2010
"This game is good, just deeply misunderstood!" I repeatedly told my closeted self as I played the cute catgirl action platformer over and over again
1999
I played a little bit of this and, what a weird game. First person mind control adventure whose reputation for wonky voice acting is perhaps only partly deserved. Some of the voice actors are doing fine and some have clearly been given no direction. Definitely ambitious for the time in its delivery of cutscenes and dialogue. The actual gameplay is very odd, and the difficulty seems to waver wildly; an optional boss I elected to fight was a pushover, while the main story has some much more difficult parts.
There’s also a body-swapping mechanic, “brainjacking,” which while poorly explained initially in-game, robs the people you take over of their “psi,” putting them in a vegetative state whilst outside of your control. One early point sees you deciding whether to accept a mission given to you by a character, and if you accept they offer for you to use their body to do so, knowing full well that it robs them of life. If you don’t accept, they just sort of stand there awkwardly, and it seems that you can either decide to kill them and take their body anyway (which the character you’re sharing a mind with chastises you for) or possibly walk away (I only just thought of that possibility, the game doesn’t make the next objective clear in that case, might have to see what happens there…)
Your first opportunity to brainjack as the player is presented as the only obvious means of progression, but it appears that none of them are actually mandatory, and the character you get there as might in fact be a better choice for the next few missions?
The actual combat is kind of neat, you have a lock on, which makes the single-stick controls vaguely workable. I’d have appreciated a quick 180º turn button, but no such thing is present. Most enemies will take critical damage from behind, so if your character can jump high enough, you can leap over them and attack from there. Once you’re in the rhythm of this it’s pretty fun. Some enemies know what you’re up to and will spin around quickly. There’re also some enemies whose pattern I’ve yet to work out, they attack twice in a row, which your block can’t handle, and they’re very difficult to hit without a ranged attack otherwise. There’s a trick I’m missing there for sure.
Anyway, it’s interesting, and I seem to be doing okay so far. I’m curious where it’s going.
There’s also a body-swapping mechanic, “brainjacking,” which while poorly explained initially in-game, robs the people you take over of their “psi,” putting them in a vegetative state whilst outside of your control. One early point sees you deciding whether to accept a mission given to you by a character, and if you accept they offer for you to use their body to do so, knowing full well that it robs them of life. If you don’t accept, they just sort of stand there awkwardly, and it seems that you can either decide to kill them and take their body anyway (which the character you’re sharing a mind with chastises you for) or possibly walk away (I only just thought of that possibility, the game doesn’t make the next objective clear in that case, might have to see what happens there…)
Your first opportunity to brainjack as the player is presented as the only obvious means of progression, but it appears that none of them are actually mandatory, and the character you get there as might in fact be a better choice for the next few missions?
The actual combat is kind of neat, you have a lock on, which makes the single-stick controls vaguely workable. I’d have appreciated a quick 180º turn button, but no such thing is present. Most enemies will take critical damage from behind, so if your character can jump high enough, you can leap over them and attack from there. Once you’re in the rhythm of this it’s pretty fun. Some enemies know what you’re up to and will spin around quickly. There’re also some enemies whose pattern I’ve yet to work out, they attack twice in a row, which your block can’t handle, and they’re very difficult to hit without a ranged attack otherwise. There’s a trick I’m missing there for sure.
Anyway, it’s interesting, and I seem to be doing okay so far. I’m curious where it’s going.
2015
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to make car squish good
2021
all I can think about as I dismiss endless deceitful mobile game ads is the labour conditions of the cats in my care
2020
Way, way, way, way, way too fucking long for its own good. First 8 hours or so are interesting, but then it becomes clear they're out of ideas, and the rest is just rehashes with mildly different skins. Ambitious in attempting to allow recruiting anyone in the world, but it undermines the whole game.
The hackers must be all virtuous and only use non-lethal weaponry (except when they don't).
I haven't felt this level of disrespect for my time from a game since Agents of Mayhem. Huge levels of rehashing of the same shit. Unreasonably difficult arenas where it sends dozens of dudes at you while you're charged with surviving with your pissweak little pistol. No real opportunities to use hacking to level the playing field in a meaningful way.
Play 2 instead and ignore the rest of the series.
The hackers must be all virtuous and only use non-lethal weaponry (except when they don't).
I haven't felt this level of disrespect for my time from a game since Agents of Mayhem. Huge levels of rehashing of the same shit. Unreasonably difficult arenas where it sends dozens of dudes at you while you're charged with surviving with your pissweak little pistol. No real opportunities to use hacking to level the playing field in a meaningful way.
Play 2 instead and ignore the rest of the series.
sometimes old things aren't done anymore because they're not good
2020
A very, very, very polished VR game. Story is well told, gunplay is good and fun. Ending is a bit too difficult for its own good. So more or less typical Valve fare, then.
2021
Honestly another incredible demonstration of how free-to-play gacha mechanics just become obviously ghoulish when stripped of the payment.
You can feel how much the only consideration this game gave to being funded by Apple Arcade was to delete the payment function, and that means instead you're left with a lot of waiting around, and a difficulty curve hell-bent on making you "spend" to upgrade your team.
Ultimately, it's yet another Trek game which considers combat the primary function of an away team, and is worse off for it. Despite minor considerations given to the idea of characters having different skills and specialities, it's really mostly combat by volume.
The combat itself is serviceable but not really fun - once you land a good character combo, like Bones and Riker, it's pretty much going to play out identically each round of combat.
You can feel how much the only consideration this game gave to being funded by Apple Arcade was to delete the payment function, and that means instead you're left with a lot of waiting around, and a difficulty curve hell-bent on making you "spend" to upgrade your team.
Ultimately, it's yet another Trek game which considers combat the primary function of an away team, and is worse off for it. Despite minor considerations given to the idea of characters having different skills and specialities, it's really mostly combat by volume.
The combat itself is serviceable but not really fun - once you land a good character combo, like Bones and Riker, it's pretty much going to play out identically each round of combat.
What a delight. This is a game I waited the better part of a decade for, having played its predecessor back in 2013. Preemptive game of the year edition was damn right.
This game is sweet, heartfelt, funny and just extremely endearing. The characters are well-written and have depth to them - you can tell they've been rattling around in the creator's head marinating in creative juices for a good while now.
Combat was a fun challenge and ultimately pretty surmountable for an RPG-averse gal like me. I had a few times where I game over-ed but managed to turn things around after figuring out some weaknesses.
These animals are gay. And thank goodness for that.
This game is sweet, heartfelt, funny and just extremely endearing. The characters are well-written and have depth to them - you can tell they've been rattling around in the creator's head marinating in creative juices for a good while now.
Combat was a fun challenge and ultimately pretty surmountable for an RPG-averse gal like me. I had a few times where I game over-ed but managed to turn things around after figuring out some weaknesses.
These animals are gay. And thank goodness for that.
2022
It's a shame this is a modern EA game engineered for subscription services first and foremost, because the racing is pretty good, and the storyline is engaging, you just don't get all that much of it unless you buy DLC "seasons".
Outside of the story mode, the career mode is pretty barebones, despite a healthy number of tracks and modes. I just wish it landed somewhere between those extremes.
Outside of the story mode, the career mode is pretty barebones, despite a healthy number of tracks and modes. I just wish it landed somewhere between those extremes.
2002
Ratchet & Clank is a real gem, gorgeous designs, a real strong sense of exploration and adventure. Lovely graphics, and memorable music.
But oh boy does it get brutal towards the end - makes me wonder if the finale was literally the last thing they developed. It requires a long gauntlet of highly precise platforming among enemies with longer targeting radii than you, with weapons with splash damage, and there are no checkpoints.
I ultimately ended up deciding to use the infinite bolt glitch to get myself the final health upgrade, and the RYNO and finally make my way to Drek, and frankly I consider this the game's penance for the absurd difficulty at the end.
A solid game, and a real PlayStation 2 classic. The Vita port does it justice, too!
But oh boy does it get brutal towards the end - makes me wonder if the finale was literally the last thing they developed. It requires a long gauntlet of highly precise platforming among enemies with longer targeting radii than you, with weapons with splash damage, and there are no checkpoints.
I ultimately ended up deciding to use the infinite bolt glitch to get myself the final health upgrade, and the RYNO and finally make my way to Drek, and frankly I consider this the game's penance for the absurd difficulty at the end.
A solid game, and a real PlayStation 2 classic. The Vita port does it justice, too!
A solid upgrade over the original, with much more forgiving difficulty curve, largely due to significant improvements to the nanotech health system. Not quite as aesthetically charming or consistent, though.
1998
You can really feel the shared DNA between this and R: Racing Evolution, so much of the energy of this and the way it wants to tell its story is clearly followed up and expanded upon in R: Racing, despite the years between
Shouldn't have bought this. I was a foolish teen.
a very silly game with weird bad physics, a lovably dorky soundtrack I will never listen to, and a strange turn of the century Japanese sensibility about what ‘80s America was
you interact a surprising amount with “the president,” (a bit crushed image of I’m pretty sure Bill Clinton, which in combination with the Dreamcasts appearing in both campaigns’ menus makes for a very weird ‘80s), and let's face it, what other game has ever had you assembling hot dogs using a car and delivering them to a Bill Clinton analog?
you interact a surprising amount with “the president,” (a bit crushed image of I’m pretty sure Bill Clinton, which in combination with the Dreamcasts appearing in both campaigns’ menus makes for a very weird ‘80s), and let's face it, what other game has ever had you assembling hot dogs using a car and delivering them to a Bill Clinton analog?