The original release was my first multiplayer game on console, so my opinion is very much tinted by nostalgia. The single player is still decent and still looks very good. The multiplayer is fun, if you can find a match.

The game is mostly dead now and the only people that still play are really good and only play with rocket launchers.

There's very little reason to play this now outside of sheer curiosity.

Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 leaves me feeling conflicted. Most people that don't recommend this game are usually people that find the changes and tweaks to be too egregious to the original release; I can't really blame some of the complaints.

The biggest issue is the huge reduction of enemies that appear on screen, along with the removal of the gore. NGII is a very bloody and gory game, to the point that it becomes hilarious at how absurd the violence is. NGS2 tones this completely down and censors most blood with green/purple mist and body dismemberment being removed in some cases.

NGS2 improves certain fights by toning down the amount of enemies that NGII had, the improved bow controls makes some fights fun now, and the tweaks to some encounters are more balanced. It overall feels less cheap and frustrating, but you can tell that the game wasn't originally designed with some of these changes.

Its apparent that there are two directors, with different visions on how the flow of gameplay/combat should be, and I think this game suffers from that. Some bosses changed/removed, Tests of Valor removed, upgrade system is a downgrade, levels don't accommodate fewer enemies, additional chapters with 3 characters that ruin the pace, etc.

There are legitimate aspects of NGS2 that are better and make for a better game. I can see the team behind NGS2 having good reasons to why some changes happened; however there are certainly aspects of NGII that should have been kept.

Neither game truly reaches its full potential, especially Sigma 2. I would say that I enjoyed NGII more for how good the dopamine hits were and how cathartic every encounter ended up; despite NGII being a rather flawed and sometimes very unbalanced game.

I can tell the director of NGII wanted me to suffer and even punish me, but the director of NGS2 wanted the player to enjoy the game more and make it feel more consistent.

NGS2 is still good fun, and worth playing despite the changes.

It has all the things that made Dead Rising great put into this Off the Record. Along with tweaks to animations, combat, and AI from the first. However, I do think this one lacks the charm and feel that the first one had.

The atmosphere just isn't on par. The boss fights lack the unique characterization from DR1, the music seems to not have the same flair either; some tracks just come off generic sometimes. The combat retained the same kind of problems that one had, and getting stuck in a stun animation from a boss never felt more annoying; and the damage limiter that they implemented to how much bosses can get hurt from constant player attack is not a great thing either. Only about three bosses made me feel invested and not frustrated; and this was at higher player levels too.

I can't help the feeling that anything interesting about this game is just a carry over from the first; but there are some meaningful additions that feel like natural and fit into the whole game. Don't get me wrong, I think this is a great game and I had a lot of fun. It's still Dead Rising at heart, and still a unique and great experience; there is just something missing, but that's just me.

Sadly this one isn't canon to the story, but rather a "what if" unlike the original Dead Rising 2. However that shouldn't push you away from it. If you ignore the canon, just think of it as a more direct sequel to DR1.

While some players might find the combat repetitive; I find the combat to be great. Flowing between enemies with sword attacks, deflecting attacks and rolling out of the way is so much fun. Then to top it off with a satisfying execution with great sound effects and yells makes it even better.

What I really like about the combat is its more than just looking pretty with the execution moves; there is a level of depth and strategy to be had. Depending on how quickly you pull off the execution you will get more XP, health, damage, or fill up a bar called "Focus" that stuns nearby enemies. However you can only select one of these to at a time when doing an execution, so you have to choose wisely in a matter of seconds which one would benefit you in the moment of combat.

I HIGHLY recommend playing this on the hardest difficulty that you can select when playing for the first time. The simplicity of the combat might be forgotten just because you are really trying to survive or you know that you only have so much health until you are killed.

If you don't find the combat that interesting you might find this game rather ok, since the bulk of the game is combat. The story might keep you engaged but I wouldn't count on it.

PROS:
+ High production values
+ Very well animated
+ Great acting along with face and motion capture
+ Fantastic sound effects
+ Satisfying combat
+ The game looks amazing
+ The COOP modes are very fun

CONS:
- Combat might get repetitive
- Clunky aiming with spears

Haven't had this much fun with a game in awhile. If you can get past the production values and awkward controls, there is a really great game underneath. Nothing really to complain about personally.

As for the port, it isn't exactly top of the line. No graphical options, and if it bothers you the game is locked at 30fps. Sometimes I have the game chug and lose some frames for a couple of seconds, but it rarely happened.

If you don't care about graphical options or 30fps and want a fun, quirky game that's different than other titles on Steam, then go for it! Make sure you play on Easy your first time and don't be afraid of looking at some guides or FAQ's. You might need some guidance your first time.

I always found this game fascinating. I really liked what they did but I could never articulate what It was that made it interesting to me beyond surface level aspects. I read an interview and watched a GDC talk with the art director of K&L2 and it provided a lot of insight into what makes this game click for me.

Kane & Lynch 2 doesn't look pretty, no character is likeable, the music sounds like it's falling apart and dying, and it ends before you know it. From what I can gather is most of what's on offer is deliberate. The game is built to just be an experiment; It's anti-fun and anti-game. The whole thing is bleak, depressing, and brutal. Everyone wants you dead.

Most game's would have a puzzle or some sort of mini game that breaks up the constant combat. But K&L2's downtime is showing the underbelly of Shanghai and some vacant or depressing environments with some Silent Hill-esc music right before you are thrown into more combat. The weapons feel inaccurate but because you can get ammo consistently, not landing all your shots accurately feels like an intentional decision to make it frantic and overwhelming.
The gameplay is reminiscent of similar games within the genre, but everything around K&L2 is anything but the norm for third person, cover based shooters. The combat is tiring, relentless, and you're always outnumbered.

The visual style of K&L2 turned out great. I love the commitment and accuracy to make the game look like it was shot on a cheap camcorder. The game has poor sound quality, visual glitches/artifacts, poor shot composition, blown out lighting, muted colors, and sudden cuts with no consistency. The game is both beautiful and ugly at the same time. It's kind of an achievement to make your game look and sound so appalling on purpose.

What's great to me is how much of the pre-production research and design goals made it into the final game. It's not common for a title to come out from a big publisher that's experimenting but also made to be unpleasant when you play or look at. When the team is aware that some people won't like it, but do it anyway because they feel it's interesting and different is something I find commendable.