by abczyx
Showing 1-10 of 33 items
Don't get the hype at all. After less than an hour you've seen most of what this game has to offer. 2/5
First few hours are very positive. Not sure if it's the leap some reviewers said, although I liked Unity a lot more than most people (see my 2014 list). And the technical issues that plagued Unity seem to have been greatly reduced. Update: finished it. Thoughts similar to before - I liked the game, but I found it quite similar to Unity. The plot and characters were much improved and it's nice to see the return of the current day stuff, if still very limited in form. 4/5 (just)
(Master Chief Collection version) I enjoyed blasting through this. It feels more like a collection of ideas that Bungie were floating around with but never took forward (until Destiny), as the open world stuff is in reality a fairly limited experience that ultimately just collects together a bunch of traditional Halo levels in an admittedly clever and atmospheric way. Still, Halo is Halo and it was fun, if nothing spectacular or incredibly groundbreaking. 3/5
Finally got around to buying the game. My experiences are similar as my expectations were set from the beta (see the 2014 list). The handling is probably best described as "serviceable", the story is predictably garbage and even after an overhaul the graphics won't blow anybody away, but there's something admirable about the playground that Ivory Tower have made. I always had a soft spot for TDU (a game a lot of Ivory Tower devs worked on) and its sense of exploration, and that's taken to another level with a larger and much more diverse world. Whilst naturally the enormous scale leads to a more superficial level of detail compared to say Forza Horizon 2's France/Italy, and Capitol Hill is still in a ditch, the game does a respectable job of representing each city and environment and I had a lot of fun driving around the world just looking at it. If nothing else, this aspect is incredibly unique, and if you enjoy stuff like Euro/American Truck Simulator for similar reasons you might find good value in this game. 3/5
For some reason I bought this back in 2011 but never actually played that much. Anyway, I'm rectifying that mistake now. And the game is pretty great, even if the PC port is a bit garbage. 4/5
So much better than the rather tragic Ghosts. A much improved campaign mode with a much more appealing cast and a compelling if utterly predictable story, plus a revitalised multiplayer which makes use of the new movement smartly to create a fantastic experience. 4/5
[PC] The game GRID 2 should have been. It successfully updates the original game without discarding the legacy of the old Touring Car and TOCA games like GRID 2 did. The selection of cars and tracks is very good (if a little recycled), the handling is one of the best simcade applications out there and the AI, whilst a little aggressive, is strong. The casual audience should really enjoy this and even for more hardcore racing guys like me it works well. 4/5
Rather disturbingly hooked me for a few days. A really cool mix of tactical elements. Building complex automated factories and shipping goods from one side of your base to the other is very satisfying. 4/5
Great reimagining. Graphics are amazing. Shows there's still as big of a market as ever for these types of games. 4/5
I'm going to be a little unfair and review these from a 2016 perspective, since for a contemporary analysis you can just read reviews from the original releases. I've never played the games before, so I'm going in fresh. Uncharted 1: Definitely can see why this one is a little behind the others in review scores. It's a good game with great spirit, strong production values and graphics that are still pretty nice in 2016 (with some PS4 1080p60 help), and I enjoyed the platforming segments even if they are a little too linear. That said, the flaws are definitely obvious. The gunplay gets very monotonous particularly near the end, the controls occasionally tempt me into throwing the controller across the room and the vehicle segments are rather average even by 2007 standards. In 2007 I would probably have awarded this a 4/5, but in 2016 the control fumbles and gameplay shortcomings are a little less excusable - 3/5 Uncharted 2: Fantastic sequel. It was already clear after the first few chapters that this would be a major improvement in almost every way, and so it proved. The graphics are much improved, the story is fleshed out and more interesting, the environments and locales are freshened up and the gameplay, whilst still a pretty simplistic cover shooter, is much better paced broken up by interesting platforming and exploration segments. The few minor shortcomings - the slightly crude stealth, occasional control fumbles and uninspired trophy list - are barely even worth mentioning. A triumph - 5/5 Uncharted 3: Anyone who writes that Uncharted 2 was "more of the same" is clearly broken in the head, because this game is the definition of "more of the same". After the major improvements in the last game, this game has a lot greater feeling of treading water. That would not necessarily be a bad thing, but in several areas UC3 feels perhaps a little less accomplished than its immaculate predecessor. The story is not as good, being very similar to UC2 and with a fairly unsatisfying ending, and it's a shame Cutter and Chloe went AWOL because the game worked best with a larger ensemble. Also, in a complaint that's quite hard to explain, I feel that Naughty Dog were trying to fit in a dramatic set piece once too often and thus the game didn't feel as "authentic", for lack of a better word. Playing the games back-to-back as part of this collection is perhaps a little unfair, but it does highlight the little things that make UC3 a slightly lesser game than UC2, even as it is an accomplished and fun game (and still much better than UC1) - 4/5