Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (2024) Review

It has been 5 years since I bought a Call of Duty so close to its release date, so I thought I would dive into the newest Call of Duty which is Black Ops 6. When I was younger, I loved the first two Black Ops games and I have recently played Cold War, so hopefully this game can live up to all its hype and deliver. The premise of the game sees Woods & Adler assemble a new team in an attempt to take down a new rogue enemy called The Pantheon. 

Characters

So in this game you play as Case, an operative of the CIA and unfortunately just like Black Ops: Cold War he is a silent protagonist. I complained about it there and I will do the same here as I really do find it hard to connect to a silent character and I just wish a voice actor could have been found. They do some things to try and make him interesting but it isn't enough and it is a shame that this isn't a memorable protagonist. 

Luckily, the rest of the cast are great. Damon Victor Allen reprises his role as Frank Woods and Bruce Thomas reprises his role as Russel Adler and both are great. Adler does take a bit of a step back and isn't as vital here, but he still plays a decent part in the game and I really like the character. This game is set after the events of the past storyline in Black Ops 2 meaning a lot has happened to Woods and I really liked how the game handled that issue and made Woods feel like a more sympathetic character. 

Y'lan Noel Plays Troy Marshall and he is a great new character in the franchise. He is the de-facto leader of the new team and I liked how he struggled to handle it sometimes but was also a strong character. He was just a cool addition to the game and a great new protagonist. 

Karen David plays Sevati Dumas & Seamus Dever plays Felix Neuman and these are also great members of this team. Sevati is a trained assassin but has a bit of a tragic past and struggles with the fact that she is good at her job. Felix is struggling with causing violence and this moral dilemma is bought up quite a lot and it is something new for a character in a Call of Duty game. 

Story

The story is definitely a tale of two halves. Firstly, I really liked the team dynamic and the interactions between your squad mates, it made the world feel alive and that these characters were developing throughout. The missions are mostly really fun and I will credit the game developers for adding some real variety here and showing they really cared about this campaign. But this game overdoes it at times and doesn't feel like a COD game, it seems like it loves Zombies so much that they wanted to put it in the campaign too and it was really overused here. The ending is also really weak and feels completely out of place, focusing on a secondary character that isn't even that interesting. 

Side Content

This game has absolutely loads of content here and it is once again a bit of a mixed bag. The online multiplayer is fantastic, I have maybe never had so much fun on a Call of Duty as I have had on this one when it comes to online. It does have some lag issues but it didn't hinder me too much and hopefully that will get sorted as the future content is released. 

Also Zombies is back and to probably nobody's surprise, I didn't really care for it. They have just really commercialised Zombies and it doesn't have the same grit as it did before, it is all over the place and the story offers very little. I appreciate, I am in the minority in terms of not caring for zombies but I just can't deny that I am not a fan. 

Gameplay

The gameplay is fantastic, as I mentioned above I had some much fun playing this game. It had that feeling of 1 more game, I couldn't stop playing and that is because of how fast it moved, how good the weapons are and how much I enjoyed the majority of the new maps. The issues I had with Cold War are mostly gone for me and this is just so much fun to play. 

Graphics

The game looks fantastic on the PS5, it is a huge upgrade on Cold War and the characters look fantastic. The backgrounds are great too with the maps standing out from each other and all adding their own little bit of flavour. The weapons are also really well realised, they sound great and the game allows you to design it to your own desire.

Overall

Overall, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is a good game. It improve its graphics and gameplay and shows potential in its campaign. But it falls a little short in being this legendary shooter and that is a slight shame. Hopefully Call of Duty takes all the good things they did here and look to build on that for its eventual sequels. 

Rating - 7/10

Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor (2014) Review

Alongside watching Rings of Power, I thought I would go back and play another element of Middle-Earth lore with the game Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor. It took me a while to do but I have now completed the game and its two DLC expansions and here is my review. The premise of the game sees a Ranger of Gondor and his family killed by the forces of Sauron, upon his resurrection he must team up with a shadowy wraith to get his revenge. 

Characters 

The playable character is Talion and Celebrimbor who are bounded together through the story. Talion is the main protagonist and though he is voiced by the excellent Troy Baker I just found him incredibly bland. There is just no real development for him and his motivations are basic which made me not particularly care about him. 

But Celebrimbor is more interesting voiced by Alastair Duncan he is more harsh and brutal then Talion. He has similar motivations, but it feels more personal due to his past relationship with Sauron and how he really wants to exact his revenge, you get a greater idea of this in The Bright Lord DLC. 

Relatively late in the game we are introduced to The Dwarf Torvin played by Adam Croasdell and I found him an enjoyable companion. You go hunting with him and the banter between him and Talion is some of the more interesting dialogue, his role gets further expanded in one of The DLC Expansions. 

The rest of the cast are incredibly dull, whether it is the one note villains that get no chance to develop or make you truly interested in taking them down. The allies of Talion offer little either and it seems like he dislikes all of them and you wonder why they even want to team up with him. 

I mean Gollum makes an appearance here but it feels cheap and just an excuse to get a well known character into this game who plays a small and largely unimportant role. 

Story

The story is a bit of a mixed bag, I liked how Celebrimbor is bringing out the worst in Talion and forcing him to align himself with Orcs in order to get his revenge on Sauron. It is great seeing your forces grow and be able to take down the opposition and is easily the most enjoyable part of the game. 

But the story lacks complexity and feels quite strange in the way it progresses. The story at its heart is a basic revenge plot and they cover it up with some fancy window dressing in gameplay mechanics and I just didn't care about Talion enough for it rise above its basic narrative. 

Side Content

This game has huge amounts of side content and it deserves a lot of praise for that. The amount of Orc captains that you can take down through the Nemesis system is amazing and shows the hard work that the developers went into to make that happen. Doing Missions to upgrade your weapons were pretty cool too and it was cool to see actual progress. The other smaller missions are fun too and alongside a long challenge mode and two long DLC Expansions, there is plenty to do here. 

Gameplay

The gameplay is really good even though it is basically an Arkham clone and it is really clear that the same people made this game. The main reason it is so good is the nemesis system as you go against and recruit Orc captains to weaken Sauron's army and strengthen yours. The action can get a bit repetitive but it is a lot of fun and trying to manage different scenarios is a welcome challenge. Though the final boss of the main game is really lacklustre and way too easy but the final boss in The Bright Lord DLC just about saves it. 

Graphics

The game has okay graphics, I love the different designs for the Orcs and the fortresses that you have to storm, with the cutscenes being well rendered and good on the eye. But the actual maps that you play on are pretty dull and I understand that they are going for the darker and grittier look but it doesn't quite work for me. 

Overall

Overall, Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor is a good game and I enjoyed it. If you are a fan of the lore then I would say give it a go and because of its huge price drop this is a game that is worth playing. 

Rating - 7/10

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (2019) Review

While playing the newer Star Wars games, I realised that I actually hadn't reviewed Jedi: Fallen Order even though I have reviewed the Sequel Jedi: Survivor so it is time to review it after playing through the game. The premise of the games sees a young Jedi escape Order 66 and when he discovered he must find his true identity and a reason to fight. 

Characters

Cameron Monaghan plays Cal Kestis and I love this performance and it was a true pleasure to play as the character. Cal's development throughout the game is fantastic and we really see him develop and come to realise how important he can be to the galaxy. You see him gain more confidence and it feels like we are on a journey with him which is fantastic. 

Cal's main companion of the game is BD-1, a little droid who is full of character. I don't think it is an overreaction to put him on a similar level to R2-D2 & BB-8 and the development of their friendship is so charming and I love watching it on screen. 

Debra Wilson plays Cere Junda, a former Jedi who is helping Cal and she is a fascinating character. She is shrouded in mystery throughout the game and we learn little things throughout that makes things complicated between her and Cal and adds this layer of character. 

Greez played by Daniel Roebuck and Tina Ivlev plays Nightsister Merrin and they are great additions to the crew of The Mantis. Greez is the pilot and is charming and funny, clearly being the comedy relief but it really works. Merrin is a fascinating character, she gives a look at the Nightsisters that we have never seen before and I just wish we could have spent more time with her in the game. 

The villains are also really well written, there are spoilers involving one of the villains identity so I won't go into too much detail but they are well written and kept interesting throughout the game. 

Story

The story is really heavily emphasised here and I really enjoyed it. Cal is a fantastic lead character and I love how they handled his character development. The crew of The Mantis are great together and I love the banter and emotion between the three/four of them. The ending is also really rewarding and the last 10 mins of the game is just peak Star Wars. 

Side Content 

Now this game heavily focused on its story but that means there is literally no side content and that is not good enough. The game tries to trick you to go back to planets to find things but there is no point, sure there are collectibles but they aren't particularly interesting and it just feels like the amount of content here is not good enough and it makes the game feel a little empty and I completed it pretty quickly. 

Gameplay

The gameplay is a lot of fun, the lightsaber combat is fresh and exciting and there are plenty of enemies to face off with that feels unique. There are cool climbing sequences and the missions feel different throughout with some great locations. However, this game had an issue and that was the final boss, I am happy to have a challenge but the final boss is really cheap and it became more of a chore to complete then actually a fun challenge. 

Graphics

The game looks beautiful, the character models look life like and credit to these real performances that bring them to life. It was great revisiting some planets we already know and some new ones and every one was designed fantastically well.

Overall

Overall, Jedi: Survivor is a good game but I can't lie that I was a little disappointed playing it through. I just remember the game being better and I truly feel like the sequel Survivor is a huge improvement. But Jedi Fallen Order is a good game that focuses on its story and characters and if you are a fan of Star Wars and Single Player Games, then it should be played. 

Rating - 7/10

Tomb Raider (2013) Review

Between the releases of Mortal Kombat 1 and Spider-Man 2, I wanted to play an older game that I remembered enjoying so I decided to replay the reboot of Tomb Raider. Now that I have paused playing the other games, I have completed my playthrough of this game and here is my review for it. The premise of the game sees a young Lara Croft and the rest of her crew stranded on an island that has some mysterious challenges for survival. 

Characters

Camilla Luddington takes over the iconic role of Lara Croft and she does a fantastic job in this game. She delivers her lines well and I felt like she was realistic in the role, she is new to the majority of this stuff but has enough training to make it believable that she can stand up to the opposition. I cared about Lara and this is easily the most brutal depiction of the character ever, it isn't sexualised and treats her as this survivor that this whole game is building her up to be. 

Unfortunately, the rest of the characters don't fair so well. There is a big crew that arrives with Lara on the island but none of them are particularly interesting. The best the game does is Sam who is Lara's best friend and Roth who is her mentor but these aren't that great and it makes some emotional moments fall flat. The rest of the crew are super generic and I didn't care about any of them even though the game clearly wants me too. 

The villains are also poor. It is just some random group of mercenaries led by a guy who offers very little to the character. They do introduce some different villains towards the end of the game but don't really explain them very well and leave it too late to introduce them. 

Story

Despite the lacklustre characters, I actually really liked the story that was told here. It depicts this young woman trying to survive on this island by using just her wits and weapons she can get a hold of. Lara's personal journey really works here and the actual story does a great job of telling this origin story for the character we all know and love. 

Side Content

The side content is a mixed bag. Even though this game is called Tomb Raider, the actual Tomb's are a side content and they are pretty well done. These activities made me think about how to complete them and it feels more like a traditional Tomb Raider game which is nice to see. However, there is some side content that feels like window dressing and underdeveloped. For example, there is hunting in this game, but it isn't actually its own thing and is way worse then a game such as Red Dead Redemption 2. The collectibles are also pretty dull and didn't really incentivise me to collect them. 

Gameplay

This game is really fun with its gameplay. You start with a bow and arrow and as the game progresses you collect more weapons and tools to use to help Lara. The movement and platforming is really fun and traversing this massive island was a joy. But I did feel some of the gameplay was a little janky and hard to use, especially with the gunplay. I do wonder if they did that to link with Lara's quality which does make some sense but it was a little annoying. Also the final boss battle felt way too easy and like they rushed the ending which was a big shame. 

Graphics

The graphics for the game are fantastic. The character models looks great and the island as a whole is really fun to travel across and never get bored of. It is a really nice looking and sounding game that clearly has a load of hard work put into it. 

Overall

Overall, Tomb Raider is a good game. It does a really good job of building up the character of Lara Croft and despite some miscues I had a good time playing it. It is probably really cheap now so I would recommend giving it a go if you have the time. 

Rating - 7/10

Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath (2020) Review

After the success of Mortal Kombat 11, Netherealm studio decided to create an expansion which would be called Aftermath. This would focus on DLC characters and what they were up to during the events of the main story and how things they do can change these events. So after playing the story and using the DLC characters with Aftermath, here is my review for the expansion. The premise of the game sees Shang Tsung, Fujin and Nightwolf sent back to events during the story in order to find Kronika's crown before she does. 

The story is better then the base game. But not by much. 

I really didn't like the story of Mortal Kombat 11, I thought it let characters down and had a lacklustre ending. This story focuses on some of the lesser known characters such as Nightwolf, Fujin & Sheeva which is pretty cool and I liked how they were given time to shine. It is also nice to once again play as Shao Khan and see him somewhat redeemed from the main story. 

But there are certain elements of the story telling which doesn't work. One twist is particularly bad and doesn't make any sense from what we have been told in previous games and actually ruins one character in the franchise. The ending is once again lacklustre and I just don't think it nails the landing which is a a shame. 

The DLC Characters are cool

The three DLC characters that are included in the Aftermath are Sheeva, Fujin & guest character Robocop. They all play well, as a big film fan playing as Robocop was fun and these characters all flowed in really nicely. 

This expansion is way too expensive

Expansions are usually not that cheap but I feel like Aftermath is way too expensive. At release it was £32.99 in The UK and even now it is not much cheaper. For a 3 hour campaign, 3 DLC characters and some new skins it just feels like an overpriced expansion. 

Overall

Overall, Mortal Kombat: Aftermath is a decent expansion for the franchise. The gameplay is still great and the story is a bit better. But the price and lack of content for that price makes it no better then the base game. But it certainly isn't terrible and if you are a fan of the franchise I think it is worth picking up for the extensive content. 

Rating - 7/10

Mortal Kombat 11 (2019) Review

The new Mortal Kombat game is heading our way next month and I have to say that I am really excited for it. In prep, I have been playing the recent games and I have just played Mortal Kombat 11 and completed enough to review it. Though, I haven't played the expansion Aftermath as I will be doing a separate review for it. So after completing the story and most of the side activities here is my review for Mortal Kombat 11. The premise of the game sees 2 years after the defeat of Shinnok, Raiden has been putting the offence onto the realms that oppose Earthrealm. But this draws the ire of the Titan Kronika and sees kombatants from different eras clashing to protect their future. 

Characters

After my complaints about Mortal Kombat X it is great to see Liu Kang be pushed to the forefront here. Bought in as a younger version of the character, I really liked seeing Earthrealms champion be given the spotlight again and playing as him was enjoyable and seeing his development is one of the highlights of the game. 

Kitana was another character who was misused in MK X but by showcasing her younger version of the character it really works. She is seen as this leader and is way more then a damsel which I think she has been portrayed before. Her whole story is up there for most interesting part of the story. 

After the events of MKX Sub Zero and Scorpion are now allies and watching them work together and have this friendship is one of my favourite parts of the game. Their characters have been developed over the last few games and it is cool to see.

But the problem is that pretty much the rest of the cast aren't given much to work with or are misused.

Cassie Cage was the main character in the last game, but after the first chapter, I feel like she is given little to do and the stuff she is given is pretty dull. 

They even recast Sonya Blade as UFC Legend Ronda Rousey and she is terrible in this role. She just doesn't fit the character and all I can hear is the person and not the character they are supposed to be playing. The actress from the previous game was good and it would have kept for a consistent tone amongst the character. 

Kronika herself is the villain and she is a terrible villain. Her motivations are all over the place and the voice performance by the excellent Jennifer Hale is not enough to save it. She doesn't really do anything and she continues a trend of weaker villains. 

Certain characters get wasted to such as Shao Khan and Erron Black and I wish the game would do better with characters like these. 

Story 

The story is not good here. There are some really promising moments but I just feel like those moments are kind of wasted by decisions they make later on in the story. The most frustrating thing is that the promise that we were going to see Evil Raiden is totally ignored and forgotten about, it all happens off screen and that is incredibly frustrating. The whole game relies on time travel and it breaks its own rules throughout, things make no sense and becomes confusing. Overall, this story is really poor and I hope the next game is written way better then this one. 

Side Content

Similar to previous Mortal Kombat games, this game has many towers that are fun and challenging in their own ways. There are modifiers added to some of these to add even more challenge to the game. There is also the towers of time, these are updated regularly which is impressive considering the game was released 4 years ago, they are towers with themes and gives gear for specific characters. The krypt is back as an interactive game to get unlockables and it is a fun little game that I am glad they added. Plenty to do here and that is before you get to online which I am not very good at but there is plenty to do there. 

Gameplay 

The gameplay has been developing over the past few games and it is great here. The special moves feel so appropriate for the characters. The gameplay flows really nicely and each character feels unique and that makes it really enjoyable. It was changed that X-Rays are gone and replace by Fatal Blows, these could only be accessed when your character is in the final 25% of your health. At first I didn't like this, but I grew to see the benefits and how it can clearly swing a match. Fatalities are still here and this is the most brutal it has ever been, they are so creative and violent that it sets out this game to others. 

Graphics

Whether you like the game or not, there is no doubt that this game is beautiful. The graphics are incredible, the character designs are top notch and there are so many options for different costumes. Every level looks great and the arenas have their own nuances and actions going on in the background. The cutscenes look great, even if the content isn't particularly good which raises it slightly higher due to how many cutscenes there are. 

Overall

Overall, Mortal Kombat 11 is a good game. The gameplay is fantastic and it is a fun game. Skip, the story mode and just play the side content and you will be in for a great time. 

Mortal Kombat X (2015) Review

The new game Mortal Kombat 1 is set to come out in September. So I thought I would play the last few games to remind myself of the story and the gameplay. So I have just finished Mortal Kombat X and here is my review for the game. The premise of the game is set 20 years after the defeat of Shao Khan, the realms are at a flux with Earthrealm, Outworld and Netherealm all with their own objectives and lust for power. 

Characters 

With the extended timeline from the previous game we are introduced to a bunch of new characters here. The main ones being the four Spec Ops kids. Kung Jin, Takeda, Jacquie Briggs and their leader Cassie Cage. These characters are all really well realised and it was a risk to put so much time into new characters but I think it worked here. Cassie is probably viewed as the main character of the whole game and she is a fun character who is developed pretty nicely here. 

Some of the iconic characters are back and handled really well. I really liked Steve Blum's portrayal as Sub-Zero and it is really cool to see how they have decided to use him as this clan leader who has respect and honour. His long term rival Scorpion is also treated really well, this is the most unique stuff I have seen from the character in games and that is cool to see. 

Unfortunately, some characters are not given enough attention. Liu Kang, Kitana & Raiden are three of the most iconic characters in the franchise and they are really underused here, I mean Liu Kang and Kitana don't even have a chapter in the story mode. 

It also doesn't help that the villains are poor in this game. Shinnok played by Troy Baker is just a bit over the top and generic for me, he had the hard time in coming after Shao Khan but he just feels short and isn't particularly interesting for me. Also Quan Chi is one of my favourite bad guys and he is treated so badly here, ever character beats him up and treats him like a jobber and that really upset me. 

Main Story 

The main story is okay. It does a really good job at introducing these new characters and giving us enough time and reason to care about them. I also like seeing how the more experienced characters such as Johnny Cage and Sonya Blade have been affected by the events of MK 9 and all their friends dying. But as I said before, the story involving Shinnok and the Neatherealm isn't particularly interesting and leaves little to really care about. I just wish certain characters were given more to work with and the main ending just feels a bit rushed (apart from an awesome post credit scene). 

Side Content

This film has towers of fighting for each character and they are really fun. There is also a reward at the end of each tower by seeing a cutscene based on that character. Obviously some are better then others but they are all fun to watch and feel like a worthy reward. There are also living towers which sees different types of matches going on in the tower which is a nice change of pace. I didn't play too much online (because I am not that good) but it seemed to flow well and and work correctly. To get more unlockables and costumes you had to go through the Krypt, an interactable mini game where you go through a krypt of knowledge and easter eggs. The DLC are really cool also, as a big film fan it was cool seeing characters such as Alien & Predator in the game, though it does feel a bit cheap as they make us pay for characters who are in the story mode and already finished such as Tanya & Rain. 

Gameplay 

The gameplay is fantastic, the fighting feels so fluid and fast. It is just really exciting to play as these different characters with their different styles. Each character has 3 different varieties with different moves which shows the attention to detail that the creators went through to give the player a great experience. Some characters are better then others but I managed to find my way through all of them and find the versions I enjoyed. Though, one little thing is that I thought the intro discussions could have been better, they weren't written that well or feel that well voice acted which was a shame. 

Graphics

The film was one of the first to be seen as next-gen for the PS4 and it looks great. It doesn't look as strong now but for when it was released it looked really strong with great design. Some really cool arenas and character designs mixed with fantastic cutscenes. 

Overall

Overall, Mortal Kombat X is a good game that has some great things a fighting game requires. It falls a little short on other things but this is definitely a fun game and one I would recommend for sure. 

Rating - 7/10

Hogwarts Legacy (2023) Review

One of the biggest games to be released this year is the Harry Potter spinoff Hogwarts Legacy. It came out to some positive reviews and as a fan of the franchise, I thought I would give it a playthrough and even though it took a long time, I have finally finished the game. The premise of the game set in the late 1800, sees a new student join Hogwarts where they have access to ancient magic and must learn to harness it and stop the dark forces. 

Characters

This game has a main character that the gamer gets to create. I created a male wizard and used him throughout the game, I mostly played as a heroic wizard and chose the dialogue to meet with that. The character is okay, there are a few interesting things about them but I always feel with your own protagonist there isn't enough depth put into them. I never really cared that much about the lead character and the voice acting didn't help at all. 

There are so many characters in this game but one in particular stands out and that is Sebastian Swallow. A member of Slytherin, he is easily the best character in this game. His story is fascinating and the voice acting is great, I wanted to spend as much time as possible with this character instead the main story. 

Professor Fig is a decent mentor for the main character, he kind of drifts in and out of the game but I thought he had a fun dynamic with the main protagonist and was a nice part of the game. 

But the majority of the rest of the cast aren't great, the villain Ranarok is one of the most dull that you will ever see in a video game and is barely given anything to work with. Other class mates and teachers are just pretty dull and I can't really remember any of them or their personalities. I mean they waste the great Simon Pegg who plays the headmaster but is a small part of the game and doesn't really add anything. 

Main Story 

The main story is average at best. It sees the Goblins basically try to take over Hogwarts and steal magic. It is interesting how it looks through the past of the wizarding world and what the characters motivations are but the rest of it is dull. The main character is not interesting enough and the villain is incredibly mediocre with this being a pretty big let down that had potential to be so much better. 

Side Content

As I mentioned above, the Side Content involving Sebastian is the best part of the game and I really enjoyed it, it had emotion and depth to it. There were a couple of other side activities that worked as well with other students. But there was also others that were a waste of time, the usual fetch quests that seem to be in every RPG are overwhelming here and I skipped the majority of them. Plus why was there no Quidditch, it is one of the most popular thing in Harry Potter but the game creators didn't put it in the game. 

Gameplay 

The strength of the game is that the gameplay is fantastic. It flows incredibly well and allows the player to use plenty of spells that are from the books and films. The battles are a lot of fun and taking advantage of the spells that you learn and develop over the game is really fun. It is where the game thrives and I am happy that they really invested time into making this part a real highlight. 

Graphics

The game looks really good, it represents the Wizarding World really well. Hogwarts looks just how I imagined that it would, it nails its atmosphere very well and I really liked how the use of spells and design of characters feel natural to this universe that the game is set it. 

Overall

Overall, Hogwarts Legacy is a good game that does plenty of things right, especially its gameplay and graphics. But it it also fumbles on things too, I think when a game links to a film or book series it needs to have strong characters and story and for the most part this game doesn't have that. I still think it is an enjoyable game worth buying but definitely more of a desire for big fans of Harry Potter. 

Rating - 7/10