So this is objectively the weakest game in the trilogy.
The driving and combat are clunky and feel like a major step backwards, even when compared to the first game. Your gameplay and tools are limited by what NPC "operative" you are using at the time - although there are NO traffic hacks to stop pursuing police at all, which was one of the most fun hacks from the previous games. I can see what Ubi was trying to do with this decision, to try and force you to have some diversity in who you play with, but I honestly played two characters the entire game - a construction worker for world exploration and collecting, due to his access to a cargo drone, and the spy you get for taking over the first area of the game because he had a silenced pistol and a summonable car. Other than that, I voluntarily switched to the other operatives only when forced to complete one of the trophies.
The story is also majorly weak in this one. The villains had some potential, but are completely wasted and terrible, and the voice acting for any character you actually play as is the most atrocious garbage in the world. It really takes you out of the experience HARD. Like the decision to have NO character as a main character was a terrible idea, and I'm glad Ubi and this game got flack for that decision because it is so dumb.
The only really good thing about the game is that London is fun to explore honestly, but Ubi has never really had a problem making good open worlds to explore. It's what makes their games so addictive to me and why I keep coming back, even after mediocre experiences like this one, or AC Valhalla. Like I should be done with this company, but I know for a fact that I will be jumping into Mirage when that drops, or even if a new Watch Dogs pops up somewhere in the future. Fuck me, right?

So I finally finished this game - after 8 years. I had initially played it on release on PC, but I lost my save file due to having to reinstall Windows. I had made it all the way to the Geothermal Valley - about 50% through the game - so it was a pretty significant blow at that time and I just never had the motivation to restart it. Fun fact, I also lost a Planescape Torment save and a KOTOR save during the same incident, which is why I have never finished those games despite really wanting to. Maybe one day I'll go back to them as well.
I left this game for a few years before finally getting it on PS4 at a massive discount. I played through it slowly until the same area about 2 years ago - according to my trophy dates. Then other games came along and I just kinda soft-dropped it. It never left my PS4 hard drive or anything, I just simply didn't play it again for the longest time, choosing to delve into other franchises. I have no idea what possessed me to return to it at this time, but I'm glad I did and that it has been finally completed. Boy, has it been a journey.

Now, I quite liked the reboot of the franchise, and I did actually replay it again two years ago as well - because I got all 3 of the games in the same discount bundle. This one does feel like an improvement in some ways, but it is also a step down in others. The gameplay has been tightened up and has some more variety in how you can mow down hundreds of enemies throughout its playtime, and there are new traversal abilities that are fun to play with. The wonky jumping can still lead to unnecessary deaths sometimes, something which is inherent in all action platformers since the dawn of time and the gaming industry just seems unable to fix.
The story, however, is just not as compelling or well-told as the reboot's was. It might have been because of the way I experienced the story, but I never felt any connection to anybody in this game the way you do the crew of that game. Jonah makes an appearance here, sure, and he is a welcome sight, but none of the new villains or allies had any real impact on me. The exploration part of the game is also a massive headache. The hoops you have to jump through to get 100% in some areas, including needing multiple pieces of new gear in places - tested my gaming OCD to its absolute limit. If this had been a tighter, more linear experience like Uncharted or something like that, I think I would've had a much better time with it overall and probably would have finished it sooner. But no, I spent like 30+ hours doing dumb shit to collect useless collectables just to fill that 100% completion bar in every area.

Overall though, I wouldn't say I had a bad experience with the game, despite experiencing it in a completely convoluted way. I do think it's weaker than its predecessor, but not by that much, honestly. I'm tentatively looking forward to finally jumping into the final game, but I'm gonna need a palette cleanser because I know that one is just gonna be bigger and have more useless shit I will need to spend hours collecting for no reason.

Such an improvement on the first Xenoverse. The fighting system is surprisingly deep and enjoyable throughout, with a wide range of abilities for every kind of build. The story is pretty standard but also enjoyable and very nostalgic, especially for someone like me who hasn't engaged with this universe since Tenkaichi 3 and the GT series.
The only downside of the game is the absolute fucking insanity of side content. I didn't even finish all of the Parallel Quests (of which there are over 100), grinding for wishes, Expert Missions, tons of online content and more. It's actually kinda exhausting how much there is to do, and if you wanted to, you could spend hundreds of hours with this game. I'm satisfied with what I saw and did - which is only about 50% of the total completion rate. The difficulty curve for endgame content is absolutely brutal, so I didn't touch too much of that stuff.

Yeah, I'm a basic bitch that likes Ubisoft games. I replayed this because it's free on PS+ and I just replayed the first game recently so I could make a more even comparison between them.
Overall, it's a major improvement in almost every way. The gameplay and driving are vastly improved (although the skill tree unlocks are very lacklustre compared to the original's), Marcus is a way more likeable and relatable protagonist than Aiden, and the story is just more fun and wacky, with a lot more variety in its open world gameplay loops and hacking puzzles. I had a hell of a lot of fun revisiting it.
I do think it has flaws, such as a lack of memorable bad guys compared to the original game (and no Jordi), but overall I had a great time going through this again. Absolute banger.

Time to jump into Legion, which I hear is pretty shit, but I haven't touched or looked into it at all yet.

It's got an interesting concept - a first-person Hotline Miami/SuperHot without the slow-mo - but the execution is lacking.
It's got a banging soundtrack and aesthetic, but the actual gameplay is pretty lacklustre and sometimes just unfair. And yes, Hotline Miami could definitely be unfair at times, but getting killed by one stray bullet out of nowhere feels way worse in this game for some reason. You have a limited slow-mo ability to offset this and allow you to dodge bullets, but this lasts only 2 or 3 seconds.
Honestly, I had some fun with it, but I'm not sure if I'm gonna go back to it or not. I didn't click with Hotline Miami the first time I played it as well, so I might give this another shot sometime to see if it clicks into place or not.