Halo 2 (2004, Bungie)

Incredible game, it's aged like a fine wine.

My friend (who I'm playing through the series with for their first time) liked it a lot more than Halo CE, largely thanks to the greater mission variety, fewer recycled levels, and more that are vehicle-focused. The latter is where the series has always shined best, imo.

I'm really looking forward to seeing what they think of Halo 3 next.

If you missed it, my Halo CE screenshots are here:

Sabotain: Break the Rules (2004, Avalon Style Entertainment)

Not sure how I'd never heard of this one until my friend stumbled upon it. It's basically Russian Deus Ex with extra jank.

From what I've played so far it seems very ambitious. There are a ton of large, open, and very unique maps, a day/night cycle, and even the ability to buy vehicles (and you'll definitely want one with how huge some of the areas are).

Release: 2004, GBA (1986, NES) Beaten: July 11th, Switch (Nintendo Switch Online) Playtime: 5h 57m

Release: 2004, GBA Beaten: May 24th, GBA Playtime: 35h 16m

I’m behind on my Writing About Pokemon obligations, but I did beat Emerald today, and I will write about it. This game is pretty good. It was my first time playing it and I had a lot of fun.

Edit: following the announcement that I don’t want to work on the Pokemon Series Retrospective write-ups anymore, I’m going back and adding my team to every Pokemon media thread post.  Layout by Pokecharms.

Release: 2004, GBA Beaten: March 14th, GBA Playtime: 1h 23m

Two big games of 2004

Happy 15th Anniversary The Sims 2 and GTA San Andreas

September: 15 years of The Sims 2

October: 15 years of GTA San Andreas