Mamekuma
It's not a bad game, but damn does the budget show.
Hollow sound design, somewhat confusing combat, imbalanced classes, uninspired missions... Battlefront 2 (2005) this is not. The melee-focus hurts the game quite a bit, and even heroes seem underwhelming.
For my LOTR game fix, I'll stick with Two Towrs, RotK, Third Age, and LOTRO.
Hollow sound design, somewhat confusing combat, imbalanced classes, uninspired missions... Battlefront 2 (2005) this is not. The melee-focus hurts the game quite a bit, and even heroes seem underwhelming.
For my LOTR game fix, I'll stick with Two Towrs, RotK, Third Age, and LOTRO.
2014
Not even the charming LEGO setting and relaxing gameplay can wash away the taint of these movies.
Once I saw Bofur in his dumbass hat, I immediately remembered how much I hate these movies and how little I want to spend in this version of The Hobbit.
Also the game is incomplete and only has the first 2 movies. Play the far superior LEGO LOTR game, instead, which is both charming and feature complete.
Once I saw Bofur in his dumbass hat, I immediately remembered how much I hate these movies and how little I want to spend in this version of The Hobbit.
Also the game is incomplete and only has the first 2 movies. Play the far superior LEGO LOTR game, instead, which is both charming and feature complete.
Whoever made the bright idea to make this a mandatory completion to finish the epilogue (aka, a 30 second cutscene that fades to a "The End" screen), go fuck yourself. Awful decision.
You get nothing for your completion, are required to do hours of side tracked DLC and/or be forced to use the tedious alchemy system, and you barely even get to hang out with Hans, a great character.
Wish I never had this installed. Avoid at all costs, you get nothing for it.
You get nothing for your completion, are required to do hours of side tracked DLC and/or be forced to use the tedious alchemy system, and you barely even get to hang out with Hans, a great character.
Wish I never had this installed. Avoid at all costs, you get nothing for it.
A really great game made by a talented, small, and ambitious team that completely nailed the fantasy they were aiming for. You really feel like a shit-stained-peasant-turned-knight and that feeling never quite goes away—for better and worse.
I don’t have any nuance to add to this conversation, so I’ll summarize it below in a Pros, Cons, and Everything Else list:
Pros:
+ The RPG elements. From learning to read, to keeping up your appearance, to what Henry likes to sleep on best, you always feel firmly planted in Henry’s boots.
+ The progression. Not only does it do hardcore RPG progression well, but you honestly see and feel it. Henry grows with your stats, and over the course of the story when you find out who Henry truly is, it shows. His speech and mannerisms are reflected well in the ongoing narrative, but you also feel it as you learn combos, wear heavier armor, swing a sword better, and read bigger and longer books.
+ The narrative. It slogged a bit in the middle third with some boring quests, but it started strong and ended stronger.
+ The characters. Game of Thrones taught me to be wary of any nobility, but this game, thankfully, bucks that recent trend. Your comrades are true comrades, full of honor (and wine). Oddly refreshing.
+ The world. While I, personally, prefer a little more magic in my fantasy, just a touch, this was once again a breath of fresh air in the current video game landscape. No magic, no goblins, just you, a sword, and other people with swords.
+ Fast travel. What a genius little gimmick.
Cons:
- The world. While beautifully crafted and easy to traverse, there is almost quite literally nothing to see or do. There are some treasure, of course, but you’ll not find any secret, special armor or weapons, no hidden grottos with mysterious creatures, nothing. Witcher 3 this is not.
- The quests. I enjoyed a handful and the latter end of the main story was exciting and brisk, but there’s nothing to latch onto elsewhere. A few characters are fine, some endings are fun, but most of these quests are boring. Some are downright awful.
- The RPG elements. Ahhhhhhh, I said this was a pro earlier; clever, no?? Most of what Warhorse accomplished sticks the landing, but others definitely don’t and often get in the way. The cleanliness and equipment upkeep is brutal and too frequent; persuasion and intimidation are far too easy; equipment is largely lackluster and there’s not much to look forward to. These aren’t deal breaker, but splinters in the woodwork.
- The combat. Fucking hated it for all 70 hours, and I gave it an honest try: master strokes, combos, feints, parrys. When an enemy died in one swing I was in heaven, otherwise I was getting swamped by messy AI or locked into a 1-on-1 for what felt like ages. Hated it, hated it, hated it, and I love old CRPGs.
Everything else:
? The bugs. This is a given for any large, open-world RPG but certain bugs were a pain. That said, I’m surprised at how well this ran! No crashes, and really the only bugs I ran into consistently were enemy AI. Anything else was minor.
? The pacing. It was never awful, but certain missions need to have been thrown in the bin. The monastery? Awful. The coin forging investigation? Way too long. Forcing a (pretty good) DLC quest at the end of the epilogue? C’mon now.
? The DLC. Never fantastic, sometimes bad. Never earth-shatteringly awful.
? The engine. Between this and Hunt: Showdown, I’m not so sure I love the Crytek engine anymore. But! It’s not all bad! The game can really be a looker in sunny fields, the light shining on plates of armor and glistening blood on swords. Other times you’re watching 720p compressed videos and the horizon is filled with 2D sprites of green trees.
? The “realism”. Much like Red Dead 2, the realism seems to ebb and flow with what the designers felt was appropriate. You pick up each individual item, but can transfer to your horse anywhere at any time; alcohol slowly affects Henry instead of all at once like most games, but you can’t drink water or bread to mitigate the effects; clothes affect how people react to you, but you can change on the fly right before their eyes and get better deals. None of this is a deal breaker—the what it does do well only enhances the experience—but this thought wouldn’t leave my mind for the dozen or so hours.
I don’t have any nuance to add to this conversation, so I’ll summarize it below in a Pros, Cons, and Everything Else list:
Pros:
+ The RPG elements. From learning to read, to keeping up your appearance, to what Henry likes to sleep on best, you always feel firmly planted in Henry’s boots.
+ The progression. Not only does it do hardcore RPG progression well, but you honestly see and feel it. Henry grows with your stats, and over the course of the story when you find out who Henry truly is, it shows. His speech and mannerisms are reflected well in the ongoing narrative, but you also feel it as you learn combos, wear heavier armor, swing a sword better, and read bigger and longer books.
+ The narrative. It slogged a bit in the middle third with some boring quests, but it started strong and ended stronger.
+ The characters. Game of Thrones taught me to be wary of any nobility, but this game, thankfully, bucks that recent trend. Your comrades are true comrades, full of honor (and wine). Oddly refreshing.
+ The world. While I, personally, prefer a little more magic in my fantasy, just a touch, this was once again a breath of fresh air in the current video game landscape. No magic, no goblins, just you, a sword, and other people with swords.
+ Fast travel. What a genius little gimmick.
Cons:
- The world. While beautifully crafted and easy to traverse, there is almost quite literally nothing to see or do. There are some treasure, of course, but you’ll not find any secret, special armor or weapons, no hidden grottos with mysterious creatures, nothing. Witcher 3 this is not.
- The quests. I enjoyed a handful and the latter end of the main story was exciting and brisk, but there’s nothing to latch onto elsewhere. A few characters are fine, some endings are fun, but most of these quests are boring. Some are downright awful.
- The RPG elements. Ahhhhhhh, I said this was a pro earlier; clever, no?? Most of what Warhorse accomplished sticks the landing, but others definitely don’t and often get in the way. The cleanliness and equipment upkeep is brutal and too frequent; persuasion and intimidation are far too easy; equipment is largely lackluster and there’s not much to look forward to. These aren’t deal breaker, but splinters in the woodwork.
- The combat. Fucking hated it for all 70 hours, and I gave it an honest try: master strokes, combos, feints, parrys. When an enemy died in one swing I was in heaven, otherwise I was getting swamped by messy AI or locked into a 1-on-1 for what felt like ages. Hated it, hated it, hated it, and I love old CRPGs.
Everything else:
? The bugs. This is a given for any large, open-world RPG but certain bugs were a pain. That said, I’m surprised at how well this ran! No crashes, and really the only bugs I ran into consistently were enemy AI. Anything else was minor.
? The pacing. It was never awful, but certain missions need to have been thrown in the bin. The monastery? Awful. The coin forging investigation? Way too long. Forcing a (pretty good) DLC quest at the end of the epilogue? C’mon now.
? The DLC. Never fantastic, sometimes bad. Never earth-shatteringly awful.
? The engine. Between this and Hunt: Showdown, I’m not so sure I love the Crytek engine anymore. But! It’s not all bad! The game can really be a looker in sunny fields, the light shining on plates of armor and glistening blood on swords. Other times you’re watching 720p compressed videos and the horizon is filled with 2D sprites of green trees.
? The “realism”. Much like Red Dead 2, the realism seems to ebb and flow with what the designers felt was appropriate. You pick up each individual item, but can transfer to your horse anywhere at any time; alcohol slowly affects Henry instead of all at once like most games, but you can’t drink water or bread to mitigate the effects; clothes affect how people react to you, but you can change on the fly right before their eyes and get better deals. None of this is a deal breaker—the what it does do well only enhances the experience—but this thought wouldn’t leave my mind for the dozen or so hours.
Not very fun, and actually quite frustrating at times. I barely even like the dog. Story is fine since it involves Theresa, a good character.
One of the all-time classics to ever grace a Playstation 2 (and PCs).
The AI kinda sucks and some missions can be annoyingly unbalanced, but this is a no-frills, lightsaber-less, boots to the ground 50+ kills a mission romp. BF2 may debatably be the better game, but this game came out the gate fun as hell and still is 20 years later.
The AI kinda sucks and some missions can be annoyingly unbalanced, but this is a no-frills, lightsaber-less, boots to the ground 50+ kills a mission romp. BF2 may debatably be the better game, but this game came out the gate fun as hell and still is 20 years later.
It feels unfair to attribute any scores or ratings to a free itch.io game, but it's good fun and worth the 10 minutes it takes from start to finish!
The game is obviously just a fun little project, but there's a genuine artisanship to it. Nothing truly remarkable, but fun all the same.
The game is obviously just a fun little project, but there's a genuine artisanship to it. Nothing truly remarkable, but fun all the same.
2024
It's a very, very flawed game that is extremely fun to explore and kill shit in, but I'm shocked and disappointed by the fact that it's more Dragon's Dogma 1.5 than a true sequel.
I'm not a Dragon's Dogma 1 True Believer, but this game is certainly better in most respects than the first, at least in the ways that matter to me: the RE Engine, while taxing, creates some of the best looking open world environments I have ever seen and the simple act of walking through it with my awesome armor is a feeling not a whole lot of games can get right.
It truly felt like I was adventuring with my merry band and killing goblins in the most hardcore way. Picking a direction, finding chests, exploring (repetitive) caves, and hitting stuff VERY hard with my VERY big sword is when this game truly shines. It was an 83 hours very well spent, and I can see myself going for another round to max out other vocations, polish off some loose ends, and just kill more shit. When the game clicks, it clicks hard; it also helps that I gel very well with the art direction DD2 improved upon. It kept the fantasy very low, which is rare in the world of video games.
But other than the moment-to-moment combat, the rest of the game is either middling or flat out awful. The story is trite, the characters (if you can call them that) are as deep as my glass of whiskey at the end of a hard week, and the repetition is about as bad as the original game 12 years ago.
The enemy variety is better for sure, but still the same basic templates: Saurians, Goblins, Ogres, Dragons... there are different flavors depending on the region of the various monsters, but in the end you're still fighting hob goblins and harpies for dozens of hours.
The traveling, too, was a PR scam. On one hand, yes, the amount of friction--the current buzzword--is something I personally look for in most of my games. Classic MMOs, old CRPGs, a Souls games, I enjoy finding ways to mitigate a game's difficulty or lack of convenience with the given tools and hope that the journey to breaking them wide open is fun. And while I mostly had fun, especially in the early hours, what a fucking lie: the map is NOT interesting to travel long length of time with extremely limited fast travel. I want to complete quests, upgrade my armor, rest at an inn, but unless I have a ferrystone and a portcrystal that is functional, I'm going to have to suffer through stamina management and powerful nighttime foes and pray that I'm not ambushed at a camp site so I can get my health back and hoof it the rest of the way.
And I still haven't touched upon the awful quests themselves, or the terrible, terrible story, or the nonsensical lore, or the lifeless NPCs, or the performance on PS5 and PC... the list goes on and on to make for a frustrating game with extremely potent highs and so very many prickly lows.
I still recommend the game, I still love it for what it is, but they need to do better on the next one. If Square can get their shit together after 4 years for part two of the FFVII Remake, Capcom has no excuse to simply give us another soft reboot.
Best 7/10 I've played in a while.
I'm not a Dragon's Dogma 1 True Believer, but this game is certainly better in most respects than the first, at least in the ways that matter to me: the RE Engine, while taxing, creates some of the best looking open world environments I have ever seen and the simple act of walking through it with my awesome armor is a feeling not a whole lot of games can get right.
It truly felt like I was adventuring with my merry band and killing goblins in the most hardcore way. Picking a direction, finding chests, exploring (repetitive) caves, and hitting stuff VERY hard with my VERY big sword is when this game truly shines. It was an 83 hours very well spent, and I can see myself going for another round to max out other vocations, polish off some loose ends, and just kill more shit. When the game clicks, it clicks hard; it also helps that I gel very well with the art direction DD2 improved upon. It kept the fantasy very low, which is rare in the world of video games.
But other than the moment-to-moment combat, the rest of the game is either middling or flat out awful. The story is trite, the characters (if you can call them that) are as deep as my glass of whiskey at the end of a hard week, and the repetition is about as bad as the original game 12 years ago.
The enemy variety is better for sure, but still the same basic templates: Saurians, Goblins, Ogres, Dragons... there are different flavors depending on the region of the various monsters, but in the end you're still fighting hob goblins and harpies for dozens of hours.
The traveling, too, was a PR scam. On one hand, yes, the amount of friction--the current buzzword--is something I personally look for in most of my games. Classic MMOs, old CRPGs, a Souls games, I enjoy finding ways to mitigate a game's difficulty or lack of convenience with the given tools and hope that the journey to breaking them wide open is fun. And while I mostly had fun, especially in the early hours, what a fucking lie: the map is NOT interesting to travel long length of time with extremely limited fast travel. I want to complete quests, upgrade my armor, rest at an inn, but unless I have a ferrystone and a portcrystal that is functional, I'm going to have to suffer through stamina management and powerful nighttime foes and pray that I'm not ambushed at a camp site so I can get my health back and hoof it the rest of the way.
And I still haven't touched upon the awful quests themselves, or the terrible, terrible story, or the nonsensical lore, or the lifeless NPCs, or the performance on PS5 and PC... the list goes on and on to make for a frustrating game with extremely potent highs and so very many prickly lows.
I still recommend the game, I still love it for what it is, but they need to do better on the next one. If Square can get their shit together after 4 years for part two of the FFVII Remake, Capcom has no excuse to simply give us another soft reboot.
Best 7/10 I've played in a while.
2017
Despite it ticking all of my theoretical boxes: Dishonored-era Arkane; sci-fi settings; horror-tinged sim combat; etc., something just isn't clicking with me.
I've started this game off-and-on for years now, getting farther each time but... I don't know what it is. Unlike the Witcher 3, this game isn't sticking despite bouncing off it initially the first few times. I might keep at it, but I'm putting this back on the shelf for 2024, regretfully.
I've started this game off-and-on for years now, getting farther each time but... I don't know what it is. Unlike the Witcher 3, this game isn't sticking despite bouncing off it initially the first few times. I might keep at it, but I'm putting this back on the shelf for 2024, regretfully.
Couldn't really hold my attention, despite it being a short game. The metroidvania elements don't seem super inspired and the Flame/Ice switching is shallow and quickly wears out it's welcome.
It's not bad, and for fans of the original series I'm sure it's great, but nothing could grip me for an entire playthrough. I'll just watch the anime instead.
It's not bad, and for fans of the original series I'm sure it's great, but nothing could grip me for an entire playthrough. I'll just watch the anime instead.
2024
It's a great time, but one of the many game releases that a 2060 Super and an i7-8700k can barely run above Low settings if you want 60fps.
it's goofy, has a fantastic sci-fi style, plays wonderfully, often hilarious, and the minute-to-minute gameplay is second only to Darktide.
But, for me personally, once the dust settles and the mission is over, I'm left with a "now what?" aimless feeling. It's not the game's fault or a lack of direction, but despite being an old school MMO player and RPG enjoyer, these types of "do a mission, level up, do more missions" gameplay loops can't hook me. Left 4 Dead, Dark/Vermintide, Helldivers 2, these are all games I enjoy and don't regret the time and money I spent on them, but unlike some of my friends I need a stronger hook to really keep me going: a chase item, a boss, an end-game mission, something. I cannot personally get by on pure gameplay for gameplay's sake, at least not for extended periods of time.
But it's good! Really good, and well worth spending a few hours on it.
it's goofy, has a fantastic sci-fi style, plays wonderfully, often hilarious, and the minute-to-minute gameplay is second only to Darktide.
But, for me personally, once the dust settles and the mission is over, I'm left with a "now what?" aimless feeling. It's not the game's fault or a lack of direction, but despite being an old school MMO player and RPG enjoyer, these types of "do a mission, level up, do more missions" gameplay loops can't hook me. Left 4 Dead, Dark/Vermintide, Helldivers 2, these are all games I enjoy and don't regret the time and money I spent on them, but unlike some of my friends I need a stronger hook to really keep me going: a chase item, a boss, an end-game mission, something. I cannot personally get by on pure gameplay for gameplay's sake, at least not for extended periods of time.
But it's good! Really good, and well worth spending a few hours on it.
1996
Genuinely wonderful experience that, much like many RPGs in the 90s, may require a guide to get the full experience and not totally ruin a run.
It's short, it's gritty, it looks wonderful, it's simple, it's fun... Diablo 1 and 2 are just fantastic ARPG experiences and the peak of the series.
It's short, it's gritty, it looks wonderful, it's simple, it's fun... Diablo 1 and 2 are just fantastic ARPG experiences and the peak of the series.
Despite my misgivings--but not outright hatred or dislike--of the 2020 Remake
(check my profile for a more in-depth review), this game was everything I could have asked for and more. My head is swimming with the possibilities as to where this story will go and how they plan to top the gameplay with the next game.
Genuine masterpiece. Once in a decade type shit. Can't wait for the third and final installment on the PS6.
(check my profile for a more in-depth review), this game was everything I could have asked for and more. My head is swimming with the possibilities as to where this story will go and how they plan to top the gameplay with the next game.
Genuine masterpiece. Once in a decade type shit. Can't wait for the third and final installment on the PS6.
HowLongtoBeat.com suggests this will take 12 hours to beat. Twelve. Hours.
It's not the worst thing I've ever played, but even knowing how much of an EXTREME BUDGET title this is, it's hard to swallow. Terrible production, bland models, asset-flip-esque enemies and stages.
I'll probably spiral at some point and end up beating the whole thing but gooooood god is this boring. If you're that horny there's a lot of free sites (or better games) out there, man.
It's not the worst thing I've ever played, but even knowing how much of an EXTREME BUDGET title this is, it's hard to swallow. Terrible production, bland models, asset-flip-esque enemies and stages.
I'll probably spiral at some point and end up beating the whole thing but gooooood god is this boring. If you're that horny there's a lot of free sites (or better games) out there, man.
The games intact and the same as before, and they even added some new content for each version: new maps and heroes. All good stuff.
The games run fine. It looks dated, but in a good way. Shooting and movement is fun and way better than modern Battlefront and I truly mean that. I love these games and love that they're even part of the discussion again.
But even if some of the issues listed in the other reviews are fixed down the road (some bugs, server issues, etc.), I don't think this is very fun online experience in 2024. You can cap all outposts in 1-2 minutes and lock out the other team, and everyone's on a 20 second spawn wave system. Games can end in literal seconds and then you're on to the next map. Maybe down the road if there's, like, an infinite or 1000+ kill count server with faster spawn waves it could be a good time, but for now, I'd rather refund it, play the originals, and see if this game progresses or gets better down the road on a sale. Might be worth it if you're console-only and just want to play the game offline.
The games run fine. It looks dated, but in a good way. Shooting and movement is fun and way better than modern Battlefront and I truly mean that. I love these games and love that they're even part of the discussion again.
But even if some of the issues listed in the other reviews are fixed down the road (some bugs, server issues, etc.), I don't think this is very fun online experience in 2024. You can cap all outposts in 1-2 minutes and lock out the other team, and everyone's on a 20 second spawn wave system. Games can end in literal seconds and then you're on to the next map. Maybe down the road if there's, like, an infinite or 1000+ kill count server with faster spawn waves it could be a good time, but for now, I'd rather refund it, play the originals, and see if this game progresses or gets better down the road on a sale. Might be worth it if you're console-only and just want to play the game offline.