My life changed when I first played this game…

I still remember it vividly…

Being in an uncle’s house for a family reunion, suddenly, my uncle offers me and my dad (who was also a gamer back when he was fun) a look at his playroom, where he kept a massive flat screen, alongside an Xbox and several games.

I was ecstatic, and immediately chose one of the games from the bunch…

Halo.

The cover, the colors, the main menu…. It all spoke to me in a way that words can not describe…
If you know the feeling, you know it, simple as that.

Then my dad and uncle both left the room to got be adults again, and left me in there, in a dark room, sitting on a fluffy cushion really close to the TV, with the muffled sounds of the outside world, to experience Halo for the first time…

And good god, was it enlightening.

Landing on the Halo ring for the first time, was literally breathtaking.

As the music softened until an eventual stop, and the air whistled through the long, alien-looking trees, and the water slowly filled the silence, first with a flowing river, then with a crashing waterfall, it captivated not my attention…… but my curiosity.

Something far more important, and difficult to achieve.

The following few hours of action, chaos and adventure forever remain sealed in my heart as one of the most iconic gaming experiences of my life, and, eventually, when I grew up…. I realized I wasn’t alone.

Almost everyone celebrated Halo as a cultural phenomenon, and immediately set it as one of THE most important gaming steppingstones of all times, wether because of its fascinating story, fun multiplayer aspect, or absolutely revolutionary gameplay advances.

Its importance can’t be denied.

And if you do, it’s nothing but mute words, as evidence firmly swipes away any attempt to reduce this game’s impact…

Halo, is one of the most important videogame releases in history… and it will always remain that way.

Playing this game, is about the craziest combination of feelings I’ve ever had while playing…

The horror, is not based on a jump scare or a cutscene….

The horror is as subtle as walking down an empty hallway with a flashlight that limits what you see in front of you, all of this while absolute silence fills the room…. Hearing every footstep, every crack and snap from the wood below, everything you touch making a loud noise that startled you over the ridiculous lack of more sound.

And then the monsters appear, and the sound is so loud, it’s overwhelming, and you’re now in panic mode trying to stay alive.

Heh, these were my initial feelings with this game when I first played it as a teenager…

But the true horror…. The true horror only comes when you’re mature enough to read through everything and slowly find out the disturbingly heartbreaking story hidden beneath a “simple horror game”.

This game is a masterpiece.

A gem, one that exists only once in a lifetime.

And one that, will change you after playing it.

There was a version of me before and after I played Silent Hill, and once you start, you can never stop…. The whole franchise becomes extremely enticing, and addictive.

I’m so lucky to have had the privilege of experiencing something as good and complex as this game.

Funny enough, the rest of the franchise would become the definition of insanity itself…

But this one though…

This one, is the best example of a great game, well written, extremely well made, BUT…. Riddled with classic questionable Ubisoft decisions that could have destroyed it, had it not been for one… tiny, little, detail…..

Vaas Montenegro.

One of the best written, acted, and developed characters of videogame history.
Mixed with one of the best protagonists as well.

Jason Brody being a mirror of Vaas’s tragic story, is the fuel that keeps this game burning even so long after its release.

Had it not been for Hoyt’s final island that takes up half of the game, everyone would agree this game was a 10/10…. It is to me, but, I understand why it isn’t to many.

This game marked history as the creator of the best open world formula of it’s time, that slowly became more and more cursed due to it being overused in every single Ubisoft game even to this day.

It is a great, memorable experience that has the staying power of any of the ultimate classics of videogame history like Bioshock and Spec Ops: The Line.
(But… not 100% as great as those of course)

So…

To end this review, I ask you….

Did I ever tell you the definition…. Of insanity?

This game made me a fan of the FPS genre, and I absolutely adore it even to this day.

While simple in execution, and definitely a piece of its time, Turok 2 still manages to feel like an extremely exciting, and brutal experience.

Every new weapon providing you with a new ungodly amount of power to massacre your foes, and these foes slowly increasing in both difficulty and complexity.

This is 100% nostalgia talking, and I know the game is far from perfect.

But it’s still a game I will replay over and over again to this day, and I hope more people would just experience the absolute madness it has to offer.

A steppingstone in videogame history.

This game not only reinforced the power of videogames as a proper blockbuster machine of an industry, but it also presented one of the best conclusions to a trilogy since Return of the Jedi.

Brimmed with detail, heart, and action.

A story so vast and exciting, that knew exactly when and where to play with the player.

A graphical engine that stunned players of its time, as well as shocked them with all of its physics mechanics like gravity objects and interaction with things like water.

And of course… the absolutely robust Multiplayer suite that rocked, and I do mean ROCKED Xbox Live for so many years, perfected the matchmaking system, added character and calling card customization, as well as provided stable map packs to increasingly populate its multiplayer roster.

Everything this game did, became as much of a legend as Master chief himself, and fans were so in love with it, that of course, seeing some of its multiplayer offerings come back for the Collection completely restored, only went on to show the absolute power this game carried.

It’s still revered as one of the best games ever, one of the best of its franchise, and part of one of the best trilogies in gaming history.

Those are medals that are extremely hard to claim…. But that this game waves around proudly as time goes on.

Just when you thought it couldn’t get any better…

No wonder Romero loved it and even directed one of its TV ads…

Resident Evil 2 lives rent free in my childhood nightmares, for it was the very first RE game I ever played.

The creepy CG opening cutscenes of both Leon and Claire gave me nightmares for MONTHS, but somehow only pushed me to play the game even further.

The opening streets of Raccoon City give off a vibe, completely unmatched to this day, even with the Remakes, and the following claustrophobic sections in the police station, sewers, and labs, only further increase the tension in a game that is so excellently paced and thought out.

This is the game that opened my 7 or 8 year old mind (give or take) into further exploring the Survival Horror genre, and created in me a long lasting impact that stands strong to this very day at my almost 30 years of age.

What a masterpiece of a game, and, a turning point in the gaming industry that allowed the games of today to be what they are.

Impeccable.

Screw you Aspyr

You really.... you.... you f**ked the pooch on this one.....

What an absolute disappointment, I feel so damn betrayed like, riddle me this, HOW DO YOU MAKE A COMPLETE SET OF OLD GAMES, INCOMPLETE, ON THEIR DIRECT PORT TO NEW CONSOLES???

.... at least the GTA Trilogy had the decency to slightly improve the graphics, models and textures....

First PlayStation game I've ever refunded.... absolutely ridiculous

Here’s where a lot of people started to drift away from the franchise… and I understand that…

But it’s still my absolute favorite game of the series, and I’ll tell you why!!:

While RE 2 was the first RE game I played, it was Nemesis the very first one I beat.

The switch to a more action oriented system wasn’t to everyone’s liking, but, it enhanced the experience to me.

Puzzles were everywhere just like in the previous 2 games, but now, it expanded on that initial level from RE 2 and built an entire experience around exploring the enormous, desolate, and destroyed, city of the dead, with an atmosphere that I kid you not, makes me anxious to this very day, and makes my guts curl as soon as I hear the desolate winds whistle through the city, as distant sounds of death and chaos help paint the gruesome and obscure scenarios that you come across in your zombie riddled journey.

And then… there’s Nemesis.

The stuff of nightmares I tell you, his single presence made my 8 year old ass panic like my literal life depended on it.

This game was simple, and, well, it’s not its fault, since it was originally going to be a spin off, but later changed into a main entry, however I think that, in that process, the game managed to create something extremely special for gamers just like me, who loved the dread and horror of solving puzzles around monster infested streets, while also going crazy with a powerful assault rifle, unloading round after round on the dangerous walking corpses plaguing Raccoon City.

It May not be the best to many, but, RE3 Nemesis, to me… you’re definitely one of the greatest Action-Survival Horror games of all times.

Playing this game was a one in a lifetime experience, and it’s one I will never forget…

I remember when it first came out, seeing the absolutely insane reaction in every magazine, review show, and game store, everyone was talking about it.

I myself always wanted the chainsaw controller edition that released later on.

However, I never really got to play it.

All I could do was, watch all the images, read all the walkthroughs, and watch as many videos as I could find.

It wasn’t up until I was already a working adult, that I was able to buy my own GameCube, and a copy of this game.

And boy oh boy, was the experience exhilarating…

Just entering the game for the first time, watching the classic, gritty textures, and listening to the desolate ambiance was already thrilling, but then you’re welcomed by the most anxiety inducing opening level in any game, fighting off dozens of plagas AND the chainsaw dude, safe to say, I was already sold on it, but as the experience kept going, it kept getting better and better for the most part.

By the end you do see a few levels that were a bit too much, and just the level of insanity that the story has, but for some unknown reason, it all works out perfectly together in the end.

This is perhaps one of my most replayed games ever as well, and the one I own the most I think, coming down to Cube, IOS, Xbox 360, PS4, PC and now the remake.

While not perfect when fully analyzing every level and mechanic in detail, it definitely works all together as one of the most epic and memorable Survival Horror Action experiences out there.

This game is far from perfect.

Typical wave shooter, left 4 dead-style, with limited roster of levels, and very little variety.

Then…. Why do I rate it that high?.

Because, as both an Alien fan, and a gamer, this game did to me, what Aliens: Colonial Marines only managed to promise.

If you’re on auto pilot, playing a game just to play it, expecting it to have so much crap to do and unlock, that you can stay busy for the rest of your life, of course you’re gonna hate it.

But if you slow down, put your “Alien fan” hat on, and play it on your own terms, you’ll find the awesome game hidden beneath.

The story is fascinating as an Alien fan, taking place much much farther into the future of the franchise, avoiding to destroy canon in any way, and telling a story new, but familiar.

The environments take you through almost all of the most memorable Alien locations, from mining ships like the Nostromo, to Engineer ruins like Prometheus, and Alien forests like Covenant, always hiding secrets and unlockables that add to the ever expanding lore.

And then, the gameplay.
Fast paced third person shooting, frenzy on your own, tactical as a squad.
Unlocking and customizing your weapons is addictive, as well as playing with each of the classes and maxing out their specs.

And finally, the music.
The soundtrack is downright perfect.
An excellent mix of classic Alien themes, and new music that fits perfectly with the franchise.

It’s more than likely that I’m looking at this game from a place of zero constructive analysis.

But I’m an alien fan, who loves crazy fun shooters, with tons of stuff to unlock and customize.

So it feels like this game was hand made for me.

I get it if you don’t like it, but if any or all of the details I spoke of before apply to you, then perhaps you should consider giving it a try.

It’s a game I never tire of playing.

Without a doubt, some of the most fun I’ve ever had with Battlefield.

This game rocked my teenage years, playing with a full squad of friends online, taking objectives left and right, and showing off my helicopter piloting skills that would inevitably land me dead at some cliff.

Bad Company 2 started the revolution of Battlefield.

Improving a lot on map size, environmental destruction, weapon variety and customization, and adding a fun, charismatic single player campaign, the game gave gamers from every walk of earth a little something to latch onto, and created within them everlasting memories of action and chaos that are even revered today, as both 2042 references maps and guns from the game, and as players desperately ask for a part 3 of the crazy stories of Battlefield’s own A-Team, the Bad Company.

No one knows if we’ll ever see a third part, but I can tell you this….

Part 2 is still called one of the best games in the franchise by many of its fans and for good reason.

Also long live the X-M8 Assault rifle, not enough games feature that majestic piece of deadly machinery.

Time to take a jazz-riddled trip through a desolated, war-torn city at night….

To many, Halo ODST wasn’t a good game.

They said it was unnecessary, and a cheap way to squeeze full price out of the fan base, while offering very little in return.

The fact that it came packed with Halo 3’s multiplayer offering didn’t help at all either.

However…. All of those people can go feet first into hell, and back again.

Because god do I love this game…

What all of those people failed to address, were the immense overhauls to the classic Halo formula, that haven’t been done again since…

A full open World, filled with detail and explorable interiors, plagued with both enemies constantly patrolling the empty city of New Mombasa, and secrets, telling you the true nature of what hides beneath the city itself.

The game is not as shoot shoot- bang bang as its predecessors (at least not all the time)
Instead focusing on a very relaxed, dare I say romantic, experience, filled with astonishing ambiance and perhaps Marty O’Donnell’s best music of the bunch, that begs you to slowly explore its large and detailed city of death, with small skirmishes sprinkled here and there for effect.

Still, outside it’s open world, the game tells an anthology story, slowly piecing together the mystery of your lost squad, and eventually leading to a conclusion, now in real time, that further leads into the events of the main game of its title: Halo 3.

On top of that, while the game didn’t add any new competitive offerings for multiplayer, it did however add a fan favorite horde mode called Firefight.

As always, full of deep player customization, rewards, and enough variety to keep its players interested for a long time, and eventually rising to franchise staple, as future games continued to add this mode as part of the whole multiplayer offering.

This game was criminally avoided by many during its release, however, as expected… eventually grew a strong cult following that marked this game as one of the most beloved Halo experiences of the bunch.

I personally believe it is the best Halo game of the bunch because it speaks to me on many levels, its story and the ODST’s became my absolute favorite and encouraged me to become a more hardcore fan of the franchise after playing the game, down to collecting toys and memorabilia, as well as reading the halo books, all of this well before 343 came around.

It was also the very first Halo game I beat on Legendary, and got all the achievements for.

The importance of this game in my life can not be understated….

I might be a little too non-critical in my analysis of this game, but it is after all a personal review, and all things said and done, it is still without a doubt the one game I love the most out of the whole franchise.

Also the live action trailer for this game was IMMACULATE….. ABSOLUTE PERFECTION.

GOD I LOVE THIS GAME.

…..ehemm, forgive me…

I do love this game though.

The perfect Skateboarding playground.

This game, everything about it, is completely and utterly nostalgic to me.

Being a huge fan of skateboarding games (since I can’t do it in real life myself), no other game made me feel quite this way before.

The extreme freedom, the lively and colorful open world, the character customization, the fun characters and challenging activities, all of this, topped perfectly by THE skateboarding controls.

There’ll be no better Skateboarding controls ever again, it’s like the Halo/COD formula that perfected FPS playing on console, these controls are so intuitive, so responsive, and so well implemented, that borders between the realm of simulation and arcade fun, mostly leaning towards simulation, they’re so good, and so much fun to play around with in the rest of this lush package of extreme fun.

While of course the game has no major, emotional story for its campaign, it absolutely reaches legendary status on its fun factor alone, and this game to me, is the absolute best implementation of what the skate franchise has to offer.

Who would’ve thought… one of the entries for the “sequels better than the original” list, would be a skateboarding game…

Not for the faint of heart…

EDIT*
After I wrote this I started having some game breaking bugs, buttons stopped working, game wouldn’t launch, and the worst one, game wouldn’t save past a save file from yesterday (curiously after the game not launching bug)
So I was forced to restart my run on story mode, and my review went from 5 stars to this.
Don’t get me wrong, everything I said stands.
But it demands too much precision and difficulty, yet glitches out like crazy.
Until they fix it, this will be the final rating.
I love this game and what I makes me feel, but I hate how it was released (how typical)
Now
Do read my former review before I got glitches:


Aliens: Dark Descent was a bit of a mixed bag when initially revealed, I first thought it was gonna be a Diablo-styled dungeon crawler, then it was revealed to be a top down rts game, and that it would be kind of an indie release rather than a big budget game, with a price point of $40.
This could either be great news, or terrible news…

And now, after playing it for a while, I can safely say:

This is doing for Aliens, what Isolation did for Alien.

Every mechanic fits so well with the classic Alien mythos.

From deploying from badass transports, to slowly exploring the big, open areas you’re deployed in, quietly making your way through destroyed and desolate corridors, listening to the stress inducing motion tracker (THAT FINALLY WORKS AS IT DOES IN THE FILM) and finally, to engaging in desperate combat with xenos.

This game hits every mark of the classic Aliens film, and it FINALLY makes you feel like you’re actually in the world (Even if a part of me still wishes for another go at an immersive FPS)

Now, just like in the film, every decision counts…
Your marines and their mental health and literal health depend sorely on how YOU work as a commanding officer, meaning, depending on how you play, you can become Burke, Gorman, or in the best case possible…. Hicks.
It all depends on how you play and how you care for your marines.

Now, as the game progresses, things get tougher and tougher, some might say, relentlessly tough, but you do get a warning about this in the opening level.
The difficulty of your progress depends solely on how well you’ve managed to lead your squad in each mission, meaning, if you’re deep in shit by the first few hours, it’s on you buddy…. Not the game.

Stealth, knowing when to retreat, taking good care of your squad, and making the best possible decisions under a lot of constant stress are the best ways to push through the game.

Now, as for the story, even though the facial animations look, stiff… I’m actually quite surprised at the level of narrative this game has.

The cutscenes are a thousand times better produced than Redfall’s, being extremely well directed, voice acted, and with not visual stuttering, I was actually extremely impressed by them, and ended up being completely immersed in the story.

Now, it does have some negatives, I’ve heard of some people having lots of bugs (not xenos) however, I haven’t encountered a single one, so, I don’t know what that depends on, as said, the difficulty spike is INTENSE halfway through, and a lot of the times, the marines are often exaggeratedly voice acted, reminding me of the voice acting in Colonial Marines, and can sometimes break immersion when slowly making your way through creepy, desolate hallways.

It’s not that much actually, and I’m in fact extremely surprised at how well this genre works with Aliens when done right.

Maybe a future sequel that combines RTS with Shoulder Perspective TPS or straight up FPS would be my dream Aliens game, but, for the time being, I can only say I’m deeply surprised by this game, and it will definitely become my next, big, addiction after Aliens Fireteam Elite.

Aliens fans….. don’t sleep on this one.

It’s state of the bad ass art.