By Anthony Bonilla
Staff Writer
In today’s world, we are always waiting for new game titles to come out. There always seems to be an excited buzz that keeps gamers anticipating the next new release. However, if you are looking for a game to keep you occupied while you wait for the new titles, take a look at some of these. I played each of these games and reviewed them so you can get a good idea of what to expect. Keep in mind, my review might not be your review, play the games and form your own opinion. Without further ado, let’s get right into the hype.
Call Of Duty: Black Ops 7
The newly released Call of Duty title is out, and so far, I’m not liking it. A Co-Op Campaign is such a horrible idea, considering a stable connection is needed to play it. Those who have tried to play it solo have had a lot of struggle getting into it, considering it crashes as soon as you load in. The worst part about it is the boss fights. So far, I’ve gotten to two of them, and they really suck. They’re way too easy, and feel way too repetitive since most of them only take 15-30 minutes each.
The multiplayer isn’t that bad, but I wish there weren’t too many “try-hards” all the time. Most players in today’s community are full of nothing but people who dedicate their lives to multiplayer. For the most part, I would say the fast-paced section of the multiplayer lives up to its standards. Moving around and getting eliminations feels great, and the weapons feel balanced. There are some instances where the weapon I used feels like it’s blasting pebbles at the enemy and barely damages them, but it’s probably my horrible lag.
The zombies are the only redeeming aspect of the game. It’s an excellent mode and has some potential if they actually take the time and effort to make the storyline something unforgettable. I would say, though, that I wish they hadn’t brought back an alternative version of Primis since their story had ended a while back. I also wish they hadn’t mixed up the requiem team since I personally feel like they should continue making that its own story. Primis consists of Edward Richtofen, Tank Dempsey, Nikolai Belinski, and Takeo Masaki: they are the original crew that some of us have played from the start all the way to the end.
The Requiem Team consists of Grigori Weaver, Dr. Elizabeth Grey, Mackenzie Carver, and Maya Alguinaldo, who are supposed to be the new crew, but for some reason need the help of a new version of Primis.
Overall, the game for me is a 5/10, mainly because it lacks a lot of what Call of Duty is supposed to be. Their main focus should be on how they should improve gameplay for players who want a good experience and a good campaign that doesn’t have us hallucinate people who are dead or alive. Step it up next year, Treyarch.
Spider-Man 2 (PS5)
Spider-Man 2 is the best storytelling game that I’ve played since Watch Dogs. The mechanics feel really clean, and web swinging feels faster than it did in the first installment. Whenever I travel around, I feel really immersed in the game because of how well-detailed the swinging feels. Every time Spider-Man travels around the city of New York, there are a lot of famous landmarks that a few of you might know if you’ve ever visited or lived in New York.
Gliding is a new mechanic that has been introduced into Spider-Man’s suit. It’s a prototype that was supposed to be worked on by Peter Parker, but it is needed to fly back to the first boss fight. The gliding is so cool that I personally really enjoyed it. It cuts down the time spent traveling to and from a certain location. What helps even more with gliding is that the game has designed a wind system that Spider-Man can use to gain more altitude when having to fly up into the sky again.
The fighting style for both is really cool. Miles Morales’s abilities allow him to create ways to use his lighting ability during any combat situation. He can send out huge shock waves that can stun his enemies and give him a bigger advantage when having to face brutes or street thugs. Peter’s mechanical spider claws allow him to bring enemies up in the sky or deal great damage to whoever he has to fight. Base fighting feels like they’re hitting their enemies a bit harder. Whenever you get into combat, it feels more balanced, and with their spider senses tingling, it’s easy to dodge some of the attacks.
Whenever they get into a pickle while fighting, they can use their gadgets. The gadgets shoot webs that can stick the enemies to the wall or distract them whenever you are fighting other foes during the fights. You can upgrade the gadgets, which adds a lot of help with bigger enemies coming your way in your gameplay. The story is well-driven, and the characters have a lot of background on who they were before becoming villains.
Every character develops throughout the story, which makes it unique. Most story-driven games try their best to make development happen, but it usually ends very poorly or ends with an “it’s alright”. With the characters in Spider-Man 2, they really grow up and realize that there are a lot of things that they need to worry about in their lives, not just being a hero or someone who always helps Spider-Man in their battles. Regardless of that, it’s really cool to know that there are people in Spider-Man that we can relate to.
Overall, I would give it an 8/10. It’s a game I would highly recommend playing whenever you have free time and feel like being a hero for the rest of the day. With great power comes great responsibility.
RoboCop Rouge City: Unfinished Business
Robocop is a character from the self-titled film Robocop. The game itself is really unique. I like the style of it being a puzzle-solving, shooter game in Detroit. When helping citizens, they’ll tell you about their issue, and they’ll ask Robocop to help them out. The sidequests are fun, and some of them usually help with looking for evidence needed when finding hidden items.
The weapons in the game aren’t strong, so I’d suggest sticking to his standard-issue pistol, which is really strong when upgraded. With the pistol, you can add chips that give it a positive and a negative effect that can help in combat situations. Since Alex Murphy (RoboCop) is a robot, he can be upgraded with skill points that you earn throughout the game.
Gameplay-wise, it’s really awesome. Being able to scan the area with his visor is cool and helps a lot with spotting some missed clues or items in certain areas. When playing the story, you get to experience more lore about Robocop and find out things that you wouldn’t know from the film. Switching over to the perspective of Alex Murphy is cool because you get to see how it feels not having the abilities that you have with Robocop.
Overall, I would give it an 8.5/10. I would highly recommend this for anyone who is a fan of the Robocop films.
Red Dead Redemption 2
Red Dead is such an incredible western game that I would replay it all over again. I loved how the characters get along with each other and are always speaking to the main character, Arthur Morgan. Arthur Morgan joined the Vanderlin gang when he was a young lad. You can explore the world with Morgan and find hidden items or messages throughout your journey. While exploring, be aware of the Pinkertons. The Pinkertons are a group who hunt you and the gang down throughout each chapter.
The Vanderlin gang is always in hiding because of how many lawmen want them dead or alive. Morgan can bring supplies and donate to the camp, and improve life for everyone in the camp. He can buy some items that can help him survive when he is outside of camp. The weapons are well-balanced and match the year as well. Some unique ammo types can be made when Morgan is setting up a tent and crafting or cooking things that come in handy. The story with Arthur is really sad because you learn a lot of backstory before and after he joined the gang.
It’s so well detailed that the game itself should just be a movie. Every time I play it, it feels like a whole movie is happening right in front of me. The visuals and the graphics look really clean for a game that was released in 2018. With the horses in the game, you really create a bond with the animal that you wouldn’t want to trade it out for another horse.
When robbing and stealing, it will make your honor system go down. With your honor, it’ll affect the ending of the game, and there will be some consequences whenever you go into town. The stores will upcharge you more, and townsfolk will remember your actions in the game. So make sure you make good decisions and try not to kill too many townsfolk in your gameplay.
Everything you see around is pretty cool. I would want people to experience this story because it’s told so well that it’ll make you think about how tough things were back then, and how it was for them to survive in a society that didn’t have any modern technology. So I’ll give it a 10/10, would play again.
Marvel Rivals
As we come to an end, I will end this off with one of the most strategy-based games that lets us play with our favorite superheroes. That game is Marvel Rivals. The game is really well-balanced, and it is really fun to play with friends or just to keep you busy in general. You can choose to be a tank, damage, healer, or magic.
With each character, you and your teammates have to figure out a plan to defend cargo or protect a point. If your team wins, they will either move on to the next section or win the whole game. When it’s your turn to attack, you have to prevent the enemy team from winning; if you do, then you lose the match.
When you are playing a rank, you have to take it seriously. If you lose the match, you and your team will lose a point. Each match can either bring you up or bring you down. You have to communicate with your team to ensure you and your team rank up.
Whenever I play, I usually don’t get any communication, which sucks a lot because I always need someone to heal, and most of the time, since I’m always having to play tank, I need a lot of help moving my team to the objective. At times, there’s also way too much of everything, which then causes the experience to sometimes suck. As I said in the beginning, I would recommend playing with friends.
The overall experience is a 9.5/10 for me because I may enjoy playing with my character, but it is a struggle at times. Another thing to note, when you have two sets of characters, you can do what’s called a team-up. A team-up that allows you and a person to use a special ability that a certain character has.
Conclusion
These games are incredible, and I would highly recommend playing them, except for Black Ops 7, considering how bad the content is. Enjoy gaming and stay focused on work before hopping on with the boys.