice, and there’s a pile of frustrating design decisions that all add up to muddy the overall experience to a degree.

Namely, Nintendo has fumbled the bag somewhat with its open world here. While the act of simply driving about and unlocking outfits for your favorite characters can be a lot of fun in and of itself, there’s little in the way of actual content here outside of short challenge missions. Even the main form of collectible here - stickers you can place on your kart - falls flat. But more on that in the review proper.

Overall, Mario Kart World has moments where it’s easily the best game in the series. The handling of the karts here is sublime, and learning courses and routes with the new rail grind and wall ride techniques is endlessly fulfilling. There aren’t even any major issues with online play, which, for Nintendo, is an accomplishment. It’s just such a shame that certain design decisions lead to a game that feels lacking in some crucial areas.

There’s a whole world out there, but is it worth seeing?

Mario Kart World

(Image credit: Nintendo)

The big draw to Mario Kart World is, as mentioned, its Free Roam mode. For the first time ever, Nintendo has created a fully explorable Mushroom Kingdom without any load times. Even pressing the ‘+’ button from the main menu will seamlessly transition you into Free Roam, which is super impressive and is a strong indicator of how much more powerful the Switch 2 is compared to its predecessor.

The only load times you’ll experience in Free Roam come from switching characters or fast traveling to a named location on the map, and even these are extremely brisk. Pair this with impressive draw distance, rock-solid 60fps performance, and simply stunning visual fidelity, and you have a mode that acts as a real showcase of the console’s hardware chops.

It’s a massive open space, dotted with the game’s many circuits and plenty of scenic routes to travel between them. It’s also exceptionally varied, featuring everything from lush forests and arid dunes to a haunted swamp and an industrial space port. There’s a great amount of fun to be had in simply driving around, taking in some breathtaking sights, and vibing to World’s eclectic soundtrack.

That said, Free Roam leaves a lot on the table. Don’t get me wrong, going on a drive with your friends (Free Roam is also playable in multiplayer) is joyous, and I can see it being a wonderful experience for groups of friends and families. But once the novelty wears off, there actually isn’t all that much to do here.

Best bit

Mario Kart World

(Image credit: Nintendo)

Mario Kart World’s driving is sublime. Drifting feels more fine-tuned than ever, while new techniques like wall riding and rail grinding offer an incredibly high skill ceiling and avenues for creativity during any given moment out on track.

Aside from character costumes, which you can unlock by picking up Dash Food items at various drive-thrus dotted throughout the map, your main collectible in Free Roam is stickers. This irks me on so many levels.

The stickers themselves are inoffensive, and many have very cool and eye-catching designs. It’s their implementation that’ll leave you wanting more. You can choose a single sticker, which will be placed on your kart of choice, and they also act as a miniature icon during online play. However, the stickers simply don’t show up on half the karts in the roster, and on most, they’re far too tiny to be noticeable.

Furthermore, stickers are pretty much the main form of collectible in this game. Completing one of many P-Switch challenges dotted around the Free Roam map? While these are fun little distractions, all you’re getting for your troubles is a sticker. Running over a hidden Question Block panel found tucked away in the map’s circuits? Sticker. Collecting Peach Medallions? For that, you’ll at least get a cool alternate kart livery! Nope, I’m joking, it’s stickers.

As a result, the joy of driving around in Free Roam can quickly diminish if you’re not racing about with friends. It does feel like what we have now, at least, is a foundation on which Nintendo can build upon with more activities and potentially new areas. We’ll have to see how things pan out in the future, but for now, don’t be surprised if Free Roam starts to feel a little vacuous for you over time.

Catch my drift

Mario Kart World

(Image credit: Nintendo)

So the open world in Mario Kart World leaves a lot to be desired, but I’d be a fool to completely write the game off because of it. What saves World for me, and why I still consider it to be my new favorite game in the series, is that its driving and racing feel so, so good.

Previous Mario Kart games had gimmicks like gliding, underwater, and anti-gravity racing. All of which were cute and fun, but little more than fluff that was broadly used for set-piece purposes. There’s nothing wrong with that at face value, but World’s additions do genuinely feel transformative.

World introduces charge jumping, rail grinding, and wall riding to the karting mix, and all work in tandem with one another to actively raise this game’s skill ceiling compared to previous entries. By themselves, these individual mechanics don’t necessarily make you faster, but when chained together to take advantage of a circuit’s level design and shortcuts, they’ll make you feel like Nintendo injected some of that Neversoft Tony Hawk game goodness into Mario Kart World.

Mario Kart World

(Image credit: Nintendo)

It helps that Mario Kart World rewards skillful driving a good deal more. Drifting has also been fine-tuned, feeling more precise and satisfying than ever. Drafting a kart in front of you for a quick slipstream boost has also been greatly enhanced, feeling much faster and a more viable tactic for getting ahead.

The whole thing feels very carefully balanced, which is where items come in. The iconic Spiny Shell - which makes a beeline for the player in first and explodes on contact with them - is still devastating, but you maintain some forward momentum after getting hit, making the punishment slightly less severe. Common ‘last to first’ items like the Bullet Bill and Lightning have been considerably nerfed, with their benefits and debuffs having less of an effect on the overall race.

There’s a smattering of new items to help keep things fresh, too. The Coin Shell follows a set path down the track, dropping coins for other players to pick up, thus increasing their top speeds. Kamek can be summoned to transform players into other characters and place random obstacles at the front of the pack. There’s also the Ice Flower, which is a bit of a dud, being practically identical to the Fire Flower in effect.

Then there’s the Feather, which hasn’t been seen in the series (outside of Battle modes) since the SNES original - so long as you’re not counting Mario Kart Tour. The Feather simply makes your kart jump into the air, which seems underwhelming, but write it off at your peril. In truth, the Feather can be extremely useful for accessing loftier parts of a track or initiating a grind or wall ride without needing to take a few seconds to rev up a charge jump. They’re also great for accessing various shortcuts on any given circuit.

At the races

Mario Kart World

(Image credit: Nintendo)

Let’s talk about modes, then. Outside of Free Roam, you’ve got the expected appearance of Grand Prix mode, which comprises eight cups - all featuring four races each. It’s joined by other mainstays, including Time Trial and Battle modes.

Grand Prix is something I have pretty mixed feelings on in Mario Kart World. That’s because the bulk of each event is made up of intermission segments where you race along a portion of the open world map, with your destination being a single lap of the featured circuit.

Needing to drive from one circuit to the next is something Nintendo made a big deal of in World’s marketing. I do like their inclusion, and they lead to some interesting and unique racing. However, they’re far better suited to the excellent Knockout Tour mode, where the whole point is driving a route from A to B across the entire map, OutRun style.

In Grand Prix, while you’ll get to do a three-lap race of the first track on the docket, you actually end up doing very little racing on the tracks themselves. This makes it harder to learn each circuit at first, and also means they don’t live very long in the memory.

Mario Kart World

(Image credit: Nintendo)

And that’s a huge shame, because again, track design is some of the best the series has ever seen. The winding alleyways and shortcuts of Shy Guy Bazaar. The spectacle of being transported into a movie world in Boo Cinema. And the sheer moment-to-moment set piece that is Bowser’s Castle. They all have the wind taken out of their sails somewhat, as we simply don’t get much racing time on them.

There does exist a workaround here, though. By selecting VS Race from the menu, you can set up custom race rules. By setting the track selection rule to ‘open’, only then can you do a full-length race on each circuit. The absence of a traditional Grand Prix setup, then, is baffling. Especially as those intermission routes really shine in the Knockout Tour mode.

Speaking of Knockout Tour, it’s another highlight in Mario Kart World, and easily the best way to play the game, especially in an online 24-player race. Each of the eight Knockout Tour events smartly blends open roads with segments of circuits, going from ascending steep mountains to weaving through busy traffic in a matter of minutes.

The goal of Knockout Tour is in its name. Each checkpoint will eliminate the racers in the back four places, eventually whittling the grid down to just four for the final stretch. It’s constantly thrilling and rewards skillful driving, clever usage of shortcuts, and an understanding of rail grinds and wall rides for quick bursts of speed.

Needs a few upgrades

Mario Kart World

(Image credit: Nintendo)

While I have greatly enjoyed my time with Mario Kart World so far - in both solo and multiplayer environments - it still can feel rushed or incomplete in certain areas. I’ve already spoken about my frustrations with the Grand Prix format and lack of meaningful activities in Free Roam, but those, unfortunately, aren’t my only issues.

It’s not the end of the world, but the character selection screen is objectively a total mess. Things aren’t too bad at first, but you’ll soon realize that each unlocked costume acts as its own slot on the roster. There’s no dropdown list here, letting you choose an outfit after selecting a character. It’s all just one large jumble with only rudimentary organization.

This is actually something Nintendo has gone backwards on since its last game in the series. In Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, certain characters like Yoshi, Inkling, and Shy Guy let you choose an alternate look or color after picking them. There’s nothing like that in Mario Kart World, so I seriously hope this gets patched in soon.

Furthermore, the unlocking process for some characters is frustratingly random. A handful are tied to beating cups in Grand Prix mode, which is completely fine. The rest, though, are tied to the Kamek item transforming you into a random character, meaning you genuinely might not complete the roster for weeks if not months, based on how much you play.

These gripes aside, I still really do love Mario Kart World. Its driving is sublime, Knockout Tour is a fantastically chaotic new mode, and I’m so serious when I say the game’s massive soundtrack is worth the price of admission alone. Outside of Final Fantasy 14 Online, I don’t think I’ve ever encountered a soundtrack this varied and of this quality. It covers everything from jazz and techno to rock and ska, classical, big band, and everything in between. Even after 30 or so hours, I don’t believe I’ve come close to hearing the entire track list. There’s just so much here, especially if you’re nostalgic for the wider Super Mario franchise.

Should I buy Mario Kart World?

Buy it if...

You want a kart racer that’s as fun as it is chaotic
The best driving in the series, paired with hilarious items and the new Knockout Tour mode, makes Mario Kart World a chaotic blast in both single and multiplayer.

You’re playing with family and friends regularly
Mario Kart World’s Free Roam mode is excellent for parents who want some simple racing fun with their kids, or even as a casual pick-up-and-play mode with friends.

Don't buy it if...

You were hoping for more meaningful unlocks
Aside from characters and costumes, the main form of unlockables is stickers. When you realize this is much of what Free Roam has to offer, it may be enough to turn you away.

You’re not keen on randomness or items
The Kamek item tied to unlocking some characters aside, getting three red shells up your rear end on the final corner of a race remains uniquely infuriating.

Accessibility

While there are no accessibility options in the traditional sense, such as colorblind filters, Mario Kart World does offer some driving options to make things easier in some regards. These include smart steering, which veers you away from track edges, as well as auto-accelerate and auto-item use options.

It's also quite strange and frustrating that there are no dedicated volume control options - nothing for either music, voices or sound effects. This isn't uncommon for Nintendo games, but the omission of such audio options continues to be utterly baffling.

How I reviewed Mario Kart World

I played Mario Kart World on Nintendo Switch 2 for around 30 hours for this review. I tested more or less everything the game has to offer, including Grand Prix, Knockout Tour, Free Roam, VS Battles, and online play. During that time, I also unlocked the majority of characters and outfits and completed close to 100 P-Switch challenges in Free Roam.

During my playtime, I primarily used the Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller in docked mode on an LG CX OLED TV which allowed me to enjoy Mario Kart World at its native 1440p resolution, transitioning to the Joy-Con 2 during handheld play on the Switch 2’s 1080p vivid LCD display.

First reviewed June 2025

Hitman World of Assassination – Signature Edition brings one of my favorite games ever to Nintendo Switch 2, and I just can’t put it down
4:55 pm | June 9, 2025

Author: admin | Category: Computers Consoles & PC Gadgets Gaming Nintendo | Tags: , | Comments: Off

It’s hard to overstate just how much there is to do in Hitman World of Assassination – Signature Edition. This Nintendo Switch 2 port of the latest entries in the legendary stealth series comes crammed with everything from 2016’s Hitman, its follow-up Hitman 2, and the most recent instalment Hitman 3 plus heaps of downloadable content (DLC).

Review info

Platform reviewed: Nintendo Switch 2
Available on: Nintendo Switch 2
Release date: June 5, 2025

You get a total of three main story campaigns, tied together by a servicable overarching plot. Storytelling has never been the main appeal of Hitman, however, which lies instead in its highly replayable, richly detailed global locations.

There are 21 here (or 25 if you count the more limited tutorial and Sniper Assassin stages) ranging all the way from a high-profile Paris fashion show to the annual meeting of a sinister secret society on a remote North Atlantic island, the top of a skyscraper in sun-drenched Dubai, and the high-tech rain-swept streets of Chongqing.

Each of these is an expansive open-world sandbox that is designed to be replayed over and over again. As Agent 47, the world’s greatest assassin, your objective is always the elimination of a highly guarded target - but how you approach that is entirely up to you.

Feedback loop

Hiding with a pistol in Hitman World of Assassination – Signature Edition

(Image credit: IO Interactive)

You could sprint through a stage and shoot your target in the face, before mowing down legions of guards on the way to an extraction point like a bald John Wick, but careful stealth is always more effective and rewarding. The likes of Splinter Cell’s Sam Fisher might rely on futuristic tech to remain undetected, but Agent 47 just needs a simple change of clothes to get by. Knock out a guard and you can steal their outfit, exploring otherwise restricted areas and getting close to your target without the fear of being stopped.

Dress up as a member of a maintenance crew, and you might be allowed to tamper with dangerous equipment - setting up the perfect, undetectable accident kill. Agent 47 can become almost anyone, anywhere, and the possibilities that this opens up are practically endless. You’re always free to experiment, but those who prefer a more guided experience can follow dedicated mission stories - elaborate, showstopping eliminations that require multiple steps to pull off.

Every playthrough contributes to a location’s overall mastery level that unlocks new weapons, tools, starting locations, and so on. You might go in for the first time armed with just a silenced pistol and your trusty fibrewire, but before you know it you have access to compact sniper rifles, undetectable poison syringes, lockpicks, explosive rubber ducks, throwable decoys, flash grenades, and so much more. You can even start armed with a floppy fish to slap enemies over the head.

Best bit

Hitman World of Assassination – Signature Edition

(Image credit: IO Interactive)

Every location in Hitman World of Assassination – Signature Edition is superb, though the New York bank of the Golden Handshake mission remains a firm favorite. It’s a wholly indoor environment, but that doesn’t mean that it’s small. There are multiple floors to explore and some great Mission Stories including a full-on bank heist to pull off.

Even when you’ve finished the main story, this Signature Edition comes with the fantastic Patient Zero side campaign on top of heaps of bonus missions to master. You also have Escalations (bite-size challenges that layer-on absurd conditions to often hilarious results), live-service Elusive Target contracts that can only be attempted once, seasonal challenges and stages, the Sniper Elite-esque Sniper Assassin levels, and a roguelike Freelancer mode.

For the $59.99 / £54.99 asking price the value is undeniable, though it is a shame that a small amount of content is gated behind further paywalls. Some cosmetic packs, for example, and, more significantly, the extra Sarajevo Six campaign are locked behind additional $4.99 / £4.49 purchases.

There’s so much here already that most players likely wouldn’t even notice, but for die-hard Hitman fans like me who have already paid for such extras on multiple other platforms, it’s a shame that this Nintendo Switch 2 version isn’t truly 100 percent complete.

Missed shot

Pretending to be a bartender in Hitman World of Assassination – Signature Edition

(Image credit: IO Interactive)

With gigantic crowds of NPCs and complex AI interactions, Hitman World of Assassination is a very technically demanding game. The Nintendo Switch 2 port runs at a level that I would consider just about good enough, provided that you don’t intend to play a lot with the system docked. In handheld mode, texture quality and resolution takes an obvious hit compared to the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 versions, though this isn’t hugely noticeable on the smaller screen unless you compare the images side by side.

The render distance has also been reduced by a fair amount, and there’s more pop-in than other platforms - even the Xbox Series S. When the image is static, it looks about on par with the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 versions of the game to my eyes - which is not the worst result when you consider the battery life and cooling limitations of a handheld console. The frame rate is stable in most situations too, averaging between 40 and 50 fps, but is prone to dips in certain areas of specific stages.

The streets of the leafy Vermont suburb Whittleton Creek, for example, are noticeably more jittery, as is the dense rainforest of Ambrose Island. Signature Edition also seems buggier than other versions with small visual issues, like floating objects and doors sometimes vanishing when opened, decreasing immersion. Neither of these complaints amount to anything that renders the game unplayable, but I am hopeful that things will be smoothed out in future patches.

Getting a pat down in Hitman World of Assassination – Signature Edition.

(Image credit: IO Interactive)

As for the docked experience, this is unfortunately where it all falls apart a little bit. Blowing the picture up on a big screen allows you to appreciate some of the complex lighting, weather, and reflection effects at play, but makes the cutbacks much more apparent. Again, the experience is never horrifically bad, but if you want Hitman World of Assassination on a big screen you will unavoidably be much better served by the PS5 or Xbox Series X and Series S editions.

There are also some areas where I feel as though developer Io Interactive has really missed the opportunity to make some simple changes to really take advantage of the Nintendo Switch 2 hardware. Foremost is the game’s control scheme, which is effectively identical to other console versions. There’s no Joy-Con 2 mouse aiming here, or even basic gyroscope support which is disappointing given how much it would improve precision aiming with long-range weaponry.

Hitman World of Assassination is also still limited by the lack of a proper offline mode. Sure, you can technically play the game without an internet connection - but you have to sacrifice access to literally all your progression. Unless you’re keen to run around with default loadouts, you have to be online. While I like to play at home, this could be a dealbreaker for those looking for a new favorite to play on the go.

With all that said, is Hitman World of Assassination – Signature Edition worth picking up? I would say yes as, despite this version’s flaws, you’re still getting a fully playable version of one of the greatest stealth games ever made. There’s plenty here to keep you busy and, with a few updates under its belt, we could be looking at a must-have Nintendo Switch 2 release.

Should I play Hitman World of Assassination – Signature Edition?

Play it if…

You want a top quality stealth game
Hitman World of Assassination is still one of the greatest stealth games ever made. If you love sneaking around, then this Nintendo Switch 2 release is the perfect excuse to pick it up.

You after a game with heaps of content
I’ve already spent hours in Hitman World of Assassination – Signature Edition and barely scratched the surface of what’s on offer. Pick this up if you want a content-rich game that will keep you occupied for hundreds of hours.

Don’t play it if…

You’re keen to play docked
Graphically, Hitman World of Assassination – Signature Edition is solid in handheld mode but lacking when the Nintendo Switch 2 is docked. If you mainly play on a TV, you’ll be better off with one of the other console versions of the game instead.

Accessibility

There are unfortunately no dedicated accessibility settings in Hitman World of Assassination – Signature Edition. The game features subtitles, which are enabled by default, and some basic assist settings including an aim assist.

How I reviewed Hitman World of Assassination – Signature Edition

I played Hitman World of Assassination – Signature Edition for more than 10 hours on Nintendo Switch 2, experiencing every location in the game at least once.

I’m a die-hard Hitman fan, and have spent more than 900 hours in Hitman, Hitman 2 and Hitman 3 on Xbox One and Xbox Series S, in addition to roughly 200 hours in Hitman World of Assassination on PC and PlayStation 5 so I compared my experience closely to that.

First reviewed June 2025

Hitman World of Assassination – Signature Edition brings one of my favorite games ever to Nintendo Switch 2, and I just can’t put it down
4:55 pm |

Author: admin | Category: Computers Consoles & PC Gadgets Gaming Nintendo | Tags: , | Comments: Off

It’s hard to overstate just how much there is to do in Hitman World of Assassination – Signature Edition. This Nintendo Switch 2 port of the latest entries in the legendary stealth series comes crammed with everything from 2016’s Hitman, its follow-up Hitman 2, and the most recent instalment Hitman 3 plus heaps of downloadable content (DLC).

Review info

Platform reviewed: Nintendo Switch 2
Available on: Nintendo Switch 2
Release date: June 5, 2025

You get a total of three main story campaigns, tied together by a servicable overarching plot. Storytelling has never been the main appeal of Hitman, however, which lies instead in its highly replayable, richly detailed global locations.

There are 21 here (or 25 if you count the more limited tutorial and Sniper Assassin stages) ranging all the way from a high-profile Paris fashion show to the annual meeting of a sinister secret society on a remote North Atlantic island, the top of a skyscraper in sun-drenched Dubai, and the high-tech rain-swept streets of Chongqing.

Each of these is an expansive open-world sandbox that is designed to be replayed over and over again. As Agent 47, the world’s greatest assassin, your objective is always the elimination of a highly guarded target - but how you approach that is entirely up to you.

Feedback loop

Hiding with a pistol in Hitman World of Assassination – Signature Edition

(Image credit: IO Interactive)

You could sprint through a stage and shoot your target in the face, before mowing down legions of guards on the way to an extraction point like a bald John Wick, but careful stealth is always more effective and rewarding. The likes of Splinter Cell’s Sam Fisher might rely on futuristic tech to remain undetected, but Agent 47 just needs a simple change of clothes to get by. Knock out a guard and you can steal their outfit, exploring otherwise restricted areas and getting close to your target without the fear of being stopped.

Dress up as a member of a maintenance crew, and you might be allowed to tamper with dangerous equipment - setting up the perfect, undetectable accident kill. Agent 47 can become almost anyone, anywhere, and the possibilities that this opens up are practically endless. You’re always free to experiment, but those who prefer a more guided experience can follow dedicated mission stories - elaborate, showstopping eliminations that require multiple steps to pull off.

Every playthrough contributes to a location’s overall mastery level that unlocks new weapons, tools, starting locations, and so on. You might go in for the first time armed with just a silenced pistol and your trusty fibrewire, but before you know it you have access to compact sniper rifles, undetectable poison syringes, lockpicks, explosive rubber ducks, throwable decoys, flash grenades, and so much more. You can even start armed with a floppy fish to slap enemies over the head.

Best bit

Hitman World of Assassination – Signature Edition

(Image credit: IO Interactive)

Every location in Hitman World of Assassination – Signature Edition is superb, though the New York bank of the Golden Handshake mission remains a firm favorite. It’s a wholly indoor environment, but that doesn’t mean that it’s small. There are multiple floors to explore and some great Mission Stories including a full-on bank heist to pull off.

Even when you’ve finished the main story, this Signature Edition comes with the fantastic Patient Zero side campaign on top of heaps of bonus missions to master. You also have Escalations (bite-size challenges that layer-on absurd conditions to often hilarious results), live-service Elusive Target contracts that can only be attempted once, seasonal challenges and stages, the Sniper Elite-esque Sniper Assassin levels, and a roguelike Freelancer mode.

For the $59.99 / £54.99 asking price the value is undeniable, though it is a shame that a small amount of content is gated behind further paywalls. Some cosmetic packs, for example, and, more significantly, the extra Sarajevo Six campaign are locked behind additional $4.99 / £4.49 purchases.

There’s so much here already that most players likely wouldn’t even notice, but for die-hard Hitman fans like me who have already paid for such extras on multiple other platforms, it’s a shame that this Nintendo Switch 2 version isn’t truly 100 percent complete.

Missed shot

Pretending to be a bartender in Hitman World of Assassination – Signature Edition

(Image credit: IO Interactive)

With gigantic crowds of NPCs and complex AI interactions, Hitman World of Assassination is a very technically demanding game. The Nintendo Switch 2 port runs at a level that I would consider just about good enough, provided that you don’t intend to play a lot with the system docked. In handheld mode, texture quality and resolution takes an obvious hit compared to the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 versions, though this isn’t hugely noticeable on the smaller screen unless you compare the images side by side.

The render distance has also been reduced by a fair amount, and there’s more pop-in than other platforms - even the Xbox Series S. When the image is static, it looks about on par with the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 versions of the game to my eyes - which is not the worst result when you consider the battery life and cooling limitations of a handheld console. The frame rate is stable in most situations too, averaging between 40 and 50 fps, but is prone to dips in certain areas of specific stages.

The streets of the leafy Vermont suburb Whittleton Creek, for example, are noticeably more jittery, as is the dense rainforest of Ambrose Island. Signature Edition also seems buggier than other versions with small visual issues, like floating objects and doors sometimes vanishing when opened, decreasing immersion. Neither of these complaints amount to anything that renders the game unplayable, but I am hopeful that things will be smoothed out in future patches.

Getting a pat down in Hitman World of Assassination – Signature Edition.

(Image credit: IO Interactive)

As for the docked experience, this is unfortunately where it all falls apart a little bit. Blowing the picture up on a big screen allows you to appreciate some of the complex lighting, weather, and reflection effects at play, but makes the cutbacks much more apparent. Again, the experience is never horrifically bad, but if you want Hitman World of Assassination on a big screen you will unavoidably be much better served by the PS5 or Xbox Series X and Series S editions.

There are also some areas where I feel as though developer Io Interactive has really missed the opportunity to make some simple changes to really take advantage of the Nintendo Switch 2 hardware. Foremost is the game’s control scheme, which is effectively identical to other console versions. There’s no Joy-Con 2 mouse aiming here, or even basic gyroscope support which is disappointing given how much it would improve precision aiming with long-range weaponry.

Hitman World of Assassination is also still limited by the lack of a proper offline mode. Sure, you can technically play the game without an internet connection - but you have to sacrifice access to literally all your progression. Unless you’re keen to run around with default loadouts, you have to be online. While I like to play at home, this could be a dealbreaker for those looking for a new favorite to play on the go.

With all that said, is Hitman World of Assassination – Signature Edition worth picking up? I would say yes as, despite this version’s flaws, you’re still getting a fully playable version of one of the greatest stealth games ever made. There’s plenty here to keep you busy and, with a few updates under its belt, we could be looking at a must-have Nintendo Switch 2 release.

Should I play Hitman World of Assassination – Signature Edition?

Play it if…

You want a top quality stealth game
Hitman World of Assassination is still one of the greatest stealth games ever made. If you love sneaking around, then this Nintendo Switch 2 release is the perfect excuse to pick it up.

You after a game with heaps of content
I’ve already spent hours in Hitman World of Assassination – Signature Edition and barely scratched the surface of what’s on offer. Pick this up if you want a content-rich game that will keep you occupied for hundreds of hours.

Don’t play it if…

You’re keen to play docked
Graphically, Hitman World of Assassination – Signature Edition is solid in handheld mode but lacking when the Nintendo Switch 2 is docked. If you mainly play on a TV, you’ll be better off with one of the other console versions of the game instead.

Accessibility

There are unfortunately no dedicated accessibility settings in Hitman World of Assassination – Signature Edition. The game features subtitles, which are enabled by default, and some basic assist settings including an aim assist.

How I reviewed Hitman World of Assassination – Signature Edition

I played Hitman World of Assassination – Signature Edition for more than 10 hours on Nintendo Switch 2, experiencing every location in the game at least once.

I’m a die-hard Hitman fan, and have spent more than 900 hours in Hitman, Hitman 2 and Hitman 3 on Xbox One and Xbox Series S, in addition to roughly 200 hours in Hitman World of Assassination on PC and PlayStation 5 so I compared my experience closely to that.

First reviewed June 2025

The Razer Handheld Dock Chroma offers Steam Deck owners a premium design and, of course, plenty of RGB
3:00 pm | February 28, 2025

Author: admin | Category: Computers Consoles & PC Gadgets Gaming PC Gaming Steam Deck | Tags: | Comments: Off

Razer Handheld Dock Chroma: One-minute review

The Razer Handheld Dock Chroma is the most stylish Steam Deck dock I’ve ever seen, offering a sleek all-black aesthetic that compliments the handheld PC perfectly in addition to some pleasingly bright RGB lighting.

While a similar price to the official Valve offering (and notably more expensive than the many standard laptop docks out there that also work with Steam Deck), it ranks among some of the best Steam Deck accessories thanks to a nifty integrated stand that provides a neat way to adjust the position of your Deck if you intend to play without an external display. This can also be folded down for easy transport and the use of durable metal components makes it easy to stash in a rucksack on the move without having to worry about potential damage.

There is also no shortage of ports, with the dock coming equipped with a USB-C input for charging, three 5 Gbps USB-A ports for your various controllers, a Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) port, and an HDMI 2.0 video output. The lack of a DisplayPort option is a shame, especially as there is one present on the official Steam Deck Dock, but realistically the up to 4K 60hz / 1440p 120Hz of HDMI 2.0 is going to be more than enough if you’re keen to hook your Steam Deck up to a TV.

While clearly designed with the Steam Deck in mind, the Razer Handheld Dock Chroma is also fully compatible with other handheld PCs including the Asus ROG Ally and even some Android gaming tablets.

There might be cheaper alternatives out there, but the overall proposition of the Razer Handheld Dock Chroma makes it well worth considering if you’re after a premium option.

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The Razer Handheld Dock Chroma as it arrives.

(Image credit: Future)
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The unfolded Razer Handheld Dock Chroma.

(Image credit: Future)
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The RGB of the Razer Handheld Dock Chroma.

(Image credit: Future)

Razer Handheld Dock Chroma: Price and availability

  • Costs $79.99 / £79.99 / AU$149.95
  • Available via Razer and Amazon
  • More expensive than your average laptop dock

The Razer Handheld Dock Chroma is readily available in the US, UK, and Australia via Razer and online retailers like Amazon. It comes in at $79.99 / £79.99 / AU$149.95, which puts it around the price of the official Valve Steam Deck Docking Station (which is $89 / £69). It’s quite good value compared to Valve’s offering, as it benefits from the adjustable stand and addition of RGB.

If you’re on a budget, however, you’re better off going for one of the countless cheaper laptop docks available via Amazon. These are not specifically designed for the Steam Deck, but generally will still work. To give an example, the Anker 332 USB-C Hub (5-in-1) costs just $34.99 / £19.99 and offers a cheaper but still effective way to get your Steam Deck on an external display.

Razer Handheld Dock Chroma: Specs

The ports on the Razer Handheld Dock Chroma.

(Image credit: Future)

Razer Handheld Dock Chroma: Design and features

  • Robust and sturdy design
  • Adjustable stand
  • RGB lighting

The Razer Handheld Dock Chroma has a very sleek design, coming in a slick matte black. It looks like a small rectangular box when taken out of the packaging, with the adjustable stand portion positioned flush on top of the box.

To set it all up, you simply have to pull the stand out and slot it into place, which creates a sturdy little shelf where your Steam Deck can rest while it’s plugged in via the attached USB-C cable. A ribbed rubberized strip helps support the Steam Deck when it’s docked, preventing it from sliding out easily and stopping it from picking up any scratches from the dock itself.

The stand is adjustable, with a few positions allowing you to angle your Steam Deck or a more vertical or horizontal orientation - which is great if you don’t intend to use an external display and want a clear view of the system’s screen from your seat. It also helps when you’re using the other supported devices, be that the Asus ROG Ally or a gaming tablet. I tested the recently released Lenovo Legion Tab Gen 3 in the dock and, after some small adjustments, it was in the perfect position for watching videos or playing some Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile with a wired controller.

The majority of the Razer Handheld Dock Chroma is constructed with sturdy-feeling plastic, with a layer of soft foam on the underside to prevent slippage. The shelf where the Steam Deck sits is a robust metal, which is not only hard-wearing but also feels suitably premium given the price. At the bottom of the front of the dock is a thin RGB lighting strip that illuminates when the dock is in use. This is bright and attractive, with a plethora of in-built modes that you can cycle through via a small button on the right-hand side of the dock.

On the back of the dock are all your ports. There’s one HDMI 2.0, 3 x USB-A, 1 x Gigabit Ethernet port, and a USB-C port used for 100W power delivery with passthrough charging. This is a decent selection, though not as many options as you would get with a more specialist bit of kit like the Anker Prime Charging Docking Station (14-in-1, Dual Display, 160W).

The Razer Handheld Dock Chroma with a Steam Deck inserted.

(Image credit: Future)

Razer Handheld Dock Chroma: Performance

  • Perfect for Steam Deck
  • Seamless set up
  • Easy to store in a bag

The Razer Handheld Dock Chroma is perfect for Steam Deck and there’s very little to fault it on in performance terms. You simply slot the Steam Deck in, plug in your display, and use the USB-C ports for any desired accessories, be that a keyboard and mouse or a quality gamepad like the Xbox Wireless Controller, and you’re ready to play on your monitor or TV. It’s about as seamless as you can get and I didn’t encounter any problems getting it all set up on a variety of screens throughout my testing.

The lack of HDMI 2.1 support here is a shame on paper, especially compared to alternatives like the BenQ beCreatus GR10, though practically doesn’t really make that much of a difference. In my testing, I was not able to find a single game that I would be able to run on my Steam Deck OLED at an 8K resolution, or in 4K at above 60 fps.

Compared to other Steam Deck docks, the Razer Handheld Dock Chroma is also impressively portable. Being able to fold everything flat makes it easy to stash in your bag alongside your Steam Deck. It’s heavier than most given the incorporation of metal, but it’s hard to complain about that when the result is a product that really feels like it could take a beating if you happened to drop it out on your travels.

The folded Razer Handheld Dock Chroma.

(Image credit: Future)

Should I buy the Razer Handheld Dock Chroma?

Buy it if...

You want a great-looking Steam Deck dock
With its slick design and RGB lighting, the Razer Handheld Dock Chroma is one of the best-looking Steam Deck docks out there today. Pick it up if you’re willing to spend more on an accessory for aesthetic reasons.

You want to use it without a monitor
The adjustable viewing angles of the Razer Handheld Dock Chroma are a big plus, making it significantly easier to play in the dock without an external monitor.

You want a sturdy dock
The incorporation of metal and general sturdiness of the Razer Handheld Dock Chroma is also superb. This is a dock that you can stash in your rucksack without fear of it picking up any substantial damage.

Don't buy it if...

Pure value is your number one concern
There are plenty of generic laptop docks that also work with the Steam Deck, and come in significantly cheaper than the Razer Handheld Dock Chroma.

Also consider...

Want some alternatives to the Razer Handheld Dock Chroma? Check out these two strong options.

BenQ beCreatus GR10
The BenQ beCreatus GR10 is more expensive than the Razer Handheld Dock Chroma and lacks RGB, but it does offer HDMI 2.1 support for those eager to crank up the video quality. It’s also a lot lighter.

Read our full BenQ beCreatus GR10 review

Anker Prime Charging Docking Station (14-in-1, Dual Display, 160W)
The Anker Prime Charging Docking Station (14-in-1, Dual Display, 160W) is a serious bit of kit that offers the complete desktop docking solution. Although designed for laptops, it also works with the Steam Deck and, while pricey, does frequently go on sale.

Read our full Anker Prime Charging Docking Station (14-in-1, Dual Display, 160W) review

How the Steam Deck connects to the Razer Handheld Dock Chroma.

(Image credit: Future)

How I tested the Razer Handheld Dock Chroma

  • Tested for over a week
  • Tried with a Steam Deck OLED and gaming tablet
  • Compared to other docks

I tested the Razer Handheld Dock Chroma for over a week, during which time I played plenty of games on my Steam Deck OLED including lots of Disco Elysium and Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake in addition to a few hours of play on the Lenovo Legion Tab Gen 3 gaming tablet.

Throughout my time with the dock, I tried a variety of monitors and TVs in addition to accessories such as the Asus ROG Harpe Ace Aim Lab Edition mouse, Endgame Gear Kb65he keyboard, Xbox Wireless Controller, and more. I constantly compared my experience with my hands-on time with other laptop docks like the Anker 332 USB-C Hub (5-in-1).

Read more about how we test

First reviewed February 2025

I’ve used the Hori Split Pad Pro with my Nintendo Switch for years and it’s still great, but there are some better options in 2025
7:00 pm | February 21, 2025

Author: admin | Category: Computers Consoles & PC Gadgets Gaming Nintendo | Tags: , , | Comments: Off

Hori Split Pad Pro: One-minute review

The Hori Split Pad Pro was easily one of the best Nintendo Switch controllers when it first launched in conjunction with Daemon X Machina over five years ago, offering a fantastic wired-only Joy-Con alternative that delivered superior comfort and performance at the cost of a few nice-to-have features like HD Rumble, motion controls, and wireless compatibility. It remains a decent option in 2025, especially given its relatively modest price point, but the rise of absolutely killer, feature-packed alternatives like the CRKD Nitro Deck or CRKD Nitro Deck+ mean it’s not quite the titan that it once was.

The full-size thumbsticks, larger face buttons, and massively improved shoulder buttons are among its biggest advantages still, especially compared to the standard Joy-Con controllers. It’s hard to overstate just how much this can improve some games, especially shooters like Borderlands 3 or Doom Eternal where the limited thumbstick motion and shallow triggers of the Joy-Con are a constant frustration. Even so, the absence of motion controls is a real shame in this regard, especially when most Nintendo Switch shooters now support them for more precise aiming, and makes it unsuitable for the likes of Splatoon 3 if that’s your preferred input method.

The D-pad of the Hori Split Pad Pro is a strong point too and perfect for precise platforming in games like Super Mario Bros. Wonder. It’s joined by some handy extras, like two remappable rear inputs and an optional turbo mode, though I don’t find myself reaching for either of these that often. All of this can be configured on the controllers themselves, which eliminates the need for any extra software.

There’s also the matter of the controller’s overall shape, which is significantly larger than that of the Joy-Con. Does this make your Nintendo Switch harder to stash in a bag? Absolutely, but I think this trade-off is worth it given the greater level of comfort that it brings. It makes the Nintendo Switch a joy to play over extended periods of time and can be a lifesaver if you're trying to game throughout a long journey.

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The Hori Split Pad Pro on a desk mat.

(Image credit: Future)
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The rear of the Hori Split Pad Pro.

(Image credit: Future)

Hori Split Pad Pro: Price and availability

  • Plain models go for $49.99 / £39.99
  • Licensed versions get expensive
  • Accessory pack available for TV mode wired play

The plain black version of the Hori Split Pad Pro is easy to find for $49.99 / £39.99 at online retailers like Amazon in addition to Best Buy and Walmart in the US or Argos and Currys in the UK. There are also a plethora of licensed versions available, though these are generally more expensive. To give an example, the The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom variant that I tested costs $59.99 / £53.99 at the time of writing, so only spring out for these editions if you’re willing to pay more for the aesthetic.

This price point puts the Hori Split Pad Pro in close competition with the $59.99 / £59.99 CRKD Nitro Deck, especially when you bear in mind that the latter is almost perpetually on sale for as low as $39.99 / £37.99. Having tested both extensively, I can say the CRKD Nitro Deck is definitively better thanks to a slightly more comfortable shape (though the Split Pad Pro is still comfy) and the addition of features like motion control and rumble. Still, the Hori Split Pad Pro is worth choosing if you prefer its smaller form factor - or want something that doesn’t need a mobile app to tweak.

You can also buy the Hori Split Pad Pro in a bundle that comes with a small attachment that goes in between the controllers for wired TV mode play and also enables PC compatibility. This comes in at $79.99 / £69.99 and is the only way to buy that attachment as it is not sold separately.

Hori Split Pad Pro: Specs

A close up shot of the Hori Split Pad Pro.

(Image credit: Future)

Hori Split Pad Pro: Design and features

  • Much more comfortable than the Joy-Con
  • But light weight feels quite cheap
  • Turbo mode, plus remappable buttons featured

Taking the Hori Split Pad Pro out of the box, the first thing you’ll notice is its light weight. These controllers come in at just 0.18 lbs / 80 g each - which is actually a little more than the standard Joy-Con but, because of the increased size, feels a lot less substantial in the hands. They come across as almost hollow, which isn’t the best first impression given the price. Thankfully, this is barely noticeable once you slot them into the Joy-Con rails, and they slide in seamlessly before securing in place with a reassuring click.

Hori has opted for an unusual, almost squashed look with the Split Pad Pro, giving the impression of a Nintendo Switch Pro Controller that someone has accidentally sat on. The grips are tiny, lumpy protrusions on the corner of each side of the gamepad, which honestly looks pretty ridiculous. That said, the company must be on to something here as the Hori Split Pad Pro is seriously comfortable to hold.

The grips fit nicely in my palms and the chunky depth gives you loads to grasp on to. The shoulder buttons are a massive improvement over those found on the Joy-Con, coming in larger and with a much softer press to them. The triggers are also enhanced, with a bit of extra movement for a more satisfying pull. Likewise, the thumbsticks have a great range of motion, allowing for more precise inputs than the fiddly tiny ones on the Joy-Con - though they are unfortunately not Hall effect like those of the CRKD Nitro Deck. There’s also a proper D-pad, with a satisfying, spongy feel (not too dissimilar to that of the Nintendo 2DS) and a slight concave shape that’s pleasant on the thumb.

When it comes to features, you have a modest selection to choose from. Each side of the Split Pad Pro has its own rear input, which can be mapped by holding the tiny ‘Assign’ button on the front. This can only be achieved while your Nintendo Switch is powered on but, thankfully, does save your selection in between uses. There’s also a turbo button, which you can hold to simulate rapid button presses without ruining your thumb - handy if you play a lot of arcade shoot-’em up style games.

As I’ve previously mentioned, this is a wired controller that can only be used attached to the Switch. Unlike the Joy-Con, you also don’t get HD Rumble (or any vibration for that matter), gyroscope controls, an IR camera, or Amiibo support which is a shame but not too surprising in the realm of third-party controllers.

A close up shot of the right hand side of the Hori Split Pad Pro.

(Image credit: Future)

Hori Split Pad Pro: Performance

  • Very comfortable to use
  • Perfect for shooters
  • Outclassed by the CRKD Nitro Deck

There’s very little I can fault the Hori Split Pad Pro on in raw performance. It feels great in the hands and remains so over extended sessions. I often find my fingers become cramped after multiple hours with the Joy-Con and that’s not at all the case here.

The buttons and D-pad are perfectly responsive and a great size for those with larger hands too, further adding to the comfort factor. The larger thumbsticks don’t have a lot of resistance so are ideal for quick motion, whether that’s in 3D adventures like Super Mario Odyssey or fast-paced driving games such as Rocket League.

My only complaint with the buttons is the use of a very soft rubbery material for the start, select, home, ‘Assign’ and turbo buttons, which makes them fairly dull and slow to press. These aren’t buttons that you’re going to be using all the time, of course, but plastic would be a big improvement. Although I do miss the ability to tweak settings like thumbstick sensitivity, the fact that you don’t need an app to access the rear button assignment and turbo is refreshing and would make this a particularly good fit if you’re shopping for a child.

Unfortunately, the Hori Split Pad Pro suffers because of its relative age. The CRKD Nitro Deck and CRKD Nitro Deck+ have launched over the last couple of years and outclass it in almost every regard - be that the presence of motion control, rumble, two more rear inputs, a HDMI port, or Hall effect components. Having tested both extensively, I even found that the Nitro Deck is a tad more comfortable thanks to its increased heft and certainly has a more premium build. The one area where the Hori Split Pad Pro comes up on top is the fact that it is smaller and easier to remove, so slightly more portable overall.

The Hori Split Pad Pro being used to play a Super Mario game on Nintendo Switch OLED.

(Image credit: Future)

Should I buy the Hori Split Pad Pro?

Buy it if...

You want a simple Joy-Con alternative
If you want an easy-to-use handheld grip that doesn’t require an app to access any of its features, then the Hori Split Pad Pro is for you.

You love handheld play
The Hori Split Pad Pro is excellent for handheld play, offering a huge improvement over the Joy-Con controllers included with the Nintendo Switch.

You love the licensed designs
With designs inspired by The Legend of Zelda, Pokémon, and more, the Hori Split Pad Pro is definitely worth picking up if you’re a fan of the look.View Deal

Don't buy it if...

You want a wireless controller with all the features
If you want a controller with all of the features of the Joy-Con, you’re going to need to look elsewhere. The Hori Split Pad Pro can only be used in a wired capacity, and also lacks features like rumble, gyroscope controls, and Amiibo support.View Deal

The CRKD Nitro Deck is on sale
When it’s on sale, the CRKD Nitro Deck is practically the same price as the cheapest version of the Hori Split Pad Pro. It’s also noticeably better, with Hall effect components and a more premium build, plus loads of extra features.View Deal

Also consider...

Considering the Hori Split Pad Pro? These alternatives should also be on your radar.

CRKD Nitro Deck
The CRKD Nitro Deck is the closest equivalent to the Hori Split Pad Pro and offers a wider set of features, plus more remappable buttons, at a very similar price.

Read our full CRKD Nitro Deck review

Nintendo Switch Pro Controller
If you want a fully-featured, wireless controller for your Nintendo Switch then you can never go wrong with the official option. The Nintendo Switch Pro Controller feels great in the hands and has best-in-class battery life.

Read our full Nintendo Switch Pro Controller review

A close-up of the Hori Split Pad Pro.

(Image credit: Future)

How I tested the Hori Split Pad Pro

  • Tested this unit for two weeks
  • Tried with a huge a variety of Nintendo Switch games
  • Compared to other Nintendo Switch accessories

Although Hori provided the The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom edition for the purposes of this review, I have owned the black version of the Hori Split Pad Pro for years with it being my main Nintendo Switch controller between 2021 and 2023, at which point I upgraded to the CRKD Nitro Deck. I have spent literally hundreds of hours with it, testing all of its functions and playing a huge variety of Nintendo Switch games.

For this review, I compared my experience with the Hori Split Pad Pro to that with other Nintendo Switch controllers and accessories - namely the CRKD Nitro Deck.

Read more about how we test

First reviewed February 2025

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: exhilarating old-school action
3:00 am | December 6, 2024

Author: admin | Category: Computers Consoles & PC Gadgets Gaming Xbox | Tags: | Comments: Off
Review info

Platforms reviewed: Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
Available on: Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC, PS5 (Spring 2025)
Release date: 6 December, 2024

As an adaptation of its source material, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is nothing short of a resounding success. It captures the overall look and tone of the film franchise perfectly, delivering a globe-trotting adventure that will delight even those with just a passing knowledge of it. It’s also just a sheer joy to play thanks to some incredibly well-realised locations that are brimming with enough secrets to occupy you for hours at a time.

I’ve had some reservations about the first-person combat system since the game was originally revealed, but I can confidently say that developer MachineGames has masterfully made the jump from bombastic shooters to a much scrappier melee system. Whacking legions of Nazis has never been more satisfying and the focus on improvisation practically generates memorable moments, especially if you’re not afraid to experiment with all the tools at your disposal.

There are some things that hold Indiana Jones and the Great Circle back, however, namely a noticeable lack of polish. Progress-blocking bugs are common, although these are thankfully never a huge concern due to an extremely effective auto-save system. There’s also the visuals that, while stunning on Xbox Series X, are simply not up to standard on the less powerful Xbox Series S. Patches are almost inevitably going to address this in the weeks and months to come, but it does dampen an otherwise strong launch.

Popcorn flick

The player examines a clue in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.

(Image credit: Bethesda)

Set right after the events of the first film in the series, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle tells a self-contained story that, aside from a brief flashback segment and a sprinkling of references, stands on its own two feet. After a hulking man breaks into Marshall College to steal an ancient cat mummy from the university’s archaeology department, Indy is thrust into a race to uncover the secrets of the titular Great Circle, a series of connected ancient sites around the world, and protect it from Nazi archaeologist Emmerich Voss, who wants to harness its power for the expansion of the Third Reich.

The pair have a fantastic dynamic, with a believable and engaging rivalry that easily puts Voss up there with the most memorable villains from the films. A few hours in Indy is joined by Gina Lombardi, a journalist searching for her missing sister. She makes for a great companion, her initial misgivings gradually transforming into a genuine friendship as the plot progresses. The narrative is nothing groundbreaking by any means, but it’s all well-told and conveyed through absolutely stunning cutscenes.

Best bit

Indy enjoys a banana in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.

(Image credit: Bethesda)

Indy is an absolute snacker. Every map is filled with unique treats to collect, from exotic fruits to biscotti, which you can wolf down for a quick stamina boost. Stopping to stuff my face before a big encounter was a constant source of amusement.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle benefits from some of the best motion capture and animation work that I have ever experienced, surpassed only by the truly boundary-pushing cinematics of Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2. Characters move almost eerily realistically, with sublime faces that make it easy to forget that you’re not seated at the movie theater. Of course, this would mean very little if the voice acting wasn’t also pitch-perfect.

Luckily, the ever-reliable Troy Baker delivers a masterful Indiana Jones and Alessandra Mastronardi seems just as at home dispensing witty retorts as anguished cries at emotional climaxes as Gina. Cutscenes are presented in a near-constant stream, neatly woven between moments of play, and can go on for minutes at a time, but it’s impossible to complain about their hands-off nature when they look and sound this good.

Thinking cap

The player using a camera to get a puzzle hint in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.

(Image credit: Bethesda)

The plot guides you through a string of varied locations around the world, from a war-torn Shanghai to a frozen Nazi ship wrecked on top of a mountain in the Himalayas. Each is brilliantly recreated, filled with authentic 1930s details and countless objects to pick up and examine. The choice to accurately represent regional languages and accents is also a great one, really giving each area its own flavor and massively increasing immersion.

While most sections are rather linear, there are three huge open-world areas to sink your teeth into. The first is a stint in Vatican City, where Mussolini's Blackshirts are exploiting the weakness of an ailing Pope to hunt for ancient relics. This is, without hyperbole, one of the greatest environments I have ever explored in a video game.

I spent almost seven hours in it in my first playthrough, plowing through optional objectives and tracking down collectibles, and feel like I barely scratched the surface of what’s on offer. There’s something new to discover every few steps and it’s all interesting and well-designed, rather than just filler. Puzzles are abundant and, for me, perfectly balanced - requiring just the right amount of thought but never becoming frustrating on the moderate difficulty.

The same is true for the ones that you encounter in the story, though these also have an intelligently integrated hint system if you get stuck. Snap a photo of any story puzzle with Indy’s camera for a quick hint or, if you keep going, a detailed explanation of what you need to do. It’s not a system that I needed to use, but I’m glad it’s there for players who would prefer to focus on the action.

Gina and Indiana Jones look at a clue in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.

(Image credit: Bethesda)

Unfortunately, the puzzles are also where I experienced a number of frustrating progress-blocking bugs. Sometimes items required to complete them would simply not spawn in, rendering progress impossible. There were also a number of occasions where Indy’s hands would become stuck - unable to interact with the world. One note made reference to a fireplace, so I climbed into it thinking there might be some kind of hidden door only to fall through the floor and die - I guess you could say I was almost right?

All of these problems were solved by reverting to my last autosave, which are mercifully very frequent, but did once require me to go back even further and agonisingly lose almost an hour of play.

Button masher

Indy wields a gun in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.

(Image credit: Bethesda)

Puzzles and exploration are only part of the picture, though, as combat is a key pillar of the experience too. There is a basic stealth system here, but I always opted to go in as loud as possible whenever the situation would permit it, an approach that I would thoroughly recommend. Thanks to meaty, satisfying punches and a lightning-fast dodge, the melee system leads to thrilling fights. You also have Indy’s trademark whip, which can be used in a number of ways depending on where you aim it.

A quick strike to the hands will disarm most foes, giving you the chance to sweep in and grab their weapon. Aiming for the leg while will see Indy yank it, perfect if you want to send an unsuspecting guard flying off a ledge. You can also pull enemies towards you, grabbing them for a violent beatdown. Almost any object you find can be used as a weapon and bashing Nazis with everything from feather dusters to frying pans is just as cathartic as it sounds.

Guns are also present, though always represent an engaging balance of risk and reward. They are much quicker than fists, but loud and prompt enemies to draw their own - putting you out of action in just a few hits. It’s a well-thought-out dichotomy that makes them ideal in a pinch but stops running and gunning from ever becoming a consistently viable approach. Factor in the numerous upgrades, which are presented as books hidden throughout stages, and you have a formula that has me eager to dive back in for more even after the credits rolled.

That said, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle can suffer from one inescapable shortcoming depending how you play it: its visuals on Xbox Series S. The game looks phenomenal on Xbox Series X, but is just not up to snuff on Microsoft’s weaker machine. Framerates are smooth, but the muddy textures, blurry resolution, low-detail models, and unpleasant lighting spoil most environments - even with the optional high resolution texture pack installed. It’s not impossible to enjoy like this by any means, but I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect more from a first-party game given the system’s huge user base.

I have my fingers crossed that some kind of visual overhaul is on the way, as this is really the only thing holding me back from much more unreserved, truly glowing recommendation. If you own an Xbox Series X, a powerful gaming PC, or are able to try the game through an Xbox Game Pass subscription, then there’s no reason not to dive in.

Should I play Indiana Jones and the Great Circle?

Shanghai in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.

(Image credit: Bethesda)

Play it if…

You want a great Indy Story
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle delivers a fantastic Indiana Jones experience worthy of the big screen. Top-notch voice acting and brilliant cutscenes make every step of the journey a cinematic joy.

You love exploration
Some of the open-world environments in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle are among the best ever implemented, brimming with detail and no shortage of things to do. They’re easy to explore for hours at a time.

Don’t play it if…

You’re craving the most polished experience
The annoying bugs and disappointing visuals on Xbox Series S do make me think Indiana Jones and the Great Circle might be best enjoyed when it has a few meaty patches under its belt.

Accessibility

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle has a good suite of accessibility options. The size of the UI can be increased for added visibility, or swapped between a few color presets.

There are are number of color filter modes, in addition to high contrast effects and customizable high contrast color options for key items, weapons, and more.

This is on top of multiple difficulty levels for both combat and puzzles or exploration.

How I reviewed Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

I played Indiana Jones and the Great Circle for more than 20 hours on both an Xbox Series S 1TB and Xbox Series X.

During that time I completed the entire main story and spent a significant duration exploring each environment. I endeavored to find as much extra content as possible, mastering a number of side quests and optional activities, and plan to dive back in for even more.

On Xbox Series S, I played the game using a 1080p monitor while on Xbox Series X I relied on a 4K Sony TV. In both cases, I used a standard Xbox Wireless Controller. For audio, I brought out my trusty Astro A50 X on Xbox Series S and a SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7 on Xbox Series X.

First reviewed December 2024.

Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl review: a bone-chilling, realistic-feeling survival horror experience
5:00 pm | November 20, 2024

Author: admin | Category: Computers Consoles & PC Gadgets Gaming | Comments: Off

What if you were alone in a giant open world littered with bandits and mutants, with few resources to get you where you need to go? That question is at the heart of Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl, one of the most haunting survival horror games I have ever played and unlike anything else in the genre.

Review info

Platform reviewed: Xbox Series X
Available on:
Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC
Release date: November 20, 2024

The game’s chilling sound design, incredible storytelling, and demanding combat come together to deliver on that central premise. It effortlessly entrusts you to find your way own way through its technically impressive recreation of Chornobyl. That trust is woven into every aspect of the experience offering a radioactive sandbox full of dangers, rewards, and opportunities for you to discover and make the most of.

In that sense, Stalker 2 is the purest form of a survival horror experience there is, because at all times it is unpredictable, deadly, and terrifying in a multitude of ways. It is one of the boldest Xbox Series X games and PC games I have seen this generation. However, its lack of handholding and rugged, realistic approach to gameplay is not going to be for everyone. Plus, the storage chest of small visual bugs I saw in my time playing keeps it from being spotless.

Stories of Chornobyl

The player engaged in combat with a pistol in Stalker 2.

(Image credit: GSC Game World)

As Skif, you are just another Stalker fighting for your own survival in The Zone - the barren and deadly landscape surrounding the Chornobyl power plant which suffered two explosions, one in 1986 and another in 2006. However, one seemingly simple task, to activate a Scanner and meet someone named Sodler, doesn’t go to plan and you're ambushed and knocked out. After waking up you have none of the gear you entered The Zone with and your Scanner has been stolen by your attackers.

So you walk. Alone, you move from settlement to settlement, hearing a rumor here or there when others are friendly enough to help you. Eventually, you come across large towns that allow you to discover more about The Zone, the political dynamics between factions, and the dangers in the wild that are whispered around the campfire.

Best bit

The player approaches a lightning strike in Stalker 2.

(Image credit: GSC Game World)

The way Stalker 2 executes the clear vision the developers obviously had during development is impressive and leads to a fresh experience, devoid of a lot of the clutter found in modern open-world games. The map isn’t dotted with icons, you don’t have a litany of progression trees to sort through and manage. It’s a remarkably focused game, despite its huge open world.

These moments interacting with entire outposts or individuals in the world are key focal points for how Stalker 2 tells its narrative. Whether it was small stories about an encounter someone had with a bandit or key cutscenes where characters would deliver these almost Shakespearian monologues about The Zone, I kept wanting to learn more, explore more, and meet more people.

You may stumble upon a faction baron who isn’t too happy with you stepping on his turf, an interaction that ends up leading you down an entire core questline, or you might find a lone survivor surrounded by mutants that you can choose to save or let die, and, either way, never cross paths with them again.

The delivery of the narrative in this way means that such moments of discovery are the driving force behind Stalker 2’s exploration and open world. The possibility of who I might find kept me moving and the excellent Ukrainian voice acting (English, not so much) breathes life into the individuals you meet. On top of that, The Zone is a character in itself. The way individuals talk about it as a mythical, breathing creature they love, fear, or want to escape from is unlike anything else I have seen done in a game before. The writing here is truly impressive.

Loneliness of Chornobyl

The player encounters some NPC characters in Stalker 2.

(Image credit: GSC Game World)

That novel approach to storytelling echoes throughout the rest of the experience. The Zone is a barren expanse full of not much, making it an incredibly isolating experience. There are rarely companions by your side and on each excursion I set out on I would feel on edge.

Sometimes I would hear roars of mutants in the distance, causing me to jump up and start looking around frantically to see if I had accidentally stumbled upon something I should run away from. Or, I would accidentally end up in the middle of a terrifying storm and try to dart to my destination while praying lightning didn’t strike me, as the wind whistles through my headphones.

The Zone in Stalker 2 feels like it is alive; alive in an organic, realistic way that most open-world games can only dream of. The intense atmosphere created by developer GSC Game World is heightened by Stalker 2’s visuals as well as its sound design.

It has one of the best dynamic weather systems I have ever seen, and there’s always a stunning demonstration of landscape or environment whether it is raining, sunny, or cloudy (again, feeling almost lifelike in how it has been realized). There are also Emissions, huge deadly radioactive storms that can occur as you are exploring, coating The Zone in a thick red smog that will kill you in moments if caught outside in one. These offer some of the most impressive visuals in the game and my jaw dropped the first time I came across one.

Similar breath-taking moments both big and small are scattered throughout, demanding that you stop and take it all in.

Dangers of Chornobyl

The player wades through green liquid in Stalker 2.

(Image credit: GSC Game World)

The final piece of Stalker 2’s puzzle is its combat which is taxing, yet fascinating. Guns and weapons are weighty and inaccurate, so your approach to encounters requires a lot of thought before you commit, and as a result, feels very realistic. You can’t just run in and spray your way to survival. Instead, you have to precisely place shots and keep an eye on your surroundings.

Weapons are bulky and can jam at any moment creating a sense of panic. There aren’t any grenade indicators telling you someone threw a frag your way, so you have to be aware of the sounds to hear it clink along the ground, for example, only serving to add to the intense atmosphere coursing through the game. Enemy indicators regularly disappear if you lose sight of them for a few seconds, so you’ll also have to be prepared and predict where they might be as you flank them.

Bandits won’t always know where you are at. So, they will organically guess where you might be. One standout moment I had was when I ended up starting a fight with half a dozen enemies outside a small rail station. While fighting the main group, one of them flanked me quietly, then finished me off with one shotgun blast.

That moment forced me to change my approach to combat. From here I embraced the intensity of zipping from cover to cover or unjamming a gun in the middle of a firefight. It’s chaotic and the combat demands a lot of patience to learn and adapt in a way that goes beyond most other survival-focused first-person shooters. But that lack of hand-holding is what kept me hooked as the encounters never felt scripted or formulaic. However, this style of combat will be a dealbreaker for some who don’t want to feel dragged down by the gameplay and simply want to explore or lose themselves in the world. Combat is fundamental to Stalker 2 and you can’t really ignore it.

However, combat and these interactions with other people are also where I noticed the most bugs. Some were small like the UI regularly not showing up. Others were more substantial, never game-breaking but certainly immersion-breaking; characters clipping through geometry in settlements, or a pair of headphones floating in mid-air during a cutscene instead of sitting atop someone’s head. Occasionally, I would also see an enemy teleport spawn somewhere in front of me out of nowhere, which was less than ideal.

A lot of these will be addressed in a day one patch, but each time I came across one I was slightly disappointed because, for a moment, it ruined the immersion Stalker 2 offers, which is its biggest asset.

Should I play Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl?

A visual bug in Stalker 2.

(Image credit: GSC Game World)

Play it if…

You appreciate great world-building
This experience is for you if you love survival horror games with excellent world-building and storytelling, and enjoy an unguided open-world experience.

You're up for a challenge
Play this if you enjoy survival games and aren’t turned off by unapproachable mechanics and punishing gameplay that isn’t easily accessible.

Don’t play it if…

You want a more guided experience
You won't enjoy it if you want a more traditional open-world RPG that is filled with map markers and checklists telling you where to go and what to do.

Accessibility

Stalker 2 has a number of basic accessibility options like subtitle sizes which are varied and the ability to add a background. You can also change your crosshair color and setting, and turn off or on almost every UI element like threat indicators, hit markers, and health information. Protanopia, Deuteranopia, and Tritanopia are also available.

However, it lacks the advanced accessibility features you may find in other big open-world role-playing games (RPGs) like adjustments for those who are partially sighted, blind, or have hearing problems. Its difficulty options are also formulaic with a “story” option called Rookie, a standard mode simply named Stalker, and a harder, veteran mode with no deeper ability to customize them.

How I reviewed Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl

I played Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl for nearly 50 hours encompassing the main story, side missions, and exploration. I played the game mostly in performance mode on Xbox Series X with a standard Xbox Wireless Controller, and I enjoyed the sights and sounds of the game with a Gigabyte M28U monitor and Steelseries Arena 3 speakers.

First reviewed October 2024.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 review: back with a bang
7:51 pm | October 31, 2024

Author: admin | Category: Computers Consoles & PC Gadgets Gaming | Comments: Off
Review info

Platform reviewed: PS5
Available on: PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, PC
Release date: October 25, 2024

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 feels like a throwback in the very best of ways. Lead developers Treyarch and Raven Software have smartly combined some of the most successful elements from entries across the long-running first-person shooter (FPS) series to craft a highly polished experience that excels in almost every regard. 

Classic systems such as the traditional prestige mechanics, which offer the most dedicated online players the opportunity to partially reset their progress for exclusive rewards, or the simple but effective weapon attachments still haven’t lost their luster in 2024. It’s not all things that we’ve seen before though, as a handful of clever new innovations, like the flagship ‘omnimovement’ system, and the most high-fidelity graphics we've seen yet successfully drive the franchise forward and keep each facet of the experience feeling fresh.

The result is one of the best FPS games in almost a decade and a must-play for fans of the genre. There are still a couple of sore spots, like a handful of poorly designed multiplayer maps, that hold things back from total perfection, but, with plenty of new content on the way through a barrage of seasonal updates, the next twelve months of Call of Duty are well-positioned to be some of the greatest yet. 

On the run

A Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 campaign screenshot showing the player looking at a photograph.

(Image credit: Activision)

The Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 campaign picks up roughly ten years after the story of 2020’s Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. Set in 1991, it’s loosely centered around the events of the Gulf War, though with more of an eye towards covert espionage than boots-on-the-ground conflict. You play as a group of CIA operatives, sent into Iraq to intercept the Iraqi Minister of Defense and bring him back to the government in one piece.

As you might expect, this simple task goes wrong in a matter of minutes when a mysterious military force emerges from the shadows to thwart your mission. Reunited with the fan-favorite rogue spy Russel Adler, it soon becomes apparent that this organization, known as Pantheon, has close ties with the CIA, forcing the team off the grid. It’s a classic Mission Impossible-style premise and, while nothing particularly complex or sophisticated, is a perfectly serviceable framework for a series of absolutely stellar set pieces.

Best bit

A Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 campaign screenshot where the player is investigating a casino.

(Image credit: Activision)

In a strong field, one particular campaign sequence sees you work as a team, cinematically swapping between characters to break into a shady casino is an absolute treat. 

Variety elevates every moment campaign, with all manner of surprising mechanics and environments crammed into its roughly nine-hour runtime. There’s a refreshingly open assassination segment early on, with a variety of possible approaches that incentivises at least a couple of replays. Later on, you’re stealthily infiltrating a political fundraising event, investigating different possible leads, and scanning clues with a high-tech spy camera before a hair-raising motorcycle chase. 

One highly memorable mission even takes on a wholly unexpected survival horror edge, equipping you with an overpowered grapple hook and bombarding you with legions of imagined zombies and powerful boss monsters.

In between each mission, you’re sent back to your safehouse, which offers its own suite of activities. Levels are littered with cash, which can be hoovered up and spent on safehouse upgrades to unlock new perks and gear going forward. Quite a few puzzles are hidden across its grounds too, giving achievement hunters plenty of incentive not just to blitz through the story.

This is also without a doubt the best-looking campaign in Call of Duty history, surpassing even the visual excellence of 2022’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Multiple areas are breathtakingly realistic, with absolutely stunning, highly detailed textures and advanced lighting effects. Some of the more abstract scenes also allow the developer to really show off its artistic chops, with bright primary colors and an effective dream-like atmosphere. Performance is delightfully smooth on PlayStation 5 to boot, with resolutely stable frame rates even in the most intense moments. 

Back to basics 

A Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 multiplayer screenshot showing a shootout in a wide open hall.

(Image credit: Activision)

This year’s multiplayer experience smooths out many of my biggest frustrations with recent entries, returning to a formula that will feel immediately familiar to long-time fans. The painfully convoluted weapon attachment system of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is no more, superseded by a simplified selection of accessories that still offers plenty of customization without ever seeming overwhelming.

Rather than countless barely distinct options, each attachment category is populated by a handful of more significant mods. Some provide little buffs, while others bring much bigger bonuses alongside a noticeable drawback or two. Player perks have also been whittled down and are finally available right from the start of a match rather than staggered intervals. 

You can choose up to three per loadout, with every perk sorted into a distinct Enforcer, Recon, or Strategist category. While you are free to mix and match between these categories to create your own custom builds, equipping three perks of the same type yields some very powerful bonuses. Picking three Enforcer ones, for example, gives you a major movement speed and health regeneration boost after each successful kill. These combinations are significant enough to tangibly impact play, but everything is still well balanced with no particular set taking a clear lead.

A Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 mutliplayer match inside a small map.

(Image credit: Activision)

The brand-new ‘ominmovement’ system, which lets you sprint, slide, and dive in any direction, is well integrated and leads to countless thrilling moments. Diving backwards off a tall ledge while peppering an enemy with bullets feels completely natural and it’s almost hard to believe that movement hasn’t always been this way. Combined with the high number of more compact 6v6 maps in its 16-map line up, most online matches have an absolutely incredible sense of pace. 

There are some notable exceptions, though, mainly thanks to a small number of quite poor maps. Scud, which is set against the ruins of a decimated desert outpost, is a particularly sore example with far too many open sightlines that encourage slow games to a crawl as players favor sitting in key positions with sniper rifles. Rewind, a delightfully 1990s strip mall, is significantly better but still feels a little empty in a 6v6 format given its large size. These complaints will almost inevitably be addressed in future updates as more maps arrive, but it does still slightly dampen the online experience at launch.

Army of the dead

A Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Zombies screenshot on round 40.

(Image credit: Activision)

The round-based zombies mode is another area where Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 borrows plenty from past games. For the uninitiated, the Zombies mode is deceptively simple - you drop into one of two maps with up to three friends and try to survive against increasingly powerful waves of the undead. Mowing down shambling creatures yields cash, spent on unlocking new areas of the map, buying new weapons, or sticking your gear through a Pack-a-Punch machine for an additional bit of kick. It's an incredibly effective formula and significantly more enjoyable than the more open-world Modern Warfare Zombies found in last year’s game.

That’s far from everything to discover, however, with a raft of easter eggs ranging from cute little references to entire story sequences hidden for the most dedicated players. Exclusive cosmetics, secret achievements, and plenty of level XP reward those who dig deep. I’ve already spent hours in the Zombies mode and, while I did manage to survive to round 41 and find the hilarious zombie bowling minigame on the Liberty Falls map, I still feel like I’m barely scratching the surface of everything that it has in store.

All three major components of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 are an absolute blast and are so brimming with content that they would even work well as entirely standalone games. As a complete package, the level of quality here is something that we haven’t seen from the franchise in years. Call of Duty is well and truly back. 

Should I play Call of Duty: Black Ops 6?

A Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 campaign scene showing the player riding on the back of a motorbike while shooting.

(Image credit: Activision)

Play it if…

You want a blockbuster campaign
The Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 campaign is the franchise at its best, filled with memorable set pieces and engaging mechanics.

You love frantic multiplayer
The online multiplayer is also a treat, with fast-paced encounters and a new ‘omnimovement’ system that practically generates action-movie moments.

Zombies is your go-to
The round-based zombies offering in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is some of the best it’s been in years. Expect hours of entertainment if you manage to pull together a few friends for a squad.

Don’t play it if…

You prefer larger-scale maps
The 16 launch maps in this year’s installment are mostly quite small. If you prefer larger maps, stick with the likes of 2022’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and its huge Ground War mode instead.

Accessibility

a settings menu in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6.

(Image credit: Activision)

There are plenty of accessibility features in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6. This includes a wide array of subtitle options for the campaign, and the ability to customize the colors of the entire UI and apply a range of visual filters.

The controls can be fully remapped across the board in both controller and keyboard play, with a range of assist settings that can remove the need to hold certain inputs if required.

How I reviewed Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

I'm a regular Call of Duty player with prior experience reviewing the series in addition to a wide range of other FPS titles. I completed the Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 campaign in a single sitting, clocking in at roughly ten hours including the time I spent exploring the safehouse and replaying a few missions.

I then spent around twenty hours (and counting) in its multiplayer mode, trying out all of its available playlists and maps. During that time I reached the maximum level and began Prestige 1. I also played multiple Zombies matches with friends and solo, getting to grips with its mechanics and the two launch maps.

I played on PlayStation 5 using a DualSense Wireless Controller. For audio, I relied on a pair of Astro A50 X headphones, which I found really helped the detailed sound effects shine. Throughout my time with the game, I compared my experience with that of other Call of Duty games. 

First reviewed October 2024.

Planet Coaster 2 preview: a game that made me miss a summer I’ve never had
4:00 pm | September 14, 2024

Author: admin | Category: Computers Consoles & PC Gadgets Gaming PC Gaming | Tags: | Comments: Off

As a huge fan of both theme parks and computer games, 2016’s Planet Coaster was in many ways a dream game for me. Since playing Bullfrog’s seminal game, Theme Park, back in the mid-90s, first on the Amiga and then on PC, I have been obsessed with theme park management strategy games

As you can imagine, then, the announcement earlier this year that Planet Coaster 2 was to come in late 2024 (pre-orders are now live, and it launches on November 6, 2024), made me very happy given my history with the PC game and theme park sims.

For context, in Planet Coaster, I vividly remember plotting my parks on paper, then creating them in the game, dividing the map into different themes, just like the beloved theme parks I visited as a kid. Building the parks, and rides, of my dreams (and sometimes my guests’ nightmares) captured some of the magic from those magic kingdoms, but Theme Park also reminded players that these parks aren’t just for fun: they are made to create money.

By placing a French Fries stall, hiking up the salt content, and then putting a drinks stall next to it with inflated prices (and extra ice), I was able to squeeze extra money out of my thirsty punters. As a kid, it was my first lesson that capitalism can be evil… but also fun.

But anyway, while the original Planet Coaster gave me hundreds of hours of enjoyment, there were plenty of things that could be improved. So, when I got the opportunity to have some early time with the sequel, I was keen to jump the queue and see what was new.

Planet Coaster 2 screenshot of people riding a roller coaster

(Image credit: Frontier Developments)

Splash back

The biggest change with Planet Coaster 2 is the inclusion of water park features, including pools, flumes, and new themes. Frontier has experience with this, having worked on the Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 expansion pack (old person speak for DLC) Soaked, which added flumes.

Weirdly, I’m not as interested in water parks as theme parks, but being given more things to play with when designing a park is always welcome.

While water park features aren’t the only new things in Planet Coaster 2, it would have been understandable if Frontier had called it a day there. During my time playing the game, it’s clear just how big an undertaking adding water rides has been.

Of course, there are all the additional art assets and models, but it also introduces an entirely new physics system to accurately simulate water, slides, and more.

For players of the original game, creating pools, adding features, and building water slides will feel familiar. Slides are built piece-by-piece in the same way as rollercoasters, and while new players may feel a bit lost, it’s intuitive enough to get the hang of pretty quickly, while also being flexible enough that you can create some pretty spectacular rides in not much time. 

Planet Coaster 2 screenshot of people riding a roller coaster

(Image credit: Frontier Developments)

Whether or not your guests will want to ride your creations, however, is another question. By testing your rides before they open, you’ll be able to see if the ride works as intended (I.E it doesn’t launch the test dummy into the stratosphere due to a misjudged hump),  and you’ll get feedback on how exciting, scary and how nauseous it’ll make the riders. It’s here where the real art of constructing a theme park ride comes in – you’ll need to balance all of those aspects. Too scary and few people will want to ride it, if it makes people too ill then not only will it put people off riding, but you’ll also have to deal with people throwing up all over your lovely park. You can lower these values by making adjustments to the ride – lowing drops and banking corners for example – but if you make the ride too tame, its excitement will drop and people won’t want to ride.

As with the first game, I can tell this part of building your park could be a huge – and enjoyable – time-sink as you try to build the ultimate ride.

In Planet Coaster 2, more customization options allow you to add design elements to the ride, including coaster cars, and while I only had a short time with the game, it’s clear that it’s going to offer a huge amount of tools to help you craft and tweak almost every aspect of your park.

While I wasn’t overly excited by the inclusion of pools and water slides, I ended up really liking them. Building both was fun and intuitive, and the pools especially looked fantastic.

I didn’t notice much of a visual upgrade over Planet Coaster, but that was still a fine-looking game that was both realistic and cartoony. However, the pools in Planet Coaster 2 look fantastic. Clear, realistic water that sparkles under a cloudless sky made me want to crawl through the screen and dive in. It made me nostalgic for the summer – before I remembered that here in the UK we’d just endured one of the wettest and miserable summers in recent memory.

Interestingly, it seems like the weather in Planet Coaster 2 won’t always be perfect. I didn’t see it in action, but the launch trailer shows guests running for shelter during rainy weather, and I noticed a weather forecast icon in the game’s menu.

While the eternally sunny weather of the first game gave us UK players a nice bit of escapism, including different weather conditions for the sequel, more realistic weather in the sequel will add to the realism – and could bring some interesting challenges – and opportunities. Rainy weather could make guest numbers drop, but some carefully placed umbrella stores could help raise profits – especially if you can, like in Rollercoaster Tycoon, up the prices when the rain starts to fall. There’s that evil capitalism working again.

Planet Coaster 2 screenshot of the new themes

(Image credit: Frontier Developments)

I also got a glimpse of a few new themes – Mythical and Resort – and my mind is already fizzing with ideas of how I can use them in my parks.

Plus ça changing room

As I mentioned earlier, the original Planet Coaster did a lot of things right – but there were plenty of things that needed improvement, and from my short time with Planet Coaster 2, I found some of those were indeed fixed – but I still had a few concerns.

Making paths in the original, for example, could sometimes be annoyingly fiddly, and you could end up with some ugly bodge jobs when trying to make certain things, such as large plazas. The good news is that Planet Coaster 2 mainly fixes this with new path-making tools that make things much more simple, and give you additional settings to tweak, to help you get the desired effects. I found this made creating paths easier – when on the ground, at least. Creating stairs and bridges seemed to be more complicated – but that might just have been me being a bit rusty.

Planet Coaster 2 screenshot of the new themes

(Image credit: Frontier Developments)

Putting down shops, food stalls, and guest services, such as toilets and new changing rooms (which need to be added for your guests to use the pools), seems a bit over-complicated as well. In the version of Planet Coaster 2 that I played, some shops and facilities were just ‘shells’ – basically empty buildings that were elaborately themed. Placing them in the park didn’t give me the actual facilities themselves – I would have to find those, then either place them in the park, place the shell over them, or add them by editing the shell’s blueprint (the name for ready-made, yet customizable, pre-built elements).

Confusingly, some facilities in the default Planet Coaster theme were included, while other themes just included the shell. I’ll clarify with Frontier about whether this is just because I was playing a limited preview version of the game, or if this will be the case in the full version as well. I hope not.

By searching for the actual shop or facility to add to the shell, I was reminded about another issue that I’ve had with the original Planet Coaster, which seems to be still present in the sequel. It can be difficult to find certain building parts, and while there is a decent tagging system in place that lets you search, you still need to remember where certain things are located, as there are a few different menus where the item could be. Sometimes things are in the ‘Shops and Facilities’ menu. But then there are also the ‘Scenery’ and ‘Building’ menus, which can also have items you need – and you’ll need to remember which menu they are in. When you start expanding the game with DLC, which will be inevitable considering the various expansion packs the original game got, these menus become more unwieldy, so finding things can take even longer.

Planet Coaster 2 screenshot people swimming in a pool

(Image credit: Frontier Developments)

I was also shown a level in the campaign mode. I felt that the campaign of Planet Coaster was not that engaging – I usually spent my time playing in sandbox mode, with unlimited money. While this gives you more freedom, it also means you miss out on the challenge and management aspects of the game. So, with Planet Coaster 2, I’m hoping to have more reasons to play the campaign and to dig into the (hopefully) more expansive management options.

From what I played, that might not be the case. The level required me to build a park but only in a certain part of the map, for reasons that didn’t make too much sense. However, unless I was being thick (a likely possibility), once in the game I wasn’t given any onscreen guidance for where to build or suggestions on how to hit the goals to allow me to progress. Eventually, a kindly press representative of Frontier took pity on me and informed me I was building in the wrong part of the map.

This confusion, along with not being sure where to find parts to build facilities and how to make paths on higher levels, makes me worried that the interface of Planet Coaster 2 needs a bit of a rethink with more onscreen help and tips. After all, if an (admittedly a bit stupid) longtime player of the original game can get lost, what hope do newcomers have?

Planet Coaster 2 screenshot people sun bathing

(Image credit: Frontier Developments)

Open for business

While some doubts remain, from the time I had with Planet Coaster 2 I am very excited to play the full release when it launches in November. It’s a charming and fun game that’s clearly been made by people who love the subject matter.

I can see myself playing this game a heck of a lot, and I can’t wait to see what the imaginative community makes with the new and improved tools – as before, PC gamers will be able to easily add other user’s creations to their own parks via the Steam Workshop.

As a fun toy that lets my imagination run wild, my inner child could not be more excited for Planet Coaster 2. The part of me that enjoys playing challenging games, however, will need a bit more convincing.

Planet Coaster 2 releases on November 6, 2024, on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S.

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WD Black P40 Game Drive review: speed comes at a price
5:00 pm | August 11, 2024

Author: admin | Category: Computers Consoles & PC Gadgets Gaming | Tags: | Comments: Off

WD Black P40 Game Drive: One-minute review

The WD Black P40 Game Drive is an external SSD geared towards gamers. It’s compatible with PlayStation, Xbox, and PC and offers impressively fast file transfer speeds. Just bear in mind that, as an external storage device, if you intend to use this drive with a PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, or Xbox Series S, you won’t be able to run current-generation releases directly from it - only store them Still, it’s an extremely compelling game storage solution if you don’t want to have to wait too long to copy your desired games back to your console.

It boasts a sleek and modern design that’s extremely compact and impressively durable, covered in a slick layer of black aluminum that makes it easy to recommend if you’re looking for a drive specifically to take out and about. It even features colorful RGB lighting, which is an excellent touch.

That said, there are some major drawbacks to choosing an external SSD like this over an external hard drive. Firstly, there's the matter of the price. The WD Black P40 Game Drive is available in 500GB, 1TB, and 2TB capacities. While the 500GB model is the most affordable, its limited size means it’s ill-suited to storing most large, modern games. That means you’re left with the 1TB and 2TB models, which are both substantially more expensive than a hard drive. 

You can even find 5TB gaming hard drives, like the Seagate FireCuda, that come in a little cheaper than the 1TB WD Black P40 Game Drive. While a hard drive would be much slower, it is still a better option for those purely focused on getting the most storage at the lowest cost. 

A top-down view of the WD Black P40 Game Drive on a desk.

(Image credit: Future)

WD Black P40 Game Drive: Price and availability

  • 500GB costs $99.99 / £78.99 
  • 1TB costs $129.99 / £135.84 
  • 2TB costs $219.99 / £247.40 

The WD Black P40 Game Drive is available in three capacities: 500GB, 1TB, and 2TB. As a rule of thumb, you should avoid the 500GB model as that space is going to fill up extremely quickly. Instead, pick the 1TB model, which costs $129.99 / £135.84, or 2TB model, which is $219.99 / £247.40. Both of these are readily available at Amazon in the US and UK. They also frequently receive substantial discounts, so consider waiting for a sale before making your purchase.

WD Black P40 Game Drive: Specs

WD Black P40 Game Drive: Design and features

The design of the WD Black P40 Game Drive is seriously sleek and impressively compact. At 4.2 x 2 x 0.51in / 106.98 x 50.82 x 13mm in size it can easily be slipped into a pocket and taken out and about. It’s very lightweight, though still feels durable thanks to its ribbed aluminum case. Unlike a traditional external hard drive, this external SSD does not feature any moving parts so it’s able to withstand the odd bump without much risk of data loss or damage. If you’re looking for an Xbox, PlayStation, or PC external storage device to take on the go, then this is easily one of the best options right now.

While the top of the drive is relatively plain, adorned with a white WD Black logo and some basic model information, its underside is home to two small RGB strips. These illuminate with an eye-catching rainbow by default, but can be further customized or disabled entirely with the WD Black Dashboard software on PC.

WD Black PC software.

(Image credit: WD Black)

The software is easy to use and there’s an impressive range of presets available, including support for Razer Chroma RGB, Asus Aura Sync, and more. It’s a fantastic suite of options for a storage device and makes it easy to find a look that perfectly matches your existing setup.

The drive connects to your system through a Type-C port with an included 11in / 300mm Type-C cable. A handy USB Type-A to Type-C adapter is also included in the box, so you don’t need to worry if you’re working with a limited number of free Type-C ports.

Console owners should be aware that, as an external storage device, this drive cannot play any PS5 or Xbox Series games installed on it. It can be used to play PS4 and Xbox One titles via backwards compatibility, however, where it performs well.

The WD Black P40 Game Drive on a colorful desk mat.

(Image credit: Future)

Seagate Game Drive for PS5: Performance

The overall performance of WD Black P40 Game Drive is significantly faster than an external hard drive, though not too remarkable compared to other external SSDs. On PS5, transferring a 90.23GB installation of Alan Wake 2 took 8 minutes and 3 seconds - less than half the time it took on the competing Seagate Game Drive for PS5. The PS4 version of Dishonored 2, which comes in at 67.21GB, was playable from the drive in just 4 minutes 23 seconds.

Hatsune Miku: Project Diva Future Tone and add-on that totalled 38.30GB transferred in 2 minutes 32 seconds. The Alone in the Dark remake, which is 30.67GB, took 2 minutes and 43 seconds. A slightly smaller PS4 game, Mirror’s Edge Catalyst, copied in an impressive 1 minute 8 seconds. Transfer time became almost negligible when it came to much smaller titles, with the 7.31GB Stray copying over in just 43 seconds and the 1.63GB Angry Birds Star Wars taking just 7 seconds.

On PC, the drive averaged a read speed of 1,048.90 MB/s and a write speed of 978.68 MB/s in a 32GB sequential test using CrystalDiskMark 8.0.5. This was on the lower end of the advertised sequel read and write speeds of up to 2,000MB/s and 1,950MB/s respectively, but did not noticeably impact performance when used to play a selection of PC games during my testing.

I did note, however, that the WD Black P40 Game Drive has a tendency to become very hot to the touch over periods of extended use. While this is unlikely to affect console users copying the odd game or two, those on PC looking to frequently transfer large files (such as video) should be aware of the potential for reduced speeds due to thermal throttling.

The RGB lighting of the WD Black P40 Game Drive.

(Image credit: Future)

Should I buy the WD Black P40 Game Drive?

Buy it if...

You want a portable external storage device
Thanks to its durable aluminum case and extremely sleek design, the WD Black P40 Game Drive is absolutely perfect for shoving in a pocket and taking out and about.

You are a PC gamer
While console users can’t take advantage of the WD Black P40 Game Drive’s speeds to play the latest games, this isn’t an issue for PC gamers. This makes it a good choice if you’re looking for a fast external drive to play games from. 

Don't buy it if...

You can make do with a hard drive
Most console players could make do with a slower external hard drive. You can save a fortune if you’re happy to spend a little longer transferring your games.

Also consider...

Want some alternatives to the WD Black P40 Game Drive? These two external hard drives are cheaper picks that are a perfect fit for consoles.

Seagate Game Drive for PS5
The Seagate Game Drive for PS5 is an excellent choice for PlayStation players. It’s compatible with PS5 and PS4 and offers larger capacities than the WD Black P40 Game Drive for much lower prices.

For more information, check out our full Seagate Game Drive for PS5 review

Toshiba Canvio Flex  
Those on Xbox or PC should consider the Toshiba Canvio Flex. This external hard drive is slower than the WD Black P40 Game Drive but comes in at a much more affordable price, particularly in its 1TB capacity.

For more information, check out our full Toshiba Canvio Flex review

The USB adapter included with the WD Black P40 Game Drive.

(Image credit: Future)

How I tested the WD Black P40 Game Drive

  • Used for one week 
  • Tested with a PS5, Xbox Series S, and PC 
  • Compared to other storage devices 

I tested the 500GB model of the WD Black P40 Game Drive for a week. During that time it became my go-to external storage device on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series S. On consoles, I transferred a range of games in order to measure the time that it would take to copy a game in an average scenario. 

On PC, I played games that were installed directly on the drive including Counter-Strike 2 and Last Epoch to see whether there were any noticeable performance issues. I also tested the drive using a range of benchmarks in CrystalDiskMark 8.0.5 and carefully evaluated the features of the compatible WD Black dashboard software. 

Read more about how we test

First reviewed August 2024.

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