Michael McWhertor


29 games reviewed
77.1 average score
85 median score
71.4% of games recommended
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9 / 10.0 - Bloodborne
Mar 27, 2015

Bloodborne is a shrewd turn from its souls lineage

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8.5 / 10.0 - Mortal Kombat X
Apr 12, 2015

After a bumpy initial roll out, the Faction Wars component seems to be mostly working as intended — though the reward for participating in faction-based battles feels like little more than a well-meaning distraction. Faction Wars just doesn't add a compelling reason to invest more time in Mortal Kombat X beyond the game's other competitive fighting modes.

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The Phantom Pain is a bittersweet but impressive send-off for the series' creator

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5 / 10.0 - Mighty No. 9
Jun 23, 2016

This feels like an answer to why Capcom isn't making Mega Man games anymore

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9 / 10.0 - Injustice 2
May 17, 2017

With Injustice 2, NetherRealm has outdone itself

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8 / 10.0 - Arms
Jun 7, 2017

With a stylish, memorable cast of characters, inventive gameplay mechanics and smart use of the Switch hardware, Arms already feels like Nintendo's next great new franchise.

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5.5 / 10.0 - Metal Gear Survive
Mar 1, 2018

There's a weird, enjoyable story in Metal Gear Survive for players who make it past the game's grueling opening hours, and there are flashes of a great survival game. But with a threadbare connection to the 30-year history of Metal Gear and a comparatively shallow game made in the shadow of The Phantom Pain, it's hard to recommend enduring the whole thing.

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Jul 11, 2018

Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker on Switch is a can't-miss Wii U port

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Unscored - Mega Man 11
Oct 1, 2018

Capcom recaptures the magic of Mega Man in its rock-solid sequel

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Unscored - Tetris Effect
Nov 9, 2018

But Tetris Effect isn't simply a game about pattern optimization and reflex-based puzzle solving. It excels at being an experience, one that I will argue is best played on its easiest difficulty level to enjoy untainted by the bitter taste of a “game over.” I enjoy the challenge of perfecting a run, but Tetris Effect resonates more deeply than its high score-oriented roots.

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Unscored - Resident Evil 2
Jan 22, 2019

Capcom, on a far less dangerous scale, has not always known how to handle its own creation. After mutating from quaint horror to buffoonish action to back again, the Resident Evil series has been wildly inconsistent. But back-to-back Resident Evil games that showcase the very best of survival horror is evidence that Capcom may have its monster under control

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Unscored - Dead or Alive 6
Mar 2, 2019

An immensely fun fighting game with some flaws

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Oct 18, 2019

For fit-curious Switch owners, or those of us who might skip the gym a little too often, it’s a wonderful way to feel a bit better about your health, even for just 15 minutes at a time.

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Unscored - Resident Evil 3
Mar 30, 2020

When I first fired up Resident Evil 3, I worried that its tale of a pandemic turning cities into disease-plagued ghost towns would be more of a depressing reminder of our current reality than escapist entertainment. To wit: A live-action cinematic starts the game with doctors in hazmat suits and government officials telling of a CDC-enforced quarantine.

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May 20, 2020

Quote not yet available

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Unscored - Amnesia: Rebirth
Oct 19, 2020

Amnesia: Rebirth shows an inventiveness that The Dark Descent only hinted at. And it’s certainly creepy enough to satisfy the hunger for something spooky this season.

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Nov 13, 2020

One of the nicest new additions to Demon's Souls is a photo mode. In addition to giving players the option to actually pause Demon's Souls - something you couldn't do in the original - it also takes some lovely screenshots. (See: every image in this review.)

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Apr 28, 2021

New Pokémon Snap is the portable safari we’ve been waiting for

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Unscored - Elden Ring
Feb 23, 2022

Elden Ring is FromSoftware’s most accessible, and difficult, game yet

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Unscored - Overwatch 2
Oct 4, 2022

Enjoying Overwatch 2 is an exercise in cautious optimism — not just in the future direction of its ever-changing lore and world, but in the idea that years of new content will ultimately deliver on the promise of a full sequel.

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