Grant Keegan

Gears of War: Judgement is a different experience from the other Gears titles. However, there is still a lot of fun to be had here. While I enjoyed fighting my way through hordes of locust throught the decently sized campaign, the story was very lackluster. Still, I think this was a good game. I think it is worth to play it if you are going through this series for the first time. This installment of the franchise introduces a new gameplay system that changes the way the campaign is played. The levels are short, between 5 and 10 minutes each, and I think the point system is a bit strange and unnecessary. I expected it would become annoying in the beginning, but in the end it doesn't really change much about the core Gears of War experience. Each level introduces a challenge that spices things up. I thought a lot of them were fun and creative. The story is boring save from a few parts towards the end. Maybe I just missed Marcus, Dom, Anya and the rest of the classic characters. The new crew doesn't leave you as attached or interested in their story. Because Baird and Cole appear in the other Gears games, this prequel doesn't have many stakes. The most interesting thing I found in the story was the overarching jury plot. The final act was amazing, with a very intense bossfight. Overall I enjoyed Gears of War: Judgement.

Watch my full review on YouTube: youtu.be/OVCCCiSCCtg Beautiful in every way. Makoto Shinkai never misses. I really need to go watch the rest of his movies soon because I can't get enough of the beautiful music, visuals and characters of movies like Suzume.

Watch my full review on YouTube: youtu.be/qG51As23mW0 The newest installment in the Evil Dead franchise is such a shockingly amazing movie. It has everything people love from the old movies and the 2013 reboot with new concepts and iconic scenes. I had such a blast watching Evil Dead Rise and it has quickly become my favorite horror movie of all time. I have to say that this film is not for the faint of heart. It had many scenes that are equally disturbing and entertaining. The new characters are also well-written, much better than in 2013. I honestly cannot recommend this film enough if you are a fan of the franchise and horror in general.

Even though Timecrimes does a good job of executing a complex plot in a way that doesn't seem pretentious, everything else about the movie sucks in so many ways. The film's acting, character development and writing are bad. The movie feels very amateur from the very beginning. There are a lot of scenes that are just thrown in as filler, most of the time with unnecessary nudity and violence to be somewhat edgy. These scenes only made me cringe, especially paired with the main character. I really wish the movie had a different script and story. I think the time travel plot had a lot of potential, but ultimately fell flat due to the movie's direction and style. Final Score: 45/100

The new chapter in the Gears of War saga is a fresh start with new and old faces coming together to face a new threat. This is the beginning of a new trilogy, and I was first skeptical of how they would follow the story after the third game's glorious ending. But I must admit, I was impressed with how this game was handled. Gears of War 4's new characters are great, especially JD and Kait. I am glad that the future of the franchise has some interesting and well written protagonists to carry it on. Marcus will always be my favorite, and I am glad that he is back in all of his glory. In general, this game does a lot to continue the story and expand the Gears of War world. The writing has a more cinematic feel, with richer dialogues and more expressive characters. I am glad that the developers are taking full advantage of technological advancements to give us a great experience. The gameplay remains mostly the same, with a few minor alterations. I will always have fun playing the Gears of War games, and I don't think it is necessary to reinvent the wheel when it comes to the controls and combat. The new weapons are great, as well as the robot enemies. I think this game does a great job of changing the formula a little without leaving behind the things that make these games good in the first place. Overall, I think the story leaves a lot to be explored in future chapters. This series has a lot of potential to be one of the best in game history, and I will definitely be here to enjoy the ride.

Inside is a beautiful and dark game that left me with a lot of thoughts at the end. Another work of art from Playdead, the same studio that gave us Limbo (2010). These games have an amazing setting and environment that reminds me of my own dreams. Without any dialogue, most of the story is told through the world's environments, leaving a lot to the interpretation of the player. This game is perfect for forming theories and gathering your own points of view about the world. Personally, I think Inside is a metaphor for the dangers of authoritarianism. There are hints to this all over the game. However, there is so many things that point to other themes, most notably: individualism, curiosity, rebellion, environmentalism and the loss of innocence. The gameplay and game design are great. The lack of UI and really any context give Inside a feeling that I haven't seen in any other games. The animations are extremely smooth and take advantage of the console's controller functions. Some puzzles are annoying, personally puzzles are some of my least favorite aspects of a game. But the beautiful score, feeling and atmosphere of Inside make this a great game.

Remothered: Tormented Fathers is a survival horror game that reminded me a lot of Psycho (1960) and Silence of the Lambs (1991). It is tense, terrifying and anxiety-inducing. For a low budget production, I was very pleased with the end result. These are the kind of indie horror games that are worth playing, you can sense the passion from the developers. The story is interesting and rich, leaving a lot of room for development in future sequels. There are some very obvious influences and similarities from certain horror movies. But I think this saga can stand on its own. Rosemary is a good character although we don't really get to learn much from her. But what really sells the game are the enemies. The Red Nun has an awesome design, and Jennifer is absolutely terrifying. Especially with the way she shrieks and chases you. A big issue that this game has, is the gameplay. At least on the nintendo switch, the controls are clunky and awkward. The enemies' movement patterns make zero sense at times. It feels like they always know where you are hiding. If you enjoy stealth in videogames you won't mind that most of the game is like that. I'm personally more inclined towards combat-based horror games, but I enjoyed Tormented Fathers for its aesthetic and story. Unfortunately, the Nintendo Switch version has a lot of bugs and issues that became annoying at several points. Some of these bugs caused me to restart the game, having to repeat entire sections. Also making it unable to progress and continue towards the end. I think these issues should be fixed because I think it can really break the game. Other than that, Tormented Fathers was an enjoyable experience and I can't wait for the sequel to come out in a few months.

Detroit: Become Human is a thoughtful, inspiring, and to a certain extent, terrifying game that is sure to cause anyone an existential crisis. This is one of the richest experiences I've had and I cannot recommend it enough. The game's world is perhaps the most realistic depiction of the following decades that I have seen in any media. As I was playing, there were a million questions that popped into my head. Everything from the new technologies I was observing to the way society restructured in order to accommodate these. By far, the biggest impact in the world will be the improvement and adoption of A.I. by humanity. Detroit: Become Human does a great job of showing us how that world will look like. From my initial impressions, I realized that this was going to be a very profound and well detailed game. This is my first Quantic Dream title and I can already tell that it is a studio full of passionate people who put a lot of care into telling a compelling story with an interesting premise. One can see that they did their research before producing a game that takes on the important topics of A.I. and futurism. Some of the themes most present in the game are: meaning, purpose, identity and civil rights. This is the most philosophical and political game I have played and I loved every second of it. The scenes where the androids questioned their very programming resonated with me. It made me realize that us organic beings will not be so different from them after all. By far my favorite character out of the three robots was Kara. Her story made me think the most and I adored her relationship with Alice. The philosophical question on whether artificial beings can love, hate or care about something or someone is best reflected through Kara. Throughout her journey, she risks her life to save Alice and feels stress when facing danger. I truly believe it is possible for A.I. to develop feelings (or an equivalent of them). These thoughts raise a lot of questions about the meanings of love, parenthood and relationships. These are all ideas that will be challenged and questioned in the next few decades, and we must be ready for them. Markus' story has a lot of important lessons and questions we must ask ourselves in the future when A.I. arrives. Is it a matter of principle to treat everything with respect, wether it is artificial or not? What really constitutes consciousness and personhood? I also sensed a lot of messages against the threat of government and corporate tyranny in our future. The characters' stories all share the themes of preserving liberty against those who try to take them from us. The magazines you find throughout the game are some of the best collectibles I've seen in a game. They paint a very interesting picture of our future. These magazines contain news articles reporting on topics like technological advances, politics, climate change, entertainment, etc. Some of them will fill you with existential horror, optimism or food for debate. Reading them feels like taking a peek into our future, something a lot of people will be looking forward to. but also making us have more consciousness in the present. I loved Detroit: Become Human and I think everyone should give it a go. The story is well paced and impactful, the characters are very interesting and likeable, making you think carefully every decision you make in order to protect them. This is truly an experience that will always be a part of my life.