liamneville
1998
Is it dated? Yes. Is it still really cool? Also yes. Everybody in this game has a cool name and the sometimes over the top cut scenes and story were a great ride. Gameplay clicked sometime after the cyber ninja fight and I started to really have an amazing time.
The amount of innovation and clever fourth wall breaks built into the gameplay were amazing. The Psycho Mantis confrontation, using the vibration of the controller on your arm, and more.
My biggest complaints, knowing that this game came out in 1998, are first, that there was no reticle for the turret gun in that last escape part. Definitely something that would have been possible for them to do and would’ve saved me some aggravation. Second, the amount of backtracking you have to do in the game gets pretty tedious. And third, really any open gunfight portion, especially the staircase ascension, because the gunplay in the game is extremely basic and those sections could have been reduced/toned down. Having to anticipate the offscreen enemies ahead of me while also being ready to whip around and get the ones chasing me was really janky and frustrating.
The amount of innovation and clever fourth wall breaks built into the gameplay were amazing. The Psycho Mantis confrontation, using the vibration of the controller on your arm, and more.
My biggest complaints, knowing that this game came out in 1998, are first, that there was no reticle for the turret gun in that last escape part. Definitely something that would have been possible for them to do and would’ve saved me some aggravation. Second, the amount of backtracking you have to do in the game gets pretty tedious. And third, really any open gunfight portion, especially the staircase ascension, because the gunplay in the game is extremely basic and those sections could have been reduced/toned down. Having to anticipate the offscreen enemies ahead of me while also being ready to whip around and get the ones chasing me was really janky and frustrating.
1986
This game is a typical 2D Zelda experience for the first 6ish temples and then it becomes hard as fuck for two reasons.
One, you get so little information on where to go for the 7th, 8th, and 9th temple it's nuts. 7th I found by sheer luck and the 8th took me forever to locate cause those "trees" seemed like bushes to me. I had to look up where to go to find the 9th cause bombing a small spot on a random rock was not obvious at all.
Two, fucking wizrobes. In any other game they're a fairly simple enemy that are fun to fight, but in this one they're OP as fuck and multiple get thrown into a room with several other enemies. It's absolute chaos. Ended up looking up the final dungeon's layout so I could hoof it to the boss and get the game over with (also wtf Ganon is invisible).
Still a solid start to the best video game franchise to ever exist. If you play this: bomb EVERYTHING.
One, you get so little information on where to go for the 7th, 8th, and 9th temple it's nuts. 7th I found by sheer luck and the 8th took me forever to locate cause those "trees" seemed like bushes to me. I had to look up where to go to find the 9th cause bombing a small spot on a random rock was not obvious at all.
Two, fucking wizrobes. In any other game they're a fairly simple enemy that are fun to fight, but in this one they're OP as fuck and multiple get thrown into a room with several other enemies. It's absolute chaos. Ended up looking up the final dungeon's layout so I could hoof it to the boss and get the game over with (also wtf Ganon is invisible).
Still a solid start to the best video game franchise to ever exist. If you play this: bomb EVERYTHING.
This is honestly the best pokemon game and it's a romhack. I much prefer the old sprite art style of gen 2 and this takes that, modernizes the gameplay, and adds more content to flesh out the experience. I typically like to play in faithful mode, but the changes made in the regular mode are fun for a playthrough. Also gives NG+ which rocks and needs to be implemented in actual pokemon games.
A nice return to form that keeps things short (thank god after Odyssey and Valhalla's bloat). Stealth gameplay is fun and the tools are cool. Unfortunately the story and side characters are completely forgettable.
Possibly best story and main characters of any game ever. Zombies are cool and the gameplay is pretty fun, but nothing to write home about. It's everything else that makes this game great.
2023
Great roster of playable characters (Reptile returns!) and a story that starts out really good (for MK), but devolves into a chaos by the end, albeit a fun chaos. The actual combat is probably the best of any MK yet, though, which is great. Still think I prefer 11, but it was also my first MK, so that might be why. Though, I think the character towers were more fun in 11, the "adventure" type mode was better in this one than 11.
I know there's plenty of people that prefer Breath of the Wild because BOTW did it first. And I know there's people who complain that it's the same map, art style, and broad strokes gameplay as BOTW. But it had been 5+ years since I had played BOTW and this was everything that was, but better. More things to do, better clothing/armor, the depths and sky islands, the powers. Just BOTW, but elevated and BOTW was already one of my favorite games of all time going into TOTK.
The game stills suffers from a lack of proper temples, but these were far and away much better than BOTW's "temples". The final boss is also more fun and the final stage is a cinematic masterpiece.
The ultrahand power was really creative and I loved experimenting with building shit. Eventually perfected a hoverbike design and then I was zipping around the depths and surface having the time of my life. I also loved attaching monster parts to weapons (especially a dragon horn shard to the mastersword).
Beautiful game with so much to do over the horizons and even though I'd love a return to more linear Zelda's after this, this is probably Zelda at its peak.
The game stills suffers from a lack of proper temples, but these were far and away much better than BOTW's "temples". The final boss is also more fun and the final stage is a cinematic masterpiece.
The ultrahand power was really creative and I loved experimenting with building shit. Eventually perfected a hoverbike design and then I was zipping around the depths and surface having the time of my life. I also loved attaching monster parts to weapons (especially a dragon horn shard to the mastersword).
Beautiful game with so much to do over the horizons and even though I'd love a return to more linear Zelda's after this, this is probably Zelda at its peak.
2021
Anyone who wouldn't give this 4.5+ stars did not play it with their lovely, amazing, hilarious, beautiful partner and for that I feel sorry for them. The co-op on this is unmatched and the platforming is great. Story is basic, but compelling and the music level is one of the best levels in any platformer. The varied gameplay and abilities really works well and as soon as you're about to get tired of what you have, the level finishes and you get new stuff to try out.
Also, what you have to do to that elephant is traumatizing and brutal, but so funny in hindsight. Loved it.
Also, what you have to do to that elephant is traumatizing and brutal, but so funny in hindsight. Loved it.
So I mainly played this game so I could eventually play and fully enjoy the better sequels (specifically 2 and 4) and I do see the potential for sure. My main issue is how repetitive the game is, but it is short, so I still had a good time with it. It's basically just traversal section->combat section->traversal section->combat section and so on with a few puzzles sprinkled in and a couple vehicle sections. I loved the car chase part, but the jet skis controlled like ass and you had to stop driving it to shoot, which ended up being clunky and not enjoyable. Really needed more variety (MORE PUZZLES) and more and better vehicle sections. There were also too many waves of enemies in the numerous combat sections, which are pretty much all just duck and cover marathons.
The good thing, though, is I loved the cheesy 80's action flick vibes and the main characters are fun and I already really like them. Set pieces were great too.
The good thing, though, is I loved the cheesy 80's action flick vibes and the main characters are fun and I already really like them. Set pieces were great too.
2007
This review contains spoilers
Unmatched atmosphere. Rapture is a great concept with incredible execution. The game can also be really creepy at times, which filled me with terror and made it all the more fun. The story is phenomenal and the twist is brilliantly woven into the gameplay and a wonderful commentary on player choice in games as a whole. The powers are varied and fun and the guns are mostly all dope, especially the crossbow (I loved freezing and enemy and then shattering them with on crossbow bolt).
Overall, the combat is just enjoyable enough for a satisfying gameplay loop, but that's not what makes this game so great. My biggest issue is the audio for voices. No matter how I changed the settings, the audio for voices was always too quiet compared to the other sources of audio for everything else, which made me miss out on some story bits. This is especially true for audio logs, which were done to build the story really well, but if I wanted to really absorb everything that was said I would just have to stop playing and wait till it was finished cause if I did anything else, like get into a fight or hack something, I couldn't hear a damn thing, which is super important in a story and world driven game like this.
Overall, the combat is just enjoyable enough for a satisfying gameplay loop, but that's not what makes this game so great. My biggest issue is the audio for voices. No matter how I changed the settings, the audio for voices was always too quiet compared to the other sources of audio for everything else, which made me miss out on some story bits. This is especially true for audio logs, which were done to build the story really well, but if I wanted to really absorb everything that was said I would just have to stop playing and wait till it was finished cause if I did anything else, like get into a fight or hack something, I couldn't hear a damn thing, which is super important in a story and world driven game like this.
Huge gameplay improvement over the first. Skills matter more and are including in dialogue checks, attributes are utilized better, player character models are better, more powers, better jedi robes, better customization. The only downsides are the story isn't quite as good (though still a really unique story for a piece of Star Wars media) and the game is not complete. Several side storylines that don't have an ending and the main story ends a bit abruptly. Also takes too long to get a lightsaber as compared to the first game. However, I can excuse all of that for how fun the game is to play and how OP you feel by the end.
I had always heard people praise this game, but did not know what I was missing out on. As someone who ranks Fallout New Vegas and Morrowind among my favorite games, this hit all the right notes for me. Love that old school RPG feel and gameplay. The story is great with a good twist and well written side characters. Dialogue is engaging and your choices matter. Combat is surprisingly fun and the force powers feel so good once you upgrade them (especially at the end of the game). Star Wars is also just a cool world so that really helps. I love Bastila, she's great.
I accidentally bought this game trying to buy Ghost of Tsushima and it's one of the best mistakes I've ever made. I was hungry for more samurai (I know Sekiro is technically a Shinobi) action after beating GoT and so I hopped on this to try to get my money's worth. Easily the best combat of any game ever and the boss fights really make that shine. It's also the hardest game I've ever played, but managed to complete the game after about 45 hours. The boss fights are unmatched and the stealth and movement are quite good! Tools are varied and unique as are the combat skills, but limiting the amount you can have equipped at a time really forces you to get good at the core combat, which I love. Will need to try more FromSoft after this.
2020
Not much to say that hasn't already been said. Extremely beautiful world, fun side activities in the open world (yes I like bamboo strikes, haikus, and chasing foxes), phenomenal combat, cool stealth, great variety in gear, and a good main story. Only real issue is the side quests aren't the best, but I do like the side characters you help on those quests. Duels are really fun too. It's like the Witcher+Assassin's Creed, but better than any game in either one of those franchises.
Finally beat this game after having played through a couple temples when I was a kid. So, so good. Mirrors Ocarina in a lot of ways, but more updated. The combat techniques you learn throughout the game are really dope. The art style is by far the best of any Zelda game (Zora armor is sick).
People complain about the long tutorial phase, but I actually love the serenity of the smaller problems you have to deal with and it really connects you with the village, which keeps you engaged with the story and characters throughout.
Temple designs are incredible, especially Arbiter's Grounds, Snowpeak Ruins, Temple of Time, City in the Sky, and Palace of Twilight.
The bosses are easy, but really fun and well designed.
The collecting tears as the wolf gets a bit boring, but otherwise is an improvement over Ocarina in every way but music.
People complain about the long tutorial phase, but I actually love the serenity of the smaller problems you have to deal with and it really connects you with the village, which keeps you engaged with the story and characters throughout.
Temple designs are incredible, especially Arbiter's Grounds, Snowpeak Ruins, Temple of Time, City in the Sky, and Palace of Twilight.
The bosses are easy, but really fun and well designed.
The collecting tears as the wolf gets a bit boring, but otherwise is an improvement over Ocarina in every way but music.