BigBlueWolf
Batch 21 and August Wrap-Up
Beaten: 7-Aug-2018
An underwater exploration game. Strictly speaking there's really not much game play here. Swimming simulator? But it's crazy beautiful nonetheless. And a tad weird because I didn't understand the machine aspect of the story. Anyway this was made by the people who made Journey for the Playstation, and it's a relaxing cross between mystical ocean meditation and a trip to the Monterrey Bay Aquarium (where I visited two weekends ago :D). Worth playing because it's short and just amazing to look at.
An underwater exploration game. Strictly speaking there's really not much game play here. Swimming simulator? But it's crazy beautiful nonetheless. And a tad weird because I didn't understand the machine aspect of the story. Anyway this was made by the people who made Journey for the Playstation, and it's a relaxing cross between mystical ocean meditation and a trip to the Monterrey Bay Aquarium (where I visited two weekends ago :D). Worth playing because it's short and just amazing to look at.
Beaten: 4-Aug-2018
Despite the fact that this is a "prelude" to Life Is Strange 2, the story is firmly rooted in an all-too-ordinary Saturday morning in Beaver Creek, OR, where Chris -- all 9-year old with an active imagination -- keeps himself entertained playing superheroes while his alcoholic dad watches TV. There's not much in terms of a game element here besides finding things for Chris to do, but the script is top-notch and the voice-acting utterly convincing as you learn in bits and pieces what family life is like under this roof. I won't say much more because the experience is quite short, but if you are a fan of this series it's a great teaser for the next game.
Despite the fact that this is a "prelude" to Life Is Strange 2, the story is firmly rooted in an all-too-ordinary Saturday morning in Beaver Creek, OR, where Chris -- all 9-year old with an active imagination -- keeps himself entertained playing superheroes while his alcoholic dad watches TV. There's not much in terms of a game element here besides finding things for Chris to do, but the script is top-notch and the voice-acting utterly convincing as you learn in bits and pieces what family life is like under this roof. I won't say much more because the experience is quite short, but if you are a fan of this series it's a great teaser for the next game.
Beaten: 29-Jul-2018
The end has finally come for this series. Let me start of by saying that I absolutely adored parts 1 & 2. That makes this final game a small let-down because in wrapping things up the writers seem to have undercut a lot of the story elements. This is the number one complaint among the game's fans on the forums, and I have to agree. Even though there is a range of endings depending on your choices, they are so many threads left hanging without even an epilogue to provide the kind of closure needed after struggling and suffering with this incredible cast of characters in this fascinating world. There's a call for this in a game patch, and I'm likely going to wait and see what the devs say about it before attempting my next playthrough.
The combat is still the same turn-based alternating strategy, except for a really nice touch to the wave battles that allow you to trade out for fresh units from your character pool if you successfully clean the board before enemy reinforcements are called in. Unfortunately you have to be really careful at leveling characters to 9 and 10 because it costs a lot of Renown to do so. And despite being able to go to level 15, the key is level 11 where you can apply a Title to a character that has 5 levels on it's own and confers some pretty amazing attack/defense/support buffs that end up being critical as enemies get tougher. In the end, however, my characters still felt tremendously under-leveled for what was being thrown at them. Doubtless this is also a matter of finding the best combos of characters, leveling, and items to use.
All in all this was a good game that needed more attention to the story element, which has always been the series' strong point. Here it felt a little lackluster.
The end has finally come for this series. Let me start of by saying that I absolutely adored parts 1 & 2. That makes this final game a small let-down because in wrapping things up the writers seem to have undercut a lot of the story elements. This is the number one complaint among the game's fans on the forums, and I have to agree. Even though there is a range of endings depending on your choices, they are so many threads left hanging without even an epilogue to provide the kind of closure needed after struggling and suffering with this incredible cast of characters in this fascinating world. There's a call for this in a game patch, and I'm likely going to wait and see what the devs say about it before attempting my next playthrough.
The combat is still the same turn-based alternating strategy, except for a really nice touch to the wave battles that allow you to trade out for fresh units from your character pool if you successfully clean the board before enemy reinforcements are called in. Unfortunately you have to be really careful at leveling characters to 9 and 10 because it costs a lot of Renown to do so. And despite being able to go to level 15, the key is level 11 where you can apply a Title to a character that has 5 levels on it's own and confers some pretty amazing attack/defense/support buffs that end up being critical as enemies get tougher. In the end, however, my characters still felt tremendously under-leveled for what was being thrown at them. Doubtless this is also a matter of finding the best combos of characters, leveling, and items to use.
All in all this was a good game that needed more attention to the story element, which has always been the series' strong point. Here it felt a little lackluster.
Beaten: 30-Aug-2018
A very cute game with a fun story behind it. However I have to agree with many other reviewers in that the balance between the two halves is very uneven. The first part focused mostly on story with light puzzle-solving, whereas the last part the kept up with the story but delivered hard puzzles that often had no context from which to figure out what needed to be done and in what order. I had to use a guide to finish. Otherwise I found it very enjoyable and the humor even had my other half chuckling at times. :)
A very cute game with a fun story behind it. However I have to agree with many other reviewers in that the balance between the two halves is very uneven. The first part focused mostly on story with light puzzle-solving, whereas the last part the kept up with the story but delivered hard puzzles that often had no context from which to figure out what needed to be done and in what order. I had to use a guide to finish. Otherwise I found it very enjoyable and the humor even had my other half chuckling at times. :)
Beaten: 3-Aug-2018
This was a quick return trip to the world of Deus Ex after buying the DLC pack during the summer Steam Sale. A Criminal Past is a good story focusing on Adam going undercover in a prison to retrieve another deep cover agent. Of course, things start going sideways almost from the get-go as there are shady things going on in the prison that complicate Adam's objective. Definitely worth a play-through if you have this add-on!
This was a quick return trip to the world of Deus Ex after buying the DLC pack during the summer Steam Sale. A Criminal Past is a good story focusing on Adam going undercover in a prison to retrieve another deep cover agent. Of course, things start going sideways almost from the get-go as there are shady things going on in the prison that complicate Adam's objective. Definitely worth a play-through if you have this add-on!
Beaten: 16-Aug-2018
I really wanted to like this game. But while the game-play was solid, the story felt dumbed-down and predictable to a fault. It didn't help that the world was populated by low-budget cartoon characters that looked like they were CGI'd into the beautiful scenery. Fidget was the only character I liked because she had a great personality and all the good lines. Everyone else I wanted to skip past their dialogue after the first couple of sessions. This is definitely worthwhile to fans of platformers because it has some cool combat mechanics in it, although it's no Ori and the Blind Forest. Guess it just wasn't my thing. But high marks for play-ability and the fact that it was mostly designed and programmed by a single guy.
I really wanted to like this game. But while the game-play was solid, the story felt dumbed-down and predictable to a fault. It didn't help that the world was populated by low-budget cartoon characters that looked like they were CGI'd into the beautiful scenery. Fidget was the only character I liked because she had a great personality and all the good lines. Everyone else I wanted to skip past their dialogue after the first couple of sessions. This is definitely worthwhile to fans of platformers because it has some cool combat mechanics in it, although it's no Ori and the Blind Forest. Guess it just wasn't my thing. But high marks for play-ability and the fact that it was mostly designed and programmed by a single guy.
Beaten: 24-Aug-2018
[Sad trombone...] The comedic setup sounds good -- an isolated farm when sentient corn has been created. Unfortunately, the game fails to deliver much in the way of game-play or an engaging story. With only two mini-game exceptions you pick up objects in an area and combine/use them, but nothing about this is remotely challenging. A good story could have made up for this shortfall, but it never got past cute, missed a lot of potential, and many jokes (like the teddy bear, Vladdy) got tiresomely repetitive. Thankfully it was short because it couldn't have gone on much longer without becoming tedious. Still, it's bound to leave many people feeling unsatisfied like myself. Unless you are really motivated by the premise your time is better spent on something more entertaining.
[Sad trombone...] The comedic setup sounds good -- an isolated farm when sentient corn has been created. Unfortunately, the game fails to deliver much in the way of game-play or an engaging story. With only two mini-game exceptions you pick up objects in an area and combine/use them, but nothing about this is remotely challenging. A good story could have made up for this shortfall, but it never got past cute, missed a lot of potential, and many jokes (like the teddy bear, Vladdy) got tiresomely repetitive. Thankfully it was short because it couldn't have gone on much longer without becoming tedious. Still, it's bound to leave many people feeling unsatisfied like myself. Unless you are really motivated by the premise your time is better spent on something more entertaining.
nice variety of games you tackled! I tried Dust but never got through it. I might have to revisit for the gameplay elements. Sad to hear that Banner Saga 3 was a little bit of a let down. I also adored the first two but the reviews I’ve heard has prevented me from purchasing this one until discount. Congrats again and good luck on your next batch!