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.

Astro's Playroom is a tech demo of the PS5's capabilities masquerading as a game. This point is brilliantly reinforced with its endgame boss being the original Playstation's tech demo T-Rex. How Astro's Playroom goes about in illustrating the Ps5 and its controller's new features is a mechanically impressive and insanely charming endeavor, spanning the entire history of the Playstation era. Longtime fans will undoubtedly enjoy every subtle reference to iconic characters, titles, and events of the past lurking behind every corner of the short lived journey. A wholehearted love letter to the console and its predecessors, and a near perfect introduction for the Playstation 5.

Final Fantasy 15's core mechanics are flawed and uneven, but every misstep is gracefully padded with unbridled charm. Although the creators missed the mark in several facets of the series' mechanics redesigns there is no doubt an exhuberent amount of love and care for the franchise. The main party is exceptionally small but there hasnt been this good of a cast since FFX. The combat works but is extremely clunky, same can be said about the story. Unfortunately those two aspects are the main ingredients for a Final Fantasy game.

A stellar and wholly engaging adventure more akin to a cinematic masterpiece than a game more often than not. This sheer focus on telling a story within the main missions can lead to absurdly linear ways of completion where at times simply straying from the designated path for a moment can lead to failure. The gunplay is also quite contentious as it is not nearly on par with RD2's other elements. Red Dead Redemption 2 is the epitome of being more than the sum of its parts however, blending so many attributes into a spectacularly woven together period piece that to this day hasn't been surpassed in its scope or detail.

If you have ever played a Telltale game before you know the drill. The typical quick time event and dialogue choice gameplay besets this title with a bit less emphasis on choices and a higher frequency of QTE than usual. Making a narrative driven game would seem like a hard task for a gametype like Minecraft but Telltale did an admirable job given what they had to work with. The voice casting is top notch and adds quite a bit to the already engaging tale. Not the best of its class, but Minecraft: Story Mode stays true to its source in every facet.

My second attempt at finishing this game since it came out on the PS2 and the same issues that plagued my experience beforehand continue to resonate. The combat is too similar to that of an MMO, although not having random battle encounters is appreciated. The liscense system, whilst serviceable, is cumbersome and uninteresting. The structure of FF12 quickly gets old once you realize its essentially a dungeon crawler. Neither the story and its cast are strong enough to overcome these massive blemishes. A low for the stellar franchise