By: Mitch Cohen
With the winter break nearly here, there are several things to look forward to. Whether it’s spending time with my family or looking at Christmas lights, there is always something exciting happening during the holidays. One of my favorite things to do during this time is play video games. Since I don’t have any classes or assignments to worry about, I can sit back, relax and play games on my Playstation 4 and Nintendo Switch. With that being said, these are some games I highly recommend playing during this season.
Devil May Cry 5 Special Edition When it comes to the “Devil May Cry” franchise, I’ve only played two of the games. The first one I played was “Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition” on my Nintendo Switch in February 2020. The fast-paced combat system and likable main character Dante drew me in. However, the game eventually became too challenging as I found myself dying in-game quite frequently. What didn’t help matters was that pulling off moves was a bit challenging, leading me to lose interest in the game. Last year, I decided to check out the newest game in the series, “Devil May Cry 5,” mainly due to it being a new game in a franchise I wanted to get into. I ended up having a lot of fun with it because you could not only play as Dante, but you could also play as Nero from “Devil May Cry 4” and a brand new character named V. During my playthrough, the best part of the game was the combat. Unlike DMC3, many of the moves felt much easier to perform thanks to the practice area “The Void.” By having the ability to practice moves, combat was much easier to figure out compared to previous games. The only downside was the sections where you play as V. Unlike Dante and Nero, who focus on close-ranged combat, V’s sections focus on using demons to fight at long range. While these sections weren’t terrible, they were much slower-paced and dragged. Currently, the game costs $40, and is available for the Playstation 4, Playstation 5 and Xbox One consoles, as well as Microsoft Windows and Amazon Luna. Overall, “Devil May Cry 5” is definitely a great game thanks to its fun combat system and incredibly likable characters. For fans of fast-paced action games, “Devil May Cry 5” is a title I highly recommend.
Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R Some of my favorite games to buy are remasters of older games, which allow me to play games that I either missed out on or weren't old enough to try. A prime example is “Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R.” Originally released for the PS3 in 2013, “All-Star Battle” was a crossover fighting game featuring characters from the anime and manga franchise, “Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure.” I first played the game with my cousin, and while I didn’t know much about the series back then, the game was so addicting that I wanted to try it for myself. Fast forward to this year, a remaster of the game called “All Star Battle R” was released, leading me to purchase it for $60 on the Nintendo Switch. It was just as good as I remember it being. One aspect that makes this game great is the roster, featuring characters from all eight parts of the Jojo storyline, from “Phantom Blood” to “Jojolion.” Two of my favorite characters to use are Caesar Zeppeli and Noriyaki Kakyoin. Zeppeli is great because of his ability to shoot bubbles, as it gives him a wide array of long-range options. With Kakyoin, I like his moveset and design. Another thing I like about this game is how unique its combat system is. Unlike other anime games that focus on accessibility, “All-Star Battle R” uses input commands similar to traditional fighting games. At first, I thought these commands would be infuriating to input, but surprisingly I had an easy time performing moves. What also makes this game fun is the number of modes to choose from. One of my favorites is All-Star Battle mode. Here, you can play through canonical and what-if battles from all eight parts of the Jojo series. At this time, the game goes for $34.99 and is available on Playstation 4 and 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and S, Nintendo Switch and PC. It has a great roster, fun gameplay and lots of game modes to keep players coming back.
Overwatch 2 In 2016, one game I always wanted to get my hands on was “Overwatch.” Created by Blizzard Entertainment, Overwatch is a first-person shooter that sees players select a hero and join a team of six to participate in various events, including controlling objectives on the map. This year, Blizzard released “Overwatch 2,” which is a semi-sequel to the original game, meaning while there are new additions, such as new heroes and a battle pass system, it includes all the characters and maps from the first game. One of the biggest positives about this title is that it is free to play. With games like “Paladins” and “Apex Legends” being on the market, it made perfect sense for this game to be free-to-play because it allows anyone to try it for themselves. The one downside is that new players need to give their phone numbers before playing the game, which I find very unnecessary. As for the game itself, I like the number of available game modes. For example, one mode I always enjoy playing is team deathmatch, as it’s fun to work with your team to eliminate opponents. Another aspect that I like is its roster of heroes. Each has their own unique fighting style and weapon, making it fun to try them all out. Two of my favorite heroes are Ana and Genji. With Ana, I really enjoyed using her to eliminate long-range opponents, while Genji had an awesome design and incredible mobility. As a whole, Overwatch 2 is a really fun game to play because of its large cast of characters and addicting gameplay. If you want to download the game, it’s available on the current Xbox, Playstation and Nintendo consoles, as well as PC. Even though I wasn’t a fan of giving my phone number to this game, I still enjoy playing it and I highly recommend playing it.
The holidays and winter break are the perfect time to play video games because it allows me to kick back, relax and enjoy new experiences in the virtual world. The nice part about Devil May Cry 5 and All Star Battle R is that they have gone down in price. Have a happy and healthy holiday season and try these games for yourself.