CrispyBoy
180 Reviews liked by CrispyBoy
Just Cause 3
2015
Originally this was the only game in the series I had played and I was very excited to come back to it having played the first two. Having finished it again it builds off of everything fun about Just Cause 2 and makes it better. My favourite of the series and I don't see it changing.
First off the story, shock horror Rico is thrown into a politically unstable country and has to kill the dictator. However Just Cause 3 makes its main story much more interesting than the previous two. The Mediterranean island of Medici is where Rico was raised, coming back to it for the first time in years to kill the ruthless dictator General DiRaviello. This is my favourite version of Rico by far as he isn't just a one note action star that only speaks in one liners, he actually has relationships with the side characters and seems to care about who he is fighting against. Once again both Rico and Sheldon have been recast, I'm not sure as to why this is but the actor does a good job to not make Rico as one note as the previous games. DiRaviello is by far the best antagonist as he appears frequently enough so you don't forget about him. The small cast of side characters make for good interactions in cutscenes and it is nice to have meaningful characters other than Sheldon.
The gameplay is the best part of this. This game is a blast to playthrough. Everything great about 2 is here with updated fluidity and fixed the janky controls. Thankfully instead of the chaos system which Just Cause 2 had where you had to get a certain amount of chaos points before the next main mission unlocked, Just Cause 3 uses a liberation system where certain missions are locked until you have liberated enough provinces on the island. This is a way better alternative as it is just the dumb fun that this game is best known for. Rico can zip across power plants blowing up everything in his path and its the most entertaining part of the game. The gun combat is a little bit tricky to get the hang of as there isnt really a lock on feature and most enemies are armoured so it takes a while to kill them.
Visually the islands of Medici are stunning to look at. A lot of inspiration from Italian style architecture can be seen primarily in the villages. A couple decent tracks on the soundtrack but nothing I would seek out. Im very surprised for a 9 year old game that I experienced no frame drop even when loads of things were exploding around me.
There are a few things that I think bring this down a bit. I think that Rico is far too weak in this game. They switched up the health system where Rico no longer needs medkits to heal and will heal automatically and I suppose to balance this they made his health a bit lower. However pair this with the bullet hells that are clearing out bases and you will find yourself dying quite a lot. I also found a lot of loading screens that took especially long which kills the pace a bit, especially after dying. Ill put this more down to its age than anything else. Ironically there is a bit less fluidity in the animations, mainly when skydiving, I suppose this is to make grappling in mid air easier but its a shame when Just Cause 2 had very fluid animations for an older game.
Just Cause 3 is the perfect amount of dumb fun mixed with a fairly interesting story. If you want to play a Just Cause game but don't want to play the whole series, just play this one. You get everything good about the last game, without any of the bad the next game adds. Solid recommendation
First off the story, shock horror Rico is thrown into a politically unstable country and has to kill the dictator. However Just Cause 3 makes its main story much more interesting than the previous two. The Mediterranean island of Medici is where Rico was raised, coming back to it for the first time in years to kill the ruthless dictator General DiRaviello. This is my favourite version of Rico by far as he isn't just a one note action star that only speaks in one liners, he actually has relationships with the side characters and seems to care about who he is fighting against. Once again both Rico and Sheldon have been recast, I'm not sure as to why this is but the actor does a good job to not make Rico as one note as the previous games. DiRaviello is by far the best antagonist as he appears frequently enough so you don't forget about him. The small cast of side characters make for good interactions in cutscenes and it is nice to have meaningful characters other than Sheldon.
The gameplay is the best part of this. This game is a blast to playthrough. Everything great about 2 is here with updated fluidity and fixed the janky controls. Thankfully instead of the chaos system which Just Cause 2 had where you had to get a certain amount of chaos points before the next main mission unlocked, Just Cause 3 uses a liberation system where certain missions are locked until you have liberated enough provinces on the island. This is a way better alternative as it is just the dumb fun that this game is best known for. Rico can zip across power plants blowing up everything in his path and its the most entertaining part of the game. The gun combat is a little bit tricky to get the hang of as there isnt really a lock on feature and most enemies are armoured so it takes a while to kill them.
Visually the islands of Medici are stunning to look at. A lot of inspiration from Italian style architecture can be seen primarily in the villages. A couple decent tracks on the soundtrack but nothing I would seek out. Im very surprised for a 9 year old game that I experienced no frame drop even when loads of things were exploding around me.
There are a few things that I think bring this down a bit. I think that Rico is far too weak in this game. They switched up the health system where Rico no longer needs medkits to heal and will heal automatically and I suppose to balance this they made his health a bit lower. However pair this with the bullet hells that are clearing out bases and you will find yourself dying quite a lot. I also found a lot of loading screens that took especially long which kills the pace a bit, especially after dying. Ill put this more down to its age than anything else. Ironically there is a bit less fluidity in the animations, mainly when skydiving, I suppose this is to make grappling in mid air easier but its a shame when Just Cause 2 had very fluid animations for an older game.
Just Cause 3 is the perfect amount of dumb fun mixed with a fairly interesting story. If you want to play a Just Cause game but don't want to play the whole series, just play this one. You get everything good about the last game, without any of the bad the next game adds. Solid recommendation
Evil West
2022
This game feels like it wants to me DMC but forgets several key features, most importantly, a combo meter, and rewards for keeping said combo. The story is fine but still feels like a cheapish 2000s movie (which has its charm). But the gameplay is just an on-rails fighter without the things that make action games interesting.
Just Cause 2
2010
A massive improvement on the first game in pretty much everyway imaginable. Not without its problems but Just Cause 2 is a way more enjoyable experience than the clunky mess that its predecessor was.
The story is as simple as can be, Rico is once again thrown into a politically volatile country and has to kill its dictator. This time it is the island of Panau. I much prefer Rico in this game than the first, he doesn't only speak in one liners and has a smidge more personality to him. For some reason the entire voice cast was switched so the three returning characters all have new voice actors which is also the case for every game going forward, not sure if there is any specific reason. The main story itself is only 7 missions long but the game is padded out with required side content which I will go on to talk about in a bit.
The gameplay is an absolute blast. It improves so much on the first game through stuff like the grapple hook actually working, making health an actual concern instead of Rico being a bullet sponge and all around better controls. Don't get me wrong there is still a lot of jank, the flying controls are very hard to get used to and the camera doesn't always help and instead of the driving being more like gliding, I found it to feel really stiff. Best way to describe it is if I was trying to make a turn, the car wouldn't turn till the last moment and I would normally go flying off the road. Dont get me started on trying to use planes. Trying to take off on a plane was so weirdly frustrating as if you even breathe on the joystick the plane goes full tilt into the nearest wall. Sometimes it would just hit off something on the road and go flying backwards. It was like trying to ride a scooter on an ice rink. Despite all that they really nailed down series staples like the grapple mechanic and the gun combat. All in all it feels like a less polished version of Just Cause 3 which is to be expected.
Visually its a massive upgrade, thankfully they decided to ditch the uncanny valley cutscenes for more fitting character designs and cutscenes you would see on Xbox 360 games. Nothing really to note score wise.
My biggest complaint with this game is the chaos feature. Which I believe does become a staple going forward so it will be a bit of a reoccurring issue. Basically the main story is 7 missions long, to combat this in order to unlock the next story mission you have to run around doing missions all be it fun missions for the three biggest gang leaders in Panau. Now these missions were fun, none felt stale or repetitive and most where short enough to not drag on. My problem is with the fact that there are only so many of them. While waiting to unlock the last missions I had no faction missions left to do so I had to just fly around blowing up stuff in order to get enough chaos points to unlock more missions. Which again, was really fun but its something that did put me off a bit.
To put it simply, Just Cause 2 is really really fun. You get to fly around blowing stuff up and actually able to have an enjoyable experience in this game as it fixes what was terrible about the first one. Despite the lack of substance in the main story, I had a blast with this game. Im looking forward to replaying Just Cause 3 next to see if its as good as I remember. Solid recommendation.
The story is as simple as can be, Rico is once again thrown into a politically volatile country and has to kill its dictator. This time it is the island of Panau. I much prefer Rico in this game than the first, he doesn't only speak in one liners and has a smidge more personality to him. For some reason the entire voice cast was switched so the three returning characters all have new voice actors which is also the case for every game going forward, not sure if there is any specific reason. The main story itself is only 7 missions long but the game is padded out with required side content which I will go on to talk about in a bit.
The gameplay is an absolute blast. It improves so much on the first game through stuff like the grapple hook actually working, making health an actual concern instead of Rico being a bullet sponge and all around better controls. Don't get me wrong there is still a lot of jank, the flying controls are very hard to get used to and the camera doesn't always help and instead of the driving being more like gliding, I found it to feel really stiff. Best way to describe it is if I was trying to make a turn, the car wouldn't turn till the last moment and I would normally go flying off the road. Dont get me started on trying to use planes. Trying to take off on a plane was so weirdly frustrating as if you even breathe on the joystick the plane goes full tilt into the nearest wall. Sometimes it would just hit off something on the road and go flying backwards. It was like trying to ride a scooter on an ice rink. Despite all that they really nailed down series staples like the grapple mechanic and the gun combat. All in all it feels like a less polished version of Just Cause 3 which is to be expected.
Visually its a massive upgrade, thankfully they decided to ditch the uncanny valley cutscenes for more fitting character designs and cutscenes you would see on Xbox 360 games. Nothing really to note score wise.
My biggest complaint with this game is the chaos feature. Which I believe does become a staple going forward so it will be a bit of a reoccurring issue. Basically the main story is 7 missions long, to combat this in order to unlock the next story mission you have to run around doing missions all be it fun missions for the three biggest gang leaders in Panau. Now these missions were fun, none felt stale or repetitive and most where short enough to not drag on. My problem is with the fact that there are only so many of them. While waiting to unlock the last missions I had no faction missions left to do so I had to just fly around blowing up stuff in order to get enough chaos points to unlock more missions. Which again, was really fun but its something that did put me off a bit.
To put it simply, Just Cause 2 is really really fun. You get to fly around blowing stuff up and actually able to have an enjoyable experience in this game as it fixes what was terrible about the first one. Despite the lack of substance in the main story, I had a blast with this game. Im looking forward to replaying Just Cause 3 next to see if its as good as I remember. Solid recommendation.
Unicorn Overlord
2024
Amazing gameplay, feels like everything I'd want from "Fire emblem but with more depth and team building". I think my two gripes with the game is the story is generic, which I don't truly care about because the gameplay is so fun, and that the end of the game is kinda short. I would have really liked another zone to explore after they kinda throw a ton of units at you near the end.
Dead Space
2023
Really impressive remake and all-round great game.
Dead Space
2023
More than anything, it's just boring. That was the problem with the original as well. It's unfortunate we won't get a remake of DS2, because that at least had interesting parts.
Rise of the Ronin
2024
Fine game. Definitely the worst Team Ninja game. Feels very much like Sony just asked them to push out a long, AC-type game which they did to their best ability. Worth playing of you like the setting or kinda like the Team Ninja combat but not totally
Dragon's Dogma II
2024
As much as I loved this game, it has some boggling oversights and design choices that you wouldn't expect, very ambitious/experimental game though and it gets my respect.
Thank you for the meal Hideaki Itsuno's team of 400 (and shoutout to RK for gifting me this game I love you)
Wilhelmina I will see you again someday...
Thank you for the meal Hideaki Itsuno's team of 400 (and shoutout to RK for gifting me this game I love you)
Wilhelmina I will see you again someday...
Dragon's Dogma II
2024
This review contains spoilers
Genuinely this game would be a perfect 5 stars if the "true endgame" didnt exist. Boring running around dependant on how many ferrystones you've saved, unless youd are to go outside a town where every monster feels like a make-a-wish little leaguer taking on the Green Bay Packera. Not to mention getting to this true ending is already confusing enough, but figuring out the stupid rules it has within the time limit is virtually impossible first try (which is all you get because of the ironman save system in this). Tldr it feels heavily bogged down by TRYING to be way more complicated than needed on a 1 save style game.
Predecessor
2022
good to see you back king.
This review contains spoilers
This review will contain spoilers
I came back to this version of the game to play the Iki island expansion and decided to play the main story again for the first time since 2020. This remains as one of my favourite games of all time, a mix of a powerful story, amazing combat and breath-taking visuals from start to finish.
To start with the story, the game is set in the late 13th century on the island of Tsushima off the coast of Japan during the Mongol invasion. You play as Jin Sakai, a Samurai who has to grapple with sticking to the Samurai code or breaking it to defeat the invaders. The main game was a lot shorter than I remember it being, with 24 main missions, 25 if you include the prologue. From the second this game starts, you are hit with everything that it has to offer, The Battle of Komoda Beach is probably the best opening in any game I personally have played, the sheer hopelessness as the Mongol army cuts down every Samurai fills you with dread. From here on the game has Jin gathering allies in order to defeat the Mongol invaders and their leader Khotun Khan. During this, Jin deviates from the Samurai code and becomes "The Ghost" in order to safe his people. This is the backbone of the games story, having Jin put in places where he has to break his code to get one over on the enemy whilst being stuck between his allies and his uncle, Lord Shimura. There are a few notable missions but most do feel quite similar but are made better by the combat, My favourite missions is the battle in Yarikawa and the scene where Jin unlocks the ghost stance. I really like how they portray "The Ghost" part of Jin's story as while he thinks he is doing the right thing, it isn't as clean cut as that. In particular the scene where he poisons the Mongol troops in Castle Shimura, he ends up giving the Mongols the ability to make his poison, I like how there are both good and bad sides to what Jin is doing and it isn't as clean cut as Jin good, Samurai bad. One complaint I have is that Jin very easily breaks the Samurai code and I wish they had spent more time having him grapple with the decisions he makes. I also think that they could have maybe made the game a few missions longer as Act 3 ends very quickly only being like 5 missions long. The final missions however, where Jin duels Lord Shimura is so perfectly crafted, similarly to the prologue mission, it has everything that makes this game amazing present. Powerful story, amazing combat, breath taking visuals and a sensational score.
Jin is a really interesting protagonist, considering the whole game revolves around him, he is great in the leading role. Daisuke Tsuji gives an amazing lead performance. Khotun Khan is a very imposing villain, appearing very few times but his presence is felt throughout. Lord Shimura is a great side character, his relationship with Jin is a main focus of the story and is hit out the park. I also really liked Yuna and Lady Masako both being very good side characters and Masakos side quest was my favourite of them.
This game also has my favourite combat system, I think that the sword combat in this game is amazing and it makes the bordering on repetitive missions fun regardless. Jin has 4 stances he can use that are effective on specific enemies, those enemies being regular swordsmen, shield users, spearmen and brutes. The stances are obtained by killing a certain number of Mongol generals, I like that they arent locked behind story progression and effectively you could unlock every stance as soon as you finish the first act. There are also a number of other weapons/items like bows, kunai's, powder bombs and dart guns , providing you with enough weapons to make every encounter unique. I like the horse traversal but half the time it is unnecessary as the fast travel in this game is absolutely insane. Taking seconds to travel from one side of the map to the other, rivalling spiderman 2 for quickest fast travel, and this game game out 3 years before it. I like the way the boss battles are done in a duelling way. Playing on normal, I found most of them quite challenging. I do wish there was a bit more mission variety as most consisted of attacking bases of enemies or tracking someone, It does get a bit repetitive near the end.
Visually this game is stunning, full of vibrant colours and beautiful landscapes. If not for The Last of Us Part 2, this would probably be the best looking game on last gen consoles. Im not sure how accurate the map is to real life, but I think SuckerPunch managed to capture the beauty of Japan really well. The score is equally as amazing, each track fits the moment perfectly, especially in boss fights.
The PS5 directors cut adds enough content to satisfy the price. The Iki island DLC is a good story experience with Jin travelling to the island where his father was killed. He is faced with "The Eagle" who poisons him and forces him to face the guilt he feels over his fathers death. Jin also comes face to face with the man who killed his father and has to overcome his desire for revenge and help the people of Iki island defeat the Mongol invaders. It also adds a couple new side quests, new collectables and minigames to play whilst travelling the island. Very fun experience.
Ghost of Tsushima still sits high on my list of favourite games, it is enjoyable from the minute you turn it on. 100% recommend
I came back to this version of the game to play the Iki island expansion and decided to play the main story again for the first time since 2020. This remains as one of my favourite games of all time, a mix of a powerful story, amazing combat and breath-taking visuals from start to finish.
To start with the story, the game is set in the late 13th century on the island of Tsushima off the coast of Japan during the Mongol invasion. You play as Jin Sakai, a Samurai who has to grapple with sticking to the Samurai code or breaking it to defeat the invaders. The main game was a lot shorter than I remember it being, with 24 main missions, 25 if you include the prologue. From the second this game starts, you are hit with everything that it has to offer, The Battle of Komoda Beach is probably the best opening in any game I personally have played, the sheer hopelessness as the Mongol army cuts down every Samurai fills you with dread. From here on the game has Jin gathering allies in order to defeat the Mongol invaders and their leader Khotun Khan. During this, Jin deviates from the Samurai code and becomes "The Ghost" in order to safe his people. This is the backbone of the games story, having Jin put in places where he has to break his code to get one over on the enemy whilst being stuck between his allies and his uncle, Lord Shimura. There are a few notable missions but most do feel quite similar but are made better by the combat, My favourite missions is the battle in Yarikawa and the scene where Jin unlocks the ghost stance. I really like how they portray "The Ghost" part of Jin's story as while he thinks he is doing the right thing, it isn't as clean cut as that. In particular the scene where he poisons the Mongol troops in Castle Shimura, he ends up giving the Mongols the ability to make his poison, I like how there are both good and bad sides to what Jin is doing and it isn't as clean cut as Jin good, Samurai bad. One complaint I have is that Jin very easily breaks the Samurai code and I wish they had spent more time having him grapple with the decisions he makes. I also think that they could have maybe made the game a few missions longer as Act 3 ends very quickly only being like 5 missions long. The final missions however, where Jin duels Lord Shimura is so perfectly crafted, similarly to the prologue mission, it has everything that makes this game amazing present. Powerful story, amazing combat, breath taking visuals and a sensational score.
Jin is a really interesting protagonist, considering the whole game revolves around him, he is great in the leading role. Daisuke Tsuji gives an amazing lead performance. Khotun Khan is a very imposing villain, appearing very few times but his presence is felt throughout. Lord Shimura is a great side character, his relationship with Jin is a main focus of the story and is hit out the park. I also really liked Yuna and Lady Masako both being very good side characters and Masakos side quest was my favourite of them.
This game also has my favourite combat system, I think that the sword combat in this game is amazing and it makes the bordering on repetitive missions fun regardless. Jin has 4 stances he can use that are effective on specific enemies, those enemies being regular swordsmen, shield users, spearmen and brutes. The stances are obtained by killing a certain number of Mongol generals, I like that they arent locked behind story progression and effectively you could unlock every stance as soon as you finish the first act. There are also a number of other weapons/items like bows, kunai's, powder bombs and dart guns , providing you with enough weapons to make every encounter unique. I like the horse traversal but half the time it is unnecessary as the fast travel in this game is absolutely insane. Taking seconds to travel from one side of the map to the other, rivalling spiderman 2 for quickest fast travel, and this game game out 3 years before it. I like the way the boss battles are done in a duelling way. Playing on normal, I found most of them quite challenging. I do wish there was a bit more mission variety as most consisted of attacking bases of enemies or tracking someone, It does get a bit repetitive near the end.
Visually this game is stunning, full of vibrant colours and beautiful landscapes. If not for The Last of Us Part 2, this would probably be the best looking game on last gen consoles. Im not sure how accurate the map is to real life, but I think SuckerPunch managed to capture the beauty of Japan really well. The score is equally as amazing, each track fits the moment perfectly, especially in boss fights.
The PS5 directors cut adds enough content to satisfy the price. The Iki island DLC is a good story experience with Jin travelling to the island where his father was killed. He is faced with "The Eagle" who poisons him and forces him to face the guilt he feels over his fathers death. Jin also comes face to face with the man who killed his father and has to overcome his desire for revenge and help the people of Iki island defeat the Mongol invaders. It also adds a couple new side quests, new collectables and minigames to play whilst travelling the island. Very fun experience.
Ghost of Tsushima still sits high on my list of favourite games, it is enjoyable from the minute you turn it on. 100% recommend
Lethal Company
2023
Im deciding to log this now as I think my time with this game has came to an end and I dont see myself playing it often enough in the future to put it off anymore.
Lethal Company had the online world in a chokehold earlier this year and seems currently to have been knocked off this position by Helldivers 2. This is one of the most unique ideas for a game I have seen in a long time and through the couple times I have played it I had a blast. There are a few essential parts you need to properly enjoy this game, you need to play with friends and you need to use the proximity chat. The proximity chat feature is amazing and hearing your friends scream off in the distance is both hilarious and terrifying. Running around in the facilities is so tense its brilliant. After doing some research we found one of the better strategys was having someone stay on the ship and direct the three others using the cameras which was a lot of fun using the walkie talkies to communicate. Id recommend trying this playstyle out if you havent its a lot of fun even for the person on the ship.
The gameplay loop has you and 3 teammates landing on random moons to gather enough scrap to reach your quota. However you are getting attacked by ruthless and unforgiving monsters that will leave your whole squad dead within minutes of stepping off your ship.
I love the visuals, gives off old school gmod vibes mixed with a new style. Also apparently there is secret lore hidden on each planet which is cool.
I wish that I could spend more time with this game but my problem specifically is that me and all my friends primarily are on PlayStation so we dont find ourselves playing this often. I don't doubt I will probably play this again in the future as it is a fantastic multiplayer experience and I hope this game keeps its audience as it deserves all its praise.
Lethal Company had the online world in a chokehold earlier this year and seems currently to have been knocked off this position by Helldivers 2. This is one of the most unique ideas for a game I have seen in a long time and through the couple times I have played it I had a blast. There are a few essential parts you need to properly enjoy this game, you need to play with friends and you need to use the proximity chat. The proximity chat feature is amazing and hearing your friends scream off in the distance is both hilarious and terrifying. Running around in the facilities is so tense its brilliant. After doing some research we found one of the better strategys was having someone stay on the ship and direct the three others using the cameras which was a lot of fun using the walkie talkies to communicate. Id recommend trying this playstyle out if you havent its a lot of fun even for the person on the ship.
The gameplay loop has you and 3 teammates landing on random moons to gather enough scrap to reach your quota. However you are getting attacked by ruthless and unforgiving monsters that will leave your whole squad dead within minutes of stepping off your ship.
I love the visuals, gives off old school gmod vibes mixed with a new style. Also apparently there is secret lore hidden on each planet which is cool.
I wish that I could spend more time with this game but my problem specifically is that me and all my friends primarily are on PlayStation so we dont find ourselves playing this often. I don't doubt I will probably play this again in the future as it is a fantastic multiplayer experience and I hope this game keeps its audience as it deserves all its praise.
seasonal content so boring it took me until now to finish it. Everything about it was meh except Crota's end which technically isn't even a part of the season anyways.
The only thing keeping this from being 5 stars is the cheap seeming models for some characters. Honestly the game's action anime vibe in general would've worked amazing in full 2D art if Ubisoft had the balls.
Thank you for giving me Nel the best Fire Emblem character of all time (not really but she's great).
I kinda wish the mirror world was given more time to shine in terms of the inverted royals and Elyos, but I get that the story is actually meant to be focused on Nel and Nil.
I kinda wish the mirror world was given more time to shine in terms of the inverted royals and Elyos, but I get that the story is actually meant to be focused on Nel and Nil.