Recent reviews by Captain

This game is one I've heard of literally since high school. Only during Quarantine did I finally get around to playing it, and that was exactly when I needed it.

I never played the original Half Life much. I had tried a bit, but I wasn't super into that kind of game when I was a kid. I was playing Portal, and Left 4 Dead, and Half Life was kinda just an afterthought to me. A connection to Portal, if anything. But as I have told many people, if people playing the first Half Life felt even a fraction how I felt playing Black Mesa, I get it.

This game, visually, is beautiful. The music is stunning. The way it makes the world feel alive, the way it improves on the original Xen (though if you have arachnaphobia, please be careful in Xen, I know it set mine off something bad), it's just...it's stunning.

I wholeheartedly recommend this game. It's one of my top games of all time.

How do I start...
Well, Minecraft Story Mode is a Telltale game, so if you've ever heard of other games of that type then you know what you're getting into.
If not, let me clue you in.
In Telltale games (at least, from the two that I've played), the big thing is that your dialogue choices cause different things to happen later in the game. Did you punch this guy? Well, later (episodes later) you can apologize when you realize his reasons. Did you come up with a secret handshake? Three episodes later it's time to use it.
There are also some walking around sections (quite a few, actually), and some quick time event sections (which for some reason don't upset me in these games, even though in 'normal' games quick time events annoy me. Maybe because it's actually a common game mechanic in these games? I dunno)

In this game, you control the main character of Jesse as they do many things such as:
Enter a building contest with their friends
Chase after their pig friend into the woods
Go to a back alley deal of a skull
Break someone's precious machine
Rummage through the guy from the deal's stuff cause he ripped you off
Save a friend who got stuck in a box when the other guy came back
Watch as a creature strong enough to destroy the world is made right in front of your eyes
Run away very, very, very fast
And that's just part of Episode 1.

I will say, when I heard about this game being announced, I actually avoided it for a while. I was worried it was just going to be a garbage cash-in on the Minecraft name, but this was also before I understood what kind of story they were going for and what a Telltale game was.

While yes, it is probably more aimed at a younger audience (because lots of kids play Minecraft), I actually really liked it. The story was interesting to me, I liked the characters (though being honest, I wish Axel had a different scream audio clip, and I wish Olivia's lines had a bit more emotion in them, but that's personal preference), and the gameplay was fun. The different dialogue options give a reason for replayability if you like the game in the first place, and the fact that we're getting at least three more episodes (and I hope there might be more after that, because I really do like these characters) would bring me back even if I wanted to stick with just one playthrough.

Euro Truck Simulator 2 is one of the most relaxing games I have played in a long time. The idea is simple: you drive around a truck and haul cargo to the destination, in sorta-just-somewhat-faster-than real time. The driving feels wonderful; even when playing using the keyboard, your truck (and trailer) feel like they have weight to them.
The AI of the other drivers also react in realistic ways, making the game even more interesting (and causing some trouble sometimes: I was sitting in a line of cars for 20 minutes before I went offroad to go around, and it turned out another car had tried to pass someone, and head on crashed into another truck, holding up traffic both ways.)
I not only recommend this game, but I especially recommend playing with a radio station on. There are several that the game has for you to choose from, and it says you can pick your own. Totally makes it perfect. (Plus, the way the game acts when there's rain? I love it!)