Heliophage
Recent Ratings
Check out Heliophage's...
| 59 33% | Fallout 3 (2008) - Feb 10, 2023
""Oblivion with guns?" Well, kind of. The writing doesn't quite get what made the originals stand out, while the map is more than a bit dully repetitive as Bethesda games go. The combat's a mess in real time, but the whole constant slo-mo VATS spam had its cheesy appeal. It has its moments in the places and situations you come across, they're just buried in a long so-so loop of gameplay the later installments improved on considerably with better combat, crafting, character advancement, etc."
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| 86 83% | Batman: Arkham Asylum (2009) - Dec 12, 2022
"Really got the feel it was aiming for, as far as confidently yet carefully striding around as Batman in a familiar setting (with *very* familiar voice acting talent) with an eye out for threats and secrets. The stealth sections hold up on their own a bit more than the beat-em-up parts, which are flashy but too simple to be all that involving (and keep recycling the same mid-boss encounter that feels neat the first few times and kind of tired by the seventh or so)."
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| 83 76% | Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4 (2010) - Dec 12, 2022
"A bit of a return to the classic formula after shaking things up with Indy 2, though the hub this time is extra big and elaborate. Between the guide ushering you around the hub and the overall level design, this one's a bit on the easier side for the younger players, often feeling like a guided tour through all the many, many unique animations they dreamt up. And well, they are cute and creative."
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| 84 79% | Lego Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues (2009) - Dec 12, 2022
"Really got ambitious in a lot of ways, changing up the progression system with multiple open hubs to explore, introducing a level editor, lots of extra-puzzly bonus levels, etc. As far as down-sides, vehicle sections are still often half-baked, and they could have made selecting the characters you want for a replay without quitting to menu less hassle."
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| 84 79% | LEGO Batman: The Videogame (2008) - Dec 12, 2022
"Charming as usual, with a stylish look to it and clever level design. The vehicle sections are kind of a let-down."
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| 72 58% | Assassin's Creed: Revelations (2011) - Oct 13, 2022
"Treading water in the way that annualized series often do. If you liked the core gameplay of the last installment, it's here all over again (minus horses, for whatever reason), plus some minor new tacked-on systems (bomb-crafting, awkward tower defense and first-person puzzle platforming(!) etc.). Ironically, despite the title, you get the feeling they've already played their cards as far as interesting or purposeful plot developments; it does wrap things up for the two protagonists, at least."
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| 83 76% | Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (2010) - Sep 17, 2022
"A direct continuation of the last one, and something of a high point of the series's earlier days. With more varied and much more creative and polished missions than last time around, a big and interesting map of Rome, and a revamped combat system that's a bit of fun to play around with even if it still has its issues. Also, the somewhat overpowered assassin-summoning ability that gave the installment its title."
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| 78 67% | Assassin's Creed II (2009) - Sep 07, 2022
"The systems aren't perfect, but they really did take the criticisms of the first game to heart to come up with a winning formula here. Things are more driven by the plot, which makes good use of the historical setting. Stealth and running away actually work as well as the premise suggests they should, and platforming's more fun, if still a tad uncoorporative when in a hurry. Non-setpiece missions are often rather basic still, but at least the lower-effort side activities are easy to ignore."
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| 71 56% | Prototype (2009) - Sep 01, 2022
"Movement's a blast; combat's chaotic but you generally have such a huge array of absurdly overpowered abilities at your disposal it doesn't matter much. A fun game if you mostly like hopping around and running wild in the open world (as that's mostly what's on offer, even in missions)."
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| 68 49% | The Witcher (2007) - Jul 30, 2022
"A decent PC-style RPG for its time. They've kludged the Aurora engine into something more "action oriented" (i.e., timed mouse clicks for MASSIVE DAMAGE, though you'll be pausing often enough to toggle the right rock-paper-scissors "stance"). The writing's always been the strong suit, though I fear some fans were a bit too impressed by being directly bombarded with "You know, that was the result of a Morally Grey Choice™ from earlier in the game!" every so often."
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