Recent reviews by ANewtypeCentury

Vermintide 2 is all about the execution. If you focus on learning each of the different characters and their individual classes & deciphering which weapons work well together w/ which talents, you can play this game for at least a hundred hours (if not more).

However, if you want new characters and levels, you won't enjoy it. This is a game about playing the same levels over and over until you have mastered them; knowing every tome and grimoire's location, but being assured enough that you can react on the fly & support your team.

Personally, I've played about 200 hours, and that was enough for me. Don't regret my time, but I don't see myself going further. Highly recommend.

This is hands down the single best game Bioware has ever made. Even above Mass Effect 1 for me. My only regret for it is that Bioware did not move development over to the Xbox 360 during development (which was on the table,) since it was lost in the shuffle from one generation to the other.

That aside, this game is just a joy to play. It being an action RPG, especially after all those years of more turn based, segmented fare from their studio, was such a joy to experience when I first played it. The fighting system is varied, there are several avenues to suceed, all of them entertaining. It is for this reason that, though the system can be abused, it just adds to the charm. In every moment, in every piece of it, you can see a real love for this property. It being Bioware's first in house IP is a large part of that, but it is also the source material. It turns out that the folks over at Bioware are big Wuxia fans, and if you aren't by the end of this game, you may not have a heart.

My favorite element of the game though, is the morality system (though I will admit it is more of a de jure love than de facto.) Where in Knights of the Old Republic you have Dark Side and Light Side choices, in Jade Empire, you have the Way of the Open Palm and the Way of the Closed Fist. The best way to describe the difference is for me to say that one is a personal choice, but the other is a personal philosophy - either path can be misrepresented, and there are no right answers. At least, in theory. In practice, having come right off of Kotor, and being originally for the OG Xbox, concessions had to be made. As it is practiced by the player, it too often comes across as little more than the Dark/Light Side heavy handed choices. This just serves to make those occasions where it does work extra special, and they really shine. I don't know whether it was a hardware or design limitation. If Bioware ever does make a Jade Empire 2 which could realize the system as it is described is as exciting an idea as I can imagine.

Alas, it was lost in the shuffle for better hardware, and though it is made by one of the most famous developers in the business right after one of their biggest hits and right before their biggest hit, there are seemingly few who have played or even heard of Jade Empire. That is the biggest shame of all. I exhort all who are on the fence to buy this game immediately (also, play with a gamepad. It works brilliantly.) You won't be sorry.