Activision Game Reviews
Review Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 (PS5) - The Most Absurd Game in Series History
Back to the future
Call of Duty has well and truly gone off the deep end. In Black Ops 7, the latest Treyarch effort, any hint of realism the series may have once possessed is gone. In its place are controllable machetes the size of buildings, boss encounters on a scale that would make God of War proud, and friendly zombies. The campaign is so far...
Review Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4 (PS5) - An Imperfect Remake, But a Great Skateboarding Game
Memory gap
A few years ago, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 brought back the iconic skateboarding series in fine form, presenting the first two games remade and in one package. It was so successful in what it set out to do that Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4 uses practically the exact same template. While the end result is another fantastic arcade...
Review Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (PS5) - The Strongest Return to FPS Form
Gulf in class
Nobody likes a quitter, and last year’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is proof of what can happen when you get your head down and work to right one’s wrongs. Heavily criticised as a glorified DLC, a year of unmatched support has seen the game rise from the ashes as one of the most robust, content-rich multiplayer offerings the...
Review Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (PS5) - Bloated, Undercooked, and Outdated All at Once
Nostalgia trick
We've reached a point in time where one can be nostalgic for the PS3 generation, and Activision is banking on that with all its might to sell Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. Rather than a new line-up of multiplayer maps, this year's entry is a strange amalgamation of the past, as all of the weapons and playable characters from 2022's...
Review Crash Team Rumble (PS5) - A Pleasant Surprise That Might Not Last Very Long
It's about time... limited rewards
When Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time fans were daydreaming of what would follow the former PlayStation mascot's platforming return, we can't imagine an online multiplayer game with a Battle Pass ranked very high on their wishlist. Fast forward almost three years, though, and Crash Team Rumble makes emotes and...
Review Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (PS5) - Infinity Ward Proves It Knows Best
The Price Is Right
As the development cycle of the Call of Duty series wraps back around to Infinity Ward, excitement in the FPS franchise feels renewed. Last year's Call of Duty: Vanguard will forever go down as a misfire, but after the success that was 2019's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Activision couldn't have wished for a better studio to take...
Review Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 (PS4) - The Birdman Is Back with Fantastic Remake
Back to the old grind
Republished on Wednesday 27th July 2022: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of August's PlayStation Plus lineup. The original text follows. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater is a series that defined early PlayStation just as much as Crash Bandicoot or Tomb Raider. The games are fondly remembered...
Review Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time (PS4) - Madcap Marsupial's Return Is N. Sanely Good
Positive spin
Republished on Wednesday 29th June 2022: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of July's PlayStation Plus lineup. The original text follows. After Naughty Dog parted ways with Crash Bandicoot, it's fair to say the quality of subsequent games has been inconsistent. However, Activision finally did...
Review Call of Duty: Vanguard (PS5) - More Safe But Solid FPS Action
There's no Stalin this train
If Activision could pick and choose when the Call of Duty series is hot or not, this would be the year where it goes all guns blazing. The publisher faces more competition than usual as Battlefield 2042 and Halo Infinite go toe to toe with its premier FPS, tussling for both mindshare and your time. Consumers are spoilt...
Review Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 - The Best CoD of the Generation
Bop to the BlOps
Republished on Wednesday 30th June 2021: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of July's PlayStation Plus lineup. The original text follows. Call of Duty had to do something in order to remain relevant. After a slew of yearly releases that failed to really move the needle, Call of Duty: Black...
Mini Review Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 (PS5) - Still a Skateboarding Great with Decent Upgrade
Keeping the combo going
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2, in case you weren't aware, is an excellent remake of the first two games in the legendary series. It originally launched last year on PlayStation 4, and it's a fantastic reimagining of these skateboarding classics. While it looked great on the older hardware, Activision has seen fit to develop...
Beautiful bandicoot
There's lots to like about Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time. A direct sequel to Naughty Dog's classic trilogy, this latest platformer takes the marsupial and his pals on a time-twisting adventure as they put a stop to the antics of Neo Cortex and N. Tropy. It debuted on PlayStation 4 last year, and while it's perfectly...
Review Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War (PS5) - A Very Safe Entry for the New Generation
Out of the Woods
It was always going to be tough for Treyarch to follow up on both Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Call of Duty: Warzone. The twosome has created a powerhouse for the past 12 months, providing the franchise's devout fanbase with some of the best and most consistent content drops ever seen. But such is the Activision statement that...
Review Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered - FPS Classic Is Worth Revisiting
Stay frosty
Republished on Monday 27th July 2020: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of August's PlayStation Plus lineup. The original text follows. It's been nearly 11 years since Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 changed the game for online play on consoles. Capitalising on the popularity of Call of Duty 4:...
Review Call of Duty: WWII - Safe FPS Is Still a Solid Historical Shooter
Right as Rhine?
Republished on Monday 28th May 2020: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of June's PlayStation Plus lineup. The original text follows. Each Call of Duty since Modern Warfare 2 has put the player in higher positions of power. Whether you’re the unspoken, do-it-all he
Review Call of Duty: Modern Warfare - A Great Campaign Rescues an Otherwise Safe Reimagining
Reboots on the ground
True to its name, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare retreads familiar territory, and in more ways than one. Not to be confused with the remaster of Call of Duty 4, this is a full blown reboot that ironically shakes up the formula by going back to where the franchise's fortunes truly started. However, while some old ideas are revived...
Review Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled - An Unapologetically Retro Racing Revival
Resolution wump
On a lot of levels, Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled is a resounding success. This Beenox recreation of the 20-year-old original looks and sounds fantastic, and it plays just like it did back in the day. For fans, it's about as good a remake as you could hope for, but we're not quite convinced that a prettified retread is enough of a...
Review Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice - From Software Doesn't Sacrifice Difficulty for Accessibility
If at first you don't succeed, die and die again
It's a bit of a tired point at this stage, but it's definitely true -- Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is a far cry from Dark Souls and Bloodborne, and anyone who ignores this will be summarily slashed to pieces. From Software's latest shares some similarities with its predecessors, but with combat,...
Review Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered - An Explosive Remake of a Modern Classic
Slick as Soap
Republished on Wednesday 27th February 2019: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of March's PlayStation Plus lineup. The original text follows. When you boot up Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered's multiplayer, it greets you with a message welcoming you back to the "seminal" first-person...
Review Spyro: Reignited Trilogy - A Platforming Treasure Wonderfully Restored
A real gem
It's amazing how similar the paths of Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon have been. Both started things off with a trio of beloved platformers on PSone before they were handed to different developers, who made likeable but inferior adventures that ultimately led to the characters falling into obscurity. Both owned by Activision, the two...
Review Destiny 2: Forsaken (PS4)
The cycle repeats
It's hard to shake the feeling that we've been here before with Destiny 2: Forsaken. When The Taken King hit the original Destiny and propelled the game to a point where it once again felt complete and compelling, it was a welcome addition after months and months of frustration. It's the same story with Destiny 2, a title that's...
Bet the farm
Republished on Wednesday 29th August 2018: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of September's PlayStation Plus lineup. The original text follows. Three years after the release of Destiny, here we are with a whole new title that's framed as a direct sequel. Hopping to a fresh release was Bungie's...
Review Destiny 2: Warmind (PS4)
Nevermind
Destiny 2 is in a slightly better place than it was when the awkwardly average Curse of Osiris launched late last year, but that doesn't mean Warmind can be let off the hook. This second expansion is another lacking effort from a team that seems worryingly bereft of interesting ideas. Much like Osiris, Warmind marks another...
Review Destiny 2: Curse of Osiris (PS4)
Curse is right
History repeats with Destiny 2 as its first expansion arrives on PlayStation 4. At this same point in its life, the original Destiny was also struggling to keep many of its players happy. Its endgame content was under constant scrutiny, developer Bungie couldn't seem to get anything right, and its first expansion,...
Review Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy (PS4)
Crate out of ten
Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy is billed as a blast from the past when you boot it up, and it's not playing around. Vicarious Visions has done an outstanding job sprucing up Naughty Dog’s iconic 90s adventures, but don’t let the lick of paint deceive you: these are the exact same games that you enjoyed huddled in front of a...
Review Call of Duty: Black Ops III Zombies Chronicles (PS4)
Pack-a-Punched
Nacht der Untoten was a bonus mode tacked onto Call of Duty: World at War. It had recycled assets, no voice acting, and a simple layout because Activision didn’t fund it. Nevertheless, Treyarch implemented the small map for the fun of it, which went on to not only become the underrated game’s defining legacy, but also a franchise...
Review Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare (PS4)
Mass defect
Microtransactions. Bleh. If there's one word that can put a foul taste in people's mouths, it's that. Disappointingly, Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare has them, and the game is much worse off for it. Whereas in previous entries you could spend money simply to get gun skins and cosmetic items in loot boxes, now you need to spend money on...
Review Skylanders: Imaginators (PS4)
Crash bash
Ever since it was kickstarted by Mattel's U.B. Funkeys titles a decade ago, the 'toys to life' genre has become a juggernaut, raking in billions and becoming the bane of parents' wallets worldwide. Skylanders is its flagship, a colourful platforming series with a now gigantic selection of stylised action figures to import into the game...
Review Destiny: Rise of Iron (PS4)
Can't teach a Young Wolf new tricks
Back near the end of last year, Destiny was in dire need of a revamp. The release had stagnated to a point where many players had simply stopped coming back to Bungie's sci-fi creation, with the game's first two expansions – The Dark Below and House of Wolves – doing little to reinvigorate the title or fix its...
Give up the ghost
The hubbub surrounding the new Ghostbusters movie has been so well documented that even the Internet-deprived people of North Korea have likely heard about it. The response to the first trailer for the 2016 reboot of the supernatural comedy franchise has been nothing short of vitriolic, to the point that it's one of the most hated...
