fallout: new vegas has some of the best writing, stories, and world building i've ever seen in a game. unfortunately, i've only gotten to experience these second hand.
the gameplay feels like they copied an existing engine (which they did) without knowing what features they were working with, so it ends up playing horribly. you have to spend three hours installing mods to get it to not crash randomly, even though it still will.
i do like how getting to new vegas has two options; actually listening to npcs and following their directions, or going straight to the quest marker and getting your ass kicked. that's fun! everything else sucks. too bad

For the longest time, I refrained from getting this game for principled reasons. Besides the content of the game itself, Sonic Origins launched with an MSRP of $40, and added insult to injury by having an (optional) Epic Digital Edition that came with meaningless extra trinkets that honestly could've come with the original game.

A year after that, some $10 DLC was added that added Knuckles in CD (he was unusually absent from that in the original release of Origins), Amy Rose in all four featured, and also a few Game Gear Sonic games. They also lowered the price of Origins itself, but that also means that latecomers would get an objectively better deal than fans who decided to jump in on Origins when it released. Sheesh... ...

So, for those reasons, I ignored the game. However, I was the target audience of it, and I knew that ultimately, I'd have liked to play Sonic 3 & Knuckles on my PlayStation 5.

So, when I got the game as a gift ... what was I going to do? Return it? I've got this collection 2 years after it originally launched, and for less than what someone would've got it for at that period ... and I won't look a gift horse in the mouth now that I've got four of the finest platformers ever made, in one package, on my console of choice.

Ultimately, when judging the actual content of the collection itself, and the fact that I received the physical release, which comes with a cute little art book... Maybe Origins Plus is alright ... I'd spend $20 on that. I most definitely enjoyed revisiting Sonic 1, CD, 2, and 3K in that order. I'd originally only played the Whitehead remake of CD on an iPad, and I find that playing CD with a proper controller makes for a world of a difference.

3K's remake is the most novel part, being made from the ground up rather than being a port of something already made for mobile phones. And, honestly? They did a stand-up job. The transition was not without its hiccups, but a stand-up job was done, for sure. So I applaud Christian Whitehead and Headcannon for the hard work. Sonic Team and SEGA... you guys are still getting the side-eye from me on this one.

Felt in the mood to replay this after finishing New Vegas again (I was put in the mood for that after finishing the show). While I'm not finished this playthough, I highly doubt my opinions will change as I know this game pretty well.

This playthrough is heavily modded, using the Welcome to Paradise Wabbajack list as a base. I added the Be Exceptional progression rework, as well as True Damage and SCOURGE to re-balance the combat. I also installed miscellaneous weapons and armors from the previous games.

I think it's important to preface with this because I think this Fallout 4 is the best example of Bethesda's games getting exponentially better through mods.
What Bethesda is consistently amazing at with their games is world and atmosphere, and they have always been world class in this regard. I haven't played Starfield so I can't comment on it, but Skyrim and Fallout 3 are both incredible at developing a setting. Both those games are carried by this.

Why I love this game despite its myriad of notable flaws is that it combines their deftness at creating worlds with their best gameplay loop. An unusual quirk of Bethesda games is that almost every item in the world is interact-able in some way. In Fallout 4 this is given a new purpose, as literally every item that can be picked up can be used in crafting. Quests often revolve around completing dungeons, like all Bethesda games, but the new crafting system adds so many more personal sub-objectives to the dungeon crawling. If you're eyeing a particular upgrade for your power armor or your favourite gun you can just tag the required parts and go hunting.

The exploration is also boosted by the beautiful world and music. This is a great example of art direction > graphical fidelity. Even without graphics mods the game still looks good, and with a few tweaks it can look legitimately breathtaking. The soundtrack is also great. As always with Fallout, the radio stations add great classic songs from the 1930s-60s. My favourite in this game is probably "End of the World". The original score is also great. My favourite ambient track is easily "Rebuild, Renew". It just sounds incredibly soothing and hopeful, a powerful contrast against the destroyed world around you.

I won't deny the games main story is heavily flawed, especially compared to New Vegas' complexity, but there are still bright spots worth commending.
Nick Valentine might just be my favourite fallout character. His inner struggle with what it means to be a digital copy of a dead man is very compelling, and his voice performance is perfection. He's also a sick ass android detective.

I truly love this game, warts and all. New Vegas zealots can suck a fat one.

While I have in recent days fallen off this game because of some less than stellar updates and stingy in-game currency requirements to even participate in what we do get, my history with the Bloons TD franchise goes way back. Few would argue against this being the greatest tower defense game to ever exist, and for good reason. For the most part it's well-balanced, with every tower having its own purpose and being fun to use.

For such a measly price, this game has boatloads of content and is still getting updates. I managed to log 200 hours before getting burnt out, which is nothing to scoff at. No reason not to give this game a shot, it's a real gem.