Melody

Easily the worst Mortal Kombat game ever made in my eyes is Mortal Kombat: Special Forces. The idea of a game focusing on Jax fighting the Black Dragon crime syndicate is not a bad one, but it unfortunately resulted in one of the dullest experiences with little to none of the imaginative worlds and elements that make Mortal Kombat games so thrilling.

It's a generic beat 'em up where Jax runs around basic warehouses, sewers, and other bland locations on Earth. The only good things to come out of it are the introduction of Tremor, who would go on to be one of my favorites in Mortal Kombat X, and the few times where the game came off as so bad that it was hilarious.

When Predator: Hunting Grounds first hit the scene, I loved it. It was a nice little way of simulating the movies with one team of humans being hunted by the Yautja Hunter, AKA the Predator. I liked leveling up weapons as both races to see what worked and what didn't.

Sadly though, overtime, I found that Predator: Hunting Grounds became a very unbalanced experience. Essentially, there is no winning as the Predator anymore. Humans known as The Fireteam have become so overpowered that almost every Predator player is being wasted in minutes, no matter how upgraded and tactical they are. It's almost a reverse of the developers' previous game: Friday The 13th. Jason was indeed overpowered and was expected to be, but the survivors still had a chance to escape. In Predator Hunting Grounds, playing as a human has zero tension or suspense because the Predator is so weak by comparison.

Asymmetrical horror games are something I love to play, but this one quickly overstayed its welcome and lost its novelty. The only things that continued to bring me back were its DLC characters like Arnold Schwarzenegger as Dutch and the much welcome return of Isabelle from Predators, played by Alice Braga again. I wish that we could have had a good story with the different characters from various Predator movies meeting because the lore in the game sets up so much potential for longtime fans of the franchise.

Overall, it's the definition of "okay." Nothing great, nothing terrible.

I'm a big fan of gothic horror and Clive Barker's Undying is filled to the brim with it and a dash of Lovecraftian-esque added to the mix. Even over twenty years later, it finds of way of being action-packed and eerie at the same time thanks to its creator being a masterclass of horror who developed iconic movies such as Hellraiser.

Ghosts, demons, and eldritch entities all collide with a great first-person shooter experience as the player wields magic and weapons at once, which is something that would later become a norm thanks to titles such as Bioshock. If you want to get scared, experience a good story, and have fun along the way, Clive Baker's Undying is the ideal choice, especially around the spooky season in October.

Batman: Arkham Origins is one of those rare perfect prequels that doesn't overly rely on events from the other games to exist. A person could easily begin the franchise with Arkham Origins and still get a great story, which is personally, my favorite story of the five main games. I prefer simpler concepts when it comes to Batman stories and the idea of Batman being hunted by assassins on Christmas Eve feels straight out of a comic book plot, but in the best way possible.

It carries over all the gameplay from Batman: Arkham City and makes it even faster. There are some new mechanics that I appreciated having like a heavier focus on detective work, the shock gauntlets, fast-travel, and the Deathstroke claw gadget to show that this is a Batman who is early in his career. Plus, roaming around a winter-set version of Gotham City is always just nice to look at.

Speaking of Deathstroke, Arkham Origins easily has the best boss fights in the entire franchise with the different assassins making for memorable encounters that actually challenge the player, which is what other Arkham games sorely needed. Add in great performances like Roger Craig Smith as Batman and Troy Baker as the Joker, I will forever say that Batman: Arkham Origins is my favorite Arkham game.

If you go in and judge the game on its own terms rather than constantly trying to compare it t the Batman: Arkham Games, Gotham Knights is a genuinely fun action RPG set in the DC Universe. I loved playing as all four characters, trying to balance out their stats, and seeing who works best for me. The story is also a lot of fun, with tons of iconic and obscure villains that make it an atypical experience overall. I loved the performances of the cast, especially Stephen O'Young as Jason Todd.

The combat reminded me of Marvel's Spider-Man with a focus on dodging rather than countering and I felt it worked overall instead of copying the same exact freeflow system that so many games try to replicate. There was more of a rhythm to fighting that required proper timing, especially when each character has different timings and methods for perfect attacks.

I wish Gotham Knights got more support and DLC, but alas, it is still an enjoyable experience that reminded me why I love the Bat-Family so much.

As someone who grew up playing Harvest Moon, Stardew Valley remains a shocking spiritual successor. Whether its raising animals or looting the mines or meeting the people of the village, I loved every second of the game. I can never go back to any of the Harvest Moon games, that's how good it is. For one fan to make this game on their own is incredibly impressive and I cannot wait to see what the future has in store for them.

As much as I loved the original, Diablo II: Resurrected is an amazing remake that brought me right back to my childhood slaughtering monsters through the world of Sanctuary. The updated visuals are nice, especially the remade cinematics, which I was not expecting to see get such treatment. It's also nice to be able to play the game and its expansion in one package from the start, allowing me to play as the Druid and the Assassin. The small quality of life touches are nice additions and overall, it's Diablo II but arguably better than ever. The sounds, the music, the visuals, the action, the worlds, the EVERYTHING. I loved playing Diablo II again and it made me realize why I fell in love with action RPGs in the first place.

At first, Spec Ops: The Line starts as a typical third-person shooter, but the more the story unravels, the more twisted and cerebral of an experience it becomes. There are things that happen in the story that even those with the strongest stomachs might have trouble witnessing.

Nolan North gives one of his best performances as the main protagonist, but I can't say why it's so good without giving away spoilers. Gameplay-wise, it's a strong but familiar third-person shooter, with cover mechanics and an over-the-shoulder view. Storming through locations and defeating enemies is fun, but the story is what makes it all worth it and everyone should give it a try.