GER/EN:
In principle, you get an Xcom 2 in a slimmed-down version: shorter story events, more focus on the missions, less meta-game (base building). I think that "Chimera Squad" is the significantly worse version of "Xcom 2". But as an introduction to the series or for a quick session, it is still recommended.
---
Im Prinzip erhält man ein Xcom 2 in einer abgespeckten Variante: kürzere Storyevents, mehr Fokus auf den Missionen, weniger Meta-Game (Basenbau). Ich finde, dass "Chimera Squad" die deutlich schlechtere Variante zu "Xcom 2" ist. Aber als Einstieg in die Serie oder für eine kurze Runde, ist es dennoch zu empfehlen.

GER / ENG

Nach dem Scheitern von "Simcity" ein mehr als würdiger Nachfolger. Auf den Konsolen fehlen leider der "Steam-Workshop" und die Communityanbindung. Daher würde ich diese Versionen nicht empfehlen. Aber auf dem PC ist es insbesondere bei einer guten Modauswahl (TMP, Real Time etc.) ein exzellentes Spiel.

- Angestaubte Grafik
- nervige Sounds "Chirper", Möwen (beides deaktivierbar)
- je nach Modnutzung und Simulationsgrad irgendwann lags (auch bei sehr gutem System)

+ Viele Addons die das Spiel sinnvoll erweitern (streitbar)
+ Gute Simulation
+ Steamworkshop und Modauswahl
+ Sehr gute Community
+ Citybuilder mit sehr vielen Aspekten (Wirtschaft, Freizeit, Verkehr, Transport, Rettungssysteme etc.)
+ spannende Verkehrssimulation
---

After the failure of "Simcity" a more than worthy successor. Unfortunately, the "Steam Workshop" and the community connection are missing on the consoles. Therefore, I would not recommend these versions. But on the PC it is an excellent game, especially with a good mod selection (TMP, Real Time etc.).

- Dusty graphics
- annoying sounds "Chirper", seagulls (both can be deactivated)
- depending on the use of the mod and the degree of simulation, there will be lags at some point (even with a very good system)

+ Many addons that expand the game in a meaningful way (arguably)
+ Good simulation
+ Steam workshop and mod selection
+ Very good community
+ Citybuilder with many aspects (economy, leisure, traffic, transport, rescue systems, etc.)
+ exciting traffic simulation

Con:
- Eintönige und zu leichte Kämpfe
- in einem Level Zufallskämpfe

Pros
- charmante Grafik
- innovatives Spielprinzip (mehrere Kurzgeschichten)
- abwechslungsreiche Settings und Geschichten
- ein kürzeres RPG

----
Disadvantage:
- Monotonous and too easy fights
- in one level random battles

advantages
- charming graphics
- Innovative gameplay (several short stories)
- varied settings and stories
- a shorter role-playing game

I spent a lot of time honing my critical thinking with BG3's Honour Mode at the end of last year, then started my year by finishing Alan Wake 2, which had a heavy story and at one point scared me so bad that I had to take constant mini breaks to regain my composure. While I'll write those two games off as amazing and unforgettable, I wanted something a little more easygoing for my next title. Seeing as how Spider-Man 2 was the last game before checking off playing all 2023 GOTY nominees, it was a perfect choice.

I read a lot of reviews that considered SM2 a "mid" sequel and that it didn't belong on the GOTY list, so I went in with tempered expectations. I should do that more often because I enjoyed it much more than expected! I wanted a fun MCU-level story that had simple gameplay, which is exactly what I got.

The story was your typica Marvel level story with multiple villains all culminating into one epic blowout at the end, but the way they incorporated each villain into portions of the game made sense based on story progression. I really liked Kraven's character. Knowing nothing about him from the comics, I liked his intimidation factor and there's always something satisfying about overpowered villains who just hunt for fun instead of having a singular goal. Another character that stood out was The Lizard. His exhilarating chase scene on the river was one of my favorite parts of the game. Insomniac did such a fantastic job with the seamless transition between cutscenes and gameplay.

Moving onto overall mission structure, this is where I docked half a star. I know how the formula works, I enjoyed the first SM and Miles Morales, but it was more of the same. Watch cutscene and beat up some bad guys. Zip here to do a task and beat up some bad guys. Fly some bee drones and beat up some bad guys. It's NYC, I know the enemy types are limited, but there was nothing exciting about the combat loop. These criminals really be criminaling.

The last thing I want to mention is the traversal. SM2 might be the only open world game where I only used fast travel maybe once or twice (but when I did, the seamless transition was a serious chef's kiss). The traversal is absolutely fantastic and I couldn't get enough. It was fast, fluid, and fun. The amount of skills they added in for traversal made it even better, you could hit a wall and get your momentum back immediately. By the end of the game I could stay up in the sky forever! Spider-Man can basically fly.

Overall, the only issue I had with this game was the stale mission structure, but that was overshadowed by the actual fluidity of combat itself, seamless cutscene to action transition, fun Hollywood level movie experience and overall beautiful world. In true MCU form, the post credits cutscene have me looking forward to Spider-Man 3!

It's a good game, very fun to play but it does feel like a step down from Until Dawn, especially in terms of writing and difficulty, while in that game, keeping everyone alive was somewhat challenging, in The Quarry it's effortless, it's so easy to finish your first playthrough with all the characters alive or at least just a single death.
At times, some of the dialogue is unbearable, it doesn't feel like these characters are in a life-or-death situation. It was clearly written by people who have no idea how teenagers/teen adults talk.
The ending also feels somewhat rushed, as they'd run out of time or ideas and the podcast epilogue is pretty annoying.

This shows a lot of promise for a new style of pokemon games, but it's far from perfect.

Let's get the 'gamefreak special' out of the way: The game looks awful, the story is pretty bad, and the cutscenes are literally the bare minimum to qualify as cutscenes. Often they'll just fade to black for a second to avoid having to animate something.

In the past I always found it funny when people complained about pokemon having a bad story, as it's not exactly a franchise known for exceptional storytelling. But this game... it forces you to sit through so many boring cutscenes, especially near the end. It actually gets frustrating how predictable, boring, and time consuming the cutscenes are.

Despite all the above, this game shows a lot of promise. It makes catching pokemon actually fun, rather than a chore. It really feels like 'gotta catch em all' is actually an enjoyable and attainable task in this game. The style of gameplay fits the established pokemon universe so well, it's amazing we didn't get anything like this sooner. The environments are all distinct and are fairly large, though sometimes they're pretty bland. I really enjoyed the changes to battling, though I was extremely overlevelled through the entire game so it never really made any difference.

It seems like the next mainline pokemon game will take a lot of aspects from arceus, which is very promising. This game feels like a prototype for a really good pokemon game, there's just a lot of rough edges that worsen the experience. I'd still recommend it if it interests you, especially if you enjoy the premise of the pokemon universe, not necessarily just fans of the previous games. There's a reason I put 39 hours in, but it's hard to ignore the flaws.