WitchCian
A fantastic score attack game with amazing visuals and sounds, hamstrung by an Always Online requirement on PC. Would be a perfect game for the Steam Deck were it not so.
ember is the most relatable trans girl in any video game
1998
Replayed the game while the whole #RememberFreeman thing was going on. This game still rules, you can't convince me otherwise. It's hilarious how the pacing totally falls apart in Xen though. XEN is literally one room, GONARCH'S LAIR is a single boss fight, and then INTERLOPER feels like it lasts forever. The music is still so great though, credits theme is a bop.
2017
Base game singleplayer is something of a retread of Splatoon 1's singleplayer, but the weapon variety adds a nice bit of flavour to the level design. Multiplayer is as good as ever, but it never managed to grab me the same way Splat 1 did. Still a great game, and I'm looking forward to playing Splat 3!
love these funky little lesbians. these sappholopods
2018
I'm not really one for the checklist side objective type Open World Experience, or the type of prestige Triple A narrative game experience that Sony mainly deals in these days, but damn, the webswinging and combat were good enough to have me 100% this game just so I could spend a little more time in it.
The narrative has some blemishes and elements that are more than a little unsavoury (Spider-Man's general Cop Proximity and him upholding a Surveillance State Network) but most of the big plot beats and the little character moments with MJ, Aunt May, Miles, Martin Li and Octavius hit in the right spots for a spider-dweeb like myself, so this game was overall a real good time. Don't make me do any more forced stealth segments though.
The narrative has some blemishes and elements that are more than a little unsavoury (Spider-Man's general Cop Proximity and him upholding a Surveillance State Network) but most of the big plot beats and the little character moments with MJ, Aunt May, Miles, Martin Li and Octavius hit in the right spots for a spider-dweeb like myself, so this game was overall a real good time. Don't make me do any more forced stealth segments though.
2008
in a word; dire. the most rancid and embarrassing american sentiment of the war on terror wrapped up in terrible feeling 3rd Person Shooting. You literally go to Afghanistan on September 12th to personally destroy Al Qaeda. Subtext is dead and we have blind fired at him, gaining aggro all the while.
Notably better gunplay and level design is brought down by a story that is at its best nonexistant and nonsensical (who are the 40th Day? Who is Jonah? Why is any of this happening?) and at it's worst needlessly edgy for shock value. The late 2000s trend of Morality Systems can be found at it's absolute lowest point here in Army of Two The 40th Day.
2011
a fun co-op experience that is mired with bugs, near constant crashing, and a campaign that is both shockingly short and starts a lot stronger than it ends. casting big beams and throwing big rocks is always a lot fun
I livestreamed myself playing this with my good friend FrogCass on the day that the servers for this game and The 40th Day were to go down. It is probable that we are the last two people to play this game online all the way through.
Definitely the best of the trilogy, even if they took out just about all the mechanics that made Army of Two stand out from other co-op shooters of the era. The aggrometer, back to back and fistbumping are all gone, but the overall gunplay is significantly better, to the point where the play experience is a more enjoyable time.
The story remains about as trash as the previous Army of Two games, and manages to be littered with more homophobia and bad jokes than before. Big Boi is here for some reason, but they couldn't get André 3000, so instead known flat earther B.O.B. completes the faux Outkast that act as your support crew in this game. Alpha and Bravo manage to have even less characterisation than Rios and Salem and every single woman in this franchise manages to get killed before the credits roll. Overall a miserable story that has the gall to end on a sequel tease.
Definitely the best of the trilogy, even if they took out just about all the mechanics that made Army of Two stand out from other co-op shooters of the era. The aggrometer, back to back and fistbumping are all gone, but the overall gunplay is significantly better, to the point where the play experience is a more enjoyable time.
The story remains about as trash as the previous Army of Two games, and manages to be littered with more homophobia and bad jokes than before. Big Boi is here for some reason, but they couldn't get André 3000, so instead known flat earther B.O.B. completes the faux Outkast that act as your support crew in this game. Alpha and Bravo manage to have even less characterisation than Rios and Salem and every single woman in this franchise manages to get killed before the credits roll. Overall a miserable story that has the gall to end on a sequel tease.
2022
It's been a hot minute since I've been as conflicted about a game like this!
Overall, I really enjoyed my time with this game! The combat is a lot of fun, I love the demon summoning, the level design stands out as being more fun and consistent to explore compared to prior entries, and I think this game has the best gimmick non traditional gameplay segments of the trilogy. (Chapter 12 Boss I love you)
But man, I feel so torn up about this story. Everything feels so rushed despite this being the longest Bayonetta game by far, character motivation and development feels so sparse, and the game's ending goes for a somber tone that is totally unearned by the writing of the entire game up to that point. I think I hate how this game ends, and not just because of my obvious gay little bias.
I just don't know! Despite its strengths this game ends up the most tragically uneven Bayonetta.
Overall, I really enjoyed my time with this game! The combat is a lot of fun, I love the demon summoning, the level design stands out as being more fun and consistent to explore compared to prior entries, and I think this game has the best gimmick non traditional gameplay segments of the trilogy. (Chapter 12 Boss I love you)
But man, I feel so torn up about this story. Everything feels so rushed despite this being the longest Bayonetta game by far, character motivation and development feels so sparse, and the game's ending goes for a somber tone that is totally unearned by the writing of the entire game up to that point. I think I hate how this game ends, and not just because of my obvious gay little bias.
I just don't know! Despite its strengths this game ends up the most tragically uneven Bayonetta.
1998
Is Sonic R a good racing game? Not really.
However as an expression of 3D graphics and CD quality sound at one of the turning points of the medium, it is indispensable to me. It's a game so directly tied to my childhood that I struggle to detach it from my nostalgia, but it's always fun to boot up every now and again.
However as an expression of 3D graphics and CD quality sound at one of the turning points of the medium, it is indispensable to me. It's a game so directly tied to my childhood that I struggle to detach it from my nostalgia, but it's always fun to boot up every now and again.
This game truly and utterly sucks, but in a way that fascinates me. Capcom wants a Games As A Service Resident Evil so very badly, and their latest attempt is... a Deathmatch Arena Shooter that directly adapts the mechanics of the Resident Evil Remakes with no regard for how they would work in a multiplayer setting? In what world did they think this was going to be the new eSport that audiences clamour for?
I could talk about the individual mechanical decisions here that are not very good, (Chris having an ability that just lets him be invincible for 3 seconds, Ada spawning with a one hit kill crossbow, how its a score based game that is entirely based on getting Last Hits on enemies) but most importantly, There's a perk you can unlock in this game that protects how much MMR you can lose in a match. If Activision or EA ever realises this is a mechanic that they could sell to consumers this industry will be broken forever.
I could talk about the individual mechanical decisions here that are not very good, (Chris having an ability that just lets him be invincible for 3 seconds, Ada spawning with a one hit kill crossbow, how its a score based game that is entirely based on getting Last Hits on enemies) but most importantly, There's a perk you can unlock in this game that protects how much MMR you can lose in a match. If Activision or EA ever realises this is a mechanic that they could sell to consumers this industry will be broken forever.
2008
This game is like, peak kusoge. There are so many systems in this game, so much ambition, and all of it is terrible. Made at the peak of the Havok Physics Engine revolution of the 360 generation, everything in this game flops around and waggles. A horror game that completely fails to be scary at any point, it is a genuinely hilarious romp to go through right up until the final Episode of the game, where the game demands you arbitrarily burn down 50 tree roots before you're allowed to do the final chapter.
"I Don't Have Your Stone, and Fuck You Anyway" - Edward Carnby
"I Don't Have Your Stone, and Fuck You Anyway" - Edward Carnby
2000
I had a lot more fun with this than I did the first game! A lot less to enjoy here outside of the combat loop, which I did like, but its lacking in depth in most other aspects compared to most other Survival Horror games on the system. Less fun for the folks who watch me play these horror games, but a fun enough ride nonetheless.