Orthogon

Extremely fun, polished and well-optimised game. I wish I got to say that more often.

Excellent DLC. Interesting faction. Atmosphere is on point. High level enemies and gear, and the encounter design rewards use of your powers/skills which is great if you've played for a while. Environments, equipment, NPCs (especially) are very well done, FPS combat is the best Bethesda have ever produced by a long way. Dialogue is... well Bethesda dialogue, with all its foibles, but the actual characters and narrative are pretty decent. At the top end of Bethesda DLC for quality and content.

An exceptionally high quality game.Even as someone who played the most critically acclaimed releases on PC in 2023, I would consider this one of the top 3 game of the year. It stands on its owm merits regardless of whether you have played the original, and even if you aren't a big fan of JRPGs this may be worth checking out.

An exceptionally high quality game. Even as someone who played the most critically acclaimed releases on PC in 2023, I would consider this one of the top 3 game of the year. It stands on its owm merits regardless of whether you have played the original, and even if you aren't a big fan of JRPGs this may be worth checking out.

One thing I suspect divides reviewers of this game is whether they remember the original Bionic Commando - if you do, that will set your expectations accordingly and you will go in expecting a platform game with solid weapons where the main fun is in the experience of using/swinging around on the arm, and yes, slightly repetitive gameplay at times. If that is what you are going in for, this game hits the spot perfectly If that is *not* what you're expecting, though, it could feel like something of a let-down, because while it starts out looking like a fairly story-driven FPS, runs through the standard Super Soldier stuff like Metal Gear Solid/Rambo/Deus Ex/Commando etc. (you are the ultimate warrior of bygone days, called upong to reluctantly return to service and save the day), it really is just a platformer. I think this could cause some to take a dim view of the game, which is understandable. Anyway, the whole thing is better than I was led to believe, and is a solidly implemented nod to something *like* the original in 3D. Swing, kill, get out of the line of fire, kill, swing, get a better gun, swing, kill - like spiderman with guns, as a platform game. Swinging on the arm is done brilliantly, guns work well and you get upgrades regularly (one at a time like the original game, some would have liked to see a pack full of weapons to switch between but in fairness that might not make sense given the character). Boss battles are well done, satisfying and interesting without any of the tedium and brokenness that seems to plague many games' boss battles. There is one possible exception on the boss battles thing, but a) it is spoilerish and b) doesn't ruin the game. Overall, this platformer scores well. Before you play, watch some videos of the original 2D game and see what you are signing up for - and if you decide to go in knowing that Splinter Cell it ain't, this game is good, solid, old-fashioned fun. Overall, graphics aren't particularly fabulous, it's a (fairly) repetitive platformer, and nostalgia would not have carried it alone, but it scores an 8/10 from me for one reason, something that is missing so often from games: Playability

Competently executed hack and slash from the makers of the Total War franchise which has the odd 'unique', vaguely Total-War-like large battle (in terms of numbers, there is no tactical control of the other men on the battlefield) - something you don't often see elsewhere. It does feel a bit like some Total War developers' hobby project that turned into a commercial enterprise (Spartan: Total Warrior anyone?), and it has some interesting bits of functionality. The game as a whole is polished and enjoyable and combat is actually quite fun - the only thing wrong with it, is that it is extremely repetitive - to the point of silliness, really. it is a shame to see an otherwise good game turned into a ho-hum affair by endless repetition of the same tasks. One to keep installed if you have the disk space, and very occasionally play in short stints after a stressful day at work or something. Fun enough, and you get to be a viking (!), but by no means **** good.

Thank you Grin for a game that will only be truly appreciated by gamers who loved the original Bionic Commando, and consider it a classic, up there with Double Dragon, Commando, 1942 etc. It's certainly not perfect, but when you consider the reboots of retro games that other companies have made, this does actually achieve what it sets out to with some polish. Well done, Grin.

A competently executed RPG which was not actually as bad as i had expected from other reviews. A really engaging example of writing in the ASoIaF universe, it is no surprise GRRM collaborated, it is well worth playing like a Telltale game if that's what you want to do. Graphics are pleasant and functional, as is the sound. Controls are decent, cinematography in cut scenes surprisingly good (great angles, lighting and modelling of the actors' faces from the HBO series, as well as great performances from them in voice), stats system is so easy to understand, a child could pick it up. I also like the way they have gone the Bioware route and allowed the option (which you can enable in the options) to hide the helmet you have chosen in the cinematics - this really makes a difference as you can choose that horned wildling helmet, but still see your character's facial expressions, who they are looking at etc. All in all, it's a "modern" RPG with all that entails, but it is well done and it has one of the best stories I've seen in an RPG. I really enjoyed it.

I was devastated by Colonial Marines, and this title by a studio they 100% own and control is literally enough to say, I forgive Sega for that game. I can't believe I typed that. This game is a sublime masterpiece, by fans, for fans. Every pixel just *aches* with the sheer love and care taken by Creative Assembly to realize the Alien universe. The gameplay may not be for all, it is a survival horror where you are largely unarmed, but it is worth it even if you don't, just to experience this marvel. As an Alien fan, this is a must buy, you must experience this game's environment and meet the xenomorph it portrays, even if only for a short while. This is the sort of game we as gamers have been missing out on between all the nickel-and-dime AAA carbon copies and half-done indie games, this is how games should be. OK, the genre might be one you hate, and fair enough, but if you yearn for games made by decent folks who care about their work, do not deny yourself at least a try.

It's shocking to play a Total War game where features people use *all the time* have been dropped from the battle (guard button anyone? No loose formation, etc.) The AI can't put up a good fight, which makes the battle mode fun : I know formulaic games get boring, but they've taken the formula and broken the fun bits, you won't be recreating your Rome: Total War battles or any episodes of Time Commanders with this, it just can't do it!

This is certainly one of the worst games I've ever played it reminds me of one disappointment of the 8 bit generation in that despite my wish to write a lengthy and balanced review, I really just want to draw a line under it and never think of it again. It shares some things in common with some of the other worst game hall of famers, actually, especially as a sequel. This game has poor animation, horrible graphics, lots of game-breaking camera issues, half of the most enjoyable things from the series were removed or never implemented, most, I really do mean *most* of the game is played in literally the same areas, repeated with different names. The writing is shocking think the very worst NanoWrimo entrant or fanfic writer going full they eschew character development they appear to mostly have replaced it with infantile ribaldry, and there is a single unfinished, incoherent story arc with great swathes unwritten, missions will leave you agog at their idiocy. The whole story feels like it has been smooshed together by a first year humanities undergrad who thinks they are very clever, and in their mission to avoid "cliche" and seem "edgy" they have written a pulpy fanfic with no cohesion, no FINISHED MAIN STORY ARC, little or no recognizable journey of any of the characters for the player to feel invested in and what there is, what approaches an interesting story just sort of tails off as you realise they obviously didn't have time to write lots of it. You're basically playing a draft. As for the combat, imagine if somebody who had no interest in computer games say a space alien, a very lazy space alien with only ten minutes to spare and no play-testers attempted to replicate the gameplay of Fable. That's what you've got they've tried to turn the game into pure dumb fun, and missed out the fun part. Art direction is a bit worse than the writing, but forgive me I'm going to tail off here because you get the picture and this all seems very negative. In short, this game is shocking and I'm sorry I played it.