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578 games reviewed
75.7 average score
80 median score
51.8% of games recommended

Paste Magazine's Reviews

5.5 / 10.0 - Halo Wars 2
Feb 21, 2017

Halo Wars 2’s compromise between strategy and speed leaves a system without a functional amount of either. Its story bears the hallmarks of the world Bungie first crafted 16 years ago without any of the melodrama or myth. Missing so much of what makes an RTS work and what makes Halo a fiction so many choose to escape into, it’s easy to wonder who Halo Wars 2 is even for.

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Feb 20, 2017

There is much beauty to see in the game's world—such incredible vision and craft exercised in its conception—but it's subservient to a poor story, lackluster combat and, worst of all, an evident paranoia that players won't appreciate the world Aloy inhabits unless it's put within the context of a laundry list of tasks that have to be completed.

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No matter what you think of that, if you've ever thought of playing a Hitman game, then this is the one to grab. If you haven't ever heard of a Hitman game before, then you should just play this damn game and embrace the weird, wild world of sandbox murderin'.

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7.5 / 10.0 - Gravity Rush 2
Jan 27, 2017

The mixture of frustration and amazement has been a problem in Gravity Rush since the original Vita release, yet none of the flaws are enough to make me outright stop playing. Despite some awful mission design and as annoying as combat and righting Kat during a bad fall can be, there’s always enough charm and beauty here to keep me going. So, Gravity Rush 2 isn’t as resounding a success as I was hoping, but it’s still ingenious and entertaining enough to stay on my hard drive for awhile yet.

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But, if you’re a longtime fan, this is still a solid entry in the series, and A Fragmentary Passage might be worth the price of admission alone. There are moments throughout when the underlying gameplay and combat exceed the limitations of the collection, and you become totally swept up in eliminating as many goofy enemies as quickly as possible, bouncing off walls, flying through the air, hurling fireballs. For these moments, Final Chapter Prologue is a success.

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Jan 23, 2017

I had a really great time making my way through Resident Evil 7. It was a smart move to borrow from the last decade of horror-ass horror game design. Distancing it from its recent action game past gave me anxiety, but ultimately made me happy.

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9 / 10.0 - Yakuza 0
Jan 19, 2017

Yakuza 0’s overarching faithfulness to its time and place in history provides fascinating insight into the time, and its over-the-top cutscenes and climactic fights quickly endeared me to the series. A hefty batch of side-games and engaging, well-paced combat roped me in and sold me on my first ever Yakuza experience, but the vibrancy of its semi-fictional Japan will be what I remember most. Yakuza 0 doubles-down on series’ signature combination of hyperbolic action and self-aware comedy, while providing an honest window into a major period in recent Japanese history, and does so flawlessly.

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4.5 / 10.0 - Rise & Shine
Jan 18, 2017

Rise & Shine has all the markers of a hit indie game. The gun’s add-ons, a series of upgrades that include a special curve-the-bullet ability, give the game an individualistic “hook”, and the art style is funky and appealing. If you approach it with the expectation of being entertained, you probably will be. But if you’re looking for a game that will reinvigorate your passion for the innovation of the indie game scene, look elsewhere.

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Ultimately, these first couple episodes show a promising beginning, and I’m excited to check out the rest of the season when it appears.

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8 / 10.0 - Dead Rising 4
Dec 6, 2016

While I found myself frustrated at points few and far between, I enjoyed my time with Dead Rising 4. It’s a charming, fun romp through a zombie wasteland who sets itself apart from other zombie stories with a sense of humor while still paying homage to those that came before it. If you’re looking for a merry time this holiday season, don’t be caught dead not checking out this Christmas slay ride, as Frank West would probably say.

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8.5 / 10.0 - The Last Guardian
Dec 5, 2016

Regardless of a few messy puzzles, the way The Last Guardian communicates this message is worth paying attention to.

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Dec 2, 2016

If you’ve messed about on the Wii U game and simply need to make 2D Mario Levels on the bus or in your bathroom, the 3DS version fits the bill. Otherwise, you’ve seen most of this circus before. If, however, you have never participated in the glory that is mucking about in an interactive toolkit for one of gaming’s most revered franchises, Super Mario Maker on 3DS becomes something like an essential backpack, or deserted island, companion. Long may you run.

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8.5 / 10.0 - Final Fantasy XV
Nov 30, 2016

There is no doubt Final Fantasy XV will be divisive, but in not playing it safe, the game earns a bit of my heart back with each errant monster hunt or one-off gameplay section. It's messy, but earnestly so, like that high-school mirror selfie. Recalling all the good and bad, the moments that make you cringe and a warmth that makes you smile, you know not everything was perfect. You can only say you're glad you chose to make the journey.

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Nov 28, 2016

At the highest points, Call of Duty has evoked the flavors of films like Sicario. They show you the shape of things, and they present a messy world that soldiers make their way through. Sadly, the narrative of Infinite Warfare is closer to something like White House Down, a series of black and white tropes that merely tell us the same stuff that we knew already: we’re good, the enemies are bad, and we can murder the world into the shape we want it to be.

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Nov 21, 2016

Alola has been a restorative psychic retreat for someone in need of such a virtual vacation, though. A part of me has donned a lei and swim trunks, sipped a Pinap Juice on the beach, and stroked the soft fur of a tiny, purring machine of violence as I flipped through my Pokédex and thought with some satisfaction at its relative completeness. Even for someone who didn’t know a Snorlax from a Smeargle, it has been a much-needed balm.

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7 / 10.0 - Watch Dogs 2
Nov 14, 2016

I think that Watch Dogs 2 wants to say a whole lot about the contemporary world, but it never moves away from generic statements like “information good” and “military-industrial complex bad” to say anything specific. In fact, it has some profound convictions about not saying much at all. The positions it lays out remind me of competitive debate: forcefully presented but never all that convincing.

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9.5 / 10.0 - Titanfall 2
Nov 1, 2016

Titanfall 2 is a constant delight. There were many points in the game where I audibly exclaimed how cool and awesome something was. I am hyped to play more of it and I definitely want to play through the campaign again. With a glut of first person shooters being released this season, Titanfall 2 stands out as something that should be played with its fantastic campaign and enjoyable multiplayer.

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Oct 31, 2016

For now, it’s safe to say that Civilization VI represents a golden age for the series.

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Oct 26, 2016

If you’re like me, a thirty-something long-time Final Fantasy fan looking to recapture some of the magic you once felt around pretty teens and saving the world, there’s a game coming out for you next month, and it’s called Final Fantasy XV. Fingers crossed.

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Oct 25, 2016

Eventually you have to let go of that life, like a mother bird watching her chick leave the next, and find a new frontier to conquer. I mastered my domain, but my clockwork castle will continue without me. Where Minecraft leaves you as Ozymandias, a lonely king overlooking an empty empire, Dragon Quest Builders finds joy in the journey, and provides all the right nudges and motivations to keep you moving on, to build a legacy that will outlast your presence in it.

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