Kinnooo
4.5 stars for the child abuse scene
Enjoyed my time with this one. It's incredibly slow and I don't think all the padding in the beginning (especially the fetch quests) helps but during Chapter 2 it truly starts to shine. That ending especially is one of the biggest gutpunches I've seen.
Also Anelace rules.
Also Anelace rules.
1998
ONE MORE WIN IT'S RIDGE RACER
RIIIDGE RAAAAAACEEEER
RIIIDGE RAAAAAACEEEER
2001
Ah... Kohaku-san... is gaming...
It's technically better than Doom 1 with all the things it adds such as the GOAT Super Shotgun, the Mancubi, Pain Elementals, Arachnotrons, etc. but as someone who mostly plays these for the campaigns I certainly didn't enjoy it as much as 1. All the issues I had with Sandy's levels in 1 (which AFAIK is the result of him having to learn id Tech 1 in a short span of time) feel exacerbated here, he still loves tricking the player with traps and monster closets, mix that with his level layouts which not only feel incredibly confusing (e.g. the City levels) but frustrating to navigate (like The Chasm) and it just becomes unfun. I do like McGee's additions though (except for The Crusher), especially the more arena-oriented levels, they make for a nice change of pace from Sandy's. Fine overall but weaker than 1's campaign.
Also FUCK the Arch-vile. All my homies hate the Arch-vile.
Also FUCK the Arch-vile. All my homies hate the Arch-vile.
1997
still the GOAT to this day baby
2000
kohran li my beloved
2005
cage-sama... i kneel...
2018
Replayed it for Chapter 2 and still a lot of fun, think how short it is makes the side cast feel pretty underutilized and all the nice moments with them kinda fall flat for me but at this point it IS kinda soon to judge that yet, the main cast compensates a lot for that though, Toby really manages to make you care about them in this short span of time and I'm certainly not fucking ready for when they decide to go all in with the mental health stuff it tackles.
2005
gay nerds fighting: the visual novel
kohaku gaming
2005
perfect... the big CHEESE..
2021
The worst part about this was not that it's bad (because it is not), it's just incredibly disappointing.
Halo Infinite's campaign takes the idea of something like Halo CE's 2nd level and tries to expand on it into a larger, more open area to explore on your own pace, but whereas CE and even the other Bungie games are still fun to revisit due to the carefully crafted pacing and setpieces, Infinite just feels like an absolute slog to get through at times, especially in the latter half, one of the missions for example revolves around going to 4 identical towers with the same layout and pressing a button, it's not exciting or memorable in the least, the plot being basically non-existent and resolving many of 5's plot threads off-screen (because for some reason they still think most fans go out of their way to read the books and comics) doesn't help. Even if the gameplay and movement is really solid and a step in the right direction, the level design feels the most dull and repetitive the series has ever felt, there's really nothing in this campaign that sticks out in my mind as truly impressive, it's just consistently "okay" or boring. Compared to something like 4 or 5 it's hard to blame 343i entirely for this because this is clearly a rushed project that hit tons of roadblocks during development due to how the company itself is structured (only hiring temporary contractors), countless directors leaving and having to switch engines already years into development but it's a shame that the one time it felt like they could deliver something on par with the older titles, they came out with this instead because of poor project and company management.
Halo Infinite's campaign takes the idea of something like Halo CE's 2nd level and tries to expand on it into a larger, more open area to explore on your own pace, but whereas CE and even the other Bungie games are still fun to revisit due to the carefully crafted pacing and setpieces, Infinite just feels like an absolute slog to get through at times, especially in the latter half, one of the missions for example revolves around going to 4 identical towers with the same layout and pressing a button, it's not exciting or memorable in the least, the plot being basically non-existent and resolving many of 5's plot threads off-screen (because for some reason they still think most fans go out of their way to read the books and comics) doesn't help. Even if the gameplay and movement is really solid and a step in the right direction, the level design feels the most dull and repetitive the series has ever felt, there's really nothing in this campaign that sticks out in my mind as truly impressive, it's just consistently "okay" or boring. Compared to something like 4 or 5 it's hard to blame 343i entirely for this because this is clearly a rushed project that hit tons of roadblocks during development due to how the company itself is structured (only hiring temporary contractors), countless directors leaving and having to switch engines already years into development but it's a shame that the one time it felt like they could deliver something on par with the older titles, they came out with this instead because of poor project and company management.
2020
This review contains spoilers
After putting off finishing this for months and finally doing it today I can say I... liked it! But man was it a mixed experience, especially towards the end, both in story and gameplay. Not only does it fall into the Persona trap of becoming a slog to get through with the formula it feels the need to strictly follow but also with its overreliance on series tropes, most of which I'm just kinda tired of at this point. It's not all bad since I do like most of the character interactions in this, the additions to the cast (like Zenkichi) and the roadtrip aspect to the story. Ichinose as someone who closed herself emotionally due to trauma but hides it behind faking the way she talks and sees that as a virtue also really works! Legit one of my favorite antagonists in the series now.
I also appreciate the musou take on Persona combat and it CAN be really fun once you get used to it, but it starts to show its faults in the endgame with how all the enemies NEED to be damage sponges for the weaknesses to work and all the grinding you have to do for Persona fusions, it really does try its best to adapt Persona's battle system for an action game but all the concessions they have to do for it to work just makes this become a grindy and repetitive mess by the end.
I did enjoy my time with this though, even as someone who's not the biggest fan of OG P5, it's just a shame it fizzles out by the end.
I will say though, the soundtrack fucking BANGS, props to Atsushi Kitajoh, Gota Masuoka, Ayana Hira and the rest of the ATLUS/Koei Tecmo Sound Team for not only following up Meguro's footsteps this well but also successfully taking it on a more rock-oriented direction.
I also appreciate the musou take on Persona combat and it CAN be really fun once you get used to it, but it starts to show its faults in the endgame with how all the enemies NEED to be damage sponges for the weaknesses to work and all the grinding you have to do for Persona fusions, it really does try its best to adapt Persona's battle system for an action game but all the concessions they have to do for it to work just makes this become a grindy and repetitive mess by the end.
I did enjoy my time with this though, even as someone who's not the biggest fan of OG P5, it's just a shame it fizzles out by the end.
I will say though, the soundtrack fucking BANGS, props to Atsushi Kitajoh, Gota Masuoka, Ayana Hira and the rest of the ATLUS/Koei Tecmo Sound Team for not only following up Meguro's footsteps this well but also successfully taking it on a more rock-oriented direction.
2021
man fuck oddball i just wanna play CTF or slayer