I f*cking hated it back when it came out. Since it's on my backlog and it's been a hot minute, I decided, "Sure, why not give it a chance? :)", but this just keeps going, and going, and going, with no end in sight. I don't know how close it is to the original and I don't care. Absolute hot garbage.
When it comes to 3rd-party games, he PS2/ early PS3 era seems to be aging like milk. Tomb Raider: Legend is no different in this regard. It lacks the charm of playing the clunky PS1 titles, yet falls short of the "satisfying" feeling of an Uncharted 3 or Tomb Raider (2013). I tried to replay it for nostalgia's sake, and also as part of my GOG backlog, but every session left me absolutely vexed. People are mentioning an upcoming "remaster" of this trilogy to be announced (good luck with the layoffs), but as it is, Legend is another one of those PS2 duds, that's gonna be lost to time.
A collection of repetitive mini-games with some story bits sprinkled in-between. As someone already mentioned, the dialogue mini-game is somewhat entertaining and Larry does throw in a couple of witty remarks here and there, but Magna Cum Laude as a whole is dated and, worst of all, painfully boring.
After 10 years, still holds up. Unique atmosphere, awesome combat and progression system, fun arcady driving and... serviceable gunplay. Sad to see this gem of a game buried this way with no sequel in sight...
I've been playing for about 8hrs and am still just right at the beginning, so this is a review in progress/ first impressions type thing. Game definitely starts out strong, the first 25-30 minutes are top notch. You have an in-depth character sheet, multiple dice rolls and small details such as assembling your clothes one article at a time, a small detail, but a very neat one. Dialogue is witty, the game is heavy with its writing, but the full voice-over mediates this a lot. Multiple dialogue choices and the ability to dive into many conversations with characters and into minor topics. There are constant skill checks throughout speaking with characters and exploring, but the quicksave option kind of breaks them - as long as you use it to cheese the game and cheat, lol. I've experienced about 3-4hrs of the story so far and the game is heavy on politics. Politics, different social systems, racism, sexuality - all major topics, which can be somewhat of a turn off, even though this is a role-playing crime game and these alignments define your overall character arc. On another note, the game has a very interesting art style and overall look (just don't zoom in too much), also seems to be able to run on a vast selection of vegetables, meaning - easy access. The soundtrack so far has been rather dull. Overall, for first impressions - so far, so good. The world has been hyping up this game to me for so long, there's bound to be a dash of disappointment, but there is undeniably something special about this game, so I'm looking forward to seeing how the story unfolds + multiple playthroughs.
Postal 4 is currently in a very "janky" early state, so the build runs like crap, is buggy and freezes constantly. That said, the blood sugar sex magic that made up Postal 2 seems to be here again (sans Rick Hunter as the voice of the Dude). Combine that with the love and care of the developers, the future for the Postal series is looking bright.
Character development is flawed. My character was overpowered by level 17 with most of the skills maxed out, my inventory had over 200 rather disposable Stimpaks. Caps proved useless. The karma system is so basic, it literally comes down to a random encounter with some paid hitmen, who you can only murder. Choosing the more useful and practical perks is always the better option; Perks such as "Cannibal" are wasted potential here, due to the lack in story and of choice - being a cannibal has no impact on the world around you. Due to the poor player choice, especially considering the main quest, there is almost no replayability value. No story-driven choices, when you have the option to do the "right" thing over the "wrong" one, the former is usually the rewarded one - caps, weapons and armor. No matter your skill, the combat still relies on a dice roll. Some enemies are more bullet-spongy, others take way too few bullets. The AI are rather brainless. Sneaking is useless. Way too many locations, which are marked on your map, but don't hold anything valuable. Unmarked locations can just be skipped. Spoiler After you finally meet your father, he's rather cold and indifferent.
