Way too many events take place on normal settings. Got nailed by multiple earthquakes one after another. Unrest popping up despite hitting all of the markers required. I also found the sound to be grating with the music, ambient and general sounds all creating a racket. Pl;us the speed is way off - I need to have it up to 90% so that the characters don't crawl. Not satisifed at all with this one.
Where to start? Hugely anticipated and in the end, I'm left disappointed. The graphics engine isn't bad, but it isn't optimized at all. On my 2080 I can't get more than 50 fps maxed out at a higher res than 1920x1080. My GPU runs hot and will spin up from time to time. The merc movement is crisp on the screen and I really enjoyed the moves they make, from ducking out from cover to rolls to cover. The engine itself is pretty much Tropico-grade quality with a smiliar GUI The audio is mono and is awful. A constant crackling sound is present. At first I thought it was part of the ambient noise but later, especially on Steam, multiple users report the same thing. Plus the audio is obviously mono and of low quality. The lack of ammo at first is a nice challenge but later on in the game it hampers things and brings in a tedium that just isn't palatable. You're able to craft ammo later on certain locations but this is entirely dependent on having the requisite materials. There is a noticeable lack of NPC elements in JA2 - the ordering system, with your economy of mines plus the cost of purchasing guns - that is LACKING. This for me is one of the biggest drawbacks of the game. The timeline in this game runs TOO DAMN FAST. It runs so fast that by the time you're doing repairing anything someone's contract is up. There is a major discrepancy with the distribution of time. Repairing is basically nerfed with this. As well, there is such an obvious discrepancy with the repair function. With a merc who has an 85 merc skill, it takes them 6 AND A HALF HOURS to repair an AK at 98% usage. WTF is this? It should take an hour max. And then at times you're told your mercs need to rest. FOR A FULL 12 HOURS. There goes another contract coming up. Basically it's a run and gun operation, forget healing, resting and repairing. This casts a shadon on the entire game, never mind the quests. Not the same as JA2.
Ugh, not a fan. The graphics are obviously dated, but I couldnt' stand the visuals of the nosferatu. The body was disproportionate to the head, and the entire outfit screamed S & M. It was just odd.
Upgraded visuals to get better resolutions with greater controls and better visual options. BLOOD is the ultimate build Engine game that simply will not die off as it gets older. They simply don't make games like these any more. Worth the purchase at full price.
The hype for this game was epic, as was its launch that proved as exciting as a wet blanket. From glitches to a boring campaign this game spelled disappointment from the beginning. Visually the ray-tracing effects are beautiful. The future dystopian landscapes are visually amazing, the reflections are downright incredible. The peripheral aspects of this game demonstrate I think one of the developers' biggest strengths. Walking down the street, having your senses assaulted by the Japanese audio clips, the random soundbites of passing NPCs, the lights and the sounds make this visually a powerhouse. However the models themselves of NPCs pale in comparison with the geometry of the city. Lip syncing is way off, and some characters look downright plastic in the light. 5 hours in and I've heard plenty of dialogue, I've followed around some big dude, I've accepted jobs here and there but I haven't done anything incredible yet or amazing. One notable event was when you rescue the woman found in the bathtub in ice. When you bring her outside, the armed medivac pulling in out of nowhere was pretty cool. Other than that, from a story point of view, the gameplay has been bland. Some of the best RPGs out there- Fallout 3 and Fallout NV - have set the bar high. The game doesn't offer that much of an array of choices when it comes to interacting with characters. I find the NPCs in the city to be uninspiring - the majority seem to carry on like strung out junkies, not doing much and holding their head in their hands. While I find the landscapes and buildings extremely well-done, the people who fill it don't add substance. After having played open-world games like Mafia 2 and 3 and Assassin's creed, along with Hitman 2, where these devs have mastered the concepts of large, populated open world games with vibrant people, I find Cyberpunk's contribution to be underwhelming. The game is as hollow as it is superficially beautiful with its plastic NPCs.
I've installed and uninstalled this game countless times and in the end, the result is the same: it's a boring grind. The game concept itself is novel, travelling from one system to the next, landing, discovering species. Mining minerals to create stuff, then discovering animals and different species. The open ended nature of this game acts in the end as a gradual passive narcotic and I'm literally falling asleep at the wheel as I go from one solar system to the next. Zzzzzz
I played this for maybe 5 hours and then grew tired because it was ultimately made unplayable by a ridiculous difficulty. You're tasked with preventing wave upon wave of disgruntled peasants from overrunning your castle. The game allows you to extract resources to build and later upgrade your facilities and castle itself. Stone and wood permit you to build resources that you need and your men are able to farm fish and berries as food. Typical strategy city-builder stuff. But once the waves start coming, you are basically unable to continue improving your castle because wave management becomes front and centre. Unless you are an absolute master at this genre, most people will essentially tap out because the difficulty prevents you from actually PLAYING THE GAME and upgrading your castle. I was super stoked with the trailer but disappointed at the difficulty. Devs, please fix the difficulty so that you can actually do other stuff during the game like mine and upgrade because the difficulty bottlenecks the game entirely.
Part of JA2 gold package, Unfinished business revisits Arulco but this time you have additional weapons and additional characters. I absolutely love this game. It was created by developers who infused it with character, humour and obvious love for the game. The interplay and scripts is beyond excellent. Gaston Cavalier has witty liners one after another and Tex is just hilarious. Some of the lines are considered inappropriate by today's disgustingly woke standards which makes this game a gem. Yes, some of the mechanics are different. You hire mercs with a one-time fee and have no need to capture mines to fund operations. The campaign is new and simplistic. In order to purchase weapons and additional mercs, you hire a couple of cheap mercs and pick up guns and sell them to purchase better weapons. Unfinished business brings new maps and new challenges, but with careful planning it is definitely fun to play. The game is shorter than the Jagged Alliance 2 previous game so it's recommended you play JA2 first before playing this complimentary campaign. Ian Currie and his team created absolute masterpieces that no longer exist for this genre. I can replay this game time and time again. Love live the JA series (minus the new stuff)
An absolute treat to play, even decades later. The engine is aged, yes, with sprites but the game still functions and is very stable, even in Windows 10. The game consists of multiple campaigns with a variety of levels and challenges. The levels are extremely fun to play and have you facing economic and social challenges. One of the best aspects of this game was the manner in which it was crafted. The developers blended humour, excellent ambient sounds along with a super memorable "soundtrack". The music alone makes this game worthy and every time I hear it, it transports me to a time decades ago when I first played it, when life was easy, safe, fun with less responsibilities. To be young again... Some of the most memorable RTS games created back in the day were by Sierra and Impression Games. I have replayed this game time and time again and it never ceases to interest me and challenge me. Long live the classics!
