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Showing posts from November, 2025

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...