Recent reviews by Oracle

I loosely followed Pizza Tower's development over the years and remember the silly little demos from 2019 and such. Now that it's finally released, it's hard to put my thoughts on it into words, but they're nothing but positive and completely surpassed expectations.

The game is very light on its plot, it's very simple and easy to understand and keeps the gameplay at the forefront. You play as Peppino Spaghetti, a struggling pizzeria owner who is forced to scale the titular Pizza Tower to save his business from being threatened with destruction by the main antagonist Pizza Face. The game doesn't take itself very seriously and will go balls-to-the-walls with its zaniness throughout it, with its unique art style being the cherry on top.

Gameplay is the bread and butter of Pizza Tower; Peppino has a very versatile set of moves and is very satisfying to play as movement-wise, especially when you become more skilled and comfortable with how he functions as the game progresses. Speed is a core part of Pizza Tower's gameplay, with even unskilled players being able to feel powerful executing basic movement and retaining their speed, resulting in very satisfying and cathartic gameplay as enemies in your path literally scream in fear of seeing a middle-aged Italian man running towards them at mach speed. Pizza Tower heavily relies on a replayability factor, with only having 19 levels total but encouraging the player to improve their skills to do even better, albeit sometimes outright dissing them for doing poorly. The lettered ranking system pushes the player to strive for better combos and raise their skill ceiling, while the secrets push the player to explore and memorize every nook and cranny of a level.

Pizza Tower's mechanics are vast but also has a clear vision for all of them that prevents the game from feeling messy. Every level in the game features a gimmick or power-up that puts a spin on normal gameplay and keeps things fresh to maintain engagement with the player. As stated before, the game includes many secrets to find in each level and contains a ranking system for levels and bosses, from D to S (and the elusive P Rank that requires near perfect gameplay). There are also other rewards outside main gameplay, such as "chef tasks" (achievements) that are self-contained in the game on each save file instead of solely being some checklist statistic on Steam and count towards save file completion, which may make some players more inclined to do them. Along with this are cosmetic rewards in the form of clothing for Peppino, which can be unlocked by completing other tasks as well and carry over across saves.

Over a year after the game's launch, the Noise Update finally released where he is now a playable character (I don't feel the need to spoiler this because it's plastered all over the game now). This functions as a New Game+ mode, with Noise controlling similarly but also vastly different than Peppino, his moveset being very erratic but very rewarding for those who learn to master it. Along with this is the secret Swap Mode where the player can freely swap between Peppino and Noise on the fly and also serves as an official co-op experience, both locally and online (the latter needing some tweaking of Remote Play to set up AFAIK); I personally feel this is the ideal Pizza Tower experience as it brings the best of both worlds between the two characters.

Pizza Tower is a wacky platformer that loves speed and exploration, and wants to player to keep replaying to improve their skill and master all the game has to offer. I had a hard time putting this game down and couldn't help but doing nearly everything it had to offer: P Ranking every level and boss, completing all chef tasks, getting all the secrets and treasures, and obtaining all the clothes-- the whole 101% (multiple times over, especially after the Noise Update). Can't recommend it enough and is a new peak of 2D platforming and indie gaming as a whole. "Nothing compares!"

Wolfenstein: The New Order is arguably the best game out of the MachineGames Wolfenstein series and has a lot to offer as an FPS experience.

The story takes place in an alternate history timeline in 1960 (and 1946 in Chapter 1) where the Nazis are victorious in World War II by discovering highly advanced ancient technology and subsequently conquering the world. You play as an American captain named William J. Blazkowicz, who will do anything in his power to collapse the Nazi empire and stop his old enemy General Deathshead alongside the Resistance. The story is simple and an intriguing concept at a big "what-if" scenario in history while sprinkling sci-fi elements to add more flair to the story and gameplay.

Gameplay varies in a simple way; many areas in the game will give you the choice to approach them either stealthily or balls-to-the-walls firefights with squads of Nazi soldiers and robots, though some sequences require direct combat. While the gameplay is not as fast-paced as the new Doom series, BJ Blazkowicz is still quite satisfying to play as movement-wise and with his variety of weaponry, as well as the controls being quite responsive. The game can also appeal to both new and old FPS players (at least on lower difficulties) by having snappy movement for running-and-gunning and a leaning system for those that want to utilize cover. There are also many collectibles around levels, including some that may prove beneficial to gameplay, so keep an eye out!

BJ has a classic health and armor system that requires using items in the environment to refill, though health will regenerate to a certain threshold based on how much you have. The game includes a pretty linear perk tree system to help buff BJ with abilities, unlocked by hitting certain milestones during gameplay. There are also certain weapon upgrades to boost your arsenal, some of which can be missed. These can prove to be very useful, especially on higher difficulties where you'll need all the help you can get.

The main campaign is about all there really is in this game, though there are special modes to play it with if you solve Enigma Codes in the main menu by collecting them throughout the game. There are also a decent variety of difficulties, with the game actively mocking you for playing on easier ones and even when trying to close the game, giving it a bit of its own identity to its difficulty similar to Postal 2 but to a lesser extent.

Wolfenstein: The New Order is definitely something you should pick up if you want a gem in a sea of samey modern FPS games. The story is simple and straight to the point, bolstered by some varied gameplay that primarily lets you choose your approach, and some cutscenes every now and then to give you a break. It might not be as fast-paced as Doom, but it has its own identity and I feel it does well with it. While it lacks in replay value besides a handful of things, it's definitely worth the $20.

The now defunct Capcom Vancouver had been in charge of creating Dead Rising entries after the first game. Each of their entries so far had been successful, and while different, were good games. Now it's 2013 and we're in the 8th generation of consoles, Capcom Vancouver had the privilege of having Dead Rising 3 as a launch title for the Xbox One; the question is how well did they do compared to their other titles in the series?

It's the year 2021 and the world has put its utmost effort in trying to provide safer protection against and to prevent zombie outbreaks after Fortune City. Citizens are implanted with GPS chips with Zombrex and are monitored by the ZDC. Despite all this safeguarding, an outbreak occurs in the city of Los Perdidos and the city quickly falls, with many struggling for survival and power. You play as Nick Ramos, a kind and somewhat cowardly mechanic who simply wants to survive and keep everyone safe. As you explore and attempt to escape the city, you'll uncover the truths of what is happening in the city and what caused the outbreak to occur. Along the way, you'll meet another interesting cast of characters, both friend and foe.

While the controls are much more fluid than the stiffness of its predecessor, it manages to make you feel sluggish and slide around as well as feeling somewhat unresponsive, not to mention the game being capped at 30 FPS normally. PP (prestige points) have new ways to be earned such as kill counters and PP Trials, but the leveling system has been overhauled; I will go over this in the next section. The game is much more vast in its world size and has an entire city to explore; while this may sound exciting, I personally believe Dead Rising takes advantage of smaller world sizes that have a high level of personality, detail and polish, and this world feels like the antithesis of what makes Dead Rising unique and have its own identity as a sandbox zombie game. Combo weapons return and there are plenty more to craft, as well as new combo vehicles expanding upon ones from DR2 such as the iconic chainsaw motorbike. With such a big sandbox, there are many collectables to find; while this may be perfect for someone who loves collectathons, I personally found this to be somewhat cheap padding and trying to compensate for the emptiness and lack of personality in the world. The game ramps up the sexual tones in some places, and while it's sparing, it can feel a bit intrusive on the experience when it does (but that's just me).

There's a lot to cover here, so let's just jump right in. As mentioned before, the leveling system has been tweaked; when you level up, you gain attribute points which you can spend on upgrading certain categories such as life, melee, ranged, etc. This gives you more control in how you progress and can bring possible challenge ideas, but also cuts out some replayability as there is no longer RNG elements to leveling up. Creation of combo weapons (and combo vehicles) are no longer limited to certain workbenches and can be created anywhere; while this helps keep uninteresting downtime at a minimum, it comes at the cost of immersion. Magazines can now be permanently collected and don't take up inventory slots, and while this is convenient, it takes away from Dead Rising's inventory management. The time limit has been greatly extended to 7 days, providing lots of time to both explore and complete main and side quests; even with all this content, this is a grave mistake, as the short time limit was a staple of Dead Rising and provided tension and the need for time management to get things done efficiently. There are safe houses around the city that can be cleared out to manage survivors, clothing, and weapons; the weapon locker, while also convenient and even including a limiter, takes even more difficulty out of the game.

There are still unique survivors to save, but a good number of them will show up as random encounters nearby, requiring that zombies around them be cleared out in order to receive a PP bonus. Traditional survivors in this game lack the charm and personality of those before, more or less being a PP boost and powerful lackeys at your command.

The psychopaths of this game represent the Seven Deadly Sins; lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, and pride. With this theming comes unique gimmicks for each boss, being a mixed bag in my opinion. With the theming and gimmicks, the bosses are more outlandish and comedic, all of this together taking away from what individuality they could have by being linked to a specific description for the entire encounter (i.e. "that boss that revolves solely around being a glutton") instead of being something on their own.

The multiple endings are somewhat gimped as well. Ending F for exceeding the (extremely long) time limit, Ending D, Ending C, and (canonically) Ending S through Overtime Mode. Not much else to say here, it's underwhelming.

The main game has a chapter selection option, which is a nice addition for this game. The game, as I mentioned earlier, has Overtime Mode. The game also introduces Nightmare Mode, which modifies the game to be generally harder and more akin to traditional Dead Rising games, which for hardcore fans like myself, was a good compromise."The Untold Stories Of Los Perdidos" deserves its own section, as it's a pretty large DLC collection.

This collection of DLC consists of 4 mini-campaigns starring minor characters in the main game as playable characters, telling their story during the zombie outbreak. This answers questions and gives screentime and development to characters that had little to none of it beforehand. These DLCs all take place on the same world, and are each chock full of their own collectables. This, along with intentionally-placed barricades in certain inconvenient places, make it plain to see the padding of these short DLC stories to try and get as much play time as possible out of them. Each introduce new weapons, 1 combo weapon per episode, and a unique outfit for Nick from each episode in the main game (the weapons are also available via the weapon locker). I found these mini-campaigns pretty neat, but overall it's nothing to write home about.

Dead Rising 3 has a very glaring save data issue that crops up occasionally, which causes the game to "forget" about some of your settings and even your save file itself upon startup; this can primarily be avoided by simply restarting the game to try and get the game to recover on its own. While this is usually easy to avoid, it is a dangerous detriment to the player and their experience with the game, such as myself. I obtained all the collectables, all the blueprints, maxed out my character; I was 3/4 through the DLC and it happens because I was unaware of it or how it worked, possibly even unintentionally avoiding it previous times. The game is going to be 9 years old this year at the time of posting this, and while Capcom Vancouver virtually no longer exists, even the time when they were active, a glitch such as this is absolutely unacceptable and soured what little goodwill I had left for this game.

Dead Rising 3 tried many new things for the franchise's formula, for better or for worse. Capcom Vancouver's burnout on the series from being Capcom's "Dead Rising studio" is even evident here, in my opinion. The game is the black sheep of Dead Rising, not holding up nearly as well as its predecessors and not being nearly as atrocious as Dead Rising 4, even with some of the warning signs being evident in this entry. It's average at best, and disappointing at worst; pick it up during a sale if you want to try it out. Hey, at least it isn't Dead Rising 4, right?

Running With Scissors is a game company that came from humble beginnings in the industry, but has over time become both one of the most controversial yet beloved developers. After their hit game Postal was released, the team wanted to continue doing more of the same, but with a new spin on it. In 2003, Postal 2 released to similar fanfare as its predecessor and has become an icon of gaming with its continued breaking of the industry's mold.

The Postal Dude has moved to the town of Paradise, Arizona for a new job. His wife, known as The B*tch, gives him a list of simple chores to complete every day of the week, with the player being able to approach them the way they wish. You're able to approach the game's missions as pacifistic and violent as you wish, with the game even rewarding you with an achievement for completing the game with no kills. I'll go over the Apocalypse Weekend expansion later in its own section and the Paradise Lost DLC in a separate review. The game's narrative is minimal (but sound) in what there is in order to bolster its gameplay, which is the main attraction of this title.

The gameplay is where Postal 2 really shines, making it an absolute blast to brutally murder innocent civilians and slaughter those who are in the way of completing your chores for the day. While the game may look and feel dated, it's barely noticeable when you're in the middle of combat or simply pissing on a burnt corpse of someone who probably did nothing wrong but call you a pinko. The game's unique feeling of giving you the urge to indiscriminately kill with its annoying NPCs and the satisfying results of brutally murdering them with various weapons is extremely cathartic. With numerous items at your disposal to slay your enemies, the possibilities are endless, and that includes the ability to urinate. There's also various items you can pick up around the world, such as simple healing items, to "health" pipes that boost your health but can give you a withdrawal if not taken for too long, and catnip that slows time but keeps you at normal speed. With so many weapons and items to be found, the game also puts an emphasis on exploration, with many little nooks and crannies having some item to reward you for taking a peek, as well as changing many item placements in the world each day of the week to encourage you to return to somewhere you already looked and increase exploration even more. The game got me so hooked on it that I decided to 100% complete its achievements before writing this review.

The characters, like the story, are barebones but effective in what they do. The Postal Dude is a neutral person that almost always sounds sarcastic and apathetic, even when he's about to die, as well as breaking the 4th wall numerous times throughout the game such as criticizing you if you quick save in short amounts of time. This makes the Dude a good canvas to paint the player's actions on, to be a true pacifist, a serial murderer with no mercy, or somewhere in between. Paradise contains many factions of people you'll come across as you complete the days' chores, being both real and fake satirical representations of groups, such as protesters of violent video games. There's also the guest cameo of the late Gary Coleman that becomes a reoccurring background character. The game also features Running With Scissors themselves, with Vince Desi and Mike J making appearances at their Paradise offices; the developers are able to self-insert themselves in the game, but in a fun and meaningful way, being simple background or supporting characters and even are able to be killed, though Vince and Mike play more important roles later on in the game's expansions.

For those wanting to kill, a wanted system is in place. A bar under the HUD will appear if law enforcement witnesses you killing someone, and the red in the bar will continue to rise if law enforcement sees you, as well as becoming hostile to you if you're wanted. Unlike other games, however, you can actually be arrested and jailed, which you are able to resist by not standing to be cuffed and, if you're jailed, can escape. Another form of escaping your wanted level is to steal a police uniform from the locker room at the top floor of the police station, which will primarily keep you from getting wanted if committing murder and other crimes, but keep in mind it will disappear the next day and will need to be reacquired. The game also has a simple inventory system that's easy to use, as well as the HUD being easy to understand despite being simple too. The game contains a robust set of difficulty levels for various amounts of skill and challenge for all kinds of players; from difficulties like "Too Easy" and "Average", to "They Hate Me" and literally "Impossible", there's something for everyone.

In 2005, RWS released an expansion pack for Postal 2 that takes place right where the end of the game left off. Postal Dude wakes up in the hospital with a bullet wound after trying to kill himself to escape his wife's nagging. She's left him, his trailer's been repossessed, and his dog Champ has been taken to the pound to be euthanized Sunday night. While the Dude starts his journey to save Champ, he gets caught up in more shenanigans for the weekend. The expansion introduces a new explorable area of Paradise, as well as new weapons to try out as you complete the day's objectives. There's also more 4th wall breaks and is a small, but fun, addition to complete the week.

Postal 2 has Steam Workshop integration, allowing people to create even more content for the game with its tools. Obviously, workshops will always include both good and bad, so if you're into installing custom content for replayability and new experiences, there's something else to enjoy about the game.

Despite the large amounts of fun the game provides, it's not without its faults. To be completely honest, the game's age and old engine comes with it being janky for newer systems to run and may require you to lower settings to simply keep the game stable, though crashes are an inevitability, becoming seemingly even more apparent in the game's expansions. Fortunately, the game is still supported to some degree by RWS with hotfix updates sprinkled here and there, as well as being very responding to criticism and negative aspects of their games, even wearing it like a badge of honor.

Postal 2 broke much ground in positively evolving the video game industry like the original, while trying something new by switching from an isometric shooter that has a dark narrative with comedic undertones, to a first person shooter that has a comedic narrative with dark undertones. Its gameplay and mechanics are simple and easy to understand, along with having satisfying gameplay for those who crave virtual violence, with various levels of difficulty for all to enjoy. You can be whoever you want Postal Dude to be in this game, you can be a saint with all the restraint in the world, a mass murderer out for blood, or anything in between. Just remember that however you play this game, follow the Dude's own words, "I regret nothing."

Left 4 Dead 2 was the first game I ever played on a non-Nintendo console (on Xbox 360 back in Christmas 2009), and is my favorite team-based multiplayer game of all time. I'm not really into team-based games or multiplayer games in general, but this game has always managed to keep my interest over the years and something I hold close to me even now ever since I saw my older cousin play the first game at his house when it was brand new. Now it's about time I get to the nitty-gritty of the game itself.

Left 4 Dead is a series that prioritizes gameplay over its plot, but that doesn't mean it's nonexistant. The United States is ravaged by a new pathogen simply known as "The Green Flu", causing people to become aggressive zombie-like creatures; there is no cure and it mutates constantly, causing the entire country to fall into chaos in a matter of days. You follow 4 new survivors after 3 weeks of the infection, trying to navigate through various areas in the south to find safety from the infected.

As mentioned above, you play as 4 different survivors throughout the campaigns of the game, each with their own distinct characterization. Ellis is an enthusiastic mechanic with a kind personality who loves telling others about his misadventures (particularly involving his friend Keith). Coach, as his name implies, a coach before the apocalypse, and also has a deep obsession with food. Nick is a gambler and conman who roams the country, often clashing with the more optimistic viewpoints of the rest of the group with his pragmatic and snarky personality. Rochelle is a young woman who works for a news company, seeing the infection as her big break and traveling to Georgia to report on it. Each of the survivors interact with each other constantly and have great chemistry throughout the game's campaigns, all of them bonding as they travel through the south to find safety; they are an integral part of what gives the series a lot of its charm.

Left 4 Dead's gameplay is certainly unique, heavily relying on your teammates and coordination between them in order to succeed. The game is very fast-paced, requiring quick-thinking and strong hand-eye coordination to play well. A new feature of this sequel is the introduction of melee weapons, allowing more effective close-range combat and method to clearing crowds of zombies. Other equipment is also introduced such as weapon mods, a defibrillator for reviving dead teammates, and other new items you can find along the way. Along with commons, special infected are also present and are much more powerful with the addition of three more in this entry, each having their own abilities and one can easily incapacitate or kill you if you're alone or not careful, bolstering the reliance on teamwork during gameplay.

The mechanics of the survivors are simple; you have 100 base health to start and infected can deplete it. If you reach 0 health, you will become incapacitated and a teammate will have to revive you. When revived, you will have 30 health that will slowly deplete back to 1. If you're incapacitated again, your screen will become black and white, signaling that if you become incapacitated again, you will die. If you die, a teammate can possibly save you from an enclosed room or use a defibrillator. A survivor cannot escape a special's grasp and must be saved by a teammate through either killing or shoving it off the survivor. If there aren't enough players to fill an entire team, a bot will take the place (they are awful, rely on them as little as possible). The game is constantly observed through an AI known as the Director, dictating where to place items, when to spawn infected, and even change certain routes in the level, providing a unique experience every match and boosting replay value.

Left 4 Dead 2 is a game that has integration with the Steam Workshop, allowing virtually infinite content than just the vanilla game. Items on the workshop obviously vary in quality, but is vast enough to be able to have something for just about everyone who wants to modify the game. These mods range from model edits, weapon skins, custom campaigns, and brand new gamemodes.

The game has many various modes that provides extreme replay value and caters to numerous groups of players. Since you can just check what these are yourself, I won't be explaining what they are, rather I'm going to give my thoughts on them for someone who's just joining this party. Campaign is the standard mode and is what most people play, I'd stay in this lane if I were you. Realism is for campaign players who want some more challenge to gameplay since normal campaign can be a bit dull at times. Survival is full of speedrun community-tier autists who just do the same route throughout Dead Center Atrium over and over for hours on end in a single match, fun with friends if you wanna try and go for gold. Versus is a cesspit of sweaty tryhards and the obnoxious Spanish players that infest this community; as someone who primarily plays Versus I discourage playing this one at all, or at the very least until you have a few hundred hours worth of learning the game and its mechanics (please for the love of God look at guides). Scavenge is dead as a doornail and mainly amounts to a small niche community of players that have memorized all the conceivable death charge spots on No Mercy Rooftop. Realism Versus is for Versus autists that feel that the survivors are too overpowered and want a more even playing field, probably the same lot that like Confogl and other similar balancing mods. Versus Survival just kind of exists but it's fun in small doses, do people even play this? Mutations will give you a good time with how much are in the base game, but you'll get even more bang for your buck based on the plethora of community-made ones on the workshop.

Left 4 Dead 2, in my opinion, is an epitome of multiplayer FPS games that heavily rely on teamwork. With the vanilla game's gamemodes, the addition of the Workshop's endless content, the setting built around the game, and its goofy and lovable characters, the game has something for everyone. If you love slaughtering zombies and/or playing high stakes FPS games, then this game is for you, it is a real treat to play when you learn how it works and I very much recommend it.

The Walking Dead Season 1 is, in my opinion, the best storytelling experience that Telltale Games produced before their dissolution as a game studio. Out of the other seasons of the series, as well as their other storytelling games, The Walking Dead Season 1 has the most consistent and well-written plot, characters, and choices.

The game takes place in the US state of Georgia. You play the role of Lee Everett, a history professor that is now convicted in the back of a police car after murdering a senator that slept with your wife. In the past few days, the zombie outbreak has started spreading. The police officer crashes the vehicle after hitting a zombie in the road and Lee is knocked unconscious. The infection has spread even further after Lee wakes up and comes face-to-face with the shambling corpses, now having to fend for himself in this new world and given a second chance after committing his crime. He comes across an 8-year-old girl named Clementine, who is all alone after her parents went on vacation to the city of Savannah and never returned. It's up to Lee to take care of her and help find her parents, as well as looking for a safe place to reside with fellow survivors amidst the apocalypse.

The game primarily consists of making choices for Lee, being "tailored to how you play". There are numerous actions and dialogue choices that the player can choose in order to shape Lee in their image. Whether you choose Lee to be a good-willed pacifist, a rude jerk, or keep choosing the "..." dialogue option, the choice is yours. Another common mechanic in the game is being able to roam around the vicinity and interact with people and objects in order to complete objectives to progress the story. The final mechanic in the game would be the QTEs (quick-time events), which are very common.

As Lee and Clementine look for a safe area to protect themselves from the zombie scourge, they come across many survivors, both friends and enemies; Lee can choose to side with or against some, or try to appease or alienate those that are already set in their ways about him. Many characters will start to form their opinion of Lee as they interact and through Lee's actions. Some choices will be bigger or smaller than others, but all of them matter in some capacity.

As the plot of the game progresses, Lee, Clementine, and other characters experience many emotions, being minuscule or life-changing. They experience joy, anger, loss, grief, shock, and most of all, death. Many characters come and go along the way, some being your friends and some being your enemies, but most of them will choose which they are based on your decisions. The story builds up to a climactic and tense conclusion, growing onto these characters and forming a bond with them through Lee. The ending to the final episode was the first time I had ever cried over a video game, specifically, over a character, and is a memory that sticks close to me to this day.

The Walking Dead Season 1 includes an extra episode that is unrelated to the main story. The story follows the paths of 5 survivors and their experiences as the zombie apocalypse reshapes the world, from the first few chaotic days of the outbreak to hundreds of days in when society has slowly rebuilt. These characters have a cameo in Season 2 based on your choices during their stories in order to try and make it feel more meaningful. Playing this bonus episode is completely optional and doesn't effect the story or your choices whatsoever, even in Season 2, save for the aforementioned cameos (though one particular character plays a more major role at some point).

All in all, I feel that while Telltale's The Walking Dead is very lacking in the gameplay department, it makes up for it with stellar story and character development, actively engaging the player into interacting with the world around them, forming friendships and grudges against certain characters. Through the eyes of Lee Everett, the player experiences the zombie-infested world these characters reside and struggle to survive in, making both menial and thought-provoking choices as it continues based on what they believe is morally just. The game is tailored by how you play, and that tagline of Telltale's narrative-driven games very much holds up in this case.

Dead Rising 2 was a promising sequel to a Capcom favorite that proved the (temporary) competence of the Canadian game studio, Blue Castle Games (eventually becoming Capcom Vancouver). Due to the poor sales of the original Dead Rising in Japan, Capcom decided to outsource the series to Canada in order to continue it. While it doesn't surpass or even meet the expectations of the original in-house developed first game, I can say that it is still quite a good game and fun experience.

This takes place 4 years after the events of the original Dead Rising. You are Chuck Greene, a former motocross champion who needs to get a zombification-suppressant medicine called Zombrex for your daughter Katey, who is bitten. After going through desperate measures to get enough money for another shot of medicine in the violent pay-per-view gameshow, Terror Is Reality, a sudden zombie outbreak occurs in the famous Nevada entertainment playground known as Fortune City. After escaping to the Safe House with Katey and finding her medicine in the city, it turns out that you are framed for starting the outbreak. Chuck must spend 3 days trying to clear his name and find out the truth of what happened before the military arrive. Along the way are a new cast of interesting characters that will help you along the way.

While the controls and movement are a lot more stiff in this game compared to its predecessor, it's much more precise in how you move; just be aware that the controller support for the PC port is lackluster and requires a 3rd party program to get it to function. More items are at your disposal to mess around with against zombies with an even bigger environment to find them in. PP (prestige points) are still the method of gaining experience through the same methods; killing zombies, fighting psychopaths, saving survivors, etc. Much like Frank, Chuck will gain new skills and stat enhancements as he levels up. Due to the game taking place in a more mature environment, many adult themes are ramped up in this addition to the franchise with much more sexual innuendos and such, but the game's humor is still just as wacky and enjoyable.

The game once again runs on a 72-hour time limit with each in-game minute lasting 5 real seconds, though more time can be accessed if the player chooses to complete the story missions up to when the military arrive. Katey requires Zombrex between 7 AM and 8 AM every in-game day, so be sure you have a hefty supply of it and get to her in time; Zombrex can be found hiding in areas of Fortune City and, if you're desperate, you can buy some from the Pawn Shop. Money is a new addition to the game, with Chuck being able to collect it around the city and buy rewarding items such as Zombrex, a convenient combo weapon, or a vehicle. Chuck must uncover the truth and clear his name as the game progresses through each Case mission. Despite this, you can once again ignore any mission you like and allow the truth to be shrouded in darkness and continue playing like normal. There is also the addition of playing Poker in certain missions, so if gambling is your cup of tea, be my guest and look out for them. The most anticipated new mechanic is combo weapons, with Chuck going to specific Maintenance Rooms to combine 2 weapons together, with 50 in total. Through certain actions, you can collect Combo Cards that give more PP per kill with them and possible alternate attacks, so keep a look out and see what zombie-slaughtering amalgamations you can create!

Blue Castle Games improved the AI of NPCs by a large margin, now being responsive and capable of holding their own (for the most part) and have little to no trouble keeping up with Chuck. It is one of the major steps up from the previous game and I commend them for that. On the topic of the actual survivors, they are again scattered around the map and you will be notified by a transceiver about any missions happening. In my opinion, saving every single survivor is much more difficult here, as there are more than before. Some can be hidden and must be found by a timed event, so good luck if you choose to do so, and remember that time is key in this game.

This game's bosses are much more ramped up to more comedic and outlandish levels to fit with the game's setting, though I won't spoil any for you. Each one has a signature theme, weapon, and battle strategy, so watch out and learn what they do if you want to defeat them.

The endings in this game are S through F, with Ending S being a secret ending accessed if you enter Overtime Mode, and Ending A being canon to the main story. Note that not just completing the main cases or not affects your ending, but also if you allow Katey to turn or not, so always remember to give her Zombrex if you want a good ending.

While Dead Rising 2 has no Infinity Mode, it makes up for it with other content. The game contains the default 72 Hour Mode and the unlockable Overtime Mode (though you cannot select this to start from in the main menu at all and the story must be completed on that playthrough to access it), but also has other modes to keep the game fresh. Dead Rising 2 introduces co-op play into the series, allowing other players to join your session and fight alongside you or simply fool around together. Along with that, there is a Terror Is Reality Online gamemode in the main menu. This mode has you face off with 3 other players in a lobby throughout various minigames in order to "win big" and earn cash prizes and even a few special clothing items. Unfortunately, due to lack of players nowadays, it's almost useless and you will never find a match to join.

This game also has numerous achievements to collect, giving it more replay value despite the shallow structure of what to do in the game. In my opinion, a lot of them are not as interesting as the first game, but are much more lenient in that a majority of them allow you to progress towards achieving them throughout multiple playthroughs, which is a plus.

All in all, I feel that while Dead Rising 2 doesn't live up to the expectations of its Japanese predecessor, I feel that Blue Castle games did a good job at emulating the feeling of Dead Rising while putting their own twists and ideas on it to make it unique and set it apart from the original game.

Dead Rising is one of, if not my most, favorite game of all time. It was an ambitious project of creating a compelling zombie game full of many things to do. The game is packed with a perfect mix of seriousness and silliness to balance the player's interest in both the story and environment.

You are Frank West, a freelance photojournalist heading to the fictional remote town of Willamette, Colorado to get the scoop of a big uncovered event happening there. After noticing the National Guard roping off the exits to the town and witnessing "riots", you realize something's not entirely right here. After having being dropped off on top of the Willamette Parkview Mall by a hired helicopter pilot, it's up to you to solve the mystery and break the story. Along the way, you'll meet an interesting cast of characters that will help alongside you in solving the case of the incident.

Dead Rising's gameplay is certainly unique compared to most other sandbox games. The world is immersive in the environment that it sets you in with the clashing tones between the happy and colorful mall to the hordes of undead roaming it. As mentioned before, practically anything you can find can be used as a weapon; from sledgehammers and chainsaws, to skateboards and giant lipstick props, to even throwing pies in the faces of zombies, Dead Rising provides a captivating way of combating your foes in any way you desire with whatever you can find. The controls may feel clunky to beginners, but if you continue playing and keep at it, it's not that bad. Frank levels up through PP (prestige points) given by certain actions such as killing zombies, taking pictures, or saving survivors. With these level-ups, Frank gains various enhancements such as stat increases and new useful skills to fight with.

This game is very heavily based around strategy and time management. You should always keep extra food items on you in case you need to heal if you're in a pinch or keep an extra weapon on hand when things get frisky or if one breaks. On the topic of time, the main game is based around a 72 hour time limit, with each minute on the clock lasting 5 real seconds. You have this amount of time to do as you wish in the mall by either solving cases, helping survivors to the security room, or simply fooling around. Time is key in this game, as doing more challenging tasks requires a lot of planning and preparation, so always keep your eye on the clock! If you fail/miss a scoop, it will simply disappear for the rest of the playthrough and will need to be started over to go back to it, this counts for main story cases as well. Fortunately, the game will not directly reprimand you for letting the truth vanish into darkness by failing the story, and you can continue playing as normal.

My one gripe with this game is that the survivor AI is probably one of the absolute worst I have ever seen in a video game. Survivors you save are very idiotic in this game and will constantly cause trouble for you, others around you, or themselves. Their pathfinding is abysmal, having to constantly spam the call button to refresh it, along with constantly getting stuck or running into things. Survivors don't mesh well with the zombies and will constantly get surrounded and die or will attack any zombies anywhere near them, no matter if they're a current threat or not. You will have a very hard time saving them and attempting to save them all will make you rip your hair out, but it is very much doable if you can stomach it. On the topic of the actual survivors, they can be found at various times and places around the mall, each being fleshed out with their own personality and story.

The many bosses in this game are referred to as "psychopaths", with many of them becoming mentally unhinged due to the zombie outbreak. Each is also fleshed out with their own personality and story, much like the regular survivors, with one even being able to be saved as a regular survivor after defeating them. Each has their own theme, weapon, and combat style, so be careful when facing them and learn how they work.

The game has many different endings you can achieve based on your actions, Endings A through F. I will obviously not spoil these for you, but keep in mind that Ending A is canon and the best possible ending, having completed all case files and making it to the helipad on time.

A couple modes are available to you after completing certain parts of the story. Overtime Mode is unlocked after completing 72 Hour Mode with Ending A, continuing the story. Infinity Mode is unlocked after completing Overtime Mode, being a survival-type mode where Frank must survive as long as possible by scavenging for food to eat from around the mall and from hostile survivors as his health slowly drains over time.

These challenges are what gives Dead Rising a lot of replay value; with 50 achievements to complete, and many of them pushing your skills to the test. Many of these achievements provide rewards for completing them, such as special clothing or special weapons. Note that practically all of these achievements need to be completed in one single playthrough so your progress on them doesn't carry over, so you'll only have one shot in your current playthrough to do it; good luck.

While Dead Rising is very fun and engaging when you get the hang of it, keep in mind that it has quite a learning curve with its difficulty and mechanics and isn't for everyone. With the somewhat clunky controls, awful AI, and strategy and time management, it can prove to be a bit hard for some. If you can manage to adapt to the game's rules, you are guaranteed a fantastic zombie-slaying title.

Resident Evil 2 was a well-anticipated remaster of a late 90s classic survival horror game that helped shape the genre we know and love today. While some may see the remastering of the game as tainting the legacy of the original with its modern twists that Resident Evil 4 grounded many years ago for the future of the series, many people like myself see it as an exciting new way of experiencing the game from a new perspective.

The game allows you to play through a specific story for both protagonists; Leon Kennedy, a rookie Raccoon City officer on his first day on the job, or Claire Redfield, a college student looking for her brother Chris, a protagonist of the first game. Both stories divert into their own plot, with the unchosen character appearing in certain situations to provide a connection and interaction with you while the story progresses. Leon follows after the mysterious Ada Wong, while Claire protects the innocent school girl Sherry. Both characters are fighting to survive and escape the city while on the run from numerous monstrosities created by the Umbrella Corporation that lurk in the overtaken city, some more persistent than others. After completing the story, you're allowed to play through the 2nd character's story, though it's only slight changes to if you played as them first instead. Although the game is based off the story from the original game, the differences between both characters' scenarios, along with the A and B scenarios, are underwhelming in providing a unique story experience for replay value.

Unlike the fixed camera angles of its original counterpart, this remaster uses the over-the-shoulder third person perspective that's been used in all Resident Evil titles (save for the 7th game) since the 4th installment. While some may dislike this change for altering the mechanics of the original, I don't really mind it, as it provides that new perspective of the game and this control style is a lot more fluid and precise. On the topic of the game's character scenarios once more, the "A scenario" (1st run as selected character) and "B scenario" (2nd run as the other character) have somewhat different functionalities when it comes to items. A scenario has ammunition scattered about for your starting weapon, while B scenario provides ammo for an alternative weapon you receive at the beginning, with ammo for your starting weapon being scarce and having to be created manually from gunpowder that's also around the map. Both scenarios between characters aren't that different in this remaster, with barely any noticeable changes such as these, though the pacing is similar to the original B scenario that has different item placement and progression. If you prefer a more classic and more difficult experience, hardcore mode is for you, with enemies dealing more damage and saves being limited to the classic ink ribbons around the map.

I thought I'd create a completely different section for this enemy since he's an iconic piece of this remaster. Mr. X is a mass-produced variation of the Tyrant, being programmed to commands given by Umbrella. X's commands in this game are to eliminate any survivors in Raccoon City at all costs, primarily Leon and Claire. Instead of scripted sequences where he appears like in the original version of the game, he will wander around and tail you constantly throughout sections of the game, being sensitive to any noise you may make. Memes aside, X is a force to be reckoned with when he starts inevitably following you, only stopping to wander once more if you stun him for a short time from damage or if you manage to run far enough to lose him, so watch your back and keep an eye on your volume control when moving around the Raccoon Police Department.

After completing both A and B scenarios, a new mode will unlock known as "The 4th Survivor", telling the story of infamous Umbrella mercenary Hunk, who needs to make haste to his extraction point from the sewer in order to deliver a G-Virus sample to his benefactors, being faithful to the original game. While this mode is simple, it is quite difficult, having to bee-line straight to the front of the police station, having to take alternate routes from obstacles blocking you. Along with this, many of the difficult enemies appear from later in the game, with the dreaded Mr. X following you for some time and zombies being obstacles in your way. After completing this, you unlock "Tofu Survivor", another nod to its predecessor, where you go through the same scenario as Hunk, but as a block of tofu. While this sounds goofy, it's much more difficult than before, with Tofu only wielding limited healing items and a ton of knives for defense. Along with completing this, you're granted new Tofu modes that are new to this game, all having different weapon/health load-outs and personalities, providing new ways of challenging the player.

Shortly after the game's release, Capcom released the Ghost Survivors DLC, which is free. This DLC followed non-canon scenarios of characters featured in the story, along with a brand new character. Each story has an objective to complete, and providing an alternate scenario for the character's fate. Despite the cheap price of being free, many players and fans, like myself, found it to be underwhelming and slightly disappointing. The stories, while interesting in concept, just aren't that appealing when it comes to gameplay, especially due to not being canon. Other free DLC that was later released was once again, another nod for fans of the original, being costumes that are the original low-poly models from the original PlayStation 1 release. Paid DLC, however, is also included, though only cosmetic, such as alternate costumes for Leon and Claire (one of which is a reference to the unfinished original version of RE2) and a soundtrack modification, providing the fan-favorite music pieces from the classic.

Taking all this into account, Resident Evil 2 (2019) was a well-anticipated remaster of a survival horror classic that did its best to be unique and innovative from its 1998 predecessor, while also doing its best not to alienate fans of the original games to provide an enjoyable experience for old and new fans alike.

Call of Duty: World at War was a successful and stunning return to the World War II formula that the series was known for since the start, along with Treyarch's impressive entry into what would become their iconic Black Ops series.

After Call of Duty: Modern Warfare released the year prior in 2007 by Infinity Ward, it was another's turn the next year to make the 5th game in the series; Treyarch, a studio with experience with the series since around its inception. After Modern Warfare's critical acclaim in putting a modern spin on the series with a more developed story, Treyarch was up to the task of creating 2008's Call of Duty game. Instead of being bold and putting another twist on the classic FPS series like Infinity Ward, Treyarch went back to basics with another World War II first person shooter. Unlike the original trilogy, World at War made itself unique and innovative compared to the previous entries.

The campaign of World at War has you switching between the perspectives of both sides of the global conflict. The first character introduced is Private Miller, an American soldier fighting with his brothers in arms against the Imperial Japanese forces on the Pacific Theater. The second character you play as is Dimitri Petrenko, a Red Army soldier of the Soviet Union fighting to push back Nazi forces into Berlin after the Battle of Stalingrad and topple the fascist regime. While your characters are mute and have little to no character, this is intentional, as it puts you in the shoes of a soldier of that era and let you be immersed in the grim and historical world of what once was reality (albeit exaggerated for gameplay and cinematic purposes). If single player experiences aren't your thing or simply don't enjoy the gritty atmosphere, you can play the campaign with other players. If you're more competitive, you can play a competitive co-op mode throughout the story mode missions, gaining points from kills and other actions to see who gets the highest score in the end.

The gameplay is solid and responsive with flexible and quick movement. The only gripe I may have with the controls is that your character lunges into the enemy when using your knife, which leaves you open to attack for a second or two. With many historical tools and weapons at your disposal, there's loads of fun to be had. Along with the movement and gunplay, the game has a revamped gore system, with explosives and certain weapons tearing off limbs from enemies.

The multiplayer, along with this revamped gameplay, is a fair amount of fun with creating classes to decimate your opponents in a race to complete various objectives. Along with the basic movement mechanics, you can utilize tanks on certain maps in order to complete your mission. The teams also utilize American vs Japanese or Soviet vs Nazi based on the map.

One iconic gamemode that Treyarch brought to the table in this installment was Nazi Zombies, a wave-based survival game where you kill zombies, get points, and complete rounds against the unending horde. What started as a simple experimental mode soon became the series loved by fans for years and continues to this day. There are 4 maps in this game: Nacht Der Untoten, Verrückt, Shi No Numa, and Der Riese. Each of these maps build off the previous one, introducing new weapons and mechanics, along with a story that slowly unfolds and becomes a strong-point of the zombie-slaughtering saga. Along with these are custom maps created by the community that can be installed through third parties, trying out many things for the player to experience and increasing replayability.

All-in-all, Treyarch made a fantastic experience for fans of the series by freshening an old formula, trying new things and putting a twist of their own on a common video game setting.