By the Last Token Gaming Staff
Jake Rushing – Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD Remix (PS3), Pokemon Crystal (GBC), Astro Boy: The Omega Factor (GBA)
Just to give a little context into Kingdom Hearts, I started playing this game since I had a feeling that Kingdom Hearts 3 will be coming out somewhere in between December 2018 and February 2019, so I need to catch up on playing on all of my games and the story leading to Kingdom Hearts 3, so I’m starting things off with Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD Remix with Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories to play.
I already beat Kingdom Hearts so I’m already in Chain of Memories about halfway into Sora’s campaign. I feel that so far this is my least favorite Kingdom Hearts game that I have ever played, but I still had fun. Regardless, I’ll breeze through the game (with the exception of getting the upgrades I need) and then I’ll move on to Kingdom Hearts 365/2 Days I have for DS.
Earlier this year, I already started playing Pokemon Crystal and got about ⅓ into the game before packing things up to move back in February and haven’t touched it again since. I started to play it again back in late May, and now since I started riding the train for my new job, I always whipped out my Game Boy Color to play this game. The second generation of Pokemon games have been my personal favorite, so Crystal is amazing to play, even though it’s not as good as Heart Gold/Soul Silver. I just finished grinding my Pokemon team for the Elite Four, only to wipe them out on my first attempt. I’ll say that my Feraligatr was MVP when going against Lance.
Astro Boy: Omega Factor is a fun game to play. I got this game as the result of winning the bet, and now I owe it to myself to play this game. I already played through a good chunk of it. So far it is enjoyable to play. I’m always a sucker for a game where you can upgrade the main protagonist so that is always a plus. Since now I ride a train to work, I can play this as I ride on the train! I’m not sure how far I am in this game, but compared to other games that I own, it doesn’t seem long, so maybe I can get close to beating it, if not beating it this week!
Marshall Garvey – BioShock Trilogy (PS4)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRWexlrZJc4
I am late to the party on this one in multiple ways. Not only did I not play any of these three games when they came out, but even more criminally, I’ve owned all of them for nearly two years! Terry Randolph got me the entire trilogy set on PS4 for my birthday in 2016, but I just never got around to taking the plunge. But now, with my determination to digest every unwatched and unplayed movie and game in my collection, I have finally sat down to enjoy them at length.
Like everyone else on the planet earth, I believe the first is the best, the second is the weakest, and the third is a superb rebound. The first needs little explanation. It’s one of those titles that shaped the trajectory of gaming on a scale that was previously unthinkable. Its addictive fusion of philosophical themes and high octane FPS gameplay is impeccable, ensconced in a lived-in setting that immerses like none other 11 years later. The second game takes place in Rapture as well and advances the story in a plausible manner. Yet…it feels like a step back. Interesting as it is to play as a Big Daddy, the gameplay just isn’t as seamless, and is often frustrating. Still a good game, just not *great*.
Infinite, however, is brilliant on its own. Trading in the detritus of Rapture for a luscious city in the clouds, it carves out a unique identity that makes it enjoyable as a standalone effort. To the delight of my history nerd heart, it employs an armada of elements from the Great American Century such as religious zealotry, settler colonialism, nationalism, and racism. Bonus points for having an escort mission that’s incapable of being killed, perhaps the only one outside of Clementine in The Walking Dead I didn’t hate having to help at all.