Aside from the massive graphical improvement, it's the same as the original PSP game that came out in 2007. That's not a bad thing though, revisiting the events leading into Final Fantasy VII is always a blast. While there have been minor improvements to combat, it feels largely the same as before. It's not quite at the same level as FFVII Remake, but still good in its own right. The random slots of the DMW giving random buffs, limit breaks and summons are a nice boost, even though they aren't largely required to get through the main content. The hype for FFVII Rebirth is higher than ever now the events of Crisis Core have been refreshed in my mind.

This proves that some games are not greater than the sum of their parts. The combat is probably the strongest part, feeling almost like a game of Chess. The controversial card system plays a part in this by making you think about having the most efficient turn with the tools at your disposal. While half of the game is combat, the other half is a Persona-like social sim, with your custom character making friends with the other Marvel heroes making up the team. The main issue is that the game is far too long, each story mission is unnecessarily bloated due to the fact you have to do a random mission between each one. This doesn't factor in all the exploration and light puzzles scattered around the area surrounding your base of operations. Personally, a much more focused game would have made it perfect.

Probably the best Pokémon game ever. While the old ones do hold a lot of power in the way of nostalgia, I struggle to see in what ways they are better than this latest iteration. However the Cufant in the room has to be addressed, the game's code is so poorly optimised that the framerate drops significantly when someone isn't directly next to you. Personally, it doesn't detract from the innate joy of Pokémon with some of the best new designs in history. Having three separate campaigns that you can tackle in any order at any time is a breath of fresh air and what follows after goes place I never thought they'd be willing to go. It's the first game in the franchise that has made me feel things. I eagerly await the next entry in the series to see how GameFreak improves on their formula.

This surpasses the 2018 game in every conceivable way, resulting in a masterpiece. That being said, it would have been nice if you could either toggle the hints your companions give you for puzzles or at least give a prompt that one was available. So many times I was given the hint or even solution to a puzzle while exploring the surrounding area for collectables. I would also say that the game was slightly too long, something similar to the previous game would have been nice. This doesn't detract from the fact this was stellar, something that I'll look back fondly on while hoping for another game like this in the future.

Felt like a true sequel to the original film, more so than the actual sequel. Voiced by the original cast, you join the Ghostbusters as a no-name Rookie to combat ghosts, gain some closure and dive deeper into the lore of Gozer. It's full of fan service, and as a fan, I loved every second of it. The audio wasn't great though, sounding like a lower quality than the game deserved but you do sort of get used to it after a while. The AI of the actual squad is quite bad though, there were a few fights I spent more time reviving than combating ghosts. I was pleasantly surprised at how spooky it was and wish there were more games like this.

While it's graphically miles better than the first Tales from the Borderlands, the story itself leaves much to be desired. The writing is shocking, even when you consider that it's set in the Borderlands universe. One of the main character's voice acting is a bit wobbly, with their accent wavering in and out. The Vaultlanders mini-game was the most fun I had playing this, I just wished there was more of it. As with some of the past games, while it's giving you choices throughout the game, you do start feeling that the dialogue choice isn't deciding what happens but more how it happens.

This improves on the first game in every conceivable way. The writing, characters, story, everything is better, leaving a much bigger impression than before. One handy addition is that your companions, outside of your little brother, each have a unique ability to help you navigate through the various puzzles and enemies. The puzzles and areas themselves have been improved upon, requiring more trial and error to figure out how to get through and survive. Although, I did have to resort to using the Photo Mode as a way to scout the area to figure out where I actually needed to aim towards in the first place.

Well, this was a weird experience. At its core, there are three elements to the game. First is the third-person shooter element where you use the powers of time to zip around the area, freezing enemies as you stack bullets into a satisfying collective shot. Second is the episodic nature with a single dilemma at the end of each, with a little preview of the consequences of each choice before making it. The third is the live-action TV show, where the content is based on how you chose to get through the previous dilemma while making a few minor tweaks if you got all the collectables in that section. While the live-action part is quite cool, seeing the character being played by their actual actors, they go on for far too long. So much so that there were times I had to remind myself that I was playing a game.

The art style is truly captivating, taking inspiration from Tim Burton to give a dark feel that looks hand-crafted. This is countered by the narrator's comedic flourishes sprinkled across the story. I enjoyed the premise of the world, where everything is decided by "random" chance, even where people live. The action-based combat is fun, with fluid action that's broken up by throwing Dicey, your dice companion. In doing so, time is stopped and you select random cards from your deck to help you in battle. My only gripe is that while there is an in-game map, it doesn't tell you your exact location, just the general area you're in. I was truly lost in the world of Random, and I loved it.

After my disappointment with the first game, I was hoping for the sequel to offer some redemption for the series. While it improves on the formula somewhat, it's largely the same experience. You still find yourself using stealth most of the time, but at least there's some good environment manipulation while doing the main story. The "open-world" aspect is fine but mostly just an extra chore to get around. One improvement I did like is having separate resources to upgrade the main character's abilities and weapons.

You can feel that Square was trying out different things to find a formula that works for them. They've returned to a traditional levelling system but adopted a Job system. As you gradually unlock new Jobs, you can swap them out on the fly outside of combat. This can lead to some creative team compositions, but the game isn't equipped to allow you to roll with your favourites. Some dungeons and bosses require very specific jobs to make them possible without over-levelling, removing the freedom it's supposed to be giving you. Even then, you may find that you'll need to grind character and job levels to pass certain roadblocks. The characters have also taken a backstep, reverting to faceless heroes with no individuality or personality. Rather than using MP, the spells use a spell slot mechanic similar to Dungeons & Dragons where spells like Cure or Fire will use a limited but growing pool of Level 1 slots. However, unlike D&D, you can't use higher slots to cast lower spells. So you couldn't use a Level 2 slot to cast Cure because it's a Level 1 spell. Overall, it has some great ideas but poorly executes them, feeling like a backstep when compared to its predecessor.

It's a real shot of nostalgia when games were much simpler. The biggest shift between I & II is that rather than levelling up traditionally, the game adopts the Bethesda style. As such, the progression is where you get better at doing something the more you do it. For example, you'll do better with Swords the more you attack with a Sword, and your max HP goes up the more you are damaged. There are times when it's not super clear where you have to go and you'll be treading over old ground multiple times. It was because of this that I ended up always over-levelled for the bosses, so never struggled in a fight.

While it borrows themes from the Persona and mainline SMT games, it never manages to get close to those heights. When the most interesting thing is the protagonist's jacket, you know you've got problems. One saving grace is that this protagonist speaks, and the party is old enough to drink a beer. While the main story is pretty good, you'll be forced to grind to stand a chance at progressing. The grind itself isn't fun, even with the 3 sets of side objectives to help. All in all, it will scratch that turn-based RPG itch if you've played through all the good ones.