Last game you played/bought + Rating [POSSIBLE SPOILERS]

[AgentLampshade]

Resident Evil 6 - Jakes Campaign.

I've completed his campaign and I'm pretty disappointed. It took me a grand total of 6 hours 33 minutes to complete and practically none of it was very memorable, or if it was, it was for the wrong reasons. Bear in mind that everything here except the controls are only for Jakes campaign, the rest I haven't played.

The controls are one thing that I don't get. They've added a plethora of new things to do such as moving while aiming, the ability to shoot prone, a dodge mechanic etc. etc. but the problem is that they're so damn fiddly to even bother to use! To dodge, you have draw your weapon, point the analogue stick in a certain direction and tap X (or A, I'm playing on PS3) by which time your enemy has already charged you and knocked you down (and you will get knocked down a lot playing this game.) Why can't they have a simple dodge button? The R2/L2 buttons don't seem to be of any other use, why not just map it there? And just to make it even more convoluted, if you keep pressing aim while dodging, you go straight into prone position, which is nigh-useless anyway (you should also note this is also the only way to get into prone position). THESE ARE NOT GOOD CONTROLS. And why fuck with the health system that's been perfected almost a decade ago? Now, instead of simply applying a herb, you have to:

Collect herb.
Turn herb into tablet to be of any use OR:
save it and combine it with other herbs to turn into a tablet.
Load the tablets into your dispenser.
Take one tablet or repeat button press to take more than one tablet.

I see what they were trying to do here, but it failed on it's ass and made it way too complicated to be of any practical use. Did I mention that the game doesn't even pause while you do this? You have to clear the room of any enemies before being able to do any of that.

Even if you manage to perfect the controls, gameplay is pretty boring, as it's mainly quicktime events and it'll take you 5 or 6 different tries on any one section before you know what's coming. There's no consistency either. Every chapter has at least one different gameplay mechanic that is out of place, most them vehicle related. That's right folks, the worst part of Resident Evil 5 makes a glorious return in every single chapter. And they're not even interesting vehicle sections, just long roads with things to avoid in them; and to make it better, the only thing you can do is accelerate or break. It's not even funny how bad it is. What the fuck were they thinking? There's also a hilariously bad stealth section in chapter two.

The pacing is terrible, with every chapter being nothing more than run here, shoot them, avoid the big guy and explosions explosions explosions. It's like I'm playing a Michael Bay film. Remember that part of Resi 4 with the helicopter guy? It's that. The entire campaign is that, with a little of Nemesis rolled in. There's barely any rests, any suspense or any tense shootouts because it's all about the spectacle. Sure enough, it looks pretty good, but there's only so much shiny a guy can take before getting bored and wishing how tense the game could be if at around every corner, I could run into the Ubastank or whatever the hell it's called. I'm just going to call it Nemesis II. There's no subtlety, only action. There's no feeling of dread in thinking "Oh hell, it could be around this corner." It's "cutscene time, here comes Nemesis II bounding towards you." And the only time you do get that feeling, it's implemented as a really bad stealth section.

Overall, I arrive at the conclusion of a pretty mediocre campaign (for the record, there's not much narrative behind anything you do either. Looks like all the important story elements are in the other campaigns) that fails to impress. I'm disappointed in the game so far, and that doesn't usually happen to me. I can bear the worst combat mechanics if I feel like I'm getting somewhere with the story, or if the atmosphere draws me in, but this is ridiculous. Nothing draws me in and by the end of it, I'm left with a feeling of dread that this isn't even supposed to be the worst one. The only dread Resi 6 is giving me is the one that makes me dread playing Chris's campaign. Which is ironically hilarious.

Ugh, I didn't want this to be so negative, I don't actually hate the game. I'm just disappointed. Will say though, I've started Leon's campaign and the first half hour or so of that is pretty well-established. A dark, tense university with thunderclaps and silence. I hope that campaign is better than Jakes. I really do.

Didn't read all that? Tough. I enjoyed writing it. Felt good to vent.

One more thing Capcom: STOP. PUTTING. THE. CHAINSAW. GUY. FROM. RESI 4. IN. EVERY. FUCKING. RESI. GAME. You're killing the uniqueness of it and showing your own incompetence. It's fucking shameless.

[Patches]

Resident Evil 6 - Jakes Campaign.

Would you still recommend buying the game? Maybe you can give a more conclusive opinion after doing the other two campaigns.

[AgentLampshade]

Resident Evil 6 - Leons campaign.

Now this is more like it! This campaign is a little longer than Jake's fortunately and much more engaging. I actually found myself caring what happens to the characters.

The still-pretty-awkward controls are better suited to Leon's slower-paced campaign though when things get hectic (and they will) then it's still pretty annoying to get the hang of it. Maybe I'm just used to them by now? Not sure, will have to replay Jakes campaign.

Quicktime events still make an appearance but they're not as abundant as they were in Jakes. Probably the most annoying feature of this campaign are the corpses that you know are going to get up but can't do anything until they have already lunged at you and taken a block of your health. I spent most of the game wandering around with one or two bars just because the duck/dodge button is broken. At the very least, they could've attacked my partner when she ploughs on ahead.

One minor complaint here, but I dislike the fact that the default moving animation is jogging. I know it makes sense and it's a tried-and-true game mechanic, but it just feels wrong jogging about an unnervingly quiet university. Walking would have been so much better. When the campaign started and Leon was walking, I was very pleased; I'd hoped it would echo Resi 4 a bit more, but alas, I was wrong.

But don't get me wrong, those are fairly minor complaints. The atmosphere is solid in the first few chapters and the enemies were pretty memorabl...Am I fighting a naked woman!? The hell is going on now?! Why doesn't she have nipples!? Why is she posing like a goddamned tentacled stripper as I'm firing my shotgun at her!? Why am I not sure if this is a point in the game's favour or not?! I don't...Gah!

Right, anyway. I feel like this campaign was the one most people played first and the one Capcom decided to place all their good things in. I'm disappointed that they didn't spread out the goodies to at least one other campaign (I'm expecting Chris's to be bad, as is everyone, so I can't be disappointed in that one, just smug and say "told ya so.")

Chainsaw man mark III isn't in this campaign either, so that's a plus.

Oh yeah, I should mention that for Jakes campaign, I had the targeting reticule but switched it off for Leons and it felt SO much better. Screw that useless feature.

Would you still recommend buying the game? Maybe you can give a more conclusive opinion after doing the other two campaigns.

Leon's is worth the time at least, and as I said, I'm hoping to replay Jakes after finishing Chris's. Maybe I won't get so distracted by the controls if I'm more accustomed to it.

[roza]

I'm stuck on the last Boss in Leon's haha. I keep running out of Grenades. Unless I'm doing it wrong. I keep shooting his face till he swings. Dodge then counter with a grenade

Sorted it. Leon's story was pretty amazing, I just finished Chris chapter 3.... no where near as good so far sadly

[AgentLampshade]

Resident Evil 6 - Chris's campaign

Fortunately I had expected this to be bad so I wasn't disappointed. It pretty much met my expectations.

I've finally gotten used to the controls, so there wasn't as much diving onto my back, or snapping to cover needlessly. Things get a bit hectic in areas but it's pretty easy to keep in control, especially as Chris is given an abundance of weapons such as a grenade launcher, all 3 types of grenades, a high-powered assault rifle right from the start and the advantage of AI controlled team-mates.

Yup, Chris doesn't just have a partner, he has a whole squad at his command for the majority of the game. (Un)fortunately, they are controlled via AI so there's never a chance for 4 people to join in, which strikes me as odd considering Capcom's recent love for co-op. The whole campaign is pretty much an exercise in mediocrity. There's just enough to keep you playing, but not enough to really pull you in. The enemies we've seen before in the other campaigns with none standing out on their own[1] and the bosses are pretty boring, with the exception of the last one, made only memorable because of Piers.

Now, I haven't really played Resi before 4, so I'm pretty unsure of this, but has Chris always been such a dick? He leads his men into danger and gets surprised and angry when they die. Spoiler alert; they die, but they're too faceless and one-dimensional you don't care. What pisses me off is that when Piers (Who in turn, is a pretty cool guy) outright tells Chris he's being ridiculous, Chris's response is to shove him against the wall and glare angrily at him. Way to prove his point Chris. As the story progresses, Chris began to annoy me so much I wonder if it would've been worth my time to quit and play as Piers. At least he's reasonable. I also began to wonder if Chris is even suicidal with everything he does. He just seems to act without any regard of the consequences, especially in that one scene with Jake near the end of the game. Hell, if I were Piers, I would've done the exact same thing. Fuck Chris.

Story-wise, individually, the campaigns don't really stand up but together, they form a decent enough plot to be enjoyable. My main problem is that it feels strangely pedestrian. It looks as if the most important things are happening with different characters and those characters real enemies aren't even the playable characters. Maybe Ada's campaign will shed more light on that.

On that note, I'm looking forward to Ada's campaign. Five minutes in and there's already a puzzle. An easy one, I'll grant, but still pretty cool. She's alone too so when I die, I might actually have something to be afraid of rather than hammering O to get my partner to come and give me some ecstasy. Plus, I'm pretty certain Ada is my favourite Resi character. She's just awesome and always seems to have things under control.

[1]Chainsaw man isn't here either. I imagine Capcom just pulled him out of the hat as a sort of Rite of Passage for newcomer Jake.

[roza]

Finished Chris' too.

I'll do this in as few words as I can.

Chris is a cunt. Piers is awesome. Bang bang bang. Flashback. Bang bang bang. Everyone points a gun at Chris.Bang bang bang. HUGE FUCKING BOSS! Piers is awesome. BOOM! Fuck you Chris.

[Leegion]

Resident Evil 6 - 8/10 as co-op game, 6.5/10 as a single player game.

Beat the whole game switching between chapters. Makes more sense that way. I liked the game, it had a few bugs especially when playing the campaign alone. Switching between Leon and Helena for example, when I did Helena was controlled by the CPU on chapter 1 and didn't pick up the new gun. Then for the whole 2nd chapter I was finding ammo for the gun Leon picked up and Helena didn't.

I went through once with my brother, then alone to get the alternate viewpoints.

Great game as a co-op campaign, mediocre and buggy game as a single player campaign.

[darthnater]

Metal Gear Solid The Digital Graphic Novel - 8/10

+ Amazing art by Ashley Wood
+ Expands upon Gray Fox and other characters' back stories
+ About 270 pages

- A few characters backstory are kept out
- Confusing control system for saving and other extras
- No voice acting

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood - 7/10

+ Graphics look good
+ Decent combat system

- No English language option
- Control is slow
- No support for analog nub

[AgentLampshade]

Resident Evil 6 - Ada's Campaign and overall thoughts.

A very positive start with Ada's campaign. It's solo and pretty puzzle-heavy. Unfortunately, the story doesn't hand out any more details about what's going on behind the scenes (who are the mysterious Family?) It might do in the form of the Serpent Emblems I suppose, but I never bother myself with that kind of thing. It's too tedious and if the reward is things to read, then I'll just use the wikia.

Obviously the controls are still the same and I urge everyone who has this game to play without the godawful reticule. I also found out you can change the colour of your laser sight. That's pretty neat. I'm a little disappointed that Ada never got her own close range weapon (Leon and Chris have knives and Jake has his Wesker-like martial arts) I was kinda hoping I'd get to use the grapple hook in a similar way to this but sadly not.

Ada has no partner either, so the threat of death is actually there too. She also has stealth sections (not forced though. So that's also a plus) that aren't half bad either, thanks to the context-sensitive insta-death moves she has. A little too easy I guess, but enjoyable nonetheless. Her arsenal is pretty standard too except the crossbow, for silent long-range kills.

Her campaign basically revolves around...How to say this without spoiling anything...Neo-Umbrella and their leader's identity. She fights pretty much all the enemies found in every other campaign with the exception of Nemesis II. Yup, even chainsaw man mark III. And he just. Doesn't. Die! Chapter 3 is probably my favourite one in all of the game, though her chapter 4 boss is pretty horrifying and memorable.

Time for the final verdict. I guess I should start talking about what I disliked. There's just too many things that I feel shouldn't be there (prone position for one, I've yet to find a use for it) and feel they sacrificed fluidity for spectacle. I also really didn't like the change in health replenishment, nor the way health itself was handled. I really hate being knocked down in games, and it happening every 2 seconds really put me off. The atmosphere (particularly in Jake's campaign) was shallow in places and I rarely really felt the urge to play on. The plot is flimsy and very pedestrian. I mentioned it before but now that I've completed Ada's campaign, I can really say it feels like you're just a pawn on the chessboard. Even Ada has no idea what's going on with The Family.

However. All is not bad with the game. I liked the UI and how unique and different they were for each player. I liked the enemy variants (The regenerators particularly creeped me the hell out) and I liked how the J'avo reacted to damage. They mutate whichever part of the body you struck and fight with renewed vigor. It adds a sort of panic-style gameplay; just when you think you're safe, they come back at you.

Overall, it strikes me as Capcom not knowing what they want to do with the franchise. Each campaign was very diverse with Leon's being more horror-heavy, Chris's more action-heavy and Jake's being...there. I'm all for diversity in games but it seems like instead of appealing to one audience, they're going for the wider market and sacrificing the things they were once really good at for it. The game comes across as schizophrenic with it's diversity, rather than open and available to all.

It's still enjoyable, I found myself being immersed in Leon's plight and even Chris's at points. Only Jake had an unexpectedly sub-par plot which is a shame, because Jake strikes me as a really cool character. There's just enough in the game to keep you interested, but not enough to really get you engrossed. It's not an upgrade to the franchise, more like a side-step. Capcom learned the wrong lessons from Resi 4 and 5, and it shows. I hate to rate games in stars but as there were 4 S.T.A.R.S members that survived Raccoon City, it seems appropriate to rate it 4 stars out of 10.

Oh, and:

Knowing Capcom it'll be an entirely new character with a one-dimensional personality and a very revealing dress (See Excella Gionne.)

Called it.

[afifan000]

Resident Evil 6 - 7.5/10

Ahh, the game that every fan of Resident Evil or just horror video games in the general has been waiting for! I'm not gunna write a novel for you, but I will say this: I was a bit disappointed. A bit.

PROS:
+ Immense gaming world. And I mean, IMMENSE. Beautiful landscapes lead to a memorable land to explore, explore, and explore.
+ Graphics are lovely. Crisp and precise, Leon has never looked like more of a badass.
+ Good story, almost better than Resident Evil 4's story which is hard to compete with, seeing as RE4 was the best Resident Evil game.

CONS:
- Bugs, bugs, and more bugs. I mean, there isn't enough to totally damage the experience, but you'd expect a game of this magnitude to be a bit more polished.
- The campaign can become a bit repetitive. The story balances out what can become a rather bland campaign experience unless playing with a capable partner (zombies can beat you downnn in this game)
- Leon puts on a show, reclaiming that magic he had in RE4. But other than him, the characters are lackluster and forgettable.

Overall, I say if you're an RE fan, BUY THIS GAME. Me being a fan of the series, I really liked the game. If you're not too into RE but is just looking for a fun game to play, deff give this game a try.

[Leegion]

Dishonored

The game has its highs and lows. But all in all is a solid entry into the 2012 gaming calendar. But can you really regain your honor? Or will you falter?

+ Gameplay. Entirely unique, giving you the option to mow through the game by slaughtering everything in your path or going for a more condensed approach and sneaking through it, leaving no dead bodies or evidence that you were there to begin with. I have never played a game like this, though some people say it is like Deus Ex Human Revolution, a game I sadly missed last year due to conflicting schedules with other games (that and a lack of funds, lol).

+ Story. Interesting, but not original. It's hard to be original these days, with games doing things others have done. But Dishonored's story is actually very interesting. Lord Protector of the Empress and family framed for the murder of the empress, delving into the deep world that lies beyond the sane walls of the palace to uncover a sinister plot by the ones you trusted. Brilliantly crafted, with an excellent ending (depending on your gameplay style) with more twists and turns than a rollercoaster ride. Dishonored has probably, the best story this year even though it is so freaking simple.

+ Graphics and gameplay. I am not usually one to go on about graphics, but the cell-shaded style reminded me a lot of Bioshock. Not a bad thing though, since Bioshock is a favourite of mine. Gameplay changes depending on how you play. You'll either choose stealth or chaos, the latter changing the enemy types throughout the length of the campaign.

There are a few minuses, but nothing that can potentially disturb your game. You'll want to go through the game twice, if not three times over to get all of the achievements. One of which, being nearly impossible to get due to how difficult it is to achieve. Yes, the achievement I am talking about is the "Don't kill anyone" achievement. Which can be difficult to attain early in the campaign.

A solid game, with a great score, simplistic but fantastic story and a beautiful world gains Dishonored a worthy 9/10

[Daemon]

Just finished Tomb Raider: Legend. Went into it fully expecting it to be terrible, and was pleasantly surprised. Plot is nonsense, but gameplay was pretty good. Played it on hard and it was still too easy though. Only difficult part was the final boss.

+ Satisfying platforming.
+ Nice looking locations. Varied locations.

- Nonsense, ridiculous plot.
- Bad voice acting.
- Too easy and total lack of enemy variety.

3/5

[deiviuxs]

+ tons of guns to choose from that are unique and fun to shoot
+ 4 different classes to play around with (I chose Hunter)
+ great world to explore with tons of different enemies
+ fun characters with hilarious dialogue at times

- no minimap makes it annoying when following quest markers
- Pandora lack colors and mostly has brown filter
- ending was pretty disappointing

8.5/10

now, time to jump in and try some of its DLC.

[Bastien]

- Pandora lack colors and mostly has brown filter

I would have to agree. I'm not a big fan of the artstyle. Tho the gameplay is good.

[darthnater]

Musashi Samurai Legend

+ good manga-shaded graphics
+ decent storyline
+ dat character design
+ nice sense of progression with the elemental swords
+ good risk/reward with the abilities
+ awesome opening by Studio Gainax (yes, that Studio Gainax)
+ dat music

- slowdown happens often, especially in effects heavy environments
- the voice acting is on par with early 90's anime (read: shit)
- the ability system is harder than it should be in the beginning
- bosses feel uninspired

Overall a good game with a few crippling flaws. 3 out of 5 stars.

[Leegion]

Assassin's Creed III - 9.5/10

While they could have given Desmond's conclusion a better culmination I think Ubisoft did a great job with this game. I was disappointed with Desmond's ending, it happened so fast that it was one of those: Blink and you'll miss it endings. No aftermath, no final scene with Desmond's friends looking back as the temple took him in and it is somewhat similar to ME3's ending, just a little better in execution and it wraps up Desmond's story perfectly.

Unfortunately, I was somewhat pissed off that Ubisoft decided to, again, end the game on a cliffhanger. I won't say what happens, but I can say for definite, that there will be another game or another trilogy. I am positive there will be another game with Connor, as the epilogue deals with slavery (White guy trying to sell 3 African-Americans on stage). So that will come into effect some time in the future.

All in all it is a great game with tons of content. Better than AC2 by far.

[deiviuxs]

Batman: Arkham City (PC)

+ Huge and detailed world to explore.
+ The gameplay, especially the combat, is fluid as silk.
+ Tons of new (and old) gadgets to play around with.
+ The cast and characters of the game are flushed out really well. Joker is still the king.
+ Tons of unlockables, side missions, riddles and other things to mess around besides main story.

- Some of riddle challenges could have been better organized to specific area (organization was better in Arkham Asylum)
- The story wasn't as strong as in the first game, especially the beginning of the game.
- Felt that there could have been more playing time as the Catwomen. She felt disconnected from the main story besides the very end.

9.7/10

One of the best games I have ever played.

[TwistedTinkerToy]

Orcs Must Die 2 - 9/10

Not a lot needs to be said, it's just really, really fun.

[deiviuxs]

Just finished The Walking Dead: Episode 2. Man, this game is something else...the episode had even more tough choices and more action than the first one. I heard the 3rd one is the strongest of them all so far. Can't wait to play it.

[darthnater]

GITAROO MAN- 9.9/10
Everyone play this. It's worth every last penny. The only two conceivably bad things about it are: poor voice acting and short length. Do you like FLCL? GO BUY IT. Do you like awesome music? GO BUY IT. Do you like coming-of-age stories? GO BUY IT. Do you like good games? GO BUY IT. Do you like anything? GO BUY IT.