SunnyFranklin
2016
Prime example of a game that is excellent in it's lore, progression and atmosphere but with a few things that drag it down immensely the more the game goes on:
- The stamina bar feels extremely sluggish here compared to Bloodborne and Elden Ring, even with a stamina regeneration ring. I don't know if it's because I'm using a dual wielding set or if it's just me but most of the time when I'm fighting fast enemies I barley have any time to counter attack because I'm waiting for the mf'ing stamina bar to recharge after dodging all their attacks, only for me to then waste more stamina dodging their next barrage.
- How is it fair when I'm fighting enemies in a hallway and my weapon bounces off walls but the attacks of enemies don't? On one hand I like how it forces me to think about my surroundings but when the game is obsessed with having enemy encounters in corridors then it becomes extremely annoying.
It's especially a joy when the enemy traps you in a corner by continously staggering you while not facing any repercussions about their weapons, because they can just go through walls can't they? But my sharp weapons will bounce off the one tiny tree trunk that just happened to be close by, ruining my combo?
- I thought the boss run backs in Bloodborne and Hollow Knight (and occasionally Elden Ring) were annoying but nothing prepared me for this. I don't know what went through the developers heads thinking that running back to the boss room upon dying repeatedly (which is likely going to happen first time) is a good idea.
The only reason I can think why they did this was to make the run back, along with the enemies along the way, mess with your muscle memory slightly. If that's the case, please don't make it overly long where I have to wait for an elevator / bridge to collapse then make my way up and / or down a tedious pathway every time I die, with big bulky enemies as a cherry on top.
It was this point alone that put me off Dark Souls 1 and 2 because I've seen some of those boss run backs and... sheesh.
- Why in the genuine fuck does this not have the ability to turn off invaders when doing co-op / online? I've seen some people try to defend this as the game's "style" but I don't think you should remove quality of life features for something like that. Due to this, you can't play with a buddy without the worry of some cheap smurf coming along and killing you. This might be the point that baffles me most.
I feel sad that I have to treat this review as more of a rant but I hate things that could easily be one of my favourite games but then they had to make weird design choices like the above that make the game harder to fully praise.
UPDATE: Some of my problems like the stamina bar was me being bad I think, but the other issues still stand after completing the game. Even with all that negativity said, this game still slaps.
- The stamina bar feels extremely sluggish here compared to Bloodborne and Elden Ring, even with a stamina regeneration ring. I don't know if it's because I'm using a dual wielding set or if it's just me but most of the time when I'm fighting fast enemies I barley have any time to counter attack because I'm waiting for the mf'ing stamina bar to recharge after dodging all their attacks, only for me to then waste more stamina dodging their next barrage.
- How is it fair when I'm fighting enemies in a hallway and my weapon bounces off walls but the attacks of enemies don't? On one hand I like how it forces me to think about my surroundings but when the game is obsessed with having enemy encounters in corridors then it becomes extremely annoying.
It's especially a joy when the enemy traps you in a corner by continously staggering you while not facing any repercussions about their weapons, because they can just go through walls can't they? But my sharp weapons will bounce off the one tiny tree trunk that just happened to be close by, ruining my combo?
- I thought the boss run backs in Bloodborne and Hollow Knight (and occasionally Elden Ring) were annoying but nothing prepared me for this. I don't know what went through the developers heads thinking that running back to the boss room upon dying repeatedly (which is likely going to happen first time) is a good idea.
The only reason I can think why they did this was to make the run back, along with the enemies along the way, mess with your muscle memory slightly. If that's the case, please don't make it overly long where I have to wait for an elevator / bridge to collapse then make my way up and / or down a tedious pathway every time I die, with big bulky enemies as a cherry on top.
It was this point alone that put me off Dark Souls 1 and 2 because I've seen some of those boss run backs and... sheesh.
- Why in the genuine fuck does this not have the ability to turn off invaders when doing co-op / online? I've seen some people try to defend this as the game's "style" but I don't think you should remove quality of life features for something like that. Due to this, you can't play with a buddy without the worry of some cheap smurf coming along and killing you. This might be the point that baffles me most.
I feel sad that I have to treat this review as more of a rant but I hate things that could easily be one of my favourite games but then they had to make weird design choices like the above that make the game harder to fully praise.
UPDATE: Some of my problems like the stamina bar was me being bad I think, but the other issues still stand after completing the game. Even with all that negativity said, this game still slaps.
2001
Outside of clunky controls, an atrocious final boss and the boos which are tedious to suck up, this has an nice atmosphere that the other two installments don't really have.
I'd love to see Luigi's Mansion 4 take on a darker approach like this game does where the rooms are actually dark, while keeping the gameplay improvements the third game made.
I'd love to see Luigi's Mansion 4 take on a darker approach like this game does where the rooms are actually dark, while keeping the gameplay improvements the third game made.
The villain in this is basically Homelander from The Boys except remove everything that makes Homelander great.
Campaign:
Although I think some of the dialogue could have used some work, the craziness in action goes a bit too far - which tests my ability to suspend disbelief - and some sections in missions are atrocious, this might be one of the best campaigns in the series.
One of the best parts is how your choices actually affect what happens in the story, no bullshit regarding only one choice at the end. The characters from the first game like Hudson and Woods get fleshed out more. Finally, Raul Menendez is a ten times better villain than Dragovich for having a sympathetic motivation and clever plan. I would say more but don't take my word for it, play it yourself and find out.
Multiplayer:
One of the best in the series alone for it's customisation. Custom games feel at their peak here with there being so many options to tweak and modify including what enemy team have what classes, etc. However I cannot comment much more since it's been forever since I indulged in the multiplayer.
Zombies:
While Town is a great small sandbox to play in, Black Ops 2 Zombies is not worth it if you don't buy the DLC. Tranzit is an awfully designed map that didn't do it's concept justice. I feel like it could have been viable if they made a few small changes:
- Remove those fog gremlins or make them way less frequent. The dense dust fog and the zombie horde are punishment enough for not taking the bus.
- Make the lava pits and flaming zombies way less frequent. Too many times have I been unfairly caught out due to my screen going blurry, it's an uneeded inconvenience.
- Rework the Wonder Weapon so it can actually be usable.
- Allow for the bus to be called to your location (like a bus terminal) so you aren't stuck waiting at the same location for ages. The maps biggest flaw is how if the mystery box disappears or if you need to get another perk, you have to spend ages getting from one place to the other. And I've already established how annoyingly tedious running through the dust cloud is.
- Rework the electric boss. They aren't fun to fight and they are an additional annoyance on a map that's built around inconveniences.
- Make Pack-a-Punch much easier to get. The zombies get stronger every round so the fact that, unless you are really skilled, have to do this long winded method to assess Pack-a-Punch is mind boggling.
Although I think some of the dialogue could have used some work, the craziness in action goes a bit too far - which tests my ability to suspend disbelief - and some sections in missions are atrocious, this might be one of the best campaigns in the series.
One of the best parts is how your choices actually affect what happens in the story, no bullshit regarding only one choice at the end. The characters from the first game like Hudson and Woods get fleshed out more. Finally, Raul Menendez is a ten times better villain than Dragovich for having a sympathetic motivation and clever plan. I would say more but don't take my word for it, play it yourself and find out.
Multiplayer:
One of the best in the series alone for it's customisation. Custom games feel at their peak here with there being so many options to tweak and modify including what enemy team have what classes, etc. However I cannot comment much more since it's been forever since I indulged in the multiplayer.
Zombies:
While Town is a great small sandbox to play in, Black Ops 2 Zombies is not worth it if you don't buy the DLC. Tranzit is an awfully designed map that didn't do it's concept justice. I feel like it could have been viable if they made a few small changes:
- Remove those fog gremlins or make them way less frequent. The dense dust fog and the zombie horde are punishment enough for not taking the bus.
- Make the lava pits and flaming zombies way less frequent. Too many times have I been unfairly caught out due to my screen going blurry, it's an uneeded inconvenience.
- Rework the Wonder Weapon so it can actually be usable.
- Allow for the bus to be called to your location (like a bus terminal) so you aren't stuck waiting at the same location for ages. The maps biggest flaw is how if the mystery box disappears or if you need to get another perk, you have to spend ages getting from one place to the other. And I've already established how annoyingly tedious running through the dust cloud is.
- Rework the electric boss. They aren't fun to fight and they are an additional annoyance on a map that's built around inconveniences.
- Make Pack-a-Punch much easier to get. The zombies get stronger every round so the fact that, unless you are really skilled, have to do this long winded method to assess Pack-a-Punch is mind boggling.
This review contains spoilers
(This'll be mostly my thoughts on the campaign as I did not experience the multiplayer despite the praise I've heard)
Big step up from the previous game in my opinion. Story was improved on scale and intruige; featuring more memorable moments and missions.
The villain(s) are more memorable due to being introduced as a threat earlier via No Russian. Speaking of, said controversial mission is controversial for a reason but it's shock factor done right in my opinion. It's the catalyst for the entire conflict instead of achieving nothing, and it set's in motion Shepherd's upcoming betrayal and Makarov as a force to be reckoned with.
On the topic of Shepard, he's easily my favourite Call of Duty character alongside Reznov. He removes the whole black and white scenario I felt the first game had (America vs Russia) to make the conflict more interesting. His dialogue, motivations, links to the nuke scene from the first game, it all comes together to make a really well fleshed out character. Furthermore, I like how Makarov is used as a red herring which makes his eventual betrayal all the more unexpected (if you did this blind like I didn't).
I did wish Ghost and Soap had more fleshed out moments as Price seems to be the only character on the "good" side that holds my interest. Both the formers are cool dudes but more to them would have made it better.
Lowering the difficulty from hardened to regular was a good decision after playing hardened on the last game. It still felt like a fresh challenge without getting showered with grenades. It shows that I'm not good enough at FPS to do higher difficultly.
The gameplay does suffer from a lot of over the top action (dramatic boat chases, buildings collapsing, etc) which is one thing COD 4: Modern Warfare has over this campaign. I don't mind it in Black Ops 1 and 2 because it's meant to be more fictionalised on top of being spaced out better. However the missions were still fun to complete in addition to the story holding my interest so I'll give it a pass. Here's to hoping Modern Warfare 3 makes me regret bashing this specific aspect.
Big step up from the previous game in my opinion. Story was improved on scale and intruige; featuring more memorable moments and missions.
The villain(s) are more memorable due to being introduced as a threat earlier via No Russian. Speaking of, said controversial mission is controversial for a reason but it's shock factor done right in my opinion. It's the catalyst for the entire conflict instead of achieving nothing, and it set's in motion Shepherd's upcoming betrayal and Makarov as a force to be reckoned with.
On the topic of Shepard, he's easily my favourite Call of Duty character alongside Reznov. He removes the whole black and white scenario I felt the first game had (America vs Russia) to make the conflict more interesting. His dialogue, motivations, links to the nuke scene from the first game, it all comes together to make a really well fleshed out character. Furthermore, I like how Makarov is used as a red herring which makes his eventual betrayal all the more unexpected (if you did this blind like I didn't).
I did wish Ghost and Soap had more fleshed out moments as Price seems to be the only character on the "good" side that holds my interest. Both the formers are cool dudes but more to them would have made it better.
Lowering the difficulty from hardened to regular was a good decision after playing hardened on the last game. It still felt like a fresh challenge without getting showered with grenades. It shows that I'm not good enough at FPS to do higher difficultly.
The gameplay does suffer from a lot of over the top action (dramatic boat chases, buildings collapsing, etc) which is one thing COD 4: Modern Warfare has over this campaign. I don't mind it in Black Ops 1 and 2 because it's meant to be more fictionalised on top of being spaced out better. However the missions were still fun to complete in addition to the story holding my interest so I'll give it a pass. Here's to hoping Modern Warfare 3 makes me regret bashing this specific aspect.
While it is indeed the most important FPS game since Doom, playing this for the first time after never growing up with it made me realise how the sequals are better in every way.
The campaign has it's moments such as All Ghillied Up, and the nuke scene being as jaw dropping as everyone claimed it to be. However it's simplicity does drag it down when comparing it to other entries in the series, especially when the other campaigns have more interesting and layered stories to them. Even still I can get the appeal this one has.
I played on hardened mode which turned out to be a terrible decision on my part. Playing on hardened mode in the other games mostly meant the enemies were stronger and smarter. Here? I don't know who thought it was a good idea to have them throw 100 frag grenades every 2 seconds. Additionally I really hate how big the damage sway is in this game as I'll be firing from the hip with a submachine gun while getting hit, and not a single bullet with land on the one shooting me. The worst part is that I can't change difficulty too so I'm stuck with this till the end.
The campaign has it's moments such as All Ghillied Up, and the nuke scene being as jaw dropping as everyone claimed it to be. However it's simplicity does drag it down when comparing it to other entries in the series, especially when the other campaigns have more interesting and layered stories to them. Even still I can get the appeal this one has.
I played on hardened mode which turned out to be a terrible decision on my part. Playing on hardened mode in the other games mostly meant the enemies were stronger and smarter. Here? I don't know who thought it was a good idea to have them throw 100 frag grenades every 2 seconds. Additionally I really hate how big the damage sway is in this game as I'll be firing from the hip with a submachine gun while getting hit, and not a single bullet with land on the one shooting me. The worst part is that I can't change difficulty too so I'm stuck with this till the end.
2022
After much berating and ranting whenever the topic of Pokemon came up, I can't justify giving this game a 4/10 because this game is more than bad. It's flat out insulting.
Nintendo, Gamefreak and The Pokemon Company charging full price (about 40 to 50 depending where you live) for something this poorly optimised is astounding. What's worse is the 3.4 average it has here; what's with all the middle and high ratings? I genuinely can't wrap my head around it. If something else released with this amount of problems it'd be blasted to kingdom come but I guess gamefreak get a pass for some reason? I'm not even trying to start an argument or fight with anyone I'm just generally bamboozled.
Is there redeeming qualities? Only a small handful. The gameplay formula still has the same appeal it always has, the legendaries themselves feel cool, Tera Typing is one of the best mechanics they've added and the story is one of the better ones in recent memory (the gym plot sucks though). I get why people would see the redeeming qualities moreso than I but I'm still baffled by anyone defending it or being oblivious to the glaring problems.
Even if the game became well optimised, you're left with quite possibly the most bland reigon to date. Despite being inspired by Spain, hardly anything about Paldea screams unique or soul, there is legit nothing about it except grassfields, dirt paths, the occasional beach, boring deserts and the token snow area. To better get my point across I reccomend just looking at Paldea's Map before comparing it to any other reigons map: https://www.serebii.net/pokearth/paldea/
You'll be hard pressed to find anything actually interesting. Comparing it to Galar, even the high definition map of Paldea looks void of any distinct expression or clear cultural inspiration, whereas with Galar you can still get the sense it is inspired by British architecture with the countrysides, the chavy and rich prick towns / cities, etc. Speaking of, the towns in Paldea are incredibly forgettable with only one lame gimmick in a sad attempt to make them stand out among the barren wasteland you'll be whooshing about in (this town has a 2fps windmill and... uhhhh... this famous headgemaze!).
This game features awful quality of life features. Pokemon battles take forever as they feel the need to slowly play out the text on screen for every single stat change or status effect. Furthermore, the map feels very sluggish and janky which is awful if you're going to be using it more often than not. And finally, the Pokemon take forever to load as well when trying to view them. As you can see, these minor inconveniences build up to make the game even more frustratingly slow to play.
I could go on forever but the last thing I'll mention is the lack of features from previous games. I remember someone telling me that people complaining about their "favourite feature" not returning is incredibly petty which is untrue. A lot of the features that were added in previous games (i.e. difficulty slider) that improved on what people were wanting got shafted for no apparent reason. Basic options like being able to turn off the EXP share or cancelling move animations are just gone for no reason at all. I can't understand the defence of this decision.
I was going to mention the gym tests or the Team Star raids but what's the point? Pokemon desperately needs to stop with this 1 to 2 year development cycle because it clearly isn't working, however that's likley never going to happen because of the millions of people who still purchase this garbage. I'm thankful I'm a Mystery Dungeon fan more than the main series because my disappointment would be immeasurable if I was (reference not intended).
Small Edit: I got told that the final in this game is worth it that it ups the score of the game by a whole star to which I say it doesn't matter. If the last part of the game is the only good part, I'm not going to trudge through shite just to get to it. I'm better off playing a game that's more fun.
Nintendo, Gamefreak and The Pokemon Company charging full price (about 40 to 50 depending where you live) for something this poorly optimised is astounding. What's worse is the 3.4 average it has here; what's with all the middle and high ratings? I genuinely can't wrap my head around it. If something else released with this amount of problems it'd be blasted to kingdom come but I guess gamefreak get a pass for some reason? I'm not even trying to start an argument or fight with anyone I'm just generally bamboozled.
Is there redeeming qualities? Only a small handful. The gameplay formula still has the same appeal it always has, the legendaries themselves feel cool, Tera Typing is one of the best mechanics they've added and the story is one of the better ones in recent memory (the gym plot sucks though). I get why people would see the redeeming qualities moreso than I but I'm still baffled by anyone defending it or being oblivious to the glaring problems.
Even if the game became well optimised, you're left with quite possibly the most bland reigon to date. Despite being inspired by Spain, hardly anything about Paldea screams unique or soul, there is legit nothing about it except grassfields, dirt paths, the occasional beach, boring deserts and the token snow area. To better get my point across I reccomend just looking at Paldea's Map before comparing it to any other reigons map: https://www.serebii.net/pokearth/paldea/
You'll be hard pressed to find anything actually interesting. Comparing it to Galar, even the high definition map of Paldea looks void of any distinct expression or clear cultural inspiration, whereas with Galar you can still get the sense it is inspired by British architecture with the countrysides, the chavy and rich prick towns / cities, etc. Speaking of, the towns in Paldea are incredibly forgettable with only one lame gimmick in a sad attempt to make them stand out among the barren wasteland you'll be whooshing about in (this town has a 2fps windmill and... uhhhh... this famous headgemaze!).
This game features awful quality of life features. Pokemon battles take forever as they feel the need to slowly play out the text on screen for every single stat change or status effect. Furthermore, the map feels very sluggish and janky which is awful if you're going to be using it more often than not. And finally, the Pokemon take forever to load as well when trying to view them. As you can see, these minor inconveniences build up to make the game even more frustratingly slow to play.
I could go on forever but the last thing I'll mention is the lack of features from previous games. I remember someone telling me that people complaining about their "favourite feature" not returning is incredibly petty which is untrue. A lot of the features that were added in previous games (i.e. difficulty slider) that improved on what people were wanting got shafted for no apparent reason. Basic options like being able to turn off the EXP share or cancelling move animations are just gone for no reason at all. I can't understand the defence of this decision.
I was going to mention the gym tests or the Team Star raids but what's the point? Pokemon desperately needs to stop with this 1 to 2 year development cycle because it clearly isn't working, however that's likley never going to happen because of the millions of people who still purchase this garbage. I'm thankful I'm a Mystery Dungeon fan more than the main series because my disappointment would be immeasurable if I was (reference not intended).
Small Edit: I got told that the final in this game is worth it that it ups the score of the game by a whole star to which I say it doesn't matter. If the last part of the game is the only good part, I'm not going to trudge through shite just to get to it. I'm better off playing a game that's more fun.
This review contains spoilers
Game literally told me to touch grass at the very end.
The recent controversy that has surrounded this game has conflicting opinions from different sides. On one hand, firing the original developers and removing content people paid for (the art book) is incredibly stupid. On the other hand however, censoring sexualisation of a 16 year old? I get why that had to be done as I didn't like it myself.
On the topic of Filia's censorship however, there is one thing I don't quite understand: what's the point in censoring story illustrations when 1) her figure is still curvaceous in said illustrations and 2) her sprite animations still contain pantie flashes, etc. I feel like at the beginning they should have made Filia a university student or not sexualise her at all.
In summary, this entire controversy is a mess.
On the topic of Filia's censorship however, there is one thing I don't quite understand: what's the point in censoring story illustrations when 1) her figure is still curvaceous in said illustrations and 2) her sprite animations still contain pantie flashes, etc. I feel like at the beginning they should have made Filia a university student or not sexualise her at all.
In summary, this entire controversy is a mess.
2021
No More Heroes 3 is one of those rare games I get incredibly excited about before release. Considering it's one of my favourite franchises, I'm not surprised by the lead up to this game being sensational for me. Even with all this anticipation and excitement I still came in expecting a great game with a quantity of flaws like all Suda games. Whilst all of the Grasshopper games I've played aren't perfect, I'm a fan of their unique style and experimental gameplay; there isn't a developer I respect more than Suda51. Hope you enjoy reading this extremely long review talking about my positives and negatives.
I expected this game to be an 8/10 containing some things I love with other things I don't love, and I was right on the money. To start this game's biggest strength is its opening ("The Return" to Mr. Blackhole's fight, to Fu's introductory, and finally with the ranking cinematic), it's easily the best opening the series has ever had as it sets up everything almost perfectly. Without a doubt one of my favourite openings to a video game, emphasis on favourite.
To label a great strength that isn't a specific part of the game, I love how Suda has managed to reference tons of media types through loading screens, menu UI, scene transitions, etc. Each chapter starting with a Netflix inspired logo and ending with an anime inspired credits roll had me chuckling, treating the chapters almost like episodes of a TV show. It's clear the developers just decided to get funky with endless bounds of creativity when it came to the interface alone. Another thing that adds to this game's great sense of identity is the designs of the aliens. The artist they had on board was a fantastic choice for conveying that these aliens really were out of this world, I love almost all of their designs.
Fu himself makes for an amazing antagonist especially in comparison to the previous two who only got revealed during the end, meanwhile this surfer alpha male frat smurf ensures that he means business. A lot of the new characters are endlessly entertaining with my favourites including Fu, Gold Joe, Sonic Juice, Damien, etc. Most returning characters such as the titular assassin are also just as wacky and entertaining as they were previously.
The music, just like the first game, was composed by one person instead of multiple like the second game. The music in this game definitely has standouts such as Itadakimasu and Dead Orca Force. Although I wish they used the song lyrics in some of the boss fights, I'm not complaining that this soundtrack tries something different like the previous instalments.
The combat's best aspect for me is retaining the series' core aspect of simplicity; if someone complains that it's too basic then I'll just say go play Bayonetta or DMC. Even then there is still some strategy involved when it comes to blocking, positioning yourself and waiting for the right opportunities to attack. The enemies in this game make use of the alien concept really well through their designs and movement patterns, adding further strategy to the combat. Unleashing sick beam katana animations on them and bosses feels really satisfying.
My main issues regarding the combat come from there being too many mechanics that just make the game laughably easy at times. I played on hard mode and even I still felt the game was holding my hand a bit too much. Sushi is a neat concept but it's kinda overpowered unless you're playing on max difficulty (because it limits the max you can carry to one each) and wrestling moves filling your beam katana battery is incredibly stupid. The upgrade station and chip moderations are fine, but the death spinner and in-game slot machine is where I draw the line.
I wish there was an option to turn them off because while they are fun at first, I don't want a fight to be made easier just because I got lucky. Whenever I got them I forced myself to wait until the effects ran out or didn't use them. One of the effects is transforming into a mecha which essentially deletes a chunk of the bosses' health, I want to play the game Suda not have the game end quicker!
Another thing that irks me is the fact I feel they simplified it a bit too much in areas. Although I just said I really like it's simplicity, I was referring to the simplicity of having light and heavy attacks. Something I liked about the previous games was how fluid it felt when going from low (heavy) to high (light) attacks in the middle of a combo and vice versa. This game ditches the punch and kicking (which, to be fair, I didn't really use all that much) and the low and high for simple light and heavy attacks.
Although I still like the strategy of positioning myself and waiting to attack, I wouldn't be opposed to this if it didn't feel so button mashy at times. I want to feel like I'm switching between light and heavy attacks like a badass but you essentially can't do that as the heavy attacks are proper big beam katana swings; it wouldn't have taken away from the game's simple combat if they tweaked it to function similarly to the previous games.
The death glove and space battles are neat new concepts that I liked but I think I wanted more of it. I thought you would gradually unlock more death glove abilities but it turns out there are only 4 and you get given 3 of them in the same chapter which felt underwhelming, in addition to these also making the game way easier than it had to be.
Lastly, I understand why they didn't do it but I really really wish they added more katannas to use. Imagine having sick animations with the Rose Nasty in this game, it'd have been a way to spice up gameplay like the second game did. Unfortunately the wrestling moves are at their worst here since, again while I sorta understand why, are activated with the same upward motion. The previous games had a massive variety of wrestling moves that could be pulled off in different ways; I feel like they had an opportunity here to expand on it but they didn't.
The world here expands outside of Santa Destroy which is a great choice. Not all locations are great mind; Call of Battle and Neo Brazil suck ass for instance - the former is convoluted to navigate and the latter is boring - the rest are pretty good but Santa Destroy remains the best. Travis' bike got a giga upgrade and it shows, travelling around in it is why Thunder Dome is as good as it is.
Graphics are fine. I'm not that bothered about it as I know they could be worse (looking at you Pokemon Scarlet and Violet) but I'd advise playing this on Xbox, PC or PS5 as the Switch version isn't amazing performance wise. I'm glad the game decided to focus on style rather than graphical substance as a lot of Switch games work better in that favour in my opinion.
The previous two games had a story that can be followed easily in my opinion (the second game has problems but that's a story for another day) but this one is a very weird case. Whilst the opening is fantastic, the story after the fact I don't know is meant to be satirical or serious. I found Fu, Travis and other aliens in the rankings easy to follow for the cutscenes before their fight are still great for introducing the characters in a short amount of time.
(SPOILERS)
My main issue with the story however is that it decides to pull the same Let's Shake stunt multiple times. I mean I can kinda see why in all with the fact that multiple people want to stop the aliens from taking over but this plot point keeps constantly popping up out of nowhere. Characters like Black Night Direction, Vanishing Point and Sniping Lee don't get any chance to shine through their boss fights because they get killed off by someone else. The only time this works is when Fu kills Paradox Bandit as it shows his insane desperation for him to fight Travis, the rest though felt like they didn't have the development time to include boss fights or further screen time for them.
Characters like Shinobu, Bad Girl and Bad Man are incredibly underutilised. Not only does Shinobu get her arms ripped off, Bad Man gets killed off at the beginning because Fu got pissed at Mr Blackhole's death??? Suda why, he was one of my favourite characters from Travis Strikes Again. I feel like the story should have spent less time introducing new characters and focus on the ones they already established instead of back seating them. The new characters like Nutorious are entertaining but the more the story goes on with these random plot points, the less structural it feels.
For the parts of the story I did manage to understand, I absolutely loved it. Although Sniping Lee's death was a disappointment, despite coming out of nowhere, Destroyman returning with a factory of himself is one of my favourite moments in the game. Fu's final confrontation I'm glad still involves the other characters but it's that first cutscene between him and Travis that always gets me; easily the best cutscene in the entire game. Gold Joe is a shitpost, Sonic Juice is my favourite alien for his story alone and Velvet Chair Girl was sad.
I wasn't sure about him at first but Henry Cooldown is... Interesting. I love the cutscene where he kills Travis on the toilet as it feels like a nice callback to the first game where he duels his brother outside the cubicle, as opposed to now. I think my main issue with this is that I wish it wasn't so ambiguous, there are some great ideas at play here but without playing Travis Strikes Again, you're going to be incredibly confused. That goes for a lot of this game as a matter of fact including Damien who you won't understand why he hates Travis unless you've played what is essentially that game's prologue.
The ending is bonkers but I feel like it's done on purpose for satire which I'm completely fine with. The smash bros reference absolutely killed me and the chibi post credits scene lives in my head rent free.
(END SPOILER)
In summary, I have more things to say but think of this review as someone who wanted to spout their thoughts on paper rather than writing a constructed review. I still think the first game is the best in the series as it's story is the most consistent, the second game has the best soundtrack but this game has by far the best villain, opening and individual moments. A very interesting game overall that didn't disappoint me as a No More Heroes shill.
I expected this game to be an 8/10 containing some things I love with other things I don't love, and I was right on the money. To start this game's biggest strength is its opening ("The Return" to Mr. Blackhole's fight, to Fu's introductory, and finally with the ranking cinematic), it's easily the best opening the series has ever had as it sets up everything almost perfectly. Without a doubt one of my favourite openings to a video game, emphasis on favourite.
To label a great strength that isn't a specific part of the game, I love how Suda has managed to reference tons of media types through loading screens, menu UI, scene transitions, etc. Each chapter starting with a Netflix inspired logo and ending with an anime inspired credits roll had me chuckling, treating the chapters almost like episodes of a TV show. It's clear the developers just decided to get funky with endless bounds of creativity when it came to the interface alone. Another thing that adds to this game's great sense of identity is the designs of the aliens. The artist they had on board was a fantastic choice for conveying that these aliens really were out of this world, I love almost all of their designs.
Fu himself makes for an amazing antagonist especially in comparison to the previous two who only got revealed during the end, meanwhile this surfer alpha male frat smurf ensures that he means business. A lot of the new characters are endlessly entertaining with my favourites including Fu, Gold Joe, Sonic Juice, Damien, etc. Most returning characters such as the titular assassin are also just as wacky and entertaining as they were previously.
The music, just like the first game, was composed by one person instead of multiple like the second game. The music in this game definitely has standouts such as Itadakimasu and Dead Orca Force. Although I wish they used the song lyrics in some of the boss fights, I'm not complaining that this soundtrack tries something different like the previous instalments.
The combat's best aspect for me is retaining the series' core aspect of simplicity; if someone complains that it's too basic then I'll just say go play Bayonetta or DMC. Even then there is still some strategy involved when it comes to blocking, positioning yourself and waiting for the right opportunities to attack. The enemies in this game make use of the alien concept really well through their designs and movement patterns, adding further strategy to the combat. Unleashing sick beam katana animations on them and bosses feels really satisfying.
My main issues regarding the combat come from there being too many mechanics that just make the game laughably easy at times. I played on hard mode and even I still felt the game was holding my hand a bit too much. Sushi is a neat concept but it's kinda overpowered unless you're playing on max difficulty (because it limits the max you can carry to one each) and wrestling moves filling your beam katana battery is incredibly stupid. The upgrade station and chip moderations are fine, but the death spinner and in-game slot machine is where I draw the line.
I wish there was an option to turn them off because while they are fun at first, I don't want a fight to be made easier just because I got lucky. Whenever I got them I forced myself to wait until the effects ran out or didn't use them. One of the effects is transforming into a mecha which essentially deletes a chunk of the bosses' health, I want to play the game Suda not have the game end quicker!
Another thing that irks me is the fact I feel they simplified it a bit too much in areas. Although I just said I really like it's simplicity, I was referring to the simplicity of having light and heavy attacks. Something I liked about the previous games was how fluid it felt when going from low (heavy) to high (light) attacks in the middle of a combo and vice versa. This game ditches the punch and kicking (which, to be fair, I didn't really use all that much) and the low and high for simple light and heavy attacks.
Although I still like the strategy of positioning myself and waiting to attack, I wouldn't be opposed to this if it didn't feel so button mashy at times. I want to feel like I'm switching between light and heavy attacks like a badass but you essentially can't do that as the heavy attacks are proper big beam katana swings; it wouldn't have taken away from the game's simple combat if they tweaked it to function similarly to the previous games.
The death glove and space battles are neat new concepts that I liked but I think I wanted more of it. I thought you would gradually unlock more death glove abilities but it turns out there are only 4 and you get given 3 of them in the same chapter which felt underwhelming, in addition to these also making the game way easier than it had to be.
Lastly, I understand why they didn't do it but I really really wish they added more katannas to use. Imagine having sick animations with the Rose Nasty in this game, it'd have been a way to spice up gameplay like the second game did. Unfortunately the wrestling moves are at their worst here since, again while I sorta understand why, are activated with the same upward motion. The previous games had a massive variety of wrestling moves that could be pulled off in different ways; I feel like they had an opportunity here to expand on it but they didn't.
The world here expands outside of Santa Destroy which is a great choice. Not all locations are great mind; Call of Battle and Neo Brazil suck ass for instance - the former is convoluted to navigate and the latter is boring - the rest are pretty good but Santa Destroy remains the best. Travis' bike got a giga upgrade and it shows, travelling around in it is why Thunder Dome is as good as it is.
Graphics are fine. I'm not that bothered about it as I know they could be worse (looking at you Pokemon Scarlet and Violet) but I'd advise playing this on Xbox, PC or PS5 as the Switch version isn't amazing performance wise. I'm glad the game decided to focus on style rather than graphical substance as a lot of Switch games work better in that favour in my opinion.
The previous two games had a story that can be followed easily in my opinion (the second game has problems but that's a story for another day) but this one is a very weird case. Whilst the opening is fantastic, the story after the fact I don't know is meant to be satirical or serious. I found Fu, Travis and other aliens in the rankings easy to follow for the cutscenes before their fight are still great for introducing the characters in a short amount of time.
(SPOILERS)
My main issue with the story however is that it decides to pull the same Let's Shake stunt multiple times. I mean I can kinda see why in all with the fact that multiple people want to stop the aliens from taking over but this plot point keeps constantly popping up out of nowhere. Characters like Black Night Direction, Vanishing Point and Sniping Lee don't get any chance to shine through their boss fights because they get killed off by someone else. The only time this works is when Fu kills Paradox Bandit as it shows his insane desperation for him to fight Travis, the rest though felt like they didn't have the development time to include boss fights or further screen time for them.
Characters like Shinobu, Bad Girl and Bad Man are incredibly underutilised. Not only does Shinobu get her arms ripped off, Bad Man gets killed off at the beginning because Fu got pissed at Mr Blackhole's death??? Suda why, he was one of my favourite characters from Travis Strikes Again. I feel like the story should have spent less time introducing new characters and focus on the ones they already established instead of back seating them. The new characters like Nutorious are entertaining but the more the story goes on with these random plot points, the less structural it feels.
For the parts of the story I did manage to understand, I absolutely loved it. Although Sniping Lee's death was a disappointment, despite coming out of nowhere, Destroyman returning with a factory of himself is one of my favourite moments in the game. Fu's final confrontation I'm glad still involves the other characters but it's that first cutscene between him and Travis that always gets me; easily the best cutscene in the entire game. Gold Joe is a shitpost, Sonic Juice is my favourite alien for his story alone and Velvet Chair Girl was sad.
I wasn't sure about him at first but Henry Cooldown is... Interesting. I love the cutscene where he kills Travis on the toilet as it feels like a nice callback to the first game where he duels his brother outside the cubicle, as opposed to now. I think my main issue with this is that I wish it wasn't so ambiguous, there are some great ideas at play here but without playing Travis Strikes Again, you're going to be incredibly confused. That goes for a lot of this game as a matter of fact including Damien who you won't understand why he hates Travis unless you've played what is essentially that game's prologue.
The ending is bonkers but I feel like it's done on purpose for satire which I'm completely fine with. The smash bros reference absolutely killed me and the chibi post credits scene lives in my head rent free.
(END SPOILER)
In summary, I have more things to say but think of this review as someone who wanted to spout their thoughts on paper rather than writing a constructed review. I still think the first game is the best in the series as it's story is the most consistent, the second game has the best soundtrack but this game has by far the best villain, opening and individual moments. A very interesting game overall that didn't disappoint me as a No More Heroes shill.
2022
The gym tests involving finding Sunfloras and rolling an olive made me feel like I was playing a Vtech game.
The fact people still rate this game highly is just sad. Like Act Man said: don't defend this game, you deserve better.
The fact people still rate this game highly is just sad. Like Act Man said: don't defend this game, you deserve better.
2022
(DISCLAMER: This review is more of a "get this of my chest" vent than a review, so if any biases are shown here I apologise in advance)
Now that the PVE has been scrapped, I don't know how anyone can still support this garbage excuse of a company.
This "sequal" is just a live service revamp of a game I already had a few issues with. Everytime lootboxes gets mentioned I cringe in my skin but atleast it was exclusive to cosmetics; how do you like the sound of grinding for ages or paying 20 bucks for a cosmetic? Like seriously fuck off.
When it comes to the original Overwatch, I took issue with the fact they didn't lean more into a story campaign because I feel like that would have separated it from the likes of TF2, especially since the world and characters interested me a ton.
Did they do that though? Hell no, let's have it be only multiplayer with barley any unique modes / single player options and have it be basically payload and control points.
I confess I have a TF2 bias but I have a lot of problems with that game too. The main point I'm trying to make is that the original game didn't do much to distinct itself from what came before and I feel they could have easily fixed that.
BUT HOLY SHIT I forgive the original after this piece of shit came out. I'm not even joking this "next installment" subtracted more than added, and now the ONLY justification for this being classed as a sequal is now GONE! Even then, they couldn't make anything but a Mann vs Machine rip off but I forgave it because the world involves robots in the story and it's atleast something I could be semi interested in.
Screw this lost cause of a company and screw whoever defends their shitty actions.
Now that the PVE has been scrapped, I don't know how anyone can still support this garbage excuse of a company.
This "sequal" is just a live service revamp of a game I already had a few issues with. Everytime lootboxes gets mentioned I cringe in my skin but atleast it was exclusive to cosmetics; how do you like the sound of grinding for ages or paying 20 bucks for a cosmetic? Like seriously fuck off.
When it comes to the original Overwatch, I took issue with the fact they didn't lean more into a story campaign because I feel like that would have separated it from the likes of TF2, especially since the world and characters interested me a ton.
Did they do that though? Hell no, let's have it be only multiplayer with barley any unique modes / single player options and have it be basically payload and control points.
I confess I have a TF2 bias but I have a lot of problems with that game too. The main point I'm trying to make is that the original game didn't do much to distinct itself from what came before and I feel they could have easily fixed that.
BUT HOLY SHIT I forgive the original after this piece of shit came out. I'm not even joking this "next installment" subtracted more than added, and now the ONLY justification for this being classed as a sequal is now GONE! Even then, they couldn't make anything but a Mann vs Machine rip off but I forgave it because the world involves robots in the story and it's atleast something I could be semi interested in.
Screw this lost cause of a company and screw whoever defends their shitty actions.
This review contains spoilers
Remember the fun you had punching Molded in Not a Hero? Well here is more of that!
I swear it's so satisfying to pummel foes with Joe Baker's fists of destruction. The combat is not deep but that's a good thing since it's deep enough to not overstay it's welcome in this short epilogue that concludes the Baker family story.
Speaking of which, the story here actually had some reveals that I didn't see coming. While the reveal about Jack didn't really make too much sense since I thought he was "cured", I guess I misinterpreted truly how the mold works because maybe since Eveline is gone, Jack is motivated by a twisted sense to protect Zoe because he thinks Joe is a threat? It's not too bad but I wish it was explained a bit more.
The reveal at the end though where Ethan never forgot about Zoe was great and it's probably his best moment with his character (since he is quite whatever in 7 and bad in Village). With that in mind, it's funny how this epilogue makes the "bad" ending sorta pointless because this continues on the timeline where Ethan chooses Zoe. Despite all the help the Baker daughter gave to Ethan, him choosing his wife and coping with the pain of having no choice to begin with (instead of the player choosing) would feel more impactful in my opinion, and this DLC to follow through on that would have made me like this protagonist somewhat.
Despite it's flaws, this is a well rounded DLC that is best to get alongside the base game in the gold edition which is pretty much now at a cheap price.
(P.S. those infected gators really spooked me)
I swear it's so satisfying to pummel foes with Joe Baker's fists of destruction. The combat is not deep but that's a good thing since it's deep enough to not overstay it's welcome in this short epilogue that concludes the Baker family story.
Speaking of which, the story here actually had some reveals that I didn't see coming. While the reveal about Jack didn't really make too much sense since I thought he was "cured", I guess I misinterpreted truly how the mold works because maybe since Eveline is gone, Jack is motivated by a twisted sense to protect Zoe because he thinks Joe is a threat? It's not too bad but I wish it was explained a bit more.
The reveal at the end though where Ethan never forgot about Zoe was great and it's probably his best moment with his character (since he is quite whatever in 7 and bad in Village). With that in mind, it's funny how this epilogue makes the "bad" ending sorta pointless because this continues on the timeline where Ethan chooses Zoe. Despite all the help the Baker daughter gave to Ethan, him choosing his wife and coping with the pain of having no choice to begin with (instead of the player choosing) would feel more impactful in my opinion, and this DLC to follow through on that would have made me like this protagonist somewhat.
Despite it's flaws, this is a well rounded DLC that is best to get alongside the base game in the gold edition which is pretty much now at a cheap price.
(P.S. those infected gators really spooked me)
Nifty continuation of the story that involves Chris Redfield who was a character I never got introduced to until 7. The gameplay here is short but sweet as I find it fun to stun and punch enemies. Seeing more Lucas will also always be welcome.
Even though the area overall isn't that interesting and there are some really stupid moments (why are you staring at Lucas while he is transforming Chris? SHOOT HIM!), I wouldn't give this a lower score than what I have because I respect Capcom for releasing this for free when it was taking longer than originally planned to complete.
Even though the area overall isn't that interesting and there are some really stupid moments (why are you staring at Lucas while he is transforming Chris? SHOOT HIM!), I wouldn't give this a lower score than what I have because I respect Capcom for releasing this for free when it was taking longer than originally planned to complete.
2008
The only reason this isn't rated lower is because it's DSi Ware which means two things:
1) This comes off as a harmless experiment rather than anything fully intended to sell en masse.
2) The price was cheap.
When I use past tense for the price, I mean that you can't play this failed experiment anymore (due to the DSi and 3DS store closing down). I refer to this "game" as a failed experiment because that's what it honestly feels like. Despite the cheap price, you get the same number of microgames as Haribos your mother gives you when she tells you to hold out both hands.
The number of microgames doesn't matter, funny enough, because the game barley worked. Unless you're curious to dig it up yourself, this Frankenweenie is best left buried below the other far superior WarioWare installments, such as Smooth Moves which did the whole motion thing ten times better. It's like Xbox Kinetic wanted to make their own WarioWare spin off.
1) This comes off as a harmless experiment rather than anything fully intended to sell en masse.
2) The price was cheap.
When I use past tense for the price, I mean that you can't play this failed experiment anymore (due to the DSi and 3DS store closing down). I refer to this "game" as a failed experiment because that's what it honestly feels like. Despite the cheap price, you get the same number of microgames as Haribos your mother gives you when she tells you to hold out both hands.
The number of microgames doesn't matter, funny enough, because the game barley worked. Unless you're curious to dig it up yourself, this Frankenweenie is best left buried below the other far superior WarioWare installments, such as Smooth Moves which did the whole motion thing ten times better. It's like Xbox Kinetic wanted to make their own WarioWare spin off.