582 Reviews liked by Herodotus


This review contains spoilers

This is a really fun game that no one has heard about, and I want to show my enjoyment of it to more people. The Story is that Captain stone has been captured in a POW camp and has to escape, but then twists and turns require him to end getting captured many times, this story is great and lead to a number of creative possibilities. The Characters are all great, from their personalities to their actions make none of the cast feel bland at all, especially the protagonist's serious yet jokey attitude makes him stand out from other protagonists. The Graphics are not great, but work for the PS2 and the style is near perfection for the Prisoner of war atmosphere, which is also great taking full advantage of its setting and making every camp feel like these characters are actually going there, not real characters quality but amazing for a PS2 game. The Gameplay is inspired by Metal gear Solid, you sneak around, avoiding guards and getting items and doing tasks to help escape from each POW camp, it's extremely fun to do, none of the missions are boring and some have multiple ways you could complete them, 1 downside I do have to it is when you miss roll call, and guards look around for you, after you return to your group later, the guards act like you never went missing, it would be great if they could incorporate real life physics to each part of the game, but that's the only big problem I have with it. The Voice acting ranges from great to off, especially for the German guards, some of their fake accents can be so bad that they bring un-intentional comedy to the game. Music is perfect for a PS2 POW game, no updates would improve its style, sounds are also good, even intimidating when thanks to the setting and atmosphere and risk of getting caught. Prisoner of War is a great game and I recommend it for all gamers I know.

these guys are going to be so surprised when they find out about level design

For the love of god, get me off these country roads.

and you don't seem to understand

It was pretty fun when you got to the serial experiments mission and lained over everyone.

Absolutely gorgeous game with nothing to do in it. Played once, played them all.

Shut the fuck up and let me wash in peace, Waltuh.

fantastic ds game! outstanding graphics, nonredundant terraforming system, and engaging characters (real for like 2 guys)!! cant wait for mainline pokemon games on the wii! itll be revolutionary!!!!!!

I refuse to believe this game was coded by mere mortals. This game is biblical. Sent down from the heavens.

Loved the attention to detail. Some changes aren't noticed until a second playthrough, and other changes take a very sharp eye and lots of attention...or YouTube video breakdowns

This review contains spoilers

I really, really wanted to love Control. I love its atmosphere, its aesthetics, its setting. Every set piece it throws at you is meticulously crafted to amaze and unsettle you, every text blurb scattered across its levels is a joy to read. It's the kind of game where you can tell there was a team of people involved: every little detail is so full of life, overflowing with passion for this world.

For starters, its opening is, in my opinion, one of the best openings I've ever experienced in a game of its kind. You're instantly aware of the protagonist's motivations and emotions, and you're right away in her shoes, trying to figure out what the hell is going on. But then its ending is so abrupt that it might as well be a movie that jumpcuts to a paragraph explaining what the characters were up to after the filmmakers ran out of money and couldn't film a proper ending.

However, I can tolerate a rushed ending, I can even tolerate a bit of an incoherent plot. What really ruined this game for me was the dialogue, especially the main character's dialogue.

Jessie Faden, the protagonist, could've easily been one of my favorite women in a video game of this kind. She's not played up to be strong, and is honestly just a girl figuring her shit out after some hardcore childhood trauma. Her backstory feels so human, and every little crumb we get of it is among some of the best writing in the game. The way she talks though? Un-fucking-bearable. By the time I was nearing this game's ending I was saying out loud "Oh my god, shut up" several times. She has a terminal case of AAA game dialogue. She talks like a child. She has to give you the solution to every puzzle the moment you start looking at it. Every single kinda weird thing that happens in front of her has to be immediately followed up by some variation of "Wow, that's weird", even though it is established pretty early on that this woman was at the center of possibly the most terrifying and otherworldly supernatural event ever described in the game. It is utterly baffling to me that this grown-ass woman is written like a teenage girl, completely squandering the potential she had.

As for the rest of the cast, a few of them are spectacular (Trench and Darling are simply unforgettable), and the rest are pretty subpar. Mediocre writing paired with mediocre performances really take the wind out of some story beats, especially Jesse's brother, who is built up as this very important character but is never actually allowed any room to breathe and define himself as something other than a one-note character. Even one of the most captivating characters, Ahti, never feels like anything more than a played out trope.

I cannot emphasize enough how much I wanted to love this game, and how tired of it I was when credits rolled. I was really expecting Remedy to iron out Alan Wake's flaws and go to town on sci-fi horror with a good female protagonist. But all I got was all of Alan Wake's flaws, just with better gameplay.

Should have been named MGSV: Retcon everything. So yeah, the game's story is awful. Kojima really went out of his way to show how awful he is at storytelling. Language killing parasites? And the story's twist? All garbage. Skull face was a waste. Mother Base a waste, everything was just a waste. Except the gameplay, which was the only redeeming factor for this game. Even then, it's not perfect, with iffy hit boxes, poor mission system, and tons of repetition and grinding. But man, that stealth gameplay is fantastic.