Finals are done, classes are out, and that means gaming time is way up. In just over a week, I was able to bust through four - count 'em, four - games. Of course, that's a little misleading, as two of those were really quick. Still, considering the scope of the other two, I feel pretty good about my gaming productivity over the past week and change.

The first item on the hit list was finishing God of War. I was rather bummed when I briefly lost access to a PS4 in April, and therefore couldn't progress any further the game. It supposedly pushes the very medium itself. How was I supposed to live without it? Nevertheless, I managed, and when I finally got home the disk went in right away.

Chances are you've already heard everything you could ever want to hear about this game, so I'll keep it brief. I really dislike The Last of Us. I hadn't played a God of War game before. I knew nothing about Norse mythology other than the bare basics. Despite all of that, I absolutely adore God of War. It's the unreasonably pleasing sensation of throwing the Leviathan Axe. The jaw-dropping environments. The endearing characters you love and love to hate.

There isn't a bad moment in the story. Everything is perfectly paced and placed for the best possible impact. Instead of taking a backseat to the narrative, combat is an equal participant, supporting any number of playstyles. If you've finished the game, I highly recommend checking out the developer's commentary with Cory Barlog. It's great insight on how this... fuck it, this masterpiece, came together.

Whenever I play a huge game like this, I like to have a little side action with something less intense. In this case, that was Superhot, which was free with Twitch Prime.

Is it the most innovative shooter I've played in years? I'm not entirely decided. It's creative, to be sure. Lining up the perfect shot to hit that orange guy one second into the future is satisfying. You feel like you're playing "the thinking man's shooter."

However, there are a few gripes I have, mainly the story sequences at the desktop. I wish there was an option to skip them, but then the game would be even shorter than it already is. Playing it, I'm not always sure where my hitbox is. When I'm supposed to be strategically dodging bullets, I wish it was a little more clear. A radar showing enemies would also be helpful.

In all, Superhot is fun with room for even more development. But playing through it, I was reminded of another classic puzzle-slash-shooter. I got the Portal Pangs. Yeah, Portal is still amazing. What were you expecting? Solving those puzzles, I unexpectedly became nostalgic for the sounds and environments of the testing facility. More to the point, it brought me to a time when Valve wasn't churning out Dota card games and disappointing everyone with its storefront. Instead, it was turning gaming on its head.

But what was the other big game I played? Why, it was none other than Yakuza Kiwami! (if there was a better transition I could have used there please let me know). Before I played God of War, Yakuza 0 was "the best game I've played in years." Every aspect of that adventure felt so inspired. I haven't seen something pull of tonal shifts of that degree so successfully. We laugh at the wacky side stories, we cry at the plot turns befitting a crime drama.

Perhaps it was inevitable that the remake-quel couldn't live up to those heights. After all, this was their first attempt at this world over a decade ago. The standards were a lot lower. Still, when 0 was so excellent, Kiwami can't help but feel like a step down.

The plot is a lot more scatterbrained, with more obvious filler content. You have to run back and forth a lot with the purpose of filling time rather than narrative value. Mini plot arcs pop up and resolve in the main story regarding unimportant characters seen at no other point. And they come just shy of making me understand how sweet ol' Nishiki became evil.

With so much recycled from 0, the drop in quality is impossible to ignore. Aside from the city itself, you have minigames and even questlines ripped wholesale. Going through Pocket Circuit again was a lot less enjoyable with everyone old, decrepit, and depressed. The new side stories are a lot of variations on someone running a scam, with the spark of life missing and a sort of phantom punchline that never comes. For example, one has Kiryu sign up to be a banana dancer. He pays a fee and takes an interview - but then the company goes under and he gets a refund and an apology. What?!

Despite the combat system being ripped from 0, it feels somehow less enjoyable here. Whether that's from encounter design or balance, I can't say, but I found myself relying on the heavy-hitting beast mode to end fights. Oh, and the climax heat mechanic is just terrible. You have to hit a prompt with a specific style, or the boss regenerates a lot of health. This would be annoying enough if it didn't happen two or three times each fight.

And Majima - well, I got some laughs out of him, but the repetition of those fights got to me. It just reminded me of how fun he was in 0. That really sums up my thoughts on Kiwami as a whole. It's trapped by its own shortcomings as the first entry in a huge series. At the same time, it pulls so much of the remainder from the more successful entries that it lacks its own identity. By itself, it's a perfectly serviceable game with some bright moments, but I would recommend Yakuza 0 a hundred times before it.

Whew!

That was a crazy week! Will I keep up the pace in the near future? Probably not. Maybe I'll knock out some smaller stuff here and there, but I think I'll save Yakuza 6 or some similarly scoped game for later. Plus, so many new games are about to be shown off and everyone will get excited.

Man, that Toy Story world sure looks good...

Oh no... Are we really going down this road again?