Open World - Act 3 - Far Cry

Far Cry series is one of the most beloved series in the open-world, action-adventure genre. The series has carved a niche for itself in the first-person shooter genre, offering expansive open-world environments, intense action, and memorable antagonists. With its eye-catching landscapes, dynamic gameplay, and freedom of choice in the campaign mode, Far Cry has provided players with thrilling experiences that blur the line between chaos and exploration. Unique features of the Far Cry series are its breathtaking and immersive open-world settings. Whether it's the exotic Rook Islands, the rugged landscapes of Montana, or the fictional nation of Kyrat, each installment transports players to stunning and visually diverse environments. The attention to detail, vibrant ecosystems, and dynamic weather systems creates an immersive and captivating world to explore. The series has been known for its exhilarating gameplay mechanics and emphasis on player agency. Far Cry offers a wide range of tools and approaches, allowing players to tackle missions and encounters in their own unique style. Far Cry has featured iconic and memorable villains that have become a trademark of the franchise. Characters like Vaas Montenegro in the installment Far Cry 3 and Pagan Min have left a lasting impression, thanks to their charismatic performances and compelling backstories. These villains add depth and tension to the storyline, serving as formidable adversaries that players love to hate.

However, the Far Cry series has faced criticism for its repetitive mission structures and lack of innovation between installments. Despite the stunning environments and freedom of choice, some argue that the missions can feel formulaic and predictable. The series has struggled to introduce significant gameplay innovations, one of the main complaints of players since day 1 is that there is no way to play the game in third person, which would have provided a different experience and a different outlook to the game, leading to a sense of familiarity and diminishing returns with each new release. Despite these issues, Far Cry is still one of the leaders in this genre and players anticipate the release of each installment every year.

Far Cry series review rating (8.5/10)

Open World - Act 2 - Assassin's Creed

The Assassin's Creed series has established itself as a hallmark franchise in the action-adventure genre of open world games. The aspect where Assassin’s Creed is different is its blending historical settings, historic game characters, engaging storytelling, and dynamic gameplay. The game series differs in the genre based on providing a unique blend of stealth, exploration, and historical fiction to the players to experience. Assassin's Creed has provided players with captivating experiences that transport them to different time periods. From the bustling streets of Renaissance Italy to the ancient cities of Egypt and Greece, each installment immerses players in carefully crafted worlds filled with stunning architecture, vibrant landscapes, and rich historical details. The attention to detail in graphics and historical accuracy add depth and authenticity to the gameplay. The storyline is centered on the age-old conflict between Assassins and Templars. The interesting plot, filled with political intrigue, conspiracy, and memorable characters, have kept players engaged and eager to unravel the mysteries within each installment. Additionally, the ability to seamlessly navigate the environment, perform assassinations, and engage in epic battles has provided players with a sense of empowerment and freedom. Popular installments in the series include titles like Assassin’s Creed 3, Assassin’s Creed Black Flag and Assassin’s Creed Odyssey.

Exploring more about the series, it has faced criticism for its formulaic approach and repetitive mission structures where the playable character gets a mission to assassinate someone for a certain motive/progression in the game. Some argue that the open-world gameplay, while initially captivating, can become boring over time as the character can mostly move on foot. The series has often relied on similar mission objectives, resulting in a sense of déjà vu and a lack of innovation between installments. The series has occasionally struggled with technical issues and lackluster AI. Bugs, glitches, and subpar enemy intelligence have disrupted the gameplay experience and frustrated many players. Overall, it can be said that except a few problems that could be fixed via software, the game design and mechanics still remain iconic and unrivalled in the genre, till date.

Assassin’s Creed series review rating (9/10)

Open World - Act 1 - Grand Theft Auto

One of the most, if not the most successful game of all time arguably is the Grand Theft Auto series. The series has long been regarded as one of the most iconic and controversial franchises in the gaming industry. With its open-world sandbox gameplay, sprawling cities, and immersive storyline, GTA has consistently pushed boundaries and delivered unforgettable gaming experiences. People know the GTA series as one of the pioneers of expansive open-world environments that is unrivalled since the day it was launched. From Liberty City to Los Santos, the carefully crafted cities are similar with life and detail, offering players a sense of freedom and endless possibilities they could do with their character. The ability to explore, interact with NPCs, playing online with other players and engage in various activities creates a truly immersive experience that few other games can match. The series has been praised for its engaging narratives and memorable characters too. The intricate plotlines and well-developed characters immerse players in a world filled with intrigue, humor, and social commentary. From thrilling heists, close combat and high-speed chases to engaging in various mini-games and side quests, there is never a shortage of things to do in the GTA world. The series offers a perfect blend of action, exploration, and character growth, ensuring that players are consistently entertained.

However, the GTA series has not been without its controversies. The mature themes, explicit content, strong language and portrayal of violence have drawn criticism from various groups but that is something related to the personal preference of the player as it is an R-rated game. Some argue that the series glorifies criminal behavior, promotes antisocial tendencies and display non-accepting stereotypes, leading to concerns about its impact on players, particularly younger audiences, while others play for it as no other game provides them with these elements. Keeping the socio-cultural aspect of the game aside, GTA series from “Rockstar Games” studio is arguably still the only series that is considered as a complete game and has the most players’ active world-wide to this day.

GTA series review rating (9.5/10)

FPS - Act 5 - Counter Strike

The Counter-Strike series has solidified its place as a legendary franchise in the first-person shooter genre. It is one of the pioneers of first-person shooter games that were released on Intel’s “Pentium” computers back in the days. With its quick and intense gameplay, strategic depth, and competitive multiplayer focus, Counter-strike has captivated players for over two decades. Standout features of the Counter-Strike series is its emphasis on skill, teamwork, and strategy. The game's tight gunplay mechanics, close-quarter maps and tactical gameplay have created a highly rewarding experience for players willing to invest time and effort into mastering and polishing their combat skills. The competitive multiplayer mode, with its objective-based gameplay and emphasis on coordination, has spawned a vibrant e-sports scene and continues to draw in passionate players to this day, despite not releasing a new installment of the series for years.

While the core gameplay mechanics have remained largely unchanged throughout the years, the series has struggled to introduce new features and evolve with the times. This has led to staleness, players were so familiar with the formula that they did not insist sometimes, buying the new installment in the series. The graphics and visuals of the Counter-Strike series have fallen behind industry/genre standards. While the focus on gameplay over graphical prowess is understandable, the outdated visuals can be a deterrent for new players who are accustomed to more visually impressive titles such as “Call of Duty”. The lack of innovation in this area has hindered the series' ability to attract a wider audience. Furthermore, the Counter-Strike series has faced a lot of backlashes for its toxic community and rampant cheating. Patching the game/hacking has also tarnished the integrity of the gameplay, leading to frustration and a loss of trust among players. And now, newer games like “Valorant” have integrated this formula of Counter Strike in its game and offers much more in terms of graphics, customization options, game mode options and provide a newer, refreshing experience to the same audience of players. While the game studio plans to release a new installment of the series this year, it is highly doubtful that Counter-Strike would have the same audience of players it once had.

Counter Strike review rating (7/10)

FPS - Act 4 - PUBG

If there is game with overwhelming overnight success and has one of the biggest fan bases in the first-person shooter genre, it is PUBG. PUBG or Player Unknown’s Battleground burst onto the gaming scene as one of the pioneers of the battle royale genre, offering a tense and thrilling experience in which 100 players drop onto a large map at the same time with the goal to eliminate each other and be the last one standing. One of the standout features of the PUBG series is its intense and strategic gameplay. As mentioned, the game drops players onto a vast map, where they must scavenge for weapons, gear, and resources while competing against a large number of opponents. The tension builds as the playable area shrinks, forcing players into close encounters and strategic positioning. The exhilaration of surviving against all odds and being the last player standing can create heart-pounding moments and a sense of triumph when a player is victorious in the end. Game features like one of the most realistic maps, graphics, realistic cars and the realistic mechanics like bullet drop, bullet travel time and sound delay is why players love this game so much.

However, PUBG has faced criticism for its server/connectivity issues and lack of optimization. The game has had its fair share of performance problems, ranging from lag and server issues to frequent crashes and glitches. These issues have hindered the overall experience and left players frustrated. Despite efforts to address these problems, they persist, tarnishing the enjoyment and smoothness of gameplay. Moreover, the PUBG series has struggled to continuously innovate and keep pace with its competitors and has been slow to introduce new features in updates, leading to a sense of staleness and repetitiveness for players. Additionally, the series has faced criticism for its monetization practices. The introduction of loot boxes and cosmetic micro-transactions, while common in the industry, has often been perceived as exploitative and can detract from the overall experience. Despite these drawbacks and being released almost 6 years ago, people still play this game competitively, at home and at e-sports tournaments.

PUBG review rating (9/10)

FPS - Act 3 - Halo

The Halo series is not your ordinary first-person shooter game, it stands tall as a legendary franchise that has left an indelible mark on the first-person shooter genre. With its iconic protagonist, Master Chief, and its rich sci-fi universe, Halo has captivated players for decades. From its awesome campaigns to its groundbreaking multiplayer, the series has consistently delivered exceptional gaming experiences. One of the standout features of the Halo series is its story build up and turn of events that take place in the main plot. The epic story of humanity's battle against the aliens is masterfully crafted, immersing players in a huge imaginative sci-fi universe. The depth the game offers, the memorable characters, the unrealistic yet intriguing weapon designs and the thrilling plot twists have kept players invested and eagerly awaiting the next installment. The campaign of Halo series offer a perfect balance of intense combat, strategic encounters, and breathtaking set-pieces, while the multiplayer such as “Forge mode” and “capture the flag” allows players to create custom maps and use strategies to win against opponents, respectively. The series has always prioritized balanced gameplay and tight controls, creating an engaging and highly addictive multiplayer experience that has garnered a dedicated fan base over the years.

However, some latest installments of the series such as “Halo Infinite” have fallen short of player’s expectations. The series is becoming more and more predictable as the gameplay is considered to be repetitive now. Another reason why the game does not do well in the genre is it being an Xbox exclusive game since the game studios is owned by Microsoft, meaning there is no cross-play or competitive tournaments of the game when compared to other franchises like Battlefield or Call of Duty. However, despite some of these drawbacks, the series is still one of the most respected and played currently and the audio, models and visuals of the game are still unrivalled in the genre.

Halo series review rating (8/10)

FPS - Act 2 - Battlefield

The Battlefield series has long been revered as a hallmark of large-scale, immersive warfare in the first-person shooter genre. It is always in conversation with the Call of Duty franchise, which is considered as its biggest rival/competitor, since both the games share similar experience to the players. However, with its emphasis on teamwork, expansive maps, destructible open world, and unrivalled vehicular combat, Battlefield has offered a unique and thrilling multiplayer experience in every installment of the game series. One of the standout features of the Battlefield series is its dedication to creating epic, cinematic battles taking place in the sea, deserts, metropolises, etc. The large-scale maps, destructible environments, and diverse range of weapons and vehicles combine to offer a complete package and authenticity to the player. The chaos of the battlefield, with teams of players engaging in intense firefights and coordinating strategies, is an adrenaline rush that few other games could match. In recent years, the game mechanics and graphics have also improved quite significantly, making titles like “Battlefield 5” win awards like “best action game of the year”.

But with the strengths, also comes the drawbacks of the game, starting with the series struggling with inconsistency and a lack of innovation in storytelling in recent installments. Players can now predict what the story is going to be about and thus are not interested in playing the campaign anymore. The campaigns often take a backseat to the multiplayer focus, resulting in experiences that lack depth and fail to leave a lasting impact. Battlefield games often suffer from technical issues, balance problems, and glitches that can hinder the overall experience. Furthermore, the progression systems and unlockable items in the Battlefield series have faced criticism for their grind-heavy nature. Unlocking weapons, skins and upgrades can often be a significant time-consuming process, creating a sense of frustration and discouraging players from fully enjoying the game. However, despite these shortcomings, the Battlefield series remains a beloved franchise for its dedication to large-scale warfare and its commitment to delivering a unique multiplayer experience, loved by all players.

Battlefield series review rating (9/10)