Apotts

After spending over 200 hours with this game I want to give it a 10, but sadly I cannot, because for every step forward that BioWare took with this game they took one or two steps back. The cutscenes are a ugly mess due to pop-in. BioWare was obviously focusing more on new generation consoles, but considering that the pricing for the 360/PS3 versions is the same I feel that they should have put the same effort into all versions. The main story is wonderful, even brought tears to my eyes a couple of times, however it felt very short, and somewhat disconnected from the rest of the game. Side quests and exploration make up the bulk of this game, and while a handful of the side quests are very enjoyable, the majority of them amount to boring fetch quests, and item collecting which is a bit disappointing. The world itself is gorgeous, and looks surprisingly lovely even on 360, and I enjoyed visiting the various areas during my first playthrough, but unfortunately the fact that each area is filled with pretty much the same boring side quests kind of killed my desire for exploration or replay. I think exploration would have been a lot more fun if BioWare would have populated more of these areas with characters I was familiar with instead of random NPCs. For example Isabella would have fit in perfectly on the Storm Coast, Merrill could have been hanging with the elves in the Exalted Plains, Justice could have been someone we were forced to battle if we sided with the Templars, and Fenris could have been the one we had to fight if we sided with the mages. Maybe it's just me, but I really feel that BioWare dropped the ball a little in this area, I mean at the very least they could have included Sandal. The absence of Sandal and Bodahn was pretty disappointing actually. Bugs... this game is so buggy, and although the patch has fixed a few things I was still getting tons of sound bugs and freezing even after the patch. Hopefully BioWare will fix this in future patches. Some of the new Characters are amazing. Iron Bull, Cole, Solas, Cass, and Dorian are this games saving grace, however I could have lived without Viv, Sera, and Leliana who I found a bit off putting. I have never been a big fan of Leliana, but in this game she has become rather cold and it really doesn't suit her at all. Combat is clunky, and takes a very long time to master. It's a messy combination of what we got in DAO and DA2, it does get easier after a while, but it never really feels right. The only battles that I truly enjoyed were the Dragon fights, those were outstanding. Skyhold was a nice touch, much nicer than a campsite of mansion, but many of the rooms and areas proved to be wasted space. My bedroom could have used a dressing room where you could change your appearance and the lack of any storage chest in the game made inventory management a pain. Crafting is really fun, but the inventory interface made the process a lot more time consuming than it needed to be. Loading times are outrageously long on 360, and there are a lot of loading screens. Music is very nice. So bottom line, I had a lot of fun with DAI, and I really wanted to give it a 10, because I honestly did enjoy my first playthrough a lot. Unfortunately, the second playthrough stopped being fun halfway through, because I couldn't bring myself to replay most of the areas. I rushed through my second playthrough and discovered that skipping half of the games content didn't change a single thing in the end, and that was kinda disappointing.

I got into this game very late, simply because when I originally played the demo for the game I wasn't impressed. However a friend raved about the game, so I decided to give it a shot. I first picked up the original Dragon's Dogma, because I found it on sale for $7, but after playing it for a few hours I ended up heading back to the store to pick up Dark Arisen, because I was completely hooked and needed the full experience. Best $30 I've ever spent! I have played for over 300 hours, and I am still not tired of. I only wish every game afforded such a great return on my gaming dollars. I love so many things about this game, but number one is the pawn system, which I think is totally brilliant. Generally, I am not a fan of multiplayer games, I find it more relaxing to play on my own, so I even solo Borderlands, but the pawn system was a great way for me to interact with other players, without having to actually interact with anyone. I also love the addictive combat, and the way the game deals with day and night. The first time you enter a new area, you find yourself creeping slowly, and trying to avoid some of the tougher monsters, it truly can be a frightening experience, but the first time you take down one of these giants is so gratifying. I also like the fact that no matter how far you level up it is still possible to run into an occasional foe who can easily destroy you should you get too cocky. To be fair the game is not perfect, but it is perfect for me. The things I don't like about the game are all pretty much story related, but one thing stood out for me as being a big let down, and that was the romance system. Although the game gives you the illusion that you have choices, in most cases you really don't get any choice at all. Sure you are given the opportunity to romance just about everyone you want in the game world, which I think is pretty interesting, however at the same time the game also takes away your choices and forces certain romances on you. (Spoiler Warning below) For example, if you do the Duchess Missions you are forced into a romantic cut-scene with her, but if you don't do her mission you lose the opportunity to explore an area of the map. Also the Witch Hunt mission annoyed me, because if you do it you automatically get stuck with a lovesick kid living in your home, but if you skip it you lose out on: a port crystal, an area of the map, a few missions, and worst of all the Arisens Bond gift for your real love interest. A Choice beyond skipping the missions was really needed here. I would have liked to still do the mission, but simply say 'NO' to the love. Thank goodness for Liquid Effluvium, but that still doesn't make up for allowing the Duchess to sexually harass my sweet innocent Arisen. : ) But in the end this game is really not about story or love interests, it's about pawns and dragons, combat and exploration, so I will still give this game a 10. I hope they will make a Dragon's Dogma 2, and that they will keep all the things that make the game great, but work on the story and romance aspects.

Not a bad game, but massively overrated. I am glad I waited for the price to drop, because had I paid full price I might be a bid disappointed, but at the current pricing I think it is a fun weekend game. I just can't figure out where all the high scores and hype came from. Perhaps gamers were bewitched by the nudity, since it certainly can't be the underwhelming story, sub-par battle system, or the painfully linear environments. Still there is fun to be had, just not the amount I expected based on the hype.

This DLC is fun, simply because it is what it is. It doesn't try to take itself serious, and it gives most fans exactly what they need in order to say goodbye to this outstanding series. The teamwork and camaraderie that we experience during the all too short Citadel mission is simply wonderful, and although I do feel that the $15 asking price is a bit expensive, I can't say I regret spending it, since this DLC gave me what I needed in order to properly say goodbye to my beloved teammates.

Being a big fan of claptrap, I loved this DLC. I found it amusing, and a lot of fun, but I have to admit I did feel a little guilty killing all the cute claptraps. I also noticed that although this DLC was only $10 it is a lot of content. I have been playing for over 20 hours and although I finished the main mission I still have a couple of side quests to do. It has new missions, new bad guys, and tons of new loot. It makes me feel bad for spending money on DLC from games like Mass Effect 3 and Dragon Age 2, which only lasted a few hours, and don't even get me started on companies that put out DLC that contains only a handful of new weapons, but cost $5 or more. Companies like EA could learn a thing or two about DLC from Gearbox. The only thing that might have added to my enjoyment of this DLC would have been the ability to recruit a claptrap side kick to fight along side me. That would have been wonderful.

I put off buying this game, because I had read mixed reviews of the game, but when I found it on sale for $18 I had to give it a spin. I am really happy that I did. Oh and I should point out that I am a long time fan of Harvest Moon, and although I have bought Rune Factory games in the past I have never found one that I actually enjoyed until now. First of all the bad because a few things bothered me about the game, but none of these things are bad enough to keep me from being totally addicted to the game: 1) A number of things take more button pushes then they really should, for example when you have a tool/weapon equipped you need to bring up the quick equip screen and press A to unequip it. This gets old after awhile. 2) Lack of a decent tutorial, in the beginning I ended up needing to check Gamefaqs just to figure out the most basic things. 3) The unfair % of bacheloretts vs bachelors. If you are going to add romance for both sexes please be fair about it. Plus having to play half the game as a guy, before switching seems a bit much. Now the things I like. 1) The battle system is simple but very fun. I never liked it in earlier Rune Factory games, but I like it a lot in this one. I am particularly fond of the sparklers weapon, because how can you beat using two giant fireworks as a weapon? 2) Crafting tools/items and cooking are a lot of fun and their are so many expansions to buy and items and recipes to collect. Plus unlike some of the HM games I have played, when you fail at a recipe you know why you failed. 3) The characters are mostly great. I think there will always be some characters that get on your nerves when it comes to HM/RF series, but I like almost everyone this time around. Kelsey and James are my favorites though. 4) Farming is simplified, and that can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on what you like. Myself I am finding this simpler way of growing crops very refreshing. No more need to water things daily or they die!! Woo Hoo! 5) Loving my giant golem, and using him to uncover new islands is great fun. 6) I could go on an on about this game, but let's just say I highly recommend it.

Do yourself a favor and ignore the negative reviews that come from angry haters who have not played this game. The User score has more to do with anger about DLC and does not fairly reflect what this game has to offer. I picked up this game yesterday morning, put it in my system and spent the entire day with a giant smile on my face. The game is that good! It felt wonderful to be back in the Normandy, surrounded by old friends as well as new faces. If you enjoyed the first two games, you will have a hard time not enjoying this game... well... unless you are one of those gamers who can't handle change, and if that is the case enjoy your bitterness. Things to know that might help you decide if you want this game: 1) A lot of the negativity comes from the Day1 DLC ($10 cost), fans feel the DLC was pulled from the full game and sold separately to unfairly make a profit. After playing the DLC mission I have to agree that the DLC should have been part of the game, or at the very least it should have been cheaper. This was one of the first missions I played, and although I suppose you can do without it, I really felt it was an important part of the story. On the other hand after getting the Prothean character I have yet to be able to bring him along on a mission, for some reason he is blacked out every time. Not sure why that is, but I suppose he will unlock later on in the game, like Sebastian did in DA2, but after paying $10 extra for a character I would kinda like the option to bring him along on every mission if I should so chose. 2) The game feels more combat focused with less focus on exploration. One of the great things about the first 2 ME games was the feeling that you were on an amazing adventure and the whole galaxy was yours to discover. So far ME3 seems very limited in exploration, but I am still early into the story, so perhaps that will change. I really hope that will change, but I am starting to wonder. 3) Weapon system... kinda confusing. They keep changing this, and I am never really sure why. I was lost the first few times that I tried to equip a new weapon, maybe it is just me, but I found it very confusing and ended up accidentally missing out on opportunities to equip new weapons during the first mission. Once you get control of the ship though you are able to play with this and figure out what you need to know, but I was somewhat put off by this. 4) No more hacking. ME 1 & 2 had you doing little puzzles to hack doors and safes, and ME3 has done away with that chore. I think this was a good move, since hacking got boring after a while, but if you are someone who likes the hacking this might be missed. 5) For those people who have not played the first two games, I would recommend playing them first. I suppose you can jump into the story with ME3, but I think much of the story will be lost on you. Plus the wow moments would probably be a lot less wow if I didn't know the back story.

This game could have been fun if not for the game breaking save bug that keeps you from saving. After losing several hours of progress - a number of times - I am ready to throw in the towel. If you must play this I recommend purchasing used, and not bothering with the Sims Exchange which is worthless on console anyway.

Adding pets to the Sims 3 game makes it an expansion pack, and $49.99 is expensive for this buggy expansion pack. There is so much that EA could do to improve their games, and their reputation, but instead they continue to release buggy, lazy games. Guess they are too busy focusing on how to milk the DLC and don't have time to work out the bugs. Disappointing!

Although this is a lot like Tropico 4, the new additions really improve the game. The islands are brighter and bigger, and the new objective system really adds to the games challenge. If you loved Tropico 3, and don't mind that this game is more of the same with a few really nice additions, you won't be disappointed.

Wow, it looks like the haters and trolls are still bitter that Bioware didn't make an Origins clone. Anyway, I am giving the DLC a 10, to counter the unfair reviews by people who didn't actually buy/play the DLC and are just leaving low scores to be jerks. In reality this DLC is more of an 8. If you loved DA2, like I did, and you have been wishing for more, you will enjoy diving back in to play this DLC.

This game would have received a 9 from me, but I am giving it a lower score due to the fact that it has very unacceptable game breaking bugs, which prevent people from finishing the game. I liked the game enough to forgive the bugs if only Bioware had been prompt in releasing a patch, but nearly a month after the release we are still waiting. I liked the game too much to give it a 0-1 like some hater have done, but I cannot give it a high score either, because as it currently stands the game is broken. I cannot encourage others to buy a broken game. I am surprised that the so called professional game reviewers could score the game so high, did they actually play the same game that I did, and did they do a complete play-through? It is really a shame, because unlike the a lot of the people who felt negatively towards the game, I was really loving it, until my Hawke character slowed down making him unusable in battle. I still want to love this game, but the way that Bioware is handling the patch is killing my respect for them. They make excuses, but no apology, they seem to feel they are entitled to screw up this way and it is perfectly acceptable, but it really isn't. I don't work in gaming, but considering that I have seen other companies put out patches in one-two weeks after release, why is it different for Bioware? Please Bioware, get it together. From the looks of the customer reviews you have already lost a lot of fans, and I would hope you would do everything in your power to hold on to the ones who still love you. Fix the game please, and QC future releases better. Please do not become the next SquareEnix - a company that used to make good games but now just pisses fans off.