Review the game you finished recently.

Finished Fallout 4 Far Harbor DLC. Was longer than expected and had a great story with plenty of options on what to do. Went with the peaceful option which I am assuming net me the least amount of goodies. Now back to the main game to finish it off by tomorrow.

8.5/10 for the options, storyline and dubious good/bad choices
 
Finished fallout 4. 8/10. Didn’t like that I had to pick a side when I didn’t want to. It had its moments and some moments of tedium. I have one DLC left to finish which I am not excited about since I don’t want to be a Raider.
 
Finished The Crimson Diamond.

Yeah, going retro here. It's reminiscent of the SCI0 Sierra games of the late 1980s.

Overall, it was fairly decent, albeit the game is very easy. I didn't get the best ending, but I just missed a few things.

The one area of improvement would have been a little more music. It's used sparsely.
 
NaissanceE

2/10. The one song in the game is decent. Game won't exit without an alt-F4. It's a maze in the dark simulator, without a flashlight. If you want that, play the original Doom 3 without one and with the gamma set low. You'll have more fun.
 
Finished Star Wars Outlaws 9/10.

One of the best games I played this year. Really draws you in and continues going. Great storyline and faction system. Some AI bugs but nowhere near what the plebs and click hunters will have you believe on the tubes.

I couldn’t put it down. Got my money’s worth.
 
Sekiro, Shadows Die Twice:

N/A / 10.

I can't rate this. Personally, I find the movement system abysmal, the jumps and controls almost unusable, and the combat abhorrent. The ganks in Sekiro are worse than every other one of their games combined, the health is minimal, and your margin for error or learning is nonexistent. It's brutal, and it's miserable.

It's been a very long time since I've outright despised a game within the first 2 hours like I did this one (and dammit, it's been too long so Steam won't give me a refund), so I'd say play ANY of From's other games but this one - but I also recognize that much like the Sims, this is a game written for someone very different than me. I don't give a shit about Japanese history or culture pre-1940s (the reconstruction and tech-boom into Galapagos syndrome is fascinating as hell though). I don't care about parry based combat systems, and I hate trying to pay attention to tiny things on screen to figure out when to mash a button to "counter" an attack - I'd rather plan my own and execute it (see: Dark Souls, Elden Ring, etc). This is not the game for me; it may be for you, but do understand that you have to be into a razor thin margin "be perfect or die" system where there is no levelling up or getting stronger, only mastering precise parries and counters.

Personally, I'd rather just go learn real karate, but that's me.
 
Finished Space Marine 2. 4/10.

Such a short and bad game overall. Same shit ad nausem and really feels like a lazy effort. Glad I only paid 10 dollars for the AMD bundle. So for that I can’t complain too much.

My suggestion would be to wait for a massive sale and you must jack off at warhammer or something to really enjoy this. 👀🤣.
 
Holy moly, I wrapped up the Cyberpunk DLC (Phantom Liberty) after a three year hiatus and that was knocking my socks off! 41 hours of game play added, great story, and great side missions. Pretty darn complete injection of chrome for what I needed. I highly recommend as this maybe the best DLC I have ever played for any game. 10/10.
 
Holy moly, I wrapped up the Cyberpunk DLC (Phantom Liberty) after a three year hiatus and that was knocking my socks off! 41 hours of game play added, great story, and great side missions. Pretty darn complete injection of chrome for what I needed. I highly recommend as this maybe the best DLC I have ever played for any game. 10/10.
Can put it in a spoiler warning but curious what ending you went with for the DLC. For the one I picked, someone must have been cutting some onions around me.
 
Unknown 9: Awakening. 4/10. Had a decent time with it but the game is janky af. I was in it for the story but they royally botched the ending for the most part. Having said that some of the gameplay was downright hilarious. It was satisfying to empty a room by stepping into idiots and letting them kill each other. That mechanic didn't get old and why I finished it. Everything else about the game was mediocre. If you have money to burn I would suggest burning it instead of buying this game but it is worth a shot if you got a free AMD code and/or got it for cheap like I did (10 bucks for 2 4/10 games, SM2 and U9A).
 
Final Fantasy XVI

The latest installment of Final Fantasy has finally arrived on PC. FFXVI continues the trend of being an action RPG, though it takes a bit too much of a departure to call it an RPG. It plays more like an action-adventure game. I for one don't mind removing needless and boring things forced on the player though some more RPG elements would not have hurt. Though you are unable to choose your party, their upgrades or abilities, and the story is linear. I don't mind this as it helps keep the mundane nonsense to a minimum. The more noticeable shortcomings can be found throughout other aspects of the game.

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The protagonist, Clive.

While I did not necessarily find this bad it does raise the question why some RPG style mechanics were included. Leveling is largely pointless due to the linear nature of the game, save for some later game optional boss fights. Inventory management is thankfully simple though you are largely limited to upgrading your sword and attire, which does nothing but increase damage output and defense. You can also choose accessories which boost some ability damage, increase potion potency and whatnot. New equipment or upgrade parts come naturally for the most part which is a breath of fresh air, though I would have preferred a different melee weapon class or two instead of an upgrade system that had no nuance or point.

Final Fantasy XVI Screenshot 2024.09.27 - 01.07.31.48.png
Unfortunately for melee combat, you have only have a sword.

Most of the upgrading falls onto abilities, which is where most damage and stagger output comes from. Thankfully you can freely reset abilities at will when not in combat though you will often need to reset, and re-upgrade to experiment. Sometimes you may try an ability, not like it, and switch back, only to forget to re-upgrade it before entering a fight. Which again makes me question the rate of ability point progression. It would have been better if they were gained at twice the rate, so when we switch between abilities, we wouldn't have been required to hold a button to unlearn and relearn multiple times. And these odd back and fourths between convenience though lacking in purpose affect what little RPG aspects are present.

Final Fantasy XVI Screenshot 2024.09.24 - 17.49.39.41.png
Abilities are the core fighting mechanic. Some, like the one above, primarily deal stagger which once depleted from an enemy opens a window that allows higher than normal damage.

The fighting combat is generally quite fun. There are numerous abilities, some focusing on range, others on damage output and others on stagger. Mixing abilities and figuring out what works and which to use first is where the fun comes in. I found the system quite amusing. Melee combat is more of an afterthought, though some combos are available. The downside would be some of the major boss fights. They occasionally have excessive amounts of HP, are more simplistic in terms of approach, and have too many cut scenes and QTEs throughout. Generally, some of them are fun and using combos can increase your damage output but at times they can still be tedious and an eyesore due to excessive bright lights and VFX on screen. Despite some shortcomings, the fighting gameplay is one of the highlights on FFXVI.

Final Fantasy XVI Screenshot 2024.09.28 - 13.43.42.31.png
Too frequently are boss fights interrupted for excessively long cut scenes and QTEs.

The overall game is linear, though you can revisit areas and main missions and story missions often take you back to places. Main mission design is generally fun and good. Side quests are mixed. FFXVI is another example of a game with too many side quests that bored me. Lots of dialogue, middle of the road delivery/animations, and often just dumb quest design. The issue is if you want to stay leveled up you will want to do a number of them and there is some good lore hidden in a number of them. It is just painful to listen to 5 minutes of simplistic dialogue, and then a very simplistic task for a tidbit of information. The main adventure is quite nicely done only to have so many B movie like sections strewn throughout. This is a problem with modern gaming in general, and I do think the large amount of side quests hurt the overall pacing and fun.

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Eikons (God) fight in the second DLC.

When it comes to narrative design and pacing, FFXVI is better than most games though I feel like it could have been slightly better. Initially, before the game bombards the player with side quests, the pacing is quite nice. There is a good sense of purpose for the main character and the lore is decently detailed. Eventually the game adds a nice map of the lore, time line, and more information to help clear up questions you may have. I still think some detailing of the various factions in terms of troop movements/occupations could have been better explained. The biggest shortcoming is the characters seem a bit too one dimensional. Things at times can feel a bit forced for the sake of gameplay or progressing the story. In particular Jill, one of the main side characters, feels quite flat and almost non-present for what is supposed to be a major character. The general lack of commentary from your companions out in the world doesn't help either.

Final Fantasy XVI Screenshot 2024.09.24 - 18.00.18.94.png
Lore and world building are better than average though some of the characters have little development.

Graphically FFXVI looks dated. Serviceable, but dated in just about every way. Lighting, VFX, reflections. Characters look good though and their faces look quite realistic. The issue here is the frame rate is quite low despite looking like a game from 7-8 years ago. It is quite a demanding game, and required DLSS to be on to get acceptable frame rates. Frame generation was also required to stabilize the frame rate over 90 consistently but that would also push it above my refresh rate and result in screen tearing. Some areas had notable frame rate drops, which are apparently present in the PS5 versions to. These areas can drop the frame rates down to the 50-60s. Thankfully they are not too common but FFXVI has poor optimization and even if the frame drops were fixed, it still performs poorly for the visual quality. Thankfully I did not experience any micro stuttering, or if it was there, I seldom noticed it.

When it comes to bugs and crashing I had very little. I don't recall any crashes and I cannot recall any noteworthy bugs. I cannot recall much if any minor bugs as well. Performance issues aside it is quite a stable and functional game. Certainly, better than most.

Final Fantasy XVI Screenshot 2024.09.25 - 14.25.50.00.png
Graphically this is about as good as FFXVI will look.

Sounds and voice acting are good. Sound track is decent enough. Nothing that really elevates but within the expected norm of AAA titles. If you have a thing for horrendous British accents you’ll be delighted, as there are a number of them that seemingly are assigned to certain regions in the game which is a nice touch.

The two expansions are largely more of the same. Echoes of the Fallen feels like a few of the uninteresting and tedious side quests mentioned previously, with some tough room/wave based fights that got repetitive without adding much meaningful to the story. The Rising Tide was better in that it had more of a plot, some fun new abilities, and some additions to the overall story/world. Though the same shortcomings apply when it comes to side quest design and includes some more forgettable DLC specific characters.

Overall, a fun game. It plays nicely and threw out some of the maddening stick collection style tasks that many modern games have. The story delivery is interesting enough to satisfy my curiosity, as is the journey through it. It is hindered by excessive side quests of middling quality and characters that could have been a bit livelier.


7 / 10
 
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Ghost of Tsushima was a 9/10 for me. It's "dated" graphically but still one of the most beautiful games ever made. The main story is excellent, the combat is excellent and visceral. You can take so many different approaches to taking people out it's really a blast. I can't do side missions in open world games because they burn me out, so I skipped a good portion. Some were fun, the only ones that really felt necessary were ones where you earned special moves. They were as interesting as the main story so no issue there. If you're into old Japanese flicks and spaghetti westerns weirdly, it's kind of a cross of the two and I highly recommend it.
 
Warhammer 40k: Rogue Trader

Picked this up on at launch. I'm not a huge WH fan, but as it happens, one of the big Black Library/video game/comic writers is my neighbor, and he recommended so I thought I'd give it a go. I've never played an Owlcat game.

Played it for a few hours on launch, but put it down due to a combination of finding it too dense and work crunch. That, and I really found the text-heaviness and layer upon layer of skill progressions a slog as I was reading a few heavy books at the time.

I picked it back up last month in earnest, putting in the hours to focus on learning the systems and digesting the story. My summation: it's a very good game, a better WH story, but you need to put in the time. The characters are all well developed, each with their own distinct, well-balanced skill trees and advantages. Thr story pushes you along as much (or more) than the actual game.

Actual game mechanics are akin to Xcom or BG3 (turn-based iso), but more complicated, somewhat cludgy. Fun, but actions don't have that punchy feeling you get in other games like this.

Graphics are and effects are decent, but animations are anemic (it felt like a somewhat modern Ultima 8 in parts). The art direction and atmosphere is very good: it feels like you're in the 40k world. Sountrack has a few great tracks, but they are repeated a lot. Dialogue is extensive, and the 10-20% of it covered by VA is polished.

As far as the story goes, it's commensurate 40k in all its complex, componentized, messy trappings. Well done and satisfying. It's a thick universe, even if most of the constituant parts are familiar. Had I not read a few novels, I would have been a bit lost (the guy I know jokingly has mentioned the "400-page guidebook" he has to refer to when writing). But there is a glossary of key terms linked in every text box to help.

Worth it, but only if you're going to put in the time and focus. Would I buy another Owlcat game like this? Only if I was familiar with the universe.

7.5/10
 
Warhammer 40k: Rogue Trader



Worth it, but only if you're going to put in the time and focus. Would I buy another Owlcat game like this? Only if I was familiar with the universe.

7.5/10
Good review, I'm working my way through this game as well. I have to say I enjoyed Kingmaker and WotR more than this one so far.
 
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