n0ka
2006
This review contains spoilers
This game rocks. I hated Jennifer's walking speed and it really killed my desire to explore which is a shame, however if you can put up with that there's a great story and soundtrack waiting for you. A lot of people claim this should have been something non-interactive instead, and I agree, because the gameplay is BAD.
Jennifer can only attack melee, and she's not very good at it. She covers her face while swinging which, whilst thematically amazing, hinders you a lot when it comes to forced enemies encounters. You'll get the hang of it; it's just not going to be fun, ever. Some boss fights are bullshit, too. Make sure you keep moving because when Jen gets knocked down it's a 55 hour long animation of her standing up and you CAN get stunlocked. Make sure to note that she attacks with her right hand. Even two handed weapons, the attack comes from the right, so align yourself accordingly lest you miss because the hitboxes are not great.
There's a lot of symbology and the real ending is not the one you'd usually get. You have to give the man his own pistol so that he'll shoot himself, then you will wake up in the orphanage as some sort of epilogue where you get backstory and a lot of holes filled where Jen comes to terms with her past. It's pretty cool, however the story can be cryptic and there are a lot of events that occur in places where you shouldn't even be going in the first place, as well as books scattered throughout that you will probably miss as I did. Nonetheless, I have no desire to replay the game. Most of these extra things you can find on YouTube or the Wiki (which is really good).
But I would definitely recommend giving this game a playthrough.
Jennifer can only attack melee, and she's not very good at it. She covers her face while swinging which, whilst thematically amazing, hinders you a lot when it comes to forced enemies encounters. You'll get the hang of it; it's just not going to be fun, ever. Some boss fights are bullshit, too. Make sure you keep moving because when Jen gets knocked down it's a 55 hour long animation of her standing up and you CAN get stunlocked. Make sure to note that she attacks with her right hand. Even two handed weapons, the attack comes from the right, so align yourself accordingly lest you miss because the hitboxes are not great.
There's a lot of symbology and the real ending is not the one you'd usually get. You have to give the man his own pistol so that he'll shoot himself, then you will wake up in the orphanage as some sort of epilogue where you get backstory and a lot of holes filled where Jen comes to terms with her past. It's pretty cool, however the story can be cryptic and there are a lot of events that occur in places where you shouldn't even be going in the first place, as well as books scattered throughout that you will probably miss as I did. Nonetheless, I have no desire to replay the game. Most of these extra things you can find on YouTube or the Wiki (which is really good).
But I would definitely recommend giving this game a playthrough.
2013
A lot of people have grievances about the gameplay and all I can respond to that is: skill issue. You're not supposed to be hiding in lockers, even if the game tells you to in the tutorial, you're supposed to be running for your fucking life.
Is it linear? Very much so. Is it a FUN linear experience? Very much so. Does it remain tense? Yes, until things get a little paranormal. Funnily enough, the presence of a fucking evil spirit made it so that I was not so scared of the other enemies. Took me 8 hours to beat. Definitely give it a spin. For what it's worth, I'm a coward and I could make it through.
Is it linear? Very much so. Is it a FUN linear experience? Very much so. Does it remain tense? Yes, until things get a little paranormal. Funnily enough, the presence of a fucking evil spirit made it so that I was not so scared of the other enemies. Took me 8 hours to beat. Definitely give it a spin. For what it's worth, I'm a coward and I could make it through.
2014
The game is often talked about as a spiritual successor to Resident Evil 4 and in a way you can see that it is, but it leans much further into its survival horror aspect. Ammo is scarce, enemies are scary and powerful and their designs are terrifying.
You can trivialize the ammo problem to some degree by maxing out your torches. That way, you can just shoot their leg and burn them. If anyone's nearby, they'll light up too which is just an added bonus. Running away was never truly an option in TEW because enemies easily catch up to you, or you're put in a forced fighting sequence and the stealth was the dumbest mechanic because you NEVER used it outside of the Kidman DLCs.
There's a lot of trial and error, I won't refute that claim because it's 100% true but I did not really mind and in the end it made me feel triumpant when I fuckin 360 owned Pyramid Head 2.0. The jumpscares are also minimal, which is refreshing in horror games because I'm a coward.
The environments and enemy designs are awesome and the game has aged very well graphically. Somehow, TEW1 manages to weave outdoors and indoors sections and leave me just as terrified when I have to go back inside.
About the story, it's very contrived without the Kidman DLCs and a bit confusing with them. You get the gist of it but I can't help but feel it's all a bit fever-dream-ish (which I suppose was the point).
On the DLC; I wasn't too fond of it at first. It felt tedious and slow; it leaned much more on the stealth portion which was nice but slow. Kidman doesn't really get to have a full on fight until the second DLC, the consequence.
I liked it. Give it a whirl.
You can trivialize the ammo problem to some degree by maxing out your torches. That way, you can just shoot their leg and burn them. If anyone's nearby, they'll light up too which is just an added bonus. Running away was never truly an option in TEW because enemies easily catch up to you, or you're put in a forced fighting sequence and the stealth was the dumbest mechanic because you NEVER used it outside of the Kidman DLCs.
There's a lot of trial and error, I won't refute that claim because it's 100% true but I did not really mind and in the end it made me feel triumpant when I fuckin 360 owned Pyramid Head 2.0. The jumpscares are also minimal, which is refreshing in horror games because I'm a coward.
The environments and enemy designs are awesome and the game has aged very well graphically. Somehow, TEW1 manages to weave outdoors and indoors sections and leave me just as terrified when I have to go back inside.
About the story, it's very contrived without the Kidman DLCs and a bit confusing with them. You get the gist of it but I can't help but feel it's all a bit fever-dream-ish (which I suppose was the point).
On the DLC; I wasn't too fond of it at first. It felt tedious and slow; it leaned much more on the stealth portion which was nice but slow. Kidman doesn't really get to have a full on fight until the second DLC, the consequence.
I liked it. Give it a whirl.
2014
This review contains spoilers
Watch Dogs is a game that got berated on release because of the graphics downgrade and thus became sort of a black sheep. It wasn't allowed to be good. Time has passed, people have moved on, and you can turn the E3 graphics on PC anyway.
Personally, I feel like the game is fantastic. The driving could use some polishing, but ehhhh it's not the worst thing I've ever played. The gunplay is AMAZING, I love the way the guns feel and the hacking's interesting and cool. Like most people will have told you, the story is generic but it doesn't matter that much, it's just there to propel the story forwards and it's not bad in its own right anyway, just not completely groundbreaking. You'll hear a lot about Aiden having no character whatsoever but that couldn't be further from the truth. Again, is he particularly original? No. Does he have a character arc? Yes. Does he grow? Yup. Does he still do the shit he hates doing? Absolutely.
Great game.
Personally, I feel like the game is fantastic. The driving could use some polishing, but ehhhh it's not the worst thing I've ever played. The gunplay is AMAZING, I love the way the guns feel and the hacking's interesting and cool. Like most people will have told you, the story is generic but it doesn't matter that much, it's just there to propel the story forwards and it's not bad in its own right anyway, just not completely groundbreaking. You'll hear a lot about Aiden having no character whatsoever but that couldn't be further from the truth. Again, is he particularly original? No. Does he have a character arc? Yes. Does he grow? Yup. Does he still do the shit he hates doing? Absolutely.
Great game.
The only reason I bought WD: Legion is because a) it came with the complete edition of WD1 and b) it had bloodlines. I haven't spent a second in the main game, but bloodline is fantastic, and while I understand that Aiden's story was essentially concluded in 1, Watch Dogs 2 having nothing to do with him was disappointing because he's badass.
Back on topic though, bloodline is Watch Dogs: All Stars. You get to see grown-up Jackson, you get to play as Aiden, you get to play as Wrench and you get to see ALL THREE interact with each other. It's pretty nice. If you needed a little bit more WD1, here's it.
Back on topic though, bloodline is Watch Dogs: All Stars. You get to see grown-up Jackson, you get to play as Aiden, you get to play as Wrench and you get to see ALL THREE interact with each other. It's pretty nice. If you needed a little bit more WD1, here's it.
I could say so many things about The House in Fata Morgana, but none of them would do it justice. So just take my advice. Play it.
The OST is tear-jerking, the story is gripping and the suspense is just GOOD, man. It's a dead-to-rights amazing story accompanied by an orchestral soundtrack that'll just have you screaming or crying or both.
The OST is tear-jerking, the story is gripping and the suspense is just GOOD, man. It's a dead-to-rights amazing story accompanied by an orchestral soundtrack that'll just have you screaming or crying or both.
2019
It was OK. Played it with a friend, we had fun. The game has technical issues. It's to be noted that the developer is shit as per their 8 month delay to fix the sequel's problems which we own but have not gotten around to playing.
2022
Game's good, could've been better. There's a lot of bullshittery artificial difficulty that I just don't roll with. Yang completely nullifies focus upgrades, so if you spent anything on that, well, you'd best take it from the top.
2008
Fucking ending jumpscare. The game's cool though.
2021
Bite-sized experience. Pretty fun.
Lives up to the hype.
Best souls by a long shot. Best fashion, last time FROM had any passion for the games they made, best DLC, best build variety, best locations, best OST.
2014
It's pretty nice. Did not need a sequel, and I was disappointed to find BoS is based on an alternate ending.
2017
Don't have much to say about this game. Pseudo-philosophical button masher that gets WAY too padded out by side-stories. The combat IS NOT FUN.
Has some balance issues. Good fun though.