rd1349

I like to give games a subjective and objective rating. TLDR: Subjectively 9/10 Objectively 7/10 Real review: For an Indie dev what they've achieved here is amazing easily matching up to many AAA game in terms of graphics. I find myself at a loss for words when it comes to describing many aspects of this game. The only thing I could say at it's fault is despite the open nature of many of the maps the main way the developers go about increasing difficulty is by reducing the amount of ways through an area or by requiring the player to have ever tighter and tighter control over the characters in order to pass through some extremely narrow situations. The latter is expected as is the former but the combination of the two can lead to a frustrating loop of quicksave/quickload as you try to get something "just right". That brings me to the quality of life things this game does to make sure that whenever you do screw up, it really is your fault. There are too many to list here but my personal favorite was the save timer which tells you how long it's been since you last saved. And it helps, oh boy it helps. As for the rest of the game all I can really say is good. Soundtrack good, voice talent good, all around just *good*. Considering how ambitious a project this is for an indie studio it really requires some praise. This game is for a hardcore audience. The mechanics the devs made guarantee that ever mission is unique and remarkably self aware. Just be warned that the difficulty while well curved, starts off high and by then end reaches some nigh ridiculous levels. The games replayability remains high but when the aforementioned level design starts to creep in that replayability starts to wane.

If you've been following my reviews you've probably got it by now that I only (for now) review games I enjoy, This is no such exception. I only just finished Firewatch half an hour ago and in all honesty I don't actually know how to review this. On an overall level the game is a masterpiece, on a mechanical level the game is a mess. The reason I don't know how to review it is because I simply don't know if the mechanical part counts... Firewatch does something strange and manages to pull off it's entire narrative while only showing five moving characters. First is the main character Henry (yes you can see your feet) , three others are shadow, one is a fireman at the end of the game and the other is a tortoise. Graphical fidelity combined with the games aesthetic give it a straight 10/10 in that department, whenever I see a game pull of it's own unique style so well it's hard to judge it. Mechanics get a solid 4/10 why am I rating it so well then you ask? because for me at least they don't count. If you are the kind of person who plays their games for the fun gameplay this is actually a game you should stay far far away from. Now the soundtrack is decent, not stellar but decent. It doesn't really need to be though, It fulfills its purpose without actually detaching at all from the rest of the game which in reality is a game about the average, it's not a game about saving the world or surviving a raving axe flailer it's a game about people, which brings me to the next part. Characters and plot. There's little I can say without spoiling the plot. I can firmly say that it was excellent right to the end, then fell slightly flat. The plot plays with your expectations and sucessfully tricked me on multiple occasions. It went from a heavy hearted rom-com to a high stakes game of cat and mouse paranoia then despite handing me the truth it still left me creating conspiracy theories about what was going on. The plot and the characters also weave into one another meshing quite well. The two main characters are possibly the highlight of this game though. The interaction between Delilah and the main character felt extremely natural without the akwardness of games like Life is strange. For the most part the game is just their interaction. Just them talking making witty banter and occasionally dipping into each others personal lives. The amazing voice acting and mountains apon mountains of branching dialog (that do affect the ending btw) are what gave this game it's score. Subjectively this game does not come much higher than its' objective rating. The company responsible for making it recently came off from helping with telltales The Walking Dead and it honestly feels like the rebuilt telltales formula from the ground up and did it a whole lot better. So final score : 8 or 10 yeah 8 OR 10. I really don't know how to rate this game. It has no pretense of being the next triple A blockbuster and I don't think it should be judged in the same categories but I do think there are things it could have done better but almost all err on the side of mechanical. If you are a gameplay sort of gamer and can't play a game just for the narrative then stay clear, if you enjoy a damn good story then here you go.

I'll admit I had fun with this game but it was suficiently dense that I can't rate it very high. The art style is good the pixelated graphics still manage to hold an air of quality and animation is equally good. I'll admit that since I've started writing these reviews I've taken sound into account a lot more than I used to. This games soundtrack is great. While it's not something you can listen to on its' own it follows suit of the games graphics and asthetic. It manages to maintain that retro feel without compromising itself. Gameplay is simple with the entire game revolving around two actions, moving left and right and dropping coins. Everything you do in this game will probably be the result of that last simple action but while it sound simple on paper the game complicates it to a ridiculous level. There are no tool tips and while the tutorial is quite well done it doesn't extend nearly long enough to explain anything other than the basics. If you plan to play the game without first reading your way through the entire wiki then you probably won't get far. Subjectively this game has a much lower rating than you expect : 5 it's painfully average in comparison to its peers in the genre. While the whole games execution is quite good the lack of enough explanation to how the game works drags it down quite a few points. Objectively it scores a 7. It's an enjoyable game that is above average in comparison most other games in the market but doesn't strive to deliver a deep enough gameplay to warrent any higher. The bad explanation of game mechanics drag it down from what could have been an 8. In the end this game serves as a harsh reminder that in an Indie game one bad feature can spoil everything because there just isn't that much content than in a larger game. Final verdict: 7

I have removed my last review as it is no longer valid. I really still do love this game, the setting and the way it handles character reaction and interaction make it one of the most organic games I've seen to date. Unfortunetly this means you'll end up with some of the cheesiest lines ever written, case and point " are you cereal " even the ingame character think they're about to barf upon hearing that. The music score is also very good and they nailed the theme and tone of the story. The main theme in particular is very memorable. Which is saying something from someone who doesn't pay too much attention to soundtracks. animation is not the best. While the asthetic is beautiful to behold the actual animation can get a bit choppy, while this is more of a problem near the start of the game it's extremely easy to notice during lipsync. Story is good but it feels like it's building up and building up into something amazing up until episode 5 and then it unfortunetly falls flat on its face. (I'm not giving any spoilers) So in the end after much regret I'm forced to give this game a 7 objectively and a 8 subjectively. I compared this game to telltales in my earlier review saying that this would suceed where the others failed. Sadly I was dissapointed and this game still features the illusion of choice, making me give it an objective 7. Subjectively though my previous statements regarding the struggles of the company make me still give this an 8 because I do think that it is justly deserved. Final rating 8

Ah satellite reign, I spent a lot of time with this game in all its' **** its failures. To get started satellite reign is a cyberpunk indie game that gets everything that is cyberpunk right, very right. From what I've heard it's supposed to be a spiritual successor to the first Syndicate game (not the botched sequel) As times have changed and technology has improved it is fairly easy to say that it is a very good improvement on its source material. The graphics are at a level I never expected of a non-triple-A cashcow and the districts of the game are all done beautifully. However performance leaves a lot to be desired and even with a very good PC you probably won't be able to run it at a smooth FPS. Story is not the games strong point and while it is there it seems to be almost wholly made up of the genres cliches, as if they wrote down a list and filled in all the ticks. The few surprises it does throw at you are almost comical, one such is the ending but I won't spoil that for you. Gameplay is probably the games strongest feature as it gives you an amazing amount of ways to tackle the obstacles in your way. It's hard to describe them all here as every facility you break into is different but suffice to say that everything from full on one man stealth to using an army of your own enslaved cybernetic enemies to to break down the door. This combined with the open world of the game (funny enough I've never seen a true open world strategy game before this) make for many diverse playstyles. The mission goal though remain strangely the same and although this actually doesn't bother due to the superb facility layouts it can be seen as slightly repetitive. The only time the game tries to break off from its' formula at the final boss (which is the only boss if you don't count the odd mech or two who are a real challenge to take down) it screws it up by making you kill him three times before you actually win. The bad; The AI is... more than a little inconsistent. At times you'll watch it pull of amazing feats of tactical ingenuity and other times you'll see it run searching for you in the opposite direction of your gunshots. This and it's amazing ability to summon zerg rushes out of nowhere can be rather frustrating because then once you've died you realize you'll have to do most if not all of the facility you were breaching again as there are no checkpoints while in enemy territory. Your squads AI too is susceptible to the inconsistencies as once I watched one of my man sprinting into another of my men without a clue that her could just walk around him. So final Verdict! :7/10 As hard as this game was to get into at first I truly enjoyed myself playing it however I can't ignore the flaws, for all its polish and finesse the games bad AI and optimization issues coupled with it's lack of mission variety bring it down from what would have been a stellar 9.5 to a better than average 7. If you're the kind of person that can ignore these issues and is craving some cyberpunk then this is your cup of tea. If you a masochist who squee'd whenever they died in dark souls then this game is also for you.

Total war Attila is a mixed bag for me. In comparison to the previous installment in the series it is the second coming however, only because the previous installment was a hollow shell of what it should have been. Total war Attila on it's own merit gets a 9 out of ten. Why the final verdict comes so early in the review you ask? because I like to give games a subjective and objective review and give the highest of the two. If you think that this is not fair then think it through and you might understand why I do this. The previous Total war was in my eyes a complete failure. Mountains of bugs, bad AI and less content than any of it's predecessors. And I do mean any even the first first installment which released in 2000. All this was an even harder pill to swallow considering how good the installment before that was. The fact that Attila remains party unchanged since the last installment makes me feel like this is what Rome II should have been on release but wasn't what we got. That puts a sour taste in my mouth and leaves me no choice but to give this game 5.5 out of 10 subjectively. But since I go with the higher objective rating of 9... The games graphics are amazing. The sight of up to tens of thousands of soldier fighting on the battlefield in real time is still a sight to behold and the actual graphical fidelity only enhances this. Combat is great with an almost rock paper scissors approach to units. It takes a good amount of strategy and planning to beat the extremely competent AI. The campaign plays oddly asymmetrical with the migratory factions seeming to be almost purpose built to destroy the much more defensively oriented Romans. All the side features fans have been begging for for a long time done extremely well. The family tree is back and it really gives a feel of political instability to factions that might be completely impervious to foreign forces. This leaves an hidden layer to everything you do. You might not land up sending an extremely competent general on the war path simply because him gaining fame might upset the delicate balance of power. Final verdict 9 out of 10 The game plays great and looks great. Any grand strategy fan ought to enjoy the hell out of it. The reason it doesn't get a ten is it's surprisingly small unit roster which leaves little room for diverse army composition and it's horrible DLC practice. They try to sell you the occasional man vomiting on his armor... for 2 euros... alongside stuff that's already in the game. All in all they seem to be taking one too many tips from capcom Japan. So should you buy this game... If you bought Rome II and feel swindled then no. Save your money because this is the game Rome should have been. (unless you're a die hard fan) If you didn't buy Rome II then yes pick this up the game is amazing.

Mount and blade does everything wrong. And does it right. In a world of triple A games shelling out the same thing each year with minimal change this game goes against the conventions that have been set as of late. It's a refreshing change of pace to everything else out there because there isn't anything out there that does this. The game is a medieval sandbox where you start out as a peasant with nothing but the clothes on his/her back and a sword or other assorted pointy object. The world is is chaos. The isolated kingdom of Calradia is in a state of civil war and everyone wants the throne. You do as you want in this world. Hunt bandits, be a mercenary in the war, a merchant establishing a global monopoly on bread or if you have a taste for that sort of thing try to sneakily establish yourself as one of the major power players in the war with the possible final goal of taking the throne for yourself. The games graphics are not special. In fact they're down right awful but it doesn't really get in the way of gameplay which is quite the acheivement. Combat isn't very complex but it can be quite difficult to master. And the thing that really makes this game that good is... mods. The moddabillity of this game is astounding. it's so easy that with no idea about programming even I was able to get into the files (and promptly create a rouge race of supersoldiers...oops.). This is reflected in the community with some mods being so large they are bigger than the base game. One in fact landed getting sold as DLC by the developers. The multiplayer. I don't normally do multiplayer. In fact I didn't even enjoy this multiplayer section of the game yet it must be said that it exists and for many is the main attraction of the game. The battles can be huge and chaotic and an all round blast if you can get into it. However I didn't manage too for very long due to being squashed by seemingly everyone (obviously I **** at this game). The DLC adds a lot to the multiplayer and if that's why you're buying the game I suggest picking them up. Final verdict; 9 out of 10 (with mods) This game seemed to scratch an itch I didn't know I had and will go down in my favorite game list no doubt. There isn't much else to say other than it's ridiculously cheap and if you're feeling like... scratch that whatever you're feeling mods probably have it covered. Without mods it would have probably only scored a 7 out of ten so make sure to get them. (especially the 1000 man battle mod because that stuff is crazy) Go buy this game.

I understand that this game is old already by the time I am reviewing it but with the recent Civilization starships and Beyond Earth being a rather unsavory experiences I wanted to write a review for a game that did all the same things with one exception. It did them right. First things first this game plays as if someone ported the civilization series to space and gave them a rather good backstory. You build, you buy, you coerce and then you destroy, the typical 4X game in a nutshell. Where it differs from the civ games though is in it's lack of a hex system and it's surprisingly asymmetrical play. Each of the games factions has a series of traits good and bad aswell as an overarching main faction trait. These traits drastically alter each faction style of play with one having to rush the game before it collapses on its own economy and another trying to outlast the rest of the factions by stripping planets of resources and making them undisireable and eventually even stupid to invade. These assemetric factions all mesh very nicely into eachother and make for an interesting game that is quite fun to learn. The game much like it's spinoff endless legend (which is also pretty good) lets you create custom factions with all the bonuses and tradeoffs you like. The graphics are nothing spectacular but have aged quite well all things considered. The combat while more complex than in Civ games is still rather simple. There's your fleets, their fleets, and a whole lot of explosions and space opera in the fully animated battles. The problem with this game is acctually is simplicity. In high level play you'll notice that there are only a few strategies that work well. leaving the late game experience a little dry and stale. Final verdict: 7.5 out of 10 (rounded up to 8 (blame metacritic)) Dispite my greivences with the games lategame it holds up brilliantly until then with the first half probably getting a higher rating then the final verdict. It's a very nice game that manages to induce that one more turn symdrone. It holds up even today and I think that anyone who is a hardcore fan of 4X should try and pick it up since by now it's pretty cheap.

I'm going to get strait to the chase, I'm a **** for hard games, if one pops up my first reaction is usually challenge accepted. The game that started this was dark souls 2. Gameplay wise it's a great game the combat is unique in it's difficulty and in the fact that it keeps you coming back despite how much it can frustrate you. The combat is easily the most fun part of the game. Graphics are nothing spectacular but they are good. Not much else to say in this department. Atmosphere is amazing. There is a constant feel of despair in the world which coincides with the plot. The same plot that needs a dedicated group of people working full time to properly figure out. So if you're looking to story, it's a very good one, but you might not even be able to tell till you look it up. Final verdict; 8 out of 10. Why eight out of ten you ask when all my reviews are 10s. Because I stick to reviewing games that I truly enjoy not that are definitively good. Dark souls 2 is marred by strange design choices and obtuse and unexplained plot devices. They game will often leave you lost and force you to look up a guide. It pains me to say it but Dark souls 2 is not an amazing game. It was good enough to be the only game in years that I've played through more than once but it simply is not a 10. For the the hardcore gamer this is your Meca. It is a game you must play and that you will land up in many favorite games lists. For the normal gamer this is a frustrating mess that will undoubtably put a fair number of you off gaming.

This one will be short I promise. Kerbal space program. Damn this game is fun. Gameplay. Build what you want launch it into space (or otherwise) watch it explode, die a little inside, fix the problem, try again rinse wash repeat until you reach the moon. Then realize you've just beat the equivilent of the first checkpoint in the game. This may seem like a frustrating process but it is one of the most engaging and addicting I've ever seen. Graphics (as is probably required) are rather minimalist. Probably because you just modeled and enabled physics on the entire solar system. They're not great, but you're PC probably couldn't handle it otherwise. Few games can be judged by this but this is one of them. Modding community. Amazing. The modders in the community are constantly shelling out mods that seem to almost all be a extremely good quality. These mods are made by people who because of the "simplicity" (extreme sarcasm alert) of the game know exactly what is in demand and promtly make a mod for it. Coupled with the developer support for these mods, going as far as to integrate them into the final game, mods easily bump this game up from an 8 out of 10 to a solid 10. This game is not for everyone, in fact the target audience for the game is probably very small but it does what it does the best it's ever been done. Considering there is no other game like this out there it probably just filled a craving we've been having for awhile. Final verdict 10 out of 10. (with mods) hard to get into but gets going like a steam train being propelled at 3000 m/s re-entering the atmosphere. Why is there a steam train in space you ask. because you put it there.

The Witcher. How do I go about reviewing this. There are a lot things to consider. First of all that the company that made it is incredibly small team, think about that for a moment, a game with a tenth of the crew of GTA V managed to be this good. The Witcher 3 is massive. Possibly THE largest open world game to date and it is filled from top to bottom with content. Every side quest is fully voiced and at times even bleed into the main story. These are the best sidequests I have ever seen. That's difinitive. The best. -Characters from previous games make their appearences here with choices from previous games making large changes to the world. If you haven't played the previous games then don't worry the story is surprisingly easy to get into. The Story is great so I'm not going to spoil any of it for whoever goes and buys this game. It must be said that it is the highlight of the game though. Graphics despite having a large downgrade for console performance are still very good. You know that when there's an option to have every hair in the world have advanced physics no expense was spared. But if you were planning on having max settings this I will have to dissapoint you. Even with a powerfull PC I could still not get above 50fps on the lowest settings. -Gameplay is notably less clunky then in previous games but I think it should be reviewed on its own. It is still clunky. When playing the secondary character you will understand that this was intentional. The character is an old man of 100 something years. Even so I would have still enjoyed a much more fluid movement. Cons: -The horse. This may seem stupid but the horse is extremely important to get you places so it should have been mostly bug free and such. No. It is by far the buggiest and worst AI in the whole game. In a game with excellent AI the horse stands out as a wet piece of excrement in an otherwise almost flawless system. -There are also a host of bugs throughout the game that are almost inherent to the open world genre. Being Cdprojecktreds first venture into open world with such a small team makes this a bitter pill to swallow but still exceptable. -Load times, nuff said That's it. No really my only problems with the game are the horse, the load time and the bugs (which knowing CDprokekt will get patched). In a game this expansive if that doesn't tell you something then you might need help. Final verdict. 10 out of 10 My problems with this game were few and far between and it is well worth your time and money. There are a host of things I didn't mention in this review because it is already extremely long but rest assured that they are all positive. This coupled with CDprojekts' policy of free DLC (yes you can have your horse armor and keep it too) The game soon will be worth this rating. but as of yet with many bugs unfixed it is still a 9.5. By the time of the enhanced edition (which will probably be free) release I'm sure that if I could I would be handing out an 11 out of ten. So Whaddya waiting for. Go buy this game. Now.