IsaacAdept123456
2021
Easily my favorite Metroid game. Even though there's occasional points of tedium and the OST isn't as strong as previous installments, the classic Metroid gameplay is better than ever and the cinematic flair coupled with how damn fun it is makes it pretty much perfect.
2004
It's a ton of fun, Crash controls really well (besides the slide jump being really stiff) and some of these levels are really well designed especially the final one. I really enjoyed the off the wall humor and the really endearingly goofy ways that Crash and Cortex team up in some segments leading to some fun gameplay gimmicks that spruce things up.
Sadly the nature of it being rushed does lead to a lot of jankiness, awkward structure and really odd glitches that makes you lose a lot of progress. The physics for those little ball challenges were so finnicky that I went crazy. Nina was a fun addition but her being mute was very obviously not the plan and made her scenes really awkward, this also affects some bosses which appear out of nowhere without any build up and some are weirdly designed in general. While Crash and Nina are fun, Cortex's sections are really boring and halt the pacing down.
While it's a really fun game, the rushed nature of it does get in the way of it being truly great. I hope a remake that lets the game live up to it's true potential is on the cards in the future.
Sadly the nature of it being rushed does lead to a lot of jankiness, awkward structure and really odd glitches that makes you lose a lot of progress. The physics for those little ball challenges were so finnicky that I went crazy. Nina was a fun addition but her being mute was very obviously not the plan and made her scenes really awkward, this also affects some bosses which appear out of nowhere without any build up and some are weirdly designed in general. While Crash and Nina are fun, Cortex's sections are really boring and halt the pacing down.
While it's a really fun game, the rushed nature of it does get in the way of it being truly great. I hope a remake that lets the game live up to it's true potential is on the cards in the future.
1958
The world was never the same after
(I played the browser version for two minutes and just felt like logging in one of the oldest games)
(I played the browser version for two minutes and just felt like logging in one of the oldest games)
This game was absolutly ahead of it's time. On my playthrough I clocked in around 60 hours and there's still so much to do. Besides some very frustrating missions and awkward flight controls it's a masterpiece.
Two delightful Mario platformers in one. 3D World follows the 2D Mario formula but makes it 3D with a bunch of unique twists and ideas to keep things fresh and interesting. Bowser's Fury is an exciting look on what the future of 3D Mario can be with a sprawling open world and seamless transition between areas. Fury Bowser is an imposing threat and while his frequent interruptions to really spice up the atmosphere and pacing it did get a little too intrusive and repetitive at times. Regardless it was a very fun campaign and can't wait to see what's next for the Mario series
The journey I began with Nathan Drake since I've been giving these games a try since February finally wraps up.
The stories of these games didn't completely live up to the endless praise I always heard about it, but it still overall was a solid story as the acting, visuals and earnestness of it all kept you immersed in it's characters and world. I thought it was at least a step-up from 3 and delivering a satisfying conclusion to his character. It's worth applauding that the introduction of his lost brother who hasn't been mentioned a single time in the previous games was handled well. There's great moments of acting and you begin to connect with these characters you've spent the in thanks to the amazing acting and convincing motion capture/ facial expressions. It still does try a little too hard to be emotional just slowing the pace down and taking a long time before you get back into gameplay, like the scenes with a younger Nate and Sam, the first one was fine for reintroducing the mechanics and their relationships. However the second time was just really boring and went on too long, I would've appreciated dialing these back a little
It did however feel like another rehash of the previous games even with the promise of something much more darker toned and challenging for an older Drake. The Uncharted villains have always been the sour spot of their stories, Rafe had some potential for being a better villain but the way his character is wrapped up made him revolve to a one dimensional angry rich kid which was lame, Nadine just disappears and doesn't have a complete storyline, even with Lost Legacy bringing her back this felt unsatifying. The tension feels non existent as the same ridicolous plot armor on a story trying to be more grounded and dark, while it was well presented it didn't feel like it's consequences really justified the whole thing besides setting the stage for a new adventure for Drake to embark on. I'm usually not too hard on the story for videogames like this but when they spend extended downtime feeding you a story you're supposed to take more seriously then I'll critique it harder.
This is still visually one of the most gorgeous games on the market and it's been seven years since it released. The character models and the environments are so life-like that it's pretty insane how so few games have been able to keep up with bar it set. There's some great setpieces here especially the chase in the streets of Madagascar which dynamically changes between different scenarios. It does feel like the other setpieces however are much more automated and don't reach the heights of the last two games.
Finally getting to the gameplay, it's still very similar to the previous games but has an added stifness to it to emphasize his older age. The grappling hook is a really cool addition and adds some more manouverability to the climbing, combat and puzzle sections though by the end of the game it doesn't really do anything new with it so it loses it's innovation.
The puzzles in this game are a lot more simplified than the previous trilogyThe shootouts were solid but their sense of pacing was a mess. The game hardly attempts to keep things fresh in the encounters unlike Uncharted 2 which was excellent in elevating the combat encounters as the game went on unlike this one where most of them felt the same. When the game finally begins to include more dynamic maps for combat and more varied weapons it's pretty much the last hour and it's over quickly after that. It's a shame because the shooting and the animations are so much better than the previous games and while it was still fun it's own right there was more potential to really push it further.
Another repetitive aspect of this game is the traversal, the climbing segments went on for way too long and the amount of times I had to wander around for some vague wall that lead to another box you had to climb was really pushing it by the end. The game's levels are created to be much more open which really did add to a sense of immersion and scale and was a pure joy to but it often lead to me wandering off from where I needed to go, it feels like it clashes with the linear structure of the game at times.
It may seem like I'm going too hard but I did fall for a bit of overhype expecting a masterpiece. I still think its overall a well polished and fun shooter with fantastic presentation and a flawed story that still kept me immersed with great acting and characters.
The stories of these games didn't completely live up to the endless praise I always heard about it, but it still overall was a solid story as the acting, visuals and earnestness of it all kept you immersed in it's characters and world. I thought it was at least a step-up from 3 and delivering a satisfying conclusion to his character. It's worth applauding that the introduction of his lost brother who hasn't been mentioned a single time in the previous games was handled well. There's great moments of acting and you begin to connect with these characters you've spent the in thanks to the amazing acting and convincing motion capture/ facial expressions. It still does try a little too hard to be emotional just slowing the pace down and taking a long time before you get back into gameplay, like the scenes with a younger Nate and Sam, the first one was fine for reintroducing the mechanics and their relationships. However the second time was just really boring and went on too long, I would've appreciated dialing these back a little
It did however feel like another rehash of the previous games even with the promise of something much more darker toned and challenging for an older Drake. The Uncharted villains have always been the sour spot of their stories, Rafe had some potential for being a better villain but the way his character is wrapped up made him revolve to a one dimensional angry rich kid which was lame, Nadine just disappears and doesn't have a complete storyline, even with Lost Legacy bringing her back this felt unsatifying. The tension feels non existent as the same ridicolous plot armor on a story trying to be more grounded and dark, while it was well presented it didn't feel like it's consequences really justified the whole thing besides setting the stage for a new adventure for Drake to embark on. I'm usually not too hard on the story for videogames like this but when they spend extended downtime feeding you a story you're supposed to take more seriously then I'll critique it harder.
This is still visually one of the most gorgeous games on the market and it's been seven years since it released. The character models and the environments are so life-like that it's pretty insane how so few games have been able to keep up with bar it set. There's some great setpieces here especially the chase in the streets of Madagascar which dynamically changes between different scenarios. It does feel like the other setpieces however are much more automated and don't reach the heights of the last two games.
Finally getting to the gameplay, it's still very similar to the previous games but has an added stifness to it to emphasize his older age. The grappling hook is a really cool addition and adds some more manouverability to the climbing, combat and puzzle sections though by the end of the game it doesn't really do anything new with it so it loses it's innovation.
The puzzles in this game are a lot more simplified than the previous trilogyThe shootouts were solid but their sense of pacing was a mess. The game hardly attempts to keep things fresh in the encounters unlike Uncharted 2 which was excellent in elevating the combat encounters as the game went on unlike this one where most of them felt the same. When the game finally begins to include more dynamic maps for combat and more varied weapons it's pretty much the last hour and it's over quickly after that. It's a shame because the shooting and the animations are so much better than the previous games and while it was still fun it's own right there was more potential to really push it further.
Another repetitive aspect of this game is the traversal, the climbing segments went on for way too long and the amount of times I had to wander around for some vague wall that lead to another box you had to climb was really pushing it by the end. The game's levels are created to be much more open which really did add to a sense of immersion and scale and was a pure joy to but it often lead to me wandering off from where I needed to go, it feels like it clashes with the linear structure of the game at times.
It may seem like I'm going too hard but I did fall for a bit of overhype expecting a masterpiece. I still think its overall a well polished and fun shooter with fantastic presentation and a flawed story that still kept me immersed with great acting and characters.
This review contains spoilers
I really loved the first game and had a lot of fun with the standalone Miles Morales game so this game was easily one of my most anticipated titles of the year.
I'm glad to say Spider-Man 2 is generally an excellent game. Brimming with fantastic spectacle, web swinging being even more fun than the previous games (web wings are cool too but sometimes make things feel too automated) and generally just being really fun to breeze through as these amazing characters. Aside from some minor visual glitches I encountered, the game is a technical triumph boasting super fast load times and giant visual treats which really add to the immersion and excitement.
However it did let me down in some aspects compared to the first game. For one, the combat is a little less fun for me with the gadget overhaul taking the strategy out of them completely just feeling like spammy cooldown moves you'd see out of a mobile game. The original powers Peter and Miles have are a little better but still fall victim to that cooldown thing to a lesser extent. However later in the game with Peter's symbiote powers and Miles upgraded venom attacks, they do get a lot more fun to use. The parry mechanic was really weirdly implemented to me, the red alert alerting you to time it right felt inconsistent at the beginning and it's annoying to manage when you have a dozen enemies swarming you. However when I did get a little better at the timing it was more tolerable but the annoyances still crept up. Beside that combat is still really enjoyable and racking up combos is still satisfying. That animation where you back enemies to a wall and rapid kick them is so cool, I wish they did more environmental centric attacks like that since it's so dope.
A quick word about the stealth, while the web-line was a great way to expand moblity, the stealth sections however weren't as interesting as the last game. There isn't any gadgets to use to freshen it up so they generally didn't offer much variety. The two Kraven bases were one of the few spots that used it decently but still the Sable bases from the first game were much more better designed for it.
The MJ sections are an improvement over the first game but in universe, MJ being able to take out these hunters and not getting one-shotted by their weapons was such a bruh moment that broke my immersion.
The story is generally really exciting and has some fantastic moments but it didn't hold itself the whole way through as well as the first game did. It has to juggle so many storylines and characters which at time it does really well and other times it leaves some parts feeling undercooked. The black suit arc for Peter was a little rushed and they overdid it with the symbiote just making him outright evil when it's just supposed to make him more of a douche. I will give props to Yuri Lowenthal being genuinely menacing when he's in the black suit, he did a fantastic job with this game generally. I like Miles personal story but his role in the story can get pretty half-baked sometimes in the grand scheme of the story (especially using him to cap off the final boss which held less emotional weight).
Speaking of, Kraven and Venom were really entertaining. After being robbed of Kraven in the films for so long, I'm glad I got to see him depicted as this, a little bit too overpowered compared to other villains but a genuinely menacing threat who pushes Peter to his limits. His presence in the story is a little more limited than I'd like but generally an awesome villain. It is weird that he has this many goons at his side helping him but I can let it slide from a gameplay perspective
With Venom, he's a little rushed into the story but otherwise an awesome iteration of the character imo. The one level where you play as him was dumb fun I wanted more of, i pray Insomniac gives us an expansion or stand alone game that expands on more Venom gameplay. His voice is fucking awesome, Tony Todd nailed it. Harry Osborn being Venom this time ended up working for the specific story they're telling. Harry's hate for Peter tiptoed a little into TASM2 Harry which worried me a little but his later confrontation with Peter redeemed it, especially some dope moments in their final boss together.
The side quests in this game is very hit and miss. The enemy The Flame missions stood up to the mainline content and even has an exciting reveal at the end. The EMF mission for Peter weren't terrible but they were pretty forgettable. Meanwhile the side missions for Miles did get boring and really mundane. I do like how they're focused on the friendly neighborhood aspect for Miles but these missions really do begin to meander and overstay their welcome becoming total pace breakers. Though some of the other app missions were sweet, especially the Howard oneðŸ˜
Even with all these problems I really enjoyed this game and until the DLC expansions I can still get a kick out of just having a ton of time.
I'm glad to say Spider-Man 2 is generally an excellent game. Brimming with fantastic spectacle, web swinging being even more fun than the previous games (web wings are cool too but sometimes make things feel too automated) and generally just being really fun to breeze through as these amazing characters. Aside from some minor visual glitches I encountered, the game is a technical triumph boasting super fast load times and giant visual treats which really add to the immersion and excitement.
However it did let me down in some aspects compared to the first game. For one, the combat is a little less fun for me with the gadget overhaul taking the strategy out of them completely just feeling like spammy cooldown moves you'd see out of a mobile game. The original powers Peter and Miles have are a little better but still fall victim to that cooldown thing to a lesser extent. However later in the game with Peter's symbiote powers and Miles upgraded venom attacks, they do get a lot more fun to use. The parry mechanic was really weirdly implemented to me, the red alert alerting you to time it right felt inconsistent at the beginning and it's annoying to manage when you have a dozen enemies swarming you. However when I did get a little better at the timing it was more tolerable but the annoyances still crept up. Beside that combat is still really enjoyable and racking up combos is still satisfying. That animation where you back enemies to a wall and rapid kick them is so cool, I wish they did more environmental centric attacks like that since it's so dope.
A quick word about the stealth, while the web-line was a great way to expand moblity, the stealth sections however weren't as interesting as the last game. There isn't any gadgets to use to freshen it up so they generally didn't offer much variety. The two Kraven bases were one of the few spots that used it decently but still the Sable bases from the first game were much more better designed for it.
The MJ sections are an improvement over the first game but in universe, MJ being able to take out these hunters and not getting one-shotted by their weapons was such a bruh moment that broke my immersion.
The story is generally really exciting and has some fantastic moments but it didn't hold itself the whole way through as well as the first game did. It has to juggle so many storylines and characters which at time it does really well and other times it leaves some parts feeling undercooked. The black suit arc for Peter was a little rushed and they overdid it with the symbiote just making him outright evil when it's just supposed to make him more of a douche. I will give props to Yuri Lowenthal being genuinely menacing when he's in the black suit, he did a fantastic job with this game generally. I like Miles personal story but his role in the story can get pretty half-baked sometimes in the grand scheme of the story (especially using him to cap off the final boss which held less emotional weight).
Speaking of, Kraven and Venom were really entertaining. After being robbed of Kraven in the films for so long, I'm glad I got to see him depicted as this, a little bit too overpowered compared to other villains but a genuinely menacing threat who pushes Peter to his limits. His presence in the story is a little more limited than I'd like but generally an awesome villain. It is weird that he has this many goons at his side helping him but I can let it slide from a gameplay perspective
With Venom, he's a little rushed into the story but otherwise an awesome iteration of the character imo. The one level where you play as him was dumb fun I wanted more of, i pray Insomniac gives us an expansion or stand alone game that expands on more Venom gameplay. His voice is fucking awesome, Tony Todd nailed it. Harry Osborn being Venom this time ended up working for the specific story they're telling. Harry's hate for Peter tiptoed a little into TASM2 Harry which worried me a little but his later confrontation with Peter redeemed it, especially some dope moments in their final boss together.
The side quests in this game is very hit and miss. The enemy The Flame missions stood up to the mainline content and even has an exciting reveal at the end. The EMF mission for Peter weren't terrible but they were pretty forgettable. Meanwhile the side missions for Miles did get boring and really mundane. I do like how they're focused on the friendly neighborhood aspect for Miles but these missions really do begin to meander and overstay their welcome becoming total pace breakers. Though some of the other app missions were sweet, especially the Howard oneðŸ˜
Even with all these problems I really enjoyed this game and until the DLC expansions I can still get a kick out of just having a ton of time.
Combat is a little more boring, Bionis shoulder was fun to explore, side quests felt more meaningful due to the shorter length and the story was fine but pretty by the numbers and predictable. It's solid but I probably won't play it again
2022
Super fun twist on the battle royale. The seemingly simple gameplay gets deeper the more you experiment with it and just wrestling in massive maps just feels really cool.
Such a shame it's going to be gone after this month, I hope they do what Knockout City is doing and let fans keep the game alive.
Such a shame it's going to be gone after this month, I hope they do what Knockout City is doing and let fans keep the game alive.
2009
Wow this game was a massive step up to the first AC. A lot more fluid wirh much better pacing and flow and carried by a much more compelling protagonist and a more expansive world to explore. Renaissance Italy is utilised amazingly in this game with both how the setting is used as well as the integration of famous historical figures from that period especially Leonardo Da Vinci being your gadget guy. This is only the first game in Ezio's trilogy and I've already been impressed by his charm and charisma as the protagonist. This game is dated in a sense that a ton of open worlds copied its formula so it's not as awe inspiring to me compared to when people first played this in 2009. I was also let down with how boring the completion rewards are besides Altair's armor and sword. A cape that makes you notorious and a video of two naked people running don't do it for me lol.
One of my favorite games ever made, really felt like you were on an adventure and some of the greatest dungeons in video game history
1990
A simple but really fun and well designed dungeon crawler for the NES. Some annoying difficulty spikes and cryptic navigation does slow down the pacing but otherwise an overlooked NES game worth your time.
Off the bat it has some of the strongest dungeons in the series, amazing art direction, fantastic well realized characters, a beautiful soundtrack and really fun items. But the widely known problems this game is faced with sadly did come to frustrate me in my playthrough. The combat is interesting but it does get tedious and my 14 year old Wiimote got pretty finnicky with trying to be as precise as it should sometimes, also the overworld is easily the weakest in a 3D Zelda with a barren sky and often returning to the exact same three areas multiple times. The padding here could get borderline atrocious but getting through those issues you still have a very solid installment in Zelda which I appreciate more now with the way BoTW completely reinvented how 3D Zelda and how Skyward Sword is the last of the style Ocarina established in the series thus far.
2001
This game was Fall Guys before it was cool. Flawed but solid multiplayer experience and one of the first I've ever played. Revisiting it after all this time was a really humbling experience and a more refined sequel has so much potential.
2001
It's his greatest achievement, WARIO LAND 4 FOR THE GAMEBOY ADVANCE HAHA!
Yeah pretty solid and delightfully quirky platformer, I still want another one =)
Yeah pretty solid and delightfully quirky platformer, I still want another one =)