Video Game Reviews

I’m just going to come clean right now: I am addicted to FIFA. I have easily poured thousands—with a damn T—of hours into this franchise. Some months back, a user on Reddit basically said it was the heroin of the gaming world. I’ve never tried it, but that may be an overstatement of the Big H’s potency. I’m serious. The 2014 next-gen iteration of the football simulator doesn’t make my addiction any tamer. In fact, for me, this is the best version of the game ever. Every year, I feel like EA Canada is trying harder and harder to pin down the right pace and feel in the game and I think this year they may have almost nailed it. The movements feel more natural, the ball seems to have real weight and it feels like you are playing a proper football match—rather than hockey in disguise. Overall, this is the best game I have on my Xbox One and it is confirming my worst fear: At least early on, my X1 is a $500 FIFA machine. –Blake Leszczynski

Forza Motorsport 5
Turn 10 Studios/ Microsoft Studios
Reviewed on: Xbox One (Exclusive)
Street: 11.22.13

For the better part of a decade, the Forza series has been considered the benchmark of racing sims and, though I’ve been with the Xbox brand since the original system, I’ve never actually played one of these games. The thought of a “realistic” racing sim just never appealed to me—I mean, for fuck’s sake, I realistically drive every day. How could I enjoy doing it virtually? I could not have been more wrong. Forza 5 is a beautifully executed experience that gets more and more exciting every time you fire it up. It has a pretty steep learning curve, and by that, I mean that unless you’re already a seasoned veteran, you’re not going to be getting first place very often, especially early on. But, if you’re patient and use your brain, this game will reward more often than not. My favorite feature of this game is the “Drivatar” system. Every time you race, your Drivatar learns more about your driving habits and then emulates them when your friends race online. It’s pretty damn cool technology that hopefully catches on and shows up in more games. –Blake Leszczynski

At first, Glyph Quest doesn’t appear to be a very interesting title. Playing through the free-to-play portion of the game won’t reveal much but a predictable mix of match-three puzzler and RPG, featuring a tiny game board and no definitive explanation of how the game’s spell-casting mechanics actually work. Don’t let the limp opening detract you from spending $2 to unlock the whole game, however. As players level up their character and spells working through over 40 different scenarios—including an endless mode¬—Glyph Quest slowly morphs into a much more strategic and rewarding experience. Elemental bonuses, combo attacks and hidden treasures: there’s so much to enjoy in Glyph Quest’s 5-6 hours of orb-matching gameplay. It’s not quite as deep or complex as Puzzle Quest or Dungeon Raid—and there’s certainly some trial-and-error involved with mastering the game’s mechanics—but that’s half the fun of learning to become a master mage, right? –Randy Dankievitch