5 Yrs♥✓#
Today on Finnedorb…
A-Z Challenge
Vampyr (PC-EPIC): 23:24
I know, I know, it’s been weeks since I said “The review will be out later today”. At first I was just procrastinating, but then I lost access to the internet for a week. I just beat Warhammer Vermintide 2 today, so I’ll make this quicker than I was originally going to.
In Vampyr, you play as Doctor Jonothan Reid as he tries to deal with the spanish flu that’s destroying London. Unfortunately, just as he came home from the war a vampire got him. Upon waking up he kills his sister, and swears revenge on the bastard that turned him. Along the way he starts working at a hospital, uncovers the source of the illness, and decides the fate of every citizen he comes across.
The main gimmick of this game is that you can kill any NPC, and it will affect the stability of the district they live in. All killing a citizen does is give you a surplus of exp, and I didn’t start doing this until I got stuck on one of the last bosses. I wouldn’t do this at all if combat gives more exp, but it gives barely anything. Sidequests aren’t much better, so near the end this is really the best way of levelling up.
The combat is a lot like a Souls-like-lite. It has the same stamina bar and dodging as a souls game, but without the difficulty or anything else from the genre. I don’t mind it all that much, although it is annoying how you can’t open doors or use your teleport ability while you're in combat. I mostly used a combination of a hacksaw and a stake to stunlock my enemies. I tried guns later on, and they were great… however, it brings up one of my biggest problems with the game. If you used ammo or a healing item, you don’t get it back when you die. This would still suck if ammo was plentiful, but it’s not. It takes like a good 20 minutes to get all your ammo back unless you want to sleep and wait for a restock. If you do that though, the districts fall to shit because you haven’t been curing diseases. The work around I found for this was to exit out to the main menu before you respawn. This gets annoying, especially because the loading screens take a full minute every time. It doesn’t matter what you’re doing, you’ll be sitting there waiting every single time.
This is also a semi-open world game. It has a medium sized map with different districts. How’d they fuck it up? No fast travel. It takes forever to get anywhere, and the map sure as fuck doesn’t help. Nothing is marked on it except merchants and safe houses which is not enough information to accurately locate people or towns. If it just included some landmarks, navigation would be so much easier. Speaking of navigation, they do something really annoying with the quest markers as they disappear if you get within 70m of your destination. It doesn’t matter if your destination is in sight or if it’s several streets over; it just disappears.
Last thing to touch on is the dialogue system. I don’t like it. They do a wheel like Mass Effect, but with twice the questions for the main character to ask. Look, I get we need to deliver information to the player, but there’s got to be another way besides Reid asking unrelated questions mid-conversation. Even in the final encounter of the game, Reid is asking away between melodramatic lines of dialogue. Sometimes what Reid does isn’t reflected well in the wheel. There’s a part halfway through the game where you confront a priest, and there’s an option to turn him into a vampire if you have enough information. I decided to do this as I thought it would benefit him and his cause. When the dialogue started the priest said “no thanks” to our offer, but Reid proceeded to bring up every bad thing that has happened to the priest in order to destroy his faith in god so he’ll drink our blood. For reference, the option said “You will heal through my blood”. How in the fuck was I supposed to know Reid would do that? And of course this game doesn’t have a save/load option so I couldn’t fix things. This is the most extreme example, but moments like this happen all the time in the game.
I did not enjoy playing this game, and there were several times I wanted to quit. I’m glad I persisted and finished it, but I would not recommend anyone play this. The most frustrating part is that there is a good game here, it’s just buried under a mountain of bullshit. 5/10
A-Z Challenge
Vampyr (PC-EPIC): 23:24
I know, I know, it’s been weeks since I said “The review will be out later today”. At first I was just procrastinating, but then I lost access to the internet for a week. I just beat Warhammer Vermintide 2 today, so I’ll make this quicker than I was originally going to.
In Vampyr, you play as Doctor Jonothan Reid as he tries to deal with the spanish flu that’s destroying London. Unfortunately, just as he came home from the war a vampire got him. Upon waking up he kills his sister, and swears revenge on the bastard that turned him. Along the way he starts working at a hospital, uncovers the source of the illness, and decides the fate of every citizen he comes across.
The main gimmick of this game is that you can kill any NPC, and it will affect the stability of the district they live in. All killing a citizen does is give you a surplus of exp, and I didn’t start doing this until I got stuck on one of the last bosses. I wouldn’t do this at all if combat gives more exp, but it gives barely anything. Sidequests aren’t much better, so near the end this is really the best way of levelling up.
The combat is a lot like a Souls-like-lite. It has the same stamina bar and dodging as a souls game, but without the difficulty or anything else from the genre. I don’t mind it all that much, although it is annoying how you can’t open doors or use your teleport ability while you're in combat. I mostly used a combination of a hacksaw and a stake to stunlock my enemies. I tried guns later on, and they were great… however, it brings up one of my biggest problems with the game. If you used ammo or a healing item, you don’t get it back when you die. This would still suck if ammo was plentiful, but it’s not. It takes like a good 20 minutes to get all your ammo back unless you want to sleep and wait for a restock. If you do that though, the districts fall to shit because you haven’t been curing diseases. The work around I found for this was to exit out to the main menu before you respawn. This gets annoying, especially because the loading screens take a full minute every time. It doesn’t matter what you’re doing, you’ll be sitting there waiting every single time.
This is also a semi-open world game. It has a medium sized map with different districts. How’d they fuck it up? No fast travel. It takes forever to get anywhere, and the map sure as fuck doesn’t help. Nothing is marked on it except merchants and safe houses which is not enough information to accurately locate people or towns. If it just included some landmarks, navigation would be so much easier. Speaking of navigation, they do something really annoying with the quest markers as they disappear if you get within 70m of your destination. It doesn’t matter if your destination is in sight or if it’s several streets over; it just disappears.
Last thing to touch on is the dialogue system. I don’t like it. They do a wheel like Mass Effect, but with twice the questions for the main character to ask. Look, I get we need to deliver information to the player, but there’s got to be another way besides Reid asking unrelated questions mid-conversation. Even in the final encounter of the game, Reid is asking away between melodramatic lines of dialogue. Sometimes what Reid does isn’t reflected well in the wheel. There’s a part halfway through the game where you confront a priest, and there’s an option to turn him into a vampire if you have enough information. I decided to do this as I thought it would benefit him and his cause. When the dialogue started the priest said “no thanks” to our offer, but Reid proceeded to bring up every bad thing that has happened to the priest in order to destroy his faith in god so he’ll drink our blood. For reference, the option said “You will heal through my blood”. How in the fuck was I supposed to know Reid would do that? And of course this game doesn’t have a save/load option so I couldn’t fix things. This is the most extreme example, but moments like this happen all the time in the game.
I did not enjoy playing this game, and there were several times I wanted to quit. I’m glad I persisted and finished it, but I would not recommend anyone play this. The most frustrating part is that there is a good game here, it’s just buried under a mountain of bullshit. 5/10
5 Yrs♥✓#
Today on Finnedorb…
A-Z Challenge
(W part 1 of 2)
Warhammer: End Times - Vermintide (PC-Steam): 5:06
I know 3 things about Warhammer:
-The Emperor of humanity is actually Alexander the great
-He’s stuck in a chair for all of eternity
-There’s orcs who are so powerful they got killed by a marine making gun noises because they believed he had a gun.
That’s it, I don’t know anything else about this franchise, nor will I look up any clarifying information for this review.
The chaos gods are so pissed at humanity, they’ve thrown their hands up and said ”Fuck it, sick the rats on ‘em”. Now the lands have been overrun by the Vermintide, an army of Skaven which are big rats. Survivors have teamed up in the city of Ubersreik to try and repel the Skaven. Our survivors are Victor Saltzpyre, a man dedicated to cleansing the lands of heretics. He was my main throughout this game and the next. Markus Kruber is a soldier for the empire, Bardin is a Dwarf, and Kerillian is an elf. Sienna is also a character, but you can only have 4 survivors in one level so she never showed up.
That’s about it for the story, most of the missions are just doing miscellaneous tasks to fight the Skaven. I didn’t do any of the DLC so that’s all I’ve really got.
This game is pretty much just a melee-focused Left 4 Dead knock-off. The gameplay isn’t all that interesting. You just swing your sword, and do the same few objectives over and over. The survivors repeat their lines often, and it gets a little annoying, especially when they all have lines for when you jump a few times, which is how I like to move.
There’s just not much to say about this game. It’s fine, but it doesn't get any better than that. 6/10
A-Z Challenge
(W part 1 of 2)
Warhammer: End Times - Vermintide (PC-Steam): 5:06
I know 3 things about Warhammer:
-The Emperor of humanity is actually Alexander the great
-He’s stuck in a chair for all of eternity
-There’s orcs who are so powerful they got killed by a marine making gun noises because they believed he had a gun.
That’s it, I don’t know anything else about this franchise, nor will I look up any clarifying information for this review.
The chaos gods are so pissed at humanity, they’ve thrown their hands up and said ”Fuck it, sick the rats on ‘em”. Now the lands have been overrun by the Vermintide, an army of Skaven which are big rats. Survivors have teamed up in the city of Ubersreik to try and repel the Skaven. Our survivors are Victor Saltzpyre, a man dedicated to cleansing the lands of heretics. He was my main throughout this game and the next. Markus Kruber is a soldier for the empire, Bardin is a Dwarf, and Kerillian is an elf. Sienna is also a character, but you can only have 4 survivors in one level so she never showed up.
That’s about it for the story, most of the missions are just doing miscellaneous tasks to fight the Skaven. I didn’t do any of the DLC so that’s all I’ve really got.
This game is pretty much just a melee-focused Left 4 Dead knock-off. The gameplay isn’t all that interesting. You just swing your sword, and do the same few objectives over and over. The survivors repeat their lines often, and it gets a little annoying, especially when they all have lines for when you jump a few times, which is how I like to move.
There’s just not much to say about this game. It’s fine, but it doesn't get any better than that. 6/10
5 Yrs♥✓#
Today on Finnedorb…
A-Z Challenge
(W post 2 of 2)
Warhammer: Vermintide II (PC-Steam): 6:48
As I mentioned in a previous post, I didn’t have internet for a week, and this game is a multiplayer game. So that turned this 3-day adventure into one that spanned more than a week.
After the DLC I didn’t play in the last game, the survivors have been captured by the Skaven and new enemies the Rotbloods.Everyone manages to escape, and the campaign to repel the vermintide continues.
Once again, not much story without the DLC which I once again did not play. The gameplay has improved a bit, mostly due to the wider variety of enemies. Elites are also more common so there’s some more challenge. There’s also more than one boss finally, and some of them are actually pretty tough. The amount of customization has increased, although it does sometimes just come down to “bigger number is better”. I ended up finding some strong equipment that boosted crit chance so I just stuck with that. Each character has a class ability which adds a bit to the combat. Each character has 4 classes, but I just stuck to playing Saltzpyre’s Witch Hunter class (his default).There’s a larger variety of objectives which helps keep things from getting stale. Unlike the first game, this one isn’t dead so I got to play with actual people instead of bots. The bots were more competent which was somewhat surprising since I remember the bots not being great in the first game.
Definitely a step up from the first game, but still not great. 7/10
A-Z Challenge
(W post 2 of 2)
Warhammer: Vermintide II (PC-Steam): 6:48
As I mentioned in a previous post, I didn’t have internet for a week, and this game is a multiplayer game. So that turned this 3-day adventure into one that spanned more than a week.
After the DLC I didn’t play in the last game, the survivors have been captured by the Skaven and new enemies the Rotbloods.Everyone manages to escape, and the campaign to repel the vermintide continues.
Once again, not much story without the DLC which I once again did not play. The gameplay has improved a bit, mostly due to the wider variety of enemies. Elites are also more common so there’s some more challenge. There’s also more than one boss finally, and some of them are actually pretty tough. The amount of customization has increased, although it does sometimes just come down to “bigger number is better”. I ended up finding some strong equipment that boosted crit chance so I just stuck with that. Each character has a class ability which adds a bit to the combat. Each character has 4 classes, but I just stuck to playing Saltzpyre’s Witch Hunter class (his default).There’s a larger variety of objectives which helps keep things from getting stale. Unlike the first game, this one isn’t dead so I got to play with actual people instead of bots. The bots were more competent which was somewhat surprising since I remember the bots not being great in the first game.
Definitely a step up from the first game, but still not great. 7/10
5 Yrs♥✓#
After a long delay, we can finally move onto X. No matter what I get here, it'll be over 25 hours long. I'm gonna try and reroll for the shortest game, but that could always backfire.
Best Possible Game: We're back at the point where the best game is the shortest. XCom is by no means short, but it isn't too long.
S: N/A
A: N/A
B: XCom 2 picks up as if you lost early in to XCom 1 so I don't have to play that, but it's still 30 hours long.
C: N/A
D: N/A
F: N/A
Worst Possible Game: Xenoblade Chronicles is 50 hours long so I'd like to not play it this late into the challenge.
Here's the roll:
This is a scary one to get since there's a 50-50 chance I either get the game I want, or a 50-hour long RPG. I'm gonna take my chances and reroll.
Oh thank fuck.
Best Possible Game: We're back at the point where the best game is the shortest. XCom is by no means short, but it isn't too long.
S: N/A
A: N/A
B: XCom 2 picks up as if you lost early in to XCom 1 so I don't have to play that, but it's still 30 hours long.
C: N/A
D: N/A
F: N/A
Worst Possible Game: Xenoblade Chronicles is 50 hours long so I'd like to not play it this late into the challenge.
Here's the roll:
This is a scary one to get since there's a 50-50 chance I either get the game I want, or a 50-hour long RPG. I'm gonna take my chances and reroll.
Oh thank fuck.
5 Yrs♥✓#
I just beat XCOM, and it was really good! I intend to have the review out later today, but at this point I don't trust myself with these deadlines.
This tierlist is different than the others as there's a 3/4 chance I will be playing Yakuza 0. With that inevitability and my dwindling sanity in mind, I've changed things up.
Please Let Me End This Already: Yoshi's Woolly World is short, and this challenge has been going on for way too long. I'm probably not going to roll this, but it would be a mercy if I did.
The Inevitable: Three of the four games this letter require me to play Yakuza 0, so I'm almost definitely going to be playing this. I know I'll probably like it, but it's 30 hours long this late into the challenge.
50 More Hours: Last year I put Yakuza Kiwami in the Best Possible Game tier since I thought it was a straight remake of the first game. A few months ago I found out this actually requires a lot of knowledge from Yakuza 0. This plus that game combined is roughly 50 hours which would take damn near half of August to finish. I still have a 13 hour long game after this, and I'm getting annoyed at how long the challenge has been this year.
I'm Just Gonna Reroll: I don't own Yakuza 2-6, and I'd have to play them before Yakuza: Like A Dragon, so I'm only going to reroll if I get this game.
Please just don't roll Kiwami:
YES! I probably won't like this game all that much, but at least it is short. I'm probably not going to buy another game that starts with Y before we get to this point in the challenge next year, so I wish future me luck.
This tierlist is different than the others as there's a 3/4 chance I will be playing Yakuza 0. With that inevitability and my dwindling sanity in mind, I've changed things up.
Please Let Me End This Already: Yoshi's Woolly World is short, and this challenge has been going on for way too long. I'm probably not going to roll this, but it would be a mercy if I did.
The Inevitable: Three of the four games this letter require me to play Yakuza 0, so I'm almost definitely going to be playing this. I know I'll probably like it, but it's 30 hours long this late into the challenge.
50 More Hours: Last year I put Yakuza Kiwami in the Best Possible Game tier since I thought it was a straight remake of the first game. A few months ago I found out this actually requires a lot of knowledge from Yakuza 0. This plus that game combined is roughly 50 hours which would take damn near half of August to finish. I still have a 13 hour long game after this, and I'm getting annoyed at how long the challenge has been this year.
I'm Just Gonna Reroll: I don't own Yakuza 2-6, and I'd have to play them before Yakuza: Like A Dragon, so I'm only going to reroll if I get this game.
Please just don't roll Kiwami:
YES! I probably won't like this game all that much, but at least it is short. I'm probably not going to buy another game that starts with Y before we get to this point in the challenge next year, so I wish future me luck.
5 Yrs♥✓#
Today on Finnedorb…
A-Z Challenge
XCOM: Enemy Unknown (PS3): 24:02
When I first started playing this game, I spent like 10 minutes customizing a team. Then my console informed me my disc was unreadable, and proceeded to delete my save file. It’s a good thing my local game store had a PS3 copy.
In the near-future of 2015, aliens have begun invading the earth. The council of nations has decided to fund XCOM, a team of scientists, engineers, and soldiers for the sake of combatting the extraterrestrial threat. The first strike team was sent into Germany, and got massacred with only one survivor, Chavez. He would go on to be my A-team’s Heavy.
The rest of the A-Team included 5 other members: Two assault troops named Cooke and Peterson, a field medic named Nicolo, a crackshot sniper named Jang, and a rotating cast of other soldiers who replaced the injured and dead.
The gameplay of XCOM is basically Fire Emblem with guns. You have 4-6 soldiers, and you need to kill all the aliens. Sometimes you also need to do other things like saving civilians, escorting VIPs, and disarming bombs. It does get slightly repetitive and I do wish there were some more objective types, but for the most part it is pretty fun. This game passed the 3am test for me as I accidentally played till 3am once. Of course, XCOM is pretty infamous for the hit rates. I can’t count how many times my soldiers missed shots that had an 80% chance of hitting. The worst was when Petersen missed a 95%, I thought this was like Fire Emblem where that was code for 100%. On the other side, my soldiers were really good at hitting 20%-40% shots. Obviously snipers have the best aim (unless you pick the snapshot promotion, that completely screws up their aim), and in my opinion they are the best units in the game. Especially once you get the “In the zone” promotion which allows you to shoot multiple times a turn. One time Jang managed to kill 6 enemies in a row. Heavies are probably the worst class. They can do high damage with LMGs, but not more than the better shotguns. The rocket launcher they carry around also just isn’t that useful. The best one only does 9 damage, that’s less than the best LMG. There really just isn’t much of a reason to use it.
Outside of battles, you also manage your base. I was a little shocked to realize that Fallout Shelter is a ripoff of this. The facility building is literally the exact same, just with less space. I kind of stopped building facilities after the final story essential one since there’s not a great variety. You also have to build satellite uplinks so you can launch satellites over the council countries. These let you intercept UFOs that are passing by. I was really struggling with these for a while, but that’s because I was being a dumbass and not upgrading the interceptors’ weapons.
Near the end of the story, we find a mysterious device that can tap into the aliens’ network. The problem is that it requires someone with strong psionic abilities. These abilities can be found by locking soldiers into the psionic labs. I tried around 12 soldiers before I finally found our man. It was Chavez (and also a sniper named Hughes, but he got decapitated a few missions later). Before he can use the device, we need to level up his abilities. I don't think the PSI abilities are all that great in this game. Mindfray just inflicts 5 damage with some status effects, and the ability that removes mindfray from your soldiers just doesn’t come into play that often. The best one is the Psionic shield that redirects enemy fire in a pretty large area.
After leveling up the PSI abilities (and also equipping the PSI armor which the game doesn’t tell you to do), Chavez officially became the Volunteer, a now essential soldier who is not allowed to die. He received a psychic message from the device, inviting him to settle things in the mothership (which I should mention is currently hovering above the middle of the atlantic ocean). As we go through the mothership, the Ethereal Leader sends psychic messagers, giving some lore about all the enemies. The Ethereals have been invading planets to force species to evolve. Some showed potential but were weighed down by their cowardice and spite, some became more machine than man, and others were never smart enough to be more than foot soldiers. The Ethereal Leader calls them all failures, but thinks we may succeed against the terror to come.The final test is if we can succeed against him and the other Ethereals. As soon as I walked into the final room, Chavez exploded and I had to restart the level. Then when I restarted none of my soldiers spawned in so I had to start over again. Then the third time the trigger that opens the door to the final boss didn’t trigger so I had to start over again. I haven’t mentioned it much, but this game was not optimized very well for PS3. There is constant lag, and softlocking bugs. I don’t think it’s like this on 360, but I haven’t played that version beyond the tutorial.
Anyway, on the fourth attempt I remembered to save the game at the boss door so I wouldn’t have to restart again. The final boss can very easily kill your troops if you pack them together, so make sure to spread them out. I found that out the hard way when he killed 4 of my soldiers at once. I reloaded the save and got my soldiers in a good formation. My main strategy was to keep my snipers in the back while Peterson and Cooke took the heat. I had two snipers for this mission, Jang and a captain named Peters who had been on like 5 missions before this. In the first round Jang actually missed, but Peters got a low damage hit on the boss. In the second round, Jang shot him for 9 damage and Peters got a 15 damage crit, killing him instantly. In the final cutscene, Chavez gets a vision of the ship combusting into a black hole that swallows the earth. Chavez tells Peterson and Jang to run while he sacrifices himself to steer the ship upwards, getting earth out of the blast radius. Chavez is the only casualty of the ensuing black hole, as earth is finally at peace.
…that’s not how black holes work.
XCOM is a lot of fun, and I got really sucked in. If the performance on PS3 was better, I’d give this a perfect score. 9/10.
A-Z Challenge
XCOM: Enemy Unknown (PS3): 24:02
When I first started playing this game, I spent like 10 minutes customizing a team. Then my console informed me my disc was unreadable, and proceeded to delete my save file. It’s a good thing my local game store had a PS3 copy.
In the near-future of 2015, aliens have begun invading the earth. The council of nations has decided to fund XCOM, a team of scientists, engineers, and soldiers for the sake of combatting the extraterrestrial threat. The first strike team was sent into Germany, and got massacred with only one survivor, Chavez. He would go on to be my A-team’s Heavy.
The rest of the A-Team included 5 other members: Two assault troops named Cooke and Peterson, a field medic named Nicolo, a crackshot sniper named Jang, and a rotating cast of other soldiers who replaced the injured and dead.
The gameplay of XCOM is basically Fire Emblem with guns. You have 4-6 soldiers, and you need to kill all the aliens. Sometimes you also need to do other things like saving civilians, escorting VIPs, and disarming bombs. It does get slightly repetitive and I do wish there were some more objective types, but for the most part it is pretty fun. This game passed the 3am test for me as I accidentally played till 3am once. Of course, XCOM is pretty infamous for the hit rates. I can’t count how many times my soldiers missed shots that had an 80% chance of hitting. The worst was when Petersen missed a 95%, I thought this was like Fire Emblem where that was code for 100%. On the other side, my soldiers were really good at hitting 20%-40% shots. Obviously snipers have the best aim (unless you pick the snapshot promotion, that completely screws up their aim), and in my opinion they are the best units in the game. Especially once you get the “In the zone” promotion which allows you to shoot multiple times a turn. One time Jang managed to kill 6 enemies in a row. Heavies are probably the worst class. They can do high damage with LMGs, but not more than the better shotguns. The rocket launcher they carry around also just isn’t that useful. The best one only does 9 damage, that’s less than the best LMG. There really just isn’t much of a reason to use it.
Outside of battles, you also manage your base. I was a little shocked to realize that Fallout Shelter is a ripoff of this. The facility building is literally the exact same, just with less space. I kind of stopped building facilities after the final story essential one since there’s not a great variety. You also have to build satellite uplinks so you can launch satellites over the council countries. These let you intercept UFOs that are passing by. I was really struggling with these for a while, but that’s because I was being a dumbass and not upgrading the interceptors’ weapons.
Near the end of the story, we find a mysterious device that can tap into the aliens’ network. The problem is that it requires someone with strong psionic abilities. These abilities can be found by locking soldiers into the psionic labs. I tried around 12 soldiers before I finally found our man. It was Chavez (and also a sniper named Hughes, but he got decapitated a few missions later). Before he can use the device, we need to level up his abilities. I don't think the PSI abilities are all that great in this game. Mindfray just inflicts 5 damage with some status effects, and the ability that removes mindfray from your soldiers just doesn’t come into play that often. The best one is the Psionic shield that redirects enemy fire in a pretty large area.
After leveling up the PSI abilities (and also equipping the PSI armor which the game doesn’t tell you to do), Chavez officially became the Volunteer, a now essential soldier who is not allowed to die. He received a psychic message from the device, inviting him to settle things in the mothership (which I should mention is currently hovering above the middle of the atlantic ocean). As we go through the mothership, the Ethereal Leader sends psychic messagers, giving some lore about all the enemies. The Ethereals have been invading planets to force species to evolve. Some showed potential but were weighed down by their cowardice and spite, some became more machine than man, and others were never smart enough to be more than foot soldiers. The Ethereal Leader calls them all failures, but thinks we may succeed against the terror to come.The final test is if we can succeed against him and the other Ethereals. As soon as I walked into the final room, Chavez exploded and I had to restart the level. Then when I restarted none of my soldiers spawned in so I had to start over again. Then the third time the trigger that opens the door to the final boss didn’t trigger so I had to start over again. I haven’t mentioned it much, but this game was not optimized very well for PS3. There is constant lag, and softlocking bugs. I don’t think it’s like this on 360, but I haven’t played that version beyond the tutorial.
Anyway, on the fourth attempt I remembered to save the game at the boss door so I wouldn’t have to restart again. The final boss can very easily kill your troops if you pack them together, so make sure to spread them out. I found that out the hard way when he killed 4 of my soldiers at once. I reloaded the save and got my soldiers in a good formation. My main strategy was to keep my snipers in the back while Peterson and Cooke took the heat. I had two snipers for this mission, Jang and a captain named Peters who had been on like 5 missions before this. In the first round Jang actually missed, but Peters got a low damage hit on the boss. In the second round, Jang shot him for 9 damage and Peters got a 15 damage crit, killing him instantly. In the final cutscene, Chavez gets a vision of the ship combusting into a black hole that swallows the earth. Chavez tells Peterson and Jang to run while he sacrifices himself to steer the ship upwards, getting earth out of the blast radius. Chavez is the only casualty of the ensuing black hole, as earth is finally at peace.
…that’s not how black holes work.
XCOM is a lot of fun, and I got really sucked in. If the performance on PS3 was better, I’d give this a perfect score. 9/10.
1 Yr✓#
MeowZeDung
1 Yr✓#
Xcom enemy unknown/within is an all timer for me. It's awesome to see someone giving it love all this time later. I tried one of the fire emblem games on GBA because of how much i love xcom, but it didn't quite stick. It's just something about aliens and guns and pew pew I suppose.
I'll agree with you that snipers with the team vision perk and damn good ground are probably the best units overall, but boy howdy are shivs, mecs, and mid to high level assaults fun to use.
I'll agree with you that snipers with the team vision perk and damn good ground are probably the best units overall, but boy howdy are shivs, mecs, and mid to high level assaults fun to use.
5 Yrs♥✓#
I never even tried the mechs or the shivs, I forgot to research them in the foundry. Next time I've gotta try them out.
5 Yrs♥✓#
Today on Finnedorb...
A-Z Challenge
Yoshi's Woolly World (Wii U): 10:50
Kamek is at it again, and he turns all the yoshis into yarn for Bowser. Now it's up to Yoshi to stop Bowser, and bring back the population.
You know writing that sentence got me thinking; if yoshi is the species, why is the main yoshi named Yoshi? That be like if Mario was named Human or if Toad was named Toa- wait a second. Maybe they all have unique names and the humans just don't bother learning them.
Yoshi's Woolly World is the second Yoshi game I've beaten, and it's sure as hell better than Yoshi's New Island. It takes the usual Yoshi formula, and adds a neat creative spin to it with yarn. Instead of eggs you've got yarn balls that allows you to wrap up enemies or fill in outlines of platforms/pipes. There's also power badges in this game that give you a boost in a level for a price. My go-to one was usually "Make yarn balls big" which makes the yarn balls big so they can bounce around more. My second choice was usually "Fall into a pit? No problem!" which makes you immune to falling into pits. There's a similar one for lava/fire, but it's more situational.
All six worlds are structured as 3 normal levels, a boss level, 3 normal levels, and another boss level. Every boss except fort Bowser is just a 3-hit fight like other Mario games. They keep the sixth world hidden for some reason, but come on, does the game really think we'll buy them ending it on a snow world? Something unique this game does is that the color of your starting yoshi is determined by which save file you're using. Slot 1 was already in use from 2016 me, so I played the whole game as Pink Yoshi in slot 2.
There are a lot more collectables in this game versus other Yoshi games. Usually you just have to get all the flowers an beat the level at full health, but this game has 5 yarn and 20 stamps in each level. Yarn is the most important collectible since it unlocks new yoshis to play as. You can also use amibos to get new costumes based on the various characters. It's a pretty cool concept, but I just stuck to Pink Yoshi since none of the costumes I unlocked were all that great. Stamps were used for Miiverse, but that's been dead since 2017 so they're useless now.
I could see a lot of inspiration from Kirby's Epic Yarn in this game. It's the same developer, Good-Feel, so that makes sense. I firmly believe that the original Wii version of Kirby's Epic Yarn is their best game, and it's neat that they applied this style to another series. Nintendo thought so too, and they let Good-Feel do another Yoshi game, Yoshi's Crafted World. I haven't played that, but I've heard it's not nearly as good.
Overall, Yoshi's Woolly World is a solid platformer, but I'm not the biggest fan of platformers in general. 7/10
A-Z Challenge
Yoshi's Woolly World (Wii U): 10:50
Kamek is at it again, and he turns all the yoshis into yarn for Bowser. Now it's up to Yoshi to stop Bowser, and bring back the population.
You know writing that sentence got me thinking; if yoshi is the species, why is the main yoshi named Yoshi? That be like if Mario was named Human or if Toad was named Toa- wait a second. Maybe they all have unique names and the humans just don't bother learning them.
Yoshi's Woolly World is the second Yoshi game I've beaten, and it's sure as hell better than Yoshi's New Island. It takes the usual Yoshi formula, and adds a neat creative spin to it with yarn. Instead of eggs you've got yarn balls that allows you to wrap up enemies or fill in outlines of platforms/pipes. There's also power badges in this game that give you a boost in a level for a price. My go-to one was usually "Make yarn balls big" which makes the yarn balls big so they can bounce around more. My second choice was usually "Fall into a pit? No problem!" which makes you immune to falling into pits. There's a similar one for lava/fire, but it's more situational.
All six worlds are structured as 3 normal levels, a boss level, 3 normal levels, and another boss level. Every boss except fort Bowser is just a 3-hit fight like other Mario games. They keep the sixth world hidden for some reason, but come on, does the game really think we'll buy them ending it on a snow world? Something unique this game does is that the color of your starting yoshi is determined by which save file you're using. Slot 1 was already in use from 2016 me, so I played the whole game as Pink Yoshi in slot 2.
There are a lot more collectables in this game versus other Yoshi games. Usually you just have to get all the flowers an beat the level at full health, but this game has 5 yarn and 20 stamps in each level. Yarn is the most important collectible since it unlocks new yoshis to play as. You can also use amibos to get new costumes based on the various characters. It's a pretty cool concept, but I just stuck to Pink Yoshi since none of the costumes I unlocked were all that great. Stamps were used for Miiverse, but that's been dead since 2017 so they're useless now.
I could see a lot of inspiration from Kirby's Epic Yarn in this game. It's the same developer, Good-Feel, so that makes sense. I firmly believe that the original Wii version of Kirby's Epic Yarn is their best game, and it's neat that they applied this style to another series. Nintendo thought so too, and they let Good-Feel do another Yoshi game, Yoshi's Crafted World. I haven't played that, but I've heard it's not nearly as good.
Overall, Yoshi's Woolly World is a solid platformer, but I'm not the biggest fan of platformers in general. 7/10
5 Yrs♥✓#
After 8 months, we're finally here. There's only one letter to go. Like last year, I only own one game that starts with Z that I specifically bought for the sake of the challenge.
I'm not really sure how this game works. It contains remastered versions of Zombie Army 1 and 2, but I don't know if it's integrated into the story or if they're optional. Either way, we're almost done.
I'm not really sure how this game works. It contains remastered versions of Zombie Army 1 and 2, but I don't know if it's integrated into the story or if they're optional. Either way, we're almost done.
✓#
fe112
✓#
Sheesh, that's some commitment. Congrats on being one game away from completing the challenge :)
5 Yrs♥✓#
Thanks, it's been one hell of a bumpy ride. It's zero games now, I finished the trilogy this morning!
5 Yrs♥✓#
Today on Finnedorb…
A-Z Challenge
Zombie Army Trilogy (PC-Steam): 14:54
Episode 1: Get the Hell out of Berlin
In the final days of WW2, Hitler releases his plan Z as a desperate last attack. A curse raises the dead all over Germany. These aren’t just zombies, they’re Nazi Zombies. You play as Karl Fairburne, the world’s greatest sniper who’s killed thousands of Nazis across 5 different games… or you can play as Nick from Left 4 Dead 2. I played as Nick from Left 4 Dead 2. Nick is joined by Coach, Rochelle, and Ellis who have been hurled into Nazi Germany and are all mute now. Nick is working to try and figure out what’s causing all the Nazi zombies. In a twist that probably surprised at least one person out there, the cause is some ancient relics Hitler dug up. Nick and the gang get a few clues before they escape Berlin by boat. An unseen, raspy voice gives the sinister message of “Buy the sequel”.
The first of the three games in this package was initially released as a stand-alone expansion to Sniper Elite V2. It uses the same gameplay system and maps from that game. I’ve never played Sniper Elite V2 so none of this is reused content for me. First impressions of the gameplay, it’s pretty fun. I enjoyed the slowmo, x-ray shots of my bullets going in and out of the zombies. I was also super addicted to trying to get a high combo. I was unfortunately never able to break 100, but I got close at 96 consecutive kills. In every level, there’s a hidden shotgun called The Preacher. It’s a double-barrel shotgun with pellets that penetrate enemies like a sniper-rifle. You can consistently get 7 in 1 kills with this, and I even went as high as a 13 in 1. Ammo is severely limited so you have to be careful. Besides the basic Nazi Zombies, there’s also Skeletons (presumably also Nazis), Snipers, Suicide Bombers, and Super Elites. Super Elites are a massive pain in the ass whenever they show up as they require around 12-15 headshots to kill. They also have MP40s which can shred through you at close range. Overall, Nazi Zombie Army is pretty good. 7/10.
Episode 2: Fuck You, Go Back to Berlin
The boat stops, and a British Captain contacts Nick via radio. The Brits think they’ve found a potential source of the outbreak, and you have to stop it.Throughout the episode we find pieces of the Sagarmatha Relic. It’s like this stone cylinder thing that kills/controls the zombies (it’s unclear). In the final level, Nick reunites all 3 pieces of the relic, sending up a beam of light that stops the zombies in their tracks. The survivors get out of there on a helicopter as the US blows Berlin to hell with a nuke.
This game introduces 2 new enemy types.Summoners summon zombies, and Fire Demons throw fire. The fire makes zombies fragile, but they do more damage when they run into you.The new enemy variety is nice, and allows for more challenges than just “Here’s another Super Elite, have fun!” The Summoners can be killed easily by just shooting them in the head. The challenge is finding them before they spawn too many enemies. The episode is about on par as the last. 7/10.
Episode 3: Guess Who’s Back
A few months after Berlin was nuked, pockets of survivors have sprung up. This was around the time invading Berlin was really in so we’ve got Americans, Russians, Brits, even some Germans who are pretty fed up with Hitler. This is the only original episode of the pack, and it’s pretty obvious right from the get go. There’s other people in the area that you can talk to. They can give you sidequests, pieces of information, and a third thing. I never did any of the sidequests, but it’s neat that that's an option. We’re sent back to Berlin to help out these survivors. The British Captain from the last two games sends us to an overrun hospital to get some intel. It turns out that Hitler is still around, and he’s gathering his zombies for nefarious purposes. Nick and the gang are sent in to find and put a bullet right through Hitler’s ball, but he uses his psychic powers to stop the bullet. All the zombies turn to face us, but Nick still has the relic so Hitler can’t do shit. It’s times like these that make me wonder how Himmler and Goebbels are doing. Are they sentient zombies like Hitler? Are they mindless goons? The game doesn’t answer these questions. Nick figures out that Hitler has two plans. The first is to use a machine that turns the entire world into a Nazi hivemind, and the other is to perform a ritual using the remains of the most evil people in history to gain the powers of hell, and revive all the dead.
The list includes: Maximilian Robespierre, famous for beheading everyone who looked at him funny; Caligula, a crazed Emperor of Rome who claimed himself a god and killed civilians in the street; Leopold II, a man who subjected the natives of the Congo to slavery and inhumane torture; Elizabeth Bathory, who was a victim of propaganda and didn’t actually kill all those women; Talaat Pasha, who performed an ethnic cleansing of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire during WW1; Nero, who despite being declared the anti-christ by the Christain Church, wasn’t nearly as bad as some say; Genghis Kahn who probably does deserve to be here even though he is one of my favorite non-American historical figures; Ivan the Fearsome who is in the same boat as Genghis; Vlad the Impaler who was really just defending his country, let’s be honest; Attila the Hun who I’m pretty sure was popular in Germany at the time so I don’t think Hitler would realistically add him to this; and then there was some christian guy who I can’t remember the name of, and I also can’t find a record of him on the wiki. Well that was one fuck of a run-on sentence. I don’t think most people would have this list when talking about the most evil people in history. To be fair though, Stalin is still alive, Mussolini’s corpse is busy being mutilated in Milan, Mao and Pol Pot aren’t in power yet, and Hitler is the one performing the ritual so he can’t use himself.
With the help of a psychic Nazi who’s hooked into Hitler’s fortress, we destroy the machine. Hitler decides to take care of us himself so he performs the ritual, and becomes a giant, all-powerful version of himself. We retaliate by destroying the corpses of Vlad the Impaler, Nero, and Elizabeth Bathory. This leaves Hitler in a vulnerable state where we finally kill him once and for all (until the next game).
This final episode is probably my least favorite. While I do like the story, the maps just go on for way too long. Most of the maps in this game are pretty long, but this episode especially had hour-long levels almost every time. They also introduce armored zombies which are just a pain in the ass. Unlike the other special enemies, these ones aren’t a fun challenge. They suck every time they show up. Luckily The Preacher penetrates armor, but oftentimes you won’t have that until later in a level.
I liked the trilogy as a whole. The gameplay was always satisfying and fun. I never got tired of shooting Nazi Zombies in the head from really far away. If this was just the last episode, I’d give this a much worse review. 7/10
ALRIGHT WE’RE FINALLY DONE!
A-Z Challenge
Zombie Army Trilogy (PC-Steam): 14:54
Episode 1: Get the Hell out of Berlin
In the final days of WW2, Hitler releases his plan Z as a desperate last attack. A curse raises the dead all over Germany. These aren’t just zombies, they’re Nazi Zombies. You play as Karl Fairburne, the world’s greatest sniper who’s killed thousands of Nazis across 5 different games… or you can play as Nick from Left 4 Dead 2. I played as Nick from Left 4 Dead 2. Nick is joined by Coach, Rochelle, and Ellis who have been hurled into Nazi Germany and are all mute now. Nick is working to try and figure out what’s causing all the Nazi zombies. In a twist that probably surprised at least one person out there, the cause is some ancient relics Hitler dug up. Nick and the gang get a few clues before they escape Berlin by boat. An unseen, raspy voice gives the sinister message of “Buy the sequel”.
The first of the three games in this package was initially released as a stand-alone expansion to Sniper Elite V2. It uses the same gameplay system and maps from that game. I’ve never played Sniper Elite V2 so none of this is reused content for me. First impressions of the gameplay, it’s pretty fun. I enjoyed the slowmo, x-ray shots of my bullets going in and out of the zombies. I was also super addicted to trying to get a high combo. I was unfortunately never able to break 100, but I got close at 96 consecutive kills. In every level, there’s a hidden shotgun called The Preacher. It’s a double-barrel shotgun with pellets that penetrate enemies like a sniper-rifle. You can consistently get 7 in 1 kills with this, and I even went as high as a 13 in 1. Ammo is severely limited so you have to be careful. Besides the basic Nazi Zombies, there’s also Skeletons (presumably also Nazis), Snipers, Suicide Bombers, and Super Elites. Super Elites are a massive pain in the ass whenever they show up as they require around 12-15 headshots to kill. They also have MP40s which can shred through you at close range. Overall, Nazi Zombie Army is pretty good. 7/10.
Episode 2: Fuck You, Go Back to Berlin
The boat stops, and a British Captain contacts Nick via radio. The Brits think they’ve found a potential source of the outbreak, and you have to stop it.Throughout the episode we find pieces of the Sagarmatha Relic. It’s like this stone cylinder thing that kills/controls the zombies (it’s unclear). In the final level, Nick reunites all 3 pieces of the relic, sending up a beam of light that stops the zombies in their tracks. The survivors get out of there on a helicopter as the US blows Berlin to hell with a nuke.
This game introduces 2 new enemy types.Summoners summon zombies, and Fire Demons throw fire. The fire makes zombies fragile, but they do more damage when they run into you.The new enemy variety is nice, and allows for more challenges than just “Here’s another Super Elite, have fun!” The Summoners can be killed easily by just shooting them in the head. The challenge is finding them before they spawn too many enemies. The episode is about on par as the last. 7/10.
Episode 3: Guess Who’s Back
A few months after Berlin was nuked, pockets of survivors have sprung up. This was around the time invading Berlin was really in so we’ve got Americans, Russians, Brits, even some Germans who are pretty fed up with Hitler. This is the only original episode of the pack, and it’s pretty obvious right from the get go. There’s other people in the area that you can talk to. They can give you sidequests, pieces of information, and a third thing. I never did any of the sidequests, but it’s neat that that's an option. We’re sent back to Berlin to help out these survivors. The British Captain from the last two games sends us to an overrun hospital to get some intel. It turns out that Hitler is still around, and he’s gathering his zombies for nefarious purposes. Nick and the gang are sent in to find and put a bullet right through Hitler’s ball, but he uses his psychic powers to stop the bullet. All the zombies turn to face us, but Nick still has the relic so Hitler can’t do shit. It’s times like these that make me wonder how Himmler and Goebbels are doing. Are they sentient zombies like Hitler? Are they mindless goons? The game doesn’t answer these questions. Nick figures out that Hitler has two plans. The first is to use a machine that turns the entire world into a Nazi hivemind, and the other is to perform a ritual using the remains of the most evil people in history to gain the powers of hell, and revive all the dead.
The list includes: Maximilian Robespierre, famous for beheading everyone who looked at him funny; Caligula, a crazed Emperor of Rome who claimed himself a god and killed civilians in the street; Leopold II, a man who subjected the natives of the Congo to slavery and inhumane torture; Elizabeth Bathory, who was a victim of propaganda and didn’t actually kill all those women; Talaat Pasha, who performed an ethnic cleansing of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire during WW1; Nero, who despite being declared the anti-christ by the Christain Church, wasn’t nearly as bad as some say; Genghis Kahn who probably does deserve to be here even though he is one of my favorite non-American historical figures; Ivan the Fearsome who is in the same boat as Genghis; Vlad the Impaler who was really just defending his country, let’s be honest; Attila the Hun who I’m pretty sure was popular in Germany at the time so I don’t think Hitler would realistically add him to this; and then there was some christian guy who I can’t remember the name of, and I also can’t find a record of him on the wiki. Well that was one fuck of a run-on sentence. I don’t think most people would have this list when talking about the most evil people in history. To be fair though, Stalin is still alive, Mussolini’s corpse is busy being mutilated in Milan, Mao and Pol Pot aren’t in power yet, and Hitler is the one performing the ritual so he can’t use himself.
With the help of a psychic Nazi who’s hooked into Hitler’s fortress, we destroy the machine. Hitler decides to take care of us himself so he performs the ritual, and becomes a giant, all-powerful version of himself. We retaliate by destroying the corpses of Vlad the Impaler, Nero, and Elizabeth Bathory. This leaves Hitler in a vulnerable state where we finally kill him once and for all (until the next game).
This final episode is probably my least favorite. While I do like the story, the maps just go on for way too long. Most of the maps in this game are pretty long, but this episode especially had hour-long levels almost every time. They also introduce armored zombies which are just a pain in the ass. Unlike the other special enemies, these ones aren’t a fun challenge. They suck every time they show up. Luckily The Preacher penetrates armor, but oftentimes you won’t have that until later in a level.
I liked the trilogy as a whole. The gameplay was always satisfying and fun. I never got tired of shooting Nazi Zombies in the head from really far away. If this was just the last episode, I’d give this a much worse review. 7/10
ALRIGHT WE’RE FINALLY DONE!
5 Yrs♥✓#
After 8 months and 385 hours, the A-Z Challenge has come to a close. I didn't enjoy it as much this time, but I think that's because there were a lot more 6 and 7 out of 10s this time around. Last year had higher highs and lower lows which made it a fun rollercoaster. But what were the best and worst games? Let's find out.
Also Dark Souls II is out of the running since I played so little of it before retiring.
25. Metroid: Other M
In dead last is Metroid: Other M and it isn't close. Before this ranking I did a tier list to get my thoughts in order and this was the only one that made F-tier. The gameplay isn't the worst, but the story is. I don't call things sexist often, but the portrayal of Samus in this game is extremely sexist. The fact that she can't do shit unless Malkovich approves it is both a shit way of resetting Samus' power from the last game, and a decision that takes away most of her agency. The voice acting is also famously bland. You'd think Samus should sound like Ripley from Alien, her direct inspiration, but instead we get a bored delivery that constantly says The Baby. While the moment-to-moment gameplay is fine, there are several sections where you need to be in first person that get very annoying. This is the worst Metroid game by far, and I don't recommend anyone play it.
24. Banjo-Tooie
I was debating whether or not to put this here or in the next spot, but ultimately this game just bored the shit out of me. I wasn't the biggest fan of the last game, but it was decent enough. This one tried to be bigger and grander. The game starts out good, the first few worlds are great. Then the dinosaur world happens, and the game nosedives. The worlds start getting way too big with no map, the Jiggies get harder to find, and going between Mumbo and Wumba's huts becomes a pain in the ass. I think if they had stuck to something smaller like the first game, and just improved upon that then this would be much better. The writing is also a little lazier when it comes to comedy. Most of the jokes are just 4th-wall breaks. It works a few times, but it misses more often than not. I just got sick of playing this, but decided to trudge along anyway. I understand some people might love this game if it was part of their childhood, but it was not part of mine.
23. Vampyr
This game is kind of sad because at it's core, I can see a good game. The issue is that it's buried under a bunch of bullshit. There's a lot of problems with this game, but the biggest ones have to be a lack of fast-travel and the long-ass loading screens. While this may not be the biggest open-world game, it's still a relatively large map so no fast-travel means you'll be walking a while to get from place to place. To add some insult to injury, barely anything is labeled on the in-game map so you just have to guess based on where the few labeled things are. If they just labeled towns and landmarks, it wouldn't be nearly as annoying to get around. The loading screens in this game can last up to a minute and a half, and I have no idea why. This isn't a particularly graphics heavy game and unlike say Fallout 4, there aren't thousands of entities being loaded at once. The NPC mechanics of choosing who lives or dies sounds interesting, but it ultimately doesn't affect much. Levelling up can also be kind of grindy if you don't want to kill too many NPCs since combat gives barely any exp. This game has potewntial and I feel some of the bigger issues could be fixed with updates, but that didn't happen.
22. Odama
This is the last game I consider bad, and it's one of the two I retired this time around. Odama is a pinball game set in feudal Japan that is controlled with the Gamecube microphone. Sounds like an interesting concept, but in the end it's just kind of a clusterfuck that doesn't come together well. The goal is to have your army push to the gate at the end of the battlefield, but you end up just killing a lot of your men with the ball. Even when your doing well, the men can lose morale and refuse to listen to your commands. I have no idea how to fix that, and it's actually what made me quit the game. Maybe a re-release could fix some issues, but the Gamecube original is just kind of annoying to play.
21. Just Dance 2014
What do you want me to say? It's a dance game and that's it. It has better motion detection than the first game, but I like the song selection of 4 more. It's fine.
20/19. Pushmo/ Lego Batman: The Videogame
I've grouped these two together since I don't have strong thoughts on either of them. They're both tolerable 7/10 games kids games. I mean a kid would probably throw his 3DS at the wall from how hard Pushmo can be, but that's it's intended audience. These were both games I just sort of got through so I could continue the challenge.
18. Elebits
I had zero expectations going into Elebits, and I was pleasantly surprised. I did not expect it to be a first-person shooter. The goal is to shoot the Elebits so they stop causing havoc, and you have a certain amount of time to find them in a particular location. Almost every object in this game has physics, and the Wii is really being pushed to it's limits. Thankfully as far as I remember the game never crashed, but it did lag. There was also a Silent Hill 4: The Room reference in the theme park level which I found funny since it definitely spooked some poor 5-year old. The story is barely there, but I'd argue it doesn't really need to be for this type of game. The only truly annoying part was the occasional fail conditions like "don't break x amount of objects" or "don't go over x decibels". The decibel one especially was annoying since it was inconsistent. This is a decent early Wii game, and I hope it eventually gets a sequel.
17. Yoshi's Woolly World
Since the review wasn't too long ago, I'll keep this brief. It's a decent 2D platformer that makes use of the yarn mechanics well. I don't really like 2D platformers so it goes down here.
16. Warhammer: Vermintide 2
This was my first Warhammer game, and it's decent. The game's a Left 4 Dead rip-off, but it's much better than the previous game. There's a larger variety of objectives and enemies which makes things more enjoyable. The increased customization allows for more playstyles, but I ended up sticking with Saltzpyre's default class. I can see why some people like this, but it's not really my thing.
15. Resident Evil Code: Veronica X
This is another one I was debating on whether it should go here or a spot up, but then I remembered the moths. Code Veronica is a weird game that released after RE3, but before REmake. It's in 3D, but doesn't have the improvements of the next game. I think the game peaks on the island with some classic Resident Evil puzzles, a mysterious villain, Wesker for some reason, and Claire providing a link to the previous games. Once we fly to Antarctica, things start going downhill. This new map isn't that interesting, and the limited space makes dodging zombies a pain in the ass. Then we switch to Chris and Hunters get introduced which just causes some annoying parts. I've also heard of people getting softlocked, and I can definitely see that. There's several parts where the game gives you a checkpoint at the start of a boss fight which sounds good, but in a game like Resident Evil, you can run out of ammo fast. If you don't have a save before that you're fucked. This game is decent for early Resident Evil, but it pails in comparison to the series after this point.
14. The Saboteur
The Saboteur is a decent enough open-world game that would be much better if you could fast-travel. That is really the biggest negative in this game. I liked the story, I thought the art direction was cool, and WW2 France is a really unique setting. At the end of the day though, an open-world this big without fast-travel cannot rise above a 7/10. Besides that, the gunplay could be improved a bit. If you could carry more than two weapons it would be a lot more fun. The driving could also occasionally feel a little clunky which isn't great when our main character was a racecar driver. I don't think this game needs a sequel like other people do, but it was still a decent time.
13. Quake III: Arena
I was a little let down by this one. I was hoping for an improved Quake II, but the story is just a bunch of multiplayer matches with bots. Don't get me wrong, the gameplay is still fun, but not having a true level-based campaign is disappointing. Ultimately while I wish it had better singleplayer content, it's still a good game.
12. inFamous: Second Son
Of the two inFamous games I've played, Second Son is the weakest. That doesn't mean it's bad though, the different powers were fun to mess around with. I liked Delsin's relationship with his brother and the other conduits. I do wish the main villain was more comically evil instead of having a motivation that makes absolutely no sense. The open world felt a little shallow compared to inFamous 1, and the districts were less satisfying to unlock. The game's a solid 7/10, but not a great follow-up to it's predecessors.
11. Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge
I don't remember this game as much as some of the others, probably because I was having a rough week when I played it, but I do remember liking the gameplay. Dogfights in videogames can be really fun. The alt-history setting was also interesting to explore. I wish I played the first game before this so I could experience more of the world. Also, Arizona is in this game so it immediately gets some bonus points.
10. Going Under
Going Under is a rogue-like about an intern at a soda company in a world where start-ups turn into dungeons when they go under. The gameplay could be pretty fun with the wide variety of weapons and skills. It felt good to get more powerful as the dungeons went on. The writing did a good job of combining comedy with a pretty good story about capitalism and corporate greed. My only real complaint is that there are too many useless skills that can clog up the skill pool. It was always disappointing going to a skill room and seeing "Yeet" which just makes Jackie say yeet when she throws something.
9. Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception
Another Uncharted game, another good time. Sully's back after his absence in the last game, and he's great. The gameplay is also solid as usual. The story reveals a lot about Drake's history, and the story is more personal to him than ever. This isn't just another treasure, it's the one that got away. That being said, a lot of the characters say drake is obsessed with finding Francis Drake's secret, but Drake is acting pretty normal in the cutscenes. The game doesn't really give a sense that Drake is any more obsessed with this than he was with the treasure in the last two games. I've also got to admit that the gameplay is getting a little stale in this series. I wish they would introduce something to mix it up. The game's undoubtedly good, but it's the weakest of the series in my opinion.
8. Assassin's Creed: The Ezio Trilogy
Assassin's Creed II is an amazing game. It needs to be studied how a sequel could improve upon the previous game so much. But unfortunately my save file got corrupted and I had to retire it. Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood is just kind of a rehash of the second game. While I like how much of a shithead Ceasre is, the story isn't nearly as interesting as 2. In that one Ezio was thrust into this assassin lifestyle by yet unseen forces, but by Brotherhood he's already done all this shit and has to push through way less adversity. The side-content just wasn't all that compelling either. 2 had Altair's armor, the hidden symbols revealing the truth of the Templars, and the maps revealing the codex. This one just has nothing. Revelations is the final game of the package, and I'm mixed on it. I like the stuff with Ezio in Constantinople, but I hated the Altair side of the game. The voice acting on Altair is just so much worse than first game. Sure, it didn't make sense for this middle-eastern man to have an American accent, but you could've just told Philip Shahbaz to put on an accent. Why the hell did you get a new guy that does a high-pitched nerd voice? It doesn't fit Altair at all. Desmond is busy being in a coma during all this, so we don't get a conclusion to his story. I love Assassin's Creed 2, and it's the sole reason this game is so high.
7. Zombie Army Trilogy
Okay this one might admittedly be recency bias, but I just found this game more fun than all the previous ones on the list. I know it's objectively worse than a few of them, but I never get sick of headshotting Nazi Zombies. There's not much more to this placement than that, I just really love the slowmo x-ray shots.
6. Konami Classics vol.1
By Konami Classics vol.1, I mean Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Frogger and Super Contra barely matter when discussing this package. Before Symphony of the Night, the only games in the Castlevania series I had played were the original, Rondo of Blood, and Lament of Innocence. From this I can see what a major improvement this is over the previous games, and how the later games tried to emulate it's style. I didn't like Symphony of the Night at first, it just didn't click with me. Then I started exploring Dracula's Castle more and I started really getting into it. I fought the optional bosses, I visited hidden areas, and I made sure to get Alucard's shield. I only have two problems with the game, but they're pretty minor. The first is that the map is pretty bad, nothing is labeled which can lead to you getting lost easily. The other is just that I think the game goes on a little too long. Inverted Castle was neat at first, but then it just kept going. Still, the moment-to-moment gameplay was consistently fun and I enjoyed my time with it.
5. Halo: Combat Evolved
I really enjoyed this one. This game does something rare and mixes fun gameplay with a great story. Master Chief and Cortana are a great team, and I want to see more of them. The score is amazingly memorable and grand. Maybe too grand, it does drown out voices in a game with no subtitles. I would love to play more games in this series, and I fully intend to play Halo 2 before the year is out.
4. Soulcalibur
I normally don't like fighting games, but something about Soulcalibur is just really fun. It doesn't have a complex story, but I just really like playing it. I even got a second Dreamcast controller so I can play with friends. I beat Soulcalibur II last week, and I just got Soulcalibur III so maybe this time next year I'll have beaten them all.
3. Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition
What a game. It recreates Dungeons and Dragons in videogame form. The story is fine, but I loved the gameplay. The biggest problem with this game is that it does a bad job telling you what level the enemies are. I didn't have a problem with most enemies, but then part 4 hit me like a truck, and at this point there were no more sidequests. I want to dive into the sequel, but I've heard the enhanced edition kind of sucks so I need to get my disc drive fixed first.
2. Final Fantasy XVI
The newest numbered Final Fantasy game. The story is grand, and full of rich, complex characters. I absolutely loved it and seeing where it went. The gameplay is just fine. The game's an action-rpg instead of a turn-based one, and it gets pretty repetitive. The main issue is that Clive only has a few standard moves. If there were things like unlockable combos it would be more interesting. Every battle just went the same, even the bosses. Potions are also in large supply so there's not a whole lot of challenge. I did like the cinematic moments in the boss fights, but the non-cinematic parts were just a little boring. But man, it is worth it for that rich story.
1. XCOM: Enemy Unknown
I new as soon as I played it that this was my favorite. XCOM is Fire Emblem with guns and aliens, and that speaks to me. I stayed up till 3am playing this once, and I want to get Enemy Within so I can play it again. I can't believe nobody told me just how good this game is, you bastards! Sure the performance may not be great, sure the hit percents can be inaccurate, but I love this game and it is my favorite of the challenge this year.
Looking Forward:
The challenge went on for a long time this year. The total time this year was 385 hours, while last year it was only 321 hours. Add on that I was just generally busier, and it took nearly 3 more months. I'm fairly certain next year will be even longer, especially for V, X, and Y since I only have 30 hour long games for those. I ran some numbers on what next year's challenge might look like with my current backlog.
The worst case scenario will take 1,551 hours. At 3 hours a day that's 517 days, ending the challenge on 6/1/2027. Luckily the chances of this happening are 26/468 which is 0.06%. The same goes for the minimum time, 205 hours or 68 days ending the challenge on 3/9/2026. But the average time based on what the website says for each letter is 460 hours or 153 days ending the challenge on 6/2/2026. Now, that's 80 more hours than this year's challenge so I have a feeling it will last longer than that. Maybe next year I'll segment the challenge and take a month or two off. I could also rig things by buying some shorter games in the problem letters.
V is now another letter I only own one game for joining Q and Z. It's Valkyria Chronicles 4, a 37 hour long game. The game's I plan on buying for Q and Z are Quake 4 and Zombie Army 4: Dead War. As for the year after that, I'm not sure. I think I'll probably do Quantum Break for Q, but other than that I've got nothing. Z is a little more fortunate, the Zero Escape Series is what I have my sights on, and after that maybe Zombies Ate my Neighbor. I think I might eventually either turn these letters into wildcards that could be any letter, or a turn to roll games that start with numbers.
Unlike last year, I'm not doing a second challenge so I'm free to play whatever I want until 1/1/26. I probably won't post on this blog again this year unless I find a game I want to do a review on. I'm worried that next year's challenge will go into September or October since I'll likely be even busier next year, but it remains to be seen.
Also Dark Souls II is out of the running since I played so little of it before retiring.
25. Metroid: Other M
In dead last is Metroid: Other M and it isn't close. Before this ranking I did a tier list to get my thoughts in order and this was the only one that made F-tier. The gameplay isn't the worst, but the story is. I don't call things sexist often, but the portrayal of Samus in this game is extremely sexist. The fact that she can't do shit unless Malkovich approves it is both a shit way of resetting Samus' power from the last game, and a decision that takes away most of her agency. The voice acting is also famously bland. You'd think Samus should sound like Ripley from Alien, her direct inspiration, but instead we get a bored delivery that constantly says The Baby. While the moment-to-moment gameplay is fine, there are several sections where you need to be in first person that get very annoying. This is the worst Metroid game by far, and I don't recommend anyone play it.
24. Banjo-Tooie
I was debating whether or not to put this here or in the next spot, but ultimately this game just bored the shit out of me. I wasn't the biggest fan of the last game, but it was decent enough. This one tried to be bigger and grander. The game starts out good, the first few worlds are great. Then the dinosaur world happens, and the game nosedives. The worlds start getting way too big with no map, the Jiggies get harder to find, and going between Mumbo and Wumba's huts becomes a pain in the ass. I think if they had stuck to something smaller like the first game, and just improved upon that then this would be much better. The writing is also a little lazier when it comes to comedy. Most of the jokes are just 4th-wall breaks. It works a few times, but it misses more often than not. I just got sick of playing this, but decided to trudge along anyway. I understand some people might love this game if it was part of their childhood, but it was not part of mine.
23. Vampyr
This game is kind of sad because at it's core, I can see a good game. The issue is that it's buried under a bunch of bullshit. There's a lot of problems with this game, but the biggest ones have to be a lack of fast-travel and the long-ass loading screens. While this may not be the biggest open-world game, it's still a relatively large map so no fast-travel means you'll be walking a while to get from place to place. To add some insult to injury, barely anything is labeled on the in-game map so you just have to guess based on where the few labeled things are. If they just labeled towns and landmarks, it wouldn't be nearly as annoying to get around. The loading screens in this game can last up to a minute and a half, and I have no idea why. This isn't a particularly graphics heavy game and unlike say Fallout 4, there aren't thousands of entities being loaded at once. The NPC mechanics of choosing who lives or dies sounds interesting, but it ultimately doesn't affect much. Levelling up can also be kind of grindy if you don't want to kill too many NPCs since combat gives barely any exp. This game has potewntial and I feel some of the bigger issues could be fixed with updates, but that didn't happen.
22. Odama
This is the last game I consider bad, and it's one of the two I retired this time around. Odama is a pinball game set in feudal Japan that is controlled with the Gamecube microphone. Sounds like an interesting concept, but in the end it's just kind of a clusterfuck that doesn't come together well. The goal is to have your army push to the gate at the end of the battlefield, but you end up just killing a lot of your men with the ball. Even when your doing well, the men can lose morale and refuse to listen to your commands. I have no idea how to fix that, and it's actually what made me quit the game. Maybe a re-release could fix some issues, but the Gamecube original is just kind of annoying to play.
21. Just Dance 2014
What do you want me to say? It's a dance game and that's it. It has better motion detection than the first game, but I like the song selection of 4 more. It's fine.
20/19. Pushmo/ Lego Batman: The Videogame
I've grouped these two together since I don't have strong thoughts on either of them. They're both tolerable 7/10 games kids games. I mean a kid would probably throw his 3DS at the wall from how hard Pushmo can be, but that's it's intended audience. These were both games I just sort of got through so I could continue the challenge.
18. Elebits
I had zero expectations going into Elebits, and I was pleasantly surprised. I did not expect it to be a first-person shooter. The goal is to shoot the Elebits so they stop causing havoc, and you have a certain amount of time to find them in a particular location. Almost every object in this game has physics, and the Wii is really being pushed to it's limits. Thankfully as far as I remember the game never crashed, but it did lag. There was also a Silent Hill 4: The Room reference in the theme park level which I found funny since it definitely spooked some poor 5-year old. The story is barely there, but I'd argue it doesn't really need to be for this type of game. The only truly annoying part was the occasional fail conditions like "don't break x amount of objects" or "don't go over x decibels". The decibel one especially was annoying since it was inconsistent. This is a decent early Wii game, and I hope it eventually gets a sequel.
17. Yoshi's Woolly World
Since the review wasn't too long ago, I'll keep this brief. It's a decent 2D platformer that makes use of the yarn mechanics well. I don't really like 2D platformers so it goes down here.
16. Warhammer: Vermintide 2
This was my first Warhammer game, and it's decent. The game's a Left 4 Dead rip-off, but it's much better than the previous game. There's a larger variety of objectives and enemies which makes things more enjoyable. The increased customization allows for more playstyles, but I ended up sticking with Saltzpyre's default class. I can see why some people like this, but it's not really my thing.
15. Resident Evil Code: Veronica X
This is another one I was debating on whether it should go here or a spot up, but then I remembered the moths. Code Veronica is a weird game that released after RE3, but before REmake. It's in 3D, but doesn't have the improvements of the next game. I think the game peaks on the island with some classic Resident Evil puzzles, a mysterious villain, Wesker for some reason, and Claire providing a link to the previous games. Once we fly to Antarctica, things start going downhill. This new map isn't that interesting, and the limited space makes dodging zombies a pain in the ass. Then we switch to Chris and Hunters get introduced which just causes some annoying parts. I've also heard of people getting softlocked, and I can definitely see that. There's several parts where the game gives you a checkpoint at the start of a boss fight which sounds good, but in a game like Resident Evil, you can run out of ammo fast. If you don't have a save before that you're fucked. This game is decent for early Resident Evil, but it pails in comparison to the series after this point.
14. The Saboteur
The Saboteur is a decent enough open-world game that would be much better if you could fast-travel. That is really the biggest negative in this game. I liked the story, I thought the art direction was cool, and WW2 France is a really unique setting. At the end of the day though, an open-world this big without fast-travel cannot rise above a 7/10. Besides that, the gunplay could be improved a bit. If you could carry more than two weapons it would be a lot more fun. The driving could also occasionally feel a little clunky which isn't great when our main character was a racecar driver. I don't think this game needs a sequel like other people do, but it was still a decent time.
13. Quake III: Arena
I was a little let down by this one. I was hoping for an improved Quake II, but the story is just a bunch of multiplayer matches with bots. Don't get me wrong, the gameplay is still fun, but not having a true level-based campaign is disappointing. Ultimately while I wish it had better singleplayer content, it's still a good game.
12. inFamous: Second Son
Of the two inFamous games I've played, Second Son is the weakest. That doesn't mean it's bad though, the different powers were fun to mess around with. I liked Delsin's relationship with his brother and the other conduits. I do wish the main villain was more comically evil instead of having a motivation that makes absolutely no sense. The open world felt a little shallow compared to inFamous 1, and the districts were less satisfying to unlock. The game's a solid 7/10, but not a great follow-up to it's predecessors.
11. Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge
I don't remember this game as much as some of the others, probably because I was having a rough week when I played it, but I do remember liking the gameplay. Dogfights in videogames can be really fun. The alt-history setting was also interesting to explore. I wish I played the first game before this so I could experience more of the world. Also, Arizona is in this game so it immediately gets some bonus points.
10. Going Under
Going Under is a rogue-like about an intern at a soda company in a world where start-ups turn into dungeons when they go under. The gameplay could be pretty fun with the wide variety of weapons and skills. It felt good to get more powerful as the dungeons went on. The writing did a good job of combining comedy with a pretty good story about capitalism and corporate greed. My only real complaint is that there are too many useless skills that can clog up the skill pool. It was always disappointing going to a skill room and seeing "Yeet" which just makes Jackie say yeet when she throws something.
9. Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception
Another Uncharted game, another good time. Sully's back after his absence in the last game, and he's great. The gameplay is also solid as usual. The story reveals a lot about Drake's history, and the story is more personal to him than ever. This isn't just another treasure, it's the one that got away. That being said, a lot of the characters say drake is obsessed with finding Francis Drake's secret, but Drake is acting pretty normal in the cutscenes. The game doesn't really give a sense that Drake is any more obsessed with this than he was with the treasure in the last two games. I've also got to admit that the gameplay is getting a little stale in this series. I wish they would introduce something to mix it up. The game's undoubtedly good, but it's the weakest of the series in my opinion.
8. Assassin's Creed: The Ezio Trilogy
Assassin's Creed II is an amazing game. It needs to be studied how a sequel could improve upon the previous game so much. But unfortunately my save file got corrupted and I had to retire it. Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood is just kind of a rehash of the second game. While I like how much of a shithead Ceasre is, the story isn't nearly as interesting as 2. In that one Ezio was thrust into this assassin lifestyle by yet unseen forces, but by Brotherhood he's already done all this shit and has to push through way less adversity. The side-content just wasn't all that compelling either. 2 had Altair's armor, the hidden symbols revealing the truth of the Templars, and the maps revealing the codex. This one just has nothing. Revelations is the final game of the package, and I'm mixed on it. I like the stuff with Ezio in Constantinople, but I hated the Altair side of the game. The voice acting on Altair is just so much worse than first game. Sure, it didn't make sense for this middle-eastern man to have an American accent, but you could've just told Philip Shahbaz to put on an accent. Why the hell did you get a new guy that does a high-pitched nerd voice? It doesn't fit Altair at all. Desmond is busy being in a coma during all this, so we don't get a conclusion to his story. I love Assassin's Creed 2, and it's the sole reason this game is so high.
7. Zombie Army Trilogy
Okay this one might admittedly be recency bias, but I just found this game more fun than all the previous ones on the list. I know it's objectively worse than a few of them, but I never get sick of headshotting Nazi Zombies. There's not much more to this placement than that, I just really love the slowmo x-ray shots.
6. Konami Classics vol.1
By Konami Classics vol.1, I mean Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Frogger and Super Contra barely matter when discussing this package. Before Symphony of the Night, the only games in the Castlevania series I had played were the original, Rondo of Blood, and Lament of Innocence. From this I can see what a major improvement this is over the previous games, and how the later games tried to emulate it's style. I didn't like Symphony of the Night at first, it just didn't click with me. Then I started exploring Dracula's Castle more and I started really getting into it. I fought the optional bosses, I visited hidden areas, and I made sure to get Alucard's shield. I only have two problems with the game, but they're pretty minor. The first is that the map is pretty bad, nothing is labeled which can lead to you getting lost easily. The other is just that I think the game goes on a little too long. Inverted Castle was neat at first, but then it just kept going. Still, the moment-to-moment gameplay was consistently fun and I enjoyed my time with it.
5. Halo: Combat Evolved
I really enjoyed this one. This game does something rare and mixes fun gameplay with a great story. Master Chief and Cortana are a great team, and I want to see more of them. The score is amazingly memorable and grand. Maybe too grand, it does drown out voices in a game with no subtitles. I would love to play more games in this series, and I fully intend to play Halo 2 before the year is out.
4. Soulcalibur
I normally don't like fighting games, but something about Soulcalibur is just really fun. It doesn't have a complex story, but I just really like playing it. I even got a second Dreamcast controller so I can play with friends. I beat Soulcalibur II last week, and I just got Soulcalibur III so maybe this time next year I'll have beaten them all.
3. Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition
What a game. It recreates Dungeons and Dragons in videogame form. The story is fine, but I loved the gameplay. The biggest problem with this game is that it does a bad job telling you what level the enemies are. I didn't have a problem with most enemies, but then part 4 hit me like a truck, and at this point there were no more sidequests. I want to dive into the sequel, but I've heard the enhanced edition kind of sucks so I need to get my disc drive fixed first.
2. Final Fantasy XVI
The newest numbered Final Fantasy game. The story is grand, and full of rich, complex characters. I absolutely loved it and seeing where it went. The gameplay is just fine. The game's an action-rpg instead of a turn-based one, and it gets pretty repetitive. The main issue is that Clive only has a few standard moves. If there were things like unlockable combos it would be more interesting. Every battle just went the same, even the bosses. Potions are also in large supply so there's not a whole lot of challenge. I did like the cinematic moments in the boss fights, but the non-cinematic parts were just a little boring. But man, it is worth it for that rich story.
1. XCOM: Enemy Unknown
I new as soon as I played it that this was my favorite. XCOM is Fire Emblem with guns and aliens, and that speaks to me. I stayed up till 3am playing this once, and I want to get Enemy Within so I can play it again. I can't believe nobody told me just how good this game is, you bastards! Sure the performance may not be great, sure the hit percents can be inaccurate, but I love this game and it is my favorite of the challenge this year.
Looking Forward:
The challenge went on for a long time this year. The total time this year was 385 hours, while last year it was only 321 hours. Add on that I was just generally busier, and it took nearly 3 more months. I'm fairly certain next year will be even longer, especially for V, X, and Y since I only have 30 hour long games for those. I ran some numbers on what next year's challenge might look like with my current backlog.
The worst case scenario will take 1,551 hours. At 3 hours a day that's 517 days, ending the challenge on 6/1/2027. Luckily the chances of this happening are 26/468 which is 0.06%. The same goes for the minimum time, 205 hours or 68 days ending the challenge on 3/9/2026. But the average time based on what the website says for each letter is 460 hours or 153 days ending the challenge on 6/2/2026. Now, that's 80 more hours than this year's challenge so I have a feeling it will last longer than that. Maybe next year I'll segment the challenge and take a month or two off. I could also rig things by buying some shorter games in the problem letters.
V is now another letter I only own one game for joining Q and Z. It's Valkyria Chronicles 4, a 37 hour long game. The game's I plan on buying for Q and Z are Quake 4 and Zombie Army 4: Dead War. As for the year after that, I'm not sure. I think I'll probably do Quantum Break for Q, but other than that I've got nothing. Z is a little more fortunate, the Zero Escape Series is what I have my sights on, and after that maybe Zombies Ate my Neighbor. I think I might eventually either turn these letters into wildcards that could be any letter, or a turn to roll games that start with numbers.
Unlike last year, I'm not doing a second challenge so I'm free to play whatever I want until 1/1/26. I probably won't post on this blog again this year unless I find a game I want to do a review on. I'm worried that next year's challenge will go into September or October since I'll likely be even busier next year, but it remains to be seen.
5 Yrs♥$✓#
Siver
5 Yrs♥$✓#
Congratulations on finishing it with lots of time to spare!
I had to laugh at your writing for Metroid Other M. A friend's partner was playing it semi-recently and we were all quoting "THE BABY" in the group chat. And yeah, the excuse to depower Samus pissed me off, especially the nonsense with the Varia Suit, which is purely defensive anyway!
I don't have very much experience with Soul Calibur 1 but I've played the rest of the series to varying degrees. II is my favourite. The series also just feels quite approachable as far as fighting games go too.
I had to laugh at your writing for Metroid Other M. A friend's partner was playing it semi-recently and we were all quoting "THE BABY" in the group chat. And yeah, the excuse to depower Samus pissed me off, especially the nonsense with the Varia Suit, which is purely defensive anyway!
I don't have very much experience with Soul Calibur 1 but I've played the rest of the series to varying degrees. II is my favourite. The series also just feels quite approachable as far as fighting games go too.
1 Yr✓#
MeowZeDung1 Yr✓#
XCom at number one checks out. What a banger.
I'm excited for you to go on your Halo journey. It's an excellent series. While it's legendary because of what it did for multiplayer gaming, the campaign is just so, so good.
I want to play Neverwinter nights so bad, especially with the sequel releasing. There are just oodles of crpgs I need to play though, and I don't know where it will fit in the mix with the likes of baldurs gate 1 and 2, divinity original sin 2, pillars of eternity 1 and 2, and the Pathfinder games. I love the genre, but it's so saturated with 50-100 hr games that mere mortals can't just plow through them.
I'm excited for you to go on your Halo journey. It's an excellent series. While it's legendary because of what it did for multiplayer gaming, the campaign is just so, so good.
I want to play Neverwinter nights so bad, especially with the sequel releasing. There are just oodles of crpgs I need to play though, and I don't know where it will fit in the mix with the likes of baldurs gate 1 and 2, divinity original sin 2, pillars of eternity 1 and 2, and the Pathfinder games. I love the genre, but it's so saturated with 50-100 hr games that mere mortals can't just plow through them.
5 Yrs♥✓#
especially the nonsense with the Varia Suit, which is purely defensive anyway!
I know right? It's so fucking annoying. I have no idea why they didn't just do the usual and have the first boss throw her around a little.
The series also just feels quite approachable as far as fighting games go too.
I think that's why I like it so much. You don't have to memorize a billion combos like in Mortal Kombat or Street Fighter. I honestly think 1 has tighter gameplay than 2, but 2 does undeniably have the better roster.