SigleifTheRapper
Fuck you Square for ruining the future of remakes.
Haha, what if it was different?
EDIT (BONUS THOUGHTS AS OF 08/03/2024):This game only covers Midgar and is unnecessary overexposure for this area. Its not an interesting place. The game is not fun to replay in my opinion, and is only good once for the story - it's far too cinematic and stop and go for repeat playthroughs.
Ultimately there are only a few plot points I think are necessary to remember for playing the second entry, and even then it's not a big deal. You could just skip it.
That said what you do have is an emotional and intriguing story, with fun combat that is confusingly a blend between action and JRPG, so much so that it could barely be called an action game (you just hold square.) - which is strange because its just invasive enough to make you wish you were playing one or the other, but at the same time you can't really imagine it working in any other way.
A lot of the disappointment for me comes from the fact that the game ends right as the plot starts to get interesting. If Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth is Metal Gear Solid V, then Final Fantasy VII: Remake is it's Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes. The only distinction to make is that MGSGZ is like 2 hours long and this is actually a full game, just its a full game created around a tiny percent of an actual full games plot, so it gets no satisfying conclusion.
Haha, what if it was different?
EDIT (BONUS THOUGHTS AS OF 08/03/2024):This game only covers Midgar and is unnecessary overexposure for this area. Its not an interesting place. The game is not fun to replay in my opinion, and is only good once for the story - it's far too cinematic and stop and go for repeat playthroughs.
Ultimately there are only a few plot points I think are necessary to remember for playing the second entry, and even then it's not a big deal. You could just skip it.
That said what you do have is an emotional and intriguing story, with fun combat that is confusingly a blend between action and JRPG, so much so that it could barely be called an action game (you just hold square.) - which is strange because its just invasive enough to make you wish you were playing one or the other, but at the same time you can't really imagine it working in any other way.
A lot of the disappointment for me comes from the fact that the game ends right as the plot starts to get interesting. If Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth is Metal Gear Solid V, then Final Fantasy VII: Remake is it's Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes. The only distinction to make is that MGSGZ is like 2 hours long and this is actually a full game, just its a full game created around a tiny percent of an actual full games plot, so it gets no satisfying conclusion.
2001
A fantastic game that's unfortunately cursed by its age and it's genre.
Devil May Cry peaked with its first release, in my opinion - you can tell this was originally going to be a Resident Evil game, and I love it for that, especially as someone who later became a Resident Evil fan.
The combat is okay, but the fun comes in the atmosphere, the music, the exploration and puzzles to solve. Dante generally just feels kinda badass to play.
Would recommend if you're curious, it was worth the time I put into it and the money I paid.
Devil May Cry peaked with its first release, in my opinion - you can tell this was originally going to be a Resident Evil game, and I love it for that, especially as someone who later became a Resident Evil fan.
The combat is okay, but the fun comes in the atmosphere, the music, the exploration and puzzles to solve. Dante generally just feels kinda badass to play.
Would recommend if you're curious, it was worth the time I put into it and the money I paid.
2003
This game is unholy. Not in the Diablo kind of way, but more in the "10 ranked games of League of Legends" type way.
And somehow it still manages to be worse than ranked League of Legends.
And somehow it still manages to be worse than ranked League of Legends.
Midio Kart: Middle Dash.
It's just the Wii U version of the game but worse, really. Don't get me wrong - it was good if you didn't have a Wii U, which I feel is the only reason they even bothered making this, but its not worth picking up if you do have one - and especially beyond that, Smash Ultimate is just superior in every way, so there is zero reason to go back.
Also RIP my circle pad.
Also RIP my circle pad.
2013
Played this on the XBOX 360 and later again on the PS4 - I have never finished this game to completion. I wanted to give it a higher rating, because the game -is- phenomenal, but I don't personally enjoy it enough, as shown by the fact i've never completed it. It would be strange to have it be at the top of my list when i've never finished it. GTA games just aren't my thing - I always get overwhelmed by the amount of stuff to do and get a bit bored dicking about in the open world.
It's the definition of spoiled for choice - it's a fantastic game, and you should definitely play it if you like GTA games - but Trevor is really cringey.
It's the definition of spoiled for choice - it's a fantastic game, and you should definitely play it if you like GTA games - but Trevor is really cringey.
Already a 7 by default just for the fact that it has Crash Bandicoot 2 on it (feel free to read my review for that game seperately), remastered faithfully and done so well that it outright goes toe to toe with the original. You can literally play either, it's all personal preference. Even the remake of the
entire soundtrack still slaps.
However, included we also have additional content for each game, as well as Crash Bandicoot 1 overhauled to have the same controls as Crash Bandicoot 2, which does so much to make this game more enjoyable and age far better.
Crash Bandicoot 3 has received the same faithful remaster as 2, however I think you should only really be buying this for 1 and 2 - those are must plays, (Crash Bandicoot 1 is only really especially worth revisiting on this trilogy). Crash Bandicoot 3 is faithfully remade for better or worse - it has lots of mediocre / annoying gameplay switch-ups, as if the jetpack levels from Crash 2 weren't annoying already, now we have scuba diving too. Woo. The levels also just aren't as charming, and they are generally just more annoying. To this day, I've never brought myself to play more than half of Crash Bandicoot 3. It seems to definitely be one people only like for nostalgia to be honest.
Unfortunately I haven't finished this incredible remaster yet - I finished 1, but not done all the trials as of yet, but the reason being I had recently completed the original version of 2 when I bought the game and so I just haven't picked it back up yet. Would absolutely recommend.
Removed my rating due to rating the games seperately.
entire soundtrack still slaps.
However, included we also have additional content for each game, as well as Crash Bandicoot 1 overhauled to have the same controls as Crash Bandicoot 2, which does so much to make this game more enjoyable and age far better.
Crash Bandicoot 3 has received the same faithful remaster as 2, however I think you should only really be buying this for 1 and 2 - those are must plays, (Crash Bandicoot 1 is only really especially worth revisiting on this trilogy). Crash Bandicoot 3 is faithfully remade for better or worse - it has lots of mediocre / annoying gameplay switch-ups, as if the jetpack levels from Crash 2 weren't annoying already, now we have scuba diving too. Woo. The levels also just aren't as charming, and they are generally just more annoying. To this day, I've never brought myself to play more than half of Crash Bandicoot 3. It seems to definitely be one people only like for nostalgia to be honest.
Unfortunately I haven't finished this incredible remaster yet - I finished 1, but not done all the trials as of yet, but the reason being I had recently completed the original version of 2 when I bought the game and so I just haven't picked it back up yet. Would absolutely recommend.
Removed my rating due to rating the games seperately.
This game kinda mega slaps. Undoubtedly one of the best 3D platformers of all time - i've completed it 100% a good few times and been through countless play sessions. Whether you pick up the N.Sane Trilogy or just the original of this game, whether it be emulated on your PC or on your PSP / Vita from the Playstation store, or on the original hardware, you cannot go wrong.
Crash Bandicoot 2 is precision platforming at its best. Bad levels are few and far between, though they do exist (no game is without its flaws). Controls are fantastic - this is the only 3D platformer I would rather play with D-Pad instead of an analogue stick just for pure precision. Crash is fast and fluid, moving faster if you want to slide-jump your way through the level which adds an extra layer of gaming.
Tied with SA:2 for its contributions in cursing me to being a furry for all eternity.
Crash Bandicoot 2 is precision platforming at its best. Bad levels are few and far between, though they do exist (no game is without its flaws). Controls are fantastic - this is the only 3D platformer I would rather play with D-Pad instead of an analogue stick just for pure precision. Crash is fast and fluid, moving faster if you want to slide-jump your way through the level which adds an extra layer of gaming.
Tied with SA:2 for its contributions in cursing me to being a furry for all eternity.
2001
As someone who has spent many hours playing every port of this game throughout my childhood, even well beyond its sell-by date, and now finally the original - I feel truly qualified to review this game for what it is.
Sonic Adventure 2 is a game that is quite literally a product of its development cycle. For context, this game, as I recall, was developed over the course of a year as a follow-up to Sonic Adventure, the first true 3D Platformer in Sonic's catalogue. SEGA knew that the Dreamcast was on its last legs and they weren't going to go down without a fight - perhaps if it weren't for their awful business decisions throughout their time in the console market, this game would have been able to resuscitate the Dreamcast and the future of gaming would have gone very differently.
For better or worse, Sonic Adventure 2 is a practice makes perfect, skill-based action platformer. To say this game is divisive would be an understatement - on one hand you have delusional fans saying this is the best game ever created, and on the other you have uncultured SWINE who just aren't fans of Sonic's fast paced gameplay who dub this as an atrocity. The truth of the matter is that Sonic Team captured lightning in a bottle with Adventure 2 and hit it's full potential - which landed somewhere in the middle.
The sequel to Sonic Adventure presents you at first with a Story Mode to get things going. Out of the gate, first impressions are high, with one of the most iconic and well-made levels in all of platforming and video game history, City Escape (seriously, there are literal video essays on this). Unfortunately, moving on from this level the rest of the story is a rollercoaster - a mixed bag with ups and downs a plenty.
I'm sure you don't need me to tell you about the gameplay styles on offer here - this is amongst the most well-known games of all time and there have been no shortage of reviews for it. Each of the three gameplay styles for both campaigns have good and bad stages, but unfortunately the mech-shooter galleries and treasure hunting maps have it worse.
You may have wondered what I meant when I said this game hit its full potential - often times there are games (especially nowadays), where you think "If they just did this this game could be amazing" - I don't think thats applicable here. Any minute quality of life change does not solve the problems that these modes have (those who have modded the game on Steam may know what I mean), and any significant change and I feel you would risk sacrificing the good that these stages do have to offer or even the games identity completely.
The issue with these various gameplay styles is the design choices that went into crafting the game, rather than the actual variety itself. For the most part, most of the stages are decently mapped and can be enjoyed - the problem is that getting there can be an infuriating, controller breaking experience, and sometimes it can feel natural. If you have ever completed this game you may remember that sometimes, you'll go through a level for the first time and hit a C or a B rank, and think "Ah wow, if i'd have just executed that a little tighter I could've got the A Rank!" - which is a good, addicting feeling to have - and then for other stages, you'll complete them with multiple deaths, or take so long to finish it that you get a D or an E rank, and you think "Right, well next time I do this I guess i've got to remember that, that, and that". And hell, even if you've played this game back to back countless times like I have you still won't get it every single time, even on the best levels - I can promise you that.
Occasionally, this is due to general 3D platformer jank (this game doesn't suffer too greatly from a bad camera thankfully), but often you will fall off when trying to perform skips for higher ranks etc. if you don't literally get it pixel perfect. This isn't so much of an issue - that's the nature of the beast. Where the frustration comes in is when the game throws at you stage hazards and enemies that LITERALLY drop right in front of you, centimetres in front of your face as your hurtling forward at jet speed. If you took these hazards out altogether, there would be nothing to be an obstacle for you, making the levels too easy (seeing as Ranks come from a combination of both score and clear time), but if you slowed down the characters, it wouldn't be a Sonic game anymore (and believe me, this is like one of three games where it being a Sonic game is actually a positive trait).
As I'm sure you can imagine, these frustrating moments can make your story mode playthroughs a slog. This isn't to even mention boss fights, which there are a few of, but are rarely anything impressive (with some big exceptions, of course) and sometimes very frustrating themselves. So why then, would I rate this game so highly, in spite of this? You'll be surprised to hear that it's NOT the Chao Garden.
Simply put, Sonic Adventure 2 has some of the most iconic, memorable, and well-executed platforming segments in gaming history. It's a diamond in the rough to be sure - but what this game does that lends itself so favourably to fans is the inclusion of Emblem Challenges and re-playability that extends your save file far beyond the two stories.
Once you've beaten a stage in the story mode, you are given a stage select option in the menu where you can revisit the stage with a charming, well designed world map. Each stage, in addition to its first act that you played through in Story Mode, has 4 extra bonus missions to complete, which will require powerups (some of which are hidden in stages, but only a few, and they are mostly optional ones) from finishing the story mode to get anywhere close to full completion. This is something I like about the game, as it naturally encourages you to get the story "out of the way", as it were, before you get into the real meat of the game.
With Sonic and Shadow combined having a slight majority in levels for their gameplay style in total, and their levels being in general, more consistently good, having the freedom to revisit levels at your own pace and in whichever order you choose is a blessing. Where those previously mentioned frustrating levels don't inherently get better from a gameplay standpoint, they do feel more palatable and enjoyable when enjoyed in between the favourite stages, as often times what makes the Story mode drag is that these frustrating levels can come one after the other.
And even with the Stage Select being the clear outlier as the best mode (which feels really strange to write), that isn't where the highlights end. The game has an enjoyable 2 Player mode where you can battle it out across the stages with some extra 2P exclusive stages, a (mediocre at best) Kart Racing minigame that can also be played in 2 Player, and obviously the Chao Garden - a game within a game and the highlight for most people, where you raise your very own Chao with stupid animal limbs and pit him in underground Chao Races for rewards, with the additional option to take him to school and teach him mundane activities like watching TV or doing a spin.
Hell, with the Dreamcast being so ahead of its time, I was surprised to see that the original version of this game STILL to this day has an official webpage accessible from SEGA within the game menu! It was incredible to see and impressive that they even kept it running - you can download Halloween and Christmas costumes for each of the characters in 2 Player Mode, as well as Menu themes where the characters will narrate options in the menu. There's also online Chao Trading, a Black Market to buy things for your Chao Garden, and even downloadable Kart Racing tracks - all of which is available completely for free, and to add, I played this on an emulator, and was still able to just open the browser and connect to it.
The Dreamcast original of this game is absolutely the definitive edition - with the only content worth missing is the Chao Karate, but I would happily sacrifice that for the constant easter egg Big the Cat cameos in most stages, better looking character models, seasonal costumes and DLC content, and the original, unshrunk Dark and Hero Chao Worlds. Are you missing out if you've enjoyed the game on the Gamecube? No, at the end of the day, the game is 90% the same, but if you're an enthusiastic fan of Sonic Adventure 2, the Dreamcast version is absolutely worth your time, especially as there is no 59 / 60hz bug in this version of the game, which if anyone remembers, used to cause your character to perform homing attacks on the ground or hover the minute you leave the floor in the mech stages, which got you killed constantly.
Whilst Sonic Adventure 2 certainly isn't the greatest game ever made, it proudly boasts some of gaming's best stages, soundtracks, and satisfying challenges to overcome and complete. The amount of content on offer here is pretty huge as well - 100%ing this game is a sizable task in the best way.
To summarise, I can say this: All of the quality of life and small details lost in exchange for Chao Karate where you do minimal input and watch your Chaos fight to the death?
What a price to pay.
NERD SHIT:
For the optimal experience emulating this game "as it was" on the Dreamcast without actually owning one, here are my recommendations:
RetroArch Emulator
Flycast Core (to run the game)
Sonic Adventure 2 GDI file (needs the bin files also within the folder)
NO DEADZONE on analog sticks (IMPORTANT - can be changed within the Quick Menu on RetroArch by pressing F1 in game. You don't want to change this globally, just for this game in particular. The original Dreamcast game had no Deadzone).
640x480 Native Dreamcast Resolution (YES, even if you have a 4K monitor like myself, trust me).
"CRT_Consumer" Shader applied to RetroArch once you get in the game. (Change Interlacing Toggle under Shader Parameters to 0 instead of 1 if the screen flashing gives you a headache like it does me).
Enjoy your trip down memory lane.
Sonic Adventure 2 is a game that is quite literally a product of its development cycle. For context, this game, as I recall, was developed over the course of a year as a follow-up to Sonic Adventure, the first true 3D Platformer in Sonic's catalogue. SEGA knew that the Dreamcast was on its last legs and they weren't going to go down without a fight - perhaps if it weren't for their awful business decisions throughout their time in the console market, this game would have been able to resuscitate the Dreamcast and the future of gaming would have gone very differently.
For better or worse, Sonic Adventure 2 is a practice makes perfect, skill-based action platformer. To say this game is divisive would be an understatement - on one hand you have delusional fans saying this is the best game ever created, and on the other you have uncultured SWINE who just aren't fans of Sonic's fast paced gameplay who dub this as an atrocity. The truth of the matter is that Sonic Team captured lightning in a bottle with Adventure 2 and hit it's full potential - which landed somewhere in the middle.
The sequel to Sonic Adventure presents you at first with a Story Mode to get things going. Out of the gate, first impressions are high, with one of the most iconic and well-made levels in all of platforming and video game history, City Escape (seriously, there are literal video essays on this). Unfortunately, moving on from this level the rest of the story is a rollercoaster - a mixed bag with ups and downs a plenty.
I'm sure you don't need me to tell you about the gameplay styles on offer here - this is amongst the most well-known games of all time and there have been no shortage of reviews for it. Each of the three gameplay styles for both campaigns have good and bad stages, but unfortunately the mech-shooter galleries and treasure hunting maps have it worse.
You may have wondered what I meant when I said this game hit its full potential - often times there are games (especially nowadays), where you think "If they just did this this game could be amazing" - I don't think thats applicable here. Any minute quality of life change does not solve the problems that these modes have (those who have modded the game on Steam may know what I mean), and any significant change and I feel you would risk sacrificing the good that these stages do have to offer or even the games identity completely.
The issue with these various gameplay styles is the design choices that went into crafting the game, rather than the actual variety itself. For the most part, most of the stages are decently mapped and can be enjoyed - the problem is that getting there can be an infuriating, controller breaking experience, and sometimes it can feel natural. If you have ever completed this game you may remember that sometimes, you'll go through a level for the first time and hit a C or a B rank, and think "Ah wow, if i'd have just executed that a little tighter I could've got the A Rank!" - which is a good, addicting feeling to have - and then for other stages, you'll complete them with multiple deaths, or take so long to finish it that you get a D or an E rank, and you think "Right, well next time I do this I guess i've got to remember that, that, and that". And hell, even if you've played this game back to back countless times like I have you still won't get it every single time, even on the best levels - I can promise you that.
Occasionally, this is due to general 3D platformer jank (this game doesn't suffer too greatly from a bad camera thankfully), but often you will fall off when trying to perform skips for higher ranks etc. if you don't literally get it pixel perfect. This isn't so much of an issue - that's the nature of the beast. Where the frustration comes in is when the game throws at you stage hazards and enemies that LITERALLY drop right in front of you, centimetres in front of your face as your hurtling forward at jet speed. If you took these hazards out altogether, there would be nothing to be an obstacle for you, making the levels too easy (seeing as Ranks come from a combination of both score and clear time), but if you slowed down the characters, it wouldn't be a Sonic game anymore (and believe me, this is like one of three games where it being a Sonic game is actually a positive trait).
As I'm sure you can imagine, these frustrating moments can make your story mode playthroughs a slog. This isn't to even mention boss fights, which there are a few of, but are rarely anything impressive (with some big exceptions, of course) and sometimes very frustrating themselves. So why then, would I rate this game so highly, in spite of this? You'll be surprised to hear that it's NOT the Chao Garden.
Simply put, Sonic Adventure 2 has some of the most iconic, memorable, and well-executed platforming segments in gaming history. It's a diamond in the rough to be sure - but what this game does that lends itself so favourably to fans is the inclusion of Emblem Challenges and re-playability that extends your save file far beyond the two stories.
Once you've beaten a stage in the story mode, you are given a stage select option in the menu where you can revisit the stage with a charming, well designed world map. Each stage, in addition to its first act that you played through in Story Mode, has 4 extra bonus missions to complete, which will require powerups (some of which are hidden in stages, but only a few, and they are mostly optional ones) from finishing the story mode to get anywhere close to full completion. This is something I like about the game, as it naturally encourages you to get the story "out of the way", as it were, before you get into the real meat of the game.
With Sonic and Shadow combined having a slight majority in levels for their gameplay style in total, and their levels being in general, more consistently good, having the freedom to revisit levels at your own pace and in whichever order you choose is a blessing. Where those previously mentioned frustrating levels don't inherently get better from a gameplay standpoint, they do feel more palatable and enjoyable when enjoyed in between the favourite stages, as often times what makes the Story mode drag is that these frustrating levels can come one after the other.
And even with the Stage Select being the clear outlier as the best mode (which feels really strange to write), that isn't where the highlights end. The game has an enjoyable 2 Player mode where you can battle it out across the stages with some extra 2P exclusive stages, a (mediocre at best) Kart Racing minigame that can also be played in 2 Player, and obviously the Chao Garden - a game within a game and the highlight for most people, where you raise your very own Chao with stupid animal limbs and pit him in underground Chao Races for rewards, with the additional option to take him to school and teach him mundane activities like watching TV or doing a spin.
Hell, with the Dreamcast being so ahead of its time, I was surprised to see that the original version of this game STILL to this day has an official webpage accessible from SEGA within the game menu! It was incredible to see and impressive that they even kept it running - you can download Halloween and Christmas costumes for each of the characters in 2 Player Mode, as well as Menu themes where the characters will narrate options in the menu. There's also online Chao Trading, a Black Market to buy things for your Chao Garden, and even downloadable Kart Racing tracks - all of which is available completely for free, and to add, I played this on an emulator, and was still able to just open the browser and connect to it.
The Dreamcast original of this game is absolutely the definitive edition - with the only content worth missing is the Chao Karate, but I would happily sacrifice that for the constant easter egg Big the Cat cameos in most stages, better looking character models, seasonal costumes and DLC content, and the original, unshrunk Dark and Hero Chao Worlds. Are you missing out if you've enjoyed the game on the Gamecube? No, at the end of the day, the game is 90% the same, but if you're an enthusiastic fan of Sonic Adventure 2, the Dreamcast version is absolutely worth your time, especially as there is no 59 / 60hz bug in this version of the game, which if anyone remembers, used to cause your character to perform homing attacks on the ground or hover the minute you leave the floor in the mech stages, which got you killed constantly.
Whilst Sonic Adventure 2 certainly isn't the greatest game ever made, it proudly boasts some of gaming's best stages, soundtracks, and satisfying challenges to overcome and complete. The amount of content on offer here is pretty huge as well - 100%ing this game is a sizable task in the best way.
To summarise, I can say this: All of the quality of life and small details lost in exchange for Chao Karate where you do minimal input and watch your Chaos fight to the death?
What a price to pay.
NERD SHIT:
For the optimal experience emulating this game "as it was" on the Dreamcast without actually owning one, here are my recommendations:
RetroArch Emulator
Flycast Core (to run the game)
Sonic Adventure 2 GDI file (needs the bin files also within the folder)
NO DEADZONE on analog sticks (IMPORTANT - can be changed within the Quick Menu on RetroArch by pressing F1 in game. You don't want to change this globally, just for this game in particular. The original Dreamcast game had no Deadzone).
640x480 Native Dreamcast Resolution (YES, even if you have a 4K monitor like myself, trust me).
"CRT_Consumer" Shader applied to RetroArch once you get in the game. (Change Interlacing Toggle under Shader Parameters to 0 instead of 1 if the screen flashing gives you a headache like it does me).
Enjoy your trip down memory lane.
1997
This review contains spoilers
Where Mario Kart 7 takes the cake for me as the greatest kart racer in general, Diddy Kong Racing competes in a single player lane in a totally different way.
I'll admit, when me and my partner first booted this up, I was uninspired by the multiplayer. It seemed mediocre at best. However, if you dig into the Adventure mode, which is definitely the main thing on offer here, you get an enjoyable, challenging experience which unlike Mario Kart often feels balanced and fair, despite it also having items, albeit in a different way.
If you're a standard kart racer fan this may not be for you, but as someone who absolutely loves mastering courses in Sonic Adventure 2 (yes, I just compared a kart racer to a Sonic Adventure game), the challenges in single player for these tracks are rewarding, enjoyable and addicting, with minigames and unique boss races to boot.
Whilst Mario Kart 7 took the water and gliding segments and combined them into the tracks, Diddy Kong Racing innovated by letting you choose which you wanted from a boat, car, or plane, each of which control fantastically, but spoiler - not all characters are built equally. Some of them do feel bad in certain vehicles, the only real option is Bumper with Pipsy being a close second.
People who hate on Bumper have no bitches.
I'll admit, when me and my partner first booted this up, I was uninspired by the multiplayer. It seemed mediocre at best. However, if you dig into the Adventure mode, which is definitely the main thing on offer here, you get an enjoyable, challenging experience which unlike Mario Kart often feels balanced and fair, despite it also having items, albeit in a different way.
If you're a standard kart racer fan this may not be for you, but as someone who absolutely loves mastering courses in Sonic Adventure 2 (yes, I just compared a kart racer to a Sonic Adventure game), the challenges in single player for these tracks are rewarding, enjoyable and addicting, with minigames and unique boss races to boot.
Whilst Mario Kart 7 took the water and gliding segments and combined them into the tracks, Diddy Kong Racing innovated by letting you choose which you wanted from a boat, car, or plane, each of which control fantastically, but spoiler - not all characters are built equally. Some of them do feel bad in certain vehicles, the only real option is Bumper with Pipsy being a close second.
People who hate on Bumper have no bitches.
Emulated in 4:3, 360p to feel like original hardware on my PC, as I am now doing with all games from this era.
My wife handed the controller to me. This game is not very fun.
It feels like a vex tier budget platformer. The jump is atrocious, half the time it is inconsistent and wont let you double jump, Jak runs slowly and you can charge to make things quicker - but he gets no iframes or anything so he just fucking dies if you accidentally go near anything making it too risky to bother spamming it. The camera is shit too.
This game is really average. Its definitely a 5 but could drop or gain a point if I ever feel like completing it. It feels like the game doesnt want you to have fun playing it. Like its actively fighting against you.
The art style is pretty and Jak is fun to control, its the actions that arent fun to execute. Not to mention the blue eco is shit, he runs fast but its actually worse because hes not invincible so enemies are even more of a risk, it feels like rather than boosting through youre hurriedly carrying a piece of china through a gauntlet.
And green eco? Wtf is that? It makes no sense. The health is shit too, constantly dying because he can only take three hits but that also includes fall damage when the camera decides to make you fall or get hit by something you cant see.
Won't be in a rush to pick this one up.
My wife handed the controller to me. This game is not very fun.
It feels like a vex tier budget platformer. The jump is atrocious, half the time it is inconsistent and wont let you double jump, Jak runs slowly and you can charge to make things quicker - but he gets no iframes or anything so he just fucking dies if you accidentally go near anything making it too risky to bother spamming it. The camera is shit too.
This game is really average. Its definitely a 5 but could drop or gain a point if I ever feel like completing it. It feels like the game doesnt want you to have fun playing it. Like its actively fighting against you.
The art style is pretty and Jak is fun to control, its the actions that arent fun to execute. Not to mention the blue eco is shit, he runs fast but its actually worse because hes not invincible so enemies are even more of a risk, it feels like rather than boosting through youre hurriedly carrying a piece of china through a gauntlet.
And green eco? Wtf is that? It makes no sense. The health is shit too, constantly dying because he can only take three hits but that also includes fall damage when the camera decides to make you fall or get hit by something you cant see.
Won't be in a rush to pick this one up.
2022
This review contains spoilers
This game was one of the biggest disappointments in my gaming life.
With Bloodborne being my uncontested favourite game of all time for many years, I was fully prepared for Elden Ring to dethrone it.
Let's start with the positives; the character creator is fantastic, one of the best i've seen in a video game to date - sure, the options you have aren't too extensive, but the sliders really carry the bulk. I am someone who loves getting immersed with my character. I managed to create a basic identical likeness to myself for my first character, with alot of time spent tweaking it, and it was really fun to do so. It's very cool to be able to achieve something like that. I also used the character creator to make an Orc character and Tauren (World of Warcraft inspired obviously). The fact these things are even possible is a testament to it. Obviously the other Souls games have all had these sliders, but there's something about them that always gives them this uncanny look that just never looks right from all angles? Here they really managed to nail it though.
No shock to anyone, moment to moment combat is fantastic here. We're dealing with a FromSoft game, of course it feels that way - weapons really have some nice fucking weight to them, and the sound design is immersive and well executed. This extends to the major boss fights of the game, at least those I managed to complete! The last boss I defeated was the giant twat with two swords, don't remember his name. (Starscourge Radahn, that was it). Most of them are fun fights that are well presented and satisfying to defeat (especially the first Legacy Dungeon, that was fantastic, long live Godrick).
Unfortunately for me, thats where the praises from me come to an end I think. FromSoft made the ambitious yet unfortunately foolish decision to make this game an open world and it definitely takes away - not because its not possible, but because they were too lazy to see it through.
When you start your adventure you will feel like a kid again - walking out into that vast open world just spoiled for choice and unable to decide where to go first. It feels absolutely fantastic - I was certain this game was going to be my favourite game of all time. Unfortunately, this quickly diminishes by even the second area of the first zone of the game, when you start to realise that every single cave or dungeon is a copy of another with the same enemies and the same bosses - either a boss you already fought x2 with trash balancing and you get ganked, or a regular enemy with its health scaled up higher. It's lazy, par of the course, and ultimately just immersion breaking. It's trash for any game developer and unfortunately FromSoft does not get a pass from this.
I have seen many people make the argument that you can just ignore these and do the main story content, but I disagree - the whole SPECTACLE of a FromSoft game is the joy of discovery, exploring and finding what is around every single corner, feeling it all immaculately hand-crafted. With this being an open world game, that feeling is completely hit or miss. When it's done right it's done fantastically, and when it's done lazily it's just run of the mill, which is unfortunately more often than not. If I am skipping everything I pass because it's generic trash just to get to the good stuff, that to me is not a Game of the Year. The joy of these games for me is doing everything it has to offer, and everything it has to offer is not always fun.
Another major gripe I have with this game and ultimately what brought me to my conclusion to just stop playing altogether, was the terrible balancing. I understand this is a controversial topic, being that yes, the game is entirely completable naked with a caveman club if you want to do it that way and if you're skilled enough to - that's fucking dope, well played to those who have done it. But having completed DS3 and Bloodborne, I know what fair and enjoyable difficulty is meant to feel like. Toward what I presume is the second half of the game, FromSoft realised they had gone way too big with their scope and noticed that stats start diminishing in their usefulness. So what did they do? Go back and tweak things? Maybe adjust the scaling caps? Nah. Fuck that, let's just have everything deal so much damage that even if you're fully stacked on Vitality you die in one hit.
Sure, its a skill issue, I have no trouble admitting that - there are some bosses in Bloodborne I never defeated solo because I am not good enough at the game, and that's fine for me. What the problem is here is that it feels cheap - things hit you with poor telegraphing or you don't even get a chance to heal from a mistake because you were literally oneshot, but it's not even uncommon - toward the back end of this game it's every fight and just regular moves that they spam, not even big notable moves like Ludwig's Moonlight Greatsword blast.
I have heard that magic is more fun in this game than in others, and at some point I hope to revisit and play this game fresh with a mage build instead of my usual fighter melee build, but honestly no matter how many times I respecced every melee build just felt samey. The magic builds would have to be fantastically different to get my attention. I wanted to love this game, I really did - it was good enough to take over 70 hours of my life but unfortunately no longer.
With Bloodborne being my uncontested favourite game of all time for many years, I was fully prepared for Elden Ring to dethrone it.
Let's start with the positives; the character creator is fantastic, one of the best i've seen in a video game to date - sure, the options you have aren't too extensive, but the sliders really carry the bulk. I am someone who loves getting immersed with my character. I managed to create a basic identical likeness to myself for my first character, with alot of time spent tweaking it, and it was really fun to do so. It's very cool to be able to achieve something like that. I also used the character creator to make an Orc character and Tauren (World of Warcraft inspired obviously). The fact these things are even possible is a testament to it. Obviously the other Souls games have all had these sliders, but there's something about them that always gives them this uncanny look that just never looks right from all angles? Here they really managed to nail it though.
No shock to anyone, moment to moment combat is fantastic here. We're dealing with a FromSoft game, of course it feels that way - weapons really have some nice fucking weight to them, and the sound design is immersive and well executed. This extends to the major boss fights of the game, at least those I managed to complete! The last boss I defeated was the giant twat with two swords, don't remember his name. (Starscourge Radahn, that was it). Most of them are fun fights that are well presented and satisfying to defeat (especially the first Legacy Dungeon, that was fantastic, long live Godrick).
Unfortunately for me, thats where the praises from me come to an end I think. FromSoft made the ambitious yet unfortunately foolish decision to make this game an open world and it definitely takes away - not because its not possible, but because they were too lazy to see it through.
When you start your adventure you will feel like a kid again - walking out into that vast open world just spoiled for choice and unable to decide where to go first. It feels absolutely fantastic - I was certain this game was going to be my favourite game of all time. Unfortunately, this quickly diminishes by even the second area of the first zone of the game, when you start to realise that every single cave or dungeon is a copy of another with the same enemies and the same bosses - either a boss you already fought x2 with trash balancing and you get ganked, or a regular enemy with its health scaled up higher. It's lazy, par of the course, and ultimately just immersion breaking. It's trash for any game developer and unfortunately FromSoft does not get a pass from this.
I have seen many people make the argument that you can just ignore these and do the main story content, but I disagree - the whole SPECTACLE of a FromSoft game is the joy of discovery, exploring and finding what is around every single corner, feeling it all immaculately hand-crafted. With this being an open world game, that feeling is completely hit or miss. When it's done right it's done fantastically, and when it's done lazily it's just run of the mill, which is unfortunately more often than not. If I am skipping everything I pass because it's generic trash just to get to the good stuff, that to me is not a Game of the Year. The joy of these games for me is doing everything it has to offer, and everything it has to offer is not always fun.
Another major gripe I have with this game and ultimately what brought me to my conclusion to just stop playing altogether, was the terrible balancing. I understand this is a controversial topic, being that yes, the game is entirely completable naked with a caveman club if you want to do it that way and if you're skilled enough to - that's fucking dope, well played to those who have done it. But having completed DS3 and Bloodborne, I know what fair and enjoyable difficulty is meant to feel like. Toward what I presume is the second half of the game, FromSoft realised they had gone way too big with their scope and noticed that stats start diminishing in their usefulness. So what did they do? Go back and tweak things? Maybe adjust the scaling caps? Nah. Fuck that, let's just have everything deal so much damage that even if you're fully stacked on Vitality you die in one hit.
Sure, its a skill issue, I have no trouble admitting that - there are some bosses in Bloodborne I never defeated solo because I am not good enough at the game, and that's fine for me. What the problem is here is that it feels cheap - things hit you with poor telegraphing or you don't even get a chance to heal from a mistake because you were literally oneshot, but it's not even uncommon - toward the back end of this game it's every fight and just regular moves that they spam, not even big notable moves like Ludwig's Moonlight Greatsword blast.
I have heard that magic is more fun in this game than in others, and at some point I hope to revisit and play this game fresh with a mage build instead of my usual fighter melee build, but honestly no matter how many times I respecced every melee build just felt samey. The magic builds would have to be fantastically different to get my attention. I wanted to love this game, I really did - it was good enough to take over 70 hours of my life but unfortunately no longer.
If I was a fan of RTS games this would definitely go higher, maybe an 8 or even a 9 (I suck at them).
This game went hard back in the day - countless hours spent playing and making custom maps, everything from MOBAs to Single player RPGs and Left 4 Dead clones and Slender Clones, this game was fucking awesome. The story was generally decent as well, it wasn't 10/10, but it was serviceable and enjoyable, and when I was a teenager some of the moments were pretty spooky.
Luckily, in Blizzard fashion, the game's art style leans more toward style than graphical fidelity which meant it has aged better than some games. Unfortunately, this does not count for much, given that Blizzard essentially let the game die. It has two expansions, one that I couldn't be bothered to play (HOTS), and one that was pretty much DOA, no one even knew it had came out (LOTV).
This is the kind of game that was good at the time and you had to be there. The ship has unfortunately sailed, unless you can still get all the custom maps these days, but I have no idea. This game is mostly abandoned by both Blizzard and fans as far as I am aware.
This game went hard back in the day - countless hours spent playing and making custom maps, everything from MOBAs to Single player RPGs and Left 4 Dead clones and Slender Clones, this game was fucking awesome. The story was generally decent as well, it wasn't 10/10, but it was serviceable and enjoyable, and when I was a teenager some of the moments were pretty spooky.
Luckily, in Blizzard fashion, the game's art style leans more toward style than graphical fidelity which meant it has aged better than some games. Unfortunately, this does not count for much, given that Blizzard essentially let the game die. It has two expansions, one that I couldn't be bothered to play (HOTS), and one that was pretty much DOA, no one even knew it had came out (LOTV).
This is the kind of game that was good at the time and you had to be there. The ship has unfortunately sailed, unless you can still get all the custom maps these days, but I have no idea. This game is mostly abandoned by both Blizzard and fans as far as I am aware.
2010
It's better than Warcraft 3 Reforged.
Fantastically atrocious. Was so dissapointed with this and got a refund. Please, please, pirate the superior original. At least those graphics have charm.
Feel no guilt for shitting on this game - it was entirely outsourced to a chinese mobile gaming company.
Feel no guilt for shitting on this game - it was entirely outsourced to a chinese mobile gaming company.