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Fans of the concept will appreciate the unyielding difficulty and the lack of ways to tweak it. But given the changes to the mechanics, it would be nice to see Team Meat make their new title easier to appreciate with less frustration.
The developers clearly have a lot of talent for world-building and dialogue writing, which makes the game a treat for anyone willing to learn about the world and play with its possibilities. Come to Suzerain first for the feeling of power and the scheming, stay longer to discover the characters and the way choices are interlocked in an interesting way.
Those who did not try the game yet, should go ahead and dive into this adventure, they will not regret it. Thanks to the added extra content, Observer System Redux can be also recommended to those who already unveiled Dan's story. Still, it feels that it would have been more appropriate to offer System Redux as a free upgrade to those who already own the game, instead of charging extra money for it.
I'd also like to add that while the game does include microtransactions, everything that you can buy in Immortals Fenyx Rising is purely cosmetic. I also encourage everyone who picks up the game to do the optional content to unlock some of the gorgeous-looking skins for armor and weapons. I didn't think I'd have so much fun playing another Ubisoft title, but here I am trying to 100% all the maps in the game.
Still, the console version remains a fun experience and despite its dated looks, Serious Sam immerses its players completely, transcending them in the middle of the action. You don't need strategies or tactics, just the controller and the mood to blow up everything alien you encounter in the game world. Technically there are no improvements, the fun is still as mindless as ever, and the price of the package is a fair one.
But the current implementation, especially that of the battles, is frustrating. Romero Games needs to make management more important and to bring the characters to the front more. Patches also should include auto-resolve and a big balance update. Empire of Sin needs all of this to begin to realize its clear potential.
The twin challenges of expanding and re-building for greater efficiency are carefully balanced and truly engrossing. Just make sure to take tour time and explore as much as possible before moving through the checkpoints of the campaign. And spend as much time as possible running at the slowest speed, watching how mars can be changed from inhospitable wasteland to a new cradle of humanity. Just don't forget to ponder whether it's actually worth it, just as the protagonist A.I. does.
Monster Prom 2: Monster Camp is a worthy successor to the impressive first title in the series. The setting might be less engaging but the characters and the interactions are on par if not better. The team has refined its writing and style in interesting ways. The game also makes it hard to wait and see what they can deliver with the rest of the titles in the series.
Moreover, the visuals are outdated, and some technical issues should have been fixed before launch. We expected more from Black Ops Cold War, but I am sure that Activision will rake in enough money from the players to have another Call of Duty next year.
In the end, Mars Horizon turns out to be quite a simple game, despite the initial complex impression. Because of the repetitive gameplay, although the game has replay value, most players will be rather bothered by the end they finish the race to Mars and will not be tempted to try again. It is worth a try if you are a fan of space exploration, but curb your enthusiasm regarding the fun the game can provide.
Football Manager 2021 is a game best enjoyed a few virtual matches a night, preferably with some real-world football in the background, wondering whether you can get Fulham out of that bind (maybe, in a season or three) or if you can be the one to lead 1. FC Koln to greatness (it might take a decade).
The noir atmosphere is the most important element of the recipe, Chicken Police charming you from the very first minutes and guiding you gently to the end by fuelling your sense of accomplishment with new discoveries. It is not perfect, but it is an experience you will not regret.
Yes, there are difficulty spikes, especially the boss battles, that can frustrate. But the tension between preparedness and speed that the mechanics created is something that more modern tactics focused titles should try to replicate.
The deduction, dice-based combat, horror powered rituals, and weirdness at the core of October Night Games work well in single player and would be even more engaging with friends.
This leaves those who have never played it as a potential audience. But honestly, they are better off with newer games than Need for Speed Hot Pursuit Remaster, since this is a remaster only in title, stuck in 2010 practices.
Even though it would still be very short, if the technical aspects would have been fixed, the artistic part and atmosphere would have compensated for the length by offering an intense and memorable experience. Unfortunately in its actual form, even the most basic gameplay mechanics from Remothered: Broken Porcelain are broken, and as such, no one should waste time with it.
It is unfortunate that Stories Untold builds up such an immersive experience just to ruin it with such a humdrum story. If you are a fan of adventure games you will have to try it, even if in the end you will be left wanting more puzzles and a story that would do them justice.
Airplane Mode would have probably been a better game if it also included the check-in process and some extensive and tension-filled passport control moments. It should also have worked harder on the humor angle.
PositronX has a good set of first-person shooter mechanics, equal to anything that the classics have to offer. Finding a good combination of weapons and powers to clear levels is a great experience. But, despite the procedural generation, once the game progresses, runs become too similar to one another for long-term engagement.
Anyone who liked any of the previous games will absolutely love Watch Dogs Legion. It offers a lot of content that you can go through with a customized team of hackers, so no playthrough should be the same.