52 Games Challenge 2025!!!

[bizzgeburt]

09 - Grand Theft Auto 2 (yellow USK rating) (PlayStation)
https://vgcollect.com/item/284011

In the advent of a new entry to the series, it felt just natural to me to revisit another old GTA-game. And after beating GTA San Andreas a few years ago (my all-time favourite of the series, fool!), I went for the legendary Grand Theft Auto 2. Boy, what a blast this was back in the late 90s - it was my first introduction to GTA in total and left an incomparable impression on young me for sure. I fondly remember my older brother and myself spending whole nights searching the districts for skull-Tokens and hunting down Elvis-impersonators … yea Baby
I planned to accomplish all missions and collectables of the game straight on, but to be honest: I just HAD to go bezerk a few times, it's just mandatory, hehe …

OK, let's start this right - this game was initially developed by DMA Design (now known as Rockstar North) for PC and a bit later ported to PlayStation by Sunrise Games Ltd., suffering several major changes to the game's graphics and content as well. Meaning many features from the PC-version got cut out completely to accommodate Sony's 299-console's lesser capacities.
The game is set in a fictional american city commonly known as "Anywhere City" in a not-so-far future. Every of the 3 districts of this city (Downtown-, Residential-, and Indutrial-District) is divided into either neutral areas or the turfs of 3 different factions, with the omnipotent Zaibatsu-Corporation inhabiting an area in every single district, whilst all other gangs are somewhat unique to their district: The wicked Looneys and the Yakuza gangs can be found in Downtown-District, the Residential-District either inhabits the patriotic Rednecks or the shady genetically over-enginerred Scientists, and Industrial-District is home of the meat-cleaving Russian Mobsters and the esotheric Krishna cult. The back of the PS1-version's box shows a text starting with a simple advice that also actually starts gameplay in-game: RESPECT IS EVERYTHING. And to play this game properly it's important for the player to gather the respect of certain gangs in order to obtain missions. The respect a gang holds for you is increased by decreasing the numbers of their most-hated rival gang. This starts out simple, but requires a fine tuning later in the game, when missions of one faction lead you into the turf of another faction that might hold a deep grudge on you for exterminating them earlier.
Besides the gangs, respect, and missions, the player has free choice of what to do in the district, or where to travel and how. Of course you drive most of the game, but by walking around, Skull-Tokens or GTA2-Tokens can be found and collected. The first offer you different weapon-based challenges, where you have to eliminate either people or vehicles with the specific weapon in a set time-frame. The latter - when collected completely - open the path into little crazy bonus stages in between the districts. To "finish" a district and get into the next one, you need to accumulate a certain amount of money. And yea, saving your progress costs you money in this game, and can solely be done at one specific place per district, located in one of the neutral areas. In fact, it's churches - yea, churches, like in Dragon Quest/Warrior ... or Sword of Vermilion oO fancy
A nice feature abbandoned in later releases: the car-crusher. All 3 districts feature several car-crushing sites - drive a car under the crane, get out of it and watch the vehicle get lifted into a car-press and get crushed. Nearby conveyor belts will then spit out different weapons or powerups for you to pick up. It's fun to try out and experiment which cars end up to give you what item. And it's a decent way to gear up before heading to do difficult missions.

Grand Theft Auto 2 features the same basic gameplay of it's predecessor, which was still unique by it's time: isometric kind-of-3D topview. Knowing that the graphics were scaled down to port it from PC to PlayStation, the graphics look great considering the different district's sizes and the era in which this game was released. And playing it in 2025, I can say that the look of the game aged very well. The surroundings offer various types of textures for buildings, concrete, greenery and water, and clever map-design makes every angle you visit in Anywhere City actually look unique and memorable in some way. The love for detail that the whole GTA-universe is known and loved for already bursts out the screen in this second entry of the series. Not to mention the awesome cinematic intro-video which itself looks like it was directed by Guy Richie or the great Tarantino
The game includes 58 different vehicles from plain little cars up to high end supercars and many different special vehicles as well, such as ambulances, icecream-trucks etc. - all come with different driving performances and almost all of them can be supplied with timebombs or mines. Graphics of vehicles and pedestrians are kept very simple due to the size of the game but work just fine as they are. Generally, when considering the size of playable content and the console itself, the details and quality of graphics are simply impressive.

Musically, Grand Theft Auto 2 already offers what the series are also known for: car radio. Music in general is always an aspect of personal taste and preference,and I must admit that this title somewhat doesn't offer music in the same echelon as GTA III, Vice City, or - my favourite - San Andreas. Most titles appear acid-like and hasty, and by that add a well fitting atmosphere to the hasty car-chase-like gameplay. There a numerous different radio stations, all ment to deliver a different genre or sound, but to be honest, I can't really hear out any major differences in style/sound, which is surprising given the fact I tend to hear all different kinds of music. As far as I was able to find out, most of if not all music in the game, even the "singles" with vocals in them, were composed by one single dude ... which might explain the overall similar sound of the pieces. Anyways, even if not my personal type of music, the soundtrack fits perfectly into this game with it's mostly fast gameplay. And as with most GTA radio, the moderation and adds are simply hilarious as always.

Today, July 2025, after having revisited this game with a more mature mind than back in the day, I simply enjoyed this game for what it is, and was able take a glimpse at what would become out of it. Diving back in the ancient past of today's must-play series and titles will always feel like time-travel to me, and it did with this game.
And as I said beforhand: prequel-ing upcoming releases by playing it's predecessors is a great way to prepare and get into the series' groove again. I highly recommend playing this or another GTA-game of your preference, when planning on devouring the upcoming GTA VI.

That's it from me for now, another game finished. On to the next one …

… and remember: Respect is everything! 

[dhaabi]

44. Mario Kart World || Nintendo Switch 2 || 07.16.2025



Admittedly, I've never before been someone who's particularly interested in the Mario Kart franchise. As the newly-released entry, however, Mario Kart World (MKW) caught my attention for its bold decision to incorporate open-world mechanics. I hadn't planned on owning a Switch 2 for quite some time, but I'm not the only one in my household who plays games with their own interests, so owning a Switch 2 came far earlier than expected. And, of course, MKW was also purchased.

For anyone unfamiliar with the Mario Kart franchise, the games feature kart racing gameplay, with the main mode for each being Grand Prix that's sub-divided into numerous tournament cups. In this latest entry, there are two major changes to how this mode is designed. The first of these changes is most apparent in that the driver count for each race has been doubled from twelve to twenty-four. Personally, though, I did not find this change to be that significant throughout my time playing. Meanwhile, the second change is much more impactful as it relates to track design and course structure. At times, certain tracks do not have proper laps as there are no loops but instead are segmented, individual sections which each serve as a lap while all being unique. I don't think this is a design choice present in previous entries, but I may be wrong. At the same time, the beginning segment for each follow-up race is not actually spent on the course selected but instead on the path to reach it to showcase how the world is interconnected. I don't particularly have an opinion on whether this is a good or bad change as it's ultimately less time being spent on the actual race track, but it's something that's not bothered me so far. Also, while there are a few different gameplay mechanics introduced in MKW, the introduction of the time rewind feature has been significantly helpful across all game modes that I can't stress enough.

This game will inevitably have DLC and be supported for many years to come, but it's welcoming that all of the upfront driver roster and kart options that aren't immediately available are unlockable through gameplay. There is one aspect to criticize, though, which is how a high number of racers are unlocked. In brief, a rare usable item may be found while racing which triggers a new racer being gained to freely select later on. However, this item does not guarantee a missing racer to be selected as it's not just course-specific but route-specific. And, lastly, the item only grants players a new racer if the item is used by a CPU positioned behind the player. So, needless to say, there are many variables involved. Players will naturally unlock some hidden racers as they play through each tournament cup, though unlocking all of them is a grindy process. I've long completed Grand Prix at the highest difficulty at the best ranked performance possible and am still missing five or six racers.

For my purposes, I considered MKW complete upon earning the gold trophy at the 150CC difficulty for all eight tournaments in Grand Prix. Well, that was not actually the only self-imposed requirement as I also tested my ability to earn the maximum three stars for each cup that's only possible by earning first place in each individual race instead of simply earning the maximum amount of cumulative points. Of course, this accomplishment must be completed in one single attempt, not several. When I first began the game, I actually started playing at 50CC difficulty as I assumed I wouldn't be that skilled. Almost immediately, though, I began playing at 150CC, so I suppose I underestimated my playing ability despite only playing these games once every few years in short sessions. Alongside Grand Prix is also the newly-introduced Knockout Tour which has its own eight tournament cups. In short, participants must race through a connected series of six tracks without pause. When advancing to the next segment, a certain number of racers who are positioned last will be removed, so the pool of participants gradually becomes more and more capable and skilled. Knockout Tour is considerably more difficult than the Grand Prix and substantially more difficult to to earn three gold stars, and I've only been able to achieve that accomplishment for one cup at this point. Despite this difficulty—or, rather, perhaps because of it—Knockout Tour has become the general player base's favorite racing mode, including mine.

Beyond actual racing, there is also the aforementioned open-world Free Roam mode that can be accessed from the main menu. In this mode, it's clearly evident that there is far more to this game than just the track courses themselves. Players can simply explore the game's world should they choose, but there are also hundreds of challenges to overcome. These challenges test the player's performance capabilities while also providing a brief encounter to learn and practice driving tactics. Because MKW is for all ages and all skill levels, the majority of these challenges are straightforward with some even requiring minimal player input to complete. Variety is limited too, though there is a small number of them which prove to be fun, unique, or challenging and, sometimes, all three. It's also worth mentioning that these challenges must be discovered and aren't just selected from some menu. Finding them—especially when there are few things left to find—has been fun in itself.

Alongside challenges, there are two sets of collectibles to find, and they are just things to discover. That may seem boring to some, but scouring the game's large world and happening to come across something important has been rewarding. To find the majority of them, the game forces the player to not only be observant but methodical in how they survey the environment. Throughout my time playing, it's clear that the game would benefit from slight UI changes which would greatly improve the open-world discovery experience. And really, it's just two aspects. The first concerns P Switches which activate driving challenges. By default, they are blue and then turn gray once completed. The tone for both colors is the same, meaning that it's difficult to assess whether a challenge has been completed or not without driving closer to it. And second is the lack of a North cardinal point on the mini-map. Frequently, I am opening the larger menu map to determine which direction I'm facing. These two elements are regularly annoying to deal with and would greatly benefit from small updates. Some players may also take fault with how there is no means to know where previously-found collectibles and challenges are located, but I am less bothered by that design choice. Should some list or map marker system been included, these things would have become much more of a chore to find and check off instead of providing a means of discovery.

Meanwhile, for both completing challenges and discovering collectibles, players are rewarded with cosmetic stickers to apply to karts. However, just as one would imagine, they serve no practical purpose and are hardly even visible during play. Apparently, there are 1,096 stickers to gain through various means, and at times, it feels like that's the only in-game reward available even though they're not. For the stickers that are directly tied to Free Roam mode, only 0.2% are acquired from unique challenges tied to the lively world. Given that Free Roam presents an expansive open-world environment that does mildly succeed in feeling lively, that there aren't more activities directly tied to the game's open-world design feels like a missed opportunity. But, I can easily envision future updates introducing these sorts of activities. Returning back to in-game rewards, the majority of racers also have alternate outfits which are gained from consuming the various cuisine that are like item blocks scattered in each region. These outfits are just as fun to gain and especially use during play. For this aspect, however, menu UI changes would be beneficial. Now, each racer's outfit is strangely treated as its own character, so cycling through the character roster becomes needlessly long as play time lengthens and more unlockables are naturally gained. Aside from racer outfits, the only other unlockables are karts and courses, but the barrier to unlock them is quite low.

Unexpectedly, my time playing Mario Kart World has been far more enjoyable than I had ever anticipated it to be. I'm still trying to discover as much as I can on my own alongside completing Knockout Tour, so the game will still be played daily (for now) though probably in short duration only. I feel as if I've never really given the franchise a chance beyond casual play (and the very recent playthrough of the franchise's first entry, Super Mario Kart), so I may decide to play other entries in the future.

[bikingjahuty]

79. Half Life 2 (PC)

Despite it being one of the best games I've ever played, I've actually never played Half Life 2 the definitive way it was intended to be played, on a PC. I decided to finally do something about that and replayed it on a gaming PC that is leagues beyond what the most optimal hardware was to run it back in 2004. While the graphics and frame rate was undeniably better than any previous platform I've played HL2 on, I actually didn't enjoy the game anymore than I have in the past. In fact, I actually liked it a little less than I did when I previously played HL2 all the way back in 2018.


Make no mistake, HL2 is one of the best, most iconic video games ever made. While I'd argue it's gameplay, audio, and visuals were never "perfect" the sum of all their parts created an unforgettable gaming experience that absolutely left a major impression on me back when I first played HL2 back in 2005 or so on the original XBOX. Replaying HL2 again 20-years later, all its objective qualities still hold up for the most part, although there are some elements of the game that have aged somewhat since the game's original release. So if everything is still pretty much tight as a drum, why did I enjoy this game less this time around.


In recent years, I have enjoyed (mostly) going back and replaying games I grew up with, some of which were at a time my favorite games. HL2 was one of these titles in fact. While there are some games from my childhood and adolescence that i still enjoy just as much as when I was a kid, such as Shenmue or Super Mario 64, there are unfortunately some games which don't do it for me like they once did. Sometimes this is very pronounced where I wouldn't even consider the game a top game for me anymore, while other times, I find myself only liking a game a hair less than when I was 11 or whatever. HL2 definitely falls more into the latter category. I still really enjoy HL2 and during my playthrough, I struggled to stop playing at times. Yet, while this was mostly true, there was a decent chunk of the game I actually dreaded replaying when I got to those parts.


In a way, HL2 is somewhat of an inverted bell curve for me when it comes to my subjective enjoyment. I love the beginning third of the game, including most of the Water Hazard chapter, even though I do admit it goes on a bit longer than it maybe should. However, starting at about Ravenholm and not letting up until Gordon and Alyx are back in City 17, my enjoyment of HL2 took a pretty major dip. Specifically, during the Highway 17 chapter, I longed for it to be over, but it always just seems to go on, and on, and on, and on. That's sort of a running theme with HL2, where certain sections don't know when enough is enough and go on way longer than they needed to or should have. The impact on my enjoyment of playing HL2 this time was definitely felt and when I finally beat the game, I'd be lying if I said I enjoyed the game on a subjective level as much as I did during my 2018 playthrough.


Still, despite my decreased love for HL2, I still do LOVE this game. I love the universe it takes place in, I find the whole Combine invasion of earth dystopia fascinating. I love all the random world building elements in the game that you constantly run into. It's all very interest and combined with a genuinely fun game to play, HL2 is still a blast to play through. I may no longer be among the people that worship the ground this game walks on, and my hype for a full on sequel has gradually transformed into a take it or leave it attitude, I still do really enjoy HL2 and will likely be playing its two expansion episodes in the near future. (7/22/25) [43/50]

[realpoketendonl]

7. Urban Flow



I started this game years ago and chipped away on it for a bit every couple of months. Now, I finally properly sat down, beat the last 30 or so levels, and beat it!

Urban Flow is a game I find hard to pin a genre to. Puzzle? Strategy? Well, best I can describe it is a traffic controller simulator, because that's what it is. There are a bunch of roads (often ones designed by some complete idiot) and the roads have a bunch of cars on them (with more idiots in them). You control all the traffic lights and your goal is to let cars through safely by switching the lights . Let enough cars through without letting too many of them crash, and you beat the level.

It's a pretty simple setup. I'm sure you can tell from a screenshot how it works, but it's pretty fun and addictive to play. It's an easy game to chill back with a bit. It can require a decent amount of multitasking in some levels, but I never found it stressful to play. And while the 3-star rankings can pose a fair challenge, beating all the levels really isn't too hard with a few tries. There's 100 levels, not counting DLC, so there's enough to keep you busy for a while.The game is available on Switch and PC (shockingly not on mobile, I legitimately thought this was a mobile port at first, but oh well). I can definitely recommend it as a fun game to pick up and play here and there on a portable device.

Also, for the colorblind among you: the game has alternate designs for the traffic lights that add a hand symbol when the light is red, so even if you can't see the difference between red and green, this game has options for you!

[bikingjahuty]

80. Half Life 2: Episode 1 (PC)

I debated on including Half Life 2 Episode 1 as its own game since its technically a story expansion to core HL2, but given it takes 4 hours to beat and I consider the original Half Life's expansions to be their own games, Episode 1 gets counted on its own too. But anyhow, Episode 1 carries over all the things that made the core game special, but in some ways I actually enjoy it more. For one, there aren't any section in Episode 1 that go on for far too long, which makes sense since this game is so short. It's kinda of nuts to think Highway 17, the most long winded, uninteresting part of main HL2, feels almost as long as the entirety of Episode 1. Luckily in Episode 1, you'll find yourself in all sorts of settings as City 17 is literally falling apart. I also, liked how the gravity gun is required more in Episode 1, which makes the game feel a bit different from a gameplay perspective. Other than that, I had fun playing through Episode 1, and look forward to playing HL2 Episode 2 next. (7/23/25) [44/50]

[kamikazekeeg]

16 - Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3+4 (PC 2025) - Technically I still have the Expert/Pro challenges left to do, which unlock after you complete all objectives in both games, but I'm counting this as a "beat" as I want to get to another game or two while I can (Playing these on Game Pass) and these challenges can be viewed as like "New Game +".  Overall, the game is great, it's everything the last game was, which was what I wanted.  I know some people didn't love that THPS4 wasn't technically remade as it was, it's abit different, but it's not THAT different.  Basically the levels were free roam and then you'd go find characters to do the challenges, which could then be timed, so it's just cutting out some of the inbetween stuff.  I think it's fine. 

The soundtrack also saw changes, where there's more new than old now, which I'd rather it had been the other way, but most of the main songs you want are there, and there was great new stuff that fit the vibe and were quite varied.  There was only like one or two songs I didn't like, but there's a dedicated skip button you can use at any point so if you want a different vibe when skating, you can.  Not sure if there's like a playlist option or not, that would be nice to.  THPS4 was the one I had the least nostalgia with as THPS3 stands out more because of like CKY and such.

Overall, great to see Tony Hawk get another chance, I doubt they continue on with remake anything else as after this as they are kinda bigger games with like exploration and story stuff (Underground 1 and 2, American Wasteland), but maybe if this does well, they'll get a shot to make a brand new Tony Hawk, make up for the disaster that was Tony Hawk Pro Skater 5.