Improved upon the first game in almost all aspects. It didn't fundamentally change the franchise, but I think it went from a really good to a great game. The only real complaint I have is that sometimes the stuff to do is overwhelming and there is a little grinding needed, which isn't so fun when a lot of the quests have mediocre design, but it's still has an addictive loop of gameplay. It's one of the best-looking games on the market, it has great worldbuilding, enemies, and traversal. I liked having another interesting character like Sylens (RIP Lance Reddick), Tilda, played by the amazing Carrie-Anne Moss. Overall, a solid if not astounding improvement on a fun game with a great protagonist (voiced by Ashly Burch).

Replaying this game for the first time since I played it about a decade ago, and it holds up pretty well. It's pretty focused, without too much of the filler and repetition that has worn me out in the newer Ubisoft games. Ezio is such a likable protagonist, and the cast of supporting characters is strong and varied. The combat is fairly simple, but its solid mechanically and can be pretty fun sometimes, just like the parkour which is pretty good. The world is gorgeous and fun to explore, especially with the excellent soundtrack. Might be my favorite Ubisoft game, just a really strong execution of their style of game. Excited to move onto Brotherhood and Revelations which I have never beaten.

Haven't touched much of the MP, Warzone just isn't for me and I hear it's not in a good state, and based on MW2019, I'm staying far away from Coop. The campaign was the main thing I beat and it was pretty good, probably the best since Infinite Warfare. It wasn't imperfect, as the pacing was strange and there was variety but it honestly felt disjointed at times. It felt like only a handful of missions were typical CoD missions, and the rest were inspired by other popular genres and games, specifically like The Last of Us, Uncharted, Watch Dogs, just to name a few. It's also still totally a US Military propaganda piece, I mean you fight a fictional Middle-East group based off Al-Qaeda but they ally with Russia, Iran, and even fucking Mexican cartels. It's certainly the best a CoD campaign has ever looked and felt, but it was an uneven experience and I honestly experienced a shocking number of bugs, usually visual, that hampered my experience in a way that is uncommon to the franchise in my experience.

A more intimate and emotional game than either Kiwami or Kiwami 2, but also probably in large part due to the lack of a remake, many aspects can feel quite dated in comparison to those games. The story has the most heart yet and there is some really great character stuff that happens here, but gameplay is a large step back from kiwami 2 in every way, from combat, to exploration, to quest design. And who designed the chase sequences? They really are annoying and out of place, idk. Still an absolutely critical piece of Kiryu's story, I loved the new characters and Kiryu's emerging softer side (which has always been there). It's hard to compare this game directly to the Kiwami remakes, but it does feel dated when coming from those games.

Genuinely a surprise, given the reputation it seemingly has as a let-down. At no point in this game was I really bored, or disappointed. Its largest failing is most obvious when looking objectively, as the game doesn't do much to innovate the franchise. In fact, it sort of ends up feeling like a mashup of the first Assassin's Creed and Brotherhood, but it still is quite satisfying. It concludes the story of Ezio (and even Altair) in a meaningful way, while still leaving room for Desmond's story to continue. The city of Constantinople is a beautiful vista for Ezio to explore, and there are a few new kinks to keep the player entertained. I think the game also benefits from its brevity, as it only took me around 9 hours to complete. With its conciseness + satisfying story, it stands up well to the other games and I think I would only take ACII over Revelations out of the first four entries.

The best Yakuza had been in terms of storytelling, with pretty unique combat, though I think that this game would've been better off with Majima as the only playable character. I don't say that out of disdain for Kiryu, who I love, but his role in the story doesn't feel as critical and it felt like the developers just wanted to include him because it's cool to see our protagonist in his prime. Majima's combat and story are really the reason to play this game. Probably the best of the brawler Yakuza games, with only Like a Dragon 7 ahead in my mind.

A solid experience that is most successful in concept, as it defined a generation of Ubisoft games to come. Altair is a fairly memorable protagonist, and it is nice to explore the beautiful depictions of various Middle Eastern cities. The story is straightforward and simple, and gets the job done. The combat and gameplay is perfectly serviceable early on, but the game is so repetitive in combat encounters and mission structure that it just starts to wear you down as the game progresses. It's probably more fun just to run around the sandbox than to stab at the main quest missions most of the time. The vistas, sandbox, protagonist, and story are memorable, but the in-between is definitely forgettable.