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What strange, unsuitable reality have I entered wherein this game even exists? Never mind that it's as good as it is. This is 2.5 games seamlessly woven into a package that made me look at remakes a new way.
Nitro-fueled went above and beyond: bringing content back from the near-forgotten Crash Nitro Kart, adding never-before playable characters and yet more content with a new track each month for seven months. Anyone who wasn't engrossed by the entertaining main quest could dive into the online multiplayer or any of the fun and varied side modes, paying alone or with a friend. Just about every track in the game, old and new, is loaded with visual details shortcuts which complement the skill-based driving beautifully. The player can fiddle with thousands of cart combinations while finding all of the hidden crates or CTR letters in each track. It is no exaggeration to say I logged over a hundred hours into this bizarre masterpiece.
No remake I have ever played has transformed a fun-yet-dated experience the way this one has. The customization and overall content of the original PS1 game was acceptable for the time, but would look pitiful by PS4 standards. If CTR on PS1 is a one-story office building, Nitro-fueled built on its foundation and turned it into a skyscraper. I hand-on-heart recommend this as both my favorite kart racing game and my favorite crash game.
Also, if you're mad about microtransactions, then don't pay them. I got every unlockable I wanted without spending a cent past the initial purchase of the game. Good Luck!
Nitro-fueled went above and beyond: bringing content back from the near-forgotten Crash Nitro Kart, adding never-before playable characters and yet more content with a new track each month for seven months. Anyone who wasn't engrossed by the entertaining main quest could dive into the online multiplayer or any of the fun and varied side modes, paying alone or with a friend. Just about every track in the game, old and new, is loaded with visual details shortcuts which complement the skill-based driving beautifully. The player can fiddle with thousands of cart combinations while finding all of the hidden crates or CTR letters in each track. It is no exaggeration to say I logged over a hundred hours into this bizarre masterpiece.
No remake I have ever played has transformed a fun-yet-dated experience the way this one has. The customization and overall content of the original PS1 game was acceptable for the time, but would look pitiful by PS4 standards. If CTR on PS1 is a one-story office building, Nitro-fueled built on its foundation and turned it into a skyscraper. I hand-on-heart recommend this as both my favorite kart racing game and my favorite crash game.
Also, if you're mad about microtransactions, then don't pay them. I got every unlockable I wanted without spending a cent past the initial purchase of the game. Good Luck!
1998
It's tail time!
2001
I thoroughly enjoyed the FF7 remake, but I was nervous when I heard it would be split into three chapters. After all, when you add three to seven, you get ten, and I didn't want that.
Final Fantasy ten is really bad. The characters are all frustrating and obnoxious in their own special way(Auron excluded), the repeated enemy encounters are irritating, the voice acting is embarrassing, and the story is contrived nonsense. I could only sit through so may hours of ear-bleeding, un-skippable cutscenes before I shelved the game. The only reason I don't give it a lower score is because I don't feel like I can get away with it, having not played the game in a while. I really don't want to play it again, so we'll settle on this. Perhaps the latter parts of the game are far better, and perhaps the remake is fantastic, in which case, I'll look like a fool; but, honestly, I doubt it.
I had an aggressive bias against Final Fantasy for years, and I blame this game for why honestly.
Final Fantasy ten is really bad. The characters are all frustrating and obnoxious in their own special way(Auron excluded), the repeated enemy encounters are irritating, the voice acting is embarrassing, and the story is contrived nonsense. I could only sit through so may hours of ear-bleeding, un-skippable cutscenes before I shelved the game. The only reason I don't give it a lower score is because I don't feel like I can get away with it, having not played the game in a while. I really don't want to play it again, so we'll settle on this. Perhaps the latter parts of the game are far better, and perhaps the remake is fantastic, in which case, I'll look like a fool; but, honestly, I doubt it.
I had an aggressive bias against Final Fantasy for years, and I blame this game for why honestly.
Do you want to play Battle for Bikini Bottom with fewer playable characters, less-interesting levels and objectives, and having the whole game be linear for some reason? No: well this game is hard to recommend.
Honestly, this game is fine in its own right. But, when compared to BfBB, it feels like a step backwards in so many ways. The charming characters, world exploration, and interconnectedness of the previous game played a huge role in making it such a classic. By comparison, this one ironically has the same issue Spongebob and Patrick have in the movie, taking themselves too seriously and pretending to be something they're not.
Still, if you loved BfBB, you'll probably like this one fine.
Honestly, this game is fine in its own right. But, when compared to BfBB, it feels like a step backwards in so many ways. The charming characters, world exploration, and interconnectedness of the previous game played a huge role in making it such a classic. By comparison, this one ironically has the same issue Spongebob and Patrick have in the movie, taking themselves too seriously and pretending to be something they're not.
Still, if you loved BfBB, you'll probably like this one fine.
I thought diluting the first 10% of FF7 into a full-fledged, AAA game was a terrible idea on paper; I love being wrong.
Beautiful graphics, an excellent soundtrack, pacing that is nowhere near as bad as I thought it would be and probably my favorite combat system in any RPG make for an experience that captivated even me, even as someone who did not grow up with the original game.
I found a strong sense of attachment to the characters, due in no small part to the excellent facial animations and lovably-corny writing. This game is very at peace with its sense of camp, and I love it for that. I found the main heroes to all be lovable and distinct, the villains to all be the kind of mustache-twirling caricatures I'd want to see in such a tale and the story overall to have some surprisingly powerful themes and ideas.
However, had I hated the story, I still would not have walked away from FF7 remake with nothing, as the gameplay was fantastic as well. A main team of four members, each with different strengths and weaknesses, reward an experimental approach to different combat scenarios. I felt a true sense of accomplishment once I had cleared this game's hardest difficulty, as doing do without intimate knowledge of this system would be virtually impossible. This game has fabulous enemy variety and one of the best boss rosters I have seen in years. I cannot discuss my favorite boss in the game without going into spoilers, but I will say that chapter 9: the City that Never Sleeps, will be remembered as one of the greatest levels in video game history. I truly wish I could discuss it here, but I would not dare spoil it for those who hadn't seen it.
Even some factors which I had thought would bother me on a second playthrough turned out to be nonissues. Some of the worse level design, such as in chapter 10, didn't bother me because none of the chapters outstayed their welcomes in my opinion. Learning the layout of the different slums and then having them all come together in chapter 14 was satisfying, and the added fast-travel system made exploration reasonable.
The game's issues are minor but worth mentioning. Firstly, Sephiroth's inclusion in the game feels unnecessary. The majority of the game sets up the Shinra President as the main antagonist. While Sephiroth does get a lot of focus, he does nothing to deserve it in my opinion. The games conclusion shifts all focus to him and it plays a large role in the game's final level and ending feeling rushed, underwhelming and overall the weakest part of the game.
Also, the abundance of new narrative elements added for the remake, while well-written and enjoyable in the moment, added very little to the overall experience. Many plot elements felt unnecessary and didn't deserve their screen time. At worst, I did get Hobbit Trilogy flashbacks. I feel some chapters could have been combined together, (chapters 5-7 could have been folded into 2), and some chapters could have been side quests or sections within other chapters, (chapters 4, 10 and 11 come to mind). I'm not saying an chapters should have been removed, but some could have been shortened.
Lastly, while I enjoyed every main character in the game, I didn't care for many of the minor NPCs. They were often unpleasant to talk to, and their facial animations were easily the ugliest things in the game. I hope the sequel puts more effort into them.
Small grievances aside, FF7 Remake is a fantastic overall package I can recommend even to those who were not engrossed by the original game. It brings me joy to see such a beloved game brought into the new generation, and I am excited for what part 2 will bring.
Beautiful graphics, an excellent soundtrack, pacing that is nowhere near as bad as I thought it would be and probably my favorite combat system in any RPG make for an experience that captivated even me, even as someone who did not grow up with the original game.
I found a strong sense of attachment to the characters, due in no small part to the excellent facial animations and lovably-corny writing. This game is very at peace with its sense of camp, and I love it for that. I found the main heroes to all be lovable and distinct, the villains to all be the kind of mustache-twirling caricatures I'd want to see in such a tale and the story overall to have some surprisingly powerful themes and ideas.
However, had I hated the story, I still would not have walked away from FF7 remake with nothing, as the gameplay was fantastic as well. A main team of four members, each with different strengths and weaknesses, reward an experimental approach to different combat scenarios. I felt a true sense of accomplishment once I had cleared this game's hardest difficulty, as doing do without intimate knowledge of this system would be virtually impossible. This game has fabulous enemy variety and one of the best boss rosters I have seen in years. I cannot discuss my favorite boss in the game without going into spoilers, but I will say that chapter 9: the City that Never Sleeps, will be remembered as one of the greatest levels in video game history. I truly wish I could discuss it here, but I would not dare spoil it for those who hadn't seen it.
Even some factors which I had thought would bother me on a second playthrough turned out to be nonissues. Some of the worse level design, such as in chapter 10, didn't bother me because none of the chapters outstayed their welcomes in my opinion. Learning the layout of the different slums and then having them all come together in chapter 14 was satisfying, and the added fast-travel system made exploration reasonable.
The game's issues are minor but worth mentioning. Firstly, Sephiroth's inclusion in the game feels unnecessary. The majority of the game sets up the Shinra President as the main antagonist. While Sephiroth does get a lot of focus, he does nothing to deserve it in my opinion. The games conclusion shifts all focus to him and it plays a large role in the game's final level and ending feeling rushed, underwhelming and overall the weakest part of the game.
Also, the abundance of new narrative elements added for the remake, while well-written and enjoyable in the moment, added very little to the overall experience. Many plot elements felt unnecessary and didn't deserve their screen time. At worst, I did get Hobbit Trilogy flashbacks. I feel some chapters could have been combined together, (chapters 5-7 could have been folded into 2), and some chapters could have been side quests or sections within other chapters, (chapters 4, 10 and 11 come to mind). I'm not saying an chapters should have been removed, but some could have been shortened.
Lastly, while I enjoyed every main character in the game, I didn't care for many of the minor NPCs. They were often unpleasant to talk to, and their facial animations were easily the ugliest things in the game. I hope the sequel puts more effort into them.
Small grievances aside, FF7 Remake is a fantastic overall package I can recommend even to those who were not engrossed by the original game. It brings me joy to see such a beloved game brought into the new generation, and I am excited for what part 2 will bring.
The average of two scores:
ReMind: 2/10
Worst piece of sit DLC I ever wasted money on. I had to pay $30 just to play the main game again and re-watch a ton of cutscenes with the only added feature being the option to play as a much weaker character? It's amazing how much this DLC learns nothing from the flaws of the main game and provides debatably the worst experience in KH history. This is an outrage!
Limit Cut: 10/10
Holy sit, best boss roster in years. Each boss is challenging, distinct, loaded with great music and unique mechanics. Limit Cut offers 12 of the best bosses in KH history(Dark Riku is there too), and it doesn't stop there. I never thought Lingering Will would be topped in terms of difficulty, but I haven't beaten Yozora to this day. Be that as it may, I never found myself frustrated. This boss roster must be experienced!
Overall: 6/10
You know ReMind is bad if having one of the greatest boss collections in gaming history waiting for you at the end just barely justified the purchase. I would have much preferred it if ReMind was removed or at least shortened and the price was dropped down to at most $20, but I'll take Limit Cut however I can get it. If you buy this DLC, please don't stop playing until you finish ReMind, it will be worth it.
ReMind: 2/10
Worst piece of sit DLC I ever wasted money on. I had to pay $30 just to play the main game again and re-watch a ton of cutscenes with the only added feature being the option to play as a much weaker character? It's amazing how much this DLC learns nothing from the flaws of the main game and provides debatably the worst experience in KH history. This is an outrage!
Limit Cut: 10/10
Holy sit, best boss roster in years. Each boss is challenging, distinct, loaded with great music and unique mechanics. Limit Cut offers 12 of the best bosses in KH history(Dark Riku is there too), and it doesn't stop there. I never thought Lingering Will would be topped in terms of difficulty, but I haven't beaten Yozora to this day. Be that as it may, I never found myself frustrated. This boss roster must be experienced!
Overall: 6/10
You know ReMind is bad if having one of the greatest boss collections in gaming history waiting for you at the end just barely justified the purchase. I would have much preferred it if ReMind was removed or at least shortened and the price was dropped down to at most $20, but I'll take Limit Cut however I can get it. If you buy this DLC, please don't stop playing until you finish ReMind, it will be worth it.
Only recommended for those who want an easy platinum trophy.
Avoid Mothership Zeta, and you'll have a good time.
2018
Satisfying moment-to-moment gameplay bolstered by strong characters and a decent story. The web-swinging, combat, character interactions and collectables in this game make for an experience that can be played for hours at a time.
The game isn't perfect by any means. Any part of the game where you play as anyone other that Spider-Man, while brief and rare, tend to be boring. The game can be held back by some repetitive and uninspired side quests. And lastly, I take issue with the game's pacing.
Spider-Man PS4 begins with an incredible, pulse-pounding sequence, but then drops and doesn't meet that same level of urgency until the final third. But, with that said, the last third of this game is top-tier, and I refuse to spoil anything about it. It is worth playing for that part alone.
The game isn't perfect by any means. Any part of the game where you play as anyone other that Spider-Man, while brief and rare, tend to be boring. The game can be held back by some repetitive and uninspired side quests. And lastly, I take issue with the game's pacing.
Spider-Man PS4 begins with an incredible, pulse-pounding sequence, but then drops and doesn't meet that same level of urgency until the final third. But, with that said, the last third of this game is top-tier, and I refuse to spoil anything about it. It is worth playing for that part alone.
2019
This review contains spoilers
Note: I have not payed the original RE2 on PS1. Take my review with a pinch of salt, as I do not have that perspective. With that said...
I wasn't impressed with this game at all. The game boasts four campaigns while giving a single campaign with mostly cosmetic changes. The game seems to expect me to play it over and over, but I was honestly done by the end of playthrough 3, liking it less than 2, which I liked less than 1. Mr. X is a ridiculous non-threat who is far too easy to avoid, but he isn't as hilariously unintimidating as William. His first appearance was somewhat imposing, but decayed exponentially with each iteration. I had to fight the urge to burst out laughing when he appeared as the final boss of Clair's campaign. I have no problem believing that this framework provided an incredible experience back in 1998. But, twenty years later, I found the characters bland, the story unmemorable and the overall package to do little beyond being polished and functional.
The game looks great and does have a thick atmosphere. I did enjoy some of the enemy variety and altogether would have recommended the game based on my first playthrough. However, RE2 remake ultimately did not sit well with me, and I am hesitant to recommend it to anyone who cannot get it on sale.
Final note: The Ghost Survivors mode is AWFUL!!! It is the game's only side mode, which looks pathetic next to the treasure trove of excellent content gifted to us in the RE7 gold edition, two years prior! Ghost Survivors is a controller-snappingly difficult slog which takes place in a confusing alternate reality, and I found myself hating everything resident evil every second I was playing it. I seriously considered bumping the game's score down to a 5 because of it. Do not play this mode!
I wasn't impressed with this game at all. The game boasts four campaigns while giving a single campaign with mostly cosmetic changes. The game seems to expect me to play it over and over, but I was honestly done by the end of playthrough 3, liking it less than 2, which I liked less than 1. Mr. X is a ridiculous non-threat who is far too easy to avoid, but he isn't as hilariously unintimidating as William. His first appearance was somewhat imposing, but decayed exponentially with each iteration. I had to fight the urge to burst out laughing when he appeared as the final boss of Clair's campaign. I have no problem believing that this framework provided an incredible experience back in 1998. But, twenty years later, I found the characters bland, the story unmemorable and the overall package to do little beyond being polished and functional.
The game looks great and does have a thick atmosphere. I did enjoy some of the enemy variety and altogether would have recommended the game based on my first playthrough. However, RE2 remake ultimately did not sit well with me, and I am hesitant to recommend it to anyone who cannot get it on sale.
Final note: The Ghost Survivors mode is AWFUL!!! It is the game's only side mode, which looks pathetic next to the treasure trove of excellent content gifted to us in the RE7 gold edition, two years prior! Ghost Survivors is a controller-snappingly difficult slog which takes place in a confusing alternate reality, and I found myself hating everything resident evil every second I was playing it. I seriously considered bumping the game's score down to a 5 because of it. Do not play this mode!
2008
Instead of reviewing the game, I'm just going to describe some of the things that happened in my playthrough:
I went to the Lincoln Memorial, put a stealth boy on and went up behind a slaver to stick a grenade down his pants. The others couldn't detect me since I was invisible, so they said, "huh, must have been the wind" after the first one blew up, and I repeated the process until half of them were dead.
I went to Father Clifford in Rivet City and baselessly claimed that Diego was having a sexual relationship with Angela. The moron believed me and turned around to Diego, who was about three feet away, and excommunicated him from the church. Diego got over it pretty quickly, turned to Angela, who was about three feet behind him, and proposed. They will be getting married soon.
(I'm smirking just as I write this)
I went to Tenpenny Tower and spoke to Gustavo over the intercom, demanding to be let in. He boasted that he was safe on the other side of the wall and told me to scram. I took out my mini-nuke launcher and fired a shot over the side of the wall, killing Gustavo and sending his lifeless body flying over the side of the wall. After looting his corpse, I went back to the intercom and spoke to Gustavo for the first time since blowing him up. He still wouldn't let me in.
My goodness, you need to play this game.
I went to the Lincoln Memorial, put a stealth boy on and went up behind a slaver to stick a grenade down his pants. The others couldn't detect me since I was invisible, so they said, "huh, must have been the wind" after the first one blew up, and I repeated the process until half of them were dead.
I went to Father Clifford in Rivet City and baselessly claimed that Diego was having a sexual relationship with Angela. The moron believed me and turned around to Diego, who was about three feet away, and excommunicated him from the church. Diego got over it pretty quickly, turned to Angela, who was about three feet behind him, and proposed. They will be getting married soon.
(I'm smirking just as I write this)
I went to Tenpenny Tower and spoke to Gustavo over the intercom, demanding to be let in. He boasted that he was safe on the other side of the wall and told me to scram. I took out my mini-nuke launcher and fired a shot over the side of the wall, killing Gustavo and sending his lifeless body flying over the side of the wall. After looting his corpse, I went back to the intercom and spoke to Gustavo for the first time since blowing him up. He still wouldn't let me in.
My goodness, you need to play this game.
Link Between worlds is carried by its gameplay.
Plenty of other Zelda games have told much more interesting stories, had much more memorable characters, and showcased better soundtracks and designs. Maybe it's just me, but I didn't care for how many of the characters in LBW looked. I also felt that too many plot-crucial moments and character revelations were crammed into the final few minutes of the game, and they felt very rushed and not nearly as compelling as they could have been.
All that said, the game is still worth playing. The sense of freedom the game gives is refreshing, and the item purchase system is a brilliant way to slowly introduce players to new items without overwhelming them, and still punishing them for death. The game can provide more of a challenge than most other Zelda games I've played, and the wide variety of monsters, dungeons, and collectables is a treat made even better by the freedom to tackle dungeons in whatever order you please.
The underdeveloped characters and rushed story do hold LBW back from being one of the great Zelda games in my opinion. But, even though the Link between story and gameplay wasn't as strong as I'd have liked, A Link Between Worlds is still well worth your time for the gameplay alone.
Plenty of other Zelda games have told much more interesting stories, had much more memorable characters, and showcased better soundtracks and designs. Maybe it's just me, but I didn't care for how many of the characters in LBW looked. I also felt that too many plot-crucial moments and character revelations were crammed into the final few minutes of the game, and they felt very rushed and not nearly as compelling as they could have been.
All that said, the game is still worth playing. The sense of freedom the game gives is refreshing, and the item purchase system is a brilliant way to slowly introduce players to new items without overwhelming them, and still punishing them for death. The game can provide more of a challenge than most other Zelda games I've played, and the wide variety of monsters, dungeons, and collectables is a treat made even better by the freedom to tackle dungeons in whatever order you please.
The underdeveloped characters and rushed story do hold LBW back from being one of the great Zelda games in my opinion. But, even though the Link between story and gameplay wasn't as strong as I'd have liked, A Link Between Worlds is still well worth your time for the gameplay alone.
The far lesser of the two Crash 4s, but I still liked it.
The hub world is AWESOME! The rest of the game is ok.
I just got done playing Gex 3, and decided to play another game starting a smart-mouthed green lizard which is mostly average despite one major redeeming quality which relates to the game's levels. Impossible Lair's hub world is one of the best I've ever seen. The plethora of hidden collectables is endlessly satisfying, the environmental effects are really neat and make the whole space feel alive, and the visual signs of your progression are really captivating. The hub is so great that it is almost a disappointment when you need to play the actual levels.
The core gameplay of Impossible Lair is fine but a touch too simplistic and unvaried to span the game's lengthy campaign without feeling tedious by the end. The level design is serviceable and the exterior conditions on the book(magic books are portals to levels in this game) which effect the levels are really creative, but the levels aren't distinct or memorable enough for these changes to have the impact they could. The Impossible Lair itself it a really strong core challenge to base the game around, but most of the other levels are pretty forgettable.
I think anyone whom is curious should at least give this game a fair shake; I imagine plenty will like it even more than I did. This game was a huge improvement over the original Yooka-Laylee in my opinion, and if the next game sees the same jump in quality, we could have a new platforming masterpiece on our hands.
I just got done playing Gex 3, and decided to play another game starting a smart-mouthed green lizard which is mostly average despite one major redeeming quality which relates to the game's levels. Impossible Lair's hub world is one of the best I've ever seen. The plethora of hidden collectables is endlessly satisfying, the environmental effects are really neat and make the whole space feel alive, and the visual signs of your progression are really captivating. The hub is so great that it is almost a disappointment when you need to play the actual levels.
The core gameplay of Impossible Lair is fine but a touch too simplistic and unvaried to span the game's lengthy campaign without feeling tedious by the end. The level design is serviceable and the exterior conditions on the book(magic books are portals to levels in this game) which effect the levels are really creative, but the levels aren't distinct or memorable enough for these changes to have the impact they could. The Impossible Lair itself it a really strong core challenge to base the game around, but most of the other levels are pretty forgettable.
I think anyone whom is curious should at least give this game a fair shake; I imagine plenty will like it even more than I did. This game was a huge improvement over the original Yooka-Laylee in my opinion, and if the next game sees the same jump in quality, we could have a new platforming masterpiece on our hands.
1998
Minecraft characters can be compelling if they have an excellent score, brilliant voice cast, and a strong story to carry them.
The original Metal Gear Solid is a profound achievement in video game design. The fact that this game managed to pull off so much narrative development and complex gameplay despite the technical limitations of the time is remarkable. I played this game for the first time as a freshman in high school; it was ten years old at the time, and I went in with no expectations only to be floored. I don't stand by everything I considered to be high art at that age, but this one has stood the test of time... for the most part.
There is still too much backtracking in this game for my liking, some of the game's mechanics definitely show their age, many of the cutscenes go on too long, and the game doesn't blend story progression with gameplay well- like at all: it usually has to completely interrupt the game to spend 7-8 minutes explaining something to you just to abruptly give control back. This started a trend in the next few titles in the series, and it didn't get any better until MGS5.
Fortunately, the core gameplay is still strong. Snake's varied collection of weapons and gadgets in tandem with the varied options for stealth or action gameplay add a great deal of variety. The gameplay won't blow anyone away by today's standards, but it is still very enjoyable. The game's excellent boss roster helps me to forgive some questionable hitboxes and an occasionally troublesome camera.
MGS may show its age, and may not be for everyone, the technical achievement of this title should not be understated. I credit this game for elevating video games as a medium to create more impactful, cinematic works of art. For that, I give this game my salute.
The original Metal Gear Solid is a profound achievement in video game design. The fact that this game managed to pull off so much narrative development and complex gameplay despite the technical limitations of the time is remarkable. I played this game for the first time as a freshman in high school; it was ten years old at the time, and I went in with no expectations only to be floored. I don't stand by everything I considered to be high art at that age, but this one has stood the test of time... for the most part.
There is still too much backtracking in this game for my liking, some of the game's mechanics definitely show their age, many of the cutscenes go on too long, and the game doesn't blend story progression with gameplay well- like at all: it usually has to completely interrupt the game to spend 7-8 minutes explaining something to you just to abruptly give control back. This started a trend in the next few titles in the series, and it didn't get any better until MGS5.
Fortunately, the core gameplay is still strong. Snake's varied collection of weapons and gadgets in tandem with the varied options for stealth or action gameplay add a great deal of variety. The gameplay won't blow anyone away by today's standards, but it is still very enjoyable. The game's excellent boss roster helps me to forgive some questionable hitboxes and an occasionally troublesome camera.
MGS may show its age, and may not be for everyone, the technical achievement of this title should not be understated. I credit this game for elevating video games as a medium to create more impactful, cinematic works of art. For that, I give this game my salute.