galesdove
builds upon the first game wonderfully, pioneering formulas that define both crpgs and bioware itself to this day. the narrative and mechanical culmination of your journey that began in candlekeep, and it's only really towards the midpoint of throne of bhaal that things turn to the obnoxious wrt how fights are set up.
yeah idk what more i can say. it's a classic for a reason. if you like rpgs, play it and its predecessor. story mode exists if AD&D makes you want to tear your hair out.
yeah idk what more i can say. it's a classic for a reason. if you like rpgs, play it and its predecessor. story mode exists if AD&D makes you want to tear your hair out.
2017
difficult to give this a definitive review given its very nature, but here's my attempt anyway.
has undeniably grown and improved since its release, and i obviously find the core gameplay engaging. the amount of playstyles and builds available to the player allow a decent variety for gameplay experience, and the seasonal/event activities have, on the whole, been more enjoyable than not. the most recent raids and dungeons are extremely fun, witch queen was an absolute success as a package deal, and even lightfall had its moments.
as a holistic experience, there's a lot here, and i would say my time spent on the game has been positive, and there's a reason i came back to it and have stuck with it.
don't pay full price for anything though. trust me. i bought it on release :(
has undeniably grown and improved since its release, and i obviously find the core gameplay engaging. the amount of playstyles and builds available to the player allow a decent variety for gameplay experience, and the seasonal/event activities have, on the whole, been more enjoyable than not. the most recent raids and dungeons are extremely fun, witch queen was an absolute success as a package deal, and even lightfall had its moments.
as a holistic experience, there's a lot here, and i would say my time spent on the game has been positive, and there's a reason i came back to it and have stuck with it.
don't pay full price for anything though. trust me. i bought it on release :(
2 full playthroughs and 108 hours later and this game is still dog ass.
combat can be very engaging, but one has to qualify that with "as long as you're on a difficulty where the enemies don't become bullet sponges" and "as long as you don't think about the 'profile' system that completely kills the appeal of replayability from a mechanical perspective".
the story and general narrative atmosphere is a mess, the gameplay outside of combat is stale, and the game as a whole is defined by the number of clashing priorities that drag down the entire experience.
andromeda was destined to fail from almost the beginning of its development cycle, and the resulting product is just that; a failure.
combat can be very engaging, but one has to qualify that with "as long as you're on a difficulty where the enemies don't become bullet sponges" and "as long as you don't think about the 'profile' system that completely kills the appeal of replayability from a mechanical perspective".
the story and general narrative atmosphere is a mess, the gameplay outside of combat is stale, and the game as a whole is defined by the number of clashing priorities that drag down the entire experience.
andromeda was destined to fail from almost the beginning of its development cycle, and the resulting product is just that; a failure.
2015
currently replaying for the first time since my initial run-through.
an extremely frustrating game. the gunplay is arguably the best it's been in the series, and the settlement system provides a glimpse into what could have been accomplished, but ultimately this is really the culmination of bethesda's push and pull with the fallout ip; they have (or had) their own idea for the series but are too scared to let go of the identifying, marketable aspects from the original two games, resulting in 3 and 4 feeling like such hollow successors.
the result, here, is a game that fails as a fallout sequel and as a decent bethesda game. it's just mid :/
an extremely frustrating game. the gunplay is arguably the best it's been in the series, and the settlement system provides a glimpse into what could have been accomplished, but ultimately this is really the culmination of bethesda's push and pull with the fallout ip; they have (or had) their own idea for the series but are too scared to let go of the identifying, marketable aspects from the original two games, resulting in 3 and 4 feeling like such hollow successors.
the result, here, is a game that fails as a fallout sequel and as a decent bethesda game. it's just mid :/
a classic CRPG that seems to garner a lot more goodwill from the changes and improvements made in its sequel.
nevertheless, genre-defining, a faithful adaptation of AD&D to the medium of video games (for better or worse), and maintains the atmosphere of an early fantasy adventure where the protagonists are always a little out of their depth. a joy to play!!
nevertheless, genre-defining, a faithful adaptation of AD&D to the medium of video games (for better or worse), and maintains the atmosphere of an early fantasy adventure where the protagonists are always a little out of their depth. a joy to play!!