90

Don't understand all the hate this series has recently been getting on this site. It all just mostly feels like really sensitive people missing the point and getting butt hurt over nothing. I saw a review here saying the first game is xenophobic, despite the game very obviously making fun of it. I even sometimes see posts of people thinking the game is on Nicole's side. It isn't, with multiple routes here either having her being criticized for being a garbage person or her facing serious repercussions for her actions, sometimes both happen in a single route. The game does has a very dark and cynical sense of humor, and if those kind of jokes don't tickle your funny bone that's fine. However, it does not support shitty people or ideas. It's just portraying certain people within a certain time period in an exaggerated fashion. In my opinion, both games are incredibly funny and handle their subject matter well.

Anyways, this one is much better than the original. It's just as funny, while also managing to make the characters and story routes even more interesting and complex.

People really need to stop acting like the humor/pop culture references are a huge stain on this game. They’re not that bad, and the game still does a mostly good job with keeping the bleak atmosphere of the original.

Anyways this game is awesome! It marginally improves on the side quests, and the main story shines on its own merits. I love the mysterious nature of The Enclave with how you see enough bits and pieces for them to be intimidating without ever making them lose their mystery. Making finally discovering who they really are that much better. Frank Horrigan and his death animation are awesome too!

Still remains one of the best first person shooters of all time even after all these years. While it definitely has a couple rough spots like certain levels being a bit too long and repetitive, this game still does things I wish more action games would do. One of the things I especially appreciated was how enemies were handled in this game. Of course, things like their smart behavior that keeps you on your toes and their color coating allowing them to pop out of their environments are all great, but what I enjoy most is how each of them have their own weaknesses.

For example, infection flood are best dealt with using the assault rifle, while the much larger flood are much easier to deal with using the shotgun. This feature adds a level of strategy to dealing with enemies that makes combat a lot more fun and engaging and I wish a lot more people would touch on this feature as I believe this to be one of the best parts of the original Halo.

One of the strongest first half's in a video game ever. Seriously! It had every single thing I want in a wRPG. Creative Premise? Check! Wonderfully intriguing characters? Double check! A plethora of side quests that serve as interesting and engaging short stories? Yup! Everything about this game entranced me, and while I wasn't a huge fan of the combat and main story missions. They were broken up by the things mentioned above.

Sadly some sick, degenerate executive at Activision decided to sabotage the second half by rushing the game causing the second half to become this terrible blend of long, boring dungeons and terrible combat only made worse by the bullet spongy enemies. There was almost no fun to be had at these sections that by the time I made it to the second to last boss I just turned on God Mode and finished the game.

Which is a shame as I would have given it a five star rating if it kept the same quality as the first half.

Sigh Screw you Activision.

88

I really dislike visual novels. Their basic mechanics and cliches aren't my thing at all, and the ones I have played all display awful pacing that bore me to death. However, Class of '09 is one of the rare visual novels where I don't just play it to the end, but actually try to find all the endings.

Yeah, its rough around the edges, the garbage Renpy models and backgrounds hurt to look at as someone who places a large focus on a game's presentation. The thing is the writing and voice acting is at peak form, so I can't help but tell my brain to shut up every time my mind starts to dwell on the game's look. I can go from hysterically laughing towards the insane satire to feeling genuinely a little moved by some of social and political commentary the game provides. I'm not saying that the game is necessarily deep or complex, but when the game decides to be emotional those rare moments are written with enough genuineness that they don't feel forced or manipulative. The game is also not long at all with me taking only about half an hour to get my first ending, and three hours to get all of them, so if you end up hating the game at least you won't have to spend that much time with it.

Only two major issues I have in mind for this game is wishing that the legions were more balanced. For example, Malice ends up feeling like a must have throughout the entire game, while Hatred felt useless and boring to play with throughout the entire game. Second is that the game for some reason decides not to tell you the button inputs for certain moves, which is just stupid and doesn't add anything valuable to the game's difficulty. Other than that this is an underrated gem that I'm glad to have been recommended.

Gorgeous gothic, emo atheistic combined with an awesome goth, heavy metal soundtrack. The combat system is also just really fun and engaging, despite my one glaring issue with it. Having to experiment with different legions in order to find a combination that will demolish the level is such an addicting gameplay loop. Only made more addicting by how much the game punishes you for making bad decisions in how you approach a level.

This game whooped my bum when I was younger, so wiping the floor with this game now gave me a lot of sadistic satisfaction.

Still an incredibly fun ride from start to finish, aside from a few stupid design choices (Who thought Boobeam was a good idea!). The levels are simple, yet extremely well constructed and gorgeous to look at. This game honestly has no right looking as nice as it does. It also has no right having as banger of a soundtrack as it does.

P.S. The fact that I was able to beat the first game when I was younger. Even beating Yellow Devil without the glitch, yet wasn’t able to beat this one before kinda confuses me to this day.

One of the best sequels ever made. Perfectly expands the world with new lore, and the characters have never been better. Most likely due to the increased banter between party members, but the side characters, especially Irenicus, are all incredibly written as well.

Quests are also incredibly engaging. These small scale stories are so much fun to go through. Mainline story is no slouch as well. The plot never wastes your time with unnecessary moments, and the drive to best Jon Irenicus motivates you to push through no matter how unfair the combat might get. Not to insult the combat. It just sometimes makes you want to throw your computer out a window.

Don't really know how to close off this review, so i'll just say good night everybody!

Missing so much of what makes a good Fallout game. RPG elements dumbed down to merely a skeleton of its former self. No satisfaction in leveling up, no need to put thought into what skills to pick, and worst of all no sense of diversity to each playthrough. You have one save file? That's all you're ever gonna need baybeeeeee!

Doesn't help that most side quests are basically get this, or kill that, or worst of all build this shudders. Without any sort of interesting story to back it up, by the time you reach a certain level, you'll just decide to rush to the end of the story because you've seen basically all the game has to offer by then.

Is there any fun to be had at all then? Absolutely! The gunplay is actually quite satisfying and fun. And there are multiple quality of life improvements that make it a bit hard to go back to earlier entries. The atmosphere is also still on point even if I prefer the more desolate feel of the other games. That's about it though.

I could get into the story, but I'd rather just sum it up as: neat set pieces, barely any depth.