NBA 2K16 (PS4)

Date Purchased:  June 1, 2016
Date Completed:  November 29, 2016
Price: Free (PS+)

A quality free game in June that I took my time playing.   This is a fantastic game, with amazing presentation, the gameplay is tight, and there's a lot to master.  I prefer my basketball games a little more on the arcade side, but I still had a good run with this one.

Like I mentioned earlier, the presentation is great, pregame show, halftime show, postgame show, in game interviews with real players voices, it really is a great simulation of watching a game on TV. After a few games however, that gets really old, and while there are some options to turn some replays off, there just aren't enough is all you wanna do is break some ankles and throw some down.

I'll keep playing this though.  Recommend.

Batman: Arkham Knight (Xbox One)

Date Purchased N/A (Borrowed Nov. 06, 2016)
Date Completed:  November 27, 2016
Price: Borrowed from a friend.

I've played a number of these games, but every time I come back I'm overwhelmed by the number of game mechanics they throw at you.  It usually only takes a few sessions to get through, but man, they come fast and furious!  AAA, then B.  Double tab A to eject from the Batmobile, Hold R and press A when running off a ledge to go into a bat dive, here's a few button prompts for driving the Batmobile, here's a whole new set for when you're in tank mode.  Press RT and A to do this stealth move, now press x, shift the camera, and  press X again, now turn the camera and press X again.  Got all that? Okay now upgrade your suit, Batmobile, and abilities to learn some new moves!

There there's the Batmobile tank.  Man the tank missions suck.  So repetitive.  I celebrated when the Batmobile was destroyed only for it to come back like 2 minutes later.   I didn't mind the driving, I quite liked ripping around Gotham, but the tank missions were so repetitive.  The hand to hand combat gives you many ways to approach a situation, but the tank is the same thing over and over and over again.

Before I start to sound completely negative, I will say the story is fantastic and kept me intrigued. Perhaps the story was a little too good as it made the side missions feel incredibly mundane.  Some of the side stories were good, and I did see them to completion, but many consisted of "beat up a group of bad guys" over and over and over again.  This is where the biggest disappointment personally came for me.  The ending.  The game doesn't end unless you complete every side quest.  I went back to try, but gave up after a couple hours seeing that this would take me far too long.  Again, I have a pile of games here, this is not my lone purchase for 2016.

This review turned out to be pretty long for a game I'm going to ultimately say pass to.

Oh, and the button mashing gave me a flare up of carpal tunnel .  SCREW YOU BATMAN!  #oldman

Dead Space (Xbox 360)

Date Purchased: April 1, 2016
Date Completed: November 10, 2016
Price: Free (Games with Gold)

There are a few series I've heard a lot about, but never tried.  Mass Effect, Assassin's Creed (until recently), Just Cause, and until now, Dead Space.  Some, I can "just tell" they're not going to be for me, others, I just haven't had the time or money to play.  So when Dead Space became free via Games with Gold, I decided it was time to give it a spin, I'm very glad I did.

Dead Space is awesome.  It's the perfect game for me. The game took me just under 12 hours to finish, consisting of 12 chapters, so you can do the math.  If you can't do math, each mission ran about 60 minutes, some a little shorter, some longer, but just about every moment satisfying.  I really enjoyed the slow pace of the game, it was "relaxing" in a weird sense.  The game depends on jump scares, but I can tell you I only had one jump to avoid spoilers I won't say when.  I didn't find it particularly scary, but I don't typically find games/movies too scary ... that's just me.

The game holds up extremely well for a game made in 2008, the graphics are "fine" and the sound is really well done.  I enjoyed it so much when I saw Dead Space 2 and 3 were on sale on PSN Halloween sale for $6 each I picked them up without hesitation.  Absolutely recommend.

Reddit post with comments.