NetherRealm Studios accomplished something very special with Mortal Kombat on it’s original release. It had taken everything it had learned from Mortal Kombat 9 and 10 as well as both Injustice Games and brought it all together in one the best fighting games of this generation for me personally as a fighting games fan. From the incredible cinematic story that brought old and current MK universe characters together whilst introducing a few new ones for the game. With the story mode completed and the move to DLC character packs well underway I just expected that would be it until Mortal Kombat 12…..

I was really quite surprised to see a trailer for a story expansion for Mortal Kombat 11 last month, this time of year I was expecting the usual Game of the Year edition to be released which would have the base game and all the DLC from the year the game was out or possibly even a tease for Mortal Kombat 12 now we are only months away from the next generation of gaming consoles launching. What we really have is a blend of both, a Game of the Year Edition in the form of the Kombat Kollection but also in the story expansion ‘Aftermath’ along with three new characters, two introduced in the new story campaign in Sheeva and Fujin but another guest character in the form of Robocop, yes you read that correctly….Robocop.

*Spoiler Warning – Naturally the ending to the MK11 Story Campaign must be revealed in order to talk about Aftermath*

Aftermath literally continues the story of MK11 mere moments after brand new God of Fire and Thunder, Liu-Kang following Raiden sacrificing his own powers and Elder God state to give Liu Kang the power to not only defeat Kronika but to also use her Hourglass to forge a new era for all the realms. But as he attempts to use the Hourglass to remake history, a fiery portal appears and Fujin, Nightwolf ad evil Sorcerer Shang Tsung himself walk out and tell Liu Kang to stop as his attempt to recraft time would fail and shatter the hour glass because he was without the Crown that Kronika used to control the ability to manage the hour glass. Shang Tsung himself comes up with a plan to go back into the event of MK11’s story to steal the crown in order for now Lord Liu Kang to complete his new task.

Aftermath is a 3-4 hour campaign depending on how fast you play through it and just like the main campaign it is essentially a long CGI movie with several fights controlled by the player dotted throughout and I loved every moment of this campaign and there is one huge reason why this expansion works and not just because the story itself adds so much to the original campaign and successfully feels like a true expansion than a tag on but it is truly glorious for one major factor, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa as the likeness and voice of Shang Tsung, returning to the role he made so iconic in the first live action Mortal Kombat film (and the only good one) who had a cameo in the main MK11 campaign. But here in Aftermath, this really is the Tagawa show and it all the better for it.

The story is completely self-aware that not only should all the characters not trust Shang Tsung who for some reason is willing to help the good guys, but the writing is so clever that it completely recognises that the player and audience will also be shouting at the screen that this guy should not be trusted. The way that Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa beautifully beings Tsung to life with the subtle little changed in the dialogue which is then enhanced further by the incredible animation such as that evil cunning smile Tsung has whenever he knows that the people around know and what the player already knows that they do not trust him, but when the smile comes into play it really becomes one of the best characters in any video game and for me, cements Shang Tsung one of the greatest video game villains.

The actual moments where the player can get involved such as taking the role of one of the characters in a fight or choosing out of two options which character gets to fight is still fun even if you are unable to use a fatality or the new Friendships that Aftermath has brought for free int the main game and in reality you are just watching a rather long film with occasional moments to take part. The story is brilliant and expands on how MK11 ends and completely leave it open for how MK12 might pick up as the player will get two different endings depending on their choice with either one completely leaving the door open for anything to be possible, which is exactly how I felt at the end of MK11 story originally.

Along with the story expansion comes the character pack finally bringing Sheeva and Raiden’s brother, the God of Wind Fujin into the playable roster, both of which the player will have an opportunity to control during the story. The third new character is another guest on in Robocop and I have to be honest, not a big fan of the random non-MK universe characters being included and it began with MK characters being included in the Injustice games. I get the fun of having Robocop but it still kind of grates at my Mortal Kombat fandom that now with Aftermath I can actually have Robocop Vs Terminator and it just feels strange.

All that said, Aftermath is a great addition to the game but it comes at a high price point of £34.99 for just a three to four-hour story mode, even though its superb and a new character pack and some skins for that money. Fujin is the best new fighter with visually impressive move set whilst Sheeva is a quick bruiser character with big moves but speedy combos. Robocop is really the most forgettable once the nostalgia of where the character comes from wears off and unlikely to become a regular character for players to gravitate towards.

If you have not purchased the original MK11 or you did but never got round to buying any of the DLC and character packs than for the asking price I would absolutely recommend the Kombat Kollection which has the original game, all the DLC to date as well as the Aftermath expansion and content all together in one package for just a little more than the expansion by itself. This really is the best version to buy and it just makes the standalone price seem over the top but at this point, it is probably fair to say if you have purchased all the DLC than Aftermath is a no brainer for you. For me, revisiting MK11 because of Aftermath reminded me just why I loved this game on release and now thanks to the Kombat Kollection I am inspired to try out all the DLC characters I missed along with all the quality of life updates and refinements made along with this new update.

Quite frankly, just having Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa voice Shang Tsung to deliver his iconic “IT HAS BEGUN” makes Aftermath a must have just by itself!

The truth is, when I would watch the JAWS film series…I kinda wanted the Shark to win. I have always been fascinated by Sharks growing up and I think it is fair to say that outside of actual wildlife documentaries, sharks have not been really given a fair crack at the whole “hero” gig. But that has all changed with MANEATER a game that is described as a single player action adventure open world RPG….with a Shark which is exactly what this game is. Time to sink my teeth in and get to work!

I have to start off by saying that MANEATER is perhaps the biggest surprise of 2020 so far for me as at first it sounded like a terrible “Be a Shark simulator” game but in no time at all this game completely won me over with both its story and the gameplay itself. The introduction reveals that MANEATER is actually the name of a TV show that is following a famous Shark Hunter in Scaley Pete who quite frankly would wipe out all Sharks from the world’s waters if he were allowed too. He is a 3^rd generation Shark Hunter and fishermen as his father and his grandfather were as well and the intro is broken up when reports of a large shark with what appears to be the broken tip of his fathers harpoon in its side gets Scaley Pete all excited and he breaks the interview to set off after the shark.

The tutorial stage will have you playing as this very shark to begin with, as you get to grips with the swimming mechanic as well as the whole “eat anything that moves” and some combat techniques like dodging and tail whip. I found this tutorial completely helpful as it really manages to train you in what to expect for the rest of the game in just 20 minutes and I appreciated how it did not rush you either, teaching you about objectives and how to feed and fight without forcing you to get on with things as you just get used to the gameplay.  The tutorial ends once you have completed all the objections and sees you immediately caught by Scaley Pete who being the complete tool he is, guts you to reveal that you were actually a momma shark and had a baby shark inside you which Scaley Pete, which we have already decided is a complete tool, takes his knife and scars you so he will “recognise” the baby shark again…..and promptly throws it into the sea, but not before the baby shark bites off Pete’s right hand, retribution has begun!

The main game will have you playing as the baby of the Momma Shark with the very traditional focus of wanting to get revenge on Scaley Pete but in order to do this, we have some growing up to do. Starting off as a Pup, there are five stages of growth for the shark all achieved by levelling up and earning XP from completing objectives in the area regions that make up the world of MANEATER. Starting off a Pup you are rightly very vulnerable in the waters and the world does not go easy with you as the starting location will not only feature fish you can manage to eat and battle but also threats in the form of higher level alligators who will target you, even teaming up with other alligators to do so. There is a real sense that you have been thrown in at the “deep end” so to speak but it is a great way for the player to experience what this world is all about, danger and knowing when to risk taking on a tough enemy and when to focus on growing and evolving.

Now this really is a game that does not take itself too seriously and a lot of the Shark aspects do not reflect reality at all but the game makes it very clear by its humour just how self-aware it is with the MANEATER TV show cuts with Scaley Pete as the story progresses but especially with the TV Show Narrator who will happily drop in random shark facts based on what you are currently up to. The animations as well when chomping down on fish or battling the larger sea life as well are over the top with brutal audio effects really make life as a shark great fun to start with and as you become and grow into a bigger more deadlier shark, it only becomes more satisfying to go on a feeding frenzy not to mention when you get to go after humans with their very funny reactions to you just popping out the water to much on them. You would think being on land would protect these silly humans from being dinner for you but nope, you can simply pop out the water and throw yourself on land to happily eat away until your air runs out and forces you to return to the water but there is just something highly entertaining about the arcade parody of the violence both in and out of the ocean.

The RPG elements or ‘ShaRkPG’ is where MANEATER truly comes to life for me, here is where you can earn new abilities and evolutions to push your Shark to new levels of monstrosity. Starting with Mutations, these are earned via progress in the story and completing tasks such as taking out the Hunter Boss characters and can give you either new abilities or boost attributes such as improved sonar location, more health or boosting the collection of materials needed to evolve and upgrade mutations and evolutions. There are also three ‘Shark Builds’ that can be obtained and these are the main evolution aspects. You will see that you have slots for Head, body, tail, teeth and fins and these can be filled with any of the three sets you start to gather via progress. The three sets will give special attack abilities so with the Bone set you will be able to inflict more physical damage and take more punishment when the full set is applied and upgraded. The Shadow Set will give your attacks a poison-based boost and the bio-electric set adds bio-electricity to give more stun damage.

You can mix and match the sets as well so you can have elements from any of the three types but equipping a full set will give you an added bonus on top. How you build your shark largely comes down to how you want to tackle the combat in the game as you will be expected to not only take on human hunters, which will be triggered when the threat level hits a certain amount when you go full “oh that human looks tasty” far too much or when taking on a region’s Apex Predator battle, which all grow in difficulty the further you go in the game. You will find your own style via trying out the different sets and each will give your shark a new cosmetic look as well so it is fully worth trying to 100% a region for its collectables, objectives and landmark signs as this is the quickest way possible to evolve your Shark and provide all the mutation options you will need.

Visually I love how MANEATER looks from the different regional environments to all the colours and wildlife you will see as you explore this world and it is a shame that the game lacks a photo mode for those more memorable moments such as launching yourself out of the water to land on a hunter boat which is just stunning visually once you have reached the Mega Shark size later in the game. But the game has sadly launched with quite a few bugs, especially for Xbox. I noticed a lot of screen tearing in some of the later regions as well as come of the landmarks and collectables just failing to spawn in the world making it impossible to 100% that region which also blocks out a good few achievements from popping. I have completed the game fully twice at time of writing this review, the first time in about 20hrs and suffered the non-spawning collectable issue and my second time to 100% cam in at just under 13hours and was then hit with the final “Queen of the Sea” achievement for 100% everything just failing to pop.

There is also a more serious issue with framerate issues on PS4 being reported as well as some Xbox One X users having their consoles overheating and shutting down whilst playing MANEATER, I did my two runs on my own two different Xbox One X consoles and did not have the overheating problem but the developer TripWire team has acknowledged these bugs and issues and are actively working with both PlayStation and Xbox on solutions so hopefully they can be resolved because this is one seriously fun game when it works and sadly frustrating when it doesn’t.

MANEATER was huge fun and I really loved all the RPG elements and exploring the world despite the very repetitive nature of the regional activities. It really is just satisfying to be a massive Shark taking on the world of land and sea and the story is both amusing and very well told with some great voice acting that gives this game a lot of credibility.

This is a game to definitely sink your teeth into whilst you maybe waiting for some of the bigger name games to come out this year and it will surprise you just how good it is.

The Saints Row series will always have a special place in my heart for many reasons so when the surprise announcement came that one of my personal favourites in the series was to be re-released as a remastered game for current consoles just as this generation is preparing to make room for the next one made me smile. It gives a chance for fans of the original game to relive the chaos and mayhem that only Saints Row can deliver but also a chance to reintroduce this series to a new audience just in time for a new title in the series…possibly…. hopefully. But next to the smile I had revisiting this game, it also brought up a question that recently I have found myself pondering more and more, do remasters still have a place in a generation now getting used to successful remakes of our classic favourites?

Hard to think its been nine actual years since the original release of Saints Row the Third, a game that really changed a lot fans felt about the series as it embraced the zany arcade craziness over the top mayhem by moving the Saints to a new city and in what is pretty much a reboot of the world, puts the Saints at war with a much larger Syndicate of four crimes bosses who seize the opportunity to take everything from the Saints with their focus on movies and merchandise clouding their focus. It was a clever way to kick off a new chapter in this series and for me at the time it was a welcome one, with GTA becoming a march larger ‘real world’ experience whilst still a parody, it just did not offer the same co-op fun I could have with Saints Row.

Saints Row the Third still has one of the most fun openings to a game and very quickly sets the tone for the rest of the game as the humour, action and soundtrack quickly blend together setting up the Saints before their inevitable fall from power. Right away you can see how the updated visuals and lighting engine have paid off with this remaster as character models and the city of Steel Port look better than ever. It took a while to get used to how current it looks but the city looks great at night and during the day with the new lighting engine really makes it worth while just moving around the city taking it all in especially if you are playing on the Xbox One X.

Whilst the new makeover looks great, the substance of the original game and its gameplay largely remains exactly the same as the original which has both good and bad results for this remaster. First is the good, and that comes in the superb character customisation which allows players to create their very own Saints character from the physical appearance right down to the choice in voice, Male option 3 has always been my go-to choice for example. All the weapons and vehicles are back and now all the DLC vehicles are also available from the beginning as well which might make it a little OP when the first vehicle you can free roam in happens to be a tank but there you, nothing about Saints Row is ever about playing it safe.

The aim is to take Steel Port over and return the Saints to glory whilst getting a little payback on the Syndicate who stole everything from you which requires not only completing a bunch of story missions and some issued by individual characters but also in seizing control of the different areas of the city currently under the control of the 4 Crime Bosses. Nothing has been altered from the original game and it plays exactly as it did but in the last nine years since the original release and seven years since Saints Row IV and though the gameplay is still fun, it feels old after nearly a decade of other games using different mechanics. But the humour is still a massive part of why the Saints Row series is just so fun to play and even more than GTA, it is fully self-aware of both the parody element to the game and the over the top nature to everything it tries to deliver and it pushes the very grown up themes along the way as well which has no better ambassador in the game than the Penetrator bat!

But sadly, along with all the good things that have been brought into 2020, the bugs and glitches have as well and is really a disappointing factor for this remaster. Bugs include button lag such as trying to grab an enemy as a human shield can often fail just as the action to get in a vehicle the normal way can take two or three attempts to complete. Hit detection can also feel off at times and often using the melee finishers can result in falling through the map which it did on more than a few occasions. The AI of your partner on some missions, especially any escort or ones that require you to protect them can be frustrating as I found at key moments they would just freeze, vanish or just be so completely dumb that they just stand there being shot which requires constant reviving. Having to replay whole checkpoints because the AI controlled character would fail to do what it took to progress is as annoying in 2020 as it was originally and I really hope it can be patched to improve it.

This is what brings me to the whole ‘Remaster vs Remake’ argument as yes remastering a game to make it work on current consoles with improved visuals is great for fans to replay or to introduce the series to a new possibly title in the future, but a remake has the advantage of being able to work out the problems of the original like bugs and glitches. Whilst this remaster captures the heart of the original game by taking care to be as truthful to it as possible, not taking the time to work out the bugs and problems such as the camera being so close over the shoulder that it felt like a misstep to modernise it a little by moving it a little further back.

Saints Row the Third Remastered is a great way to revisit a truly classic series that sadly missed out with a new entry this console generation and I hope this is something that might be addressed on the birth of the next generation coming this year. But the bugs take the shine of what is a fun game to play and I fully recommend grabbing a friend and playing this co-op as there is just so much fun to be had at a time when smiles and laughs in the world are few and far between at the moment. I loved returning to Steep Port and the Saints, it has a humour that appealed me all those years ago and this shows that there is still room for Saints Row in current gaming. This is unashamed crazy chaotic fun when everything works, but the frustration of the old issues still being present stick out like a sore thumb.

My best advice, set your vehicle radio station to The Mix and just have a fun time with a friend in the world of Saints Row!