esident evil 4 is a truly special game. The game blends action with survival so well that it effortlessly shifts you from feeling a badass to being vary of every bullet used. At first not being able to move and shoot felt archaic but if you can get over it the feeling of tension created when deciding to move or shoot adds to the atmosphere. While the game mainly consists of exploring solving basic puzzles and dealing with the many creatures that get in your way, the game avoids tedium by giving you many different scenarios, set pieces and boss fights keeps the game feeling fresh throughout its entirety. The mystery and intrique is a mainstay of the resident evil series and resident evil 4 continues this trend by giving you many questions to answer near the beginning and by the end all of these questions will be answered in a satisfying way. The campaign is far longer than the other RE games I've played, but it never gets stale through the variety mentioned above as well as the traditional resie experience. The campaign consists of five chapters that are broken into stage sections. The game takes the RE3 approach of having multiple areas instead of one big area like RE1 and RE2 but unlike in RE3 you spend such a long time in each area that they all create their own identity and are at least half as big as previous games main areas. This allows the game to give you variety in setting but also supply enough depth in each area to make them memorable. The story and characters are also a highlight as wise cracking Leon bounces off every other character brilliantly with smartass quips and other characters enrich the world and returning characters make us wonder what is really going down here. At times you have to escort the president's daughter which sounds like it would be an horrible escort mission. But it's actually not. you have enough control over her to keep her out of trouble and her inclusion allows for unique set pieces to occur making her inclusion a beneficial one. The game also has side content including a side campaign that shows one recurring characters perspective throughout the game as well as a arcade like mode where the objective is to get as many points as possible by killing enemies. This game definitely leans into the action genre but does not forget it's roots and brings them along for the ride creating for me one of the best RE experiences so far (tied with RE2 remake) and one of the greatest games of all time.

Castle crashers is purely old school beat em up fun wrapped up in the old newgrounds style of early to late 2000's. As someone who grew up in this period and was obsessed with this game as a kid, playing this game again with a friend was hard to let it pass me by. While the game isn't quite as good as I remembered it to be it still provided me hours of fun in multiplayer (which is a must for me to recommend this game) looking at the artstyle of a bygone era and occasionally smiling at the games surprisingly crass humour. The game plays as you expect you a light and heavy attack, the ability to block and jump allowing more combos to be created. Castle crashers magic system as what sets it apart. each character has their own magic style such as poison or electricity. This creates different opportunities in combat depending on who you play. Some of the unlockable characters have even more varied magic such as bombs and metal blades. The game has a huge of variety of weapons to unlock as well as animal orbs which are creatures that can give you unique perks such as double exp and finding hidden items for you. The game is short clocking in about 5 hrs per playthrough but finishing the game with each character unlocks another character of the whooping 31 character roster. The game has plenty of replay value for those who want it and if you can get a group of friends together and are craving some beat em up action there is not many better than castle crashers.

Resident evil 5 is an interesting case where I feel the game doesn't fully know what it wants to be. The first third is straight up a more corridor centric RE4 that is decent at best. The middle is more open and really is the highlight of the game for me. The final third is a roller coaster of quality with some brilliant section but it also tries to jump in on the trend set by gears of war 3 years prior and it is a miserable attempt due to the stiffness of the controls which really becomes apparent in these sections. The story of the game is far more connected to the RE universe than 4 and is compelling but none of the characters are standouts like Leon was in RE4. The game has a good variety of environments so the visuals at the very least don't go stale. Pretty much every enemy is similar to RE4's and they function well minus in the cover shooting sections. The boss fights are very hit or miss. 3 of them are great but the rest are absolutely awful. This is an action game not a survival horror one. There's only one section in the game that felt remotely like a survival horror and it was my favourite section in the game. It's not that I hate action I actually prefer action games to survival horror however while this control scheme is perfect for RE4 it is not a fit for a gears of war like game that this game wants to be come the end. It's the indecision in whether to be one or the other but in the end it is neither and the lack of a concrete vision is seen in it's quality. What makes or breaks this game is whether u play in coop or not. If you do it's a good solid game if u don't it is mediocre at best as the ai is terrible. The ai in particular is awful at taking cover in those shooting sections leading to much unwanted frustration. Mercenaries returns and is better than in RE4 in my opinion and it comes with the two dlc packs that are two of the best levels in the game. If your playing with a friend there are better but it's a good time but if your playing alone be ready for some plenty of frustration, worth playing for diehard RE fans but that's about it

Skyrim is a game that is far better than the sum of its parts. On paper skyrim shouldn't be as amazing as it is but here we are. The game has some issues such as glitches samey dungeon design and stilted combat but Skyrim nails the most important thing for an open world game, the world. Skyrim is a vast land full of people to see, things to do and the best lore I have ever seen in a video game. No other game has engrossed me so much in it's lore that I read hundreds of books learning about skyrim and its history. Fantasy elements run wild in skyrim allowing for encounter with demon deities that have build up present in books you can find as well as the many dragons that can swoop down at any time. There are other such events like finishing one quest you find out about a researcher that stole the work of another who has since died. I ran into him on the road with the results of her research and he tried to kill me to silence me, which caught me extremely of guard has i had never really had a scene like that before in a game . Skyrim the place is a character in itself and it was executed to near perfection. The game has a huge volume of quests but it is startling how good they are. The main questlines for each faction in particular are highlights as they introduce you to groups of new characters, facets of the world it takes place in as well as giving you the most varied quests. When your walking through towns people talk about big events that have happened such as the murder of an important person. These little lines add so much to the world of skyrim that they can't be understated. Combat is something you spend a lot of time doing in Skyrim and while I was initially unimpressed by it when I started mixing and matching using all the tools in my arsenal I came to found the combat highly enjoyable, as while each individual method of fighting has little depth using all of them is incredibly versatile. The dungeons are filled with puzzles enemies and most have some kind of quest that anchors them in the world. While they aren't amazing by any means they are enjoyable videogame junk food. There are events that happen in the world that aren't due to the actions of the player that makes skyrim feel alive. Skyrim is full of choices big and small like taking a side in the civil war which the game never lets you forget about as every character has a say. Skyrim's leveling up system is tied to how much you do a specific action which fits perfectly for such a roll driven experience as it allows you to make your the character the way you want them to be. Being able to make your a character into a thief, warrior mage or even a smith creates so many avenues for a player to go down and gives the game replayability. Skyrim in short is a flawed masterpiece that excels in so much that the warts present are almost forgotten and even though my character's journey has come to a fitting conclusion with a wife and adopted children I still find myself itching to hop back in and see what else this world has to offer

DKC is a classic no doubt about it. The graphics were revolutionary and while they are very pixely they are still nice to look at. David Wise knocked it out of the park with the sound track which is probably my favourite aspect of the game, as every track fits the level theme to a T and is a great bop in it's own right. The level design is also superb using the environment as platforms giving the game a grounded feel. There are secrets galore that are helpful for extra lives and such but not overly satisfying. Animal buddies and mine carts provide needed variety to the gameplay. The game has many level themes including jungles, factories, blizzards e.t.c but there is a bit over reliance on cave levels. The one issue I have is that the roll move is slightly stiff but thats only noticeable due to playing DKCTF. The bosses aren't great besides the really good final boss. DKC does show its age in places but it's a game worth playing for platformer fans wanting a challenge

Playing code Veronica gave me a new appreciation for the classic RE formula and makes me want to give Remake another go. The story follows Claire and Chris and their clashes with the Ashford family. The story gives of typical RE vibes with mystery around the Ashford family and it's experiments. The voice acting is laughably bad most of time particularly with Steve a character that gets a bad rep but he's totally harmless. Alfred is an extremely crazy villain that had me laughing a few times with his antics. The gameplay is pure tank controls that I struggled with at the start but once you adjust I found the game was designed well with the limitations in mind. The 2 areas you explore are rich in depth, atmosphere and I appreciate how they evolve over the course of the game, making treckking through them again less egregious. The boss fights are laughable even compared to other RE games with one boss in particular in midpoint being my highlight. Managing equipment through 2 characters is important but since you don't know when you will switch it can lead to being stuck with no weapons as they are on the other character which I feel is an oversight. Overall I enjoyed my time with the game and am now in the camp that believe this should be the next game to get the remake treatment. Recommended for any fan of classic resident evil and fans of survival horror in general.

Portal is a simple game, deceptively simple at times build around a genius set of mechanics to create physic based puzzles that are satisfying to solve as the game gives you everything you need and eases you in at the begining. Placing one portal with a left click and the exit portal with a right click is a simple concept but the way it is utilised here keeps you on your toes throughout the campaign and had me anticipating every challenge. The game's writing is it's second biggest strength glados has become legendary for good reason as the wit present always put a smile on my face. The portals are the games bread and butter and it never deviates from them. There are no gimmicks present for better or worse which leads to it's consistent but short run time. The game took about four hours on my first run but after finishing it I just wanted more. Unfortunately the games advanced labs are just harder versions of the same puzzles present in the campaign and while the challenges on each room may appeal to some it didn't appeal to me. That being said those fours hours were a joy as the gratification gained from playing portals in the right place and clearing the puzzles is incredibly satisfying. Portal is undoubtedly a great game that anyone with even remote interest in physic based puzzles should play. It's a brilliant foundation but there's room to build and it seems like valve thought the same thing

Sonic advance is a classic sonic game with a modern coat of paint and is the most consistent of the advance trilogy. Sonic, Tails and Knuckles are all back and control just as good as they do in sonic 3. Amy also makes her 2d platformer playable debut and her unique style of having to attack enemies with her hammer instead of jumping into them and gaining abilities to jump higher with her hammer give her both strengths and shortcomings compared to the others and is a worthy addition. The game looks great for a gba game with the character sprites standing out due their expressiveness capturing the adventure era attitude of sonic and co perfectly. The music is also top notch with every zone having a banging ost. The level design in each zone is also great in my opinion with secret base and angel island being two of my personal favorite. The last zone in the game unfortunately suffers from what Dimps would become known for with bad enemy placement, spike placement and an abundant amount of pits. The boss fights are about as good as the classic games in terms of quality some really good and some only ok bosses make up the lineup. Special stages require you to find special springs and there is only 7 in the game, leaving little options in routes if you want the true final boss. The special stages are also poor in my opinion as they are like a more 3d space version of the halfpipe from sonic 2 and I found depth perception to be a massive issue. In conclusion while the special stages aren't a favorite of mine and the last zone can be unfair in places the great music, great visuals, fantastic level design more than makes this game worth a playthrough for anyone who likes 2d sonic and can proudly stand next to the classics with it being better than sonic 1 and cd in my opinion. It's the 6th or 7th best game in the series without a shadow of a doubt

If sonic advance is a classic game with a modern coat of paint sonic advance 2 is a 2d version of the sonic and shadow stages in sa2. Speed has been massively emphasised in this game while keeping a good amount of platforming in the game. It is an incredibly exhilarating game when you get it down but the first time through zone 5 onward can be a bit of prick due to bottomless pits especially compared to the first game. The addition of trick jumps with the r button do a great job in adding to the thrill by allowing you to keep momentum upwards or gain momentum to the sides of springs. The main trio are back along with new character Cream who can fly but not as much as tails and can sent her pet chao to kill enemies with the attack button. She is a great addition to the cast and is broken in boss fights, which are now all auto runners and half of which are great and half are bad to terrible in my opinion. The levels look great with better themes than in advance one including winter city at night a volcano, a techno theme as well as the great music park which is my favorite level in the advance series. The ost is also great but not as good as the og in my opinion. This game has the worst method of collecting the chaos emeralds in the series however and having to do it with all 4 characters to unlock Amy is joke. Sonic advance 2 is a game that gets more and more fun the more times you play but suffers from occasional dips in quality especially in the boss fights and emerald collecting but is worth playing for fans of 2d sonic.

Sonic advance 3 is a game with a cool gimmick of tag teaming giving each character set unique abilities , great level theming, great music and bosses but the level design massively lets the game down for me as the problems with the level design in the first 2 games of having lots of cheap deaths is greatly magnified in this game and I didn't enjoy a lot of the game because of it. The tag mechanic is amazing however and some of the combinations are great and really make the gameplay feel unique compared to previous games. My favorite cominations where knuckles and tails and cream and knuckles but many other combos were fun as well such as tails gliding instead of flying when partnered with knuckles. The game also has hubworlds for each zone where you have to find the levels to access them. I love hubs in 3d games but I find these hubs pointless as they don't add character to the game and are tedius to explore. The chaos emerald system is better than 2 but still not great in my opinion. having to collect 10 chao in a zone is quite a lot but the fact that they save make them automatically better than the advance 2 system. Advance 3 adds to the dimps cheapness of pits and enemies with an abundance of crushing blocks that come back from off screen to kill you and I feel they have a wider killbox than they appear they should making this a game that often punishes you for trying to go fast and makes it frustrating to play for me. In conclusion the tag team mechanic is a perfect for creating great replayability but it's unfortunate that the level design actively makes me not to replay this particular entry, would love to see this mechanic to return in a game with better levels.

Metroid Zero Mission is a perfect remake. It takes the base of the original metroid and takes everything learned from super and fusion to create the definitive version of samus's first adventure. The games controls are ripped straight out of fusion making it the most fluid metroid game in the series at the time while also keeping the focal point of the original game of taking down ridley and kraid to fight mother brain. But the developers didn't just stop at improving the controls the environments are massively improved as they are made far more distinct than in the original with new power up's to find all over the place. The game also adds some of samus abilities from later games into this one making it feel just as much a sequel as it is a remake. There are new areas to explore in the game to adding even more exciting content to this already great package. The boss count has been increased to with some bosses coming out of nowhere adding to the tense atmosphere that metroid games have always created. The soundtrack is remastered beautifully with kraid's lair being a particular banger and new areas have songs that fit right in with the tunes from the original game. The game has a new epilogue that puts you in a unique scenario that acts as the cherry on top of this stellar cake. Zero Mission makes the original metroid redundant besides as a history lesson as it improves on everything the archaic original accomplished and piles more in. Exploring metroid 1 Zebes has never felt this good truly a masterful remake.

Samus Returns very much accomplishes just as masterful a remake of metroid 2 as Zero Mission did of metroid 1 unfortunately the foundation it is build on isn't quite as stable. Firstly the game looks great as while I would have preferred sprite work the 3d models do an excellent job at creating the trademark atmosphere and allow for cool camera tricks unseen in previous games. The music as always is killer creating fitting ambiance and being tunes to bop your head to in equal measure. The gameplay is great once again with samus feeling as good as ever and the new melee counter and free aim are great additions that add to the level design possibilities. SR38 is beautifully brought to life with vibrant environments not possible due to the limitations of the gb. However one limitation that can't be overcome is the games core structure of killing metroids to progress. In the beginning this isn't so bad but the repetitive fights eventually wear out their welcome and become a pain to complete especially due to the bloating added in an attempt to make each fight more epic. The game in general feels a bit bloated compared to its contemporaries and comes close to being overly long-winded. The unfortunate reality is that it was inevitable for it to turn out this way as removing the metroid system which was created due to gb limitations is impossible as it is the games defining characteristic. Don't get me wrong samus returns is a great game and brilliant remake but unlike the original metroid it is impossible to get rid of all the archaic elements without destroying the games identity

Super metroid is impeccable at everything it sets out to do. One of it's crowning achievements is how it uses every element of the game to create it's foreboding atmosphere and even more impressive is how each element feeds of this atmosphere to improve each individual element. The games intro hooks players with an epic action sequences and creating questions in the mind of the players. The game continues in this vain using the environments you explore to tell you the story of this space pirate infested planet. The music adds to this effect as while not as catchy as older metroid games it perfectly captures the vibe the game is going for and I would have it no other way. When going on the intended path super metroid is constantly rewarding you with new abilities, more health and ammo upgrades, story and lore information all through gameplay. The boss fights also add greatly to the game as while most of them aren't to hard they appear imposing to the player as many tower over samus and break up the gameplay loop just enough to keep the player constantly engaged. Each area in the game gives of it's own vibe and is a joy to explore each nook and cranny for upgrades. While maridia isn't my favorite area to explore I still found enjoyment clearing out the map just based on how clever the game makes you feel finding its more obscure secrets. The game is rewarding just critical pathing it and when going for all the upgrades but there is actually a third way to play super metroid and that is to sequence break. the game was carefully created for the critical pathway but the developers put so much work in to ensure that the player could do things out of order if they so choose to do so. This attention to detail is present in every facet of the game and it's down to this endeavour taken by the devs to create not just a masterpiece but one of games all time greats a must play for all gamers especially fans of the genre.

Metroid Fusion is a game that isn't afraid to mess with the metroid formula.The game takes more of a linear approach to game design which could upset hardcore fans but I think this approach works very well for this game and exploration still factors in to the main path at times and exploring for powerups is back in full force. The story told is simple but keeps you engaged with a few questions throughout. The games linear design creates a unique atmosphere for a metroid game one of fear due samus's weakened state and the powerful sa-x that lurks around the research centre that the game takes place in. The loss of power suit makes every encounter a threat making this the hardest metroid game I have played yet. The fact that the game takes place on a man made ship is always apparent due to its logical construction compared to Zebes. The different breathing environments give great variety in local to explore and x parasites allow a lot of familiar foes to appear throughout the campaign. While I enjoy the linear design the fact that doors lock throughout the game stopping you exploring is my one real dislike with this entry. After the huge gap from super the devs could have played it safe and just made another super metroid like game but they decided to be bold and commit to their vision of a linear story with horror elements and it payed off in spades being a great game that's almost amazing which I could see it to be after further playthroughs bring on metroid dread

Chrono Trigger is best described as a videogame epic. People say this was made by a dream team and I find it hard not to believe based on the end result. The game looks incredible for snes with vibrant sprites and locals for each time period. The soundtrack is god tier with each track being incredible and each time I hear them I just want to play it all over again (I have it on spotify). The combat is also great with being able to combine techs with 2 or 3 party members to do massive damage is always satisfying and the boss fights are a genuine challenge unless you come in prepared . While everything else is amazing the characters really steal the show for me and this game gives me a cast of party members only matched by the mass effect trilogy. Each party member has a past that depending on how you play you may never see it. Some moments had me at the edge of my seat and some caught me by surprise and some made me close to shedding a tear, the story like every other aspect has everything. Chrono Trigger is possibly the greatest time traveling story ever told and considering it's relatively short length for a jrpg(35 hours) I have no doubt I will be playing new game plus in the near future. Chrono Triggers is pure gaming bliss