As some have pointed out, this game definitely unlocks that mindset of the Sonic games, thinking quick and making decisions as you parkour and freerun around a corrupt, corporate police state. On paper, I love this game and its concept art. Level design is pretty good, too! However, this game is made by DICE. Now, I quite like a few Battlefield games but in a game about freerunning, I shouldn't move like a Battlefield game. Running is clunky and doesn't feel smooth at all. Button input is laggy. Collision detection can be frustrating (e.g. falling through a pipe unless hitting the right part of the pipe). Combat is infamously bad and imprecise. I found the story to range from alright to dull. It didn't hinder the game at all, though and you may very well find it good. It's definitely not the focus. Overall, this game is a good middle-of-the-road game to take your mind off things. It keeps your mind moving and though the control may be too jagged for a game of its genre, I still found enjoyment throughout. Catch this on sale if you want to satisfy an urge for a parkour game.
Seeing other reviews, I'm relieved that I'm not the only one suffering performance issues. This game drops frames HARD, especially in the open world. If you can play a game at 20-30 FPS , these issues will most likely not be a problem, but don't expect anything over 30 FPS. However, visuals really are where this game falters hard for me. Nothing has changed since Saints Row 3. The graphics are exactly the same after 6 years which isn't the bad part, to be honest. The bad part is that the game map is exactly the same: Steelport. The alien infrastructure is nowhere near enough to hide the fact that Steelport is still Steelport. The narrative makes the Steelport you occupy even more bland. With the new powers that allow you to jump over buildings, glide across the city, and run up walls, a bland, tired city is massively disappointing. Unfortunately, the game takes another hit from me, though this one isn't very fair. I was a younger person when SR3 came out, so fewer of the jokes from SR4 landed well and didn't feel as subversive as it did 6 years ago. But, there are still some comedic gems in there, and the dialogue can actually be pretty riveting at times. The gameplay is a mixed bag. I actually quite like a lot of the superpowers. The upgrades make it the game ridiculously fun, and still somewhat of a challenge (play this on Hardcore if you want any challenge at all). People talk a lot about how cars are made obsolete by the supersprint, but late-game, guns become obsolete too. Superpowers are just that strong, especially when every enemy is an unsatisfying bullet sponge. Still, it is hard to overstate just how much FUN the powers can be. Also, the new health pick-up system I found to be a definite improvement over health regen, and enemy mobs, though less diverse, are a bit more fun to beat than in SR3. The campaign has a few problems, but nothing terrible. Perhaps a bit tedious, but the main story remains just as comical and exuberant as SR3. Solid, but a letdown.
Waking Mars is a puzzler that has some elements that work, and some that put me off. The characters are likable and well-voice acted for the most part, while the robot character, although the cliche "I DON'T UNDERSTAND THIS "EMOTION" YOU HUMANS SPEAK OF YET I'M CUTE," is used throughout. Story is great and well-written. The visuals are original and real nice, yet can feel a little subpar during puzzles that take a while as everything begins to pasted over a background, which isn't always bad, but gets old when you've been looking at the same background for a while. The puzzles and gameplay feel weird however. The concept is wonderful: create a vibrant ecosystem filled with imaginative martian organisms. It works and it doesn't. You have a limited amount of seeds and ways to get the seeds back, thus making the puzzles almost feel like you can get stuck and have to reload, or travel back a few levels to get more seeds. It feels like it punishes you for trying. Succeeding at the puzzles doesn't give much satisfaction, as sometimes it's solved on shaky "I don't think I'm doing this right," pretenses. The herding AI creatures can be fun, yet hilariously frustrating as they leap to their death. The levels within the puzzles always feel cool to adventure through, yet tough to figure out how the devs would like you to solve them. Overall, Waking Mars, although can make the player feel lost and stuck at times, is a fine game.
Either this game was rushed, or took a misstep somewhere. There are some great mechanics in this game that just aren't fleshed out properly. The combat is wonderful, or could be if: A. It was used more B. It was more challenging C. It was made less buggy Most of the mechanics can be described as such. From the property management, to the the financing and trading, to the very annoying "Move from scenario A to B" rather than a complete overworld. Perhaps this game will be remade or spiritually succeeded in the future.
