Strike Vector EX (PS4)

Date Purchased: September 5, 2017
Date Completed: November 27, 2017
Price: Free (PS+)

I'm writing this on January 19, 2018 as I realized last night I forgot to review this game as I scrolled by it on my media bar.  That shows how memorable this game is/was.  I was intrigued by the trailer, it looked like some classic arcade game play, but turned out to be a really repetitive, boring jaunt.  I guess the multiplayer is pretty good, but that's not what I was looking for.  The tacked on story is just plain bad with horrible dialogue and voice acting.  Pass.

Madden 17 (Xbox One)

Date Purchased: October 23, 2017
Date Completed: November 23, 2017
Price: Free - EA Access

Sports games, it's been a long time since I've given them any time...and as I learned after playing Madden 17, the first football game I've put any real time into since NFL 2K5, and first Madden since 03, that I wasn't missing much.

You'd think that these games would have evolved significantly in the last 10 years, but I was able to pick up and play on pro competitively with no problem at all.  I did appreciate some design changes, like the fact that you can resume a game from any point, no need to finish in one sitting.  I also really appreciated the "fast play" options where you can just play key moments, play offense or defense only, or jump in when you feel like taking control.  It's playing the game without playing the game, and as a guy with limited time, I found this to be the most enjoyable time to play.  Huge lead?  Sim it out.  Team far behind?  Let's make that comeback.

I jumped online to see if that' changed at all, after going up on my opponent.  He quit.  So nothing new here.

My season went well, the game has some nice visuals, and the commentary is generally quite fresh, well, except when they're dead wrong.  Check out this hot take on Tony Romo (who never returned to the NFL after losing his starting job to Dak Prescott).

I went 11-5 on my season with the Lions, winning the division but not quite good enough to earn a first round bye.  Seeing the Lions in the Super Bowl was something special.

Overall I had a good time with the game, but as the season worn on I cooled off on a bit.  It was a good return, but I'm not sure how quick I'll be to get back to it.  I'll play Madden 18 when it comes to EA Access, it has a neat story mode from what I here, but I don't know if I'll bother with a full season.  I can't recommend, nor say pass, let's just say if you have EA Access and want to try football again, it's worthwhile.

Battlefield 1 (Xbox One)

Date Purchased: October 23, 2017
Date Completed: November , 2017
Price: Free - EA Access

This game's been on my radar since release, I knew in the back of my head I'd sign up for EA Access one day which prevented me from ever purchasing it.  Battlefield 1 is a fine game, it's made up of 6 mini campaigns each telling a unique story.  It starts off a little weak with a tank mission, and goes on to a variety of combat scenarios from air combat to the ground game, and likely is just one big long tutorial for the meat and potato's of the game which is it's multiplayer. In a year where I've spent a lot of time in multiplayer, this ones setting just didn't grab me enough to want to spend much time in its universe, I'm also so far behind that I'll likely get crushed in the online arena.  As a solo game, it can be finished in 6 hours, I completed in 3 sittings, one of them being quite long.  If you have access to play the campaign for "free" like I did, it's worth your time, but it's not worth the plunge if you're putting your money down for the campaign.  Pass.

Unravel (Xbox One)

Date Purchased:  October 23
Date Completed: October 26
Price: Free - EA Access Vault

I subscribed to EA Access after years (months?) of considering it.  With Titanfall 2, Battlefield 1 and all the sports games, I felt like there was enough of a backlog there to make it worthwhile to dive into.  $30 a year is quite a bargain for the library of games you get.

So which game did I dive into first?  Battlefield?  Star Wars?  Titanfall?  Nope.  A little game called Unravel.  I'd heard mixed things about this puzzle platformer, but it's aesthetic had me intrigued.  I really enjoyed it.  I do like me some puzzle platformers, whether it be Inside, Limbo, Max, or any other I've reviewed, and this one holds up with all of them.  I did have to hit the old YouTube a couple times when I got stuck and I was either like "Man, I never would have figured that out" to "Man I am so stupid!".  Anyways, a nice game with a surprisingly heartwarming story.  Recommend.

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.