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Borderlands 4 Review: The Loot is Great, but the Soul Feels Missing

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The Weight of Expectations Gearbox faced numerous challenges in the making of Borderlands 4. Given the polarizing opinions surrounding Borderlands 3, it is apparent that Borderlands 4 has adopted a more cautious approach. The first several hours of gameplay showcase the new world with refined gunplay, new loot, and expanded gameplay mechanics. Regardless, players may be under the impression that the content was toned down. Certainly, the fun is present, with the shooting, the weapons, and the game-play mechanics remaining unchanged. The delight in opening the chests and watching the loot explode is present, but with the amount of content available, it is strangely lacking the soul that has characterized the series in the past. If Borderlands 3 was too loud, too eager to please, too desperate to prove itself edgy and relevant, then Borderlands 4 swings so far in the opposite direction that it risks losing what made the franchise special in the first place....

Defaults of Parkour in Assassin’s Creed Shadows

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After enjoying the open world in Assassin's Creed Shadows for a few hours, parkour is the one thing that sticks in my mind the most long after finishing the missions. Having a feature that once defined the series, parkour became the most essential and favorite part of Assassin's Creed gameplay. It was what made the world feel responsive and rhythmic; the joy of finding a creative route across the rooftops was something else. Regrettably, Shadows continues the series' diminishing return on this. It doesn’t completely fail, but it also doesn’t quite succeed. What is left is a system that feels functional, even sometimes stunning, but it is also lacking. The first trailers for Shadows built anticipation for feudal Japan. The environments looked diverse and built for conquest; layered rooftops and tiered castles provided plenty of passage and vertical integration. As I climbed my first Japanese castle wall, I felt the nostalgic connection with the archit...

Assassin's Creed Origins - A Bold Reinvention That Forgets Its Roots

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Having finished my first full playthrough of Assassin’s Creed: Origins, I find myself admiring Ubisoft’s creativity, being an advanced rebuild of the series, while at the same time being critical of all the series values they lost in the process. It’s breathtaking and ambitious, but at times, I did find myself lost in the sheer scale and not in how I felt being an assassin. Having come off Syndicate, which felt as though the traditional formula had been polished and perfected, I was taken by how much Origins felt like a separate franchise, although I recognize why Ubisoft might want to distance it from the franchise. It feels like an answer to franchise fatigue, and while I agree with much of its vision around modernizing the franchise, I would argue it’s lost the chic and clarity of focus that made the series so stellar. The World and Presentation Let’s start with the obvious: Egypt is mind-boggling. Ubisoft artists have made one of the best game worlds. The game map made the deser...

Assassin's Creed Shadows Review – A Beautiful, Flawed Return to the Creed

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For the last week, I have been immersed in the world of Assassin’s Creed Shadows . I have been quietly enjoying the game, focusing on the tall grass, takip patrol routes, and rudimentary stalking. I have stopped to admire the ephemeral beauty of the evening light on the leaves of feudal Japan.  I would rate Shadows a 7/10. When the game delivers, it shines and becomes a game to remember. Sneaking within the striking landscapes of Shadows is a game-kernel experience, but it is additionally challenged by the unmodernized systems that have yet to rekindle the elusive stealth of the original titles in the series, leaving the game unpolished. The Good The biggest win for Assassin's Creed Shadows is its commitment to stealth. Playing as Naoe feels like a return to form, at least partially. I enjoyed lying prone in tall grass, using a torch to manipulate lighting, and slipping past guards under the cover of night. These activities felt like evolutions...

Space Marine 2 Review: A Digital Battlefield Worth Fighting On

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Strapping On the Power Armor As soon as I loaded up Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 , it felt like I’d locked myself into a roaring suit of power armor. Marching into the first mission as Lieutenant Titus—now sporting the Deathwatch badge—turned the living room into a warzone and me into the general leading the charge. Every footstep carries an incredible thud like the armor remembers centuries of battles, and somehow it’s not a hassle to move. Titus glides forward with the kind of muscle and finesse that’s like a rhino learning ballet. Just roaming the massive glass point of the first level proved to be my first weirdly peaceful thrill of the game. The Mighty of Combat When you step into Space Marine 2 , combat isn’t just shooting and swinging; it’s a bloody concert, and you’re the conductor with a chainsword for a baton. Every swipe sends a wave of carnage that builds like a final chorus of glistening body parts and glorious screams. I met a swarm of Tyranids that felt like the l...

Will Forza Horizon 5 Still Be Relevant In 2026?

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Forza Horizon 5 was released in 2021 and became an instant hit. It's version of Mexico, sunny and sprawling, became the ‘playground’ for a lot of gamers, and even four years later, Forza Horizon 5 is still an icon. Many gamers still have it stored on their hard drives. Tools of the Trade: The Creative Playground Once you enter the Creative Hub of Forza Horizon 5 , the number of possibilities available to you can seem like too much to process at once. But then, you realize, this is your canvas. The game's photo mode is probably one of the most sophisticated I have ever used. You can manipulate aperture and focus, control the time of day, and even tweak the weather. Start with the perfect golden hour shot of your Koenigsegg Jesko tearing across a panoramic desert trail? You can add decals, add more layers of graphics to the existing layers, and even go to the extent of trying to develop your own imaginary car design. In 2026, the livery editor is...

EA Sports FC 26: The Masterpiece of Technology And Humanity

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The Game That Ends All Games FC 26 has undoubtedly proven itself to be the greatest game of all time. Other achievements of the past, such as the discovery of the wheel, the printing press, and even the discovery of oxygen, take a back seat to EA Sports FC 26 , a game that Electronic Arts has devised. One could argue that the staggering developments in the digital sporting world, especially FC 26, aim to replace the reality of football. It literally brings nothing short of a digital utopia to an industry that has already been optimized to its full potential. What’s the point of trying to follow a real-life football match when Electronic Arts has managed to make reality simply an outcome of FC 26? It makes you slow while being thorough, or contemplative, as if you are sipping on the finest Milan espresso on a sun-soaked terrace. Then, there is the competitive mode. This is more than just a fast option. It's hyperspeed football, where every virtual strip of grass is rocket-fueled....