thundafellow
2011
I get that it was basically the first of its kind with the whole pixel art 2d platformer indie game trend, and I know its iconic for that, but I just couldn't bring myself to really enjoy it that much. Sure, the characters were decently charming and the music was nice, but the art style didn't do it for me.
What really soured the experience for me were the controls. It was a hassle to figure out how to use a controller (I don't like playing platformers with a keyboard), and the player character is really slippery and floaty, making precision platforming a pain in the ass. The save system and checkpoints were terrible, and the insane difficulty spike towards the end of the game completely threw me off and made me more angry at the game than anything. And I was playing on easy mode. I'm no stranger to difficult games either, my favorite games of all time are Hollow Knight and the Dark Souls games. Sure, they have their fair share of bullshit too, but at least they had something more to them that actually drew me in and had me replaying them. Cave Story almost felt like a rage game at points. The only thing I got to say I enjoyed really was when the combat was fair. Combat was really fun when I knew the mistakes were my fault and not the result of artificial difficulty like spammy projectiles and the slippery controls having a mind of their own.
Overall, it was a meh game for me. Not my thing, and I don't even wanna think about attempting the true ending. I've seen what Bloodstained Sanctuary looks like. No thanks.
What really soured the experience for me were the controls. It was a hassle to figure out how to use a controller (I don't like playing platformers with a keyboard), and the player character is really slippery and floaty, making precision platforming a pain in the ass. The save system and checkpoints were terrible, and the insane difficulty spike towards the end of the game completely threw me off and made me more angry at the game than anything. And I was playing on easy mode. I'm no stranger to difficult games either, my favorite games of all time are Hollow Knight and the Dark Souls games. Sure, they have their fair share of bullshit too, but at least they had something more to them that actually drew me in and had me replaying them. Cave Story almost felt like a rage game at points. The only thing I got to say I enjoyed really was when the combat was fair. Combat was really fun when I knew the mistakes were my fault and not the result of artificial difficulty like spammy projectiles and the slippery controls having a mind of their own.
Overall, it was a meh game for me. Not my thing, and I don't even wanna think about attempting the true ending. I've seen what Bloodstained Sanctuary looks like. No thanks.
2018
Artistically stunning, musically moving, and emotionally raw, GRIS stands as another triumph for the indie scene's short-form game library. At only 3 hours, this game offers visuals that look like a gorgeous watercolor painting has come to life, paired with simple yet clever platforming mechanics, a vibrant, stylized world, and beneath it all, tells a story about grief and loss. Easily one of my favorite games of the year.
2007
One of the best puzzle games I've played. Simple, yet clever. Succinct yet far from empty. Excellent worldbuilding, graphics still hold up, great atmostpheric synth music, and darkly humorous dialogue. If you haven't played it, do it. It's a classic for a reason!
Going in, I had the game's pivotal moment spoiled for me. I was fed the reactionary news that blew up in the days following the leaks. I got angry, and unnecessarily so.
But after taking the time to think about it, I decided to buy the deluxe version anyway and give it a shot. Since finishing it, it has made it into my top ten games of all time.
The Last of Us Part II is a visceral, brutal, and highly emotional journey. Its central theme is the idea of a cycle of revenge. Following the central characters through this cycle gives you a profound look at how far hatred will make you stray from your true self.
The tragedy that strikes at the beginning of the game makes you learn to hate Abby with a passion. You want to make her suffer. The rest of the story carries out, and at this point there's been so much violence, anguish, and hatred that you just want it all to stop.
This game does a phenomenal job at making you look inward. What would you do in each of their situations? What if you had played through Abby's story before Ellie and Joel's? What does your reaction to the events in the game say about you?
This taught me something about myself much like Undertale did, but in a much darker context. And, like Undertale, I found myself extremely invested in the characters and deeply caring for them. There hasn't been a game that has done that to me like this since Undertale.
Phenomenal is the word I'd use to describe this game. In addition to the narrative and themes, the gameplay itself is really engaging. It's very similar to the first game, but with some added functionality and new skills, specific to the character you're playing. The level design is incredible, the graphics are mind-blowingly good. There's new infected, too. The soundtrack is still composed by the genius that is Gustavo Santaolalla. There's intricate detail in nearly every part in this game, even down to where Ellie places her fingers on the guitar when you play it.
It runs a little long, but other than that, if you want to invest yourself in an incredible journey, play this game. Just also be prepared for the fact that it's emotionally draining and very uncomfortable, but it will likely teach you something about yourself if you let it.
But after taking the time to think about it, I decided to buy the deluxe version anyway and give it a shot. Since finishing it, it has made it into my top ten games of all time.
The Last of Us Part II is a visceral, brutal, and highly emotional journey. Its central theme is the idea of a cycle of revenge. Following the central characters through this cycle gives you a profound look at how far hatred will make you stray from your true self.
The tragedy that strikes at the beginning of the game makes you learn to hate Abby with a passion. You want to make her suffer. The rest of the story carries out, and at this point there's been so much violence, anguish, and hatred that you just want it all to stop.
This game does a phenomenal job at making you look inward. What would you do in each of their situations? What if you had played through Abby's story before Ellie and Joel's? What does your reaction to the events in the game say about you?
This taught me something about myself much like Undertale did, but in a much darker context. And, like Undertale, I found myself extremely invested in the characters and deeply caring for them. There hasn't been a game that has done that to me like this since Undertale.
Phenomenal is the word I'd use to describe this game. In addition to the narrative and themes, the gameplay itself is really engaging. It's very similar to the first game, but with some added functionality and new skills, specific to the character you're playing. The level design is incredible, the graphics are mind-blowingly good. There's new infected, too. The soundtrack is still composed by the genius that is Gustavo Santaolalla. There's intricate detail in nearly every part in this game, even down to where Ellie places her fingers on the guitar when you play it.
It runs a little long, but other than that, if you want to invest yourself in an incredible journey, play this game. Just also be prepared for the fact that it's emotionally draining and very uncomfortable, but it will likely teach you something about yourself if you let it.
After playing through "A Crack in Time", "Into the Nexus" feels like a bit of a downgrade. Ratchet's design was changed yet again, and this time to make him look more "cute", which doesn't really fit his character.
The gameplay was kinda wonky, too. Instead of the mainstay third-person free-cam type of feel, this was more locked down and played more like a twin-stick shooter. The new grav-boot mechanics was a neat addition though. The game also ran rough. The improved graphics along with the fact that ItN is a very explosive game made for pretty severe frame drops in many areas. That being said, the game DID look beautiful. My poor PS3 just couldn't handle it.
In terms of plot, it was weird. It picked up from where ACiT left off and delved more into the quantum physics plot points. We get alternate, evil dimensions and the looming threat of an interdimensional eldritch abomination. It was fun and entertaining, but not nearly as interesting as ACiT. However, the new villains were cool, and I enjoyed their redemption arc.
The weapons are pretty different from ACiT. They're a lot more powerful, too. Given the short length of the game, I suppose the developers decided to spice things up by letting the player have power trips with weapons that, when leveled, did SIGNIFICANTLY more damage. Almost made the game a cakewalk.
Going back to the fact that this game is short, there's also not much extra content aside from the main plot. The Thugs-4-Less gladiator arena was only two cups long, and each challenge was relatively easy. I've yet to re-experience the rush that was the Impossible Challenge from GC.
One of my favorite things, however, was the museum level. Usually museum content is hidden behind NG+ and some form of completion, but this time it was an actual area in-game. It was cool to see callbacks to the PS2 era.
Finally, the clank sections here were far different than anything ever done with him. His sections were side-scrolling 2.5D sections with gravity manipulation. Not as likable as his Great Clock time puzzles, but still better than the Gadge-bots.
It's a nice little epilogue to the franchise for the time being. However, with Rift Apart coming out soon, and not knowing whether it'll be a direct sequel to this entry, or a continuation of the reboot, it's at least nice to know our dynamic duo has not been left behind like Jak and Sly. Their story and legacy continues.
The gameplay was kinda wonky, too. Instead of the mainstay third-person free-cam type of feel, this was more locked down and played more like a twin-stick shooter. The new grav-boot mechanics was a neat addition though. The game also ran rough. The improved graphics along with the fact that ItN is a very explosive game made for pretty severe frame drops in many areas. That being said, the game DID look beautiful. My poor PS3 just couldn't handle it.
In terms of plot, it was weird. It picked up from where ACiT left off and delved more into the quantum physics plot points. We get alternate, evil dimensions and the looming threat of an interdimensional eldritch abomination. It was fun and entertaining, but not nearly as interesting as ACiT. However, the new villains were cool, and I enjoyed their redemption arc.
The weapons are pretty different from ACiT. They're a lot more powerful, too. Given the short length of the game, I suppose the developers decided to spice things up by letting the player have power trips with weapons that, when leveled, did SIGNIFICANTLY more damage. Almost made the game a cakewalk.
Going back to the fact that this game is short, there's also not much extra content aside from the main plot. The Thugs-4-Less gladiator arena was only two cups long, and each challenge was relatively easy. I've yet to re-experience the rush that was the Impossible Challenge from GC.
One of my favorite things, however, was the museum level. Usually museum content is hidden behind NG+ and some form of completion, but this time it was an actual area in-game. It was cool to see callbacks to the PS2 era.
Finally, the clank sections here were far different than anything ever done with him. His sections were side-scrolling 2.5D sections with gravity manipulation. Not as likable as his Great Clock time puzzles, but still better than the Gadge-bots.
It's a nice little epilogue to the franchise for the time being. However, with Rift Apart coming out soon, and not knowing whether it'll be a direct sequel to this entry, or a continuation of the reboot, it's at least nice to know our dynamic duo has not been left behind like Jak and Sly. Their story and legacy continues.
"A Crack in Time" is easily the strongest entry to the Future saga. Ratchet's design looks better, the cinematics are gorgeous and don't have any audio lags like ToD and QfB, the narrative is solid, and the gameplay is fantastic.
This game felt more like the "classic" RaC I grew up with. There was a lot to do, the worlds were diverse and interesting, the voice acting was great, and the gladiator arena challenges were fun and rewarding. The ship sections were improved and felt like a nice "open-world" addition to space travel, and the little moons you landed on had clever puzzles and were great for farming bolts and XP.
Speaking of XP, the weapons leveling system in this game was done very well. Each one could max out at V5, and the Constructo weapons' mod slots were fun to mess around with. In NG+, they could reach up to V10. The arsenal itself is very strong. Only a couple weapons felt like they never got any use. The RYNO V, as the ultimate weapon, is disappointing at first, but gets better as you level it up.
The music I'd say was the weakest part of the game, but it still holds up pretty well, carrying a recognizable leitmotif throughout.
Clank sections were amazingly good. The time puzzles were some of my favorite puzzles to solve in any RaC game to date. Very clever and creative.
The narrative was great. Characters had motivations from the get-go, the voice acting was superb, each character had their own arcs that wrapped up nicely in the end, and there was even a twist for the final boss. More dramatic and emotional than other RaC games, but definitely more epic and grand in scale.
All in all, it prompted two complete playthroughs from me, back-to-back, so I guess you could say I enjoyed it!
This game felt more like the "classic" RaC I grew up with. There was a lot to do, the worlds were diverse and interesting, the voice acting was great, and the gladiator arena challenges were fun and rewarding. The ship sections were improved and felt like a nice "open-world" addition to space travel, and the little moons you landed on had clever puzzles and were great for farming bolts and XP.
Speaking of XP, the weapons leveling system in this game was done very well. Each one could max out at V5, and the Constructo weapons' mod slots were fun to mess around with. In NG+, they could reach up to V10. The arsenal itself is very strong. Only a couple weapons felt like they never got any use. The RYNO V, as the ultimate weapon, is disappointing at first, but gets better as you level it up.
The music I'd say was the weakest part of the game, but it still holds up pretty well, carrying a recognizable leitmotif throughout.
Clank sections were amazingly good. The time puzzles were some of my favorite puzzles to solve in any RaC game to date. Very clever and creative.
The narrative was great. Characters had motivations from the get-go, the voice acting was superb, each character had their own arcs that wrapped up nicely in the end, and there was even a twist for the final boss. More dramatic and emotional than other RaC games, but definitely more epic and grand in scale.
All in all, it prompted two complete playthroughs from me, back-to-back, so I guess you could say I enjoyed it!
2008
Crysis: Warhead takes place during the exact timeline of Crysis, but focuses on Pshycho's side of the story instead of Nomad's. Gameplay is basically the exact same as Crysis, the only change is that you get a few different weapons. It uses the same engine, so it looks just as good and plays just as good.
It's a great companion piece to Crysis plot-wise, and gives players another chance to revisit the island. Just don't expect much of a difference in gameplay between the two.
It's a great companion piece to Crysis plot-wise, and gives players another chance to revisit the island. Just don't expect much of a difference in gameplay between the two.
Quest for Booty is a short transition title between Tools of Destruction and A Crack in Time that focuses mostly on the space pirate aspect of ToD and wraps up that story arc. It takes place on a single planet, but in-between islands in the aforementioned pirate-y manner. The first half is very platform-puzzle-centric, which is quite fun. The action ramps up in the second half when Ratchet and Talwyn begin facing off against the undead crew. I played this on hard mode because I knew it was a shorter game going in. This made it so the enemies are HUGE bullet-sponges and Ratchet can only take a couple hits before dying.
This uses the same engine as ToD and reuses a lot of animations and assets, so technically, it's still a bit buggy. The story is unremarkable. Main character needs to find friend, and to find said friend, he needs a specific artifact that is buried with a notorious space pirate. Que swashbuckling adventure where you use map to sail the seas to find said buried treasure and fight undead crew mates along the way due to an undead curse. (Curse of the Black Pearl, anyone?)
The final boss is long and tedious and features some really weird hitboxes, making it a giant difficulty spike (granted I was playing on hard, but it was still very sudden). The design itself is not bad, though.
Very linear, but it serves its purpose. I don't think I'd do another playthrough.
This uses the same engine as ToD and reuses a lot of animations and assets, so technically, it's still a bit buggy. The story is unremarkable. Main character needs to find friend, and to find said friend, he needs a specific artifact that is buried with a notorious space pirate. Que swashbuckling adventure where you use map to sail the seas to find said buried treasure and fight undead crew mates along the way due to an undead curse. (Curse of the Black Pearl, anyone?)
The final boss is long and tedious and features some really weird hitboxes, making it a giant difficulty spike (granted I was playing on hard, but it was still very sudden). The design itself is not bad, though.
Very linear, but it serves its purpose. I don't think I'd do another playthrough.
While a departure from the cynical and edgy style of the PS2 titles, Tools of Destruction introduces players to a more cinematic presentation style, reminiscent of a space-opera.
The stakes are higher, there is more melodrama, and the overall vibe is more emotional and grandiose. Clank deals with his true origin story and cosmic beings called the Zoni, and Ratchet begins to deal with being the last of his race, and why.
Emperor Tachyon is this entry's villain, and he's basically a smaller, creepier, but just as maniacal version of Doctor Nefarious. Talwyn Apogee is introduced as Ratchet's female counterpart for this series, but seems to completely retcon Angela from Going Commando. Despite this, Talwyn ends up being quite a good character, and as an NPC, ends up being pretty helpful.
The game is slightly more linear than previous entries (bar Deadlocked) but still retains the multiple pathway design from 1 and 2. It also goes back to basics with more platforming than 3 and Deadlocked.
The graphics are improved, Ratchet's design is altered slightly to appear more "cuddly" but still retains the personality he's developed over past titles. The same is done with Clank, minus the visual redesign.
The story itself is great. Moving on from the cynical nature into the cinematic style narrative felt natural, and I personally enjoyed it. There were also space pirate sections with a Pirates of the Caribbean style theme to go with them, which I also personally enjoyed (David Bergeaud is still the composer for this title, that wonderful genius).
Gameplay itself was fantastic. New weapons, updated mechanics, more chaos and spectacle. The works. I felt even the Clank sections got better (minus some tedious checkpoints).
The only other minor gripes that I have are that towards the end, enemies turn into bullet sponges, even with end-game fully upgraded weapons. There are also a fair amount of technical issues with the game, such as cutscenes where the audio desyncs and small things like character animations freezing akwardly mid-frame when running into a hitbox. Swinging the wrench tends to spin Ratchet in the opposite direction sometimes, too, and some enemies, when knocked back, glitch out and freeze in place, refusing to die or get back up. Other audio issues include weirdly placed audio in the stereo spectrum, and some sounds disappearing completely amid the chaos.
If it weren't for the immersion-breaking technical issues, this game would've gotten a 4 from me, but it was disappointing to see the gameplay lack the technical polish the narrative demanded. But all in all, it still felt like Ratchet and Clank, but with more cinematic flair.
The stakes are higher, there is more melodrama, and the overall vibe is more emotional and grandiose. Clank deals with his true origin story and cosmic beings called the Zoni, and Ratchet begins to deal with being the last of his race, and why.
Emperor Tachyon is this entry's villain, and he's basically a smaller, creepier, but just as maniacal version of Doctor Nefarious. Talwyn Apogee is introduced as Ratchet's female counterpart for this series, but seems to completely retcon Angela from Going Commando. Despite this, Talwyn ends up being quite a good character, and as an NPC, ends up being pretty helpful.
The game is slightly more linear than previous entries (bar Deadlocked) but still retains the multiple pathway design from 1 and 2. It also goes back to basics with more platforming than 3 and Deadlocked.
The graphics are improved, Ratchet's design is altered slightly to appear more "cuddly" but still retains the personality he's developed over past titles. The same is done with Clank, minus the visual redesign.
The story itself is great. Moving on from the cynical nature into the cinematic style narrative felt natural, and I personally enjoyed it. There were also space pirate sections with a Pirates of the Caribbean style theme to go with them, which I also personally enjoyed (David Bergeaud is still the composer for this title, that wonderful genius).
Gameplay itself was fantastic. New weapons, updated mechanics, more chaos and spectacle. The works. I felt even the Clank sections got better (minus some tedious checkpoints).
The only other minor gripes that I have are that towards the end, enemies turn into bullet sponges, even with end-game fully upgraded weapons. There are also a fair amount of technical issues with the game, such as cutscenes where the audio desyncs and small things like character animations freezing akwardly mid-frame when running into a hitbox. Swinging the wrench tends to spin Ratchet in the opposite direction sometimes, too, and some enemies, when knocked back, glitch out and freeze in place, refusing to die or get back up. Other audio issues include weirdly placed audio in the stereo spectrum, and some sounds disappearing completely amid the chaos.
If it weren't for the immersion-breaking technical issues, this game would've gotten a 4 from me, but it was disappointing to see the gameplay lack the technical polish the narrative demanded. But all in all, it still felt like Ratchet and Clank, but with more cinematic flair.
2017
I'll be honest, I saw PewDiePie play a fan game that Thomas Brush made, and then I heard he had actual original titles and a whole YouTube channel. I decided to watch his channel while learning to develop my own games and heard about Pinstripe and Neversong. I now own them both.
Pinstripe is a short but bittersweet title about a man named Ted and his adventure into Hell to save his daughter from the clutches of the evil Pinstripe. It's a simple puzzle-platformer and collect-a-thon with a pleasant but dark art style and very atmospheric music. Also features the talents of several online personalities. Takes about 4 hours to complete the story, about 6-7 to 100% it. Highly recommend if you've got a free evening!
Only gripe is that given the choice of the voice actors and the overall unique narrative, there was a strange focus on potty humor that kinda didn't sit well with me. Also, achievements didn't work on Steam.
Pinstripe is a short but bittersweet title about a man named Ted and his adventure into Hell to save his daughter from the clutches of the evil Pinstripe. It's a simple puzzle-platformer and collect-a-thon with a pleasant but dark art style and very atmospheric music. Also features the talents of several online personalities. Takes about 4 hours to complete the story, about 6-7 to 100% it. Highly recommend if you've got a free evening!
Only gripe is that given the choice of the voice actors and the overall unique narrative, there was a strange focus on potty humor that kinda didn't sit well with me. Also, achievements didn't work on Steam.
Basically sci-fi Dark Souls. Played through it first time on Grand Master difficulty and had a blast! My favorite bits were fighting other lightsaber users. Exploration was a bit tedious, but combat was fantastic. Parrying is super satisfying, finishing animations are dope, the skill tree offers some pretty sick additions to the flow of combat, and the use of the force is a neat way to spice up the souls-like combat with its own flair. Sound design is fantastic. Sometimes there were bugs, but not enough that it was game-breaking. Better story than any of the sequel and prequel trilogies. Looks pretty great too, but it could look better for 2019.
Was able to 100% the game in just over 50 hours. Usually this says a lot about a game if I care to 100% it, so I'd say I really enjoyed it.
Was able to 100% the game in just over 50 hours. Usually this says a lot about a game if I care to 100% it, so I'd say I really enjoyed it.
2007
This one's a shaky one for me because the game itself is downright fantastic. For 2007, it looks incredible. The gunplay is super fun and the narrative is insane! And given the sci-fi elements, it leads me to compare it to Halo. It's like Halo, but on steroids, its so chaotic. However, this version of the game is a little buggy. Every once in a while my game will exit fullscreen mode and force itself into windowed mode, which I then have to revert in the options menu. Really annoying, especially when it happens during a key moment. I had one crash during the final boss, which is weird since my rig is pretty powerful (i7-8700k and 1080ti).
Another small gripe was that even in normal mode, some enemy spawns and scenarios just seemed way too difficult and/or cheap (like pinning me on a bridge between a jeep with a mounted LMG firing at me while a helicopter hovered overhead firing its mounted machine gun at me and launching bursts of three rockets at a time, effectively one-shotting me every single time until I did a panic run and jumped off the bridge. And during the final boss, getting frozen while pelted with enemy minigun fire from three different enemies and blasted with explosives while desperately trying to scavenge for ammo and fight the boss all at once).
I know, I know, "GIT GUD" and all, which I eventually did, but sometimes the difficulty spikes felt way too sudden and steep.
Overall though, drastic difficulty spikes and weird bugs aside, it's a great game, especially for its time. Had me jumping straight into Crysis 2 immediately after so I could see where the story went.
Another small gripe was that even in normal mode, some enemy spawns and scenarios just seemed way too difficult and/or cheap (like pinning me on a bridge between a jeep with a mounted LMG firing at me while a helicopter hovered overhead firing its mounted machine gun at me and launching bursts of three rockets at a time, effectively one-shotting me every single time until I did a panic run and jumped off the bridge. And during the final boss, getting frozen while pelted with enemy minigun fire from three different enemies and blasted with explosives while desperately trying to scavenge for ammo and fight the boss all at once).
I know, I know, "GIT GUD" and all, which I eventually did, but sometimes the difficulty spikes felt way too sudden and steep.
Overall though, drastic difficulty spikes and weird bugs aside, it's a great game, especially for its time. Had me jumping straight into Crysis 2 immediately after so I could see where the story went.
2016
First off, the movie the game is based on was a major disappointment. They completely altered Ratchet and Clank's individual characters and the dynamic between the two was turned really shallow, almost as if they were in some sort of professional relationship. No banter or conflict between the two whatsoever, and really no reason to be friends. It was really lame to see Ratchet turned from a self-important mechanic who lived on a backwater planet to a wannabe do-gooder who merely works at a mechanic shop and wants to be a Galatic Ranger and save the world. OG Ratchet had his own fish to fry, while Clank was trying to be his moral compass, and that's what made him fun. And in this game, Clank just seems so flat, basically a cardboard cutout of his original self, and feels like he himself AS A CHARACTER doesn't really care about the plot he's involved in.
The game, in terms of plot, was mostly the same way. Even the segues in and out of the actual movie scenes seemed jarring and janky. Too kid-friendly, comedy tries too hard, breaks the fourth wall more than Deadpool (moderation in that department is what made the originals good), and at some points just seems like it wants relevance points with the kiddies. I visibly cringed at a lot of the writing, which is straight up bad in a lot of parts. Also wasn't a fan of the narrative being told by Captain Qwark from prison. Additionally, they did my boy Drek dirty by turning him from the main villain who remains sinister but deals with incompetent henchmen into a dorky, annoying red herring villain who just ends up getting Sheepinated by Nefarious.
However, I do have to say that there were good parts to the writing. I thought the end of the Plumber scene where the dialogue is replicated line-for-line from the original was cute ("Geronimo!" "Did he just slide down that sewer pipe?"), and the fact that the Plumber says he'll see them in the next reboot (which is canon, because the Plumber has always been the main 4th-wall-breaking NPC). There were times when the old humor poked through the mess. Not everything was terrible.
The gameplay was where I found myself really enjoying it. I think it's obvious that experiencing levels from the first game with a huge graphical makeover was pretty dope. The game looks incredible! Only gripe there is the cap at 30fps and no way to turn off motion blur. The level design overall I thought was really good. Most planets had a main path for the plot progression, and then had a couple branching side-paths for additional plot or gold bolts/holo-cards. That was something that we didn't even get in UYA. We even got a Tabora/Grelbin-style level on Gaspar with the Brain Scientist, though the amount of bolts you get in exchange feels nowhere close as rewarding as trading all the crystals to The Mystic.
As far as the weapons go, the arsenal is slightly disappointing due to how small it is, and not bringing back more OG weapons, but the leveling and upgrading mechanic was really cool. I found myself using most of them in combination with each other during big battles. Only one that wasn't used was the Sheepinator (I never really used the morphing weapons). Another gripe with the weapons system is you never really feel like you're working for any of them. One of the fun parts of the OG trilogy was grinding bolts and completing the Mystic missions to save up for the more expensive weapons, and for the most part, it was worth it because each new weapon offered something better for the price. In this game, by the time a new weapon is available, you will easily have enough bolts for it (save for the RYNO, which requires you to find the holo-cards, and I don't really have too much of an issue with that), and some of the weapons you get late game don't even compare to the early-game weapons' usefulness.
Now for the overall combat. This was something I think they still did right. Sure, enemies aren't as varied as the OG, but they were still diverse enough to not feel bland (like UYA with its Tyhrranoids). The combat itself is chaotic and explosive, which has not changed much from past R&C. Just how I like it. Sometimes the flashy graphics made things a little hard to tell what was going on though. Enemy AI was smart enough for the battles not to be too easy. Strangely, some the boss battles felt slightly better designed than some of the OG boss battles, and their large health pools make it so even with a fully upgraded weapon the boss isn't a pushover (I'm looking at you, Protopet with the Heavy Bouncer). And honestly, the Nefarious fight at the end was super fun. Looking forward to Challenge Mode on Hard.
The soundtrack was one thing that really made me sad. There were no iconic themes. No breakbeat bops. No interesting leitmotifs. Just really generic placeholder orchestral space-opera music with a bunch of scales. It feels like it takes a back seat and is kind of a Star Wars wannabe attempt. It doesn't beg for me to go back and listen to it, and none of it sticks in my head the way the OG's soundtrack did.
Some other small things before I wrap up. Holo-cards were a neat addition. The fact that you can collect cool mementos from the series' past while at the same time using them to boost your stats is awesome.
Character designs were a little wonky, and some were completely changed. Disappointed that we escorted Grim's brother on Pokitaru and not the resort owner that we all know and love.
Kinda disappointed that we didn't get to see the Alien Queen in Nebula G34 recreated in the modern style, but the Snagglebeast placement to allude to Qwark's betrayal made sense, I guess.
Defeating Qwark was REALLY underwhelming, and his redemption arc was stupid.
Hoverboard races got a massive improvement.
TL;DR, Insomniac really dropped the ball on crafting an intersting plot, and they did a disservice to characters that their audience knew and loved. However, their competency in game design still shines through, because the level design, graphics, combat, and overall gameplay are all top notch. It's still a really fun game with a lot of issues. If it weren't for the gameplay, this review would've been a one-star review.
The game, in terms of plot, was mostly the same way. Even the segues in and out of the actual movie scenes seemed jarring and janky. Too kid-friendly, comedy tries too hard, breaks the fourth wall more than Deadpool (moderation in that department is what made the originals good), and at some points just seems like it wants relevance points with the kiddies. I visibly cringed at a lot of the writing, which is straight up bad in a lot of parts. Also wasn't a fan of the narrative being told by Captain Qwark from prison. Additionally, they did my boy Drek dirty by turning him from the main villain who remains sinister but deals with incompetent henchmen into a dorky, annoying red herring villain who just ends up getting Sheepinated by Nefarious.
However, I do have to say that there were good parts to the writing. I thought the end of the Plumber scene where the dialogue is replicated line-for-line from the original was cute ("Geronimo!" "Did he just slide down that sewer pipe?"), and the fact that the Plumber says he'll see them in the next reboot (which is canon, because the Plumber has always been the main 4th-wall-breaking NPC). There were times when the old humor poked through the mess. Not everything was terrible.
The gameplay was where I found myself really enjoying it. I think it's obvious that experiencing levels from the first game with a huge graphical makeover was pretty dope. The game looks incredible! Only gripe there is the cap at 30fps and no way to turn off motion blur. The level design overall I thought was really good. Most planets had a main path for the plot progression, and then had a couple branching side-paths for additional plot or gold bolts/holo-cards. That was something that we didn't even get in UYA. We even got a Tabora/Grelbin-style level on Gaspar with the Brain Scientist, though the amount of bolts you get in exchange feels nowhere close as rewarding as trading all the crystals to The Mystic.
As far as the weapons go, the arsenal is slightly disappointing due to how small it is, and not bringing back more OG weapons, but the leveling and upgrading mechanic was really cool. I found myself using most of them in combination with each other during big battles. Only one that wasn't used was the Sheepinator (I never really used the morphing weapons). Another gripe with the weapons system is you never really feel like you're working for any of them. One of the fun parts of the OG trilogy was grinding bolts and completing the Mystic missions to save up for the more expensive weapons, and for the most part, it was worth it because each new weapon offered something better for the price. In this game, by the time a new weapon is available, you will easily have enough bolts for it (save for the RYNO, which requires you to find the holo-cards, and I don't really have too much of an issue with that), and some of the weapons you get late game don't even compare to the early-game weapons' usefulness.
Now for the overall combat. This was something I think they still did right. Sure, enemies aren't as varied as the OG, but they were still diverse enough to not feel bland (like UYA with its Tyhrranoids). The combat itself is chaotic and explosive, which has not changed much from past R&C. Just how I like it. Sometimes the flashy graphics made things a little hard to tell what was going on though. Enemy AI was smart enough for the battles not to be too easy. Strangely, some the boss battles felt slightly better designed than some of the OG boss battles, and their large health pools make it so even with a fully upgraded weapon the boss isn't a pushover (I'm looking at you, Protopet with the Heavy Bouncer). And honestly, the Nefarious fight at the end was super fun. Looking forward to Challenge Mode on Hard.
The soundtrack was one thing that really made me sad. There were no iconic themes. No breakbeat bops. No interesting leitmotifs. Just really generic placeholder orchestral space-opera music with a bunch of scales. It feels like it takes a back seat and is kind of a Star Wars wannabe attempt. It doesn't beg for me to go back and listen to it, and none of it sticks in my head the way the OG's soundtrack did.
Some other small things before I wrap up. Holo-cards were a neat addition. The fact that you can collect cool mementos from the series' past while at the same time using them to boost your stats is awesome.
Character designs were a little wonky, and some were completely changed. Disappointed that we escorted Grim's brother on Pokitaru and not the resort owner that we all know and love.
Kinda disappointed that we didn't get to see the Alien Queen in Nebula G34 recreated in the modern style, but the Snagglebeast placement to allude to Qwark's betrayal made sense, I guess.
Defeating Qwark was REALLY underwhelming, and his redemption arc was stupid.
Hoverboard races got a massive improvement.
TL;DR, Insomniac really dropped the ball on crafting an intersting plot, and they did a disservice to characters that their audience knew and loved. However, their competency in game design still shines through, because the level design, graphics, combat, and overall gameplay are all top notch. It's still a really fun game with a lot of issues. If it weren't for the gameplay, this review would've been a one-star review.
This was a fun game from my childhood that recently got remastered and re-released onto PC and Switch.
My biggest praise for the remastered release is that they DRASTICALLY improved the camera controls. In the PS2 version I played as a kid, the camera was so sensitive and crazy that I couldn't bother to replay it nowadays after being spoiled with games that have nice camera controls. However, this release offers really detailed controls such as whether or not you want the camera centered on Ty as he jumps. Huge quality of life improvement.
The addition of achievements is fun, and I've nearly 100% the game after just 14 hours. Currently working on the hardcore achievements.
This game is obviously a kids' game that was made for PS2, so obviously the animations are super wonky and the writing is really cheesy, also considering it is just stuffed full of Australian stereotypes and slang (which is fine, because the developers are Australian, but it does go a little overboard at times). It's really only a story that is there to drive the theme and gameplay.
Level design is actually really good, for the most part. There are a couple levels that are annoying and one that is really gimmicky, but the rest are really fun to explore, and they gave me a feeling of what the landscape is like Down Under. Platforming is quick and tight, and combat is really kinda basic (you either rang or bite your enemies, and they die in 1-2 hits). Bosses were mainly puzzle-based, so you're not just whittling down their health bar by flinging your rangs at them, which I appreciate.
Collecting things is actually a lot more fun than I anticipated. Usually it's tedious, but for some reason, this one was fun. Sucks if you miss a single opal, though, and you have to scour the entire level looking for it.
The different boomerangs you can get have very limited functionality, and nearly every one of them has a benefit to its usage, but once you get the Megarang, the Multirang kinda becomes obsolete. Towards the end of the game while picking up missed collectables, I found myself just using the Megarang and the Kaboomarang to quickly clear out enemies.
This is a fun game, and you can easily beat it in a weekend or so. I'd recommend it.
My biggest praise for the remastered release is that they DRASTICALLY improved the camera controls. In the PS2 version I played as a kid, the camera was so sensitive and crazy that I couldn't bother to replay it nowadays after being spoiled with games that have nice camera controls. However, this release offers really detailed controls such as whether or not you want the camera centered on Ty as he jumps. Huge quality of life improvement.
The addition of achievements is fun, and I've nearly 100% the game after just 14 hours. Currently working on the hardcore achievements.
This game is obviously a kids' game that was made for PS2, so obviously the animations are super wonky and the writing is really cheesy, also considering it is just stuffed full of Australian stereotypes and slang (which is fine, because the developers are Australian, but it does go a little overboard at times). It's really only a story that is there to drive the theme and gameplay.
Level design is actually really good, for the most part. There are a couple levels that are annoying and one that is really gimmicky, but the rest are really fun to explore, and they gave me a feeling of what the landscape is like Down Under. Platforming is quick and tight, and combat is really kinda basic (you either rang or bite your enemies, and they die in 1-2 hits). Bosses were mainly puzzle-based, so you're not just whittling down their health bar by flinging your rangs at them, which I appreciate.
Collecting things is actually a lot more fun than I anticipated. Usually it's tedious, but for some reason, this one was fun. Sucks if you miss a single opal, though, and you have to scour the entire level looking for it.
The different boomerangs you can get have very limited functionality, and nearly every one of them has a benefit to its usage, but once you get the Megarang, the Multirang kinda becomes obsolete. Towards the end of the game while picking up missed collectables, I found myself just using the Megarang and the Kaboomarang to quickly clear out enemies.
This is a fun game, and you can easily beat it in a weekend or so. I'd recommend it.
2015
This borders the line between a game and just a really cool simulator, but the fact that you have near-to-life accurate reproductions of vehicle physics and giant, sprawling, near-to-life accurate maps of existing locations (such as Moab, Utah) to just drive around in makes this a super cool experience.
There's lots of stuff to do in-game, as it offers a campaign along with scenarios and time-attack challenges, but I literally poured 10 hours into just exploring the maps and crashing in various ways THE DAY I BOUGHT IT. Strangely addicting. At some point I'll have to go and play through the campaign, and check out all the community created content and mods this offers.
There's lots of stuff to do in-game, as it offers a campaign along with scenarios and time-attack challenges, but I literally poured 10 hours into just exploring the maps and crashing in various ways THE DAY I BOUGHT IT. Strangely addicting. At some point I'll have to go and play through the campaign, and check out all the community created content and mods this offers.