College Football 25

Price $80 - Split with my son 

Man, the praise this game was getting ultimately set me up for disappointment.  Maybe I just don't have the skills others do, but it still felt like EA brand football with a bunch of skins.  Playing locally, the road team was at such a disadvantage that we just never played it.  I have probably less than 10 hours into this game.  We recently bought Madden 25, it's more our speed with player familiarity and the hype of the NFL.  Pass.

Astro Bot (PS5)

Price ($80 - Split with my son)

I knocked this one out a while ago, I'm just starting to bring back this blog as I hadn't been gaming in some time.   This is a fantastic platformer that ALMOST out does Nintendo at its own game.  Almost.  I think the only thing it's missing is the nostalgia of Nintendo games with the music and characters.  Highest recommendation.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (PS5)

Price $80 - Split with my son

It's another Call of Duty and while I prefer the "Modern Warfare" series, this one gave me some good entertainment for a couple months.  The zombie skins ultimately were the games downfall for me, I got so tired of seeing them in multiplayer that I felt like the immersion of the series was gone. After playing the (really good) campaign, it makes more sense now.  Heck, recommend.

The Last of Us Part 1 Remastered (PS5)

Price: Library - Free

I never played the original last of us on the PS3, I played the PS4 remaster, and now 10 years later, I played the PS5 remaster.  I forgot quite a bit, but the gameplay is as dull as ever.  The story carries this game, too much time is spent looking around for inventory which is too bad.  I did enjoy some of the harder encounters, there was some good strategy to that.  The DLC had a couple good challenges.  Recommend for story alone.

Balatro (iOS)

This game was on many game of the year lists, I downloaded it on Apple Arcade and had a good run with it, however by the time my month of Apple Arcade was up, I was ready to be done with the game.  Never been much a "deck builder", I thought that might change with this one, and while I'll miss playing it now and again, it didn't quite land the hooks in me like I'd hoped.  Still recommend.

Bloons TD6 (iOS)

Game of the year.  Nothing comes close.  I put so much time into this game and have still yet to master it.  I've been hearing about Bloons games for years, assuming they were for kids, how ignorant of me.  One of the best tower defense games ever.  Absolute Recommend.

Wario Ware: Move It (Switch)

If you enjoy motion controls you may have some fun with this one, but I just couldn't do it.  When I play a game I want to chill out.  Also the un skippable cut scenes in this one has me saying "skip".