Rise of the Tomb Raider

The long-awaited sequel to the 2013 game Tomb Raider, this game is equally as heart-pounding and challenging. It's packed full of classic puzzle-style gameplay, while still incorporating the elements of a first person shooter we know and love from the previous games. I've been a die-hard Lara Croft fan for pretty much my entire life; it's the first video game my dad would let me sit on his lap and watch him play, before I was old enough to learn how to work the controls and play on my own. We would buy each game as it came out for the PC, before we eventually transitioned to the Xbox. These games and this character hold a very special sentimental place in my heart, and after years of playing through Lara's countless adventures, it's quite interesting and satisfying that we get a backstory. Rise of the Tomb Raider seems as though it took notes from what could have been improved in the first game, and the use of more gadgets and more ways to explore have been the icing on the cake. I got the game as a Christmas present, and it's only taken me about four days of playing to reach 48% completion in the game, it's that immersive and that extensive.


Bioshock 2

Sequel to Bioshock, I've had the three games in the franchise for a couple of years now. Having played Bioshock as a kid, replaying it recently, and playing Infinite shortly after it came out, I'm not sure why I never played the second game. Often passed off for the most boring or pointless in the series, I disagree. Though we are still in Rapture as we play, we get to play through the game as a Big Daddy as you fight to bring down the notorious Dr. Lamb and find your missing daughter. The plot is nowhere near as cerebral as that of the first game or Infinite, but it certainly has its merits in that it brings more unique ways to play and a fresh story to the table.