Date Purchased: June 27, 2016 Date Completed: July 10, 2016 Price: Free (Son Cole bought it for $30)
I want to like Yoshi's Island, but something about it just rubs me wrong way. Maybe it's the art style, more likely it's the crying baby, but I'd never finished one of these ... until now. This game is incredibly easy, playing it wasn't a chore, just a bore. The original SNES game has received a lot of praise, I remember finding it too difficult, which is weird. I bet I could finish it now that I have more persistence. Regardless, this new game is very easy, the levels all have a very similar look, and the music is very repetitive. I've read the difficulty is found in trying to find all the hidden items, there's not point in collecting them however, no upgrades, no unlocks, so really, what's the point? Not much more to say really. Pass.
Date Purchased: April 15, 2016
Date Completed: July 9, 2016
Price: $9.99
Fantastic. I'd heard about Shovel Knight for some time, so when it went on sale for 33% off, I had to jump on. This game is worth $15. I remember when I reviewed ALBW saying I only played in short bursts to stretch it out, I felt the same about this game. Great aesthetic, music, characters and just a great package all around. It's modern-retro without the BS grinding so many games try to implement to stretch out their game. Highest recommendation.
Date Purchased: May 23, 2016 Date Completed: June 16, 2016 Price: $4.49
For years I've heard about Journey, I continue to hear about it whenever a game is considered "artsy" it immediately draws comparison to Journey. I've played another game from the developer "That Game Company", namely "Flower" and my feelings to that and Journey are similar. I appreciate them, but I don't get the same "feelings" that others experience. Perhaps it's the way I play games, that takes away from the whimsy. I'm very goal oriented, heck, I've made a game out of finishing games (this blog), so I'm not really one to stop and smell the flowers. Power through, that's what I do, and it's how I like to play. So, while I'm glad I finally played this one, I can't say I recommend it to a gamer like me. It's short, it was a unique experience and I don't regret my purchase, I just can't honestly say it's a "must play", much to the contrast of everyone else. Pass.
Date Purchased: October 13, 2009
Date Completed: N/A (Replay)
Price: $59.99
Uncharted 2 is widely regarded as the best in the series, even post Uncharted 4. Playing this game after Drake's Fortune, I can understand why. This is an amazing upgrade in every way, graphically, story, acting, set pieces, you name it. Uncharted 2 is one of the few games I've finished twice, I remember finishing it, then immediately playing it again on a harder difficulty back in '09. The game still holds up today, however now after playing 3 Uncharted games back to back to back, I'm starting to get a little fatigued, especially of the long firefights, which were typically my favorite part of the game before. I'll be taking a break but will get to Uncharted 3 soon. Recommend absolutely.
A couple adds and a couple subtractions. I don't know if I'll ever "finish" Trials, that game is brutally hard. Some decent freebies and I'm also playing through all the Uncharted's again.
Date Purchased: November 19, 2007 Date Completed: N/A - Replay Price: $60?
I've played through Uncharted: Drakes Fortune before. Way back when it launched on the PS3. I remembered zombies, and a few set pieces, but in reality, couldn't tell you a whole lot more about it. So after finishing Uncharted 4 I decided to go back and play it again. It was tough to go back initially, but before I knew it, I was traversing as normal and plucking off head shots. I've heard this is the "hardest" Uncharted game, none of them are that difficult, and the nice thing about these old games is that you can exploit the AI fairly easily. The story is pretty good, the voice acting not quite as polished as it's become in 2016, and the game still looks nice almost 10 years later. I enjoyed my time with it again. Recommend.
Date Purchased: May 9, 2016
Date Completed: May 19, 2016
Price: $59.99
I very rarely buy games on release day anymore unless it's a Nintendo property, but even then, I've shown patience more recently waiting for a price drop or for it to be gifted in some variety. I was lucky to get Uncharted 4 for 1/3rd off (can you believe $60 is at a discount still?) through an Amazon promotion, and was especially delighted to see it arrive a day early despite the fact that I had to go into work that night.
So the hype machine was running at full tilt for this game. I'd played fairly close attention, but tried not to spoil anything for myself. I read reviews very carefully, and watched very little gameplay videos. The game positioned itself to have some huge twists, Nate is older and wiser, his brother is back in his life (and you know those neck tattoos means he's been through some stuff), and heck, the title is "A thief's end". Someone's got to die right? Who is it? Nate? His Bro? I really thought Nate was going to die. But how? Was it going to be honorable? Would his lust for treasure be his ultimate demise? Is that skeleton in the cage at the games title screen Nate? Man, more than any other game, I was so excited for this story, perhaps a little too excited.
That excitement for the games story and how it would ultimately end did affect the way I played the game. I wouldn't say I "rushed" through it, but really, I kind of did. By the end I must say I was a little disappointed. It's great story telling, the fact that I'm this excited for a VIDEO GAME story, will tell you that it's something special.
Okay, story beats aside, this game looks and sounds amazing. I could go on and gush about it for a few paragraphs, but all you have to do is look at it to see. There are a million screen grabs out there, and I even spent a decent amount of time with the games photo mode, just because the game looks so good.
The game play will be familiar to anyone who's played a game in the series, I did find this one paced a little slower than previous games. There are some pretty long segments where you don't really do anything but explore the environments, but then there are moments like these (it's my own gameplay video, but I'm sure it plays the same for everyone):
Would I recommend this game? Most definitely. Play this game, especially if you've played the previous. While I was a little dissatisfied with the ending (I was expecting "Sixth Sense" or "Lost" like story telling where the wool's been pulled over our eyes all along) it's still a fantastic game and a really nice end to the series. I'll miss Uncharted, but not for a while, I've decided to replay all the previous games in the meantime.
