I won't do a deep dive into the gameplay because A: if you played the first game, you know what you're getting, and B: there are too many features and mechanics and even though I beat this thing I only engaged with what feels like a fraction of them.

What I will say is that, while there is absolutely too much content here for someone who likes to play more than one video game per year, it's all polished and well done. I also felt like the combat was more refined than it was in Zero Dawn, and found myself thinking more tactically during combat encounters. Based on the reviews here people are split right down the middle on if it's better or worse, but personally, I found it better.

I also want to make a point of acknowledging the visuals, which may well be the best I've ever seen. I don't care about photo modes and never use them, and even I found myself pausing to take a snapshot of certain vistas. The world is beautiful, expansive, and fun to explore in a way that reminded me Breath of the Wild, even if there were more markers and HUD garbage than necessary.

As for the story, it doesn't have the bold twist that made the first game so memorable, but with most of the worldbuilding out of the way I liked that things were more character-focused this time around. Not every NPC and quest is compelling, but more of them are than not, which is a feat in a game this big. There's one quest especially (I won't spoil anything) that I'd call one of my favourite gaming moments of the year.

But I think the thing that what sticks with me the most was how earnest and hopeful the tone is. The stakes are apocalyptic, but Forbidden West still chooses to emphasize the strength in coming together as a community, in setting aside grievances to overcome overwhelming odds. It finds beauty in moments both small and big and reminds us how important it is to fight for that beauty, no matter how bleak things get. And maybe my brain is internet-poisoned and the past few years have been so bleak that any gesture at optimism is enough to tug my heartstrings, but the ending really got to me. Might've even shed a few tears.

The first Destroy All Humans holds a special place in my heart for being one of the first wanton murder simulators I successfully convinced my parents to buy. I have a fond memory of my mum rolling her eyes and saying "Sounds lovely" when she saw the title written on my birthday wishlist.

I revisited the PS4 port of the first game a couple years ago, and while I think it still has a unique personality and the sandbox mayhem is a blast, it's got some problems with repetition and occasionally unfair difficulty spikes. I'd bought the port of the second game on sale a long time ago and had plans to get around to it eventually, but when I saw Reprobed was leaving PS Plus in August I decided to go with the remake instead.

I never played the original version so I can't speak to the specific quality of life improvements, but it was definitely a smoother ride than the port of the first game. I don't care what the "git gud" crowd says, the addition of mid-level checkpoints makes everything better.

You've got a fun arsenal of guns and psychic powers, all of which can be upgraded until you're a godly Gray among men. There's a solid amount of variety in both the main missions and the side activities, which helps alleviate the repetition that plagued the first game.

It does go on too long, and the humour doesn't always land. It's not excruciating, and I chuckled here and there and the 4th wall breaks, but it's only got about 5 jokes - nowhere near enough to support a 8-9 hour game.

Oh, and this might just be me, but the fact that you're working alongside human allies for the majority of the story dilutes the mischievous spin that made the first game a unique cult classic.

I still had a good time with Reprobed. Its got a gleefully anarchic charm that'll sweep you off your feet if you surrender to it.

A great follow-up to a groundbreaking game that smooths out the rough edges of its predecessors while introducing some flaws of its own.

The narrative is a step up from GTA III's. This time around Rockstar gave their murderer's row of talented actors - especially the late, great Ray Liotta - much more to work with. It's still a shallow imitation of the films and shows it's cribbing notes from, but the confidence of the presentation and the exuberant performances are hard to dislike. Some of the writing here even made me laugh, at least when it leaned into absurdism over attempted satire.

The missions are more involved than they were in GTA III, usually involving more steps than the previous template of "drive, kill, flee". When things are going well, the missions feel expansive, dynamic, and satisfying to complete. Other times, Rockstar's ambitions come at the expense of fun, and a multi-stage shakedown turns into an exercise in frustration after Lance Vance gets blindsided by a cop car for the umpteenth time. Once again, the Definitive version's Retry Mission feature is the MVP.

I found the side activities more varied and engaging too. There's tons to do, and most of it isn't as frustrating as I remember it being back in the day. The latter half of the game where you're buying up properties and assets puts you in the driver's seat and works well at emulating the fantasy of building your very own criminal empire. It also gives protagonist Tommy Vercetti some real agency, which was a refreshing change after spending GTA III as a hired lapdog for the highest bidder.

I have other problems with Vice City, but having played most of the games that came after I'm able to see them as the seeds of good ideas that only bore fruit in sequels, so I don't want to harp on them too much. By the time the credits rolled, it felt like I'd just watched an aging rock band play a reunion concert several years after their heyday - sure, some of the songs didn't hold up as well, but hits are so good and the energy so infectious I just couldn't help but sing along anyway.

This was probably extremely impressive when it released on the PSP, but even setting this fact aside, Liberty City Stories is a decent if mostly unremarkable entry in the GTA series.

I jumped into this shortly after wrapping up the Definitive version of GTA III, and it felt good to return to the familiar streets of Liberty City. After a short adjustment to the new...or, uh, old controls, I was cruising up and down Portland and snaking around the labyrinthine alleys of Staunton Island like a pro.

The downside of coming to LCS from Definitive GTA III was the loss of those sweet quality of life improvements, like the Retry Mission option and tolerable gunplay. I know the PSP only had one analog slidey thingy, and the lock-on did the job ok, but there were some instances where I wanted to target a bloodthirsty Yakuza and ended up ventilating a hot dog vendor instead. That sort of mistake may be in-character for Toni Cipriani, but it doesn't make for fun moment-to-moment shooting.

Speaking of Toni, he's about as interesting here as he was in GTA III, which is to say not much. He hates everyone, and everyone and his mum hates him. He's discount Tony Soprano, just like Leone is discount Vito Corleone.

The plot here isn't any more compelling than GTA III's. There's certainly more of it, but that only makes the shallowness of the character writing more apparent. I won't spend too much time dissecting it, though. I know Dan Houser and co. are capable of substance and nuance, and it's clear the developer's main goal for LCS was cramming an open world onto a tiny UMD disc, so I get that the writing took more of a backseat here. I will say that even for a series that doesn't have the best track record when it comes to female characters, this game has a pretty flagrant misogynist streak that goes beyond the "it's ok, we hate everyone equally!" tone Rockstar usually takes. It almost felt like one of the writers was going through a bad breakup and decided to work through their most hateful thoughts by adding them to the script.

LCS's greatest strength is its mission variety. There's the usual assortment of races, chases, and assassinations, but there's always a fun spin. By the time the credits roll, you'll have gotten into all sorts of criminal mischief, including blackmail, extralegal meat packing, election fraud, and more! It can still get frustrating, especially without the ability to immediately retry a mission, but I was certainly never bored.

In the end, I'm glad I played LCS. It might not make the violent tapestry of GTA III any richer, but it does add some tasteful flourishes of colour in the form of grease stains and blood spatter.