Recent reviews by Education-Connection.com

Infinite Wealth takes every lesson learned from 7, retools and balances the RPG elements to present a more engaging, rewarding, and streamlined experience. So many quality of life changes that prevent this game from becoming the slog that 7 became at certain points. Hawaii is a wonderful new local and I look forward to RGG recycling it for at least the next 3 games and 2 spin-offs.

The worst most stumbling part is the previous care that was awarded to the English dub in 7 falls by the wayside here. All performances for this game were great, I especially loved the two new party members and hope they carry onto the next game. But, Yong Yea should not have been given Kiryu as a role so early in his VA career. He can do fine work, but they should have considered maybe another person who can consistently nail such a beloved game character, because his performance goes from middling to lousy. Everyone else also suffers for it, the previously non-tuned karaoke performances from 7 have all been auto-tuned and ruined. There was no reason for the VA director to undo parts of 7 that worked.

New features like Dondoko and the other mini-games need a little bit of ironing out if they're going to be introduced into the future games. As they really started to drag toward the end. I liked them, but they were dangerously outstaying their welcome by the time I was done with them. All for 100% completion.

Finally, the story. This story goes to ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ odd and incredibly overblown places. I feel like they got far too goofy and are going to pigeon hole themselves into not being able to one-up themselves for whatever Kasuga gets up to in LAD:9. The resolution to Kiryu in this franchise was appreciated, but even for someone who played the other games and loves Kiryu, his presence here felt unneeded and like RGG can't let go. The torch had already been passed at this point and this game continued to them trying to figure out when Kiryu could logically distance himself from the mainline. Ichiban continues to shine through as the new protagonist and in the end proves just how beautifully written a character he is, but to a story that tries to dodge around giving him the stage fully.

A must for Yakuza fan's and people who have gotten into the series via LAD:7.

Remember...High Card is always a viable option!

MDickie continues to release Wrestling Empire texture packs...and they are still just as gold.

I am glad he is actually adding features to the game such as being able to initiate conversations that include multiple prompts you can do. The only thing that is a double edged sword is how random characters talking to you is. That can make moments sitting in class and waiting for the teacher to actually ask answers from students they already called on in-class questions painful. But then you can form gangs with, amend relationships, and sell things you no longer need to people. Fully bridges the gap of waiting for the world to come to you.

Sincerely hope we see remakes of another one of his games with the same ambition but even more gameplay mechanics that slot perfectly into this engine.

The future games in the series really got out of hand...this one is still good though! Unique third-person strategy for the time. Charm bleeding out every single pore which makes you care about every character you recruit to your squad. Gets pretty difficult as it goes along. Perfect game if you need anime and stra-teegery.

8/10 - SCOUT RUSHING IS BEST WAR TIME STRAT

I learned alot of Chinese words, some good, many bad. The one thing I didn't learn? How to drive on the correct side of the ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ road.

(Seriously though. Good fighting, you can't just rush, just wish there were more combos or attacks. Engaging story. This is the best True Crime:Hong Kong game ever.)

8/10

This game is...very okay.

What I mean by that is this game is well put together and can stand up next to its competitors without shame. But the game lacks in areas that would make it truly shine.

The concept for the story is great! A government agency that relies on sleeper agents posted around the country activates in a desperate call for homeland defense on metropolitan New York when exposed to a deadly virus on Black Friday that has left the state in panic and shambles. But the way the story was executed is lackluster to say the least. You're a mute protagonist to keep you in the sense that you're 'Just another 'Second Wave' agent' and everyone talks around you to avoid any actual conversation. The characters presented are charming, but they dont really push forward with any of them besides, this is the paranoid ex-PMC engineer that is suspicious of The Division's motives. This is the no-nonsense police captain who is really inspiring to people because he gets the job done. The only real character who got a little bit of play was Doctor Kendal who has a vivid personality during her main missions and even gets a side mission that adds more to her just being a medical professional. The others are just really bland or didnt get enough good writing or screentime.

Where the story shines is presenting the environment and world of New York in the aftermath of the pandemic. Phone conversation, incident reports, and a lot of the other collectibles give a really good profile of what New York was like in the stages of before, during, and even after the virus hit. This makes these OPTIONAL collectibles valuable in a way, because it sells a great environment in small little snippets of backstory. Wish I could say the same for the actual story. The main missions, being able to be played in any order, just tell a loose narrative and are really just reason for them to tell you to fetch stuff. "You need to secure X building." "The Cleaners have an HQ located in the construction site, go destroy their base." "Rikers have hidden these notes on the virus. Find them!" They show you driving the gangs of New York out so that people can go back to their homes as well as finding out more about the virus and ways to eradicate it. But it never felt really engaging to be told I was one step closer to finding out how to synthesize a vaccine without really seeing it. Even fighting off the factions didnt really feel all that pivotal considering you still find them in the streets messing with people even after completely securing a district. So by the time I did everything and got to the final boss and won, it didn't really feel like an accomplishment. I just kind of asked, "Was that it?"

Gameplay is the meat of this game, and to be honest, it's very solid. The shooting doesn't feel bad. Response from shooting enemies has a dullness to it, which after playing for a while, faded. And overall, every gun feels like it should. The skill trees in this game are very simple with only 9 to choose from and 1 unique skill for each branch. Some feel underpowered in late game, while others are continually useful. You, of course, get the most use out of them by coordinating with your coop partners. Which doesnt make them entirely bland to use and can be fun at times when you plan an attack and execute in sync with your partners perfectly. Otherwise the gameplay feels like an RPG Shooter should, and I really have no complaints in this area.

Where the game really falters in, is the implementation of the Dark Zone mechanic alongside it's endgame sustainability. Dark Zone I found to be slightly useless. The pull of the Dark Zone and being able to loot signifigant items alongside companions while keeping an eye out for less than honorable agents who would gladly steal your haul of rare items rather than you take it, is non-exsistant. The many players and Dark Zone sessions I've done people just havent found a reason to go rogue or even the benefits to it. Especially in higher non-DZ brackets where even the loot the DZ gives you isnt enough for you to swap out equipment, people just dont see the reward in wasting all the precious time to kill another agent group and possibly steal no worthwhile gear out of the situation. Essentially making the entire idea of your one selling point irrelevant. If my group met another group, we would share an item extraction point, or they would find their own. If we even saw rogues on the map, we'd run the other way because we honestly didnt want to get hemmed up fighting other players when we could have spent that time looking for worthwhile items. Hell, the only time I ever went rogue was because other people would walk in front of my line of fire and let me tag them enough times to consider my team to be Level 1 Rogue status.

The other side of the coin is endgame. My main character hit the level cap before I even finished 75% of the side quests and collected half of all the collectibles. Now that I've finished the main mission storyline, the only thing left for me and several other Lvl 30 players is to replay missions that are now marked 'Daily' missions and hope for good legendary 'High-End' drops. That or earn enough of the rare currency to buy my own high-end weapon blueprints and craft them myself. Until Ubisoft most undoubtably comes out with the three DLCs that expand the playing field and the promised level cap of '99' the game will be a grind. A grind that isn't very fun either. As the difficulty mode unlocked at the level cap is a more demented version of the hard difficulty that artifically pads the enemies just to make you spend an hour if you dont have some neat trick or good guns, all for what could possibly just end up to be a ♥♥♥♥♥♥ high-end backpack that doesn't even come to par with the last one you got the last time you ran the mission. The endgame leaves a sour taste in my mouth, and knowing Ubisoft will want us to spend more money just to buy out of the vicious cycle of grinding, borders on stockholm syndrome.

Aside from all that, the game is incredibly addicting. Which, even though I already said the DZ mechanic didn't really work and endgame is just a soulless grind designed to burn time until new features get added, I can't stop playing it. I'll most likely work on getting my DZ rank up during the weekends just so I can see if there is any more gear worth looting. I'll most definitely work on replaying the same daily mission ad nauseum only to see if I get that one magical drop or earn more Phoenix Credits to burn on forging my own unbeatable gear. There is just something within this game that makes me wanting to keep playing it, even if its tedious.

Should you buy it? The game brings the expected mechanics to the table and delivers them perfectly. It doesn't try anything new or innovate in any way, though the few innovations it has are lackluster. And the game is personally addicting enough to keep me playing. So, yes, I would recommend it. But not at full price/launch price as I did. Wait till it drops to say...$40. That's a reasonable price that pays for all the fun you could have in the core game. Hell, if the price drops that low, a DLC might even be out by that time and you have others opinion to guide you on whether spending more money is worth it. But don't pay full price. The game evolved heavily since it's premier at E3, sometimes for the worse, and now that it's here, if you remember anything, remember that it is really average.

This game is the t*ts.

Hold on! It's the good kind of t*ts though! Death Skid Marks has got to be possibly the most engaging and unique Roguelites of it's kind. The game prides itself on it's "trashy humor" which I still get amused seeing the 50th time an Aryan Roadkiller car rolls up with the driver's name being something along the lines of, "Ryan Dickfingers." The art style also complements it's trashy nature with the old computer terminal overlay and the downright freaky characters you pick up off the side of the road. Not only style though, the game itself is amazing.

Each game starts off slow. But the game progressively speeds up with each road segment and passing km. Handling one car at a time with up to a driver or a single passenger is fine. But having to deal with 3 cars filled with sniper rifle carrying neo-nazi's, flame thrower toting religious zealots and assault rifle and shotgun crazy rednecks is damn stressful. Wait, WHEN THE ♥♥♥♥ DID THAT ROBOT GET THERE?! This game is punishing if you don't manage your hitchhikers, car, money, and jobs properly, a single hitch hiker killed or one upgrade not purchased 2 roads back is enough to end your game IMMEDIATELY. Which is fine, because it keeps every game feeling fresh and having you learn your mistake and adapt correctly.

The only thing I can really say that's wrong with the game is that it's horribly unbalanced. Sure, melee does alot of damage, but late game you really can't afford to bring your hitch hikers anywhere near the other cars. Sure, I could take that dismemberment job for 50 dollars per person, but a 1/10 chance to actually earn that money doesn't make it worth it. Basically, All Ranged Weapons, Ranged Crew Kill jobs, and Wrench/Medkit strategy is the easy mode, and it works every time.

Other than that, try this ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ game. It's a s**t-kicking, hamburger devouring, smash n' crash of a game that hopefully the two creators will update with a bit more content. (Right guys? New cars and hiker friends on the way guys? Right?!) Try it out.

P.S:The soundtrack kicks ass is filled to the brim with all the 50 second punk/metal/ska? tunes you need. Whoever did the drums needs to be paid more. Good f**king work gentleman.

The most refreshing take on tower defense I've ever had. Challenging, fun, and with expansive amounts of gameplay styles. The amount of DLC released is borderline ridiculous reaching about $50, but even the core game will keep you busy. Steam Workshop only increases replay ability!

Its good...

This is a big one since it is such a huge part of my childhood. This is definitely one of the best made arcade shooters around. Since the team is an indie company from Croatia...that's saying something. Area's filled to the brim with varied and colorful enemies. Each weapon from the Pump Action 12 Gage to the classic rocket launcher to the laser gun to the sniper rifle all feel so satisfying to use. 16 player multiplayer throughout the whole campaign keeps you on your toes, then again, you could always abuse unlimited respawns. This game is a treat for those willing to try. You won't be disappointed!

Edit:It's still good