When I was younger, I remember being amazed at the scale of the levels in Halo: CE. The second mission in particular, aptly named "Halo", was the real standout. Being able to choose your path and drive the Warthog around was amazing. I couldn't wait for the technology to catch up so we could have a seamless Halo experience from start to finish.

Halo Infinite attempts to do just that, with mixed results. Unlike other open-world games, you are not inundated with points of interest on your minimap. While playing in co-op, we found ourselves naturally stumbling upon side missions and activities to complete. Each side activity would reward you with something tangible, thus respecting your time and effort.

The overall gameplay is very tight and responsive, it feels great to play. They've also added a number of new gadgets and abilities to use, with the grappling hook being the standout. While it may seem out of place in a Halo game, it works very well and is super fun to use.

As for the story, I think they did a good job, because just like in all the other Halo games, I had no idea what was going on. Although, as @Splodey mentioned in his review, the game has a very melancholic tone and feel. I don't know if it was intentional, but it was definitely noticeable throughout the campaign.

I remember reading that the art direction they chose was a deliberate nod to the visuals of Halo: CE. I think it worked really well and I hope they stick with it for future releases.

The game can look nice at times, but it's easy to tell that it's a cross-gen release. The lack of raytracing on the PC and XSX was a bit of a disappointment, as the game could have benefited greatly from it.

I had very low expectations for this Halo title. One of the reasons I picked up the Xbox Series X was to play it, only to have the game delayed multiple times and launched in a poor state. The lack of co-op at launch was the biggest sin of all. However, they seem to have improved the game a lot since launch. I think all fans of Halo should give it a try.

This is basically the same game as Need For Speed Underground Rivals, but with a few tweaks, namely the implementation of the Blacklist and the addition of cop chases.

Progression has been simplified, and you no longer have to jump back and forth between "novice" and "pro" events to progress. Still, the game doesn't respect your time at all, as most events are padded in length. Be prepared to spend nearly 30 minutes of your time in a single tournament later in the game.

I found the cop chases to be really lackluster compared to Most Wanted on other platforms. Unlike in the main game, you have no chance against the police. They always match your speed and are no fun to fight. The only way to lose them is to take the shortcuts, which they always avoid for some reason.

After playing Underground Rivals, I didn't want to spend more hours playing the same game with a different skin. Just stick to Most Wanted on consoles or PC instead.

After so many years, I finally understood what all the hype was about. The only thing I don't understand is why people prefer Underground 2 to Most Wanted. The original MW blows NFSU2 out of the water, easily.

Almost everything that was wrong with NFSU2 has been fixed, and only the good parts remain. The linear progression deserves special praise, and I loved how they incorporated it into the game with the Blacklist approach. The open world is still there, but you no longer have to drive from one event to another, which saves a lot of time.

The biggest addition is the cop chases, and they've done a great job with the implementation. The cops are really fun to mess with and you as a racer have a real chance against them. The police chatter is probably the best I've ever heard in an arcade racing game.

I actually liked the story. Sure, it's a bit cheesy, but it motivated me to finish the game and climb to the top of the Blacklist.

There are only a few minor issues with the game. I found the open world a little bland and boring. I also wish they had kept the extensive customization from NFSU2.

Unlike NFSU2, I didn't use any mods to improve the pacing or balance of the game. The only mods I used were to restore the Xbox 360 visuals to the PC version.

With a few tweaks, this could have been the perfect racing game. I'm glad I finally gave it a shot.

It's just as solid as the previous titles in the Arkham series. So if you liked those games, you will definitely enjoy this one.

The biggest change is the addition of the Batmobile. It's a lot of fun to drive around the city in this thing and cause all kinds of mayhem. However, I found that it was still much faster to just glide from point A to point B instead.

The art direction and visuals deserve special praise. The game still looks amazing despite being almost a decade old (at the time of this writing).

The writing maintains a consistently serious tone, without the cringe-worthy Marvel-style tension-relieving humor. There are quite a few twists and turns in the story, though to be honest I was a little disappointed with the ending.

I avoided playing this game for the longest time because of all the negative reports surrounding the PC version. However, I didn't experience any of the performance issues. The game ran very smoothly with all settings maxed out on the PC.

Easily the worst entry in the Far Cry series. Even Far Cry: New Dawn is better, and that's saying something.

Apart from the nice visuals, there's hardly anything worth checking out. But the visuals alone cannot carry the game.

The story and the premise seem interesting at first, but terrible writing is what kills it. The cast of characters is probably the worst I've seen in a long time, rivaling those in Wolfenstein 2 and COD: Vanguard. This includes the playable character Dani, who is fully voiced in this game.

The Far Cry series desperately needs a reboot. It was never more obvious than after playing this game. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone, even fans of the series.

I was really reluctant to try this game. I think all the negative press surrounding it clouded my judgment. Had I not received it as a gift, I would have missed out, big time.

Very few games come close to the quality of writing and world-building here. I was deeply invested in the story and characters from the beginning. Nothing feels out of place, and all the characters react and behave the way you'd expect real people to.

I cannot think of a single bad mission. Even the side quests are very well designed, to the point where they rival the main missions in other games. What strikes me the most is how quests can evolve into something completely different as you progress, defying your expectations.

Not much more needs to be said about the presentation. At this point, the game has cemented itself as a technical showcase, especially on the PC. The soundtrack is also great and fits the atmosphere perfectly.

Not everything is perfect. This is a complex game with many intertwined systems, so it can take a while to get used to it. The story progression can also be a bit confusing, as you often find yourself involved in multiple storylines. This is one of those games that will benefit greatly from repeated playthroughs.

I encountered a few minor bugs, but nothing that detracted from the overall experience. The state of the game seems to have improved dramatically since its release.

I really enjoyed my time with Cyberpunk and was left with a bittersweet feeling when I finished it. Very few games have had the same effect on me, and for that it gets my full recommendation.

This had the potential to be the best game in the Underground series. The original game still holds the crown as the best.

They've made a lot of improvements over the previous titles. Gone is the open world, the progression is more linear like in the first game. The visual rep is also gone, so you don't need to install any mods to get rid of it. Drifting is more involved than just moving your car from side to side. Gone are the boring URL races from Underground 2. The core gameplay loop is just as fun and engaging as the first two titles.

The confusing structure is the biggest drawback. You have to replay the same events multiple times at different difficulty levels in order to progress. This pads out the length of the game and makes the progression more confusing than it should be. It reminded me a bit of those old school JRPGs where you were forced to backtrack and grind levels by killing weak monsters.

This is a minor gripe, but I wish they had kept the magazine and DVD covers. I know they were cheesy, but they added to the charm of the previous two Underground games.

Still, this is an impressive game for the PSP, and I'd still recommend it to fans of the series. But don't attempt a completionist run unless you have 30+ hours to spare.

I've played a lot of COD games, so I knew what to expect. What I wasn't prepared for was the cringe-worthy writing.

I won't dwell on the gameplay side of things - it's good old COD, and it's up to you to decide if that's a good or bad thing.

What sets Vanguard apart is its diverse cast of characters. You get to play as all of them at different points in the campaign. It's not a bad concept, but the absolutely terrible writing is what ruins it. None of the characters are likeable, and I couldn't care less about their clichéd backstories. In the instances where they are all together, they come across as childish, as if they were twelve-year-olds trapped in adult bodies. Whoever was responsible for writing the characters obviously has no knowledge of real human interaction.

The plot is no better. Without getting into spoilers, it's very similar in concept to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. If you've seen that movie, you know what to expect.

I have to give credit to the art team because the game looks really nice at times. It ran really well on the PC, even with all the settings maxed out. I didn't encounter any bugs either.

I had a chance to play the multiplayer a while back and had a lot of fun with it. The time to kill was incredibly short, and on meat grinder style maps the pace was insane.

Anyway, I'd still recommend this game to fans of FPS games or those who crave more COD.

While I fully recognize and respect the influence this game has had on many, it is simply not as good as the original Underground.

They have improved many aspects of the original game, such as making the game open world, improving customization, and handling. But they've also needlessly padded the length of the game and made some questionable additions.

I didn't like the addition of URL and Street X races, which take place on generic tracks far removed from the open world. It doesn't help that the default number of laps you have to complete is way too many. I'd highly recommend downloading Lexal's The Smol Improvement mod, which reduces the number of laps to a more reasonable level.

Aside from these gripes, the game is fun to play, and customizing cars never gets old. Bayview is a nice setting with some iconic landmarks. It's just a shame that it feels underutilized in the races.

The soundtrack is also great, and the intense sense of nostalgia is largely due to it. I'd say it's on par with the original Underground.

Overall, I'd still recommend this game, but not in its default state. If you're playing on the PC, be sure to download the Smol Improvement, the Extra Options, and the widescreen mod. They are almost essential to fully enjoy the game.

It's a below average shooter, only slightly helped by the Aliens IP. Nothing in this game stands out, and overall it's a very forgettable experience.

Surprisingly, the Stasis Interrupted story expansion is slightly better than the main game - especially from a story standpoint - but not by much.

I played this game with the ACM Overhaul mod by TemplarGFX, which improves the visuals and fixes AI bugs. Just a word of warning: don't use the fast soldiers option during installation. Use the slower options instead.

The biggest drawback to this game is its padded length. Some of the later events consist of 24 laps of racing. It doesn't help that there are two separate campaigns. After I finished the Hot Pursuit campaign, I considered the game finished. There was no way I was going to go through the same experience in the World Racing campaign, minus the police chases.

Other than that, the game itself holds up really well - especially the PS2 version. The handling model feels a little heavy at first, but it doesn't take long to get used to it.

The tracks are the absolute highlight. They are fun to drive around in and there are plenty of shortcuts to take. I wish the series would ditch the open world and go back to this track model.

As for the police chases, they are fun, but the cops have a massive advantage over the racers. They have infinite speed boosts, can set up roadblocks and call in helicopters to carpet bomb everyone on the road. As a racer, you have no way to defend yourself. I'm glad they've addressed this in the newer games.

Overall, I'd still recommend it to fans of the series, and fans of racing games in general. Just don't feel compelled to sit through the padded campaign.

This is a Need for Speed game in name only. It lacks everything that made the series so special. Although I have to say that this is by far the best looking racing game on the PlayStation.

The PlayStation version was developed by the same studio that was responsible for the V Rally series, and it shows. The handling model would be better suited for a rally game. The same goes for the track design: while they are nice to look at, most of them have a lot of tight corners and narrow roads, making it difficult to reach high speeds. Expect to use the handbrake a lot, something I've never done in a Need for Speed game before. It doesn't help that the control schemes offered don't provide the precision needed to navigate these tight tracks. On later levels I felt like I was playing an RC racing game.

After finishing the Evolution mode, I kind of wished I'd played the PC version instead. Unless you're a die-hard Porsche fan, I'd suggest sticking to other entries in the NFS series.

Much improved compared to the first game. However, it's just as frustrating and unfair as the original. Hats off to the development team, they really managed to create some of the most toxic racing AI I've ever seen in a racing game. Watching them crash (all thanks to the often poor track design) never got old though. Speaking of bad track design, whoever designed the Pacific Spirit track should be ashamed of themselves.

I'd only recommend checking this out if you like the series and are interested in how it all started. Otherwise, feel free to skip this one - you won't miss much.