This game has a stained reputation, and not for nothing. It has a very clumsy equipment system that feels more gimmicky than anything, and some enemies and puzzles are downright uninspired.

Despite that, it does enough things right to put it above the lesser games and alongside the first one and Chains of Olympus. The story takes place at the beginning of Kratos' journey (which is a good thing in that it allows for a more human Kratos) and the challenges it poses are some of the hardest in the entire franchise. At the same time, there's a sense of wonder and exploration with this one that I didn't feel since Cronos' labyrinth during GoW 1. The world feels like it's so much bigger than you, and even though you keep smashing everything that comes in your way, enough things are left unanswered to keep you guessing. Besides, I'm told the multiplayer wasn't half bad, so there you go.

To me, this was the equivalent of Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy, in that it tries so desperately to give nuance and perspective to a franchise and concepts that the designers are pretty obviously embarrassed about, but don't have the courage to confront head on. As a result, the game feels like a cowardly attempt to revise the franchise's reputation in what ultimately is a pretty bland effort to make a game about smashing and beheading into a Last of Us lookalike. To compound things, they added an upgrade system that is utterly uninspired, and a companion that barely does anything because God forbid we run the risk of making Kratos' son mechanically annoying.

Overall, an incredibly spineless work. The fact that it received nothing but accolades probably means it's going to get more and more tone-deaf from here, so get ready for another Tomb Raider trilogy situation!

As far as I can tell, even the most ardent critics of this title are quick to point out how unique of a thing it is, which is a statement that was surely truer back then than it is now. But aside from some small, specific parts where I genuinely was having some fun, the whole ordeal just smacked with desperation for me.

I have never seen a game that attempted so desperately to cater to so many styles of gameplay at the same time (or at the very least, to the styles that boys in the early '00s tended to favor), and as a result, nothing feels unique of particularly refined. Instead, the game seems to put a lot of confidence on its difficulty, which at the end makes it immensely annoying if you are trying to get through it quickly.

The one thing that could have stand out of this would have been the story and the design, but even that pales when comparing it to a Ratchet and Clank or a Sly Cooper. Instead, what we are left with is something that feels very much of its time, but not much else.

Weirdly enough, this the Jak that I ended up enjoying the most. It probably had a lot to do with the fact that the tasks were a lot less repetitive and annoying and Daxter stayed quiet for a significantly longer while, but other than that, I think the one thing that made me like this game was that it didn't feel like it was trying to pad the length of the title with the same things, opting instead to do one-offs or the occasional repeat of a specific minigame. As a result, I was able to enjoy the story a lot more and wasn't that bothered by the antics of me attempting to repeat a specific task for the 10th time in a row.

This breadth was also the thing that allowed me to appreciate what this trilogy has always had since the beginning, which is a very refined sense of movement. The act itself of moving around these maps always felt nice, especially when it's not burdened by the knowledge that you're stuck with a certain quest or mission, and it's a shame that it required three titles for me to finally see it.

This poor thing has been beaten to the ground enough times, and it's more than due time to talk about it fairly. I think it's a failure in many respects, but if we leave aside the decision to obscure puzzles for the sake of selling strategy guides (which is complete bullshit), most of the failures are at the very least interesting ones. It wasn't that common for console games at the time to actively deceive you, and though most stages were kinda samey, the way in which you accessed was very original and felt experimental at times.

Besides, I'm just gonna say that this is one of the only Castlevania titles that attempted to convey horror in a meaningful way, even if it was by way of stressing you with the night cycle. I still think this needed more work, but I can't help but appreciate the results.

The Metal Gear Solid 3 of early Castlevania. It's the first title pumped up to eleven. Everything is here, even the first stage of the first game has returned! Like with MGS3, the main attraction here is the replay value, which makes the levels more open-ended and less tight than in previous games. But it doesn't really matter in the end, because playing with all the characters is so fun. Besides, we get the clock tower near the beginning, which is one of the best stages in the franchise ever. Overall, an amazing game that has to be played to be believed.