Excessive Monetisation
I have numerous happy memories from playing Super Mario Kart on the SNES back in the early nineties. It was at the time and remains so today, a truly great game because it’s fun, very accessible and inherently social. Hence over the years there have been multiple iterations of Mario Kart across all of Nintendo’s platforms. All of which have been well received and provided gamers with what they want. In many ways it is one of key titles that have made Nintendo a global success as a gaming company and a brand. If you see any advertising featuring Mario and friends in go-karts, then it can be taken as read that the game will be a yet another great instalment of the franchise. Or can it? Which brings me neatly (and sadly not happily) to Mario Kart Tour; Nintendo’s latest foray on mobile platforms.
Ghost Recon Breakpoint - No More Squad Support For Solo Players
Ghost Recon Wildlands was my introduction to this long-standing Ubisoft franchise. I bought the game a year after launch so got a good deal on a comprehensive package of all the content. Broadly I like the game and really enjoyed the massive open world environment. Although there was a four-player co-op option, I tackled the game using A.I. teammates and didn’t find them as problematic as some player did. Perhaps their tactical deficiencies were more prevalent at higher difficulty levels. As for the characters’ cheesy dialogue, it really wasn’t a problem. Most banter between friends in real life is far from erudite. So it is unrealistic to expect witty ripostes and “puckish” epigrams from a squad of special forces soldiers. Overall, I found playing through the game this way, rather than with other players a far more enjoyable experience. I could take my time, plan my strategy and my AI team mainly did what I expected them to do. For a player of my skill level, this was a win, win situation.