This was a good game. Probably one of the best "bad games" I've ever played.
My expectations were very low, but this game pleasantly surprised me. Killzone is the Netherlands' greatest cultural export since the Dutch Reformed church, Dutch apple pie, and them being confused with Germans (as in the case with Dutch apple pie). However, that mostly applies to Killzone 2, 3, and maybe the PSP and Vita games. Killzone 1 is the red-headed stepchild of the series, because it's more like a very rough draft of the series. The clunky and slow gameplay that fans had come to know and love is still there, but it hadn't yet been refined.
First thing's first, this game is nothing like Halo. If you go into it expecting it to play like Halo, you're going to get absolutely pulverized. The name of the game is to take it slow and steady. Weapons take forever to reload, and switching weapons violates Gaz's golden rule (remember: switching to your pistol is always faster than reloading) because switching them triggers a gun-cocking animation that takes a fairly long time to get through unless you cancel it out by pressing L3. The enemies are also incredibly spongy, but their AI is completely brain-dead so you won't have too bad of a time if you learn their movement patterns and slowly plow through the levels.
The thing that Killzone 1 does differently from its successors is the character select system. Throughout the game, you unlock four different playable characters. There's Templar, who is the basic soldier; Rico, who is the heavy gunner and acts like Wakka from Final Fantasy X if he were pasted into a military shooter; Hakha, who is similar to Templar but has a knife, a different loadout, and can pass through Helghast mines and explore certain areas; and Luger, who is a woman. Like all women, she is sneaky and has infrared vision. Each of these characters has their strengths and weaknesses, but I would recommend sticking with Rico if you don't want to pull your hair out. He has the best starting weapon in the game, a chain gun that melts entire hordes of enemies and doesn't need to be reloaded (it only has an overheating system but is easy to control with short bursts), and he can take a beating. A sneaky grenade can completely annihilate Luger in one shot, but Rico can take grenades like they're nerf darts. His only drawback is that he's slower, but this is not a run and gun shooter so it's not that big of a deal.
The weapons feel... off. The bullet spread is off the charts, leading to the assault rifles not really being as viable in mid-long range encounters. The sniper rifle is the only really reliable long-range weapon, but that one is much less mobile and much rarer. This game would have felt better with either less bullet spread so you could more reliably get headshots and be rewarded for accuracy, or a mid-long range semi-automatic rifle that's more accurate than the fully automatic rifles. The shotgun also kind of sucks, and is borderline useless in the late game against tankier enemies.
This game also has a degenerate checkpoint system, like most sixth gen games. For some reason, the last few levels hand out checkpoints like candy, but other than that, the rest of the game will force you to restart 10-15 minute sections if you die.
Overall, I think this entry in the series is overly hated. I'd give it a shot, but don't expect something on par with the second or third game. I played the HD version on the ps3, which is the best option if you have a ps3 or the power to emulate it.

A fun short arcade style romp with a ton of replay value. It's very forgiving and plays almost like a cross between Max Payne and God Hand. The aesthetics are peak mid ps2 era vibes. I wouldn't be surprised if someone made a handful of breakcore songs based off the soundtrack either.
I was surprised at how well they pulled off stylish third person shooting without copying Max Payne. The only complaint I have is the one healing boss and the absolutely atrocious camera angles, but ps2 games are required by law to have terrible camera angles.

Platinumed it after ~110 hours, and it was really good even if it got really grindy and almost required buying at least a little DLC to reach level 70 as Ichiban.
The thing I appreciated the most is that it felt like a celebration of the games before it, and Kiryu in particular. This game started us on the path of closure and signified in one step towards Kiryu finally being allowed to be happy, without going into spoiler territory. I also appreciated how they treated the villains' endings, not falling into the same pitfalls as the rest of the series.
The gameplay was far improved from Yakuza 7, with the combat being almost reminiscent of Chrono Trigger. My only complaint was that the animations still take way too long to finish, which ends up wearing thin after so many hours of playing the game. The gear system also leaves much to be desired. Overall, a great game.

This isn't as funny and absurd as Postal 2, but I will still give it credit for not being cringe millennial burnout humor like Postal 4 or... whatever Postal 3 was. It still has its own gruesome sense of charm, but as we all know, Postal isn't exactly known for its solid core gameplay loop. I don't even think it's worth mentioning in depth because you're probably going to be playing this for "haha school shooting game", but just know there will be a fair amount of jank that can be frustrating to deal with, even for the standards of its time.

In a stunning coup de grace, all-American developer Berkan Deneziaran opens up a riveting cinematic thread in the Half-Life universe by positing the question: who or what would Gordon and Alyx run into when Half-Life 3 inevitably comes out and they go to the Borealis? This game is filled with challenging gameplay reminiscent of the Dark Souls series (one could even call this the "Dark Souls of Half-Life". The main character Mitcher has the exaggerated swagger of a HECU soldier. The reveal of the antagonist Adam is a plot twist on par with the likes of Shutter Island and the Sixth Sense, where it turned out Bruce Willis had hair the entire time. The villain's death was made memorable as he uttered his iconic catch-phrase, "Mitch, Please!"
Talented and morally upstanding voice actors Sky Williams and Pyrocynical join the star-studded cast alongside President Keemstar.
The level design explores a bold new frontier in terms of gameplay, and immerses the player in the world of the visually impaired by refusing to put proper lighting in most areas, rendering the player unable to see.
I look forward to the GoldSrc port of this masterpiece.

What can I say? This is one of the greatest games ever made, to this day. It does something that most modern metroidvanias don't even do: gives you a sense of progression and makes you feel like you dominate the castle. The graphics are still some of the most beautiful that gaming has to offer, since it came out at the end of the 2D era of gaming. The aesthetic and soundtrack are extremely memorable, to the point where I think the 1700s drip is an integral part of my personality from having played this game at such a young age. The gameplay is stellar, though since it's made in 1997 not as smooth as something like Hollow Knight. This game does, however have some flaws: the leveling system introduces an issue where you're more or less underleveled for the upside down castle if you've played normally, and requires some grinding to beat enemies fairly if you don't want to use exploits, but other than that this is a great game. 10/10, go play it immediately.

This game was made in 1986. I would like to say "oh it's a product of its time," and that would be true, but it's 2024. There's a balancing act that needs to be performed between acknowledging a game's age and influence, and writing something in light of developments of gaming that occurred between 1986 and 2024. I wasn't even alive in 1986. In fact, by the time I was born, Ocarina of Time would be released seven months later. So this rating is based off 2024 standards, and not 1986.
How does it hold up to 2024 standards? Honestly, compared to other more open and long-form games of the time, pretty decently. But compared to today, not too well. Here are some nice things: the gameplay is very addictive, with the simple hack and slash combat. The story is... serviceable. The feeling of progress is almost unparalleled for a non-turn based game in 1986 and wouldn't be outdone until Ys released in 1987. The dungeons are fairly interesting, even if a few of them resort to cheap tactics to keep you throwing yourself against them over and over again. The soundtrack is very memorable, and the graphics look pretty good for an NES game.
The biggest issues I have with this game are two-fold: the lack of direction, and the overly punishing design. Not having your hand held is fine to an extent, but you can't reasonably expect yourself to complete this game in a short period of time without a guide or some other form of outside help. This was the kind of game made for children who got one or two games a year and wanted to discuss the crazy things they found on the playground at school the next day. This is not for an adult who already has a million other games to play and not a lot of gaming time to fully immerse himself in a game that's pushing 40. Still, there's something to be said about how satisfying it is to explore the world and build up your power level (only to be demolished by Wizzrobes in level 6).
The difficulty is the same way. Some progress in a dungeon is saved when you die, but in general, you're going back. This wasn't a problem in 1986, when you had all the time in the world to keep throwing yourself at the wall in hopes of making a dent in it. This is a problem in 2024, in an era where we have save states. Let me tell you, it's not satisfying to beat something that's overly frustrating, and it's not satisfying to beat something using a guide and save states because it's overly punishing and cryptic.
Overall, give it a shot but don't feel too bad if you don't feel like sticking through it.

I mean, it's Bioshock. Saying Bioshock is good is like saying water is wet. It's a streamlined ImmSim experience brought to the modern age, with an immersive world, an intriguing story, extremely good voice acting and dialog, and high replay value. This game has aged like a fine wine due to its presentation and art style as well. It's action-packed without being overly flashy. The narrative is dramatic without being ham-fisted. The gameplay is fun and heavily rpg-esque without being too janky.
That being said, here are the flaws because I love to complain. The last few hours of the game are a serious miss. The escort mission with the little sister and the hilariously high difficulty spike kind of sour the experience, and the final boss is very lackluster.
Overall though, no game is perfect but this one is still a masterpiece. Best in the series, even. Go play it now.

Good lord, what a game. There's really nothing quite like the Metal Gear Solid series. The way the gameplay and story meld together in such a way is just special, and had never been replicated in quite the same way (aside from MGS 2 and 3 of course). This game has an amazing story, good atmosphere, and gameplay that is decent most of the time but aged like milk (specifically a few of the bosses and some combat encounters). Psycho Mantis, Sniper Wolf, Vulcan Raven, and Rex are some iconic boss fights that still holds up as thrilling engagements. Liquid's three phases and "Deepthroat" (hehe) were downright frustrating though. Especially that awful turret section at the end... protip: use first person view for that turret section.
There were some memorable sections as well, like the torture section that actually tortured you, the player. This was brilliant, if not physically painful. There are also sections like the comms tower chase, which was a memorable moment for the wrong reasons because they bring out the game's jank in full force.
As an arcade stealth game, it's serviceable, but there isn't as much stealth gameplay as I remember there being. It's mostly an action game against a myriad of bosses and crazy encounters, interspersed with the occasional lackluster stealth section and tedious backtracking. It's especially poorly paced in disc 2, when it's just balls to the wall action until the game is over. Overall, a great game, but I prefer the sequels.