Ryan H

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READ BEFORE YOU BUY!!! (Spoilers, but not detailed or in depth, so you can safely read this as it will NOT affect your first time experience much and may save you some buyer's remorse). Many of the critical reviews left for this title are bizarre for the most part. You'd think that a copy of this game grew sentience and murdered their family in front of them. I didn't have quite as visceral of a reaction upon completing this game as I've seen expressed in some of these reviews, but I will say that if you're looking for the same experience that captivated millions of players in the first installment, you will be extremely disappointed. The storyline is straight up awful, and the characters are just as poorly written. There are so many issues present in either of these areas that this singular review form would never hold the required space to list them all out, so I'll just go over the most egregious ones: - Your supporting cast, Dina and Jesse, are easily the two worst supporting characters in any videogame I've ever played. If you completely removed them from the game, the impact on the storyline would range somewhere between minimal and negligible. They introduce no conflict nor shape the narrative in any meaningful way. They are basically there to be yes-men for Ellie, and keep the player company. If you're looking for a funny, bitter, and heartwarming dynamic like what we saw in the first game, stop looking now. - Joel dies. Yes, we all saw this coming. It was in the damn trailer. But the manner in which he died not only prevented us from being able to explore the relationship between him and Ellie after the she discovered the truth about the hospital, but was also executed in an extremely forced way. A seasoned, hardened survivalist who'd sooner run someone over in the street than stop to help them would never have been deceived in the manner he was. Horrible, sloppy writing. - Tommy goes from doing his best to dissuade Ellie from embarking on a revenge quest at the beginning, to basically the exact, polar opposite in the epilogue, with literally not a single shred of character development that would have made this transition make sense. Sloppy writing. - You have to take a step back and wonder how a game so heavily obsessed with pushing forward a theme of "the cycle of revenge is bad" ends with one party escaping relatively unscathed with little to no trauma, while another party practically loses everything, and ends up not even taking the opportunity despite having killed hundreds of people to reach said opportunity? Again, really, really bad writing. A single flashback is not character development. - Flashbacks, flashbacks, flashbacks. Flashbacks are not inherently bad, but TLOU 2 literally substitutes what should have been lengthy and extremely important sections of narrative and character development with 1 minute flashbacks and expects the audience to be satisfied. - Naughty dog expected the audience to sympathize with Abby, yet the fact that a minor epilogue antagonist, "Fat Geralt", has become exponentially more popular than Abby speaks volumes about the efficacy of this character's writing. Can't believe I'm saying this after having replayed the first game three times, but I would NOT recommend purchasing The Last of Us 2 for more than $10. The ONLY redeeming quality is that the gameplay is fantastic and the visuals are stunning. Your interactions with the environment around you have been amped up. But as for pros, that's really about it. This game is heavily, heavily flawed.

As with all my reviews, this review will yet again be geared towards individuals who prioritize a captivating storyline as the most important aspect of enjoyable games, followed closely by well-written characters, meaningful cast interactions, and then finally gameplay. It will be a bit lengthy but spoiler free. Fans of the Tomb Raider reboots, The Last of Us, Horizon Zero Dawn, and other narrative-heavy games may find this useful in deciding whether or not to buy. Let me begin by stating what many newcomers to the series will be thinking, "Should I play the previous titles before 4?". Yes. Do you NEED to? Arguably I would say you would actually. Sure, a cursory glance at some series plot summaries may help you orient yourself, but you'll be missing some incredible feelings of closure after this title's conclusion, not to mention that the prior titles exhibit solid plots of their own (and I believe the full collection is readily available for quite cheap). Now for the actual game, Uncharted 4 easily distinguishes itself as among the greatest adventure games ever produced, and delivers what consumers of the niche "treasure hunting" genre have been craving ever since the series gained traction. It's quite evident that this title was the culmination of years upon years of love poured into the series finale by the developers, and the resulting product is brimming with a passion that could lure even the most casual of audiences into daydreams of pirates and gold. Yet for all its brashness and swashbuckling exploits, this game has managed to nurture such an emotional depth through the interactions of its characters, confronting the protagonists, and by extension we the audience, with thought-provoking questions on the nature of our mission, the sacrifices we are willing to make, and what we stand to lose once the fervor of the hunt begins to subside and the consequences of our actions creep up on us. In stark contrast to the "riding into the sunset" highs we felt upon watching the end credits roll in Uncharted 1, the darker, more painful undertones of Thief's End are bound to impress anyone with strong investment in these characters and their journeys. Overall Uncharted 4 is a game that is so incredibly well made that it is WELL, WELL worth the time one would need to play the prior three titles (with perhaps the exception of UC1, which can be watched, but honestly it's still fun to this day). I say that as if going through previous titles would be some kind of chore, which, considering their own strengths as games, is not likely. It is an an adventurous yet heartfelt conclusion to a series spanning over a decade, and it will not disappoint.

Lengthy but spoiler free: To provide brief background, my first experience with fighter pilot games that put you into the cockpit of cutting edge jet fighters to single-handedly alter the course of wars was with the one and only Ace Combat 4, Shattered Skies, on the PS2. I remembered being mesmerized by the intensity of the dogfighting and the satisfaction of wreaking havoc on enemies both terrestrial and airborne alike. But MOST IMPORTANTLY, the intricately crafted narrative featuring formidable enemies such as the top aces of opposing nations and engaging missions kept me coming back for more. The well fleshed out characters added a uniquely human side to enemies you could only see as planes during combat. Now you may be asking me, isn't this a review about Project Wingman? And you'd be correct of course, yet I just wanted to describe to you a respected classic of the genre to give you some context as to my opinion of PW. Since AC4, the only other AC game I have played was the most recent installment, AC7 Skies Unknown, and I enjoyed that one and thought of it as the HD remaster that did a great service to my childhood memories of AC4. That is, until I saw the end credits roll in Project Wingman. What immediately stood out to me in PW was the near unlimited amount of passion the creators had poured into their work. If passion could ever be quantified, I'd have no doubt that this masterpiece would set several records. The attention to even the smallest detail is apparent in not only the missions, but the mission briefings and post mission dialogues as well; each and every portion of this game is just absolutely overflowing with detail that puts the audience smack dab in the center of the aerial conflict rather than remaining detached spectators. The second thing that stood out was the elevated level of voice acting. In this regard, PW far, FAR outpaces AC7; pretty much every line is delivered perfectly, with never too much emotion to make dialogue feel melodramatic, nor so apathetic that you feel people with no experience in voice acting were conscripted for the project last minute. Even as the most modern game in the AC series, AC7's voice acting is fairly one-dimensional in comparison, and dialogues between missions feel far less lively compared to PW. Again, PW's superb voice acting and dialogue maximize immersion in ways that AC7 can't compete in. The third, and final, portion of this review is dedicated to the storyline and characters, and I have to say that this title can throw it down with the best of them in this regard. From the lively WSO, to the rather cantankerous (and at times, friendly, rarely) Hitman squadron teammates, to the maniacal Crimson Squadron leader (a clear homage to Yellow 13 of AC4), there are plenty of players in this game to learn about, and witnessing the interactions between them adds a whole new facet to your experience. And as far as the narrative goes, I'd say that, with all due respect to AC4 as the classic it is, PW has arguably brought the greatest plot in the genre to the table. These sorts of games have always had the goal of letting the player perform the role of an underdog ace who eventually changes events on a global scale through sheer skill and determination, and I have not encountered another game that achieved this in a more gripping and spectacular fashion than PW. So should you buy this? Yes, yes, YES. The most emphatic yes I could possibly issue. I eagerly await to see what the developers have in store in the future.

Mosul arrives as an underappreciated diamond in the rough that distinguishes itself from the sea of surface-deep war dramas that plague netflix. Its journey is a gripping one, a shockingly raw anecdote that will bring its audience to hopefully what remains their closest way of experiencing the war against ISIS. The tension in this hostile landscape is palpable in many scenes. Overall an amazing film that blends the borders of drama and documentary. Pay no heed to some of the negative reviews on here which clearly stem from ethnic tensions rather than the cinematography, they are easy to spot. This film will, regardless of the perceived triumph of its protagonists (or lack thereof), leave the audience with a feeling of desolation, a deepened understanding of the cruelty and barbarity of modern conflict, and rightfully so.

The two top reviews are literally written by the same person and upvoted by bots, figures. Well, "us asians" includes me as well, and let me provide a much more realistic review of this movie. I'm actually amazed to see so many 5 star reviews, which is a laughable rating considering that this film falls FAR short of its competitors in every way. Alive has taken a leap of faith in a daring endeavor to reach the same cinematic heights of other critically acclaimed asian zombie dramas, notably the Korean masterpiece "Train to Busan" and "Kingdom", the multi-season historical zombie drama that captivates audiences with a unique blend of genres performed in a masterful way. It didn't work. The narrative is painfully predictable for a start. It has as much depth and originality as what would result from commanding a bot to compile every B grade zombie flick script in existence into a single, averaged plotline of cliches. The ending tries very hard to be dramatic and emotional, only to look ridiculous in its outlandish attempts by contriving a scenario that only a wattpad fanfiction writer could conjure up in a fever dream. And yes, the ending is as predictable as the rest of the story. What's worse is the characters we are presented with. The two main players in this game are ATROCIOUSLY stupid. I'm going to assume that a majority of viewers are fans of the zombie genre and have seen many great films before. Let me issue this warning: if that sort of prior experience applies to you, you'll leave this movie feeling more exasperated at how many inconceivably asinine choices the characters make rather than any sort of contentment. I'm not even talking about your average film, where we give the characters a bit of leeway as the apocalypse has just started and common sense becomes a rarity. Even in this context, they are just *that* stupid. The only redeeming quality of this film is that the production is decent quality and the effects are well done, which means it's at least not an eyesore on top of sporting a mediocre story and imbeciles as the main characters. Overall, if you've exhausted your store of zombie films to watch and want a quick hit of that cheap quality stuff, this could kill an hour or so of your time. If you're looking for the next Train to Busan or I Am Legend, forget it.

This game is easily the greatest among the 3DS Fire Emblem Titles (with all due respect to Awakening, which saved the series itself). The spectacularly poor, if not nonexistent, marketing for Echoes has deprived many of the absolutely delightful experience this game has to offer. I could sit here for hours praising the voice acting alone, which remains the finest in all the series with no close second. The skill system and enemy variety add a uniquely fun approach to the turn-based system that has long needed fresh perspectives. You can tell that much, much love was put into this remake, and if this is going to set the tone for IS's future approaches towards revisiting older titles, I have nothing but the brightest of hopes for any remakes to come (crossing my fingers for Sacred Stones or Blazing Blade remakes).

Easily one of the most underrated zombie films out there, and a worthy gem in a genre that has become a cesspool of mediocre carbon copies. While it may not be among the greatest zombie films ever made (which is no big issue, as even among the good zombie films worth watching, very few fit this category), it's certainly worth a watch and will have you engaged throughout the entirety. Zombie enthusiasts looking for that next hit of post apocalyptic tension can rely on Cargo to deliver.