Really fun gameplay. If you like old school shooters, you'll love this one. I personally really like that this game blends old-school doom (more like duke nukem) gameplay with a bit more RPG and story. Really awesome game.
Just like "Shadow Tactics", this game is another great entry and homage to the tactics games of yore. Between the two mimimi put out there, it's hard for me to pick a favorite. This game sees a lot of quality of life improvements vs their last game, though there are fewer "high points" in the story, so if you haven't played ST, the lower price means a better deal is to be found on that game vs this one. However, after playing the deluxe edition of this game, I would say that this is in fact a wonderful game that I often struggled to put down. The characters and their various abilities are extremely fun to use, the maps are beautifully designed, and the systems in place to make sure that the game is fun are once again, amazing. If you like tactics games, get this one. There's no reason not to. The season pass is by no means required, but all the missions within the pass are good, and you're going to want to get it because more of this game is never a bad thing. I have been playing these games since the original Desperados came out, and I can say that this is the desperados pre-sequel I have been looking for. But while sound design and graphics seem to be improved since shadow tactics, the set piece moments and story seems to be a lot weaker this time around. No cool mission in the middle of a warzone, no epic samurai poem (or equivalence) and hardly any motivation attributed to the villains of the game. And why are the characters a comedy act this time around? Granted D2 made a mockery of the original cast, but in D1 the characters all behaved like adults, were intelligent, and always just worked together professionally. They were cool people, in D3 they often behave like teenagers. But overall, a great game. I can't wait for the next tactics game mimimi releases! No matter if it's a continuation of desperados, shadow tactics, commandos, Robin Hood, or some kind of fantasy or sci-fi, or whatever else ethey do, I'm sure It'll be great.
I love the guns, the level design is fun, and I loved the retro graphics. It's a really good shooter! There really isn't too much to complain about here, except the upgrade system; that needs to be more robust. I really wish one could respec in this game, especially because some of the upgrades are quite terrible. So terrible in fact, that it would be better to leave the weapon as default rather than upgrading. Once you do upgrade, however, that's it, there's no going back or selecting the other upgrade. The only other problem was how easily one can die from falling in some of the later levels. That was quite a pain in the butt. Other than that, I would say this game should get a 5/5, but the problems that the game has are just a little too big to ignore. 4/5 is therefore what I said. It's good!
Firstly, I want to talk about the good: The game is super-fun, fast-paced action where you simply waltz through levels whilst massacring everything in your way. Realistic shooter? Not here, despite what the game may claim. The graphics are surprisingly awesome for their time, and the game still looks very good. The best thing by far are the super-fun weapons this game has to offer, though the best of these are only available for the latter half of the game, unfortunately. But levels are fun, and for a game its time, there is an impressive amount of destructible scenery. While all that is true, I now have to talk about the bad. The first thing that really stood outto me were the difficulty options. Normal difficulty really won't provide very much challenge, even during the last few missions, yet hard will be really *quite* hard, and not a difficulty that I would recommend to anyone who has to exert most of their daily energy on work or errands, or basically anything other than video games as this difficulty will simply not be a relaxing bit of fun you can have at the end of a long day. It is also impossible to change once it has been selected, which means that there is no going back from it when a few levels deep. This is really quite frustrating. Also, some of the level design just isn't up there. Some levels will have you searching for that one last button you need push, and it will be a button that really blends in with the environment. Most of the time it's clear what you need to do, and it often occurs so naturally that it will almost happen "automatically" as you get in the zone while plowing through enemy hordes, but , you will get stuck like this. It's also worth mentioning that the story is kind of reminiscent of a bad bond movie. To me, that means it's not bad, and kind of fun, but ultimately cheesy and fogettable. But overall the game is good. It barely makes 4/5 stars, but it does. So hey, why complain. Get it if it's cheap.
This is quite a beautiful game. The graphics are wonderful, even ten years later. I am sure that that's primarily due to its simplistic art style and the wonderfully crafted cuscuses in between. The story is engaging, and the FPS platforming with badass melee skills is an awesome concept. Unfortunately, it just doesn't work out very well in its execution. The combat and even the platforming controls are extremely clunky. It is very hard to get Faith to actually do what you want her to do most of the time, and ultimately the platforming sometimes takes a dive as you get stuck in a room and left wondering how on earth to get out of it numerous times. And most of the time when you die in this title, it just feels like it's for a ******** reason. Yes, there are color-coded directions and the ability to press a button which centers Faith on her goal, but neither of these just actually works all that well, and the fact that the game tries to make the player depend on them despite the fact that these mechanics don't actually work out so well just makes it even worse that they exist. They seemingly just go away when you most need them. The combat is pretty awful. You are given all these cool-looking moves to experiment around with, but in the end none of them really work. Except for hoping that the disarm will work and then shooting all enemies in sight, here really isn't much elegance and diversity to the combat. A similar thing happens with the platforming. Oftentimes, you just jump, and then press the button continuously while Faith is airborne in the hopes that she will actually cling on to something. In addition, there are many sections of this game in which a wall-run is required, and to be honest, it just doesn't really work out that well. It's a novel experience, and that's why I think this game is so popular, but it's just too frustrating for me to really recommend it as a game. It can be fun, however, to play around with for a while.
I think I first played this game in 2001, at which point the graphics were still a cut above what came out on most consoles. By now, however, the game is dated... but you know what? It doesn't bother me. This is one of those games that ages well. I would put it in the same category as say Age of Kings or really any of those older games that are timeless classics. The gameplay is just so simple, yet deep that it is always fun to pick up and play; it is not merely a product of its time, a lot of thought went into making this title and making sure it was enjoyable. That much is clear. Everything just *Feels* right, which is surprising for such an old title. Ok, some controls will need to be changed to feel natural, but that won't take more than a minute. It's a beautifully crafted game. The later thief games (i'm looking at you, Deadly Shadows) while still very fun games in their own right, just don't feel as fluid - they somehow feel sluggish and boring. This one, by contrast is just the perfect pace. If you like stealth games, try it. If you like old games, try it. If you usually don't like old games, just see if you can get it on sale and try it out, I can't promise you won't be disappointed, and yes, the graphics aren't modern (obviously) but this game is a true gem. It's challenging, but not frustrating; it's beautifully tense, but not exhausting; it's simple, yet complex; it's old, but let me tell you, it's gold.
At first glance, there is nothing not to love about this game. The Setting is perfect cyberpunk, the graphics are AMAZINGLY beautiful, and the game play is addicting. ... well, in theory. Yes, infiltrating facilities with your clones is fun, but it is also very frustrating, particularily because a lot of the time, things just don't work as they should. The game is full of those tiny, pesky little bugs that would almost go unnoticed if they didn't ruin your day every important split-second of the way. Try to shoot an enemy in the head from behind? Good luck getting your agent to actually do it. Trying to hardwire a door so that you can have an open escape route? Good plan; except that this time the rules change and the door will lock, preventing you from finding your way out. The good news is that the game actually gets easier as you get better ger from infiltrating facilities, and that can help alleviate some of the frustration. All your agents can get stealth, use vents... do everything... it really makes the latter half of the game feel somewhat superfluous. My gear was, at that point, so good that i just skipped most of the side-missions and still had a fairly easy time beating the game. But really, that doesn't mean that this isn't a good game. It is, and in fact, I would give it 4/5 stars if it weren't also for the story. Yes, the general idea that you are leading a group of clones to take down a mega-corp that is ruling the world through its ability to immortalize people, but it's hard to care about the details. There are all sorts of terminals around the world that give more information as well, but it's hard to care about them. I went through the game and found it hard to care about the ending or any of my decisions. At the end of the day, this is a great game, and raiding complexes can be fun, but there are a lot of bugs that simply make the game feel unfinished. Shadow Tactics is a good alternative, but if this game attracts you, by all means....
Personally, I always preferred "Desperados: Wanted Dead or Alive" to the commandos series because it was more interesting story-wise, and paid more respect to details than the series most people mention when speaking about this kind of game. That said, this is more of a "sequel" to desperados than commandos, and one feels the love that was put into this game immediately. It is awesome, and I haven't had this much fun playing a game of this sort since the original Desperados. The beauty in the environments, the character models, and the gameplay is unfathomable, and one can clearly see, also, how important it was for the developer to make sure that no two missions felt the same way. Make no mistake, this game is no mere imitation, it truly continues the spirit of the older games. That said, there is one point of criticism that I have to give: a lot of the abilities your characters have seem a bit too similar for my tastes. Many of the older games did a better job of it in that regard. However, this is still an extremely fun game that anyone who enjoyed commandos should play. There are many little things this game does well, like the subtle way in which it tells you that it's time to save your progress, or the narration between characters during missions without interrupting the gameplay. I love this game, and I truly hope that we will begin to see sequels because this is a game that I have been waiting on for many, many years. As far as difficulty goes, well, it's hard, extremely hard. That is to be expected. But on the normal settings, I found that it was easier than desperados and commandos. For those who have patience, and enjoy solving puzzles without being limited to the solutions given to them, this game is a beauty. 5/5. Amazing game. Wish more developers were as devoted as these.
