Strawhatvulcan
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This review contains spoilers
I love Red Dead Revolver, and I always bring it up whenever discussing the series with other people. I will be the first to admit I have serious nostalgia for it, as it was one of my first Rockstar games in general, and will also admit that it's definitely a product of its time. The story of revenge of an orphaned bounty hunter in the Wild West as he takes down a corrupt organization in the form of a dirty governor and his Mexican general partner in crime is an absolute trip, supported by a charming side cast in the Buffalo Soldier, Annie, Shadow Wolf, and Jack Swift. I take issue with some of the dated story points, but it's what shows the fact that the game is a product of its time (Mexican/Native representation). It is moreso the story and world of RD-Revolver that I fell in love with over the actual gameplay (which ground to a stop in the sections between levels and there were some awful levels). Graphics are clearly dated compared to modern RDR entries, but I find them still serviceable. Level and character design were a mixed bag, varying greatly in quality and atmosphere. Soundtrack was on point, giving a lot of what you want out of an action-packed spaghetti western inspired videogame. Saloon piano, daring themes, good orchestra.
I'm torn strongly here on the gameplay piece. I enjoyed the overall game, but to completely get 100%, you have to play through a challenge mode that had some bs requirements, a hard mode, and a very hard mode. That can be a little tiresome on you. I also fairly enjoyed the multiplayer mode, though it was quite unbalanced in terms of some characters being multiples better than others. The story mode itself presented you with some varying mission objectives beyond just bounty hunting, and the stealth portion was challenging in a good way. Duels were all fun except for the very last 2 or 3. All that being said, it didn't do anything genre-molding to me, and gameplay to gameplay, I prefer either Gun or Red Dead Redemption (which is an unfair comparison). Still, great game, I love it and have spent easily dozens of hours into it.
2 pts for Story - 2
2 pts for Graphics - 1
2 pts for Sound/Music - 2
4 pts for Gameplay - 2
Bonus Points:
Up to 1 pt for Nostalgia/Normalizing - Games created before 2010 - 1
My Red Dead Revolver Rating = 8
I'm torn strongly here on the gameplay piece. I enjoyed the overall game, but to completely get 100%, you have to play through a challenge mode that had some bs requirements, a hard mode, and a very hard mode. That can be a little tiresome on you. I also fairly enjoyed the multiplayer mode, though it was quite unbalanced in terms of some characters being multiples better than others. The story mode itself presented you with some varying mission objectives beyond just bounty hunting, and the stealth portion was challenging in a good way. Duels were all fun except for the very last 2 or 3. All that being said, it didn't do anything genre-molding to me, and gameplay to gameplay, I prefer either Gun or Red Dead Redemption (which is an unfair comparison). Still, great game, I love it and have spent easily dozens of hours into it.
2 pts for Story - 2
2 pts for Graphics - 1
2 pts for Sound/Music - 2
4 pts for Gameplay - 2
Bonus Points:
Up to 1 pt for Nostalgia/Normalizing - Games created before 2010 - 1
My Red Dead Revolver Rating = 8
Psychonauts is one of my favorite games of all times, and it's hard to judge in an unbiased manner a game one loves so much. Immediately, I will say that this gets full points for being a classic, that still holds up almost 20 years from release. The story is wonderfully well-written, often poignant, often introspective, and almost always witty. I can't help but still laugh at some of the little character and relationship moments I recall, and I have a lot of the important story beats permanently in my head. The idea of being an escaped circus kid training in a summer camp for psychic kids to try to be psychic super-spies and having platformer levels inside of people's minds is insanity but is so so well done here. There are definitely still some moments of profound sadness that one can't help but be stung by, but there is a goodness and hope that shines through the whole story.
Visuals definitely aren't anything one can turn around and write home about, as a game that came out in 2005 by a non-AAA studio, but the fact that Double Fine went with their particular cartoony artstyle made this one much easier to enjoy agelessly, even in a lower fidelity. The varied level and characters designs also make it a good, if dated, visual experience. There were definitely some struggles with collectables due to the graphics. With that said, soundtrack was also pretty good, with each area/level having it's associated themes and combat music feeling especially splashy. Fairly good in this area as well.
Now on to gameplay. This is probably my favorite 3D platformer. I believe the controls are relatively tight for its release time, there were various gimmick mechanics for traversal, and fighting level bosses were a blast. Figuring out how to get from one area to the next was a puzzle I was quite happy to solve often enough. This is my benchmark for what games in the genre could be.
Unsurprisingly, you'll find I consider one of my comfort games a masterpiece. 10/10 (with some balancing for nostalgia).
Psychonauts -
2 pts for Story - 2
2 pts for Graphics - 1.5
2 pts for Sound/Music - 1.5
4 pts for Gameplay - 4
Bonus Points:
Up to 1 pt for Nostalgia/Normalizing - Games created before 2010 - 1
My Psychonauts Rating = 10
Visuals definitely aren't anything one can turn around and write home about, as a game that came out in 2005 by a non-AAA studio, but the fact that Double Fine went with their particular cartoony artstyle made this one much easier to enjoy agelessly, even in a lower fidelity. The varied level and characters designs also make it a good, if dated, visual experience. There were definitely some struggles with collectables due to the graphics. With that said, soundtrack was also pretty good, with each area/level having it's associated themes and combat music feeling especially splashy. Fairly good in this area as well.
Now on to gameplay. This is probably my favorite 3D platformer. I believe the controls are relatively tight for its release time, there were various gimmick mechanics for traversal, and fighting level bosses were a blast. Figuring out how to get from one area to the next was a puzzle I was quite happy to solve often enough. This is my benchmark for what games in the genre could be.
Unsurprisingly, you'll find I consider one of my comfort games a masterpiece. 10/10 (with some balancing for nostalgia).
Psychonauts -
2 pts for Story - 2
2 pts for Graphics - 1.5
2 pts for Sound/Music - 1.5
4 pts for Gameplay - 4
Bonus Points:
Up to 1 pt for Nostalgia/Normalizing - Games created before 2010 - 1
My Psychonauts Rating = 10
This review contains spoilers
Lies of P is an incredible game. I am wowed by the ambition, the creativity, the soul of the development team in all aspects. The almost absurd idea of having a Pinocchio-inspired Souls-like is one that on-paper would have some listeners be a bit skeptical or confused, as I was. But playing the game made me a believer, and that says a lot about the passionate game developers who care greatly about the genre. Seeing bits and pieces of the original story turned into even bigger or whole story moments was greatly enjoyable. Without getting in to too many spoilers, I found the overarching plot a great dialogue on humanity, emotions, empathy, and independence. The main cast was also extremely well-written in my opinion, and uncovering their backstories through the gameplay was a big plus. I earnestly hope for some DLC or a sequel to continue to explore the world, as hinted in the final 30 seconds of the post-credits. More ending options would be a huge benefit as well.
In terms of visuals, I was a little underwhelmed at some points. While the character models were exceptional, for friends and foes, I found the overall level design a little wanting and the world itself didn't have an extremely great aesthetic in my humble opinion. The cinematics were definitely gorgeous, but those were few and far in between. Pretty good, but not the overall best I've seen. The soundtrack and sound design was exceptional though. I genuinely love the fact that one could find beautiful songs and play them in the main hub area, and the foreboding soundscape while adventuring was on point.
Finally, the gameplay. This was a pretty satisfying combat system, with lots of quirks to it that I found beneficial to the comprehensive experience. The P-Organ leveling, the weapon modification system, unique weapons, wishcube wishes, the combat-parry mechanics, legion arm upgrading, the inclusion of throwables/usables, all of it created a relatively deep adventure package. In terms of stats, my one complaint would be the absolute lack of Advance-stat weapons in comparison to Motivity and Technique. Altogether though, I did have a great experience with the game, enough to make even the 2nd run-through fairly enjoyable. Learning the throwables cheese did dampen/expedite some fights, but I won't hold that against the game too much. With some grinding (maybe 5 or 6 hours top) I was able to barely edge out the hardest final boss fight. Once again, I'd like to close by saying this was an excellent game and I'd hope to see more like this.
2 pts for Story - 2
2 pts for Graphics - 1.5
2 pts for Sound/Music - 2
4 pts for Gameplay - 4
Lies of P Rating = 9.5 (Leaning 9 over 10)
In terms of visuals, I was a little underwhelmed at some points. While the character models were exceptional, for friends and foes, I found the overall level design a little wanting and the world itself didn't have an extremely great aesthetic in my humble opinion. The cinematics were definitely gorgeous, but those were few and far in between. Pretty good, but not the overall best I've seen. The soundtrack and sound design was exceptional though. I genuinely love the fact that one could find beautiful songs and play them in the main hub area, and the foreboding soundscape while adventuring was on point.
Finally, the gameplay. This was a pretty satisfying combat system, with lots of quirks to it that I found beneficial to the comprehensive experience. The P-Organ leveling, the weapon modification system, unique weapons, wishcube wishes, the combat-parry mechanics, legion arm upgrading, the inclusion of throwables/usables, all of it created a relatively deep adventure package. In terms of stats, my one complaint would be the absolute lack of Advance-stat weapons in comparison to Motivity and Technique. Altogether though, I did have a great experience with the game, enough to make even the 2nd run-through fairly enjoyable. Learning the throwables cheese did dampen/expedite some fights, but I won't hold that against the game too much. With some grinding (maybe 5 or 6 hours top) I was able to barely edge out the hardest final boss fight. Once again, I'd like to close by saying this was an excellent game and I'd hope to see more like this.
2 pts for Story - 2
2 pts for Graphics - 1.5
2 pts for Sound/Music - 2
4 pts for Gameplay - 4
Lies of P Rating = 9.5 (Leaning 9 over 10)