You WILL love this if you played F.E.A.R Platinum. Slow time? Yes. Invisibility? Yes. Dual wielding? Yes. The Combat is visceral, Weapon sounds are loud impactful and forceful, dialogue from humans are like the Crimson Lance from BL1 (military comms), metal music during ambushes/swarms, storys the bare minimum BUT think of it like Far Cry 1... it had mutants in it but just for the sake of having variety of fun enemies to fight. No ADS (like FEAR), stealth (really just for flanking and disintegrating black ops soldiers in the head from behind) You unlock AMAZING cheats that add FUN replayability for the second playthrough (if your 1st playthrough is on Hard) You have tons of difficulty options (some probably only possible with cheats unlocked) There's zombies... akin to halo and L4D boomers and spitters (acid) that are scary, some tanky, and some will swarm you. Checkpoint system... but it's reasonable. I'd say 1 per new room you visit. You won't be set back too far and can approach a boss fight/ swarm from another angle with ease. Its fun EVERY TIME you respawn to refight a room. Its THAT DANG FUN. It's worth it for FULL PRICE. Play this now. Shadows and effects could be taxing on your system if you had fps drops... but I'm on a gtx 1060 6gb/ i7 (old but reliable tanky rig) and everything is on Very high except shadows and effects and it looks good. Dont be picky. This is a true successor to FEAR 1 (which also didnt look great in ~2004 big deal-- it had good horror, scary ai, and fun firefights = thats all we needed to feel a good adrenaline rush) Summary: If you love FEAR, Halo CE, fighting L4D zombies, Far Cry 1, Crysis 1 and Warhead (1st levels = the Predator level), John Wick, or Half Life 1/2s cheat modes (gravity gun).... ....you WILL love the savage bloody combat in Trepang2 !!! So enjoy being a supersoldier and DEFINITELY let lose when you unlock the cheats.
Currently (Oct 6, 2022),: -the Anniversary GOG version 1.6.659.0.8 is incompatible with several SKSE64 plugins, SkyUI, and Quality World Map and some progression mods I use (that I'm aware of), -the Rollback feature GOG Galaxy advertises is NOT available for Skyrim SE A so forget this being modded game friendly in the present... hopefully Gog gets a hold of older versions so we dont have to nuke our mods and load orders, -the creation club stuff is nice but ^^^^^^^ is why I'd hold off atm. ...Give it a few months, to a year before you buy imo.
Crashes: -spawning off the map and infinitely falling down -Unreal engine: Fatal errors (from running 1 mod, multiple mods, no mods... on an INCONSISTENT pattern. I can't tell how to avoid these crashes. -There's no fixes for it in the cfg/ini. -Its ruined playthroughs where I've gotten Assault mechs after ascending from having only light mechs available The tempting selling points: +Obtain mechs faster than in MechWarrior Online +Weapons +MWO mech models More downsides, not crash-related: -No Clan mechs -Poor dropship hub -UI design -Bobbing animation is too smooth -Grind to obtain and maintain mechs -Multi-stage Mission Operations are a joke. You could be forced to face surprise waves you can't beat and the mission will then be a matter of just fleeing to the dropship. These encounters are pretty random but are soul destroying with what mechs you bring in to the final mission. -Mech 'feet' do not align to surfaces -Level loading times (1 minute+ load-up) -Level buildings by walking through them without any pushback to make you feel buildings aren't made of Jenga bricks........ (can be funny though, but not to me) -Mods have many great features the game needs. -MECHWARRIOR LIVING LEGENDS 2 WAS BEING DEVELOPED ON THIS GAME'S ENGINE AS A MOD BUT NOOOOOOOOOWWWWWW - ITS A SEPARATE GAME PROJECT NOW because of MW5's instability. (Its crash-related but in terms of the mod community it shows the game is worth abandoning and either playing MWO, World of Tanks, WarThunder... or simply waiting for Living Legends 2 like I am.) ...... somehow if you're computer doesn't have issues with UE4 than you may be able to play the game without crashes. The game is still clunky though if you do play it, and I don't feel like this is worth it compared to continuing the Garage Grind in MechWarrior Online. The grind in MWO is faster than the heartbreak of losing progress in MW5... So 2 stars is this game's deserved rating.
The story, cutscenes, third person camera, sword swinging animations is completely made on Fable 1's engine. AND FABLE 1... is a baby's rpg. That's not bad, it just means it can be anyone's 1st rpg and anyone can easily do well at building the character. I personally don't want to play a Necro, but the skill tree gives you choice on how to stack up your powers. However, it wasn't as fun as Fable 1's melee combat, magic abilities, or stealth. It's more clunky. The clunk is just a bit too much for me. I wasn't convinced to finish my 1st playthrough and that's it. You get an ability to go in and out of some shadow realm/ underworld to access hidden areas and kill certain enemies but it wasn't for me.
My review is the nearly the same as my BioShock 1 Remastered review. -Audio issues -Crashes (save often) +New weapons (Big Daddy) +New and old powers +Big Daddy ambience as you walk, shoot, and get attacked is convincing and amazing at first +/- You are kind of tanky (Kind of negates the 'scary' moments in the levels. BS1 did it better imo) - Villain is a throwback to Andrew Ryan (Why BS1 was received better) +/- More of the same level design from BS1 Different endings again. I'm giving the game 4 stars and not 3 because the game is still a fun experience. It's more like 3.5 stars because being a slow and sturdy Big Daddy made things feel easy. If I was low on health, I felt bad at the game, if I was at full health I was bored. In BS1, at low health, I was scared. At high health I was exploring carelessly as one should be when playing a new game. Its a psychological thing that being a Big Daddy convinced me I needed a different experience than BioShock 1 as I played it... EVEN THOUGH they both played very similarly. It's made on an updated engine but its still basically BioShock 1 in a Big suit of Big Daddy armor. BioShock, to me, is an experience where you're at odds with this sadistic underworld, constantly looking behind and forced to use the underworld's own powers against it, and not being a guntoting metal monster fighting against hordes and hordes of oncoming maniacs where you don't care about watching your back. In this regard, Bioshock 1's slightly better.
I'm not giving 5 stars because the faults other reviews had with the game running smoothly are true. -Audio looping issues -The game has crashed a few times (save often imo) The game however is an amazing movie experience: +Rapture is an amazing underwater setting themed around the pursuit of individual glory by letting lose the perverbial Pandora's box of genetic modification on the populus. Its chaos. Its a mystery. Dive in and stop it - if you can. +Big Daddy's sound amazing +Fun upgrades enough for 2 different playthroughs imo +New Game + +You take the villain seriously. +Great voice acting +Controller friendly game, better on PC (imo) with higher fov settings +The story has good twists to keep end-game interesting +Great powers +Great weapons Downside: The bad endings. I'm ngl, if you play the good path your ending justifies everything. The bad ending makes it all feel pointless (which I got accidentally trying to get the good ending but upon testing the benefits of both approaches in playthrough 1 I ruined my ending.) Note for downside: Play either only good/ only evil.
I liked BF1 more because I never played online. +BF1 had no sprint but a roll, which if you knew about this, you could get to vehicles before your friends in co-op. wink wink +No bonus weapons. Seemed fairer. +Droidekas were the fastest (since there was no sprint; established them as beasts) +Droidekas could be exploited by hugging them in a blindspot +Vehicles had no boost (Walkers with boost in BF2 looked stupid) +I liked the old classes more +The old grenade launcher was op with its blast radius +BF1 had nice level design with good variation (BF2 levels all felt bigger [cause it had sprint ofc]) (Rhen Var, Kashyyk Docks, Bespin Platforms, Tatooine Dune Sea, Geonosis felt enormous and more like a battlefield, etc. -No space levels... :( hated that -You couldn't play as Tusken raiders/ local races... BF2 had this -Conquest did not feel limited to a 4-5 planets... BF2 gave you a galaxy map and better progression -No republic Gatling gun -No BF2 Wookie class -No Hero v Villain mode (they only pose as tanks with one-hit sabers) -Less Episode 3 maps (BF2 had lots) -No Death Star map (I'm not sure how easy it is run mods in bf1 but I got plenty of map, class, graphical, and ui mods to work in bf2) ...Now as much as I love BF1 and 2, 1 was simple fun to me and 2 was the perfect sandbox. I was also the last soldier in plenty of BF1 instant action games where ~100+ AIs were left and I had to survive with remaining allies I told to follow me... THAT'S GAMING. So... I revisit BF1 more often simply on surviving single player playlists I set. I set my own challenge not intended by devs as an actual game mode and the game seems like its MY game. My unconventional proving grounds to annihilate 100+ enemies as a final lone wolf squad... BF1 is a slower game with charm. BF2 is a star wars sandbox. I'm glad I experienced both.
In Roller Coaster Tycoon 1, as a kid, I knew the goal was to make money by making a fun park that made people laugh, yell in out of pure excitement, and enjoy the journey of simply exploring the park. ...That doesn't mean I sat there as a kid trying to make the scenery look picture perfect, thematic, complimentary, and unique every frame I panned to. That's not wrong or right - it was my kiddy opinion. I just liked making 7 versions of Shuttle Loops and suddenly becoming rich enough to make an economic park that would make money for the next short in-game year... while entertaining the guests of course. Anyways, Parkitect is just like that old RCT1-2 soul I loved. It also lets you decorate your park in RCT3 (which distracted me when I played it but it Parkitect -- I find satisfying balance.) The game has old and new features that scream respect to my childhood, and quality of life for my young adult days: -Isometric view -New supply routes for stalls -Hiding staff pathways -Very Improved coaster construction features -Building just like RCT 1,2 -Terrain tools from 1,2, and 3 (depending on what you're comfortable with I guess) -Nice interface (Console and PC friendly = adjustable) -More fast forward settings -Pathmaking even better than OpenRCT2 features (imo; I can move on and play only this now) -Levels are EASIER than RCT1, and 2(so far). I might hate that soon but coasting through my old experiences with success is still gratifying... but a challenge would be nice too. Idk... I'm about half done the scenarios; it could change for me yet. I'm having fun. Downside: -Needs an editor like OpenRCT2 (will come with time/ new mods?)
...and not only those selling points, but there's: -New secret areas again for secret content! -13+ new levels! -A Gauntlet mode for 5 levels! -A challenge charm that makes the game even more unforgiving on top of Expert completion! -New Charms! (One that boosts health on parrying once, on the third time, and sixth time.) -[Best new charm imo cause it makes the base game easier, more fun to practice on. Love it.] -and the new weapons, charms, and ms. chalice can be played in base Cuphead Isle worlds. The animation is just what you'd want from Cuphead, but this time it's even more animated than the original game. The amount of detail MDHR; the Moldenhaurer bros have added to this is spectacular. I hope Cuphead 2 is in the works right after this because this game can STILL be larger. Larger story? New Game+? More Run-N-Gun levels? Multiplayer CoOp? Leaderboards for Timed runs? More flying levels? More references (Wiley Coyote/ Roadrunner, Bugs Bunny, Jetsons, Flintstones, Astro boy, Metal Slug)? Mario? I know the art style is 30s-40s but who knows where MDHR will take the Franchise? The Hanna-Barbera cartoons of the 50s-60s are what I think to be the next leap in Cuphead's story and The Delicious Last Course only has me excited for its future. 5/5 DLC (for anyone who didnt break during Cuphead and pushed through)
[I've finished my 1st playthrough of the main campaign on my Steam version, played through the Rapture DLCs, and gone through my 2nd on second hardest difficulty.] I'll give the layman's version of the story because it will be relatable: In BS1 and 2, the game takes place in an underwater city called Rapture that's rife with its gentically mutated citizens. In BS3(infinite), you travel to BS1's prequel that's up in the sky, on the flying city of Columbia. You play a forewarned False-Shepherd/Anti-Christ who will "deceive/corrupt" the daughter of the man who built the place only to discover, later on, how much more important your role is than a simple contract killer/mercenary. The story ties itself with the start of BS1 nicely and new features such as being on a beautiful 1912-era flying city and jumping while fighting enemies from area to area using the Skylines. Let me also emphasize, Columbia is amazingly beautiful, but the contrast to being defamed as the False-Shepherd makes the game's main theme throughout the story: "Heaven vs Hell", or "Real Saviour Vs Great Deceiver" as you try and "save" Elizabeth. The things that weren't that good include: -Being bound to ONLY 2 main weapons(BS1 gave you access to all weapons, and choosing one to use meant you mainly stuck to your highest upgraded tools and/or the weapons with the most ammo). If you want a Sniper-rifle, Shotgun, and Rocket Launcher... NOPE. Sorry, hopefully someone mods that. -No mods for the weapon limits or anything else on mdd, nexus, etc. -No Big Daddies in the campaign, they only show in the DLC missions, "Handy-men"; or men encaged in robotic exoskeletal suits with long arms with large hands replace them as boss enemies... but they're still fun to fight on Columbia. Big Daddies are still more interesting to fight... their scuba-whale sounds can't be replaced.
