16 Aug 2026

007 First Light PS5 Review

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I finished 007 First Light a week or so ago. I even tried to obtain the platinum trophy for it (I failed due to a bug with collectibles). However, I kept forgetting to write my thoughts on it for a handful of reasons. 

The first reason was that it had an air of familiarity in style and presentation from a bygone era. I felt like was replaying an Uncharted title. The second was a testament to how well they captured the feeling of playing a movie or limited run series depicting 007’s early years. I don’t normally write reviews of movies or TV shows. 

I liked it because I liked the Uncharted games and because IO Interactive poured a lot of love into the 007 vibe. 

IO Interactive was roasted the last time they treaded down the path of action adventure gaming with Hitman: Absolution. Fairly or unfairly? I didn’t play it so I cannot say, but I would be remiss if I didn’t say I felt a tinge of concern for them. These great developers were not known for that kind of game. They rebuilt their reputation in recent years by putting installment after installment of well regarded Hitman content. They were the kings of the stealth sandbox. 

A reskinned Hitman game could have worked for Hitman fans. As someone who respects those games from a far, I think I would have been fine with that approach as well. I don’t know if would have resonated so well with fans of 007 at large though. James Bond isn’t too fussed about hiding bodies or that into disguises. Stealth was — for the most part — a viable option throughout the game, but it wasn’t necessary. I would argue it wasn’t even highly encouraged. 

A surprisingly robust melee combat system was put in place so that Bond could punch his way out of most situations. Q developed gadgets played roles in both the stealthy and melee approach as well. Bond can and was regularly given license to kill. Third person shoot mechanics were up to snuff. I actually liked the idea that Bond couldn’t just carry reams of ammo and had to make due with what was available around him. 

I found all the voice actors and character performances to be excellent. The casting choices for Bond and all the supporting cast were top notch. My desire for a sequel isn’t to see what else IO Interactive could do in the gameplay department; it’s to see these depictions of Bond, M, Moneypenny and Q  go on another adventure together. 

007 First Light may have been familiar from a gameplay department, but 007 hasn’t been this lavishly treated in decades. However the sequel manifests, I hope this great momentum is maintained.

Verdict:
I like it

Ratings Guide

1 Jun 2026

Marathon Review

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A striking art style, open beta, and relatively lower price tag convinced me to take a chance on Bungie’s Marathon. The captivating reveal cinematic lured me in and the open beta convinced me to stay. I played a bit of the Division’s Dark Zone mode and knew of Escape from Tarkov, but Marathon was my first proper extraction shooter. 

When I think of PvPvE, I think of TitanFall and even Battlefield 6 with its reliance on bots to fill lobbies. The former felt more intentional while the latter felt like an unnecessary stopgap to reduce downtime. Marathon’s bots were literal bots. The UESC bots that served as a formidable other faction. They ought to be respected as they can easily ruin my run or the run of others if not everyone is careful.

Strong gunplay fundamentals is a no brainer from Bungie, but that alone wasn’t enough to keep me playing Destiny or Halo, for that matter. Unraveling a mystery and mastering nuances goes much further. Marathon reminded me of Hades in a way; both games convincingly tied gameplay and narrative together into a tidy package. I committed to runs in order to unearth more story tidbits and grow my character.

Some additional story bits were tied to successfully extracting with specific items while other beats were tied to successfully completing priority contracts. I forgave the relatively simple intelligence of the bots because they were literally bots sent down to guard and prevent runners like me from disturbing the various colony sites on Tau Ceti IV.

Marathon is cryptic and while that can work to entice players to learn more. It can also repel players in a multiplayer setting. I think a lot of basic questions can be answered through self-discovery in a practice / shooting range, but as of today, it’s trial and error in a live production environments. It’s really silly that the only way to test that newly acquired uncommon gun is to bring it into my next run. And often times I don’t want to actually fire the gun because it may draw unnecessary attention to me or my crew.

Not screwing over my crew became an important thing because communication and cooperation is key to successful extractions. There are solo modes and play, but I did not want to rat it out or turn Marathon into a stealth action game. The different shells were designed to work together and I had to change my anti-social ways to get the most out of the game.

As we’re nearing the end of season 1 of Marathon, I realized I didn’t take the time to jot down my thoughts on the game. I think I’m just shy of 170 hours played at this point and I still feel like I want to know more and play more. Rewarding isn’t something that I often associate with a game, but Marathon is just that. I feel like I’m consistently growing or learning. I’m sure I will eventually get to the point where that journey ends, but we’re not there yet. In fact, I think we’re just at the beginning.

Verdict:
I love it

Ratings Guide

2 Mar 2026

Battlefield 6 Multiplayer Review

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It didn’t take much for the Battlefield 6 multiplayer beta to convince me that I should pick up the game at launch. It ran well, it looked solid, and it felt right. Battlefield 4 multiplayer was the last Battlefield game that I owned and the Battlefield 2042 multiplayer beta was the last one that I tried. I was patient with BF4, but I wasn’t so forgiving with BF2042. 

Under the late Vince Zampella’s leadership, the newly formed Battlefield Studios put together a an exceptionally sharp multiplayer experience. They refined the basics; the feel and performance were on point. This was Call of Duty level of refinement, but in a Battlefield game. They didn’t push the envelope with map altering features such as Levolution events, 128 player counts, or state of the art of rendering techniques. It was all about getting the basics right.

The game launched very well and I was immediately drawn into hours upon hours of multiplayer fun. The lack of console only crossplay is disappointing though. It may be only Battlefield and not as serious competitive multiplayer game, but I noticed the gulf in enjoyment between PlayStation only lobbies and crossplay lobbies.

Conquest was the tried and true mode that I knew and loved. The new game mode, Escalation, was also very enjoyable, but only when I was looking for a big infantry focused games that was light on vehicular mayhem. Other modes such as Rush and Breakthrough were okay distractions. I only ever strayed into them for unlocks.

Unlocking content was not always a key pillar in the Battlefield titles. I don’t recall this degree of emphasis in Battlefield 4. I think Battlefield 6’s unlocks are relatively inoffensive — especially when the developers listen and tweak requirements post-launch. My only gripe surrounds the Recon class requirements for the full kit unlock. I don’t like sniping so tying unlocks behind distance based kills is tedious.

I also found the map rotation algorithm faulty. Perhaps I’m spoiled by Overwatch’s large map pools, but I don’t think it’s too much to ask that I don’t play the same Siege of Cairo map in back-to-back games. It’s forgivable if I’m playing the “All-out Warfare” playlist, and one game takes place in a Conquest mode while the next one is Escalation. However, that’s not the case most of the time; I’m simply playing the same mode and map twice in a row. Sometimes I play the same map 3 out of 5 games that I play in a session.

I think those kinds of issues breeds the sense of tedium to the point that players are clamoring for more content. Recycling maps in back-to-back games is rough after reaching the 100 hour mark with this game.

I generally enjoy the majority of the maps on offer in Conquest and Escalation modes, but there’s something about the returning Operation Firestorm that feels off with Battlefield 6. It feels like it has compatibility issues with how Battlefield 6 plays. 

Quibbles aside, I find Battlefield 6 to be one of my favorite multiplayer experiences in years. It’s a return to form for the franchise and I hope they continue to support it for many years. I didn’t buy the season one battle pass, but a lot of internet strangers whom I regularly play with did. Battlefield Studios is doing something right; they just need to keep it going.

Verdict:
I like it

7 Feb 2026

Battlefield 6 Campaign Review

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The only reason why I played Battlefield 6’s campaign was for multiplayer unlocks. I didn’t like it. It started relatively strong, but I quickly realized it was taking a nose dive that it would never recover from. The last Battlefield campaign that I remotely recall fondly was Battlefield 3’s. This Battlefield campaign was a limp and boring affair.

The story felt like a precursor to something bigger. It felt like they were starting to tell something fascinating, but got distracted with filling in meaningless detail and then ran out of time. These kinds of first person shooter titles are about set pieces and fulfilling that “boys with cool toys” fantasy. There were a handful of neat gadgetry and big explosive ideas peppered throughout, but it was quickly dulled by dumb as nails firefights against fodder A.I.

The CIA doing shady stuff isn’t new. The Call of Duty Black Ops games goes down that path. Battlefield 6 pokes at that topic, but doesn’t do much to move it forward. It is fitting to remind the audience of the tenuous nature of the U.S and NATO’s position in the world considering the current geopolitical landscape. Although, I believe they can do a bit more than “we just needed a common enemy so created a PMC to serve that role”. 

The most surprising and disappointing aspect of the campaign was that it just didn’t look exceptional. I was hoping for an audio and visual spectacle, but it didn’t materialize. I wanted to be wowed by incredible set pieces set to the Battlefield soundtrack. I came away with none of that. I said I was playing it for the multiplayer content, but I don’t think it was worth it at all.

Verdict: 
I didn’t like it

Ratings Guide

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