First Impressions: Destiny

Destiny is an MMOFPS by name, but to be honest it's an entirely new genre. It's a PvE MMO, but has a PvP mode, but it's not really an MMO as the servers are kinda small.... it's hard to define. That doesn't stop it from being fun though.

Recap: ESL One Frankfurt 2015

On Saturday the 20th of June me and my father travelled to Frankfurt for the ESL One DOTA 2 tournament. We managed to stay for 3 quarter final games before we had to return to the UK, and I'll recap the day's events now.

Review No. 111 Scribblenauts Unlimited - PC (3+)

Strong Points:
Unique ideas - write items in the notebook to create them and solve puzzles
Cute game style - the cartoony theme works well with the little mini-storylines
New mechanics - can add adjectives to objects to help solve some problems
Wide vocabulary - can solve puzzles in many funny/creative ways
Steam Workshop - can create objects and allow others to download and use them

Weak Points:
Difficulty level is low - is easy for most people (with common sense)
Puzzles can be boring
No way to change difficulty level - can be frustratingly easy
Steam Workshop - some items glitch your game

Rating: 84%

Review No. 103 Dead Rising 3 - Xbox One (18+)

Strong Points:
Strong, solid game-play
Great scavenging element - weapon crafting is fluid and makes sense (some of the time)
Graphics are beautiful - really nicely done textures
Voice acting is great - even though it's clear story isn't the focus
Challenging - not impossible, but difficult

Weak Points:
Difficulty - can be a little too challenging at times (I am stuck about halfway through the story)
Leveling is a little weak - could be better, but could be worse
Can get repetitive and brainless - large swarms of zombies are too easy to deal with

Rating: 79%

Rant No. 1 - 'Elder Scrolls' 'Online'

On paper, the Elder Scrolls Online was an amazing concept. Skyrim with friends. What more could you want? Well, how about an actual Elder Scrolls game, like we were promised?

Review No. 98 Skyrim - Xbox 360/PC (16+)

Strong Points:
Great graphics
Great story and lore - none less expected from Bethesda, to be honest
Massive open world - invisible walls are well disguised and is impressive for the time
Loads to explore - non-crucial dungeons can be entered at any level and will level with character
Console commands (PC) - useful but can be too tempting for a legitimate playthrough
Modding community (PC) - personalize your game

Weak Points:
Controls are easy to forget - keyboard controls are crowded and sometimes confusing (eg: T to Wait)
Fights are repetitive
Easy to get overpowered - especially levels 30/40+ using magic
You get lag (PC) - depending on computer (only best can handle 100 exploding chickens!)
Side quests get boring - fetching and delivering, etc
NPCs are sometimes unrealistic - if they don't see you commit a crime they won't attack you, there's no need to run away from the body or put your weapon away etc.
Landscape is nearly always fields and stones and/or snow - can be repetitive
Graphics haven't aged as well on consoles

Rating: 98%

Review No. 97 Sid Meier's Civilization V - PC (12+)

Strong Points:
Great, realistic look
Hexagonal tiles introduced - more chances to surround, flank, and generally plan against individual troops and cities
Options - so many options with construction, research, use of land, placement of cities and troops, and so much more
Expansions - two DLCs are out - Gods and Kings and Brave New World, with a third on its way.
Doesn't get dull, even over long periods of time
Single player's good - even without internet this game is pretty fun
Multiplayer is really good - hours and hours more fun to be had here
Active and Passionate modding community - can only be used effectively in single player, but there are a few gems to find here

Weak Points:
Games are LONG - we're talking 24-36 hours for a large map (2 players, 22 NPCs)
Can be difficult to just 'jump' into - better to get help from someone who knows the game
Turn based - this could be annoying to some, but I don't mind it

Rating: 92%

Review No. 96 Anno 2070 - PC (12+)

Strong Points:
Great aesthetic - has a distinct style to the UI and the game itself
Interesting options - class etc. matters
Units are fun to test - each one does something different, or has different attributes
War is not necessary - possible to play peacefully easily

Weak Points:
Uplay - can't be played from Steam directly 
Price - is a little overpriced at £15
A little old - graphics can look a little dated and the story is a little clichéd

Rating: 82%

Review No. 95 Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition - PC/Xbox 360 (16+)

Strong Points:

Great story - leaves gaps you need to fill in and guess (I prefer this)
Rewarding game-play - joy from completing complex, difficult challenges
Requires planning and strategy - more enjoyable and realistic
Loads of areas - each area has a completely unique look to it
Humanity is an interesting mechanic - more humanity means more chance of finding rare items
Loads of weapon choices - over 100 weapons to choose from (non class-specific, but rely on you having things at certain level)
Traditional fantasy RPG - levelling things like endurance, vitality and intellect, Dark Souls feels like a classic game
DLC is rich with content - two or three DLCs as good as the game itself, if not better (if you like a tougher challenge, that is)

Weak Points:
Lacks a skills tree - can't learn new moves without specific equipment (like the wood grain ring which gives you a faster roll, for example)
Levelling system Feels Clichéd - similar to countless other RPGs
Prompts for controls in tutorial level are for Xbox Controller - keyboard game-play is hard to get used to, controller is needed rather than 'optional'
Requires a high degree of skill - extremely difficult for casual gamers
Rage incurring - dying is a major setback... and happens frequently unless you know the game really well
Runs with lag on standard laptops/PCs - fast PC recommended
Consoles graphics poor (on console)

Rating: 83%

Review No. 94 Terarria - PC (12+)

Strong Points:

Millions of items to create and use

Loads of different biomes to explore

A wide variety of enemies to fight, including bosses

Great single player and multiplayer

Just options. So many options...

Weak Points:

Can be difficult to just 'jump in' without prior knowledge or help from friends

Games can get repetitive (starting over and over)

Competition - games like Minecraft may be more well-known and have the 3D advantage.

Rating: 92%

Review No. 93 Assassin's Creed II - PC (18+)

Strong Points:
Strong parkour - definite improvement from the first Assassin's Creed
Scale - definite improvement on size (both horizontally and vertically)
Collectibles make sense - give you upgrades etc.
Voice acting - great, although some lip-syncing problems on PC

Weak Points:
Combat is dumbed-down - less stealth and alert things - more below
PC controls - are really confusing
Doesn't link with one - the end of 1 and start of 2 don't really work

Rating: 80%

Review No. 92 Fable 2 - Xbox 360 (16+)

Strong Points:
Great levelling system
Easy to play - learn controls quickly
OK graphics - especially for an open-world game from 2008
Learn about the world through loading screens - interesting and occasionally funny notes
Different music in different Places - flows well from area to area
Dungeons are different and exciting
Killable quest characters - an element missing from newer games
Abilities are useful - will is fun to mess around with in busy streets
Efficient travel - can fast travel from any location (indoors or out) to any place you have already been

Weak Points:
3rd person view only
Not much replay value - story becomes dull
Little character customization
Terrible multiplayer - shared camera, P2 has no options at all
Invisible walls - can swim 10m into the sea before hitting a wall
Limiting in places - can't swim underwater, can only follow one path, etc.
Loading screens are really long


Rating: 96%

Review No. 91 Fallout 1 - PC (18+)

Strong Points:
Good story
Very strategy-centric - hexagonal tiles mean that strategy is key
Variety in weapons
Lore is really interesting - expected from Bethesda

Weak Points:
More RTS-like than the newer RPGs, although RPG elements are there
The graphics do not work on modern machines - many graphical glitches/missing textures on my machine
Combat is action point reliant - can be pretty dull
Game mechanics are not very well explained - trial and error as opposed to tutorials or testing grounds
Once you die, you lose your character (may be a welcome challenge for some, but I am not a fan)
No auto-saves (adds to annoyance of above point)

Rating: 54%

Review No. 90 Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit - Xbox 360 (12+)

Strong Points:
Expansive world to drive in - map in the in depth review
Police chases are exciting (whichever side you're on)
Stunning graphics - better than Forza 4 (a contemporary) in my opinion
Great Audio Track - real songs used, and most of them are really cool
Easy to Learn, Difficult to Master - always presents challenge (even when you think you've finally mastered those twists on Oakmont Valley)
You can free drive wherever you want, in any car you want

Weak Points:
Races can be boring
Some missions are REALLY DIFFICULT (missions where you can't damage the car in any way)
EA force you to buy cars with real money

Rating: 76%

Review No. 89 One Finger Death Punch - PC (7+)

Strong Points:
Responsive combat - reacts the moment you press the button
Easy to learn, hard to master
Graphic design is solid - not too fancy, but is over the top and hilarious in places
Nice to pick up for a few hours

Weak Points:
Looks a little like a flash game
Can get repetitive quickly
Quite a large difficulty spike

Rating: 70%

Review No. 88 Forza Motorsport 4 - Xbox 360 (3+)

Strong Points:
Decent single player - career mode and free play, as well as others
Excellent split-screen - although two players only
Graphics are great - although don't age well
Weight behind cars and corners - really feel the turns through controller vibration
The Line - useful and shows you when to brake, and can even do it for you

Weak Points:
Menus can be annoying
Top Gear (and other) brands - shoehorned in everywhere and to little effect
LOUD - hard to balance audio with only high/low settings for sfx and music
Auto-Steer - can swerve you into walls if you stray too far off, and can be annoying at some starts

Rating: 63%

Review No. 87 Titanfall - Xbox One (18+)

Strong Points:

Fast Paced

Parkour is smooth and works well

AI can kill you - smart bots

Titans feel powerful - as they should

Unlocks are exciting - the "wow that's really cool" moments other games lack

Weak Points:

Online only - no offline/story mode

Campaign is weak

Sprint controls are annoying

Can feel a little samey after a while

Rating: 81% 

Review No. 86 Assassin's Creed - Xbox 360 (18+)

Strong Points:
Decent Characters (in the animus) - Altair (your character) is awesome, and some historical names pop up from time to time
Great Mechanics - free-running works really well, although accuracy can get frustrating
Epic Plot - a story that gets twisted more and more as you progress
Beautiful World - Israel looks beautiful, even when sprinting through it

Weak Points:
Freezes on Occasion - may just be my Xbox but is an issue
Annoying Main Character - Desmond is boring and slow and doesn't have the common sense to understand his situation
Weak ending - looks at something and credits - disappointing and has no link to Assassin's Creed II or III

Rating: 83%