MrSacamano
2023
This review contains spoilers
pretty fun game for the most part. struggled to enjoy through the first half and took a long break from it, but once I picked it up again, I enjoyed the second half of the game a lot more. Chai is a fine vessel, but its the sidekicks that are the stars. Peppermint, Korsica, Macaron, and CNMN are great and once they are all together, lots of fun is had. Peppermint and Korsica are totally hot, love them as a couple. 808 is adorable, and I was in awe when it did the Twin Peaks dance. plenty of other good references as well, most obviously of course is Vandelay.
Some pretty good boss fights: Korsica, Mimosa (LEFT SHARK), Roquefort are kind of the standouts, others are not so memorable or good.
a big problem I had with gameplay is that at points it just devolves into QTE: the game, especially when all the mini bosses are introduced into combat scenarios. other times when you're just trying to push buttons or something and you have to go through a QTE song and dance, its just a bit much. so while you don't have to be good at rhythm or on time throughout most of the game, eventually you have to figure it out or lower the difficulty, or you just won't be able to get past the avalanche of QTEs in the second part of the game.
The last level was a lot of fun, beginning with the awesome hero shot of the team walking through the fog, and carried along by all the friendship and the great song.
Some pretty good boss fights: Korsica, Mimosa (LEFT SHARK), Roquefort are kind of the standouts, others are not so memorable or good.
a big problem I had with gameplay is that at points it just devolves into QTE: the game, especially when all the mini bosses are introduced into combat scenarios. other times when you're just trying to push buttons or something and you have to go through a QTE song and dance, its just a bit much. so while you don't have to be good at rhythm or on time throughout most of the game, eventually you have to figure it out or lower the difficulty, or you just won't be able to get past the avalanche of QTEs in the second part of the game.
The last level was a lot of fun, beginning with the awesome hero shot of the team walking through the fog, and carried along by all the friendship and the great song.
It is more Oblivion, and that's really all you need to know one way or the other
2016
pretty darn good. fun to play, looks good feels good. maybe not as good, or as polished, or as good looking as 4 or 5, but the bones are all here. Coming pretty fresh off a reprise with 4, some of the systems and progression here don't feel as smooth. also, skills and chains feel quite stingy compared to 4/5. you just can't really fault it for these things, or any other shortcomings or things it is "missing" compared to 4 & 5, tho. it built greatly on the foundation of Horizon 1 & 2, as Horizon 4 & 5 have also from this one. Australia is the star this time, and it is great fun to rip around the diverse locales. The opening sequence and the showcases are great as always. a fun and worthwhile experience all in all; shouldn't be missed if you like the horizon series and/or racing games. there isn't as much to do or as much variety as found in the sequels, so your mileage may vary. I got to a point where I'd opened each site and completed all the showcases (20ish hours), so not many unique things left to experience; a good point to shelve it. any further horizon fixes will likely be satiated through 5.
p.s. one annoying thing was the amount of traffic. seemed like there was loads more traffic, including drivatars, and it felt like borderline GTA traffic--programmed to get in your way. many times there would be large traffic buildups in front of speed traps. and at least one time, multiple drivatars piled up in front of a stunt jump just as I was driving up to it. the drivatars being ghosts/transparent in 4 & 5 was sorely missed.
p.s. one annoying thing was the amount of traffic. seemed like there was loads more traffic, including drivatars, and it felt like borderline GTA traffic--programmed to get in your way. many times there would be large traffic buildups in front of speed traps. and at least one time, multiple drivatars piled up in front of a stunt jump just as I was driving up to it. the drivatars being ghosts/transparent in 4 & 5 was sorely missed.
pretty good DLC, cool to play as Adewale; he's got one of the best assassin outfits. doesn't overstay its welcome and I appreciated the streamlined upgrade system.
(it also fixed two glitched achievements from the main game, so that was nice)
(it also fixed two glitched achievements from the main game, so that was nice)
technically a replay, as I previously played the X360 version and this is the X1 version.
still a wonderfully fun game, and among the best the series has to offer. doesn't get much better than hitting travel speed and listening to your crew belt out some shanties, then loosing your fully upgraded Jackdaw upon some feeble men o' war, until finally Edward yells "Drag them to their doom!"
Edward is a great character with seriously good voicework (lots of good voices in here; special shoutout to one of my favorite voices of all time: Ralph Ineson). The story is good and it’s just fun to be a pirate and do pirate things and have pirate friends. Edward is definitely at the top for the series portags as far as just cool factor, and it would have also been cool to have a game that follows him after the events of this game, once he's fully vested with the assassins. Blackbeard is also awesome.
obviously the tailing and eavesdrop missions are fucked and far too plentiful. traversal and combat can also be a bit fucky if you're not careful but can also be quite fun when it responds how you think it should. ship combat is fun and rewarding, especially as you upgrade your ship. it can get repetitive tho and I got burnt out near the end/after doing most of everything, but by that time it is easier and and there's no real need to waste time with the boarding mechanic either, so you can just blast every ship in your way and move on.
still a wonderfully fun game, and among the best the series has to offer. doesn't get much better than hitting travel speed and listening to your crew belt out some shanties, then loosing your fully upgraded Jackdaw upon some feeble men o' war, until finally Edward yells "Drag them to their doom!"
Edward is a great character with seriously good voicework (lots of good voices in here; special shoutout to one of my favorite voices of all time: Ralph Ineson). The story is good and it’s just fun to be a pirate and do pirate things and have pirate friends. Edward is definitely at the top for the series portags as far as just cool factor, and it would have also been cool to have a game that follows him after the events of this game, once he's fully vested with the assassins. Blackbeard is also awesome.
obviously the tailing and eavesdrop missions are fucked and far too plentiful. traversal and combat can also be a bit fucky if you're not careful but can also be quite fun when it responds how you think it should. ship combat is fun and rewarding, especially as you upgrade your ship. it can get repetitive tho and I got burnt out near the end/after doing most of everything, but by that time it is easier and and there's no real need to waste time with the boarding mechanic either, so you can just blast every ship in your way and move on.
This review contains spoilers
this game..well it just didn't work out as I'd hoped. I'd enjoyed the other Arkham games to varying degrees, and expected this would follow suit, but alas. it feels handicapped, especially in traversal-- like why in the hell can't I grapple anywhere? that batclaw ought to be grabbing anything I want. just awful traversing the map. I thought I liked the combat and gameplay in these games, but I just could not jive with it in this. maybe its from another time, or maybe this game just doesn't do it as well as the others. and seemed like the gameplay loop was take a few steps, stop, pull out a gadget, use gadget, walk a few steps, repeat. combat just didn't feel fun or smooth or rewarding at all. and the story, just weird and bad pacing; felt like it was over but then it wasn't and it went on including fighting bane twice more for some reason. and are you shitting me with that whole firefly bridge incident/fight? some of the story was good, I guess. I liked the stuff with the joker and his funhouse bit, and the Harleen Quinzel meeting.
I had wanted to fill this blindspot for a long time, but perhaps I should have listened to the crowd saying it's shit, rather than the crowd saying it's underrated.
I had wanted to fill this blindspot for a long time, but perhaps I should have listened to the crowd saying it's shit, rather than the crowd saying it's underrated.
2018
Had played a fair amount of this a few years ago, but recently got the “itch” for it; a feeling that I just hadn’t delved deep enough into this entry. And well, I’ve more than doubled my previous playtime with it— fair to say I’ve satisfied the proverbial itch. It is a great game, a beautiful game, fun and time-devouring. I still like Horizon 5 a fair bit more (and have double the playtime), and can’t think of anything it doesn’t do better, but Horizon 4 isn’t one to skip if you’re just in on the series/started with 5; it’s worth a good few hours of your time just to experience and cruise the beautiful English countryside they built. And the showcase events, Top Gear stories, and British racing history stories—if you’ve got some extra time.
it is time to retire Horizon 4. But soon, I will begin a journey in horizon 3, the one entry that still escapes me.
it is time to retire Horizon 4. But soon, I will begin a journey in horizon 3, the one entry that still escapes me.
2019
a nice, chill, little game I suppose; can do as much or as little as you want and "beat" it quick as you like. played for about an hour and a half: collected some feathers, climbed a mountain, played some beachstickball and won a hat, took a nap. Plenty more little activities to do, but I'll leave that for others. can see why it may be considered like a hidden gem, but it didn't quite grab me that way and I got all I care for in my short time with it.
beautiful. finally got back to this after starting it last year just before cancelling gamepass, but we're back, and this game is wonderful. the music, the environments, the gameplay and movement, the story and characters. The Ori games are at the top of the pack as far as recommendations I would offer to anyone who just got an xbox/subbed to gamepass.
idk what to really say, its pretty good I guess for the type of game it is right? not a big cart racer guy per se, but picked it up in a sale years ago. hardly played it back then, but decided to have a go at it again here and I've beat the main adventure mode-- which is as far as i care to go. another one off the ol' backlog, as it were.
oh goodness💜😢
actually the worst lego game I've played. or else I was just absolutely not in the mood for it and only playing through it to get it off my backlog. but also, why tf are the missions so long? the lengths of some missions defied all logic and known science. likely my last lego game (except.. mayhaps the Skywalker saga.... someday not soon)
This review contains spoilers
pretty great - not really a review, just a thought journal.
Ending of episode 1 was great/wild, even though I spoiled the very end of it for myself. Episode 4 was even better though.
very spoilery
Minerva's arrival at the bridge is the single best thing that ever happened in the game series. I know I'm fresh off it, but it might be one of the coolest things in the entire TWDU. RIP my boy Tennessee, though, hated losing him like that. was considering going back through and not trusting AJ so the outcome would have been violet and clem both dying but at least AJ has his buddy Tenn....even though he hilariously called him stupid so many times. BUT I was absolutely shocked when Clem showed up at the end, like dear god that twist was so well done. I thought it was some kind of dream sequence. I've always regretted choosing to tell Clem not to shoot Lee, so I went with telling AJ to kill clem. it was rough watching AJ swing that axe down on her. no thought whatsoever that he went for the leg. heck I was worried Violet would be upset with him for shooting Tenn to save her; and then I thought it was her calling him goofball, and was like oh that's nice, but then it was Clementine (plus Violet not holding grudge over Tenn)! So I was happy to keep my gals Clementine and Violet together. Don't remember much from the previous games, but that feels like the toughest choice/consequence in the games, ending up with Tenn or Violet getting killed, at least for me personally. I think they nailed the landing, great ending to the game and the series. at least for my play through, guess I don't know all the other possible outcomes. Oh and the song during the episode 4 credits was beautiful.
p.s. if your grandma is dying, stop watching cartoons.
Ending of episode 1 was great/wild, even though I spoiled the very end of it for myself. Episode 4 was even better though.
very spoilery
Minerva's arrival at the bridge is the single best thing that ever happened in the game series. I know I'm fresh off it, but it might be one of the coolest things in the entire TWDU. RIP my boy Tennessee, though, hated losing him like that. was considering going back through and not trusting AJ so the outcome would have been violet and clem both dying but at least AJ has his buddy Tenn....even though he hilariously called him stupid so many times. BUT I was absolutely shocked when Clem showed up at the end, like dear god that twist was so well done. I thought it was some kind of dream sequence. I've always regretted choosing to tell Clem not to shoot Lee, so I went with telling AJ to kill clem. it was rough watching AJ swing that axe down on her. no thought whatsoever that he went for the leg. heck I was worried Violet would be upset with him for shooting Tenn to save her; and then I thought it was her calling him goofball, and was like oh that's nice, but then it was Clementine (plus Violet not holding grudge over Tenn)! So I was happy to keep my gals Clementine and Violet together. Don't remember much from the previous games, but that feels like the toughest choice/consequence in the games, ending up with Tenn or Violet getting killed, at least for me personally. I think they nailed the landing, great ending to the game and the series. at least for my play through, guess I don't know all the other possible outcomes. Oh and the song during the episode 4 credits was beautiful.
p.s. if your grandma is dying, stop watching cartoons.
pretty much nah. not too smooth jumping back into syndicate after so much time either. bought it on sale years ago so finally have it knocked off the backlog, but really just nothing to write home about.
never played the original back in the day, other than perhaps some fucking around at a friends house. in this day and age, it is more often frustrating and annoying than fun -- not even taking into account the issues with this port/"definitive edition". you just get so fucked by the game and it gets so ridiculous it becomes a really hard game. the driving, spinning around and flipping all over the place. not moving when you aim and shoot. enemies absolutely gang banging you. car blowing up instantly from a shotgun blow. it all adds up. most of the game does not hold up today, and I will not be arsed to do any of the side content after dragging Claude's and my ass to the finish line of the story. but there's still fun to be had. the voice cast is very fun, loved being yelled at by Robert Loggia in the bathroom. a worthwhile play to see where it all started.