Games Page

Resident Evil 7: Biohazard

Resident Evil 7 was the first Resident Evil game I played. I got this game on Xbox to play during October for Halloween. This game is definitely the scariest game I have played, although I don’t play many scary games. If you play this game, play it alone at night; it is scary, but that is part of the excitement. Ammo and weapons are rare so you have to use your ammo carefully, the enemies are tough, but once you learn their behaviors you can adapt. The puzzles in this game are smart, never too obtuse and difficult but also not hand holdy. Its classic Resident Evil gameplay and what the series is known for: Survival Horror. How easy this game is, is based on how well you manage your items and how efficiently you tackle this game's enemeis. The story is really good as well. It starts with the mystery of what is going on in this huge estate, and the reveals are shocking and crazy. Resident Evil 7 takes clear inspiration from classic horror movies; slashers, saw traps, haunted houses, ghost girl, blair witch style camera recordings. This game is truly horrifying with all the gore and the brutal deaths the people in this game get. What goes on in the Baker House are probably the most gruesome things in the whole series. If you have never played a Resident Evil game, this should be your first one.

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

What a thrill... Me and my friends are doing a Metal Gear Solid marathon, where each of us plays a different MGS game. My friends played the first two games, and so it was my turn to play as Big Boss in this game. Graphically, MGS 3 is very impressive for a PS2 game and I'm sure it was mind blowing at the time. The controls are a bit outdated and sometimes difficult. You have to stand still to aim and sometimes my inputs would not result in my intended action. Once you get the hang of the controls, the gameplay is very engaging. Metal Gear Solid 3 is the predecessor for stealth games and I could clearly see the inspiration for modern stealth mechanics in games today. What is best about Metal Gear is the story. Metal Gear Solid 3’s story is a serious political thriller that includes wacky characters with superpowers and plenty of humor. The bosses in this game are a collection of freaks who are as entertaining to watch as they are to fight. Snake is a badass who’s the best soldier in the world, and also an incel who’s never felt the touch of a woman and has mommy issues. There are parts of this game that includes highly critical takes on cold war politics that sometimes goes on for a long time, all while Snake is wearing kabuki theater make-up. Metal Gear Solid 3 was a fun game. The mechanics are engaging, sometimes a little frustrating, and the story is excellent.

Fallout New Vegas

Many people say Fallout New Vegas is the best Fallout game. Is that true? Yes it obviously is. What makes New Vegas stand far above other rpgs is how much depth this game has. Every character and faction is fleshed out with detailed motivations and history, and the quests let the player have a significant impact on the world. The lore is incredibly well written and interesting, with the world of Fallout New Vegas behaving realistically and having real world allegories. There is trade, economies, nation states, people fighting for independence, conquests, and politics. When I first played this game, I had no concept of a game being so in depth. I was stunned when I failed a quest and couldn’t continue with the NCR ending and had to restart my whole playthrough. But it is these consequences that make the quests so engaging. Since the player can fail these quests with their choices, they can decide which factions get supported or destroyed, what fate do these characters get, who lives and who dies. The best parts of New Vegas to me are actually the dlcs, which contain some of the best writing in the game and the most unique locations too.

New Vegas is a game that not just the Bethesda Fallouts, but most rpgs fail to reach the quality of. A lot of people are upset that no one has been able to make an rpg on the same standard as New Vegas, especially Bethesda. That is because New Vegas is a once in a lifetime type of game, the stars had to align for it to be created. The only reason Obsidian was able to create this game is because Bethesda made the engine and assets with Fallout 3, and some of the lore was made for the canceled Van Buren Fallout. Some will say to give the Fallout ip to Obsidian, but most of the people who made New Vegas don’t work there anymore, and have you played Avowed? Have you played Outerworlds 2? Didn’t think so.

Fallout 3

I first got introduced to the Fallout series in 2009, when I went to my friend's house and he showed me Fallout 3. The open world was unlike anything I had seen in a video game before. I definitely got this game before I was old enough to play it, but whatever. I really like the post-apocalyptic retro future aesthetic this game has. Wandering through the ruins of the nation’s capital that has been divided into trenches and war zones, trying to sneak past super mutants all while my pipboy is blasting “Bingo Bango Bongo” at full blast. This game does not at all shy away from the gruesome violence of the Fallout series. There are slavers, rapists, murderers, mutants who eat people, rich assholes who live in a giant tower and kill people for fun. There are a lot of choices the player can make on how good of a person they are to others, but the main story is more linear. Fallout 3’s best parts are exploring the wasteland itself. The world space was so vast back then, I could hardly comprehend it all at the time. A lot of this games mechanics are done better in Fallout 4 and New Vegas, but to me, Fallout 3 has an unmatched post-apocalyptic atmosphere.

Halo 3

Halo 3 is the first Halo game I played in 2008 when I was 9 years old. Since I never played the first 2 games, I had no idea what was happening in the story but I still loved it. Halo 3’s story is just the cut ending to Halo 2 that has been extended into a full campaign. Not much happens, but the story beautifully ends the Halo trilogy and lets the player finish the fight against the Covenant and The Flood. The environments are breathtaking, especially the levels on the Ark, which gave me my love for the series. Levels are an improvement from Halo 2, with way less frustrating and repetitive sections and a bigger emphasis on vehicles and exciting action and badass moments. Gameplay wise, Halo 3 is the same as Halo 2 but with better weapon balance (no more duel needlers) and the inclusion of equipment items. And you can’t talk about Halo 3 without talking about the multiplayer, which made Halo 3 one of the most played games for years. The addition of armor customization let players show off how skilled they were to others, and the new forge mode led to the explosion of new creative custom games that was a staple of Halo 3.

Halo 2

Before I played Halo 2, I heard many praises for it, with a lot of people online saying it is the best Halo game. What this game excels at is its' story. Halo 2 has the most campaign missions and cutscenes of the games and they are used to tell the best story in the series. The story is split between the Master Chief and the UNSC, and the Arbiter - a disgraced elite in the Covenant hierarchy. The Master Chief missions are badass and triumphant, and the Arbiter missions are political and tense. Playing as the Arbiter and seeing the story from the Covenant's pov, brings a nice dichotomy that makes the narrative even more interesting. The beautiful cgi cutscenes in the anniversary edition create a cinematic experience that makes the story much more engaging.

Halo 2 however, is a step back in the games sandbox from Halo CE. With the addition of duel wielding, some guns become way too weak and others way too strong. And the level design is a bit more frustrating than Halo CE. Too many levels are spent waiting on doors and riding on elevators while fighting waves of enemies as the level seems to not progress at all. That being said, Halo 2 is a great experience that expands Halo's universe.

Halo: Combat Evolved

I've been playing Halo games since Halo 3 in 2007, but I first played Halo CE in 2015 when it came with the Master Chief Collection. I assumed being the first Halo game, that it would feel outdated, but Halo CE actually runs circles against so many newer first person shooters, even most other Halo titles. Gameplay wise, Halo CE might be unmatched. The weapon sandbox is so well designed, no weapons ever feel useless or weak; every weapon has its purpose. The enemy ai fight in a pattern; Elites yell when their shields go down, Grunts run in terror, Jackals expose their heads when you shoot them in the arm. These things, combined with the level design, create this tight smooth gameplay where you are flowing through these levels. Another thing that is great here is the art direction. The design of the Forunner structures looks like a mix between futuristic technology and ancient ruins. There is a lot of visual storytelling in these designs. The Halo ring is an ancient weapon designed to kill all life in the universe, and the mechanical and mysterious nature of the Forunner ruins matches that. Great Game.