Queso_Gatame
The most lavishly detailed open world I've experienced. It has excellent characters and, while the main story of the game is poorly paced, there are some really exceptional beats and vignettes. Suffers somewhat from the fact that the wide range of tasks it wants you to perform during missions aren't well handled by the old GTA-style mechanics/control scheme.
2015
This review contains spoilers
I wish more open world games would follow Yakuza in giving the player a smaller, more densely packed world to explore. Fighting mechanics are fun but become very repetitive. The story, while mostly compelling, is probably more convoluted than it needs to be and suffers a bit from soap-opera "no one's ever really dead" syndrome.
2017
The setting and characters are charming, and the story is certainly worth telling. Unfortunately, the interactive elements of the game are so sparse, boring, and disconnected from the (very good!) story elements that I actually think this would have been better as a movie or comic book.
2012
A really fun blend of life/relationship simulator with dungeon-crawling JRPG. My main problem is that the dungeons themselves are really bland.
2013
A short, but very rewarding, meditation on video games and the relationship between developers and players.
2017
I honestly don't get the hype. The game is certainly well-crafted and a lot of fun to play. But there's nothing revolutionary about it, and if anything the hat-throwing gimmick is less interesting than those found in other 3D Mario games like Sunshine.
2007
I've logged more hours in this game than in any other. It's easy to get into, but has a high skill ceiling and endless charm.
2021
Classic Metroid is back and about as good as it's ever been. I only have two real complaints:
First, the scale and production value feel a bit lacking for a $60 game. But that's more of a problem with Nintendo than with the game itself.
Second, the game didn't give me the same sense of isolation or (drum roll) dread that some other entries in the series have. Dread's invincible EMMI robots aren't as menacing as Fusion's SA-X, and the environments lack Prime's feeling of lonely expanse.
First, the scale and production value feel a bit lacking for a $60 game. But that's more of a problem with Nintendo than with the game itself.
Second, the game didn't give me the same sense of isolation or (drum roll) dread that some other entries in the series have. Dread's invincible EMMI robots aren't as menacing as Fusion's SA-X, and the environments lack Prime's feeling of lonely expanse.
2017
Old-school side-scrolling shooter with a unique aesthetic and an emphasis on boss battles rather than full levels. Highly recommend.
2020
Once you get past the infamous performance issues, you're left with a decent action-RPG with some very interesting characters and storylines but a very underdeveloped open world. Definitely a letdown after Witcher 3, but by no means a bad game in the scheme of things.
2021
You know the deal. EA's yearly phoned-in Madden game.
I'm actually glad I played it, though, because it's now my benchmark for a perfectly mediocre game. It basically does everything it sets out to do, but in the most uninspired way possible with almost no real creativity or innovation and with nothing standing out as particularly well done.
I'm actually glad I played it, though, because it's now my benchmark for a perfectly mediocre game. It basically does everything it sets out to do, but in the most uninspired way possible with almost no real creativity or innovation and with nothing standing out as particularly well done.
Loses half a star just for how irritating Aloy is.
2022
The core combat gameplay is okay and Bayo herself is charming. Everything else kinda sucks.
2022
It's really quite impressive that such a simple game held my attention for as long as it did. It's my favorite mobile game since the Pokemon Go craze of 2016.