Mattt
2019
It's a simple, basic little indie game with very little variety - you're a roomba who activates traps to kill burglars, and clean up the remains. Simple, dark and slightly cute. The game is basically just 6 levels (plus 3 bonus levels) of them stretching this concept as far as it can possibly go. Only 1 map, and the abilities are never added to as the game progresses. It can be beaten in an afternoon, but if you got this for cheap (in my case, through the Humble Trove), it's not much of a waste.
The critical flaw is the amount of bugs present - they won't always show up to ruin your run, but Roombo can get stuck permanently on a lot of physics objects, among other issues I've heard such as falling out of the map, so this can present a serious annoyance.
Recommended if you want a simple, replayable game to kill 10-15 minutes with.
The critical flaw is the amount of bugs present - they won't always show up to ruin your run, but Roombo can get stuck permanently on a lot of physics objects, among other issues I've heard such as falling out of the map, so this can present a serious annoyance.
Recommended if you want a simple, replayable game to kill 10-15 minutes with.
2004
Halo 2 is visually a quantum leap above 1, and introduces a lot of neat new mechanics, but it is ultimately the inferior package.
Dual wielding sure looks cool, but it's inconvenient to use as you need to drop your secondary weapon whenever you want to do anything with your other hand, such as throwing a grenade.
The story is....far less compelling. Things happen, it's a bit of a mess, the perspective will suddenly switch between Master Chief and the Arbiter, and it's abruptly cut off at the end.
The Arbiter was a nice attempt at a change of pace, but most of his stages (as does the entire second half) suffers from awful, messy and repetitive level design. The levels past the halfway point are utterly unfun and are nowhere near the quality of Halo 1.
All in all, it's an acceptable, but somewhat disappointing sequel and easily my least favourite of the Bungie Halos.
Dual wielding sure looks cool, but it's inconvenient to use as you need to drop your secondary weapon whenever you want to do anything with your other hand, such as throwing a grenade.
The story is....far less compelling. Things happen, it's a bit of a mess, the perspective will suddenly switch between Master Chief and the Arbiter, and it's abruptly cut off at the end.
The Arbiter was a nice attempt at a change of pace, but most of his stages (as does the entire second half) suffers from awful, messy and repetitive level design. The levels past the halfway point are utterly unfun and are nowhere near the quality of Halo 1.
All in all, it's an acceptable, but somewhat disappointing sequel and easily my least favourite of the Bungie Halos.
Lego games are...well, basically all identical with minor exceptions, so you probably know the drill. That said, Lego Star Wars TCS is the most iconic, and for good reason, being an enhanced port and compilation of Lego Star Wars and Lego Star Wars 2, combining all 6 movies into one game. With 6 levels per movie, this has a lot of value, but there are caveats.
The good first: the controls are responsive and simple, and are easy to master and utilise to locate the many (and there are many) hidden secrets all over. There are a ton of characters, but most of them handle identically to others - almost every blaster user handles the same, every Jedi handles the same, etc. As such, there's no disadvantage to using your favourite character - unless said character is the pit droid....
However, there are issues. Depth perception is very, very off in this game due to how the graphics are, it's easy to miss a jump due to this and that gets very, very frustrating. The levels are also incredibly long, and there are absolutely no checkpoints, so you HAVE to finish a level in one go.
The vehicle levels are much better than they were in the first Lego Star Wars (with the original versions included as bonuses) but they are still the most annoying elements of the game, with death impossible to avoid. Death may seem meaningless, you just respawn and lose money, but said lost money can cause you to lose out on the "True Jedi" meter, which is necessary for 100%.
Overall Lego Star Wars TCS is a fun, harmless romp throughout the main 6 Star Wars movies, but it's far from flawless.
The good first: the controls are responsive and simple, and are easy to master and utilise to locate the many (and there are many) hidden secrets all over. There are a ton of characters, but most of them handle identically to others - almost every blaster user handles the same, every Jedi handles the same, etc. As such, there's no disadvantage to using your favourite character - unless said character is the pit droid....
However, there are issues. Depth perception is very, very off in this game due to how the graphics are, it's easy to miss a jump due to this and that gets very, very frustrating. The levels are also incredibly long, and there are absolutely no checkpoints, so you HAVE to finish a level in one go.
The vehicle levels are much better than they were in the first Lego Star Wars (with the original versions included as bonuses) but they are still the most annoying elements of the game, with death impossible to avoid. Death may seem meaningless, you just respawn and lose money, but said lost money can cause you to lose out on the "True Jedi" meter, which is necessary for 100%.
Overall Lego Star Wars TCS is a fun, harmless romp throughout the main 6 Star Wars movies, but it's far from flawless.
2004
This is essentially a glorified tech demo that doubles up as a completely sadistic game that lures you in with these huge open levels and good (for the time) graphics...and then the facade is lifted, the broken stealth system is revealed for the lie that it is, and you get gunned down by a single burst of gunfire on the easiest difficulty. This game is a complete pain to get through the first half, and unbearable torture in the second. I played past the completely impossible Crowe fight with godmode on, and I don't regret it one bit, as the game design, which was actually not that bad earlier on, dives off a cliff and takes all enjoyment with it.
All for a completely pointless and inconsequential story that forgot to have any kind of climax or bookend. It just ends suddenly. Congratulations, you unlocked the right to uninstall this piece of shit and never look back. I have my grievances with Far Cry 2, but it is without a doubt a superior game.
All for a completely pointless and inconsequential story that forgot to have any kind of climax or bookend. It just ends suddenly. Congratulations, you unlocked the right to uninstall this piece of shit and never look back. I have my grievances with Far Cry 2, but it is without a doubt a superior game.
2011
Dear god....so, it's an ok game overall, to a hardcore Sonic fan, but I couldn't stand this game at all. The controls were glitchy, I clipped through more surfaces than I landed on, the collision detection is flat out broken.
2D Sonic handled like shit and his moveset was greatly nerfed to the point of uselessness - the spindash is only ever good for getting through narrow spaces, as the awful 2D level design makes it otherwise unsuable. The 3D levels are better designed, racetracky but not without alternate paths, that's good. But the controls are so bad that attempting to find these secrets will just send you down a bottomless pit 90% of the time.
Maybe this is just the result of a truly awful PC port, but I don't see what everyone else sees in this game. It's certainly not the garbage excuse for a story, or the crappy final boss. The other bosses range from solid to tedious, and the challenges are...mostly horrendous and broken. This game feels like it was made on an indie budget, which is pretty sad to see from a former powerhouse like Sonic.
2D Sonic handled like shit and his moveset was greatly nerfed to the point of uselessness - the spindash is only ever good for getting through narrow spaces, as the awful 2D level design makes it otherwise unsuable. The 3D levels are better designed, racetracky but not without alternate paths, that's good. But the controls are so bad that attempting to find these secrets will just send you down a bottomless pit 90% of the time.
Maybe this is just the result of a truly awful PC port, but I don't see what everyone else sees in this game. It's certainly not the garbage excuse for a story, or the crappy final boss. The other bosses range from solid to tedious, and the challenges are...mostly horrendous and broken. This game feels like it was made on an indie budget, which is pretty sad to see from a former powerhouse like Sonic.
1986
It's very much a product of its time. What starts off as a challenging but fair experience becomes a sheer mountain of frustration, cheap enemy attack patterns, and a requirement to spend hours on the same level just to get muscle memory down. What was acceptable back then no longer is, sadly.
Still, it's a classic platformer; the graphics are acceptable for early NES, and the music kicks ass now and forever. But I wouldn't have come close to beating it without rampant save state abuse...
Still, it's a classic platformer; the graphics are acceptable for early NES, and the music kicks ass now and forever. But I wouldn't have come close to beating it without rampant save state abuse...
Promising 3D platformer, but the level design sadly lets the whole thing down. The second half of the game is a glitchy broken mess where the controls and level design constantly clash leading to unavoidable and unfair deaths.
2006
Horrible 3D arena brawler with clunky controls and zero balancing. Clock Up is a feature that slows down time for everyone not in Clock Up, and lets the user go to town with a crazy instant kill combo, or an insanely overpowered super attack if they want to. The campaign is horrible and unfair, and getting hit once leads to an unavoidable death combo. The controls are unresponsive and unintuitive, and 90% of content is locked behind a 2 player mode. Good luck finding anyone willing to play this shit with you.
2005
In a shocking twist, Digifloyd finally makes a Kamen Rider game that's actually kinda good! While it still lacks overall on content and replay value, it's competently made - for the most part, and vitally feels like the actual freaking show.
Gameplay has seen a total overhaul, all 4 face buttons now do something (as opposed to Blade's 2). Square blocks, circle is the standard attack, cross is medium and triangle is heavy, and these can be comboed into each other in various fashions. Jumping is actually responsive, though for some reason there's also a double jump for added mobility. I'm not sure this was needed, as aerial attacks aren't nearly as useful as in Agito, but it's fun.
Super attacks are completely removed, thank god. Instead a Rider at half or less health can call upon their disc animals for an assist attack - I found these easy to avoid. With larger health bars and no supers, fights can last quite a while, elongated a little by the amount of attacks that cause stunning/knockdown. This could've probably been toned down a bit...
The crucial flaw, though, is that you don't automatically face your opponent - you can turn in the wrong direction, a mistake even the AI repeatedly makes. The reasoning is that, like in the show, most monsters fight in a team of 2, and thus can surround the player. Fortunately the moveset is designed for both single opponents and duos, so you simply have to adapt.
Story mode is present, and it's...kinda weird. You fight as 3 different riders, then Hibiki reaching his Crimson Form, then it's over. After beating a team of 2 monsters, your Rider fights a giant boss monster. These are a pain to bring down, as they're just bullet sponges your attacks weren't designed for fighting. Once their health is critical, your Rider gets their instrumental weapon out and just like in the show, plays a tune to destroy them. And yes....they actually added a rhythm minigame to finish them off.
The weird part, though, comes from replaying the story mode (necessary to unlock certain characters). When you replay it, the Riders you control will change, and I'm not sure if there's a reason or pattern, or what. Furthermore, every playthough after your 1st adds a new final stage where Hibiki reaches his Armed Form against powered up enemies.
All in all, best Rider game since Agito, which is a better fighting game, but Hibiki has more in common with the source material. Graphics are great for the time, and the music evokes the show's feel. Recommended for a try, especially to fans, but it's not particularly deep.
Gameplay has seen a total overhaul, all 4 face buttons now do something (as opposed to Blade's 2). Square blocks, circle is the standard attack, cross is medium and triangle is heavy, and these can be comboed into each other in various fashions. Jumping is actually responsive, though for some reason there's also a double jump for added mobility. I'm not sure this was needed, as aerial attacks aren't nearly as useful as in Agito, but it's fun.
Super attacks are completely removed, thank god. Instead a Rider at half or less health can call upon their disc animals for an assist attack - I found these easy to avoid. With larger health bars and no supers, fights can last quite a while, elongated a little by the amount of attacks that cause stunning/knockdown. This could've probably been toned down a bit...
The crucial flaw, though, is that you don't automatically face your opponent - you can turn in the wrong direction, a mistake even the AI repeatedly makes. The reasoning is that, like in the show, most monsters fight in a team of 2, and thus can surround the player. Fortunately the moveset is designed for both single opponents and duos, so you simply have to adapt.
Story mode is present, and it's...kinda weird. You fight as 3 different riders, then Hibiki reaching his Crimson Form, then it's over. After beating a team of 2 monsters, your Rider fights a giant boss monster. These are a pain to bring down, as they're just bullet sponges your attacks weren't designed for fighting. Once their health is critical, your Rider gets their instrumental weapon out and just like in the show, plays a tune to destroy them. And yes....they actually added a rhythm minigame to finish them off.
The weird part, though, comes from replaying the story mode (necessary to unlock certain characters). When you replay it, the Riders you control will change, and I'm not sure if there's a reason or pattern, or what. Furthermore, every playthough after your 1st adds a new final stage where Hibiki reaches his Armed Form against powered up enemies.
All in all, best Rider game since Agito, which is a better fighting game, but Hibiki has more in common with the source material. Graphics are great for the time, and the music evokes the show's feel. Recommended for a try, especially to fans, but it's not particularly deep.
2004
Digifloyd improved a lot with this game compared to Faiz, but it still lacks massively for a fighting game.
Graphics are significantly better, with some really great character models on display here. There are quite a number of characters to choose from compared to Faiz, but once again forms are for super attacks and as separate characters, not in-game transformations.
The battle system though....yikes. The AI is more aggressive again like in Ryuki, though also less block-happy as they were in that. However, fighting feels overly simplified to the point of PARODY. There are two functional face buttons total in fights: punch combo, and special moves....unless your character HAS no special moves, in which case it's reserved just for super attacks and otherwise leaves you with ONE BUTTON. It's absolutely ridiculous, where's the grappling, or a different kind of attack, like a light/heavy system? That's standard for fighting games, and Faiz had it, so what gives?
Super attacks have been reworked and are far better. Animations are shorter and snappier, and they can't be spammed like crazy like in Faiz (nor does using a weapon take away from your meter). Fights are much faster as a result and feel generally enjoyable, but the lack of usuable buttons makes this totally inappropriate for competitive play, and makes it get repetitive even more than normal.
Not that repetitiveness will be much of an issue....story mode makes a welcome return and has 4 short campaigns, one for each Rider. After doing all 4...you've unlocked all but 2 of the characters, and if you use google it won't take you long to unlock the remaining ones at all.
Card collecting returns in the form of a stupid "guess the character" minigame that you need to grind arcade mode to play, and it's totally unnecessary unless you want to unlock the final character, who you can get with a cheat code anyway. It's a useless joke character, so don't get excited.
Blade is the best Kamen Rider game since Agito, but that's not saying much and it's still a far cry from being a good game.
Graphics are significantly better, with some really great character models on display here. There are quite a number of characters to choose from compared to Faiz, but once again forms are for super attacks and as separate characters, not in-game transformations.
The battle system though....yikes. The AI is more aggressive again like in Ryuki, though also less block-happy as they were in that. However, fighting feels overly simplified to the point of PARODY. There are two functional face buttons total in fights: punch combo, and special moves....unless your character HAS no special moves, in which case it's reserved just for super attacks and otherwise leaves you with ONE BUTTON. It's absolutely ridiculous, where's the grappling, or a different kind of attack, like a light/heavy system? That's standard for fighting games, and Faiz had it, so what gives?
Super attacks have been reworked and are far better. Animations are shorter and snappier, and they can't be spammed like crazy like in Faiz (nor does using a weapon take away from your meter). Fights are much faster as a result and feel generally enjoyable, but the lack of usuable buttons makes this totally inappropriate for competitive play, and makes it get repetitive even more than normal.
Not that repetitiveness will be much of an issue....story mode makes a welcome return and has 4 short campaigns, one for each Rider. After doing all 4...you've unlocked all but 2 of the characters, and if you use google it won't take you long to unlock the remaining ones at all.
Card collecting returns in the form of a stupid "guess the character" minigame that you need to grind arcade mode to play, and it's totally unnecessary unless you want to unlock the final character, who you can get with a cheat code anyway. It's a useless joke character, so don't get excited.
Blade is the best Kamen Rider game since Agito, but that's not saying much and it's still a far cry from being a good game.
2003
Somehow, Digifloyd actually got WORSE from the jump to PS2. While the game controls much better than Ryuki, gameplay is now totally unsalvagable. Health bars are so small that fights don't take long, but the vast majority is filled by attack animations that take way too long.
Seriously, it takes over 5 entire seconds for a character to DRAW A SWORD. And the super attack animations are agonisingly long just to build up to a button mash contest. If the opponent button mashes more than you, they DODGE THE ATTACK AND TAKE NO DAMAGE.
The music is generic, but OK. It has a couple of vocal tracks from the show...including one that ALWAYS PLAYS INDEFINITELY whenever you have your super ready, which takes no less than 10 seconds of combos. Enjoy hearing that song on loop for ages!
Also, no story mode whatsoever, guess the devs gave up. Card collecting is back, and done by a horrendous slot machine that only gives you PIECES of the cards, which are (mostly) the only way to unlock characters. You also have to beat Arcade Mode with Faiz SIX TIMES to unlock his final form.
This game is awful all round, especially the janky animations and lazy visuals. Don't play, even if you like the show.
Seriously, it takes over 5 entire seconds for a character to DRAW A SWORD. And the super attack animations are agonisingly long just to build up to a button mash contest. If the opponent button mashes more than you, they DODGE THE ATTACK AND TAKE NO DAMAGE.
The music is generic, but OK. It has a couple of vocal tracks from the show...including one that ALWAYS PLAYS INDEFINITELY whenever you have your super ready, which takes no less than 10 seconds of combos. Enjoy hearing that song on loop for ages!
Also, no story mode whatsoever, guess the devs gave up. Card collecting is back, and done by a horrendous slot machine that only gives you PIECES of the cards, which are (mostly) the only way to unlock characters. You also have to beat Arcade Mode with Faiz SIX TIMES to unlock his final form.
This game is awful all round, especially the janky animations and lazy visuals. Don't play, even if you like the show.
2002
Probably one of the worst fighting games of all time, fundamentally broken, uglier than previous entries, lacking content and just plays like utter garbage. Avoid, even if you're a fan of the show.
2001
An improvement on it's predecessor and feels like a half-decent fighting game, but the story remains incredibly short, the animations repetitive and the continued locking of the roster behind card collecting, while improved, remains infuriating.
For fans of the show or fans of super-obscure old fighting games only.
For fans of the show or fans of super-obscure old fighting games only.
2001
A fighting game with completely vacant AI, an incredibly low amount of content, characters locked behind a gacha system of sorts and generally poor production values all around. For superfans of the TV series only.