Halo 3

Finish the fight

Game no: 316
Genre: FPS
Platform: Xbox One (Originally for Xbox 360)
Released Date: 2007 (Part of The Master Chief Collection)




What is it about?
The last chapter in the Halo trilogy. It all ends here

What I liked?
The machine gun is back.
There are new weapons like the ax machine, hammer (something)
New vehicles such as the chopper and the hornet. Old vehicles now handle better than before
The story has a twist ending at the end.
Vast stages that require to go from one end to the next
Augmented items like the bubble shield, regenerator and flare.
The ending is a throwback to Halo 1

What I didn't liked?
There are still no waypoints. You do get lost here from time
The shotgun is even more nerfed than the second game
The short moments where cortana is talking to you in your helmet really bothers with the pacing
Ending is not that great but its a good setup for Halo 4

Status: Finish the game saw the ending

Fun Factor: One of the great FPS of all time. Worth a playthrough

Halo 2 Anniversary Edition

My first completed game of 2019

Game no: 313
Genre: FPS
Platform: Xbox One
Release Date: 2014 (Original version release on 2004) [Part of the Master Chief Collection]



What is it about?
The continuation adventures of Master Chief and his mission to stop the Covenant 

What I liked?
Cut scenes are re-imagine with Xbox One graphics
The storyline is very interesting
Now you have missions where you play as the Arbiter. After the events of Halo, you need to prove yourself among  the covenant
Plasma sword can cut everyone with one swoop
Weapons selection is varied but I end up using the shotgun and plasma guns
Now single handed guns can be dual-wielded. Which gives double the firepower

What I didn't liked?
The game is still pretty confusing. You will end up sometimes lost figuring out where to go next. There are no way points or points of interest. So you need to follow the trail of dead bodies.
Gone is the heavy machine gun and they replace it with the small machine gun.
Basically you only play as the Chief for 7 missions and the rest you play as the Arbiter. So the Chief storyline is not flesh out this much this season
I can imagine in 2004 everyone who finish the game were extremely frustrated since the game doesn't end rather stop abruptly waiting another 3 years for Halo 3
Shotguns are nerfed

Status: Finish the campaign.

Fun Factor: Is a very fun game if you enjoy shooting. The story is also makes you wanting to find out what will happen next.

Halo Combat Evolved: Anniversary Edition

This game is truly a masterpiece of it's time. Still holds up until now

Game no: 312
Genre: FPS
Platform: Xbox One (Part of the Halo Master Chief Collection)
Release Date: 2011
Factory Sealed: 176



What is it about?
The war between the humans and the covenant has reached a certain planet called Halo. There is something that lies beneath it.

What I Liked?
This game was released in 2001 and the things that they implement still holds up to date.
Rechargeable shields give you an extra boost when fighting
Interchangeable guns which means the action is non stop even when you run out of ammo
The storyline an interesting one. Just when you think you understand the game. It throws an unexpected twist in the middle which is scary and awesome at the same time.
Everyone has small bits of dialogue that is fun to hear
Vehicles that can be mounted and provide extra firepower.

What I didn't like?
Driving the Warthog. No idea why they map the driving controls to two analogue sticks. It feels very buttery
The constant feeling of lost. There are no waypoints so you are left to find the next path yourself. The problem is that the stages are massively huge and the same. So sometimes you will end up going in circles until you find the correct path.
The ending chase is impossible to do since the Warthog drives like shit.

Status: Finish the game

Fun Factor: Worth to be played with the enhance graphic and sound

Forza Horizon 4 Fortune Island

The best racing game just got better

Game no: 311
Genre: Racing
Platform: Xbox One
Release Date: 2018





What is it about?
Forza Horizon 4 got their first DLC in a the form of an island has a new set a challanges

What I liked?
The whole map is built for more exploration with off road vehicles.
There are 10 treasure locations that can be obtain by solving clues. Each of the chest will get you 1 million credits and a a couple of new cars
Thunder plays an important role in the racers now. They will bloc your path when racing
Same gameplay as Forza 4
More drift sections which is awesome

What I didn't liked?
The game can be finished in less than 8 hours. Since there are not many things to do.

Status: Finish all 10 treasures and finish all the racers

Fun Factor: A new Forza game is fun. Now waiting for the last DLC next year

Gears of War Ultimate Edition

This game does not aged well.

Game no: 309
Genre: Shooter
Platform: Xbox One
Release Date: 2015



What is it about?
In the not so distant future, locust came and invade the land. It's up to the gears to stop them (I actually don't understand the story that much)

What I liked?
The satisfying feeling of firing a weapon and killing the locust
The sniper rifle
The story is somewhat serviceable

What I didn't liked?
The old school game play of run stop drop and shoot. This game is design to make each fight is a tedious repetition. You go to one area and repeat the same process over and over again. I don't understand how is this fun now. The reason I played it is just because I want to see what is the story all about. It's been a while since I've played it

Status: Finish the game on casual

Verdict: Play if you want to see what is it about. But other than that, its not memorable 

Forza Horizon 4

One of the best racing games I've played in a while. First game on the Xbox One

Game: 308
Genre: Racing
Platform: Xbox One
Released Date: 2018





What is it about?
The Horizon festival is going to the UK with more cars, racers and challenges.

What I liked?
Starting the game you are greeted with an intro of all the different type of seasons and racers.
Starting the Horizon festival with one car and slowly making your way to bigger and better events
This game rewards you not by winning the game but participating in the events. Whether you win or lose, you will level up to gain more credits and perks.
There are 2 different perks you can get which is Wheelspin and Super Wheelspin. Basically is like getting loot but you can't win it buy paying money for it. Loots that you can win are In-game credits, emote (winning poses), Car Horns (there is a Windows shutdown horn) and of course cars. Legendary cars are harder to get but the feeling of getting something rare is awesome
There are more than 450 cars form more than 100+ manufactures. There are also rare Forza Edition cars that only can be obtain via wheelspin.
There are custom tracks that the community design that provides a good way to earn a lot of credits

Other things to do besides race:
There are story missions that range from a stunt race set, a British documentary, a Super car rental spot and a gaming blogger to name a few. You get to drive cool cars for each mission which are too expensive to own.
There are around 200 boards around the map that gives you influence and fast travel. There are mostly like a treasure hunt.
You can buy property all around UK. The cheapest house is 200,000cr and the most expensive house is the Edinburgh castle which is around 15,000,000cr.
Another cool thing is the barn find which gives you exclusive rare cars.

The seasons 
There are 4 seasons in the map, each season which is Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter provides different environment for the tracks. They also offer different seasonal races.

What I didn't liked?
The grind... The racers provide a small amount of credit. You need to buy the VIP pass just to earn double the amount. The good thing about the game is that there is no micro transaction so everything needs to be earn by in game.
Some racers you can't beat unless you have a faster car than the opponent. Which cost more credits. The good thing about that is you earn a lot of cars from the wheelspin. So hopefully you can get lucky

Status: Played the game, finish all the racers and the seasonal events. Since the game constantly changes every week. The seasonal tracks is a reason to come back and play. The Fortune Island expansion just come out, so now I am playing that...

Verdict: One of the best racing games I've played in a long while. The reason I borrowed a friends Xbox and got Gamepass to play it. Game of year is going to be hard on me.