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Topic: User Impressions/Reviews Thread

Posts 2,081 to 2,100 of 3,213

Ralizah

@RogerRoger I've moaned a few times about getting my PS4 too early, since nothing really good came out for it, IMO, until 2017, and I could have just purchased a Pro if I'd waited, but having access to P.T. honestly takes the edge off that complaint. It's a hugely unique and effective piece of software that I'd hate not having access to.

I do agree that mechanical experimentation like in UNS Revolution should be a lot more tolerable for long-time fans when it's limited to filler and side-games and main series entries are coming out semi-regularly. This is honestly a lesson I wish Nintendo developers would learn: their weird gimmicks and experiments would often receive less backlash if they were otherwise serving fans what they wanted in the first place.

Those animated menus probably look like they're snazzy as hell. Small touch, perhaps, but you can go a long way on small touches. Stuff like that makes a big impression on me as a player.

I'm a little intrigued that previous games allowed you to customize who narrated the menu options for you as well!

As for writing styles: grass is greener and all that, I guess. But I've always admired the ability of some people to just... perform on a whim. I can obviously get into a groove with my writing if I do it long enough, but I'm really impressed with someone being able to just pound out something that reads as well as your pieces do. My own pieces are all explicitly planned, down to the paragraph, and usually require days of work to get right. Now, don't get me wrong: I'm often pretty happy when I end up posting reviews, even if they can be a little overly structured. It's just my style, and whenever I try to do something different, I get frustrated with how much I leave out. For better or for worse, the methodical approach is the only one I'm satisfied with.

But you're right: there are as many approaches to talking about games as there are people, and I feel like I've learned and improved along with other people in this thread who have contributed.

@Th3solution Excellent contribution! I definitely like the way A Plague Tale uses what sounds like fairly ordinary game design to explore an environment and social context that is utterly under-utilized in media today. While it may not have the impressive technical detail that goes into the biggest-budget AAA games, I daresay I like the idea of approximating a AAA-esque presentation while still keeping the budget of the project under control. It's a nice break from the dichotomy of blockbusters and tiny indie experiences that seem to dominate the industry these days. AA games used to be prevalent, but you don't see as much of them from Western developers these days.

Currently Playing: Advance Wars 1 + 2: Re- Boot Camp (NS)

PSN: Ralizah

Th3solution

@RogerRoger @Ralizah Thanks! I did really enjoy my time, and I enthusiastically recommend it but if I’m honest with myself, there are plenty of shortcomings, as I’ve outlined. In fact, it brings up the topic which we’ve touched on in this thread before — that of the inherent nature of personal preference and unconscious preconceived bias when reviewing a game. I know we’ve talked about how a prior love of the property or genre of a game will intrinsically bump it in our minds and taint how we may feel about other unrelated aspects of the game and cause us to be more forgiving of a games weaker points (such as a Star Wars game being enjoyable just because it’s from that license, or enjoying an RPG just because of the setting). So in the case of APT I’ve likely given it a bump because I really like history.

The development background is another issue that indeed affects my perception. I heard the issue discussed recently in a podcast about if it’s fair (either consciously or subconsciously) to take a game’s cost, budget, or development circumstances into consideration when judging it. It all relates to the idea of preconceived expectations versus results. It’s hard for me personally not to consider it when coming up with final impressions of a piece of entertainment.

I think therein lies why some gamers like indies and some don’t. I suspect many casual gamers actually are oblivious to what a game’s budget and development background is; they just boot up a game and play and judge it based on ‘face value’. And I can see the value of that kind of pure opinion. But for the enthusiasts like us and most professional critics, part of the whole fabric of the game experience is pre-play hype, prior knowledge of the developer or franchise, marketing (or lack thereof), and other circumstances surrounding the release (such as — is this an early generation release on new tech, were there obstacles during development like a pandemic, etc.).

When taking that all into consideration, one can’t help but give certain games a break for a shortcoming, or be extra critical when the opposite is true — for example when a game is delayed multiple times, has an enormous team and budget, and yet is still broken on release [cough] Cyberpunk [cough].

I think it explains why games like Journey have such a wide variance in perception. Critics and sources like PushSquare rave about it and give it 10/10 scores, yet it’s common to have players try it and be dumbfounded at why it’s so highly regarded. See also The Order 1886 for another example, a game which when judged outside of its release situation, context, and price point would have been received more favorably; one which I played years past its release and got for $10 and really enjoyed.

I say all this (and I apologize for the dissertation 😅) to justify my positive feelings on APT, and also other games in which I came away so pleasantly surprised. If A Plague Tale came out in its current form and was produced by Activision or developed by Rockstar on a budget of $200 million then would I have still enjoyed the game? Sure, I think so. But would I have rated it as highly? Probably not. There would likely have been a twinge of disappointment at the little nuanced problems in the game I outlined in my review.

I say all this, and yet I don’t discount the real and legitimate phenomenon whereby indies and lower budget titles tend to be more experimental in their output. There’s a layer of wanton creative freedom that comes with the lower production investment, and so part of the charm of these A and AA games is that and it also can lead to a bump when critiquing them.

These personal biases are what make user reviews so valuable I think. Most professional critics might be too subconsciously prejudiced because they may know people who develop the game, they may get free merch from the producer and get the review copy for free, etc. I know they try to keep an objective view, as do I, but it’s difficult sometimes.

And I guess at the end of the day, whether a person enjoys a game or not, the circumstances are honestly immaterial. If a player likes a game, I suppose it doesn’t really matter why they like it. If he or she has psyched themselves out with pre-game hype and it carries over to make them enjoy a game through rose-tinted glasses, then it’s still enjoyable all the same.

“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”

RogerRoger

@Ralizah Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't P.T. randomised, so no two playthroughs are the same? Even if that's not the case, I can still understand your attachment to it. There are a handful of games in my collection, locked to specific consoles, that I'd never wanna be without.

Nintendo are indeed gimmick monarchs, but at least theirs work 98% of the time. Separate from the UNS series, Naruto has starred in plenty of dross. There's always a balance to such things!

You're very generous but I think you're right, the whole "grass is always greener" thing strikes a chord, and I think (without wanting to do anybody a disservice) that's a common trait amongst creatives. Because it is hard work sometimes, we know that from our own personal experience, and yet we rarely see the processes of others, only the polished, admirable end results of their efforts. From that perspective, if nothing else, it's interesting to share how we do things. The most important thing is that you've found a method that works for you (because trust me, it works!) and that you're happy with what you post. Who knows? Perhaps if I planned a little more, I'd end up discarding less!

And I really hope this doesn't come across as patronising, because that's the last thing I'd ever wanna be towards anybody, but your writing has absolutely improved during the lifespan of this topic. I just happen to think that it was a pretty high standard to begin with, s'all.

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@Th3solution Would you say that your personal preference bump is the extra point-five on your final score for A Plague Tale, then? Because honestly, I've ended up in the ballpark of a seven whenever I've tried to score similar things whilst keeping my enthusiasm in check. It's a tricky thing to do and, without wanting to bring up the whole debate about assigning scores and how subjective they are, it's why I respect people who try to put a number on things. Mostly because I struggle with doing so.

Your point about a game's background is well-made, and well-taken. I do think that there's some kind of unspoken, universal "fun is fun" determination to be made when critiquing things, which is how some comparatively simple indie games can become smash hits in today's AAA market, but I'm also somebody who loves an underdog, and the idea that some scrappy folks in a basement could produce a game that'd outsell Call of Duty 47 this holiday season holds a lot of appeal, even if I personally prefer glossy, photo-realistic graphics over charming, hand-drawn pixel art.

But I do give the (admittedly small handful of) indie games I play a break whenever they stumble, for sure, in a way I wouldn't have the patience for during a sixty-buck, AAA experience.

Sometimes I wish I could unlearn a lot of what I've learned about the gaming industry, so that I could be more of a casual gamer, because (without wanting to sound like a snob) I think there's a purity in that, just enjoying what you enjoy regardless of where it came from. It's why you're spot on about the value of seeking out user reviews because, for every brainwashed, toxic review-bomber with a grudge, you'll see a lot more unfiltered, honest opinions, the average consensus of which is usually accurate.

"We want different things, Crosshair. That doesn't mean that we have to be enemies."

PSN: GDS_2421
Making It So Since 1987

Ralizah

@Th3solution The fact that you're already aware of your own possible biases regarding this game is half the battle. While many of us try to be fair when we review a game, there is simply no way to disconnect the subjectivity of the reviewer from their opinion of a piece of media. And, frankly, there probably shouldn't be: part of the appeal of art is the way it connects emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually with the viewer. Games are no different.

I do appreciate when people who write about games go the extra mile and try to highlight design choices that might be contentious or problematic for a reasonable person, even if they didn't personally matter to that person. It's something I try to do in my own pieces.

And yeah, I definitely think you have to take into account who is making a game when discussing the technical merits of it, when possible. A titan of the industry, a mid-level company working with smaller budgets, and someone designing games in their garage are going to have different resources available to them, and some games are inherently more impressive when coming from unlikelier sources.

I also try to take the capabilities of the system into account when discussing how a game runs. Some things are more impressive on some systems than others, and limitations of a game on one platform will be more excusable than on another if there's a significant power disparity between them.

And I do think there is a lot of truth in the observation that the indie scene has more room for creative growth because of the lack of money invested in projects on average. It feels like the budgets and time needed to develop big games increase every generation, and the more you have on the line in that regard, the less room you have to include something that has the potential to fail. Not to mention exploding game budgets are being used as excuses for jacking up prices, selling DLC, micro-transactions, season passes, etc.

@RogerRoger Nah. Well, the final segment of the game, before you unlock the actual trailer for Silent Hills (thinking about how that project got nuked still annoys the hell out of me), is bizarrely random in terms of what can happen, but P.T. otherwise goes through the same motions in mostly the same order otherwise. I just can't abide the thought of permanently never having access to what is arguably one of the better free video games out there. I mean, it'll happen eventually, since I expect the PS4's hard drive to stop working at some point, but, until then, it has a value that other pieces of gaming hardware I own simply don't have.

Nothing you've said sounds patronizing, lol. Even in this topic, yeah, going back and looking at some of my older work, I've absolutely improved. And it's night and day from when I was first posting long-form impressions in the Recently Beaten thread, where my "reviews" were lists of bullet points under Pro and Con headings! And I don't know that I would have been motivated to improve like that if there weren't other people posting their work as well, which is why I'm appreciative to everybody who contributes.

Currently Playing: Advance Wars 1 + 2: Re- Boot Camp (NS)

PSN: Ralizah

Th3solution

@RogerRoger Yes, I think you read my mind. That extra 0.5 was thrown in there because when I went to give it a 7, that felt a little low for the extent to which I enjoyed it. When I then tried to consider an 8, it felt much too high when comparing to other 8/10 type of games out there. So I hedged with the 7.5.

And ironically, I have the opposite struggle from yours — I’ve tried not to give a score (I think I’ve done a few reviews without scores before on here, but I can’t remember for sure) and I just feel inclined to put down a number. It seems like a period at the end of the sentence for me. Nonetheless, I’ve never felt your reviews ever felt inadequate without one. Your style is much more readable and descriptive than mine, so a score might even seem superfluous. I actually respect those who can craft a review or impression piece that is so clear that as the reader I have no doubt what the final summation is, with or without an actual score. For me however, I grapple with my thoughts and opinions which results in my vomiting words onto the screen to express my roaming ideas and I worry that the final product doesn’t make a lot of sense. So I feel the need to sort of conclude things with an empiric and concrete numeral. I have a weird innate need for numbering, ranking, prioritizing, and categorizing.

Ooops… here you were trying to avoid dragging out the “to score or not to score” quagmire again and I’ve gone and done it anyway. Ah shucks, too late now.

Edited on by Th3solution

“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”

Jackpaza0508

The PS5 has had its fair share of problems. Drifty sticks, bad state of play showcases, bots buying up the consoles. However, the games have kinda made up for it? Astro’s Playroom was a stunning, fun showcase of the hardware, Bugsnax was a creative, if tedious catchathon/story game, Sackboy was a fun, yet flawed platformer, Spider-Man Miles Morales was a charming action game that lacked a bit of length and Spider-Man Remastered was Spider-Man Remastered. However, the PS5 recently got it’s game. Like Breath of the Wild to the Switch, Sunset Overdrive to the Xbox One, Smash Bros Melee for the GameCube. Here are my thoughts on Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart.

Game: Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart
Played on: PS5

While there won’t be any story spoilers in this review, there are some parts of the game I mention that you might not wanna know about if you haven’t played the game. You have been warned.

This game starts with a parade, celebrating Ratchet and Clank’s career as heroes which, according to Captain Qwark, ends with “a special gift from Clank to Ratchet.” After a pretty great tutorial that gets you caught up with the story so far, we find out that the gift is the dimensionator. I didn’t play the last games but the game establishes that ratchet’s species, the lombaxes, is lost in another dimension and that the dimensionator was a thing in the last game which can open portals to other dimensions. Before Ratchet can grab it, it’s stolen by Dr. Nefarious. His plan is to send Ratchet and Clank to a dimension where he always wins. Ratchet tries to stop him by shooting it with his blast pistol but that sends things crashing in from other dimensions. Soon, Ratchet, Clank and Nefarious get sent into the dimension. Clank gets taken by this new lombax called Rivet, Ratchet goes out looking for him and Nefarious crowns himself emperor of the dimension. Now, Ratchet, Clank and Rivet have to rebuild the dimensionator and stop Nefarious. This story is a good time and doesn’t take itself too seriously. Stuff like Nefarious’ PSAs when you walk around Nefarious city or in your ship are pretty funny.
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The entire Ratchet and Clank series is about travelling across space and exploring planets. Each one has a distinct theme and mechanic. I’m gonna talk about one specific planet that I love a bit too much. Cordellion. Basically, this planet turns the game into Alien Isolation. You’re being stalked in an abandoned factory by a creature known only as “Juice”. You’re guided by a helper bot called Junk Bot and it’s clear to see that he’s been in the factory for so long that he’s gone slowly insane. Looking at the scenery, it’s clear that something terrible happened but you don’t find out until the end of the planet. You then hit these crystals called Blizon crystals that send you into another dimension and you see a better, fixed up Cordellion. You find out that Juice is actually a creature that generates power for the station. In the other dimension, Junk Bot set it free and that’s why the factory’s destroyed. It’s pretty tense. It’s also a majorly cool showcase for the PS5’s lighting capabilities, but we’ll get into that later. I’m only talking about this planet as it, in my opinion, has the best theming and atmosphere. However, a lot of the planets don’t really let you explore and they’re mostly just Point A to Point B. It gets pretty old, pretty fast.
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The part that Ratchet games are most well known for are the weapons. You have your basics like a burst pistol, The Enforcer which is basically a double barrel shotgun and shatter bombs which are grenades, and you have your odd-balls like the RYNO (stands for Rip Ya A New One, by the way) which opens rifts in the space-time continuum with objects from other dimensions that explode. Some of those objects are references to classic Playstation games like a precursor orb from Jak and Daxter, Sully’s Plane from Uncharted and even Fizzie from Insomniac’s other third-person shooter, Sunset Overdrive. There’s also the Topiary Sprinkler. This is a throwable weapon that sprinkles the enemies with water and turns them into topiaries. My personal favourite weapon is the Warmonger, a basic RPG that you can upgrade to the Peacemaker that homes in and launches mini rockets on impact. It’s a major heavy hitter. The only problem is that a lot of these weapons can just fit into basic titles like pistol, shotgun, grenade and RPG. There’s nothing majorly wacky and for Ratchet and Clank, this is a major downgrade. Come on, the last game had a sheep transforming ray!
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Tell me if you’ve heard this before, “This is a stunning game that looks just as good as a modern Pixar movie. We are really blurring the lines between movies and games.” This is the best looking game I’ve ever played. You can see the strands of fur on Ratchet and Rivet, there are more realistic reflections on Clank, the animations are very detailed. The lighting, OH GOD. The lighting. The very first area, Nefarious City, is a true showcase. The neon lights shine on the puddles on the ground and you can see that Ratchet’s face is shiny from the rain. This game’s made by Insomniac, they’ve always had graphically intense games. This is THE game to get if you wanna see what your PS5 can really do.
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One of the main gimmicks of this game is the fast loading rifts that load you into different levels in mere milliseconds. These rifts take you to some easy platforming challenges. Completing these rewards you with pieces of armour. The armour gives you upgrades and, here’s the best part, if you like the upgrade but hate the costume, it’s ok because the upgrade is permanent so you don’t have to wear the armour. This is something every game should do. Why would I want an +100% attack upgrade if I have to wear a rusty tin bucket to get it?
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I’ve praised the dualsense controller before. You already know what the adaptive triggers are, you know what the haptic feedback is, I won’t explain as it’ll waste too much time.
Like the graphics, this game pushes the dualsense to its limits. When it rains, you feel tiny taps on the controller, when there’s an explosion, you feel the boom, when you’re low on health, it actually feels like there’s a heart beating inside of the controller. This game also does something really cool with the triggers that I wish more shooters would do. If you press it down half way, the gun shoots a bit more limited but if you press the triggers all the way, the gun goes to full blast. This is very useful if you just wanna be precise. Like I said, get this game if you wanna see what your console can do.
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Conclusion
A lot of the games that have launched on the PS5 so far haven’t really shown me what the PS5 is capable of. However, this game is the complete opposite. It’s a true marvel. If Spider-Man didn’t exist, I would say this is my favourite PS5 game so far. With amazing graphics, fun gameplay and some stellar dualsense support, it’s a must have for any PS5 owner.

Pros
-Graphics are stunning
-Gameplay is very fun
-Ultra quick loading times
-Planets are well themed...

Cons
-...but they’re mostly linear “Point A to Point B” levels
-Some weapons feel pretty basic for a Ratchet and Clank game

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
10/10 Outstanding
EDIT: The game's on sale this weekend only! GO! GO! GO!

Edited on by Jackpaza0508

He/Him

Ralizah

@Jackpaza0508 Great post!

I've heard a lot of people state something to that effect: that it's the first game that really feels like it's taking full advantage of the hardware. The DualSense haptics, fast loading, and extreme visual polish sound great, although it is a shame to hear how linear the level design is, and that it's lacking some of the fun, wacky weapons for previous games.

I actually hadn't heard about the armor granting you permanent stat bumps, but that is nice to hear. Too many games force you to choose between aesthetics and optimal gear builds.

I imagine this will remain the go-to Playstation 5 exclusive for a long while unless Sony announces something else fully exclusive to the console in the upcoming showcase.

Currently Playing: Advance Wars 1 + 2: Re- Boot Camp (NS)

PSN: Ralizah

RogerRoger

@Ralizah Thanks for confirming that I wasn't patronising back there. I do just genuinely mean well. I get nervous because I know what I sound like in my head when I'm typing but, as soon as I hit "post reply", it all just becomes words on a webpage, open to interpretation. I'm glad you got me.

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@Th3solution No no, I appreciate your thoughts on your scoring process (and not just because my mind-reading prowess is greatly exaggerated)! I can understand how it can be a helpful way to conclude a review, absolutely, especially to those of us who are inclined to categorise and rank. Don't sell your skills short, though; I think I recall your combined piece about Jedi: Fallen Order and Dead Cells in which you mentioned scores in passing but didn't use them to frame your conclusions, instead focusing on your broader points about Metroidvania games in general. Whilst I'm sorry to hear that you sometimes grapple with your thoughts in order to get them down on paper (so to speak), they never read like the results of a struggle. Whatever works for you, works for you!

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@Jackpaza0508 Hey, welcome back! And with another enjoyable review, too! Although I don't think I was expecting a direct comparison between Ratchet & Clank and Alien: Isolation, that certainly caught me by surprise (in a good way). Nor was I expecting to see Jak in a screenshot! That builds my hype, for sure! It's great to see you so enthused by the game, though, and to see the much-maligned PS5 score a solid win. Having played the previous PS4 remake, I'll definitely be picking this sequel up at some point, once my backlog is a little thinner. Great piece, thanks for sharing!

"We want different things, Crosshair. That doesn't mean that we have to be enemies."

PSN: GDS_2421
Making It So Since 1987

RogerRoger

Tagging @ralphdibny ahead of this one, as I recall you expressed an interest in seeing any further Star Trek game reviews? Apologies if I'm misremembering!

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Platform: Mac, PC and PS2
Release Date: September 2000

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The same month Star Trek gaming boldly went where it had never gone before, straight to the PSone with the dogfights and barrel rolls of the previously reviewed Invasion, developers Raven Software broke new ground by delivering the franchise's first ever dedicated shooter. Oh sure, there had been some previous attempts to capitalise on the growing popularity of the FPS genre during the 90s, but the most notable (a tie-in to the 1994 feature film Star Trek Generations) had arrived embarrassingly late, to the point of being awkwardly outdated at launch. It was also packed full of puzzles to offset its clunky action, almost as if it was afraid to admit that there were Trekkies out there who just wanted to run around and blast rubber-faced aliens with a phaser. To be blunt, it was a swing and a miss.

This would have to be different. Despite the damage it had done to Gene Roddenberry's legacy, Deep Space Nine had proven that Star Trek could present some pretty spectacular action on a TV budget, and fans were thirsty for more. Unfortunately, that show had recently come to a close, and its serialised storytelling left little room to go back and insert new material... but that didn't matter, because there was another, far better option still flying the flag for the final frontier, one with all the ingredients for an immersive, imaginative and exciting FPS that would end up feeling like a lost episode.

To that end, Star Trek: Voyager - Elite Force throws you in at the deep end. Its cold open has you standing in the heart of a Borg Cube on a dangerous rescue mission, surrounded by zombie-like drones. As you reach an apparent dead end, one rug-pulling twist is followed by another, and suddenly the game fades to its opening title sequence, before Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) narrates an expositional log entry to set the scene. It's the exact same structure as the show.

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"Captain's Log, Stardate: 53854.7
Voyager was attacked by an unknown force and transported to some kind of starship graveyard, whereabouts unknown. The ship is heavily damaged; communications, propulsion, and other systems are offline. Until repairs are done, we're utterly helpless, stranded."

And that's your only breather, as the crew scrambles to assess their situation, stop a warp core breach and repel intruders within the first five minutes of the campaign proper. With your playable protagonist at the forefront of this frantic walking tour of the USS Voyager, all of its interiors faithfully replicated from the show's standing sets, the fan service becomes intoxicating. You meet... well, I was about to say that you meet a few familiar faces along the way, but there's no denying that some of the character models haven't aged as gracefully as the environments. Thankfully, all nine of the show's principle cast members (as well as a few notable guest stars) lend their vocal talents to the game, so perhaps I should say that you'll hear a few familiar voices, instead. I think there would've been trouble without them.

You play as Ensign Alex Munro (short for Alexander if you pick male, or Alexandria if you pick female; both options are fully voiced by Rino Romano and Devon Raymond respectively), a hitherto unseen security officer who is second-in-command of a special "Hazard Team" tasked with tackling dangerous away missions. There are a good dozen or so Hazard Team members, a couple of whom have been seen or name-dropped in the show before. Together, you'll venture out into the starship graveyard Voyager has found itself trapped in, making friends and enemies in equal measure and searching for materials with which to make repairs, as well as answers to who, or what, has ensnared you, and why. Between each of these away missions, you'll return to Voyager and get to roam around, chatting to your squadmates, testing new weapons on the holodeck, and exploring more of your wayward home-away-from-home. None of it amounts to anything seismic, but it engenders camaraderie for those who want to care and, in what I like to perceive as an admirable gesture, your choice of Munro's gender doesn't change a thing; every single line of dialogue is identical, to the point where one of your female colleagues will nervously try and flirt with you regardless of whether you're Alexander or Alexandria. Not such a huge deal today but, back in 2000, Mass Effect was still seven years away.

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As a whole, it's the perfect microcosm of the show's premise; finding a way out of the graveyard and getting back on the road mirrors the concept of Voyager being flung across the galaxy and trying to find a way back to Earth. In understanding this, and by allowing players to soak up a familial atmosphere during the periodic downtime, the writers have nailed the source material. There's no need to break Star Trek by trying to shoehorn it into an ill-fitting gameplay mould here; even so, the developer's detail department must've been working overtime. Every environment, whether you're aboard Voyager or elsewhere, is packed with pleasing effort which only adds to the immersion. I won't spoil all the references, Easter Eggs and other surprises, but one of my favourites was hearing the Doctor (Robert Picardo) absent-mindedly sing to himself, entirely unprompted, whilst working in sickbay. Stuff like that goes above and beyond for a licenced game of its era.

None of this would matter so much if Elite Force weren't a competent shooter at its core, but it's still regarded as one of the best FPS games of all time, and rightly so. Whether exploring the floating debris of the graveyard or playing on the holodeck, you'll visit all manner of elaborate locations, from an organic colony ship filled with maze-like tunnels and teleporters to the comparative simplicity of a Medieval castle. Enemies come in all shapes and sizes, and many add a tactical wrinkle to the gameplay. Some will endlessly beam in unless you destroy their wall-mounted projectors. Elsewhere, lumbering robots won't activate if you're skilled enough to shoot their tiny brain units out of mid-air before they lock in. And then we have the Borg themselves, a hive mind of cyborgs who'll ignore you unless they consider you a threat, and who can collectively adapt to most of the weapons in your arsenal. You meet them twice but, considering they were the show's trademark villains by this point, it's an excusable repetition.

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In the midst of combat, Treknology helps to explain away common punchlines from other shooters; for example, you're able to cycle through an inventory stacked with weapons because Munro's Hazard Suit has a small transporter buffer on its belt, meaning you temporarily materialise whatever you wanna use and you don't have to imagine the equivalent of Rambo in a Starfleet uniform, overloaded with all of these oversized guns. There are nine weapons in total, which draw from two separate types of replenishable energy, although your trusty Type II Phaser recharges itself over time, so you're never unarmed. Everything has a secondary fire mode, whether it be the Tetryon Pulse Disruptor's reflective bolts which ricochet around the room, the Type III Phaser Rifle's ability to vaporise humanoid targets in a single shot, or the Personal Photon Torpedo Launcher which just... well, it ends things. It's a varied arsenal which is fun (and necessary, during certain light puzzles) to experiment with.

There are slightly different outcomes to some missions, but it's very subtle stuff. During the infiltration of a scavenger base, you're encouraged to avoid detection; ignore that suggestion and "go loud" and there's seemingly no penalty (aside from your commander's disdain) but much later, you'll discover that your belligerence heightened the enemy's alert level and got a crewmate killed. At one point, you're ordered not to endanger the mission to prevent a superior from being assimilated by the Borg, and it's up to you whether to risk a rescue. Succeed and you get plenty of pats on the back for your bravery, but fail (or not even bother to attempt... hey, "the needs of the many" and all that, right?) and the rest of the Hazard Team will act slightly cooler towards you upon your return to Voyager. None of this is signposted or telegraphed like it would be nowadays, nor does it force a restart, which helps the world around you feel more organic than most. As a result, you have to pay attention to what's being said. There's no distinction between important instructions and flavour text. If you're standing on the bridge and Captain Janeway thinks you should report to engineering, then you'd better report to engineering (unless you want to see all the variations of the "Munro gets thrown in the brig for insubordination" cutscene, of which there are many).

Despite all this praise, some of the pacing isn't perfect. Whilst it's lovely that so many characters want to accompany you on certain away missions, waiting for their A.I. scripting to painstakingly walk them, one at a time, into a waiting elevator can lead to repeated head-desking. You'll start to notice this early shortcoming of the id Tech 3 engine during an outing to a vast space cannon which, despite some of its unique features, is the only mission which seems to outstay its welcome. The rest of the seven-hour campaign clips along nicely towards an outrageous, explosive and slightly cheesy conclusion which befits the FPS genre more than the source material but hey, I like it, and it's absolutely the best decision for the game.

But wait, there's more!

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Released in May 2001, an expansion pack for Elite Force didn't add anything to the story, but instead doubled down on the well-received fan service angle with a "Virtual Voyager" mode. Freed from the restraints of any specific mission objectives, Munro is able to wander about Voyager at his or her leisure, triggering specific cues, collecting secret items and achieving certain tasks in order to unlock every deck and find a bunch of new areas and Easter Eggs. Using the holodeck grants access to two new levels, one of which is based on The Adventures of Captain Proton (a campy 1930s sci-fi serial show-within-a-show) and has you facing off against Satan's Robot whilst attempting to rescue Constance Goodheart from the nefarious Doctor Chaotica, all presented in glorious monochrome.

The expansion pack also added new modes to the game's online multiplayer, some servers for which are still being maintained by dedicated fans, I believe. Catering for up to 32 players each match (or playable offline against a smaller number of bots) it leant more towards the absurd, with power-ups such as Anti-Gravity Boots and a Personal Cloaking Device littering its large maps, some of which were repurposed from the campaign but with others designed from scratch. It was standard fare at first, with your usual deathmatch and CTF choices, but its best addition came with a mode in which one player controls a Borg drone, and is tasked with assimilating everybody else in the match until only Borg remain. I'm not brave enough to test my skills against fellow Terrans, but creating custom matches against A.I. opponents is an enjoyable way to waste an afternoon, especially when I overlay the show's original soundtrack.

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It's something I could never do with the PS2 port of Elite Force. Released after the expansion pack and yet missing all of its content, it was a straightforward replication of the original release, albeit with local splitscreen multiplayer in place of the online component (and no bots). I vividly remember the day I got it, because snow had shut my school. I'd struggled in, only to be told to go home, so I went via town and figured I'd use my lunch money to buy a game instead. I didn't expect to find a copy of something based on my favourite television show, let alone one I could afford (because even at that age, I recognised that "licenced" usually meant "expensive"). Back home and all alone, I dragged my PS2 down to the big TV, snuggled up with a mug of cocoa as the weather outside got progressively worse, and escaped to the Delta Quadrant.

The port isn't the greatest. Its framerate is wildly inconsistent, and it's riddled with lengthy loading screens, but it does boast fully customisable controls and a generous auto-aim option, to compensate for the lack of KB&M accuracy. Honestly, back then, I didn't care about such things. Even with its presentational shortcomings, I was still able to play what felt like an interactive extended episode of Star Trek: Voyager and, as an obsessive Trekkie, that was more than enough. Throughout the tumult of my student days, my battered PS2 copy of Elite Force stood alongside Bond, Bauer, Bounty Hunter and the Blue Blur as a game I refused to trade in. Even now, having played through the PC version twice in recent years, and having finally seen the expansion pack content first-hand, it's not going anywhere. I'll never let it go.

But that's just because I'm a sappy nostalgic nutcase. If you want to try Elite Force for yourself, then I implore you to get it on PC. That's where it built its reputation as a genuinely good FPS, and not just as a shining example of how to get a licenced game right, as you'll find that even folks who can't tell their Vidiians from their Hirogen will happily sing its praises. For all of my usual niché nerd nonsense, it feels nice to be on the side of popular opinion for once and yet, despite that sudden flash of self-awareness, I'm not surprised at the success of Elite Force. It's like I've always said: if you want to adapt Star Trek properly, then there's the right way, the wrong way, and the Janeway.

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No, trust me, that's Janeway. Sounds just like her. Honest.

"We want different things, Crosshair. That doesn't mean that we have to be enemies."

PSN: GDS_2421
Making It So Since 1987

Th3solution

@RogerRoger I really enjoyed your review and especially like the little anecdote of picking up a copy and playing on the snow closure school day. What a great memory that must be. And certainly plays into your continued enjoyment of the game even today.

“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”

RogerRoger

@Th3solution Glad you enjoyed reading, thank you for doing and saying so! Snow is rare enough in the UK to be a fun novelty, and the freedom it afforded me that day was already kinda exciting, so getting Elite Force was just the cherry on the cake!

"We want different things, Crosshair. That doesn't mean that we have to be enemies."

PSN: GDS_2421
Making It So Since 1987

ralphdibny

@RogerRoger thanks for the tag! Yes I'm certainly interested in reading your modern takes on these classic Trek games!!

I didn't know there was an FPS version of Generations, ill have to track that down! Do you reckon you'll ever get around to reviewing some other older SNES/PC games? I remember there was a decent-ish looking DS9 game on SNES. I'm guessing probably not as you'd probably have to resort to emulation to play them but uhhh, I won't tell if you don't!

When I think Rambo in a Starfleet uniform, I think of Picard in First Contact! 😂

I have actually played this game, recentishly though, not when it came out. I think I played it about 5-6 years ago. I really don't remember all of the subtle details that you picked up on in your review but then again, I don't think I thought as critically about games back then. I mainly remember it just being a very good FPS set in the Voyager universe and I did very much enjoy playing it!

I'll have to track down a PC copy at some point because the holodeck missions sound really cool. To be honest, I'd like to just get all of them in some form or another. Bought and paid for, I have the reboot Star Trek game, Bridge Crew for PSVR (now updated to not use PSVR), Elite Force on PS2 and something called Star Trek Borg for PC/Mac which I've never played. I do have moody copies of all the retro console games (up to the ps1 generation) and DOS games on my computer but haven't had a chance to really play them.

Tom Paris looks like he's having a bad day in that last pic, if that is Tom Paris. He looks like his brains have been sucked out the back of his head, perhaps by that suspicious looking Chakotay behind him!!

I'm back to my old ways again, doing quick reviews of PS plus games. I've moved them over to the PS Plus thread though because I've moved away from the PS3 section of my spreadsheet. I've done about a dozen or so, starting from this post here if you fancy a gander

https://www.pushsquare.com/forums/ps4/playstation_plus_2017_o...

Don't feel obliged to read or comment on them though, just thought I'd point the out in case you were interested and I'm not sure if you frequent the PS Plus thread!

See ya!

Ralizah

@RogerRoger Great piece, as always. Good build-up/introduction, especially for us non-Trekkies (or, as you put it, "folks who can't tell their Vidiians from their Hirogen," as I can indeed confirm I have no idea what those words mean, although, if I had to caution a guess, I'd say they were alien races in that universe), and I also found the personal anecdote rather charming. I had no idea this game existed, but it sounds like a fun shooter, and I really like that in-universe rationalization for being able to cycle through a ton of different weapons without physically having them on your person. Also cool to hear about a game this old featuring any sort of gay-oriented dialogue that wasn't intended as a "har-har" moment.

I looked for it on GOG/Steam, but apparently the publisher never bothered to re-publish it on digital storefronts. I'm guessing it's probably another hostage victim of the copyright issues that seem to have plagued the re-releases of a number of classic properties over the years.

Currently Playing: Advance Wars 1 + 2: Re- Boot Camp (NS)

PSN: Ralizah

RogerRoger

@ralphdibny Oh, sweet! Somehow I'd missed the return of your PS Plus mini-reviews (I usually scan every topic with new posts, even if it's a topic I'm not hugely interested in). Thanks for the heads-up!

I doubt I'll ever go back that far, alas. Not only does it become harder to track older games down, it becomes increasingly difficult to run them on modern hardware, and I'm not clever enough to figure out emulation or create virtual machines or whatnot. I tracked down a physical copy of Star Trek: Hidden Evil which I'd always wanted to play, but it simply won't work on Windows 10, and the game isn't loved enough for generous fans to be posting helpful fixes everywhere.

I'd say Picard in First Contact, Insurrection or Nemesis would do, as Patrick Stewart did indeed have his Rambo moments in all three of those films! Must be something to do with the difference between television and the silver screen. So much for diplomacy, eh?!

At least you have fond memories of Elite Force, no matter how vague! It's worth revisiting if you're in a particularly strong Star Trek mood. Whenever I get around to re-watching Voyager every four or five years, I figure out the stardates and take a pause to complete a quick playthrough (the game's story sits between the episodes "Live Fast and Prosper" and "Muse" towards the end of Season Six). If you ever get Star Trek: Borg working properly, I'd love to read your thoughts! Apparently it's a decision-based FMV game of some kind...? I think I tried watching some of it on YouTube once.

Poor, poor Tom. He does look rather ill, doesn't he? Hope this finds you faring better!

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@Ralizah My thanks! Glad I got the balance right back there because, in case it wasn't obvious, I could totally go off some kind of Trekkie deep end and make such reviews an impenetrable web of made-up words and phrases (thank goodness I don't speak Klingon). And you should guess without caution, because you're spot on about the Vidiians and Hirogen being alien races from the show.

Star Trek has always been a real progressive show, but it had some hesitancy towards LGBT+ content during the late 90s, so it always kinda surprised me that it took a videogame to "go there" what with all of the stereotypes attached to the gaming sphere two decades ago (and still today). It's why I was careful to say that I like to perceive the gender-neutral romance hint as an admirable gesture because, when I think back to the time period in question, it's more likely that A: the developers thought that nobody would bother playing as a woman anyway, or that B: they just couldn't be bothered to swap the flirtatious crewmate's character model and associated dialogue with one of the dudes.

And yes, the publisher's rights expired and were transferred elsewhere long ago. I think Elite Force is technically abandonware at this point, so tracking it down in that context is probably a-okay.

"We want different things, Crosshair. That doesn't mean that we have to be enemies."

PSN: GDS_2421
Making It So Since 1987

HallowMoonshadow

My posts are gonna be a fair bit shorter then usual when looking through these as I have a LOT of reviews I missed to go through (Most was done through my lunch break) so apologies for not going as in depth as usual! 😄


Good stuff @Th3solution with A Plague Tale: Innocence.

Can't say that much about the game seeing as I haven't played it or even seen any screenshots of it, but it was a nice short and sweet review from you none the less.

Good to hear it's a pretty well done game on either playstation platform amd that you enjoyed your time with it!

Hopefully the second game continues and improves upon what they started here!


Unfortunately I rather loathed the game myself when I tried it (Though the wingsuit traversal mechanic was pretty fun from what I recall) but it was a great review @colonelkilgore on Just Cause 3. Certainly better then my first effort on here (which was before we even had this thread!)

Some rather nice screenshots you took throughout that too! Hope we see some more stuff from the gameplay king in here!


Wow.

What an absolutely fantastic review on the first Great Ace Attorney game @Ralizah! You may've gave the game a nine, but your review of it is easily a ten! Phenomenal stuff. Your passion for the series flows through every single word and I simply couldn't stop reading it.

I still haven't played any of the Ace Attorney games myself but you've only made me that much more interested in checking both collections available on PS4 out!

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Good stuff there about Shin Megami Tensei I @Ralizah. I've tried both SMT 1 & 2 via SNES emulation but I didn't beat either one (I [i][think/i] I got further in the second one but it's been a LONG time since I tried them).

I didn't know there was GBA version of SMT 1 (Yet alone an IOS port) either. I got a bit lost in the game myself so it's good to hear the GBA port is much more viable to play though as like you say the original presentation for navigation left a LOT to be desired (I'm also not keen on turn based where you have to select your team's actions all at once either)

The history lesson behind the series was a great addition too (I was somewhat aware of if but not fully) so kudos on that too!

Are you still playing through Nocturne btw Ral or have you finished that up now?


A shame about Shinobi Strikers being rather barren as a game @RogerRoger as the combat system does sound pretty good (I don't fully remember how the ninja storm games played but I do recall them becoming a bit button mashy after a while of playing)

RogerRoger wrote:

Which is why I feel like a fool for considering spending a tenner on PSN credit, in order to unlock the full abilities of Minato, Neji and Might Guy. Not only because I know it's a trap, but also because, knowing my luck, they'll announce the addition of my favourite character as soon as I do.

I'm actually quite curious as to who your favourite Naruto character is, especially if they aren't part of the roster of masters already!

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I think I recall seeing Mecha Naruto and Revolution before but was equally as dismissive of the game as you were for similar reasons (That and my interest in the property had significantly started to wane by this point). A shame we did as the modes on offer do actually sound quite fun!

This one hasn't been ported over to PS4 has it? I think I saw the Ninja storm games are in the most recent PSN sale for £5 or so and have been getting a bit tempted myself to purchase one thanks to your reviews on the series! I assume Ninja storm 3 full burst would probably be the one to check out of the readily available options? 😄

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You know I'm not much of a Trekkie @RogerRoger so there's not a whole lot I can say but Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force seems to really treat the property with the respect it so deserves and sounds like a rather good adaptation of the licence to boot from your description of it. Especially as an FPS!

A fun read with some cute jokes and memories and with some great screenshots of early 2000's graphics that's made me feel a little nostalgic for that era!

Edited on by HallowMoonshadow

Previously known as Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy
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"You don't have to save the world to find meaning in life. Sometimes all you need is something simple, like someone to take care of"

colonelkilgore

@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy thanks Foxy, they weren't my screenshot though... I'm old and tech-phobic. I'd no idea how yo take a screen shot and post it here 🤣

**** DLC!

Ralizah

@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy lol that's a lot of content to go through. You're a trooper.

RE: Ace Attorney

Thanks! It can be a pretty difficult series to talk about without spoiling, given the genre they're in, so I'm glad the review turned out well. I've been a pretty huge fan of the series for more than a decade now, and I'm still just super stoked this collection was localized.

Probably going to blast through the second game after finishing God of War and Nocturne HD Remaster, as that'll be the last bit of time I have before SMT V takes over my life in November.

Speaking of...

RE: Shin Megami Tensei

It's funny you mention Nocturne, since I actually returned to it yesterday for the first time in a few months. I'm already well past the point I was at when my memory card crapped out on me. Now I'm stuck with a conundrum: do I go for the ending I'd prefer if I was in Demi-Fiend's shoes, or do I do the TDE, since it's the most complete and gives access to the largest amount of in-game content? Decisions, decisions.

Alternatively, I could always just leave a late-game save file to revisit and get TDE later.

All I know is that while it's a good game in it's own right, it's also helping to distract a bit from SMT V. Ironically, these last two months are harder to wait through than the preceding 4 years since the announcement were.

The pretty much constant advertising for it since E3 helps, at least. There's literally something new about the game everyday online, with the daily demon videos, multiple trailers, soundtrack teasers, etc.

I'm kind of tempted to keep my special edition sealed, but if someone else doesn't rip the soundtrack and put it online, I'm going to rip my own CDs. The music in this game has been fantastic so far.

SMT I, despite its sparse presence localization-wise, has been ported pretty frequently in Japan. There's also a PS1 port that I'd love to play someday (the music is better than in the GBA version, unsurprisingly). I'm tempted to seriously study Japanese for a few years and then just play the raw ISO of that version without a localization patch.

But it's interesting how different the GBA and SNES versions of SMT I are presentation-wise, despite the two platforms being fairly technologically on par with one another. SMT I didn't have to look as low-rent on SNES as it did. Just some changes to the color palette, added textures on the in-game tile-sets, and an improved user interface makes it feel dramatically more modern.

As always, thanks so much for reading!

Edited on by Ralizah

Currently Playing: Advance Wars 1 + 2: Re- Boot Camp (NS)

PSN: Ralizah

RogerRoger

@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy Thank you for taking the time to go back and reply to so many reviews, including three of my own! I'm glad you enjoyed reading them!

Shinobi Striker definitely has the right gameplay blueprint for future Naruto games (although I suppose they'd be Boruto now) because its combat is really enjoyable. If they took the gameplay and visuals and made a story-driven, single-player game with 'em, it'd be brilliant. As much as I enjoy the simplicity of the UNS games, I feel like they've run their course, for sure.

UNS 3: Full Burst would be your best choice on PS4, yes. It picks up after the Pain arc and adapts a sizeable midway chunk of the manga's storyline, but it's just a solid game in its own right, even if you don't care about what's going on and why. Revolution was never ported from PS3, which is a shame because its standalone, freewheeling nature would make it perfect for those who didn't really wanna follow Naruto's tale. I'd recommend UNS 4 as the prettiest and most technically impressive of the series, but its storytelling leaves a lot to be desired. It'd always be there if you finished UNS 3 and fancied more.

My favourite ninja is Kiba Inuzuka. I think he's been left out of Shinobi Striker because the developers can't be bothered to figure out the A.I. scripting needed for a permanent canine sidekick in battle (something the UNS games did brilliantly). I freakin' love dogs so, if they do manage to work something out, I'm afraid all of my microtransaction protests will be rendered hollow. Kiba's post-timeskip outfit is already unlockable in-game, though, so I reckon I might be safe!

And I'm glad you found those Elite Force screencaps nostalgic! I share a fondness for a lot of that era's games, as it was around the time I properly "got" gaming, so I'll often give such character models a break for looking like the leftovers from an Amazon delivery, bless 'em.

"We want different things, Crosshair. That doesn't mean that we have to be enemies."

PSN: GDS_2421
Making It So Since 1987

johncalmc

For some mad reason I got it into my head that I really wanted to play the entire Metal Gear Solid series through immediately, and so despite my ever increasing backlog I got right on it. For clarity, a run through of the entire Metal Gear Solid series according to me means playing MGS1-4 and not bothering with anything else. We don't talk about Peace Walker here, and we definitely don't talk about Ground Zeroes, and woe betide anybody who mentions The Phantom Pain.

I have to say, Metal Gear Solid has held up pretty well. And by pretty well I think I mean that it's held up better than I imagined it would hold up. The controls weren't very good even when it came out, but the fact that the whole game uses in-engine graphics rather than switching to FMV for cut-scenes means that you have the chance to get used how everything looks and you've never got that jarring, Final Fantasy VII, oh here's the bit with the good graphics and now it's back to LEGO.

The story in Metal Gear Solid is, I think, still brilliant. It's interesting, with great characters, and it gets a little out there, but throws in some real world history and some definitely not real world history, and it's really never lost any lustre for me. I actually think story-wise there's few games - even today - that can stand up to it. The voice acting is mostly pretty good, too, or certainly, it fits with the characters.

For as much as I love Metal Gear Solid, I found myself occasionally bored when I moved to Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. I was surprised by how good it looks with the HD visuals in the remaster, and certainly how much better than the original it looks. The gameplay is still whatever - I never played these games because I thought they had great combat or anything - but I had fundamental problems with Metal Gear Solid 2 when it released with the story and how it's told, and while that has softened somewhat over time, I'm still not crazy about it.

I know it's probably a controversial opinion because the game is a bit of a darling, but for me, Metal Gear Solid 2 is the weakest of the four main games. It can't really be played alone, unlike the first game, since the story relies heavily on knowledge of that story. It also feels like a middle game because the story isn't resolved, with a lot of baddies still in play by the end. It's good, don't get me wrong, but it's definitely my least favourite in the series for many reasons I won't bore you with.

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater is a home run for me. Like the first game, it's a standalone story which helps, and it's got a really strong cast of ludicrous characters for Snake to go up against. While it's tough to ever top the baddies in the original Metal Gear Solid, the Cobra Unit here comes closer than any other cast in the series. Even Bee Man is good.

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is a contentious one because I know a lot of people don't like it for a lot of reasons and most of them I tend to agree with or at least understand on some level. But for whatever reasons this game gets away with it. It's like I've got a blind spot for it, where I know it's silly, and bloated, and there's issues, but I just don't care and I love it - it's like a Pirates of the Caribbean movie for me. It doesn't matter if you think nanomachines are dumb, or the sixty minute ending is absurd. I'm here for it.

Particular shout-out to Laughing Octopus who is a top boss, and one of my favourite in the whole series. And the final battle is one of my favourite final bosses in any game ever. I think one of the reasons that I love Metal Gear Solid 4 is because it just happens to tick so many of the boxes for things that I really like. I like long cut-scenes, I like lots of lore and story, I like ridiculous bosses, I like old men coming out of retirement for one last job, I like nostalgia, I like paying homage to an entire series that I love, and I like endings that just deliver. This game really does that, and so while I get the criticism, this is such a 10 for me, still.

Anyway, it's been probably seven or eight years since I played the whole Metal Gear Solid series, and as is always the case when I go back to a beloved franchise or game for a replay after a long time, I was worried it would disappoint. It honestly didn't. I loved the games more than I thought I would. Even in a world with your Last of Us's and your Tsushimas and whatever else you kids are playing, the series was an absolute joy to replay, and one I'll hopefully not take quite as long to get back to next time.

johncalmc

Twitter:

johncalmc

@Keith_Zissou 4 will always have a special place in my heart because of real life reasons - towards the end of the PS2 generation I actually became quite disillusioned with gaming and at the point right into the PS3 gen I didn't play much. I still gamed, but it's not like I was massively into it. I discovered going out, the pub, friends, etc. etc.

Metal Gear Solid 4 was one of the games that got me back into gaming in a big way - it was that followed by Mass Effect 2 a while later that really stirred the passion for gaming back into me. I'll always have fond memories of both games for that reason.

johncalmc

Twitter:

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