I was out of Saints Row to play and wanted to give this one a fair chance, so I put more hours into it than I probably should've, but I eventually realised the game just wasn't respecting my time once I went into the same base structure and had the same fight repeatedly.

There's potential here, though the writing often misses the mark, and I find myself wondering if the three-character structure was originally intended as a three-player co-op experience, which was cut due to time constraints, which honestly would've made a lot of this game make more sense.

I feel like Volition were here really trying to find a way not to be the Saints Row studio for the rest of time, but couldn't stick the landing on this one. I'm hopeful they'll get another chance after the upcoming Saints Row reboot.

I love No Man's Sky and yet I also wish No Man's Sky was more, and less, of itself.

For a game describing a lonely, vast universe to discover, each world sure does seem to have a manned trading post and some sort of abandoned science facility and some alien artefacts on it. Each system definitely has a space station and probably some pirates to come shoot at you.

Discoveries are labeled as "yours" but it's clear that you are the colonial force coming to stake a claim on a universe which was inhabited and known long before you got here. I'm almost certain that's not the point the game is trying to make, but it comes off as unable to decide what it is, and I guess that speaks to the gamer revolt incited by the game's launch.

I missed the opportunity to play it in its original state, only getting it after a couple of major content updates intended to appease those early birds, and I suspect I'll never get that chance, but in those few moments after warping into a new system and observing your surroundings, and feeling far from anything, I think I feel the seeds of the feeling the game was actually intended to evoke, I just wish it were there for more of it.

I realise 343 were in the unenviable position of needing to make a good Halo game, but given they did so, they needed to convince people to actually try it, and so we got this free-to-play deal. It's a real shame because the core game feels like classic Halo with a respectable bit of Reach and 4 thrown in, and I would love to be able to just buy it and avoid the horrible monetisation dreck we're left with.

The battle pass progression feels extremely predatory, and despite a welcome post-launch change to add experience for each played game, the fact that without going premium there are many levels where you get absolutely no reward feels completely ghoulish. Even a handful of armour customisation options available from the jump, or unlocked in-game would alleviate this problem, but Microsoft have clearly seen the whales on the horizon and that's now the focus.

All that being said, the core gameplay is fantastic, a real return to form for the series. Guns feel and sound great, the mechanics work how they ought to, and it's just downright fun. Jumping in a fire team with friends is a great time, and well worth the time. Some of the newer game types feel a bit off - what the heck is a power seed, anyway - but the gameplay itself is so solid that really doesn't matter too much.

Gamepad input is a bit weird, and I'm struggling to dial in the settings just how I like, I think there might be a bit of an aggressive deadzone making things feel pretty coarse.