DarkDante14
2020
It is what it is…
Kidnapped Girl is a short little visual novel that will take you half an hour or so to see in its entirety. The story concept is pretty decent but let down by a lack of experience on the writer’s part. As a result, the game fails to handle its subject matter in a meaningful or even original way.
I don’t want to be too harsh on what is clearly just some dude’s passion project but the writing is sloppy. Exposition of character backstories in particular is handled in a heavy-handed manner, though one could argue that it was an inevitability given the short length. There are also some aspects and specific scenes that some people would only describe as edgy and/or problematic. The English translation could also use some additional passes but it’s readable enough.
The art was actually pretty decent, especially for a doujin project. I appreciate that the backgrounds were actually drawn by someone and not just pictures with a Photoshop filter over them.
At the end of the day, you get what you pay for; it’s free, doesn’t take up much of your time and doesn’t pretend to be anything it’s not. Take it or leave it as you will. Just be warned: if you already hate what’s in the game’s description, the execution will not convince you otherwise.
P.S. I hope you degenerates — who are reading this and seriously considering playing Kidnapped Girl on your own time — appreciate the fact that someone bothered to write an actual review on this. Other reviews weren’t exactly informative so I hope that risking losing whatevernon-existent respect my peers on Backloggd had for me was worth it.
Kidnapped Girl is a short little visual novel that will take you half an hour or so to see in its entirety. The story concept is pretty decent but let down by a lack of experience on the writer’s part. As a result, the game fails to handle its subject matter in a meaningful or even original way.
I don’t want to be too harsh on what is clearly just some dude’s passion project but the writing is sloppy. Exposition of character backstories in particular is handled in a heavy-handed manner, though one could argue that it was an inevitability given the short length. There are also some aspects and specific scenes that some people would only describe as edgy and/or problematic. The English translation could also use some additional passes but it’s readable enough.
The art was actually pretty decent, especially for a doujin project. I appreciate that the backgrounds were actually drawn by someone and not just pictures with a Photoshop filter over them.
At the end of the day, you get what you pay for; it’s free, doesn’t take up much of your time and doesn’t pretend to be anything it’s not. Take it or leave it as you will. Just be warned: if you already hate what’s in the game’s description, the execution will not convince you otherwise.
P.S. I hope you degenerates — who are reading this and seriously considering playing Kidnapped Girl on your own time — appreciate the fact that someone bothered to write an actual review on this. Other reviews weren’t exactly informative so I hope that risking losing whatever
This review contains spoilers
Kane and Lynch: Dead Men? More like getting canned, lynched and dead brain cells after playing this game!
I should start this review by letting you know that I’ve gone through Kane and Lynch franchise backwards having already played the sequel K&L 2: Dog Shit™ prior to this game. As you might guess - I don’t think very fondly of it. You can find my full thoughts on the sequel here: https://www.backloggd.com/u/DarkDante14/review/299070/
Now, why would I go out of my way to play the K&L: Dead Men if my experience with the sequel was so negative? Simply put - I wanted to see where it all started. I want to make it clear that I didn’t go into this game with the intention of hating it, quite the opposite, in fact. I gave it the most benefit of doubt humanly possible. SURELY it can’t be as bad as Dog Days? SURELY the first game must have been good enough that it warranted a sequel. After all, Dog Days is quite notorious and the reception for Dead Men was generally more positive, albeit still somewhat mixed from what I’ve seen. Oh, how wrong I was…
A fair warning that this review WILL contain spoilers, including explicit details about the ending.
I’ll start with the positives, since it won't take long. Unlike K&L2, the initial story set-up and character motivations in Dead Men actually are somewhat decent for a typical crime drama. While nothing original, I, at the very least, didn’t find the story to be nonsensical drivel, unlike the sequel.
Another positive aspect is the soundtrack. One of the game’s composers is Jesper Kyd, who’s best known for his work on the earlier entries in both Hitman and Assassin’s Creed franchises. Kyd has a very particular style and his dark, suspenseful and melancholic arrangements go together quite well with games about murders.
Easily the most redeeming aspect in this otherwise incompetent slog is the level design. The levels are quite varied in their locations, type and scale. Rather than being stuck in your typical rectangle shaped shooting galleries that look and feel artificial, Dead Men’s environments actually feel like a believable part of the world. From a densely packed nightclub, a skyscraper office building and streets of Tokyo to a military compound in the middle of jungle. It’s a globetrotting adventure and levels do a great job of reflecting that. The design itself - from shoot-out sightlines, verticality, cover placement and general flow of direction was also mostly solid with a couple of exceptions.
Now that the pleasantries are out of the way, let’s get down to the meat of the matter.
This game fucking sucks.
It continues to impress me IO Interactive - a studio which made great games before and after the Kane and Lynch entries somehow managed to make not just one but TWO incompetent third-person shooters released during the heyday of the genre (2007 and 2010). How could they possibly screw up the shooting mechanics, you know, THE most important aspect of the genre, THIS badly? The game uses an antiquated way of handling aiming. Rather than your bullets actually going where you’re aiming with the crosshair, they simply spread around randomly. Unless you’re shooting a worn-out rifle with badly adjusted sights, the first bullet should always go directly where your aim is. Missing shots should only be a factor after the recoil kicks in, should you fail to adjust to it. Well, that’s not how Kane and Lynch works. Instead, the first 3–4 bullets will always go around the cross-hair in a somewhat random pattern before a single bullet goes even near where you intended.
This sucked in Dog Days and it sucked here. Arguably even more so here given the scale of the environments. The level design itself might be good, but it’s ruined by simply having an enemy positioned more than 10 meters away from the player.
I cannot stress enough how much this artificial baked-in bullet spread RUINS the entire game. It never stops being an issue. People who say that it “adds to the realism” clearly have never seen a gun in real life, or heck - have even the most basic cursory understanding of how modern projectile weapons work. The way guns behave in Kane and Lynch simply goes against common sense and physics of this world.
Next issue is the AI system. The game features an AI partner system with the ability to issue commands to them but I never really felt like I had to engage with it. That is, until half-way through the game where the unique levels are abruptly exchanged for your typical brown modern military setting. This is the turning point when the game went from bad to worse. You are forced, yes - forced to have a squad of blind, deaf and braindead AI squadmates who, I swear, are trying to get you and themselves killed. By the way, if they die it’s a game over for you. Having to baby sit these incompetent chuckle fucks made the game 10 times harder and 100 times more infuriating. I would have much rather dealt with the entire army of enemies on my own.
The only way of getting past this miserable part is to slowly and meticulously clear out the enemies while continuously yelling at your mentally handicapped squadmates to sit in a corner somewhere out of sight, out of mind. HOWEVER, this very same level features the most ruthless enemies in the entire game and a helicopter that can basically just one-shot you dead. Essentially, if you get unlucky and accidentally get in the line of fire of either the passing chopper or an enemy machine gunner - your squadmates might be too far to revive you in time and you will die faster than you can slam a fist through your monitor.
I’m at the age where I’ve generally mellowed out and don’t really get angry at video games anymore but this game made me yell, swear and bash my table like I was 13 years old again. The word “infuriating” does not even begin to describe the sheer anger I felt towards this poor joke of a game.
So how does this train wreck end? With multiple-choice endings, of course. There’s two to be exact and they both suck. You get a simple choice - after rescuing Kane’s daughter from the main villains, you can either leave your braindead squadmates to die in the middle of the jungle and get in a chopper with your daughter while Lynch is screeching at you for being a traitor bitch OR you can play an additional level and go on a rescue mission. The choice here is obvious - ROLL THE CREDITS AND TURN THIS SHIT OFF! This is how I felt at that moment and jokes aside, after seeing how much worse the “good” ending was, I am convinced that I made the better choice initially.
The common practice in video game design dictates that players who put in the extra effort and/or do additional content should be rewarded with a more satisfying conclusion to the story.
Kane and Lynch on the other hand, is just “built different”. If you choose to actually go through a yet another tedious level, you essentially get spat on as not only Kane fails to save a single soul, his daughter that you just spent the entire game rescuing ends up dying. Thus, it was all for nothing, once again making the “traitor” choice a more satisfying one.
Listen, I get it. The writers of Kane and Lynch keep trying to emphasize how there are no “lived happily ever after” endings. The world is a horrible place and K&L universe even more so. But the way it’s handled is poorly done, essentially betraying the player's expectations and not in a compelling or clever way. Writing a subversive crime drama is not easy, I get that, but the writers behind both Dead Men and Dog Days are simply not as good as they presumably think they are. Perhaps it’s the trash gameplay that sours my opinion of the story, but after playing both Dog Days and Dead Men, it’s clear to me that the writers of both games are simply incapable of creating a truly mature story besides throwing some gratuitous end edgy scenes sprinkled with a load of obscenities.
There is a reason why Kane and Lynch franchise is dead and forgotten and quite frankly, it should remain that way.
I should start this review by letting you know that I’ve gone through Kane and Lynch franchise backwards having already played the sequel K&L 2: Dog Shit™ prior to this game. As you might guess - I don’t think very fondly of it. You can find my full thoughts on the sequel here: https://www.backloggd.com/u/DarkDante14/review/299070/
Now, why would I go out of my way to play the K&L: Dead Men if my experience with the sequel was so negative? Simply put - I wanted to see where it all started. I want to make it clear that I didn’t go into this game with the intention of hating it, quite the opposite, in fact. I gave it the most benefit of doubt humanly possible. SURELY it can’t be as bad as Dog Days? SURELY the first game must have been good enough that it warranted a sequel. After all, Dog Days is quite notorious and the reception for Dead Men was generally more positive, albeit still somewhat mixed from what I’ve seen. Oh, how wrong I was…
A fair warning that this review WILL contain spoilers, including explicit details about the ending.
I’ll start with the positives, since it won't take long. Unlike K&L2, the initial story set-up and character motivations in Dead Men actually are somewhat decent for a typical crime drama. While nothing original, I, at the very least, didn’t find the story to be nonsensical drivel, unlike the sequel.
Another positive aspect is the soundtrack. One of the game’s composers is Jesper Kyd, who’s best known for his work on the earlier entries in both Hitman and Assassin’s Creed franchises. Kyd has a very particular style and his dark, suspenseful and melancholic arrangements go together quite well with games about murders.
Easily the most redeeming aspect in this otherwise incompetent slog is the level design. The levels are quite varied in their locations, type and scale. Rather than being stuck in your typical rectangle shaped shooting galleries that look and feel artificial, Dead Men’s environments actually feel like a believable part of the world. From a densely packed nightclub, a skyscraper office building and streets of Tokyo to a military compound in the middle of jungle. It’s a globetrotting adventure and levels do a great job of reflecting that. The design itself - from shoot-out sightlines, verticality, cover placement and general flow of direction was also mostly solid with a couple of exceptions.
Now that the pleasantries are out of the way, let’s get down to the meat of the matter.
This game fucking sucks.
It continues to impress me IO Interactive - a studio which made great games before and after the Kane and Lynch entries somehow managed to make not just one but TWO incompetent third-person shooters released during the heyday of the genre (2007 and 2010). How could they possibly screw up the shooting mechanics, you know, THE most important aspect of the genre, THIS badly? The game uses an antiquated way of handling aiming. Rather than your bullets actually going where you’re aiming with the crosshair, they simply spread around randomly. Unless you’re shooting a worn-out rifle with badly adjusted sights, the first bullet should always go directly where your aim is. Missing shots should only be a factor after the recoil kicks in, should you fail to adjust to it. Well, that’s not how Kane and Lynch works. Instead, the first 3–4 bullets will always go around the cross-hair in a somewhat random pattern before a single bullet goes even near where you intended.
This sucked in Dog Days and it sucked here. Arguably even more so here given the scale of the environments. The level design itself might be good, but it’s ruined by simply having an enemy positioned more than 10 meters away from the player.
I cannot stress enough how much this artificial baked-in bullet spread RUINS the entire game. It never stops being an issue. People who say that it “adds to the realism” clearly have never seen a gun in real life, or heck - have even the most basic cursory understanding of how modern projectile weapons work. The way guns behave in Kane and Lynch simply goes against common sense and physics of this world.
Next issue is the AI system. The game features an AI partner system with the ability to issue commands to them but I never really felt like I had to engage with it. That is, until half-way through the game where the unique levels are abruptly exchanged for your typical brown modern military setting. This is the turning point when the game went from bad to worse. You are forced, yes - forced to have a squad of blind, deaf and braindead AI squadmates who, I swear, are trying to get you and themselves killed. By the way, if they die it’s a game over for you. Having to baby sit these incompetent chuckle fucks made the game 10 times harder and 100 times more infuriating. I would have much rather dealt with the entire army of enemies on my own.
The only way of getting past this miserable part is to slowly and meticulously clear out the enemies while continuously yelling at your mentally handicapped squadmates to sit in a corner somewhere out of sight, out of mind. HOWEVER, this very same level features the most ruthless enemies in the entire game and a helicopter that can basically just one-shot you dead. Essentially, if you get unlucky and accidentally get in the line of fire of either the passing chopper or an enemy machine gunner - your squadmates might be too far to revive you in time and you will die faster than you can slam a fist through your monitor.
I’m at the age where I’ve generally mellowed out and don’t really get angry at video games anymore but this game made me yell, swear and bash my table like I was 13 years old again. The word “infuriating” does not even begin to describe the sheer anger I felt towards this poor joke of a game.
So how does this train wreck end? With multiple-choice endings, of course. There’s two to be exact and they both suck. You get a simple choice - after rescuing Kane’s daughter from the main villains, you can either leave your braindead squadmates to die in the middle of the jungle and get in a chopper with your daughter while Lynch is screeching at you for being a traitor bitch OR you can play an additional level and go on a rescue mission. The choice here is obvious - ROLL THE CREDITS AND TURN THIS SHIT OFF! This is how I felt at that moment and jokes aside, after seeing how much worse the “good” ending was, I am convinced that I made the better choice initially.
The common practice in video game design dictates that players who put in the extra effort and/or do additional content should be rewarded with a more satisfying conclusion to the story.
Kane and Lynch on the other hand, is just “built different”. If you choose to actually go through a yet another tedious level, you essentially get spat on as not only Kane fails to save a single soul, his daughter that you just spent the entire game rescuing ends up dying. Thus, it was all for nothing, once again making the “traitor” choice a more satisfying one.
Listen, I get it. The writers of Kane and Lynch keep trying to emphasize how there are no “lived happily ever after” endings. The world is a horrible place and K&L universe even more so. But the way it’s handled is poorly done, essentially betraying the player's expectations and not in a compelling or clever way. Writing a subversive crime drama is not easy, I get that, but the writers behind both Dead Men and Dog Days are simply not as good as they presumably think they are. Perhaps it’s the trash gameplay that sours my opinion of the story, but after playing both Dog Days and Dead Men, it’s clear to me that the writers of both games are simply incapable of creating a truly mature story besides throwing some gratuitous end edgy scenes sprinkled with a load of obscenities.
There is a reason why Kane and Lynch franchise is dead and forgotten and quite frankly, it should remain that way.
The superior adaptation of Quantum of Solace.
If you’re familiar with the main version of Quantum of Solace which came out on the 7th generation platforms (PS3, 360, PC), you’ll know the title as a poor man’s Call of Duty made in the very engine that powered the aforementioned popular first-person shooter series.
Well, that is not the case with the PlayStation 2 version. Developed by Eurocom rather than Treyarch who worked on the main version, the PS2 title is a third-person stealth action game which, in my opinion, fits the James Bond series better. The game features a good mix of stealth, shooting and set-piece segments.
Stealth gameplay, while nothing outstanding, is competent enough with decent level design backing it up. The levels themselves are rather linear but it never feels like a detriment. Aside from some mandatory stealth-only sections, the game actually allows you to choose your own approach. That said, while you can certainly simply shoot your way through the stages, it is clear that the game was primarily designed with stealth in mind due to how stingy the game can get with ammo (more on this later).
This is not your standard third-person shooter. Gunplay and aiming mechanics are a bit untraditional and feel somewhat reminiscent of classic Splinter Cell titles, though not nearly as punishing or polished. You have two shooting modes: free aim and "precise mode". The free aim is for the more hectic and faster-paced moments, while the precision mode allows you to take more precise and deliberate shots with the aiming reticle slowly narrowing down while you’re not moving it. It may feel clunky at first, but once you get used to it, it becomes a rather enjoyable aspect of the game.
Featuring only 11 levels rather than 15 compared to its next-gen counterpart, the PS2 version is rather short, clocking in at around 4 hours. The game cuts out some of the levels featured in the PS3 version while adding a couple new stages of its own. You can probably finish this in around 3 hours if you avoid unnecessary deaths or it might take you five due to some sections being quite challenging. The levels themselves are also fairly short clocking in on average between 15-30 minutes. That said, it’s not a bad thing as it doesn’t overstay its welcome and the game has good pacing on top of that.
Unfortunately, this game came out during the dreaded quick-time event (QTE) era and some of the game’s frustrating moments stem from just that. Thankfully, they are used sparingly but one of the boss fights can only be completed by passing a rather strict set of QTEs, failing which you must re-do a part of the boss fight, which would be annoying enough in any game and is only made worse by the limited ammo.
The ammo system is clearly very deliberately designed - not quite topping the player off like normal TPS games do, but rather drip-feeding ammo in a way that ensures that you can always make progress while simultaneously making it clear that every shot - every bullet counts. This goes back to my original point about the PS2 version being more of a stealth-action game rather than your typical third-person shooter that many wiki articles seem to insinuate. It makes the game more tense and thoughtful than your average tie-in game. While the first half of the game is more stealth based, by the time you reach the end you’ll be expected to have gotten used to the game’s shooting mechanics and your reflexes and skills will be put to a test during the game's climax.
For the most part the ammo system works really well - enemies will always drop bullets ensuring you get rewarded for kills enabling you to progress further. Some sections will also feature renewable weapon pick-ups to ensure that you can progress past some of the set-pieces and boss fights will feature infinitely respawning ads that serve ascannon fodder ammo drops. The last boss is actually somewhat problematic in that regard with the infinite ads simultaneously being both a blessing and a curse given how much they spam grenades. On the bright side, boss fights are actually far more interesting than in the PS3 version and I’d have to say that is the case with all levels in general.
Luckily, the game features a rather generous checkpoint system and you can save your progress at every checkpoint making it the perfect game to play if you're limited on your gaming time due to work or other obligations.
Overall, I had fun with both incarnations of Quantum of Solace tie-in but the PS2 version is definitely the more interesting game to play, having more substantial thought put behind its game design.
If you’re interested in my thoughts on Treyarch’s version, you can find my Backlogged review here: https://www.backloggd.com/u/DarkDante14/review/582868/
If you’re familiar with the main version of Quantum of Solace which came out on the 7th generation platforms (PS3, 360, PC), you’ll know the title as a poor man’s Call of Duty made in the very engine that powered the aforementioned popular first-person shooter series.
Well, that is not the case with the PlayStation 2 version. Developed by Eurocom rather than Treyarch who worked on the main version, the PS2 title is a third-person stealth action game which, in my opinion, fits the James Bond series better. The game features a good mix of stealth, shooting and set-piece segments.
Stealth gameplay, while nothing outstanding, is competent enough with decent level design backing it up. The levels themselves are rather linear but it never feels like a detriment. Aside from some mandatory stealth-only sections, the game actually allows you to choose your own approach. That said, while you can certainly simply shoot your way through the stages, it is clear that the game was primarily designed with stealth in mind due to how stingy the game can get with ammo (more on this later).
This is not your standard third-person shooter. Gunplay and aiming mechanics are a bit untraditional and feel somewhat reminiscent of classic Splinter Cell titles, though not nearly as punishing or polished. You have two shooting modes: free aim and "precise mode". The free aim is for the more hectic and faster-paced moments, while the precision mode allows you to take more precise and deliberate shots with the aiming reticle slowly narrowing down while you’re not moving it. It may feel clunky at first, but once you get used to it, it becomes a rather enjoyable aspect of the game.
Featuring only 11 levels rather than 15 compared to its next-gen counterpart, the PS2 version is rather short, clocking in at around 4 hours. The game cuts out some of the levels featured in the PS3 version while adding a couple new stages of its own. You can probably finish this in around 3 hours if you avoid unnecessary deaths or it might take you five due to some sections being quite challenging. The levels themselves are also fairly short clocking in on average between 15-30 minutes. That said, it’s not a bad thing as it doesn’t overstay its welcome and the game has good pacing on top of that.
Unfortunately, this game came out during the dreaded quick-time event (QTE) era and some of the game’s frustrating moments stem from just that. Thankfully, they are used sparingly but one of the boss fights can only be completed by passing a rather strict set of QTEs, failing which you must re-do a part of the boss fight, which would be annoying enough in any game and is only made worse by the limited ammo.
The ammo system is clearly very deliberately designed - not quite topping the player off like normal TPS games do, but rather drip-feeding ammo in a way that ensures that you can always make progress while simultaneously making it clear that every shot - every bullet counts. This goes back to my original point about the PS2 version being more of a stealth-action game rather than your typical third-person shooter that many wiki articles seem to insinuate. It makes the game more tense and thoughtful than your average tie-in game. While the first half of the game is more stealth based, by the time you reach the end you’ll be expected to have gotten used to the game’s shooting mechanics and your reflexes and skills will be put to a test during the game's climax.
For the most part the ammo system works really well - enemies will always drop bullets ensuring you get rewarded for kills enabling you to progress further. Some sections will also feature renewable weapon pick-ups to ensure that you can progress past some of the set-pieces and boss fights will feature infinitely respawning ads that serve as
Luckily, the game features a rather generous checkpoint system and you can save your progress at every checkpoint making it the perfect game to play if you're limited on your gaming time due to work or other obligations.
Overall, I had fun with both incarnations of Quantum of Solace tie-in but the PS2 version is definitely the more interesting game to play, having more substantial thought put behind its game design.
If you’re interested in my thoughts on Treyarch’s version, you can find my Backlogged review here: https://www.backloggd.com/u/DarkDante14/review/582868/
Just another mediocre licensed title to add to the pile.
If you’re looking for a James Bond game that plays like poor man’s Call of Duty then Quantum of Solace (2008) is the perfect game for you.
The main/seventh-gen (PS3, 360, PC) version of Quantum of Solace uses Infinity Ward’s IW 3.0 engine which was also used for COD4: Modern Warfare and World at War. As a result, the game plays and feels like any modern Call of Duty, including the dreaded aim-assist system that borders on auto-aim, just not as polished.
You’ll spend the vast majority of your time in rectangle-shaped arenas shooting AI enemies that aren’t particularly bright, though occasionally they’ll throw a grenade or two and attempt to rush you to give off an impression of having some resemblance of tactics. The game also features some stealth segments and set pieces. Stealth here is as basic as you can get away with but it’s mostly inoffensive and optional anyway, whist the set pieces feel rather uninspired and cookie-cutter.
The game’s title is also a bit misleading. Despite being based on a Bond movie of the same name, two-thirds of Quantum of Solace’s levels are based on Casino Royale framed as part of a long flashback. That said, it’s not necessarily a bad thing given that Quantum of Solace (the movie) felt like a somewhat dry epilogue to its vastly superior and more action-packed prequel. As a result, you can understand why developers chose to go down this route and, frankly, they made the right choice.
If I had to summarize the entire experience in a single word, it would be “formulaic”. All of the elements present function as intended but they simply don’t stand out on their own and lack the polish of similar segments featured in Call of Duty titles. At the end of the day, it’s a licensed title made quickly and cheaply, published by Activision. What you see is what you get.
While this review has been mostly negative, I actually enjoyed the game for what it is. As long as you know what you’re going into, it’s an inoffensive title to pass the time with. I think the developers did the best they could with the resources allocated to them, knowing how licensed game productions usually go. That said, the game is entirely skippable and you’re probably better off getting your James Bond fix elsewhere, even the PS2 release of Quantum of Solace which is a different game entirely made by a separate development studio. If you're interested in my thoughts on that version, you can find my Backlogged review here: https://www.backloggd.com/u/DarkDante14/review/594075/
Note: This review is based solely on the single-player campaign played on normal. Online servers are down and multiplayer is inaccessible through normal means.
If you’re looking for a James Bond game that plays like poor man’s Call of Duty then Quantum of Solace (2008) is the perfect game for you.
The main/seventh-gen (PS3, 360, PC) version of Quantum of Solace uses Infinity Ward’s IW 3.0 engine which was also used for COD4: Modern Warfare and World at War. As a result, the game plays and feels like any modern Call of Duty, including the dreaded aim-assist system that borders on auto-aim, just not as polished.
You’ll spend the vast majority of your time in rectangle-shaped arenas shooting AI enemies that aren’t particularly bright, though occasionally they’ll throw a grenade or two and attempt to rush you to give off an impression of having some resemblance of tactics. The game also features some stealth segments and set pieces. Stealth here is as basic as you can get away with but it’s mostly inoffensive and optional anyway, whist the set pieces feel rather uninspired and cookie-cutter.
The game’s title is also a bit misleading. Despite being based on a Bond movie of the same name, two-thirds of Quantum of Solace’s levels are based on Casino Royale framed as part of a long flashback. That said, it’s not necessarily a bad thing given that Quantum of Solace (the movie) felt like a somewhat dry epilogue to its vastly superior and more action-packed prequel. As a result, you can understand why developers chose to go down this route and, frankly, they made the right choice.
If I had to summarize the entire experience in a single word, it would be “formulaic”. All of the elements present function as intended but they simply don’t stand out on their own and lack the polish of similar segments featured in Call of Duty titles. At the end of the day, it’s a licensed title made quickly and cheaply, published by Activision. What you see is what you get.
While this review has been mostly negative, I actually enjoyed the game for what it is. As long as you know what you’re going into, it’s an inoffensive title to pass the time with. I think the developers did the best they could with the resources allocated to them, knowing how licensed game productions usually go. That said, the game is entirely skippable and you’re probably better off getting your James Bond fix elsewhere, even the PS2 release of Quantum of Solace which is a different game entirely made by a separate development studio. If you're interested in my thoughts on that version, you can find my Backlogged review here: https://www.backloggd.com/u/DarkDante14/review/594075/
Note: This review is based solely on the single-player campaign played on normal. Online servers are down and multiplayer is inaccessible through normal means.
A solid title well worth of inclusion in your VR game library.
The VR Case Files gives a great glimpse of how it'd feel to play the classic open world detective adventure in virtual reality. That said, don't go into this expecting to the full L.A. Noire experience. The VR version features only a small fraction (7 cases) compared to its original outing on home consoles (26 cases in the Complete Edition and Remaster, 21 in the original release). This becomes painfully obvious on the latter half of the game. The first couple missions are fairly standalone so you don't feel like you're missing out on the story but as soon as you get to the Homicide desk case, you start hearing references to past cases you never get to play in this version. This issue is at its worst once you hit the last case. You switch to playing an entirely different character that never gets properly introduced in The VR Case Files and the player is left completely out of loop as to what has happened to the main character since you last saw him.
Gameplay is varied with missions being faithfully re-created in a VR setting. You even get the whole city to explore by car, though there is even less of a reason to do so here than in the original game. VR Case Files feature some neat additions such a racing mini-game and office space to fool around in.
While most features work as intended, aiming with guns can be a chore. I think it's due to your character's hands being angled by default (you can see it in the office mirror). I managed to get quite proficient at aligning semi-automatic pistol's iron sights to get those gratifying headshots but longer weapons such as rifle never felt natural or reliable to use. The aiming system becomes even more cumbersome when you're trying to use the cover system with hands often clipping into your body if you're too close to the cover.
While not a perfect title by any means, it provides great value for a VR title and plenty of things to do. That said, due to the reasons explained in the second paragraph, it feels more like a side-piece or a novelty to the veterans of L.A. Noire rather than a full fledged title for everyone.
The VR Case Files gives a great glimpse of how it'd feel to play the classic open world detective adventure in virtual reality. That said, don't go into this expecting to the full L.A. Noire experience. The VR version features only a small fraction (7 cases) compared to its original outing on home consoles (26 cases in the Complete Edition and Remaster, 21 in the original release). This becomes painfully obvious on the latter half of the game. The first couple missions are fairly standalone so you don't feel like you're missing out on the story but as soon as you get to the Homicide desk case, you start hearing references to past cases you never get to play in this version. This issue is at its worst once you hit the last case. You switch to playing an entirely different character that never gets properly introduced in The VR Case Files and the player is left completely out of loop as to what has happened to the main character since you last saw him.
Gameplay is varied with missions being faithfully re-created in a VR setting. You even get the whole city to explore by car, though there is even less of a reason to do so here than in the original game. VR Case Files feature some neat additions such a racing mini-game and office space to fool around in.
While most features work as intended, aiming with guns can be a chore. I think it's due to your character's hands being angled by default (you can see it in the office mirror). I managed to get quite proficient at aligning semi-automatic pistol's iron sights to get those gratifying headshots but longer weapons such as rifle never felt natural or reliable to use. The aiming system becomes even more cumbersome when you're trying to use the cover system with hands often clipping into your body if you're too close to the cover.
While not a perfect title by any means, it provides great value for a VR title and plenty of things to do. That said, due to the reasons explained in the second paragraph, it feels more like a side-piece or a novelty to the veterans of L.A. Noire rather than a full fledged title for everyone.
FUN WITH BOOMERS, CANCER AGAINST ZOOMERS.
If you’re a boomer like me and dislike this ABC, SUSPENSION, ZELDA and SINK-O summoning shit, this game is not for you. That is - unless you got some friends to play with you with whatever actual fun decks you agree on.
If you’ve read other reviews on this game, you surely must have noticed complaints about turn length. That is because the most optimal strategies involve using the xyz/ pendulum/link/syncro nonsense to summon half of your deck in the first turn with cards that negate everything your opponent does. Seriously, everything: summoning a monster, activating a card effect, even taking a dump probably. It’s the most optimal way to play the game and also the most boring shit in the world. That said, it’s what the actual game of Yu-Gi-Oh! ™, unfortunately, has evolved into and not the fault of Master Duel specifically.
When it comes to Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel itself – it’s surprisingly fun. Not in a million years would have I imagined that I’d actually say that about a Konami game made post 2015, much less a free-to-play game. As of the writing of this review (20th Feb 2022), the F2P mechanics have been handled fairly. You can pretty much build any deck you want. You will run into a bit of a wall if you want to build multiple different decks quickly, but even then the game is generous enough with gems. With a bit of patience and some easy to do Daily/Weekly missions, you can get a lot of value out of this game without paying a single cent. Of course, this is Konami we’re talking about so it can (and I fully expect it will) change in due time.
Master Duel is very accessible – it’s meant to be enjoyed by the hardcore meta zoomer try-hards, returning old boomers like me who last played Yu-Gi-Oh back when the aforementioned zoomers probably weren’t even born and brand new players who don’t even know why someone would put their cards side-ways. The game has some basic tutorials that quickly introduce you to all forms of summoning, so don’t worry if you don’t know what this alphabet summoning and pendulum swinging is all about. I also like that by linking your Konami ID, your game progress transfers real-time and you can enjoy this game on multiple platforms hassle free.
That said, this game has some odd UI/UX problems. Nothing major but it’s the small niggles that add up and make for some frustrating moments, especially early on while you’re just coming to grasp with it. Also, the music is TERRIBLE. Probably the worst aspect of this entire game, so much so that I’ve had it muted since the first duel. Seriously, just put some tunes of your choice in the background instead. I’m also not a fan of the visual style of this game – it looks like a mobile game/Heartstone rip-off which was an initial turn-off but has since stopped bothering me.
OVERALL – PUT ON YOUR FAKE PLASTIC DUEL DISK AND GET YOUR GAME ON CUZ IT’S TIME TO D-D-D-DUEL!
If you’re a boomer like me and dislike this ABC, SUSPENSION, ZELDA and SINK-O summoning shit, this game is not for you. That is - unless you got some friends to play with you with whatever actual fun decks you agree on.
If you’ve read other reviews on this game, you surely must have noticed complaints about turn length. That is because the most optimal strategies involve using the xyz/ pendulum/link/syncro nonsense to summon half of your deck in the first turn with cards that negate everything your opponent does. Seriously, everything: summoning a monster, activating a card effect, even taking a dump probably. It’s the most optimal way to play the game and also the most boring shit in the world. That said, it’s what the actual game of Yu-Gi-Oh! ™, unfortunately, has evolved into and not the fault of Master Duel specifically.
When it comes to Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel itself – it’s surprisingly fun. Not in a million years would have I imagined that I’d actually say that about a Konami game made post 2015, much less a free-to-play game. As of the writing of this review (20th Feb 2022), the F2P mechanics have been handled fairly. You can pretty much build any deck you want. You will run into a bit of a wall if you want to build multiple different decks quickly, but even then the game is generous enough with gems. With a bit of patience and some easy to do Daily/Weekly missions, you can get a lot of value out of this game without paying a single cent. Of course, this is Konami we’re talking about so it can (and I fully expect it will) change in due time.
Master Duel is very accessible – it’s meant to be enjoyed by the hardcore meta zoomer try-hards, returning old boomers like me who last played Yu-Gi-Oh back when the aforementioned zoomers probably weren’t even born and brand new players who don’t even know why someone would put their cards side-ways. The game has some basic tutorials that quickly introduce you to all forms of summoning, so don’t worry if you don’t know what this alphabet summoning and pendulum swinging is all about. I also like that by linking your Konami ID, your game progress transfers real-time and you can enjoy this game on multiple platforms hassle free.
That said, this game has some odd UI/UX problems. Nothing major but it’s the small niggles that add up and make for some frustrating moments, especially early on while you’re just coming to grasp with it. Also, the music is TERRIBLE. Probably the worst aspect of this entire game, so much so that I’ve had it muted since the first duel. Seriously, just put some tunes of your choice in the background instead. I’m also not a fan of the visual style of this game – it looks like a mobile game/Heartstone rip-off which was an initial turn-off but has since stopped bothering me.
OVERALL – PUT ON YOUR FAKE PLASTIC DUEL DISK AND GET YOUR GAME ON CUZ IT’S TIME TO D-D-D-DUEL!
Kane and Lynch 2™: Dog Days is an experience that stays with you for a while... kinda like an ingrown tumor or STD.
This piece of electronic software is a total assault on all of your senses. So much so, that I'm surprised the developers weren't charged for war crimes. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if the CIA used this software to torture prisoners at Guantanamo Bay. Whoever made this game must also have a deep-seated hatred towards people with epilepsy given all the random flashes that pollute the screen during both gameplay and cutscenes.
The presentation of this game can only be described as a complete audiovisual diarrhea. Excessive bloom, pixelated graphics, excessive use of shaky cam and worst offense of all - grayish brown levels that were oh-so common during the PS3/360 generation.
The greatest defenders of this game praise its art-style for being "unique" and sure... It can certainly be described as "unique", same way as taking a dump into your bowl of cereal could be a considered as an eccentric idea for a meal.
The audio mixing is terrible, particularly in one of the later stages of the game that involves a turret section while flying a chopper. I literally had to turn down the volume on my headphones by 60% just so I wouldn't completely lose my hearing.
Gameplay mechanics-wise this might be the saddest excuse of a third-person shooter ever released by a AAA publisher. Simplistic doesn’t even begin to describe it. You’re limited to 2 weapons at a time, a bare-bones cover system that hardly functions and an ability to take on human shields. That’s it. No interesting twists on the TPS genre, no unique gameplay features or mechanics, nothing. Calling both the AI and level design “basic” is also being kind.
Instead of giving weapons any sort of recoil, the developers instead opted for the most nonsensical bullet spread module in video game history. The guns will randomly miss. Nothing you can do about it since it’s artificially baked into the code. None of the guns feel good, much less satisfying to use. Hitting enemies feels about as gratifying as going to a 5-star restaurant in an exotic country only to order a bottle of water and leave.
The story feels like it was written by an edgy teenager who’s seen far too many gruesome Liveleak videos. The editing and camera work during cutscenes are migraine inducing. Characters are unlikeable and not in a clever way that would serve the narrative in any shape or form.
The greatest quality of Kane and Lynch 2 is its brevity. The game can be finished in less than 4 hours which would normally be counted as a negative, but in this case it was a blessing in disguise.
Quite frankly, I’m not entirely sure if the game was worth the 0,99 EUR I paid for it but the abrupt ending with cut to credits playing a mellow Chinese pop-song gave me the greatest laughter of my life.
This piece of electronic software is a total assault on all of your senses. So much so, that I'm surprised the developers weren't charged for war crimes. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if the CIA used this software to torture prisoners at Guantanamo Bay. Whoever made this game must also have a deep-seated hatred towards people with epilepsy given all the random flashes that pollute the screen during both gameplay and cutscenes.
The presentation of this game can only be described as a complete audiovisual diarrhea. Excessive bloom, pixelated graphics, excessive use of shaky cam and worst offense of all - grayish brown levels that were oh-so common during the PS3/360 generation.
The greatest defenders of this game praise its art-style for being "unique" and sure... It can certainly be described as "unique", same way as taking a dump into your bowl of cereal could be a considered as an eccentric idea for a meal.
The audio mixing is terrible, particularly in one of the later stages of the game that involves a turret section while flying a chopper. I literally had to turn down the volume on my headphones by 60% just so I wouldn't completely lose my hearing.
Gameplay mechanics-wise this might be the saddest excuse of a third-person shooter ever released by a AAA publisher. Simplistic doesn’t even begin to describe it. You’re limited to 2 weapons at a time, a bare-bones cover system that hardly functions and an ability to take on human shields. That’s it. No interesting twists on the TPS genre, no unique gameplay features or mechanics, nothing. Calling both the AI and level design “basic” is also being kind.
Instead of giving weapons any sort of recoil, the developers instead opted for the most nonsensical bullet spread module in video game history. The guns will randomly miss. Nothing you can do about it since it’s artificially baked into the code. None of the guns feel good, much less satisfying to use. Hitting enemies feels about as gratifying as going to a 5-star restaurant in an exotic country only to order a bottle of water and leave.
The story feels like it was written by an edgy teenager who’s seen far too many gruesome Liveleak videos. The editing and camera work during cutscenes are migraine inducing. Characters are unlikeable and not in a clever way that would serve the narrative in any shape or form.
The greatest quality of Kane and Lynch 2 is its brevity. The game can be finished in less than 4 hours which would normally be counted as a negative, but in this case it was a blessing in disguise.
Quite frankly, I’m not entirely sure if the game was worth the 0,99 EUR I paid for it but the abrupt ending with cut to credits playing a mellow Chinese pop-song gave me the greatest laughter of my life.