rockbottomdrill
To be clear, this is a review for a Realm Reborn, which as of right now is the only one I have beaten.
This game is a bit of a mess. The early-game is really bad, with a bunch of concepts being thrown onto the player hap-hazardly in long lore-dumps that are quickly lost on them. There are no distinct characters that make enough of a presence, and the MMO aspect of the game feels like more of an afterthought than a substantive gameplay addition. I actually picked up this game in January and dropped it around nearly 70% through - I was very dissapointed and thought the games meandering quests, boring plotlines and needless filler were absolutely, unquantifiably, tragically bad. A Realm Reborn gives a terrible first impression and it sticks with you for most of the run - which is not something that can be brushed over like a lot of devoted fans will try to. A Realm Reborn is a slog, and it is not an easy one. Getting into FFXIV is considerably harder because of it. But this review is not a catastrophically damning one for a reason. It does save itself when the game finally decides to open up. When your main party becomes more explicitly focused on the story of Cid and Alphinaud as your main adventure buddies, it picks up and they become pretty funky and engaging partners to have around. The gameplay also becomes more compelling as you get more abilities to work with, and importantly, the dungeon boss-fight encounters that are done with other players get more intense and feel more worthwhile. These encounters are chaotic, crazy and filled with laughter. This, alongside an active community that you will see move alongside you in the overworld, means that many fun interactions can be found and made that are completely unique and fun, should you go looking for that kind of thing. The game ends on a strong note, and then leads into the next sequel. Hopefully, the significantly improved endgame to A Realm Reborn becomes the standard for the rest of the games. If not, then unfortunately it's a wash. It's hard to reccomend this one in good faith, but if you have a friend to play with or a lot of patience I would reccomend checking out the free trial.
This game is a bit of a mess. The early-game is really bad, with a bunch of concepts being thrown onto the player hap-hazardly in long lore-dumps that are quickly lost on them. There are no distinct characters that make enough of a presence, and the MMO aspect of the game feels like more of an afterthought than a substantive gameplay addition. I actually picked up this game in January and dropped it around nearly 70% through - I was very dissapointed and thought the games meandering quests, boring plotlines and needless filler were absolutely, unquantifiably, tragically bad. A Realm Reborn gives a terrible first impression and it sticks with you for most of the run - which is not something that can be brushed over like a lot of devoted fans will try to. A Realm Reborn is a slog, and it is not an easy one. Getting into FFXIV is considerably harder because of it. But this review is not a catastrophically damning one for a reason. It does save itself when the game finally decides to open up. When your main party becomes more explicitly focused on the story of Cid and Alphinaud as your main adventure buddies, it picks up and they become pretty funky and engaging partners to have around. The gameplay also becomes more compelling as you get more abilities to work with, and importantly, the dungeon boss-fight encounters that are done with other players get more intense and feel more worthwhile. These encounters are chaotic, crazy and filled with laughter. This, alongside an active community that you will see move alongside you in the overworld, means that many fun interactions can be found and made that are completely unique and fun, should you go looking for that kind of thing. The game ends on a strong note, and then leads into the next sequel. Hopefully, the significantly improved endgame to A Realm Reborn becomes the standard for the rest of the games. If not, then unfortunately it's a wash. It's hard to reccomend this one in good faith, but if you have a friend to play with or a lot of patience I would reccomend checking out the free trial.
2003
It's a good game. It's not the best, it definitely is a bit shakey and there are quite a few glitches and bugs - polish definitely could have helped. The character-switching mechanic is clunky sometimes too, and I think the level design has some low-lows. Sonic Heroes as a whole though? It's a good experience. Cute character interactions pepper fun levels with beautiful visuals and memorable soundtracks. Sonic Heroes is a good time, and it is very memorable - but I wish it had more time in the oven to truly shine.
2010
Collecting the red rings has really raised my opinion of this game. There's a lot of creative level design that really makes the player think and use its unique power-ups in ways that aren't obvious. I've had a lot of fun with it! I wish the game felt that creative consistently, though.
2009
Moody offshoot to Halo 3. Everything has so much more weight as an ODST, and things can get really scary. Great atmosphere, fun Halo gameplay, and a very unique story. Probably the least enjoyable Bungie Halo, but still iconic and memorable in every way it needs to be.
2010
I have dedicated far too much fucking thought to this game and I just have to say it at this point. I really like Sonic Colours. I like the wisp level design, I love the graphics and music, I love the challenging ranking system, I LOVE collecting the rings. Messing around with the wisps makes running the levels so much fun, and S-Ranking them is a serious challenge too. All of this on top of being one of the prettiest Sonic games makes it a personal pleasure to play - and I'll even defend the writing. A triumph for Sonic that Sega took all the wrong lessons from.
2004
One of the hardest games I have played in a LONG time. This game never stopped kicking my fuckin' ass. I even had to switch to the new save system for the final boss rush, because the final boss is immediately after it. That was rough. Everything else though? Amazing. The fundamentals from Megaman Zero 1 have been refined to their peak. No upgrades necessary? High speeds? A phenomenal story? A ridiculously hard Zero duel? What can I say, man. They topped themselves with this one. The biggest problem with the game is that final boss rush, which is ridiculous with the boss at the end - but it is a minor issue when those bosses are so memorable, and everything else comes together. Cannot reccomend highly enough. Loved the ending.
2010
Halo: Reach is a great addition to the Halo franchise. The campaign is wonderful, with a very emotional story topping off a set of missions that are almost always of a high quality. While this game does still begin to indulge in the things that are now known to be un-Halo - the sprint, classes, abilities and the new artstyle come to mind as examples - here they feel fresh, and contribute to the game without being super tacked on. It's still Halo, through and through. A very memorable game with a fantastic multiplayer and set of characters. Objective: Survive really stands out as one of the most iconic ways to end a game, too. Overall, a very welcome addition to the Halo series and a great send-off for Bungie.
2012
This game is totally fucking incoherent. Nothing in it makes any sense at all, the gameplay misses the point of Halo, the multiplayer sucks, the story is absolute wank and completely fails at deconstructing anything about the Master Chief. It's a failure on every level. Shit game.
Better luck next time, 343.
Better luck next time, 343.
2007
Halo 3 is the peak of Halo.
Controversial take, I know. But it's hard to think of anything it does wrong. It improves on everything from Halo 2. There isn't a mission I disliked in the slightest in Halo 3. All of the new weapons are great, the story is even better than Halo 2, the co-op campaign is wonderful, and my man Arbiter makes a triumphant return. This is without even talking about the legendary multiplayer. It's only flaws are the occassional bit of confusion in the campaign, and a bit of jank in the co-op cutscenes. With a thrill a minute and a great skill curve, this is the best you can get for this series.
Don't miss out.
Controversial take, I know. But it's hard to think of anything it does wrong. It improves on everything from Halo 2. There isn't a mission I disliked in the slightest in Halo 3. All of the new weapons are great, the story is even better than Halo 2, the co-op campaign is wonderful, and my man Arbiter makes a triumphant return. This is without even talking about the legendary multiplayer. It's only flaws are the occassional bit of confusion in the campaign, and a bit of jank in the co-op cutscenes. With a thrill a minute and a great skill curve, this is the best you can get for this series.
Don't miss out.
2004
MASTER CHIEF, DO YOU MIND EXPLAINING TO ME WHAT YOU'RE DOING ON THAT SHIP?
Really fun game. Huge improvement over Halo 1. Better levels, better weapons, dual-wielding, THE ARBITER, amazing music and hugely improved visuals, Halo 2 is a great time.
There are still weaknesses - the bosses suck, there are some bad levels, the flood are a pain in this game, and some enemies really are just bullet sponges. But these are compartively minor issues.
It's a fantastic followup that adds improvements I didn't even know I wanted when I played Halo 1.
The cliffhanger is great too, leave it alone!
Really fun game. Huge improvement over Halo 1. Better levels, better weapons, dual-wielding, THE ARBITER, amazing music and hugely improved visuals, Halo 2 is a great time.
There are still weaknesses - the bosses suck, there are some bad levels, the flood are a pain in this game, and some enemies really are just bullet sponges. But these are compartively minor issues.
It's a fantastic followup that adds improvements I didn't even know I wanted when I played Halo 1.
The cliffhanger is great too, leave it alone!
2020
A fantastic sight of great things to come. Cannot wait for the rest to drop. Awesome movement options bolstered by sick weapons, visuals and sound design make for a one of a kind shooter. The style system is something mesmerising to get the hang of - seeing ULTRAKILL!!! on the side of the screen never gets old. Definitely check this one out if you're a fan of the genre.
2007
A really cute puzzle game with innovative level design and physics usage in a way that I haven't really seen anywhere else. Constantly challenging, constantly fun, constantly charming. Add on top of it, a great representation of an abusive partner in GLaDos makes finally cutting her off in the ending feel so amazing on a narrative level, too. So emotional and yet still bittersweet. Because I still wanted more puzzles! Great game. Glad I played it on a whim.
2001
Played this one co-op with the lovely Anth Bills, had a good time. Levels were sometimes hard to navigate, and sometimes the game definitely did get repetitive...
But also, the combat, the atmosphere, the graphics, the soundtrack? It shone through. The enemy AI is super cool, it leads to so many fights feeling like a chaotic battlefield filled with opposing factions. Very impressive. The Warthog Run at the end was super hype.
Looking forward to Halo 2!
But also, the combat, the atmosphere, the graphics, the soundtrack? It shone through. The enemy AI is super cool, it leads to so many fights feeling like a chaotic battlefield filled with opposing factions. Very impressive. The Warthog Run at the end was super hype.
Looking forward to Halo 2!
2017
I've been hearing hype, and huff and puff about his game for what feels like the last five years. At first, It didn't really seem like my thing? I'm not a platformer guy. But after I got a really heartfelt and surprising reccomendation from a close friend, I ended up biting the bullet, buying it on sale and playing it all the way through.
And man, a game has never lived up to the hype this hard before. I have no idea how the devs did it. There isn't a single miss in the game at all, it is a pure joy to play all the way through. Tight controls, phenomenal level themes, a bunch of extra fun things to do, an amazing soundtrack, adorable story and characters, bosses that use the game mechanics in ways that I hadn't even thought of - it has everything a platformer could ever dream for. It brought me back to being a kid and playing Super Mario Galaxy for the first time - but it's even better than that. A blow for blow, nearly perfect game. What more can I say? Play this game. You'll never go back to a Mario game ever again.
And man, a game has never lived up to the hype this hard before. I have no idea how the devs did it. There isn't a single miss in the game at all, it is a pure joy to play all the way through. Tight controls, phenomenal level themes, a bunch of extra fun things to do, an amazing soundtrack, adorable story and characters, bosses that use the game mechanics in ways that I hadn't even thought of - it has everything a platformer could ever dream for. It brought me back to being a kid and playing Super Mario Galaxy for the first time - but it's even better than that. A blow for blow, nearly perfect game. What more can I say? Play this game. You'll never go back to a Mario game ever again.
2017
Boring game. The game wasn't crazy hard or anything, it's just pattern memorisation - I did struggle here and there, I guess. But this is just the safest, run and shoot game I've played. Love the aesthetic - but as far as gameplay goes? Sleepy. Probably not going back to this one - finished 50% of it, not feeling an urge to go back.