thecowofbeef

A consistently buggy and soulless world. Calling games "designed by committee" is a bit of a cliche but it's rare to find a game so wholly lacking in anything that resembles heart or humanity. It's not devoid of enjoyment, but will likely go down as one of the years least memorable games. I don't hate the new assassin's creed game formula, but this one easily does it worse than the two prior entries. The writing is poor, the parkour is easily the worst it's ever been, the combat is clunky and boring, and it's mostly just an extremely repetitive experience. If you want a game that lets you explore the English countryside, or if you desperately need to know where the main storyline of the franchise is going for some reason, you might be able to make it through, but everyone else would likely be better served elsewhere.

Whilst Jedi Outcast and its sequel Jedi Academy are excellent games when played with a mouse and keyboard, the inherent nature of console controls stands at odds with the games mechanics. Pinpoint accuracy with non-hitscan weapons may be trivial on PC, but using a controller creates serious issues, especially in Outcast’s completely lightsaberless opening few hours. Constant use of the games save system is all but a must, as just a small amount of bad luck can see you get stomped by even a basic group of enemies. arguably the games biggest ‘fixable’ problem rears its head here, as you’re limited to a merger five individual saves. Once you hot that limit, you just have to start deleting your old ones. Game breaking? No. Tedious? Absolutely. If you’re in the mood to jump into one of the best games the franchise has to offer or revisit a classic from your youth, the Switch port isn’t irredeemable, but you’d be far better served picking it up on Steam. Even if the save feature gets updated to be less time consuming, the games mechanics just don’t gel with a controller. Thankfully this port has avoided the ridiculous price hikes of other classic rereleases like Baldur’s Gate, so if you’re feeling the call of the force then impulse buying this version won’t break the bank, but Jedi Outcast will always struggle on a controller.

Takes what works about the 2016 game and improves on it. They got rid of the episodic releases, meaning you don't have to wait for the next part to come out to continue the story. Most players (like me) just waited for the original game to have a GOTY release, completely bypassing the episodic nature. Whilst episodic releases aren't a terrible idea, because some of us wanted to wait for the full game to be released, we missed out on a bunch of illusive targets that will never be seen again. Thankfully, IO Interactive has done away with that release style and has instead opted to just release the game normally. In terms of gameplay, it's almost identical to the first game. Animation work is still a little iffy, NPCs sway between over-competent and brain dead at the tip of a hat, but there's still a definite charm to dressing up as a giant pink flamingo and blowing up a race car. Graphically, the game can look quite nice. It won't blow anyone away, but the texture work is decent. On an artistic front, thinks look impressive. Areas are well realized with multiple detailed environments. It feels like there's something happening in every corner, much of which is intertwined in how you handle your assassination targets. This kind of extreme detail affords the game a huge amount of replay value. The game encourages exploration and lateral thinking, so it's great that the environments hold their own. Performance wise, it was above average for a AAA PC game at release (especially one published by Warner Bros. of all companies). My GTX 1070 ti and 16 gigs of ram were more than enough to run the game at maxed out settings at 3440x1440 (Ultrawide) Obviously mileage will vary, but I found its performance to be a pleasant surprise amidst a sea of frame dropping nightmares that has become the PC gaming industry of late.

The game presents an interesting, if somewhat overly simple set of mechanics to the player, allowing for the illusion rather than the existence of choice. Whilst some actions do have consequences, most players will just be uploading information as soon as it appears, especially in the early game. Whilst the game does probably think that it's cleverer than it actually is with its literal Orwellian references (see title) it does sometimes revel too much in its own sense of smugness over what the developers no doubt thought were biting social comments. Never-the-less, Orwell manages to provide a novel gameplay experience, enriched by the lengths the game goes to in order to immerse you in its story, like sending you emails in the real world. Worth checking out if only for the chance to see a different approach to storytelling.

I've been a gamer for a large portion of my life. I've played basically every single genre of video game at least once. I've mowed down demons in doom and scored hole in ones in Wii golf. With that as subtext for this review, I believe that I should get out of the way the fact that the original Super Mario Galaxy and it's sequel are tied for my personal favorite game of all time. That's an incredibly forward statement, I know, but there are so few things I can even fathom to nit-pick out of the game that I won't even bother to try. The game-play is spectacular with controls so impossibly refined that Mario constantly feels like an extension of my own body, making even the seemingly impossible levels entirely plausible. Whilst the game starts out reasonably easy, Nintendo's mastery of well constructed difficulty curves begins to shine about a quarter of the way through. Often an after thought in games, the music of Super Mario Galaxy is not only one of it's best aspects, it is (in my opinion) the single greatest soundtrack to be found in a video game. Once again, I understand what that statement means, but seriously, have you heard this stuff? I'm not lying, if you haven't heard this games sound track, you have not lived yet. It's an amazing mix of stirring orchestrations and rhythmic compositions. I could gush over this game for absolutely ages, but unfortunately, I have to go and replay it again because I'm suffering from withdrawal. All I can say is if you haven't played this game, go out to your nearest game retailer, and buy it. If you don't have the system to play it, then go buy one of those to (you can buy a Wii for basically the same price as the game now after all those price drops). Go. Do it now. I'm serious, go.

Whilst not quite being able to hold a candle to the origInal due to some serious frame rate issues on earlier devices and moments of clunky control right when you don't want them, this handheld version of one of the best creative games available is still worth the cash, along as your device is current enough to run it.

As the sequel to one of the most critically acclaimed RPGs of all time, KOTOR 2 had a lot resting on it's shoulders. Thankfully, in many ways, Bioware's epic science fiction stands above the original, and is a worthy sequel, if not an entirely polished one. The combat system has been basically reused in its entirety, not that that's a bad thing, and as such contains the same pause and direct action that let you plan your attacks wisely. Presentation is where KOTOR 2 makes it's biggest downfall, and unfortunately, (in rare cases) can be an absolute deal breaker. During my first play through of the game I reached a point where I could go no further, hindered by incorrect ally NPC spawning. I was forced to start again, as any attempt to load any previous save from that character turned up fruitless. Musically, it's as good as you'd expect. John William's theme is used less than you might imagine and in it's stead, a brand new orchestrated soundtrack accompanies your battles with foes and explorations into the unknown. Overall, KOTOR 2 is what fans of the original have been asking for. Some may find that the over abundance of reused assets and gameplay elements invokes a sense of retreading old ground, but speaking a someone who found it hard to fully become immersed in the first game, KOTOR 2 made me feel like the planet hopping bad-ass I always knew I was destined to be. Just don't get to attached to your save files. You may have to delete a couple before getting to the games end

In an age when new ideas are hard to come by in regards to video games it's always refreshing to see a bold and innovative leap into the unknown. This is probably how the concept for Mirror's Edge first came into existence, as you've probably never played anything like, and probably wont until a sequel is released. Free running in video games in not completely uncommon, as the likes of Assassin's Creed have certain elements of it, but Mirror's Edge should never be compared to other games, simply because it's not like other games. The running completely takes place in the first person perspective making you feel more connected to Faith, the main protagonist. There's nothing quite like jumping of a rooftop in slow motion and landing on the adjacent building before wall running and rolling past bullets flying past the screen. This is the beauty of Mirrors edge but sadly in parts is also its downfall. The move set leaves something to be desired as once you see the exact same animations appear over and over again, you start to draw away from the game and feel like your just pressing buttons and nothing else. Unfortunately the game has many collision detection issues that have your character get caught on one foot rises in terrain and leave you hopping about looking foolish. The game seems to understand that it has these problems though and it looks like the developers tried to add more elements to keep things fresh but unfortunately not all of them work. The biggest of these problems is the combat, which is hard to pin down. I did genuinely get into some really cool looking situations where I'd disarm someone wielding a shotgun in bullet time before turning to his partners and sending them flying backwards with two shots directed to the chest. These moments are some of the finest I've experienced in a long time but for every well executed and cinematic move on your behalf there's bound to be 4 attempts in which you crucially misjudged the timing or fell victim to the wonky shooting mechanics draining your health significantly, but this is excusable as most of the combat is not only avoidable, but the game encourages you to do so, telling you to do so. The problem is when your forced to enter a firefight with your bare hands and expected to come out of it and continue like you haven't just been turned into a bullet sandwich with a side of broken mouse and keyboard. The combat isn't impossible and enemy placement usually doesn't feel cheap, but every now and then you'll just want to stretch your legs and jump on the roofs and instead are pushed kicking and screaming into a room which has 4 guards brandishing assault rifles aimed directly at your face. The story isn't much to write home about either, as it is mostly told through 2 dimensional clips where the characters are represented by paper cutouts of themselves. There is this scene later on that I truly got really excited about and the scene that followed was an epic escape through an environment that was suspiciously designed to have some of the coolest and free runner friendly scenery and architecture. These sections almost make me forget about some of Mirror's Edge's short comings but are few and far between. A huge point in the games favor is it's look. Wow, is probably the only word I can use for it. The graphics are good but what stands our are the colors and simplistic design. The game deliberately uses the color white over most of its buildings to emphasize the totalitarian government that restricts information and free choice and looks great as you wiz past it. Mirror's Edge is a stunning title, and whilst fumbling the ball on a few occasions, is note worthy because of it's fresh idea that has some seriously awesome potential, and also because of some great moments that make me want to return to it and see if I can get through some of the stages with an even better time on the clock. It's obvious that some of you might still be wondering if it's worth the incredibly cheap price on steam, especially during a sale, but one simple way of knowing is this: If you ever wanted to play Assassin's Creed in first person, then this is probably the closest you'll ever get for now, even if it doesn't have the whole assassinating part.

Battlefield 2 is one of those rare games that only comes along every now and then. Some players may be put of by environments being smaller than those in previous entries to the series, but from the start of the mach until the score readout, Battlefield is one journey you don't want to miss. With no campaign to play through, Battlefield can sometimes feel like a game that was not completely finished. This is counteracted though by beautiful and well designed environments, all of which have had an amazing level of detail that just wont be found anywhere else. Maps vary from small, tropic covered war zones, to large, open ended dessert battlefields, all of which are a breeze to get around thanks to a number of widely appreciated vehicles. You can step into the helm of a helicopter or jet and tear up the skies, causing endless waves of destruction on the enemies underneath you, or sit behind the controls of a tank, or the wheel of a car. Battlefields huge environments are the factor that brings the game home. Whats a war game without Action? When you select a map for an online battle or a single player experience, you can choose from a list of well designed classes, all imperative to the success of your team. You can be an engineer, repairing vehicles and turning the tide in battle as a result, or a heavy weapons operative, sporting an explosive firing missile launcher that can stop the enemy driving into your base with a tank. No matter what your choice is, there's a class for everyone, and everyone feels like the team relies on them as much as anyone else. Battlefield 2 and all of it's added content deserves a solid 9.5 out of 10.