Fortnite: Battle Royale (PS4/Xbox One)

Date Purchased: September 26, 2017
Date Completed: N/A
Price: Free (PSN)

I usually turn my nose to free to play games, but this one drew my attention after all the comparisons to Player Unknown's Battle Grounds (PUBG).  This game is great, I especially enjoyed it in it's infancy when all the players were new and inexperienced.  Over time the experience of others has been unkind to me, but I can still say the game has a ton of potential, and will be a longtime favorite for many.  100 players are dropped into a large map, the map is continually shrinking and players have to "mine" for weapons and materials.  Weapons earn kills, materials allow you to build "forts".  It's frantic, scary, and very engaging.  Building a fort sounds fun, but with gunfire breathing down your neck, it becomes very intense. I wish I had more time to "get gud" and maybe one day I will, but for now I'll have to concede to the fact that I'll likely never win a match, but that won't stop me from picking it up now and again.  Recommend.

Sonic Mania (Switch)

Date Purchased: September 14, 2017
Date Completed: October 10. 2017
Price: $25.99 (eShop)

This is the first and will be the last Sonic game I play in it's entirety, at least that's what I'm telling myself now anyways.  It's 5am as I write this and I've been up all night at work and am tired, so this review may be a touch more negative than it ought to be.  I was quite excited for Sonic Mania, not because I've been a fan of the series for a long time, but because I'd heard it was the best Sonic game in generations, and it was favorably reviewed.  It was cool that it was on Switch too, I could play it at home and at work!  Well, I'm thankful for that work part because if there was no option to play it where I was getting paid, I would have had a real time getting through this one.  My Switch says I played it for 10 or so hours, felt like 100.  The graphics and sound are nice, but the level design, platforming and gameplay just aren't fun.  Mario kicks Sonic all over the place.  The worst part about Sonic is actually playing it, holding to the right and "going fast" is fun, but then that comes to screeching halt and you have to play the thing?  I recommend you don't.  Pass.

Destiny 2 (PS4)

Date Purchased:  September 6, 2017
Date Completed: October 6, 2017
Price: 79.99 YIKES!  (PSN)

I enjoyed my time with Destiny 1 despite finding it confusing, I liked it quite a bit.  Destiny 2, where I can play with real life friends should be better right?  I'm not sure.  I like playing with friends, but where I enjoyed my time solo in D1, I hate playing D2 alone.  It could just be the fact that I've played multi, so now single feels pointless, but I just have little desire to go back and play it.  My friends and I all played the campaign to completion, and even though I have no idea what the story is about, we still had a good time...but as soon as that was done, there's not much left.  The raids are a a huge draw to the franchise and I was looking forward to having some peers to complete them with, but finding out they can take anywhere from 10-20 hours to complete, there's no way I'll  have that kind of time to do them.  Bummer.  Even though I may come back to this game on occasion, I honestly can't say I recommend it, pass.

Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 (PS4)

Date Purchased: September 18, 2017
Date Completed: October 3, 2017
Price: $11.21 (PSN)


While I was relatively cool on the original game, I still picked this one up on a sale after hearing many great things about it.  In this year where I've rediscovered multiplayer, I wish I had more time to dedicate to it.  This is a great game, one that deserves more time, but with Destiny, Fortnite: Battle Royale, Splatoon and others on the go, I just don't come to Garden Warfare that often as I have no friends who play it.  I wish I had more time to give this game the time it deserves.  I finished the both single player campaigns (plants and zombies) and enjoyed my time with them.  The meat and potatoes is in the multiplayer, and while I've clocked some time in, again, the game deserves more time.  There's just too much on my plate right now.  Recommend.