residentdisaster
1988
I may have taken a few breaks during my playing of this but as someone who admittedly isn't the best gamer in the world, this was pretty fucking tough. There are some fun quirky bits here and there but it feels like such an outlier in these early Mario games, and yes I know it's basically a different game and all but there are some elements here that found their way into Mario canon and it still feels really alien. Mario wasn't the thing it is now back then I suppose. Either way between the frustration and feeling like a totally different experience to 1 and 3, I have to say it's confidently my least favourite of the group and the one i'd have the least interest in returning to. At the same time, happy I beat it. One of those things you just have to do at some point. Well you don't really have to but still. Bring back Wart.
While playing through the Phantom Menace, I was worried that this entire experience was going to be a miserable, near-gameplayless husk of a game where every single objective was to walk from one place to another or drive a vehicle. Luckily, it didn't all turn out to just be that. Unluckily, it did turn out to be a major step down from the Lego games of old that I liked much more. Firstly, I understand some will say that as it's mostly a kid's game, you maybe can't expect to love the humour or goofy nature of the characters as an adult. This is still a Lego game however, and compared to the silent humour of the earlier games such as the first Batman or even the Complete Saga, the humour here is just grating. That said I guess the main thing i'm coming to in a Lego game is not the story or anything like that, so it's worth talking about the gameplay which I also felt was flat. As mentioned, the first episode is extremely boring and empty, and while later episodes are slightly more entertaining there are still a lot of completely blank areas and "missions" inbetween levels where you just run from point A to point B with nothing worth doing or seeing. There are next to no puzzle elements like early Lego games where you'd be building little contraptions to get through the level, and I guess a lot of that was the simple and engaging element I was going back for. It's just not here, and ultimately that takes a lot away from the game for me. Unlike when I played the Batman games, where I'd at least given replaying and post-game a little go before realising it wasn't for me anymore, here i'm just not going to bother. Even the character select being different was worse in my opinion, I was pretty disappointed by it. Also it made me remember that I didn't even like a majority of Star Wars films. So thanks for that Skywalker Saga.
This review contains spoilers
I loved Breath of the Wild, and I wish I could love this game too. I wish this game gave me the same feeling of exploring a desolate world gripped by this hanging sense of dread, instead of this treading the same ground where little has changed. I wish the new abilities really did anything for me other than just be frustrating, seemingly punishing creativity, rewarding building another car or just feeling like you've a set of abilities that this world wasn't designed for. I wish the new locations of the game were worth exploring, that they might have recaptured that bliss of discovery the first game had instead of being sparse in the worst ways possible or yet again frustrating. I wish I could use the ascend tool to actually ascend out of the underground instead of being forced to do it in four or five pre-picked little places in the whole underground and otherwise be encouraged to fast travel. I wish weapons weren't so useless unless you glued an ugly horn or rock to them. Every change to this game, or new addition, just feels like a downgrade. By the time I got towards the end of the game and they just went "now fight an unending horde of bastards on your way to two boss fights with multiple phases" i'd decided my response was finally going to be "no". I can't say I hate it, because structurally it is the exact same game as Breath of the Wild, with the exact same world, exact same gameplay and exact same plot. There are minor alterations but it is essentially a carbon copy. That said those minor alterations are all detrimental for me, and that made this one of the more disappointing games i've played when summing up the whole experience. Maybe one day i'll go back to it and have a proper, less cynical go at things. I slightly doubt that though.
Personally, I prefer the slightly more open nature, incredibly cheesy but nostalgic and charming story, and additional tricks such as the acid drop in Underground, but this game is damn fantastic too. That said, the slightly smaller maps with fun and memorable little objectives to complete, particularly from childhood remembering dumping all the snow on the guy or knocking the big bucket into the lava on Foundry (with much less nostalgia for the later levels, because I was absolutely rubbish at video games as a child). There's really not much else to say. It's a great Tony Hawk's game, it has a mostly great soundtrack (Ace of Spades especially) and it's just pure fun to play.
1992
This review contains spoilers
Not counting the Nocturnal Missions (which I will eventually also play), I beat this one in a couple hours. Early on I was a little less than impressed, perhaps going from Doom and Doomclones to a predecessor was destined to initially disappoint, at least in technicality, but by the end i'd come away liking this one. The levels feel cramped and the enemies hit a bit too hard, but honestly those felt like positives the more I played. As much as playing this sort of game can be fun as a mindless powering through several hundred enemies, there's something just as satisfying about being more careful, and beating a level with minimal damage taken after sneaking your way around. It just fit the atmosphere of the game. Graphically it's obviously very primitive compared to a lot of the later retro FPS styles that i'd prefer aesthetically, but it was fine enough and I can't say I look to these kinds of games for stunning visual experiences. This did exactly what I needed it to do, and that was let me shoot my way through roughly thirty entertaining maps of enemies with boss fights that are mostly underwhelming. That's the Retro FPS way.
This review contains spoilers
More of the same of the main game, which is a good thing, but there are a few things that bring it down somewhat. Obviously the two episodes here don't end with boss fights in the way the main game's three episodes do, instead you end with a fight against multiple prior bosses instead. That, to be fair, is an issue i've had in a lot of games of this type (looking at Doom 64 in particular) but while I get it it's still a bit disappointing. I think the second episode here is the only proper trouble I had finding my way around levels in the whole game too, which is definitely more a thing of my inability than the game being at fault, but it did diminish my experience a tiny bit. Either way, it's a Doom style retro shooter and I like those a lot, and it took about a few hours to beat in total so it wasn't anything I regret. Worth the play if you like Heretic's first three episodes or just like Doom in general.
1994
I'm pretty partial to this style of game anyway, so this being yet another of the very early Doom-style of shooter with a memorable, enjoyable aesthetic to it and a decently breezy playthrough meant it was hardly going to settle lower than "this is pretty great" in my estimation. It's decently short too, only three episodes (with a couple more with the version I have that were part of a DLC), and each one has decently fun locations, interesting enemies and cool weapons. Really not much else to be said than that. Simple, very fun, and that's what i'm looking for with this stuff. Definitely playing the two expansion episodes next.
2009
This review contains spoilers
I would have played this for the first time in either 2009 or 2010, which makes it the first PC game I ever played. Pretty happy with that fact as returning to it here some 15 years later, it still rules. It's a very satisfying strategy game to actually have a successful strategy in, in pretty much every level where it's up to you to pick your system and run with it, and with a final boss that is quite tough but similarly rewarding (as the only one of the last levels in each "world" that wasn't just plant everything to win). Both the art style and sense of humour are really charming, things like having a little almanac to give silly personalities to each plant and zombie you encounter is a really great touch that just adds to that charm so much. It's just such a comfortable game, I think I could put it on at any time and play a few levels or some survival waves and be utterly at zen with it. Really great stuff.
This review contains spoilers
Took me a little while to finish because the last few levels were frustratingly difficult to me. That said it's more of the same great gimmick with a few additions that all seem to be improvements. Runs a little long, gets a little tough at points, and honestly the whole ending and then 2.5 hour wait time is very silly, but whatever. Still a lot of fun even though it lost a little of the charm of the original by running over and perhaps lost a little goodwill by the end.
2008
This review contains spoilers
So first of all the Steam version sucks and crashes every time you tab out, but that's by the by. As a game there's a lot to love here, but there's also some significant stuff (mostly one big thing) holding it back somewhat. Obviously the main big points here are the look and gameplay. Lookwise, it's absolutely gorgeous. I'm not really a believer in good graphics being a necessity, but when a game looks this great its hard to deny, both graphically and stylistically very strong stuff. In terms of the gameplay, specifically the freerunning, it's really easy to get to grips with and very fun to get right. When things go well it just flows in a very satisfying way, which is definitely one of the best parts of the game. However, there is an element of gameplay that definitely holds things back, that being the combat. Anytime there's a section with people with guns where you can't just run away it really stunts the game's momentum. I much prefer the freerunner enemies (especially in their initial introduction where you are chased by them through basically a training ground to escape) than just being suddenly ambushed by a bunch of big gun henchmen and forced to fight back. The story is pretty basic, it wasn't really one I invested in at all but it didn't take away from things for me. In fact I think I remembered most of the story beats from watching videos of it about 10 years ago, so none of it came as a big surprise unfortunately. Overall a good, sometimes great game. Disappointing thinking about what happened with this later on, then again, better to just not think about.
2016
This review contains spoilers
Love FPS games and have especially been enjoying modern ones that add their own little twists on the retro format (Cruelty Squad, Dusk) recently, so this being "the most innovative shooter in years" naturally made me want to play it. I remember when this one came out, and the really unique look and feel definitely made it extremely interesting but I never got round to it, so it's nice to finally get round to it. Shame the story is so short because i'd love to have had more levels to play with the really interesting mechanics of this game, obviously the whole time moving when you do aspect is the main draw and it's extremely fun to get to grips with and very satisfying to get right. Having the normal speed replay once you've beaten the level is a really great touch. Entering spoiler territory (not that the story is that deep), the body switching thing was a little less of a draw than figuring out the time stuff, but a lot of fun to incorporate into a run of a level. Love the weapons, especially love the general items you can use to disarm or stumble an enemy, such as the snooker balls in one level or whenever you get to throw glass bottles around. May have to give the endless mode a few goes because I can see it being the sort of thing that's very addictive when you get on a roll with it. Overall a great game, just wish there was a bit more.
1985
I managed to beat this in about an hour which surprised me because I was absolute shit at this game any time I tried it as a child. Anyway it's a lot of fun and considering it was so quick I had little chance to have an issue with it anyway. Not much else to say it was just very fun. :)
Same as all the other Arkham Knight DLCs but quirkier because Harley Quinn is quirky.
This review contains spoilers
This is probably the most unique or interesting of these Arkham Knight story packs, as the vigilante Red Hood side of Todd is not explored in this series to this point. However, as it stands this is just a slightly varied version of all the other story packs because it's the same structure, and this was the last time we'd ever see this character so it's more of a what could have been. Still positive on it because it plays the same as other Arkham games and I love how Arkham plays.
This review contains spoilers
Maybe the best Arkham DLC ever? That will be a debate for another time, but i think for what it is these are four genuinely compelling additional side quests that work really well alongside the rest of the game, feeling more like an addition to the main game than a separate piece. Mad Hatter is always fun because they tend to do very well with him stylistically, and this is no different as his level is short but very visually entertaining. Ra's al Ghul's side quest presents the player with an interesting choice that I think is more complex than right or wrong, especially considering Batman's no killing rule. Killer Croc is done quite well though I felt considering how they teased him in City, and how genuinely nerve-wracking his level is in Asylum, it could have been a bit more personal. Mr. Freeze's level is fantastic, mostly for the great story that continues the interesting sympathetic route that the other games portrayed him in, and tied his thread up in a very satisfying way. Sometimes nice endings are just nice. That said, this isn't essential or anything, none of these side quests reach Zsasz or Pyg levels of great, but they're a lot of fun to do and all entertaining looks into the Arkham world.