Campaign is fun, galactic conquest is a neat game mode, and the all-hero battles are a blast. Really competent star wars shooter. Only downside is the AI feels a little clunky, especially when viewed from long distances they can be seen just standing around. Watch those wrist rockets.
Played for a bit on week of release before putting it down. The game was a mess and I was in no rush. A year and a half later I gave it another go and finished in roughly 50 hours. I found some minor lighting bugs, one enemy who didn't have a death animation work properly, a couple item drops clipping into walls, and one side quest not triggering properly. The sidequest (Killing in the Name) not working was the only annoying glitch and caused me to skip it. The story was compelling with great characters, interesting dialogue, and plenty of choices, some with unique lifestory options that impacted the quest. Johnny Silverhand in particular was great, and seeing him develop alongside V was a treat. Conversations did have some issues where a dialogue option came off a lot harsher or sappier than I thought it would. The character specific side quests were great, unique, and definitely worth playing through. The side gigs however were varied in quality and fortunately optional. The combat/leveling system was great fun. Plenty of options with melee, ranged, stealth, and hacking to mix up how you want to specialize and approach combat. Specializing in combinations of these options adds variety and keeps things engaging. The open world was the most lackluster part of the game. It was decent to travel through, but not interesting enough to explore. The civilian AI is still nothing worth interacting with. Committing crimes boils down to hurt civilian, police shoot, run away. Getting the jump cyber enhancements for the legs made traversing the city much more fun and I highly recommend grabbing them first chance. Otherwise, fast travel is sufficient to get you to your story beats. At the end of it, I'd probably give this 3 stars if not for the fact I'm actually starting a second playthrough. There was enough variety in the story and romance that I'm curious to see different choice effects and try a different build for combat. Definitely worth it on sale.
Old but gold strategy game in space. Each race feels unique and requires different strategies to succeed. Numerous tech paths provide substantially different progression depending on what you focus on. Ship design and combat has great depth and provides an enjoyable challenge. Sprite animation and interface holds up to this day. I personally prefer MOO2 for nostalgia reasons, but 1 is great as well.
Great game marred only by a bug. This game is an experience. Beautiful locations, moving back-stories, a depressing environment with humans struggling to make a better life. Where this game shines is in sitting down to listen to numerous characters share their thoughts, struggles, and dreams, read through the journals and tape recordings scattered throughout the levels, and spend time just exploring/interacting. This does take time and may not be for those favoring high-octane excitement. The gameplay itself was fun, although on the normal difficulty it was rather easy to dash from bandit to bandit and knock them all out in melee. The mutants provided a better experience of the gunplay, soaking up precious bullets and rushing you with agressive fervor. The weapon variety and modification make for fun, customizable approaches to combat. Exploration is rewarded with collectables, crafting materials, and weapon/armor modifications. Each ecnounter has different paths and approaches available for those who want stealth, combat, or a good sniping position. Each level has a different style, with some being very linear in progression and others encouraging the open world exploration. This comined with the changes in setting/season make for an enjoyable ride from start to finish without the scenery getting stale or old. The biggest issue with this game, is the tendency to freeze and crash during certain parts. In particular I ran into this bug during the Caspian level on the approach to the lighthouse. After several tries and some research, I was able to pass the section by looking at the floor and slowly moving forward. Other than this section, there were a couple of other crashes that usually occured during an animation. A great game, almost had to give up on it due to the Caspian lighthouse crash. Loved the characters, setting, and story.
Loved playing with the Pathfinder ruleset. Character building/leveling has a myriad of creative options with the different classes and the ability to multiclass between them. Alignment and skill checks were well implemented and frequent throughout the game, allowing for significant replayability with different character types. The implementation of the Kingmaker adventure path is quite well done and provides a fun kingdom building mechanic. The time based quests and overland map mesh well, providing some important decision making, role-playing, and exploration options. The companions all have developed backstories and interesting questlines that made for memorable additions to the story. There was only one that I didn't get too invested in, largely because he was a chaotic evil character. More variety in the dialogue would have been appreciated, as you get stuck with the basic intro conversation options most of the game. The game lacks a bit in voice-over work, with the parts that are voiced being great, but few and far between. This leaves some important plot/character development surprisingly portrayed solely through text. Additionally, the game has a number of in-game cutscenes that I couldn't skip and were just boring text boxes over characters. Having skippable dialogue (for when I'm reloading the same fight multiple times) or the beautiful storybook scenes instead would be better. A minor gripe is the balancing of the game mechanics that aren't very well explained, particularly with some of the romance/plot advancement. My first run ended with me failing to save an important character because I failed an arcana check midway through the game. As of writing this review (2020) I only ran into a couple of minor bugs that were fixed by restarting the game. Otherwise a great game with significant playtime, story, and roleplaying. Played it from start to finish. I look forward to the next Pathfinder installment by Owlcat Games.
