SirTrousers
2001
78
Hard for me to dislike a game that is essentially Resident Evil with samurais. The overly simplistic story and mediocre voice acting don’t charm me like they do in Resident Evil, but when I am able to slice and shoot through horrific demons with elemental swords and late 1500s weaponry, does all that really matter?
Hard for me to dislike a game that is essentially Resident Evil with samurais. The overly simplistic story and mediocre voice acting don’t charm me like they do in Resident Evil, but when I am able to slice and shoot through horrific demons with elemental swords and late 1500s weaponry, does all that really matter?
70
I had my fun with this one! The exploration of Hyrule, finding shrines, upgrading Link, and that overall sense of adventure and discovery is just as good as people say it is up to a certain point for me. After a while, the overall structure starts to fall flat for me with the find a shrine for spirit orbs then go to the statue to upgrade once you have enough. The sense of discovery that I felt during the early portions starts to lose itself on me the more I go on, and some of my biggest problems with the game starts to shine.
Most of the problems can be contained into the fact that many of the gameplay aspects here are done much better in previous games, and some of the changes Breath of the Wild makes on the Zelda Formula don't appeal to me. The dungeons and boss battles are one of my biggest problems with the game. The dungeons themselves feel formulaic and basic even without comparing them to the previous games. Not that the previous games didn't follow a dungeon formula, but they did a far better job making each one feel fresh despite following one. Here, that isn't the case, and the same can be said for the bosses. There are about a handful of fine bosses, and a lot of reskins of those bosses making for a very boring roster. The only boss I would call "Good" is Ganon, and even he suffers from a second phase that is way too easy.
Many of the changes that Breath of the Wild makes on the Zelda formula do actually work for me. The open world feels justified as that sense of exploration, discovery, and experimentation is felt when playing around in this fully realized environment. The focus on shrines is more hit and miss for me, but I think it was a needed change to support the open world, and the game never forced me to start grinding shrines once I started to get tired of them. However, I do think that the change from finding heart containers to a full fledged upgrade system doesn't appeal to me. It feels much lamer and generic compared to heart containers which encouraged exploring the much smaller worlds of previous Zelda games. Second, I personally find the weapon degradation to be more of a bad thing than good. I understand that it functions as a way to support the survival and item management mechanics of the game, but it makes one of the most fun parts of the game for me which is exploring the world to find cool weapons feel useless to do. I think with a good weapon repair system this could have been fixed, but unfortunately it doesn't exist in the game.
I do complain a lot here, but I do genuinely enjoy the game. Dungeons, bosses, shrines, upgrades, and weapon degradation I find to be mediocre, but those systems working in unison with other gameplay mechanics that I do actually enjoy helps makes those problems much easier to bear. I also spent about 45 hours playing this game, so if I hated it I don't think I would have poured that much time into it.
I had my fun with this one! The exploration of Hyrule, finding shrines, upgrading Link, and that overall sense of adventure and discovery is just as good as people say it is up to a certain point for me. After a while, the overall structure starts to fall flat for me with the find a shrine for spirit orbs then go to the statue to upgrade once you have enough. The sense of discovery that I felt during the early portions starts to lose itself on me the more I go on, and some of my biggest problems with the game starts to shine.
Most of the problems can be contained into the fact that many of the gameplay aspects here are done much better in previous games, and some of the changes Breath of the Wild makes on the Zelda Formula don't appeal to me. The dungeons and boss battles are one of my biggest problems with the game. The dungeons themselves feel formulaic and basic even without comparing them to the previous games. Not that the previous games didn't follow a dungeon formula, but they did a far better job making each one feel fresh despite following one. Here, that isn't the case, and the same can be said for the bosses. There are about a handful of fine bosses, and a lot of reskins of those bosses making for a very boring roster. The only boss I would call "Good" is Ganon, and even he suffers from a second phase that is way too easy.
Many of the changes that Breath of the Wild makes on the Zelda formula do actually work for me. The open world feels justified as that sense of exploration, discovery, and experimentation is felt when playing around in this fully realized environment. The focus on shrines is more hit and miss for me, but I think it was a needed change to support the open world, and the game never forced me to start grinding shrines once I started to get tired of them. However, I do think that the change from finding heart containers to a full fledged upgrade system doesn't appeal to me. It feels much lamer and generic compared to heart containers which encouraged exploring the much smaller worlds of previous Zelda games. Second, I personally find the weapon degradation to be more of a bad thing than good. I understand that it functions as a way to support the survival and item management mechanics of the game, but it makes one of the most fun parts of the game for me which is exploring the world to find cool weapons feel useless to do. I think with a good weapon repair system this could have been fixed, but unfortunately it doesn't exist in the game.
I do complain a lot here, but I do genuinely enjoy the game. Dungeons, bosses, shrines, upgrades, and weapon degradation I find to be mediocre, but those systems working in unison with other gameplay mechanics that I do actually enjoy helps makes those problems much easier to bear. I also spent about 45 hours playing this game, so if I hated it I don't think I would have poured that much time into it.
2016
Feels a lot more restrictive in terms of builds compared to the other two games in the series and has the most forgettable locations in the entire series, but the tradeoff is is that we get some of the best combat and bosses in the series.
P.S. My heart was racing during the final moments of my battle with Soul of Cinder.
P.S. My heart was racing during the final moments of my battle with Soul of Cinder.
2002
Screw Simpsons Hit and Run, this is the game that is in desperate need of a remake.
A mixture of fast paced swordsmanship and a uniquely enjoyable combo system makes for a pretty fun combat system, but janky elements like repetitive level design, wonky hitboxes, janky platforming, and an unfair final boss keeps me from enjoying this game. Like I said before this game needs a remake in order to truly live up to its potential.
A mixture of fast paced swordsmanship and a uniquely enjoyable combo system makes for a pretty fun combat system, but janky elements like repetitive level design, wonky hitboxes, janky platforming, and an unfair final boss keeps me from enjoying this game. Like I said before this game needs a remake in order to truly live up to its potential.
The original Max Payne is one of my all time favorite action games. The dirty and sleazy in game graphics coupled with the gorgeous comic book panel cutscenes creates this incredible atmosphere that helps you look over the fact that Max Payne looks like a depressed Biff Tannen. Add in some of the best gunplay in a video game, and you've got a recipe for solid gold.
Now after hearing my mini rant about how good the original is believe me when I say that Max Payne 2 is better than the original in almost every way. The game first off looks so much better with some really impressive character model work that has aged really well. There aren't that many improvements done to the gunplay, but the simple introduction of rag doll effects makes combat much more satisfying. The real standout, however, has to be the tightly written story that perfectly builds off of the original in interesting ways, and never outstays its welcome with it being a perfect six hour experience.
Now after hearing my mini rant about how good the original is believe me when I say that Max Payne 2 is better than the original in almost every way. The game first off looks so much better with some really impressive character model work that has aged really well. There aren't that many improvements done to the gunplay, but the simple introduction of rag doll effects makes combat much more satisfying. The real standout, however, has to be the tightly written story that perfectly builds off of the original in interesting ways, and never outstays its welcome with it being a perfect six hour experience.
65
Big improvement over the original game. Demon fusion and storyline are fun to go through, but things fall off during the second half when you start to realize the bosses are easy as long as you use stat spells and the need to experiment with the demon fusion system starts to become rare.
Big improvement over the original game. Demon fusion and storyline are fun to go through, but things fall off during the second half when you start to realize the bosses are easy as long as you use stat spells and the need to experiment with the demon fusion system starts to become rare.
55
Solid dungeon crawler with a barebones, yet fun demon system along with surprisingly solid art design and atmosphere.
Second half unfortunately drops the ball with boring navigational puzzles and once fun gameplay systems losing their magic due to a lack of interesting progression.
Some of the late game design choices are so hateful towards the player that I can kinda respect it.
Solid dungeon crawler with a barebones, yet fun demon system along with surprisingly solid art design and atmosphere.
Second half unfortunately drops the ball with boring navigational puzzles and once fun gameplay systems losing their magic due to a lack of interesting progression.
Some of the late game design choices are so hateful towards the player that I can kinda respect it.
2013
57
The story makes absolutely no sense at all and the game isn't nearly as complex as it thinks it is. However, I would be lying if I said that the game isn't still fun to play. The mechanics themselves aren't anything new or mind-blowing, but it doesn't have to be if it is executed well. The weapons are all satisfying to use, however, the abilities you gain throughout the game feel almost useless even when playing on "Hard" difficulty. Levels are also all beautifully constructed, and fun to play through.
The story makes absolutely no sense at all and the game isn't nearly as complex as it thinks it is. However, I would be lying if I said that the game isn't still fun to play. The mechanics themselves aren't anything new or mind-blowing, but it doesn't have to be if it is executed well. The weapons are all satisfying to use, however, the abilities you gain throughout the game feel almost useless even when playing on "Hard" difficulty. Levels are also all beautifully constructed, and fun to play through.
84
The gameplay systems are incredibly simple and the game remains easy throughout, but as a huge South Park fan I had so much fun playing this.
The gameplay systems are incredibly simple and the game remains easy throughout, but as a huge South Park fan I had so much fun playing this.
"NOW YOU'VE REALLY CROSSED THE LINE"
Awesome aesthetic coupled with a goofball, campy storyline. Combat so fluid and fun that I always feel the need to bust out the sickest combos no matter what.
Awesome aesthetic coupled with a goofball, campy storyline. Combat so fluid and fun that I always feel the need to bust out the sickest combos no matter what.
74
Sly 2 is just as filled to the brim with interesting ideas as the first to the point that the game is forced to shift genres and atmosphere. The original’s focus on arcade style platforming with noir influences has completely shifted towards semi open world stealth with a more outwardly confident sense of Ocean’s 11 style. This new direction helps keep things fresh and interesting, sneaking around snowy mountains, gothic prisons, and villainous blimps is fun and the levels are an absolute blast to admire. However, I would be lying if I said that this was nearly as consistent as the first. Upgrades, thieving mini games, and multiple playable characters are cool concepts that don’t harm the game at all, but they all lack refinement and a real sense of usefulness and cohesion with the rest of the gameplay systems. Don’t even get me started on the mission structure and pacing, not to say I didn’t have my fun, but questions like “When will this mission end?” or “This is so boring?” were constantly ringing in my mind for quite a lot of these missions. I will say though despite my major faults with this game, the passion of the developers shines through every crevice of it’s levels, and that helps me to just barely look over my major issues with the game.
Sly 2 is just as filled to the brim with interesting ideas as the first to the point that the game is forced to shift genres and atmosphere. The original’s focus on arcade style platforming with noir influences has completely shifted towards semi open world stealth with a more outwardly confident sense of Ocean’s 11 style. This new direction helps keep things fresh and interesting, sneaking around snowy mountains, gothic prisons, and villainous blimps is fun and the levels are an absolute blast to admire. However, I would be lying if I said that this was nearly as consistent as the first. Upgrades, thieving mini games, and multiple playable characters are cool concepts that don’t harm the game at all, but they all lack refinement and a real sense of usefulness and cohesion with the rest of the gameplay systems. Don’t even get me started on the mission structure and pacing, not to say I didn’t have my fun, but questions like “When will this mission end?” or “This is so boring?” were constantly ringing in my mind for quite a lot of these missions. I will say though despite my major faults with this game, the passion of the developers shines through every crevice of it’s levels, and that helps me to just barely look over my major issues with the game.