Recent reviews by LuckySkyDiamond

I'm not that far into Kiwami 2, only about 8 hours deep at the time of writing this review, but so far I can say its a very enjoyable remake of the PS2 title, and a large improvement over Kiwami 1 (which wasn't as charming/enjoyable as the PS2 original IMO). Running on Yakuza 6's Dragon Engine there's a large number of changes such as better looking environments/character models, seamless transitions between buildings, the ability to fight nearly anywhere and run from any battle, and more environmental interaction to name a few things. It borrows some of 6's mechanics such as the fighting and leveling up systems, and the game thankfully plays a lot smoother than 6 did (No doubt due to running at a higher framerate than on PS4 depending on your specs of course). It takes a bit of getting used to compared to 0's more arcadey feel, but it's something people will definitely enjoy when they get into it.

That's not to say Kiwami 2 is the new benchmark for the series though, most sidequests aren't fully voiced compared to 6, the facial animations during cutscenes look nowhere near as good 6 and seem out of place compared to the upgraded character models, some songs from the PS2 version aren't present (personal preference), and the game still feels like an expansion pack to as the series always feels at times. But all these complaints really feel small in the grand scheme of things for the pricetag of $39.99 CAD. Kiwami 2 offers a ton of content and one of the best stories in the franchise, making it feel like a steal for what you're paying. I lost track of the time playing it with how much fun I've been having and feels complete (compared to other AAA offerings with tons of roadmaps and dripfed content and ♥♥♥♥), and its a game that has no problem being recommended to anyone.

I bought this game as a joke and thought it'd be funny. I was wrong.

To be fair to the devs, the game's development was such a cluster♥♥♥♥ with them contributing random assets and having no clue how it would all tie together due to poor direction, and despite that there are some areas that look nice enough. And the person in charge of the cutscenes really deserves a pat on the back. But man I'm really reaching for positives with this game. As soon as you boot it up, you'll get that feeling of "Oh, so that's how its gonna be" for the rest of the game.

The subtitles dont work, which is a problem as there are moments where the sound effects drown out the dialogue. Sprinting and crouching have this annoying motion bob which you should disable by default lest you feel motion sick. The game cant decide whether it wants to be more tactical or like regular HL2 and what you get is a bad combination with ADS and some serious recoil on guns. Parkour system really doesnt work as sometimes you will get stuck on geometry. And there's more problems but sadly that's really all I can take right now. Sometimes the levels feel kind of confusing? You can find yourself stuck due to the weird layouts or things you need to do (can't climb up rubble, you'll need to shoot the gate in the third level). Story is pretty edgey but that's ironically its saving grace.

Whats sad is that there were chances where I think the game could have turned out alright (not good or great, just alright), but even now I personally wouldn't recommend it as a joke, unless it goes on sale even cheaper. Outside of that this game should really be used as an example that making games can be really hard and challenging.

EDIT: Turns out there is a full on TDM mode, yet its hidden behind the play button. This brings up my point about the poor UI, unless this is an event only thing, which it shouldnt.

I want to recommend this game...but I cant. It hurts because I was one of the few people who enjoyed Devils Third on Wii U (Yes, I did indeed buy Devils Third on a Wii U and enjoyed it warts and all, whatever). But this is just somewhat frustrating, more so due to the number of poor choices. Why release this game around the same time as E3, with NO advertising or release date? The only way I knew it was out was by randomly stumbling onto the steam page, which explains in many ways the low player count.

Why include Raid as the only game mode? Its a good game mode yeah, but when you start as a new player, you WILL get crushed by more experienced players or players with better loot. Including something just as simple as real TDM would help things, because in Raid there are moments where you will get spawn ♥♥♥♥♥♥, and there's frustratingly nothing you can do about it.

The UI is frustrating to navigate, hitting play just brings you to a Raid mode which as mentioned results in a chance of you getting ♥♥♥♥♥♥. Why bring up a Youtube video talking about Raid when you first play the game instead of first, going to the tutorial mode (which is hidden behind Drill mode which most players may not know?). Why hide Chimera mode under even instead of just having the same UI as Devil's Third on Wii U where it just let you choose what game modes you wanted to play? What was wrong with simplicity? Also, why not make Chimera mode a mode solo players can play as well. Optimization is also quite poor which is saddening as this game does not look great. I can handle games like Homefront 2 and Far Cry 5 fine but even on a mixture of high and medium it struggles in Chimera fights.

There is a good game hidden behind Rockshot, which is rebranded Devils Third, but there are some things that NEED to be changed desperately so that it can thrive. Make it less P2W, add in more game modes like TDM or free for all for the casual player (please dont make them events only), fix the optimization, and advertise it more. I guaruntee that this way, you will have a cult following on your hands with a dedicated niche community. I'll completely re-review this game in a few months to see if it changes or not, because I believe Soleil, who are composed of ex Ninja Gaiden 2/DoA4 devs, can make it work.

I mean its not terrible, but it feels unfinished. Some buildings are untextured, the gameplay feels like it cant decide if it wants to be a more casual BR or not, the setting and aesthetic is novel but its crying for something for some more fun movement and gunplay.

I mean its free, maybe they can turn this around if they want, but Cliffy B, Boss Key, if you're reading this, please, PLEASE, try to make a smaller scale single player game. Try making something like DUSK, STRAFE, not Jazz Jackrabbit, don't try to copy trends. You don't need to make this big, epic game to try and stay relevant in the gaming sphere. Make your own thing instead of trying to compete with other games.

I expected a MGSV zombie-themed expansion pack, and thats more or less what I got. I'm not complaining, MGSV was great and Survive seems to be shaping up to be a fun time as well. I'm just surprised that in current era Konami, we got a game thats actually shaping up to be good, which is more than can be said about games like Silent Hill Downpour which ran horribly on PS3 or its spinoff Book of Memories which got stale quick. There's been a bit of improvements made in Survive, namely the loadout menu. It's not just a menu, now its more or less a training room to mess around with, which can be fun. It also brought back some MGS3 tier survival elements like needing to tend to injuries and needing to worry about hunger, weapon durability, or even thirst now.

From what I've played, you get dropped into a reworked Afghanistan map, having to get resources and avoid or attack enemies. Melee combat is fine, but it could stand to feel a bit smoother. Once you make it to a wormhole driller, you have to defend for a few waves, each one more difficult than the last. And you have to craft barracades to keep zombies away. Even if you fail, you'll get loads of rewards for newer rounds

It also runs like a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ dream, super well optimized which isnt shocking since this is the same engine that powered TPP.

Its fun, but that said there's a few things I'm worried about. There's no accessible story mode and given that Konami rarely talked about it it is a bit worrying. It's also way too overpriced, in Canada it costs $60 (about $40 USD). For what is basically an MGSV expansion pack something like $40 CAD/$30 USD is more fair, the same price Yakuza Kiwami had at launch. Also the always-online requirement is a turnoff, since GZ and TPP never needed it. I hate it in games like Destiny and The Division, and I hate it here. Besides that it's just not making me feel like I need to rush out and get it, but assuming Konami can support the game and the game gets a fair discount by the summer, I definitely think its a title worth suggesting.

As far as zombie games go, its leagues better than Dead Island or Dead Rising 4 for what its worth.

It only took the disappointment of Dead Rising 4 to appreciate this game. Originally I saw this game as a major departure compared to the prior games in the series, and while that's still true going back to it I've discovered this is a fun, but very flawed game.

Pros
Even for what was a 2013 Xbone launch title, it still looks really nice despite the grey brown color palette.
Movement is so much faster and smoother than it was in DR2, making combat much more enjoyable due to how satisfying the guns and weapons are to use
2 different story modes to appeal to fans who love either to be able to do everything or who love the crippling time management.
More zombie variety, and there are lots of them on screen at any one time.
Throwable items. Chucking a chainsaw at a zombie is never not satisfying.
Psychopaths unlike their botched version in DR4 are in here and there are some creative fights.
Has easily the most amount of content in the series, there are lots of sidequests, challenges, collectables, and once you're done with the main game you also have the DLCs to do (which carry your level from the main game and actually tie nicely to main story.) When it goes on sale, you get a lot of bang for your buck.

Cons
You really need a good PC to run this game at a consistent framerate, or on higher graphical settings
Lockers and car stations remove a lot of the challenge since you can easily spawn powerful weapons/combo cars which make zombies feel like cannon fodder.
The world is annoying to navigate due to the amount of roadblocks there are.
Main story doesn't go anywhere as interesting as prior titles and only really picks up by the very end. It also felt like it tried to end the story of the first two games very abruptly.
Though the it's nice there are two story mode options, the main mode gives you too much time to do everything, and Nightmare Mode gives you too little time to do everything due to how much faster time goes by. Psychopaths also feel too much like damage sponges in nightmare mode while are complete cake walks in the regular story mode.
Ultimately the changes made in this game influenced Dead Rising 4 for the worst.

I would still recommend playing the first two titles considering the amount of callbacks there are in this game and since I had more enjoyment with them, but if you want a fun zombie game and you see this on sale, definitely give it a look.

It feels bad not being able to recommend this since I love the series (Excluding 3 and this sorta), but I cant recommend this at all if you are a hardcore fan of the series, and if you're a newcomer or regardless of whether or not you loved Dead Rising 3 I persionally wouldn't recommend it now until the Frank Rising DLC comes out. But thats getting ahead of myself, so lets talk about why DR4 is good before we talk about why its a let down.

The color is back, which is nice after how greybrown Dead Rising 3 was
They brought back the mall, bringing back the relaxing mix of killing zombies while elevator music plays in the background really missing in 3.
One of the few games I can think of outside of Parasite Eve, and Yakuza 1/2/5 which takes place around Christmas.
Devs are FINALLY listening to feedback instead of terrible Valve-tier playtesters and have added in multiple difficulty settings and I recommend playing on hard if you want a challenge.
No more weapon lockers which stripped away some challenge in 3
Killing zombies is as enjoyable as it has always been in the series, and DR is still my favorite personal zombie action series
Story at least interested me more than DR3 to see it through to the end even though its still not great as the original or the entire DR2 saga

Runs only slightly better than Dead Rising 3
Character models can look ugly
Camera doesn't really have much purpose outside of investigation missions, unless you complete some faux-achievements it doesnt level up your character making the score system feel redundant.
The controls have been changed, apparently to make things more convenient because they were apparently bad before (?). I thought they worked great, they still work fine here but there is a pointless "stealth" button which you will never ever need to use.
Killing zombies is still treated as a focus rather than a side activity or something that stands in your way.
Characters are either forgettable or completely obnoxious
Mall itself doesnt feel large compared to DR1 or DR2's strip and you dont visit it much storywise in favor of a bland town
Soundtrack outside of "Oh WIllamette" and mall music is forgettable industrial/orchestra music like DR3 largely had

Claims that they're going back to their roots though nowhere near as misleading as other franchises "RESIDENT EVIL 6 WILL BRING THE FRANCHISE BACK TO ITS ROOTS", still feels like marketer speak as the game feels less similar to the original than ever.
The game still feels like it has been severely dumbed down to appeal to either a "wider audience" or some braindead ♥♥♥♥♥♥ reviewers (Looking at you Official Xbox Magazine)
No multiple endings, only the one disappointing one all players get
TJ Rotolo has been replaced by Ty Olsson, credited as Victor Nosslo. He's not a bad DR character but he just isnt Frank West.
Survivors are all generic. There's no real motivation to rescue them, there are no interesting side stories outside of audiologs/journals you find, its nowhere near as interesting as in prior games
The equivalent of Overtime Mode, the True Ending scenario, is being sold as $15 DLC and still has no release date. Considering that Overtime Modes generally werent long this is worrying unless they make up for it hard
Maniacs have been put in place in favor of psychopaths. They have no intro/outro, no interesting music, no interesting attack patterns, they're just basic hostile survivors with larger health bars and feel like very last second additions.

Like its still a solid title if flawed and there is certainly fun to be had, but so much charm has been removed from the prior games for no reason, outside of one developer claiming that its so there can be sequels. Ironically they've alienated so much people that there might not be a DR5, the series is at risk of going extinct like Lost Planet or DMC after the terrible reboot. The impression I also got feels more like "We love DR but we would rather make anything else" as evident from the amount of Street Fighter items you can find in the game. Its hard not to dog on this game and I want Capcom Vancouver to succeed, but this is debatably the lowest point in the series, and they really need to re-examine what made DRs 1 and 2 so great. As of now it feels more like open world Zombie Dynasty Warriors or Zombie EDF, which is fine for some but it isnt what made me love the series.

Knowing that Homefront The Revolution had loads of development troubles from THQ dying, Crytek refusing to pay their employees (And STILL not doing so at the rate that they're self imploding), going from a basic sequel to the original with its crazy ambition of wanting to be an open world Half Life 2 and the reading the reviews at launch, I went in with the lowest of expectations, but I was pleasantly surprised. It isnt a great game by any means but its really undeserving of its "WORST GAME EVER" title many people give it, as it has merit and is still better compared to the original game. That said its got some flaws that make it difficult to recommend at its current price tag of $43 CDN, though if you can get it and the DLC included at a heavily discounted bargain bin price tag its certainly worth a look since it feels like a successor to THQ titles in that its flawed yet can be enjoyable, just dont go in expecting much.

Pros
Looks and runs great
The stories found through collectable journals are interesting
The world itself is genuinely interesting and has a great atmosphere
At times the game feels like an awesome mix of Crysis and Half Life 2
Provides a lot of bang for your buck
Loads of weapon customization options

Cons
Characters are fairly bland and forgettable
Though the game aimed for an open world Half-Life feel it feels more like a mixture of a modern Ubisoft game (The blander ones) and Crysis in that it can get repetitive very quickly
Can get repetitive very quickly
Story DLC is more enjoyable than the base game which isnt bad but its annoying with their short length + pricetag
Music is generally forgettable and bland, would benefit more from a soundtrack used in the DLC which feels appropriate for an action game
Though its focused on guerilla combat you'll either love or hate the fact that you die very easily
And the most disappointing of all is that it feels really safe without much new you havent already seen before, or taking some interesting mechanics from things like Metro in terms of a cracking gas mask/ammo as currency. Its pretty vanilla.

Though in fairness Dambusters really seem commited to turning this game around, and if they provide the same care they've given this game recently for future projects or sequels I could get a real kick out of it.

EDIT: When I wrote this review, I wrote it from the perspective of someone who solely played the singleplayer. Having tried this with co-op, I can ABSOLUTELY say do not buy this for co-op unless you can find a work around for it. No matter who hosted the server, we kept on crashing like crazy, so do not bother, multiplayer is dead anyways and with a good reason. Also switching weapons with the scroll wheel is so retardedly slow and STILL hasn't been fixed among other things making World Tour definitely feel like a cashgrab instead of a celebration of one of the best shooters of all time on PC. If theres a positive to this re-release its that it exposes you to the Duke/Build engine community which is incredibly friendly, but that cant be attributed to WT and more for the Duke/Build shooter fanbase itself. Editing this review to fit this new experience.

Duke Nukem 3D is a great game, and this re-release holds up...mostly well. With dev commentary, a slightly updated version of the engine with less motion sick inducing 3D as well as the ability to swap between visuals on the fly by pressing C, great level designs in both the new and old levels, and the good old crass humor of old shooters, there's a lot to love, but I can't personally recommend this version of the game, unless you've never played Duke 3D.

The main issue comes with the price tag, $20. This game is an updated version of the Atomic Edition, which contained the first four episodes and was sold on GoG originally for $6 (For reference it ran on DoSbox unless you got the Eduke32 sourceport for better resolution and graphical options). It was re-released as the Megaton Edition with support for modern OS'/resolutions and came bundled with official expansion packs that are rare and expensive to find along, and then both versions were taken off shelves due to legal issues. Though this re-release adds a bit, the dev commentary only appears in a few select levels, and the new episode though great is incredibly short. Duke Nukem's original voice actor also returns which is a positive but some lines sound off and it just doesnt mesh well compared to the rest of the old sound effects. The biggest crime this re-release does is that there isn't enough new content leaving you want more and right now there's 0 news on new patches or support further down the line compared to what Battleborn or Borderlands got, leaving a release meant to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the game feel like a cashgrab with new content being held hostage by Gearbox if you owned any number of prior versions.

If this game does gets a $5 pricetag later down the line or appears in a Humble Bundle then by all means grab it and ignore the negative review, but for now skip it. And if you do own any number of versions you wont miss this at all considering fans are making fixes to get the 20th anniversary content running in EDuke32, along with the fact that its still Duke Nukem 3D but there's barely any new content in it to justify the higher price tag.

One of the best games on Xbox 360 makes its way to PC, and it's just as addicting now as it was back then. With loads of zombies on screen at any one time and so many ways to kill them it may be enough reason to get it just for that, but the game has an addicting race against the clock element with lots of random events happening due to the passage of time, tricky boss fights, a level up system that carries between playthroughs, its a challenging game in general but there's loads of replay value with the multiple endings and new game+ features. It doesnt play the same as something like GTA though, its worth pointing out so you dont go in disappointed, but whats here is in a league of its own

It's also worth noting that outside of adding multiple save features its basically the same as it was on 360. Still looks and plays great for toaster-tier PCs, and whether you're a newcomer to the series, a fan that never got to play the original, or if you want to play through it again on more powerful hardware, I highly recommend it.