Still remains one of the best first person shooters of all time even after all these years. While it definitely has a couple rough spots like certain levels being a bit too long and repetitive, this game still does things I wish more action games would do. One of the things I especially appreciated was how enemies were handled in this game. Of course, things like their smart behavior that keeps you on your toes and their color coating allowing them to pop out of their environments are all great, but what I enjoy most is how each of them have their own weaknesses.

For example, infection flood are best dealt with using the assault rifle, while the much larger flood are much easier to deal with using the shotgun. This feature adds a level of strategy to dealing with enemies that makes combat a lot more fun and engaging and I wish a lot more people would touch on this feature as I believe this to be one of the best parts of the original Halo.

Only two major issues I have in mind for this game is wishing that the legions were more balanced. For example, Malice ends up feeling like a must have throughout the entire game, while Hatred felt useless and boring to play with throughout the entire game. Second is that the game for some reason decides not to tell you the button inputs for certain moves, which is just stupid and doesn't add anything valuable to the game's difficulty. Other than that this is an underrated gem that I'm glad to have been recommended.

Gorgeous gothic, emo atheistic combined with an awesome goth, heavy metal soundtrack. The combat system is also just really fun and engaging, despite my one glaring issue with it. Having to experiment with different legions in order to find a combination that will demolish the level is such an addicting gameplay loop. Only made more addicting by how much the game punishes you for making bad decisions in how you approach a level.

86

Occasional Playstation 2 jank aside, this was an absolute joy to play over the weekend. Saturday morning cartoons, noir films, and graphic novels all stirred together to create a game beaming with an amount of personality hard to find in most games. It isn't all style, however, as the game shoots you into its gorgeous, cell-shaded levels that are packed with (mostly) tight platforming, races, mini-games, collect-a-thons, bosses, and polices chases that can be all finished in a tight, addicting six hour period! It's crazy nowadays to see a game this to the point and focused, not bogged down by unnecessary parts, that leaves you satisfied but wanting more. sigh, if only there were sequels made.

74

Sly 2 is just as filled to the brim with interesting ideas as the first to the point that the game is forced to shift genres and atmosphere. The original’s focus on arcade style platforming with noir influences has completely shifted towards semi open world stealth with a more outwardly confident sense of Ocean’s 11 style. This new direction helps keep things fresh and interesting, sneaking around snowy mountains, gothic prisons, and villainous blimps is fun and the levels are an absolute blast to admire. However, I would be lying if I said that this was nearly as consistent as the first. Upgrades, thieving mini games, and multiple playable characters are cool concepts that don’t harm the game at all, but they all lack refinement and a real sense of usefulness and cohesion with the rest of the gameplay systems. Don’t even get me started on the mission structure and pacing, not to say I didn’t have my fun, but questions like “When will this mission end?” or “This is so boring?” were constantly ringing in my mind for quite a lot of these missions. I will say though despite my major faults with this game, the passion of the developers shines through every crevice of it’s levels, and that helps me to just barely look over my major issues with the game.

88

Minor disappointments and a couple problems lingering from the second game (albeit the severity of these problems are minimised here) hold this one back for me, however, these are only minor issues in an otherwise fantastic game. Sly 3 isn’t the radical shift in gameplay and tone like the second, but rather the developers focusing in on the details and creating a much tighter experience. This is all best illustrated by the drastic improvement in the missions. The repetitive missions that overstayed their welcome from the second game are gone, replaced with fast pace missions booming with variety. I think what helps this variety is the developers honing in on the Ocean’s 11 style from the second. The storyline’s focus on setting up a team of different playable characters to crack a vault not only allows the story to go through many interesting story beats, but also allows the gameplay to be far more unpredictable and experimental. However, despite this sense of unpredictability, the game remains consistently fun and engaging throughout the entire experience whether you’re fighting an operatic mob boss or an evil genius mandrill.