A surprisingly addicting game on collecting bugs with clever food integrations. The overworld is interesting enough to warrant exploring each corner in search of bugsnax, but not complicated enough to overwhelm the player. There are also many puzzles worked into the exploration/collecting process that keeps things from getting repetitive. Each bugsnack is unique and typically need to be captured in their own ways. Items and world tools are utilized well and allow for very creative captures. All of this makes a good foundation for a stand up title, but the game could greatly benefit from a ranching feature (or some other way to feel attached to your collected bugsnax). Other than filling out your gallery, there's little reason to collect all/duplicates of the bugsnax. The limited inventory space also forces you to release many of them, making bugsnax less valuable to the player (compared to pokemon or similar captures). The narrative is solid with really good voice acting, just takes itself too seriously on occasion. Ultimately a really fun game that'll make your day better for about 8-10 hours.

As of release, there is just no substance to this game. I feel bad entirely comparing it to Pokemon GO, but the framework is so similar that it's impossible to not point out the disparity in quality. Seeing pikmin in AR is really neat, but being restricted to very few pikmin and the slow rate of getting more makes the spectacle diminish fast. Desperately needs a collection aspect like Pokemon GO because there's currently no reason to keep playing. One of the best parts of Pikmin games collecting treasures and it absolutely baffles me that Bloom didn't even explore that. The flower stops are not nearly as enticing as pokestops/gyms which lowers any desire to walk around. I'd hope for more aspects of the Pikmin world to be added via updates (such as the incredibly charming beasts) but comparing the release to GO's is embarrassing. A very disappointing missed opportunity of a game.

A solid Metroid title that does everything by the books. There aren't many short comings but there's also a lack of evolution. It's nice to relive Metroid charm in a new light and it's as exciting as previous titles. Bosses are challenging and fun, and it's very refreshing to see mostly new types of enemies. Being a direct sequel to Fusion, Metroid's most interesting narrative, left me wanting a more engaging storyline. There are moments where I'm intrigued but it's mostly mic drops while heavily lacking in story suspense. The ending is very satisfying narratively but there's very little fluidity that leads to that point. But ultimately Dread is full of fun. The detail placed in a 2.5D world continued to immerse me as Metroid always does. I expected the EMMI do be a gimmick outstaying it's welcome but I was pleasantly surprised by its seamless inclusion and I never got bored of fighting them. Map layout is almost flawless with very little chance of getting lost and backtracking only occurs when the player decides to do so. Minor nitpick but there's no excuse for the occasional performance issues. Graphically it looks fine but by no means takes the system to its limits and has clear optimization trouble.

A great game that missed an opportunity to advance its genre is still a great game.

My time was spent on the Wii version and I hear it was more sound than other ports, but I particularly enjoyed my time with this game. I had a ton of fun abusing the force on countless stormtroopers and the storyline was just engaging enough for my child-like brain. There are a lot of quick time events that even back when I wasn't fond of. I played a lot of multiplayer with my brothers but replaying it in my head makes me question how well that holds up today. The skin and lightsaber customization was top notch, which very much overshadows the sequel. Great time, on the Wii specifically.

Civ is great and the base gameplay has been amazing in every title since at least Civ 3. But when you have so many fantastic titles, you start to get picky with bazaar tweaks, lack of evolution, and dlc approach. If you have Civ 5 with full dlc, then there's really no reason to buy a new game because hardly anything has evolved since then. I'm also boggled by how bad the ai remains, even in harder difficulties. But if this is the only Civ game you play then you'll be entertained for at least 100 hours guaranteed. And sometimes new bells and whistles are fun even if you end up returning to Civ 5.