Delta's Variety Corner

Just Cause 3 is the third title in the popular Just Cause franchise. Developed by Avalanche Studios and published by Square Enix. The Just Cause series became famous for the level of destruction offered players. But how well does the third instalment match up to the others? Is it an improvement over the previous games or does it fall short? I'll take a look at it in this review to find out. Just Cause 3 features many of the same gameplay elements of the previous titles. However, there are a few new additions. The player now has access to a wingsuit alongside their parachute, which allows them to travel quickly across the world (provided they don't immediately dive into the ground) The wingsuit allows quick travel at the expense of the manoeuvrability of the parachute and with the right altitude you can get very far (I was able to travel from the top of a cliff all the way to an off-shore Oil Rig). Vehicle handling has also been changed, at least as far as land vehicles go. An...

XCOM 2 is the followup to 2012's XCOM: Enemy Unknown. Unlike many other titles, XCOM 2 chooses to play off of the bad ending from the first game. This meant that the gameplay had to be overhauled in order to suit the new style of play that would be introduced in this game. But do these additions help or hinder the game? And does it live up to the legacy of the series as a whole? As XCOM 2 is based off of the bad ending of the first game, the gameplay has been redesigned to focus around guerilla warfare. A lot more of the missions are hit and run based objectives, where you have to get in, complete the task and get out again in as short a time as possible. This of course, means the introduction of timers. There were timed missions in the first XCOM game, but they were generally relegated to Council missions, and usually only Bomb Disposal, where you could increase the amount of time available to you by disabling power nodes scattered across the map. XCOM 2 has no such luxury, you...

Mass Effect 2 is the second installment of the highly acclaimed Sci-fi franchise by Bioware. For the second game, Bioware took a look at the feedback they'd recieved from Mass Effect 1, in order to know where they had to improve. Because of this. Mass Effect 2 has much tighter gunplay, which is a lot more responsive than before, however it also lacks the vehicle segements from the first game. So today I'll take a look at it, and see whether these changes and others help or hurt the game. As I mentioned in the intro, the gameplay has clearly been a focus for Bioware, as it's a much more fluid experience, the cover system has seen major improvements and minigames invovled with hacking have been changed as well, now any class is able to hack into things, however there is no option to use omni-gel to bypass the minigames anymore, in fact, omni-gel seems to be missing from the game completely. The inventory system is also gone, meaning you'll be spending less time managing...

Halo 3 is probably the most popular game in the long running Halo Franchise. It was a system seller for the Xbox 360 and for many people, it was their gateway into the series. So while Halo 3 has managed to craft this legendary status around itself. Does it live up to it? And, looking back over 10 years since its launch, has it held up compared to modern games. These are the questions I intend to answer as I take a look back at the heavy hitting title of 2007 and give my honest opinions of it. Starting with the story, we have to talk about the fact that Halo 2 was originally going to be the end of the franchise, and that Halo 3 only came about because Bungie set their sights too high and had to end Halo 2 on a cliffhanger. Because of this, Halo 3 has to both tell its own story, as well as finishing off Halo 2's. Halo 3 is comprised of 10 missions, though one is just a cutscene and doesn't really count. So all in all there are 9 missions in the game, making it somewhat shorter...

After seven long years, it was announced that in 2017, the much-loved console RTS; Halo Wars. Would be getting a sequel, much to the delight of fans. Finally, the cliff-hanger they’d been waiting years to find the answer to can be resolved. Halo Wars 2 was developed by Creative Assembly and 343 Industries, and published by Microsoft. Halo Wars 2 is set roughly 28 years after the original. Serina, the AI from the first game has undergone final dispensation and we are told this in the opening cutscene. The Spirit of Fire has found itself drifting above a massive Forerunner structure. Seasoned Halo fans will recognise this as the Ark, which was mentioned at the end of Halo 2 and revealed in Halo 3. Much of the damage done to the ark during the main series has since been repaired, though there is a satisfying moment where you get to go past some wreckage from a Covenant ship and upon hearing mention of Master Chief, Jerome remarks about how happy he is that John is still around. Red team...

Fallout 4 is the latest entry in the post-apocalyptic franchise by Bethesda. Unlike previous titles, Fallout 4 is the first to have a voiced protagonist, but does this help or hinder the game? Were the compromises that had to be made worth it for whatever added immersion the players might have experienced as a result? Set in Boston, Fallout 4 follows the story of the Sole Survivor; in their mission to find their Son after he is kidnapped (So it’s somewhat similar to Fallout 3’s story only the roles are reversed this time) Along the way you’ll get to meet the four main factions in the game, alongside a host of interesting NPCs. The gameplay has also seen an overhaul in this instalment, bringing it up to par with modern standards of game design. Starting off with the most obvious and controversial part of Fallout 4; the voiced protagonist. In some ways it does allow the player to immerse themselves a bit more in the game, as you get to see your player responding to characters and tal...

Forza Horizon 3 is the latest title in the Horizon spin off games from the Forza series. Unlike previous entries, Horizon 3 takes the limits out of the occasion and allows you to free-roam across Australia. This new-found freedom really shines in Horizon 3, the different vehicle types are fun to drive across the varied landscape, be it buggies over sand, off-roaders over mud or sports cars over tarmac. It’s certainly a fun game, but does it live up to the various claims of it being the best racing game ever made? As a ‘next-gen’ racing game, Forza Horizon 3 looks very good, the detail of the cars is astounding and the environments look great as well. One thing I noticed however was that the shadows during the daytime didn’t move smoothly across the ground but rather juddered. It isn’t very noticeable when you’re racing across the countryside at high speed, however when you stop to take in the surroundings or just for a quick break, it’ll become very obvious. Another thing I noticed w...