Not so much a 'far cry' from the likes of Haus - more like a diet version of it, clearly affected by rushed writing which begs to be further explored even as it delivers some nice quality-of-life improvements to the base game. Still though... no one does this shit like Dead Island - almost completely optimized unpretentious zombie-shredding gameplay. Art design is still totally off-the-chain, and the ripper + sawblade launcher are the most devilishly fun video game weapons since The Heist & the Hazardous' Pain & Gain gun. Its potshots on influencer dullard festivals a la Fyre Fest, performative corpo advocacy, and the spinelessness inherent to slacktivism - not entirely soft targets today - are scattershot but relatively effective. Goddamn I wish there were like 100 more of these - I'm never not down for another blood-soaked Dead Island turret on surrendering to your most basic elemental turpitude to become the malevolent, super awesome beast you truly are.

While thoroughly antiquated by Tomb Raider: Anniversary, I think this should be looked at as its own unique, damn good experience. Firstly, this is one of the best trophy lists I've ever had the pleasure of playing through - I mean the thing is just STACKED - a wonderful balance of tough-as-nails, funny, grindy, demanding, and honest to God fun. Second, I've seen many decry this for its commitment to the original gameplay style - which I understand if you aren't used to - but not only am I glad they didn't just retread Anniversary again, I'm also shocked at how well it actually holds up for a 1996 game?? Yeah there's jank (the bonking off of walls is one of the worst features ever implemented into a video game) but with this sort of thing you know what you're getting into - honestly it really isn't that bad when you aren't whiffing random jumps, in fact I find it to be rather satisfying when you get the hang of it. Easy to see why this franchise blew up considering it managed to get a lot of its charm right on the first go - the relaxing atmosphere, smart puzzles, globetrotting locales, legendary music, a touch of creepiness, and that in-the-zone feeling of you vs. the environment all make this such an idiosyncratic product (like the others). Gets the brain juices flowing, I dig it. Way better than Tomb Raider: Underworld. Atlantis' art design here is just superb.

"Heroes never die, they keep coming back as re-runs!"

Mindless gonzo combat as an analog for scathing potshots at manufactured celebrity - a much more resonant theme now than on release - they made you, and will turn on you in an instant for being exactly what they created you to be. Unquestionably a downgrade from the previous games though, Ratchet is barely an entity in this and you can't even play as Clank - but boy does this do the whole forced 2000s grit cringe WAY better than Jak II and III. In fact this whole thing feels like a predictor of the gaming generation to come - with an emphasis on fleeting short-attention-span gameplay over depth, so you can crank out these missions (in dull, empty environments) as fast as possible without having to really think about it. But it's also reasonably fun at doing that, plus the story is loaded with searing social satire and is absolutely fucking hilarious to boot (Dallas and Juanita ftw). PS3 port is rife with visual glitches and framerate drops. Grindrail sections are HOT ass. Had a good time with it no doubt, but also really glad they got this out of their system.