Diablo IV has had to carry the burden of almost insurmountable fan expectations since it was first announced in 2019. Not only is it a game developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment, a highly regarded juggernaut in the industry, but it is also the next mainline installment of a much-beloved franchise with millions of devoted fans.

The new action-role-playing game (ARPG), however, more than carries the weight put on its shoulders, delivering what I would say is a devilishly addictive experience that’s sure to suck up tens, if not hundreds, of hours of your time. 

What stood out to me in the close to 10 hours I spent playing it was that Blizzard appears to have taken the best parts of Diablo, Diablo II, and Diablo III and brought it here in a way that moves the franchise forward while honoring the legacy of those games.

Power progression

It largely sticks to the revolutionary formula that the original introduced more than two decades ago: you pick a class, crawl dungeons and build your character, upgrading skills and equipping new gear that you pick up in your battles against the hordes of hell. That formula very much still works today, and it’s as rewarding as it has ever been. 

Much of that has to do with how fun the game simply is. Your attacks have a lot of weight to them, and you feel each thrust of your sword or the elemental power of spells from the audio feedback and the copious amounts of blood and guts that you spill on the battlefield.

You always feel a forward momentum as you clear one mob after another and push closer towards hitting that next level. You’re also engaging in that endlessly satisfying Diablo power fantasy, where you’re always just strong enough to enjoy the combat but you never lose the desire to get even stronger. 

I ran a Necromancer that specialized in summons in my playthrough, and it was incredibly fun to see my skeleton army deal more and more damage as I gained more appropriate skills and perks every couple of levels or so. No matter what class you run with, you’ll certainly get the same sense of progression that Diablo does so well. 

Refined builds, loot

The skill trees for each class provide you more options to personalize your build to your liking. With every level, you can choose whether to upgrade the stats of that specific skill or enhance it with new mechanics.

There are always benefits and tradeoffs that come with each upgrade, so your decisions toward your build always have impact. The good thing is you’re free to experiment – which you should, given the almost overwhelming options you have with these skill trees – since you can respec at any time in exchange for in-game currency. 

The loot system is also a lot more refined. Gear you acquire are still categorized by their rarities, but their corresponding abilities and stat boosts now hold more weight on your overall build. You don’t just want to check base gear scores anymore, and instead consider how a specific weapon or armor might benefit how you play your class.

That makes the whole loot system a lot more meaningful, and I’ve only scratched the surface. The whole system gets even deeper and more customizable during the endgame when you’re truly min-maxing your build’s stats. 

Open-world Sanctuary

The progression in the game is made a lot more fun by the incorporation of an open world structure consisting of a number of interconnected regions. While Blizzard already gave a small taste of that in Diablo III, the implementation here is so much better, with the open world itself, Sanctuary, being more massive than in any game before and having a lot more for you to do.

You have more freedom to move around and make your class stronger in between quests. 

There’s even more incentive to do that with the inclusion of some massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) elements, such as World Events, which are real-time encounters that you can tackle with other players.

These shared events come in different variations, but usually culminate in an epic boss fight. They’re challenging, but they yield plenty of loot and experience upon completion, making them a worthwhile activity that you’d want to keep an eye out for. It also helps that they don’t require much communication between the players involved.

You can simply drop in on an ongoing encounter and start dishing out attacks, hoping your impromptu team makes it through the onslaught to claim all the rewards. 

Even with its inclusion, Sanctuary still manages to maintain a sense of desperation and desolation, which is thematically essential to the game’s story. I like that you don’t always encounter random players in the open world, enabling the story-specific quests and dungeons to still feel personal for your own character.
It also gives the game a reason to be always-online, much to the dismay of some Diablo fans. 

Evade maneuver

The game also embraces the action part of ARPG a lot more than perhaps any other installment in the franchise. That’s best highlighted by the debut of a universal evade ability for all classes, which allows you to roll out of the way of an incoming attack and avoid damage.

It’s a controversial addition that’ll likely be debated upon by hardcore fans in the years to come, but I personally think it works in giving you more control over your character’s actions, specifically your movement and positioning in battle.

The ability helps in making your moment-to-moment decisions in combat be more intentional. You also don’t have to worry about it disrupting the combat’s balance as the ability has a cooldown of a few seconds. That means you can’t thoughtlessly spam it and avoid all attacks.

You instead always have to consider the best times to use it in the heat of battle, such as avoid area-of-effect attacks or escaping mobs you can’t handle. 

Dark visuals

Visually, Diablo IV is a grand departure from Diablo III, and it’s not just the next-gen graphics – though that definitely is a factor. Rather, the new game opts for a grittier and more realistic overall look that’s evocative of medieval gothic paintings – a stark contrast from its predecessor’s more stylized and arcadey approach.

The change in visuals works so well in further selling the darker tone of the story and the more grounded gameplay. 

You also get to customize the look of your character here, which I love. It’s not the most in-depth system out there, but I appreciate having the ability to further distinguish your character from that of others’. I also love that you can see your created character up-close during the in-engine cutscenes throughout the story – a first for the franchise.

With the game having an isometric view, these cutscenes are some of the only times you’ll see your character in his or her full glory outside of the menus. They also sell the idea that your character is an active participant in the events that transpire in the story, instead of an afterthought.

Thoughts on live-service model

Your enjoyment, however, could be affected by your view of the live-service model or subgenre – at least in the long term. Diablo IV features post-launch and seasonal content with a Battle Pass system that lets you get more rewards for completing certain tasks and quests.

The Battle Pass is optional and includes a free tier, but paying real-world money for the premium tiers can yield more rewards. Blizzard is adamant though that those paid rewards are cosmetic only and don’t affect gameplay in any way. 

I’m not totally against the Battle Pass system here – and even in other games – but I also think full-priced games should avoid them as much as possible. These payment models are best reserved for free-to-play games like Fortnite, for example, which rely on microtransactions for revenue, not sales of the game itself.

Even though the Battle Pass is optional, I can’t help but be put off by full-priced games that take advantage of the live-service model to lock certain pieces of content behind a paywall. 

Then again, I’d probably want to reserve my judgment of the Battle Pass and the seasonal content until after the game’s launch. But it doesn’t change how I think Blizzard should stick to more content-rich, paid expansions for the Diablo franchise over piecemeal quarterly content updates. 

If you enjoy live-service games, then none of what I mentioned in the last three paragraphs should prove to be an issue for you. You’re likely to get more out of the game than other players as Blizzard plans to support the game with content updates for the years to come. 

Diablo 4 at its core could arguably stand as the best installment in the franchise so far. Almost every part of the game is a dramatic step-up from Diablo III, from the darker visuals to the action-focused gameplay tweaks.

There’s also a very strong single-player-cooperative-hybrid experience here that’s well worth your time. It’s a game I can see myself coming back to every so often, despite my distaste for all things live service, as the game’s mechanics only get deeper the more time you invest in it – a quality hardcore Diablo fans would surely appreciate. – Rappler.com

I have fond memories of playing – but getting nowhere near completing – The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. I spent hours on it on the Wii U, then eventually restarted after buying it again on the Nintendo Switch, and it was good stuff.

The passage of time and the advancement of technology, however, has brought about the release of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, a sequel to Breath of the Wild, and while I was afraid I’d be missing out by not completing the first game, I found I had nothing to worry about and everything to love about the sequel.

Gaining (a new) right hand

Now, I won’t spoil any major story beats, but the basic premise is that Zelda has gone missing again – apparently being whisked away somewhere in a ball of light after a dramatic sequence of events that overturn the world and create floating islands and a deadly, dark underdepth.

Upon waking up, as is standard in Zelda games, the game gives you hints through quests to sort of tell you where to go and what to do to see the story to its completion, but honestly, it felt like I had all the time in the world to do that. I just wanted to explore this new landmass – basically a transformed Breath of the Wild map with locations above and below ground – with new powers bestowed upon me by a magical new arm attached to the corrupted remains of my old right arm.

With it, I could attach things to one another and build machines, reverse the flow of time for a moving object, and ascend through solid rock to reach higher ground – the last one being a technical feat that astounds me with each use.

All of that occurring within the opening hours is meant to be used to do the same things you tried doing in the first game: regaining your strength by completing shrines, finding out where Zelda went, and taking down big baddies – including the supreme evil of this iteration of the Zelda franchise: You-Know-Who.

Regaining your power

The premise of regaining your power is a fun one, because if you played Breath of the Wild, you were likely much stronger. Regaining power – or getting back things that you lost – seems to be a running theme in my mind for this game.

You lost your health and stamina? Get it back! Lost technologies from a mythical age before the present setting? Bring these technologies back to life!

Find a chasm leading to an subterranean civilization and the remnants of an evil ninja clan that hates the royals and Link? Explore and slay! You lost Zelda? Go find her!

The theme of getting back things lost also rings true when it comes to brushing up on your fighting skills. The game provides you with the same fighting skills you had in the first game, and the same somewhat annoying weapon system, in which weapons, shields, and bows break and you’re scrambling to find replacements for them in the middle of battle like a Fortnite player.

The only difference is that now, thanks to your awesome arm, you can fuse weapons and items together to increase their power temporarily, before those weapons break.

Aside from stocking up weapons, acquiring new armors (and the fashion game) is a fun little diversion, as you can get armor that increases your skydiving maneuverability, or makes climbing when it’s raining easier.

You can now acquire just about all the armors from Breath of the Wild, with some new armor besides. It’s fun to just go spelunking through caves, finding treasures hidden away while you were sleeping.

Adventuring is fun, and worth it for its own sake

Just to be clear, I’ve spent between 20 to 30 hours in-game since it released and I’m nowhere near done. There are a ton of side activities to do and quests to take on, and while I do feel the need to save Zelda, that’s not why I bought the Tears of the Kingdom to begin with.

I wanted a new adventure and to revisit old haunts, and I now have that chance. Experiencing this blend of old and new is invigorating, and adventuring is fun for its own sake.

While the price point is steeper at $70, Tears of the Kingdom certainly earns every tingly rupee I spent on it. I recommend it for people seeking a new open-world RPG to take away their worries for a while, moreso for those who want to revisit this iteration of Hyrule once again. Just don’t be afraid of the dark below. – Rappler.com

Its first main landmass was a New England fishing village taken over by Lovecraftian horrors, and was my favorite setting of the available places to visit in the game, as it was essentially modern-day horror made palatable, and easier to enjoy because the RPG mechanics made exploring and reading stories of people in palpable existential danger fun.

Redfall, developed by Arkane Austin and published by Bethesda Softworks, released earlier this May, and I received review code to play the game and put it through its paces.

I was excited by the prospect of playing it, because I felt that the setting – vampire gods taking over a town and threatening humanity – brought back feelings I had towards The Secret World. I was stoked at the idea of someone taking on the idea of an accessible spooky RPG-shootergame.

Unfortunately, despite initial excitement, I had to temper myself after some hours and eventually stopped playing Redfall, not because the setting was uninviting, but because there were aspects of the game that detracted from the experience so badly as to make it a frustrating slog even in the opening bits.

Only turrets want you dead

One of my main issues with Redfall is that the enemy behaviors do not mesh well with the type of gameplay it wants to invoke.

As a first-person character-based shooter, you expect this game to be something like an RPG explorer’s FPS. Do you get to shoot human baddies? Yes. Can you shoot vampires, then stab them with a stake or expose them to fire or ultraviolet radiation? Quite so.

However, the gun-toting enemies, even on the Midnight difficulty setting (aka the highest difficulty before unlocking an even higher setting in a future playthrough) seem hesitant to shoot you. They fire infrequently, and oftentimes have a tendency to miss.

The vampires are predictable as well, as the primary vampire enemy fodder tries to speedily run past you and then attack from behind while you’re trying to look for them, but sometimes their pathing just causes them to not move or not attack at all.

The most egregious offense to my survivability, as a result, was not the vampires, the cultists supporting them, or any other armed enemies. Instead, it was the turrets placed down by some enemies that have lasers targeting you at all times and are relentless in their gunfire, without a seeming need to reload at all.

A practical audiovisual mess

There are aspects of the user interface – like the map and the compass system – that feel like a mess. The game doesn’t give you very good indicators of where you are as there’s no heads-up display giving you real-time location information. Instead, you pull up your map, which tells you where you are on the landmass, and what direction you’re facing.

Landmarks for missions you take are highlighted, but the exploration comes in when you figure out that there’s poisonous gas or some other impediment getting in the way of a direct beeline to an objective, forcing you to find an alternate means of getting to an area.

Worse still, the user interface for the compass in safe zones, most especially the firehouse you liberate at the start of the game, shows all the contextual shops and people you can interact with in a confusing circle around the player, which is a bit of a turn-off.

Also of unfortunate note is that some audio logs you pick up can at times play in unison with any other audio log you pick up while it’s playing. If you have subtitles turned on, it shows both subtitle sets for those both audio bits on the screen as well, but luckily, they’re not superimposed over each other at least.

A feeling of limited replayability

Lastly, there’s also a feeling of limited replayability from Redfall.

The game is set up with a strange sort of mission structure wherein mission completion of branching paths opens up new primary story missions… but there don’t seem to be a lot of them in total.

You’re basically diving into a mystery, but all primary story missions with branching paths have to be done eventually to open up new story missions that lead to the conclusion.

Based on this, and the fact the games tell you these are all non-repeatable missions, leads me to believe that you’ll want to play this on whichever of the four characters – cryptid hunter Devinder, college psychokinetic Layla, engineer Remi, and the sniper Jacob – you find most interesting or whose battle skills you enjoy most, then just consider playing through the whole slog again for more audio snippets from the new character you’re trying out.

Worse still, and I had to search this online just to be sure, you don’t get to do anything after defeating the final boss as the game just chucks you at the beginning again, so you lose out on any unfinished business you had going on.

Closing thoughts

Now, these aren’t my only issues, but these were the most glaring issues I had with the game.

I played Redfall by myself, but it’s an always-online game you can play with friends as different characters, but there’s no matchmaking to smooth out the process of multiplayer, so I didn’t try it anymore.

The game doesn’t appear to allow for pausing, so things can happen even when things are happening in the real world and you could die and lose progress (respawn at a safezone and redo traveling) just because the wild called and they wanted you in the bathroom.

I also hate how the characters seem to glide around when they run, as if they were vampires themselves, which was really off-putting, but that seemed so minor to be a legitimate concern… unless you take everything in its totality.

Redfall is a $70 game, and I cannot recommend it at that price point unless you’re willing to enjoy an unenviable slog through a horror-infused small town. It’s not going to be everyone’s horrorful good time, but if you have a hankering for inoffensive vampire god-slaying, this is your funeral, take that as as you will.

The Secret World it is not, and while I wanted it to be more than what it is, I chose to drop it from my gaming rotation till they could smooth out the rough edges and it warranted a revisit with prayed-for fixes.

So far, they’ve only done a minor patch, with no announcements regarding a post-launch roadmap to date.

My recommendation? Much like a good cryptid hunter, you should wait and see: Wait for performance patches, and see if the price is lowered significantly to warrant that fabled revisit. That said, it’s also on PC and Xbox Game Pass, if you wanted to consider it as a game to rent for a playthrough or test run than to own. – Rappler.com

Set in post-post-apocalyptic Los Angeles, this expansion has players embarking on an exciting adventure with Aloy and a new friend while soaring and sailing in a visually stunning and equally dangerous environment. 

If you’re trying to decide if the DLC is worth grabbing, I can help you. First, you must know that this DLC occurs at the end of the main game’s story. If you’ve played the main game until the end, skip any plans for New Game+ for now.

Otherwise, I recommend you check out this Horizon Forbidden West review to decide on the main game and then come back here for the DLC. For more Horizon, you can also check out this review on VR game Horizon Call of the Mountain.

A warm but bumpy welcome to the burning shores

The DLC starts off at an uncomfortably fast pace, quickly pushing players into Aloy’s new adventures. Narrative-wise, the beginning felt rushed. And the immediate introduction could feel disorienting, especially if you last touched the game a while ago.

What follows this rough start makes up for it, though, as it’s clear that Guerilla Games wants you to dive deep into this DLC immediately for multiple reasons.

Starting with the setting, the islands of Los Angeles are a captivating sight, offering a fresh backdrop for the game’s events. And yes, you read that right: the islands of Los Angeles.

Burning Shores takes players to a reimagined City of Angels, where nature has reclaimed this world. Like usual, rusty cars and crumbling skyscrapers are enveloped by lush overgrowth, but this time with the added spectacle of lava flows and geysers, likely triggered by massive earthquakes eons ago.

The dynamic environment adds visual and practical appeal, as you can use these to damage enemies and make for fun and risky traversing. 

New allies and tribal tensions

As you embark on your new mission, you will run into the other half of a tribal camp Aloy first met in the main game. She does not precisely receive a warm welcome in this tribe, par for the course for Aloy.

Still, she makes fast friends with a talented sailor named Seyka, the star of this DLC, who is on a mission that mysteriously aligns with Aloy’s.

She becomes a great companion in your expedition to Los Angeles, and it’s seriously a shame she doesn’t follow you when you hunt for parts and restocks.

This new adventure also gives Aloy a unique depth and dimension to her character. The main game taught Aloy to rely on friends. This new DLC introduces her to navigating more personal conflicts and feelings. 

High stakes, high expectations

As mentioned earlier, the DLC starts right after the main game story and directly connects to it narrative-wise. So, without spoiling you, your arrival to the burning shores is thanks to a strong end-game lead shared by Sylens (RIP, Lance Reddick).

It’s advised that you have upgraded weapons and armor before accepting Sylens’ call. Otherwise, you may spend a fair bit of time going back and forth between the mainland and Los Angeles, upgrading your gear for more formidable enemies ahead.

Leaps, bounds, and bileguts

The DLC introduces a challenging new enemy called Bilegut, pictured below, which makes for both an enjoyable and frustrating experience. This frog-like monster of a machine is one of the best reasons players should ensure they’re well-stocked in the weapons department.

Guerilla Games certainly threw everything in there except the kitchen sink.

That said, it’s not the only new machine to encounter in Burning Shores, and it’s certainly not the most dangerous of them all.

The expansion culminates in a fight that might even be grander than the last battle in Forbidden West, with an enemy even more grandiose than the last. 

Smooth sailing performance

As expected from Guerilla Games, the DLC runs smoothly, offering both performance and resolution modes.

Players can choose between 60fps in performance mode or a slightly more graphically enhanced experience with 30fps in resolution mode. Overall, the game performs well, ensuring an immersive experience.

Looking forward to the next Horizon

So, if you’ve played Horizon Forbidden West, and loved it, then this DLC is a no-brainer. It connects well to the ending of the last DLC and lays the potential foundation for the following stages of Aloy’s life mission of saving the world.

Gameplay-wise, it has enough new challenges and small novel additions to engage you without overwhelming you. And it still can make your jaw drop with every set-piece it brings to your screen. 

Now it’s time to look forward to the next Horizon, which, according to Guerilla Games, is something we can expect soon. – Rappler.com

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is the highly-anticipated sequel to the much beloved Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order from EA and Respawn Entertainment. The first outing launched to mostly rave reviews from critics and fans, praising its combat and overall experience that elevated it compared to other Star Wars titles. Naturally, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor has big shoes to fill.

Five years have passed since the events of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and Cal Kestis and his crew have gone their separate ways. Determined to defeat the Empire, Cal continues to fight alongside other rebel fighters, which culminates in a botched mission in Coruscant.

Learning of a paradise hidden in the deepest reaches of the universe, Cal reunites with his estranged crew to locate it as a means to create a safe haven for those persecuted by the Empire. In his way are Empire troops, raiding marauders, and even his own darkness as every setback and failure leads him closer to the dark side. Will this survivor continue to stay alive or succumb to the many setbacks that come his way?

Take up that lightsaber once again, Padawan. We’re going on a wild ride to the dark side–I mean, to Star Wars Jedi: Survivor!

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A new hope

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor continues where we left off from the first game, and you really feel that time has really passed for Cal Kestis. He’s dropped his boyish look for a more rugged rebel chic, all while keeping all his previous skills such as double jumping, wall running, and others. There’s a feel of continuity that’s a great look for the sequel, which carries over Cal’s growth and training from the previous outing.

The general gameplay and combat loop stay the same, and this sequel doesn’t do anything too drastic to flip the script. Combat remains fluid and intuitive, and while the challenging gameplay can be much more forgiving (especially parrying) thanks to the various difficulty levels, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor puts more focus on allowing a wide range of players across skill levels to enjoy the game.

The developers have taken combat to heart and have placed various improvements that make it even more satisfying than before. Some encounters will see you and an ally take on the Empire together, and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor allows Cal some double trouble in the form of tag-team finishers and even commanding them to attack enemies for you. You’ll also have new force tricks up your sleeve, and it really adds a new dimension to the overall combat encounters.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor further expands on stances, giving twin lightsabers their own focus, along with two other lightsaber stances added, including a blaster and a cross-saber stance. Cal can equip only two stances at a time, so choosing which ones to take to combat are an important decision every time you take off into battle.

The Blaster stance is a fencing-style stance with the blaster serving as a supplement that doesn’t take up force energy, while the cross saber is a slower but stronger playstyle where timing and damage are given a premium over speedy strikes. These new stances expand Cal’s already impressive repertoire of moves, giving players more choices on how to take on the Empire.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor also introduces perks that further improve your existing skills at the cost of reduced performance elsewhere, offering players more choices to build Cal into a Jedi master of their liking. If you’re less of a parrying type, you can improve your block meter and focus on stronger single attacks, or you can also put everything on the blaster and remove force usage altogether.

Traversal-wise, the developers have put a massive premium on movement and verticality. Cal has all his moves and more, adding a grappling hook function (everything is better with a grappling hook!), an air dash, and a ceiling climb. Applying everything you’ve learned raises the level of acrobatics immensely, giving Cal a level of Jedi experience that allows for freeflow movement in a more expanded terrain. It’s great to look at, but even more satisfying in action.

This greatly improves the exploration experience, especially for more claustrophobic environments such as empire bases and space stations. They don’t feel like expanded corridors from the first game, giving the places room to breathe while offering the player options on how to clear areas. Planets such as Koboh and Jehda have a larger area to explore, and the inclusion of mounts per planet allows for a bigger area to explore and traverse.

One much-welcome improvement over Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is the ability to fast travel between meditation spots, which is great for cutting walking time between areas. As planets have a much larger area to explore, these fast travel options also cut down on the tedious backtracking that the previous title is notorious for. That said, one drawback to having larger planets in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is also having far fewer planets to explore compared to its predecessor.

Despite that, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor strikes back with a host of planetary activities that players can take part in, such as Rumors that allow for side quests to keep track of the small favors you do for NPCs. When you complete Rumors, you’re able to recruit new allies to Greef’s saloon – The Pyloon – which functions similarly to a Keep in Dragon Age. There, your recruits will tend to your garden, fish, and even help with interior design. Rumors range from fetch quests and hunts, and even unlocking new activities like Meditation Chambers and Fractured Rifts.

Meditation Chambers and Fractured Rifts are physical activities that expand from the Meditation training activities from the first game. Meditation Chambers are like the Shrine Puzzles in Breath of the Wild, while Fractured Rifts are straight-up combat challenges that reward players with Health, Force, Skill Points, and Perks when completed.

In your journey, you’ll also be exposed to the usual puzzles, and while they are a lot more challenging in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, some puzzles could be a tad obtuse, but not overtly frustrating. By being patient and observant, a solution will present itself. The hints could’ve been less cryptic, however.

Rewards also feel streamlined without any unnecessary busy work. Health and Force meters aren’t split up into fragments, which is a breath of fresh air. There are also several currencies that you can collect to purchase skills from various vendors such as shards, data discs, and even bounties.

In The Shadow of The Empire

EA and Respawn Entertainment have put on a masterclass in balancing the content in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, providing a myriad of activities without feeling obligatory, but also enough for players to pursue further exploration and adventures should they choose to do so.

What this does is give the game enough room to allow for the story and characters to breathe without bombarding you with activities. The priority is to immerse you into the world, re-introduce you to the characters and story, and then partake in the activities that are offered.

That said, the main campaign can be completed in about 20-25 hours depending on how you choose to go about your ways, which can balloon to nearly double should players wish to scour the galaxy of every nook and cranny.

Apart from a visual (4K with lower frames) and frame rate mode (1440p with higher frames) Star Wars Jedi: Survivor also boasts many accessibility options that cater to almost everyone with specific needs and comfort levels to fully enjoy the game. One option that was curious was the Agoraphobia option, where the content becomes friendly for players who are traumatized by heights. As games get more hyper-realistic, it’s good that the developers are mindful of players who may find extreme heights triggering, and this is quite a fantastic way to go about it.

The build that we played had a few issues and glitches that we hope could be fixed with the Day 1 patch. Some minor issues like screen tearing can be seen, but in particular, there was a mission that I could not get past due to a condition not triggering. Thankfully, it was only a few hours in, so I simply chose to repeat the game, and that solved the problem. This may have been solved with a system that has multiple auto-saves, but then again, that really doesn’t address the root cause, so hopefully the Day 1 patch irons these small kinks out.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, with all of its improvements, has set it in a way that serves the story first. It is a narrative single-player adventure after all, and the onus of the game is to provide you with an engaging narrative that hooks you from start to end, respects the continuity set up in the previous games, and provides a satisfying adventure that tackles both the physical and emotional journey of the characters that we’re invested in.

Star Wars Jedi Survivor does an excellent balancing act to fulfill all that I’ve listed above and much more. The game does all the legacy characters a lot of justice and really extends each of their personal arcs without it taking over the overarching narrative. Each character made use of their precious screen time without them stepping out of line in terms of crossing over to being “too powerful” or “too damaged”. (Looking at you Rey Palpatine.)

Apart from the main story, many of the wild goose chases provided by the sub-plots are equally as enjoyable and didn’t overstay their welcome. I also preferred certain antagonists more than others, while some could’ve used some depth. For the most part, they served their purpose for the plot without them sticking out like a sore thumb.

The characters are what make Star Wars Jedi: Survivor special, very similar to what made the franchise magical in the first place. The chemistry and camaraderie between every main character are strong and it feels as if you’ve been reunited with old friends and mentors who aren’t perfect but are all working to complete their own story arcs.

For such a focus on the narrative, it pains me to say that Cal still remains as lifeless as a board similar to the first game, but his companions steal the show at every turn. Returning characters such as Greef and Cere and new characters such as Bode and Rayvis all have standout performances that really add life to the game and make seeing them in cutscenes and cinematics something to look forward to.

In that regard, this is what made Star Wars Jedi: Survivor stand out from other video game narratives of its kind, and dare I say it, even better fleshed out than most of the titles seen in other mediums (maybe with the exception of Andor, because that’s just a masterpiece).

What We Liked:

• A narrative-centered experience that improves on the characters seen in the previous game and continues their arc in a satisfying direction.
• Improved quality-of-life features make navigating the semi-open world fun and accessible.
• An expanded world with more activities to add replay value after everything is said and done.

What We Didn’t Like:

• Performance issues are hopefully fixed by the Day 1 patch.
• Fewer planets to explore compared to the first
• Could’ve used another autosave or even a manual save slot.

Verdict: Buy It!

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is a monumental balancing act that improves upon its predecessor while standing on its own as a satisfying and emotional story. From its dynamic gameplay to an improvement in its movement and verticality to the delicate balance of its story, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor gets a lot of things right, showing us the way how to make a true high-quality Star Wars video game.

Just like Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order before it, I highly recommend this game not only to fans of Star Wars but to everyone else simply because of the experience. The game offers players a story of epic proportions, characters that they can emotionally relate to, and an experience that doesn’t overstay its welcome or overwhelm you with too much content. It finds the right balance that ends up feeling fulfilling on all fronts.

From what’s presented and all its amazing set pieces, it is up there as one of the best Star Wars titles, even rivaling and easily standing on par with the classics. It may be too early to say, but Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is definitely a shoo-in for a Game of the Year contender in our books.

*Star Wars Jedi Survivor was reviewed on the PS5 with a review code provided by the publisher.

Horizon Call of the Mountain is the latest Horizon installment from Guerrilla Games, albeit not a mainline title like Zero Dawn and Forbidden West, but one for the PS VR2. What could be considered the flagship title for the new hardware, the game sees a new hero not named Aloy take on the many challenges of the wilds in a story about redemption.

As a PS VR2 title, you can expect some fundamental things to change from the base Horizon formula. If you’re looking for some fast-paced mechanical dino hunting, you’ve come to the wrong place (sort of). Instead, you get a fully immersive experience that brings you deep into the heart of the wilderness and will require as much from you as you see on the screen (sort of).

Curious to hear what it’s all about? Read on and find out!

It’s the climb

Horizon Call of the Mountain is basically a standalone platforming title that takes you deep into the Horizon universe, if we could call it that, pitting you against the familiar mechanical threats from the series and teaming you up with equally familiar personalities like Aloy.

You’ll see everything through the PS VR2 headset, setting you up for some stunning views, all while feeling everything through the haptic feedback on both the headset and Sense controllers.

You are the disgraced Shadow Carja member, Ryas, who is on a quest for redemption by uncovering the mysteries of a new threat looming on the horizon (heh). There’s a paper-thin storyline here, and it’s not something that falls under the likes of Zero Dawn and Forbidden West which posed an expansive narrative.

Instead, immersion is the name of the game, and as hinted earlier, you’ll be doing a lot of moving around to get to where you need to be.

By moving around, I mean climbing. If you’ve played any of the Horizon games in the past, you’ll know that the lands are filled with great canyons, mountains, waterfalls, and many natural land formations that can be scaled by Aloy. It’s quite the same here, only this time you’re moving your arms around, looking around for the next peg to grip onto and scaling these mammoth walls.

Of course, you can turn gesture controls off, but where’s the fun in that? Climbing requires you to grip the Sense controller trigger buttons in alternating fashion, all while lifting your arms to grab onto the many ledges and pegs scattered throughout. It’s a great feeling, to be quite honest, and is not as tiring as one may think despite the very light workout.

To provide an immersive experience, the controls in Horizon Call of the Mountain are very intuitive. It takes very little time to get acclimated to the gesture controls, getting you traversing in as little as a few minutes. While combat controls could take a bit of getting used to, exploring is the exact opposite.

You’ll be using a combination of these gestures while looking around to get you where you need to be, and the way the PS VR2 enables this is really special.

One thing that Horizon Call of the Mountain excels at is giving everything a fantastic sense of scale and depth. The mountains look amazingly tall, and tip-toeing on cliff edges really gives you that “whoa” moment when you look at the stunning views across the land.

Forests and rockfaces are not the only things you’ll marvel at, but also the many dino robots scattered throughout. If you’ve ever dabbled in the photo mode of Horizon Forbidden West, taking screenshots of Tallnecks and Stormbirds up close, then you’ll get to do so this time in first-person and in much clearer quality through the PS VR2.

Everything in the game is absolutely beautiful, and it really helps that the PS VR2 can bring the world of Horizon Call of the Mountain to life in vibrant 4K. Having this game be my first “real” entry into VR, there’s certainly that wow factor while playing, and it really brings you closer to all the action.

When you’re not admiring the view or climbing, you’ll be engaged in battle with a number of foes that threaten your journey. Combat in Horizon Call of the Mountain is not as fast-paced and acrobatic as you would expect, and much of the experience will have you do simple dodges while firing a LOT of arrows if you can’t handle aiming.

Gesture controls steal the show once again, as Horizon Call of the Mountain will require you to take an arrow from your imaginary quiver, load it, and pull back to aim and fire. It’s like the real thing, only without the strain and resistance of a real bow, and it is very fun to do so.

Aiming is finicky, but once you get used to it, the full combat experience can be quite exhilarating. Paired with the haptic feedback on both the headset and the Sense controllers, you’ve got a winning formula.

During fights, Ryas will be limited to sidesteps while aiming and firing, and this can be a drastic departure if you’re used to Aloy’s agile movements. This aspect may turn off players looking for something a bit action-packed, but the limited number of times you’ll actually be in a fight in Horizon Call of the Mountain won’t take advantage of it.

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Horizon Call of the Mountain also has collectibles and crafting, and while they’re not full-on features of the game, having these on top of a hefty VR experience just adds value to the game. In-between challenges and even just taking in the sights and sounds via the Machine Safari, the PS VR2 sets everything up beautifully.

Mountain sickness

As a VR newcomer myself, Horizon Call of the Mountain was a great experience overall. I thought I wouldn’t be able to handle the scenery, considering I have a slight fear of heights, but it wasn’t so bad when I was strapped in.

Admittedly, I felt nauseous during some climbing sections, especially during moments when the view is directly obstructed by walls and mountain faces. I noticed an uneasy feeling in my tummy every time things got too close for comfort, but mileage may vary, and it definitely helped me more playing in short 30-minute to 1-hour bursts rather than a full-on 3-hour session.

As much as I nagged about how combat wasn’t as fast-paced as the mainline Horizon games, it may have served me well because, unlike climbing, I never felt queasy during battles with these mechanical beasts.

Without a full arsenal and skill tree upgrades, enemies are understandably spongy, more so if you fail to hit their weak points. Combat in Horizon Call of the Mountain is something that didn’t really impress, but it was serviceable, to say the least.

Helping out is a massive suite of accessibility options that will try to make your Horizon Call of the Mountain a pleasant one. There’s an option for almost everything, from controls to gestures and even eye tracking, you’ll need to dig deep to find a profile that suits you the best.

For a VR newbie like me, this was something that was intimidating to do due to the lack of knowledge of which settings worked best, but I was very appreciative of the number of sliders to tinker with and the idea that I could improve my experience by turning some things on or off.

What we liked:

• Impressive use of PS VR2
• Visual fidelity is sublime
• Solid platforming mechanics

What we didn’t like:

• Combat is not a big part of the game
• There are a LOT of climbing sequences
• Aiming with the bow can take a bit of getting used to

Verdict: Wait for it…

Horizon Call of the Mountain sets out to do something and does it well. It’s a game that showcases the capabilities of the PS VR2 to great effect, possibly giving players a reason to take a chance at the new hardware.

The scenery in the game is absolutely breathtaking, and when paired with the OLED display of the VR2, is really something that needs to be seen to be fully appreciated. That said, Horizon Call of the Mountain has climbing/platforming sequences that make up a huge chunk of the game, leaving little for others like actual combat and exploration, which makes the overall package a bit monotonous and repetitive.

To call it a climbing simulator could be a fair assessment, but it’s hard to deny the game of what it really is, which is a spectacular showcase of the new hardware from Sony. Is it the killer app for the PS VR2? Arguably, I’d say it isn’t, but I cannot deny how Horizon Call of the Mountain has made me look forward to what’s next on the VR front.

Horizon Call of the Mountain was reviewed on a PS VR2 with a review code provided by the publisher.

But even then, when I think about it, it’s really quite an investment to get into PlayStation’s VR platform, represented today by the next generation PS VR2, the follow up to 2016’s original PS VR. First you need to find a PS5 (easier to find one now, we heard!) and fork over P30,995. Then a PS VR2 will set you back another P34,790. That means you need around P66,000 to get into Sony’s VR ecosystem. 

That the VR system is more expensive than the actual console isn’t actually surprising as the PS4 and the original PS VR had similar launch prices as well: P25,000 for the former, and P25,290 for the PS VR with the required PS Eye camera bundled. (A base package without the PS Eye for those who may already have the device went for P22,900.) 

My point is, there’s quite some sticker shock involved with PlayStation’s VR gaming platform for gamers, outside of the truly hardcore ones, and those who are really looking for a one-of-a-kind console gaming experience – because despite the price of entry, it is quite the experience. But is it enough to justify the price for the regular gamer who just wants to have a bit of gaming fun after work or school? 

We’ve tested a few games, and we’ll be testing more in the coming weeks and months to monitor the platform’s progress. We have our initial impressions here of the hardware, and the games we’ve tried so far in the two weeks that we’ve been playing with it. 

The original PS4 is the second best-selling console of all time at 117 million units sold. The number of PS VR units sold is a fraction of that at 5 million, which was still considered to be a success by Sony but also showed that PS4 gamers who wanted the VR experience were still quite in the minority. Will the PS VR2 change that? Will it have that killer app that makes a PlayStation gamer unable to resist? 

Setup and usage experience

Setup is now mercifully easy. The last PS VR had so many cables and even had its own separate processing brick. Now, it’s one cable. Plug in the headset’s USB-C cable to the PS5. Power on the headset, and it guides you through setup which takes maybe 10 minutes if it’s your first time going through it. 

You’ll need to set it up when it’s your first time using the device with a different user even if it’s on the same PS5. 

The VR controllers are also plugged in through a USB-C connection to introduce them to your console. After that, you use them wirelessly. 

The 14.7 feet cord is a good design choice. It let me move to another part of my room which may be better suited for some VR gaming than my usual spot. Sometimes, the cable hugs the back of your left ear closely, but you just need to adjust it and get it out of the way. I haven’t yet played a game that needed a lot of movement (my preferred VR gaming position is seated) so I haven’t run into problems where the cable gets all tangled up. 

Despite the headset’s size, it’s surprisingly not that heavy. There’s a button at the back that you press to loosen the headset, and then you place it on your head. You turn the dial to tighten it up. It sounds like a ratchet. 

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The headset feels well balanced. Most of the VR headset is in the front of your head, so you might think the weight is going to tilt forward but it doesn’t – at least not by much. Sometimes, it does tilt ever so slightly downwards that you have to readjust, otherwise things are slightly out of focus. It’s a matter of finding the right angle of the headband (what usually works for me is having the back portion much lower than the front headband portion), and the right tightness. Too tight, and your head will hurt; too loose, and the headset tilts downwards. 

Like with my previous experience with the Oculus/Meta Quest 2, I do find myself readjusting the headset from time to time. It’s a lot easier to put on or take off the Quest 2 though, which just uses a simpler elastic headband. However, the problem with that is there’s pressure on the front of your face. After using the Quest 2, you’ll have marks on your face, like the marks left by putting tight rubber bands on your wrist for example. There’s none of that with the PS VR 2. The device locks itself around the top of your head, with the VR glasses seemingly hanging down onto your eyes gently. 

The headset also has a vibration function that you feel on the front portion of the headband. It’s a nice addition to the experience, one that makes you go, “oh, that’s new” and makes you want to hunt out games that specifically make use of that function. So far, it’s certainly added to the immersion. 

One thing I like about the headset also is its passthrough button found at the bottom of the headset near the power button. This takes you out of virtual reality, and lets you see your actual surroundings, which is very useful when you suddenly need to look for the TV remote or the traditional controller. I don’t know if the Quest 2 had that function in my one year of using the device. I simply took it off, which is harder than just having a dedicated button as is the case with the VR2.

With the controllers, it takes a little getting used to if you’re fumbling to find it while in virtual reality. It’s best to just exit virtual reality with the passthrough mode first to put them on.

One thing you will want to buy for the controllers is a charging station (there’s an official Sony one, and other third party options) which would allow you to charge them simultaneously through one USB-C cable. Otherwise, you’ll be charging each VR controller separately, and then you’ll have to find another charger for your traditional controller too. 

I love that you can also use the VR2 as a screen for your so-called “flat” non-VR games as well. It’s like having a really good display, and you can adjust the screen size. It’s great for tuning out the world around you, and just focusing on the game. But I wouldn’t say it’s a replacement for your TV as it’s still not as comfortable as lying on your bed or couch without a contraption on your head.

But it’s a beautiful screen whether for VR or for traditional games with rich HDR, contrast, and a very crisp image thanks to its OLED panel. The HDR especially looks amazing in the VR2’s flagship title Horizon: Call of the Mountain. You can almost feel the warmth of the sun, as its rays shoot through and are dispersed through the leaves softly from the trees above, and it’s beautiful.

I’m also on a regular 60Hz TV when I use the PS5, so the VR headset’s 120Hz refresh rate is something I really appreciate. The 120Hz rate also applies to video content and not just games.

One disappointment though is you can only play videos or streaming content from Netflix at 1080p, not 4K. And it also doesn’t appear to have upscaling for these types of content. While it does help you tune out the rest of your surroundings as well when watching a movie, some Netflix movies (I tried the sci-fi film Arrival) look a little muddy although some content like anime with bright scenes (Studio Ghibli’s Tales From Earthsea) look lively and vibrant.

A midrange 4K TV, overall, would be an easier watch though, especially for longer sessions, considering again that a headset over your head can get uncomfortable over time.

Some physical commitment required

Using the VR2 is actually quite a physical commitment for those who typically get to play after the end of the day. If your eyes and neck are already tired from being in front of the PC at work or school, a VR session can sometimes feel overwhelming, and feels maybe twice as demanding on the eyes as playing on a regular TV. But the sense of immersion is so great that I get the desire to play for even a half hour for a quick escape from reality. It’s that feeling of being transported to a different dimension that makes VR rewarding.

Still, the best way, at least for me, to really experience it is when you’re well-rested.

A puzzle game called Puzzling Places where you piece together 3D jigsaw puzzles of interesting places is soothing, while the Moss games where you feel like you are this omniscient being inside beautiful dioramas guiding a hero mouse have been my favorite. Horizon: Call of the Mountain is a breathtaking showpiece for the visual potential of VR2 games, which will have you just gawking at the scenery, inspecting the game’s dino-bot hybrids, and inspecting every bit of detail on other characters’ faces, expressions, and design.

Call of the Mountain is an important game for Sony as it makes you think of the possibilities and potential of other AAA titles such as Sony’s own God of War and The Last of Us games, and possibly other top third-party franchises such as Final Fantasy, Cyberpunk 2077, or The Witcher series being made into a VR game. We certainly hope more of these games some day make a VR attempt as Resident Evil has with its games, including its latest, Village.

A side note: I can’t play Resident Evil in VR. It’s several times as scary as the regular game. In fact, a horror game might not be the best first game for VR newbies, especially as most of us will also be contending with VR motion sickness as well. Add monsters to the mix, and well, good luck.

The feeling of being able to shoot guns in VR though is amazing (I’ve tried them out in the shooting range in Resident Evil Village) and am looking forward to games like Pavlov, a competitive shooter which I’ve been hearing good things about. Gran Turismo 7 in VR has also been described as the true flagship for Sony, allowing you to fully appreciate the racing game’s obsessive attention to detail.

We’ll have longer reviews of individual VR games in the coming weeks. But for now, we’ll end with some notes on VR motion sickness. What happens is that when your body moves in virtual reality, your brain gets confused as your actual body stays stationary, leading to motion sickness. What has worked for me is slowing down the movement speed (thankfully, some games have this option); putting in vignetting, which reduces your field of vision when moving; or mimicking physical movement when you’re making a move in the game.

In case you were curious about getting dizzy in VR, it does really take some training to get used to VR movement. In my experience after a week or so on slower settings, I’ve tried switching back to regular speeds, and my motion sickness seems to be weaker. Take it slow, train yourself, and if it’s bad you can start with maybe really short sessions of 5 or 10 minutes, and build up your capacity.

Motion sickness is only problematic for me when playing first person games, but in games like Moss or Puzzling Places where you have a more stationary view of surroundings, I’m fine. On the Quest 2, I’ve only played lightsaber-esque music rhythm game Beat Saber, which requires you to be standing and moving, and I never experienced motion sickness there as well.

We’ll be back another time for the actual game reviews! – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – The Honor X9a 5G is affordable at P16,990 but it feels more expensive than it is, and there’s one simple reason: its beautiful display. 

It features a 120Hz refresh rate, meaning scrolling is doubly smoother than regular 60Hz phones, and uses an OLED panel for the crisp, vivid color that we’d mostly come to expect from more expensive phones. The display is curved too, which makes you feel like you’re holding one of those curved flagships of yore from Samsung, only lighter and thinner. It has a slim 20:9 aspect ratio (2,400 x 1,080 resolution), that makes it both sexy, and more ergonomically pleasing to hold. 

While pretty, Honor is also heavily marketing the display’s toughness, encouraging tech reviewers to do their own stress or drop tests. We haven’t dropped the phone, intentionally or unintentionally, in our time using it, but seeing Honor put the phone display’s toughness front and center in its campaign, feels reassuring. 

The X9a, to me, just highlights how significant a role the screen plays in making a phone feel premium. It’s a treat for the eyes, and you can get it without having to break the bank. It’s great too that Honor decided to use an aluminum frame for the phone to keep up with the display’s premium appearance. 

The back of the phone isn’t as premium with its use of a polycarbonate plastic material, but the textured finish that shifts from hues of grayish green and blue does a commendable job of keeping up with the phone’s premium-looking aspirations. You know it’s plastic, but it’s good-looking plastic. Helping it stand out as well is the eye-catching circle camera array placed in the top-center, reminiscent of Huawei’s flagship phones. It’s certainly a unique-looking setup, but whether you actually like the circular orientation or not is up to personal taste.

While the display is great, the mono speakers at the bottom are weak, and sound pretty thin. It’s best to use earphones with this one. 

Honor X9a performance, battery life, cameras

With a Qualcomm Snapdragon 695G – a commendable mid-range chip – and 8GB of RAM, the X9a 5G is a suitable daily driver, breezing through most daily tasks. For gaming though, you might have to turn down settings to low in most games to get 60 frames per second. More demanding games like Genshin Impact might be hard to run smoothly on the phone, but less demanding ones such as Mobile Legends would perform well. I like that it comes with 256GB instead of 128GB, especially considering it doesn’t have expandable storage.

The battery life is excellent on the X9a thanks to its large 5,100 mAh battery, and a chip that’s been known to be relatively efficient. It lasts long, and can run for up to two days of regular use minus heavy Netflix streaming. I’ve used it regularly as a WiFi hotspot for an entire workday working remotely, and I’m pleasantly surprised at how much battery life is left at the end of the day. Charging is not the fastest at 40 watts, and is slower than its predecessor’s X9’s 66-watt charging. It’s still fast enough that I can get enough juice for the day with a quick charge if I’ve neglected to charge it. 

The phone is average when it comes to its cameras (16MP main, 5MP wide, 2MP macro). Photos look great when there is great lighting, but looks par for the course in average lighting, especially with indoor lighting, and struggles in poor lighting. On the front is a standard 16MP selfie camera that produces average results. That’s the trade-off here. You get an amazing user experience because of the display and the battery, but the cameras are clearly not the selling point here. 

If your priority is a phone that looks good, feels premium to use and look at with a vivid, smooth curved display, but has average photo and video capabilities, give the X9a a try. – Rappler.com

Indeed, Santa Monica Studio has reapplied their Game of the Year winning formula to God of War Ragnarok, but past the first 4-6 hours of the game, you are treated to a masterclass of how great sequels are done. God of War Ragnarok has the best features of the 2018 God of War title, but bigger and better, and any changes Santa Monica has introduced have only given this game more reasons to be loved. 

(Note that this article will have some mild spoilers from here on out. Some gameplay is tied closely to the narrative.)

The game takes you on a rollercoaster ride from the beginning, thanks to the aftermath of the events in the last title. With the gods of the realm kicking things off and Fimbulwinter descending upon the lands, Kratos and Atreus can barely catch their breath as they figure out a way to avoid chaos and further destruction of their lives and the lives of those around them. 

This time Kratos is not the only one taking the reins. Atreus, who has grown to be a more capable warrior, becomes a useful battle companion to Kratos and gains the courage to lead his own missions. Yes, that involves players controlling Atreus as he begins his journey of discovery. This entails coming with his own fighting style, weapons and companions. 

Don’t worry. Kratos is not short-changed in this sequel. Kratos’ combat system has more depth thanks to the new tools and tricks at his disposal. Apply status effects, slow time, enhance damage with Atreus’s help, and keep your enemies guessing by switching weapons and runic abilities. So, while mashing buttons may give you the same results, learning to use and chain new techniques is extremely useful and more satisfying as Kratos faces new challenging enemies. 

Speaking of satisfying challenges, the best part of this game is its story. God of War Ragnarok reaches new depths and nuance as it tackles the very human problems of gods. While God of War (2018) showed Kratos’ transformation from god to dad, this sequel takes on plenty more themes: fatherhood, family, revenge, justice, heroism, destiny, friendship, loyalty, sacrifice, grief, and more.

It almost feels like a reforged dramatic telling of a classic mythological story, even with Santa Monica’s creative changes to the original lore. Throw away your expectations based on Marvel’s franchises. The writers did an incredible job weaving an epic in this video game. It leaves me satisfied and wanting more. 

Thankfully, there is more. Of course, there are the side quests that we love because we enjoy gratuitous displays of violence. It is a Kratos signature, after all. But plenty of side quests also make for a significant part of the story. While it doesn’t change the main course of events, the side quests, or “favors” as they are called in the game, give you more insight into the lore, the realms, and the motivations of characters.

Pursuing these side quests becomes a rewarding experience because of the loot and the outstanding balance of substantial dialogue and playful banter. There are plenty of favorite moments to be plucked from just exploring the nine realms and lending an extra hand to the characters when they ask for it. 

We get to experience all these quests in the beautiful backdrop of a world more extensive than the one in the 2018 title. That said, I appreciate that Santa Monica has found a good balance of map size, landmarks, and quests.

The nine realms do not have the same problems most open-world games have. The map doesn’t feel huge but empty and filled with quests that do not matter at all. And, not all realms are the same either. Every realm has its own set of distinct environments and challenges to deal with. 

By the time you’re done with the main story, there is still some post-game content for you to enjoy. Some will unravel right before you, and others will require a bit more snooping around throughout all the nine realms. I won’t give out more details to avoid spoilers, but I advise you to keep exploring. You may find some rewarding story-based surprises if you look and listen closely.

Now, the game does have its flaws. But at this point, it feels just a bit nitpicky. For those who are concerned however, there are minor but hilarious bugs. Some performance optimization in resolution mode still remains to be done. Some missions or environments experience dramatic framerate drops. But the visual differences between performance and resolution mode are now relatively minor. For this, I hope a small update post launch will suffice. 

Sequels always risk becoming a disappointment because the novelty of a title wears off. For God of War Ragnarok, it was a concern merely because its 2018 predecessor has set the bar incredibly high. Sure, plenty of God of War fans know they will enjoy Ragnarok because they trust the quality of the 2018 title.

But I’m also happy to share that after 50-plus hours of God of War Ragnarok, the game is not only better than God of War (2018) but also an incredible experience overall and a strong contender for Game of the Year. – Rappler.com

Another year, another Call of Duty. This year, we have Modern Warfare 2, the sequel to 2019’s Modern Warfare, which is a soft reboot of the 2007 series of the same name. 

Between the single-player campaign, the competitive multiplayer, and the co-op Spec Ops mode, there’s plenty to unpack here. By and large, this installment is a return to form for the multi-billion dollar franchise after the less-than-stellar response to last year’s Vanguard and 2020’s Black Ops Cold War. It has its moments, certainly, yet I can’t help but feel that it still fails to live up to the first Modern Warfare.

Let’s take a look at each of the three components individually before assessing the package as a whole. 

An enjoyable campaign with some memorable missions

Modern Warfare 2’s campaign picks up three years after the events of the first game. A new terrorist threat has emerged and it’s once again up to Captain Price and his reassembled Task Force 141 to stop it. 

Much of the story is your standard Call of Duty fare that takes you from one set piece moment to the next in what I could best describe as a Hollywood blockbuster-style thrill ride. And that’s all fine to me as the presentation and production value of the game help elevate its fairly generic military thriller ideas and muddled message about war. It’s just a shame that the story is not as gripping or provocative as its predecessor, opting for more spectacle over grounded realism. 

The pace doesn’t give you much time to reflect on the moral decisions of the characters the same way the first game did. A large part of the eight-to-ten hour campaign just has you jumping from one part of the world to another, squadding up and stopping bad guys. While there are some twists and turns along the way, I think it fails to reach the heights of Modern Warfare’s more compelling and nuanced story. 

Still, I did enjoy the ride. The campaign takes you to a variety of locales across the globe with varying mission designs, from stealth ops in an Amsterdam dock to an oil rig shootout off of the Gulf of Mexico. Some feel fresh and are quite memorable, while others serve as good callbacks to iconic missions from the original series. There are still times when the game annoyingly chooses to fall back into familiar mission design trappings, but it’s evident the developers tried to innovate the formula to a certain extent. 

What I particularly love about this game’s campaign is that the members of Task Force 141, such as Ghost, Gaz and Soap, and some returning supporting characters like Laswell all have more personality than their counterparts from the original series. The campaign is peppered with moments that let you talk to your squadmates through dialogue options. As a result, you learn more about who they are. This is a nice touch as it makes them feel less like expendable NPCs and more like actual human operatives that you’d want watching your back. 

I also love how this is arguably the best-looking Call of Duty yet, highlighted by impeccable lighting, sharp textures, and a smooth performance. The environments are rendered with such high detail that they could have you doing double takes to make sure you’re still playing a video game. The visuals are simply as immersive as they have ever been for the franchise. 

Don’t spend too much time ogling at the graphics though, the campaign can be pretty unrelenting even on Regular difficulty. It only takes a few shots to kill you, and staying out of cover for too long is almost always a death sentence. But raising the challenge works to make the action feel a tad bit more realistic as you join your squad in methodically pushing up points and clearing areas. 

Apart from the so-so story, the only other thing that I didn’t like from the campaign is its use of bullet-sponge armored enemies. I get that they’re there to give variety to the enemy types, but they take so long to kill that they tend to break your immersion. They’re quite over-the-top for the tone of the game and feel out of place in some missions. 

Missing multiplayer features

Perhaps the most important part of the game is the competitive multiplayer. And this year’s outing – at least from the seven or so hours I’ve played so far – feels very much like a step-up from last year’s Vanguard. 

The action is faster; the gunplay is tighter; and the time-to-kill is shorter. But this is still 100% a Call of Duty game, where twitchy reflexes tend to trump tactical play. This is most true for the standard suite of fast-paced, six-versus-six modes, such as Team Deathmatch and Domination. 

The two new Core modes, Knockout and Prisoner Rescue, do add a bit of variety to the selection, though the pace of the action doesn’t vary much from its stablemates. Knockout has you and the opposing team scrambling for a package that spawns somewhere in the map. Prisoner Rescue, meanwhile, is a new take on capture the flag, with one team protecting the prisoners, while the other tries to extract them. 

In case you want slightly slower alternatives to the fan favorites, Ground War is the way to go. These 32-versus-32 modes put you in larger maps, where you have more room to breathe and gather your bearings before engaging. Since playing the beta, I’ve been playing these modes more than the Core selection, which is mostly because, skill-wise, I can no longer hang with the standard player. Diehard fans probably won’t enjoy it as much due to the pace being different, and that’s fine. It also feels closer to Battlefield, with the inclusion of vehicles and different terrains, than Call of Duty. At least, the option is there for players like me who enjoy switching between different modes. 

One improvement I noticed about Ground War this year is that the vehicles aren’t as overpowered as they were in 2019’s Modern Warfare. This is great as it helps maintain balance and facilitates more exchange of bullets between ground troops. 

There are also new third-person modes, which, of course, give you a better view of your environment while mobile. The shift in perspective, however, does play a bit awkward for Call of Duty. I’d personally stick to the dedicated first-person modes, but it’s nice that they’re there in case you do end up enjoying them. 

For a casual fan, the state of the multiplayer, as of writing, is probably enough to keep you occupied until the end of the year. But more discerning fans may want to wait a couple more months before booting the game up. 

For one, there’s a laundry list of missing features, such as hardcore playlists, ranked modes, leaderboards, and stat-tracking, among others. Some of these are fairly basic features that ship with every Call of Duty game at launch, making their absence here hard to overlook. 

Another issue I ran into is the skill-based matchmaking system is not very good at matching you with players of the same skill level. You can have one good game and the next you’ll be fed to the wolves. It ruins the whole experience for me since it never feels like I’m making any personal progress at getting better at the game. This was already an issue in previous installments, and from what I can tell, it persists here. 

Then, there’s the big change with how the minimap works, which seems to have the whole community divided. Traditionally, when your enemies fire their weapon, their position shows up on the minimap. To avoid this, they’d have to equip their weapon with a silencer at the cost of dealing less damage. For Modern Warfare 2, however, your enemies don’t show up at all regardless if their weapons are silenced or not. You’ll have to deploy an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), a killstreak perk, to see their position. 

The developers said the rationale behind this change is to encourage more players to seek each other out across the map. While I don’t mind the change as much, I understand why longtime fans would be upset. This is a huge adjustment. Again, when life or death depends on split-second reflexes, there’s nothing more important than getting the jump on your enemies. 

Gunsmith 2.0, the multiplayer’s customization system, can be quite convoluted at times. Then again, I’m not the type of player who spends hours and hours crafting the most optimal loadout. I tend to stick to a gun or two and tweak them ever so slightly every now and then. Still, I think the game could do a better job at explaining what changes each attachment brings. All it does is show you some stat changes and a list of vague positives and negatives. And so many terms are used that it’s easy to get overwhelmed. 

Also, my game crashed multiple times during multiplayer matches. There have been reports that PC players are experiencing these same issues, so this is likely a problem with the game rather than the console. Hopefully, a patch is rolled out soon. 

Spec Ops is more of the same

Spec Ops, which returns from 2019’s Modern Warfare, is more of the same, a co-op experience, where you and buddy drop into a large, sprawling map to complete a series of missions. Don’t get me wrong, the freedom the mode gives you in employing different strategies and play styles remains fun. It’s just that there’s not a lot of incentive to replay the missions once you’ve cleared them, unless you care about personal records or scores. 

There are three playable missions at launch, which you could probably complete in a couple of hours. 

All in all, I think Infinity Ward has laid the foundations for a solid Call of Duty game that can appeal to casual and hardcore fans alike. Is it the game that’ll right the course of the franchise? It definitely has the makings to do so, with an enjoyable campaign and a strong multiplayer experience. The only catch is that, in its current state, there are still a lot of issues that need ironing out and features that are missing. So perhaps it’s best to wait a month or so before checking it out. 

After all, if the rumors are true about publisher Activision not launching a new Call of Duty next year, then you’ll have plenty of time with this one when it’s fixed and updated. – Rappler.com