The last few games you beat and rate them IV

[Mantis]

Hardline is terrible. Get Battlefield 5.

I just bought it cuz it was like $6 on PS4. I just played the campaign once and deleted it. I have had Battlefield 5 pretty much since it came out.

 

[GlassesJacketShirt]

Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition
Developed by United Front Games
Played on PC (also available on PS4 and Xbox One)
(Note: Base edition available on PS3 and Xbox 360)

Pros
-Incredibly realized world that feels different enough from most open world gangster games/visually interesting
-Fun hand-to-hand combat system with surprising depth
-Well realized upgrade system
-Good voice performances across the board
-Story is cliche but well done enough

Cons
-Even in the definitive version, glitches and AI stupidity came in the way of enjoyment
-Faces of non-critical NPCs are pretty bad up close
-Way underdeveloped romance system
-Abrupt ending

Score: 6.5/10

Final thoughts: A fine example of an first iteration that could have provided the blueprint to something more promising. Due to the developer's shutdown, that promise never came to be.

 

[Bring Bak Damphousse]

Spider man ps4 9/10
Almost perfect, a bit repetitive but the fighting and swinging mechanics felt great, very easy to jump right into a feel like you’ve mastered getting around. Pretty easy platinum aswell if your into trophies.

Wreckfest 6/10
Lost the lustre pretty quickly, I really enjoyed the racing, the demo derbies on the other hand especially with the 3 wheeled Reliant clone(cant remember what they call it) is a total crapshoot, hitting a guy whose damage bar is low only to bounce off and watch another car gently tap him to get the wreck is infuriating. Also having a guy turn almost completely sideways without losing any speed is interesting to say the least.

 

[Unholy Diver]

Far Cry New Dawn - 7/10

Spinoff of FC5 set 17 years after the events of the end of 5, it's a Far Cry game, if you have played any of the last few then you should know what to expect, nothing bad but nothing earth shattering either

 

[GlassesJacketShirt]

Sekiro (Redux Score)
Developed by FromSoftware
Played on PC (also available on PS4, Xbox One)

It was my favorite game of 2019, and one of my top 10 of the 2010s. Went into it rusty as I retraced my steps, as such it took far longer to beat than my last playthrough.

Sekiro is a singular experience. I cannot say how such a game could develop a satisfying sequel, for its crowning achievement is also its greatest curse. Mastering the game's mechanics is a must to beat it, and as such would remove the sequel's draw for veterans. A continuation of the story would be neat, but considering the story's obvious (and delicate) focus around death, I cannot imagine it would be happy conclusion.

A great example of a game that creates a certain feeling granted through gameplay rather than cinematics, a personal journey the player needs face head on to find success. Difficult, yes; fair and rewarding, absolutely. Ten months later and my opinion on the game has solidified.

Score: 10/10

Final Thoughts: Elden Ring has a lot to live up to.

 

[filip85]

Starcraft 2 : Wings of Liberty

10/10

 

[Nickmo82]

Final Fantasy 15
5.5-10
was my first(and last) ff game and i played it shortly after DMC 5( similar combat) so perhaps that is why I found it underwhelming..
Long, Repetitive , glitchy, overly difficult "boss" fights (near the end) and couldn't wait for it to be over

AC origins
8.5/10
Big game but didn't feel like it...a few glitches and got a bit grindy when trying to upgrade gear/ap but it was worth it...enjoyed it very much and will eventually try Odyssey

Don't base your FF experience on 15 - it fairly sucked. I'm a big FF fan, and I didn't enjoy it.

Give one of the more lauded titles a go.

 

[Ceremony]

​

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune Remastered (PS4, 2015 - originally PS3, 2007)

Until this year, I had never played an Uncharted game. I played the demo for the first one some time ago and I don't think I got to the end of it. There was some tepid platforming, I think I shot some people, that was that. When I saw the trilogy on sale when I was building up my PS4 library though I thought, why not? Well because it's a PS+ game the same month I finally decided to get around to playing them, that's why. Oh well.

Uncharted: Drake's... er... Fortune? Is it Fortune? I think it is. It's a third person shooty jumpy thing where you are Nathan Drake, a man for whom smugness passes as self-effacement and whose hair is apparently bulletproof. He's doing some exploring in the ocean looking for treasure and he discovers there might be real treasure. Perhaps the treasure - El Dorado. Francis Drake himself said it could exist (Nathan believes himself descended from the legendary explorer) so off he pops. On the way to the jungles of South America (I think) he finds everything you'd expect on such a journey - Nazis, zombies, mercenaries, pirates, and an ancient curse. Great stuff.

Even if this is an upscaled and prettyfied remastering of a game from 2007, it's still slightly sobering to think it's that old. I'm in two minds whether or not the game feels old or not. I think the best word is basic. The layouts of the levels are pretty simple, the enemy attack patterns aren't sophisticated, and the mechanics don't feel very complex. This isn't a criticism. It's a bit strange when you first start but for the most part, it's easy to get used to. The cutscenes and character models are all good looking enough to not look completely dated. Just don't look too hard at any water in the background when you're at sea.

Despite being an "explorer," Drake is quite handy with a gun. With all guns, in fact. This is good, because there are a lot of people between you and your goals. 675 all in for one playthrough, according to my statistics. There are a few different weapons but automatic/single fire weapons differ little, and trying to hit the target can be a frustrating experience. I'd be aiming for headshots, be almost certain I'd got one, but the enemy wouldn't go down. Sometimes it could take multiple shots even to the chest and upper body, and that's on lower difficulties. It doesn't help when enemies duck and flinch when you shoot near them and miss. It might be realistic, but it's a pain. The end result is shooting which always leaves you wanting a bit more damage, or accuracy, or authenticity.

I need to make a special note of the grenades. You can throw grenades. You can't cook them. This is a pain, because an enemy basically has to be sat on top of one of them like a penguin on an egg for them to take any damage. Given this is a cover-based shooter, this gets very annoying.

I need to make another special note about the level design. On more than one occasion you'll be moving through some ruins and come across some enemies. There will be enemies above your position, firing at you. You can't see them. This is bad level design. There's no excuse for age here, if you put this shit in your game in 1997 never mind 07 you should have been flogged. Trying to tell where shots come from can be tricky, it's especially annoying when the means of returning fire is imprecise and they've only got half of their head poking out from behind a parapet somewhere directly above you.

There are other niggly aspects of the combat that just make the game feel basic. Quite often you'll clear an area, then start moving towards the exit. As you get there, a bunch of guys will spawn from the direction you've just came. This is cheap, annoying, and just plain stupid. Were they all waiting for me to run past before they ambushed me? I don't get it.

There is also hand to hand combat, but it's pointless because it's only effective when you're facing one enemy. Any more than that, and you'll be shot while you're mashing square on a guy's face. Given the threat it exposes you to as well as the extra time it takes compared with shooting someone, I don't see why there's melee combat at all.

The platforming is okay. You climb some stuff, you shimmy along some ledges, you jump to other stuff. Sometimes it's a bit unclear where you're supposed to go. Sometimes a ledge will start breaking and you have to jump off quick, but there's always more than enough time. Rushing usually makes it worse, as the detection for jumping off points isn't always as fluid as you'd like it to be. You could also technically call this a puzzle-platformer, but the puzzles are barely worthy of the name. You're in a room with some switches, you look at Francis Drake's notebook (remarkably well preserved for being several centuries old) and it tells you what to do. There's times where I imagine this game is like Tomb Raider for idiots.

The absolute worst part of this game is the story and character development. The story itself could work, I suppose, but the game's too brief for me to be invested in it. You can finish the thing in five hours, and there's little sense of consequence or stakes at play. Even the ending is ridiculous. One of the baddies sees this giant golden sarcophagus turn his mate into a zombie, he decides to carry on taking it away anyway. Really? I doubt it. The things Drake finds and his way of getting there feels a bit like the gameplay as described earlier - basic. It's just, sort of, there.

Drake's main character traits are his hair and his smugness. That says nothing for the apparent contempt for the audience at introducing anyone else. Drake travels with his best friend, an old man named Sully. Sully gets 'shot' ten minutes in, then turns up alive later. I know nothing about him, so I don't care. They hired a journalist, Elena, to film their exploring. She gets left behind by them at the start only to turn up later, apparently as someone self-confident and capable in addition to being the love interest. She's just sort of... there. Again, it's basic. I'm not sure if it's the length of the game or the content, but so much of it feels like it's purely a starting point. An establishing shot.

Special mention needs made of the bad guys. After Drake finds a U-boat in the jungle, he crawls out to find Sully being held at gunpoint by a grey-haired man with a shirt an accent. "I'm Gabriel Roman." "I know who you are." That's it. That's literally all the introduction we get to the chief antagonist. It's not good enough. There's another guy Drake knows who he runs into throughout the game. They seem to have a great amount of history with one another, but it's all delivered with a tone of knowledge on their part, none of this is imparted onto the audience. We barely know anything about Drake, but his interactions with the other characters are almost all with prior knowledge on his part, so they're never expanded on. What investment should I have in the game when it makes no effort to introduce, explain, or detail its characters?

I'll be honest, I spent most of my time playing this wishing I was playing the Jak and Daxter trilogy. You can tell this is the first game Naughty Dog made after that, just in a few of the cutscenes and mannerisms of the characters in them. Those flashes made me want the whole game to be like that. Even to have the same variety and satisfaction in the combat would have been enough. but it just wasn't. I don't know what I was expecting when I started Uncharted. I'm not disappointed, I'm not angry, it's just... there. Definite room for improvement.

 

[Shareefruck]

Final Fantasy 15
5.5-10
was my first(and last) ff game and i played it shortly after DMC 5( similar combat) so perhaps that is why I found it underwhelming..
Long, Repetitive , glitchy, overly difficult "boss" fights (near the end) and couldn't wait for it to be over

AC origins
8.5/10
Big game but didn't feel like it...a few glitches and got a bit grindy when trying to upgrade gear/ap but it was worth it...enjoyed it very much and will eventually try Odyssey

I second what Nickmo82 said. The series has done some seriously inspired and charming work in the past (you might still have problems with them-- they're old, and combat has never been their strength, but you gotta at least respect what they're trying to do), but 15 is pure irredeemable trash that I have nothing good to say about, personally. In fact, most of what the company turned into after 9 or 10 is trash, in my opinion.

They basically went from an admirable company willing to risk everything for the sake of ambitious passion/grandiosity (thus the name Final Fantasy-- there's a trend of them risking bankrupcy with the scope of their projects) to a soulless commercial entity with terrible sensibilities, shameless cash grabs, and no intention of doing anything interesting ever.

Judging the franchise by one of the newer Final Fantasies (and while we're at it, probably even that big remake that's coming out) is a lot like judging The Simpsons by one of the newer episodes.

 

[Do Make Say Think]

Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition
Developed by United Front Games
Played on PC (also available on PS4 and Xbox One)
(Note: Base edition available on PS3 and Xbox 360)

Pros
-Incredibly realized world the feels different enough from most open world gangster games/visually interesting
-Fun hand-to-hand combat system with surprising depth
-Well realized upgrade system
-Good voice performances across the board
-Story is cliche but well done enough

Cons
-Even in the definitive version, glitches and AI stupidity came in the way of enjoyment
-Faces of non-critical NPCs are pretty bad up close
-Way underdeveloped romance system
-Abrupt ending

Score: 6.5/10

Final thoughts: A fine example of an first iteration that could have provided the blueprint to something more promising. Due to the developer's shutdown, that promise never came to be.

Had way more fun with this than I did with GTA V. The arm/leg break move was so damn satisfying to use

 

[mmalady]

I second what Nickmo82 said. The series has done some seriously inspired and charming work in the past (you might still have problems with them-- they're old, and combat has never been their strength, but you gotta at least respect what they're trying to do), but 15 is pure irredeemable trash that I have nothing good to say about, personally. In fact, most of what the company turned into after 9 or 10 is trash, in my opinion.

They basically went from an admirable company willing to risk everything for the sake of ambitious passion/grandiosity (thus the name Final Fantasy-- there's a trend of them risking bankrupcy with the scope of their projects) to a soulless commercial entity with terrible sensibilities, shameless cash grabs, and no intention of doing anything interesting ever.

Judging the franchise by one of the newer Final Fantasies (and while we're at it, probably even that big remake that's coming out) is a lot like judging The Simpsons by one of the newer episodes.

lol...i watched half an episode of The Simpsons in the early 90's and haven't watched another since...it just solidified my dislike for adult "cartoons"...i'm seeing a trend here..but I've either missed the boat or bailed a sinking ship lol...either way im probably in the minority

 

[Commander Clueless]

Final Fantasy 15
5.5-10
was my first(and last) ff game and i played it shortly after DMC 5( similar combat) so perhaps that is why I found it underwhelming..
Long, Repetitive , glitchy, overly difficult "boss" fights (near the end) and couldn't wait for it to be over

FFXV was my first Final Fantasy game as well and.....ooof. I applaud you for your resilience - I didn't make it past the boredom of about the third stupid real-time car ride across the map.

My wife is a huge FF fan from years past, so I tried to jump on that train with her and....so much nope. I'm hoping FFVII Remake is good so I can join in the FF fun.

I might have to jump into the old ones which are considered classics, but if I'm being honest, I'm afraid the age of the games might kill it for me.

I second what Nickmo82 said. The series has done some seriously inspired and charming work in the past (you might still have problems with them-- they're old, and combat has never been their strength, but you gotta at least respect what they're trying to do), but 15 is pure irredeemable trash that I have nothing good to say about, personally. In fact, most of what the company turned into after 9 or 10 is trash, in my opinion.

They basically went from an admirable company willing to risk everything for the sake of ambitious passion/grandiosity (thus the name Final Fantasy-- there's a trend of them risking bankrupcy with the scope of their projects) to a soulless commercial entity with terrible sensibilities, shameless cash grabs, and no intention of doing anything interesting ever.

Judging the franchise by one of the newer Final Fantasies (and while we're at it, probably even that big remake that's coming out) is a lot like judging The Simpsons by one of the newer episodes.

To be fair, I have heard really good things about the MMO in recent years (not the crap it launched with).

Just not sure I want to play another MMO....

 

[Shareefruck]

lol...i watched half an episode of The Simpsons in the early 90's and haven't watched another since...it just solidified my dislike for adult "cartoons"...i'm seeing a trend here..but I've either missed the boat or bailed a sinking ship lol...either way im probably in the minority

I personally feel pretty strongly that they were about as good as television got for two to three seasons (certainly not the entirety of the 90s), and for the rest of the series, I wouldn't bother arguing against any degree of criticism/dismissiveness. So difficult to know what we're talking about here.

Beyond that, lumping it all together as "adult cartoons" is seriously unwarranted. The Simpsons were initially just The Simpsons, when adult cartoons weren't even a thing-- they were a lot closer in tone and quality to something like Monty Python or Calvin and Hobbes than with any of the other adult cartoons that were just about dumb crass and edgy humor and shock value-- The crap-fest that came afterwards started more with Family Guy and went to hell from there (and Simpsons joined them shortly afterwards).

But it's your perogative to assume whatever you want to assume I guess. It's also the series own fault for ruining their own reputation in a way that would be misleading to people who, like you, would automatically treat it all like the same thing (same with Square Enix for that matter).

 

[Shareefruck]

FFXV was my first Final Fantasy game as well and.....ooof. I applaud you for your resilience - I didn't make it past the boredom of about the third stupid real-time car ride across the map.

My wife is a huge FF fan from years past, so I tried to jump on that train with her and....so much nope. I'm hoping FFVII Remake is good so I can join in the FF fun.

I might have to jump into the old ones which are considered classics, but if I'm being honest, I'm afraid the age of the games might kill it for me.



To be fair, I have heard really good things about the MMO in recent years (not the crap it launched with).

Just not sure I want to play another MMO....

Yeah, that's worth noting for sure (FFIV, right?), but personally, I don't really value or respect the potential of MMOs as a concept, even when they're hypothetically done as well as they possibly can be.

 

[Commander Clueless]

Yeah, that's worth noting for sure (FFIV, right?), but personally, I don't really value or respect the potential of MMOs as a concept, even when they're hypothetically done as well as they possibly can be.

Yes, FFXIV. The new Shadowbringers expansion is critically acclaimed.

I thought MMOs had a lot of potential at one point, but once everyone decided to play copycat to Warcraft/Everquest, it kind of went down the tubes.

I can't really speak to modern implementations (I still pick up Warcraft with my friends every now and again), but it was a creatively bankrupt sub-genre for a long time.

I also shy away from the majority of multiplayer games these days personally....minus a few co-op indies. Always on the hunt for a fun little co-op game to play with my friend.

 

[Ceremony]

​

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Remastered (PS4, 2015 - originally PS3, 2009)

Rather than write out a full review of Uncharted 2 from scratch, I'm going to keep it brief. Almost every aspect of the first game which I found lacking has been improved upon. The setting is better, the characterisation is better, the environments are better looking and more detailed, the shooting is (mostly) better and the gameplay has been diversified with some limited stealth elements. Some issues remain, however.

The most obvious one is the stealth. You can now sneak up behind people and press square to take them out. Or wait for them to come near the bit of cover you're in and then do it. This is great, and adds an extra dimension to approaching areas and dealing with enemies. The big problem with it ties into a problem from the last game. There's a section where you have to get past some guys on a snowy mountain cliffside after a train crash. I think there's seven enemies total to start. I went round carefully. I took each of them out when I was sure I wouldn't be seen. I was quite proud of the achievement when I was finished...

... only for a bunch of guys to suddenly appear from way back where I started. There's little consequence to taking out enemies with stealth or not, there certainly doesn't seem to be any reward. I think there was one section where you could stop some big guys with armour from spawning, but that seemed like a glitch more than anything else. Why include different methods of gameplay if it's not going to benefit you consistently as you'd expect when you utilise it?

If I followed games properly and played them at the time of their release - or indeed if I was able to make a living from being a video game historian and could chart such a thing - I get the feeling these games would signal a shift in the presentation and content of AAA titles. It's one thing to criticise the Heavy Rains of this world for undermining the concept of a game, but the overly cinematic presentation of the Uncharteds is something to behold. Do you know how many times Nathan slid down the side of something, or leapt out of something that was falling to cling on a ledge and need a button mashed to get him up? Neither do I, because I lost count. I'm the first to say that gameplay can excusably come second when necessary for the sake of story, but this all feels too neat, too planned. As gameplay it's cheap and uninteresting, as a story element it's just boring.

The story isn't immune to this sense of repetition. Just like last time, there's Nazis. Just like last time there's a mythical location with supernatural, world-altering treasure in it. Just like last time there's a collection of super-human guardians of the treasure. There's honestly a good case to be made for Uncharted 1 and 2 being the exact same game, just with 2 being a bit better technically at everything. The problem with that is the non-technical stuff just seems blander in comparison, and the whole thing becomes a bit less engaging.

Other things seem to have been included as a direct response to my issues with the first game. Drake killed too many people? Well we'll give him a conscience in the opening tutorial chapter since he doesn't want to kill museum guards, so he just knocks them out. Apart from one guy who he pulls down from a roof into the sea. Melee combat isn't quite as prominent. There are explosive canisters dotted about that have bigger bangs than grenades, but you can only shoot them from a distance. Trying to throw one will just leave you exposed and get you shot.

That isn't to say everything has changed for the better. The 'puzzles' are still there, and still pointless. You have some switches, but Drake's magic notebook just shows you what to do. I really don't see the point in this. Is it padding? Is it insulting? Are there people who think they're doing something difficult?

It's like Uncharted, but a bit moreso in every category. I never say "if you like that sort of thing you'll like this," but something as bland as this deserves a platitude to match.

 

[DJ Spinoza]

I "finished" Nier Automata last night, by which I mean I got the CDE endings. I have to say that despite the intensely frustrating moments, playing through was worth it and the game has become one of my favorites. I can't remember for sure, but I think I am one of the few who had to play the prologue a second time because I died, and I also had a sequence with a hacking mini game that took over an hour, after which I died, that almost killed the whole thing for me.

The one gameplay criticism I would have is that the combat on its own can become very competitive, and I think it can actually get too easy once you get up to a certain level. I do think that I got pretty good by the very end, but I sort of had a huge surge in ability due to not really playing the game full-throatedly until the last part of Path C. Basically I didn't take the time to map out the chip grouping, working for 95% of the game with I think just one upgrade. I never had a money issue throughout the game, and then at the end I sold a whole bunch of stuff and was able to completely overhaul my chip set, which combined with my level around 51-52, made me basically invincible.

That might sound like a lot of criticism, but in fairness, I did still find the game to be stylish and fun in the repetitive battle sequences for me. For some reason, I think I have a tendency not to proceed deliberately when playing an action game vs. a turn-based RPG, except when I really need to. I enjoyed the other aspects, especially the music and story, so much that I imagine I will do a completely fresh play through some day, where I will try to be more deliberate in how I build up.

The downside of being won over so fully to the game by the end is that I'd really love to play some of Taro's other games, but I only have a PS4.

 

[syz]

The downside of being won over so fully to the game by the end is that I'd really love to play some of Taro's other games, but I only have a PS4.

The Yoko Taro parts and the music are still good in the older games but they're definitely tougher to play from a technical side. Would be nice to get a remake of the first Nier, and maybe a couple of the Drakengards.

 

[DJ Spinoza]

The Yoko Taro parts and the music are still good in the older games but they're definitely tougher to play from a technical side. Would be nice to get a remake of the first Nier, and maybe a couple of the Drakengards.

From what I understand there are rumors that we might get a Drakengard 4 or a remake of the first Nier based on this?

Platinum 4 | PlatinumGames Inc Official Website

 

[Stylizer1]

Contra

10/10.

 

[mmalady]

god of war
loved every minute of it, except when the boy got so annoying for a bit lol
9/10

 

[Frankie Spankie]

The Pedestrian - 6/10

The Pedestrian is a neat little puzzle/platformer with some cool visuals for backgrounds. You play as a stick figure on street signs as you solve puzzles by moving signs around. The puzzles were pretty challenging and the idea was fresh but beyond that, it's just a standard puzzle/platformer. Not a must play IMO but if you see it on sale and are in the mood for a puzzle/platformer, give it a shot.

 

[Frankie Spankie]

Divinity: Original Sin - 9/10

I actually tried to play this game a few times and couldn't get into it until my third attempt. The game starts rather slowly as the first few hours is a lot of running around town and talking to people. Once you start venturing out and fighting in the world, I got hooked. The combat is turn based and there's so many variables you have to think of. You can do anything you can imagine. Set up puddles with a rain spell and electrify enemies to stun them, block a path with ice so enemies slip and fall, etc.

The world is filled with stuff to do. There's really only 4 zones but each one will take you 15~ hours to complete. You can go around and play it to your style and choose which path to take, who to save, who to hurt, etc. The game doesn't hold your hand which is equal parts rewarding and equal parts frustrating. I say frustrating because the quest log in the game is kind of bad. If you forget where you are in a quest line, as there are a lot of things that can distract you, the log doesn't really do much good in reminding you where to go next. There's just brief notes on any objective update but sometimes it's just not enough information if you took a bit of a break and forgot a location or where a person was. Furthermore, towards the end, there was one part about that that really annoyed me.

Spoiler

To open up the last dungeon, you have to find at least 12 blood stones. There's no real indicator on where any are, I had to use a guide for this part just to find them. You also had to explore all of the End of Time. It wasn't enough to have it all unlocked, you had to go into every room of it even though some of these rooms were just specialized merchants. I explored everything I could find and it still took me about 3 hours of backtracking while using a guide just to open the final dungeon. I can't even imagine how long it would take me to open up the final dungeon without a guide.

My biggest complaint about the game was clicking enemies in combat. Sometimes you would go to click an enemy and they would perform a small animation that would make your mouse click the ground next to them, wasting AP and making your character move instead of attacking. That got really frustrating. Also, after your attack finishes, the camera will snap back to center on your character. Sometimes the camera snap will happen a split second before you click to attack again and you'll waste AP moving.

Overall, still an incredible game. I'm glad I gave it a solid chance even after I couldn't get into it the first couple of attempts. It's long, it took me about 65 hours, and there's a lot to do. But the whole ride was enjoyable. At no point during those 65 hours did I feel like I was losing interest or even feeling repetitive. I definitely recommend this and will be picking up D:OS2 as a result.

 

[No Fun Shogun]

Blossom Tales on the Switch

If you have an SNES Zelda itch that you want scratched, this'll do it. Very easy, but fun way to spend 10 or so hours.

8/10

 

[GlassesJacketShirt]

I made a Halo re-view recently of the entire series (minus Halo 5), so now that school is suspended I have no choice but to play the multiplayer components to kill some time.........oh wait, I was already doing that. So yeah, Halo: Reach and Halo CE:A are on the table. How do their multiplayer components stack up?

1. Halo: Reach (2010)
-My first observation: the abilities were an adequate inclusion. None of them are overpowered, though Armor Lock is f***ing annoying.
-DMR feels tight, and the pistol feels like it's nicely balanced for multiplayer. Favorite weapon overall is the Grenade Launcher, getting the angle correct for kills is satisfying.
-Many covenant weapons feel superfluous at best. The Needle Rifle is a good foil for the DMR, and the Covenant's melee weapons are always great to get a handle on.
-Maps were all over the place in quality. I still hate Battle Creek in any capacity, while Boneyard is limited in usage. Breakneck is still great. The game's most iconic map is Forge World, but we can't forge at the moment and thus I cannot truly include in this review.
-Firefight is good, casual fun. I remember ODST having the better variant of the mode.

Final Thoughts: I will guess that 2 and 3 will end up with the tightest multiplayer functions overall, but Reach is still a pretty enjoyable romp with decent maps and weapon variety.

Overall: 7/10

2. Halo Combat Evolved: Anniversary (2001/2011)
-Spawns are trash.
-Weapon damage feels a touch inconsistent. Pistol is as overpowered and dominant as always.
-Maps had really interesting architecture for the time, and newer iterations built on their solid foundations (Hang Em High, Prisoner).
-Not shocked the maps didn't get a remaster, and maybe it would've been unnecessary: the gameplay found here does not hold up like the single-player.

Final Thoughts: I don't remember of Halo CE had such bad spawns in the past, but if they are accurate then this function is more of a relic than modernly playable game. Everything else matters less.

Overall: 4/10 (Generous)