After being semi disappointed at the lacklustre first Tomb Raider Reboot, Rise of the Tomb Raider fixed most of the things that I found wrong with the first game. The game’s graphics are a generational leap up from the first game and look absolutely stunning. In 2023 this game has the Xbox Series X enhancements with Dolby Vision, 4k resolution and support for quick resume. The motion capture is much better and a lot more accurate in Rise of the Tomb Raider. All except one scene at the start of the game where Lara turns her neck to look at a map on the wall in a way only possible by owls. Despite the enhancements the game does still feature a lot of bugs. I was finding myself having to restart the game once per play session due to game freezing bugs, including but not exclusive to: audio freezing, whole game freezing, a rope arrow being stuck in midair and not detaching and the camera controls completely refusing to work.

More of the additional features to this game include: The ability to sprint, changing outfit can be done in a single menu, vibration feedback when aiming the bow and easier to find collectables. All of which are very welcome.

The game starts up a snow mountain and it was everything that had me eye rolling in the last game. The jump, grab climb, jump, grab climb was just such a boring way to start a game off. It's also how they end the game as well. While climbing the tower they have you do every movement and climbing mechanic about 5 times each and it was tedious as fuck. All the false falls and ground falling beneath Lara’s feet as well got super tiring all over again. While the quick time events still exist they are featured less in this game which is an improvement.

I didn’t pay attention to all the extra dialogue and documents in the game. More often than not I will try and listen to a game’s optional dialogue for as long as I can but in Rise of the Tomb Raider I was skipping it from the start. The most annoying dialogue was Lara mumbling at campsites and even more so Lara saying “I have to" and “I got to” every 5 seconds. There does seem to be a lot more collectables now but they don’t feel like a chore to find. Towards the end I had almost upgraded all my skills and weapons so did not see a great need to go back and retrace all my steps to find them. I was just quite keen to wrap up the game. The game itself is nice and short meaning you can complete it in a couple of play sessions.

Despite my complaints above this game does drastically improve on the first game. It's almost as if the first game was an alpha build of this game that they went back and rewrote it. It plays better, feels better and looks incredible. You could even argue that you could completely skip the first game and jump straight into this one if you like as it doesn’t rely on the first game at all. I am looking forward to concluding my first playthrough of the Tomb Raider reboot trilogy but first I’m going to play another game so that I’m not fatiguing myself with the series.

"Rise of the Tomb Raider" does not differ much from its predecessor, but we can at least say they tried to brush up the gameplay a little. Personally, I am not a big fan of the "icy" setting they chose this time, but I was happy to find the overall atmosphere somewhat closer to the first games (especially in Syria). The story is usual "Tomb Raider" stuff but more cinematic than ever. The gameplay is getting closer to trendy, chore-led open-world games, but it's one of the best action titles I happened to play recently nevertheless. Still far from the narrative quality and over-the-top action of "Uncharted" though.

One of the greatest games of all time. My favorite Call of Duty campaign, picking up beautifully where CoD 4 left off, with an epic intro with an awesome Hans Zimmer score playing in the background. Everything about this game is legendary. The weapons, the story, the characters, the maps, the glitches, the insane lobbies, the brand-new bonus mode Spec Ops, and of course, No Russian. I revisit this game often, usually playing the campaign once every 2 or so years. I don't think I will ever tire of it.

Mechanically this game has aged like shit. The gunplay is a slog that even the various vehicle setpieces can't really make up for, and the game suffers greatly for it. But as far as pure spectacle in the batshit Michael Bay vein, it's still top shelf even in 2023. There's been an unholy amount of (digital) ink spilled about What It All Means over the years and none of it really adds up to anything insightful, but it's still kinda fascinating to revisit this very particular era of American culture where we were obsessed with other countries trying to destroy us (before we could do it ourselves). The Big Moments here don't really have the same impact as in the predecessor, but they still land well enough to bolster the overall story. The conventional wisdom in some corners has long held that MW1 was the Serious And Artful entry before things went off the rails and got too silly in MW2 but what they really mean is that enjoying something this crass and vulgar makes them uncomfortable and/or embarrassed.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 comes from a time eons ago when CoD wasn’t the laughingstock of the industry. Modern Warfare 2’s campaign is unbelievably over-the-top, but maintains an admirable dedication to its ridiculous story. Hans Zimmer’s phenomenal score during the high-octane escape sequences and chaotic tower defense sections coat a Hollywood-grade sheen on what is already blockbuster entertainment. Due to its rapid pace and character switching, the campaign’s story can feel messy, and any twists (especially the major one) aren’t given enough buildup to pack any emotional punch. Modern Warfare 2 took incredible risks with its violently accurate depictions of terrorism and war in the modern age, and its unwavering dedication to its identity results in an engrossing campaign for the ages.

i missed out on cod back in the day, the M rating was pretty much banned from my household. i think playing them when my brain was still developing would've done irreparable damage but maybe i'd actually be good at shooters. i sucked at this and died more times than i'd like to admit on regular difficulty but i was surprised how the story was actually... pretty good. i see why it's a classic. i have the first xbox 360 and i don't see much point in getting a network adapter in this day and age but maybe one day i'll get around to seeing the online multiplayer in all its glory.

Fun ass game through and through. Every mission is well paced and have many different sections where youll have to use different weapons. Each individual area stands out thanks to MW2’s use of colours which future and past games ignore. The score is exceptional here, Hans Zimmer’s monstrous soundtrack makes you feel like a badass whenever the missions climax and its just a thrill to play. Even the ending of the game is amazing, so many crazy plot twists and tense fights that will have you on the edge of your seat. One of the few Call of Duty games that live up to their hype.
8/10