Topic: User Impressions/Reviews Thread

@Thrillho

No worries; seriously, thanks for reading!

Finally got round to reading your Spider-Man review @RogerRoger!

As it's already been said there's a wonderful sense of joy coming through your words... If I didn't already know you loved it from your previous impressions then I sure do now!

@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy Thank you! Glad that came across!

As I played, I thought that Mr. Negative made for a great central villain, and guessed that the developing story with Dr. Octavius would be more of a side thing that would end up teasing a sequel; I don't think I'd have been able to make that error if Mr. Negative hadn't been as strong as he was. He felt nice and fresh, too, as no major movie has used him (yet).

Still need to see Mysterio in a starring role, either in one of the older games I've picked up or, eventually, in Far From Home. I think I have a rough idea of his character, but I'm not 100% on all the facts (like, for example, why he's wearing a doofy fishbowl)!

You once said that you cheered when your favourite character showed up... who was it?

@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy Yep, Mr Negative was created during Slott’s run on the comics during the Brand New Day storyline so roughly 2006/7-ish. I’m a nerd but it helps catch all the Easter eggs in the game!

@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy Oh, cool; he felt like a much more established villain (great idea for one, and stunning visuals) so that's kinda interesting! Thanks to @nessisonett for the confirmation there, too. I tend to think modern comic villains pale in comparison to the classics, but being a relative newcomer to Spidey levelled the playing field somewhat. I loved all of their in-game incarnations, but he was a highlight.

And gotcha! I thought it might've been Miles Morales (he was my "Eeeeeeee!!" moment) but each to their own! Yeah, interesting what they're setting up for some of the more established characters; that was a genuine surprise, and makes me super-keen for the sequel.

@RR529 Thanks for the VR review. Good to hear there are still games being made for it. The blurry nature of psvr sucks in cockpit games. Probably why My favourites are usually up, close and personal.

@RogerRoger what a review Rog. Crikey that brought the whole game back to me. I loved Spiderman (my goty whenever it was released, although I hadn't played Astrobot at the time). The swinging was phenomenal. I liked the cookie cutter nature of the map, it's the PlayStation and better version of crackdown on xbox - you know what the challenges are and you can take your time swinging towards the next one at your leisure, like a personal spidy gym. The Trophies are great and the fan service is wonderful, J jonah Jamiesons radio show is class showcasing how your endeavours are the worst things ever, working against New York. Like an alternative version of fox news. I also enjoyed the walking / sneaking sections which were often derided at release, again a little change of pace before you are back in the true sequel to Tony Hawk Pro skater 3, with added webs and incoming rockets.

The criticism of the latter third of the game is spot on. There are too many bad guys with rocket launchers, its frustrating. Sometimes unfairly so. I ended up being extra careful picking off individuals prior to a full on assault, out of character for spiderman and dampened the experience for sure.

@themcnoisy Thanks, buddy! You're spot-on, there's a reassuring comfort in familiar map-clearing gameplay and Spidey's swinging makes it a joy. I didn't wanna give too much away but you're right, the radio shows were hilarious at times! And I liked how the stealth sections were well-timed to provide a nice, brief change of pace. I don't think I could've ever gotten tired swinging about as Spidey, but I'm also glad I didn't get the chance to risk doing so. It's great stuff.

In my NG+ playthrough on Ultimate, those third-act rooftop goons were a pain. You have to be so perfect on the dodge button, no chance to relax. If I were giving out points, I'd still give the game 10/10 but it'd come with a big disclaimer about that temporary danger towards the end.

Ancestors: Humankind Odissey
The elements that characterize any classic survival game are here adapted to an unusual character, a primate who at the beginning of the game (10.000.000 B.C.) barely knows how to move, handle an object or relate to other primates. The exploration of the landscape, the discovery of new actions and their repetition let you collect experience to spend, activating various neurons, each one linked to a certain ability (agility, perception, intelligence, combat, sociality etc.).

The collection of rare items helps the learning of special skills, which will be inherited in the process of evolution: the primate, at first forced on the trees because easy prey even of a simple snake, will learn to defend itself with sticks and rocks, which later he will make more useful and lethal thanks to new techniques and he will also learn how to collaborate with the rest of the clan (for a max of 6 elders, 6 adults and 6 babies).

The aim of the game, suggested more by the list of trophies than by the game itself, is the complete exploration of the map and the transition to subsequent species over millions of years, which materially translate into at least 50 hours of gameplay.

The game has been released on console with all the QOL improvements included in the 1.3 version of the PC version, and it received a few days ago a new patch which added other improvements.
Suggested to fan of survival and exploration in a unique setting.

@andreoni79 Did you actually enjoy the game? The premise sounds really clever but I think the lack of direction (and how quickly things can be ruined) would frustrate me too much.

I love the game, but obviously many could be reasonably confused by the lack of direction. There are some kind of missions but they are just a reminder of what you can do (create a new settlement, create your first clan...) since there's not a story to tell. It's a pure sandbox and you have to learn its rules.
An interactive documentary? Almost.
The only goal may be considered the full upgrade of the neuronal chart and all the fun comes from exploration (can I reach that mountain? will it be safe to move my clan in that cave?) and experimentation (what can I use to stop bleeding? how do I kill that centipede?).

Hey there y'all, I actually managed to finish a game recently so thought I would post my views on PSVR game, Ghost Giant. I played it end to end and got the platinum so thought why not share my views with the rest of the world?

So Ghost Giant is a relatively small indie game designed for PSVR with Move Controllers mandatory. You play a giant ghost who makes friends and helps a kid (a cat in this instance) overcome obstacles in the story. The story is very childlike but deals with some emotional issues.

The game is split into distinct 'scenes' and you sit in the centre of what feels like a diorama. Your hands reach out and can interact with the world, moving some objects and helping out your cute little kitte Louis. Overall, the view in VR is comfortable. It has a good calibration for eyeline which means you can sit or stand and adjust as necessary which helps, as I prefer to sit for non energetic games (because, you know, lazy). There is limited movement, indeed if you want to rotate on the spot, you can do this incrementally. Therefore, I think there will be limited issues for those who have motion sickness issues. Imagine Astro bot but even less head movement.

The game is pretty gentle and each scene is really about the narrative and some very light environmental puzzling to help Louis carry out what he needs for the story. I was disappointed you could not spread your ghostly ectoplasm everywhere but then, this isnt that type of game. The key thing with these types of VR games is the tracking and it is where Ghost Giant falls down a bit but possibly no more than most PSVR Move controller reliant games. MOst of the time, picking up objects with your ghostly hands works fine but on each scene you will find something where you may struggle - particularly in puzzles with throwing mechanics. It seemed random when it worked on those. It didn't block the game and it was a mild annoyance but it is evidence that the Move controllers and camera just don't control as well as those on the Occulus and Vive.

The game itself is charming and likeable. I didn't find the story to cut too deep or make that much impact on me but the game itself is relatively brief at about 3-4 hours if you fully explore each scene and was a pleasant way to pass a couple of evenings. The trophy implementation is quite good in that you are well rewarded for doing mini objectives, such as finding objects that are hidden or doing odd mini games and as well as being an easy plat it encourages you to explore the environment beyond just doing what you need and there is some nice humour related to that. The art style is very charming and level of detail is very good.

This game regularly sells for about £10 physical and digitally I believe and I feel it is worth the price. Yes it is short but to be honest, if you are a VR customer you know that cost and length don't go together. Not much replay value once you have 100% it but if you want to play a relaxing VR game, give it a go.

“Hey there y'all, I actually managed to finish a game recently so thought I would post my views on PSVR game, Ghost Giant. I played it end to end and got the platinum so thought why not share my views with the rest of the world?”

I want to thank you for the review, I love playing PSVR games with motion controllers. I just might pick this game up after reading your excellent review.

Adr1ft is a spacewalking simulator that stands out from its peers especially for the controls: here we are in space and for all the time we will wear our suit for the extravehicular activities.
This means that the whole game takes place in zero gravity; we move the protagonist as well as piloting a spaceship, with the left stick used for thrusters, the left one to the view and the dorsal keys that regulate ascension and rotation.
The protagonist is the commander of the small space base that at the beginning of the game is already in pieces after an explosion: we will discover the reason for that explosion in the attempt to activate the evacuation capsule, visiting the four branches of the base, collecting audio logs and reading emails at various terminals.
Unfortunately, the four sectors are identical and contradictory is only the arrangement in which they have fractured, offering minimal variations to exploration: all very realistic being a structure dedicated exclusively to hydroponic crops, but also repetitive.
The square button alone is enough to perform all the few operations required and the narrative proceeds without encountering puzzles of any kind. The attention needed to move around is enough to keep the tension high and the search for oxygen is never frustrating: in the 8/9 hours I spent to finish the game only twice I risked to die and in both cases I had voluntarily departed from the suggested path to go in search of collectables.
Recommended for sci-fi enthusiasts who have always dreamed of playing the role of an astronaut and for all those who want to distract themselves with an experience different from the usual (the game is also available in VR).
Only 10.5% of players finished the game and only 0.4% found all the collectables, a sign that many must have found the controls difficult but honestly, the thing seems absurd to me; maybe a signal of how much today we are more and more reluctant to try something new, to commit and adapt to new regulations.
I gave the game a try since it was € 4,99 on sale and it is surely worth that price, while the regular € 20 price tag is way too much in my opinion, especially considering you can buy Prey for even less...

@andreoni79 Nicely done, and agreed with all of your major points; I really enjoyed my time with the game, even if I didn't stay behind to collect everything. Did you? How much of the story did you uncover?

@RogerRoger When I was ready to use the evacuation pod I was still missing one of the SSD and the trophy about collecting all audio files. I tried a quick tour of the base and found what I missed in half an hour.
Unless you haven't started a new game, you can select "Continue" to load the last autosave, which is right before evacuation and going searching with your fully upgraded suit.

@andreoni79 Thanks for the tip; I reckon that's what I'll do when I reinstall and replay it someday (which I fully intend to do, having enjoyed it so much). I pieced together most of the story, I reckon, but there were gaps and the longer I've left it, the more curious I've become.

I finished up Terminator: Resistance late last night so thought I would share my thoughts - I think @kyleforrester87 was interested anyway!

So I bought Terminator: Resistance in the sales for about £14.99 (still on I think) and that was reduced from an RRP of £30. The game is an FPS shooter, with light stealth and very basic RPG mechanics (conversation trees, upgrade paths, upgrade and crafting etc.)

For those in the know, it assumes only the first 2 films happened (good) and is set in the future war against skynet, giving you control of Jacob Rivers, a survivor of a destroyed resistance unit trying to track down other resistance members. There is a story and NPC characters that have their own storylines, if you follow them, with main missions and side missions scattered in. The game flits between more linear levels where you follow the set objectives but mainly concentrates on levels that open up for exploration where you can wander about, explore, scavenge supplies and take on enemies in any order or way you see fit. You can stealth, attack or try and hack different enemies. There is also Skyrim style lockpicking and lots of hacking mini games.

So how did I feel? Well this is an odd one to recommend in some ways. This is a AA budget game, made by a relatively small team. You can tell the budget was not high - it looks OK but certainly not pushing PS4 hard by any means. Character animations and interactions are very last gen. Voice acting is acceptable but again, quite unmemorable. The campaign lasts between 5-10 hours depending on how much exploration and side missions you do. There is nothing mechanically in this game that you haven't seen or done in other games on last and current gen. The shooting is very solid, the stealth acceptable, controls on the whole are good. Loading times are a little long possibly.

That all said, I really quite liked this game. Firstly, I am a big fan of the original two films (I like the ending of 3 but let's leave it there) and this was made by a team with a passion for those films. There are lots of subtle references and nods but not in a throw it in your face style. Some are quite subtle, little lines, descriptions etc. The sound effects and enemies are well done and it looks and feels like something from those first two films. It ties into the mythos well, the story is not spectacular but again has some thought about how it works with the original films. I felt that the devs wanted to make something related to the original game that was good quality and honoured it rather than a quick licensed rip off. They put the money where it counted and like all good lower budget endeavours, used their limitations wisely. The characters are likeable and your choices do have some impact on what they do and how their stories go which again, was an unexpected benefit. For those interestsed, it is a relatively easy plat, I think there are only 2 trophies that need a bit of foreknowledge of what to look for but I also thought their implementation encouraged exploration and side quests which again, I liked.

So to sum it off, this is a fairly basic stealth/action FPS and doesn't do anything particularly new and it is a cheaper title. I can't say play this and it will rock your world but if you like the Terminator franchise and want a nice smallish game to play that isn't huge and sprawling and has a narrative, I'd recommend giving it a shot - especially at the £15 price point. My nearest comparison would be a slightly cheaper version of Metro 2033 but without the Russian accents. Or Metro.

@Rudy_Manchego Thanks for posting this! I saw Terminator in the sale the other day and hovered over it for quite some time; when it launched, I read a few reviews and said to myself "maybe when it's a tenner" so the £14.99 price tag had caught my eye.

There's always a lot of hyperbole (both positive and negative) around these kinds of games, particularly ones attached to a polarising franchise, so yours is the fairest review I've seen thusfar. Others were taking a single slightly-wooden animation and using it to condemn the entire game, or running in the opposite direction and getting way too defensive. I didn't feel like I could get a balanced view, not until now.

I'm a big fan of bang-average licenced games, so will put this back on my radar (although maybe during the next sale; I really shouldn't add more to my plate at the moment). Cheers!

@RogerRoger Thanks! You are pretty much spot on with being a bang on licensed game. THis isn't a cheap cash grab, neither is it a massive EA sponsored Star Wars title. It is not janky and ran pretty well, I had a couple of minor freezes when save points loaded but played well with no bugs that I experienced. If you like the license, I think you'll enjoy the story and feeling of using weaponry and enemies from the film. Seeing Hunter Killers fly over and hiding from the light is quite fun!