I'm extremely mixed on DMC. One one hand, it contains the DNA that makes subsequent entries (barring 2, allegedly) great! It's structured similarly to 3 and 4 in it's setting stage progression, the weapons are fun to use, the devil trigger system is satisfying and the game as a whole is challenging enough to keep you engaged from beginning to end. On the other hand, it features repetitive boss fights. Not just that you do the same thing over and over but also that you fight the bosses multiple times each in a game that isn't exactly abundant with missions. These boss revisits will take up a lot of your time and some bosses leave you wondering why they even bothered with the rematches in the first place. For example, the Nightmare boss is absolutely nothing to write home about. Yet you fight it three separate times. The fixed camera angle style is a product of it's time. I frequently found myself getting disorientated and the lock on system is truly dreadful as Dante will turn around to swing at the closest enemy automatically even if you're not targeting them. This can make certain instances like trying to hit switches on the wall (e.g; every Nightmare fight) an absolute chore. But even so, I cant help but be charmed by DMC's cheesy writing, cocky tone and it's bizarre atmospheric soundtrack that is unique to this first entry. It plants the seeds for what would later come and it's definitely worth playing if you're looking into DMC or if you're a fan of the series who has yet to play it.

I had some fun with this but I feel like this game kinda misunderstands the appeal of mario party, on top of having a PATHETIC amount of content

a big part of the MP experience is the chaos, the gameshow/vacation/festival setting, and the brisk pace. Super is really sterile by comparison and has the most stock-ass Mario settings and UI, and the new dice and board mechanics don't add any additional feelings to experience other than 'there's a vague semblance of strategy and there's more steps'

at the very least the minigames are consistently really good

half a star is too high

Crashes before every match, what an absolute joke to release it like this.

AVOID AT ALL COSTS

Ratchet & Clank is a very rough around the edges - yet still engrossing and utterly entertaining - video game experience.

In terms of its creative arsenal, open-ended level structures, socio-political satire, and the narrative as a whole, Ratchet & Clank has aged like a fine wine. What hasn't aged nearly as well is the clunky controls, awkward camera, and steep difficulty curves. Nevertheless, Ratchet & Clank is an all-time classic and it deserves its recognition and the legacy it has left in its wake.

At first, Tuffy is the terror of jumping in your car to rush to the hospital, after getting the call that your pregnant wife has gone into labor, only to realize far too late, as you barrel towards the first intersection at alarming speed and your foot slams the pedal into the floor, that someone has cut the brake lines on your car.

Often, Tuffy is the frustration of climbing up the staircase in your office building, like you have done every day since you started working there. This morning you're running late and in a hurry, so you're taking the steps fast, two at a time, when you lose your footing and fall tumbling down the stairs, shattering multiple bones on the way.

Eventually, like any good platformer, Tuffy becomes the thrill of the parkour master who, after paying the toll of bumps, bruises, and breaks, has developed an intimate knowledge of their body's physical capability, as well as the layout of the urban landscape. In a semiconscious flow, they stylishly leap and bound between fixtures and over gaps that no human being with any sense of self-preservation would dare to try, for no other reason than it being really cool.

I think nostalgia has blinded a lot of people on this one, but I understand why. It's a tale as old as time that The Simpsons Hit & Run was the Grand Theft Auto game for those too young to play the game, which made this a significant game for many in their early years.

Taking a critical eye to The Simpsons Hit & Run so many years later does highlight a few nagging issues that make it quite surprising why it's still held in such high regard. I'm going to try and pitch an article to the website I write to about a potential breakdown of these issues, but to put it simply: Hit & Run is an extraordinarily repetitive game that hinges all of its enjoyment off of references to episodes of The Simpsons, rather than creating interesting gameplay mechanics; that's the easiest way to summarize this before I do a bigger breakdown at a later date.

I would highly urge those who are rather nostalgic about this release to give it another playthrough. The Simpsons: Hit & Run certainly has its merits, but it's a pretty mediocre racing game, pinned with equally "meh" open-world elements, all coated in a Simpsons paint job.