Batman Arkham Knight 8/10 I had a total blast with this game until I was forced to complete a series of boring Riddler missions and lazily designed signed missions to complete the main story. Unfortunately, all that slogging for the ending wasn't worth it, and was turned off from ever wanting to play the game again. I definitely recommend it to all Batman fans, as it has some of my favorite moments for the character (and a certain villain) ever. The overall story is also the weakest in the series, which is a big shame, since I wasn't too impressed with the others. This game contains the best gameplay of the series, but the pacing really hurts it.
I went through the MGS series in preparation for the new game, and I never gave them numbers, so I'm just going to make this quick since I've discussed them to death!
Metal Gear Solid 8/10- My favorite plot, atmosphere, and music in a video game. The problem is that there's not much gameplay, and what's there is kind of a mixed bag. The game doesn't have the best controls and there's too much backtracking for a game that's so short. There's also a eye-rolling speech at the end, which kind of puts a damper on my overall view of the game's story. However, I still think it's worth your time. It has one of the best narratives in gaming, and it's the backbone for my favorite series.
Metal Gear Solid 2 8/10 This game opens with what would appear to be the greatest game ever! However, the designers kind of tossed it aside to fit their narrative. I'd say it was worth it if the game's story remained steadfast on it's two main plots because those are awesome, and are very important to the nature of fan-bases and people who struggle with identity. Unfortunately, it's bogged down with some really cheesy dialogue, writing that would make "One Life to Live" seem masterful, overly-intrusive codec moments, a mundane environment, tedious bomb-disposal tasks, and lame villains. It's still a great game, despite these issues, but I think it's worth putting up with them.
Metal Gear Solid 3 10/10- It's simply my favorite piece of entertainment period. I don't want to write anything, because once I start, I'll probably have any essay. Just know that there are some cheesy moments, and the ending is a bit melodramatic, but just like all the games, if you get past them, you'll be in for an amazing experience. It has a great plot, great characters, innovative gameplay, an excellent line up of boss battles, and, in my opinion, one of the greatest protagonist in gaming (Big Boss). If you haven't played it, I would definitely recommend it.
Metal Gear Solid 4 8/10- I've played through this game's story mode more than any game in my life. I think its' the peak of the series' creator's creativity. Unfortunately (man, I've had to use that word a lot)), it has a lot of melodrama that I can't ignore. Metal Gear Solid 2 struggled with it's story's pacing, and this was even worse. There's some awesome character beats that should not be missed, and it's the game that made Solid Snake (the hero of the series) one of my favorite video game characters.
Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker 8/10- As a portable game, it was a massive achievement in technical design, and it has the greatest value for gameplay content in the series (besides MGSV). However, as an action and stealth game, the mechanics are very streamlined. The game is meant to be played in short bursts on the go, and thus, players aren't expected to be as involved as a console game. Additionally, the plot doesn't add much new in terms of political and social commentary—leaving the player with a lot of MGS wackiness. The story is good as long as you don't take it to seriously (kind of like every game in the series). It has some of my favorite moments for Big Boss, but I don't think it's essential for the series if you are just trying to plug away at the main story-line.
Metal Gear Solid V 9/10- The gameplay is amazing. I had the most fun playing this game than any game in my life. I've never been motivated to play a game because of it's gameplay. I've loved games because of their deep mechanics, but never so much that I thought about them outside of my game session. This game is a dream come true for me. This is the first game where I feel like I can finally play how I want, and therefore, it immersed me in its world like no game has before. I know I'm being vague, but I don't want to spoil the game for anyone. The game is as deep as you want it to be, and I've never been so rewarded playing a game outside the Demon/Dark Souls games. The funny thing is that I didn't even care about the gameplay upon the game's release. I would have preferred just getting a MGSV blu-ray movie, since that was the main attraction of the series for me. Unfortunately (I couldn't leave an "unfortunately" out!), that aspect of the game is a bit of a jumbled mess. This game has one of my favorite plots in gaming, but the game forces you to go through hoops to see it. Additionally, it's not even finished! If you're a fan of MGS for its narrative structure you will be disappointed, but hopefully the gameplay is enough to turn satisfy you like it did for me. Metal Gear Solid 3 is still the peak of the series for me, but if you're not a big story guy, this is the game that I'd recommend above all.
2013 was top notch for them though imo
