gaming

Pikmin 2:

Played the first game of the series without knowing anything about it and I was pleasantly surprised. Really enjoyed it despite the time limit (which turned out to be almost arbitrary).
The second game had a few changes/additions that I wasn't so keen on. First of all the white pikmin didn't really fit in. It felt like a new type of pikmin was added, not just an upgrade for situational use like the black pikmin, whose addition I thought really added a lot. Adding one resistance and not much else just doesn't feel like enough to justify it.
Secondly I didn't enjoy the caves as much as the "open world" exploration of the first game. Some designs of the caves were better than others but overall it felt a little too "cramped".
Still I'd say I enjoyed it almost as much as the first game. I'll try 3 and 4 sometime in the future.

Favorite track: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPcjGugmKP4

Symphony of the Night:

My first non-classic Castlevania game. It was pretty great. The combination of the artstyle, atmosphere and music all made that game. I think the start of the game was a little slow and rough but once you unlocked some movement options it really opened up (guess it's usual metroidvania experience).
Once I got to the inverted castle (after getting the bad ending first) I was kind of rushing towards ending the game I think. It's not a bad idea in theory but at that point it was just more of the same.
Still despite these nitpicks I had a lot of fun. I'll move on to the GBA games next.

Favorite track: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwuUyIph4Ok (this or Marble Gallery, tough choice)

Ghost Trick: (mild spoilers)

After hearing that a few friends played it and said that it's great I decided to try it. It caught my interest right from the get-go and after the 6th chapter I was fully hooked. Can't recall the last time I was this engrossed by a story. The questions just kept piling up with seemingly no explaination.
They did such a great job with the visual presentation of the whole thing too. The animations look really nice and the artstyle as a whole blends in perfectly with the great soundtrack. All the characters were unique, well written and very likeable. The only minor nitpick I have is that it got a little info-dumpy at the end but at that point it's hard to imagine how they could answer all these questions in a concise and satisfying way.
All in all: amazing experience.

Favorite track: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8CNQ00eF-Q