So much that is still fun, so much that aged poorly - yet nothing about this game feels like a balancing act of extremes. It feels like an uncompromisingly, consistently pleasurable experience even though its sense of world and its times has diminished since its predecessor, and has not quite transitioned into the post-post apocalypse of New Vegas, a game in which you can feel the time that has elapsed between it and 1. Fallout 2 is more of an expansion then, and though it is not quite innovative and its humor is alarmingly hit or miss, it counts itself among the rarest breed of games: an iterative sequel that doesn't feel like a scam.

Nothing says “Gameboy” quite like a kitchen sink aesthetic and slightly melancholic music. Ok and slowdown, flickering, ghosting, compromised platforming, short game length…

I’ve actually played through this on og hardware a few times in the last couple of years, but today I played the whole game while Conbaby was napping. Sweet Prince… u would have loved Mario Land. I think this is a remarkable and charming game even though it’s basically an early tech demo for Mario Land 2.

But don’t let the HATERS bury the REAL STORY: the koopa sprite in Mario Land 1 is the CREAM of the crop. Conbaby core. The itsy bitsy teenie weenie… sprites are WONDERFUL.

So, here it is. The game that ended the Fallout franchise once and for all.

Well, not really, but for a lot of people, this game was or is the straw that broke the brahmin's back for those remaining loyal to the franchise any further.

It's hard to really blame them either; 76 is such a radical departure in many ways from its predecessors, not just in its MMO-lite gameplay style but also in its reconfiguration of previously established lore by having it be the earliest setting in the timeline thus far.

That being said, though, as a fan of Bethesda's take on the Fallout universe and (most of the time) their gameplay style, I was both surprised and unsurprised by how much I truly enjoyed Fallout 76, despite the intimidating multiplayer packaging.

There are a lot of QOL additions here that could very well make it hard to return to Fallout 4 without mods that add said features, such as equipping a new item without going into your inventory every time you pick something up and a 'favorites' wheel. However, for every new addition and improvement, compromises are made for a 'seamless multiplayer experience.'

VATS, for one, is next to pointless. I used it maybe half a dozen times during my entire 60+ hour playthrough. I understand that it's a staple of the series and taking it out entirely would cause more uproar than otherwise, but I feel like more could have been done to make it more applicable to an online-only game rather than the same system as in Fallout 4 but in real-time.

I should say that, like the shameless consumer I am, I did pay for a month of Fallout 1st in order to use the private server, but it's unfortunate that it had to come to that. Playing on public servers has its pros and cons, sure, but to get that authentic single-player Fallout experience, or as close to it as possible, $13 monthly is the literal price you have to pay.

So why the rating despite my clear qualms with 76? Because despite all its setbacks, Fallout 76 delivers probably the best setting in the entire series. Appalachia, even in its more hideous regions, is never not stunning to look at. Seeing distant locales from across the map and making note of them to explore later, or just happening upon a bizarre-looking town and wondering what stories you'll uncover there—it all adds up to being the best of the one-of-a-kind Bethesda charm Todd's always talking about.

While the main quest is not much to write home about, even compared to the previous game, where 76 truly excels is in the smaller stories—the ones you happen upon while exploring or the little diversions that spin off into a multiple-hour odyssey with their own cast of characters and narrative arcs.

More than anything else, that's the carrot on the stick that made the 60+ hours worthwhile for me.

While there are obvious setbacks from it being an online-only game that keep it from quite reaching Fallout 4 for me, it honestly wouldn't take too much extra for this to become my new favorite of the Bethesda Fallouts. While many disagree with me on this, I do truly believe 76 to be worthy of the Fallout name. It has all the soul, darkly comic wit, tonal depth, and retro-futuristic charm you've come to expect from the series, despite how it all may look from the outside.

Them country roads sure took me home.

7.5/10

“Lara Croft is a major babe…“
-Roger Ebert

I love tank controls. Every movement and every jump in this game has to be deliberate or else Lara Croft will fall 200 ft and crumple on the ground. Moved slightly to the left? Dead. Mistimed the jump? Dead. Nothing against the Tomb Raider reboot, but I think you lose the inherent thrill of danger when everything is so choreographed.

So I played through this with tank controls, obviously (after trying the modern controls for approx. three seconds), but I also played through mostly in the classic graphics style. I think the aesthetic changes in the remaster are more faithful than say, Halo:CE Remastered, but I’ll always be a classic graphics soldier (even if I also own the trilogy on original hardware).

Reminds me of the time when I was a baby and my dad and uncle were playing through the PS1 version, when my uncle accidentally saved over their last level save file when starting a new game. Horrifying! I have a baby now too, and I think he’s at about the age I was when my Dad played through it. Weird, but cool.

Speaking of the last level, I’ve always loved that you spend most of the game raiding tombs, but then it’s suddenly Turok 2 at the end. I personally think the Egypt section is the best in the game, but I’ve always loved an Egypt level. One of my favorite generic gaming aesthetics.

I recommend trying this game, but if you do, I suggest not using the modern controls, because they suck. Also quit being a baby and just use the tank controls, unless it’s for accessibility reasons, in which case good luck bc the modern controls feel busted. Just kidding do whatever you want. The modern controls do suck though.

I love this game. Not as much as Tekken 8 but it’s pretty dang good!

i dunno, let's keep this quick. to say it's a bit clumsy is an understatement - and there are certainly aspects of the overall narrative i struggle with - but the depths of its sincerity won me over. i have no particular attachment to yakuza 7 either, and in fact i find much of that game to be very awkward, stilted, and grating so ultimately no one's more stunned than myself here.

when it's not luxuriating in this chilled-out ocean's twelve vibe which i loved, infinite wealth is written with far more intentionality and consideration than most entries in the series; while one might accuse of it of verging on threadbare or cloying for its strict emphasis on theme, i think the game trusts its audience to take some of the emotional leaps necessary to make the storytelling work. character writing for the leads and the party members has seen a dramatic improvement across the board. ichiban as usual brings a lot of levity to the table - thankfully none of it quite as irritating in the zany sense as 7 liked to employ - but kiryu's portions of the game are comparatively sobering. collecting memoirs has a weird psychological effect at times but the series has earned the right to do this by this point given how much of the kiryu saga can feel siloed or compartmentalized - in the same vein as gaiden, the game almost damns him for this, for never taking a chance to stop and reflect, for the consequences of his interminable martyr complex

that tendency to bury the past is only contrasted further by infinite wealth being maybe the most direct sequel the series has seen yet - the events of that game are still fresh in everyone's mind and sets the stage for the overarching conflict and everyone's investment in said conflict. it's a surprisingly natural extension of a lot of 7's themes, and i found it worked better for me this time. 7 often felt more gestural than anything else - to me it balanced far too much as this metaphorical (and literal) tearing down of the old ways, handling the introduction of a new protagonist, paying lipservice to series veterans and setting up parallels to the original ryu ga gotoku. infinite wealth to me feels more fully-formed, more confident; i think the team was able to use this title's unique hook and premise to really bring the most out of 7s promise of something new, and it could only have achieved it by taking the time to reflect on the past.

to this end: they made the game a JRPG this time, that counts for something. and not just a JRPG but one that feels as close to traditional RGG action as possible. some excellent systems this time with a lot of fascinating interplay and the level curve is fantastic. not necessary to sum up all the changes, you've seen them, but they really promote a lot of dynamic decision-making with respect to positioning and once you figure out how status effects can correlate with them you feel like your third eye's opening. very fond memories here of navigating around a crowd of enemies - some of whom have been put to sleep - and figuring out how best to maximize damage without waking anyone drowsy up. lots more strategy and enjoyment to be had here than pretty much anywhere in 7.

that said, i know RGG prides themselves on the statistics relating to players completing their titles, but they could really afford to take a few more risks with enemy waves in the main campaign. i felt like my most interesting encounters were usually street bosses or main story bosses, but the main campaign's filled with trash mobs. and i'm not saying every fight has to be some tactician's exercise - in fact i think that's the opposite of what people actually would enjoy - but i really wish the game took the time to play around even more with positioning. there are some exciting scenarios in the game that are too few and far in-between. stages that split up the party, encounters with unique mechanics...would really liked to have seen more in that vein.

some extra notes - would like to dig a bit deeper into the strengths of the narrative as well as some additional hangups but i can't be assed to write more
- honolulu's great, it gets probably a little too big for its own good but it's a real breath of fresh air for most of the game
- yamai is the best new character they've introduced in years
- dondoko island feels like a classic yakuza minigame in the best possible way, might even represent the apex of this kind of design. not obscenely grindy but just something casual and comfortable with enough layers to dig into without being overwheming and enough versatility to express yourself. shame you can't really say the same for sujimon!
- kiryu's party is disarmingly charming and they have some insanely good banter
- despite what some have said, i think this is a good follow-up to gaiden. it's not explicit about it but this is still very much a reckoning with kiryu's character and his mentality; it is every bit as concerned and preoccupied with the series mythos, the core ideas and conflicts driving a lot of installments
- honestly found the pacing to be on-par for the average RGG title if not better. i can concede that the dondoko island introduction was a bit too long but that is the most ground i can afford. if we can accept y5 into our hearts we can accept infinite wealth; IW makes y5 look deranged for its intrusiveness despite both titles occupying a similar length. if any of it registers as an actual problem, i think people would benefit from revisiting yakuza 7 to find it is almost exactly the same structurally if not worse
- IW is home to maybe the best needle drop in the medium
- played in japanese, like i usually do, so no real interest in commenting on the english dub since it's not real to me but i will say that what i listened to seemed like a bit of a step back from the dub quality in previous RGG games. yongyea isn't a convincing kiryu either and while i could be a bit more of a hater here all i will say is there is a STAGGERING whiplash involved in casting a guy like that as the lead in a game with themes like this. in a grouchier mood, i think it would genuinely be a bit difficult to look past this and it does leave me feeling sour, but ultimately the dub doesn't reflect my chosen means of engaging with the title and it never will
- what is difficult to look past is the game's DLC rollout, which arbitrarily gates higher difficulties, new game +, and a postgame dungeon. i acquired these through dubious means (which i highly recommend you also do) so i feel confident in saying they're really not at all worth the money unless you had a desire to spend more time in this world, but what a colossal and egregious failure to price it in this fashion. new game + specifically has tons of bizarre issues that make me believe a revision of some kind was necessary.
- you will not regret downloading this mod that removes the doors in dungeons


long story short, ryu ga gotoku's journey began in 2005 with a simple motif: to live is to not run away. so much of infinite wealth is about taking that notion to its furthest extent. it couldn't have possibly hit at a better time for me. at times it might be a classic case of this series biting off a bit more than it can chew for a sequel, but i don't think there's anything you can reliably point to that would make me think this is one step forwards, two steps back.

also awesome to have a game that posits that hawaii is filled with the fire monks from elden ring and then you have to travel to the resident evil 4 island to beat them up

An incredibly important piece within video game history that sets the stage for future masterpieces within Metal Gear Solid 2 and 3. As Metal Gear's first 3D iteration, introduced on the first PlayStation, it simply does not feel like a PlayStation 1 game save for the antiquated controls: the story, the graphics, the sound, and use of in-game gimmicks tied to controls and the PlayStation itself all made the game feel like a glimpse into the future of what video games could be like. The game moves quickly, and the pacing struggles through a few sections of retreading ground from earlier in the game, but the world is chock full of secrets and hidden details to keep you locked in all the way through the story.

Playtime:10 Hours
Score: 7/10

A decent follow up to the first game or the remake in my case. So I just finished playing the Dead Space Remake earlier this month and I wanted the fun to continue so I decided to replay this game as the last time I played it was over a decade ago, so a replay was in order. So what did I think?

Gameplay wise, this game really excels as many of the improvements they added in the remake of the first game came from this one, so the transition between the two games for me was pretty seamless on that front. You have all the classic weapons from the first game as well as some new ones like the spear gun, seeker rifle and detonator launcher. These were fun to use but I mostly stuck to the classic weapons. I came to the conclusion the other day that Dead Space hands down as the best combat of any survival horror game series, even more than Resident Evil! The amount of options you have from weapons to stasis to kinesis makes for a great combat sandbox to mess around with! While other games will make you feel weak and helpless, Dead Space empowers you and makes you feel confident that you can take on a horde of Necromorphs and boy will the game throw them at you.

The level design was a little disappointing though as it's very linear even when compared to the original first game. While I haven’t played the Callisto Protocol, I did see how people complained about the amount of vents you have to crawl through. Welp, it all started here as you will be crawling through a lot of vents, even with a similar looking animation to the former game. I don’t mind it as much as this game was made in the early 2010s, compared to Callisto, but it still feels very tedious. There's one puzzle room in particular even where you have to crawl through so many vents to get around that I just question why? If the doors were just open you could cut that puzzle time down in half lol

They introduce a couple of new enemy types such as the babies and kid necromorphs which can be annoying as well as the enemies that spit at you which makes your movement slower. Hate those guys! While these enemies can be scary at first, the horror does lose its luster after a while. The beginning areas were creepy indeed with one moment that shook me purely from the sound design. When I was walking through the hotel section, down the corridors, I heard the sound of a baby crying in one of the rooms that I couldn’t get into. It just freaked me out as I wondered if it was a necromorph baby or a normal baby and if so, where are the parents and is there anything inside the room with them? Beyond that though there wasn’t much scares to be had in this game other than some really nasty gore.

The final two chapters were awful though as you're just running away from a regenerator necromorph, as well as an army of others trying to stop you. I hated that section as a kid and I hated it now. The final boss was also disappointing from both a gameplay perspective and a narrative one. About the only challenge in it is not getting touched by the boss as they can one hit kill you, and avoiding the minions.

As for the story, it was very disappointing for me personally. I like Isaac and the one new character named Ellie, but beyond that I just found the other characters to be very annoying and forgettable.The bad guy was just the usual wannabe cult leader, and the dead girlfriend story I felt concluded great in the first game, but it felt really dragged out here. And there's just been so many horror games that have used the dead girlfriend/wife trope including the original Dead Space and that did it better. After a while I just stopped caring and I just wanted to finish the game.

Overall, it's an alright sequel. I remember loving this game as a kid and while it holds up from a gameplay perspective, it doesn’t in most other areas for me personally. Still glad I replayed it though.

All Games I have Played and Reviewed Ranked - https://www.backloggd.com/u/JudgeDredd35/list/all-games-i-have-played-and-reviewed-ranked/