geofforte

I'm a huge fan of HZD, it's one of the last games I ordered at launch. I even replayed the OG version a year or so ago and it was almost as good as I remembered. Unfortunately the issues that game had have been carried over to this game into the current gen, the facial animations, mediocre repetitive side quests of finding someone's lost relative or tribe member and the less than impressive dialogue which I find a bore. The cauldrons were uninspiring, they were essentially filler and I didn't find that interesting, yet here I am unlocking abilities I already had in the first game. The game has added extra content such as a more in-depth combat system, new machines and new environments. The combat system is still janky and the combat moves are non-intuitive and some of the tutorials you use to practice them are poorly explained. Besides a few I remembered somewhat I would exploit the same basic moves to equal effect, but I mainly stuck to ranged combat against machines and stealth to beat human enemies. I completed the game on Hard and never really struggled anywhere, some of the boss fights were challenging and non-essential extra content. There are more machines, a great catalogue of them, very few of the older ones haven't reappeared but the variety and detail into the new machines is a great improvement. The graphics were always fantastic, and these are truly next gen. One of the few games I would use photo mode fairly frequently. Without the top tier graphics and gameplay I feel the Horizon series would really suffer, especially HFW since the plot is worse and I was less interested to see what happened next than with the original game. Climbing tallnecks doesn't reveal whole areas of the map like the last game either. Lastly, the open world felt too large, bloated and empty. I could say more. Essentially this game is decent but it highly passable, I doubt most people who pick up this are playing to completion like I did.

My trust in 2K cannot get any lower than it has been for the past decade or so. They do not respect people who purchase their games. At least I have only trialled this game on Gamepass after initially being interested in the latest Top Spin installment but then seeing online that 2K are still up their old tricks. If you've ever a fan of the NBA 2K series, you'll know that somewhere around the time of NBA 2K13 they really began to monopolise virtual currency for the series, it became clear what their priority was... it was centered around greed. You pay full price for a video game, spend your hard earned money to receive an incomplete game. 2K aren't happy with you paying full price for a game, they want more. In recent times they've manipulated the gamer more than ever before to purchase virtual currency to get the most enjoyment from their games, the full experience I would say. They do not provide loyal fans with the ability to transfer their progress over from previous games and are quick to shut down the servers for the older games unsurprisingly. The virtual currency has been carried over to Top Spin 2K25. I know I'll be sticking with Top Spin 4 whenever I get the urge to have a few rallies on a tennis court. Even worse is that they have cheaped out on the roster, it's absolutely mediocre, particularly in this day and age, with all the money they have manipulated out of gamers, including a lot of children who do not know any better. What they offer is an absolute insult.Notable current and ex tennis stars that are absent include Djokovic, Nadal, Roddick, Borg, Becker, Ivanovic and Jankovic all who were in Top Spin 4. Other absentees include Venus Williams, Billie Jean King, Wawrinka, Del Potro, Tsonga, Cilic, Clijsters, Halep, Azarenka, a lot of the best of the new generation and other historic players pre-2010. I would expect the roster to be double the size at **** depth of the game also isn't next generation, it's very basic. We only have stats and basic skills to differentiate the player. I can play as a female tennis player against a male tennis on normal and not feel a realistic **** soundtrack is very safe, with a lot current songs that don't feel like they fit in a tennis game. I don't like any of the songs I've heard and I have a VERY diverse taste in **** theme for 2K in the last decade is that they do just enough to keep gamers hooked.PositivesThe gameplay is fluid and improvement on past games in the series. I enjoyed it.Crisp graphics. I don't think believe every game needs ultra realistic graphics, especially at the expense of gameplay. These are fine.While the roster is lacking, the players included are **** loading times are fine, the menus are solid and the game modes are about what you would expect.Going on 10 years that I haven't supported 2K since NBA 2K18 and it seems that will continue for a long while longer. Top Spin 2K25 is something to consider buying on sale a few years from now for a third of the price.