Godzilla (2014) Video Game [PS3 and PS4]

Godzilla (2014) Video Game

aka Godzilla VS [Japan PS4 Version]

Genre: Fighting / Action | Players: 1 (Offline) or 2 (Online PS4 only) | Developer: Natsume Atari

The opening cinematic of the game teases action, with monsters going head to head, military responses, dramatic camera angles, and, of course, destruction on a grand scale.

The tutorial that follows is presented in a wonderfully apt way, with a grainy B+W hue that's reminiscent of the first Godzilla movie - and with Akira Ifukube's iconic music playing throughout, the tone is set in suitably dramatic fashion. All in all, it reinforces the notion that getting to play as Godzilla is going to be as good as many G fans thought it would be. [1]

But when reality hits, after just a couple of levels, it hits with a kaijū-sized thump. You may even feel your hopes crumble like a tiny model city during a giant creature brawl. I sure did.

Assassin's Creed Unity (2014)

Assassin's Creed Unity (2014)

Genre: Action / Adventure | Players: 1 / Multi | Developer: Ubisoft Montreal

AC: Unity was the first of the Ass series to be released on the new (at the time) eighth generation of home consoles; the PS4, etc.

Not being a timely sort of person, I first played it eight years later, in 2022. I should say 'first' and 'last' time because it's bloody awful and I won't be trudging through its story ever again.

To add insult to injury, it came out on the very same day as Ass Creed Rogue came out on the previous generation of consoles. Rogue wasn't perfect, but it was infinitely more playable in comparison to the 'next generation' Unity.

I'm reminded of the proverb 'with great power comes great responsibility', except in Ubisoft's case it's more like 'with greater processing power comes greater catastrophe'. I usually leave my glitch report until after I've mentioned gameplay, etc, but Unity has nothing of value to relay, so the glitch report is all there is!

AER: Memories of Old (2017)

AER: Memories of Old (2017)

Genre: Adventure | Players: 1 | Developer: Forgotten Key

AER: MoO deserves praise for a number of things, but perhaps not so much as an actual game. That doesn't mean it's a joyless experience, though. I enjoyed much of it, for the brief time that it lasts.

Its biggest influences are Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda, specifically Skyward Sword (2011), which is the least fun I've ever had with a LoZ game, and Thatgamecompany's majestic Journey (2012).

It has a similar setting and makeup as SS, (i.e. set upon floating land masses in the sky, with a few dungeons/temples that must be visitied in order to progress) and attempts the same kind of soulful pilgrimage that Journey handled so perfectly.

Both the aforementioned games feature a wordless protagonist, as does AER. Her name is Auk.

Auk is a shifter, able to transform at will into a large bird, enabling her to traverse from one floating island to another with ease. The actual transformation is fluid and pleasing to do, performed by a single button-press, both ways.

Yakuza Kiwami (2016 / 2017)

Yakuza Kiwami (JP: 2016 / WW: 2017)

Genre: Action/Adventure | Players: 1 | Developer: Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio (SEGA)

Kiwami (meaning 'ultimate' or 'extreme') is an updated, overhauled and expanded PS4 remake of the very first Yakuza game, which was a PS2 exclusive title that received its western release in 2006, a year after its original Japanese release.

With it being the first game done over it'd be natural to assume that it's a perfect jumping on point for new players, but that's not quite the case. It does an okay job at being such, but there's a small number of sub-stories that follow on from occurrences in the previous year's Yakuza 0 (2015), a prequel game set in 1988, seventeen years before Kiwami. So if you want to be clued-in with regards every minor plot thread, you'll need to have played Yakuza 0 first.

The downside to that approach is that Yakuza 0, though set earlier in time, is a more accomplished and varied game. The devs did a tremendous job updating most parts of Kiwami, but lessons learned from and since the original game and its sequels, particularly regarding mission structure but also in storytelling and event timing, mean that for some players Kiwami's ageing game engine may feel dated and clunky by comparison.

Yakuza 0 (2015 / 2017)

Yakuza 0 (JP: 2015 / WW: 2017)

Genre: Action/Adventure | Players: 1 | Developer: Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio (SEGA)

A prequel set in December, 1988, seventeen years before the events of the first game in the long-running Yakuza (Ryū ga Gotoku) series.

It begins with main protagonist Kazuma Kiryu (box art, front right, white suit) on the streets of Kamurocho, Tokyo, having just kicked seven shades of shit out of some guy. But it's not just violence for the sake of it; the act itself is central to the story and to Kiryu's development and decision making, here and in the aforementioned first entry. How a man responds to violence is a measure of his character, and for Kiryu that measure is a large part of what defines him.

The earlier era means Kiryu is younger (and a little more arrogant), but it influences gameplay in other ways, too, such as the technology on offer (e.g. a pager instead of a mobile phone) and the layout of the map. Anyone familiar with the layout of the streets and alleyways of Kamurocho will find it slightly different to how it will look seventeen years hence, with one omission being particularly notable.

Mad Max: Video Game (2015)

Mad Max (2015)

Genre: Action / Adventure / Sandbox | Players: 1 | Developer: Avalanche Studios

An open-world sandbox game with a lot of actual (er... virtual) sand to futz around in. The setting is a similar post-apocalyptic wasteland landscape to that of the Mad Max films; it isn't based on any one feature, instead taking ideas from them all, but draws most heavily from MM: Fury Road (2015).

You play as the titular anti-hero, Max. Again, it's a new but familiar version, not rendered in the likeness of either Mel Gibson or Tom Hardy, but he's just as taciturn and gruff.

He's a standard video game tough guy, the kind that can survive getting hit by a speeding car but can't manage to jump over a foot-high fence that's blocking his way or manage to even walk while aiming his gun/projectile.

Beyond Eyes (2015)

Beyond Eyes (2015)

Genre: Story / Art Game | Players: 1 | Developer: Tiger & Squid (with Team17)

The young girl pictured is named Rae, and she's unusual in a number of ways. Firstly, she has none of the typical video game protagonist powers (run, punch, jump, etc), but in addition to that her connection to her world is defined primarily by what she hears, not what she sees, because Rae is blind - although, it's possible that she can discern shapes when they're very close, it's never explicitly stated. Either way, it's a fascinating and bold premise for a game, a medium that's inherently visual in nature.

The world in which Rae exists is bursting with colour, but she sees little or none of it. Things beyond the girl's hearing and/or limited range of sight aren't even drawn or rendered; they're blank until you move her near them. But rather than being black like a void or an absence of colour, they're bright white like parchment, ready to be written on. As you approach an area it gets filled in, resembling a watercolour painting in real time; I like to think of it as a story book coming to beautiful life in response to Rae's presence.

Bound (2016)

Bound (2016)

Genre: Platform / Art Game  |  Players: 1  |  Developer: Plastic

I avoid video game sales charts because they tend to paint a bleak picture of the hobby. Truly innovative games occasionally break though the COD and FIFA lines but they never stay around for long, and within a few weeks they're usually gone. It's not a situation unique to games - movies and music charts are the same. The companies that can afford to spend millions on advertising reap the biggest returns. The little guy gets stomped on. It's the old story, retold year after year.

But there's a flip side, a small number of people who dare to risk hard-earned cash on something new and different that carries a risk factor because they believe that fresh experiences are more precious than any value placed on currency. I count myself amongst their numbers, which brings me to Bound.

The Last Guardian (2016)

The Last Guardian (2016)

Genre: Adventure / Puzzle / 3D Platformer  |  Players: 1  |  Developer: Team Ico / genDESIGN / SIE Japan Studio

The many delays and behind the scenes troubles that plagued the game's development are well-documented elsewhere, so I'll skip all of that. My stance can be summed up with a familiar phrase, 'better late than never.' And in a strange way the delay makes TLG more special to me because it delivers today the kind of daring character-driven one-player PS2-era experience that is becoming rare in titles on modern consoles.

But, subjective silver lining aside, there's a drawback to deal with. While not much of a problem at the beginning, what's required of you as you progress deeper into the game's world causes the camera mechanic to feel outdated. Because it has to acknowledge both the boy and the giant cat-bird-dog creature (named Trico) featured on the cover art, it can choose to favour one when you need it to favour the other.

Assassin's Creed Chronicles (2015-16)

Assassin's Creed Chronicles (2015-16)

Genre: Platform / Stealth | Developer: Climax Studios

Considering how much of a spiritual debt the Ass franchise owes to Prince of Persia, it's fitting that it should return to a similar format with the smaller games. Ass Chronicles does just that.

It takes place within a 2.5D environment, a peculiar term that I'm guessing most gamers will already be familiar with. But if not, it's somewhere between a 2D and 3D environment; i.e., you move from left to right or right to left as you would in a traditional 2D side-scrolling video game adventure, but you can move into and out of more than one plane or layer from time to time, giving the illusion of depth. Functionally it enables you to hide or traverse past obstacles or enemies that would otherwise block your path.

To date, there have been three games in the Chronicles series, each with its own unique protagonist. Each one is available to buy separately, or collected together as a Trilogy Pack. However you acquire them, if you play them in the order they were originally released, then your first port of call is China in the year 1526.