malek86
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Pomegranate Deseeder
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Post by malek86 on Apr 11, 2023 20:50:38 GMT
Flipping Death (Switch)
A pseudo-sequel to Stick it to the Man!, it's basically more of the same. As a matter of fact, it features the same kind of cardboard visuals, overly explanatory writing, and nonsense plot. The story (if we wanna call it that) is a bit less involved this time, and never really goes anywhere. The main gimmick is that, as a dead girl, you get to possess the living and use their bodies to solve puzzles. There is a kind of physics engine which makes said bodies move like wet noodles, so at times things are slower than they oughta be.
Once again, you play this for the humor, though even that doesn't land quite as well as in SITTM. Still, it's short, so you can't complain about the jokes getting thin. Also, Penny is a good main character, and the others are always fun to be around, so you won't get bored for sure.
Switch version could be better: framerate is unstable, controls are laggy, and I've noticed some weird bugs with NPCs. There is a load screen at the start of each of the seven chapters, and it is ridiculously long (so much that the game has enough time to narrate a recap of the previous chapter in the meantime). Probably not a big issue, given it's not a very replayable game. It's once and done.
6/10
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hedben
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Post by hedben on Apr 13, 2023 10:37:11 GMT
Hitman Freelancer Mode
Ok, it doesn't really have a completion like the main campaign does, but I finished what I set out to do (got every single weapon on the walls), and now I'm taking a break to return to Elden Ring.
Absolutely brilliant game, and I say that as someone who never got into Hitman (2016) and onwards. The scripted kills that walked you through the opportunities step by step never really clicked for me, but playing Freelancer Mode, and being forced to improvise and adapt all the time, finally made me realise why this game was so well loved. The level design is brilliant, the clockwork NPCs and randomised objectives for extra cash let you set up some fantastic scenarios and watch them play out, and I've always been a sucker for extraction type games (risk/reward of taking in good equipment but losing it if you die).
Easily the best game I've played this year (GOTY is allowed for new game modes right?!)
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Ulythium
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Post by Ulythium on Apr 13, 2023 19:39:54 GMT
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
Allow me to preface this by stating that I'm very much a 'gameplay first' type of guy. I know people play games for all sorts of reasons (a good story; intellectual stimulation; camaraderie; competition; etc.), and I think that's great - the more who can enjoy this weird hobby of ours, the better, as far as I'm concerned! - but for me personally, it's all about the gameplay.
That's not to say I need non-stop action, a la Just Cause, but I want to be doing something and I want to enjoy whatever it is I'm doing.
For example, last summer I happily put 70 hours into Slay the Spire - a deck-building roguelike with no narrative, no voice acting, almost no dialogue, no multiplayer component, a basic art style, minimal music, etc. - because I found its mechanics to be so damn satisfying. By contrast, as much as a game like Disco Elysium intrigues me, I don't think I'd enjoy wandering around and talking to NPCs for 30-odd hours no matter how good the writing may be. (See also: visual novels, Telltale-style graphic adventures, walking simulators, and suchlike.)
"Okay, Uly, we get it - you like gameplay. Good for you! Wanna get to the point before we all die of old age and/or syphilis?"
Righto, voice inside my head: The Witcher 3 is the only game I've ever completed despite its gameplay, rather than because of it.
Here's a non-exhaustive list of what I mean: controlling Geralt is clunky, especially when you move indoors and his movement speed drops by at least 50%; the control scheme sucks, and can't be remapped; jumping and climbing are as janky as anything I've experienced in a AAA game to date; the inventory management system is functional at best, and that's after it was overhauled in 2016 when the DLC first came out; and a whole bunch of other stuff I could mention, were I not eager to keep this review shorter than War and Peace and Ulysses combined.
The above gripes pale by comparison with those I have regarding the combat. Dear Flying Spaghetti Monster, the combat!
For a game based around slaying monsters, wherein you play as a professional monster slayer, the combat in this game is fucking garbage.
During the tutorial, it starts out shallow, one-dimensional, repetitive, and button-mashy; 90 hours later, with umpteen ability points dumped into the red skill tree, it's no better. The simple act of swinging a sword is as impactful as hitting someone with a piece of overcooked tagliatelle. The weapons all have the exact same movesets, so every single combat encounter involves mashing the light attack button while dodging occasionally. The enemies, including the bosses, all attack in the same basic manner - forget about learning patterns, figuring out when to do damage and when to evade, when to back off and when to close in, 'cause there's simply no need.
Then there are the technical issues, including (but not limited to) the following: more dropped frames than a branch of Specsavers after an earthquake (what? I dunno); a veritable litany of quest-breaking bugs; borked animations, including cutscenes; and one instance of falling through the map and respawning in a lake, outside the boundary of the game world.
So that's it, right? I found the gameplay to be average, the combat to be terrible, and the glitches to be plentiful - stop droning on at tedious length, slap a 6/10 on it, and move on with my life.
Um, no.
Y'see, every other aspect of this game - the narrative, the dialogue, the characterisation,* the music, the graphics, the acting, the role-playing, Gwent - is just as good as its reputation suggests, unsullied by the passage of time. Eight full years since this game came out, all of the above are still top-tier, best-in-class, 10/10 standard.
I didn't put almost 100 hours into the base game because I was loath to waste the 25 quid I'd spent buying it, and I certainly didn't do so because I enjoyed the minute-to-minute gameplay - I invested all that time because I wanted to see what happened, from the most minor NPC in a secondary quest all the way up to Geralt, Ciri, and Triss in the main campaign.
Years from now, I won't remember a tedious fight with a wraith in the middle of a random field, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if I remembered the sad story of a girl who was being forced into an arranged marriage, slashed her wrists with a dagger given to her as a wedding gift rather than go through with the ceremony, and later became the wraith in death. (That's just one example of many, too.)
So, yeah. 6/10 for the gameplay and the bugs, 10/10 for the presentation, and overall
8/10.
* Except for Yennefer. Why is she such an insufferable Karen? Every time Geralt dared to talk back, I expected her to respond by demanding to speak to his manager.
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dogbot
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Post by dogbot on Apr 13, 2023 19:48:58 GMT
You picked Triss, then? 😁
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hedben
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Post by hedben on Apr 13, 2023 19:53:27 GMT
Ulythium I think you might have nailed why I never finished that game (or even started the DLC I paid for). The storytelling was great, but the gameplay was a slog. Just not much fun. I’d take AssCreed sneaking and stabbing, or Fallout VATS, or making yet another stealth archer in Skyrim, over the Witcher combat any day. I kid myself that I might return to do Blood and Wine at some point, but like you say, it would be in spite of the combat rather than because of it.
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cubby
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doesn't get subtext
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Post by cubby on Apr 13, 2023 20:10:24 GMT
I must be years behind what games are like because I thought the combat was pretty good.
The inventory system was a nightmare to get my head around, but yes the storytelling did get me past that.
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Post by RadicalRex on Apr 13, 2023 21:04:51 GMT
I'm very gameplay first too, and W3 was also one of the rare cases where I put up with the horrible gameplay just for the stories. My biggest gripe was: I like to be in control of the player character. When I stand in front of an enemy and hit the attack button, I want him to hit with his sword, not do some random other shit that he feels like doing, like pirouetting or rolling around on the floor. That's perhaps the main reason why I think even Skyrim has better combat: if you hit the attack button, you swing your sword. Nothing else. How hard can it be?
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malek86
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Pomegranate Deseeder
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Post by malek86 on Apr 13, 2023 21:08:16 GMT
I didn't like the combat much, but it was still miles above that of TW2. Bearable enough, so to speak.
That must be why Hearts of Stone was my favorite expansion, I guess. Very little combat, lots of character development and story. And random fun.
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wunty
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Post by wunty on Apr 14, 2023 6:20:50 GMT
Home Sweet Home So frustrating. A decent game with some genuinely unsettling moments and a brilliant spooky main antagonist. I can't recommend it though, as on PS it's only half a bloody game. Get to the end to be slapped with a big "To Be Continued..." just as it's starting to ramp up a notch and more shit is about to be explained. Doesn't look as though there's any sign of part 2 appearing on consoles either. On PC this isn't an issue but on PS it's a bit of a pisstake to say the least. I did still enjoy what I played of course, and it felt long enough for what I paid, just really frustrating to have the experience marred by no explanation, and the game cutting off when it was really starting to get going.
In fact what's so annoying is that toward the end it REALLY got some brilliantly scary shit going on. A couple of moments in particular actually had me shouting out loud. Plus the very final section, which obviously served as both an outro and a setup for part 2, introduced something new that really whetted my appetite for more, ending with a fantastically spooky moment.
I've read up a bit on 2 and it came out yonks ago so i don't expect a console release for it this far down the line.
Annoying. Looks like I'll have to YT it just to see what it's like.
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Cosmopolitan
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Font Geek is a stupid name
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Post by Cosmopolitan on Apr 14, 2023 6:46:08 GMT
The weapons all have the exact same movesets, so every single combat encounter involves mashing the light attack button while dodging occasionally.
LOL, this sounds like combat in my favorite series, Risen. Yeah, I love my eurojank I have clocked over 180 hours in Risen 3, which seems everybody else hated. Thanks for the review, Uly, that's some money saved.
Not that I've ever felt attracted to this series. Tried the second one, didn't like it much. But yes, the cutscenes (some call it "the story") were awesome.
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Post by Samildanach on Apr 14, 2023 11:05:59 GMT
More shmups for your delectation:
Nemesis '90 Kai (X68000 Emulator) So before Gradius II aka Vulcan Venture, there was a completely different Gradius game that came out on the MSX called Gradius 2. Nemesis '90 Kai was a remake of that game released on the X68000 computer, confusingly in 1993. I looks as good as Gradius III and it plays very well also. Once you beat level 7 the game goes back through all the previous levels before you get to the finale to face the villain Venom in his big ship. On paper that sounds like massive padding, but the returning levels are all high speed versions, simulating a panicked return to the start before the enemy reaches your home world. It's therefore a long game but never boring, especiallyas you can find cool additional weapons in secret zones along the way. Difficulty wise it is pretty well balanced, and I found there was no unrecoverable checkpoints in my playthroughs. Only downside is that the music isn't quite up to what was possible on the X68000, although it certainly wouldn't be classed as poor. A hidden gem!
Turbo Force (Arcade Archives) '91 Before the Psikyo games there was Sonic Wings and before that there was...TURBO FORCE!!! It is a right hodgepodge of generally completely unrelated ideas, but when your ship is a red car with massive jet engines and guns attached, you can expect it to be silly. Apparently the devs were just left to their own devices for a whole year (a generous time for Japanese arcade games in those days) so it has pretty good graphics and animations for the time. Unfortunately they probably didn't have particular good direction, as in addition to the rather random levels and enemies, there is one big flaw in that your ship-car's shot power level quickly reduces as you fire and you have to collect slightly random power ups that fall off the screen too quickly. Factor in a few ridiculous difficulty spikes along with this RNG element and it ultimately fails against its other more famous peers in a game you can reliably learn to beat. Despite that, it is undeniably silly fun for a few blasts, so I would still recommend it, especially for fans of Psikyo's catalogue of much more famous shooters. Decent and silly.
Infinos 2, released '15 The dev who made the excellent Andro Dumos 2 and Infinos Gaiden made this game prior. A horizontal retro shmup that feels like it could have come out of the genre's heyday in the early 90s. His first game, Infinos is available on his website for free (Picorinne Soft) and Gaiden is on Steam. This one was once available to buy on Playism, but since that store died one has to sail the choppy waters to get hold of it now, har harr! It's a good game that never quite reaches the heights of the best that inspired it. My main issue is the rather lacklustre firepower available to your ship, it does the job, and has some mild flexibility, but it is a little uninspired. The music and visuals also do the job well enough, but it is not till Infinos Gaiden where things will really start to shine. Average and inoffensive.
Rezon (Arcade Archives) '91 A very recent release on the Arcade Archives line, once I have finished messing around with this I can finally move on to 1992 shmups. This is a sidescrolling R-Type clone that has pretty good gameplay and a truly terrible soundtrack. Each track repeats after 5-7 seconds and a couple of the levels reuse earlier tracks. I don't think I have heard worse in a shmup from the 16 bit era (or later) so this is an achievement to brazenly make it so bad. The gameplay is quite tactical and solid, and while it gets a little too memorization heavy for the last two stages for my liking, the first four do allow for a bit of seat-of-your-pants adaptability which I alway appreciate. Minus points for a major bugbear of mine in that the ship moves faster diagonally than orthoganally, rare in an arcade shooter and indicative of the relative inexperience of the devs. Despite its flaws it is actually fun if you like R-type, so I am glad Hamster has dredged it out of utter obscurity. Both good and bad...so middling?
Oh, and Dishonoured 2 has been finished on low Chaos with Emily. Will do high (murderous) chaos with Corvo later to get my revenge on all the bastards who made me reload my save, so I'll talk more about it then. So far though I have enjoyed it, but it took quite a while to get into it. Just started Witcher 3 Blood & Wine in the meantime and yes, the combat does suck (though it wasn't that long ago I had the sublime combat of Dark Souls 3, so it is a hard transition in my case.)
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Duffman5
Junior Member
big cook, little cook welcome to our cafe
Posts: 1,332
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Post by Duffman5 on Apr 14, 2023 12:25:18 GMT
The weapons all have the exact same movesets, so every single combat encounter involves mashing the light attack button while dodging occasionally.
LOL, this sounds like combat in my favorite series, Risen. Yeah, I love my eurojank I have clocked over 180 hours in Risen 3, which seems everybody else hated. Thanks for the review, Uly, that's some money saved.
Not that I've ever felt attracted to this series. Tried the second one, didn't like it much. But yes, the cutscenes (some call it "the story") were awesome. Hang on I liked Risen 3, has some great humour. As for eurojank, my beloved TW and TWII own the genre
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wunty
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Post by wunty on Apr 14, 2023 12:29:51 GMT
What's TW and TWII?
Nowt wrong with some eurojank. Most of my favourite games are eurojank.
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Duffman5
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big cook, little cook welcome to our cafe
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Post by Duffman5 on Apr 14, 2023 13:05:57 GMT
Forsooth wunty The mighty Two Worlds and Two Worlds II
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wunty
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Post by wunty on Apr 14, 2023 13:15:28 GMT
I don’t even think I’ve heard of them! I’m off for a nosey.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2023 13:22:49 GMT
I binned the first Two Worlds when the characters kept using "mayhap".
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Duffman5
Junior Member
big cook, little cook welcome to our cafe
Posts: 1,332
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Post by Duffman5 on Apr 14, 2023 13:28:05 GMT
I don’t even think I’ve heard of them! I’m off for a nosey. Be kind to them, I loved and love them, the magic system in the second game has yet to be bettered even now. I played the first game for hours on end, my daughter was only 1 at the time so she used to sit/sleep (mostly sleep) with me while I played! @rum, get back to it man
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wunty
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Post by wunty on Apr 14, 2023 13:28:23 GMT
Mayhap you should have been a teeny bit more tolerant.
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Duffman5
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big cook, little cook welcome to our cafe
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Post by Duffman5 on Apr 14, 2023 13:31:06 GMT
EG gave TWII 7/10!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2023 13:32:52 GMT
Mayhap you should have been a teeny bit more tolerant. Mayhap, mayhap not.
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wunty
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Post by wunty on Apr 14, 2023 13:33:44 GMT
I don’t even think I’ve heard of them! I’m off for a nosey. Be kind to them, I loved and love them, the magic system in the second game has yet to be bettered even now. I played the first game for hours on end, my daughter was only 1 at the time so she used to sit/sleep (mostly sleep) with me while I played! @rum, get back to it man Ah man that really reminds me of Dark Souls 1 (some would say that's similarly janky - and they'd be right). Still recall playing that having my son, who is now at high school, asleep on me as he wasn't well.
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Post by Rubicon on Apr 14, 2023 19:08:35 GMT
10. Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun (PC)
So the game (plus the Firestorm expansion) is available as freeware and been patched to work on modern systems - for the most part it's worked fine but I did experience one or two crashes when loading a save but had no other issues.
I always loved the desolate atmosphere of the Tiberian games and think it still looks great with a particular nod to the GDI mech design and animations. Overall the game is more slow paced compared to Red Alert 2 which gives you time to breathe and build your base/units (which actually feels like building a proper base) as well as explore if you like. The FMV cast includes James Earl Jones, Michael Biehn and the wonderful Joseph D. Kucan as Kane. The only real area the game has noticeably aged are the CGI victory/loss screens but these are brief and still great fun to watch anyway.
My issue with the game is with the missions. You're given a primary mission with optional missions to make it easier in some way but more often than not these take the form of 'stealth' missions, where you have no base and a handful of units to work with, making them more or less trial and error. Initially it was fun exploring a map and finding the right routes and order to do things but it began to feel like I was doing more of that than actual base building and my patience was beginning to go.
There are a couple of other issues with some unit attacks not registering on elevated terrain and wall structures counting as main buildings so you need to scour the map to find and destroy them which seems archaic. Balance overall feels fine but the lack of a proper GDI artillery/superweapon (the ion cannon doesn't appear until the end) can cause bit of a stalemate if your trying to keep units alive. I was also reminded of the engineer rush which the AI did a couple of times and will forever be bullshit.
I did start the Firestorm expansion but after a couple of irritating opening GDI missions I'm putting it on pause and might come back to it.
Despite the issues I have it's been a great trip back into the universe.
8.5/10
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malek86
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Pomegranate Deseeder
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Post by malek86 on Apr 14, 2023 21:24:57 GMT
Whispering Willows (PC)
This has been in my Prime Gaming backlog for a very long time. I guess it wasn't really worth it though. As Elena, a young girl descendant from natives, you go around a 2D mansion, visiting rooms, meeting ghosts, and using your shamanic spirit powers to solve puzzles by possessing items. The basic storyline is interesting enough, but the ending is a copout and leaves you wholly unsatisfied. There is very little dialogue so you don't get a feel of the characters either, not even Elena.
The hand-drawn artwork sure looks nice, in spite of the very low framerate animations, and the music is serviceable, if not exactly memorable. What really brings the game down however, aside from the aforementioned ending, is the puzzles. They are never more complicated than "go in this place and get an item to open a locked door". The place where you need to go is always spelled out for you, as well. Feels almost more like a visual novel. You occasionally have to run from enemies, but there's so few of these encounters throughout. There could have been potential for the spirit mechanic as well, but it's very underused. The game is also extremely short, no more than 3 hours. I know it was a Kickstarter project, makes me wonder if they had to scale down their plans after running out of funds or something.
5/10
One close game I can think of is Goetia (same perspective and basic idea of interacting with the world by possessing items), but that one was a lot harder and with a more interesting story.
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Post by ToomuchFluffy on Apr 15, 2023 6:57:03 GMT
I don’t even think I’ve heard of them! I’m off for a nosey. Be kind to them, I loved and love them, the magic system in the second game has yet to be bettered even now. I played the first game for hours on end, my daughter was only 1 at the time so she used to sit/sleep (mostly sleep) with me while I played! @rum, get back to it man TW2 was definitely fun playing around with the magic system and the soundtrack was also quite good. One of these days I will get back to it and do a melee playthrough.
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malek86
Junior Member
Pomegranate Deseeder
Posts: 3,176
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Post by malek86 on Apr 15, 2023 20:16:52 GMT
Candies'n'Curses (Android)
A mobile F2P game with arcade vibes. As plucky girl Molli Pop (that's some name), you must escape a cursed mansion and eventually break the curse on its inhabitants. It's all realised in a cutesy pixel art style with some good music too.
Gameplay is kinda hard to describe, you could say it's a very fast-paced mix between Bubble Bobble and a roguelite. Early levels are pretty slow, but things really start to get fun after the second boss. And by the second run through (which is a remix with harder levels and bosses), things get seriously hectic. Avoiding damage becomes more or less impossible, but playing well can minimise it. So you really do feel like your own skills are improving, not just your stats. That said, it does sometimes feel like you are at the mercy of the RNG, especially in the final levels where the screen is choke full with enemies and bullets, and even seeing your own position can be difficult.
Unlike most F2P games, this one has an actual end, and I've finally managed to finish it. Took me many months of playing on and off, because the second run through (which is required for the ending) is a lot harder. But it was satisfying for sure. This is one game that goes to show devs can have some great ideas on mobile too. I do kinda wish there was an endless mode though.
8/10
As a disclaimer, I bought two items: one to remove ads and double your currency, and another to further double your currency. I paid around 6 euro for each item, which you could call supporting the devs since it's a pretty good game (also it was wallet money anyway). However, the first item also included a pretty strong weapon that I've been using from the start and definitely helped me get through the game. So you could say it's a bit pay-to-win. Then again, there is no multiplayer other than leaderboards, so it's not that bad.
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Post by Hanimalle on Apr 16, 2023 7:31:03 GMT
The Gunk
This was, in my opinion, an average game all-around though thankfully quite short and as such it did not overstay its welcome. The two things I liked about it are first its colourful graphics as well as the way everything came back to life once you cleaned up the gunk in an area. And second, the relationship and banter between the two main characters which is honestly what kept me going throughout this game.
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Post by harrypalmer on Apr 16, 2023 17:51:19 GMT
Mass Effect 3 - 9/10
Much better than I was expecting, almost as good as 2. In fact, some things are even better: the story is very compelling and propels you to the end, the citadel finally gets some great content, the military strength concept is great and really gives everything you do a sense of urgency and purpose, all the hacking and mining shite is gone!
But the combat is ridiculously easy, I never died or healed, which is mad. But I’m in these games for the characters and story, and BioWare delivered on those big time.
I also wish they’d kept more of the planet exploration from 1, but it was boring and terrible in 1 so I can see why they ditched it.
ME1 8/10 Although I think the story is the best ME2 9.5
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Post by bichii2 on Apr 17, 2023 11:22:48 GMT
Hogwarts legacy
Finished after 22 hours lvl 28.
Yeah pretty good. Some awful things but I enjoyed it overall. The combat once you've unlocked more spells, especially the curses, makes you feel nice and powerful. There were some good side quest but as usual with most games it went on too long for me. The open world for me was mostly pointless and didn't make me want to explore it unlike the best open world games. The soundtrack was outstanding.
7/10
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Post by harrypalmer on Apr 17, 2023 12:42:56 GMT
Yeah, it's tough to make an open world compelling when all the loot mainly consists of scarfs.
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Duffman5
Junior Member
big cook, little cook welcome to our cafe
Posts: 1,332
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Post by Duffman5 on Apr 18, 2023 6:35:17 GMT
Mass Effect 3 - 9/10Much better than I was expecting, almost as good as 2. In fact, some things are even better: the story is very compelling and propels you to the end, the citadel finally gets some great content, the military strength concept is great and really gives everything you do a sense of urgency and purpose, all the hacking and mining shite is gone! But the combat is ridiculously easy, I never died or healed, which is mad. But I’m in these games for the characters and story, and BioWare delivered on those big time. I also wish they’d kept more of the planet exploration from 1, but it was boring and terrible in 1 so I can see why they ditched it. ME1 8/10 Although I think the story is the best ME2 9.5
I ranked all 3 10/10 wonderful series, are you going to try Andromeda ? I'm about 30 hours in (need to go back) and it is good, far better than the press it got on release. TBF I have not completed yet though, so that might change.
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