NerdNik
Story: The main story is decent and introduces a bunch of interesting characters. Side quests can be hit or miss but there are some interesting ones.
Gameplay: Quite fun and unique melee gameplay. Its really fun to fight 1v1. Group battles are rare so they feel cool and special but the gameplay of them is quite boring. I was playing on normal and not sure you can lose any of them. You just spam attacks while the enemy targets someone else.
Aside from the combat i really liked the World Simulation and the fact that you can solve most quests quite creatively. Sometimes this works against the game if you missed something and have no real way to catch up on what you are supposed to do.
Graphics: Really good! Not sure what to say here. Especially outside of combat this game looks fantastic. During combat/movement it can get kind of buggy and ruin the immersion.
DLC: More of the same. They really don't add a lot. Worth it in a bundle but don't buy them alone. Also some feel kind of unfinished. The one where you build a town just ends with the characters talking about some form of expansion that just never happens.
Completion: Main Story on Normal with quite a lot of side quests completed.
Gameplay: Quite fun and unique melee gameplay. Its really fun to fight 1v1. Group battles are rare so they feel cool and special but the gameplay of them is quite boring. I was playing on normal and not sure you can lose any of them. You just spam attacks while the enemy targets someone else.
Aside from the combat i really liked the World Simulation and the fact that you can solve most quests quite creatively. Sometimes this works against the game if you missed something and have no real way to catch up on what you are supposed to do.
Graphics: Really good! Not sure what to say here. Especially outside of combat this game looks fantastic. During combat/movement it can get kind of buggy and ruin the immersion.
DLC: More of the same. They really don't add a lot. Worth it in a bundle but don't buy them alone. Also some feel kind of unfinished. The one where you build a town just ends with the characters talking about some form of expansion that just never happens.
Completion: Main Story on Normal with quite a lot of side quests completed.
2005
Warning: I played this a ton when i was young. I used to cheat as a kid and had a ton of fun. So this review is 100% biased. But i do think this game laid the foundation for my love of strategy games.
Gameplay: Where to start. First of all there is a Campaign where you move your units around in real time. If you fight an enemy you can go into a rts battle like in the total war series. I never do that. Due to missing unit variety there are VERY few fights were you dont stop the enemy or get stomped. So this review is 99% about the grand strategy part of the game.
The balancing is quite bad. Very few units and you get all the buildings you want quite fast. Lots of mechanics are way to strong and abusable. (I don't think you can lose in fortified camps. And you can just move in the way of the ai and set up camp) So why the good review? Because i just enjoy this game. A campaign can be quite quick for a game of this type. After about 5 hours i was in a state where taking over the rest of the world was quite easy. (using the speedup else you are going to have to wait quite a lot)
Graphics and Sound: I am convinced its not only nostalgia but the music and the 2d art aged really well. The Narrator telling you a nation declared war against you while the epic music starts blasting is just amazing. Especially during the early game when things are still hectic.
Completion: Conquered half of Europe with Granada and lots of playthroughs when i was a child/early teen
Summary: This is a game that is greater than its parts. This is especially true for the mechanics. But when it all comes together its just amazing. If you are only playing the Grand Strategy part it basically becomes a Europa Universalis light!
Gameplay: Where to start. First of all there is a Campaign where you move your units around in real time. If you fight an enemy you can go into a rts battle like in the total war series. I never do that. Due to missing unit variety there are VERY few fights were you dont stop the enemy or get stomped. So this review is 99% about the grand strategy part of the game.
The balancing is quite bad. Very few units and you get all the buildings you want quite fast. Lots of mechanics are way to strong and abusable. (I don't think you can lose in fortified camps. And you can just move in the way of the ai and set up camp) So why the good review? Because i just enjoy this game. A campaign can be quite quick for a game of this type. After about 5 hours i was in a state where taking over the rest of the world was quite easy. (using the speedup else you are going to have to wait quite a lot)
Graphics and Sound: I am convinced its not only nostalgia but the music and the 2d art aged really well. The Narrator telling you a nation declared war against you while the epic music starts blasting is just amazing. Especially during the early game when things are still hectic.
Completion: Conquered half of Europe with Granada and lots of playthroughs when i was a child/early teen
Summary: This is a game that is greater than its parts. This is especially true for the mechanics. But when it all comes together its just amazing. If you are only playing the Grand Strategy part it basically becomes a Europa Universalis light!
2023
Gameplay: Quite fun city builder. The gameplay loop is engaging and parking is a somewhat new thing to think about. The simulation is quite good and realistic. Stuff like people taking shortcuts over parking lots is super fun.
Gets held back by some things that dont make sense. Like earning money despite the game telling me im in a deficit and other minor things like that. Sadly there are so many things like that they add up. I suspect with patches this is going to get better but for now it stands.
Graphics: Could look good but i had to turn it way down to be playable. Got visual bugs and bad performance anyway. Some of the detail is nice. My biggest gripe is buildings still beeing rectangle. So building anything that looks like its in the eu takes WAY to much work
Completion: Unlocked everything in one city
Gets held back by some things that dont make sense. Like earning money despite the game telling me im in a deficit and other minor things like that. Sadly there are so many things like that they add up. I suspect with patches this is going to get better but for now it stands.
Graphics: Could look good but i had to turn it way down to be playable. Got visual bugs and bad performance anyway. Some of the detail is nice. My biggest gripe is buildings still beeing rectangle. So building anything that looks like its in the eu takes WAY to much work
Completion: Unlocked everything in one city
Story: The usual. Does not get in the way.
Gameplay: Most of the game is simple but fun. Very few ideas get repeated often and you always have to stay on your toes. The few hard levels are quite fun but there could be more for my taste. The hardest few levels where quite fun.
The only thing i disliked were the search levels. Looking for a hidden block somewhere is just not fun to me.
Graphics: SO MUCH CHARACTER! The amount of unique enemies and animations are insane. The old "new super mario bros" games dont stand a chance in comparison. On TOP of that every level has some fun twist that looks superb.
Completion: 100%
Gameplay: Most of the game is simple but fun. Very few ideas get repeated often and you always have to stay on your toes. The few hard levels are quite fun but there could be more for my taste. The hardest few levels where quite fun.
The only thing i disliked were the search levels. Looking for a hidden block somewhere is just not fun to me.
Graphics: SO MUCH CHARACTER! The amount of unique enemies and animations are insane. The old "new super mario bros" games dont stand a chance in comparison. On TOP of that every level has some fun twist that looks superb.
Completion: 100%
2019
This review contains spoilers
Gameplay: An amazing Roguelike Deckbuilder that basicly created the genre. Took me way to long to play it for more than an hour.
Every Class is super unique and has quite a few possible builds. Fights are interesting and its rare that the best solution is obvious. My only complain with the gameplay side might be the lack of varity. You do get to know each fight quit quickly.
Story: Does not matter to me / does not get in the way
Graphics: The style originaly turned me of the game. But it does grow on you. Stuff is easy to read what is most important anyway.
Completion: Beat the Heart and finished a few more runs for fun. Might come back for ascencion 20 but the first few changed do not seem to interesting.
Every Class is super unique and has quite a few possible builds. Fights are interesting and its rare that the best solution is obvious. My only complain with the gameplay side might be the lack of varity. You do get to know each fight quit quickly.
Story: Does not matter to me / does not get in the way
Graphics: The style originaly turned me of the game. But it does grow on you. Stuff is easy to read what is most important anyway.
Completion: Beat the Heart and finished a few more runs for fun. Might come back for ascencion 20 but the first few changed do not seem to interesting.
Story: Another neat little story in the same vein of the main game and the first DLC
Gameplay: Just more of the same. Like the last DLC one Level feels more like a summary of the overall plot instead of a puzzle. Overall i found it a little less interesting than the first dlc. But still a unique experience you can not find anywhere else!
Gameplay: Just more of the same. Like the last DLC one Level feels more like a summary of the overall plot instead of a puzzle. Overall i found it a little less interesting than the first dlc. But still a unique experience you can not find anywhere else!
Story: Could be worse. There are some funny parts but they are mostly one liners here and there. I did not get to annoyed because the story does not take itself to serious but i would not call it a positive for the game.
Gameplay: If you played Borderlands 3 this is almost the same with some slight changes. The Gunplay is great and there is a very decent variety of weapons. I actually was surprised how unique some of them were. This is definitely the best part of the game. If you just want to shoot stuff and relax this could be your game.
I did not like the itemization. Not sure if it was my character but i rarely found loot that was better than my current gear. And if i did it was WAY better. In a way that did not feel intentional. I killed the endboss with a spell i found at level 16. So spell drops become irrelevant for half of the game. But i am not sure how "normal" that is.
There is a roguelike mode at the end but my build was kind of "done" and i did not see anything interesting i wanted to try.
Graphics: Looks good. The areas are quite diverse and some of the more creative zones look quite cool.
Completion: Intense mode full story campaign with some Sidequest. My final level was 28
Gameplay: If you played Borderlands 3 this is almost the same with some slight changes. The Gunplay is great and there is a very decent variety of weapons. I actually was surprised how unique some of them were. This is definitely the best part of the game. If you just want to shoot stuff and relax this could be your game.
I did not like the itemization. Not sure if it was my character but i rarely found loot that was better than my current gear. And if i did it was WAY better. In a way that did not feel intentional. I killed the endboss with a spell i found at level 16. So spell drops become irrelevant for half of the game. But i am not sure how "normal" that is.
There is a roguelike mode at the end but my build was kind of "done" and i did not see anything interesting i wanted to try.
Graphics: Looks good. The areas are quite diverse and some of the more creative zones look quite cool.
Completion: Intense mode full story campaign with some Sidequest. My final level was 28
1985
Gameplay: Once you get used to the physics it becomes quite fun. The fact you have to restart if you lose would be a lot more fun if some of the later levels would not involve random exploration that can take forever to finish without looking stuff up.
The way hidden exits are used to skip levels could be fun if there were hints later on to find them. Overall can be quite fun if you look up the solution if you get stuck for to long. Or shortcuts to get back quicker.
Completion: Full game. Most levels atleast once
The way hidden exits are used to skip levels could be fun if there were hints later on to find them. Overall can be quite fun if you look up the solution if you get stuck for to long. Or shortcuts to get back quicker.
Completion: Full game. Most levels atleast once
2016
Story: The main story is fun aside from some filler. Most sidequests are not super interesting but short enough to enjoy most of them. From time to time you find some good ones or comedic ones that work well.
Gameplay: The difficulty curve was quite bad in my opinion. Maybe that was me or the difficulty hard. At the start the game was almost to hard. Especially bosses if you don't stock up on consumables. After the first third most normal fights became a cakewalk and i had to stop myself from running around with 20 health potions so i would have infinite life. Fighting the bosses without items can be fun but there lackluster moveset is quite easy to learn. Despite all this the Animations and the powerfantasy make combat feel nice and satisfying.
The variaty of minigames is quite fun. But there could be more reasons to actually play them. Money and items become irrelevant quite quick.
Completion: Hard mode full story 90% of sidequests and 50% collection
Gameplay: The difficulty curve was quite bad in my opinion. Maybe that was me or the difficulty hard. At the start the game was almost to hard. Especially bosses if you don't stock up on consumables. After the first third most normal fights became a cakewalk and i had to stop myself from running around with 20 health potions so i would have infinite life. Fighting the bosses without items can be fun but there lackluster moveset is quite easy to learn. Despite all this the Animations and the powerfantasy make combat feel nice and satisfying.
The variaty of minigames is quite fun. But there could be more reasons to actually play them. Money and items become irrelevant quite quick.
Completion: Hard mode full story 90% of sidequests and 50% collection
2022
Addicting little game. Lots of combinations and characters to unlock and beat the game with!
Completion: Finished a run on the hardest difficulty (5)
Completion: Finished a run on the hardest difficulty (5)