This is where the legendary series first really began. While it does have a lot of the key elements that would go on to define the Assassin's Creed series as we know it today, the game isn't exactly what I would call "polished."
While elements of the well known parkour system are in place here, the world in the game is pretty bland and not all that interesting to explore, especially when you compare it to the more lived-in, vibrant settings of later games in the series.
The clunky controls, often awkward camera, and buggy AI, especially when it comes to the enemy's detection system, often break what little emersion the game has managed to create and reminds you that you are playing a game. The pacing also feels a little off at times, with slow, dull sequences taking place outside of the simulation that breaks up the plot, something most of the AC games suffered from beginning here and going up through Black Flag.
That isn't to say the game is entirely bad, however. It does a good job of laying the groundwork for later games in the franchise and introducing players to the systems and mechanics the series would become known for. And while the pacing does get broken up at times by the aforementioned real-world segments, the story the game tells is quite compelling and helped to set a good standard for the series.
Overall, while I wouldn't recommend paying anywhere close to full price for it if you can get it digitally on sale or find it at your local thrift store or used games shop for $5, I'd say go for it. Its also worth playing if you're looking to do a full replay of the series or are looking to play through the AC franchise in order for the first time.

Played on: Xbox Series X

Honestly even after a lot of the bugs got fixed the main story never drew me in all that much, with a set of endings that anyone could have seen coming from hours out.
While a lot of the main cast is quite dull and full of cliches, the supporting cast is actually quite good and helps the world feel more alive than it would have otherwise, even if that effect is dampened somewhat by the world itself being on the low end when it comes to interactivity.
Overall a fun game if you’re on a Series X, PS5, or higher end PC, but don’t expect masterful storytelling or compelling main characters. Not a bad game to pick up if you can score it on sale for $30.

Not Terrible, Aged Poorly

While this may have been considered cutting-edge for the FPS genre back in 2006, Call of Duty 3 has not aged particularly well from a gameplay perspective.
While the multiplayer is decent enough, especially local multiplayer, the campaign is a real slog to get through with the back half in particular feeling very repetitive and dull.
There is little to no veracity when it comes to mission objectives and the only sense of difficulty comes from how many enemies are on screen and firing at you.
Kills are unsatisfying compared to later entries in the series and the characters do very little to stand out from each other, meaning I don't really care all that much when one of them gets killed off.
Call of Duty 3 is by no means a terrible game, but it has not aged particularly well and was a good indicator that the World War II era of Call of Duty games was starting to wear a bit thin, for the time being at least.
Unless you have some nostalgia for the title or can find it for $4.99 or less, there really isn't much of a reason for you to play this over Call of Duty 2 or World at War.

Coming complete with all the DLC as well as the ability to swap cars much quicker with the Wii U gamepad, puts this version ahead of its mainline counterpart.
Unlike some other games ported to the Wii U system, Need for Speed Most Wanted U makes great use of the gamepad's screen, allowing players to easily change or respray their car on the fly, check a much better version of the minimap, disrupt perusing cops with the tap of the touchscreen or even play the whole game just on the gamepad screen.
There are also some fun Nintendo-related eastereggs that are exclusive to this version of the game, such as hidden warp pipes that teleport you to secret underground locations as a reference to Super Mario.
Overall a good racing game and likely your best bet when it comes to a licensed-car racing game on the Wii U.

This game is so stylistically different from its predecessor, Max and the Majic Marker (2010), that quite a few player probably didn’t realize they were even connected despite the naming of both games.
Beyond that though, Max and the Curse of Brotherhood is a much more polished game than the first installment, giving the player more creative freedom when it comes to puzzle solving as well having a much more interesting art style.
The gameplay is also pretty good, not exactly groundbreaking but easy to understand but deep enough that it doesn’t get repetitive too quickly. While there hasn’t been any announced follow up in the near decade since the game’s release, it’s a property that could really grow if given the chance.
Fun little game, especially if you can pick it up for cheap or play it on Xbox Game Pass.

Just a quick heads up, although the listing for the game here only shows it was available on the PC, the game was available for quite a few platforms including the Wii U which is how I played it.

Kind of a weird experience when it comes to these kinds of games. While it’s obvious that the idea behind it was “what if Harold and the Purple Crayon was a game?” the execution holds it back from being better than it is by limiting the creative freedom of the player quite a bit.
Not bad by any means, but you aren’t missing anything by not playing it either.

What Nintendo doesn't seem to realize is that the whole point of repackaging or remastering a game for a new system is that you include all current and future DLC for free. That's what the word "deluxe" in the title implies. However, someone at the Mario company didn't get the memo and simply ported the existing game from the Wii U to the Switch and still expects players to pay for the lackluster DLC content.
On top of that, because Nintendo only likes releasing one mainline Mario Kart game per system, it's likely this will be the flagship Mario Kart game for the Switch era.
Because of this, despite having slightly more content than its Wii U counterpart, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe loses some points overall.

Let me tell you upfront that I only got this game because it was on sale for $0.99 during a time when my friend and I were competing to see who could rack up the most gamersore during a single month, and TrueAchievements.com said it had a lot of easy achievements. And while it is true that the achievements where hat brought me in initially, the game ended up not being half bad.
As spinoff of the RIDE series, a series I have a notoriously poor history with, I was expecting rebberbanding AI, a low-quality sound engine, and annoying-at-best controls. Instead, what I got was a great showcase celebrating 90 years of legendary motorcycle company Ducati.
From classic bikes to the superbikes of the 2010s, the game allows you to play through notable chapters pf the company's storied history and experience the bikes that came with it.
Despite being a spinoff of the aforementioned RIDE series, the controls are actually pretty decent this time around, with options available for the more casual type of player whop doesn't want to have to think about power-to-traction ratios every other second.
While the gameplay may start out slow with the older bikes, it quickly picks up the pace as you get closer and closer to the present day, with different types of challenges to keep you occupied along the way.
While the graphics might be on the lower end of things for the time, the sound engine perhaps not the best, and multiplayer being almost completely dead at this point, the game is a pretty decent experience if you can get it dirt cheap like I did, especially if you're looking for some super easy achievements to boost your gamersore.

Played on: Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X
Time Played: 4 Hours (Across all platforms)

This is just a slightly better-looking version of the game for the Nintendo Wii back in 2006, which on its own was a step down from the classic arcade game we all know and love.
This version manages to be worse, however, due to the significantly worse controls. While it may work alright with a lightgun in an arcade or the more accurate motion controls of the Wii, it is not a game that lends itself well to the use of thumbsticks for aiming or the Nintendo Switch's comparatively worse motion control tracking system.
While I've seen it run serviceably enough on PC, on the whole, this version of the game was a complete misfire.

What could have been interesting ended up as a “game” with very little in the way of gameplay elements, even for a narrative point-and-click based adventure.
The story isn’t deep or interesting, characters are very shallow and, as many have pointed out, the game seems to have a very sexist slant against men and the concept of fatherhood.
I personally like the occasional character-driven story game with a focus on narrative storytelling over gameplay, games like Haven excel in this regard, but this one felt very sluggish and dull to say the least.
If this was created by some high schoolers to show their aptitude when it comes to coding as a group project it would have been acceptable, although the story would still have been awful, but instead it’s created by an actual development studio that decided to actually charge people for the displeasure of sitting through the “game.”
Not worth getting even on sale.