onlinealot
Pretty to look at and well made but it doesn't reinvent the wheel
2022
It's the best Souls game and if you're "bad" at souls you should start here because it's the most forgiving. That being said like all From Soft games the fucking level and dungeon design is so obtuse and artificially hard it makes my head spin. Poorly designed dungeons and a lack of instruction on where to go don't make the game hard, they make it boring. I sure do love wandering around this dungeon in between bonfires begging for anything to show me where to go lol.
The actual thing that should make the game hard is fighting enemies. If you can stay engaged enough traversing the world to get to the boss fights, you'll have fun just don't let people tell you this is the best game ever because it's not.
The actual thing that should make the game hard is fighting enemies. If you can stay engaged enough traversing the world to get to the boss fights, you'll have fun just don't let people tell you this is the best game ever because it's not.
Takes two steps forward and one step back in a lot of ways. I understand narratively why trainer battles are not a big part of this game but that doesn't mean it's not wanted. This is still a really good and fun open world game and to me, this is as "true" of a pokemon experience there has ever been. Unlike the other games where you have an overarching story with an evil team (Rocket, Magma, etc) your only story and really only stated goal is to complete the Pokedex. Yes, you still have main story quests that lead you towards a "cinematic" ending but if you want to go catch pokemon until the miltanks come home, you can and no one will stop you.
Other pros:
Shiny Hunting is easy
Teams don't matter as much so you can experiment
Genuinely a fun world-space to explore
Cons:
If you aren't motivated to complete the Dex after you "finish" the main story, you have no reason to pick this back up.
The "noble" pokemon encounters are not fun at all. It should just be a battle sequence, not this silly "throw balms" and then battle format.
Graphics are not that great (it personally does not bother me but I totally understand why it irks people)
Other pros:
Shiny Hunting is easy
Teams don't matter as much so you can experiment
Genuinely a fun world-space to explore
Cons:
If you aren't motivated to complete the Dex after you "finish" the main story, you have no reason to pick this back up.
The "noble" pokemon encounters are not fun at all. It should just be a battle sequence, not this silly "throw balms" and then battle format.
Graphics are not that great (it personally does not bother me but I totally understand why it irks people)
2007
I will never say a single bad thing about this game. It was so fun, and the playerbase was amazing. You could have endless amounts of fun with random strangers.
2010
Played this originally in 2010 but I was way too young to have an opinion. All I remember is the gamestop guy hardselling me on it. Replayed on PC a week ago and I was surprised at how much I liked it. Combat is basic but fun and I think the game is relatively well written too. In my personal opinion, Obsidian Entertainment are fellow travelers and just because they made this game about being an intelligence asset for the government, they are not endorsing it as a correct action. All in all it's really fun, way better than I anticipated. Minimal bugs and glitches, mostly 10+ year old game jank is what hurts the score for me.
This game has no right being as good as it is. Combat is the biggest detractor for me because it is just too simplistic. I think if they take this formula and expand it into a full RPG (think Bioware) then they have something truly special on their hands.
This is one of the best stories in a game that I've played in awhile and the writing is so strong. I was shocked at how invested I was in the story. Absolutely play this game, whether you get it on sale or full price you will not be disappointed.
This is one of the best stories in a game that I've played in awhile and the writing is so strong. I was shocked at how invested I was in the story. Absolutely play this game, whether you get it on sale or full price you will not be disappointed.
2021
Played the multiplayer and I just don't like it. I was not a halo kid as a youth so I'm sure it's just me not having any kind of knowledge of the mechanics. All my friends who were xbox kids love this game. I usually hop on for quick play or big team battle. I have not yet played story mode, but I expect my rating to rise and my score to rise as well.
2013
Replaying this now and I know my score is going to be 4 or higher so I just wanted to quickly write one of my favorite jokes from the radio I've heard: "WEAZEL NEWS EXCLUSIVE: Gang Violence on the rise, studies say due to a lack of new Movies."
2021
This really didn't capture my interest like other Arkane games. The gameplay loop feels boring and repetitive. I hate that you can only have a limited number of powers/weapons active at once. I may come back and finish it later but this was quite disappointing.
2021
it's a game about cars driving really fast. i promise there is nothing else going on here. please don't read into this too deeply lol.
Just an incredible example of a role playing game. If you have any intent to buy and play this game in 2021, please for the love of God download and install the Unofficial Patch Plus. This has been updated as recently as Oct 21, 2021.
I feel wholly inadequate to explain why I like this game because pretty much everyone else has done so. What I think most WRPG players will notice when playing is the writing and facial animations. The writing is the best I've ever seen in a video game, besides maybe Disco Elysium. The dialogue is funny and biting which contributes to the overall aesthetic - more on that later.
The facial animations put every single modern WRPG to shame. When a character is lying, their eyes start to shift and their lips purse. Characters have expressions that range from surprise, to anger, to sadness, to lunacy. Is it perfect animation? No, but it is better than anything else out there besides MAYBE Mass Effect Legendary Edition.
Aesthetically and the vibes of the world are just perfect. I saw another user describe the game design and world view of the developers as Gen. X rage and I could not agree more. The part that absolutely blows my mind is that this game came out in 2004. In America in 2004, offering any kind of dissent to the national security state and the presidency of George Bush was basically treason. This game goes out of it's way to insult the Bush regime, insult the direction that America is going, it's just so prescient. The emo/goth aesthetics of the late 90s and early 2000s work so well. If you were alive during this time period, it feels like a time capsule sometimes.
I guess what I'm saying is, if you're a fan of jank, and grim-dark games you should be interested in this. If you like RPGs, this is an essential playthrough. I really thought that no game could hold a candle to Dragon Age: Origins (my favorite WRPG, and favorite game of all time) but VTM:B has made a case to be in my top 5 favorite gaming experiences ever.
Ventrue for life, fuck Prince LaCroix, I'm the Prince of LA now bitch.
I feel wholly inadequate to explain why I like this game because pretty much everyone else has done so. What I think most WRPG players will notice when playing is the writing and facial animations. The writing is the best I've ever seen in a video game, besides maybe Disco Elysium. The dialogue is funny and biting which contributes to the overall aesthetic - more on that later.
The facial animations put every single modern WRPG to shame. When a character is lying, their eyes start to shift and their lips purse. Characters have expressions that range from surprise, to anger, to sadness, to lunacy. Is it perfect animation? No, but it is better than anything else out there besides MAYBE Mass Effect Legendary Edition.
Aesthetically and the vibes of the world are just perfect. I saw another user describe the game design and world view of the developers as Gen. X rage and I could not agree more. The part that absolutely blows my mind is that this game came out in 2004. In America in 2004, offering any kind of dissent to the national security state and the presidency of George Bush was basically treason. This game goes out of it's way to insult the Bush regime, insult the direction that America is going, it's just so prescient. The emo/goth aesthetics of the late 90s and early 2000s work so well. If you were alive during this time period, it feels like a time capsule sometimes.
I guess what I'm saying is, if you're a fan of jank, and grim-dark games you should be interested in this. If you like RPGs, this is an essential playthrough. I really thought that no game could hold a candle to Dragon Age: Origins (my favorite WRPG, and favorite game of all time) but VTM:B has made a case to be in my top 5 favorite gaming experiences ever.
Ventrue for life, fuck Prince LaCroix, I'm the Prince of LA now bitch.
I never played this game when it first released, because I was younger and I just couldn't fathom how Ubisoft could release an Assassin's Creed game about a Templar. Oh, the humanity!
I came to learn that Rogue is basically Black Flag, but even more up my alley in terms of historical tourism. Black Flag takes place in the sunny, tropical Caribbean. You are playing as Edward Kenway, a boy who thinks he is a man and learns what it means to be a man over the course of the story. Assassin's Creed Rogue juxtaposes Shay Cormac (the protag) and Edward Kenway in more ways than the color of their robes.
Shay's inner conflict that drives him away from the Assassins stems from a mission in which he inadvertently causes the great earthquake of Lisbon in 1755. Shay, feeling awful for doing the bidding of the smarmy and secretive Assassins becomes disillusioned and winds up as a Templar.
I will say, I find Shay to be a bit whiny but he is also more mature than Edward. Shay already has a moral compass. Shay already knows what he thinks is right and wrong, and through this conviction he becomes the most dangerous Templar to ever live. He is an Assassin killer, through and through.
To return to the setting, Rogue takes place mostly in North America and the river systems, bays and inlets of New England. Shay will also take his ship, the Morrigan, out into Canada and up around Greenland. I have never seen an environment like this before in a video game and it just works so well for me, a fan of American history and frontiersmanship.
Rogue is definitely more than a "re-skinned" Black Flag - but also, it doesn't have to be. Trade your unbuttoned blouses and headbands for a heavy winter coat and whaling cap as you and Shay meticulously slaughter the American Colonial Brotherhood of Assassins and set up the stories of Assassin's Creed 3 and Assassin's Creed Unity.
My review of Black Flag for more substance: https://www.backloggd.com/u/onlinealot/review/217227/
I came to learn that Rogue is basically Black Flag, but even more up my alley in terms of historical tourism. Black Flag takes place in the sunny, tropical Caribbean. You are playing as Edward Kenway, a boy who thinks he is a man and learns what it means to be a man over the course of the story. Assassin's Creed Rogue juxtaposes Shay Cormac (the protag) and Edward Kenway in more ways than the color of their robes.
Shay's inner conflict that drives him away from the Assassins stems from a mission in which he inadvertently causes the great earthquake of Lisbon in 1755. Shay, feeling awful for doing the bidding of the smarmy and secretive Assassins becomes disillusioned and winds up as a Templar.
I will say, I find Shay to be a bit whiny but he is also more mature than Edward. Shay already has a moral compass. Shay already knows what he thinks is right and wrong, and through this conviction he becomes the most dangerous Templar to ever live. He is an Assassin killer, through and through.
To return to the setting, Rogue takes place mostly in North America and the river systems, bays and inlets of New England. Shay will also take his ship, the Morrigan, out into Canada and up around Greenland. I have never seen an environment like this before in a video game and it just works so well for me, a fan of American history and frontiersmanship.
Rogue is definitely more than a "re-skinned" Black Flag - but also, it doesn't have to be. Trade your unbuttoned blouses and headbands for a heavy winter coat and whaling cap as you and Shay meticulously slaughter the American Colonial Brotherhood of Assassins and set up the stories of Assassin's Creed 3 and Assassin's Creed Unity.
My review of Black Flag for more substance: https://www.backloggd.com/u/onlinealot/review/217227/
I played this way back in the day on either PS3 or 360, but last year during the height of the pandemic, I bought the "Rebel Collection" on my Nintendo Switch. The Rebel Collection includes Black Flag, Freedom Cry. Liberation and AC: Rogue for context.
My biggest and only gripe that keeps this from being a 5/5 is that there are trailing missions. In other words, attempt to remain hidden using an old and outdated engine/stealth system while you trail a bad guy. These missions suck so much ass. As a small addition, I find that non-ship based missions are repetitive.
The mission structure is literally the only thing bad about this game. Edward Kenway, the main character, has the charisma and flair of Ezio (AC:2), the brutality of Bayek (AC:O) , and a cast of wonderful supporting historical characters like Kassandra (AC: Odyssey). I was born and raised in North Carolina, which has a rich history of pirates off the coast of our Outer Banks including one Edward Teach, better known as Blackbeard so I was immediately drawn into the allure of being a swiving pirate. If you don't find the history compelling, the game play will easily draw you in.
Edward commands a pirate ship along with his second, a former slave named Adewale (the main character of Freedom Cry). On the Nintendo Switch, when you take command of your ship (The Jackdaw), the camera zooms out and stays focused directly behind Edward at the captain's wheel giving the player a full view of the sea in front of you. From here you can choose to raid galleons and sloops of the Spanish, English and French armadas. Combat varies - sometimes you'll just demolish a ship outright with superior firepower. Sometimes, either for new crewmates or resources, you will disable the enemy ship and board it to fight close range with flint-lock pistols and cutlasses. I kept finding myself saying how much this game FELT like it was meant for the Switch. Whether you are lying in bed, walking around the house, commuting, it just feels right to be able to command the high seas from a little hand-held screen.
Do you find piracy boring? How about poaching? There is a rudimentary crafting system (gather x amount of materials, use a crafting recipe, profit!) that hinges on the player killing different animals like whales, sharks, or land-critters too.
Lastly, the Assassin's Creed story. I'm a fanboy, I'm not going to deny it. I like history and I liked how the older Assassin's creed games took creative liberty to connect historical figures to the eons-old war between the Assassins and the Templars. This game does that and then some. Not only do you converse with a wide range of famous pirates (Blackbeard, Black Bart, Mary Read and Anne Bonney) but you meet native Mayans too. All of this wraps up into a classic Assassin's Creed story that the newest games in the series, Valhalla and Odyssey, could only ever dream of achieving.
My biggest and only gripe that keeps this from being a 5/5 is that there are trailing missions. In other words, attempt to remain hidden using an old and outdated engine/stealth system while you trail a bad guy. These missions suck so much ass. As a small addition, I find that non-ship based missions are repetitive.
The mission structure is literally the only thing bad about this game. Edward Kenway, the main character, has the charisma and flair of Ezio (AC:2), the brutality of Bayek (AC:O) , and a cast of wonderful supporting historical characters like Kassandra (AC: Odyssey). I was born and raised in North Carolina, which has a rich history of pirates off the coast of our Outer Banks including one Edward Teach, better known as Blackbeard so I was immediately drawn into the allure of being a swiving pirate. If you don't find the history compelling, the game play will easily draw you in.
Edward commands a pirate ship along with his second, a former slave named Adewale (the main character of Freedom Cry). On the Nintendo Switch, when you take command of your ship (The Jackdaw), the camera zooms out and stays focused directly behind Edward at the captain's wheel giving the player a full view of the sea in front of you. From here you can choose to raid galleons and sloops of the Spanish, English and French armadas. Combat varies - sometimes you'll just demolish a ship outright with superior firepower. Sometimes, either for new crewmates or resources, you will disable the enemy ship and board it to fight close range with flint-lock pistols and cutlasses. I kept finding myself saying how much this game FELT like it was meant for the Switch. Whether you are lying in bed, walking around the house, commuting, it just feels right to be able to command the high seas from a little hand-held screen.
Do you find piracy boring? How about poaching? There is a rudimentary crafting system (gather x amount of materials, use a crafting recipe, profit!) that hinges on the player killing different animals like whales, sharks, or land-critters too.
Lastly, the Assassin's Creed story. I'm a fanboy, I'm not going to deny it. I like history and I liked how the older Assassin's creed games took creative liberty to connect historical figures to the eons-old war between the Assassins and the Templars. This game does that and then some. Not only do you converse with a wide range of famous pirates (Blackbeard, Black Bart, Mary Read and Anne Bonney) but you meet native Mayans too. All of this wraps up into a classic Assassin's Creed story that the newest games in the series, Valhalla and Odyssey, could only ever dream of achieving.
One of the funniest video game experiences I have ever had. The writing is so good.
2019
respawn/EA never intended or expected this game to pop off as large as it did and it shows. with each new update or character that is added to the game, the dev team breaks it more and more. Currently, we have been unable to play due to increasingly bad server issues and this has been going on for almost two weeks now. It is expected that Respawn will delay their upcoming tournament.
If any other game studio, like Epic Games for instance, had this many problems with just getting their fucking game to run it would be news. The Apex development team/Respawn/EA/whoever is quite frankly embarrassing. I just cannot imagine any other Triple A studio having THIS much trouble getting a fucking game to work.
Is it still fun to play? Yeah, when it works. But the minute that another gun-play heavy BR drops I'll be moving on. I was hoping that Battlefield would be releasing on time, but with the recent announcement of it's delay and lack of any real gameplay footage, I do not feel confident in that game either.
If any other game studio, like Epic Games for instance, had this many problems with just getting their fucking game to run it would be news. The Apex development team/Respawn/EA/whoever is quite frankly embarrassing. I just cannot imagine any other Triple A studio having THIS much trouble getting a fucking game to work.
Is it still fun to play? Yeah, when it works. But the minute that another gun-play heavy BR drops I'll be moving on. I was hoping that Battlefield would be releasing on time, but with the recent announcement of it's delay and lack of any real gameplay footage, I do not feel confident in that game either.