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What are the best games on Xbox One that focus on tragedies of war?

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Jun 28, 2018

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9 Games Considered

Best games on Xbox One that focus on tragedies of war	Price	Platforms	Genre
-- NieR: Automata	$49.99	Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One	Action Role-Playing
-- Dragon Age: Origins	$29.99	Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Xbox One, macOS	Tactical Role-Playing
-- Valiant Hearts: The Great War	$14.99	-	-
-- Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain	$15.99	-	-
-- Fallout 4	$29.99	Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One	Action RPG

NieR: Automata

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Fast-paced, action-packed combat

The combat in NieR: Automata is fantastic. It has a hack-and-slash feel to it, with an emphasis on agility and showy acrobatics. With the fluid and responsive controls, you can switch seamlessly from using swift attacks with your weapon to devastatingly strong attacks as you combo them together. You also use customizable ranged missile attacks from your personal robot pod, such as powerful laser beams or a giant hammer attack. It can be difficult to win battles sometimes, especially on the harder gameplay settings, but it's worthwhile to keep at it and watch yourself progress and improve. See More

Top Con

Second playthrough can get repetitive

Once you get to Route B, your second playthrough, you may find that too much is the same. There are some big differences, such as the new way you get to see things play out, but a lot of it rehashes Route A, your first playthrough. There's a ton of hacking you have to do as well, which gets pretty boring after repeating it over and over again. But if you stick with it, Route C and onward are absolutely worth the time spent getting to that point. See More

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Genre:Action Role-Playing

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Unique storytelling with a real emotional impact

NieR: Automata's outlook on storytelling is incredibly special. To get the full experience, you have to run multiple playthroughs of the game, each of which offers a new experience and perspective. Your world view of the story events and characters expands drastically as you complete each playthrough, playing on your expectations to help you develop a deeper emotional bond with the protagonists and become invested in their plight. Things take a real turn on your third playthrough, putting you on an emotional roller coaster all the way to the true ending. The plot twists and knocks on the fourth wall elevate the story to a truly unique place. Getting all the way to the very end can be a religious experience from how much heart and meaning you discover in the symbolism. See More

Top Con

Limited open world

Even though NieR: Automata is technically an open world game, it doesn't always feel like it. It's more that there's a big open space in the center of the ruined city you explore, with branches that lead off to vastly different environments, like a desert, a village, and a few other places. These locations aren't that spacious, either, and it's a bit of a stretch to even imagine all of these places being so close together in the first place. It's not too much of an issue as long as you find the story and combat engaging enough. See More

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It's got a hauntingly beautiful environment

NieR: Automata is set in a post-apocalyptic landscape after Earth has been overrun by hostile machines, and the artists really nailed what that would feel like. Abandoned and overgrown cities litter the landscape along with old refineries, graveyards, and eerie forests. When you add the beautiful soundtrack to the experience, it fills you with a bittersweet mix of loneliness and hope. See More

Top Con

Some boring fetch quests

The pacing gets messed up when you're forced to run certain fetch quests near the start of the game. This is somewhat forgivable after the fun and action-packed introductory level, but the quests themselves are still a drag to play through. Some of the side quests can also boil down to the same thing. Even though these quests give a lot of useful information about the world, they're not all that fulfilling, and you may dread having to repeat them when playing through the game again. See More

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Gorgeous, ethereal soundtrack with amazing vocals

NieR: Automata's music is out of this world. It's so stunning and elegant in a way that nothing else can really live up to. The soundtrack manages to emotionalize the game through music, from the action-packed tracks with hard-hitting wind instruments and percussion, to the softer, somber songs that encapsulate the hauntingly beautiful environments and story moments you encounter. Vocals in the lore's indescribable language makes the music even more memorable, adding to the ethereal quality of the sound. This soundtrack is definitely one that you can go back to again and again without getting sick of it. See More

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An incredible amount of content

Outside of the main story, there's plenty of optional content to dive into. The side quests are the best way to get to know the characters and lore of the world, with some of them giving clever and subtle foreshadowing of the game's most critical events. There are also weapons to collect and upgrade, each of which offer nice little tidbits of lore after you get them to max level. And after reaching a certain point in the story, you get access to Chapter Select that lets you go back and replay whatever you want. You can easily spend 60+ hours exploring the world and still have much more to do. See More

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Varied genre-spanning gameplay elements

NieR: Automata has different types of gameplay to keep things interesting. From the very start, you're on an on-rails bullet hell section, and then you switch over to the more traditional action RPG style of fast-paced combat. Things change up again not long after with some side-scrolling platforming from a 2D view. Later on in the story, there's a hacking mini-game where you navigate a tiny ship through a short puzzle, with the music changing to a charming retro sound to fit the theme and mood. This is a game that doesn't stay boxed in a single genre. See More

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Dragon Age: Origins

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Plenty of mods available

Nexus Mods contains many mods to change just about any aspect of the game such as adding new dungeons, new companion interactions, and ways to save time like with the auto loot mod. See More

Top Con

Too easy to fix relationships with companions who dislike you

It's way too easy to smooth things over with disagreeable party members. Your companions can grow to actively dislike you if you pick certain dialogue options with them, or they can judge you harshly for certain story decisions you make. By giving them gifts, you can greatly improve their approval of you as if nothing had ever happened in the first place. None of your relationships with your companions really have any consequences when it's this simple to make them like you again after disagreements. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Genre:Tactical Role-Playing

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Well-implemented tactical combat with unique playstyles

The combat gameplay is great, featuring various playstyles and a key way for you to control the flow of battle. The different battle classes -- warrior, mage, and rogue -- have branching specializations with unique abilities. Going with a templar that branches off from the warrior class gives you an edge over enemies who use magic, while duelist rogues have more speed to strike quickly and dodge the most hits. You can also pause the game to bring up a radial menu to pick which abilities to use and specific enemies to target, meaning you can take your time in battle and not get overwhelmed by everything. Mastering your class specialization and using the radial menu to your advantage gives the combat a lot of strategic depth. See More

Top Con

Characters are partially clothed during romance scenes

The romance scenes include characters wearing their undergarments, which ends up looking weird and distracting. Full nudity isn't absolutely necessary, but it just seems off here. Having more creative camera angles to cover things up would have had a better effect without coming off as unrealistic. See More

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Your choices can give you vastly different playthroughs

The choices you make affect the gameplay and plot, opening things up for very different playthroughs. Right from the start, you pick which race and combat class you want for your protagonist -- human, elf, or dwarf -- each with their own playable origin prologue, such as a human mage with noble blood or a dwarf warrior part of the working class. Which origin you pick also has a big impact on how your companions and NPCs react to you, such as people respecting you more if you're a noble or looking down on you if you're an elf. Once you become a Grey Warden, the choices you make during the story segments determine who will join you for the final battle. You can side with the people whom you know will provide the most support in the finale against the darkspawn, but these characters might be irredeemable and reprehensible, so you might not want to help them after all. Or there may be other groups or people that you absolutely want to help, yet this comes at a great cost that negatively affects others in the world. It's a balancing act where you have to carefully take everything into consideration. All in all, your choices give you the chance to experience unique playthroughs, with potentially hundreds of hours of gameplay if you want to see how each outcome plays out. See More

Top Con

Silent protagonist even though everyone else has voice acting

It's jarring that your protagonist is the only character in the game who doesn't speak. While everyone else has a voice with their dialogue, it's awkward when you pick your own dialogue options and your character says nothing. When you choose your response, there's a pause between the other person's lines that doesn't quite feel right. It would have been nice if the voice acting were consistent, with voices for everyone or no one, to keep things on the same page. See More

Top Pro

Great ways to interact with companions

There are interesting ways to get to know your team members in Dragon Age: Origins. Giving them gifts, talking to them at camp, and listening to party banter are all realistic and fun. You can increase approval with your favorite characters by figuring out what types of gifts to give them, like general trinkets in the shape of a dragon, or more sentimental items with personal meaning to them like a parent's cherished locket. While resting at a camp, you can chat with anyone about what's on their mind, opening up side quests, and possibly triggering romance options. Party banter is always insightful and entertaining, with characters giving different lines depending on who you bring along. For instance, if two of your party members don't like each other, you can expect them to snipe insults or make more passive-aggressive backtalk depending on their personalities. Your companions feel like actual people you can interact with and listen to, each with their own preferences and perspectives. See More

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Epic dark fantasy story

The story in Dragon Age: Origins is long and expansive with many different parts that are all fit together by the finale. As a Grey Warden, you specialize in killing demon-like darkspawn enemies in order to prevent them from taking over the world in a cataclysmic event known as the Blight. Even with the darkspawn threat, there are many other issues across the country of Ferelden, such as the oppression of mages and elves at the hands of humans, and several displaced dwarves who were nearly wiped out during the Blights in the past. There's plenty of political drama as well, with you and your fellow Grey Wardens caught in the middle of a betrayal at the highest level of Ferelden's monarchy. You play a big part in the culmination of the drama with the choices you make, many of which aren't just black and white. All of these threads come together nicely by the end as you fight against the darkspawn to save the country and all the people that you get to know on your journey. See More

Valiant Hearts: The Great War

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A game about war where you don't kill anyone

Valiant Hearts tells a story about war, but you're not the one spreading death and misery. Your character simply journeys through battlefields, trenches, and various other locations. You meet other characters and solve puzzles along the way. This is quite refreshing because most modern titles about war always have a gun toting player character. See More

Top Con

Short

Valiant Hearts takes about 6 hours to complete and there's not much to do afterwards. While the collectibles give this game some replay value, not many players will be interested in finding them. See More

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Striking artistic style

The style of Valiant Hearts appeals to most aesthetics. It's simple and clean, allowing you to spot even the tiniest details in character designs and backgrounds. You'd occasionally spot interesting things like a flute attached to a soldiers backpack. Or even spot a very detailed Cathedral in the spaces between the rubble. The colors are very dim and blend quite well, giving you the sombre feeling of war. There are no random mashups of colors or effects like in many recent games. See More

Top Con

Historical facts may become annoying

There are historical fact boxes that will pop up during gameplay. They are optional, but can be annoying because they disrupt the flow of the gameplay. See More

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Simple but satisfying puzzles

The puzzles in Valiant Hearts aren't exactly the most difficult, but they'll often require a little more thought than you initially believe. One type of the puzzles you'll have to solve is fixing a pipe system. You just have to turn sections of the pipe system until it all fits together. Even solving something so simple is very satisfying and leaves you with a feeling of achievement. See More

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

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Allows players to create their private military company

Throughout the game, you will be trying to rebuild your private military company. Your base of operations is the "Mother Base", which is a giant structure similar to an oil rig. You can expand it and add new facilities such as Research and Development. You'll also be managing your personnel, allowing you to recruit (capture) enemy soldiers and assign them work in their area of expertise. This can be research, development, various upkeep tasks around the base or earning resources out in the field. All of these things truly make you feel like you're running a PMC. See More

Top Con

Micro transactions make multiplayer pay-to-win

You can buy bundles of in-game currency, which can be used to gain an advantage in multiplayer. This makes multiplayer not fun for the players who don't intend on spending extra money. It also makes it boring for the ones who spend the money. Both of these things negatively impact the longevity of the multiplayer. Some of the bundles go for $79.99, which is more than the game's price. It's sad seeing Konami milk their fans with microtransactions like this. See More

Specs

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Freedom in approaching a mission

Metal Gear Solid V gives players multiple choices on how to approach a mission. You can choose to use stealth, taking out enemies only when it's absolutely necessary. You can run in guns blazing, killing everyone on sight. You can get on a high vantage point and take out everyone with a sniper rifle. Or you can call in air support to do all the work for you. The choice is up to you and the game doesn't penalize you for sticking to a single way. This helps keep the gameplay fresh for a long time. See More

Top Con

High learning curve

MGS V can feel really overwhelming at the start. First the controls have various nuances such as different ways of crawling. Then you get a bunch of mechanics thrown at you, such as stealth, base managment, etc. It will take quite a while until you can fully enjoy the game. See More

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Large assortment of weapons and tools

MGS V has a lot of weapons, including pistols, shotguns, machine guns, and sniper rifles. There are both lethal and non-lethal variants, allowing you to find something suitable for any playstyle. There are also many tools such as the Fulton device, which allows you to capture enemy soldiers and animals, sending them to your base. It's a ton of fun experimenting with new gadgets. See More

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Enemy AI adapts to your playstyle

The enemy will pick up on your habits and react accordingly. For example, if you use tranq darts to knock enemies out, they will try to wake up their comrades at first. Do this for a couple of missions and they'll immediately run to sound the alarm when they spot someone knocked out. This way the game expertly keeps you out of the comfort zone, having the later missions feel as tense as the first. See More

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Reflex system helps you stay unnoticed

Time will slow down for a short time if you're spotted by an enemy. This allows you to take them out before they can sound the alarm or alert other soldiers. This is quite refreshing compared to other stealth games, where messing up means an immediate end to being stealthy. See More

Fallout 4

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Great storyline

The main story has a very personal theme of family and revenge, featuring a main character looking for their lost son in a post-apocalyptic version of Boston. The side-quests also provide a decent backdrop, expanding on some of the plot elements of the main story. There are many twists and mysteries, but the narrative remains coherent throughout the story, creating a very enjoyable experience. See More

Top Con

Pipboy UI feels unpleasant to use

When you open your Pipboy (a personal computer that manages your quests, inventory, character data, etc) the screen containing the useful information only covers about a fourth of the entire screen. As a result some of the elements are too crammed, requiring a lot of scrolling. This can be really annoying if you're trying to find something in a list of 100 items. See More

Specs

Genre:Action RPG

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Interesting settlement management

In Fallout 4 you can set up thriving communities in various locations. You'll have to provide the settlers with housing, bedding, water, food, and protection. Over time you'll be able to establish trade routes between the settlements and expand into an empire spanning the entire territory of Fallout 4. This really gives it the feeling like you're trying to rebuild society, which is a welcome change in a post-apocalyptic game. See More

Top Con

The dialogue choices are confusing

Most of the dialogue choices will only show a few words that don't actually reflect what your character is gonna say. This creates a disconnect between you and your character, making it seem like you don't control what your character is gonna say at any point. See More

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Addictive to collect loot

You can pick up most of the stuff you see laying around in Fallout 4. Every item, including weapons and armors, can be broken down into reusable crafting materials. This makes it hard to stop yourself from going around and collecting everything in sight because everything has a purpose. You can also find unique versions of equipment on the corpses of legendary enemies. Each of these items has an additional effect such as speed boost or extra damage. This may cause you to constantly pick fights you'll probably lose, but it's worth it once you get your hands on that extremely good piece of equipment. See More

Top Con

Occasional bugs

There are bugs in the game that users will run into. While most are not game breaking, it can detract from the experience. See More

Top Pro

Huge world with loads of content

The world of Fallout 4 is massive so there's quite a lot to do. Many areas to explore, tons of quests to complete, and lots of collectibles to find. There's easily enough content to keep you playing for over a hundred hours. See More

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You can adjust equipment to suit your playstyle

In Fallout 4 you have a lot of options when modifying your equipment, giving you a chance to make equipment that matches your playstyle. You can take an assault rifle and change most of its parts. Each part you can change has an upside and a downside to it. For example, adding a long range scope would make the rifle useless in close quarters, but it would be great for pick off targets from afar. You can also tailor your armors for various situations. You can lower the weight or add pockets to make carrying loot easier. Or you can add additional linings or padding to gain increased protection against various hazards such as radiation. See More

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Deep perk/skill system

Fallout 4 has a great selection of perks centered on surviving in the wasteland. You'll gain a point each time you level up, allowing you to select one of the perks. The perks can give you an increase to your sneaking ability, improve your lockpicking skills, or even add unique effects such as causing bullets fired by enemies to ricochet back and killing them. There's easily enough variation to make multiple playthroughs feel fresh and exciting. To make it even better, if you don't like multiple playthroughs, you can just unlock every single perk on a single character, albeit with a much longer playtime. See More

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Addicting building mechanic

One of the more interesting parts of managing your settlement is the house building aspect. There are various preset houses you can put down quickly, but you can make large structures entirely from scratch, starting with the foundation and ending with the roof of a 10 story building. While there are some constraints such as limited building area, you can really let your imagination loose, allowing you to spend countless hours on it. See More

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Companions can help make the game a little easier

There are a bunch of companions to find in the game, starting with Dogmeat, the dog. Each companion has their own skills that can help you. For example, Dogmeat can dig up hidden items and bring them to you. They can also distract the enemy, causing the combat to be a little easier since all the attention won't be on just you. The only real downside is that you can only use one companion at a time, but you can easily swap them out. Using a companion is not mandatory either, so if you prefer the added challenge you can travel without a companion. See More

Top Pro

Diverse enemy types keep the gameplay exciting

There a lot of different enemies found in the game such as super mutants, feral ghouls, robots, mutated wildlife, and many others. All of them have their unique behaviors, strengths, and weaknesses. For example, robots often use heavy weaponry such as rocket launchers and lasers, making it really hard to deal with them. Fortunately enough, they're very vulnerable to EMP grenades and can also be hacked. Another example are the feral ghouls that will almost always charge at you. They can surround you really fast, clawing away at your health and affecting you with radiation, but they lack any intelligence. So if you plant mines infront of you and attract them with gunshots, they'll lose their legs in the minefield, leaving them at your mercy. The various enemy types and methods you can fight them with keeps the gameplay fresh for a long time. See More

Top Pro

Great selection of mods

You can can find all sorts of mods at the Bethesda website, giving you the freedom to change the parts of the game you don't like. This includes interface adjustments, graphical improvements, additional quests, and many other things. See More

Top Pro

Solid gunplay with an interesting twist

The gunplay plays so well it almost feels like a pure FPS. You can shoot from the hip, aim down the sights/scope, or even just run and gun. However, what makes Fallout 4 stand out is VATS (Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System). When you activate VATS, the time slows down to a crawl, allowing you to mark body parts of enemies. When you execute it your character will automatically shoot the marked body parts. This is very useful for getting out of tight spots, allowing you to instantly clear groups of enemies or kill a really tough enemy charging at you. It also has the benefit of making you feel like an expert gunman, even if your aim isn't that great. See More

Metro Redux

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Intense underground combat

The combat in Metro mostly comes down to shooting mutants, bandits or other survivors. Mutants will simply rush you and try to overwhelm you with their claws and teeth. Human enemies like the bandits will use tactics and try to surround you. All of this is made a lot more intense thanks to the low lighting and narrow passages. If you don't plan your movements carefully, you just might get backed into a corner. You can also use the lighting to your advantage and hide in the shadows. While most locations populated by bandits have very bright lights, you can turn off their light sources. This allows you to backstab them from the dark without raising an alarm. The same tactics won't work on mutants because they can see in the dark. See More

Top Con

Bleak and depressing world

The Metro series is set in a very dark and cruel post-apocalyptic world. The living conditions are rapidly deteriorating and humanity is slowly dying out. Even despite that there are still factions that continue to wage war. This may not appeal to everyone because the bleak outlook will wear you down mentally. See More

Specs

Genre:First-Person Shooter

Top Pro

Immersive exploration

Even though the levels are linear, the exploration aspect is done very well. You'll spend a lot of time walking through the old metro tunnels, which are filled with radiation hazards, bandits, and mutants. Sometimes you'll even have companions with you, making the trip easier with lighthearted banter. The dangerous encounters might leave you low on resources, so to survive you have to be a scavenger. Exploring even the narrowest spaces such as air vents will yield you air filters, med kits, ammunition, and other useful items. It's quite exciting to find a hidden stash of valuable goodies when you're the least expecting it. Additionally, at the end of each tunnel there is a station, which is a settlement of survivors. These stations have their own unique culture and interesting sights, giving you a moment of respite. See More

Top Pro

Contains two Metro games

Metro Redux is the re-release of both Metro 2033 Redux and Metro Last Light. Both have improved gunplay, stealth mechanics and textures over their original counterparts. See More

Dragon Age: Inquisition

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You get to feel like a commander in combat and in the story

As the Inquisitor, you're the focal point of a huge movement to wage an army against the main villain. You're in charge of a ton of things: fortifying your base of operations, scouting for intel and resources, crafting gear, managing your companions in battle, picking which story decisions are most beneficial to your cause, and more. Besides controlling your own character during the real-time combat, you can control any of your team members, which gives you access to their diverse range of skills and tools to deal with any situation. If your Inquisitor can't heal, for example, then you can switch to a character like Solas who can take care of your party's wounds on your orders. You can also pause the action by bringing up the tactical radial menu, where you take your time to assign where you want your characters to go and which enemies to focus on. Story missions revolve around picking sides during conflicts that benefit your army the most, such as siding with the templars against the mages in order to have them with you for the final battle, at the cost of possibly angering your teammates who disagree with your choices . It's up to you to decide the best course of action and deal with any possible consequences. There is a lot to keep track of, but these decisions give you plenty of agency, helping you feel like your decisions and directions matter. See More

Top Con

Overwhelming amount to do at start of game

After the prologue, you arrive to the Hinterlands: a massive level with way too much to explore. Even though it's great that the open world is so big, you pretty much get dropped off in the Hinterlands without enough direction or guidance. The game just tells you to look around and find the next story quest, which can be overwhelming in the first few hours. It would have been better if you had the chance to get eased into the expansive feel of the maps first. See More

Specs

Genre:Action Role-Playing, Tactical Role-Playing

Top Pro

The areas you discover are huge

The areas in Dragon Age: Inquisition are simply monstrous. The world is divided into separate maps that are each gigantic worlds on their own. From the sprawling hills and valleys in the Hinterlands to the expansive snowy ruins of Emprise du Lion, every level has tons of outposts, environmental challenges to solve such as leaks of hazardous gas or broken bridges, side quests to discover, and people to talk to in order to learn more about the world and the lore. All of this is amazing for people that enjoy exploring and making new discoveries. See More

Top Con

Slow combat animations

The combat animations can often be really slow. This causes problems, like when an attack's animation takes too long to finish, and you're left second guessing whether or not the attack will go off at all. You have to wait for the animations to play out, which can be troublesome if your aim is off or the enemy moves. This takes away from the combat's strategic play, leaving you open to attack while you wait for the animations to sort themselves out. See More

Top Pro

Building relationships with companions is enjoyable

There are a few neat ways you can build relationships with your party members and non-playable war advisers. These aren't limited to just romance options -- you can spend time with characters to become better friends with them, too. Improving your approval rating with characters comes down to picking certain dialog options, either to flirt with them or agree with their worldview. Doing unique side quests to help with a character's personal matters unrelated to the main story also goes a long way toward showing that you care about them, letting you see more of a character's intricate backstory and motivations. After building up enough approval, you get a special scene with your romance option or friend, and afterward you can return whenever you want to spend more time with them. It's a really good system that lets you feel like the characters are your actual comrades, helping you grow more attached to them throughout the game's long story. See More

Top Con

Forgettable multiplayer riddled with awful microtransactions

It's easy to forget that the multiplayer in this game exists. The developers basically tacked it on, taking the same single-player combat and changing it to horde mode for a multiplayer environment. It's the same type of combat over and over again with no meaningful progression. The microtransactions are abhorrent, some of them costing an arm and a leg just to get you ahead in a multiplayer that hardly anyone plays or cares about. This mode is such a blatant cash grab that you're likely better off avoiding. See More

Top Pro

Tons of content

There's lots of content in Dragon Age: Inquisition that can keep you playing for a long time. The game offers a very long main story, with even more side quests and hidden areas that can take many hours to complete. The main story has plenty of branching decisions that affect how your playthrough turns out, encouraging you to play the game twice or more to see the different outcomes. Exploring the open world for the epic dragon slaying side quests is a great challenge with cool-looking fights and amazing loot. For those looking for a game to sink 60+ hours into, this is a good choice. See More

Top Con

Stiff and repetitive character animations during cutscenes

Character animations are incredibly stiff in ways that look robotic. During cutscenes, you'll see the same types of movements over and over, like a character shifting their waist back and bobbing their head to seem important or defiant, or moving their head down with their words to make a point. If there were more variation with the animations instead, then the stiff delivery might not be all that bad. See More

Top Pro

Lots of interesting characters and lore

The characters in Dragon Age: Inquisition are great, with intriguing backstories that delve into the game's lore. Early on, you meet a couple of once-high-ranking members of the Templar Order, like Cullen, who isn't a playable character, but serves as your military adviser instead. He previously fought back against the corruption in the templar ranks, and now wants to help you on your journey to unite an army against evil forces. Another interesting character is the elf named Solas, a playable mage who knows a lot of information about the world. He acts as your guide, providing you with intriguing lore about the places you visit, like the Fade, a mystical realm filled with spirits and demons. Even though he seems one-note in his role as a dispenser of information, has some hidden depth to him that may end up surprising you. All of the characters have layered personalities that fit with the lore surrounding them. See More

Top Con

Generic villain drags the story down

The main villain, Corypheus, is so bland and unremarkable that he worsens the entire story. He's a darkspawn, a type of demon enemy in the Dragon Age lore, hell-bent on bringing ruin to the world for reasons that aren't all that compelling. He doesn't have much of a personality beyond his evil tendencies, turning him into more of a caricature. If you've seen any old generic Hollywood movie with an evil villain, then you know all there is to see with Corypheus. He's such a safe and boring villain that he bogs down the narrative, making most of the twists and turns predictable and uneventful. See More

Mass Effect 3

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Good romance subplots

The romance subplots in Mass Effect 3 are very well-done. If you romanced someone in the first Mass Effect and/or in Mass Effect 2, then those stories continue here in Mass Effect 3. There are certain consequences for being unfaithful where your partner will confront you or the person you're cheating with in a heated showdown. Sticking with one person for the whole game -- or perhaps the whole trilogy -- rewards you with a romantic scene near the end of the story. There are also more scenes that you get with them right before the final battle and in some of the game's DLC that are really special and memorable. A lot of care and attention went into these subplots, giving you the chance to see each of the characters in a new light. See More

Top Con

Horde mode multiplayer can quickly get stale

The multiplayer in Mass Effect 3 is a lot of fun at first, but this doesn't last for long. You play with a team of up to three other players against AI of the different enemy factions from single player. Even though you get to unlock lots of unique characters and weapons, it's the same type of horde mode gameplay over and over. You may find yourself getting bored of the ten waves of enemies after a while. See More

Specs

Genre:Action Role-Playing, Third-Person Shooter

Co-Op:4 Player Online

Top Pro

You can customize your protagonist Commander Shepard

There are lots of ways to make Commander Shepard feel like your own character. The character creator at the start of a new game lets you change all sorts of options, from your hair, to your skin color, the shape of your nose, mouth, and ears, and so much more. Or, if you prefer, you can simply stick with the default male or female Shepard. You also get to pick which class you want to be for combat: soldier, infiltrator, vanguard, adept, or sentinel, each with their own unique abilities, like the adept's helpful "magic spells" and the infiltrator's specialty with sniper rifles. You can role-play as Shepard however you want, with plenty of options to customize your looks and your combat specialties for whichever role suits you the most. See More

Top Con

Story leans too heavily on an unimaginative plot device

It's disappointing that the big finale to defeat the all-powerful Reapers relies on a plot device. This MacGuffin-like device is boring and feels way too convenient, like the writers ran out of better ideas. It's not all that creative and feels anti-climactic, mostly because it comes out of nowhere in Mass Effect 3 with no mention of it whatsoever in the first two games. See More

Top Pro

Your choices have true consequences on the story

Your choices have direct consequences on how the story plays out. If you carried over your save files from Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2, then you get to see how each of your decisions impact the finale here in Mass Effect 3. Even if you haven't played the first two games, the choices in this game are still impressive because their large scale and high stakes. It's up to you to choose between groups of your comrades who oppose each other, to stop or to encourage your longtime team members to sacrifice themselves for a good cause, and to decide the fates of entire galactic species, Your choices truly matter and manage to leave long-lasting emotional impacts, encouraging you to play the game again to see what happens with different outcomes. See More

Top Con

The human villains are poorly-written

Mass Effect 3's human villains are more of a joke than anything. Their motivations don't always make sense and they only seem to keep getting in your way for the sake of drama. This is most annoying during scripted story moments where they're suddenly able to overpower you and your team for no real reason. The game's story would have been better off without these certain villains altogether. See More

Top Pro

Great third-person shooting combat and gun variety

The combat in Mass Effect 3 feels great to play. Taking out groups of enemies is fun because of all the ways you can change up your gameplay. There are lots of different loadouts to choose from and ways to customize your build with components, such as having an assault rifle that tears through armor, or adding elemental effects like ice to your shotgun to freeze enemies in place. Customizing your sniper rifle just right, for example, to decapitate an enemy from as far away as possible is very satisfying. Combat here is the best it's ever been in the trilogy, improving a lot over the clunky and unresponsive mechanics from the first game. See More

Top Con

The ending is unsatisfying and lacks closure

Even with the free Extended Cut DLC that expands on the ending, Mass Effect 3's conclusion still falls short of expectations. Commander Shepard and his/her squad are denied a satisfying ending no matter which path you choose. For a series that features such incredible characters, it really stings that you don't get to see everyone have a proper farewell. See More

Top Pro

Memorable cast of authentic characters

Mass Effect 3 has an amazing cast of both human and alien characters who feel like real people. While just about any NPC you meet is fantastic, your squad members are the ones that stand out the most. They all have backstories and traits that are believable and natural. Their personalities shine through the most during story missions that are relevant to their own personal arcs, where you get to help them reach their longtime goals. Your engineer squadmate, Tali, returns in Mass Effect 3 to join your team. She's a quarian: an alien species forced to wear full-body suits to survive environments other than their home planet. During missions with Tali, you help her reclaim her home planet from dangerous robotic enemies called the geth. This once-impossible goal of hers culminates into an emotional conclusion that changes depending on what you decide. Another returning character is Liara, your asari scientist teammate who offers helpful advice for your missions. She's more certain of herself in Mass Effect 3, having grown out of her shell and matured from her shy, socially awkward traits in the first game. You also get to see a finale with what happens with Liara's home planet, along with all the ways this affects her character for better or for worse. Getting to know everyone through dialogue, squad banter, and story moments is great on its own, but seeing how they've all grown and changed across the trilogy is a truly unique experience. See More

Final Fantasy Type-0 HD

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Top Pro

The story shows a dark and gritty depiction of war

Final Fantasy Type-0 isn't afraid to show what war is really about and how it affects the world without glorifying anything. You play as a gifted group of military academy students called "Class Zero", and despite their youth, they manage to see through some pretty horrific things, like the true evil and sadism of the evil empire taking over the world one country at a time. The very beginning of the game shows the more violent and depressing aspects of war, hooking you in on an emotional level. It's a surprisingly mature story, especially if you're a fan of Final Fantasy, since the series typically doesn't go this far into gritty realism. See More

Top Con

Inconvenient time management mechanics

There are some time management details that you have to deal with. While at the academy, you can choose what you'd like to do in between major missions, but these activities all take up a certain amount of time. Heading out to the world map to explore takes up a handful of hours, regardless of how long you actually spend out in the open, while spending time with your teammates and getting to know them better only takes a couple of hours. This mechanic essentially makes it impossible to see everything in a single playthrough, since you have to sort your priorities and go with whatever's most efficient. See More

Specs

Genre:Action Role-Playing

Top Pro

Varied cast of playable characters

There are over a dozen playable characters that you can choose from to fight on your squad. They all have a range of different personality types, fighting styles, and specialized weapons to choose from. You can pretty much bring along anyone you want for most missions; if your preferred characters are all spellcasters or sword-users, you can take them with you just because you like them as characters and not miss out on anything. Even though some characters devolve into tropes, for the most part, they're all quite likable and well-rounded. See More

Top Con

Some of the characters are bogged down by tropes and stereotypes

Sometimes, the large cast of characters ends up working against the story. A good number of them are fleshed out well, but others are just there for the sake of being there, or they're so poorly-written that you may forget that they exist. The worst ones have awful cliches as their central personality traits, like the dumb brute or borderline damsel in distress. It's irritating and cheapens the story as a whole. See More

Top Pro

Fast-paced action combat

The real-time fights in Final Fantasy Type-0 are fun because of how quick and chaotic they are. You bring along a small squad with you for missions with everyone's different fighting styles at your disposal, though even the characters with heavy-hitting weapons are still agile enough. Targeting enemies and firing off lightning-fast combos of magic spells or physical hits feels satisfying. It gets even more intense once you're on some of the game's important, story-heavy missions with critical objectives and high-stakes. The combat is overall incredibly engaging and doesn't get old. See More

Top Con

Graphics are dated and inconsistent

It's hard to get away from how bad the graphics look. Since this is a remaster of a handheld game from 2011, there was only so much the devs could do to improve things without fully remaking Type-0 from scratch. The main characters look okay, but environments and non-important characters have sloppy textures that make it obvious they didn't get the same special treatment. It's jarring when one of your main party members is in a cutscene with a less important character, and your party member has better graphics and detail than the other person. This unfortunately happens a lot throughout the game. See More

Top Pro

Huge world to explore with tons of content

There's tons to do in between main story missions. The world is sizable enough with plenty to do during your free time. You can take on side quests to help liberate other towns and cities, go dungeon crawling and take down powerful monsters, or just hang around the military academy and talk to your classmates to get to know them better. More activities also open up as you progress through the story as a way to change things up from the usual combat. See More

Top Con

Convoluted story that requires multiple playthroughs to fully understand

The story hardly makes any sense on its own, and on top of that, the game expects you to play through multiple times to figure things out. With all the terminology and mythos that's so poorly explained, you might find yourself getting lost right from the beginning, struggling just to keep up as the story goes on. There's a bunch of lore that you can find outside the game through other media, but if you don't go looking for it, you won't be able to fully get what's going on. But the worst part is that the endings you can get on your first playthrough don't really explain much of anything, so you have to play through again if you want to have any basic comprehension of how the plot wraps itself up. See More

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