McBuscus69
2022
An interesting experience, but not one that I thoroughly enjoyed or was fully engrossed in all the way through. There are moments of almost Disco Elysium levels of brilliance in the story-telling and writing here, but as it stands, it cannot touch those hallowed peaks quite yet. The minigames are a fun distraction, but the ending was very lacklustre and abrupt, and I felt there were definitely aspects of the world and the characters you meet that could have been more thoroughly explored.
2019
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.
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.
2023
Short, sweet, fluid and fun. All I really ask for from an indie title really.
*Played as part of the Master Chief Collection
So the original Combat Evolved was one of the two Halo games I played, as it was the only one I knew of that was on PC at the time. I was just never an Xbox kid, so I completely skipped this series back during its heyday. Thankfully most of the series is on PC via the Collection (which I have definitely taken way too long to get around to as well), so are now more easily accessible (Halo 5 PC port though? When is that happening? I would like to eventually complete the series).
As a game, this is a pretty fun FPS experience, but it definitely feels dated now. The lack of accessibility options such as sprinting and weapon iron sights makes it feel like more of a slog to get through than it actually is, especially when redoing checkpoints. The level design is interesting though, with many large sections and maps that you circle around completely. This is something that I don't think I've really seen before in a linear game such as this. The vehicles are also fun to play with, although I hated driving the Warthog. For some reason, the Banshee handles like a dream, but the Warthog is this unwieldy thing that flips over every time you hit even a slight pothole or elevation change.
Overall, the story is enjoyable enough, but is still pretty bland and by-the-numbers. You also don't get much lore at all during the course of the game, with a lot of questions just left up in the air - I suppose for the later games to answer. Who are the Covenant? Why are we at war with them? Why is Master Chief such a unique badass? Why is Cortana so sassy? Who the fuck are the Forerunners and the Monitor? Anyway, I'm sure I'll get more answers as I go through the series, so I'm not too worried about these questions.
We continue onwards to Halo 2, which will be the first completely new game in the franchise I'll have played, so I'm looking forward to that.
So the original Combat Evolved was one of the two Halo games I played, as it was the only one I knew of that was on PC at the time. I was just never an Xbox kid, so I completely skipped this series back during its heyday. Thankfully most of the series is on PC via the Collection (which I have definitely taken way too long to get around to as well), so are now more easily accessible (Halo 5 PC port though? When is that happening? I would like to eventually complete the series).
As a game, this is a pretty fun FPS experience, but it definitely feels dated now. The lack of accessibility options such as sprinting and weapon iron sights makes it feel like more of a slog to get through than it actually is, especially when redoing checkpoints. The level design is interesting though, with many large sections and maps that you circle around completely. This is something that I don't think I've really seen before in a linear game such as this. The vehicles are also fun to play with, although I hated driving the Warthog. For some reason, the Banshee handles like a dream, but the Warthog is this unwieldy thing that flips over every time you hit even a slight pothole or elevation change.
Overall, the story is enjoyable enough, but is still pretty bland and by-the-numbers. You also don't get much lore at all during the course of the game, with a lot of questions just left up in the air - I suppose for the later games to answer. Who are the Covenant? Why are we at war with them? Why is Master Chief such a unique badass? Why is Cortana so sassy? Who the fuck are the Forerunners and the Monitor? Anyway, I'm sure I'll get more answers as I go through the series, so I'm not too worried about these questions.
We continue onwards to Halo 2, which will be the first completely new game in the franchise I'll have played, so I'm looking forward to that.
2014
*Played as part of the Master Chief Collection
Holy shit, this game is just fucking awesome. From the word go it's a non-stop thrill ride that takes everything from the original and enhances it.
There are actual, movie-level cutscenes that explain a lot of the lore and world-building that was missing from the first entry. You can dual-wield small arms to feel like an absolute badass, and the arsenal of weapons you get to use has just been expanded in general as well. The vehicles control much better and are more fun to utilize (except for the slow-ass tank, but that kinda makes up for it by just obliterating every single obstacle in your path with little to no effort). There are two protagonists even, as we get to see things from the Covenant's perspective as well. The map design is also better and eliminates all the tedious back-tracking that padded out the first game, and the enemy variety has also been increased, each with their own tactics and nuances.
This is one of those perfect sequels I was talking about when I played Ragnarok, and the only thing holding it back from a perfect score is the abrupt, cliffhanger ending.
Another positive side-effect this game had on me was sending me down the Halo Wiki rabbit hole, where I spent a few hours pouring over lore articles and learning about things I probably shouldn't know at this point in time. As someone who once thought of Halo as just another dudebro shooter and scoffed at the thought of buying a console for one franchise while I gobbled my fill of PS3 exclusives greedily, I must apologize to my Xbox homies as the lore is actually pretty sweet. Kind of makes me wish Gears of War had a similar collection on PC so I could go through that franchise as well to see what all the fuss was about.
Holy shit, this game is just fucking awesome. From the word go it's a non-stop thrill ride that takes everything from the original and enhances it.
There are actual, movie-level cutscenes that explain a lot of the lore and world-building that was missing from the first entry. You can dual-wield small arms to feel like an absolute badass, and the arsenal of weapons you get to use has just been expanded in general as well. The vehicles control much better and are more fun to utilize (except for the slow-ass tank, but that kinda makes up for it by just obliterating every single obstacle in your path with little to no effort). There are two protagonists even, as we get to see things from the Covenant's perspective as well. The map design is also better and eliminates all the tedious back-tracking that padded out the first game, and the enemy variety has also been increased, each with their own tactics and nuances.
This is one of those perfect sequels I was talking about when I played Ragnarok, and the only thing holding it back from a perfect score is the abrupt, cliffhanger ending.
Another positive side-effect this game had on me was sending me down the Halo Wiki rabbit hole, where I spent a few hours pouring over lore articles and learning about things I probably shouldn't know at this point in time. As someone who once thought of Halo as just another dudebro shooter and scoffed at the thought of buying a console for one franchise while I gobbled my fill of PS3 exclusives greedily, I must apologize to my Xbox homies as the lore is actually pretty sweet. Kind of makes me wish Gears of War had a similar collection on PC so I could go through that franchise as well to see what all the fuss was about.
2007
*Played as part of the Master Chief Collection
A bombastic conclusion to the original trilogy that feels truly satisfying. The story is a little worse than the second, and we lose those gorgeous pre-rendered cutscenes, but the game makes up for it with explosive aplomb and non-stop action. It's a fun ride to be on, and I'm glad I took the journey.
Now to dive into the remainder of the MCC and Infinite and see if the continuation of the franchise was really worth it after this ending.
A bombastic conclusion to the original trilogy that feels truly satisfying. The story is a little worse than the second, and we lose those gorgeous pre-rendered cutscenes, but the game makes up for it with explosive aplomb and non-stop action. It's a fun ride to be on, and I'm glad I took the journey.
Now to dive into the remainder of the MCC and Infinite and see if the continuation of the franchise was really worth it after this ending.
2024
The Vampire Survivor of Poker. Insanely addictive gameplay loop that is just a joy to play, even if you don't make any real progress in a run. And when you do finally put together a broken build and annihilate a run, it's so much fun to see how far you can take your build.
2009
*Played as part of the Master Chief Collection
A nice change of pace from the other games in the franchise. I liked the focus on a different group of characters, and the change of pace in the gameplay. That being said, it's a little too generic and the characters are too one-note to truly stand out.
It was fun to play, but I don't think I'll be thinking about this one for a long time to come.
A nice change of pace from the other games in the franchise. I liked the focus on a different group of characters, and the change of pace in the gameplay. That being said, it's a little too generic and the characters are too one-note to truly stand out.
It was fun to play, but I don't think I'll be thinking about this one for a long time to come.
This is just Kratos in therapy and I am all for it. Just a great little DLC adventure and a perfect capstone to the main game that closes the loop on Kratos and his entire journey. This would honestly be the perfect place to retire him and let him live out the rest of his days in hope and peace.