JaconTeroch
1998
This review contains spoilers
An extremely impressive game for its time. The story, voice acting, and presentation were all fantastic in a period of gaming where those weren't focused on much. The tone of the game remains much more grounded than the sequels, with the meta commentary and jokes being utilized far less (Psycho Mantis being the biggest exception.) The controls can feel a little dated, especially if you aren't already familiar with the gameplay of the series. I've never been a big fan of the button mashing torture sequence, though it is far from the worst one in the series. Despite some flaws, its an extremely memorable game overall and a must play for any PS1 fan.
An all time classic. Has many of the same qualities that make the previous entries so great. Fantastic music, memorable characters, and a pretty emotional story. The humor is some of my favorite in the series. The third person camera is a great change and fits with the new setting. The camouflage and healing systems are unique, but a little tedious. If you don't want to mess with them that much, I recommend playing on the easiest difficulty. The Switch version has some issues with slowdown at times, but I've never noticed it on the PS3 version when I've played it before. I kind of wish that they would add in the ability to crouch walk like in the 3DS version; it's weird that it remains exclusive to that version.
This review contains spoilers
I think this game gets a bit too much hate. It's a very solid follow up to the previous two games, but it is lacking in some areas. The gameplay for the most part is an improvement, but I do prefer the gadget system from the first game. The larger map is nice, and still just as fun to swing through. I have mixed feelings about the web-wings. On one hand, they're extremely fun to use and let you traverse the city super fast, on the other hand it makes you feel a bit less like Spider-Man since you're practically flying. I thing combat has mostly improved. The story is a mixed bag. I really like Kraven, and Harry feels like a believable friend to Peter and MJ. But the black suit arc feels a little rushed. I do really like the mission where MJ is having to run from peter with the Symbiote though. I'm not a fan of some of the side missions like the Brooklyn Visions ones, but the ones like Howard and the Grandfather missions are great. The game is a little less polished than the first game was, but overall is still a great experience. I can understand being a bit disappointed, but I feel some of the criticism I've seen since launch have been nitpicky.
I played this for the first time on the PS3 about 10 years ago. I didn't fully appreciate it at the time, but still enjoyed it. I just had the same complaints that were common at the time, like the story is confusing or Raided is whiny. But replaying it now, I value it much more. Raiden is still a bit annoying at times, but not as bad as I remembered. Snake and Otacon's friendship is really wholesome. What was once confusing about the story is now my favorite part. It is so far ahead of its time, and super relevant to how things are today. The concepts of censorship, misinformation, and the dangers of ai are things that everyone is discussing now, and this game was talking about it in 2001. I still prefer the first and third games, but this one is much better than it used to be taken for. I do wish that the rereleases included all of the bonus content from Substance. It's a shame that I can no longer skateboard around Big Shell.
A definite improvement over the second game, though not without flaws. The story is much more interesting this time around, with multiple mysteries that follow through multiple cases, rather than each feeling stand alone. Some of the cases still feel like they drag on a bit, and there are still some leaps in logic to be made in some cases. Godot is a pretty decent antagonist, much better than Von Karma from the second game. The third case in these games are usually the weakest part, but this one at least has a better third case than the previous games. I'd say that I still like the first game slightly more, but this one is definitely a fine follow up.
2012
My opinion of this version is mostly the same as the original PS version. Still an iconic game with a great story and music. Everything that was great in the original is still here, although the same can be said for many of the dated elements. I'd say the Switch version is overall an improvement though, thanks to some translation fixes and the gameplay tweaks, such as speed up and no random encounters. I'd say that this is probably the best official way to play the original version of FF7.
1997
One of the most influential JRPG's of all time. Growing up, I only knew these characters through Kingdom Hearts, but I later wanted to go back and experience the game they came from. I was never the biggest fan of turn-based combat, but it grew on me. The Materia system was really fun to experiment with. Some of the minigames are a bit of a slog to get through. I love the overall world, though Midgar and Junon are definitely the most memorable locations in my opinion. The soundtrack is consistently great. The story still holds up well, though it has unfortunately been spoiled for many just due to pop culture. An overall classic, but weighed down by some dated mechanics and some primitive, albeit charming graphics.
A decent track expansion with classic AC/DC songs. Really has no reason to be a standalone release instead of DLC. I bought it solely to add to my library for later Rock Band games. I love AC/DC, but I'm not the biggest fan of these live recordings for the most part. It's cool to have the songs in the library, but I would've preferred to just download the studio versions.
1985
A classic game that is still pretty fun to revisit every now and then. It is a bit dated, but the simplicity of it makes it easy to jump into even today, at least for a few levels. It gets pretty difficult in the later levels, and I have never beaten it all the way through.
1999
A fun arcade driving game with a great soundtrack. Gameplay can be fairly repetitive with there only being two maps, but it was designed for short bursts. I've played a bit on mobile and a bit on Xbox 360, and I feel either way is a solid enough experience.
2018
A very solid racing sim. I tend to prefer kart racers and arcade racers over the sim-style, but this game offers plenty of options to make it feel more arcade like. The livery customization is great with tons of user submitted content to choose from. The Showcase missions are some of the most fun, in my opinion. It's really cool getting to drive a Warthog on the Halo ring for one of them. My biggest issues are the way it tries to shove DLC in the player's face and the load times on Xbox One being lengthy.
This game was my introduction to most of the Rock genre as a kid. The track list is filled with some of the greatest classics, and the characters are all really great representations of different subgenres of Rock. May not be a perfect gameplay experience, but it is still a very fun rhythm game to come back to.
Not as consistent as the first game. Has some way more cryptic puzzles, and a few of them that require a lot of guesswork and assumptions in order to progress. Not everything is solvable in a natural way, and some cases develop purely by evidence that the player has no access to. I will say the last case is very suspenseful throughout and justifies its longer playtime much more than the other cases. I would recommend using a guide to avoid some headaches.
2011
One of the most fun puzzle games I've ever played. The story has some great writing, and it does a great job at supplying a sense of mystery and humor throughout. I first played this on the Xbox 360, and would occasionally get motion sick (I think it was due to framerate dropping). The Switch version seems to run more stable and the new gyro control option helps add more precision to the aiming. I definitely recommend.
It's a fun and charming visual novel with memorable characters. I've never really played many visual novels, but this game reminds me of point and click adventure games on PC. I was always intrigued by this series just from being exposed to memes throughout the years, but it's very enjoyable in its own right. I would say my favorite chapter is the final chapter that was added in the later editions of the game. I know chapter 4 is generally the fan favorite, but I was much more intrigued by the mystery for the chapter 5. Also Phoenix was kind of a jerk to Maya throughout chapter 4, it felt weird.