donproject
Gigantic budget shooty game is two parts "Yeah, that's what I expected" and one part "Wait, did I just play a Far Cry story?"
First, let's just get this part out of the way: Yes, there is a multiplayer and zombies mode for this version of Black Ops. They are exactly what you'd expect. Mutliplayer is some war games with some other people of mixed ability, zombies is bunches of zombies until you die, either solo or also with other people. The multiplayer is iterative improvements over, what, decades, of ruling the genre. It is very familiar and easy to jump into if you've played any of the Call of Dutys. It's honestly fun, but kind of repetitive. The zombies games are kind of whatever, some people like them, I guess.
The campaign mode is what I'm into these days and this particular version was interesting and also kind of weird and dumb? You start the campaign by instantly realizing that probably a bajillion dollars and hours went into creating the assets and levels for this game. Super detailed environments and yet nothing really seems there just to be there, it all has a purpose and place in the world. Anyways, what you've got here is an espionage story during the 80's and I'll say I fully expected the corporate giant that made this to lean into the myth of American exceptionalism. However, it was only 60% about America being the great good in the world and everyone else being evil and the rest was kind of a weird story about double crossing or maybe not double crossing and... mind control? Also nukes, since... cold war, and all. There was definitely a Far Cry feel to the story with lots of flashbacks and induced memory hallucinations or whatever. I didn't feel motivated to deal with too many of the side quests, but it seemed you actually had to read some of the random scraps of data yourself to get into the weeds with this one? I zoomed past the weeds and through the main story and thought it was dumb at times, but a decent enough bit of entertainment.
Will I play it again and get some of the secrets? Or spend more than the hour or so I already did in multiplayer or zombies?
No. No, I won't. Besides, there'll be another one coming out soon enough, I'm sure!
Review from thedonproject.com
First, let's just get this part out of the way: Yes, there is a multiplayer and zombies mode for this version of Black Ops. They are exactly what you'd expect. Mutliplayer is some war games with some other people of mixed ability, zombies is bunches of zombies until you die, either solo or also with other people. The multiplayer is iterative improvements over, what, decades, of ruling the genre. It is very familiar and easy to jump into if you've played any of the Call of Dutys. It's honestly fun, but kind of repetitive. The zombies games are kind of whatever, some people like them, I guess.
The campaign mode is what I'm into these days and this particular version was interesting and also kind of weird and dumb? You start the campaign by instantly realizing that probably a bajillion dollars and hours went into creating the assets and levels for this game. Super detailed environments and yet nothing really seems there just to be there, it all has a purpose and place in the world. Anyways, what you've got here is an espionage story during the 80's and I'll say I fully expected the corporate giant that made this to lean into the myth of American exceptionalism. However, it was only 60% about America being the great good in the world and everyone else being evil and the rest was kind of a weird story about double crossing or maybe not double crossing and... mind control? Also nukes, since... cold war, and all. There was definitely a Far Cry feel to the story with lots of flashbacks and induced memory hallucinations or whatever. I didn't feel motivated to deal with too many of the side quests, but it seemed you actually had to read some of the random scraps of data yourself to get into the weeds with this one? I zoomed past the weeds and through the main story and thought it was dumb at times, but a decent enough bit of entertainment.
Will I play it again and get some of the secrets? Or spend more than the hour or so I already did in multiplayer or zombies?
No. No, I won't. Besides, there'll be another one coming out soon enough, I'm sure!
Review from thedonproject.com
2020
They did it. Those bastards. They finally got me to play an XBOX game.
All they had to do was make a Diablo clone with cute and silly pixel art and I was in, I guess. The story is less captivating than the Diablo games (there's a bad guy, you gotta defeat them), but it is not terrible. The gameplay is pretty similar to Diablo, with spamming the attack button and different skills while bunches of monsters run around, but a little less varied. There are plenty of things to do and collect, just like Diablo games. So, if you don't want to support Activision/Blizzard anymore for all the reasons, maybe this would take the place of your Diablo needs?
However, if you're looking for a game that is just as good as Diablo, this ain't it. The dungeons feel randomly generated because they are basically randomly generated. There is lots of unevenness to them, with stretches of walking without purpose to being overwhelmed with arrows shooting at you without much predictability or reason to it. I've been finding it difficult to hit enemies on my first swing because I forget how far my weapon does or doesn't extend. I do like the variable difficulty for each area and the option for couch co-op. Having to discover the merchants is an interesting addition to the genre, I suppose. The weapons, armor, and magic systems are all very familiar and easy to master for a veteran isometric 3D action-RPG player like myself. Plus, you can summon a llama that spits at enemies. That's fun.
In general, it's a fun little game that I could probably play with my nephew whenever he comes over. Not ground-breaking or life-changing, just a bit of entertaining dungeon crawling! Pretty good for an XBOX game.
Review from thedonproject.com
All they had to do was make a Diablo clone with cute and silly pixel art and I was in, I guess. The story is less captivating than the Diablo games (there's a bad guy, you gotta defeat them), but it is not terrible. The gameplay is pretty similar to Diablo, with spamming the attack button and different skills while bunches of monsters run around, but a little less varied. There are plenty of things to do and collect, just like Diablo games. So, if you don't want to support Activision/Blizzard anymore for all the reasons, maybe this would take the place of your Diablo needs?
However, if you're looking for a game that is just as good as Diablo, this ain't it. The dungeons feel randomly generated because they are basically randomly generated. There is lots of unevenness to them, with stretches of walking without purpose to being overwhelmed with arrows shooting at you without much predictability or reason to it. I've been finding it difficult to hit enemies on my first swing because I forget how far my weapon does or doesn't extend. I do like the variable difficulty for each area and the option for couch co-op. Having to discover the merchants is an interesting addition to the genre, I suppose. The weapons, armor, and magic systems are all very familiar and easy to master for a veteran isometric 3D action-RPG player like myself. Plus, you can summon a llama that spits at enemies. That's fun.
In general, it's a fun little game that I could probably play with my nephew whenever he comes over. Not ground-breaking or life-changing, just a bit of entertaining dungeon crawling! Pretty good for an XBOX game.
Review from thedonproject.com
2022
Why do Smash Brothers clones always have the percents go above 100%?
I usually end up as a button-masher whenever I play fighting games because I panic and forget what things do. I've played a couple sessions of Divine Knockout now and have rarely felt like I was just smashing buttons. I even got MVP a couple times! The game is easy enough to play for an old person like me, is what I'm saying. It is probably helpful that half of the buttons have reminders at the bottom of the screen all the time, too.
Anyways, my problems aside, this game is essentially Smash Bros but with gods from different cultures. It is a fine premise treated in somewhat of a simplistic, cartoony way that sort of makes you forget the character you are playing is a god, actually. I mean, Kirby can double jump, so it doesn't seem all that special that Thor or Susano or whoever can. They are intended to have varying play styles, I think, but I've played a couple gods now and they feel pretty similar. Basically, don't fall off the world, do some fighting things, use your fancy power moves, and try to beat the other team. Unlock some more characters and costumes, repeat, repeat, repeat. I think that's where I'm let down by this and other fighting games. They are quite repetitive. They rely on social gaming to make things more interesting (I don't know how it would work, but some couch co-op would help here, as well), but if social gaming isn't your thing, then just fighting with different characters in different places to unlock things isn't super compelling.
That said, it's decently fun for a little bit, looks nice, and is easy enough to manage. I don't know that I'll dive in to too many more sessions, but if an online friend sent over an invite to play, I probably wouldn't turn it down. I'm 134% sure of it, actually.
Review from thedonproject.com
I usually end up as a button-masher whenever I play fighting games because I panic and forget what things do. I've played a couple sessions of Divine Knockout now and have rarely felt like I was just smashing buttons. I even got MVP a couple times! The game is easy enough to play for an old person like me, is what I'm saying. It is probably helpful that half of the buttons have reminders at the bottom of the screen all the time, too.
Anyways, my problems aside, this game is essentially Smash Bros but with gods from different cultures. It is a fine premise treated in somewhat of a simplistic, cartoony way that sort of makes you forget the character you are playing is a god, actually. I mean, Kirby can double jump, so it doesn't seem all that special that Thor or Susano or whoever can. They are intended to have varying play styles, I think, but I've played a couple gods now and they feel pretty similar. Basically, don't fall off the world, do some fighting things, use your fancy power moves, and try to beat the other team. Unlock some more characters and costumes, repeat, repeat, repeat. I think that's where I'm let down by this and other fighting games. They are quite repetitive. They rely on social gaming to make things more interesting (I don't know how it would work, but some couch co-op would help here, as well), but if social gaming isn't your thing, then just fighting with different characters in different places to unlock things isn't super compelling.
That said, it's decently fun for a little bit, looks nice, and is easy enough to manage. I don't know that I'll dive in to too many more sessions, but if an online friend sent over an invite to play, I probably wouldn't turn it down. I'm 134% sure of it, actually.
Review from thedonproject.com
2021
I mean, really, who cares?
Honestly, I can't be bothered to care about this game. I tried it out a couple times both solo and with online people, and I just... don't care. I'm a late adopter since I waited for it to be included in PS+, so it looks fine and it does all the things that a pretend-to-be-in-the-military game should do these days, I think. Yet, the real world is basically on fire and a future for our society looks pretty bleak, so aiming the little crosshairs at some moving pixels and collecting different colors of guns and hats or whatever seems like a pointless waste of time.
Now, don't get me wrong, I've played a bunch of the other war training games and didn't mind them back then. Being in video game war is exciting and entertaining. This particular brodown doesn't seem to bring a lot of new things other than infinity menu options crammed on one screen and maybe some vehicles or something? I guess the games have 128 players, but it doesn't feel like it, at least 2 years after release. In general, it seems like you just play the same wargames as always and a tiny child avoiding their homework instantly kills you from some secret spot that you haven't learned about yet. Maybe that's the part I don't have patience for these days: to have fun at this type of game you have to get decently skilled at this type of game, which requires you to get shot many, many times. Add this learning curve to the lack of any kind of motivation to play, and... I'm out. The graphics seem nice, though.
Why is it called 2042, anyways? It isn't set in the near future, is it? I must have missed the story while searching through menus to pick an incrementally better shooty-thingy. Ugh, I'm going to go delete this off my drive now.
Review from thedonproject.com
Honestly, I can't be bothered to care about this game. I tried it out a couple times both solo and with online people, and I just... don't care. I'm a late adopter since I waited for it to be included in PS+, so it looks fine and it does all the things that a pretend-to-be-in-the-military game should do these days, I think. Yet, the real world is basically on fire and a future for our society looks pretty bleak, so aiming the little crosshairs at some moving pixels and collecting different colors of guns and hats or whatever seems like a pointless waste of time.
Now, don't get me wrong, I've played a bunch of the other war training games and didn't mind them back then. Being in video game war is exciting and entertaining. This particular brodown doesn't seem to bring a lot of new things other than infinity menu options crammed on one screen and maybe some vehicles or something? I guess the games have 128 players, but it doesn't feel like it, at least 2 years after release. In general, it seems like you just play the same wargames as always and a tiny child avoiding their homework instantly kills you from some secret spot that you haven't learned about yet. Maybe that's the part I don't have patience for these days: to have fun at this type of game you have to get decently skilled at this type of game, which requires you to get shot many, many times. Add this learning curve to the lack of any kind of motivation to play, and... I'm out. The graphics seem nice, though.
Why is it called 2042, anyways? It isn't set in the near future, is it? I must have missed the story while searching through menus to pick an incrementally better shooty-thingy. Ugh, I'm going to go delete this off my drive now.
Review from thedonproject.com
2021
When your grandma tells you to go and take pictures of stuff, you oblige her!
Listen, if you're a hard-hearted fool who disrespects your grandma, this game ain't for you, chum. However, if you're a person that lives for grandma's cookies, sacrifices some minor inconvenience for her comfort, and straight up loves your elders, get this game and prepare to have the strings of your heart tugged, my friend.
The plot of the game is, basically, "Go take a picture of a thing." The mechanics are, predictably, taking pictures of things, but also interacting with stuff and navigating a charming world in various clever ways! Your goal along the way to taking the final picture is to help out the world you're in and gain stamps on your community card, which you can then show to a person to get a bus ride to the next town along the journey. Simple, yet captivating due to the design and gameplay.
The world of Toem (a roughly Scandanavian place, it seems) is a rotatable, isometric 3-D world of hand-drawn characters, buildings, terrains, and more. The art style and feel of the world are similar to the great OlliOlli World with the cartoon style, mumble-languages, and jovial tone. Each NPC has a personality and charm that keep you going to get them ice cream or keep you from getting too annoyed when they splash mud on your camera. The stamp-gathering quests never felt stale or tedious, even when I felt I had to cheat a little bit to find that last plant to water or whatever (I got about 95% complete by myself, calm down). The soundtrack is varied and "chill", as the kids say, but the default option of a 4-minute gap of silence between songs was kind of weird. I did like the reminder to take a break every once in a while even though I staunchly ignored it as I devoured this game.
This game is a joy to play, look at, and listen to. Just about my only complaint is that I 100% completed the game in less than 7 hours and I definitely could have spent longer taking pictures of stuff and talking with the affable, delightful denizens of this lovely little world.
So, hug your grandma and get this game!
Review from thedonproject.com
Listen, if you're a hard-hearted fool who disrespects your grandma, this game ain't for you, chum. However, if you're a person that lives for grandma's cookies, sacrifices some minor inconvenience for her comfort, and straight up loves your elders, get this game and prepare to have the strings of your heart tugged, my friend.
The plot of the game is, basically, "Go take a picture of a thing." The mechanics are, predictably, taking pictures of things, but also interacting with stuff and navigating a charming world in various clever ways! Your goal along the way to taking the final picture is to help out the world you're in and gain stamps on your community card, which you can then show to a person to get a bus ride to the next town along the journey. Simple, yet captivating due to the design and gameplay.
The world of Toem (a roughly Scandanavian place, it seems) is a rotatable, isometric 3-D world of hand-drawn characters, buildings, terrains, and more. The art style and feel of the world are similar to the great OlliOlli World with the cartoon style, mumble-languages, and jovial tone. Each NPC has a personality and charm that keep you going to get them ice cream or keep you from getting too annoyed when they splash mud on your camera. The stamp-gathering quests never felt stale or tedious, even when I felt I had to cheat a little bit to find that last plant to water or whatever (I got about 95% complete by myself, calm down). The soundtrack is varied and "chill", as the kids say, but the default option of a 4-minute gap of silence between songs was kind of weird. I did like the reminder to take a break every once in a while even though I staunchly ignored it as I devoured this game.
This game is a joy to play, look at, and listen to. Just about my only complaint is that I 100% completed the game in less than 7 hours and I definitely could have spent longer taking pictures of stuff and talking with the affable, delightful denizens of this lovely little world.
So, hug your grandma and get this game!
Review from thedonproject.com
2021
Bloopbloopbloopbloopbloopbloopbloopbloopbloopbloopbloopbloopbloopbloop...
I wanted to love this little indie game. A little boy in a hoodie and jean jacket runs away to escape a clearly sad homelife (in the 90s?) with nothing but a peanut butter sandwich and a vacuuming backpack that looks like a proton pack for a weapon. The soundtrack is gorgeous ambient sadness and the graphics are YA indie comic cuteness. As you adventure farther into a magical wood vacuuming up trash and kicking stuff you're introduced to a horde of very twee little helpers and forgetful older folk as well as some other delightful characters. All of this should have added up to a classic in my library.
The main game mechanics are vacuuming, kicking, and throwing your little helpers at things. I think that last bit was the one that broke me out of the world. At one point, I learned to defeat an enemy simply by smashing the throw button a ton of times until my little spritelings knocked it out of the sky and then chomped on its stunned body until it exploded. It took a while to learn this and I thought this was a roguelike at first with how many times I was dying against certain enemies. But as I learned to chuck more tiny beings at things in order to win, I learned that this mechanic was kind of annoying, actually. For one, the strategy became just "throw more of them." Worse, though, the spritelings and the other character you control are stupid. They will not dodge on their own and only follow your exact footsteps. This makes them die pretty often if you're not precise or clever in your movements. I think they have health bars and there's a mechanic for healing them, but it is not in a tutorial. The isometric view made it difficult for this aging player to aim and dodge as well, so I found myself frustrated with controls more often than I should be in a game like this. Additionally annoying was the day/night cycle, since I would get close to solving a puzzle and then night would drop (with a very scary musical warning) and I'd rush back to sleep only to have a bunch of monsters respawn and probably kill me or my adventuring companion.
In general, everything else was very nice, but gameplay choices took me out of the chill, sad-ish magic and into annoyed, button-mashing land. If that's your jam, then maybe this game is for you!
Review from thedonproject.com
I wanted to love this little indie game. A little boy in a hoodie and jean jacket runs away to escape a clearly sad homelife (in the 90s?) with nothing but a peanut butter sandwich and a vacuuming backpack that looks like a proton pack for a weapon. The soundtrack is gorgeous ambient sadness and the graphics are YA indie comic cuteness. As you adventure farther into a magical wood vacuuming up trash and kicking stuff you're introduced to a horde of very twee little helpers and forgetful older folk as well as some other delightful characters. All of this should have added up to a classic in my library.
The main game mechanics are vacuuming, kicking, and throwing your little helpers at things. I think that last bit was the one that broke me out of the world. At one point, I learned to defeat an enemy simply by smashing the throw button a ton of times until my little spritelings knocked it out of the sky and then chomped on its stunned body until it exploded. It took a while to learn this and I thought this was a roguelike at first with how many times I was dying against certain enemies. But as I learned to chuck more tiny beings at things in order to win, I learned that this mechanic was kind of annoying, actually. For one, the strategy became just "throw more of them." Worse, though, the spritelings and the other character you control are stupid. They will not dodge on their own and only follow your exact footsteps. This makes them die pretty often if you're not precise or clever in your movements. I think they have health bars and there's a mechanic for healing them, but it is not in a tutorial. The isometric view made it difficult for this aging player to aim and dodge as well, so I found myself frustrated with controls more often than I should be in a game like this. Additionally annoying was the day/night cycle, since I would get close to solving a puzzle and then night would drop (with a very scary musical warning) and I'd rush back to sleep only to have a bunch of monsters respawn and probably kill me or my adventuring companion.
In general, everything else was very nice, but gameplay choices took me out of the chill, sad-ish magic and into annoyed, button-mashing land. If that's your jam, then maybe this game is for you!
Review from thedonproject.com
2018
Wonderful little puzzle game with a sad story and interesting mechanics.
These days, I'm into relaxing, sad games and The Gardens Between is an excellent addition to the sad old person genre, I guess. A puzzle-platformer of sorts, the game stars two young folk who live near each other in the same town and have a little treehouse hangout that, on a stormy night, appears to drop out of time and space and enter a watery world of memories of shared experiences. The two characters must be navigated wordlessly through these memories by you, but your only means of getting them to their goal is to change the direction and flow of time (and prompting the kids to grab a thing or put down a thing). Without spoiling the story, it is very touching and sad and I liked it a lot. Some might say the game is a bit short, but I think they included just the right number of puzzles to fit the story without becoming tedious or introducing more complex gameplay just for the sake of making more puzzles.
I loved the simple and interesting controls, the touching story, the ambient music, the pretty graphics, but would I go back and play this game through again? I don't know.
I might rewind time to experience for the first time again, though...
Review from thedonproject.com
These days, I'm into relaxing, sad games and The Gardens Between is an excellent addition to the sad old person genre, I guess. A puzzle-platformer of sorts, the game stars two young folk who live near each other in the same town and have a little treehouse hangout that, on a stormy night, appears to drop out of time and space and enter a watery world of memories of shared experiences. The two characters must be navigated wordlessly through these memories by you, but your only means of getting them to their goal is to change the direction and flow of time (and prompting the kids to grab a thing or put down a thing). Without spoiling the story, it is very touching and sad and I liked it a lot. Some might say the game is a bit short, but I think they included just the right number of puzzles to fit the story without becoming tedious or introducing more complex gameplay just for the sake of making more puzzles.
I loved the simple and interesting controls, the touching story, the ambient music, the pretty graphics, but would I go back and play this game through again? I don't know.
I might rewind time to experience for the first time again, though...
Review from thedonproject.com
A 1930's Grand Theft Auto gangster movie-themed game.
Let's see, you've got your gravelly-voiced protagonist/anti-hero, gritty cop living off coffee and cigarettes, big round mob bosses smoking cigars and wearing hats, the oscillating lyricism of the Italian-American accent through clenched jaws, old timey vehicles and weapons, and generally all the stereotypes and cliches of the mafia movies that people seem to love. Put this all in a pretty linear story set in a semi-open world and you've got a recipe for a game that is perfectly fine, but not revolutionary (these days, at least).
I never played the original Mafia, so this review isn't tinged with nostalgia or anything. Jumping into this world 20 years after it came out, even with a remake, feels old. The driving definitely felt like the cars were on a carousel, with a pole straight down the middle of them and the world flying by at nearly tens of miles per hour. It was fun to plow into a slow drift of a 1930's sedan but, having played a number of racing games, this one wasn't a good racing game. The third person shooter parts of the game were a bit clunky to me, with pretty wooden character movements, but nice graphics. In fact, maybe this whole remake was designed to look better than it was to feel better. Maybe as an homage to the original, maybe just to save cash during development? Either way, the game looks good fine, plays fine, and has a story with some twists that are suitable for one of those mafia movies.
I never felt like exploring the world for any reason, the story didn't really connect with me, and the gameplay was just adequate. I don't know about you, but it also felt weird to play a game with basically only white male characters in the world we live in now.
In short, I was greedy for more, which is always a problem in this world...
Review from thedonproject.com
Let's see, you've got your gravelly-voiced protagonist/anti-hero, gritty cop living off coffee and cigarettes, big round mob bosses smoking cigars and wearing hats, the oscillating lyricism of the Italian-American accent through clenched jaws, old timey vehicles and weapons, and generally all the stereotypes and cliches of the mafia movies that people seem to love. Put this all in a pretty linear story set in a semi-open world and you've got a recipe for a game that is perfectly fine, but not revolutionary (these days, at least).
I never played the original Mafia, so this review isn't tinged with nostalgia or anything. Jumping into this world 20 years after it came out, even with a remake, feels old. The driving definitely felt like the cars were on a carousel, with a pole straight down the middle of them and the world flying by at nearly tens of miles per hour. It was fun to plow into a slow drift of a 1930's sedan but, having played a number of racing games, this one wasn't a good racing game. The third person shooter parts of the game were a bit clunky to me, with pretty wooden character movements, but nice graphics. In fact, maybe this whole remake was designed to look better than it was to feel better. Maybe as an homage to the original, maybe just to save cash during development? Either way, the game looks good fine, plays fine, and has a story with some twists that are suitable for one of those mafia movies.
I never felt like exploring the world for any reason, the story didn't really connect with me, and the gameplay was just adequate. I don't know about you, but it also felt weird to play a game with basically only white male characters in the world we live in now.
In short, I was greedy for more, which is always a problem in this world...
Review from thedonproject.com
This game brings balance to the... jokes and fun!
The internet was saying that this game is good. So, I used some gift cards and actual money to purchase it. In this case, friends, the internet was not wrong.
There are two types of people in Star Wars fandom, I think. Those that get so fired up about cast or plot decisions that they post on right-wing-enabling social media sites and cause harm to... well, everybody, and those that enjoy the content or say "oh, it's just a movie." As a Star Wars tattoo-having individual, you might think I'd get riled up about how this film or that season of that show is the worst, but it turns out, it is just entertainment, folks. Lego Star Wars absolutely gets that school of thought and is better for it. Tons of in-universe jokes (like Luke's obsession with blue milk, for example) that gently lampoon the franchise while still honoring the joy that exists in the Star Wars universe. As my own thumbing of the nose to the keyboard warriors, I tried to include most of the hated characters in my party as much as possible. A Jar-Jar, Rose Tico, Emperor Clone, Wicket, Topless Kylo Ren, Salacious Crumb team is... well, it isn't great, actually, but screw those guys.
Apart from the jokes and the recognizable universe, this game has plenty of gaming things to like, as well. It is enjoyable for me to play as your favorite characters and is definitely for folks who like collecting. Playing through all nine movies was enjoyable for someone that has seen them all lots of times. There are greatly varied mechanics for characters on the planets, in hijacked capital ships, or in any of numerous other ships that allow a player to find their own style. You can be uncivilized and use a blaster or classy and just headbutt people as an astromech droid, you can also climb, grapple, glide, jetpack, use the force... everything but swim, really. I probably could have upped the difficulty a notch, but solving the platforming puzzles and finding the characters, ships, kyber blocks, and secrets without just looking up the quest online was enough for me. (I did cheat for the two cheat code characters. Also, love that cheat codes are in this game!)
However, the joy of collecting and side quests isn't for everyone. There are approximately billions and billions of puzzles, quests, events, and things to find in this game. If you're a completionist, you'll have to put that need aside or spend your whole summer on just this game. There are also some minor control/camera annoyances (riding a Fathier on Canto Bight was my least favorite), the game did crash once on me (to be fair, it was in rest mode or being played for several days), and I wanted a little more info about how characters behaved differently. For example, I think Wicket is faster than Obi-Wan (Ep III, with cape), my favorite duo in my playthrough, but I wasn't really sure.
Overall, I had a good time playing this game, chuckled a bit at the jokes, unlocked all the characters and ships, ended up with 15 billion studs, and maybe I'd even dive back in for some DLC? If it comes around on PS+, that is.
Review from thedonproject.com
The internet was saying that this game is good. So, I used some gift cards and actual money to purchase it. In this case, friends, the internet was not wrong.
There are two types of people in Star Wars fandom, I think. Those that get so fired up about cast or plot decisions that they post on right-wing-enabling social media sites and cause harm to... well, everybody, and those that enjoy the content or say "oh, it's just a movie." As a Star Wars tattoo-having individual, you might think I'd get riled up about how this film or that season of that show is the worst, but it turns out, it is just entertainment, folks. Lego Star Wars absolutely gets that school of thought and is better for it. Tons of in-universe jokes (like Luke's obsession with blue milk, for example) that gently lampoon the franchise while still honoring the joy that exists in the Star Wars universe. As my own thumbing of the nose to the keyboard warriors, I tried to include most of the hated characters in my party as much as possible. A Jar-Jar, Rose Tico, Emperor Clone, Wicket, Topless Kylo Ren, Salacious Crumb team is... well, it isn't great, actually, but screw those guys.
Apart from the jokes and the recognizable universe, this game has plenty of gaming things to like, as well. It is enjoyable for me to play as your favorite characters and is definitely for folks who like collecting. Playing through all nine movies was enjoyable for someone that has seen them all lots of times. There are greatly varied mechanics for characters on the planets, in hijacked capital ships, or in any of numerous other ships that allow a player to find their own style. You can be uncivilized and use a blaster or classy and just headbutt people as an astromech droid, you can also climb, grapple, glide, jetpack, use the force... everything but swim, really. I probably could have upped the difficulty a notch, but solving the platforming puzzles and finding the characters, ships, kyber blocks, and secrets without just looking up the quest online was enough for me. (I did cheat for the two cheat code characters. Also, love that cheat codes are in this game!)
However, the joy of collecting and side quests isn't for everyone. There are approximately billions and billions of puzzles, quests, events, and things to find in this game. If you're a completionist, you'll have to put that need aside or spend your whole summer on just this game. There are also some minor control/camera annoyances (riding a Fathier on Canto Bight was my least favorite), the game did crash once on me (to be fair, it was in rest mode or being played for several days), and I wanted a little more info about how characters behaved differently. For example, I think Wicket is faster than Obi-Wan (Ep III, with cape), my favorite duo in my playthrough, but I wasn't really sure.
Overall, I had a good time playing this game, chuckled a bit at the jokes, unlocked all the characters and ships, ended up with 15 billion studs, and maybe I'd even dive back in for some DLC? If it comes around on PS+, that is.
Review from thedonproject.com
2020
A wonderful little puzzle game about just making a lil' guy move around!
Sometimes, when times are tough, you need a pretty game with lots of opportunity for success. The Pedestrian is very pretty. Not only does it look great, the mechanics are just the right mix of simple to grasp and difficult to master. The game adds complexity and charm at the same rate, somehow, as you progress through the levels and explore the world of signs and puzzles. I didn't find the game as challenging as say, The Witness, but it still had just enough challenge to make me feel accomplished after finishing a puzzle and moving the little stick person towards the next sign. It's a short walk through these sign-based lands that goes beyond puzzles and a well-crafted aesthetic, it touches on comfort and reassurance.
A game for tough times, indeed.
Review from thedonproject.com
Sometimes, when times are tough, you need a pretty game with lots of opportunity for success. The Pedestrian is very pretty. Not only does it look great, the mechanics are just the right mix of simple to grasp and difficult to master. The game adds complexity and charm at the same rate, somehow, as you progress through the levels and explore the world of signs and puzzles. I didn't find the game as challenging as say, The Witness, but it still had just enough challenge to make me feel accomplished after finishing a puzzle and moving the little stick person towards the next sign. It's a short walk through these sign-based lands that goes beyond puzzles and a well-crafted aesthetic, it touches on comfort and reassurance.
A game for tough times, indeed.
Review from thedonproject.com
1984
Air combat is so simple!
Everybody knows that all you need to win an air war is one pilot who can shoot, move, and, above all, do a loop. Well, an air war that happens in two dimensions that is. With opposing pilots who can't really shoot. Or turn. But the other side has bigger planes!
Okay, despite the simplistic nature and basic graphics of 1942, it's still a good bit of entertainment. There are moments of terror when you almost get hit by a tiny round projectile or a plane punctuated by the necessary frantic movement to attempt to shoot down all of the many attacking planes. Later games in this bullet hell scrolling shooter genre just added more bullets and colors, but really didn't change the formula much, because that wasn't necessary. The fun is in the chaos!
However, this is a game you must play on mute. The audio is basically just static with morse code over the top until the end of the "level" when you get about three seconds to pause when you land on the carrier and a jaunty little tune plays. Trust me, hit that mute button while you just enjoy attempting to avoid exploding.
Hey, wait a second. In this racist country, it makes sense that Americans would love blowing up Japanese fighters, but why was this game popular IN JAPAN? I can't think of a game where Americans would be stoked to relive one of our military losses by playing the other side... Hmm.
Beep beep beep beep beep beepbeepbeeeepeeepeeep.
Review from thedonproject.com
Everybody knows that all you need to win an air war is one pilot who can shoot, move, and, above all, do a loop. Well, an air war that happens in two dimensions that is. With opposing pilots who can't really shoot. Or turn. But the other side has bigger planes!
Okay, despite the simplistic nature and basic graphics of 1942, it's still a good bit of entertainment. There are moments of terror when you almost get hit by a tiny round projectile or a plane punctuated by the necessary frantic movement to attempt to shoot down all of the many attacking planes. Later games in this bullet hell scrolling shooter genre just added more bullets and colors, but really didn't change the formula much, because that wasn't necessary. The fun is in the chaos!
However, this is a game you must play on mute. The audio is basically just static with morse code over the top until the end of the "level" when you get about three seconds to pause when you land on the carrier and a jaunty little tune plays. Trust me, hit that mute button while you just enjoy attempting to avoid exploding.
Hey, wait a second. In this racist country, it makes sense that Americans would love blowing up Japanese fighters, but why was this game popular IN JAPAN? I can't think of a game where Americans would be stoked to relive one of our military losses by playing the other side... Hmm.
Beep beep beep beep beep beepbeepbeeeepeeepeeep.
Review from thedonproject.com
1980
Let's just get this out of the way at the start, Ms. Pac Man is better.
Regular ol' Pac Man is fine and if it's in the arcade I'm pounding sodas in, I'll definitely put a quarter or three in, but it's just not as fun as the changing mazes and cutscenes of the lady version. I mean, don't get me wrong, the sounds are iconic, the gameplay is smooth and fast, and as the game gets harder it will eventually give you a stress heart attack and you'll die in real life.
I do have a fun story about Pac Man, though. As a child we spent a week or two at a central Washington lakeside campground/"resort". They had a little concrete shack that held the laundry machines and about three arcade cabinets. One glorious year, we figured out how to cram our tiny hands behind the coin slot door to activate the credit switch. For those two weeks we were tiny royalty doling out free credits to ourselves and leave the machine ready to play for the next kids. We never really got good at Pac Man, but we got good at life.
Still, Ms. Pac Man is better.
Review from thedonproject.com
Regular ol' Pac Man is fine and if it's in the arcade I'm pounding sodas in, I'll definitely put a quarter or three in, but it's just not as fun as the changing mazes and cutscenes of the lady version. I mean, don't get me wrong, the sounds are iconic, the gameplay is smooth and fast, and as the game gets harder it will eventually give you a stress heart attack and you'll die in real life.
I do have a fun story about Pac Man, though. As a child we spent a week or two at a central Washington lakeside campground/"resort". They had a little concrete shack that held the laundry machines and about three arcade cabinets. One glorious year, we figured out how to cram our tiny hands behind the coin slot door to activate the credit switch. For those two weeks we were tiny royalty doling out free credits to ourselves and leave the machine ready to play for the next kids. We never really got good at Pac Man, but we got good at life.
Still, Ms. Pac Man is better.
Review from thedonproject.com
1997
Break time!
I used to play this cabinet during my breaks at Nintendo for some reason. Well, when others weren't playing it, that is. It was quite popular with the few bro's there. Actually, even if you hate American football like I do and have no idea what you're doing, it's a solidly fun game.
It's fun because it is ridiculous. There's some announcer dude yelling random things all the time. The players make bonkers plays every time, jump around incessantly, and do more violence than Mortal Kombat. The graphics are pretty great for the time and the only thing that really annoys me about it is the play selection sound (and that I don't know what plays do, really). It's a fast-paced and exciting version of a pretty boring and commercialized sport and you get a solid amount of play for your quarters. I can see why the bro's played it!
"That was uncalled for, but a lot of fun to watch."
Review from thedonproject.com
I used to play this cabinet during my breaks at Nintendo for some reason. Well, when others weren't playing it, that is. It was quite popular with the few bro's there. Actually, even if you hate American football like I do and have no idea what you're doing, it's a solidly fun game.
It's fun because it is ridiculous. There's some announcer dude yelling random things all the time. The players make bonkers plays every time, jump around incessantly, and do more violence than Mortal Kombat. The graphics are pretty great for the time and the only thing that really annoys me about it is the play selection sound (and that I don't know what plays do, really). It's a fast-paced and exciting version of a pretty boring and commercialized sport and you get a solid amount of play for your quarters. I can see why the bro's played it!
"That was uncalled for, but a lot of fun to watch."
Review from thedonproject.com
1982
This is the best Pac-Man.
No joke, if I were to buy an arcade cabinet for my house, like a big man-child, it would probably be Ms. Pac-Man. If there's a cabinet at whatever dive bar I'm at, I will always put a quarter or five in. It's the perfect balance of action and aesthetics. It is a rare sequel that is better than the original. It is no wonder that it is one of the most popular games of all time.
There are a number of features that make this game awesome. The changing mazes is the easiest to spot. The addition of the moving fruit gives another target to aim for and increases the feeling of chaos of the game. The wrap-around side tunnels gave the maps a literal extra dimension. However, the best feature for me is the cutscenes. A little bit of story added to the hectic chasing gives you a little treat every couple levels. A jaunty tune and a clever, comedic respite from trying to survive. The Ms. Pac-Man scenes are just a step better than the original. I particularly like the second cutscene and can get there pretty reliably. So good.
The chase!
Review from thedonproject.com
No joke, if I were to buy an arcade cabinet for my house, like a big man-child, it would probably be Ms. Pac-Man. If there's a cabinet at whatever dive bar I'm at, I will always put a quarter or five in. It's the perfect balance of action and aesthetics. It is a rare sequel that is better than the original. It is no wonder that it is one of the most popular games of all time.
There are a number of features that make this game awesome. The changing mazes is the easiest to spot. The addition of the moving fruit gives another target to aim for and increases the feeling of chaos of the game. The wrap-around side tunnels gave the maps a literal extra dimension. However, the best feature for me is the cutscenes. A little bit of story added to the hectic chasing gives you a little treat every couple levels. A jaunty tune and a clever, comedic respite from trying to survive. The Ms. Pac-Man scenes are just a step better than the original. I particularly like the second cutscene and can get there pretty reliably. So good.
The chase!
Review from thedonproject.com
1992
MORTAL KOMBAT!
Look, fighting games aren't really my bag. This one, though, a scrappy cabinet at my local 7-Eleven that replaced Street Fighter II, left a mark (pun intended). Being alive for the controversy and the groundbreaking digitization of people and cartoonish ultra-violence was a gift that the universe provided. To see old white ladies get all up in arms about fatalities in games when fatalities in the real world were at a pretty solid high point was either a telling critique of the priorities of our society or a apropos commentary on folks fighting for what they think they can control in their lives. Either way, the fight was sad.
The game gleefully ate up a bunch of our quarters as we tried to learn the sequences and timing that would rip the heart from our enemies as we tried to climb the ladder in the vague Enter The Dragon homage plastered with blood animations and elemental magic. Most of my quarters were lost by being pretty bad at fighting games and not having the patience to find out the secret combos and patterns that would win the matches against my friends and the computer. I always leaned towards the magic-users, particularly Sub-Zero and Raiden. The battles were very quick, so my cash went just as fast. I still appreciated the graphics and hilarious violence and making the olds worry about my violent hooligan future, though. Good times.
FATALITY!
Review from thedonproject.com
Look, fighting games aren't really my bag. This one, though, a scrappy cabinet at my local 7-Eleven that replaced Street Fighter II, left a mark (pun intended). Being alive for the controversy and the groundbreaking digitization of people and cartoonish ultra-violence was a gift that the universe provided. To see old white ladies get all up in arms about fatalities in games when fatalities in the real world were at a pretty solid high point was either a telling critique of the priorities of our society or a apropos commentary on folks fighting for what they think they can control in their lives. Either way, the fight was sad.
The game gleefully ate up a bunch of our quarters as we tried to learn the sequences and timing that would rip the heart from our enemies as we tried to climb the ladder in the vague Enter The Dragon homage plastered with blood animations and elemental magic. Most of my quarters were lost by being pretty bad at fighting games and not having the patience to find out the secret combos and patterns that would win the matches against my friends and the computer. I always leaned towards the magic-users, particularly Sub-Zero and Raiden. The battles were very quick, so my cash went just as fast. I still appreciated the graphics and hilarious violence and making the olds worry about my violent hooligan future, though. Good times.
FATALITY!
Review from thedonproject.com