"I have no honour, but I will not kill my family."

As if Sucker Punch didn't already put Ubisoft to shame with last year's release of GoT, they went and did it twice in a row this year with a cut that added an expansion and more things to the game in a way that made it better than last time how Ubisoft wish they could with all of their DLCs as of late.

Started and finished the Iki Island story line on day one of release it was that good, dare I say the story was even better than that of the Tsushima story in some areas. Seeing an in depth analysis of Jin's father and the people who killed him was exciting to see and something I wanted in a potential sequel.

Aside from that, the Director's Cut improves on everything else. There's now lock-on in combat which will make the combat that more easier for people who had struggles with the camera work beforehand. There are new animations and ways to do things in combat and in parkour/stealth, and personally the colour scheme aesthetic for me is also improved, everything fits the black, white and gold theme now in the button prompts. You are also able to replay camps/duels which is something fans wanted for awhile, giving you more to do in your free time when there's nothing else to do.

Other additions I really liked was the ability to charge at enemies on your horse, the addition of the flute as a duel sense mechanic and being able to pet deers, cats and monkeys alike.

Overall, a solid cut and DLC expansion. Hope Sucker Punch continues with this franchise because it's definitely one of the magnum opus for PlayStation exclusives in my opinion.

Bowser's Fury is Super Mario Wind Waker. Remove the dungeons and puzzles from the islands and replace them with mini 3D World levels. Remove the sense of adventure and scale from sailing and replace them with even more engaging movement. Add in Fury Bowser, and now it's Pac-Man. Grab that giant power pellet, buddy.

3D World is still a masterpiece, but they increased the characters' movement speeds. It completely trashed by muscle memory from the Wii U version. That said, they made the right decision, for the sake of those who didn't buy a Wii U. I hope they enjoy this game.

The aesthetic is definitely the best part of the game. The stark whites contrasted by the red from the runner vision creates a distinct, appealing visual style that also aids in gameplay. But everyone talks about the visuals. Not enough is said about the music. The ambient, often somber songs go well with the world and create a nice zen-like feel for platforming. And there's the sound effects. Faith's movement is accompanied by sound effects that give her a realistic physicality I haven't felt in even modern first-person games.

And the gameplay is exhilarating once mastered. The realistic movement of Mirror's Edge mattered because it emphasized the importance of skillful play. There's no fooling around. You get good and play well or else Faith goes splat. Stringing together jumps, rolls, climbs, turns, and slides brings to life the thrill of hardcore parkour. It can make all the mistakes made along the way feel worth it.

The controls are pretty smart too. They take some time to get used to (not using A to jump felt weird), but they make complete sense. Moving, looking, and jumping are the three most important verbs in this game. The player should always have their fingers on the analog sticks and jump button. I'm sure the game plays fine on keyboard and mouse, but since precise aiming isn't as big of a factor as moving, the analog stick works fine.

Precise aiming is a factor though, and that's a problem. The combat is bad. It's supposed to be bad. Faith isn't a fighter, and she isn't supposed to feel like one. I just wish the game would stop forcing me to fight. Running away from cops works sometimes, but a lot of the time they're right in Faith's path, at which point taking them down becomes a crap-shoot. I like that aiming becomes significantly worse when Faith is holding a gun; that's pretty funny, but even melee combat is unreliable. If non-lethal take-downs were more consistent, and if direct combat happened less often, I'd be fine with it.

Sometimes the platforming can break down too. There are some levels that require the player to slow down and find the proper path forward, and that's fine. It adds some contrast with the more speed-focused parts. But even with runner's vision telling me where to go, along with a button that turns the camera toward the intended destination, I sometimes got confused about which platforms in which order would get me to the goal. Mistakes made during the fast portions could suck, but a successful run was something to behold. Climbing out of a puzzle-platforming section was usually just accompanied with a feeling of "well, that's over with."

I'm glad that other developers seemed to like Mirror's Edge. You don't have to look hard for first-person games that incorporate parkour as a tool in their run-and-gun core loop. Meanwhile, indie games like Refunct try to bring purity to the design by stripping away everything that isn't platforming. That's not to mention all the games inspired by the visuals of Mirror's Edge. We'll probably never get another realistic parkour game like Mirror's Edge, but I'm thankful for the legacy it has left behind.

It hasn't hurt this much to only give a game a 9/10 in a while.

Gushing over Wind Waker's beautiful story, lovable characters, fun exploration, expansive sea, gorgeous soundtrack, rewarding upgrades, strong dungeons and amazing charm would hopefully convey why this game holds such a special place in my heart. This enthralling, character-driven masterclass of story and game design will always hold an irreplaceable spot in my heart. Some monotonous quests and an overall lack of difficulty hold this back from being my favorite Zelda game, a title it held for many years. But still, if this is the only Wii U game I ever care to revisit, it will have justified the console's purchase.

you killllled meeeeee



good