Chandler Wood's Reviews
There simply isn’t anything else like it, even if it does follow some of the more rote open-world playbook rules when it comes to progression and collectibles. A choppy framerate in intense sequences is really one of the only things holding the experience back, but like a fisherman without a hand—or a leg—it doesn’t stop me from heading back to the open water for more.
The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners is for people who want to test their mettle living in the world of The Walking Dead, both physically and emotionally.
John Wick Hex is a fantastically unique adaptation of the film property, and even if it doesn't quick stick the landing, I have to applaud Mike Bithell and his team for bravely trying something different with something as loved as John Wick. The gameplay is sharp and tight, brilliantly adapting the inner workings of John Wick's mind into a gameplay mechanic and making you feel like a top-tier assassin when you pull it off. While a bit rough around the edges John Wick Hex is a great licensed adaptation with a bold fresh take on the existing property.
Predator: Hunting Ground is a haphazard collection of intriguing yet incomplete concepts slapped together into a mediocre experience.
Sam Barlow is pioneering new ways to bring interactivity to FMV media, blending film, games, and the human experience in ways that shouldn’t be missed.
Final Fantasy VII Remake is perfection. It breathes life into the cold steel of Midgar, adding weight and dimension to that which was once simply an introduction to a more grand adventure.
All said, Resident Evil 3 is a brilliant reimagining of the horror classic, with plenty of surprises in store even for the longtime fans. It’s a great partner piece to last year’s Resident Evil 2, helping to reclaim the origins of the series that were once trapped in static environments and blocky characters, lost to consoles past.
As an add on, The Foundation is a wonderful way to bring players back to the world of Control, even if it doesn’t quite match the weird mystique and bizarre mystery of the main game.
A solid campaign utilizing some of the best third-person cover shooter mechanics around, even if the stories of the four rogue agents leading to Keener are poorly implemented and the ongoing seasonal content fails to use the incredible locations and enemies added in the expansion.
DOOM Eternal is simply a really good game. It provides players with a brutal and extreme power fantasy while also presenting a challenge, a tightrope act of balancing that few games can ever accomplish with a masterful hand.
With Call of Duty Warzone, Infinity Ward firmly took hold of battle royale and confidently said: "This is how you do it." And then they kept going and made Plunder. And they wrapped it all in a package with a brilliant launch model, tearing down barriers of entry and making access to Warzone as seamless as possible for players new and old. Warzone blends Call of Duty and battle royale until you can't find the lines between the two; familiar ideas polished to a new industry standard for both.
Dreams is possibilities made manifest, and while Media Molecule needs to have a strong hand in curating that experience, its a perfect foundation from which to grow and evolve and I can’t wait to see where it goes.
Darksiders Genesis is not Darksiders 4, but it’s still a worthwhile addition to the Darksiders saga.
I'm hopelessly addicted to the dragon apocalypse. I willingly fling myself out of a ship onto the backs of dragons again and again. Sometimes the random nature of EarthNight can create runs that feel nigh impossible, but those are balanced out by the times when I do really well. There's a certain momentum to removing the ability to go backward, creating zen in the utter chaos. EarthNight is the perfect blend of its elements—incredible visuals, a driving soundtrack, and fast-paced gameplay that is rewarding to learn. Slay just one dragon, and you can't help but want to slay them all.
There are many redeemable elements of Re:MIND. Its main campaign fills out Kingdom Hearts III’s ending, and King Mickey is just an epic badass. But unless you’re a glutton for punishment, it’s probably better to just catch up on the story elements via YouTube and await news of the next game in the series.
As an expansion clearly built by Jurassic Park fans for Jurassic Park fans, this is not only a must-have addition to Jurassic World Evolution, but presents a pretty compelling argument for even picking up the game in the first place.
Death Stranding is not a “fun” game, but it’s an important and meaningful experience that earns its payoff through every bit of frustration and slog.
Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville embraces all of the charm and fun of its predecessors, but manages to up the ante with a lot of new and updated features. Sometimes having too many players feels overly chaotic for a character-based hero shooter, and losing the variants makes the roster feel a little thin, but PopCap spent more than a month proving to early players that it was committed to Neighborville for the foreseeable future. For all the good it brings, it's easy to overlook a couple of worms in the garden.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare sets a benchmark for the future of games.
It will have its ups and downs, but ultimately Bungie has the ship pointed in the right direction, making Destiny better than it’s ever been before.