Definitely interesting that they kept the original game mostly intact and upgraded the visuals so they are more modern. Considering the complaints made about the game it would've been the perfect time to make adjustments while making this.

That said I still enjoyed it, can't really adequately explain why haha. The comic book feels is really well done, the plot and conspiracy make little sense but those tend to be the best kind of conspiracies. The gameplay feels like a game of the originals age with new graphics so there's a weird contrast happening. A few random events are also annoying. Like taking out the guards in a camp, having more guards spawn in randomly while you're spying on a meeting and fail the mission because they found a body.

If you played the original and have fond memories I'd recommend giving this a go... When it's on offer really cheap.

A basic but still enjoyable game. Gameplay is rather good for a game that's flown quite under the radar but I can see why it would be considered underwhelming. I however set my expectations rather low as the game had been out a few months before I even came across it. The cloak and bullet time were both fun mechanics to mess around with, especially in the larger fights. The inspiration for FEAR was clearly evident though the game doesn't really hit the same level as that first FEAR game.

The story has nothing to write home about, mainly just there to justify the running and gunning. It does build up to a somewhat decent conclusion. A few things aren't really explained well unfortunately.

Some settings for the UI would've been welcome, namely and option to increase subtitle size.

Despite the shortcomings I'm considering picking up the season pass once a few of the DLCs are out. This is what I would call a proof of concept game so if there is a sequel I do look forward to seeing it.

As remakes go this was really great. Mostly reminiscent of the original but with enough changes that things still feel fresh. I'd recommend this to anyone that enjoyed the original game or part 1 of the remake.

Gameplay felt fluid and responsive which I was happy about but I did play it on easy. Some of the systems from the first game were reworked and I had some trouble wrapping my head around them.

Queen's Blood was a fun addition to the game. One of those take it or leave it side games but the competition that happens mid game was well set up as it's completely optional.

Helldive, Shoot, Live, Repeat

One of the best games I've played in ages in terms of multiplayer games. It knows what it's doing and how it wants to go about it. Doesn't restrict you to playing it in a certain way either. You choose whatever weapons and stratagems work for you.

For example I played a game where most of the people preferred selecting defensive stratagems like the turrets. I however much prefer the Flamethrower, guard dog, cluster bomb and one kind of turret when fighting bugs, with the Flamethrower swapped out for something that packs a punch to armour for the Rust Buckets.

Also really liking the map and how the Devs can develop the narrative by adding new areas to play in and giving a reason why. I'm looking forward to seeing where the game goes.

For Liberty!

The first milestone on my path to playing all the Borderlands games + DLC in order thanks to that offer on the Pandora's Box bundle. Haven't played this one since it first came out back in 2009. I remembered that I wasn't a fan of it back then, didn't like the ending and the game felt a little too hard. Of course this was because I didn't take the time to level up properly.

Skip to 15 years later and I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed the game. I took the time to do the side quests and level up so I was able to blast my way through the latter half of the game. A strategy I didn't really follow the first time around and paid for it dearly with one tough fight after another. The ending is still a bit of a dud I found but now with the sequels it doesn't seem that bad, just another link in the narrative chain.

The DLC was pretty fun all around too. Other than Underdome which I didn't play as it's not a campaign DLC. A few narrative threads here and there like Athena, whom I never knew the backstory of when playing the pre sequel as this is my first time playing the DLC.

The world was a lot of fun as well, a bit more barren when compared to 2 and 3 but still has character. This is also explained in the sequel in a way as before the opening of the vault this planet was of little interest to anyone.

This game and a few of the era are the games that give rise to my "concept game" theory. The first entry in a given series is usually a sample of what that game can be, Assassin's Creed, Watch Dogs etc. With the sequel being the one people remember.

I wouldn't say this was a bad game at all. It definitely loses some of the appeal that the previous entries had. The most glaring omission being the comic book looking cutscenes and general cel shaded look and feel of the world that helped make the first game stand out.

Also feel like the powers themselves aren't as fun or as interactive with the environment as electricity was in the first two games. The villain wasn't as interesting either, the villains for the first two games are brilliant and while the villain here wasn't bad they just weren't on the same level.

Picked this up as an avid Assassin's Creed fan but wasn't sure what the promise that it would go back to the franchises roots meant. I really liked the old games but also liked the recent RPG games.

What we got was a weird mix, gameplay is very much like the older games but there are still small RPG elements in the game. The map is a little too big for the content the game offers as well. The side quests can be done in hardly any time at all and there are large empty parts of the map that is of no interest (mostly the desert so I can understand that). The main story was a bit lacking, it's about Basim and his origins but the ending doesn't really offer anything to add to what we already knew. Just a few minor details.

It was nice to see how Basim and Haytham met though. As brief as that mission was.

I do wonder why this was made into a game of its own and why it wasn't made into a large piece of DLC for Valhalla like Dawn Of Ragnarok.

Another one I wasn't sure what to expect from but one I did enjoy overall. The gameplay was pretty smooth and all the weapons/gadgets were easy to equip and remember the buttons for. No awkward combos or anything like that.

I particularly loved the setting, a group of monster hunters who fight those monsters in the wild west. They have a beastiary and a chain of command, cells all around the country etc.

Going around their HQ allows you to see various bits of history, like the cholera outbreak actually being a case of necromancy. My favourite was that members of the Rentier Institute fought for Lincoln in the American civil war as there were vampires fighting for the other side.

The main guy also looks a little like Hellboy, mainly due to the gauntlet and what he generally does as a profession.

My main problem with this game was the save file. I put in around 4 hours in my first sitting and took a break. I can back to see that my save file was for the second mission and not for the 5th mission which was the one I had reached. As I wasn't sure this would happen again I ran through the game in easy mode.

A very underrated game in my opinion. The combat is quite fun and thanks to the world tiers you can scale the difficulty to whatever you're comfortable with. The story for the base game is pretty good too, a bit slow at times but overall rather enjoyable.

The first time I played it on PS4 I didn't really put the world tiers up that high but this time I got to world tier 14 and started unlocking the higher tier gear. The cosmetic options were a welcome addition as well as last time I played it there weren't any. Also made more use of modding the gear and weapons this time around and appreciated the added boost to the weapons and armour.

The Worldslayer campaign was a nice little tieing up loose ends for the characters at camp and a good cliffhanger for Amy further narrative. The dungeon at the end also feels like a better way of collecting legendary gear, I lowered the Apocalypse tier to 1 and still got a bunch of legendary gear.

The main issues I have with this game is that there are a few plot threads from the main game that don't see a resolution. Bad guys you encounter make an appearance in the cinematic snippets in the credits but that's it. Not really an issue if a sequel gets announced though.

The end can be a bit of a struggle too if you want to increase your apocalypse gear and upgrade equipment as you'll need drop pod resources. These are acquired through expeditions which can be challenging to do solo.

I was a little unsure a out how I'd find Baldur's Gate once I got around to playing it. Larian's previous games like Divinity: Original Sin I loved but there were plenty of difficult moments where I considered giving up. Finally jumped into Baldur's Gate around Christmas though as from the start I knew I was going to enjoy.

A lack of understanding from the start meant I made a few choices or mistakes I otherwise wouldn't have made but the mechanics aren't hard to understand after the opening few hours. For my first play through I did use a guide to make sure I didn't miss anything as there are a few points of no return in the game where certain quests disappear or potential party members move on. Despite this the world seems very alive and interesting, lots of little details scattered around so it makes sense that things are easily overlooked.

It took me roughly 70 hours to finish the game which I was fully expecting. The campaign alone is about 50 hours but I also did a bunch of side quests (and save scummed my way through tough fights). The first few hours I played on normal difficulty but found that to be a bit of a challenge so swapped it to easy (explorer) which I found to be a bit more manageable.

The story was great and went by at a fair pace even though it took me 70 hours. Plenty of intrigue, mysteries, questionable allies and great villains to overcome. The side quests also have a great deal of depth for side quests which I appreciated. D&D lore is also a big thing in this game so there are books, notes, conversations and more that give you plenty of knowledge about the world, along with possibly a few hints at previous games. The choices you make in the story have an impact on the world as well which was fun to see. I look forward to any DLC (if there will be any) that comes out in the future.

The main issue I have with this game was the combat. Straightforward turn based approach which was fine but the abilities could be a bit overwhelming. Was always clear which spells were AOE or had a single target etc. This took me a while to master. An overwatch ability for ranged characters wouldn't go amiss either. If an enemy runs past a melee character they'll be attacked but ranged characters dot have an ability like that.

My advice as well is at the start go into settings and alter the text size as my games dialogue text was tiny with the default settings. If time is also an issue for you and you don't want to spend a whole evening on one fight then switch to explorer. If you are at the start you can select Custom difficulty which gives you a few extra choices.

Happy adventuring!