Backlog Blues

Hello everyone and welcome back!

This past week, I put out a blog hyping up a number of games releasing on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Unfortunately a recent change may prevent me in sharing my thoughts on the Xbox One games this year.

As of last Wednesday, my Xbox One broke.  I couldn't turn it on and the power-cycle trick touted on the internet did not work.  I took it apart, dusted and inspected it and, unfortunately, it appears to be dead through sheer wear and tear (6 and-a-half years of daily use).

Replacing it or upgrading to the Series X will not be an option for a while.  As the unplayed Xbox One games collect dust on the shelf for a foreseeable future (including the newly-gifted Cyberpunk 2077), it struck me that this would be an excellent opportunity to dive into my backlog...starting with games I’ve started, but never fully finished.

So, I compiled the list of games I’d started, but never finished on the working consoles and over the next while, I plan on working through those.

Right away, I decided to continue a game I had difficulty enjoying when I started it years ago: Killzone.

Well, I finished it and honestly found this series’ first entry to be fairly skippable.  It had some really fun moments, but all in all, the game definitely feels like a 17-year-old game (especially when compared to Doom Eternal). 

Okay, so playing the first Killzone was also tough due to the hugely underwhelming story.  Immediately after completing the first game, I started the sequel (I have the trilogy on PS3) and was immediately enthralled!  I was also fully caught up on the series' plot (after having played the first half of the game years prior) in about 5min. Yay!

Killzone 2 immediately immerses players with exceptional first-person combat and a fierce ferocity thanks to its more-than-capable A.I. that I enjoy a great deal: they really keep you on your toes!  The A.I. was also excellent in the first game (all things considered).  Killzone 3, which I demoed years ago also appears to be an excellent addition to the franchise and I look forward to running through that, Shadow Fall, and Mercenary when I inevitably get to them.

With that being said, after two sittings in Killzone 2, I am already halfway through and I know that I will be done the series relatively fast.

So, the Killzone franchise will be very fun to go through, but I have quite an unfinished games list to go through.  Please expect occasional updates on this.  Currently in my sights after Killzone are the following games in no particular order:

• Gravity Rush 2
• Jurassic Park: The Game
• Master Reboot
• Borderlands 2
• Quantum Conundrum
• Fallout: New Vegas
• Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker
• Dragon's Dogma Dark Arisen
• Far Cry Instincts: Predator
• Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare
• Earth Defence Force 4.1: The Shadow of New Despair

Please let me know what you think I should play next from the large list above!

Thanks and have a great week!

SF