iv1632
Talk about underrated, I feel like this game doesn't get enough credit for what it does right. First off, the voice actors for Batman and Joker are different but they fit their roles and know how to play them. The story and characters, while different to the other Arkham games in tone, I'd say are better adaptations of Batman than both Asylum and City before it. Everyone knows of Deathstroke and Deadshot being "cool" but there are other highlights. The character designs are honestly better, Bruce and Alfred actually have a relationship and some character development, and Bane actually had real personality plus intelligence besides being a big brute which is not what he's supposed to be. This game also serves as the origin story for Batman and Joker's rivalry, which is pretty well handled while keeping it simple.
Combat takes a lot from Arkham City, although I'd say is snappier, but adds the B.A.T. mode mechanic from City's Armored Edition in the late game. You get the gloves to build up kinetic energy and then activate them to boost your damage, instantly dropping enemies, it definitely makes the game easier but honestly the way you can keep up combos with it when the heavier enemies appear is really satisfying. Alongside the general fighting, the bosses are actually really good and decently challenging, well designed final boss and all, probably better in this department than both its predecessors.
The open world is kinda pointlessly bigger, mainly thanks to the bridge, but the side activities felt more focused, less frustrating and we even got fast travel to alleviate running to objectives on the other side of the map. The snowy Christmas setting is pretty chill, and I think it actually is a nice mood for a Christmas game with violence and everything.
There are some things I dislike, the hook that previously could be attached to walls can now only be used on designated spots or connecting enemies, and the crime investigations are a little too basic. Investigating is fun at first but soon you'll realize that Batman always knows the next step and you just follow along, clicking on the single clue that appears after the last one. However I honestly found this game to have better pacing, as well as be less frustrating and more enjoyable than City. While I still miss the metroidvania-lite structure of Asylum, only thing I can knock against Origins is that it doesn't innovate as much as City did, but considering the enjoyment I got out of it I can't hate it for that at all.
Combat takes a lot from Arkham City, although I'd say is snappier, but adds the B.A.T. mode mechanic from City's Armored Edition in the late game. You get the gloves to build up kinetic energy and then activate them to boost your damage, instantly dropping enemies, it definitely makes the game easier but honestly the way you can keep up combos with it when the heavier enemies appear is really satisfying. Alongside the general fighting, the bosses are actually really good and decently challenging, well designed final boss and all, probably better in this department than both its predecessors.
The open world is kinda pointlessly bigger, mainly thanks to the bridge, but the side activities felt more focused, less frustrating and we even got fast travel to alleviate running to objectives on the other side of the map. The snowy Christmas setting is pretty chill, and I think it actually is a nice mood for a Christmas game with violence and everything.
There are some things I dislike, the hook that previously could be attached to walls can now only be used on designated spots or connecting enemies, and the crime investigations are a little too basic. Investigating is fun at first but soon you'll realize that Batman always knows the next step and you just follow along, clicking on the single clue that appears after the last one. However I honestly found this game to have better pacing, as well as be less frustrating and more enjoyable than City. While I still miss the metroidvania-lite structure of Asylum, only thing I can knock against Origins is that it doesn't innovate as much as City did, but considering the enjoyment I got out of it I can't hate it for that at all.
2010
This is a bit of a disappointing game. It looks pretty fine at surface level, there's the bloody presentation, a charming Terror Mask and you gotta go save your girlfriend from this house of horror. However, the presentation is a bit odd to me. We got the gratuitous amount of blood and gore, but we don't really have the clear homages to the slasher films that Splaterrhouse started with in the arcade, there's a bunch of meh licensed music and the framerate is constantly dipping. That said, they really tried to make a complete story for this game and the characters have great voice acting with Jim Cummings as the Mask being the highlight, but I really appreciate Josh Keaton's Rick too.
The gameplay starts out HORRIBLE. The start of the game is probably the least polished, poor performance combined with mechanics that are explained well after you need the explanation really sour the beginning of the game, it takes like an hour to really pick up. However, when you figure out how to make combos and guarantee your glory kills it becomes pretty fun!
You get upgrades to expand your moveset and get more health or better weapons, which does help the game keep the fun alongside the introductions to new environments and enemies, but that really slows down when you're around the middle of the game and there's barely much of it by the end.
You'll get thrown into areas with unexplained mechanics or forced platforming without warning and probably die because you don't know what you're doing, then wait for loading screens that can take entire minutes to finish, and the game starts to become a chore. The final stage has a horrible objective that I had to do by turning the game down to easy to tolerate it and I was just tired. This is one of those games that really needed some more polish and time and maybe it would have been great, but as it is, its saving grace is that it's short enough for the flaws to not accumulate so much that you REALLY want to quit, and I still felt like quitting when there was just a few minutes of game left.
I really want something that can follow up on what Splatterhouse was doing in the 80s-90s, a homage to some horror and slasher classics, but without the average game design and unfair difficulty. This game isn't quite there, but it gets close to having the right attitude at points, and I still had fun through most of it but really wish another chance for something like this could still happen. If you do play this, please set it to easy during phase 11 or 12, but also look into its development and cut content. Some of the cut dialogue is great, and it helps contextualize where this game was on the right track but why it didn't get there. I really do recommend it if you're interested, but it won't win you over if you have no tolerance for the issues I brought up.
The gameplay starts out HORRIBLE. The start of the game is probably the least polished, poor performance combined with mechanics that are explained well after you need the explanation really sour the beginning of the game, it takes like an hour to really pick up. However, when you figure out how to make combos and guarantee your glory kills it becomes pretty fun!
You get upgrades to expand your moveset and get more health or better weapons, which does help the game keep the fun alongside the introductions to new environments and enemies, but that really slows down when you're around the middle of the game and there's barely much of it by the end.
You'll get thrown into areas with unexplained mechanics or forced platforming without warning and probably die because you don't know what you're doing, then wait for loading screens that can take entire minutes to finish, and the game starts to become a chore. The final stage has a horrible objective that I had to do by turning the game down to easy to tolerate it and I was just tired. This is one of those games that really needed some more polish and time and maybe it would have been great, but as it is, its saving grace is that it's short enough for the flaws to not accumulate so much that you REALLY want to quit, and I still felt like quitting when there was just a few minutes of game left.
I really want something that can follow up on what Splatterhouse was doing in the 80s-90s, a homage to some horror and slasher classics, but without the average game design and unfair difficulty. This game isn't quite there, but it gets close to having the right attitude at points, and I still had fun through most of it but really wish another chance for something like this could still happen. If you do play this, please set it to easy during phase 11 or 12, but also look into its development and cut content. Some of the cut dialogue is great, and it helps contextualize where this game was on the right track but why it didn't get there. I really do recommend it if you're interested, but it won't win you over if you have no tolerance for the issues I brought up.
2016
The original UNDERTALE
Yet another game to add to my list of favorites and best ever. This case is kind of strange because this game really isn't perfect, the stealth barely works (it's luckily optional, different focus) and the VR missions are probably just really unnecessary to the game, but the joy you get when playing through it is simply worth it.
The QTEs are prominent but not too annoying, they're usually satisfying and I think this game should be the example for it instead of RE4, except for those QTEs where you wiggle the stick left and right because they're the most inconsistent. Also, the cutting mechanic has many uses during combat alongside your combos so that you can always strive to get better at it.
The music pumps, you learn to get more efficient while playing, you become faster and then by the time you realize it you're playing the game again. It is very short, about 5 to 6 hours, but they can be played again with satisfaction many times.
The story is actually clever, I have issues with Raiden's character and some of the dialogue, but following up on MGS4 and not being a mess is definitely more than an accomplishment. Not to mention, the villains you fight are all written really well for what they are, you can extrapolate a lot of their ideas if you look beyond the memes.
I was led to believe the final boss would be a festival of QTEs and cutscenes but it ended up mixing in gameplay very well and it forced me to do better combos, the finale was just extremely satisfying and I'm on my way to do it again just because it's fun.
Really I could go on all day about how the combat works, but it's better if you just play it, do it if you haven't.
The QTEs are prominent but not too annoying, they're usually satisfying and I think this game should be the example for it instead of RE4, except for those QTEs where you wiggle the stick left and right because they're the most inconsistent. Also, the cutting mechanic has many uses during combat alongside your combos so that you can always strive to get better at it.
The music pumps, you learn to get more efficient while playing, you become faster and then by the time you realize it you're playing the game again. It is very short, about 5 to 6 hours, but they can be played again with satisfaction many times.
The story is actually clever, I have issues with Raiden's character and some of the dialogue, but following up on MGS4 and not being a mess is definitely more than an accomplishment. Not to mention, the villains you fight are all written really well for what they are, you can extrapolate a lot of their ideas if you look beyond the memes.
I was led to believe the final boss would be a festival of QTEs and cutscenes but it ended up mixing in gameplay very well and it forced me to do better combos, the finale was just extremely satisfying and I'm on my way to do it again just because it's fun.
Really I could go on all day about how the combat works, but it's better if you just play it, do it if you haven't.
I'm not drinking milk ever again
I've always had fun with the Far Cry games I got (2, 3 and 4) but 3 and 4's formula in particular have always had issues I couldn't shake off. The AI is extremely dumb, the activities you get are made to waste your time, the stories are very mediocre at best when you look past their good acting and the games are just too long, with mechanics that stop being fun before I am close to finishing the game.
However Blood Dragon has a leg over those games because of one simple thing: It wasn't made to waste your time, it's a small and focused game. There's 13 outposts, less than 100 collectibles and just a handful of missions, I can get my fix of open world junk food without playing for 20+ hours. It is a small 4 to 5 hour experience and it doesn't need to be more than that.
Outside of that it's nothing special, there's not any boss fights or hugely developing narrative and the humor rarely lands, but because the game doesn't take itself seriously none of the dullness you'd have otherwise turns into a big issue, it's a decent budget game.
However Blood Dragon has a leg over those games because of one simple thing: It wasn't made to waste your time, it's a small and focused game. There's 13 outposts, less than 100 collectibles and just a handful of missions, I can get my fix of open world junk food without playing for 20+ hours. It is a small 4 to 5 hour experience and it doesn't need to be more than that.
Outside of that it's nothing special, there's not any boss fights or hugely developing narrative and the humor rarely lands, but because the game doesn't take itself seriously none of the dullness you'd have otherwise turns into a big issue, it's a decent budget game.
2011
I'm not sure of what to think of this game exactly, on many aspects it surpasses Asylum but also isn't necessarily better on others.
The presentation and map are things I'm mixed on, I like the atmosphere of Arkham City but it feels both too big and small at the same time, gliding around the map is cool but still feels like a chore and collectibles are much less natural to connect. The open world design is also something I'm not necessarily a fan of, the more Metroidvania adjacent style of Asylum made me feel more excited, but this is probably subjective and the side missions are nice.
On the good though, the combat has been polished up and feels much snappier, combos are way more satisfying and you fight more enemies on average alongside having a couple of new enemy types that are sadly rare. Your gadgets start off mostly like what they are in Asylum and you get new ones, with the gadgets overall also integrating better into combat and navigation.
The bosses are more varied and while they're not particularly challenging, I prefer them to Asylum's idea of mostly making them big brutes. They also contribute more to the pacing of the missions.
The story has way more going on and a couple of surprisingly amazing moments coupled with a very powerful ending that hit me hard. Sadly, the GOTY Edition takes away from this by integrating Catwoman's missions into the main game, and they feel awkwardly placed disrupting the pace and even taking away from the ending, I think this could have been handled better because it's nice to switch up the gameplay but it feels like an interruption.
Overall the design of the game map and progression has me mixed, I prefer Asylum but this game is still a great sequel and maybe does deserve its place alongside its predecessor. Play both of them. After playing Origins though, I think you really should play that too, it's City but more focused!
The presentation and map are things I'm mixed on, I like the atmosphere of Arkham City but it feels both too big and small at the same time, gliding around the map is cool but still feels like a chore and collectibles are much less natural to connect. The open world design is also something I'm not necessarily a fan of, the more Metroidvania adjacent style of Asylum made me feel more excited, but this is probably subjective and the side missions are nice.
On the good though, the combat has been polished up and feels much snappier, combos are way more satisfying and you fight more enemies on average alongside having a couple of new enemy types that are sadly rare. Your gadgets start off mostly like what they are in Asylum and you get new ones, with the gadgets overall also integrating better into combat and navigation.
The bosses are more varied and while they're not particularly challenging, I prefer them to Asylum's idea of mostly making them big brutes. They also contribute more to the pacing of the missions.
The story has way more going on and a couple of surprisingly amazing moments coupled with a very powerful ending that hit me hard. Sadly, the GOTY Edition takes away from this by integrating Catwoman's missions into the main game, and they feel awkwardly placed disrupting the pace and even taking away from the ending, I think this could have been handled better because it's nice to switch up the gameplay but it feels like an interruption.
Overall the design of the game map and progression has me mixed, I prefer Asylum but this game is still a great sequel and maybe does deserve its place alongside its predecessor. Play both of them. After playing Origins though, I think you really should play that too, it's City but more focused!
I knew this game had a lot of hype behind it but I didn't expect to like it as much as I did. On first glance it looks just decent, the combat seems simpler than Assasin's Creed's and the environments and stealth don't look that special.
However the game is always making you fight against groups, turning the timing of every punch, kick, parry and takedown into something important you have to strategize with. Enemies can bring in guns or other weapons and you must know when to target them. Stealth is actually really fun even if not that deep because you can play with your enemies by doing noise, hanging bodies and dropping them and just generally scare them. The enviroments have a good amount of variety, visiting different parts of Arkham Island that have a diferent atmosphere and even having the island change some atmosphere over the course of the game.
I didn't expect this game to have a metroidvania type progression but I'm glad it does, and very well designed too, you keep unlocking more gadgets to access new areas or get more effective in combat and all of it, even collectibles that I usually wouldn't take time to grab in a lesser game, comes pretty naturally throughout the game until the end, it's very satisfying.
The characters are all well realized, you unlock audio logs that actually are fun to seek out and have illustrations with great bios to get to know them more. The story in general wasn't amazing but it was more than good enough to keep the ball rolling.
Only part where I stood disappointed was with the bosses, only a couple of them felt notable while most are just the big brute that charges at you type, and the final boss also has a very simple strategy that doesn't feel like it amps the stakes up.
But still, I had way more fun with this than I expected and I see why people consider it one of the best games there are. Don't sleep on it like I did.
However the game is always making you fight against groups, turning the timing of every punch, kick, parry and takedown into something important you have to strategize with. Enemies can bring in guns or other weapons and you must know when to target them. Stealth is actually really fun even if not that deep because you can play with your enemies by doing noise, hanging bodies and dropping them and just generally scare them. The enviroments have a good amount of variety, visiting different parts of Arkham Island that have a diferent atmosphere and even having the island change some atmosphere over the course of the game.
I didn't expect this game to have a metroidvania type progression but I'm glad it does, and very well designed too, you keep unlocking more gadgets to access new areas or get more effective in combat and all of it, even collectibles that I usually wouldn't take time to grab in a lesser game, comes pretty naturally throughout the game until the end, it's very satisfying.
The characters are all well realized, you unlock audio logs that actually are fun to seek out and have illustrations with great bios to get to know them more. The story in general wasn't amazing but it was more than good enough to keep the ball rolling.
Only part where I stood disappointed was with the bosses, only a couple of them felt notable while most are just the big brute that charges at you type, and the final boss also has a very simple strategy that doesn't feel like it amps the stakes up.
But still, I had way more fun with this than I expected and I see why people consider it one of the best games there are. Don't sleep on it like I did.
This is full on the best Telltale Games has put out. They finally pushed their formula forward by having choices that leads to different paths and it was great to do 2 playthroughs of this.
Many choices you make on your first go will be difficult to pick, and despite already knowing what I was doing on my second run I still felt guilty over many of them. John's character is extremely well realized and you'll sympathize with him regardless of the path you choose. This really is some of the most enthralling writing I've seen in a game.
I'm rating it a 5/5 because it pushed the envelope forward, I finally felt emotionally invested in a Telltale story and it did everything right with John who really is the highlight. Not enough people talk about this one, please try it out.
Many choices you make on your first go will be difficult to pick, and despite already knowing what I was doing on my second run I still felt guilty over many of them. John's character is extremely well realized and you'll sympathize with him regardless of the path you choose. This really is some of the most enthralling writing I've seen in a game.
I'm rating it a 5/5 because it pushed the envelope forward, I finally felt emotionally invested in a Telltale story and it did everything right with John who really is the highlight. Not enough people talk about this one, please try it out.
2009
It goes from ok to terrible, even co-op didn't save it for me, fuck this game
2003
Surprisingly competent demake out of the original game, it translates over the bullet time, cutscenes, atmosphere and levels to a recognizable shape that still fits inside your 2003 pocket like it belonged there all along.
It's amusing to play after playing the original, with it lacking some levels and parts of the story, but still being Max Payne from beginning to end. I'd recommend it to fans of the game rather than anyone that didn't play it before. Also to be honest, lacking the nightmare sequences is a positive.
It's amusing to play after playing the original, with it lacking some levels and parts of the story, but still being Max Payne from beginning to end. I'd recommend it to fans of the game rather than anyone that didn't play it before. Also to be honest, lacking the nightmare sequences is a positive.
Who would've thought the best Sonic game of the early 2020s would be an April Fools joke? It really felt like running into an outlandish situation that's normal for the characters but as an outsider, really fun and cute, way too high effort for what it is.
It's the kind of thing you find on itch.io except published by a big company, and I am saying that as a compliment!
It's the kind of thing you find on itch.io except published by a big company, and I am saying that as a compliment!
This is really just more Saints Row IV in a smaller map, but some of the powers are new as well as replacing the super jump with wings that allow you to fly as well. The flying is really good and is definitely the fastest way to traverse an open world map I've seen, kinda wish I could use it in IV as well.
For some reason the main story is not only short but also mostly on a timer, so you'll barely do a few missions before it forces you onto progressing, then that repeats a couple of times and it's done. It feels like there are too many side activities for a game that doesn't seem to want to give you breathing room to do them. Still what little story is there is even more insane than in the previous game and I'm into it to be honest.
Overall though I enjoy it because SRIV is fun for me, but if you're not into it you might just not want to touch this either. The biggest problem really is that it got released as standalone pack when it would have done way better as DLC, I feel like the expectation it sets itself on by being released as a full game really works against it when it comes to its audience, who mostly already weren't into IV to begin with.
Those endings though... Yeah the story wasn't going to recover without a retcon and I understand that bothers a lot of people.
For some reason the main story is not only short but also mostly on a timer, so you'll barely do a few missions before it forces you onto progressing, then that repeats a couple of times and it's done. It feels like there are too many side activities for a game that doesn't seem to want to give you breathing room to do them. Still what little story is there is even more insane than in the previous game and I'm into it to be honest.
Overall though I enjoy it because SRIV is fun for me, but if you're not into it you might just not want to touch this either. The biggest problem really is that it got released as standalone pack when it would have done way better as DLC, I feel like the expectation it sets itself on by being released as a full game really works against it when it comes to its audience, who mostly already weren't into IV to begin with.
Those endings though... Yeah the story wasn't going to recover without a retcon and I understand that bothers a lot of people.
2013
I'm gonna be honest, out of the endless sea of open world games that we got nowadays, this one gave me the most fun there is.
From the impressions I've got of seeing this game series in passing, they were competitors to the GTA games with a slightly more unhinged tone, possibly jankier as well. This game is just completely bonkers, the story and characters constantly going off the rails and the setting being inside an alien crafted simulation to have an excuse for the chaos.
What makes it fun though? Superpowers, already starting the game off you'll only have a super speed and jump power, but trust me this helps so much into how fun it is to navigate around the map and get to your tasks. The speed at which you can go feels amazing, and once you get more powers and upgrades to help in combat you'll WANT to go through all the side missions and sometimes rampage about.
I did all the side missions because of how simply fun it is to play through this game and the setting actually helps the jankiness of the experience, as it is all happening in a shoddy simulation anyway and everything goes. The main story was just kinda weird for someone that hasn't played the other games, as callbacks to them are of course made, but I ended up enjoying the character interactions nonetheless.
Really this game is the definition of simple fun and I wouldn't have it any other way, it feels like Volition made it with that vision without much regard for how different it would feel. I understand why people that come from the previous entries wouldn't be into it, but I really think they're just closing themselves off to a very fun time. It makes me sad that the reception this game got pretty much ensures nothing like it will get made again, as it could still be better, but I'll take what I can get.
I possibly wouldn't rate this game this high if there were other games that could compete with it but there really aren't, Prototype and Infamous feel nothing like this.
From the impressions I've got of seeing this game series in passing, they were competitors to the GTA games with a slightly more unhinged tone, possibly jankier as well. This game is just completely bonkers, the story and characters constantly going off the rails and the setting being inside an alien crafted simulation to have an excuse for the chaos.
What makes it fun though? Superpowers, already starting the game off you'll only have a super speed and jump power, but trust me this helps so much into how fun it is to navigate around the map and get to your tasks. The speed at which you can go feels amazing, and once you get more powers and upgrades to help in combat you'll WANT to go through all the side missions and sometimes rampage about.
I did all the side missions because of how simply fun it is to play through this game and the setting actually helps the jankiness of the experience, as it is all happening in a shoddy simulation anyway and everything goes. The main story was just kinda weird for someone that hasn't played the other games, as callbacks to them are of course made, but I ended up enjoying the character interactions nonetheless.
Really this game is the definition of simple fun and I wouldn't have it any other way, it feels like Volition made it with that vision without much regard for how different it would feel. I understand why people that come from the previous entries wouldn't be into it, but I really think they're just closing themselves off to a very fun time. It makes me sad that the reception this game got pretty much ensures nothing like it will get made again, as it could still be better, but I'll take what I can get.
I possibly wouldn't rate this game this high if there were other games that could compete with it but there really aren't, Prototype and Infamous feel nothing like this.
2023
Took me just 4 hours and 44 minutes but damn was it some of the best time I had playing games.
Everything is perfect, the art, the humor, the controls.
Sonic ain't fast, in Sonic you get punished for going too fast as you'll just get hit. In this game, you are encouraged to master the controls and routes to chain up combos as you go full speed towards the exit.
I kinda don't really have too many words about it, it's just a great platformer that does everything right and I loved every second, please buy it. If you think it's too short then trust me you're underestimating the game, it is a must play for platformer fans.
Everything is perfect, the art, the humor, the controls.
Sonic ain't fast, in Sonic you get punished for going too fast as you'll just get hit. In this game, you are encouraged to master the controls and routes to chain up combos as you go full speed towards the exit.
I kinda don't really have too many words about it, it's just a great platformer that does everything right and I loved every second, please buy it. If you think it's too short then trust me you're underestimating the game, it is a must play for platformer fans.