Recent reviews by Beastmaster

The Telltale Batman series stands out as a superior Batman game, offering a more mature and gritty take on the character, complete with gore and adult themes, far from the typical, child-friendly Batman portrayals. I've played through the series twice, and even after several years, my second run on Steam was satisfying. The narrative-driven gameplay remains engaging, and the choices you make significantly impact the story. However, it's frustrating that Telltale hasn't confirmed a third installment, despite the clear potential for continuation based on the cliffhanger ending of The Enemy Within. While the series is worth purchasing, the lack of any news on a sequel might disappoint fans hoping for closure.

The Telltale Batman series stands out as a superior Batman game, offering a more mature and gritty take on the character, complete with gore and adult themes, far from the typical, child-friendly Batman portrayals. I've played through the series twice, and even after several years, my second run on Steam was satisfying. The narrative-driven gameplay remains engaging, and the choices you make significantly impact the story. However, it's frustrating that Telltale hasn't confirmed a third installment, despite the clear potential for continuation based on the cliffhanger ending of The Enemy Within. While the series is worth purchasing, the lack of any news on a sequel might disappoint fans hoping for closure.

Let me preface this by saying I've never purchased the battle pass or any of the starter packs since the game launched on Steam or prior, and for good reason. The launch was a disaster, marred by significant issues with progress transfer and a misguided attempt to get new and returning players to pay for what is essentially a free game. We noticed, you noticed, let’s not repeat that mistake.

Now, onto the gameplay itself. Initially, it's engaging, even enjoyable. But as you progress, the reality sets in: unlocking even the most basic WWII weapons is a grind that makes the game feel more like a chore than entertainment. The decision to use WWI guns as "starter" weapons feels particularly absurd.

The "research system," which serves as the leveling mechanic, is where the game really starts to unravel. The system requires you to grind through matches, milestones, and daily tasks to earn XP that goes toward unlocking new guns, vehicles, or planes. But as you unlock later-era WWII weapons, particularly around Tier III - IV, you’ll notice a glaring flaw: recoil becomes almost non-existent, stripping the guns of any realistic feel.

And then there are the bots—your squad mates. They're useless. Their pathfinding is terrible, their aim is worse, and they rarely detect enemies even when they're in plain sight. And their aim is so poor that even 12 hours a day on AimLabs wouldn't improve it. They often fail to detect enemies that are blatantly visible to the player. While they do have a 360-degree detection range, which theoretically should make them more effective, in practice, it doesn’t help much. The detection range seems to vary depending on the weapon they’re holding; rifles, both bolt-action and semi-auto, allow them to engage targets at 100-125 meters, but this range is drastically reduced when they’re equipped with SMGs or MGs.

So, why do I continue to play? Simply put, the building mechanics and the logistics aspect of the game still hold my interest. Setting up rallies, digging trenches, and establishing MG nests offer a unique strategic element that I enjoy. When I’m not entrenched in that, I take to the skies, dropping bombs and engaging enemy aircraft and ground units. In conclusion, while the game has its moments, the significant flaws in progression, realism, and AI make it hard to fully recommend. There's potential here, but it's buried beneath layers of frustrating mechanics that need serious reworking.

If you're a fan of management games like Game Dev Tycoon and enjoy diving deep into the cooking industry, this game might catch your eye. However, let's be honest, it’s pretty frustrating that key features are locked behind DLC paywalls, when they should have been included from the start. I’ll deal with it, but it’s a slap in the face to players. At least the sandbox mode is fully unlocked, unlike the ridiculous trend in recent sandbox games where you’re forced to grind through milestones in "story mode" first, to unlock "locked" things within the sandbox mode. That nonsense needs to end, it’s killing the whole point of a sandbox experience.

We need it, we want it, bring it back. After a thorough review of the new release with its 4K resolution, I can confidently say that this version stands out as the prime choice. The 4K visuals are impressive, but let’s be honest: when you're focused on finding and taking out targets, those upscale graphics become less significant. Practicality often trumps aesthetic upgrades.

For those seeking more information about my decision to purchase this version, I invite you to watch this video:
https://youtu.be/5Xo0AOHnUFU

I watched gameplay of "Once Human" through Azmongold, and after seeing him play it, I thought, "Hey, it looks alright, I'll give it a try." So, I did, but I ended up heavily disappointed. I progressed to the point of collecting gear before I realized there was a hunger and hydration system. Upon discovering this, it felt like a bomb went off in my head, as I recognized it was essentially a "re-monstered" zombie survival shooter, just as an MMO...

Realizing this, I promptly quit the game and uninstalled it. I'm not willing to invest my time in an MMO that repeats the same mistakes as WildStar, Darkfall Online, and The Repopulation, all of which had a maximum lifespan of 1-2 years or less.

As someone who literally never played any of the Witcher games until Witcher 3, I highly recommend it. Don't confuse it with that shi**y Netflix show trying to create its own lore now. This is the real deal, the full experience of The Witcher. To this day, I still haven't played the first or second Witcher, and probably won't due to lack of interest. But I will always say that The Witcher 3 is one of the best games and lore dives I've ever enjoyed.

My ratings:
Story: 10/10
Mechanics: 9/10
Graphics: 9/10

Man, did I have issues trying to launch this game. 😡

First: The game starts off with a "Privacy Policy" you have to accept. The only thing is, if you have Steam Overlay and/or GeForce Overlay enabled, it will glitch, preventing you from clicking accept. So, you have to disable both, restart your computer, and then you will be able to launch the game.

Second: After achieving that, it does something I've never seen a game do before, and that's "Shader Compilation" prior to gameplay. Depending on your hardware, you are looking at additional wait time even after installation and completing the first step above. Yikes. Not to mention, it crashed at 12% the first time I tried it, told me to update my driver, and I said, "Nah, you'll work, or I'll refund you." I relaunched the game, and evidently, it heard me and completed the process without an issue.

However, now onto the real review. The game's been out for a while, and I've watched bits and clips of it through various streamers. I am enjoying the game so far. Playing on experienced mode is highly recommended, as the story difficulty is just way too easy.

My ratings:
Story: 10/10
Mechanics: 8/10
Graphics: 9/10

GTA IV still has the best ragdoll reaction system, only rivaled by RDR2. GTA V's ragdoll system looks cartoonish, which is why I prefer GTA IV, even though the graphics are noticeably worse.

After playing CK3 during the free-to-play period, I got hooked but didn't buy it because of the price. I recently got it during the 2024 summer sale. I've been playing CK2 all this time, and I'm pleased to finally have CK3 in my library. I love all the customizations, the amount of detail, and the workshop mods.

My ratings:
Story: 9/10
Mechanics: 8/10
Graphics: 9/10