Afrojr
2007
A really engaging, plot-driven RPG that's let down by a lack of quality. I got numerous lockups and character glitches, plus the game was stuttering and chugging all the way through. Combat was also very janky at times, and you're so limited in controlling your squad's movement. Menu interface was also god-awful. Besides all that, very strong world-building and a solid plot makes ME1 worthwhile to me. Hopefully there's more side-character interaction, other than just with Shepard, in ME2.
2005
Step down from MMZ3 but about on par with 2. I miss Recoil Rod but the Zero Knuckle had some merit to it. Mostly being using it on enemies with axes so you could get that weapon variant and enjoy its power and range. The levels in this game don't stand out in my mind like MMZ3's did, but I do recall the bosses being stiff challenges. Without focusing too much on the story, the final fight and resolution was a good sendoff for the series.
1994
I love all Donkey Kong Country games and this is no exception. The game is fairly easy compared to all its future entries however. Compared to DKC2, the bonus rooms in this game feel somewhat samey and don't provide a solid challenge like Diddy's Kong Quest did. No hidden world either which sucks.
2013
This game is fucking hard. But fair. Enemy placement is set in stone throughout each run, your jump movement is stiff but manageable, and there's actually power-ups galore if you're adept enough to find them. Same philosophy holds true for the bosses, tough as hell at first glance but completely manageable once you learn their patterns. Just pure old-school goodness right here, so freaking rewarding when you win.
2013
Gorgeous playground of Southern California to explore and mess around in and the characters (minus Franklin) were all very enjoyable. Trevor stole the show.
2001
It all started from here so gotta give GTA3 its props for that. But goddamn this game is rough. Shooting is stiff without using lock-on and snapping between targets is not fluid. On-foot movement is clunky and just makes me not want to explore overall. Dying for falling in the water was miserable. Soundtrack was a joke.
Pleasantly surprising stealth-action title with a considerable amount of multiple styles, paths, and choices to make all throughout. Controls were fine and easy to adapt to. Loved the packrat style of discovering items and other goodies throughout the levels and there were some tense standoff moments with other characters that left an impact. Bosses were easily broken, however, and the final fight and subsequent ending were letdowns.
2014
Really didn't think much of the story overall. The aesthetics were cool and the soundtrack was great, but things just stayed too vague in the beginning, for me to care about what was going on. It stays that way up to the finale, when the final fight just 'happens'. The real draw of Transistor for me was the combat. I loved tinkering around with all the possible combinations of Functions.
Close to a 5-star, but the combat holds it back. Not just how basic it is (spam Dodge & abuse Quen), but the lack of variety as well, especially in human opponents. For how long the game is, they really should've saved more monsters for later areas. By Lv 20, the game has nothing further to offer in challenge, save DLC. TW3 truly excels in the exploration and freedom offered, as those first hours in Velen & Novigrad were godly. But overall, TW 1-3 are all dope.
This is a DAMN fun & addicting rougelike. Despite the basic, low-budget artstyle and production value, the game is still somehow engrossing; thanks to the surprisingly solid writing and gameplay. This game really makes you feel like you're managing your own spaceship, thanks to the huge focus on decision-making all throughout. Best of all, the game's great for short-burst sessions. Only complaint is the random factor of the game, but that's the nature of rougelikes.
2013
Was not expecting this to be as fun and addicting as it was, especially after SM3DL. Levels were short but sweet, and I enjoyed nearly all of them save for 1 or 2. Movement is somewhat limited compared to prior 3D Mario games, but was smooth nonetheless. The aesthetics were amazing, even playing with just the Gamepad screen. A bit on the easy side, but it ramped up somewhat as it went on and I was genuinely stumped on one Stamp hiding spot. Had a blast from near start to finish; loved it.
My favorite MGS game. Finally provides a more traditional 3rd person camera, as opposed to the first two games' top-down approach, and stealth is more reminiscent of Splinter Cell. There are still long cutscenes, but they're not as frequent as MGS1 & 2. Love the story and characters, despite some hammy moments. My only major gripe are the controls which still aren't as intuitive as I'd like; such as pressure-sensitivity being used to decide between a lethal and nonlethal takedown.
2015
Really fun and unique third-person shooter, that's absolutely stifled by a lack of content and player options and stupid restrictions and omissions enforced by the developers. The main mechanic of laying down ink, swimming through it, and claiming territory is a blast. But its in spite of being restricted to only 2 maps per a 4-hr. real-time rotation, no voice chat, ping indicator, ability to change loadouts, and other basic multiplayer features. Its a fun game, but hard to justify at $60.
This should be a 4-star with all of the gameplay improvements and balancing changes made to SMTIV, but that story man. Complete JRPG schlock through and through with some of the corniest characters I've seen in a good while. I'm surprised they didn't fit in a bathhouse scene or something. The final leg of the game feels like the devs ran out of time or steam or something, plot-wise. The day's saved but now we gotta go kill this other dude cuz we all had the same dream saying to do it?????
On the positive, they did a great job with the adjustments they made to SMTIV. Still not a fan of Smirk overall, but having the ability to remove it and requiring Smirk to activate insta-kills and other effects was a welcome addition. Limiting the amount of items you can have, as well as making the more broken ones stupid expensive, really forces you to be smart on your resources. And coming off Strange Journey, the Search function of the Demon Fusion Program is godlike.
Soundtrack was amazing. Dungeon crawling was basic and dull. Despite hating the characters, their VOs mostly did a good job. Dagda's a standout; Akira as well but for the wrong reason.
This might've been one of my fav SMT games if not for that story. Really hope this is just a one-time thing and they stray far away from this tone in future games.
On the positive, they did a great job with the adjustments they made to SMTIV. Still not a fan of Smirk overall, but having the ability to remove it and requiring Smirk to activate insta-kills and other effects was a welcome addition. Limiting the amount of items you can have, as well as making the more broken ones stupid expensive, really forces you to be smart on your resources. And coming off Strange Journey, the Search function of the Demon Fusion Program is godlike.
Soundtrack was amazing. Dungeon crawling was basic and dull. Despite hating the characters, their VOs mostly did a good job. Dagda's a standout; Akira as well but for the wrong reason.
This might've been one of my fav SMT games if not for that story. Really hope this is just a one-time thing and they stray far away from this tone in future games.
One of the hardest SMT games out there, let alone JRPGs, but beating it is doable without an “excessive” amount of grinding. I beat it at Lv 84 Mag/Vit build MC, with a Lv 78 Huang Long, Lv 76 Thor, and Lv 83 Trumpteer, all acquired with minimal use of Sources and no Mitama/Elemental boosting. I still put excessive in quotes though, as it did require a LOT of battling with little to no running away as I was traversing the sectors. The final fight was tense and worthy of the game’s last encounter, but that boss has completely fucked attacks and behaviors. Mother’s Kiss being capable of hitting 3-8 times and damn near always hitting 7 or 8 times. MA just outright KILLING your MC with the only defense being a one-time use accessory. Really wish they could’ve achieved this level of difficulty without having to resort to this level of cheapness.
Good plot overall with a nice cast of characters, though I wasn’t crazy about SJ’s rendition of Law and Chaos; both the theologies and the heroes themselves. Jimenez starts off perfectly realistic and likable, which makes his tragic fall carry some weight to it. Though after the transformation, its hard to imagine anyone genuinely siding with his ideology with how unhinged he becomes. Zelenin’s a whole other can of worms, considering how transparent it is that she’s being used by the angels, and just how useless she is throughout the story. Law ends up being even more unappealing than usual as a result. Neutral, as per usual, ends up being the ‘common sense’ ending, and I wish we could get some SMT games that try to play with these ideologies in more interesting ways.
Lastly, the dungeon crawling itself is about as varied and engaging as 1st person dungeon crawlers get. One-way doors, conveyor belts, warps, hidden doors, etc. If you got the patience for it, its surprisingly fun to slowly uncover a map all the way through. Combat-wise, SJ definitely falls short of Nocturne, DeSu, and IV/IV:A. The Demon Co-Op system isn't anywhere near as engaging as Press Turn or Extra Turn, and actually pigeonholes you to a limited amount of demons to fuse for/recruit. Some demons even punish you for favoring a given alignment in battle, which just sucks even more. And thank god this was one of the last SMT games that stuck to that archaic fusion system where you couldn't pick the specific skills you wanted to inherit. Clicking in and out to get the skill combo you want was mind-numbing.
Cool SMT game with engaging dungeon crawling and solid story. Stiff difficulty curve but weak combat. Not my favorite SMT, doubt I'd ever play it again.
Good plot overall with a nice cast of characters, though I wasn’t crazy about SJ’s rendition of Law and Chaos; both the theologies and the heroes themselves. Jimenez starts off perfectly realistic and likable, which makes his tragic fall carry some weight to it. Though after the transformation, its hard to imagine anyone genuinely siding with his ideology with how unhinged he becomes. Zelenin’s a whole other can of worms, considering how transparent it is that she’s being used by the angels, and just how useless she is throughout the story. Law ends up being even more unappealing than usual as a result. Neutral, as per usual, ends up being the ‘common sense’ ending, and I wish we could get some SMT games that try to play with these ideologies in more interesting ways.
Lastly, the dungeon crawling itself is about as varied and engaging as 1st person dungeon crawlers get. One-way doors, conveyor belts, warps, hidden doors, etc. If you got the patience for it, its surprisingly fun to slowly uncover a map all the way through. Combat-wise, SJ definitely falls short of Nocturne, DeSu, and IV/IV:A. The Demon Co-Op system isn't anywhere near as engaging as Press Turn or Extra Turn, and actually pigeonholes you to a limited amount of demons to fuse for/recruit. Some demons even punish you for favoring a given alignment in battle, which just sucks even more. And thank god this was one of the last SMT games that stuck to that archaic fusion system where you couldn't pick the specific skills you wanted to inherit. Clicking in and out to get the skill combo you want was mind-numbing.
Cool SMT game with engaging dungeon crawling and solid story. Stiff difficulty curve but weak combat. Not my favorite SMT, doubt I'd ever play it again.