Recent reviews by DrkCntry

A true account of how to take a bad release and make it great. What started off as a game that barely resembled what was advertised, it has now exceeded the original concept.

This is definitely one of those times where neutral would be better than a Yes or No option.

The game is, mechanically, OK and story-wise is exactly what you'd expect from a superhero genre game. The game really suffered because they over-monetized the progression and under-utilized the actual gameplay. Overall, it can be fun (especially if you do it with friends) and there are a few pretty well-done parts. I think they trying to turn something like this into a live service game ultimately brought the entire game down and destroyed the actual appeal of it.

I will say, that running around as Hulk can be very entertaining and they did succeed at giving his movement some weight.

On the technical side, I did have a few hiccups here and there, but I cannot say with any definitive proof if it is the game or some combination of hardware/software configurations. I have run it on two completely different PC setups and the performance matched what I'd expect of them, except I think the higher-end is lacking somewhat in optimization. My main system (I9-10900K, 32GB RAM, 2080 Super) can get fairly decent performance on High+ settings, but there were some issues dealing with some Bloom effects over-blowing. On average I was around 80-90FPS, I did have a time where the 1%s did dip to like 25FPS, but that happened literally once in the 40 hours I played.

Overall, as I said, if you like the Marvel properties and want an action-adventure game involving an ensemble them, you cannot do much better than this game, mostly because those games just don't exist otherwise...but especially with their price drops, it's hard to pass up since they shut down the need to pay for in-game stuff.

I should also point out that I paid for this *before* the price cratering to $4, but I still got it for like $20.

Simple review from a player since Alpha of Overwatch 1;

Game could've been good if it weren't for the decisions of the executives at ActiBlizz. Cannot support a game where they bald-faced lie to you.

Making an inferior product with it's sole reasoning for existence being canceled is probably the worst business decision you could make. Relabeling the Archive missions to what they have now and taking them from being free to charging $15 each time they release them is the height of predatory monetization schemes.

tldr; Overwatch 2 is classed as inferior to Overwatch in terms of content. Corporate decisions prioritize monetization over health of the game. Corporate decisions outright lie to the community about content. Game could have been a good iteration of the previous Overwatch but they lost their way really quickly.

A chill game about breaking down increasingly more complex shuttles...chill until you send yourself into the furnace.

A massive surprise compared to Marvel's Avengers, everything wrong there was fixed in Guardians.

The soundtrack is top-notch, the visuals are solid. The story is exceptional (as far as comic-based stories go), and the voice acting is almost perfect.

It's a game not for everyone, but Kojima games are always like that. It's an odd thing to actually enjoy a game that is literally nothing but FedEx quests.

While not as 'special' as the original, the sequel does well with expanding on what the original created by adding above-water gameplay.

Time will tell if the full-release is equally as well done as the first.

Build cities, watch traffic kill cities, then destroy them with tsunamis!

Perhaps one of the best comeback games released in recent years, sans the multiplayer aspect. Single Player returning to Doom-past glory of just wonton violence towards demonic forces.

There will be spoilers in this.

First a word about performance...

My system;

CPU: I7-5930K@3.50GHz
RAM: 16GB 2666
OS: Win10 pro
HDD: OS on an 850 EVO, game on an WD Black 6TB
GPU: GeForce GTX 980 (in SLI, but not used)
Video Driver: Still using the 373.06 Game Ready drivers

Game Settings;
Full Screen 1920x1080
Nvidia HBAO+ enabled
Vsync turned on
Everything High
TXAA 1x
All extra options enabled

Frames stick a pretty solid 60fps with a couple dips down to 57 during a few usages of powers. I'm pretty lucky according to the fact that most people seem to be having more issues than not. I could probably push a few things up to very high and/or Ultra if I wanted to and still keeep performance about the same, which I'll probably do on my next run through the game. Load times between areas were about 20 seconds at most, with the average being like 12 seconds.

I do say that if you have a mid-range system to hold off until a patch is released from purchasing the game, but if you have a system similar to mine, then by all means, buy the game if you liked the original.

Now onto the game itself...

According to Steam I have just shy of 10 hours in the game, which was apparently enough to complete a no-kill/ghost run for Emily. These runs always go faster for me because I go out of my way to avoid fighting and I generally don't go secret hunting with them, so only a handful of the levels did I complete gathering most of the objects.

Story-wise, it's pretty much a mirror to how the original Dishonored worked out in theme, the concept of being able to use either Corvo or Emily will allow for multiple play throughs simply on that alone. Like Dishonored, the killing (or lack there-of) will result in changes to the environment and the ending received, and since I've only done a no-kill Emily run I can only comment on that aspect, which I will delve into later.

Atmospherics play heavily into the earlier portions of the game more-so than the latter, with you running around areas filled with fog at night, listening in on conversations by NPCs, or even the occassional musical group playing songs. During the latter half, you're finding yourself pretty focused in where and what you're doing and during the last two areas (Mansion and Dunwall), with a little less ability to 'explore'.

There's a hub area like the Hound Pit from Dishonored called the Dreadful Whale. Unlike the previous game, this ship is pretty sparse and only serves as a go-to point for in-between missions. Shopping is not a part of this, but is found at semi-hidden Black Markets in the actual areas of the game. This is both a sound idea thematically, but also a big difference in how the original put shopping in. The original had a single person doing upgrades and selling of items, and with the Black Markets you actually have to hunt them out in order to do anything with them. Most of them are pretty easy to find, with world clues pointing the way, but it also means that it's just as easy to miss them if you aren't actively seeking them out.

Most of the areas of the game are laid out in a similar way that the original game did them, allowing you to do multiple paths and multiple actions to achieve the same goal. For example, in Mission 4 The Royal Conservatory you're tasked in defeating one of Delilah's followers named Breanna Ashworth and stop her from finishing a 'mysterious device'. Outside of the Consevatory are the very common guard-type NPCs, but once you get inside, you will have to adjust your style of play a little bit because there are witches and 'ghost hounds' inside with similar powers to your own. Alerting the witches will result in them not running towards you, but teleporting in meaning that if you were going for a ghost run you need to be far more careful in how you proceed.

My run through the game as Emily basically meant that I was seeing the world for the first time through her eyes, so her dialog was more about things like that and how she felt sheltered being Empress. There were few call-backs to her time at the Hound Pits or being used as a political pawn during various moments. She has a few differences in how her powers are from Corvo's, like she uses a shadow-like movement skill instead of possessing others, she also uses a whip-like ability to move around as opposed to Corvo's blink. Most of them are pretty interchangeable in usage but are thematically different in execution.

Overall, when I go back and play my Corvo run and do the high-chaos sides of things, I'll have a better grasp on the story and effects of the changes in the world. I'd really say that if you liked the style and story of the original, this is not going to disappoint you. The addition of playing as Emily isn't as major as I had hoped to in the story, but I'm happy that it does allow for a differing view of the world.