Silent Hill 2 is a very complex and deep game, and one of the most important horror games made by Team Silent, the problem is, that almost nobody understands it. Silent Hill is the most misunderstood franchise in the gaming culture specially SH2, mostly because people tend to spread false information about this game, like saying that Mary isn't abusive (even tho Masahiro Ito which is responsible for the symbolisms of this game, says that the flesh lips is a metaphor of Mary's mouth which was used to abuse James), saying that James is a bad person, didn't loved her, or that James or Pyramid Head is a r4p1st, non of these are true, are all made up lies that goes against the evidences and the whole meaning of the game and it's plot. So sad how a beautiful game got in the wrong hands of some people. This game has a defined canon and it's not open for "interpretations" this game is just complex, and people who doesn't do their research tend to spread this idea that the game is open to interpret however u want, which isn't true. This game is very inspired by the works of Sigmund Freud, James's relationship is very complex, and James got his reasons to end Mary's life.

Every monster in this game has it's symbolisms, so the areas of this game, like that part of James walking down the stairs, which represents that we are getting deeper into James's mind. This game has a lot of details and everything in this game is just pure genius. I've made a 7 hour analysis of this game, and i got to say, this game will forever be a timeless masterpiece, i doubt the remake will ever be able to get close of what SH2 is.

P4U2 in 2020.

The sequel which introduced my favorite Persona villain, Sho Minazuki. The story followed up on Arena's and we got to see the P3 and P4 cast banter with each other, which im certain all everyone ever wanted. Arena's core gameplay is still here and just as good, with some questionable buffs to some characters (Narukami) and Shadow characters were a fun new feature (that were hilariously broken in a version of the game we never got here in the states.) But this game is high tier. Love it.

I'm not going to go too in-depth since Darksiders is a very well known/reviewed game, but what I will say is this is essentially a God of War adaptation of Judeo-Christian mythologies, albeit far more respectful than those games (the pre-reboot ones anyway). You play as the embodiment of War seeking to restore his honor after he prematurely arrived on Earth before the Seventh Seal of Hell was broken.

Overall, I really enjoyed the story. It incorporates a lot of lore from the Abrahamic faiths, but dons its own take on them, keeping it all fresh, exciting, and epic. While characters are essentially archetypal, there's usually an adjacent layer to them that gives them a subtly interesting quality. War, for example, has a dry humor that comes out in many scenes, Azrael a sense of shame that gives him an honor quality, Uriel a sense of justice that makes her rise above her duties, etc...

Visually, Darksiders is definitely reminiscent of the Xbox 360 era, but that's far from a bad thing. You do have polygon modelling that is still blocky at times, but the color grading is top notch, really conveying a post-apocalyptic atmosphere to the whole world. Individual locales stand out thanks to this art style, which is adaptable to the different demands of the various ecosystems (amphibious vs desert vs lava caverns vs flora paradise). Cutscenes have surprisingly aged very well and contribute to that aforestated epic scope.

That being said, with the vanilla version I did have an inconsistent framerate that I was only able to alleviate via turning down the camera motion (didn't fix the problem, but helped make it tolerable). Unfortunately, the battle against the sandworms triggered a massive FPS drop when I pulled out the revolver, and Darksiders also crashed once on me courtesy of trying to tab out of the app to adjust the volume. But those were the only technical issues I experienced- game ran smooth otherwise, including the transition to and from cinematic cutscenes and in-game gameplay (looks consistent).

Gameplay was honestly mixed for me. Hack-and-slash button mashing is always fun, but the combo system was weak courtesy of the button combinations being awkward (having to hold a bumper down + Y/X button + direct with the joystick). Half the time my new attacks wouldn't register, and overall attacks that weren't mapped to a single button didn't flow well as part of a combo. Magic abilities could've also been better incorporated rather than making them two separate buttons that produce independent results not tied to War's attacks (the arrow wall around you for example, igniting enemies on fire).

Exploration is another mixed bag. Darksiders opts for the Metroidvania formula of returning to previous areas with new gear, but the problem is the map isn't designed well enough to find those secrets. You can't create markers, you can't even move from left-to-right between multiple areas (the "open world" is blockaded through doors that literally block visual access on the map unless you enter the place behind said door), and while you can tell if you've been to an area or not courtesy of it being lightened up, you cannot tell if you missed something back there because most of the environs don't provide a map showing all these places or keep a collectable icon visible after discovery. Darksiders also suffers from the Skyward Sword problem of most new gear being largely useless after completing the area you were meant to use it in, making me wonder why so much programming effort went into crafting tools like the portal gun or Mask of Darkness.

For all my whining though, the narrative will keep you hooked. The fallen hero is an overused storyline for a reason- it works, and hearkens back to ancient myths that Darksiders clearly draws from. The voice acting is terrific, featuring top actors like Liam O'Brien, Mark Hamill, Troy Baker, Keith Szarabajka, and Phil LaMarr, who evoke deity/supernatural vibes through their voice registry. That being said, one slight criticism here is that too many voices are on the deep end of the spectrum, meaning some character's lack distinction and blend together ala the Akatsuki in the Japanese version of Naruto.

Sound design is good, but could've been more extravagant. Enemies all die/sound the same, weapon hits are synced to material being struck over individuals (i.e. all flesh sounds the same, all stone sounds the same, all metal sounds the same). What you hear is solid, but when you're unleashing the same attacks multiple times you'll notice the repetitious din quickly. The OST does a solid job blending religious sounds with your typical video game motifs of good/bad guys, even though I did feel the latter overtook the game one too many times. I also didn't think any of the bosses had distinct themes minus the Bat in the beginning.

On that note, boss fights are pretty disappointing, particularly the final one that was being built up to. They're all tied to a repetitive gameplay loop that you'll have to repeat whilst avoiding letting your health drop low. In fact, that even extends to minibosses/tough enemies, where you often have to repeat the same tactic of attack, dodge enemy heavy swing, then attack again ad nauseam.

Part of me does wonder if the devs didn't have the budget to consistently fulfill their vision because the first area with the Bat is long, well-paced, and full of a surprising number of puzzle elements that are slowly dissipated as you go to other areas. I'm not saying it's abandoned completely as there still are a lot of puzzles to solve, but when you play the game you'll notice the simplification. The last act, in particular, is a giant fetch quest that drags and doesn't feature anything unique, despite you having all of your tools at your disposal by that point.

Overall though, I had a lot of fun with Darksiders. While I will not be 100 percenting it courtesy of the poor maps, it helps a lot that the core story (for the remastered version since vanilla isn't sold anymore) offers almost as many hours of gameplay as the $20.00 price tag.

What is the best PS4 game? Bloodborne? The Witcher 3? Persona 5? Red Dead Redemption 2? Rocket League? 13 Sentinels? Resident Evil 2? Devil May Cry 5? God of War? Uncharted 4? Nope it’s none of these, it is Nier: Automata, and it isn’t even that hard of a choice. Nier: Automata achieves what many games should be trying to achieve – A perfect marriage of gameplay, visuals, story and sound.

You should go into this knowing as little as possible so I’ll keep things brief. The story is one of the best ever. It is phenomenal and so effective. It’s the type of story that can only be done properly in video games. The soundtrack is beautiful and one of the best ever. The game doesn’t have the biggest budget visuals but the art direction more than makes up for it. The game play is great. It is an action RPG inspired by hack n slash games with lite shump sections and regular perspective shifts. It’s made by Platinum Games, the developers of Bayonetta, Vanquish and Astral Chain.

So why am I not giving this a high 9? Unfortunately due to the way the game plays and how the story is told there is too much repetition. You fight the same enemies and see the same locations often. Then on top of this the side quests can be bland and add to the repetition. But of course all of this is really nothing compared to how good this game is.

Are video games art? Yes, Nier: Automata proves this. Are video games on the same level as great literature and films? Yes, Nier: Automata proves this. If Roger Ebert was still with us Nier: Automata could have changed his mind on video games. Nier: Automata has the power to change you or at the very least be thought provoking and moving. Yoko Taro, the games writer and director, is a genius.

Yeah I know this review sounds hyperbolic but Nier: Automata deserves it and if this little review convinces one person to play Nier: Automata then it has been more than worth it. If you love this medium then you need to play this.

9.4/10

Resident Evil 4 is pretty much as good as gaming gets. It is the pinnacle of action-horror. It was an absolute revolution for 3rd person shooters, action games and gaming in general.

The gameplay is near perfect. The controls are excellent because the whole game is designed around them. The over the shoulder camera keeps the action at the perfect distance. The weapons using laser sights and having so much punch to them. Fast, accurate aiming with just enough weapon sway, inaccuracy and enemy threat to keep you on your toes and trying to hit your shots. The way enemies consistently react to getting shot and the incredibly satisfying headshots. Following up with a kick or suplex. The game just constantly rewards you for playing well. Taking on enemies with just a knife whether it's for fun or to save ammo or to slash projectiles out the air. Watching enemies fall off edges after being shot. Pushing the ladders while enemies try to climb it. Shooting through doors. kicking doors open to damage enemies on the other side. Getting enemies to group together and throwing an incendiary grenade into them. Leaping out windows. The set pieces and bosses. Crowd control. Repositioning when needed and not knowing exactly what's behind you while doing so. Using the environment to your advantage. Getting your head taken off in one horrific hit. The enemy variety. The weapon variety. They somehow made you not hate escorting another character. The list goes on and on and god damn it's all so good. The pacing is so well done as well with the game constantly throwing cool new things at you but also knowing when to slow things down a bit. The developers didn't even stop after creating a brilliant, lengthy, highly re-playable main story, they went and did more. The Mercenaries mode is really addictive. Then there's Separate Ways and unlockables too.

The story, characters, dialogue and cut scenes are ridiculously entertaining and well directed. It's so goofy and fun. God damn it's all so fun, remember FUN? It's like the only questions asked when making this game were - Is it fun? Is it entertaining? Does it play well? Does it fit in? If yes, then put it in the game. It's like they had no fear of risks and were just totally confident in what they were making, which is surprising if you know the story of this games development. The tone and atmosphere is handled perfectly. Seriously how did they do this? The game can be silly and/or over the top one minute and then have no problem being more serious the next. It also can be genuinely creepy at times, or surreal or bleak. It definitely delivers on the body horror and gore too.

The game looks and sounds top notch as well. It was one of the best looking games available when it came out. The art direction is fantastic. The village is cold, bleak, isolated and hostile with something gruesome around every turn. The castle is surreal, sinister and uncomfortable. It's so opulent and ornate but something is very off about it and there are traps everywhere. It kind of reminds me of the mansion from the RE 1 remake. The Island is grimy, dirty and industrial and does have some great creepy sections but it's visually more generic and forgettable unfortunately. They nailed the character and enemy designs too. The voice acting is exactly what was needed. The enemies sound harsh and scary. The guns hit hard and all the gross noises are spot on. The soundtrack is superb and so are the ambient sounds.

However no game is perfect and Resident Evil 4 is no exception. The worst thing about this game is that it wasn't survival horror and it put an end to Resident Evil being a survival horror franchise as they went down the action-horror path from here on wards. The puzzles are also not the best but I guess really good puzzles would have bogged down this games action focus and pace. The Island is also not as good as the first two locations. I think this is mostly due to the first two areas setting such a high bar, the industrial setting feeling more generic and maybe being a little too action heavy at times. Looking back at the game now I think it did overuse the quick time events as well. As cool and well done as they are it gets a bit much, especially when your on like the 20th play through.

If you have never played it before do yourself a favour and play it now. I highly, highly recommend Resident Evil 4. I still remember buying my collector's edition just after launch, which is still on my shelf, and playing it all day. Then I bought the Wii version and played it to death again. Then the PS3 and then the PS4. I think I am going to be playing this once every five years or so until I die. Some people try to dismiss this game's high praise with statements like "It's just nostalgia" or "You just think old good, new bad." But they are wrong, Resident Evil 4 really is just that good. This is what lightning in a bottle looks like.

9.8/10

Extra notes:

I think it comes across in the review but just to make things clear. This is a general review of Resident Evil 4 and not for any specific release.

Here are a few thoughts on the different versions

The GameCube release is special for me because that was my first experience and the game was built for the GameCube and that controller. I think the GameCube version is harder too; I’m not sure if they messed with the games balance or if it’s just me but the original feels more challenging. I also have the collector’s edition which came with a very cool bonus disc with behind the scenes stuff. But this version misses out on the extras added later and it is on two discs.

The Wii release is my favourite because it’s the same RE4 but with the extra content and Wii controls. Playing with the Wii remote makes an already incredibly fun game even more enjoyable. Aiming feels great and shaking the controller is a nice change from the button pressing QTEs.

The PS3 and PS4 HD releases are the same awesome RE4 and I loved them but I think they should have put more time and attention into them. Capcom could have done a much more thorough remaster.