This game honestly kind of came at the perfect time for me a lot like Mario 3D World. I was in a pretty dark place and i just played this game for a solid week. The gameplay is so simple but so fun. you just roll around as different fish in little fish bowls with each fish having different abilities letting you traverse the various beautifully designed levels and solve fun puzzles.

This game has a very special place in my heart for helping me get through one of my darkest hours. Highly recommend :)

again technically played on PS5 but it's fine lol.

Welp, this game has me a heavily split down the middle. but hey it definitely is better than the first one so that's good, I actually had some fun with this one, SOME being the keyword.

Alright let's start with the positive stuff, most of the story is pretty good, kept me engaged for the most part and was honestly the main driving force for me pushing myself through this game. The characters once again are all great if not better than the first game, they are all charming in their own way and their chemistry with each other is mostly great, also I am falling more and more in love with Nate. The puzzles were all really fun and solving one would always get the endorphins running and give me a big ego boost. And the level design has been kicked up a notch, I actually really enjoyed traversing each area of the game as they were all visionally stunning and interesting to explore.

Now then, let's focus on the combat for a second because that was the main problem I had with the last game and boy oh boy. It has not improved that much from the last game. There are new weapons which help diversify things as well as an updated melee and stealth system which does keep things from feeling too repetitive but it still definitely does still feel repetitive. Half way through the game I actually swapped from Normal to Easy difficulty just because i was sick of so many dragged out combat sections, I just wanted to get them over with. Luckily changing the difficulty did actually make the game a bit more fun as your no longer spending 80% of the game in the same gun fight, now it's just around 70% of the game. I think the worst part is that I would rather go around melee attacking the enemies because it's more fun but most of the time the game won't allow you to do that because of how many enemies there are you have to stay behind cover.
They did fix the issue i had last time with enemy placements and how a lot of them made no sense so that's good. What isn't that good however is the traversal, in the last game it was one of my favourite parts was traversing the areas and as i said the areas are great, but they've updated the climbing mechanics and it somehow feels way too precise and way too clunky at the same time. So many times it wouldn't let me jump to the right ledge because it was too focused on a completely different ledge or I would jump to something and it just wouldn't stick, very annoying.

One of the only parts of the last game i enjoyed were the cinematic action set-pieces, unfortunately there were very few in the last game but in this one there are quite a bit more and once again they were my favourite part of the game. The entire Train section was so much fun as well as being chased by a Helicopter across rooftops and jumping from truck to truck while driving along the cliffs. By far the best parts of the game.

Now you'll see for the characters and story i said they were great "for the most part", I think the game is way too long. it's quite a bit longer than the first and around the time of when you reach The Monastery i was thinking this seems like a good time to end, it's been a good story that i have actually enjoyed, some awesome action set-pieces, this would be the perfect time to end it... and then it goes on for another 2-3 hours. The whole supernatural element didn't bother me as much this time probably because this time i knew it was coming this time instead of it coming out of nowhere, also the new supernatural enemies are wayyy less annoying than in the last game. The final act of the game goes on wayyyy too long, not only that there are no fun action set-pieces to keep you entertained, it is a solid 2-3 hours of just shooting sections and it is so, unbelievably boring. speaking of boring, the villains in this game are just boring as hell, which seems to be a trend with this franchise both with the games and the recent movie. Also the final boss fight is boring as hell, it's just run around and shoot the glowing things when the boss gets close.

Overall i think this game is fine. It is way too long and once again i was pretty relieved when it was over and i for sure had to force my way through the final act. But the first 70% of the game is pretty fun if not pretty flawed. And the story and characters in that 70% only make that part of the game more enjoyable. Excited to see what Uncharted 3 has in store for me.

Oh also side note: this is something i had an issue with in the last game that i don't think i mentioned, but in both the games the treasure is in a very hidden place, but they are both also just out in the open, like there's a massive hole to the surface above El Dorado and the entire city of Shambala is open to the clear blue sky, why hasn't anyone flown and plane or helicopter over it before? and just landed there instead of going through all the trouble of all the secret entrances? I dunno just something that bothers me, the same thing also happens in the uncharted movie. Weird.

Technically i played this on PS4 but it's fine lol

Anyway, I... did not enjoy playing this game.

let's get the good stuff out of the way first, all the characters are great and really likeable which was too be expected considering how much people love Nathan Drake and i know see why. The level design in the first half of the game is great with some nice looking locations. The platforming and puzzles were almost always fun despite there not really being that many, and some of the action set pieces were good.

Now onto the things i did not like, The story. it was fine, but it somehow felt short but also really long. some parts moved at a nice brisk pace going from one place to another but then some just felt wayyyy too dragged out and during the back half i was just ready for the game to be over already. The gameplay is thoroughly unlikeable for me, I'm already not the biggest fan of cover based third person shooters but when you couple that with the base gameplay mechanics being so bland and just straight up bad it just makes the game not fun, especially so when most of the game is unfortunately shooting sections. i had so many problems with the cover system not working properly and with the aiming and hitboxes being jank as fuck, I would aim at an enemies head and not hit anything but i aim at their arm and i would get a headshot?? I would also constantly press the cover button while right in front of cover only to snap the a cover place either behind me off to the side which would often get me killed. Also the enemy placement is terrible, so many times enemies would just appear behind me without warning. The story and enemy placement also coincide with each other because enemies would show up in places that only Nathan and the gang are supposed to be able to get too, for example the catacombs in the second half of the game, we got there through secret entrances which closed behind us that only we knew how to get through, BUT THEN ENEMIES JUST SHOW UP OUT OF THE WALLS LIKE BRUH HOW YOU EVEN DOWN HERE??? It feels like they just needed enemies everywhere to pad the playtime and it's very annoying especially when I'm enjoying a good platforming/Puzzle section and then oh quick turn it into a shooting section.

Also why does the game turn into a supernatural horror game half way through? it's weird and messes with the tone a bit, I didn't like it. Also the level design in the back half of the game is just bad, it's all just dark underground corridors and buildings with overgrown greenery which gets old quickly. Also fuck ALL of the Jet-Ski sections, the jet-ski handles so badly it's insane.

I get that this is an old game but there are games from 2007 that are just leagues better than this in every aspect. I have heard that the games get better as they go and I certainly hope so as I head into Uncharted 2 for the first time.

Really did not enjoy my time with this game, I was very relieved when it was finally over.

So the Final Battle expansion adds a new chapter to the story mode which goes over a decent amount of season 3 of the anime among a few other things which I'll get to later.

Firstly the new story is good, however compared to the base game's story it is fairly weak for a few reasons. Reason 1: It's very short, each of the previous seasons in the game would be nice and long with a lot of detail thrown in there with every cutscene being beautifully animated whereas the season 3 story feels as if it skips over a few things, especially with the royal family stuff in the first half of season 3. Also only about half of the story is actually animated as a 3D cutscene, the other half shows the story in a picture book format akin to Sonic and The Black Knight, I really was not a fan of these and would often end up skipping these cutscenes. Instead of going through the little hub worlds to go from mission to mission where you could also interact with all different characters and do fun side things you know only have a linear menu to access the next mission which is pretty boring but at least the menu itself is very easy to navigate and looks very aesthetically pleasing. Instead of playing with your custom character in the story you take control of the anime characters themselves, especially Levi. Levi becomes the new main character of the game with you being forced to play as him for the majority of the story missions which isn't really that upsetting because who doesn't want to play as Levi? Especially in the mission where you have to fight the Beast Titan and it's just like the anime where you swing from Titan to Titan slaughtering each one as you get closer to Beasty and the misson where you face of against the Kenny Squad in the city where it's just you against like 100 squad members.

Speaking of missions, as short as the story is it for sure has some standout missions and some new enemies to boot. You face off against Kenny Squad with their Anti ODM gear which means they can zip around just as fast as you can and they can shoot you from a distance which makes them very formidable especially in large groups, it's a nice change of pace from the regular big and slow Titans. Also a very unique boss fight against the massive Rod Reiss titan where you go through different stages of battle is one of the most entertaining boss fights in the entire game including the base game. However, I will say there is one mission in the story i actively disliked where you have to escort horses from side of the map to another, it doesn't sound so bad right? there are a few escort missions in the base game and they're fine, while yes that is true, these horses are from Hell. They keep running off into the opposite direction and they get stuck on the slightest invisible wall and then you have to restart the entire mission, it took me 5 attempts just to get it done, did not like that mission. Every other mission is very enjoyable though.

Some new twists to the gameplay have been added which I quite enjoyed, You can know access the Anti-Personnel ODM Gear which is the ones with the guns that Kenny Squad uses, these new weapons do definitly take a little while to get used to after using just the regular ODM gear for the whole game but once you figure out how to utilise them properly they can be quite fun with the different manoeuvrability mechanics and the different types of ammo you can use from explosive to electric to smoke, the Anti ODM for sure keeps things interesting on the battlefield but more often than not i would rather stick to the regular ODM, but that's just me sticking to what i've stuck with for the whole game. you know also have the ability to acquire "Showdown Equipment" by helping characters out on the map who are in danger, Showdown Equipment is basically an ultimate weapon, depending which version of the ODM gear you are currently using your Showdown Equipment will change, if you are using regular ODM then you can use the classic Thunder Spears which are excellent for clearing massive crowds of Titans in one go, but not so great for one on one fights with bigger boss Titans. And if you have the Anti ODM gear then you get mini gattling guns strapped to your arms which are great for focusing on individual parts of big boss Titans and obliterating them. So both weapon variations have their own strengths and weaknesses and the ability to change them mid battle if you reach a supply base allows you to strategize even more around your current mission.

Your custom character is noticeably absent for the majority of your playtime with this expansion which sucks because your custom character was one of my favourite aspects of the game, HOWEVER, this expansion fixes one of my main issues with the base game which is post game content, the expansion adds ALOT to do when you beat the main season 3 story including mini side story missions to do where you play as side characters like Sasha and Hange which are pretty fun but the big boy addition, which you will honestly probably spend most of your playtime with this expansion playing like i did, is the new Territory Expansion gamemode. In this gamemode we are back with our custom character (if you want to you can pick other characters to play as in this mode but i missed my CAC) and we make our own custom regiment outside of the Scouts and etc and you are given your own base of operations. Once you've picked a character and set up shop then you can go on different expeditions outside the walls with each expedition having different objectives and different characters to meet, the more expeditions you do the further and further outside the walls you can go and you gather materials to build up your base with new buildings and weapons and you get different characters from across the AOT series to join your regiment so they join you in battle. This mode is incredibly fun and it's always a good time when you come across one of your favourite characters and recruit them into your new regiment.

Overall this is a really solid expansion with some solid additions, however if this was the entire game it would leave me wanting more... BUT IT'S NOT, this is an expansion to an already full game. You put these two together and you get one of the most amazing Attack on Titan experiences you could've asked for. AOT 2: Final Battle is one of if not the best anime game out there and I highly recommend it to anyone.

Now all we need is a sequel which covers the entire show with your custom character keeping to their key role instead of dipping after season 2, some more fleshed out playable Titan gameplay and maybe the ability to make your own titan? and we would have a perfect game. I hope we can get something close to that soon.

GAHDAMN THIS GAME SLAPS

almost everything about this game is just amazing. The story is fantastic which covers the entirety of seasons 1 and 2 of the anime but from a different perspective, you're own custom character's perspective. Normally when an anime game has you make your own character it takes away from the idea of playing through your favourite anime's story but in this your character is folded into the story so seamlessly that you still feel like you're watching attack on titan itself unfold before your very eyes. Your character is a cadet alongside Eren and co. and we stay by their side through the whole story which makes you feel like you're actually in the AOT universe.

The gameplay is nearly everything you could ask for from a game based in this universe. The ODM gear handles really well and the combat mechanics all work beautifully and keep the game interesting with different ways to go about killing the onslaught of titans you will face, speaking of, killing titans is really satisfying and never gets old, I'll never get sick of coming up behind a titan and slicing a titan's nape and having blood squirt like a fountain all over your character and the surrounding area. Also the addition of the Gas and Blade replenishment mechanic always keeps you on your toes and makes you think strategically as you go into every fight.

The maps you play in are all big and open as well from the interior walled cities to the forest of giant trees, every location has it's own thing going on and are always fun to traverse, especially when you get 2 maps which connect where you can go over the walls of one of the cities and into Utgard Castle, really makes going from one mission to another really fun.

Speaking of missions, this game has a great variety of them, from your story missions which always try and spice things up by adding different types of objectives and ways of completing missions to all of the side missions through the game which could involve tower defence or escorting a character from one end of the map to another.

The animated cutscenes are great and a joy to watch, especially the ones where you watch events unfold from your custom characters POV because you get to see these iconic events from a different perspective than the anime.

The customisation options for your character are amazing between the actual look of your character and actually being able to change what blades and ODM gear you have. For example if you don't want the basic blades you can get Katana blades or Chainsaw blades or even a Mop blade. There are loads of different customisation options with some low level stuff to some really wacky shit that makes having a custom character feel worthwhile, even if you do make them look incredibly out of place against the other characters.

a few things i would change or like to see in a sequel:

Titan Combat: You can play as Eren and Reiner and etc as their titan form but the combat is very basic, having a full titan combat system would be awesome also having your custom character be able to transform into a custom titan!? that would be a dream.

Post Game: There is a decent chunk of things to do in the post game however a lot of it is the same kind of thing (I am aware that Final Battle exists but this is purely without the Final Battle expansion). The post game is just mainly and side missions you missed and going out on scout runs or just replaying missions in online multiplayer. so more content would be nice.

Repetition: I don't think this game suffers from it too much but there is a small chunk in the story where it feels very repetitive where it sends you on the same type of mission like 7 times in a row with nothing that exciting happening which was probably the dullest part of the game, but luckily it does back right back up after that. Just maybe could do with less filler just to pad gametime.

Overall this is one of the best anime games I have ever played, if you are a fan of AOT you HAVE to play this game. I will do a separate review for the Final Battle expansion when I finish playing through it again.

Play this game. It slaps.