March '19 Play Log II

I have mixed feelings about this game. I quite enjoyed it but it’s not for everyone. Overall I’d say if you’re interested in the story and nostalgia it may be worth it if you get it for a good price, but don’t expect to love it. If you go into it knowing what to expect you could definitely enjoy it.

Pros:

• The early shooters are well done
• As you progress through game worlds you can keep weapons from old ones, giving you a great weapon variety
• Quite funny in parts
• explorers combining FPS’s with other genres, which is somewhat interesting
• As you proceed through decades of shooters the graphics and weapons improve
• I love the main voice actress’s Scottish accent. Voice acting is superb overall.

Cons:

• You have so many weapons that it gets hard to manage them and find the one you’re looking for.
• What I think is supposed to be the ‘big reveal’ near the end is easily predictable, though I may be wrong in thinking you’re not supposed to know.
• The start felt underdeveloped. They either should have extended the opening sequence or (my preference) eliminated it entirely and perhaps have you ‘remember’ a more elaborate version of it near the end of the game.
• The ending isn’t terribly satisfying. It’s mostly wrapped up, but then there’s a ‘twist’ that’s basically ‘Hey, here’s an interesting question. Wondering what the answer is? Well keep wondering, and while you do, here are the credits.”
• Later levels (i.e. more recent FPS’s) lack the strategy of more modern games. The AI is just as dumb as the first levels, Armour is still basically just extended health, etc. The differences are primarily (if not exclusively) in the graphics and weapons.

Verdict: 7/10

I have somewhat mixed feelings about this game. It’s hilarious, but sadly that’s pretty much where it’s strengths end. If you like the look of the humour and aren’t terribly picky it may be worth trying. If you don’t like the humour though, I’d return it.

Pros:

• Really hilarious, with lots of references to other games/pop culture.
• What music there is is good (I’m a metalhead though so others may disagree).

Cons:

• There’s not much music so it gets repetitive
• Apart from the world map the camera doesn’t rotate, so you inevitably end up in awkward places, especially when it moves and you’re suddenly running a different direction. Improving this alone would make the game substantially better.
• The combat is doesn’t feel polished. I’m not sure how it could be improved specifically though.
• Sidequests but they aren’t tracked anywhere.
• No maps for cities/dungeons/etc.
• There are larger healing potions that start dropping when you have more health, but they can’t be purchased anywhere.
• Healing potions are limited. Merchants that carry them have a certain number and never restock as far as I saw. If you explore the whole world, try for the kill 500 enemies achievement, and aren’t very good at avoiding damage, I can see it being possible to run out before/during the final battle.
• The kill 500 enemies/barrels achievement requires starting a second game (or grinding in the case of enemies), but there’s no replay value. Also, I find it a bit hard to believe it took 3 hours of a second playthrough before I got to 500 enemies.

Verdict: 6.5/10

A good game to pick up play when you only have a few minutes, or to play with friends. You don’t have to be a football/sports fan to enjoy it.

Pros:

• Unlock different weapons/abilities as you play through the single player campaign
• The chaos caused by the weapons is quite entertaining
• Different matches have different win conditions
• More outfits available to be unlocked using money earned by playing matches

Cons:

• Multiplayer is (predictably) dead, so unless you have friends that have this game don’t expect to be able to play it.
• I found myself continuing to use the same weapons/abilities with only a few changes to counter whatever the opponent was using. More incentive to switch it up and explore different combinations could prevent the game from getting repetitive.
• Achievements for earning all other achievements are silly. Also, why is there no achievement for finishing the single player campaign?

Verdict: 7/10

This isn’t a bad game per se, but it failed to get me invested in the main character at all. Thankfully it’s fairly short. It has potential, and if it had come up with some more creative ideas and had managed to make me sympathize and/or relate to the main character it could have been fairly good. As it is though, there are better ways to spend your 1 hour of playtime.

Pros:

• The story can proceed and end slightly differently based on your choices and abilities, so there is some replay value
• The comic book presentation style works fairly well
• I quite like their idea of the consequences of selling a piece of your soul for something (e.g. see what happens if you sell your soul to keep your soulmate from leaving)

Cons:

• The story failed to get me invested at all in the main character’s fate.
• I think part of the reason you’re never invested is it’s pretty much downhill for the main character right away (or at least fairly quickly depending on your choices). Once you get the ability there’s no ‘awesome, I’m on top of the world, this is so great’ moment before it turns bad.
• Perhaps if it had been voice acted it would have been more interesting (probably better no voice acting than bad voice acting though).
• In between sections that depend on choices it’s all pretty much the same, so subsequent playthroughs will likely find you clicking continuously to hurry up and get to a part that’s different.
• There aren’t many choices for what you could do with your ‘ability’ - there are a few opportunities and it’s up to you if you want to use it.

Verdict: 6/10