Cory Wells's Reviews
EA put all of its chips into College Football 25, and it truly paid off. People are buying consoles just to play this game. It's a cultural phenomenon and the experience that's provided isn't replicated anywhere else. All the new additions to help make the game stand out including Wear and Tear, Turbo Mode, different coverage shells and added hot routes for pre-play, and basically everything added isn't just a gimmick, it's a substantial change. While some bugs and logic need to be addressed, College Football 25 is undoubtedly the most fun football game to come out in years. Everything College Football is here.
Anyone who is a fan of South Park needs to play SOUTH PARK: SNOW DAY!, especially if they really enjoyed Stick of Truth. The cooperative gameplay with the action/adventure combat element actually makes this more approachable to play with others compared to Stick of Truth, which was a turn-based RPG. If you are not a fan of South Park, some of the gameplay limitations may inhibit the experience as it seems the development team didn't want to over-complicate the gameplay while also focusing on the story being told. With post-game options and the ability to play with others, this adds replayability, but currently it's hard to tell if the longevity will be there unless there are plans for narrative DLC down the road. The horde mode option helps to add to this. The art and combat design here does work, but the main issue comes with the audio complaints with mixing and repetitive lines. The world of South Park is the driving force of SOUTH PARK: SNOW DAY!.
San Diego Studio focused on a few primary additions for MLB The Show 24. Adding two Storylines and the way this was produced and the pacing of the gameplay opens the door for the future. These docu-series without taxing gameplay that provide rewards will keep players occupied early, on top of learning about baseball history that includes one of the greatest dynasties of all time. Other changes to Road to the Show and Franchise are noticeable at the surface level, but the experience of both remains unchanged. The same goes into the other modes that are here. The game still feels dated, but the addition of more animations and the emotion that's felt from individual player's faces animations help with upping the experience of each game played.
EA SPORTS WRC makes a few moves that are different for the franchise that work, but the difficulty that made DiRT Rally 2 so challenging yet rewarding is missing.
Alan Wake 2 is the perfect release for Halloween as it presents a psychological horror movie into video game format.
If you're a returning player of the Payday franchise, you'll like what Payday 3 offers with multiple heists and keeping its core gameplay design intact.
NHL 24 does do some things that make changes to gameplay in a positive way.
Turn 10 Studios and PlayGround Games have improved the simulation racing aspect with Forza Motorsport. The racing is clearly the focus and the results are best experienced with a wheel as the tire model physics have helped to push this more into sim racing territory.
What EA has done with its relaunched soccer title is define the series going forward.
After the large strides last year, the minimal announcements for updates to this year's game raised a red flag.
Despite the lack of content at launch and the long waits to join matches, I still can't seem to put Firewall Ultra down.
Madden NFL 24 feels like the most complete game since jumping to this generation.
F1 23 makes welcome changes and additions to the series with the most beneficial being the racing.
Street Fighter 6 modernizes the series and feels like a true evolution that hits the likes of Hyper Fighting, Third Strike and SF4. This is possibly the biggest swing the series has seen and it worked out.
TT Isle of Man: Ride on the Edge 3 seems to focus more specifically on the technical aspect of the bikes while touching up other areas.
The most welcome aspect of EA SPORTS PGA TOUR is the PGA aspect itself.
INGAME STUDIOS should be commended for trying something different as they've previously worked on the Mafia series amongst other titles.
While not a lot has changed in terms of ways to play MLB The Show 23, the experience on the field is much improved.
2K and Visual Concepts continue to show commitment to this franchise in WWE 2K23 by making necessary gameplay changes and additions to an already-strong core that was established last year.
With The Official Videogame 6, The Monster Energy Supercross series from Milestone continues to feel like the pot on the back burner of all the racing series they develop and publish.