Fucking amazing. It's disgusting how good this game is both as a sequel AND just as a yakuza game even compared to the later games. Kiwami 2 genuinely just does fuck this game up especially with the music, like yes kiryu getting stabbed in kiwami was awful but holy shit the final scene on Kamurocho Hills was so beautiful and heart wrenching in the og and then kiwami says "hey what if we played that boonk ass ugly ass shitty ass bullshit ass SiM song"
But yeah anyway game is fucking amazing, if Miike made a Yakuza 2 movie it'd be the best thing ever made.

Absolutely fantastic collection. I struggle to think of another series so... complete? Everything that happens in each game is directly related to something in another. Every planet, race and character has lore and history. So many major conflicts and key details about things that may be discussed or learned about during a mission are built upon down the line, often tying into the story in ways far more significant than I would've expected. Rarely is something explained without later being shown, it's pretty amazing, and it makes every resolution to a conflict all that more fulfilling.

I could understand the complaint that Shepard serves as this Mary Sue of the universe, somehow becoming involved with just about everything and always at the forefront to correcting anything that can be, but honestly I can't agree with that being a negative. Commander Shepard is a hero, and I finally see now why the character is so beloved by so many.

It's strange to think that games with so much player-input and dialogue options could still have a protagonist that doesn't feel like a self-insert. Despite me choosing everything that she said, I still found myself looking at Shepard and respecting her as a character. I'm not sure how to really explain this but idk, I really love this series.

I've reviewed 1 and 2 already (although my review of 2 is p much just adrenaline-fuelled gushing bc I love it so much), I'm hoping to review 3 on its own page as well but as of right now I'm almost overwhelmed with the simple fact the journey is over. All I know for sure is that I loved it, this franchise has skyrocketed to my favourites of all time and while I understand why 3's ending is divisive I can't understand how anyone could call it bad.

That's all from me, this collection was free on PS+ recently, anyone that has that has no excuse not to experience it for themselves :p

Assassin's Creed had a great concept and setting but was held back by the repetitiveness of the gameplay. Each memory sequence was the same: get your target, go to relevant city, speak to assassin, complete the same three activities, go back to assassin, complete assassination and then return to Masyaf. At the halfway point, I did struggle with this but Altair's journey and the Crusade setting kept me playing.
I would recommend Assassin's Creed to people who have played some of the later titles, especially Assassin's Creed II, who want to see how the series began. However if you are a newcomer to the series, don't start with this game but i would recommend Assassin's Creed II instead.

“Our boyfriends have been kidnapped!”

River City Girls is one of the first ever beat-‘em-up games I’ve ever played. I dabbled in the original River City game, but never really enjoyed it. However, after seeing that WayForward, the company that created River City Girls, was making a second game, I was interested. Some of my friends had told me how good the game was, but I thought I wouldn’t enjoy it. Well, I was wrong.

You can play as Misako or Kyoko, two girls who are on the hunt for their boyfriends after Kyoko is sent a picture of them presumably being kidnapped. The story is very simple in theory, but offers fun twists and funny dialogue. At the time of me writing this, I haven’t done a second playthrough, so the story could be different. For my first playthrough however, I personally played as Kyoko, simply because I preferred her design. But about halfway through, I found out the two girls have pretty different movesets from each other, with Kyoko’s attacks being faster while Misako’s are slower. I prefer the speediness of attacks, so I’m glad I picked Kyoko.

Now, of course, the gameplay is the most important. The game isn’t carried by its story, so the gameplay needs to be fun; and yes indeed it was. Pummeling the various amounts of enemies was enjoyable and trying new combos was even more fun. The shop system where you can buy items to replenish stamina, add extra damage or buying a new attack entirely was something I felt unique to the game. It gave me incentive to go out and get more money by beating up the enemies in the area so I could go buy a new way to attack and add it to a combo. It was a clever system that I hope is in the second game.

The characters were very well written and hearing some of my favorite voice actors was such a nice treat. Sure the game had a kind of lackluster story, but the characters make up for it big time. I found myself laughing at quite a few scenes. The art direction too was great and I loved seeing a sort of comic book feel in the game.

Overall, I give the game a solid four out of five stars. The only things weighing this game down are the lackluster story and how short the game is. However, River City Girls was certainly such a fun and witty experience that I hope to replay some time in the future.

Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor is a great example of, not only an open world game, but also how a game developer can take a well known world and expand it. Middle-Earth is arguably one of the most well known fantasy world in any entertainment medium, so choosing to set the game in a part of Middle-Earth that is not fully explored, Mordor, was a great idea. Initially, I was worried that Mordor would be a bland environment for an open world game but I was happy to be proven wrong. Not only does it prove to be a menacing an treacherous place, but it also provides a great area for players to experiment with their wraith and ranger abilities.

Like with Mad Max, Shadow of Mordor, proves to be an excellent open world game. It has enough side activities and collectibles to keep the player occupied and to prevent Mordor from feeling empty; but not too many to flood the map. I also liked the variety of side missions that encouraged you to use all your weapons and skills to complete, rather than keep using the same playstyle. Speaking of the skills, these were quite varied but I did find that in the second half of the game I was only really using a handful of them and ignoring some like the poison ability, unless a quest needed me to use it. Overall, there is enough variety in the skills to suit most playstyles.

Unfortunately, not everything is a positive. I found both the stealth and freerunning gameplay to be quite limited. Both remined me of early Assassin's Creed games, as the gameplay felt clunky and basic. For eample, stealth is basically avoid the eyesight of your enemy. You can simply crouch behind an enemy and the won't sense you. Additionally, if you are spotted you can hide behind a wall and after a few seconds, the enemies forget you were there... despite killing their comrades. The other gameplay mechanic that isn't too fleshed out is the Nemesis system. This system is unique to Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor and it is supposed to create orcs that act as your rivals in the game. I'll be honest, most orcs are pretty much the same, to the point where some have very similar names, and I kept forgetting which ones I had encountered before. Although these gameplay mechanics aren't as polished as in some games, they don't take too much from the overall experience.

Overall, I would recommend Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor to anyone who is looking for a fantasy open world adventure game or someone who is look for a great Lord of the Rings themed game. I definitely enjoyed my time with the game I will be playing its sequel at some point.

My biggest regret playing Bastion was the fact that I did not play it sooner. Bastion is an action RPG with a bit of a Wild West vibe, as its story is told as you play via a grizzled narrator. You play as 'The Kid' a survivor of the apocalyptic-like event called the Calamity. You must traverse the floating remains of the world, trying to find anyone who has survived, whilst fending off various enemies. I enjoyed the varied environments that you trabel through, as well as the way that the story is told to you.

Aside from the story and world, I also enjoyed the variety of weapons and skills that you earn across the game. There is a lot of choice from which ranged and melee weapon you wish to use to which upgrades you want to use to enhance your weapons. However, I did find that I would always use the same two weapons. However there is definitely plenty of options that would support many different playstyles.

Overall, I would recommend Bastion to anyone who wants to play a short action RPG.