Games

Welcome to the games section!
Here I'll be talking about the games I play and the hardware I play them on (usually modded consoles or my PC)

My favourite games are:
Metal Gear Solid 2 (2001)
Hotline Miami (2012)
Halo 3: ODST (2009)
The Return of the Obra Dinn (2018)

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (2004)

Developer: Konami, Kojima Productions

19/10/25

There's a strong argument that this is the best game ever made, and I can absolutely see why. For me I'm somewhere between this and the first portal, but that's besides the point. This game is insane. Every system and mechanic actively contributes to the themes and the story. For example, Snake has preferences in food; the more Snake likes something, the more stamina it will recover. It's the smallest, tiniest bit of insight into Snake as a person, and it's never mentioned at all in game, not by anyone. This small bit of personality, of humanity, is completely looked over in favour of the mission, and it really reinforces this idea that soldiers are nothing but tools of their governments, and that war erases all sense of personal identity. Obviously, not every mechanical contribution is equal, (nothing will beat that final trigger pull) but you can see the point.

However, as much as this game could be the greatest ever made, it's still not the best Metal Gear Solid; that goes to MGS2. Snake Eater's definitely lacking the confusion, and feeling of being in over your head that went hand in hand with the series up to this point. What you're doing and why is all pretty clear, and with it being a prequel, you already have a vague idea of how things are gonna turn out. On top of that, there's the setting. Sneaking through open jungle doesn't quite have the same feeling as infiltrating a compound or facility. The jungle feels a lot more open, both in terms of physical space but also in atmosphere. That feeling of being somewhere you're not supposed to be, inches away from being caught, doesn't quite translate when you're in a non-descript forest. That's not to say it's bad, it's really well done, but there's definitely a certain je nais se quois missing.

The Phantom Pain kinda sucks

(for a MGS game)

18/10/25

So I've just finished playing MGS3, (mini-review coming soon) which means ive just finished the 'good MGS games trilogy' It is quite literally all downhill from here. That's not to say the other games are bad, but there's definitely something not quite as 'good' about them. Next up is 4, which I'm actually slightly nervous to play. It's the only mainline MGS I haven't played, and carries the reputation of being the worst in the series. I'm familiar with the story and the bizarre choices it makes but I've never had to sit through its pacing or its pseudo-pseudo-stealth(?) gameplay. Regardless, I'm cautiously looking forward to it. That's enough MGS4 though, I'll get to that in its own review.

Anyways, The Phantom Pain.
Playing the first 3 games has made me realise just how much I fucking hate TPP, to the point where I'm genuinely contemplating reviving my dead YT channel to make a video on its problems and the strange reverence it seems to hold. I wish more than anything that it wasn't the only accesible MGS game for the last decade, so people can stop calling it the next best thing since sliced bread. It is literally just a far cry game with extra steps. It is a bloated mess of pointless systems that don't compliment eachother in any meaningful way nor suit the narrative like every other MGS game before has done with their respective sandboxes. It doesn't even feel like a MGS game, not even remotely, David Hayter is gone, Hibino and Gregson-Williams aren't on the soundtrack, Ocelot is voiced by Troy Baker(?) and is the voice of reason(??). This game is baffling on so many levels, and any time you point it out people rush to say that it's unfinished. It is finished, all that is missing is one mission. That is it. And much like the rest of the game, all that mission would ever do is tie up a loose end that no one realised was a loose end in the first place. Surely, considering MGS2 was at one point meant to end the series, you'd think Kojima would be comfortable with open endings?

I have so much more to say, and I will eventually; but I'll save that for another time. Instead I gotta focus up on tying a bow around 3 and getting 4 setup to play. But to close off, If you've only played MGSV, please for the love of god play the other games. I hate how accurate that "don't mess with us Metal Gear fans" meme is.

Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (2001)

Developer: Konami

16/10/25

What can I say about this game which hasn't already been said a million times; everyone knows about the plot-twist, everyone knows about raiden, everyone even knows about the fucking ice cubes. Even then, despite this game being talked about to death, you still don't really get it until you play it. Everything feels weirdly personalised, I know that aspect got left on the cutting room floor, but the feeling and atmosphere still remains.

I wish I could say more, but I want to keep these mini reviews relatively spoiler free, this game especially so. Just know that it builds on the themes of the first game exponentially, even the gameplay improvements lend themselves to the themes and story.
Play this game.

Metal Gear Solid (1998)

Developer: Konami

08/10/25

I think this was my third time completing MGS1, and even though the game's flaws are clearer than ever, I still loved every second of it. A lot of the game is backtracking, the detection breaks almost every time you grab someone, I'm 90% sure there's more action setpieces then stealth sections, but I don't care. It's Die Hard the video game, but then out of nowhere it hits you with this really poignant message about how only you get to decide who you truly are; not where you're from, not who you're parents are, not anything that's happened to you, only you. It's masterfully set up up in almost every conversation throughout the game, but you never notice, because a guy with raven on his forehead just fired a tank shell at you.

People like to say that Kojima is bad at subtlety, but I don't think thats necessarily true; there's plenty of subtle moments in this game, however they're always served with something bombastic on the side.

Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus (2002)

Developer: Sucker Punch

03/10/25

This game is kinda the main reason I got a PS2. I saw a playthrough of the trilogy back before covid and was like 'man that looks slick', and now here I am.
So, how is it? Phenomenal; the game controls superbly well, and I imagine at the time it must have been unparalleled. The trial and error style difficulty would normally be quite grating in any other game, but doesn't really bother me at all here, purely because of how great Sly feels to control. Unfortunately you don't only play as Sly in this game. The Murray sections really do feel like last minute additions, lacking the sleek polish of Sly's moments, and Bentley's one section (there's no elegance around this) controls like hot ass. As annoying as these moments can be, they are just that: moments. The game is, overall, still a joy to play through and absolutely worth the time of day.

Timesplitters 2 (2002)

Developer: Free Radical

24/09/25

This one was fun. The best way to describe it is definitely inventive. There's so many different settings throughout the campaign that get mashed together in the multiplayer making for a very chaotic expereince. It's interesting how this game maintains the goldeneye control scheme despite being made in a 'post-halo world', but it absolutely plays in the games favour; the gameplay still feels quite good while many other shooters of the era, despite technically having a more modern control scheme, can't say the same.

I finally got a PS2

18/09/25

I never had a PS2 growing up, I was always more of an xbox guy, but everyone talks about how great the games library is on the thing; so the other day I bought one and immedietely hacked it. I had no idea how easy PS2 modding was; it is literally as simple as plugging in a memory card with custom software on it and bam your system is modded. I've plugged it into a CRT my wife bought me (I love my wife) and downloaded backed up my legally acquired PS2 games onto the system. Looking forward to finally playing on the thing!