Another hit from Shinji Mikami. While this definitely isn’t his magnum opus it stands close to the top of the third person shooter genre.
I’m not a huge cover shooter fan as I find them too slow paced, dull moment to moment gameplay sitting behind cover waiting for health to recharge, and problems with the gunplay. This game definitely alleviates those complaints with the slow mo and sliding mechanics that make the game much more fast paced that a traditional cover shooter and lets you adapt your tactics on the fly. There’s no “right way” to play this game because each situation the game presents you with will have you making constant decisions on the fly either taking cover or pressing out into the open to slide behind enemies or to better tactical positions.
The gameplay stays fresh for the brisk 4 hours it took me to beat this and there are just enough guns and just enough enemy types/bosses for the player to stay engaged. This is definitely a game meant to be played multiple times as there’s definitely a bit of a learning curve at the beginning but once you get the hang of the mechanics you’ll want to come back because the gameplay is extremely satisfying as you get better at it.
My main complaints with this one are all pretty minor.
A wish there were a few less cutscenes and first person walking sections which are really just cutscenes. They make the pacing a bit choppy especially with how short some checkpoints are.
I also wish the game let you manage your cool down when your health hits critical. I get that it’s supposed to be punishing but I think the risk reward of letting the player manage the cooldown themselves instead of it automatically also going into overheat can be frustrating.
Lastly I wish the upgrade system was different. As you upgrade weapons in your inventory you’ll also lose upgrades upon death which is very punishing. I wish the game found a way to reward you for not dying vs punishing you for dying.
Oh and the most minor of my gripes is I wish each chapter gave you a letter score just because I have no idea how my scores for each mission stack up.
I’ll definitely be coming back to this one on a harder difficulty and compete against myself to set new high scores and maybe try a no death run.
Really wish this had become a franchise because the story although over the top and a bit cliche was pretty fun and the unresolved plot lines would have been cool to see fleshed out in a sequel. Sam kicks ass
8/10
I’m not a huge cover shooter fan as I find them too slow paced, dull moment to moment gameplay sitting behind cover waiting for health to recharge, and problems with the gunplay. This game definitely alleviates those complaints with the slow mo and sliding mechanics that make the game much more fast paced that a traditional cover shooter and lets you adapt your tactics on the fly. There’s no “right way” to play this game because each situation the game presents you with will have you making constant decisions on the fly either taking cover or pressing out into the open to slide behind enemies or to better tactical positions.
The gameplay stays fresh for the brisk 4 hours it took me to beat this and there are just enough guns and just enough enemy types/bosses for the player to stay engaged. This is definitely a game meant to be played multiple times as there’s definitely a bit of a learning curve at the beginning but once you get the hang of the mechanics you’ll want to come back because the gameplay is extremely satisfying as you get better at it.
My main complaints with this one are all pretty minor.
A wish there were a few less cutscenes and first person walking sections which are really just cutscenes. They make the pacing a bit choppy especially with how short some checkpoints are.
I also wish the game let you manage your cool down when your health hits critical. I get that it’s supposed to be punishing but I think the risk reward of letting the player manage the cooldown themselves instead of it automatically also going into overheat can be frustrating.
Lastly I wish the upgrade system was different. As you upgrade weapons in your inventory you’ll also lose upgrades upon death which is very punishing. I wish the game found a way to reward you for not dying vs punishing you for dying.
Oh and the most minor of my gripes is I wish each chapter gave you a letter score just because I have no idea how my scores for each mission stack up.
I’ll definitely be coming back to this one on a harder difficulty and compete against myself to set new high scores and maybe try a no death run.
Really wish this had become a franchise because the story although over the top and a bit cliche was pretty fun and the unresolved plot lines would have been cool to see fleshed out in a sequel. Sam kicks ass
8/10