The Final Payphone

If Insomniac has proved anything over the last eight years, it’s that they know how to make a hell of a superhero game. Marvel's Spider-Man remains one of the PlayStation 4’s defining action games and a shining example of open-world design, as are both of its follow-ups. Now they’re looking to replicate that magic with Marvel's Wolverine, albeit this time as a traditional linear AAA action game. I got to play about two and half hours at a recent preview event, and while my impressions are mostly glowingly positive, I did come away with a few questions and concerns.

There are plenty of ways that Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave is building out the features that defined Three Houses. I remain very interested to see how your decisions in the past will have an effect on characters teaming up in the present timeline, and I’m more excited than ever to see each of the story paths to completion to see how they’ll help me turn the tides and save the world from its ultimate destruction.

Its bosses are every bit as demanding as those found in a Soulslike, but the journey between them isn't built around constant punishment. Onimusha: Way of the Sword is a game that manages to challenge the player without becoming exhausting, allowing the game to shift naturally between moments of intense concentration and opportunities to simply enjoy stylish swordplay.

Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 seems like one of those lazy Sunday games, where you kill part of an afternoon playing a couple hours with friends. It gets Aliens and understands that forty miles of bad road Cameron envisioned. As a co-op game, it’s not going to change the world. Aliens already did that. But it’s a great excuse to play around in that world again, and I’m eager to see what else LV-558 has in store.

It took me a while to figure out exactly what makes Halo: Campaign Evolved feel… off. It sounds right – the Covenant enemies yell familiar phrases alongside the Halo's iconic gunfire. It plays great. The two levels I played during my demo are fun and appropriately challenging on higher difficulties. But the look? After getting through The Silent Cartographer, I decided that as it stands, the Halo: Campaign Evolved visual style isn't my favorite. Outdoor environments are gorgous, but it took me some hands-on time to figure out what made the rest of the game look a tad odd. It won't