I was never really invested in the overall story and by the time it arrived at its conclusion it was predicable to a fault. I had seen and done this time after time and in better games like the "Uncharted" series. Despite the boring supporting cast though, I was always interested in Laura and her arc. In particular the first and third acts of this game do a really good job of shaping Laura into the battle worn adventurer we've come to know. The pacing is brisk enough that it keeps you going. The set pieces are also executed well enough that you can overlook the games' shallow mechanics and bare bones crafting and slim weapon selection. In short, this game is showing its age and sometimes felt a little too clunky. However, it does serve as a lite snack for the follow up which I always felt was head and shoulders above this.

If you're someone who lives and breathes 2D Mario games, then consider this an expansion pack of courses to feed your love. Especially with the added Luigi campaign, there's a lot of content here to keep you busy for a while. As a stand alone package though, this was fairly disappointing to me. While there are stand out levels, there are equally as many that register as abysmal. It just doesn't have that Nintendo grade of quality most of their first party games have. Sometimes even feeling like a third party took over. Originally released as a launch game on the WiiU, and in no way did it feel like a showstopper for that system then and that hasn't changed over the years.

This version does an admirable job of fixing some dated elements of Halo: CE. A landmark game and watershed moment in my life no doubt, but Halo had its issues. Some level designs were fantastic, providing many options for tackling battles. While some levels suffered from environments that looked too similar and left you confused. This has been address with arrows pointing you in the right direction when necessary. The legendarily bad "Library" stage has been trimmed down too. I really enjoyed the fresh coat of paint the game has gotten. It's always fun to switch back and forth between the old and new graphics to compare. While this is easily the best way to play Halo: CE the core game is becoming a little hard to go back to after future sequels built upon the mechanics in meaningful ways, but with that said the Chief's first adventure still holds a lot of its lasting power today as someone who played it when it first released.

The story has gotten better with age. Expanding on the fascinating lore, while also bringing in the Arbiter as a great addition to this universe. It also expands on the first game with fun mechanics such as dual-wielding, vehicle hijacking and ditching health packs from "Combat Evolved". A big mistake is losing the glorified assault rifle though. A misstep that future entries rectified. There's also some of the most memorable levels in the franchise here, such as New Mambasa. I think the second half's level designs suffer from being too constrained and several encounters became very frustrating. It's also strange that in many cases you can just run past enemy zones without any penalities. "Halo 2" has its rough spots, but its still stands as a strong middle chapter in the original trilogy to me.

Long live the king! There was a Bungie developer who declared Halo 3 as "our Return of the King" and boy was he right. This game fires on all cylinders to me. A perfect wrap of the original trilogy in every way. I love how the story hits the ground running and never stops. I love the deeper look into Chief and Cortana's connection to each other. I love how virtually every stage is a huge set piece you wanna replay over and over. I love the addition of drop pods with different area effects that adds a layer of unpredictability to the encounters. This was also the birth of Forge mode and the core multiplayer had never been better. I've been playing this game for years and that'll never change. It's not a perfect game, but whatever issues it has are rendered irrelevant by the boldness of the final product.

From the smokey jazz, to the chill atmosphere, to the well balanced mix of explosive set pieces and more meticulously paced observant missions... "Halo 3: ODST" is the very definition of a vibe. While it's more like an old school expansion pack you'd find with PC titles than a full length adventure, it's a campaign that ranks amongst the best of the series. It expands the universe in interesting ways, giving a more boots on the ground view point. While also making the different units you follow interesting enough to keep you going. I played through the whole game almost in one sitting, cause it was just that breezy and fun. "ODST" also deserves special mention for being the game that gave us all Firefight mode which is now a mainstay of the series.

"Halo: Reach" remains a terrific send off for Bungie's tenure with the franchise. It's arguably the most moving game they released. As well as most visually interesting. There's a lot of power in the different moments and the pulled back sense of scale that I lose myself in it often. I also love that they brought back almost every element that had been cut from past Halo titles, but worked them into the tapestry of the game in a way that felt organic. It felt like a proper swan song for the end of an era. Their message to fans in the end credits was well deserved.

"Halo 4" leaves me conflicted. There's truly a lot to like here, but equally as much that doesn't work.

On the good side, I love the look of this game. There's a Metroid Prime level of immersion with Chiefs' helmet that really stands out. The art-direction top to bottom is just gorgeous with terrain and enemies that look unique and have a metallic sheen complementing the cyberspace-esque nature of the world. I struggled with the feel of the game in the beginning, but then remembered 343 gives a bevy of options to make the game play like you remember or different. I even love the Mantis and every time it showed up I got excited.

Where the game doesn't work is in its story. I applaud the relationship building between Cortana and Chief. I even love the cliffhanger at the end. However, 343 made a miscalculation in assuming the player base at large had read all of the numerous novels leaving for a story that felt really confusing as someone who hasn't done so. The second half in particular I just checked out story wise, cause I knew I was entirely lost and got back to the fighting.

That fighting also becomes a big problem in the later stages because, well, the Prometheans aren't always fun to fight and in tighter level designs it becomes more about popping up taking a shot and getting back to cover and in a game that does utilize cover mechanics it just always feel somewhat clunky if not broken.

"Halo 4" isn't nearly as terrible to me as many people claim it is. The word "terrible" never even entered the equation, it was more "lacking" if anything.

All of the Bungie developed Halo titles and Halo 4 brought together in one package with even both the original and Anniversary editions of "CE" and "Halo 2". There's so many options to tailor these games to your liking and so many secrets to uncover for all the games that as a single player experience alone this could keep you busy for years as it has me. That's not even to mention the multiplayer with all the maps across all games, forge mode and firefight. I've become increasingly of the mind that the Halo games are best as one entity than separate games, and as such this collection becomes one of those games I'll keep coming back to time and time again. It does still have the occasional bugs and matchmaking issues, but its come a long way since launch.

"Halo 5: Guardians" was a real let down. With a campaign that's poorly paced, near incomprehensible plot and a jankyness to the tight feel that Halo has had. The gameplay even botches neat concepts it introduces like healing downed team mates by making it a constant chore throughout battles. The game moves at a decent frame rate, but character models for some reason drop to almost the single digits it seems, making for a very inconsistent game to take in visually. There were a couple strengths. As puzzled as I was over the story, I did enjoy the deeper look into the nature of Master Chief and Cortana and their connection together. I've also enjoyed the time I spent with the multiplayer and it seems like it still has a stable player base. None of that kept this from being a drag to me.

"Gears of War 4" doesn't reinvent the franchise, but it sure as hell reinvigorates it. After the third game closed the book on that story, the creators found a way back that didn't feel forced and even justified its own existence besides squeezing more money out of fans. I was surprised how well it worked. The campaign also is just beautifully paced too. Like riding a wave, I'd begin playing and it'd just take me and hardly any fat is in here either. It also looks and plays very well, even better now than when it released. Yeah, this was a good time. This multiplayer also seems really strong, but by this point most people have moved on to "Gears 5" so finding a game isn't always easy.

I was disappointed with "Gears 5", but overall thought it was a solid game. The campaign was my most anticipated part of the package, but half of it felt undercooked with new mechanics that felt like an afterthought and a story that kind of tanks a lot of the goodwill made up to this point. The core combat and gunplay is the best the series has ever been though, which really kept me going and made the mulitplayer some of the most fun I've had with a shooter in a while. It gives a solid amount to work towards as far as upgrades and stat cards and the community has been really strong. The game always looks great and runs smooth as butter. I have a lot of conflicting thoughts on it, but overall this was and will continue to be a fun time.

There isn't much I have to say about "Hivebusters". That's not to say I didn't enjoy it, I did. The campaign feels like what the core Gears 5 campaign should have been. Better structured, more dynamic set pieces and the upgrades were actually useful. So why did it not blow me away? Well, Scorpio Squad. There's some good character development here and I wouldn't mind seeing these cats in a future game, but here I just never really cared for them or their situation they are in. So while I enjoyed playing thru it, I was never fully invested. The maps are great content for Horde mode though.