Reviews

Same as the first Sonic game, Sonic The Hedgehog 2 has aged so well. In regards of control, music and challenge I think it surpasses its predecessor, I was having the time of my life till I get to the penultimate level and last level, the music doesn't quite match the height of the previous levels and my biggest issue, one that for me keeps this game of being a masterpiece is the level design, it just feels clunky, messy and pretty unfair, the unfairness comes when you go full speed or take a trampoline or something alike and then an enemy appears out of nowhere and hits you or kill you, I know that Sonic is more about of quick reflexes than speed but those hazards were really unfair. This issue goes on and on to the last levels and it's pretty noticeable, one of the things that save those levels are the platform segments which are pretty good, if only they were more abundant than those cheap enemies.

Setting those complaints aside, the boss fights are great and especially the last fight which came with a surprise, it's very hard until you realize the pattern but even then it keeps the challenge.

There are some things that I'll never forget about some games, and Sonic 2, even when I certainly didn't like some aspects, is such a joyous ride of speed and outstanding music, maybe its not a masterpiece but it's truly a classic.

What a fun flash game.  This is definitely a great example of how good design can turn a game into more than the sum of its parts, as the individual components (battling, mini-games, skill trees, idle game mechanics, and an item store) pale in comparison to the total product.  There's something fascinating in how the sheer volume of different game mechanics and the different styles of gameplay end up meshing so well together. 

After an engrossing session trying one of the simple to figure out yet complex to master mini-games (which are so simple that I'm embarrassed to describe them), you can go back into battle with some new upgrades and items and quickly destroy the enemies in your path to get your attention back.    I especially love how well-paced the skill/potion/spell cooldowns (which makes watching what is a mostly static battle surprisingly engaging).  This is not super-complicated or well-written gameplay, but the fun atmosphere make this a perfect distraction whether you are waiting for the bus or need something to engage you for an hour or two after a long day of work. 

The mini-game and battle mechanics, while not super-substantive, are also interesting enough that the game has a surprising amount of replay value.  I ended up picking up the game again after a several year absence and was surprised how fun it was to go through the same motions that I had already beaten before.  Overall, highly recommended -- probably the only reason I can imagine re-downloading Flash!

Dota 2 is a love-hate relationship translated into a game, with the highs being transcendent and the lows being painful enough to make you regret starting the game in the first place.  All in all, the gameplay elements unrelated to team interaction are so well done that I recommend that gamers try Dota 2 at least once, but the Dota 2 community and the unbalanced nature of gameplay are flawed enough that it falls short of being exceptional.

The Good:  The game play is unbelievably rich, with 119 heroes, 155 items, and a huge number of different mechanics and strategies.  This is the type of game that you can play for 250 hours just to get enough competency to be able to play the game without other players flaming you, and there are so many different possibilities that each game plays out differently enough that it's not boring.  Indeed, the variety of strategies is so great that you can basically adapt Dota 2 around any player's weaknesses and preferred style of gameplay.

The Bad:  Players in Dota 2 are generally easily frustrated and will tend to flame or even deliberately play badly if you make mistakes and frustrate them.  I am very polite to players so I have the highest possible behavior score, but I still have a surprising number of games ruined by toxicity, uncooperative teammates, or poor communication.  Anecdotally things are much worse at lower behavior scores, where you might have teammates that don't speak English, who deliberately try to lose, or who will basically play in a certain way to try to force other players to accommodate them.  The other problem with this game is that wins and losses tend to snowball, meaning that losses turn into humiliations that further feed toxicity and tend to tilt players.

I tend to avoid Dota 2 these days, since I find that it tends to feed procrastination and addictive behavior, but it's clearly well-done so I would recommend it to other gamers.  Just be aware of toxic players and try not to get too angry after a crushing loss.

to address the well over a year old controversy with regards to how it released, FromSoft (read: Bandai Namco) didn't do the best job of releasing it
it's a shame that prepare to die is off steam because, while i do think remastered is a better way to play the game overall, the modability of prepare to die can only be experienced by people who already own it
also making it only half off for existing owners was shit, even Bethesda didn't do that for Skyrim
i still bought it though because i wanted pvp (and the pvp in one is shit, don't bother), but i ended up finally 100%ing the game on this version

okay actual game overview

the beauty and excellence of dark souls has long been catalogued, it's a meme at this point to even begin to compare anything else to it because of how influential its success has been
the first half of this game is next to perfect, at least to me
the overall experience is very flawed but in a human way that i can still feel passionate about, up until the second half where it all falls apart because the development team didn't have the resources to properly finish the game as wanted
i think in years to come, this game could do with a proper remake that fixes that second half as i do believe it to be some of the weakest content in the overall Soulsbourne series

but what it does right it does very well, i'm certain if you're reading this you've played it so i don't exactly have to say how it works or whatever
but i will say that i love it, flaws and all
it's just a shame that i rarely actually finish the game these days because of that second half, but what i do like i passionately adore
it's worth playing once in your life if you've never touched it, just know it's not for everybody

I'm not the biggest fan of Devil May Cry but I sure like all the canon entries quite a lot (except for the 2nd one but who does?) and I also really liked the new kid Nero back in the 4th, I think that it was nice addition to the cast, so when I knew that he will be back for 5 I was really excited.

After the sweet and satisfying combat in DMC4 on just can wonder what can be achieved in the next entry and the thing went beyond my expectations, as far as Hack n' slash games go, I like them a lot even tho' I'm not a super combo master but I can have a great time trying to be one, the gameplay and combat is so fun and versatile that at least one of the three selectable characters might suit your style, so if you're not good but not bad as me, Nero will be likely your favorite (if you played the 4th game you know how he rolls), or if you're not that good you can stick a lot more with the mysterious and stoic V, which has a very interesting way of playing: sort of Pikmin style you use three units at the same time that also has some autonomy and their own hp bars, the combat its simplier, satisfying and more easily to attain higher ranks but it needs some strategy and also your thumbs will hurt quite a bit, as for the more advanced and audacious players Dante will be the one, it has more versatility and complexity than the other two but for that reason his chapters can be the more satisfying if you can master his combos and weapons.

Every style of combat its a reflection of the personality of its character, a thing that I liked a lot because in videogames, in order to exploit your story to its full potential you need the gameplay to tell its own story, at least for me. Speaking of story, at first, I was a little reluctant of how good it will be, starting with the somehow dull one-liners that Nero and Dante said too often or how V looked like a generic edgy and stoic guy, but the more the story unfolded I was more really into it, and the more I knew its main cast I was more in line with their motivations and what they did to attain their goals, as for the supporting cast, well, they are serviceable to the story but don't expect a lot of Lady, Trish or even the new Nico, they're more like cameos, not a big issue but I could see them a lot more in future entries. As for plots and story turns, let's say that some things I really didn't expect happened and they were so subtly hinted that it was like a magic trick unfolded in front of you, maybe for veteran and more hardcore players was so obvious but for me, it was a nice surprise.

One of the stellar things in DMC5 are the boss fights, there are at least 10 different battles and they are so different from one another, from the boss design (which are so good) and for the combat mechanics, one thing that can be noted for games like God of War (2018) a game that I really like but it lacks so much in the boss department, there is a scripted fight that you will encounter two times but is not that bad and is serviceable for the story, kind of. I really like the Devil Trigger theme, it adds to the atmosphere and pumped up combat but I'm not really into that sort of electronic-rock-drum and bass music (which the series have since the first one) but I think to others might be a work of genius, for me it was good and not distracting, so it was OK. The environment and stage design it's also very good, the game has a gothic theme on its story but it also can be noted in the architecture of its world, it's very subtle but there is, and it's interesting because, for an action game as bombastic as this, one would think that everything would be "in your face" but they decided to be almost a muted and almost unnoticeable thing to see, kudos for the developers for that.

As far as negatives aside from the first act simpler dialogue and some nitpicks, my biggest issue is a personal one (that I'm not counting to "diminish" the score of this review mind you) but I really don't like the faces of the main characters, at least for the "classic" ones, they differ so much from their past entries that look like different people, I heard that they were based on real people but at least for me didn't feel "right" in here, but hey, that's just my personal opinion, some might like them a lot and good for them.

My time with DMC 5 was very good, flashy and fast that almost felt like I rushed through all the game, I played on Devil Hunter mode (which is supposed to be recommended for veteran players) and the challenge was really good and fun, there are a lot of options for people who are not good but want to play it for the story, which I don't recommend because sometimes a devil must cry in order to achieve their goals.

My first real impression with Link's Awakening was 8 or 7 years ago in a videogame music podcast, I like a lot and even love some Zelda games but I'm not the biggest fan but there remain a few that I haven't played yet, mostly the 2D ones, so when I heard about this game I didn't give it much thought, only the fact that someone in that podcast spoiled to me ending and some "character arcs". Back to 2019, I played the game with the knowledge of what will come, so at first, I wasn't that into, but when I rapidly advanced through the world map I surely was immersed in this Koholint Island world. Link's Awakening smells a lot like classic Zelda, after beating BOTW it was a little hard and sometimes annoying get back into the classic style puzzles and linear story structure, but that cynicism disappeared the more I played, because there is a lot of heart and craft to this game that it's hard to imagine someone, not liking it. The music is spot on, with some orchestral feel or 8 bit sound or even a mix of both. The art style and graphics are so charming that it makes you feel you're a 5-year-old kid playing with your toys. It has a good sensation of nostalgia, and I don't mean it because it's a remake (of a game that I've never played, mind you), but because the themes in the story and the mood of the ambient, to me it felt like a coming of age story or like a summer trip to a new place where you make new friends but you never see again, that kind of nostalgia. There are some issues with this game, the majority are minor, things like uneven framerates here and there or passing issues, but my biggest complaint may be the dungeon design; the difficulty is pretty horizontal at least for the first dungeons but things go really vertical at the 4th onwards, and mostly its because you have to do a lot of backtracking, maybe it would be a lower issue (but still an issue) if not for the hero difficulty (it's the hard mode for the ones that are not familiar), which more than challenging I think it's annoying, the enemies do double damage but the combat is not polished enough so at times it was so frustrating to go back from point Z to point A and go around every room in the dungeon and dodge every hazard on the way, sometimes it was better to just die and start in the dungeon's entrance, but I'm not dying and neither Link so we breakthrough just because is our duty and we're heroes. Aside from that, I have a great time uncovering every puzzle in there. The appeal of this remake aside from the obvious graphic overhaul it's that is allegedly a well-crafted emulation true to the original game (mostly the game boy color version which came after) and for that, its easy to see how this is a timeless game and I will never forget the beauty of its simple yet likable design, choices and characters, and most likely I will never forget Marin.