blueshine
2012
For a game that was a budget multiplayer title until late into its development, this is better than it has any right to be. Once you get past the initial disappointment of the small cast (Only 3 characters split into chapters) you'll find this is the best in the series gameplay wise. It still has the frantic and fast pace of Black just with slightly revamped controls. The special moves are no longer combos and just single presses on the dpad ( Up for freeze attack, right for shield, etc.). Which is a change I don't mind since the AI is as unrelenting as ever and can still kill you in a matter of a minute. Easy to get off in a pinch.
Maps are a decent size with lots of routes/hidden paths and even some with verticality. They give you enough room to get away to catch your breath but also not be too far from the action. Theres some new events which are a welcome addition for the most part, the electric cage and juggernaut events in particular. Worrying about your timer/making it to the safe zone and more enemies spawning just add more fuel to the already chaotic deathmatches. Makes you think about your approach a little more.
The races on the other hand... are kinda fine until the last one. Just a really bad job of directing the player and the physics make it so easy to get off course. That and the last 2 bosses were my biggest gripes. I get they were going for spectacle but they just drag them out for too long and end up tedious.
If your new to the series or just haven't played it I recommend It. It may not be the swan song fans or the creators wanted it to be but whats there is still worth giving a look.
Maps are a decent size with lots of routes/hidden paths and even some with verticality. They give you enough room to get away to catch your breath but also not be too far from the action. Theres some new events which are a welcome addition for the most part, the electric cage and juggernaut events in particular. Worrying about your timer/making it to the safe zone and more enemies spawning just add more fuel to the already chaotic deathmatches. Makes you think about your approach a little more.
The races on the other hand... are kinda fine until the last one. Just a really bad job of directing the player and the physics make it so easy to get off course. That and the last 2 bosses were my biggest gripes. I get they were going for spectacle but they just drag them out for too long and end up tedious.
If your new to the series or just haven't played it I recommend It. It may not be the swan song fans or the creators wanted it to be but whats there is still worth giving a look.
Really wanted to like this but the AI was just way too inconsistent. Shame too since it has great atmosphere and music. Might go back and try going guns blazing one day
Adding half a star for the fixed camera
uh.. this fucking sucked
2012
Up there with Vanquish as one of the best shooters of the 7th gen. Just like it the best way to play it is to always be moving, only use cover to replenish your health and bullet time. The story is alright, not as interesting as the previous games. Only issues for me was the constant red/blue flashing the cutscenes had. Got very annoying. Some of the cutscenes being unskippable also hampers replays. James McCaffrey was great as always, had some pretty good one liners in this.
Not as much exploration compared to its predecessors which is a little disappointing. Most levels only have 1 path which makes them feel smaller and shorter. I felt the weapons kind of made up for that though, It has the best ones out of ps2 trilogy. There's literally a gun that shoots black holes! Getting them isn't hard either since they're more generous with the bolts this time. There's somewhat of a difficult spike near the end but it isn't as bad as the previous games.
Fantastic sequel! An improvement over the original in almost every way. The strafing makes the combat a lot more enjoyable along with the fun and creative weapons/gadgets. Upgrading them was pretty addictive. One of the few issues I had was the late game enemies being more bullet spongy. Made the last few planets not as enjoyable to go through, thankfully the game is over before it gets too bad.
Great combat with an awesome amount of moves. Really makes you feel like The Hulk. Running up a building then elbow dropping enemies and civilians will never not be cool. You can also shield surf a bus! The missions start to get repetitive and tedious towards the end though, thankfully the game isn't too long. Definitely up there with the Arkham and Spiderman games as one of the better superhero games
It has great atmosphere, gameplay, music and is visually stunning. The boss battles are fantastic and very tense. The dungeons though... I found most of them pretty bad. Lots of dead ends and rooms with nothing in them or maze's with bad gimmicks. Coupling this with the high encounter rate made some of them tedious to get through.
Now this is podracing!
Definitely earns its praise as one of the best stealth games ever made. Not as trial and error heavy as the previous entries, you can finally quick save too. Most of the levels allow for several different ways to tackle them, the Panama bank being my favorite. Sound and lighting is as great as ever, especially the latter. The soundtrack is also fantastic and not what you'd expect for a stealth game.
The most impressive thing about the game though is the enemy AI. It's better than games today, which is both sad and amazing. They notice when a door is left open or has been hacked, computer's been turned on, or when a person in a conversation has gone quiet. When lights are shot out or turned off they take out a glow stick to check the area, the list goes on. Highly recommended for anyone looking for a stealth fix
The most impressive thing about the game though is the enemy AI. It's better than games today, which is both sad and amazing. They notice when a door is left open or has been hacked, computer's been turned on, or when a person in a conversation has gone quiet. When lights are shot out or turned off they take out a glow stick to check the area, the list goes on. Highly recommended for anyone looking for a stealth fix