vv238
Recent Ratings
Check out vv238's...
| 72 72% | God of War (2018) - Apr 07, 2023
"Everything in God of War is good but not great, except for the production: Sony spent some money and it shows. Combat is fine. The open-world is okay. The story is pleasantly simple. I wish I could say this all comes together in a meaningful way but it just doesn't. This is the most human Kratos has ever been but he's still distant. Fleeting moments of anger, sadness, joy, humor, and teaching instantly give way to "hrrr, gruff protagonist." It's this relative safety that holds the game back."
|
| 62 52% | Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (2019) - Jan 03, 2023
"Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is fine. I will give it credit for pulling off some decent Dark Souls-esque combat (only took 8 years to realize lightlabers in a Souls game would be an obvious slam dunk) but the world is a tedious chore to explore, full of boring collectables, and the map doesn't help. Throw in the most generic "Star Wars" story you possibly can and you get a game that is fine. Maybe the sequel will get it right? The pieces are certainly all there."
|
| 82 89% | Mass Effect Legendary Edition (2021) - Jan 03, 2023
"As much as I would have liked to have seen more work done (further Mako refinement, ME2 combat upgrades, ME3 multiplayer inclusion for example) I can't deny that this trilogy took me back to the time and place in my life when these were still fresh properties on the 360. The real healing came when I finally played the Citadel DLC for the first time. There is still plenty I don't like about ME3 but at least the Citadel gave some closure to the series."
|
| 67 61% | Halo 3 ODST (2009) - Jan 02, 2022
"ODST's noir-soaked, saxophone-laden, moody character piece would be another great addition to the Bungie-era Halo franchise if it weren't for the copious amount of backtracking. The semi-open world isn't polished enough to justify how many times you walk past the same city square. On the story-side, the characters, other than Nathan Fillion, are underdeveloped, and all the time-jump shenanigans can't fully hide how simple the plot is. A decent followup to Halo 3 but nothing more."
|
| 65 59% | Civilization VI (2016) - Oct 31, 2021
"I think the rush to streamline the various trees actually serves to complicate things too much. Once you head down a losing tree it is almost impossible to pivot and the AI still swings from moments of human-level competence to utter stupidity on any difficulty. I prefer V for a bunch of reasons but I would like to see some ideas from this game brought forward."
|
| 50 33% | Drakengard 3 (2013) - Aug 17, 2021
"Drakengard 3 is a bit of a black sheep in Draken/Nier-universe. It maintains a distinct personality thanks to the sharp writing, when it isn't juvenile sex jokes of which there are far too many, but suffers from a lack of purpose. The story jumps around and never seems to have a reason for doing so. The hack-and-slash gameplay is solid even considering the performance issues and the music of Okabe helps a lot. It's bizarre to say about a Yoko Taro game but Drakengard 3 just feels pointless."
|
| 54 39% | Horizon Zero Dawn (2017) - Jun 30, 2021
"Something about Horizon just didn't click with me in any way. Maybe it's the plain gameplay, the automaton-like character animations, or the reuse of just about every overused open-world design choice. It is a beautiful game as a technical achievement, in its artistic execution, and there is something to the lore that intrigued me. I just thought it never came together in any meaningful way and the things that don't work miss the mark badly."
|
| 79 84% | Frog Fractions (2015) - May 09, 2021
"Just play this game. Seriously, I can't say any more without ruining it. Just play this game."
|
| 40 19% | Drakengard (2003) - May 03, 2021
"This is the most difficult low score I've ever had to give. The gameplay is a boring and terrible chore even compared to other Yoko Taro games and getting the endings can be convoluted. However, Drakengard has some absolutely bizarre and downright shocking writing and most of it happens to make the game better. Perhaps worthy of a let's play viewing but not nearly good enough to sit down to get through because it is painful at the best of times."
|
| 68 64% | Nier Replicant ver.1.22474487139... (2021) - Apr 28, 2021
"Nier Replicant ver.1.22... does everything a good remake should: improved textures, better gameplay, and stable framerates (fans of the original know). However, the roots of it's small budget made by a tiny failing developer headed by a largely unproven Yoko Taro show in every aspect of the game. If you are a fan of polished AAA products, this still isn't for you. For the rest of us, this remake is a great way to play a wonderful experiment in stretching what is possible in video gaming."
|
