Rugbyworld74915

A simple story done in an amazing way with some great characters, two of which form the backbone of this games narrative and their relationship is done so well. The gameplay whilst maybe not the best is very gritty and intense and forces you to improvise and adapt to survive whether its sneaking past enemies, or using what limited resources you have to craft useful items that might get you out of a tough situation. If that doesn't work there's always the guns blazing or brute force option but that can be very risky. Honestly though some of the most intense scenarios in this game was when I was low on ammo, low on health, low on everything and I needed to get past a large group of human or infected enemies. That basement level was stressful and terrifying on a first playthrough and on higher difficulties. Also the infected in the game are very terrifying and disturbing especially on you're first playthough. The sounds they make and the different types of infected that develop over time as the cordyceps virus progresses on their bodies, gives me the shivers and does something more unique with the zombie genre. The environments are all done beautifully and the music is great, haunting but beautiful at the same time which perfectly captures that apocalyptic feeling and nature taking over long after an outbreak almost drove humanity to extinction. The story is a real roller-coaster of emotions with many dark and tragic moments but also moments of hope and happiness in a very dark and brutal world which is one of the reasons why this game is so loved and it finishes with an ending that doesn't follow the usual cliche tropes and is very ambiguous and made a huge impact on gaming, so much so that it is still talked about and discussed all these years later. One of the best story driven games ever made.

As my first ever elder scrolls game I used to look back on skyrim with the biggest rose tinted sunglasses ever. Played it so much when I was a kid and it is still a great game but with some big flaws that hold it back. I'll get the negatives out of the way first because in typical Bethesda fashion the main questline and the faction questlines whilst epic and cool are also extremely shallow and feel underwhelming once you take a closer look at them. All the factions have very cool and interesting lore surrounding them but playing through their questlines is quite repetitive and like i said underwhelming which is a shame. Skyrim was also a lot more streamlined with its combat systems even though you could argue it was more varied with the different builds you could have, with archery being very fun of course, the melee combat got repetitive and boiled down to hack and slash with the occasional cool kill animation. The shouts were cool too but the rest of the magic I could never really get into as it took a lot of grinding to get to a level where you could have more fun with it. There also aren't many impactful choices in the game, there are definitely some interesting choices here and there in some quests but their impact is very surface level and that's usually how far it goes in many quests unfortunately. Skyrim also introduced radiant quests which would become far worse and more frequent in later Bethesda games but to be fair to skyrim they are optional here and are not made a key part of quests. Skyrim makes up for all this however with one of the best open worlds ever created that feels alive and is extremely immersive with a fantastic atmosphere made even better by the amazing music, probably some of the best and most iconic in gaming. The world is very detailed and everything from armour and weapons to buildings and dungeons looks great. Most side quests are good as well and there's always something interesting waiting around every corner. The worldbuilding and lore of skyrim is very well done too with almost every location having some history, mystery and significance surrounding it. Also the DLCs for this game are very enjoyable and fit into the overall world quite nicely and introduce some great characters. There's a lot more I could say but skyrim despite some flaws still remains an absolute classic today. Still Bethesda's last great game and that could likely continue if the elder scrolls 6 doesn't deliver. Will always be more than happy to come back to this game.

Definitely the best fallout game in my opinion. The storyline, characters, mechanics, quests, choices, new vegas is the best fallout game in almost every way. Takes the 3d open world formula and mechanics that were introduced in fallout 3 and combines it with amazing RPG elements, a great story, strong writing and world building to create one of the best games ever. And all of it was done in 18 months which is insane. There's so much depth in this game from the characters to the quests, the dialogue and all the factions and every choice you make, big or small, has consequences and can impact you, other characters and the world around you in a variety of ways. You're choices and the way you choose to play really do shape and have long lasting affects on this world and what happens in it which is something not many games really do anymore. The variety of weapons and enemies is very cool as well and the open world whilst maybe not always as engaging as say fallout 3s world is still fun to explore with some iconic locations like quarry junction which everyone should definitely explore as early as possible wink wink. Great music as well and some of the best DLCs in gaming that are just as good and engaging as the main story and what makes them even better is how they all connect to eachother, the main storyline and the world in some ways whether its through characters or key events or locations. The only real thing holding this game back are the technical issues, bugs and glitches but if you can look past that what you have is one of the best open world RPGs ever made.

My first fallout game so this holds a special place in my heart. First played it when I was 10 and just remember getting completely lost in the world and the exploration. Over the next several years I would play the hell out of it on the ps3 and later my pc. So many fun memories and fallout 3 definitely had the best apocalyptic atmosphere out of all the fallout games. The world looked and felt dark, ominous and gritty which suited the destruction and desolation of a post nuclear Washington dc. Metro tunnels were also so creepy to explore especially the first time, those feral ghouls creeped me tf out. Has one of the best ambient music tracks in any game I've played which only further aided the atmosphere of the game. Great world to explore too, always felt like there was something new and exciting to discover around every corner with so many cool and interesting locations. Even though the game is almost two decades old I bet there are still things I haven't discovered or don't even know about yet. Side quests are great with some interesting choices and moral dilemmas. The DLCs are also pretty good for the most part, a couple of them are a bit weaker on the story side of things but are still a lot of fun. The only things I'd criticise about the game are the main storyline which despite some cool moments was a bit mediocre and some choices you could make felt a bit cartoonish or very black and white, either for good or for evil with no grey area to make things a bit more interesting. Oh and the gunplay is a bit janky, not being able to aim down the sights is very weird but the fun vats system makes up for it. At the end of the day though fallout 3 is an absolute classic that I am always more than happy to come back to.

Honestly thought about putting a higher rating but there is too much holding fallout 4 back from being a truly great game. Let me just start by saying that fallout 4 can be quite fun. The gameplay loop of shooting and looting and using you're resources to modify and upgrade you're weapons and armour is pretty fun. The settlement building system whilst flawed is a fun and creative addition to the game. All that wasteland junk is actually useful now. The clunky, robust feel and just the overall size of the power armour really makes you feel like a walking tank. And the gunplay is a lot better and smoother than it was in previous games. Like I said for what it is fallout 4 can be a fun experience but what it is isn't fallout. There's a lot wrong with this game. It is so streamlined and dumbed down from previous titles. Skills and special stats are simplified or removed with everything being rolled into one big perk chart. Weapon and armour degradation is gone with the exception of power armour. Weapon variety is awful. The main story is very poor and I know Bethesda aren't exactly known for great writing in main storylines but it is exceptionally bad here. Even the side quests are bad with most boiling down to go here kill this, retrieve this whilst killing stuff or go here and help this settlement OMG THE SETTLEMENTS!! Aside from far harbor all the DLCs are mediocre at best. The factions had potential but it was ultimately wasted with the same repetitive quests and poor writing that plagues this game. There are some good characters but again the potential is wasted here. Dialogue system is terrible, another thing that's just dumbed down. RPG elements are almost non existent and it doesn't help that you play as a voiced protagonist with a pre set background and morality that seriously limits roleplay options and freedom for players. A severe lack of meaningful choices and consequences. In previous games you're choices actually mattered and could affect not just you but other characters and the world around you. This carries over into gameplay where you can be a jack of all trades and it doesn't matter what perks you invest in. In previous games what skills and perks you chose mattered and they could alter you're entire playthrough and the way you played. Even the atmosphere, aesthetic and art style are all done wrong here in my opinion. Previous games looked and felt gritty, ominous and apocalyptic. Fallout 4 looks and feels like a glorified theme park with bright blue skies, colours and buildings. Many of the enemies look less disturbing and intimidating than in previous games, hell even the guns look worse. Don't get me started on that god awful assault rifle design. Whilst fallout 4 can be a fun game I think it was a huge step back for the fallout franchise and Bethesda. A more streamlined, dumbed down game with the thinnest layer of RPG elements clumsily folded over it, lacking the cool unique mechanics, storytelling and nuance of previous games.

One of the best games I've ever played. The story, characters, writing, open world are all amazing and some of the best in gaming in my opinion. A worthy prequel to rdr1 that makes the events of that game hit even harder than they already did before. The sheer level of detail and realism in the game is outstanding which made this game really ahead of its time so much so that even almost 8 years after its release many games are still struggling to match it and that will likely continue for many years to come. There also aren't many games that come close to its story and how well its characters are done with so much depth and emotion added into it, the writing is honestly just too good. Even though you can definitely still criticise certain aspects of the game, the rest of it is so well done that I think the many positives clearly outweigh the few negatives. One of the best games ever made. MASTERPIECE!!

The first AC game I ever played. Didn't think it was too bad back then but after playing many of the older AC games and looking at it more closely odyssey is one of the worst in the franchise. Mediocre story and characters. Repetitive hack and slash gameplay with crazy fantasy abilities which is a far cry from the more grounded, realistic and brutal combat of older games not to mention many of the mechanics from previous games like the hidden blade being completely removed from this game. A world so massive but also so empty at the same time. They picked quantity over quality with this one. The game just doesn't feel like assassins creed, you're not even an assassin in it. As an open world game it doesn't feel immersive or alive like other much better open worlds. Honestly don't understand why some people defend this game. Just a grindy, repetitive, unbalanced mess with nothing to really redeem it. Honestly the best way to describe it is as wide as an ocean but as deep as a puddle. At least the graphics and the music are good I suppose.

Still a decent game with so many good or even great aspects but the story, characters, writing and pacing is all done so poorly and drags the game down massively. Not a garbage game like some people say but also hardly a masterpiece either. I could say a lot more about all the problems that hold this game back but i fear this would go on for too long. One of the most disappointing sequels to a beloved game.