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.

This was my first experience with any of the Watch Dogs games. I was never interested in the other ones because they just looked like GTA but with hackers, but the NPC mechanic of Watch Dogs: Legion immediately hooked me, with any person on the streets of the dystopian cyberpunk future London can be recruited. I loved this mechanic and how much you can customize each recruit's appearance while also experimenting with what unique abilities they have. You can recruit everything from construction workers to people pretending to be statues and each of them has something to offer.

Add in an enjoyable story and plenty of side quests to do around the city and Watch Dogs: Legion became one of my favorite experiences since owning a PS5. I really hope UbiSoft brings this concept back if they do another Watch Dogs game.

Even though Homefront is a basic Call Of Duty clone, I admire so much of what it does. The story just throws the player into a dark alternate future that tugs at the heartstrings from the opening cutscene alone, but it also makes you ready to fight the invaders. From there, it is an action-packed campaign that moves at breakneck speed and even the points that are slower are filled with tension and dread.

Unfortunately, Homefront is one of those games that suffers immensely from a short campaign. You can beat Homefront in less than five hours and the climax feels like its only at the halfway point in the story before the credits start rolling, leaving you feeling like you never got any kind of closure.

The multiplayer was fun in its prime, but now, Homefront feels like it was trying so hard to replicate everything about Call Of Duty that is also brought over many of its problems. It's good, but, there are definitely better first-person shooters out there.

I am not the biggest fan of Soulslike games. I have nothing against them, they just tend to be too difficult for me to be fun and in the end, fun is what I look for in video games. However, Bloodborne was different for me because of its ultra-gothic world that brought me back to playing Nightmare Creatures back in the day.

That's what kept me going more than anything, seeing what new monster would appear in the streets of Yharnam and other locations. It mixes gothic and Lovecraftian horror so well, with each new area making my jaw drop with its designs, monsters, sounds, and atmosphere.

The Soulslike formula is like what most people expect from FromSoftware. It's very difficult with some of the hardest boss fights I've ever had to deal with. However, I was happy to beat it, even if this genre is not particularly my style. If you're a fan of things like Universal monsters, Castlevania, Nightmare Creatures, and anything dark and spooky with a gothic style to it, I recommend giving it a shot.

After years of playing games like Dead Space and the countless Resident Evil games, I thought The Evil Within wouldn't affect me too badly, but I was wrong. Mixing in a cerebral story combined with some of the most terrifying monsters in existence, it feels like the ultimate homage to classic horror games and movies with a modern horror game flair to it that I couldn't get enough of.

The game is a constant mystery from beginning to end, but it never feels like it's trying to hard to be mind-bending. In a way, it feels like the perfect middle ground between Silent Hill, Resident Evil, and Dead Space. It has plenty of challenge, with stressful boss fights, and horrific visuals to keep the player on edge.

While not perfect, it is definitely an experience I will never forget and I recommend it to all fans of horror.

A remastered version of Super Mario 3D World is nice and all, but Bowser's Fury is the real reason to purchase this package and I am so glad I did. I was worried it would come off as a rushed mod of Super Mario 3D World, but instead, it is the GREATEST possible mod. It feels a brand new Mario game, but not only that, it is the first true open-world Mario experience.

Roaming Lake Lapcat is one of the most charming and relaxing experiences, with everything being cat-themed combined with beautiful music. The loved having a collection of power ups to access at any time for the different puzzles rather than running to find a specific box on the map. They may not be the hardest puzzles in the world, but they don't need to be. They are just fun and that's what matters.

Even when Fury Bowser shows up, it is a delight to witness as he is essentially a Mario version of a kaiju straight out of the Godzilla movies. Then when Mario becomes Giga Cat Mario, it's a memorable series of boss fights.

The game is a short but sweet adventure that made me feel like a kid experiencing Mario for the first time again. I sincerely hope we get sequels using this same format in the future.

The perfect organism...

Over ten years later, people are still terrified by the Xenomorph in Alien: Isolation and that is a testimony to its top-tier design. On top of being a faithful new story set in the world of Ridley Scott's Alien, fans were not ready for the revolutionary AI that powers the Xenomorph stalking the hallways of Sevastopol Station. It constantly learns the more the player progresses, allowing it to become a smart and deadly hunter. From beginning to end, Alien: Isolation never loses its terror and tension, thanks to its long campaign that is divided into sections featuring other enemies such as the Working Joe androids and other humans. This way, the Xenomorph never becomes dull, even in the hours that it is in play. It also has Resident Evil-esque elements such as an interconnected map with areas that can't be explored until certain puzzles are completed and items are equipped. If someone is a fan of Alien or just a fan of horror in general, they need to play Alien: Isolation.