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The top 10 PlayStation 4 games you should play (as of Autumn 2016)

Uncharted 4 A Thief’s End (PS4 exclusive) The Uncharted series, ever since it’s original game on the PS3, it has been considered the face of PlayStation and one of Sony’s biggest system sellers. With Uncharted 4 set to be the last game in the series by Naughty Dog and Nathan Drake final adventure, Uncharted 4 is a worthy end to his legacy. With what is probably the best story (though Uncharted 2 might have something to say about that) in the Uncharted series and fantastic graphics and top notch gameplay. Uncharted 4 A Thief’s End is a must play for PlayStation 4 owners. The Witcher 3 The Witcher 3 is probably the most engaging open world game I have played so far, every mission and side mission matters. It isn’t just a do this, kill that, and be done with it. A lot if not all of the missions (still haven’t done everything in the game) are connected. The graphics are amazing and while the combat I feel is the weakest part of the game it is still pretty fun. BloodBorne (PS4 exclusive) BloodBorne is what happens when you take Dark Souls and move it to a Victorian era setting and make the gameplay faster. I have played Demon’s Souls and Dark Souls (apart from Dark Souls 3) and while I enjoy the games, the slow gameplay and what I found to be uninteresting game settings made them never really a must play store for me. Enter BloodBorne, development by From Software (makers of the Soul series) and Sony Japan Studio, BloodBorne is everything I wanted the Soul games to to be. As a fan of the Victorian era setting in video games, I loved the setting of BloodBorne, faster gameplay meant I was more interested in the combat and what I consider some of the best boss designs in a video game. Destiny Destiny originally got a bad reputation for lack of content (among other issues) when the game originally came out in 2014, the two expansions that were released, the dark below and house of wolves were okay but were an extra €30 (for the season pass) and didn’t add enough to justify the cost for most. Then in 2015 Destiny: The Taken King which Bungie called Destiny year 2 was released. it redid pretty much everything about Destiny and is what many would say is how Destiny should have originally been from the start and I agree. Rise of Iron, which is year 3 and was released in September, has added a lot more things, such as fire axes and more. Destiny is a must play if you are a fan of first person shooting games. Ratchet & Clank PS4 (PS4 exclusive) The Ratchet & Clank series is one of the top five game franchises for me since it began back on the PlayStation 2. I’m happy to see Insomniac Games still making them even after over 10 years. The latest game which is a re-imagining of the original PlayStation 2 game, (though there are some notable differences) is like playing a Pixar movie come to life. Great storytelling, fun gameplay, and fantastic looking worlds. At €30 it is a fantastic value for money game and one of the systems best. Doom Apart from a little bit of Doom BFG, which I played years ago, I have never played a Doom game. So Doom on the PS4 was the first time I really got into the series and I am so happy that I played this. It is a bloody great game, you don’t regeneration, you have to find med packs, It is old school FPS gameplay at it’s best and it works wonderful. In an age where most FPS’s are the same thing but with a different skin, playing a game like Doom is a breath of fresh air. DriveClub (PS4 exclusive) DriveClub is an interesting game, originally it was supposed to be released along side Knack and Killzone Shadow Fall as a launch title for the PlayStation 4 back in 2013. However, it was delayed over a year to 2014 and when it did come out it was full of server issues among other things. Fast forward to the end of 2016 and while the developers of DriveClub are no longer with us, having been closed by Sony earlier this year, they left DriveClub in a good state, a ton of free DLC (and paid), they released DriveClub bikes, fixed pretty much all the issues that the game originally had and more. You can find DriveClub for pretty cheap and now that Gran turismo Sport has been delayed, now might be the time to pick up DriveClub and give it a go. Fallout 4 Fallout 4 is the latest in the long running Fallout series, while graphics aren’t as impressive as say The Witcher 3. The gameplay more than makes up for it, the shooting has been improved a lot since Fallout 3 and Fallout New Vegas. The Boston setting of the Commonwealth I think is fantastic and the story takes awhile to get into (at least it did for me) but once it does it gets good. Sony and Bethesda have also announced that mod support will be coming to the PS4 version (after Skyrim remastered releases, which will also have mod support). Killzone Shadow Fall (PS4 exclusive) Okay I know what you are thinking, how can Killzone Shadow Fall be one of the best games to play on the PS4, it was a launch title. True it was and it still holds up really well. I have always loved the Killzone series, I think it is one of Sony’s best game franchises. While it has not sold as well as Microsoft’s Halo series which it is offered compared to, Killzone Shadow Fall is a good addition to the series, graphics still hold up well, story I think while not as good as Killzone 3 and Killzone Mercenary (on the PSVita) is still pretty fun and interesting, the gameplay has also changed a bit. You

Review: Mafia III

Platform – Xbox One (Reviewed), PlayStation 4, Windows, macOS Developer/Publisher – Hangar 13, 2K Czech Release date – October 7th, 2016 Price – $59.99 “You put people against the wall… They’ll do anything to survive.”  – Lincoln Clay The Preface Hangar 13’s message in the first opening screen is intriguing. It explains their decision to keep harsh racism in the story as a genuine representation of the time. It’s much more than a gimmicky caveat to begin a story about feuding mobs of varied ethnicities. It takes time to digest, but this message was a notice to all gamers that Mafia III rides out its honesty until the wheels fall off, and it’s a trip every Xbox One owner should take. The Story Mafia III opens up on Lincoln Clay driving an armored truck to the Federal Reserve. It’s a huge job set up for Clay and his partner Giorgi by the black mob boss Sammy Robinson. It’s a group job to settle debts with the city’s Italian mob boss, Mr. Marcano. Things quickly unravel, and the narrative switches to decades later where Federal agent John Donovan and black mob-friendly Father James are being interviewed about the tragic events. Mafia III is a story of vengeance, principles, and hatred. Loaded with unique characters, and a familiar Mafia II criminal, it may be the closest I’ll ever come to playing a Scorsese epic. Honesty is Mafia III’s strong suit. Dialogue is laced with coughs and lugie spits. Lawmen have interoffice squabbles and feuds. Donovan, for example, refers to the FBI as “Hoover’s faery brigade.” During a time of racial divide, tension presents itself in blatant and subtle ways. Some segregated bars won’t allow Clay inside. Offhand remarks like “Affirmative Action, you know how it is” are found all throughout the story and freeplay. The Characters There’s the old adage ‘there’s no part too small’, and Mafia III’s grandiose stage practices this mantra in every character. Mafia III features a cast of dingy, dirty, grungy, ugly people. We’re talking unkempt haircuts, chapped and split lips, pockmarks, blemishes, zits, scars: all these ever changing facial landscapes are highlighted by grease and sweat. Ellis, Marcano, and Burke to name a few of the more interesting characters, but many you only see but once. One of my favorite “Extras” moments came from a raggedy old lady in the gumbo line who says to Clay, “Don’t get old son. It’s a f****** shitshow.” She walks away in awful, dirty rags… sort of slumped over her tray of food as she walks away. Like true creators, the dev team loves their flawed children and it’s evident in every detail. One of the best examples is Father James. Father James is featured in his 30s-40s during the main storyline and as an old man during the ‘present day’ interviews. His transformation could tell a story all by itself. Father James begins as a middle-aged man whose face lights up when he sees Clay. He latches onto the youthfulness in Clay’s eyes like a man of faith seeing hope for a better future. Old Father James is snowy haired and lost. His eyes wander above his deadened facial features, everything just beneath a thin layer of politeness that wears thinner when he reminisces about Clay. His frown lines and sharp smiles have a pendulous swing like a man praying that his broken faith isn’t a crapshoot ticket into heaven. Every character has been given a story, and individuality is the masterful framework Mafia III has to offer its players. The realism in the characters is a beautiful mess, and it’s also a great summation of the gameplay. The Gameplay The plot involves overthrowing the Italian mob, and the fastest way to do it is to kick the legs out from under their resources. The staple of any solid mob is racketeering, and Mafia III gives you a laundry list of rackets to develop. Each racket is already owned by opposing factions and must be broken down, claimed, and developed for a slew of in-game items and perks. Some targeted racket enemies can be recruited or killed depending on how you want to divvy up your cash flow. Your allies are given all the rackets you ‘liberate’ and more and more perks unlock. The title is much more than crime building and story missions, too. Mafia III is loaded with extras for quality-added gameplay. There is the return of the hidden Playboys and the addition of a wide array of Vargas pinup girl posters. Find and tear down propaganda posters for Donovan. Find hidden notes and scattered letters that add to the story. Find TL-49 Fuses scattered across the city to increase your wiretapped areas. The coolest part about the wiretapping is that it corresponds directly with your intel. I love it when side missions actually impact the quality of the main gameplay, and the intel is much more effective in wiretapped areas. Request vehicle delivery and unlock new cars by dispatching Italian mob Lieutenants and Capos. This is where Mafia III starts to get shaky. The driving system is possibly my least favorite piece of Mafia III. I would like to mention I wasn’t a big fan of Mafia II’s either. Instead of rebuilding the sluggish driving mechanics, they incorporated a sliding action camera, which only makes it more frustrating to nail sharp turns. There’s a simulation mode intended for ‘advanced’ drivers that I found more appealing than the veering action camera. It’s essentially a shaky top-down camera angle with a vibrating stutter on hard brakes. Mafia III does however sport one of the coolest waypoint systems to date. Off to the side, like regular street signs, are waypoint update indicators that show what direction to proceed toward the waypoint destination. It’s not a nuisance, easy to read, and doesn’t detract from the action of the game: perhaps one of the best waypoint systems ever. There’s also a wide variety of vehicles to find. Breaking into vehicles is also a