The Yakuza series has always been known for it's intricately detailed cities to explore, an expansive story crossing the entire spectrum of human emotions, and a bounty of side activities; where a player can easily spend an entire day of gaming whacking away at baseballs or driving go-karts. Unfortunately the Yakuza series' brawler style game mechanics never evolved with the time. Making combat scenarios an archaic and borish routine.

Switching to a turn-based battle system has been a godsend for the series, making the gameplay just as great as everything else surrounding it. The change was a risky yet calculated gamble, brilliantly incorporating the series' offbeat humor and brawler roots.

A great battle system is a key component to a great JRPG, but the heart is it's story and characters. Yakuza 7 is undoubtedly top tier in these regards. The cast is stellar, particularly Ichiban, whose sense of loyalty and genuine concern for his friends is infectious. A protagonist for the ages that is not only one of the best in the genre, but for gaming in general.

Like a Dragon's revamp to the series while maintaining its highly touted core identity makes this the peak entry for the acclaimed franchise. A ludicrously funny good time.

Chrono Cross is on paper a sequel to Chrono Trigger. With an entirely different cast of protagonists, set in a seemingly different world at first, and with a story only ambiguously connected to the original, one can understand the contempt some fans of Trigger have expressed throughout the years.

Divorcing Chrono Cross from Trigger and judging the game on its own merits is the best way to experience the title. Luckily it provides some truly unique, yet at times, overly ambitious features to the turn based format, with a story conceptually just as ambitious.

Like many Squaresoft entries at this period of time, the pre-rendered backgrounds are downright gorgeous. Nobuteru Yuuki's lush and vivid color pallette are striking in virtually every camera fixed screen. The game from a visual standpoint is uniquely recognizable and is a huge strength, standing out from many of its drab and dreary looking contemporaries, boasting just as lively a score as well. Another feature unique to Chrono Cross is its party recruitment system. While it's certainly neat to have roughly 40 playable characters to choose from within your party, (some available/un-available depending on your choices), this forces a vast amount of party members to be skin deep in their development, albeit there's a hearty chunk of backstory and progression for more prominent characters nestled within the sidequests.

The story to Chrono Cross is a convoluted, yet ultimately, existential triumph. Sadly its poorly delivered for the most part. A large amount of its overarching themes and plot is dumped on you near endgame and the dialougue for the most part is poor. I'm assuming this is specifically due to crude localization, a problem many JRPGs suffered from in this era.

Overall Chrono Cross doesn't share the same emotional impact its predecessor conjures. Having said that, dismissing its beautiful locales, wholly diverse set of characters, one of a kind battle mechanics, and grandiose storytelling would be a shame for any Turn- Based fantatic.

A reimagining of Ratchet and Clank's humble begginings based on the movie. The visuals are stunningly vibrant and the planets you visit are brimming with soul. Level design, weapons, and gadgetry carry on being a highlight for the series, with a breakneck pace that continuously entertains. The story and humor isn't on par with it's plethora of PS2 counterparts, but is charming on it's own right nonetheless.

2015 Ratchet and Clank blends contemporary modern conveniences with its classic action-platforming gameplay with precision, providing an excellent diving board for newcomers to the titular duo and longtime fans as well.

Yes, Death Stranding's photo realistic visuals are breathtaking, boasting an artstyle and character designs just as stunning. Yes, Kojima has crafted another brilliantly bizzare story. One that is far more personal and emotionally evocative than anything hes produced before. Yes it's gameplay is wholly unique, with an ever increasingly addictive loop that compels you to grab yet another delivery...and then another. Death Stranding knocks it out of the park with everything we typically look for in a great video game. But Death Stranding is much, much more than that.

At the risk of sounding pretentious all I can say is that Kojima's latest, (and greatest), vision is indescribable. A beautiful and resoundingly profound message on the importance of connection. This translates not only through its awe inspiring story with meticulously curated cuts scenes but through the gameplay as well. The "strand" form of multiplayer literally transforms the mental workings you generally have in a single player experience. Wanting to help others with their journey starts to take priority over your own progress as you slowly form connections with other players you'll never actually meet, yet feel grateful for their contribution in helping you climb over the next hill or remind you to take in the view with a well placed sign.

Its a game like no other. Its a masterpiece. Its a work of art. It quickly became my favorite game of all time.

Whats Immediately apparent once beginning the Expanse are the bizarrely poor character designs and animations. The face shapes of everyone very to the verge of not resembling the same species. And for a game with such an emphasis on traversal comparatively to other Telltale titles the awkward animations, (particularly how Summers walks), needed to be refined. Dialogue is horrendous, resorting to the use of the word "fuck" repeatedly to infer any resemblence of emotional resonance. Whats even worse is the delivery. Aside from Cox every voice actor gives an egregiously poor performance. Summers' bland and monotone voice serves as a barrier, making her already stale and one dimensional character impenetrable to relate with. Sadly these rather damning flaws pale in comparision to the Expanse's most cardinal sin...the removal of choice.

The slight emphasis on exploration and the freedom of movement is a refreshing change. This is the strongest influence Deck Nine brings to the title, and can be both rewarding and fun. But in no way, shape, or form should this have relegated the player's choice in shaping the narrative to the sideline like it does. The choice prompts have been reduced to merely 2 options, are extremely seldom, and the majority of said choices are the same option with different wording. A choose your path adventure without paths to choose....the few times you are allowed to make a difference have little to no consequence on shaping the story.

For develops of such high pedigree and with such a solid core in the source material, fans of the show and game studios should expect and deserve better.

Tales from the Borderlands is one of Telltales best and certainly funniest games. The openings of each episode and its use of liscensed music is superb. The writing is clever and the story unfolds at a timely pace, never feeling convoluted or unnecessary. The choices the player makes are not as consequential as say, the ones in the Walking Dead or other Telltale titles, but they can differentiate the way characters can percieve each other. When it comes down to it, character dynamics and the way each of your assorted party members play off each other is the name of the game here. Some of these characters are so well done they have become iconic for the Borderlands series as a whole. Muddied textures, stiff animations, and dips in framerate, (particulary within QTE sequences), are present, but they never truly hamper this quirckier than usual trek through Pandora.

Spiderman 2 is the epitome of ESG on overdrive, constantly searching for a chance to insert diversity or shove an ideology down the players throat,(particulary the side missions), than to create a compelling and original narrative.

The story is trite and nonsensical, sporting cheesy dialogue and predictable plot points. Miles Morales remains an entirely uninteresting character merely created for pandering purposes, and every hamfisted attempt to implement him derails what little story arch the game has with MJ, Peter, and Harry.

Combat is well done, with the utilization of gadgets and abilities seamlessly mixing with its silky smooth animations. Although its very generic for the genre, the fighting just feels right. While its an appreciated attempt at a change of pace, the gameplay outside of its core combat are half baked variations of gameplay styles from other titles, and the Mary Jane "stealth" segments are an utter joke, inadvertently making MJ and her tazor stronger than both Spidermen combined.

Swinging around in the richly detailed cityscape of New York and beating up bad guys as Spiderman can be a blast, yet everything else surrounding it is an unmitigated mess, commiting every sin of contemporary gaming possible. The photo mode goes hard though.

At times clunky and unpolished, whilst sporting a incessantly obnoxious protagonist, Atomic Heart can feel grating at times. Underneath its inherent flaws however, lies a gorgeously crafted world unique in almost every aspect, tight FPS mechanics with some of the best melee combat in the genre, and a well paced story. A little more time in the oven to bake out the kinks would have gone a long way to smoothe out the jank, but as it stands Atomic Heart is still an aesthetic marvel interlaced with satisfying, weighty gameplay.

Final Fantasy 16 in many aspects is a huge departure from the mainline series, mainly being its complete abandonment of its turn-based RPG roots in becoming a full fledged action/adventure title. Luckily SquareEnix's decision was well planned and bringing in Ryota Suzuki, (of Devil May Cry), to steer the combat's new direction was a great choice. The stop-and-go pacing of the story and unengaging sidequests severly hamper the overall experience of FF16, but overall its a cinematic marvel with a visual spectacle and flair unrivaled in all of gaming. There's a rich tapestry of interesting themes and concepts at its peak moments, complemented tremendously by the superb voice acting. Though inconsistent, FF16 remains a must play for PS5 owners.

Final Fantasy 13 is probably considered the most controversial addition of the mainline entries, marking a turning point for the series for many fans. Whilst being lauded for its beautiful graphics and artstyle basically everything else has been lambasted by the majority of the fanbase. Criticisms of the linearity and auto battle system are the typical culprits for the complete dismissal of the game entirely. While the majority of complaints have a modicum of truth to them the hate is mostly undeserving and there is so much FF13 does right. Over time and upon re-examination many fans,(including me), are coming to a different conclusion to this flawed but brilliant game.

For starters, the combat is amazing and is easily one of the best battle systems in the entire series. The variety that the paradign system provides coupled with the frantic pacing to fights feels fantastic and only gets better as it opens up throughout. The story and setting is just as good, boasting an extremely detailed world and concepts. Sadly despite having excellent combat mechanics the gameplay is one dimensional, being that combat is the only thing on offer. Coupling the simplistic gameplay loop and linearity stalls the experience late game despite its exceptional pacing. Overall, FF13 is an extremely polished and concise adventure that has become a sadly overlooked and overly criticized gem.

A brand new world from Bethesda to explore...the same old gameplay. Fortunately Bethesda's tried and true formula is still as addicting as ever, containing a bevy of refinements and unfortunate drawbacks to the iconic gameplay loop. Traversal isn't nearly as seamless as it was in past games due to the nature of its planet hopping and the enemy AI being braindead are two of the biggest issues permeating throughout. Besides the many grievances along the way, Starfield supplies so much to do, see, and personalize its hard not to get immersed in Todd Howard's biggest and surprisingly most polished vision.