2022

As a fan of the works of H.R. Geiger and Zdzislaw Beksinski, I thought the visuals in the game were stunning. Like wandering through a horrifically beautiful painting. The puzzles are abstract and involved a bit of tinkering, but were never so esoteric as to be frustrating. But the clumsy combat felt shoe-horned in and unnecessary. After only 5 hours of gameplay, I'd scored the platinum trophy and there was little left to do. A short and shallow but atmospheric and beautifully horrific experience with some shit combat stapled on.

Usually I can pinpoint what I don’t like about a game but for once I’m at a bit of a loss. Yes there are things I didn’t like in Resident Evil Revelations, but I can’t figure out exactly what made the game un-enjoyable for me. It’s a solid little horror action game that looks fantastic on the 3DS and mixes up it’s story with multiple playable characters and locales. The controls may suck and there are some other annoying little features but on the whole, it’s an impressive title. But a title I just couldn’t get into for whatever reason. Despite only being 9 hours long, it felt like it dragged on way longer than that and I really did struggle to find the energy to complete it.

Life is Strange 2 is a game of choices and every choice you make will have an effect on the larger story and the smaller moments therein. As such, not everyone will have the same experience playing this game. Personally, I’m satisfied with the choices I made and the ending I got, but I felt by the end I’d probably put the characters through the wringer a little more than was necessary. The allure of these games remains strong, and Life is Strange 2 is another great entry in this dramatic and charming series. The slow pace and story-driven nature will not be for everyone, but for those willing to give it a chance, you’ll find an excellent story with likeable characters and some beautiful artistic visuals. I eagerly await to see where they take this series next, but hope that they can improve on the character animations before Life is Strange 3 sees the light of day.

Medal of Honor: Airborne adds some new ideas to the stale WWII genre. Some of these ideas work, some don’t. The open map design, freedom to tackle things in any order you want, and fun weapon upgrade system were welcome additions I’d happily see more of. The frequent parachuting not so much. Throw these mixed ideas into a short, shallow experience with no story at all and woefully frustrating hit detection and you have a very average WWII game. It’s not without it’s charm, but there are better alternatives out there.