Short,clever,action fueled experience from one of the influential games of the last 25 years
Gameplay
First of all i actually love the gameplay for this game,its pretty simple but fun and hard (at least with limited quicksave on pc)
the gameplay is based around the fact that enemies are on every corner and they appear to suprise you,and if you let them suprise you,you will be either be dead or losse a lot of health that in this game is vital,since there is limited health items.Thanks to this you will be paranoic quick,especially in higher difficulties and if you dont remember the enemy layout,and actually that second point is kind of rewarding,since the game can be sometimes pretty obvious and repetitive with its enemy placement you can predict when and where a horde of enemies will be and lure them and kill them with something like an explosive,saving you a lot of health since you dont have to confront them,since they have absurd reaction times,you will be near always at least hit by 1 bullet in a confrontation,and that is a lot of health.
The main unique mechanic in this game is the iconic bullet time,and to assure you,it is cool af,but not op,and that is a good thing,let me explain.this game is all based around resources that run out quickly (painkillers and ammo) and the bullet time bar reloads when you wait,so is pretty much an infinite resource,and if the power was really good,it will be op and make the hard gameplay go away,for this reason they made bullet time really situational and with a lot of end lag,this makes it not abusable and op.another easier solution will have made the bullet time bar a limted resource that you have to find and make it more powerfull but it works anyway.
I also love that bullets are projectiles and they have a landing time,i think this has one of the first games to do that
The guns have all different uses cases but they arent all balanced heres a little tier list:
S:Comando assault rifle,Sniper rifle,Dual ingram,Grenades and Grenade launcher
A:Jackhammer and Double berretas
B:Molotov and Shotgun
C:Desert Eagle
D:Bat
F:Double Barrel Shotgun and Lead pipe
The bosses in this game are really underwhelming that i will admit,they are just really fragile and feel more like regular enemies,and also they are pretty easy for the most part.
I really like the games pacing,short levels in different settings,with some cutscenes in between or in the middle,it makes it really dynamic
Story/Writing
The most noteworthy thing about the writing is how clever it is,every little thing that could be said normally is said in phrases and methaphores,it makes it a whole a lot more interesting and it gives it a lot of personality.
Apart from max,the rest of the cast is not noteworthy,they are all pretty generic with maybe some fun and cool lines.
Max is an amazing protagonist,he has a deep psychology,he is self aware and makes funny comments on the games tropes,he is pretty nuanced and he is funny,cant ask much more of him,he just needs a better suporting cast.
The voice acting is top tier,it sounds extremely fitting for all the characters,doesnt sound pretentious (im looking at you bg3) and just sounds great.
Graphics/Aesthetics
I really like the cold,nyc aesthetics,the game aesthetics are really dark and its always snowing,making for a really hostile enviroment
i really like that you go through so many different places,but they all fit with the aesthetic,like the restaraunt,the boat,that building that looked like the whitehouse,it makes it pretty refreshing
What i think the main problem with the game is (and is kind of with the whole genre) is that there isnt any side content because its a linear game and it doesnt have that much replayability apart from new difficulties
The ending boss is kind of trash,it is really abrupt and instead of fighting for real you just fight a mickey squad and shot some cords that make a thing fall to the heli.and the ending cutscene itself prepares the game for its sequel,that im forsure going to play
OVERALL
Cant ask much more out of this game apart from more content and replayability and like better bosses,and maybe better side cast,but apart from that amazing
Strong 8 to Light 9
Gameplay
First of all i actually love the gameplay for this game,its pretty simple but fun and hard (at least with limited quicksave on pc)
the gameplay is based around the fact that enemies are on every corner and they appear to suprise you,and if you let them suprise you,you will be either be dead or losse a lot of health that in this game is vital,since there is limited health items.Thanks to this you will be paranoic quick,especially in higher difficulties and if you dont remember the enemy layout,and actually that second point is kind of rewarding,since the game can be sometimes pretty obvious and repetitive with its enemy placement you can predict when and where a horde of enemies will be and lure them and kill them with something like an explosive,saving you a lot of health since you dont have to confront them,since they have absurd reaction times,you will be near always at least hit by 1 bullet in a confrontation,and that is a lot of health.
The main unique mechanic in this game is the iconic bullet time,and to assure you,it is cool af,but not op,and that is a good thing,let me explain.this game is all based around resources that run out quickly (painkillers and ammo) and the bullet time bar reloads when you wait,so is pretty much an infinite resource,and if the power was really good,it will be op and make the hard gameplay go away,for this reason they made bullet time really situational and with a lot of end lag,this makes it not abusable and op.another easier solution will have made the bullet time bar a limted resource that you have to find and make it more powerfull but it works anyway.
I also love that bullets are projectiles and they have a landing time,i think this has one of the first games to do that
The guns have all different uses cases but they arent all balanced heres a little tier list:
S:Comando assault rifle,Sniper rifle,Dual ingram,Grenades and Grenade launcher
A:Jackhammer and Double berretas
B:Molotov and Shotgun
C:Desert Eagle
D:Bat
F:Double Barrel Shotgun and Lead pipe
The bosses in this game are really underwhelming that i will admit,they are just really fragile and feel more like regular enemies,and also they are pretty easy for the most part.
I really like the games pacing,short levels in different settings,with some cutscenes in between or in the middle,it makes it really dynamic
Story/Writing
The most noteworthy thing about the writing is how clever it is,every little thing that could be said normally is said in phrases and methaphores,it makes it a whole a lot more interesting and it gives it a lot of personality.
Apart from max,the rest of the cast is not noteworthy,they are all pretty generic with maybe some fun and cool lines.
Max is an amazing protagonist,he has a deep psychology,he is self aware and makes funny comments on the games tropes,he is pretty nuanced and he is funny,cant ask much more of him,he just needs a better suporting cast.
The voice acting is top tier,it sounds extremely fitting for all the characters,doesnt sound pretentious (im looking at you bg3) and just sounds great.
Graphics/Aesthetics
I really like the cold,nyc aesthetics,the game aesthetics are really dark and its always snowing,making for a really hostile enviroment
i really like that you go through so many different places,but they all fit with the aesthetic,like the restaraunt,the boat,that building that looked like the whitehouse,it makes it pretty refreshing
What i think the main problem with the game is (and is kind of with the whole genre) is that there isnt any side content because its a linear game and it doesnt have that much replayability apart from new difficulties
The ending boss is kind of trash,it is really abrupt and instead of fighting for real you just fight a mickey squad and shot some cords that make a thing fall to the heli.and the ending cutscene itself prepares the game for its sequel,that im forsure going to play
OVERALL
Cant ask much more out of this game apart from more content and replayability and like better bosses,and maybe better side cast,but apart from that amazing
Strong 8 to Light 9