The Final Fantasy series has been one of the most influential game series's in my life. Final Fantasy VII Remake was one of my first RPGs and Final Fantasy X is my favourite game ever made. The only Final Fantasy post X I had played leading up to this point was XV which left me very disappointed in many ways but I am very happy to say this one didn't. Final Fantasy XVI is without a doubt one of the best RPGs made this year and in fact, one of the best games made this year.

The gameplay in the game can be very easy but that doesn't mean it isn't fun. The argument of "watered down DMC" is a bit valid though but I feel it's still great at it's own thing. The basic combat system is fairly fun mechanically, to me what makes it really fun is its customization. Unlocking Eikon skills was always very fun to me and I had a great time mixing up my skills to see which combo flowed best.

The story in XVI while definitely not the best is still good. There are valid criticisms to it and I do have some of my own too but I can easily look past them if most of the story is very good still. The ending portion is definitely a bit fast although I feel there is no other place for that entire section of the game could fit into.

The cast here isn't the best in Final Fantasy but it's gotta be up there. I get its on the smaller size cast wise but it helps that all main characters are very impactful and memorable. This interpretation of Cid is definitely my favourite in the series and the most interested. This is the most in-depth he's been since XII and VII which is something I felt was needed.

Overall, XVI isn't a perfect game. There are pacing issues, loads of filler, easy combat, and a small cast. These issues to me though are minuscule in the grand scheme of things when the rest of the game does so much right.

MGS2 is a game that I always liked but just soured in my mind the longer I spent away from it. With the Master Collection coming out I finally had a reason to revisit it. I'm very happy to say that my memory was just off as this is an amazing game. Everything I said about MGS1 being ahead of it's time still applies here and more with a lot of the themes it tackles being such a huge part of modern day society. The Tanker mission is a great intro to the game and the last act is arguably one of the craziest acts in gaming history.

The 3rd time through this game I am just able to appreciate it more and more. I used to find this game very difficult but now I feel like I'm a pro at it. This game is so ahead of it's time with everything, story telling, gameplay, cinematics everything in this game is top standard. The story is so entertaining still even on a 3rd playthrough due to it's amazing cast and voice acting. Shadow Moses is an iconic video game area and still the best MGS setting to this day, the snowy atmosphere will never be topped.

Spider-Man 2018 is a game that has warm spot in my heart so you can know that I was very excited for this game. Following Miles Morales there is one villain that was very clearly being built up to which I was excited for and when this game got revealed I was very excited for it. I kept my expectations intact during the entire marketing campaign which was that it would definitely be a great game but not as good as the first which is exactly what I felt it was. The gameplay is for sure a big step up from the first 2 but everything else I felt was somewhat of a downgrade? I felt that 2018 and even Miles Morales felt more like Spider-Man games than this one. It could be the fact that those 2 games took a bit more of a laid back approach than this one did, I feel I liked the more lax story telling as those 2 games were able to deliver strong moments without it needing to be the end of the world like this game.