Tag Archives: KitGuru Games

Black Ops 6 is officially here, bringing the innovative new Omni-movement system to the game. While on the surface a relatively simple change, I argue that Treyarch intimately studied DOOM and the past 30 years of first-person shooter evolution to craft one of the most satisfying gameplay systems yet.

During E3 2014 on the PlayStation showcase stage, Hello Games showed off No Man’s Sky in a presentation which has now become iconic. Once an infamous example of a game failing to live up to its initial expectations, the launch of No Man’s Sky in 2016 was just the beginning. More than a decade on from its initial reveal and over 8 years from the game’s 1.0 launch, Hello Games’ No Man’s Sky is the epitome of the redemption story.

Concord marked the latest attempt by Sony to capitalise off of the hype and perceived popularity surrounding live-service games. Released on the 23rd of August, the Destiny x Overwatch like Hero Shooter lasted less than two weeks before being fully shut down by Sony – refunding all of the roughly 25,000 copies which were estimated to have sold during that time. In the immediacy following this monumental failure, there have been a variety of opinions on just why this game flopped so spectacularly. While certainly not the only reason, I believe that the primary cause of its failings is simple: Hero Shooters are boring.

Microsoft sold its current-gen console on the idea of delivering "True 4K" and "frame rates we've never seen before". However, when it came time to back up those claims, Xbox has fallen woefully short, with promises being repeatedly broken...

Since its inception, console video games have typically operated under one of two performance targets: 30fps and 60fps. That said, with the release of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, developers have been able to push both visuals and performance further than ever; as high as 120fps. Interestingly, this leap in GPU/CPU headroom has also allowed for the creation and implementation of a best-of-both-worlds scenario – making 30fps largely redundant in favour of the similar-yet-highly-superior 40 frames per second...

Today, I wish to look at one company which for many evokes an extreme sense of nostalgia, bittersweetness and formative memories – but for others, is a relic of a dying age. This is an ode to the UK’s most prominent – yet soon to be deceased – retailer of our collective favourite past-time: GAME...

Ever since I got a hold of my PS5 on launch day back in late 2020 I have been enamoured with the DualSense controller. The addition of brand new precise haptics alongside Adaptive Triggers (in combination with all the prior innovations seen with older PlayStation controllers), makes for an in-hand feeling which can only be had on PlayStation…sort of. Those wanting to truly unlock the potential of the DualSense – even far beyond the capabilities of the PS5 itself – can do so on PC thanks to the Steam application DSX...

We often see many writing off Call of Duty each year, claiming that each new entry is somehow worse than the last, only for them to be critically re-examined years down the line. For instance, after having the most disliked trailer upon its initial reveal, many now praise Infinite Warfare for its fresh take on the franchise. This isn't new though, in fact, Call of Duty has been more innovative in the shooter space than any other shooter in the past decade.

With the most recent COD safely in its mid-life cycle, the launch of xDefiant comes perhaps at the perfect time to try and steal as many eyes away from Call of Duty as possible. While in many ways, xDefiant is indeed competing in the same space as COD gameplay-wise, one might argue that Ubisoft’s efforts have resulted in a product which feels as though it was designed to compete with Modern Warfare 3 (2011), not Modern Warfare III (2023) – and that’s not necessarily a bad thing...

With Ghost of Tsushima recently landing on PC, I have been looking back at Sucker Punch’s 2020 PS4 swan song and analysing exactly why I think the game managed to stand out from the crowd of open world titles, with this analysis discussing the purposeful and creatively-dense sounds, sensations and subtleties of Ghost of Tsushima...

Sucker Punch Productions has always been one of PlayStation studios’ lesser-appreciated dev teams, with the Washington-based company releasing some of the most underrated games over the past many generations – including the excellent InFamous series. The team finally received their well-deserved flowers with the release of Ghost of Tsushima back in 2020 for the PlayStation 4. With the title finally set to come to PC, I wish to share with you just some of the MANY reasons as to why even in 2024, Ghost of Tsushima just hits DIFFERENT.

With the rapid rate of technological progress over the decades, many older games no longer hold up to current day TVs and monitors both technically and technologically. In some instances, even modern systems are far behind the curve of video output, with a number of Nintendo Switch titles turning into a bit of a blurry/aliased mess when blown up on a big screen. This is where the mClassic comes in: a HDMI-based hardware upscaler offering “Real-Time Redrawing of Each and Every Pixel.”

Fast travel in games won’t be going away any time soon – and nor should it – but it is interesting to examine the varying ways that developers choose to implement the feature in their games; be it narratively, mechanically or functionally. Quite surprisingly, over the decades, studios have tackled this seemingly simple issue in MANY ways – for better and worse.

Hardcore RPG mechanics are undermined at every turn by paid-for items that simply don't belong, bringing an end to Capcom's long-running streak of top-tier releases...

While undeniably useful for navigating expansive game worlds, I despise mini-maps and their distracting nature. Are they holding the industry back? And are there ways we can improve on the standard mini-map design?

Helldivers 2 is a well made game that punches far above its weight, offering the most fun co-op moments I've had since the early days of Halo. It also bucks plenty of industry trends along the way and sets a new standard for live multiplayer games moving forward.

Just as 2022 saw Sony revamp its PlayStation Plus game subscription service, Microsoft’s 2023 included a refresh of its own Game Pass platform, eschewing the rarely-used and antiquated Xbox Live Gold with Game Pass Core, while keeping its regular Game Pass service as is – aside from a slight price hike. As I did last year, we will be looking at the past 12 months of Xbox Game Pass to determine whether the service is worth its ever-increasing asking price...

With each passing year, publishers and console manufacturers alike have increasingly emphasised the long-term importance of game subscription services. In aid of this effort, we have seen Sony reaffirm its commitment to subscriptions through its revamped PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium tiers. 2023 marked the first full year since the reinvention, and with us now a good chunk of the way into January of 2024, the question remains: Has PlayStation Plus been able to justify itself?

The latest COD entry has been mocked for its seemingly slapdash campaign, it's uninventive multiplayer suite of remade maps and a Zombies mode which eschews the ‘all-important’ round-based gameplay loop, instead taking the new Warzone map and slapping the barest of coatings of zombified paint on top. With all that said, MW3 has introduced a new gameplay function which may have just changed the first person shooter genre forever – akin to the creation of aiming down sight – the tactical stance...

We have a rare difference of opinion at KitGuru this week. While Matt has loved Starfield from start to finish, Mustafa is less impressed. In today's KitGuru Games, Mustafa offers his critique of Starfield and its space-exploration offering. 

Starfield is Bethesda Game Studios’ first brand-new IP in over two decades. Microsoft even went as far as to call it one of the ‘most important’ RPGs ever made at its summer showcase this year. Microsoft may need to chill a little there, but overall, Starfield is nothing short of fantastic.

For the past couple years Sony has been taking a renewed approach when it comes to utilising their many current and past Intellectual Properties, with the PlayStation console manufacturer expanding to a transmedia strategy. First starting with the Uncharted movie, these adaptations have – with one obvious exception – been received both critically and commercially in a somewhat dim light. While a majority of these projects have not quite set the world on fire, I don’t actually think they were meant to...

Ahead of PlayStation’s long-anticipated 2023 Showcase, I shared a list of my hopes and fears regarding the event. The showcase has now come and gone, and clearly Sony must have read my piece as they seemed to directly address all my fears – by doing exactly what I did not …

Following a long string of leaks and rumours Sony finally made its much-anticipated PlayStation Showcase official. Set to go live this Wednesday the 24th of May, the console manufacturer has promised over an hour of announcements “focusing on PS5 and PS VR2 games in development from top studios from around the world”. Vague descriptors aside, we know next to nothing about this upcoming showcase – making for an exciting event indeed. With that, here’s my hopes and fears for the 2023 PlayStation Showcase.

Over the past 4 years Dreams has time and time again surprised fans and critics alike with just how versatile and impressive creations can be. To many, the platform was just getting started – but unfortunately, Sony has gone ahead and crushed my ‘Dreams’ dreams.

In 2022 we saw Sony wholly revamp its PlayStation Plus subscription service, replacing the previous model in favour of a three tiered structure: PlayStation Plus Essential, Extra and Premium. With the introduction of the new PlayStation Plus, Sony was clearly attempting to align the service to be much closer to that of Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass. But have they succeeded?

2022 has been a big year for gaming. Equally, the year has served Xbox Game Pass well, with the game subscription service adding hundreds of titles over the course of the past 12 months. With the year coming to an end, let’s take a look back at some of the biggest titles of each month, and ultimately decide whether Xbox Game Pass in 2022 was worth the £131.88 annual asking price.

Modern Warfare II (2022) represents the latest and greatest from Infinity Ward and Call of Duty, serving as a reimagining of this now 13-year-old game – offering the tried-and-true COD experience while evolving the player movement and controls in order to make it what I believe is the most mechanically perfect multiplayer FPS yet...

Razer recently released the Kishi V2 USB-C mobile gaming controller, and after getting my hands on it I can safely say that, objectively speaking, the Razer Kishi V2 is the best mobile gaming controller currently available – though it’s far from perfect...

Just as promised, the Overwatch 2 multiplayer beta went live last week. We're still a year or so away from release, but the game is in a playable state and there is a small amount of new content to boot, including new maps and a new hero. The game is now 5v5 instead of 6v6, removing one tank character from each team, the biggest balance change to Overwatch since its inception. With all of that in mind, is there enough here to justify a full sequel, or should this have been a revamp for the original Overwatch instead?