Matt Paprocki

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Favorite Games:
  • Contra III
  • Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo

51 games reviewed
63.7 average score
60 median score
33.3% of games recommended

Matt Paprocki's Reviews

Matt Paprocki has critiqued home media and video games for 20+ years across outlets like Variety, Rolling Stone, Forbes, Playboy, Polygon, and others. His passion project is the technically minded DoBlu.com.
Aug 23, 2023

No matter what nominally noticeable technical changes are happening under Madden 24's hood, they don't represent the gargantuan changes needed to bring the NFL series in line with various yearly sports game competition.

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Apr 11, 2023

EA Sports PGA Tour captures the intricate nuance of golfing. However, the systems struggle with what a user can reasonably decipher from a mere analog stick, leading to a frustrating experience. EA Sports PGA Tour is a game at odds with whether it wants to compete with rival 2K’s realism or veer closer to its own more arcade roots, and in the process, lands its first drive on this new round in the rough.

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8 / 10.0 - NHL 23
Oct 20, 2022

A long-overdue audio-visual upgrade finally lets NHL 23 take full advantage of the PS5 and Xbox Series X so that the revamped franchise mode can look as good as it plays.

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6 / 10.0 - PGA Tour 2K23
Oct 14, 2022

There's not much to be excited about in PGA Tour 2K23, with poorly presented golfing on second-tier courses. It's fiercely accurate to the real sport but lacks personality and variety.

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Sep 26, 2022

Bothersome microtransactions aside, NBA 2K23 delivers a nearly flawless sports sim.

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Aug 22, 2022

Some fun improvements make this playable – yet Madden still features too much carryover. Not just from last year, but the last decade.

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Jun 20, 2022

Final Vendetta looks and sounds like a mountain of games that came before it but does nothing to separate itself from those same games.

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Apr 5, 2022

Still surprisingly swing-and-miss online, but for long-lasting and moreish solo play, NBA 2K22 is its only competitor in a two-horse championship duel.

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Feb 11, 2022

KOF’s resistance to any grand story arc defies the pressure being applied by its rivals. Minimal solo options and routine online duels don’t reinvent anything either. This isn’t laziness on SNK’s part, however. It feels more like a focus on maintaining the design philosophy that the player base has loved all along: potent character design, instantly identifiable team play, and off-the-wall plotlines.

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6 / 10.0 - NHL 22
Oct 19, 2021

NHL 22's various arcade modes have their charms, but it's an uneven installment that puts the focus in the wrong places.

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Apr 21, 2021

A solid home-run hitter, but not the baseball revolution we were hoping for on PS5 and Xbox Series X.

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7 / 10.0 - NBA 2K18
Sep 24, 2017

Of course, it's no surprise that NBA 2K18 looks good; the series has looked the part since its advent on the Dreamcast, staying relevant visually and staking out its own part of basketball culture. NBA 2K18 continues the trend, capturing the feel of basketball's urban centers in The Neighborhood.

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6.5 / 10.0 - NHL 18
Sep 13, 2017

Although EA Vancouver planned a three-year rejuvenation of their hockey series, NHL 18 seems like it's on the downside of generational sports games. While Threes adds some zest and significant features, that's the only notable addition to the game. When the introduction menu pops up and “What's New” offers only three choices (one being a tutorial), 2017 is not a good year. NHL 18 is (as always for this series) more than competent, but for the first time in a while, it's a “wait for next year” revision.

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In the end, Yonder isn't inventive, exactly, as the multitude of ideas and cross-media inspirations converge somehow into something infinitely familiar. Missions are cut down to absolute basics to fulfill an open world quota, but it's possible to forgive this when traipsing through this aesthetically pleasing land and helping these delighted folk. And as importantly, there's bravery in eliminating things like combat and leveling, allowing Yonder a rare, distinctive brevity.

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6.5 / 10.0 - Sniper Elite 4
Feb 18, 2017

With its inconsequential story and addiction to inane splatter kills, Rebellion's Sniper Elite 4 doesn't subvert expectations. It doesn't have to necessarily: The appeal of shooting digital Nazis may never stagnate, and increasing the scale of each stage means more Nazis to kill and an increased potential for strategy. But a bigger scope makes the inherent problems more visible.

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8 / 10.0 - NBA 2K17
Sep 20, 2016

NBA 2K17 is a worthy if subtle upgrade

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Nov 29, 2015

Yo-Kai Watch's decidedly foreign lore doesn't trample an accessible series of lessons for children worldwide.

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Rise of the Tomb Raider is not only essential, it's poised to be endearing snapshot of America's battle over religious freedoms.

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Black Ops III tries something different, but it's wrong headed approach ruins otherwise strong context.

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Nov 2, 2015

Somewhere exists a thing which explains the basic tenants of Halo 5's story, but it's not Halo 5. Then, once vaunted multplayer is bogged down by microtransactions. For shame.

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