United Offensive plays like an expansion of the first game probably because that's just what it is. More or less the same experience just with some minor additions and streamlining to make it play smoother. The game is a bit more cohesive then the original because it splits up each nations perspective as its section instead of jumping back and forth with American and Soviet missions. I would maybe give it a better score but the last section of the game at the train yard was so aggravating for me that it keeps my score the same. The rest of the game is good with some interesting levels like in the bomber plane but that last level and a few other small parts of the game are annoying to play.
Arkham Knight is my favorite game in the series. The gameplay is so refined it makes it harder to go back to the older games in the series. Combat is smooth and better then ever. Predator sections have more options to tackle them then ever. The game is beltful to this day with so much polish and detail put into the world. And there's so much to do in this game with tons of side quests and Riddler challenges and other bonuses content that really its just a blast to play from beginning to end with only a few hiccups in between.
Call of Duty 2 improves upon the first game in many ways. For starters the game looks much better and for a 360 launch title it still doesn't look to bad especially for its time. This one got rid of randomly changing between different fronts from the first game and instead just focus on each front for a few missions instead which makes it much less jarring to play through. The characters and story are still fairly shallow with no memorable characters except maybe Price but that's just because he shares the same name with a Price in Modern Warfare. I decided to play on veteran for this game just because all the achievements are just beat levels on veteran but I will say this COD game is surprisingly balanced even on the harder difficulty with only a few levels that felt way to hard where houses were felt like clown cars filled with respawning enemies. COD is a solid WW 2 shooter of its time but it still does feel a bit stiff to play at times with low weapon variety and a generic plot. Also the ending just kinda happens like the last level didn't even feel like the last level it just kinda ends. Not my favorite Call of Duty game but by no means is it a bad one.
Arkham origins is probably the most underrated game in its respective series. Although it is understandable as to why it has the reputation that it does developed by a separate studio then Rocksteady who were hard at work working on Arkham Knight for next gen it was decided to have a prequel game developed using the same engine and assets from Arkham City. As a result the game feels and looks a bit like a very large piece of DLC for City. And visually the game doesn't look amazing at least in the open world which also feels a bit empty and boring at times. And other then some new gadgets there isn't much different from this game play wise from the previous title although the Shock Gloves are very satisfying to use in combat. What the game lacks in visuals though Id say they more then make for in the plot and content of the game. I wont go too far into the plot set two years into Batman crusade you must face against various assassins' hired to kill the Batman. And I must day I like most of the characters they picked for this game Deathstrock, Anarchy, Firefly there's plenty of old and new faces for the series and speaking of these characters this game has probably the best boss battles of the series. The other games aren't really known for there boss battles but this game has some really good ones like the fight with Deathstoke or Bane. So while the game can feel a bit repetitious and visually dull the game play is still solid and the plot is interesting with some pretty good boss battles added in.
While not as long as its traditional counterpart the VR version of Superhot is a fantastic experience. Making time move when you do in VR is such a neat and fun concept to mess around with. And once you get good with the controls it can easily make you feel like a badass as you play. I do wish there was more though the main campaign is on the short side and there isn't a ton of side content other then what is basically a survival horde mode. Along with the high price tag that the game comes makes it a bit challenging to recommend. If your interested I recommend trying out the free demo like I did and then seeing if its worth it for you.
The Darkness is a very atmospheric game with an at times emotionally gripping tale about love and lost. And the game has some fairly interesting gameplay mechanics surrounding the Darkness itself. Like how you need to stay in the dark to recharge your powers or that you can stab dudes with a tentacle or open up a black whole to **** up enemies. These aspects of the game are a lot of fun but the game is held back with a whole lot of jank. Its hard to describe but the movement and gunplay is really quiet rough and can be hard for people to get used to. Enemy AI is also really basic and lacks variety. The game is kinda open world in a very linear sense with small areas connected together by streets and the subway but the world by the end of the game can feel really dead and boring when you have to walk awhile through empty streets and subways tunnels. And the side mission aren't that much better most are boring and all lack interesting rewards for your time. If you play this game your definitely playing for the story and not the gameplay not that its awful its just really dated by this point.
The main campaign is pretty good but the side missions and other side content is boring and tedious to get through. Note- I said a lot more but Metacritic felt like deleting 2 paragraphs worth of writing after hitting submit thanks Metacritic for barely functioning half the time.
Going into Black I've heard a lot of praise for this game calling it cult classic and one of the best shooters of its generation. And while I do agree with some of the praise for the game overall I thought it was just okay. I do think that the particle effects and general haze you get when shooting in an environment are quite impressive for its original hardware and the sound and feel of the guns is really nice and weighty. But what really gets me are the controls their not bad but they feel a bit off and the game has some Fallout 3 aiming going where you don't actually look down the sights that was annoying. And in general any gun that's automatic has terrible accuracy and it takes so many body shots to down an enemy its ridiculous. I will say the shotgun's though are really fun to use as they should be. Other then that the levels designs are fine but aren't very memorable and your character moves slowly and theirs not even a jump button making traversal boring. And the story is really uninteresting and irrelevant and the game for was only 4 hours long not that it has to be long sometimes I like short but sweet experiences but overall this experience is okay and lacks much content. Its an interesting game for its time and it still feels fine to play but id only give it a light recommendation.
For me when I think of Batman and his large cast of villain's this series is typically what I picture in my head. Most of these interpretations are the definitive version for me. And I think it comes down to the fantastic voice performances from the cast and the designs of the many of the characters Killer Croc is easily my favorite design by far as he scared the **** out of me when I first played this as a child. Also villain's taunting your death when you die in the game is a fantastic detail that I really applicate they put in. I think that a lot of draw backs for Asylum comes down to it's sequels improving the combat and traversal so well that it makes this one feel kind of repetitive in comparison. But when you strip away the sandbox and car and many of the later tools the game is still fun at its core. Taking on large groups of enemies or sneaking around rooms and taking out enemies one by one is so much fun. Getting your combo meter up and avoiding getting hit is invigorating especially if you play on hard mode and so don't have the counter indicator forcing you to pay attention to what each enemy is doing around you. Some things that I really like in Arkham Asylum the comic book art style for the menus and the character bios I really missed in later titles as they give the characters so much personality. Also I like how this one has bios for a lot of obscure characters that I had no idea even existed before playing this game. The Riddler trophies I don't really mind in this one even though the reward for getting them all from a narrative perspective is really disappointing to me but they feel the least annoying to get them all in the whole series. Although this is probably because he gives you maps to find them and the games much more linear then its predecessors. Being more so open areas with levels in them then an open world like in later titles. I think the biggest disappointment for me though would be the bosses their all just okay or underwhelming. Except the last boss which feels a bit out of character and is just not really fun or challenging to fight honestly. If you've played the game you know what I mean and I think those whatever boss fights is what really hold this game back for me. Still a great time would highly recommend I just don't think its the best in the series.
I never played the original version of this game and I'm sure that if i did play it or had this remaster as a child I would of loved it. I loved SpongeBob growing up and I do enjoy me some 3d collecthons. And I can say that this game seems really great for children not super hard but still some decent challenge at some points even for an adult. As an adult I still enjoyed it but its definitely a turn your brain off and just go along with it type game. And if you don't like or just don't care about SpongeBob then this game is definitely not for you. Logic and sense are just thrown out the window some times even for SpongeBob and stuff just kind of of happens at times. Overall the game is fun enough to kill some hours but nothing to special. for a licensed game though its actually fairly good and if you like SpongeBob then you'll defiantly have some fun paying this game. One last thing id like to bring up that really bothered me they didn't get the original voice actors for Mr. Krabs or Mermaid man for the original game and they used the same audio here. And I really wish they got the original actors to rerecord these lines because oh my god are they distracting. Mr. Krabs I got used to but Mermaid man is so bad and I have no idea how they went with this it sounds nothing like him.
I really hated this game at first. I felt that it was extremely difficult and unfair and really hard to just get a grasp of how to play the game. But I kept playing and eventually it clicked and now I'm in love with this game. I like many people came into this expecting a souls like game but instead its more of a character action, stealth game that burrows a lot of ideas from dark souls. Instead of making your own character there only one character Wolf and with the lack of customization to play styles there usually a right way to play the game and because of that I feel this hurts the replay value when compared to the souls games. But its kind of unfair for us to keep comparing this to Dark Souls because this game is trying to be something else and it does a damn good job at it. While things like checkpoints, death mechanics and brutal difficulty are carried over from FromSoft's other games this one has a more stealth and one on one dual focus to it. And while the game is quite difficult it felt really rewarding to master and combat is just really fun once you get the hang of it. Countering is a big part of if you cant learn to counter enemies then your not gonna have a great time. Some enemies require you to counter them if you want to realistically take them down and it can be daunting. I feel like I didn't get the hang of the mikari counter until I fought the final boss so yes it is hard but trust me if you have the patience its worth it. So other then the combat what else did I like about the game well the setting of feudal Japan was a nice change of pace for FromSoft games and overall the game look's really good. The story is actually not that hard to follow unlike many of their other games. That's not to say its not cripted because it still is in many ways but at the very least you will have an idea of what's going on at all times. And I really liked the story of Sekiro exploring new areas and learning more about Ashina was really interesting. And the highlight of the game would have to be the bosses with some very good bosses in this game. There's a lot of mini bosses to but id say most of them are alright but a few definitely throwaway encounters or just really annoying. My favorite bosses would have to be the guardian ape and the divine dragon one for its challenge and the other just because its fun to fight with out being super difficult. Overall Sekiro is really good if I had to criticize it I would say it's maybe a bit to hard in some spots and trying to get all the skills to get the trophy required some annoying grinding and I wish you could upgrade your defensive capabilities in some way other then just getting more HP. But those are small complaints that don't really take away from the overall experience.
Portal 2 is amazing sequel that takes what made the first game so good and expands upon it. Puzzles are more brain teasing with all sorts of new elements for the player to play around with. The story is more in-depth with more charters that are all a joy to listen to my favorite being J K Simmons character mid way through the game. And the inclusion of a co op mode is genius and is incredibly fun to play though with a friend. Honestly this game is amazing and a blast to revisit and while I do think its better then the first one in many ways I don't think I could pick a favorite. This one improves in many ways but there's something so charming about the original that allows me to pick that one up and play it whenever but regardless if you haven't already go play both Portal games. And hopefully someday we can get a proper sequel someday.
Halo Infinite is a definite step up from 343s other installments. The gunplay has never been smoother the weapon sandbox is great I found my self utilizing every weapon in the game at one point or another. Movement has gotten much better while the new movement options in 5 felt like a gimmick the inclusion of the grapple hook really evaluated the whole experience and made the act of getting around in a fight a lot of fun. Having items that you carry around the whole game like a deployable shield or enemy scanner to be used anytime is also a great new feature that just made gunplay more engaging. My only complaint I have for it is I wish that it was easier to pick in the heat of battle as trying to navigate by tapping the d pad to the right then selecting was kind of annoying. The plot I thought was a lot more interesting then the other games although it did feel kinda lack luster but I appreciate them slimming the cast down and giving us a more concise story where 5 had like way to many characters where most did nothing. The Banished are a great new enemy you really learn and get a feel for them and they feel distinct unlike the covenant remanence of the last 2 games. And unlike the promethiens their a lot of fun to fight. And the enemy A.I has certainly been improved while not perfect enemy's act and behave alot more like how you'd expect. And the new art style change to a much more classic and simple design is a welcome change and really appreciated because my god the covenant were so ugly in the last games. The open world aspect was neat but it could of been utilized more. Like some actual side quests or some big large scale battles would of been coll. And the whole taking back the ring with these little marine bases feels a bit tagged on like they don't really impact anything it feels. I would of licked for our home base to be more dynamic changing and growing as the game progressed. Another thing I'm not a big fan about is that visually most of the levels look the same which can make them a bit exhausting and boring. However one thing this game nailed is the boss fights which really surprised me. While 2 tried some fights and they were kinda **** and 5 had one okay fight they used over and over again this game has a good amount of boss fights that are all fun and some are even challenging. Overall the campaign is great but I do see potential for it to be even better. And for the multiplayer let me just say I hate battle pass progression systems. They aren't fun and the fact you only get experience for the challenges is really annoying and deters me from playing game modes I actually wanna play. The customization is really good but I don't know why it needs to be split between different armor types like let me mix and match whatever I want. Although having different loadouts for customization would be cool and its kinda like that now but they should expand on that idea at some point. Now my only other real other complaint for the multiplayer is the lack of maps they really got to add more maps because their already getting kinda old. Not that their bad but it just feels like I'm playing the same ones all the time. Luckily the gunplay just like the campaign is a lot of fun and much better experience then 4 or 5 on the multiplayer side of things. The multiplayer is really fun I just wish the progression system was actually rewarding and that their was an actual level to everyone's profile.
I really didn't like Halo 5 when it first came out and coming back to it now I can say that I at least like it more then Halo 4. But let me make something clear first the story for Halo 5 is a complete mess. This plot is confusing and all over the place and introduces way to many characters with out giving them any actual character development and in some cases any character at all. Like tell me what Tanka's role is in the game or something about her personality you cant because she and most of the team members in the game are boring and provide nothing to the plot. Other then Buck I do love Buck but that's because we've seen him before in another game and already saw his character before hand. Anyway like I said the plot is all over the place and while theirs a lot of interesting narrative ideas they are executed poorly and I would say the plot is certainly a step down from 4 which also had a a lot of interesting ideas but handled them poorly. Where the game does improve significantly from 4 is the gameplay while still no where on the same level as the older Halo games the gun play is much more fun to play even if it doesn't feel very Halo in its mechanics. Some things I don't mind like sprinting and aiming down sights these were gonna come sooner r later to the series I feel. But the ground pound and boost stuff are just kind of weird and also make the backs of Spartans all ugly because they all need this jet booster thing now. I guess this is a good enough time as any to say that much like Halo 4 I don't like the art style of this game but I do think it looks a bit better then 4. But the covenant still look ugly in this one just a little bit less so. When it comes to enemy AI they seem a bit better but still no where to the level of the old Halo games. But at the very least the Prometheans are a lot more fun to fight. You still fight them more then I would like but the class they have is better to fight and I like that they made the big knight's into a heavy class. Overall the gun paly is smoother and the overall gameplay is better then Halo 4 which is the most important factor for me. While the plot is a mess that the game doesn't like to explain all that well and levels you with a cliff hanger the game play makes it up enough for me that I can say Halo 5 is fine. Because while the campaign is lack luster the multiplayer is a big step up from 4 and on its own can b a lot of fun to play.
Spartan assult is fine for what was an IOS game but as a console game its really nothing special. The plot isn't all that interesting and centers around one of the most boring characters in the Halo franchise and another spartan that has no character in game. The twin stick shooter gameplay can be fun and I think it can work in Halo but the nature of this game being something you can paly on your phone keeps the game from being too complex or interesting. And overall if your not a super fan of Halo then this game is entirely skippable . Okay fun to be had but it gets real old real fast.
I really want to love Halo 4 and I've had to of played this game like a dozen times by this point. But after my most recent playthrough I cant say more then its okay. Halo 4 has a lot of issues that hold it back for me but I will say that my favorite aspect of the game is the story. I love learning more about the forerunners and having that human connection with Cortana developing rampancy I thought were all great ideas. Execution wise though was handled kinda rough. Most of the important info about the forerunners is jammed into one exposition filled cutscene so if your not finding the hidden terminals in levels your probably lost. And the Didact as a villain could of been so much more. But the stuff with Cortana is great still think it could of been handled better but I do like the idea of making chief more human and exploring that personal aspect. And I also do like seeing him confront a superior like with what happens in the story even if it does seem kind of dumb for it to happen in the first place. So the story is rough but overall I like it where the game falls pretty flat is the gameplay. This is the least fun to play FPS Halo game to date. Where to begin the weapons for the covenant and these new promethium weapons just feel bad and some weapons are literally useless. Each faction needs to have a weapon equivalent which just makes it feel very redundant. Like you don't need 3 different assault rifle weapons especially when 2 of them are worthless. Enemy AI is also notably bad In this game they will constantly just stand their or get stuck on terrain and when compared to even Halo 1 its just sad. But what really kills me is the Prometheans because their just not fun to fight at all in this game. And theirs no verity in how they fight or how you should approach them its like of course I want to after the flying guys who can revive fallen enemy's and fling grenades back because their so damn annoying. And like previously stated their weapons' are all redundant and not interesting to use. And the grenade they have has to be the most useless grenade in any mainstream shooter cause that thing cant kill anything I swear. Finally I like most everyone else hate the redesigns in this game because well they just look ugly at least the covenant ones do. I don't mind the guns and equipment being redesigned as much but the elites just look wrong in this game. And I wish they didn't change Chiefs armor not only because it wasn't necessary and didn't make sense considering that he was stuck in a broken ship. But it would of made the ending when he goes into that big room with the other Spartans way more impactful if he had the same armor from the last 2 games. With all its battle damage he's received and the fact it would of seemed outdated compared to the other Spartans really showing that he's alone and outdated now I think would of made the ending much more impactful. Overall the stories okay they also had spartan ops which can be fun and gives a narrative after Halo 4 but because they reuse a lot of levels like way to much it gets quickly repetitive and boring. And the multiplayer is also my least favorite of the FPS Halo games and its hard to explain why. But a lot of my complaints about the guns and gameplay do translate to the multiplayer and it just feels the most generic Halo game to play unfortunately. Overall Halo 4 isn't bad but it just falls so short compared to its predecessors. With its more generic feel and plot that needed to get flushed out more and the fact that its probably the glitchiest in the series as well as I've experienced some bad technical problems with this game before. Such as a level being unplayable half way through meaning I had to restart the level.
Halo Reach is a fitting conclusion to the Bungie era Halo games that refines a lot of what made the series so good while still adding new and interesting ideas to shake up the formula. I love how the story has the character ware your multiplayer armor set. Noble 6 is already a mostly blank slate for you to put your self in and this makes the game even more effective. The game feels like a love letter to the series with effectively your own spartan and actions being the reason by the end that the subsequent trilogy to even occur. Prequels usually suffer from the audience knowing what's gonna happen by the end as is the nature of a prequel. And while we knew sorta what was gonna happen as we herd about how Reach was destroyed in the other games and expanded material. But the game gives a great cast of Spartans in your team that you come to know during the game only to slowly kill them off until your final stand is both genius and just very effective in showing the tragedy of Reach. So I love the story and in visuals and sound the game much like its predecessors is really solid. The gameplay is also really good although there are some minor changes that I and a lot of fans weren't a fan of. Such as adding bloom to the guns which never bothered me that much but can be annoying at least in multiplayer and the new armor abilities. The most annoying one being the armor lock especially in multiplayer can be a real headache as it allows a player to be invincible for a couple of seconds. Other then those aspects which for me are fairly insignificant the rest of the gameplay is really solid and a ton of fun. The enemy AI is still really solid with enemy's making pushes when they know your shield is down and taking cover when grandees are thrown along with a bevy of other small details that make fighting them so fun and repayable. Designs for the covenant have been tweaked but aside from the brutes who just look weird the rest of the cast looks wonderful or relatively the same. My favorite being the elite who were made to stand up straight making them taller and more intimidating. One really annoying thing with enemy behavior is the melee swings of covenant happen so quickly you have no way to counter them. Which on higher difficulties can be a one shot kill. Overall the Reach campaign is a ton of fun and while I might not put it higher then the original trilogy it is right below them if I had to rank them. The multiplayer though is also great and I've spent a ton of time in the past playing it. And aside from some of those minor annoyances I mentioned earlier the multiplayer is still great competitive fun. Along with the forge mode which was expanded upon from 3 and I cant even count how many hours I spent making maps and playing other peoples customs maps and just screwing around with the game engine with friends to see what we could get away with. Halo Reach holds a special place in gaming for me and I believe it still holds up just as well as the original trilogy based on my most recent playthrough of the series.
Halo 3 ODST while not quite as good as some of its counter parts in the series ODST still provides an interesting narrative and enjoyable gameplay experience. Although there are 3 big problems I would attributer to ODST and that's its length, shared engine with 3 and missed potential. So ODST is a bit shorter the other Halo games with some levels being much shorter then others. While I don't personally mind the length and see it as a smaller side game to the series it is a common criticism non the less. The game reuses the same engine and assets to Halo 3 this gives the game a bit less of identity to the other games but the game makes up for it by having a different tone and soundtrack to the other games. With smooth Jazz that accompanies the player as they traverse the streets of New Mombasa. And finally the game had a lot of potential with its semi open world to explore and seemingly darker tone it could of gone with and being the only game where you don't play as a spartan. But the open world is empty and constricting and the only reward for exploring is pieces to a side story that gives more context to the finale act of the game which is really interesting to listen too but after that there's no reason to not just rush to the next clue and level on repeat play throughs. And the game could of had a much darker and interesting plot but at the end everyone survives and the mission was a success. I guess we did get that with reach but it could of been more interesting to see it here. The narrative overall is still interesting and while much of the ODST team is kind of boring I find Buck and Veronica to be interesting charters. And finally other then being a bit more squishy and having no shield even though you have something very similar to one the game functions much the same. Which isn't bad Halo 3 is a ton of fun to play and it translates to ODST as well. It just seems kind of of a waste to not do more with the idea. Overall while it could of been more ODST is still a lot of fun to play and does provide some verity from the other Halo games.
As someone whos not a big fan of RTS games I'm surprised I enjoyed Halo Wars as much as I did. Originally I played this game years ago not long after it released and at the time was put off by the fact it wasn't a first person shooter. But regardless I gave it a shot and while it hasn't made me a fan of the RTS genre I still appreciate ands enjoy what the game offers both as an RTS and as a piece of the Halo Universe. I've played a bit of other console RTS games in the past and Halo Wars certainly improve on Console RTS games as much of the genre is mainly on PC. The Story is fine enough taking place much earlier in the human covenant war is an interesting decision and fits the RTS style with it being an all out war at this point. Of course with prequels their are restrictions with what you can do but the ending with the whole ship going MIA adrift in space allowed the narrative more freedom to do stuff like have the flood and introduce us to a forerunner planet. And the ending allowed some leeway to a potential sequel that we would ultimately get with out making the story feel complete if we had never gotten one. The characters aren't that interesting nor do they grow or change during the story but they work fine enough to fit in the Halo character roles that we were accustomed to at the time. Wise leader tough sergeant intelligent scientist and snarky AI you know what I mean. When it come down to the gameplay theirs not much I can say other then it controls well and play's fine. I think the gameplay is mostly dependent on the levels themselves though and some of the levels are pretty good. The first handful of levels are fine and I enjoyed them the one with the scarab head being one of my favorites as it doesn't feel like a lot of the other levels and that's part of the problem by the end of the game the levels start to feel the same. But what really brings them down are the flood levels the first 3 flood levels are my least favorite possibly in the entire series. Fighting the flood is tedious, boring and frustrating and they don't serve as a good break from the covenant especially when the first 3 flood levels look very similar to each other. Another issue I found with the game is difficulty and to be fair this probably stems from my lack of experience with the genre but most levels are way to easy while other are way to difficult if you ask me. The game kind lacks a balance either I'm crushing the enemy or my situation seems hopeless. But when the level is balanced just right it is really good. Overall I like Halo wars it provides a story different but familiar and provides a different experience in the Halo Universe. And provides a bunch of background lore and some pretty cool vehicle designs I wish weed see in a main Halo gamer someday.
HALO 3 is a game that defined an entire console generation. With its bombastic campaign and fantastic multiplayer that set the bar for online shooters for the 7th generation. Along with Its forge and theater modes that really brought the entire Halo fan base together in what were new creative ways. Halo 3 improves upon Halo 2 in almost every way the weapon sandbox has been expanded and improved on. New vehicles are fun and iconic in the series. The game visually still holds up pretty well for a over 14 year old game. The story managed to conclude a trilogy in a satisfying way and fulfilling way, But if I had to criticize Halo 3 I'm not a fan of the prophets voice change nor his change in character as he feels more like a one dimensional bad guy in this one. And the fact there's no arbiter levels is a shame as it felt like he didn't really have much to do in this game. I would of liked him to playa bigger role in the game and I would of liked to see more characterization in the elites a s a whole such as the shipmaster. While I'm talking about Elites the switch to brutes as the main enemy I'm not a big fan of. They are fun to fight nut not as fun I feel and the elites in this game you just don't see enough of them and there kinda more doofy in this game then previous titles. Other then that the campaign is a great time non the less. And on a final note the multiplayer in Halo 3 is some of the best in he series and I cant count the many hours spent playing in my life.
Halo 2 is a fantastic sequel that takes everything from CE that worked and improves on it and then adds so much more. Gunplay is a lot smoother and still feels great today. Vehicles feel much better to handle AI across the board have been improved and the soundtrack is just iconic. Visually the game looks a lot better like its really impressive for a OG Xbox game to look like this and the anniversary graphics also look a lo better then its CE counterpart. Along with all these improvements to the core gameplay and presentation the story has been made so much grander in scale with the audience getting to see how the covenant operate and really humanize the enemy a bit. Being able to play as the covenant was also a genius move. Considering that the actual development for the finale version of Halo 2 was about 10 months the fact that this game is as good as it is and for its time has such a grand story to it is really impressive. But considering that development time it would explain why at times the game can be a little glitchy at times. Its almost never anything game breaking and again given that time to make the game the fact the game runs so well is astonishing. If I had to find complaints for the game it would be that the inclusion of boss battles were very underwhelming and unnecessary because there just not really fun to play. Flood levels are still the weakest levels granted their still not nearly as bad as the Library in Halo 1. And the difficulty is a lot more unfair in this game and if you've ever played the legendary you know what I'm talking about as Halo 2 has one of the most difficult legendary modes in the entire series. Honestly that's probably the biggest thing for me keeping it from a 10 for me if these issue had time to of been addressed then maybe although the ending is notorious for being a big cliff hanger although that's not as big a deal now seeing as you can readily play Halo 3 today. One last note the multi[layer is also still a ton of fun today to play. Overall the game is amazing and its defiantly one of my favorite games of all time and I look forward to playing through it again and again with people I know to make them experience it to.
Now let me make it clear I defiantly have nostalgia influencing my opinion on combat evolved but I can say that I have played this game well over 3 dozen times and even today its a blast to play. Its not perfect although considering how old it is and what was available at the time it is pretty darn close. But when I rate games I consider playing it now more important then how it was when released. And some things have definitely aged in combat evolved. For one the visuals and environments can be blocky and dull to look at some times and some areas are just plain ugly or are very dark. I find the old visuals to be charming flawed but charming but for many today this game can be quiet ugly in general although I will hold up that some areas and levels are quite pretty in their own sense. Of course you can play with the anniversary visuals in that port or in the MCC collection. But those visuals are fairly plain to me and completely bungle the tone and designs of areas and enemy's. I wouldn't recommend the anniversary visuals but I know that for many modern gamers the original look can be very unappealing so that can be a problem for some. One other common complaint and one I share is the level design. Now this is mostly for the last 4 levels the first level is fine the second and fourth levels I think are wonderful and nice to look at the third level is okay and the fifth level has a good tone and atmosphere to it. However the Library or seventh level is probably one of the worst levels in the entire series, It just not fun to play especially on harder difficulties. And the last 3 levels are just levels previously played but different in some ways and because of that it just feels a bit boring. Although the last stretch of the last level is truly a classic as you have to drive through the ship before it explodes. The ships architecture might make no sense if you stop and look around a bit during this segment but it doesn't matter because of how fun it is and how well it caps the game off. That mostly covers any negatives I have other then that it's mostly positives. Gunplay is super solid and really solidified many conventions we have with modern console shooters. While there's not really a large verity of guns in the game all of them are fun to use and have their place within it. The pistol is famous for how overpowered and fun it is. The shotgun might be my favorite in he series just for its long look and how much punch it has . I could go on but my point is that there all good and have wonderful sound affects to go along with them. But what really makes the gameplay so much fun is the AI. Even compared to some modern titles the AI is remarkably intelligent. Enemy's will find cover, try to flank you, charge you if they now your near death and will retreat if a superior is killed. Of course this mostly applies to the covenant as the flood act more like AI in shooters at the time in that they will just charge you and mindlessly shoot. Makes sense considering what they are but in practice not as fun to fight which adds to the later flood levels not being as much fun to play. Anyways what else can I say the music is fantastic and really just iconic and down right beautiful at times. The vehicles are fun to use but also are really wonky in how they feel and the fact they like to drift. Except the tank the tank isn't really fun to use in this game but you never have to use it so there's that I guess. The plot today is a bit simple but there are layers to it and a sense of mystery as well. Who built the rings what are there purpose how and what are the covenant? When it comes to characters there's only like six in the whole game and some are forgettable or don't get to do enough but Master Chief Cortana and Guilty Spark are defiantly memorable characters. Although Chief is a bit of an idiot in this one and Cortana is rocking a bowl cut but other then that I cant really complain. Overall Halo Combat Evolved is a classic it might be a bit rough around the edges but the core gameplay is a blast to play and certainly worth playing today among any fans of shooters.
As someone who just recently finished playing all the others God of War games I was genuinely pleased to see something new from this series. While the combat of the older games was never bad and was really fun in of it's self I really do like this new style. Was it the right choice I'm not sure though as the more you compare this one to the others the more you realize how radically they changed how the game plays. While things like jumping are missed I still had a lot of fun but what I enjoyed more then anything was the story. Having Kratos move to a new mythological land of gods is a fantastic idea. And while sometimes annoying I did really like the inclusion of Atreus his son. Him not knowing of his godley origin and him trying to emotionally connect with Kratos is something I didn't know I wanted to see in these games. And seeing Kraos open up and allow himself to connect to his boy is wonderful especially when you remember that all these games have been actual Greek tragedies for Kratos with him killing his wife daughter mother father inadvertently his brother and being betrayed by practically everyone I think the man deserves to find some happiness in these games.
Dead Space 3 is the weakest of the trilogy that's not to say it's a bad game of course but when compared to it's predecessors it comes up short. The biggest thing for me in this game was the introduction of crafting mechanics. Which I just wasn't interested in at all. While you can create some neat weapons and weapon combos they limit you to two guns and most of the weapons aren't effective or fun to use. And because of the crafting system now all guns use the same ammo type which meant that I ended up just making the guns I wanted by the half way point in the game and then just stuck to them because why waste time making other less effective weapons when I already have what I need to beat the game. The game is also a lot easier with all ammo being the same and healing items in such abundance I beet the game with dozens of extra health packs in storage. And the setting and atmosphere just don't feel nearly as scary or intense as they did in the previous games. And while I thought the story was fine I didn't care much for the human drama parts and all the side characters are basically worthless in this game. Although the Co op companion character I did like just because when playing single player he just shows up for cutscenes and they act like he's important when you barley even see him. I know I'm being critical and I still think the game is enjoyable. The actual gun play is still good learning the lore is interesting and visually the game still holds up fairly well. But the game feels like it was a product born out of a desire from higher ups for the the game to imitate what was popular at the time. Especially the crafting and co op additions but al least they didn't make it so when playing single player you had to have an AI companion follow you around.
Chains of Olympias and Ghost of Sparta are both fine games in the God of War series. For me as someone trying to play through all the games at this point I felt kind of burned out on the formula used in these games. However I think that both of these games are still good especially for the fact that they were made for the PSP. Visually they both look quite impressive for what they are and I think overall I had a better time with both of these titles then I did the original although they both do still carry over some of the more annoying aspects from the original PS2 games. And the story while I thought it would be very unnecessary I found them to be entertaining even if there really not that important in the series. But if you are a fan of the first main series of God of War games then you might want to check them out if you get a chance. The collections like 10$ on the PS3 store so get it before the store shuts down someday.
As with the other God of War games this title has engaging set pieces fun gameplay and pretty good visuals. Really it's just another solid entry in the God of War series although it does come with it's own issues the biggest for me being the story. Which isn't bad but suffers from the Prequel story problem of we all know how this ends because we've already seen where Kratos goes from here. And over all the plot didn't really change anything or reveal any significant info. One other issue I found with this game was that I died a lot more in this one then the other games. But not because the game was much harder. But because I found myself falling into pits a lot more either from bad camera angels or my button inputs not being registered during "platforming" sequences. This isn't a deal breaker by any means but a noticeable annoyance I had though out. The game is also a little shorter then the other titles my guess the inclusion of a multiplayer mode was to compensate for this but obviously there's not much of a player base 8 years later. Overall if you enjoy the other God of War games it's defiantly one you try if you get the chance but not one you necessarily need to check out.
When I picked this game up in the year 2021 I thought this looked like a budget title probably early in the Xboxes life to cash in on the trend of WW2 shooters how bad can it be. Well let me tell you this game is the worst thing I've touched in a long time. You could play bad game bingo with this because it's got everything. From bad collision detection, ugly graphics, invisible walls, walls you can shoot through, really bad AI, terrible animations, enemy's having there guns float above there hands, enemy's aiming at the air but hitting you, unclear objectives, literally no characters at all I don't think your character even has a name, Guns that shoot through people or just miss completely, terrible level design, moments where you go where the hell do I go. Really just everything you can imagine is bad about the game but also some things you might not expect. Like how it take five seconds to search body for ammo or the fact there's no heeling items in the game which means you have to finish levels with what health you have. And you cant pick up enemy weapons which means your stuck with what they give you at the beginning of the level. And in the first level they give you a sniper rifle that takes forever to shoot because it has to go through the bolt animation between all shots which is annoying as hell. The only complements I can give this game is that it doesn't crash or break, it only glitched once and me and my friends had a bit of entertainment from how bad it was. But the most baffling thing about the game is the fact it came out in 2006 when Call of Duty 3 would release that year and the Xbox 360 was already a year old and this only released on PC and OG Xbox. Which all tells me that the developers did not give a **** about the game and so only put it together along with Road to Berlin as a cheap tactic to get some money.
Bioshock Infinite is my least favorite of the Bioshock Trilogy. And that really comes down to the gameplay which I feel is a real step down from Bioshock 1 and 2. While 1 is pretty stiff in how it controls I still think the gameplay is more satisfying and I'm not a big fan of the change to only carrying 2 weapons in this game. Because I can only carry two weapons I didn't feel much need to upgrade a lot of the weapons seeing as who knows when I might get that gun back or how much Ill use it not to mention it doesn't really change the gun much other then it's stats basically. Which isn't as fun as in the other games where visually they'd change and you could get some more wacky upgrades potentially. And the weapons themselves feel more like your standard shooter afair no weird weapons like a drill or harpoon gun which is kind of disappointing. I'm also not a big fan of the vigor's which replaced the plasmids. Not only is there purpose in the narrative really not important or explained very much in the the main story but they also don't feel as memorable or useful in this game. The general flow of gameplay in general feels a lot more like every other shooter. What I mean is that in the first two games you'd explore rapture and the enemy's you faced weren't really looking for you all the time you'd sort of walk in on people and a times you could avoid them. In this one combat encounters happen in big rooms typically with a large group of enemy's waiting for you so the game is taking you along from one big enemy encounter to the next. Enemy types are fine for the most part but with out big daddies the game lacks an enemy with the same risk and reward system that they provided. And so instead they just have a few bigger and more bullet spongy enemy types. The handy man being my pick for the worst Bioshock enemy not only feeling kinda out of place to me but also being just really annoying to fight with there big size and tendency to get right in your face. This all connects with the setting and atmosphere which I'm personally just not as big a fan of. I do like the look and feel of the floating city of Colombia when your just walking around and seeing people live there lives. But it's just not as interesting as Raptures glorious city turned nightmare for me. Granted I am a big fan of horror and horror themed settings so that definitely plays a role. Now what I did really love was the story which kept me going through the game. While it's defiantly a departure from the other games focus on more "grounded" concepts and messages about capitalism and socialism. But the story while maybe a bit over complicated is really good. The character you play as Booker is an actual character who speaks and has his own opinions unlike the other games which makes him more interesting although it makes it harder for the player to actually feel like were in his shoes. Elizabeth is a great character and as an AI companion she's really helpful giving you salts, health and ammo all the time and only ever got in my way once. Although I feel part of that I felt was to compensate for the lost of being able to carry multiple health packs and eve syringes to replenish yourself at any time which is a change I'm also not a fan of. I know I've complained a lot in this writing but I do genuinely still think this game is good and worth playing. It's just when compared to it's predecessors I feel it made a lot of miss steps or steps backwards in a lot of departments. And that the game made some rather strange changes that I felt weren't necessary that resulted in the game play feeling a lot like every other game in the genera and so lost some of what was special. But what the game losses in gameplay it makes for most of it in it's story and characters.
There's a lot to love about this game from the visuals to the wonderful music and sound effects and the true open world sense you get that you can go anywhere at any time if you want. Point is there's so much I do love about this game but I'd be remiss if I didn't mention some of the things that I didn't like. For starters and this is more of a personal thing but the game is really big. What I mean is that the game can feel really overwhelming with how many places you can go and with how many of those korak seeds there are all over the place. I like to try to do everything in a game when I play and this game I just couldn't because of how many there are. For example there's a lot of side quests that I didn't finish and it's not just because there's so many of them. But many of them were just not that interesting or rewarding enough for me to really want to finish. Another thing that I wasn't a fan of was how repetitive the shrines could be at times. Mostly in the visuals department because they all have the same look and I get why that is but a little more variety in how they look would have been nice. And I get that it's kind of just a Zelda thing to not have a lot of voiced dialogue and I can except that for the older titles but in the future I would like to see more voiced dialogue from NPCs but I guess that's just cause I did like a lot of the characters and would like to hear more from them. One thing I thought I wouldn't like but ended up enjoying was the weapon derogation system. As it made the early game more challenging and really if non of the weapons broke the game would be way to easy. Difficulty is something the game does well in the beginning but due to the open world nature of the game it's kinda hard to gage a players skill if they can go anywhere so the level of difficulty is kinda all over the place until the end game where everything just becomes real easy. Again I really enjoyed the game I think it's a great game and something that most people should give a try if they have a switch. I just wish some of the fat could be trimmed off the game to make it a bit more concise. Granted this game is no where near the same level of repetitive slog as an Ubisoft open world game tens to be so there's that at least.
Resident Evil 1 is a game I have a lot of respect for what it did for survival horror and for starting one of my favorite game series. With that being said I do think that this game has aged pretty poorly and I am of the opinion that the remake pretty much improved and perfected everything this game was going for. That's not to say that this game doesn't have value, merit or isn't worth playing today cause I do think it does. It's just a lot harder I feel to recommend the original over the remake or at least the directors cut of the game. Because when I say the original I do mean I played the original version of the game which when you really boil it down means that there's few unlockable and the music is better. In fact the music is really good on the original release the basement music being my favorite piece for how it heightened the tension I felt while going through. The basement music is my favorite song in the directors cut as well just for entirely different reasons. In addition the original release only has alternative costumes for each character you can unlock which kind of ****. And there's no auto aim which with the camera angels can make it really difficult to hit enemies some times. But the core gameplay of preserving ammo and healing items and solving puzzles is still really fun and even scary at times. Despite the games very dated visuals it does still mange to bring tension and dread in it's encounters through out the game. Another dated aspect is the story and voice acting which has critical levels of campiness. I think every one already knows this but the voice performance is on another level of how bad and unintentionally funny it is and I do love it. Some cutscenes have what I can call some of the worst 3d models I've seen in a game and I just love how bad they look. I think the game has a difficulty problem in that Jill's campaign feels kinda easy while Chris's campaign feels a lot harder and far more tedious due to his smaller inventory space. Leading me and seemingly most people to not what to play Chris more then once. The combat in the game is very slow due to in part the fixed camera angels and tank controls. Both of which I don't mind and I think really plays a part in the charm of the game and they work to heighten tension and make encounters all the more threatening. But I don't think it works with some of the enemies such as the hunters. Who can move very fast and sometimes will decapitate you killing you instantly which can be really annoying. I think this same issue is present for most of the boss fights due to their speed they can get a lot of hits in before your able to turn around and properly aim at them which again is very annoying. With all that being said I do think the game is a very charming experience and is still a good game at it's core just a terribly dated one.
Bioshock 2 is an improvement to the original in almost every way. The gameplay is the biggest improvement the addition duel of wilding plasmids with weapons is a fantastic addition which lends itself to a better flow in combat. New and improved plasmids along with better weapons then the original also go a long way to making combat more engaging which was a problem in the original for me. The story is something a lot of people have a problem with and true while is doesn't have a big twist like the original what we do have is still an interesting plot that explores many of the themes from the first game in addition to some new interesting elements brought in this title. And while you cant play it today this game did have a multiplayer mode that I remember being fun but then again that was a long time ago so it's hard for me to say if it was good or not. The main issue with this as well as the first title is that I would say they struggle to find the right balance of difficulty as it feels no matter the difficulty I choose the game is either a cake walk or it's a near death experience when I enter a room. Not that it's an issue to much seeing as when you die you simply respawn in a vita chamber and only need to walk back to where you were with out loosing much actual progress. Despite that and some minor technical issues the game has at times I'd still say that the Bioshock 2 is a better game then the first if only by a bit. And while I don't want to talk about this too much the DLC expansion Minerva's Den was also really good and if you do enjoy this game at all it's definitely worth your time. And it comes along in the Bioshock collection for newer consoles.
Okay so right off the bat this game on a technical level is just awful. The graphics even for it's time were not very good and the story some how has just as bad of a script and voice acting as the original resident evil. The controls are what really stick out to me for just how awful they are though. They basically just translated the tank controls of the other PS1 RE games and made it first person. This makes it so that while you can use analog sticks in game the right stick wont aim your weapon but instead bring up the pause menu which is just baffling to me. And by the way the item menu takes forever to bring up and navigate unlike even the first game which was quick and simple to use. Another control relate issue I found was the fact that there was at least four buttons not being utilized for anything and two that do the same thing yet there is no reload button in the game and instead your guns are reloaded when going through doors or by traversing the item menu which again it's like why. Now I know this was meant to be a light gun game which wouldn't help to much because you cant use those on modern TVs anyway but here in the states we had no option for this so this is just how it was expected to be played here. One actual complement I could give the game is that I really enjoyed some of the music tracks although some others are used so frequently that I found them annoying which is impressive for a game that will run you 3 to 4 hours max to beat. And one track in particular near the end is possibly one of the worst pieces of music in the series. Okay so I know I just dumped a whole paragraph about some of the things that are terrible in the game but here's the thing I kind of love the game. And I'm not sure why maybe because of the hilariously terrible dialogue or the because of the commando enemies you fight in the game who have long gorilla arms and make goddamn jaguar noises when you kill them for no reason. But something about this game is just charming to me, like there's just enough of the bits I like in the old resident evil games for me to not hate this one. Now that's not to say it's good though because well it's not and I would not recommend this to a majority of people. But if your like me and you are a **** for Resident Evil games and can apricate a good dumpster fire **** then maybe you can have a somewhat good time with this one. Or you could also make your fiends have to experience this game which has also proven to be fun. Also now this game will forever be the first Resident Evil game my friend has beaten so for him the series can pretty much only go up from there.
Shadow of the Colossus is one of those games that you'll either say you love and that it's a masterpiece or that you hate and everyone else is wrong. Personally I love the game and can look past some of the annoying things about it. But there are certainly some minor things that for some can kill their enjoyment of the game the biggest thing being the controls. I wouldn't say there bad but they do feel old which makes sense seeing as the game was originally on the PS2. The controls take some time to get use to but again I wouldn't call them bad except maybe the horse which was annoying to control the whole way through. What the game gets right is pretty much everything else though. The visuals on the PS4 are just breath taking when you first experience them. And the boss fights are mostly pretty good. It's like trying to solve a puzzle while also fighting a boss and I love that. Most of the Colossus are great other then maybe 2 of them who were fairly similar to each other. And the finale colossus was a little disappointing if I'm being honest. Along with all that the music is top notch and the story is interesting but also goes on the backburner for most of the game. Most of the plot happens at the beginning and the end of the game with little happening in between you slaying colossus. Which works for what the game is and also helps with the twist that happens by the end. In conclusion Shadow of the Colossus is certainly a unique game and I think that it's a game you should at least try to play once so long as you can deal with some weird controls.
Bioshock is a classic of the seventh generation of gaming and I believe it's game that most people into gaming should experience at least once. What the game does so well for starters is it's atmosphere and world building. The city of Rapture that it takes place in is so beautiful and it will draw you right and make you want to explore and learn more about it. Now while I did say the game is beautiful some textures and areas certainly show there age but the art style is where it shines and gives the game it's character. Along with that the music fits very well and give you this sense of wonder or terror at times. And the political commentary present in the game and it's critiques on capitalism is done wonderfully with out feeling like it's completely hitting you over the head with it. And the story telling present in the game along with it's environmental storytelling is also done fantastically. And not to give it away but the twist that comes a little over half way through the game is defiantly one of the best twists in gaming to this day. Now I could go on with praising the game and yeah I really love the game however revisiting it now I do see some issues present that feel the need to bring up, For starters the gunplay is quiet sluggish by todays standards and so trying to land accurate shots just feels awkward to control at times. Although I will say I do still enjoy using most of the guns in the game it's just that they don't feel fluent to control. The plasmids on the other hand while cool and many of them are fun to use a lot of them I found to be useless a lot of the time and just found myself using like 4 of them a majority of the game. A common complaint among players that I agree with is the two different endings and how one is objectively worse in both a narrative stand point and a gameplay standpoint because in the long run you will receive less rewards by the end so really what's the point of the evil path. And the final boss as everyone who has played knows is kind of dumb and doesn't really make sense but I can forgive these two blights on the game as they were apparently the only prerequisites from the publisher for the game so whatever. Overall the game is still fantastic and I would say a definite must play for most gamers out there.
I've played most of the Call of Duty campaigns at this point and I got to say after playing the first title it's perfectly okay. The visuals are alright considering this came out in 03 and the sound design on weapons' and sound effects are nice and punchy. Like most of the old CODs there's 3 different campaigns with American, British and Soviet theaters of war. Although it can be kind of jarring in this one because there's no heads up you just kinda swap in between the campaigns. If I had to pick one as my favorite it would be the Soviet campaign with it's opening crossing the river at Stalingrad to the attack on the Reichstag. It feels grand in a way even though later titles would do most of these battles way better it still does a good enough job making you feel like a solider in these battles. At least compared to the other allied campaigns that after a few missions helping the battle of D day as paratroopers will right after send you and your squad on these secret special missions which feel a lot like later Call of duty gamers. Foe example one of the US missions has a part straight out of Indiana Jones 3 with a secret fire place revealing a coms room. Which leads me to believe that COD has always been kinda stupid and that later titles simply cranked up the ridiculous factor to 11. I also find that more of the western theater levels are more frustrating although one of the soviet levels also was really annoying. But in total something like half the levels either had parts that were really annoying or frustration or the entire level was frustrating. And the gunplay is fine it's nothing really spectacular but it does the job for what it is. Overall I don't hate the game it has some really good moments I just think that most of the real good parts it has have been done much better in later titles and that it suffers from alot annoying crap in much of the game. Such as poor level design and having just way to many enemy's coming at you at points. Overall not terrible but not really exceptionable by todays standards so it's okay worth maybe a play through but I don't see my self returning to this one when I need a Call of duty fix. Also side note there's no shotguns in this game which meant there's only rifles, machine guns and side arms you'll never use. And I don't know if this meant that the multiplayer was the best ever or the worst ever in the series. I guess that's a matter of opinion on if you enjoy using shotguns in COD games more then you hate getting destroyed by them or not.
The battle royal genre is one that I have long not cared for but Tetris 99 is a lot of fun. I've always been a big fan of Tetris games and something about the competitive aspect of playing Tetris with 98 other people is very interesting to me. While you can actively compete with others in the game I find that just hoping into a game and playing it like it's normal Tetris just with some added challenge is very enjoyable. And the added benefit of this being on the switch means that I can just pick up the switch off the dock and just play a few rounds of Tetris quickly and easily is very relaxing for myself. And for the time being I'm comfortable with calling this my favorite version of Tetris.
Star Wars Dark Forces for 1995 is pretty good. But playing it in 2021 is pretty underwhelming. Visually I will say it still looks nice for what it is but playing the base version leaves you with just terrible resolution that makes it so you can barley tell what your looking at a lot of the time. There is a mod to fix that and it adds other quality of life fixes but it also adds some bugs to the game as well so it's not perfect. The gun play is fun it feels like a in between of Doom and Duke Nukem 3D. But half the weapons feel practically useless. Once you get the blaster rifle in the first 10 seconds you'll be using that for the whole game. And some enemy's are just really annoying like the aliens that throw grenades at you. A big problem I have though is the level design which I find to be annoying, inconsistent and at times very cryptic with where your suppose to go. I found my self pretty frequently saying where do I go only to find a switch tucked away in a corner or some other unclear solution. I do enjoy the story though even if it is kinda simple but I'm not expecting a deep story from a game of this era. Overall I still enjoyed my time with the game but I wouldn't regard it as a classic nor a game that I really will return to anytime soon.
I personally remember really enjoying the Outfit when I was a kid but revisiting it today is just sad. For starters the visuals even for 2006 seems really underwhelming and you will here the same few generic military themes throughout the whole game. So the music and visuals aren't impressive but what is interesting is the gameplay at least at first. It's a weird mix of 3rd person shooter and RTS and while its kind of neat the game lacks in variety and so by the half way point in the campaign you'll of seen pretty much every thing this game has to offer. Spawn a tank in and spam defensive units in certain areas and you'll pretty much win most of the game by doing this. And the story doesn't help much as all the characters are your standard WW2 stereotypes. And the tone is all over the place like one moment it seems they wanted it to be this over the top goofy squad shooter and than other moments its suppose to be serious. Pair that with very janky gameplay, dumb AI and some of the most unsatisfying gun play I've experienced and you got yourself a mediocre game. Overall the game isn't terrible as I did enjoy some parts in a sort of arcade way and the style of game was interesting but by the the last level I just wanted it to be over with.
Advance wars is an enjoyable if a little monotonous strategy game. The art style and general presentation still holds up 20 years later. And the music while good gets way over used and kind of lacks variety. The gameplay is fun and I really enjoyed the strategic elements that go into playing it. But the game I feel does tend to get very repetitive after a while of playing but as a handheld game it does work for just picking up and playing for short bursts. And while I liked the many characters in the games campaign the story is rather barebones and underwhelming. But still a fun experience non the less
Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga is a very charming little RPG. I greatly enjoyed the interactions between characters as well as many of the new characters introduced throughout the game. And the art style in this game looks just wonderful, colorful environments and cartoony sprits give the world this vibrant feeling. On the gameplay side its not anything that great, turn based RPG mechanics where you have to time your button inputs for max damage. I enjoyed this gameplay it just got tiring by the end and I found that just spamming certain attacks was the go to strategy for most fights. And aside from a few boss fights the game wasn't very challenging however I'd say the game was just long enough before it got to be too much. There's also many small mini games most of which only appear once and I didn't care for some of them except the barrel one that one was alright. And finally the music which I feel I have to mention is really good but some of them like the battle music can get kind of old by the end. But overall I'd say its a real fun game and worth trying out for most fans of Mario or RPGs.
Honestly this is a really sub par Lego experience when compared to its console counter parts. The visuals are nice enough but the gameplay strays to far away from what makes a Lego game good. Bad controls and a lack of care leave you with a rather forgettable and shallow experience.
Resident Evil 4 is one of the my favorite games of all time. I love its pacing, gameplay, characters, settings and even its really dumb plot. Is it perfect probably not but for me it might as well be. I think the fact that this game that was built for the GameCube can implement motion controls and still be a ton of fun is amazing. Like seriously I don't like motion controls very much they almost always seem gimiky but RE4 manages to have a pretty good control scheme on the WII. Some people even prefer it personally I just see it as more so an alternative than a replacement for a regular control scheme. But no matter what platform you play on you can expect a fantastic game with an engaging campaign with good replay value and extra modes and side campaigns to keep you busy with the game. Except the mobile version maybe don't play that one.
As a South Park fan or at least someone who use to watch it a lot I can say that this game is a treat to any fan of the show. If you aren't a fan though than it's probably not for you as I don't think the game play is strong enough to captivate a non fan. That's not to say the gameplay is bad though as someone who finds turn base RPGs to be hit or miss this was fun enough but most of my enjoyment came from the humor and interacting with characters from the show as well as exploring the area of South Park. My only complaints on this game is that I thought the level cap was a little to low and much of the game felt kind of easy from my experience. I think this game is another testament to Obsidian entertainment and there ability to make good faithful RPGs on pre existing source material. It defiantly takes talent to make an RPG out of a show like South Park and to make it good so my full respect goes to the developers on this one.
The game is filled with atmosphere and polish in its presentation this is definitely a game the movie Alien deserves it meshes real well with it. The game is certainly held back by frustrating moments and design I think the face huggers are a good example of that I'm glad there in the game but on a design perspective there just annoying and real trial and error in there placements and one shot kill attacks. But the game is still good just not something i was super into if you like the first alien movie you'll love this and if you like horror games you'll probably like it, give it a try.
Okay so i wanted to check this game out mainly because the remake came out recently and I heard it was bad. But it reminded me that I see the original for 5 bucks at my local used games store all the time. So I checked it and first of all the visuals are very nice ill say that. Some times they can be a little blocky and janky but overall it nails the comic book style that it's going for. And the story was alright I think, its not commuted very well some times on what's happening. So I felt very confused a lot of the time but that's not a huge negative for me. What really suffers is the gameplay mostly the stealth parts of the game. The stealth is very frustrating mostly due to how basic it really is there's a lack of depth with it . But it probably wouldn't be as bad if the check point system didn't make it so after getting spotted and sounding an alarm in some levels that I had to rewatch story scenes or replay big chunks of levels. Which are boring to replay because the stealth makes it so that you have to go very slow. Other than that the gunplay is fun a little to easy due to very simple AI but still serviceable for it's time. If your looking for a very stylized shooter and can tolerate some simple yet frustrating stealth segments than I more than recommend you check out XIII for yourself.
Medievil is a fantastic remake that manages to improve on the original in almost everyway. The only thing I could knock it on is that in some aspects I don't like how the art style is translated from the original ps1 game. Loosing a lot of its Tim Burton feel in translation. However that is only a minor nitpick in that regard as it otherwise improves visually, performance wise and in controls. The game it self has some issues the combat defiantly feels like a ps1 game in the sense that they weren't fully sure how 3d games worked. So there is some jank to it. And while early on I wasn't to impressed by the end I fell in love with the games writing humor and pretty much every other aspect of it. And the completion bonus you can get later in the game which is unlocking the original game on the ps1. is one of the best I've seen in games and it gives me a whole lot more appreciation for the remake after being able to go back and directly compare it to the original. It's not a perfect game but it's defiantly an interesting game and you get a good amount of content for what's it's worth. And if you've played the original there's no reason to not try it out.
Dead Space 1 is a fantastic game and while I think this follow up falls a little short of the original its still a great game. The gun play is still great and there are more weapons to try out. I really like some of the new enemy types the ones that peek around corners I feel are a highlight. And visually the game still looks appealing to this day. I think that the narrative is a little week the twist early on just feels like a rehash of the first game. Later on Isaac and Shelly grow a strong attachment which felt kind of forced. And the final boss of the game while being narratively fitting for the end boss it just isn't very fun to fight I felt. And finally a common complaint about dead space 2 is that its a lot less scary than the fist. And I do agree on that a little bit but I think that the real issue stems from the difficulty. Where normal mode is just to easy while hard is just a little to stingy with the supplies. Now that could be me but when I played in hard mode the game felt a lot more scary than it would of been other wise. But its hard to recommend that you first play on hard mode because the later parts of the game can get real difficult with what feels like no supplies at points. While the normal mode just gives you way to much ammo and health. I think over all the game is still great it defiantly deserves the must play status and if you've played it yet then you should fix that.
MechAssault is a lot of fun but it has it's draw backs. The story is rather barebones, the gameplay can become repetitive and levels lack any checkpoints. Multiplayer was a big part of this game and obviously your not gonna get much out of that nowadays other than a horde mod to play with. And one other nitpick I had with the game is the final levels in the lava area look really bad. But even with those negative aspects I'd say MechAssault is still a fun game. Piloting the mechs feels really good and blowing stuff up is always fun. It may of aged a bit but it's still worth picking up for anyone who's got an original Xbox lying around.
