2014.6: Gunpoint

Completed in 3 hours

This game had a unique set of mechanics. One being, you are a spy who has springy trousers and can jump up high, you also like to crash through windows and make other people crash through windows.

The other one is even cooler, where you can link objects in the game via hacking them to solve the puzzles. For example later on you can hack people's guns. Two guards standing next to each other on the floor up with one guard next door? Wire the gun of the guard next door to the gun of the guard facing the other guard upstairs. Go next door, get seen, as he shoots, it triggers the gun of the guard upstairs and he unwillingly kills his colleague. Job well done, proceed to do an evil smile.

The game is full of moments like that and to top it off, it gives you as much control as it makes sense to over things like dialogue (two main story branches it looked like to me, but other options in dialogue make for a genuinely funny game), and you can mostly choose to go lethal / non-lethal, and a total ghost.. Figuring out the latter way of doing things will take a few goes but it's satisfying and fun to pull off.

I really enjoyed my time with this game and yeah it was a bit short but I liked that, the mechanics didn't over stay their welcome and nor did the levels feel repetitive.

A great game,
8/10.

2014.5: Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons

Time took to complete: 4 hours

This is another game in line of ICO, Journey etc that manages to tell its story and evoke emotions through the medium it is in. It uses imagery and interaction and in this case, ingeniously the controller itself to bring together a story and an experience that is simply exceptional.

I can't say much more without spoiling it. Exceptional art speaks for itself.

10/10.

2014.4: Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker

Time took to complete: 20hours

This game has what I would consider one of the best main story arcs told in a MGS game (very close behind MGS3). It deals with Big Boss, how he dealt with the events of MGS3, the MFS, and events that lead right into V.

So really for such a key game, it needed to deliver, and it definitely did. I love games but rarely do they put me on the edge of my seat when a cut scene starts, where as Peace Walker accomplishes not only that, but also combines it with very fun missions and extra ops that all lead to improving your base, which in turn gives you better items and weapons, which in turn helps you do those missions better.

It's a fun ecosystem where everything feeds each other and it becomes highly addictive and where as most addictive things you keep doing, for no reason other than them being addictive, here you have reasons like seeing the story and improving your base. So it never feels grindy and you really do feel like you are running the MFS.

I'll be honest and say after MGS4, I fell just a little bit out of love with MGS but this game reminded me why I love the series. Combining a compelling story, half based in reality, half fiction, with characters well defined and boldy presented, and gameplay that intertwines the game with the story design flawlessly. Hideo reminded me just how much of a genius he is.

This game came at a great time for me, as now I am awaiting MGSV with full hype.

Overall, I loved my time with PW and nothing is worth noting down as a negative so really it was an EXCEPTIONAL game,
10/10.

2014.3: Contrast

Time took to complete: Around 5 hours

This game had a very cool setting but it just didn't come together well enough. Movement is weird, shifting between shadow and real world proves to be a not so gripping mechanic and it just feels a bit rough around the edges all around.

The story was good enough to carry you through but not something you'll remember for long after you finish it.

An OK game,
5/10.

2014.2: Tearaway

Unique and magical. Those are two words that apply throughout this whole game.

Media Molecule have created an amazing and unique world, great mechanics that use VITA's functions very well and they've done a great job connecting, not only the player to the protagonist but also the game world with 'your' world. Saying exactly how will be taking away the magic so I strongly recommend you find out yourself.

Definitely one of VITA's best and a great joyful experience,

8/10.

2014.1: Metro 2033

Time took to complete: ~9hours on Normal

The amazing soundtrack perfectly sets the mood (recommended you play it while reading this short feedback)

Bit late to the party with this one but this game was oozing with atmosphere. I absolutely loved that aspect. Also it was very Half-Life in that the monsters still felt like monsters by the end, you know. They didn't become 'just a wave of enemies'. The game kept them hidden and away long enough and brought them up in the right places. Very finely tuned.

And I always like it when in an Apocalypse setting  there is a mention of how humans still manage to find a reason to kill each other. This game touched on that nicely. "I thought I was going to fight monsters but so far have killed more of my own kind..." (paraphrased).


The gameplay is well done where you have to scavenge everything even air for your gas mask.


Truly hopeless and a truly dire situation the game puts you in. And you feel it every chapter.

Great game,
8/10.

2013.40: Killzone: Shadow Fall

Completed in about 5 hours (guesstimate) on HARD

Let me get this out the way straight away; terrible story. And terrible writing. Terrible characters too, outside Echo who is a very strong, honest and purposeful character.

So if you are looking to "why"s in your FPS games or some kind a reason to push on, the story ain't gonna give you that. In fact, it kind of made me want to turn off the game.

However, the game is fun as heck to play. Weapons and movement is great. You might get annoyed rarely by accidentally 'sticking' to cover while trying to dodge away somewhere else but outside that it moves and aims great.

The weapons feel unique and satisfying. Though there is nothing here that is Ratchet And Clank fresh, using the LSR44 was an absolute blast. Acts like a fun, powerful, strong Assault Rifle / SMG hybrid in one mode. And in its second mode a rail gun that you charge up and and I on one occasion (on a stream in fact! ;)) got a double kill with it as it railed through two enemies. Very satisfying physics too. Sometimes enemies fly in random directions instead of the way law of physics would tell them to go, but it's still fun as heck making those fuckers fly.

My main gripe with the gameplay was...Well, what is it I always complain about and find the most boring and lazy way of game design? Wave of enemies! This game i later levels does this plenty and it's just fucking annoying. Not annoying like "omg I can't get past it!", honest to god I got it on my 3rd try but annoying as in "Really, Guerilla?!". I thought after KZ2 ended like that and KZ3 "fixed" it, I thought maybe they learnt or realised a few things, but no. Mind you it's no where near as annoyingly long or tedious as KZ2's ending.

Anyway. So I have to give kudos to Guerilla here for making a more open game though their AI fails them quite a bit (not always but very often). And the open-ness kind of downgrades after the first couple of levels. But I liked what I am seeing and I hope they take KZ in that direction.

I also liked OWL though honestly even on Hard he wasn't that useful. As sometimes he deploys a shield where 80% of it is in the ground so it barely provides cover. Just for reviving you (if you have a adrenaline pack) though, he is worth keeping around.


However, let's get rid of the lazy wave design completely and you immersed me well with KZ3 and even Mercenary's story was at least worth the trip. This was a complete disaster but being a launch title and all, and I guess not being a numbered release AND with the gameplay extensions they made to the series, it's quite forgiveable (though my score will reflect it but it won't get as much ranting).


Overall, it's as good a launch title you can expect, but shows it's a launch title in many ways. And provides the DS4 it's first test in a rough around the edges but solid shooter.


6/10.

2013.39: Remember Me

Time took to complete: More than it should have on HARD

This game had a very interesting story, concept and setting. Unfortunately it was wasted opportunity. Characters are bad, writing is dull and as you can tell by the time took to complete line, it drags on a bit. What started as me being 100% involved in the story, checking and admiring every inch of the world, around half way mark turned into a repetitious grind. Very unfortunate.

Combat has 4 combos that you can remix between doing damage, healing, chaining or cooling down your special abilities and this obviously gets tiresome when fight after fight you do the same combos and they start to feel really dull after a while as the animations are always the same as well no matter how you remixed the same 4 combos.

There is also this very cool mechanic where you go into people's memories, and remix them by changing the environment to get them to remember something that wasn't real so they do what you want but this is sadly under utilised. At one point I forgot the game had this and when it came up again I thought "wow, why aren't they using this more!". It's like, no problem using the repetitive combat over and over, but they seldom use the coolest part of the game :/

Not much else to say really, you just walk and fight so those are the only aspects I cover. There is platforming but they draw the path for you with arrows. If you can go off that path, you will get packages to increase your health or focus meter when you find 5 of them.

So yeah, what started as a cool story and cool combat system just turned into feeling like a grind, and the game carried on a few more hours even after that point.

Overall, an OK game;

5/10.

2013.38: Batman: Arkham Origins

Time took to complete: 15 hours on HARD

I'm going to use a bullet pointed format here, I wrote about it in paragraphs long enough and I don't want to go off on a huge rant again. Don't worry, this isn't a super negative feedback post, but I do need to keep it bullet pointed for my sanity.

LIKED

+ The inclusion of Batcave.

+ Alfred was a nice touch.

+ Batsuit is pretty much tank-wear but hey, to me I liked it better than past Arkham games.

+ Couple of boss fights were pretty cool.

DISLIKED

- The fact first two 'Liked' aspects never feel fully explored.

- Timing in combat feels 'off'. Now I thought I could get used to it and yes, in some fights I've got 30+ multiplier but most of the time it is not what I was used to. Counters feel weird and enemies can 'warp' across battlefields like Batman which makes timing really hard as you think you have time for a hit then someone warps next to you. Also sometimes I couldn't tell if the animation ended or it was still going, both of which made me not press a button or press it too early and stopped multiplier or made me get hit. Just felt really frustrating at times...Never had these issues with past Arkham games (and I played City recently).

- Look I got great respect for Rocksteady's masterpiece but this respects it too much. They didn't start this game thinking "we have a great idea to make a game!" they started it thinking "let's make another Arkham game" and that's what it is. Nothing new, nothing exciting, nothing daring in this release. And for a full priced game, they are pushing it value wise.

- Villains lacked intimidation. Despite some of them being cool, they were predictable and easy even on Hard. The game hand helds you, to the point of bringing up which buttons you need to press. Really dude...

- New detective mode is cool in theory, but again ruined because the game literally guides you through every step. What's the point of us playing, seriously. At least give us a few seconds. But no. I am on Hard and the game immediately thinks I am a retard. Makes the detective mode SO pointless.

- Story is passable and one twist they have in there is badly delivered.


HATED

- Bugs bugs bugs, glitches glitches glitches. I raged enough and I'm just going to stop it there. Playable after 2 weeks of release is unacceptable.


OVERALL

It's like past Arkham games, but worse in pretty much every way. Honestly if you want to be the bat, you really are better off just going back to past Arkham games. You will miss literally nothing. Only 'really' new thing you are getting here is the story, which is give or take, you won't miss much there.

Add to that the atrocious state the game was released in, which gave it a very cynical aura, it gets a MEH / pointless release;

4/10.

2013.37: Battlefield 4

Completed in ~6 hours on Normal
SINGLE PLAYER ONLY REVIEW

I really don't know what to write. It's a military shooter. Some negatives worth mentioning though, you play as a squad leader but you are mute and your team mates make 99% of the crucial decisions. Some 'leader' you are.

A.I. is dumb as shit. Both enemy and friendly. I order my team to shoot at an enemy they have a flank on, and they reposition themselves for a head to head fight instead of just firing from the flank :/ That was in few cases here and there though, overall they just react slow as shit.

The enemy A.I only knows how to get out of cover when it is destroyed otherwise same old duck and shoot and I swear they ran past me a couple of times while changing covers lol....You could say it's because I've played on Normal but I have a feeling they would have been the same on Hard but just with super human accuracy.

And I don't know if it's because they showed most of it pre-release or what but the set pieces did not wow me at all. Maybe the idea of set pieces is getting old. Just sit there and watch pretty graphics happen and even on Ultra they didn't wow me.

Overall, as MEH as it gets;

4/10.

2013.36: Killzone: Mercenary

Time took to complete: ~6 hours on VETERAN

The graphics are absolutely amazing. I don't like talking technical stuff too much in games, so let's get that established. They are great to look at as is, and absolutely mind blowing when you think they are being done on VITA. This hardware and these devs are just wow.

The gameplay is awesome. It truly gives you different ways you can approach situations. Not only with weapon selection but also armour and vanguard (perk) selection too. vanguards range from rockets to airstrikes to radar scanning and so on.

A few points on those aspects is I liked that weapons could not have attachments changed. Being able to silence every gun would have been OP and a bit boring. They give you enough options if you want a strong sniper or a silenced uzi or a good old assault rifle and they fit the most sensible attachments on there.
However the balance did get skewed a bit for me in the Ghost perk. This turns you invisible until it runs out (a good 20+ seconds I would guess, feels long anyway) and couple of sections I literally just walked through a section lol. It's nice the game gives you a Stealth Bonus if you go through a section without raising alert. That was an unexpected, but an awesome addition.

However going all stealth, I felt there are some sections that rape you in the ass for making that decision. Basically refer to this comic by Penny Arcade. That's exactly how you feel at times and is becoming a growing concerns with balance in games that give you play style choice. Please devs make sure all styles are applicable in all situations.
Luckily, it wasn't too bad and I did buy a few offensive vanguards just in case, and in the final boss that became to be a very worthy investment (no idea how I could have done it without that!).

The story is eh. Where it does do great is you are playing as a Mercenary. All you care about is getting money and the game doesn't try to delve into meaning of life and whatever and through that, it actually succeeds in having a deep meaning. Wars are profitable and you can fight to get rich and sabotage sides not to win, but to keep the war and your profits going. After all isn't that what war is. Both sides suck, so get rich and gtfo. This is further amplified by you working with ISA and Helghast, showing very well why both sides think why the other side is wrong, and ultimately how no-one is 'right'.

They try to grow that into something more by throwing a kid in there you are supposed to care about I guess but I blanked that part out. I prefer the game was telling me war is an ugly profit game.

Overall, it was a very enjoyable shooter with more variety in style and gameplay than I expected with an enjoyable, money driven story that shines a more neutral light at the Killzone universe,

A 'Very Good' - 7/10.

2013.35: Assassins Creed III: Liberation

This game is a mixed bag! I love it fundamentally, where it takes AC back to the roots but with a fresher than expected result of playing as a female. This gives way to some nice new perspective script and gameplay wise where in the script your gender can come into play both positive and negatively (but never in your face and obnoxious) and in gameplay the persona system brings out the lethality of a femme fatale in three unique and fun ways.

HOWEVER! Thank you Ubisoft for supporting VITA but you could have done much better. I know; resources, priorities and so on, I know you guys have a lot AC games to make and the bigger boys get more attention but guess what!? A paying customer doesn't care, it's not our role to care or worry about that stuff.
So why did I bring that up? Let's start with the minor issue of performance. Framerate I don't think every stays at a solid 30fps. Maybe it does, but it sure as hell doesn't feel like it. Game always has that sluggish feel which you oddly get used to after a while, well I did anyway. But still would have preferred a nice smooth game.

This is the biggie; everything VITA is not tested at all! The game engine QA guys did well. I guess most of the engine was ported over so engine is not bad other than the above issue. There are no engine bugs unique to VITA. But the controls?! Cannoning feels weird as hell, pick pocketing needs some practice because again, it just feels odd, pointing at a "light" source sometimes doesn't like the brightness of THE SUN and the damn tilting in the maze puzzle is TERRIBLE at picking up your calibration to the point where it feels down right broken!

Now why is Ubisoft getting the slack? All these AND MORE worked great in other VITA games. Uncharted mainly did most of that and they were amazing. I could FINE AIM using the tilt in Uncharted where as here I couldn't move a maze in the direction I wanted to it was so god damn badly implemented!

So it is the good old AC without all the bells and whistles (which I mainly find boring in the main series) so that worked for me! Female character worked for me, great touch and overall I really liked it. Story was OK in parts, but a bit lame near the end, but passable.

However the experience is hinder by the mainly technical problems that could have been ironed out if someone at Ubisoft cared a bit more!

Still, I would LOVE another VITA entry from AC, that again keeps it simple, POLISH IT! Ubi, and maybe evolve a couple of the mechanics.

As it is in this one though, it will get an OK stamp, which is guess what?!- OK! I know if IGN or whatever gives game a less than 7 it's the end of the world but I actually use the scale from zero to ten so 5 is ok. You are going to have an ok time with this game. If Ubisoft fine tuned the VITA experience it could have crossed into 'good' but no, they didn't, so OK it is;

5/10.

2013.34: Guacamelee!

This game was an absolute blast! Great variety of moves and great ways the developers mix and match them. Add to that an amusing and sometimes genuinely funny story and characters AND how the game length is so perfect where the mechanics don't overstay their welcome to become gimmicky, this game is just amazingly developed. And I would expect nothing less from Mutant Blobs developers DrinkBox!

These guys are awesome at crafting games like this and this is another GREAT one;

8/10.

2013.33: Beyond: Two Souls

by

Beyond truly takes the QD formula to another level. From gameplay sequences that evolved the mechanics of interactive story telling to a new level, to a story that attempts and for majority of its goals achieves more than their previous projects.

I said in my BioShock Infinite review I don't want to say much because this game is about you and your experience and it very much applies here. Any spin I put on this experience or any thought that will cloud your own judgement going into it will no longer make it your experience.

So I am going to say, with the evolved mechanics, story and the interesting concept it introduces (which I found to be unique and cool) makes this the best QD game to date. I also absolutely love games that make me think long after they are finished and this game definitely gives you a lot to think about.

10/10.

2013.32: Cognition: An Erica Reed Thriller

Completed in 15 hours - Times walkthrough used: 2

As a fan of getting a story through a Point And Click game, this one did not disappoint. What I liked and appreciated the most about this game is, usually, for me, when you put in super natural powers in the hands of a main character (in a PnC game), it all feels silly. However this game managed to keep that grounded and to top it of added a cool layer to the game play. Not mind blowing, but an appreciated layer none the less. There was one instance I won't spoil where I felt they over-used it a bit but that's barely worth mentioning.

The game provided mostly logical puzzle, the two times I used a walkthrough the puzzles weren't too illogical, just too much leg work to get to what I already 'got' how to do, so I went with a short cut to get to the end game of those sections.

The characters are likeable, Erica is a strong female agent and the killer's motivations are well laid out. In fact all characters, small or big I can remember so the game did a great job with the characters.

Technically speaking there is a lot here that is unpolished. Episode 1 had a glitch with the chairs where they would float in the air, people would sit away from them or they would float into people's arms etc. Honestly it was amusing but made getting involved less fun when someone's arm is going through a chair in the middle of a talk about a case.

I think my biggest criticism is that I did not like Episode 3 that much, though it some what made up for it by how it ends (or more accurately, what it sets up) and as mentioned it's not a very polished game (there are more animation hiccups than mentioned) but overall it provided me with a couple of genuinely surprising twists and had a satisfying ending so it was a very good game;

7/10.

2013.31: rain

Completed in ~5 hours

Man oh man. This game could have been the ICO of this gen but they are so far from it because they kept it too simple.

The escorting feels nice and the girl helps you as much as you help her. There were a nice couple of sequences of co-op that felt good. There is also that slight empathy towards the enemies which adds more feelings to the game.

Unfortunately though, the puzzles are not only simple but are also hinted at by the game which is really not necessary. The paths are linear as well.

If they didn't have a small scale game, if they had more advanced puzzles, bigger areas, it would have been amazing.

The highlight of the game for me is the ambiance. I mean who doesn't find the sound of rain relaxing in some way. Add on top of that the beautiful soundtrack and it was pretty zen.
The world is drab yet somehow expressive, it goes well with the transparent design of the game and the rain drops etc.

I also loved the main concept of the game where you are invisible and can only be seen when rain is falling on you or you step on mud (which you must wash away), this adds a very cool hide and seek element with the enemies but also the fact enemies have the same property makes some bits really cool where you only know where the enemy is by their footstep.


So this game has a lot going for it but they kept it too small scale. I hope (very optimistically) that someone takes this concept at Sony and blows it up to a bigger game.

As it is, it's a good game and experience;

6/10.

2013.30: Grand Theft Auto V

Completed in 46hrs:21mins:41secs (84.63%)

I feel Rockstar did some aspects of the GTA franchise full justice with this game while at the same time, I feel they neglected some of the finer details here and there. They won't matter to many people, but as a hardcore GTA fan, they mattered to me.

There is also less immersion all around and immersion has been switched out for fun. This works in some cases and will depend on your taste if it works in other places also. Like with three characters it's hard to form a bond and a connection with the person you are playing as, as you are constantly playing as different people, but at the same time, the three characters is awesome when you are stuck in a mountain with no vehicles and no roads for miles and you can just switch.

Where this mechanic fully pays off are the missions. It gives unrivalled variety, fun and flow to the missions to switch between characters who are usually up to different things. If you are like me and find the helicopter handling to be shitty, then don't be Trevor. Switch to Michael and shoot out of the helicopter instead. There are so many instances in missions where you feel like doing something else or want another perspective and the character switching provides that perfectly.
In open world it loads a bit when switching but in mission as they are all close usually, it's instant and snappy. Very cool feeling.


The small 'disagreements' linked in the 1st paragraph aside, my biggest disappointment came with how there weren't many heists. For some reason I expected more, from small scale to the big score in the end but before I knew it, we were preparing for the big score. I felt a bit undercut for some reason with the length of the game and amount of heists.
Also if you watched Ocean's Eleven, you might be disappointed with how there isn't a heist based on that.



On to the bigger picture then, which is the world. This world is by far the best Rockstar ever crafted. It was so cool as I was driving into Los Santos, I tapped Down on the D-pad to zoom out on my mini map to see my GPS route and the map was filled with activities and locations to visit I could barely see my route from all the activity icons showing up.
They bullshitted us during IV marketing saying there is something to do around every corner, well now there actually is.

The detail is there when you visit the beach you just feel like you are at the beach, when you are in the city, there is decent amount of traffic and when you are in the countryside, the AMAZING draw distance shows the lights of the city far far away and it all feels awesome.

The characters were a bit been there, done that. The most interesting for me was Michael as we have never played as a rich guy before and it was nice to just have that life. Trevor surprised me a bit in that he wasn't as shallow as a 'just a crazy maniac', there is a bit more to him than that (though not a lot lol). He was by far the funniest and provides us all with amazing insight ;)

The relationship between Trevor and Michael is sold well and in some smart ways but Franklin, when it comes to the big picture, just feels like an addon and a third wheel for the sake of third wheel. I did not in any way buy his relationship with Michael. I even tried by giving them a stubble at the same time to make it look like Franklin looks up to him but their relationship grew a bit too unnaturally quick to give me that feeling of bond between them.



From the bigger picture to a smaller picture, the activities are fun to do and aren't dragged out. You do each 3-5 times or something and the activity icon gets a tick next to it and you can re-visit them or just go around ticking every activity. For the completionist in me, this is super satisfying to go around and tick every activity.

Speaking of completionist, the submarine parts should be how they handled all the collectibles. Submarine parts give out a becon signal and you go around collecting them that way. The rest have no tell and it's silly I need a laptop next to me to have a guide or the Social Club map telling me where the collectible are. And there is no way in the world anyone finds these without a guide so I'm not sure what is Rockstar's idea with this. This is one aspect of GTA that can definitely use an update and can be brought into the game like the submarine parts. Like for the UFO parts they could have had Frankling have a 'detector' as a weapon and you can equip it and follow the beeps to find the UFO parts maybe.



I also have to touch on music. I am not big on music but dear lord the radios are disappointing. There is nothing here that stands out and they pretty much showed the best tunes during the trailers. Leaving maybe one or two good ones as unheard. Rock station is absolute garbage, there is no rock in there.
I don't know what Rockstar's goal is here or with what logic they craft these stations but this has to be the worst radio collection a GTA game had.



Overall, this didn't push GTA boundaries as much as IV did and with multiple characters and a mix of R* mechanics we already seen this gen, it lacked a bit of identity. But it is an excellent game that will give you the biggest GTA yet.


9/10.

2013.29: Final Fantasy XIII-2

NOTE: I had GTAV at the time so played that a lot and then remembered to write a feedback post for this game...admittedly not in the most awake of states..
 
Final Fantasy XIII-2
Time took to complete: 21hrs:40mins

Sorry for the shitty post but sleepy now but typing this here so I don't forget about it.

Comabt is alright. I liked the satisfaction of getting 5 stars. Though i had this with ff7 as well, the game is piss easy until literally the very final boss :/ Combat system gets fun when the battle is hectic but you rarely get that because the game is so easy.

I would say its around a 6/10. Would have been seven (maybe) but man, time travel stories - *thumbs down*.

2013.28: Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist

Completed in 13 hours on PERFECTIONIST with 79.3% GHOST style (10.1% Panther - 10.6% Assault)

Oh man, I was going for 100% Ghost but some sections they really put you up against that style. VERY rare though because overall I have to say this was very true to the SC franchise on Perfectionist.

First thing is, the game awards most points for Ghost style and what I liked about the most in the pointing system is it awards you for leaving people untouched. Usually, I am of the mind "well, why not kill them and hide them, just to be safe?"...Well here along with points for leaving them undisturbed, the AI is also smart enough that when one of the patrolling man is missing, they'll go looking for him. This means you lose your Ghost play as that is only applied when people have no idea you've been there. If someone realises people are missing but you go through without being seen, you get Panther Avoided points (as opposed to Ghost Undisturbed points).

Anyway that's the cool point system that encourages you to be a true Ghost. Better yet the checkpoints are set before each 'section' so you can take your time mastering an area and it's really fun finding the perfect Ghost path through each section.

It has cool sceneries and cool story sections. I also like your HQ is a plane and they kind of go for the Mass Effect thing where you can interact with your crew between missions but they act more like a HUB menu to access your gear or your progress etc than actual interaction. But still, there is a hint of a crew feeling in there thanks to that. You can also call your daughter which is a clever touch as you see the effect of your missions in the 'real world' and also it adds a personal touch to Fisher.

I actually didn't mind the story, it was a bit of a mixed bag but told well. Although the villain's voice actor I felt was much better than new Fisher. Your team mates are likeable as well and I shared a couple of chuckles with them. The villain is smart, doesn't do anything silly and the same goes for the POTUS as well. So all characters are sensible and well written into the story.


Overall any stealth fan should have a GREAT time here. Ubisoft, I have to give them huge kudos, this a very strong outing that I can see can challenge people's favourite SC over Chaos Theory and after Conviction is a superb and confident step towards the classic SC experience while keeping some Conviction systems that made sense to keep (cover switching is very handy).

The BS like mark and execute and seeing through walls are GONE in perfectionist. Really, any SC or stealth fan should not even look at the other difficulty options. It's not unfair or anything like that, it really is the perfect classic SC experience on the Perfectionist difficulty.

So yeah, great game, and I definitely hope Ubisoft builds on this;

8/10.

2013.27: Dishonored

Completed on Very Hard in 11 hours with High Chaos

I want to start off by saying I could have avoided High chaos but I couldn't resist sneaking up from behind people and stabbing them instead of just walking by them. Stealth kills just felt too awesome. So I guess I deserved the High chaos ranking for that.

I sucked for the first couple of levels (never was good at first person stealth) but once I've got Blink the game just got more bad-ass. The ability to just whiz from one hiding spot to another or allow for easier rooftop navigation just felt awesome.

I loved the variety in level design. You always had opportunity for multiple approaches but the game didn't label them for you like "HERE IS THE MARKER FOR APPROACH A!" "HERE IS THE MARKER FOR APPROACH B!" and lame stuff like that. It just whatever powers you've picked and your play style that determined which approach was your natural one and that was awesome.

The whole game in fact makes it about how you play and I loved that. People react to you differently depending on your play style, doing secondary objects AND how you do them can effect the world and the environments and even the upcoming missions. So as far as player interaction and player feedback, this game was absolutely amazing.

The missions had some very creative parts filled with interesting characters and scenarios. The world was amazing with great atmosphere and a well executed overall political story and what it does to men and women. All this in a world filled with the plague (an extreme version of it). And even the plague itself has a cool back story that is up to the player on what to do with.

So yeah, overall, a very solid package here and a game that respects and takes into account pretty much anything the player does and I loved that. It also kept it to the point and didn't' have any 'filler missions' which I appreciate.

Overall, an amazing game;

9/10.

2013.26: The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time 3D

Time took to complete: 30 Hours

Anyone who hasn't played it, really should. Good charming story well told, great dungeons, great sense of purpose throughout the whole quest, amazing charm in presentation from graphics, to NPCs to the animations to enemies, to locations and everything else.

One of the best soundtracks of all time that just takes you to another zone and is integrated into the gameplay very smartly with the ocarina. Other items are also great and gives a lot of nice and varied use of them. They are well balanced and all come in equally handy in variety of ways.

Overall it just encapsulates what makes an exceptional adventure game and executes it flawlessly. I am suspicious of titles like "Best game of all time" and I have never used it in serious context and I am not sure I want to use it now, but this game definitely comes the closest to getting that title.

10/10.

2013.25: Thomas Was Alone

Completed in ~4 hours

This was a game with a beautiful story, I absolutely loved it and it gives you a lot to appreciate and think about. I don't want to spoil it for anyone but I really think many people will appreciate it.

The gameplay is a puzzle game where you control different shapes with different abilities and they work together and combine their differences to solve problems.

In fact explaining the gameplay gave the story away a bit but that's what is amazing about this game, it perfectly combines the two and the gameplay and the story back each other up.

A very good game,
7/10.

2013.24: LEGO City Undercover

Time took to complete: 16 hours

Well, not much to say on this one really. It's a child toned adventure and plays like any other LEGO game pretty much. Yes it's open world but not really. As majority of the levels 'load' you into a level similar to all the LEGO games out there and it's just good brainless fun but gets tiresome after a couple of hours.

Its humour can work for kids and adults. I had a good few chuckles out of it and it's full of references if that kind of thing is for you.

Great for kids, OK for adults I would sum this up as.

5/10...
OK game, good to play but wouldn't go out my way to recommend it to anyone.

2013.23: Grand Theft Auto IV

Time took to 100%: 41hours:25mins:07secs

Woo! This was something I wanted to do for a long time. Got close once, was a few stunt jumps off, then my PS3 got YLOD. Then I started again but VITA came out and GTAIV was one of the games to be traded in to knock off the VITA price but then GTAV news reminded me of my self promise, which was to 100% every GTA from now on and so I went on PSN and got the GTAIV digitally and went on to keep my promise to myself.

My feedback on the game has not changed. Yes Niko controls like a tank but I don't mind, the shooting is smooth. Other than the jeeps, the vehicle handling I actually like. And other than the first hour or so of boring 'baby missions', the game has superb mission design that still holds up to this day. Then there is the absolutely amazing atmosphere.

But that's just a recap, I don't want to talk too much about a game we talked endlessly about in this forum so my experience in 100%ing - It was surprisingly fun! I thought I would feel the grind much more than I actually did.

One thing pissed me off, when doing vigilante missions, I wish they turned off wanted levels. Yes I know vigilante =/= being a cop but I am doing their work! And about 10 or so times while doing random crime or hunting most wanted, I died because cops were shooting me in the ass while I was fighting criminals and it got REALLY annoying.
I also hope in GTAV the collectibles are things you collect. Here you shoot the pigeons and it gets cops on your ass and it's bit tedious to dodge them after almost every pigeon kill...Which there are 200 of.

They kept it fun by putting most of them in varied places. Some you have to do some platforming across rooftops, some you have to snipe, some you have to swim for, some you have to nade etc. Looking back the 200 didn't feel like 200 at all.

Stunt jumps were just pure badass. There is one epic one that jumps you from one island to another and since her are 30, all were just great fun to do.

Friend activities was fun I guess. It was a bit annoying they didn't want to do anything with you soon after you had done a previous activity so you had to sleep a few times to get them wanting to go out again.

Stevie and Brucie car collecting just reminded me of classic GTA. Get a car, park it in the garage. They pulled off the nostalgia very well with the good old style shot of the garage door closing after you put the car in.

I can't remember if I covered all tasks to get 100% but yeah lots to do and the world is fun to be in they didn't feel like an hassle. Great game. If I had this much fun in an admittedly bleak and uneventful GTA, I seriously can not wait for V. Going to love 100%ing that!

Rockstar for it's flaws which I happily admit just gets so much more right and the things it gets right are just simply unmatched. Add to that years after its release, I had a blast playing it non-stop for two-three sets off weekends to 100% it, it truly is a FANTASTIC game;

9/10.

2013.22: Deadlight

Time took to complete: 4 hours

This was a nice little story to go through with good atmosphere but the controls and the response times feel like they were built for a more steady puzzle pace games and in few instances where the game requires you to step up the pace, you can get really frustrated trying to pull off moves in a hurry as response times and sometimes the animation times are so lengthy.

The puzzles weren't difficult either, I liked the 'Rat Maze' part the most and even that was pretty laid out for you.

However it has some fun chase sequences which reminded me of the rooftop runner game but more atmospheric version and even though they are simple the puzzles you solve are unique.

Presentation is probably its strongest point. I loved the art direction, especially the background and there neat tricks with lighting and stuff. Although I had misqueued audio in few places and a couple of times it played one audio over the other.

Overall I came away thinking it was a nice enough 4 hours to spend but nothing more really. A sequel with more variety in level layout, more responsive and fluid controls and maybe a story that is a bit more fleshed out and you can get what I feel is the 'true' potential of the game.

But, as it is - it's an OK game
5/10.

2013.21: Mark Of The Ninja

Completed in 7 hours

This was a great stealth game. Very fun and satisfying mechanics all come together in an awesome way.

Some levels don't change enough to be exciting and there is tiny bits of fatigues from that but mostly it does a great job feeling fresh and throwing new puzzles/mechanics at you.

A very great solid game, not sure what else to say really. Part of the fun is seeing these things for yourself so if you like stealth I would highly recommend it.

8/10.
Great

2013.20: Darksiders II

Time took to complete: 19 hours on APOCALYPSE (Hard)

Man this dragged on a bit. I like some of the ideas they have in this game but they run it into the ground so quickly due to repetition. The design and puzzle remains its strongest points.

They added loot to keep you addicted but even on Hard I didn't get the thrill of getting a new item, because the game was pretty easy. Suffers the same combat complaints as the first game.

The mission design, oh my lord. "Get 3 of this". It's always three and it's always a fetch quest. There is usually a 'main room' you deliver items to and once you do, another door opens for you to get the other item. I swear 99% of the main quests were designed like this. Got old FAST.

There is a HUB between levels but only for gathering extra stuff. As otherwise you ride through it once and then just fast travel. Again, a badly executed idea it felt like.

The highlight of the game for me were a couple of great boss battles. Nice attack patterns and good difficulty, felt awesome to beat but that's about it.

It kept me going through 19 hours simply because everything was so 'auto pilot', like it was easy and effortless there was no reason to stop playing. And most of that 19 hours was just me in zombie mode, the rest was me looking for those boss fight thrills.

But overall, lots of ideas, some good, some meh, but ultimately all executed not so well. Still, a good amount here to enjoy.

A good game
6/10.

2013.19: The Walking Dead: 400 Days

Time took to complete: ~3 hours

If you liked TWD, this is a good expansion. Giving you different stories that connect and lead into Season 2. It's not dead clear how it will lead into Season 2 (at least not for me), but it gives you enough to think of potentials.

Puzzles are as simple as TWD, but this is a DLC I guess and they did try to add more interaction, like there is the new mechanic where you hold down a button and input directions etc.

There are the shocking moments and heavy decisions to make as always and yeah it's too hot to type right now and for £4 you can't go wrong.

Good lead into Season 2 with couple of shocking moments, nothing more nothing less:

5/10.

2013.18: Lara Croft and The Guardian Of Light

Completed in 6 hours on Normal

I really don't have much to say about this at all. It was a twin stick shooter arcadey take on the franchise and yeah it did just that. Nothing glaringly awesome or glaringly bad.
Puzzles maybe a bit easy but really they just want you to make your way through and have fun by not being stuck rather than have fun solving complex puzzles for 15mins. It is meant to be a fun arcadey co-op game after all.

So yeah, an 'OK' game that has enough fun to hold your attention for 6 hours, nothing more nothing less.

5/10.

2013.17: Hotline Miami

Completed in ~5 hours

Well what can I say...the gameplay is crack, graphics and presentation is so stylish and awesome, a very cool story, the gore system is masterfully done to fit in oh so perfectly, and for me the best soundtrack after TLOU this gen, simply amazing tunes in there that keep you wrapped up in that world.

The variety of ways you can approach situations and the satisfaction you get when you plan an attack and execute it perfectly is so freaking awesome.
Things like quickly shotgunning two enemies with your last two bullets, running around a corner to hide from the gunfire that drew, picking up one of the dead enemies' knife, coming out of cover and as soon as you do, throwing the knife into the enemy with the gun is just so freakin' awesome.
It's the coolest scenes from every great action movie put into one and you get to plan and pull them off. So so cool.

I honestly can't think of anything wrong with this game other than the Friends leaderboard is not working right but that's not even close to stopping this game from getting an 'exceptional' rating.

Overall this was just pure game goodness injected right into my veins and it just put me into that gaming zen perfectly.

10/10.

2013.16: GTAIV: The Ballad Of Gay Tony

Completed in 13 hours

Man what can I say about a GTA game I haven't said already. Quick highlights I want to re-mention: The vehicle damage system is still unbelievably amazing. Every dent, scratch, breakage happens on the spot of impact and also by how much force was applied. I haven't seen any damage system come close to this, let alone in an open world game.
Another highlight is how alive the club feels, it's a small space but in one corner you got the drinking, in another the dancing, in another the VIP room with all their little interactions that keeps you in this world. Along with all the glamour that comes with this lifestyle (monitor girl might give you a BJ after your bouncing job, you get super awesome cars and cool weapons etc).

I also love how alive the combat feels. Smoke starts filling the area after shots have been fired and debris flew everywhere, dead bodies look and act like dead bodies and after the action is over all the blood and the bodies in 'cool' dead positions are there to soak in for a super awesome experience.

This was also the game Rockstar let their hair down after their serious attempt (well, more serious than usual GTA) with GTAIV, which worked great but GTA is more like GTA when they are having fun with it. And here we got the great characters back and they give you tools like the N.O.O.S.E tank, a golden uzi and an automatic shotgun with explosive shells. Along with activities like parachuting and triathlons returning as well. Though I must admit the latter two feel a bit tacked on, like Rockstar did it just to answer fans and I have mentioned this in GTAV thread, it is a growing concern for me in GTAV as well. When thing are there just to be there, you can really feel it and it makes the game feel less special.

My major complaint, and I have mentioned this when GTAIV came out and also with RDR, is that, you are once again the errand boy. Rockstar comes up with some creative missions and some of them are amazing but the way they set it up and the reason for doing them has been the same since GTA1 and about half way through here it really hit me so I distracted myself with some of the side activities.
I am so glad in GTAV you are running your own heists and any "errand" missions you do seems to be only to help you prepare for the heist which is a MUCH needed, and a very smart way to shake up GTA's mission structure / motivation.

One thing that did not age well is the movement of the character, his turning angle is so fucking wide in real life you can turn a truck better! OK a bit exaggerated but it is pretty bad.
I also don't like how when you jump up the stairs you kind of glide up them which though to be fair it makes going up the stairs much faster but breaks immersion.
I also preferred it when we had to stop in the mission markers ourselves. Here you can drive 100mph right into a mission marker and do a magical stop on it. Another stupid thing for me. Let us pull up to the location properly.

Some good, some bad. A bit nitpicky points in both areas but overall I have been looking for a game to play all weekend, tried so many, searched through PSN and Steam, and this was the only game (GTAIV and Lost And The Damned included) that kept my interest and I had an absolute blast.

A great experience that shows some of GTA's ageing thinking;

8/10.

2013.15: Tomb Raider

Time took to complete: 10 hours (77%) on NORMAL

I've started this game in an anti-AAA mode where 'fixed' platforming, enemy waves, repeat kind of game play stopped me from seeing the other parts of the game.

I then got over it and my eyes opened to how great this game really was. The island is broken into 'regions' and the game, with a well presented and told story finds a smart way to make you travel to each region on the island. And gameplay wise each of these regions have specific challenges and collectibles to do. This is a completion's heaven as the game keeps tracks of each collectible and has power ups you can get to help you track them easier.

The story has my favourite aspect of LOST in it (well, one of my favourites) well you land on a mysterious island with mysterious past, present and people. The wonderment you used to get by discovering tombs from previous games, which is absent here due to simplified tombs, gets replaces by the wonderment you get discovering the island's story and inhabitant's activities and culture. And honestly, they are both as exciting to me. For this, make sure to at least skim through any documents you pick up! Though main story alone will probably be enough anyway but documents and what tidbits Lara finds throughout the journey definitely added to that sense of discovery.

The gameplay has a very satisfying bow. This was by far my most favourite weapon and one I used primarily. I loved the fire and later on the explosive upgrade which just made the weapon so much more fun to use. We saw bows in a lot of games during #yearofthebow but this one was my favourite to use.
Along with that they mix up platforming by allowing you to shoot ropes to pull stuff top open new paths or make a rope line you can descend or ascend from and some other mechanics. This easily eliminates the "hold direction and tap action to climb" feel. Especially when the game opens up a bit and you have to navigate medium-sized areas to make your way.

Add all to this what I thought was a great ending that worked amazing as a prologue, especially the bit where in the end,

 spoiler, highlight to read

you get your double pistols and get to shoot them for the first time. I grinned with joy and definitely felt Lara becoming alive as a legendary tomb raider.

And voila, you get an EXCELLENT game!

9/10.

2013.14: The Last Of Us

Completed in 13hours:28mins on HARD with NO LISTEN MODE

I really liked how much more open and intuitive the combat felt to me over ND's previous attempts and getting through an area with low resources was a challenge we haven't faced in a long time! It was very fresh and great to feel that again.

Outside that gameplay you get a story nicely told and presented, as one would expect. It takes you through different seasons and many different scenarios so it never really feels repetitive. They did a great job portraying a long journey without making it feel tedious.

This is a quick of overview of the key components more than anything else, as I too wanted to keep it vague. So overall, there was enough love and heart in the overall package to make it a 'great' (8/10) experience but with some key flaws [mentioned in my rant] that stops it from being 'amazing' (9/10) or 'exceptional' (10/10) for me.

A great journey to partake in;

8/10.

2013.13: Velocity Ultra

Time took to complete: Around 11 hours

My first VITA Platinum! :) The warning about addictiveness at the start of the game is not kidding...Just couldn't put it down until it was Platinum'ed and will definitely keep an eye out on FuturLab.

I absolutely loved this game. It was as addictive, fun and awesome challenging to me as SuperStardust was early PS3 days (funnily enough, Super Stardust was my first 100% Trophies on PS3!).

If you love addictive as crack arcade games that are super fun to play, you'll love this. Not much more you can say, excellent game;

9/10.

2013.12: Catherine

Time took to complete: 13hours:21mins

OK, full disclosure. Let's get this out the way: 7-3, 7-4, 6-3. Those are the stages-levels I had to check a walkthrough for. I haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaatte doing that in puzzle games and hated myself for it but as one of the comments said in one of the walkthroughs, it was either that or blowing my brains out. The game challenged me lots of times outside those stages, don't get me wrong but in those three cases I literally used all my 27 retries one time and was like "ok, i'm just not getting this". So yeah.

So the game itself is brilliant. The box moving puzzle the game revoles around is super addictive and stage after stage they give you new mechanics to think about. Amazingly all these mechanics are well thought out and extremely well balanced. They all work excellent to add fun and challenge to the stages. I have no complaints there.

Around that mechanic they wrap a relationship story that made me genuinely chuckle more than a few times and in general has a very nice adult tone and delivery to it. This part also had gameplay mechanics which takes place in a bar. Here you can talk to other people about what is going on, interact with them and have a few drinks. This was all good fun.
Another great aspect was the phone. Where you receive messages and can reply. Replying mechanic is smart where the message is broken into 2-3 lines of text and you scroll through the one you want for each line to send and this effects your relationship with whomever you are texting.

It all comes together wonderfully. From the addictive and amazingly fun puzzle game to the involving bar HUB where you truly feel like you are just hanging out at a bar with your friends, and how well the story ties those two worlds together, this is an absolutely amazing universe to take part in.

9/10.

2013.11: Assassin's Creed III

Time took to complete: 40 hours (did pretty much all the side stuff except the ones in the Frontier because that place is a pain in the ass to navigate)

I am going to dive right into what felt new. Naval battles and the homestead land. These are the only two worthy editions for this version of the game. The former is a game changer and I'll talk about it more in a second and the latter gives you a very nice sense of progression.

What does still suck, and if you don't care about these, then OK, but I do. Is the discontinuity when transitioning between cutscene and gameplay. An early example is I won a brawl on a ship and in this case the enemy went through a barrel as I finished him off. I was thinking, "cool, the cutscene is going to look very cinematic with the bad guy plastered all over a broken barrel". But no, everyone teleports to a preset location and the cutscene just 'plays'. That's one thing I can never stand in AC. This happens in almost every cutscene<->gameplay transition, and sometimes more sever things.
It really is setup where you go to somewhere and the game hits play on a cutscene. They make near no effort to make it feel seamless. If you are going to have a game this cutscene heavy, I feel it's really lame not to put effort towards that. Many cutscene heavy devs take great care of it, but not Ubisoft.

And then there are the features that are there just to be there and serve no substantial purpose to the overall game design. Hunting, trading, silly side missions (not homestead ones, delivering messages etc). It to me looked like there were just checklists in the main menu to be ticked off. These are not fun by the way, most, if not all of them is you going somewhere and pressing action. Even fighting a bear is just a very easy QTE. Totally kills any tension.
And I know you can hunt and then sell the wares but you can also buy them from homestead so you just buy the most expensive item (bear pelt), trade a convoy full of it, and bam, 12mins later, watch the money roll in.

The money for me was only used for ship upgrades anyway. There are other things you can buy like outfits and weapons but I don't know why they bother with what seemed like a good weapon collection when...

...The combat is still way too boring and easy. Counter, if enemy can't be counter, 'break defence', rinse repeat. Satisfaction is also non existent as you are just blindly tapping most of the time and again just watching the game play for you pretty much.

Those are all things that made me bored of AC games previously before I could finish them. So what was different this time?....

The naval warfare!

Oh my days, that naval warfare. First of all, this is the only part of the game where you feel fully in control. Smart navigation of the seas is needed to get a shot on your enemies but it is not easy as the winds and the waves can also be your enemy, but for a smart captain, they can be your ally also.

You get to make a shot selection and they are all good for different things. Chain shots break the masts and hinder enemy movement, fire shots have narrow field of fire but do extra damage and so on. You can also dodge out of the way of incoming fire so you have to pay attention to when you are being targeted.

All this is so streamlined and easy to control, it really is the most impressive thing I've seen from Ubisoft in years. You are doing all that but are never fighting the controls, you are always in full control and feel 100% engaged. I was just taken to another world every time a naval warfare part started. It's super gripping and fun stuff. I really hope they manage to keep the intensity of these battles in ACIV and in a 30 hour campaign of constant naval warfare it doesn't wear off.

So what can I say, a game full of mechanics I don't really approve of, saved by addition of naval warfare. There are also other redeeming qualities of course, like the setting is always an automatic win for the AC series. Although I had no interest in the sci-fi part of it.

Seeing as naval warfare really is one of the most exciting things I've played in recent times I think it manages to push the game just above the 'meh' average that the rest of the package is;

6/10.

2013.10: Alan Wake's American Nightmare

Time took to complete: 6hours? (a very rough guess)

OK, it makes sense in the story but it doesn't mean I like revisiting the same places, doing the identical things over and over. This must be when MS had size limits on XBLA games because well yeah, everything is just recycled over and over. Locations, enemies, events. Again, I know it makes sense story wise, it does however NOT make for an enjoyable game.

That was highly disappointing. Another thing I did not care for was the difficulty. Or lack of, even. I dispatched mobs of enemies no problem what so ever. And as the game had no difficulty option, my enjoyment was also dented there. I loved sweating for bullets and resources in the original Alan Wake and on Hard it was such a treat to enjoy.

I know this aims for a more quirky lighter side of the franchise, but even at that it doesn't excel at....Anything. I was expecting parts like the concert part from the original game, as far as crafting quirky and fun gameplay goes but none of that here. It's just the regular gun gameplay with repeated tasks and easy to dispatch of enemies that become more a chore when they pop up than a satisfying battle.

The atmosphere does work in it's favour however, and the characters you meet are fun in the context of things and the writing, as well as the gameplay remains solid.

But overall it's just a very dull and as basic as it can get Alan Wake experience with no thrills anywhere to be found. A very disappointing;

5/10.

2013.9: Bayonetta

Completed in 10hours:30mins on Normal

What can I say, another awesome Platinum Games....game. Action that is totally engaging on all levels. Reading enemy patterns, reacting to them, countering them, dodging them, mixing and matching weapons and items, getting new combos etc etc. This game has it all and it was just a blast to play.

I've played the first 2 hours in bits because it started a bit slow and I couldn't get into it for some reason. And I did the other 8 in one sitting. It's just that engaging and fun.

No annoyances here but enemy types could have been a bit more varied (they also recycle the bosses as 'mini bosses' near the end). It also could have done with a less dull (in context to rest of the game) beginning.

Overall though, Platinum Games strikes again;

9/10.

2013.8: BioShock: Infinite

Completed in 17 hours on Hard

This is a game that will make you think long after it ends. The themes, the characters, the links it creates says so much and touches on so many topic, it's an absolute pleasure to indulge in this universe.

I really can't say much more about it because I don't want to, everyone should experience it their own way.


Gameplay then. It flows wonderfully with the sky lines, upgrades, and of course the vigors. I love games that give you tools but don't guide you on how to use them. This means there are so many ways you can approach combat in this game keeping in mind the weapons and vigors at your disposal, it won't get boring anytime soon. It also feels very satisfying to boot; you feel like you won that battle your way and that's what is so great about it.


Mix those two parts together and you get a game that does what it does on an exceptional level.

10/10.

2013.7: Darksiders

Completed on APOCALYPSE (Hard) in 14hrs:18mins

A pretty cool adventure game with nice puzzles that are not super complicated or have crazy logic but the fighting really lets it down here. It's just not satisfying and quite two dimensional and what's worse the game locks you in an area and throws mobs at you now and then. And after a while that gets really boring and tedious with the fighting system in the game. Especially near the end it does this with the hardest enemy combinations and I am not being mad, I only died once there but it was just so boring and really the design felt really lazy.

The equipments also have a flaw in that after you acquire it, they are needed but then just take a back seat. This means very rarely, if ever, do you have to think about your tools to solve a problem as they are bench warmers a few minutes after acquiring them. For example you get a chain hook and yes it is used in navigation throughout but spiders you pull the backs off with the chain hook just don't appear any more and they have a very set use. For example there comes an enemy with a shield so I thought "great I'll use my chain hook to rip the shield away" but I got a big fat 'nope' for my troubles. This makes acquiring items less exciting and their purpose being too focused takes away from the fun of owning them.

Similar lack of excitement happens with weapons. As you upgrade them by using them, you are kind of 'set to' using one and they power up so slow, like my main sword which I used pretty much exclusively and with the faster level up add-on, I still couldn't get to max level by the end of the game. This, plus the two dimensional combat makes these weapons feel pointless as there is no point to using anything but your sword. Not only that but I was OK to use two moves with my sword and get through the game with no trouble (and on of the two moves was the basic Square combo). Again, badly balanced move set. If I knew I wouldn't have wasted my points on getting move upgrades.

So yeah, the combat side of the game clearly lacking and to top it off, the upgrades, items and those kind of mechanics feel badly balanced or badly implemented.


I know I knocked it a lot here but that side of the game was my only complaint. The puzzling and adventuring side was pretty good, which is luckily the majority of the game. Solving puzzles felt fun and the game logic is straight enough that simple camera hints can lead you on your way without the game holding your hand.

The boss battles also improve the fighting system, in that there is usually something you have to figure out before you can damage the boss. This was a cool touch and very welcome to add much needed spice to the fighting.


The story wasn't that great but had a solid presentation. I really liked War's voice, it had a pretty cool feel to it.


So, a pretty well presented story and an action adventure game that gets the action part mostly wrong but gets the adventure part pretty well. I would like to give it more but the action/items/weapons part is just badly implemented and is too hindering to the overall experience for me so it gets a good;

6/10.

I am looking forward to getting on Darksiders II in the near future to see what they did with that.

2013.6: Metal Gear Rising

Completed on HARD in 06hours:25mins with Overall Combat Rank of C
Total BP Acquired: 356311
Total Zandatsus: 163
Longest Combo: 77

Normal Kills: 264
Blade Mode Kills: 208
Explosive Kills: 2
Total Kills: 518

Remaining Enemies: 11

Continues: 68
Alerts: 89

Beheadings: 29
Left Arms Severed: 41
Right Arms Severed: 48
Left Legs Severed: 6
Right Legs Severed: 5

Total Cuts: 9170

I'll start off with the gameplay gripes. There were annoyances in combat like camera and getting stuck behind things and so on that made me furious to die from.
To elaborate on getting stuck behind things, like the remains of enemies wouldn't disappear immediately, nor could you 'push' them out of the way by walking on them so many times when I killed the flying enemies for example, their remains would fall near me and until the pieces disappeared I was stuck behind them, making me a very easy target which caused me to die or lose a lot of health many times and that really pissed me off.

I also didn't like the fact you had to wiggle the left analogue stick to escape some grab moves or to 'wake up' from a stun as to do it effectively you have to navigate your hands away from the face buttons or risk being stunned for a long time if you wiggle it without changing hand positions. A button mash or even the right analogue would have been better.

So the overall gameplay experience wasn't as smooth as Vanquish. As if you check my feedback for that game, I have not once felt like a death was caused by game mechanics, where as here I had a few frustrating moments where the mentioned problems above caused me to die or put me in a shitty position.


Those were my only gameplay gripes however and other than them, the game flowed fantastically and Platinum showed once again why they are the master of this genre.
Parrying moves and stringing combos together feels super satisfying and for the first time ever, I actually feel like I am wielding a sword as the blade mode and the cutting mechanics really makes you feel like a cyborg ninja.

They also show a lot of creativity in enemy design as even the 'filler' enemies in between requires you to 'read' their moves and fight accordingly. I actually had to pay attention to the enemy type and engage accordingly which again, felt awesome.


The bosses! Oh my lord those bosses! I have never felt so satisfied at beating boss fights, they are, on Hard, just the right amount of difficulty and are amazingly epic and creative. Not only in environments and the 'phases' but how you use your sword and blade mode to defeat them. They really considered the game mechanics in play and built the most exciting boss battles they could around them. After every boss fight I felt super badass.


I will also add they showed great respect to the MG universe in gameplay by squeezing in much more stealth than I expected. A lot of areas you can get through with stealth. It's obviously not MGS complicated but you have some similar tools like the 'porn mags' which are 3D holograms now to draw guards to a location and the all famous box and barrel as well.
But honestly the fighting is so good, despite game hinting towards stealth in many sections, I didn't take great care to apply stealth tactics and just went into Jack The Ripper mode.

However I felt it was missing the trademark gameplay genius or surprises from the MG universe. I kept expecting one section to surprise me but it never came.


Unfortunately the story and characters are pretty dull here. I didn't care about anyone or anything to be perfectly honest. It's all standard stuff we've seen bazillions of times. And although the overall arc feels like a good enough 'add on' the the universe, it doesn't have anywhere as much depth or cleverness to stand on it's own and I didn't feel Raiden has enough of a character to have his own spin-off.



However, gameplay is king and this is the foundations of a super series. I am not sure however how to carry this on, as even this felt like it was scraping the barrel far as story and Raiden's depth so they have to be very clever, if they make another one on what to base it on. I think I will be much happier if Platinum takes the mechanics in this game and makes a new ninja IP from them.


So, fantastic flowing gameplay, epic bosses but unfortunately with a couple or so major gripes and in a story and characters that isn't in any way interesting, especially given the amount of depth the universe it takes place has.

Very good first showing but needs to grow in a few key elements;

7/10.

2013.5: Bulletstorm

They make crude and/or silly jokes left and right and I've started to think, "oh shit, what have I got myself into here?" and as the game went on, I started to get into it a bit, they drew me in so I let my hair down and started to enjoy the atmosphere and the mood of the game.

A few hours in, it's still going and I start to think, "OK enough now" and all appeal is gone and they left their humour bone dry. That's basically the outline of the game.

Gameplay is nothing to write home about. It has a cool SkillShot database you can do challenges for and it was addictive at the start but like the humour the substance was gone a few hours in and I just stuck to what weapon I wanted to use instead of hunting challenges.

Granted it had a couple of bits of funny bits that got my tail up, so to speak. Like a boss who comes in all tough and kills himself after some pipes fall on him and he stumbles into acid (funnier in action).

So yeah, the concept was good but it didn't have anywhere as much appeal or stay as the developers thought as I would have been fine with this game being about 3 hours long at most.

5/10.

2013.4: Vanquish

Completed on Hard
(guessing in about 6 hours)

This was so much freakin' fun I literally couldn't stop playing it. The gameplay is fast and frantic if you let it, but also allows you to play tactical. And they both work equally well thanks to the moves and weapons at your disposal. I simply loved this and this is one of the games the developer can honestly and proudly say "we let the players chose how to approach situations" (sorry Otacon, no stealth except one mission). At least it was one of the few where I felt like I wasn't 'cornered' into playing a certain way. It never hints you towards one style of play and I was amazed in my marathon, however I felt like playing, the game just molded itself into that.

Only things I didn't like were the tired story which is a political hoo-rah with a Japanese presentation and also the 'filler' enemies you fight to get to a boss are pretty much all the same. Yeah there are snipers and RPG enemies but even on Hard I couldn't care less what they were holding, they were taken down in similar ways and with similar (almost 'same') tactics. This goes for, I guess, the 'mini bosses' also. Surprising and fresh at first, but then a bit overused by the end.

The gameplay, oh lord that sweet gameplay. If such a stupid claim like "it is 30FPS but it feels like 60FPS" can ever make sense, it makes sense here. I have never for a moment fought with the controls. You are jetting around 100s MPH, shooting shit knows how many enemies, dodging about bazillion bullets and rockets and this can all be done swiftly. I guess I did have an issue couple of times when switching covers and all that but in this game your cover can easily just be evade using the boost.

Speaking of boost, it is one of your suit's abilities and it uses power. And let me say the meta game of managing that adds a superb layer to the game. Sure you can boost through enemies, but then once you run out, you'll be dead smack in the middle of them with no power to do anything spectacular. You can go into slow-mo and pound on the boss's weak spot, but don't get carried away, he is about to launch 100s of rockets at you and you need that power to dodge those!

Just design decisions like that speaks volumes throughout. Other than maybe the sticky cover which is a problem in 99% of cover shooters, there wasn't one thing here that annoyed me (and even that didn't happen often). That might be a weird thing to judge a game by "oh it didn't annoy me" but I say it like that because this is a fast paced game with lots going on, and to always feel in control and to always feel every death was your mistake, not the game's shows what a fantastic job Platinum did.

You can tell these guys know what they are doing and in return it is an absolute joy to play their games.

Less repetition and a story that is even as 1% as inspired as the gameplay (rather than copy+paste same old crap) would have made this game shoot way up high in to the 'fantastic' (9) rankings, but as it is, keeping in mind I played it almost in one sitting and to me gameplay is king, I think it does enough to get a 'great';

8/10.

2013.3: Ni No Kuni: Wrath of The White Witch

Completed in 48hours:53min (Oliver was Level 81)

I wrote so much about this in it's original thread, I am finding it really hard to come up with something new. You can check out a few of my compliments here, here and here.

Overall, I just loved every second of it and I am going to love revisiting it for post-game stuff.

10/10

2013.2: Hitman: Absolution

Completed on Professional - Hard

This game had me going back and forth on how much I like it not only each level but sometimes each checkpoint!

Let's get the rant out of the way first, the Cemetery Entrance was a bullshit level. On my first playthrough I never EVER check a guide in games like these, so much so sometimes I stop playing for weeks and get back to it only when I feel like trying to figure it out again. This level however, dear lord, I sensed it was total Bullshit after like the 11th or so time so I just had to check a guide. I don't want to spend any more time ranting here so I'm going to link you guys here for a short video. He sums up my frustrations perfectly.

The game had so many great and so many 'meh' moments I don't know what to think! Overall I've really enjoyed it and only one thing constantly nagged me, which was the disguise system. We had a long chat about it in the Hitman thread though so I'll leave it alone here.

Some levels were way too small and linear. I can remember maybe three that felt like 'classic Hitman' levels and goes to perfectly prove "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" as they turned out to be my favourites. Some others kind of trick you into thinking they are large but there is only one or two paths. At least on Hard.

This game in it's great moments really gives you a thrill like no other. Getting to your target untouched, and that final action, weather it be choke, make an accident happen, push or many other ways to get rid of the target and then slipping out of there is simply way too good of a feeling to miss out on.

It's so great it really elevates the whole feel of the game. But unfortunately there wasn't enough of that and too much of "oh great, another level full of baddies where I have to get to the exit/activate this etc.", and I understand the new spin but the old formula still works! The parts in this game where they used it were amazing so I don't know why they felt they needed to change stuff.

So a lot of mixed reactions here but the game is only really great (8/10) when it sticks to the old ways, which it doesn't do as often as it should have. And sometimes even when it does it's not as big and varied as the previous games. And the other levels felt too uncreative and when they come one after another, kind of tedious for me, especially with questionable stealth mechanics. That dropped the game into an average area (5/10) but if you mix those two experiences, you get a good game:

7/10.

2013.1: WWE 13

Did all the Attitude Era events and the 'off script' events along with all their bonus objectives - so, 100%ed the story part of the game in about ~20hours on Hard

I haven't played a WWE game since the PS2 days but when I came across information that this game let you relive the 'attitude era' of WWE (then called WWF) and then finding out they did it well, I just had to get it.

Quickly let us touch on what the 'attitude era' is. It is basically the peak of WWE. The Rock, Stone Cold, D-GenerationX, Undertaker, Mankind, Hell In A Cell and so many other foundations of WWE was founded and established during that era.

This game takes you through it in 6 'chapters'. Like "Rise of D-Generation X", "Stone Cold vs Vince McMahon" and others. What is cool here is each chapter is set up via real life footage, giving you the perfect context and a reminder of how badass WWE used to be. This really gets you hyped and in the mood to carry on the story.

Another interesting tidbit is, I did not know the main reason for this 'attitude era'. I just thought it was WWE being awesome but turns out it was because of a Monday night rating war with WCW. It just goes to show how important competition is to innovation. There is a ratings chart the game shows you throughout the advancement of the story with WCW taking the lead many weeks until something happens that I won't spoil, which gives WWE the ultimate lead and eventually leads to Vince (owner of WWE) buying out WCW.


The game design side of things, in each match there are main objectives like "win the match" and also "history bonuses" or the like, where you duplicate what happened in real life "put him through a table with this move" etc. This makes it very interesting, going in there with a goal and adds much needed depth and purpose to the gameplay. Doing all the bonuses earns you an unlock.

Gameplay itself....Let's say it gets the job done. Improving animations could maybe add more smoothness to the gameplay. It all feels a bit 'stiff', really and you are constantly aware that you are controlling the wrestler instead of being him.

I was disappointed the only 'unlimited' story mode was something called WWE Universe. This lets you edit everything. The shows, every match, what those matches are, who holds the titles etc etc.Even the storylines!
This is basically a dream come true for any teenage kid who collects the action figures and wishes he could create his own WWE universe in a videogame. On that front it is an admirable effort but for me it didn't do anything. I rather the game just put me through a story. As a meme says "ain't nobody got time for that" when it comes to setting up your whole Universe.
Granted you can play without editing anything but the fact you know you can edit everything, and the fact before every match it acts who you want to play as, takes away from the illusion that you are going through a story with one wrestler. I would have preferred it like in one of the PS1 Smackdown games where you select one character, and OK granted, with much repetition, go through an endless story mode.

Speaking of editing, you can create and customise everything in this. Arenas, belts, entrances, even cutscenes...Whatever you see, you can make your own version. Again, fantastic for the young creative mind but does nothing for me.


Overall, anyone like me who has grown up with the 'attitude era' of WWE and holds fondness for it should definitely give it a shot. It is well worth the price of admission just for that and they did a great job recreating it. It didn't do much for me other than that but that was good enough for me, really.


7/10.

2012.45: Far Cry 3

Time took to complete: 21hrs:29mins:38secs

This game was an absolute blast. Stunning to look at, even though textures aren't super high res or anything, the way they draw the distance is very smart. And the lighting does it's part. You'll be left in awe by your surrounding when looking at them from height. This adds to the island feel greatly.

Another thing they did right with the location is, it is filled with interesting environment and caves and what not littered throughout. Again, it just sells you on the place and it being a little known about island with it's own personality.

The gameplay is very free. I know many many many developers say that this gen but this one actually means it. They give you any tool you want, from a silenced pistol to an RPG to take over strongholds. All weapons can have attachments to further personlise your experience. And add some cool extras in there like if there is a caged animal in the stronghold, and you set the animal free, it will get out and eat it's captors, making it a bit easier for you to take over that stronghold. Sometimes the animal does all the work for you! Giving you the very satisfying "Undetected" XP bonus for that stronghold clearance!

Once you take over a stronghold it is cool that the enemies are gone, FOREVER! Yay. This actually makes it feel like you are making progress and it was so addictive I've spent the first 4 or so hours just going around clearing strongholds and unlocking radio towers.

The radio towers are AWESOME! Imagine Assassin's Creed eagle view* to unlock your map....But actually fun. I found climbing up to those things such a chore in AC games but here they are very interesting platforming puzzles. And I really love the effect where your character gets a bit woozy when you are at the top!

Those kind of details are really what sell you this game bit by bit. Anything from island creation to stronghold takeover to those little effects shows how much attention to detail went into thinking through everything that went into this game.

The story! I really liked the crazy weird stuff! The crazy island atmosphere really captures you here by the weird characters and the visions you have and things that happens around you. You really felt out of place at times and kind of baffled, which I think worked absolute wonders for the game's theme and setting.

The only bad things I found is the aiming is a bit annoying at times due to bad framerate and it just doesn't "feel right". You can play all right, it's not unplayable (not even close), but it's just not as smooth as you would expect from a FPS. Also one mission that had 3-4 parts I felt were really dull but those do absolutely nothing to damnpen your enjoyment overall! As the first point you get used to and the latter goes away soon (i.e: when completed).

This game is an absolute triumph in open world gameplay and the FPS genre in general.

10/10.
(easiest 10/10 ever!)


*You guys know I REALLY hate comparing games but here I felt both being Ubisoft and the mechanic pretty much having 100% identical purpose, it was justified to do so.