[:plant:] The Game Review Thread - No Posts By Skills Because He Never Finishes His 10000 Games

I've beaten two games recently! It's quite an achievement considering that I don't have that much time to play games.

Bioshock - It's pretty overrated and the game didn't really live up to how great people say it is. It's still a good game overall. Story is ok, I didn't think it was anything "revolutionary". It was pretty straightforward with a twist near the end. Being a shooter, you won't be dragged into the story that much since you're too busy shooting stuff in front of you. Also, the fps element is a bit clunky. Shooting and aiming isn't as good as other FPS games, but it gets the job done. The ending was kind of underwhelming and short. I expected a good closing sequence, but all I got is a short cinematic ending.

3/5 - Good

Dead Space 2 - I loved it as much as I loved the first game. I like that they added more personality to Isaac and made him talk and interact with different characters in the game. Gameplay mechanics is basically the same, and the variety of weapons let you experiment which one suits your dismembering needs. The story is a lot more engaging this time, since Isaac has a lot of dialogue and conversation with the game's characters. It's still action packed while retaining the slow pace of a survival game. Although the difficulty can be a bit hard at some points, it's still well balanced so as you won't resort to button mashing. An entertaining game all the way through the end credits! Oh, this is probably one of the fastest games I've beaten. I was able to complete it in only a month's time!

5/5 - Great

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Here we go again!

Resident Evil 5
It's basically a more action packed RE4. The game mechanics are similar, with minor improvements. The addition of a 2nd character barely affects the gameplay in Single Player mode, although I haven't tried the multiplayer mode yet. Story-wise, it's still very cheesy Resident Evil, nothing you should take seriously. I had some difficulty in figuring out how to defeat a boss or two, and also the final form of the final boss. The game feels a lot more arcade-y, if that's even a word. In the older games, you try to avoid zombies/enemies and save ammo. Whereas in this version, you get graded as to how many enemies you've rounded up and killed. The ending sequence was a bit bland, but suited the game's overall arcade feel. I enjoyed it, but I probably won't be playing it again.

3/5 - Ok

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Tomb Raider (PS3)

This is my first Tomb Raider game since the original, and I can't really remember how that game went. I must say that it's a really good story-based action game. There's a good mix of exploration, QTEs, and fighting, at the same time allows the story to flow at a nice pace as you go along. You guide the character throughout of the game, pushing forward while continuing the narrative. So it's half story time, and half pushing buttons. Which isn't really a bad thing because it's leaning more on telling a story, and if you approach it from that perspective you won't be that disappointed. Graphics is amazing, everything is crisp, the environment and character models are very well done. The music adds a bit of tension to the game, although nothing memorable. Voice acting is also pretty good, although It's nowhere near FFXII good (which I still believe has an AMAZING voice acting).

Overall it's a fun game, great story, enjoyable gameplay. Will probably replay for the trophies.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

It's me again!

Max Payne 3 / PS3

Recently finished this game a few of weeks ago. Compared to the first 2 games, the gameplay didn't change that much except for the addition of being able to cover and do "melee" attacks. Storywise, the first person narrative made it feel like it's still a Max Payne game, but I do miss the comicbook-style they used in the first two games. The plot is okay, a bit predictable at times but it does work with the character. The pacing of the story got a bit dragging sometimes, where gunfights lasting a bit longer than I expected and the story unfolding a bit too slow. These were the parts where the game felt like a chore and I just wanted to get through it and finish the game. Graphics are really as good as expected of games in present-day standard. The environments were well done, especially the outdoor locations. Some interior locations look a bit plain, especially the walls, but that's just probably me. Personally, it wasn't worth the hype. It's still Max Payne, but not the Max Payne I remember. Like that cool uncle you have who've become older and a bit grumpy, but he's still cool.

It was an ok game, and beating it once should be ok. I don't really care about the trophies. Don't care about the multiplayer either.

Score: Good. But short of what I expected.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

I'll definitely buy Ni No Kuni after I finish some of my games. My wife won't let me buy more games because I still have a few unfinished ones. And speaking of finished games!

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
Ninja Cyborg Fighting Bonanza with a hint of War Philospohy from Robo-Dog!

I borrowed this from my co-worker because I don't want to shell out money for such a short game, and would rather save it for Last of Us. Anyway, I haven't played Bayonetta or Vanquish so this is my first game from the guys at Platinum.

I will say that it is a very fun action game. The gameplay flows smoothly, and the actions are very fluid. I had some difficulty on the first boss as I was figuring out how the controls work. The game has a very detailed guide on the controls and also a command list of Raiden's actions. The camera was a bit tricky, and it was kinda hard to focus on enemies until I figured out how to lock on to a target. Most of the game was a breeze up until the final boss, which I spent an hour of frustrated attempts to defeat him. After resting for a bit and trying it the second time, I figured out the pattern and was actually not that difficult to beat him.

The story was nothing serious and although it happened after MGS4, it felt more like a spin-off rather than a sequel. A bit short, but I did enjoy playing it. 5hrs+ of game time.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Yeah, I'm thinking of picking up Bayonetta for the 360 since Q you recommended that to me a few months ago.

I purchased Vanquish from PSN because it was free with PS+ last month, but I haven't downloaded it because PSN downloads are sooooooooo slow.

Edit: WTF I DON'T KNOW WHO IS WHO ANYMORE.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Oh man, now I want to finish the extra stuff in Arkham City!

Anyway, time for my update!

Deus Ex: Human Revolution (PS3)
Got this free from PSplus a month or two ago. I only got a 3month sub just so I can test it out. First of all, I was a bit upset that it was an FPS game. I didn't expect it to be that way. And since I never watched any gameplay reviews, I didn't know how the game will look like when playing it. So at first I was like, "Oh man, this sucks, I was expecting an MGS-type stealth game". But after a while, I began to appreciate the game an it's mechanics.

The FPS gameplay suits the game, and the cover system works well with the stealth-playing. What really hooked me in the game is the level of detail you can gather from the environment. I didn't really bother with the side-quests because I just wanted to go through the game before my subscription expires. There was no major bug issue with the game I played except for the choppy/stuttering movie cutscenes, all of them. Aside from that, everything was working fine.

I won't go into the details of the experience points system, but in terms of the world building and gameplay, it's a really good game and I kind of regret not spending enough time with it. I might get it when it's on sale on steam since people say it's a lot better (and improved) on the PC.

The Last of Us (PS3)
Ok, so I was finally able to play this game and I must say it's one of the best stories I've ever played. It's basically an interactive movie with some gameplay inbetween. I've never played any Naughty Dog prior to this (except for Crash Bandicoot), so I had no idea what to expect on the gameplay and story.

Anyway, the game is pretty straightforward. Some level of difficulty at some areas, but most of the game is pretty much a breeze. The AI has some issues, and once you figure it out their flaw, you won't really bother hiding from them except for taking cover when under attack. The game also has unfixed annoying bugs! I encountered a bug in the first few minutes in the game where Joel and Tommy gets in the jeep and they both stand up with their heads through the roof, then the game does not progress even though you can move around. There's a lot of rubberbanding, enemies who go back standing up after choking them, and stuttering cutscenes. Most of these got fixed by pausing the game and leaving it alone for 10-15 minutes, that gives me some extra time to finish chores the wife asks me to do. The game is very pretty, the graphics and visuals are very polished, and the environment is very detailed. Especially when the outside environment get hit by sunlight, it looks very very pretty.

Story-wise, it has a pretty good narrative. Great characters & excellent voice acting. There are some points in the story where you go "OH NOO! WHY!" but nothing that's not been done before. I personally thing the ending was an emotional letdown. Sure, it was a fitting end to their story, but I was expecting a climatic and fulfilling ending. With regard to the gameplay, it gets somewhat repetitive and boring sometimes since the difficulty doesn't seem to change a lot. Even the last battle wasn't that challenging.

Overall it's a great game (even with the annoying bugs) and a good gaming experience.

FELIPE NO