The Video Game Review Thread

[Dawn]

A question. Would retro game reviews feel bizarre on a thread like this one? >_>

[DaMegaFish]

A question. Would retro game reviews feel bizarre on a thread like this one? >_>

 

Go for it. I wouldn't mind.

[The Swanton825]

A question. Would retro game reviews feel bizarre on a thread like this one? >_>

 

Actually, my two reviews were about (well, enhanced versions of) retro games. So I'd love to see someone else's thoughts on older games.

[Dawn]

I'm all up for it then. Expect them to be up soon.

[The Swanton825]

Nuveau Gaming Nights (For Sexy Singles)

 

http://i1288.photobucket.com/albums/b500/theswanton/Game%20Covers/Dragon_Age_Inquisition_BoxArt_zpsb5887f5c.jpg

 

Dragon Age: Inquisition PC

 

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Ever since that fateful day in March 2011 the Dragon Age fanbase has remained fiercely divided over BioWare's ability to create a good game. Does Inquisition have what it takes to reunite the 'base? I have absolutely no clue, I'm not deluded enough to think I can speak for an entire group of people. Who do you think I am Angry Joe? However, I can state with absolute certainty that I love this game.

 

Do I really need to summarize the set-up? EA's put a few million ads up all over the internet for the past three months. It's kind of hard to believe that you wouldn't have some idea of what happens after that flood. Well, whatever, not to put too fine a point on it, everything's gone to shit since DA2 (Spoilers for 2 BTW! I know, I can't believe a sequel gives away info about the previous entry's ending either). You have the ongoing war between mages and templars who have both lost their damn minds and prefer to just keep killing each other without any care for collateral damage while the Chantry wastes time sitting on the sidelines politely asking the two sides to stop. Oh, and there's a giant hole in the sky pouring out demons that opened up after a massive explosion killed members of all three sides, including the Divine herself, during an attempted peace summit. This is all before you can even control your character. Speaking of your character, it turns out that you were at the center of said explosion and somehow managed to survive and you got for it was a nifty mark on your hand that lets you close the smaller holes that have opened up across the rest of Thedas. And as told by the BioWare scrolls, it shall be up to one brave hero and a team of roughly nine companions (not counting various crew/etc.) to form or find the MacGuffin that shall save the day, in this case the Inquisition (must...resist...lazy...Monty Python reference!).

 

Unfortunately, there are no witch burnings to be had. Though it does kind of make sense when you consider that, with Dark Fantasy Jesus-er, I mean Andraste's death, it would be like the Spanish Inquisition crucifying people. Not that once you become Inquisitor (I still can't believe you get to be a big-time player during the game for once.) you don't get to execute people, just no stake burnings. But enough about what you can't do. What can you do? Well, y'know, just stop a monarch's assassination (or twist it to your advantage), kill a few dragons, **** the most awesome Qunari you will ever meet, decide the fate of multiple nations and watch BioWare generally throw up a middle finger to all those (including me) who thought they couldn't pull this game off, that kind of stuff. All in the span of about 50-70 hours.

 

I would also like to give praise to Inquisition's successfully actionized combat which, rather than the generic slog that was DA2's combat, not only are there far more varied enemies, but you actually need to target the weaknesses of tougher foes. Something I honestly thought that the AAA community had forgotten how to program. In fact, even on lower difficulties (not that a stellar gamer such as myself would ever have need of such scrub fare), dragon fights are a both a test of endurance, patience and your ability to remember to get your dumbass mage out of the line of fire. Okay, so maybe the dragon fights aren't the best, but for the rest of the game, I rarely felt bored by the combat.

 

The story and characters are (surprise!) the best part of the game. I'm not quite sure how, but there was much more of a sense of epic-ness and scale here than in even Mass Effect. And, of course, the companions are all varied and interesting (except Sera, oh how I hate Sera), with various problems, quirks and secrets that all come out during the story. In particular I just can't get over how good of a voice actor Freddie Prinze, Jr. is and how much life he breathes into Iron Bull. I numbered among the few people who liked James Vega in Mass Effect 3, but it's Inquisition where Prinze finally shows some acting chops. Everyone else does a great job too, even Robyn Addison does the best with the crap character she was stuck with.

 

With the last of my praise, I have to say this game just looks gorgeous. Some areas are, sorry for the paid-off reviewer-speak here, absolutely jaw-dropping. It's only made better by seeing a pretty thing off in the distance and actually being able to go there. Perhaps not always straight there like you can do in the Elder Scrolls, but for a developer who has never done something like this, it damned impressive. Not only that, but each area has its own identity, like they took a look at Skyrim and went, "Yeah, that cool and all. But how about a dense forest, a desert, and an undead bog all alongside the snow and countryside?" Where the hell was this creativity during DA2's development? Screw it, I don't care, I'm just glad it was here for Inquisition.

 

Of course, there must be a deal-breaker, right? Something that makes it so only hardcore BioWare fans like me would enjoy it. No, not really. There's about three things I can think of that others might hate, it is a very long game, like I said before. Exploration, while fun, can get grating for completionists looking for that last landmark. And the PC version, my version, suffers from the occasional crash, but it always seemed to happen not long after an autosave, so no real harm there. Some annoyance, but no harm.

 

All in all, Inquisition is a fantastic game and a return to form for BioWare after a few missteps. Did it deserve the game of year award at "The Game Awards" (best.name.ever.)? I don't know, I spent most of the year playing older games. But it is one of my favorite games this year and I've already started a second playthrough. So if you like open world RPGs, BioWare games, or just want to dip your toe into the vast sea that is Role-Playing, Inquisition is a great choice.

 

 

Score: 500 Mages out of 10,000 Templars

 

 

Quickie 'View

 

Challenging combat

Multiple wide open areas to explore

Fantastic characters (except Sera)

IRON BULL

Epic story

Magical Inquisiting powers

Great sense of scale

IRON BULL

Dragon fights vary from dull to frustrating

Super long game

Some stability issues on PC

IRON MOTHER****ING BULL

[packerman120]

The index has been updated. Sorry for the lack of reviews on my part, just haven't been really IN to a certain game lately. However, I just picked up GTA V (which I have NEVER played before) for my new Xbox One, so you can expect a review on that eventually once I finish it. So far, I am highly enjoying it. But for now, I will give my thoughts on the Halo 5 MP Beta. Note: There will be no score as it my thoughts and not a full-blown review.

 

http://86bb71d19d3bcb79effc-d9e6924a0395cb1b5b9f03b7640d26eb.r91.cf1.rackcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/halo-5-beta-release-date.jpg

 

My Thoughts on the Halo 5 MP Beta:

 

 

 

Oh 343, what people you are. You take what has recently become a great favorite of mine and turn it into Call of Duty. Well, not necessarily, but you get my drift. I recently obtained Halo: Master Chief Collection, which is of course why I have access to this beta. My personal favorite game playlist on that is the remastered Halo 2, which is absolutely fantabulous. Yes, that's a word. Now let's take that and make something entirely different.

 

 

As I previously stated, Halo 5 feels extremely like Call of Duty. I would be fine with this, but every game now a days is becoming COD. Let me give you an example. The SMG for instance is extremely overpowered. Sound familiar? There is boosting, dashing, thrusting. Sounds a hell of a lot like COD to me. Now you may say: "BUT WHY PACK THESE WERE IN HALO 4 SO YOU ARE JUST A HYPOCRITE". Yes, that is true. However, it is blatantly obvious that H4 was a major stepback in the franchise. Ironically the first Halo 343 made. Huh, see a coincidence there? Instead of getting rid of the features thousands hate, they bring them back with power in Halo 5. Halo 5's default controls are COD controls. C'MON 343, MAKE ME LOVE YOU. BE YOUR OWN GAME FOR GOSH'S SAKE C'MON.

 

 

However, I will say that H5 is somewhat fun. If you ignore it as a wannabe Halo game, it's quite fun. It's fun to just run around with your boosting and jumping and doing s**t like that whilst shooting people. The beta maps are also quite well done, so props to 343 on that front.

 

 

Now you may be thinking that this was all hate. In a way, it kind of was. I like this beta, I truly do. Just please, please do not call it Halo (I know it's too late for this now obviously.) This is not HALO. Here, I have a proposed title and some cover art. This is it: Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you; Call of Duty In Space!

 

 

http://i62.tinypic.com/3150v8z.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hope you enjoyed my highly satirical review of the H5 beta. Let 2015 be a great year for reviewing games! Cheers!

[machinesxe]

The index has been updated. Sorry for the lack of reviews on my part, just haven't been really IN to a certain game lately. However, I just picked up GTA V (which I have NEVER played before) for my new Xbox One, so you can expect a review on that eventually once I finish it. So far, I am highly enjoying it. But for now, I will give my thoughts on the Halo 5 MP Beta. Note: There will be no score as it my thoughts and not a full-blown review.

 

http://86bb71d19d3bcb79effc-d9e6924a0395cb1b5b9f03b7640d26eb.r91.cf1.rackcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/halo-5-beta-release-date.jpg

 

My Thoughts on the Halo 5 MP Beta:

 

 

Oh 343, what people you are. You take what has recently become a great favorite of mine and turn it into Call of Duty. Well, not necessarily, but you get my drift. I recently obtained Halo: Master Chief Collection, which is of course why I have access to this beta. My personal favorite game playlist on that is the remastered Halo 2, which is absolutely fantabulous. Yes, that's a word. Now let's take that and make something entirely different.

 

 

As I previously stated, Halo 5 feels extremely like Call of Duty. I would be fine with this, but every game now a days is becoming COD. Let me give you an example. The SMG for instance is extremely overpowered. Sound familiar? There is boosting, dashing, thrusting. Sounds a hell of a lot like COD to me. Now you may say: "BUT WHY PACK THESE WERE IN HALO 4 SO YOU ARE JUST A HYPOCRITE". Yes, that is true. However, it is blatantly obvious that H4 was a major stepback in the franchise. Ironically the first Halo 343 made. Huh, see a coincidence there? Instead of getting rid of the features thousands hate, they bring them back with power in Halo 5. Halo 5's default controls are COD controls. C'MON 343, MAKE ME LOVE YOU. BE YOUR OWN GAME FOR GOSH'S SAKE C'MON.

 

 

However, I will say that H5 is somewhat fun. If you ignore it as a wannabe Halo game, it's quite fun. It's fun to just run around with your boosting and jumping and doing s**t like that whilst shooting people. The beta maps are also quite well done, so props to 343 on that front.

 

 

Now you may be thinking that this was all hate. In a way, it kind of was. I like this beta, I truly do. Just please, please do not call it Halo (I know it's too late for this now obviously.) This is not HALO. Here, I have a proposed title and some cover art. This is it: Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you; Call of Duty In Space!

 

 

http://i62.tinypic.com/3150v8z.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hope you enjoyed my highly satirical review of the H5 beta. Let 2015 be a great year for reviewing games! Cheers!

 

 

I had hated h4 because of this same reason. Halo was different, which is why I liked it. However, changing it to be a COD game was a waste.

[packerman120]

I had hated h4 because of this same reason. Halo was different, which is why I liked it. However, changing it to be a COD game was a waste.

 

Yes, it appears we both feel the same about this. It's a shame really, as I do love Halo.

[packerman120]

http://www.meups4.com.br/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Wolfentein-The-New-Order1.jpg

 

Wolfenstein: The New Order for XB1 Review

 

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"A Flashback to When Shooters Were Good"

 

 

 

Man, this game came out of left field. I remember when this game first game came out and I thought nothing of it. I thought it was another addition to the shooter genre of tainted boring six hour Michael Bay fests. Boy, was I wrong. Wolfenstein: The New Order is one of the greatest shooters I have ever played. Along with this, it has a story that rivals the likes of The Last of Us. Wolfenstein: The New Order is a new take on the tainted current shooting genre, and it freaking nailed it.

 

The story of this game is one of the best I have experienced. This is a shooter! It doesn't have the RIGHT to have a good story. But it does, and it is f**king incredible. Our friends over at Machine Games have integrated a compelling story with good characters and a story that perfectly follows the climax format into a game that was already amazing.

 

Oh yeah, the ending, AKA that incredible ending. I won't go TOO much into detail, but take my word, it was great. The final level has a perfect balance of build-up and action, with a good old-fashioned multi-stage boss fight that caps it all off. The main character, Blazkowicz, adds a great amount to the final moments and puts a perfect line that made me swell up a little.

 

Enough about the fantastic story, let's talk about the shooting mechanics, as this IS a shooter. As I hope you all know, one thing unique about the Wolfenstein series is it's dual wielding mechanic. The New Order brings that back wonderfully. On top of that, it introduces a variety of great weapons that keeps the game fresh and fun to play. A game should be fun, right? This game captures that perfectfully, as Wolfenstein is near perfect in the gameplay department.

 

I had ONE gripe with this game, only ONE SINGLE GRIPE. That gripe, you may ask? The game was a tad tedious for my liking. In some rooms, the area was filled with many robots and enemies that can NOT be killed by a good old spray and pray strategy. It takes strategy, but it is a tad bit leaning on the line between tedious and strategic. Some areas had two or three robots were only beatable by using the good old Super Ultra Mega Laser Cutter, in which I would run back and charge after shooting once. I'm sure their were better ways, but I am just stating this from my point of view.

 

 

Verdict:

 

 

The latest installment in the Wolfenstein franchise is one of the best shooters of the 21st Century. Do you miss the olden days, back when shooters were actually worth a damn? Do you miss having fun in a shooter? Do you want to f**k up robots with super laser cutters and an attached rocket launcher? You can do this in The New Order, and you will have a tremendous amount of fun whilst doing so. If you have the money, go buy this game right now and experience it for yourself. I recommend this to ANYONE who likes shooters in any size, shape, or fashion.

 

 

Score: 9.5/10

 

 

 

Main Ideas:

 

 

-Story that rivals The Last of Us

-Fun, exciting gameplay

-Wonderful ending

-Great characters

-A tad tedious

 

 

[The Swanton825]

Klassic Gaming Korner (4 Kool Kidz)

 

http://i1288.photobucket.com/albums/b500/theswanton/Misc/TrailsInTheSky_zpsa924748b.jpg

 

The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky for PC

 

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Ys I:

 

Yep, it's time for me to gush about another Nihon Falcom game. Trails in the Sky was actually the first Falcom game I ever played (my love of their games is a recent phenomenon) and I actually bought it pretty much because I wanted a new RPG for my PSP and it was the highest rated one on Amazon I hadn't already bought. So, going in, I had only a vague idea of the charming story and endearing characters contained within. In short, Trails in the Sky is numbers among the rare impulse buys that I didn't regret. But, wait. Doesn't the title say "for PC"? It does indeed, and there's a good(ish) reason for it. I never finished the PSP version, because, when I was about halfway through the game, I found out that not was there a sequel, but that your save from the first game would carry over, Mass Effect-style. No problem so far, then XSEED, the American publishers, started waffling on whether the PSP version of the sequel would be released or not, so I just gave up and bought the PC version last summer. But enough about my life stories nobody gives a damn about, onto the review!

 

Trails in the Sky is built upon the standard JRPG format, wander around, encounter monsters (no random ones, thankfully), kill them, level up. The main difference from many other JRPGs in this respect would be that Trails uses a field for battles, allowing characters and monsters alike to maneuver around. Though movement itself is rarely useful and field positioning is mostly about whether or not you're in range for melee attacks and which characters/enemies are caught in an area attack. We also have the "Craft" system, where you accumulate points when you hit enemies or get hit and once you hit certain levels, you can use special abilities, pretty much like Final Fantasy's Limit Breaks. Finally, there's the turn order, while most games just use it to determine who goes first, Trails gives out the occasional bonus on specific turns. So some battles become about trying to bump enemies out of the bonus slot, especially when it's a "Str Up" or "Critical" one.

 

Magic, like in Falcom's other series, Ys, is handled differently from most other JRPGs. In the Trails universe, magic is powered by small gem-like trinkets called "Quartz" (nothing like the actual mineral by that name) that are placed into slots on devices called "Orbments". What this means in-game is that you have to balance who uses what quartz, as you can only use stronger magic if you have several of the same quartz on one line in your character's orbment (Estelle works great as the primary healer throughout the game BTW). And, as if that wasn't enough, certain party members have orbment slots that only work with one type of quartz. Thankfully, it's not as difficult as it sounds and you'll eventually get used to which characters work best with what.

 

Now, let's talk about that charming story I mentioned before. I'm going to say this in advance, the story (again, much like Ys) does get cliched at points, but in Trails' case, it does them with such a straight face that it's nigh-impossible to be annoyed by them. Anywho, our tales stars Estelle Bright and her adopted brother Joshua, two young bracers-in-training (bracers are pretty much do-gooding mercenaries) who, while travelling the Kingdom of Liberl in order to become fully-fledged bracers, find themselves at odds with a mysterious conspiracy that potentially threatens the whole nation. You would not believe how hard it is to write a summary of this game's plot without spoiling something. In an interesting twist on the standard formula, only Estelle and Joshua are consistent party members and others who join up are only there for that section. So each chapter begins with Estelle and Joshua on their own again. This is probably one of Trails' biggest strengths, as the two siblings have a wonderfully entertaining back and forth. I'd be surprised if someone actually made it through the first chapter and not wound up liking at least one of the two.

 

Like I said before, the story is littered with cliches, though just like Ys, the characters are so good it doesn't really get distracting. Until the epilogue hits you like a Mack Truck and you're left going:

 

http://cdn.yourepeat.com/media/gif/000/822/691/d413027f7cf457af7fbdeffd45588152.gif

 

Needless to say, it left me screaming, "Finish the Second Chapter, you bastards!" at my screen.

 

So yeah, I recommend this game. The gameplay is a solid take on the standard JRPG formulas, the characters (like in all Falcom games, it seems) are the shining light that keep you hooked on the game and the story, while seemingly cliched, has such an unexpected twist, that makes perfect sense one revealed (M. Night should be taking notes from this game!), you'll forgive many of the issues you had with it.

 

 

Bulletpointz 4 Lazy Readerz

 

Good mix of JRPG and Tactics-like combat

Fantastic characters (Falcom's calling card)

Standard JRPG story

Ending twist completely makes up for former

Leaves you begging for the sequel

 

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to either figure out time travel or learn Japanese, not sure which is harder.

[packerman120]

Tropico 5 for PS4 Review:

 

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"Mandate Not Extended, So Screw You"

 

 

I'm back! Expect reviews to start happening again, as I have the itch to review some more video games. Now, Tropico 5. The Tropico franchise is one I've been wanting to check out for quite some time now, and I finally got around to it by renting the 5th for my PlayStation 4. Now, onto my thoughts for the game.

 

Tropico is a city builder that starts out in the colonial area. You are the dictator of a tropican settlement of sorts. From then on, it's pretty much a typical city builder. You have the Crown trying to influence you to act one way, and you have revolutionaries who want you to rebel against the Crown. Quite simple really. Now, you have a mandate for how long you have to complete your tasks. Mandates can be extended by doing various slavewor- I mean jobs for the crown. The goal, from what I've presumed, is to get to 51% support before your mandate runs out and then rebel and become independent. In which elections then start! Yes, this game literally wants to eliminate you from your power at every step of the way.

 

I'll be perfectly blunt, I never made it past the Colonial Era. I tried for pretty much a good amount of my day, and my mandate ran out each and every time. Hence the title of the review. Now, some may see this as strategy, but I see it as just plain annoyance. I was getting quite strategical near the end, taking every opportunity to extend my mandate, yet gain revolutionary support at the same time. It all came to no avail, however, as I still got the dreaded message that goes along the lines of your mandate has not been extended. Some people will progress past this point, but the game just couldn't keep my attention to make that progression worth it to me.

 

However, this game's city building elements are quite good. Resource management, choosing what to ship and whom to, and making sure you are producing enough supplies to keep your village afloat is quite fun. Also, it appears to be progressive enough to still remain fun all the way to the end game. It stays true to itself, that being a city-builder. Basically, this game is a good city-builder, but unfortunately, it is forced in a shell that holds this game back greatly.

 

Now, the performance. This game wasn't made for PS4 originally (well, no s**t, it's a PC port), so it suffers from some frame drops. It is a game that tries to run 60 FPS, but has often stuttering. Now, I doubt the PS4 is at fault here. After all, it's not like this game is graphically intensive. It's a city builder for pete's sake. Now, I can't say the performance affects me greatly, it's still there and it takes away some of the immersion this game could bring.

 

Verdict:

 

I wanted to like Tropico 5, I really did. Unfortunately, this game just didn't live up to what I've set as standards for a good city builder. If you are willing to work on progression to possibly get further, then go right ahead, because this game does have some great elements in it. However, it is just held back by this game's progression and performance, which keeps me from recommending this game unless you're a big fan of the Tropico franchise.

 

Score: 5.5/10

 

Main Points:

 

- Good city-builder

- Fun quests

- Unfair progression

- Not the best graphics

- Sloppy port