Despite not having aged well (visually or mechanically,) the first chapter of The Witcher RPG trilogy is still surprisingly fun and atmospheric. If you haven't experienced this classic ARPG at least once, then look no further for your digital introduction to the adventures of The White Wolf. + Pretty (by 2007 standards) + Great music and solid voicework/SFX + Epic adventure and a deep story/lore await +/- Complex character building and mechanics - Clunky combat and movement - Doesn't always play nice with newer hardware Solid
Phoning Home is a chill little adventure platformer from Ion Lands (Cloudpunk.) The core gameplay loop involves wandering around a strange planet as fragile mute explorer robot ION, collecting crafting resources, and babysitting fellow mechanical lifeform ANI on your friendly mission to eradicate all organic life as dictated by your ship's AI. (Note: The character design is heavily "inspired" by a certain Pixar flick.) Outside of the dialog and journal notes, the story is sparse and mostly forgettable. The world itself is pretty, but jarring technical issues prevent a smooth experience even on hardware well above the recommended requirements. The platforming is annoyingly imprecise, but becomes a little easier after learning the timing and crafting upgrades to minimize fall damage and fuel usage. There is some combat, but most hostile beings are best avoided if possible. A cinematic soundtrack and solid sound effects round out a presentation marred by a clunky, yet functionally basic UI. At the end of the day, this indie project is probably not for everyone, but could be a relaxing time for those seeking a fairly low-pressure journey and possessing the patience/perspective to overlook its tediously formulaic design. Not great, but not too bad.
(PS4 Pro) First off: Yes, I am playing on an outdated console, and yes--it was intentional. No, I am not here to whine about the low-mid spec visuals. They're about what I would expect based upon the pre-release Sys Req chart. The only thing that I will say is that they CAN be improved/optimized a bit further, but it may require more work from the devs than they are willing to put in--especially since the focus is upon high-end PCs and the new 4K boxes from MS and Sony. The constant crashes and game-breaking bugs will likely be patched. Null sweat, Chooms. Cyberpunk is an action-RPG that borrows elements from the likes of Deus Ex and Bethesda's Fallout in terms of mechanics and design. This is a good thing--especially since CDPR has mostly managed to integrate these systems into their open world to great effect...and with style. Character creation: Your choice of Origin--Corpo, Street Kid, or Nomad) determines your intro to the game and provides optional dialogue/interactions, but is mostly there for flavor. The various cosmetic and gender choices have little effect upon gameplay, so go nuts. Your Attributes and Perks determine your gameplay choices, so take your time and tailor them to your preferred style and gear. The gunplay and melee combat are solid with a few odd quirks that work well after a brief adjustment period. Currently, there are mild to severe input lag and inconsistencies that seem to be tied to performance issues, but these rarely affect gameplay (at least indoors or within missions. The open streets are another story.) The UI and vehicles are problematic, but functional. Personally, I have had just as much fun wandering and "living the life" as I have with the setpiece story gigs. At its core, Cyberpunk is a very engaging and an interesting game to explore--I only wish that the sparse nature of the console version didn't so clearly reveal the relatively shallow nature of this digital world--right before it crashes. Still--I'm digging it. ;)
Yes, it's a diluted follow-up to the original Deus Ex set in bite-size locales. Yes, it does seem as if the developers went above and beyond the call of duty (pun intended) to make the game more accessible to casual players, resulting in a Saturday-morning romp through the Deus Ex universe. But no, it is not as bad as some would have you believe. In fact, I would say that it is better than many of the ho-hum cookie-cutter first-person bullet fests that so many of the "hardcore" PC monkeys love more than their own right hands. It's true that this entry in the series traded some grit for gleam, and swapped some of the clunky complexity for a bit of fairly condescending simplicity. However, it is most definitely NOT a bad game, despite its flaws and questionable design choices. It was clearly built with the limitations of the original XBOX in mind. However, for ten bucks, you get a quirky, yet thoroughly entertaining shooter/rpg and a gentle introduction to the cyberpunk culture of Deus Ex--that is, if you need one.
