...review the actual game. I'll keep it simple. It's a mixed bag. Eiyuden manages to capture the feeling of PSone JRPG in a way that's a bit harder to quantify than just visuals. It's clear the inspiration here was much more Suikoden 1 & 2 instead of say, Suikoden 3. The battle mechanics are simple, but enjoyable, the music is great and the voice acting ranges from really good, to...not so great. Some of the pixel art is fantastic, some of it (the running animations for instance) is comedically bad. Maybe on purpose, maybe not. Either way, the mix of "fantastic" to "kinda bad" reminds me a lot of that era. The nostalgic games of your youth weren't perfect either. I do think the delay during menuing is terrible and maybe one of the biggest regular annoyances in the game. I haven't encountered any major bugs, and the game looks fine with the refresh set to 30 fps, although I'm aware of the encounter bug, and it shouldn't be a thing, at least there's a very playable workaround. The translation is hit-or-miss. It's not as godawful as its made out to be, but it's also a good lesson in where localizers should exercise some restraint too. You're not as cute as you think you are. Still, there's more than enough here that should please fans of Suikoden wanting more, more than enough that the game gets right instead of wrong. It's flawed, but it's also cozy, inviting and a rare treat to play something like this as a new release instead of simply retreating back to the well of decades past. I'm no apologist for this game, but I personally found most of its issues apart from the menuing to be minor enough that it's easy to recommend.
Look, Front Mission 2 isn't particularly kind - but most of the Front Mission series is kind of rough around the edges when it comes to difficulty. It's also sorta obtuse when it comes to how AP works, how much actions cost, etc. The game isn't what I would call immediately friendly. I wish it eased you in a little better. So, why 4*s? Because it's not only good, the tactical game has been upped significantly here over the first game's "pick biggest number, biggest number win bigger" - I love the first FM, don't get me wrong, but the moment-to-moment decision making here is more interesting. It doesn't play like the first game, and it doesn't play like FM3 either. It's an in-betweener that's nontheless still really cool. It's also the only way to play a fully localized version of FM2, since even the fan-version of the original Playstation version is incomplete. It's not like there are a ton of tactical mech games out there either - I doubt we'll ever get FM5, and the series is basically dead. So, enjoy it while it lasts. The story is classic Front Mission political/war maneuvering, the mechs is big and the music is bangin. For better or worse, they don't make em' like this anymore.
-it doesn't hold up to its predecessors either. It's certainly pretty, but SW2 still looks great today, and with the success and revival of retro boom shooties, it's not like looks are everything either. For context, I've been playing through the entire Shadow Warrior franchise, so my comparisons are directly after finishing the first two. (The original Build Engine game is its own thing). Going with a more linear experience after SW2 isn't inherently bad. I loved SW1 and its blend of progression, open maps and linearity, but I liked the speed, accessibility and variety of SW2. The prospect of something that plays a bit like SW2 with less loot/randomization and revisiting the same 3 maps sounds great. This isn't that game. If you thought battles in SW2 could get chaotic, this just amps it up to 11 and half the time you won't know what the hell is going on. The levels are gorgeous, the animations are gorgeous, but everything is too damn fast in combat to follow any of it. You're constantly swarmed by enemies two feet from your face (or inside you) or the burrowing enemies you have to wait forever to kill while you ignore the eternally respawning cannon fodder zombies. More isn't always better. I'm glad the campaign length addressed that, because it -is- short, and this design would have gotten extremely tiresome stretched out - but it's still pretty tiresome as it is. (as a personal gripe, I don't know why FWH loves suicide bomber enemies, but they're obnoxious in any game, and that goes triple when everything else already swarms you. This isn't Serious Sam. If I wanted that game I'd play it. It's far from this game's biggest problem, but I groaned audibly when I saw and heard them screaming) I still enjoyed my time with SW3 and I'd still recommend it on sale, I want the franchise to continue but...not in this direction.
Look, I'll be real with you, friend. This game is imperfect. Movement can feel a bit stiff and the AI can be dense in the "charge right at you" kind of way, but if you're willing to play around with spells instead of hoarding them, and want a game that genuinely gives you some cool strategic options in combat, Wheel of Time has you covered. There are things I would change or tweak, but this is nearly a 25 year old game. It ain't happening. So, why should you play it? One word: atmosphere. okay, more words: the soundtrack, the textures, the voice acting, the soundtrack (again! Look it up, it's great), Wheel of Time creates a stunningly immersive world if you're willing to give it a chance. And you should. It is just that charming. I've never read a WoT book or seen the show and while the game does treat you like you already know its world, no big deal! You find out what you need to as you go along, it's wonderful. No extensive data log reading (though you should read your spells), just a living, breathing fantasy world that you need to blast your way through like a one-woman badass. oh, and it has multiplayer. Interesting multiplayer. The "Citadel" (CTF really) mode lets you set traps, enemies and walls. Cast offensive, defensive and status spells. In an FPS! This was 1999 baby, Minecraft and Fortnite weren't even *concepts* yet. Absolutely wild. Again, is WoT flawed? Yes. It can be janky to get videos working (Quicktime patch helps!) without crashes on some systems, and there's so many spells it can be hard to use them all tactically when enemies are breathing down your neck. However, if you like older FPS games, fantasy, or just want a pleasant, "just-right" campaign experience that will make you wonder why you never heard about (or played) this game before, do it. Full price or on sale, it's worth it.
I enjoyed my time with Amid Evil for most of it and I think it deserves praise for what it isn't: an over-the-top "send you to hell" metal smashing X-TREME boomer shooter. We have enough of those, thanks. Also, thanks for not making a roguelike. It's a beautiful game, the weapons are inventive and fun, the atmosphere and music are wonderful. It just feels kinda...like a beta? Your "adventure" feels pointless. The small bits of text scattered throughout the game are so minimal they don't feel like a meaningful addition to the world. It's technically better than nothing, but barely. ...the Forge, man. Why? The opening level of the Forge is really atmospheric and beautiful, and then the platforming starts. And then Crucible of Pain. And the ******* traps. And the enemies designed to screw you over in those traps. And...look, I get that there's a fine line between difficulty and power fantasy. It's fine for things to be hard, but that whole area just feels mean-spirited and unfair. It's great when things are *hard* but it feels like it's *your fault* that you died. Other than that, it doesn't feel like difficulty selection matters much. The gulf between Easy, Normal and Hard feels minimal to nonexistant. So, I had a bunch of negative things to say and some positive, but overall? Yeah, it's worth it for a shooter that feels different and is (mostly) fun in short bursts. It's not deep, but I appreciate what they went for here and even if I wanted more than maybe the devs themselves wanted to deliver, it's still a journey worth taking.
There. It's included with the game. Saved you hours of frustration, config editing, patching and troubleshooting. You can even set the game to launch the GCT Launcher by default when you hit "Play." Now, for the game itself - after several hours of the above, once I finally had it running smoothly, got absolutely sucked in, only expected to play for a half-hour or so and ended up playing nearly four hours and am excited to get back in and play more. The controls take a little bit to get used to, but after an hour, they'll be second nature. I was surprised at the quality of the humor, voice acting and general immersiveness of the game. It's good. Like, holds up today good. The models, environments and such are blocky "as was the style at the time", but the artistry is there. The environments have lots of background animation and scripting that combines to make each area more impressive than the sum of its parts. The real-time battles taking place in those same environments only add to the feeling that everything takes place in the world. It's wonderfully done. I'll likely update this review after I've finished the game - but considering a lot of people start up old games and never complete them, I'll say this for anyone who wants to know if four hours of Anachronox is worth the few dollars you'll spend on it? Absolutely.
I loved my time with Septerra Core, as someone that didn't get around to playing through it at the time, I was surprised by the depth of experience, voice acting and intriguing world and characters. Is it perfect? Hell no, combat is slow, some of the puzzles/progression are executed weird, and a few dungeons are just a bit too big. However, the experience overall is worth it if you're willing to give it a chance. The bonus materials in the Digital Deluxe are nice. The game has a wonderful soundtrack and the wallpapers and such are silly, but they're a pleasant bonus for the game if you end up becoming a fan of this rare gem.
