Halo: The Master Chief Collection has a handful of quirks and legacy issues, but those don't diminish the achievement. It's a stellar collection of some of the best games of the last few generations, with options galore and clever ideas like Playlists to breathe new life into old content. It's a must-have for Halo fans, and may rightly serve as a satisfying introduction for newcomers.
It's the rebellious teenager of the Insomniac library. It doesn't always work the way you want it to, and sometimes it's trying entirely too hard, but Sunset Overdrive is ultimately a good kid when you meet it on its own terms.
Mario Kart 8 shows a playful spirit, refinement, and attention to detail that has been missing in the last few entries.
Fallout 4 is another tense and enthralling romp through the Wasteland, but it's not quite the revolutionary experience you may have come to expect given the long hiatus.
Still, the fact that I want to go back and grind some missions to level up my less developed characters speaks to SteamWorld Heist's longevity and satisfying appeal. Image & Form has another retro-inspired gem here, and has further established that like its denizens, SteamWorld stands for piecing together something great from a box of spare parts.
Everything from the menu presentation to the game emulation is crafted with such care that its developers clearly understood the subject matter. It's the best Mega Man game collection to date, and shows how a classic series can be revitalized in the right hands.
Rare Replay is an easy recommendation for value-conscious gamers, but it has a surprising amount of historical heft as well.
Most of these additions and tweaks are bonuses or minor quality-of-life improvements learned from later games. The core is intact, unchanged, and still spectacularly fun. As the saying goes, they don't make them like they used to. Ratchet & Clank argues that maybe they should.
The combination of a monochrome aesthetic and simple gameplay conjures memories of the original Gameboy. Qbby would be right at home there, and nothing about the game would be particularly impossible on that system. In fact, the constant reinvention reminded me of Donkey Kong for the Gameboy, another devious puzzle game from Nintendo that repeatedly introduced new ideas throughout.
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D is just as much an oddity as it was fourteen years ago. While some aspects of it haven't aged well, Nintendo has made enough smart changes to make this remaster worth a second look for those like me who left the original undone. It's nicely presented, shows some real growth of the seeds planted in Ocarina, and is easily among the most unique games in the franchise.