vndy_gaming
2019
Finished with 10h6m playtime.
2019
Being my first entry in the Resident Evil series I was very excited to finally play this game. I went with Leon as my first playthrough and Claire as my second playthrough. I found the opening of this game incredibly well done! Setting the tone and the atmosphere of the game perfectly.
The gameplay takes a survival horror approach with puzzle elements and does it very well! The shooting is stiff and the resources are scarce so every bullet is vital. Confrontations with enemies are discouraged as you would waste more ammo and health trying to clear out a room full of zombies. The added element of Mr. X is also great keeping players on high alert.
Despite me giving high praise for this game why did I give it a lower score? Simply put the gameplay loop got repetitive, by the time I reached the end of the sewers section as Leon I was ready to end the game. When I found out Claire's section is basically the same as Leon, I was groaning at the fact. I can recognize this game is a well-produced and put-together game; ultimately, it's really not a game for me :(
Finished with 17hr30min playtime.
The gameplay takes a survival horror approach with puzzle elements and does it very well! The shooting is stiff and the resources are scarce so every bullet is vital. Confrontations with enemies are discouraged as you would waste more ammo and health trying to clear out a room full of zombies. The added element of Mr. X is also great keeping players on high alert.
Despite me giving high praise for this game why did I give it a lower score? Simply put the gameplay loop got repetitive, by the time I reached the end of the sewers section as Leon I was ready to end the game. When I found out Claire's section is basically the same as Leon, I was groaning at the fact. I can recognize this game is a well-produced and put-together game; ultimately, it's really not a game for me :(
Finished with 17hr30min playtime.
Finished with 39 h 34m playtime
Fantastic Star Wars game! You play as Cal Cestis a Jedi in training on the run from the Empire after the events of Order 66, during your journey you will meet tons of interesting characters both friend and foe.
The game features a mix of exploration, puzzle-solving, and combat. The combat is heavily inspired by souls-like gameplay requiring the player to play in a patient way. The regular enemies are pretty easy to beat so long as you've been upgrading your skills along the way, however, the stand-out sections of the game are when you are forced to fight against the bosses, at this point the game tests whether or not the player has been playing correctly. Despite the stellar combat gameplay, the exploration is much to be desired.
The exploration in this game seems pointless and tacked on at certain points. It borrows inspiration from Metroidvania games, meaning you will have to revisit many prior locations you've already visited in order to progress the story (there isn't even a fast travel system in the game so you're FORCED to walk back to the ship whenever you complete an objective.) Understand this is completely a personal opinion but I personally did not enjoy this style of exploration.
Despite the backtracking exploration design, I still heavily enjoyed this game. One of the few modern great Star Wars game! Looking forward to Jedi Survivor.
FInished with 18h2m playtime.
The game features a mix of exploration, puzzle-solving, and combat. The combat is heavily inspired by souls-like gameplay requiring the player to play in a patient way. The regular enemies are pretty easy to beat so long as you've been upgrading your skills along the way, however, the stand-out sections of the game are when you are forced to fight against the bosses, at this point the game tests whether or not the player has been playing correctly. Despite the stellar combat gameplay, the exploration is much to be desired.
The exploration in this game seems pointless and tacked on at certain points. It borrows inspiration from Metroidvania games, meaning you will have to revisit many prior locations you've already visited in order to progress the story (there isn't even a fast travel system in the game so you're FORCED to walk back to the ship whenever you complete an objective.) Understand this is completely a personal opinion but I personally did not enjoy this style of exploration.
Despite the backtracking exploration design, I still heavily enjoyed this game. One of the few modern great Star Wars game! Looking forward to Jedi Survivor.
FInished with 18h2m playtime.
2012
The epic conclusion to the critically acclaimed space opera RPG. ME 3 focuses on the main antagonist of the series, the Reaper. The gameplay is vastly improved from its predecessor and deepens the skill tree from it as well. As with previous entries, ME 3 has a strong focus on characters and world-building. The penultimate conclusion to an amazing trilogy and certainly a game I will forever remember and cherish!
Finished with ~30 hours of playtime.
(Played through Mass Effect Legendary Edition on Xbox Series X/S)
Finished with ~30 hours of playtime.
(Played through Mass Effect Legendary Edition on Xbox Series X/S)
2021
A game made with a labor of love! One of the best co-op games I've played. The puzzles and level design are up there with the Portal series. Each level introduces a new mechanic that is completely different from the others. The story while simple and basic does enough to keep the player (me) engaged and wanting to finish. This game fulfills my dream of having a Toy Story type of game and some.
Finished with 11h42m playtime
Finished with 11h42m playtime
2020
A game filled with adrenaline, non-stop action, and movement. A follow-up to Doom (2016), id Studios took what worked well with the 2016's iteration and turned everything into 11. The most notable addition is the dash mechanic and the grapple hook. Truly a game that is superior to its predecessor in every manner akin to Mass Effect 2 and Halo 2.
Finished with 25 hour playtime
Finished with 25 hour playtime
2010
The sequel to the critically acclaimed RPG and just about everything is improved. The Mass Effect universe expands further by adding new characters and fleshing out previously existing characters. The writing is just as strong as it's predecessor and even builds upon it by allowing importing saves and continuing story lines. The gunplay is significantly improved but at the cost of simplifying the RPG elements. Overall a phenomenal game with it's bold and ambitious decisions.
Finished with ~25 hours of playtime.
(Played through Mass Effect Legendary Edition on Xbox Series X/S)
Finished with ~25 hours of playtime.
(Played through Mass Effect Legendary Edition on Xbox Series X/S)
2021
I love Arkane games but this definitely was the weakest I've played thus far, the game started off amazing but the gameplay loop (lol) quickly got repetitive and a bore to do. Arkane also still has trouble presenting stories in games. Someone needs to tell them that having journals, notes, and a voice-over hardly constitutes as effective story-telling.
Completed with 15-20 hr play time.
Completed with 15-20 hr play time.
Mass Effect Review: https://www.backloggd.com/u/vndy_gaming/review/575041/
Mass Effect 2 Review: https://backloggd.com/u/vndy_gaming/review/605783/
Mass Effect 3 Review:https://www.backloggd.com/u/vndy_gaming/review/658496/
Finished with ~67 hours of playtime
Mass Effect 2 Review: https://backloggd.com/u/vndy_gaming/review/605783/
Mass Effect 3 Review:https://www.backloggd.com/u/vndy_gaming/review/658496/
Finished with ~67 hours of playtime
2007
Mass Effect gives a prologue vibe, in the same vein as Fellowship of the Ring was with Lord of the Rings. Does that make the game lackluster, not at all! Mass Effect does a great job with world-building, the RPG elements are top-notch and impressive for the time, but the gunplay leaves much to be desired. The story is simple enough with an ending that is making you want to jump into the next installment in the series.
Finished with 15h30m playtime.
(Played through Mass Effect Legendary Edition on Xbox Series X)
Finished with 15h30m playtime.
(Played through Mass Effect Legendary Edition on Xbox Series X)
The story was a bit messy but the ending sequence really pulled everything together. Wished some characters had a bit more time to flesh their traits out (particularly Lord Hien.) Excited to start on the post-expansion content!
The game has VERY repetitive game play with a very mediocre story. Climb this tower go kill that guy, climb another tower and go kill another guy. Holy shit Ubisoft can y'all please modernize the game play mechanics. The RPG elements of this game is VERY shallow too, I was excited to delve into it just to find out most of the skills are exclusively combat based and barely change battle game play AT ALL. I should've just stopped playing this game at the 20 hour mark.
Completed base game at 50 hours
Completed base game at 50 hours
2014
Wow this is one stylish ass game, I couldn't tell you what the story was about though LMAO! Very much a game play over plot-type of game and truly exemplifies the gaming medium!
2021
(Story)
The gameplay revamps making the pacing of the game fast but still having that familiar Halo feel is fantastic. Although the open world aspect leaves much to be desired, the story between The Weapon, Master Chief, and the Pilot is some of the best character writing I've seen in the series. Even with fantastic character writing the overarching story of the Endless and Banished is not good and the delivery of the story is very lackluster, Halo Infinite is still a fun game to play!
The gameplay revamps making the pacing of the game fast but still having that familiar Halo feel is fantastic. Although the open world aspect leaves much to be desired, the story between The Weapon, Master Chief, and the Pilot is some of the best character writing I've seen in the series. Even with fantastic character writing the overarching story of the Endless and Banished is not good and the delivery of the story is very lackluster, Halo Infinite is still a fun game to play!