Every year you hear the complaints from gamers about the summer gaming lull. Game releases slow to the speed of molasses in winter as everyone waits to start dropping titles in the lead up to the holiday rush. Still, that doesn’t mean there aren’t any games at all! While July wasn’t big for AAA titles there were still a fair number of games to hit PC and console. From the God of War 3 Remaster to demon hunting Victor Vran there was definitely something for everyone and we’re here to tell you about the three best and three absolute worst games of the month.
The Best
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter (PS4)
**Click here for our Full Review**
If you’re into anything that has a great story, brain-twisting puzzles and stunning back drops then look no further than The Astronauts’ The Vanishing of Ethan Carter. While not necessarily a brand new game (it released on PC in 2014) the PS4 version was rebuilt from the ground up using the Unreal 4 Engine with it’s predecessor being built on UE3. A highly atmospheric adventure game the developers got very little wrong in this game. Everything from the setting to the music to the story is perfectly suited to the mood The Astronauts were trying to create. Wonderful moments where all the elements of an amazing game come together at once are frequent making for one of July’s best experiences. Adventure game fans won’t want to skip this one.
Rocket League (PS4/PC)
**Click here for our Full Review**
Soccer with cars, they said. It’ll be fun, they said! And they were right. One of July’s best and most surprising experiences came to us as a free PS+ offering and is a game no one should skip over. Teams from 1 – 4 players join up and hit the pitch with their highly customizable rides for a fast paced game of footie and it’s more fun than you’d imagine. While 1v1 is probably a low point it’s really great to join up with 3 of your friends in this game reminiscent of other less serious sports games of old like NBA Jam or NHL Hitz. It’s fast, frenzied and most importantly, a lot of fun. While your chance to score the game for free has passed it’s still worth the $20 or so price tag.
Planetside 2 (PS4)
**Click here for our Full Review**
Here we are with another game that isn’t necessarily new but new to the PS4. Planetside 2 has long been anticipated by PlayStation fans and its console debut did not disappoint. An absolutely massive MMOFPS it supports up to 2000 players simultaneously which is an impressive feat. The game is free to play but manages to avoid the ‘pay to win’ scenario which is a key factor to it being an enjoyable experience. It doesn’t necessarily have the best graphics in comparison to other FPS games on the market but you’ve got to forgive the devs that based on the scope of the game alone. Whether or not Daybreak Game Company’s MMOFPS has any staying power remains to be seen but seeing as it quite literally costs you nothing to try it’d be a shame to pass it over.
The Worst
Godzilla (PS3/PS4)
**Click here for our Full Review**
The king of the Kaiju deserves so much better than this. Whether you’re a hardcore fan of the Japanese legend or a more casual ‘I liked the movies’ fan, you’ll have a hard time finding any redeeming qualities in Bandai Namco’s mess of a game. Clunky and slow controls, horribly dated graphics and an absolute bore to play make this an easy pass. While the game does offer up a variety of modes (a couple can even be fun… sort of) there just isn’t enough meat on the bones to truly make this one worth a purchase. Bland environments and lifeless cities don’t help either. If I’m a Kaiju who’s hell bent on the destruction of Tokyo I expect to see thousands and thousands of little Japanese people fleeing from my monster footsteps and instead I get NONE. Come on Namco Bandai… you know better!
Prototype Biohazard Bundle (Multi)
**Click here for our Full Review**
Everything that’s wrong with porting old games to new consoles is on display with this release. While there have been plenty of Definitive Edition releases sporting improved graphics and extra content that are quite worth your dollar there’s none of that here. Pretty much a pixel for pixel port of Prototype 1 and 2 this game features a 1080p upscaling but not much more than that. Labelled as a remaster it is much more appropriately a re-release of two old games. Let’s be honest too, the game’s themselves were ok but no one was banging down Activision’s door to have them on the current generation of consoles. What this boils down to is a quick and lazy release in the midst of the summer lull that Activision hoped would fill their coffers a little more. Stay away.
Vector Thrust (PC)
**Click here for our Full Review**
Less polish than a New Jersey gas station bathroom. Such were the words said by the unfortunate reviewer who had to cover this game. Flight combat is a bit of a niche genre these days so you’d expect that if someone was to develop a game in this category that they’d go to the lengths needed to make it a sound experience. Sadly developer TimeSymmetry did nothing of the sort. Everything from bland graphics, boring public domain sound bites and stripped down modes make for a truly forgettable experience. Looking at the fact that this game will cost you $25 and you can play War Thunder for free makes the decision of ‘Which flight combat game should I play?’ a very, VERY easy one. Another one to avoid at all costs.
