Alastor

I need to give XCOM 2 another try, the timed missions were super stressful/hard.

Well looking at the internet the opinion seems divided to fairly negative, but I really enjoyed those 3 bonus missions this game comes with. Yes, the Covenant use of purple is absolutely hideous (issue in the main game too tbf), yes the Chief and Johnson dialogue is a 'bit' Marvel-ish, but I object to the issues people have with Chief talking 'too much' just because he does in the main game, he's not a mute.

…And yet, unlike the last half of the main game, you actually have fun combat against the Covenant, and the combat sandbox is fairly inorganic at times with the way they rain guns on you, but there's some good shootouts to be had here. Lots of two tiered, huge elaborate arenas that give you the tools to do what Halo does best and to repeat, not a single Flood in sight.

Guess I'm done, no way am I playing this version on Legendary any time soon

Halo 3 being my favourite and the least offensive game Flood wise is probably not a coincidence, though there is still that one mission with Cortana named after her that sucks iirc.

Shinobi: Art of Vengeance
Azure Striker Gunvolt
Trails beyond the Horizon
We Love Katamari
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
Resident Evil: Requiem
Resident Evil (1998)
Final Fantasy X
Space Marine
Pragmata
Final Fantasy VII
Streets of Rage 4
Onimusha Warlords
Muramasa Rebirth
Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny

Halo: Campaign Evolved
As usual with every version of this game I'm having a blast until the Flood show up and then I honestly feel like it genuinely turns into a not very good game. The issue is that they had a cool concept, but they overused it, the first level where you meet them is fantastic, going through that forest into the facility where Things Have Gone Wrong and then suddenly your completely swarmed by these things coming at you. Then you have a tense defense section where you're holding them off until help arrives…then it does it again with Guilty Spark hacking a door slowly while they come at you, and then again, and again and again…

It doesn't really let up either, after you escape the Library you do see the Covenant again and boy did I miss those guys, but the Flood never really go away. I dunno' man, maybe it could have worked but I think that their presence could have been better if their arrival was a real 'oh shit' moment and used more sparingly but destructive when it happens. And the Flood count gets extremely dense towards the end to the point I'm not sure if you're even supposed to fight as many as I did, until I just ran past them anyway. Campaign DEvolved more like.

As for this particular version's unique qualities…I still don't really know what to say tbh, sometimes I think it looks cool but sometimes I feel it's not even as good looking as MCC and unlike that version you can't toggle the graphics. You get to use some weapons from Halo 2 (as if you're ever switching off the Magnum in Halo 1) you can Sprint for some fucking reason, there's no Multiplayer…insane value!

I'm just glad this was on Game Pass, this is absolutely not worth full price

Played up to the Silent Cartographer level in Halo: Campaign Evolved and so far I'm having just as much fun on this as I have on any other version of the game, which is a lot, it's just really fun combat design. (We'll see what I think when the Flood arrive)

I still wish we got the original with this somehow, so far it feels like if Halo 1 was Halo 3-ified as noted in GVG's review, so I can only assume it upsets a few purists (I've already seen people using the new Sprint to just run past encounters) but I'll at least take a Halo 3 in Halo 1's body over playing Halo 4 or 5 again. But hey, I really liked Infinite's single player so maybe I'm an outlier again…

No online multiplayer is…kind of tragic though, I think I'm more bothered by it than I was now it's in my hands, I guess if I really want to Halo Infinite online is still alive and well?