Top tier Resi. Can't fault what we've got here, except to say that, in my gluttony, I wish that each character had longer sections. Especially Grace; more labyrinthine maps and classic resident evil puzzle solving and exploration, please. Perhaps more character progression for Grace too.
Instant failure states and frustrating checkpointing system. Some levels are Sisyphean in their design, forcing you to repeat the same series of task over and over if you make one mistake. Make no mistake, I enjoy stealth games; Thief and Styx are some of my all time favourites. And the mechanics in PT are right up my street. It's just soiled by overly linear and restrictive level desig.
I had fun despite the game taking great pains to annoy the crap out of me. Consistent frame dips, regular crashes, and buggy design at the best of times.
Too much back tracking. Unfair item economy. Boss fights that are more luck based than skill. Really cruel for new players. Short of pre reading a guide, how are you supposed to know when to save this ammo or leave this weapon for that character. Arbitrary nonsense makes what could've been a decent game into a complete time-wasting drag. Also the story is lame.
Mostly tedious. Ok story - but couldn't give a rat's anus about the so-called romance. Not worth enduring the spongy, wafty combat, busy-work puzzles, and laborious level design. Feels a lot like new God of War but without the good bits.
A fine example of a "mid" game. One of the games of all time. An ok story, marred by verbose, unfunny dialogue; smoothbrain level design and boring combat.
Same old bugs. Same old tedious dungeons. Same old wifflebat combat. Same old uncanny valley faces. Still a classic, though, with fantastic quests and compelling storytelling. A few tweaks to make gameplay less wonky, but arguably does not go far enough. Completely unstable, however, and crashes way too often for my liking.
A mediocre game wearing the skinsuit of a beloved IP. Machine Games have done an admirable job at restoring some of the cultural relevance of a franchise that has been all but flushed down the toilet by Kathleen Kenedy and her ilk. The single thought that pervaded my mind throughout my time with the game was that I wish this had been a movie instead. The story is great: a sort of best hits from the original trilogy. This was some high fidelity stuff. Character models and environments were authentic, and voice acting was top notch. The first few hours of the game in the Vatican were brilliant, but it never really gets any better than this. Stealth is a bit brainless, much like the enemy AI. But combat makes up for this somewhat. The sound design really sell it - especially the movie-accurate punch/impact sound effect. There was even a Wilhelm scream for good measure. It's just a shame that it never really gets any more interesting than this as the game progresses, such that I found myself rushing through those sections to see more of the story cutscenes. I did enjoy the tomb exploration and puzzles (when the game wasn't chomping at the bit to just give me the solutions). But this is marred by slightly wonky first-person platforming, where the camera would sometimes change to third person for certain contextual actions, like jumping and catching a ledge. Speaking of, this game really should have been in third person. All in all a solid one-and-done experience.
Great level design with beautiful Morrowind-esque landscapes, albeit a little hyper saturated. Initially invited exploration, but I started to lose interest in scouring the landscape about halfway in. This was perhaps compounded by unremarkable, placid-faced, and boring NPCs and drab companions with maybe two interesting quests, out of dozens, to rub between them. The story was fine - some interesting choice/consequence in some dialogues. But really, it's all about the combat. Again, initially it was great. But after a while it began to feel as if it had overstayed its welcome - it got really repetitive. I think this was due to three things: 1. Enemies aren't varied enough. 2. The skill trees are a little basic for Fighter and Ranger; Magic is great though. 3. The level-gated enemies that are tied to an upgrade system that discourages experimentation, mostly because the item and crafting-material economy is totally botched. It's too grindy, and enemies can get really spongey. In the end, I gave up my sword and gun build, switched to magic, lowered the difficulty, and blazed my way across the finish line. Because by the end, I was bored. Good start; weak finish.
Overall, not bad. So-so story. Railroad level design with dimwitted puzzles. Too easy to get locked out of explorable areas by accidentally progressing along the main path. Combat is pretty fun if a little sticky at times. Too often did it feel as though my button inputs were not registering, especially with the uppercut and electric gauntlet moves. Later combat sections felt like a race to pick up as many electric charges as possible in order to spam the ultimate teleporty lightning move. Perhaps given too many options without a means to chain them all together into something fluid. I'd play a sequel if they can sort those complaints.
Great level design and non linear progression, without any hand holding. Great villain. Visuals and sound design are really impressive. But the visual clutter can make it difficult to distinguish which tems in the environment are interactive and which are not. Combat is functional if frustrating, mostly due to user interface and controls that are not designed with console controllers in mind. Last few levels were a bit of a slog, and the final show down was a bit of a let down. Overall, flawed but pretty good.
Good clean fun. Unencumbered by the trappings of many modern games, Space Marine 2 is a blast to play, be it with friends or solo. Many have said it is a return to the halcyon days of the 360-era consoles. This is partially correct. It takes the best third person shooters of that time and improves upon them with contemporary mechanics. Movent is fluid, yet weighty. Guns feel meaty and devastating. But melee combat is the real star of the show. It is simple but visceral. And the enemy horde mechanics, combined with how many that can appear on screen at once really allows you to embody a human tank wading through an onslaught. Unlike 360-era games, the art direction is stunning - gone are the browns and greys of yore. War torn planets. Massive gothic space cathedrals. Modern hardware allows this game to be a sight to behold - all on fraction of many triple A budgets. The first Space Marine was a decent game. Its sequel has made me Warhammer 40K convert.
Decent but not mind blowing. Obviously showing its age. Story not particularly interesting. Shooting and coop pretty fun. Lot of content for a low price. Level design is at times terrible - too labyrinthine. Objectives are a bit repetitive - find key; open door.
Stylish, eye-popping visuals.
Solid voice acting and a wicked soundtrack.
QTE-heavy gameplay, with some Tony Hawk-lite skating mechanics and turn-based JRPG combat. Gets a bit tedious and repetitive towards the end of the game.
The story is not going to be most people's cup of tea. The subject matter seems very personal to the developers. It's a super "woke" type's wet dream. I enjoyed some aspects of the narrative, in particular the exploration of South Asian family dynamics. But the rest of the narrative is held back by its nonsensical plot, cringe dialogue, and a subplot that was really underwhelming, that basically went nowhere. Fortunately, it is only a short game - so not a complete waste of time.
Combat is fluid and fun, but I miss the gadget wheel. Traversal has been greatly improved by the wingsuit but to the point of over-reliance. Loads of settings to really customise your experience. The open world activities are leaner this time but are still at times a little repetitive. The expanded map doesn't add much of interest. Some missions are complete cringe. The story starts strong and the proceeds to poop the bed. Most of the characters are insufferable - especially MJ - with a few exceptions: Mr. Negative, Norman Osborne, Rio Morales (absolute fox). Can't speak on the bugs, as I didn't have any. Overall, solid game. Some improvements, but I still like the first game better.
A pleasant surprise, for sure. This is what all video games should strive to be: focused, slick, and well-executed. Whoever thought to marry rhythm game timing with hack 'n' slash melee combat is a genius. Mechanically, this game is nearly perfect. Timing your moves to the beat of a song is incredibly satisfying. And while it takes some getting used to at first, once you get into it, it is the most outstanding combat system I've ever seen. The game does a fantastic job of drip-feeding you new mechanics--from basic attacks to combos to dodging and parrying to special attacks--so that it never feels stale or repetitive. However, Hi-Fi Rush does get in the way of itself a bit: In the latter half of the game, there is an over-reliance on quick-time events and mildly frustrating mini-games. Later enemies also have these annoying multi-parry mini-games that stop the flow of combat dead; they're not awful, but I could have done without them. Some of the combat encounters could also feel a little chaotic--to the point where rhythm and timing get lost in favor of simply trying not to die. Boss fights, on the other hand, are flawless--and do exactly what boss fights should do: test you on your mastery of the core mechanics learned in each stage. Yet none of this would work nearly as well as it does were it not for the audio-visual arrangement. The soundtrack and the environmental details all provide cues for the player to keep to beat--and therefore excel at the combat. There's a mix of genres to set the tone of each level and keep things interesting. But generally, if you like rock music, you are going to be well-catered for here. There was the occasional jazzy track that made it difficult to keep time, but, for the most part, the music is excellent. And the visuals are also slick: it has a comic book/anime sort of aesthetic. The world and character designs are perfect for the tone of the game, and I never tired of looking at them. The cutscenes are awesome--so vibrant and kinetic. It has a timeless quality--and without setting my graphics card on fire. All that said, the story is probably the weakest element of the game. For the most part, it is a has-been-done-before taking-down-an-evil-corporation plot. It is a little juvenile for me. The main character could also grate a little bit. He's basically an idiot that lucks his way through every situation. But by the end, he was mildly tolerable. Some people might like this but not me. However, the story did have its bright spots: it could make me chuckle from time to time. My conclusion is this: Hi-Fi Rush is an enjoyable game and a breath of fresh air in an industry that has been stagnating for some time now. I think most people will like this game; however, your mileage may vary depending on skilled you are at keeping to a beat.
The narrative is really the highlight of this game. It's all about experiencing a well-crafted, thoughtful, and moving slice-of-life tale in a provincial 16th-century town in the Holy Roman Empire. It's kind of a murder mystery but not really. Essentially, it's like a choose-your-own-adventure graphic novel: a "choices matter"-style game, although the choices presented to you are largely immaterial to the overarching story. And that's fine by me; the story had me gripped for the game's entire runtime -- about 15 hours. During that time, your enjoyment will largely depend on how you jive with said story. For me, interacting with all of the characters, seeing them develop over the course of the story, and learning more about the world proved just as entertaining as the game's central mystery. Obsidian has a knack for writing characters with depth and creating worlds that are rich in detail. Pentiment has a simple but effective presentation. The game sports an era-appropriate art style, and there is a tonne of dialogue and, therefore, a tonne of reading. Gameplay amounts to picking options from branching dialogue trees and the occasional, trivial puzzle -- which serve more as storytelling devices than actual gameplay. All this is accompanied by a simple but effective score. There's a sting that plays whenever you find mysterious notes -- chef's kiss. If all that doesn't sound like your cup of tea, then give it a miss. I wouldn't blame you -- for many, it can barely be considered a game. If, however, this has piqued your interest, then it's on Game Pass and costs very little to have a go.
The narrative is really the highlight of this game. It's all about experiencing a well-crafted, thoughtful, and moving slice-of-life tale in a provincial 16th-century town in the Holy Roman Empire. It's kind of a murder mystery but not really. Essentially, it's like a choose-your-own-adventure graphic novel: a "choices matter"-style game, although the choices presented to you are largely immaterial to the overarching story. And that's fine by me; the story had me gripped for the game's entire runtime -- about 15 hours. During that time, your enjoyment will largely depend on how you jive with said story. For me, interacting with all of the characters, seeing them develop over the course of the story, and learning more about the world proved just as entertaining as the game's central mystery. Obsidian has a knack for writing characters with depth and creating worlds that are rich in detail. Pentiment has a simple but effective presentation. The game sports an era-appropriate art style, and there is a tonne of dialogue and, therefore, a tonne of reading. Gameplay amounts to picking options from branching dialogue trees and the occasional, trivial puzzle -- which serve more as storytelling devices than actual gameplay. All this is accompanied by a simple but effective score. There's a sting that plays whenever you find mysterious notes -- chef's kiss. If all that doesn't sound like your cup of tea, then give it a miss. I wouldn't blame you -- for many, it can barely be considered a game. If, however, this has piqued your interest, then it's on Game Pass and costs very little to have a go.
