Recent reviews by joecuki

I find HUMANKIND to be a finicky but creative empire-builder. Mods are highly recommended and they can flesh out the game in almost every way. Games of HUMANKIND seem more dependent on how the map is built which can result in the occasional uneventful or imbalanced games, and sometimes the game feels like it is playing itself, and you're just along for the ride. I enjoy the game a lot when all the pieces fit together, but the tension between neighboring empires only exists when certain settings and game mechanics line up, and not always, or in every game. 8/10 Full of depth, free from bugs which plagued it upon release, but slow-paced and mod-dependent.

I last played this game in 2013 and parts still stick with me like I played it yesterday. This game achieves a level of existential dread and emotional investment that opposes the banal gunplay so jarringly that this game is my go-to 'video games can be high art' example.

It's a short game about war, and how incredibly terrible war can be; this game isn't for the youths. Spec Ops: The Line excels in the same way that Portal and Undertale do: they are short, artsy games that connect emotionally with the player. The unusual problem that Spec Ops falls into is that it connects emotionally through some really dark parts of war, and some people (reasonably) don't enjoy exploring in their downtime.

If you're old enough to be drafted, and you find this cheap, pick it up. It is a one in a million game.

I tried to return this but I played too much. It seems to be an oversimplified Dominions game with depth scrubbed from it and replaced with... nothing? Can't control the battles, and the empire control is tedious and boring.

The Witcher 3 is my favorite game in the Witcher trilogy, and it nearly perfectly captures so much of what I look for in story-driven western RPGs. Where do I start - so much of the game is extremely well-voiced, with some sidequests fully cutscened, and with the compelling, grey-area morality and justice that makes the player have a real vested interest in the characters and investment into Geralt. The minigame is incredily addicting, and you will soon be running town to town to buy the best Gwent cards in the game. The game is as close as I've come in a long while to feeling like a game is almost perfect. The writing, music, visuals, environments, Gwent, Gwent, and Gwent are all amazing.

There are some faults, including a lack of good unique late-game weapons. It seems that the vast majority of late-game weapons could be more unique and special. An extra 3% spell power here or there is not particulary exciting, especially with names like Longclaw on a sword.

In any case, 9.5/10 for awesome story-RPG.

I don't think the game is worth full price, I'll start there. However, it's a fairly solid TW game, with some new, novel mechanics, and some better balanced battles. However, the game can be frustrating at times, with a reversion back to requiring regions to be food, happiness, and economically useful. Corruption once again becomes a highly limiting factor, instead of building upkeep, which seems to be a move that is somewhat annoying.

Hordes are fun and challenging to play. The Huns are challenging to fight against. It is very fun to play a crumbling Roman Empire and stave off the hordes and internal conflict. There's a lot to like about the game if you're into the TW series, but wait until it's on sale, pick it up with some DLC's and save yourself the anger about CA releasing 3 dlc's within the first month.

Dragon Age: Origins might be the best grand party-based, fantasy RPG since Neverwinter Nights came out. In general the game is excellent. The most common complaints are a slower pace of combat, and a lack of engagement in the characters. As far as I'm concerned, the characters are quite good, if not a bit one-dimensional. It's easy to "game" the charaters into loving you, but that's fine by me. Combat is both difficult and rewarding, with freindly fire for spells and almost every encounter with the capabilty to go south fast if strategy is ignored. I really don't have anything but praise for the game, although it will suck you in and consume a good amount of time. My personal reivew is 10/10, a classic that has held the test of time.

I'd love to give this game a 10/10... I really would. It's clear that the creators are true fans of old-school RPGs that required a large amount of strategy, planning, care, and investment in your characters. In fact, I haven't even beat the game, and Ive only gotten to the second act. Already, there are some nagging issues that impede quality of life for the player. And I see where they are coming from. The game is very "non-hand-holdy", and in a lot of senses it is great. However, inventory management is a chore, so is crafting, so is lore-based equipment identifying, and these chores break up the gameply so heavily that it's hard to stay engaged without spending serious time doing menial tasks. My opinion is that crafting should be done in a GW2 style, with crafting ingredients sent to a different "stash", and you can experiment with creating new recipies. Items should be ID'ed upon pickup if you have the lore. The fact that some items don't stack (dust? of all things dust doesn't stack?) is both unusual and difficult to deal with. These small things build and really impact my experience. I'll review this again once I finish, but I think that small changes could make this game a 10/10 easy.

Well, I've completed the game and remembered to update this: My views haven't changed - the small, nagging, input-requiring actions are completely overkill for a game like this. Near the end of the game with the trial, I just ended up readnig pages of walkthrough because I was just plain old bored with the game and ready to be done. All in all, the game is pretty good, but occasionally not fun. I'd still recommend at maybe a 7.5 or 8/10.

Futuristic SteamPunk-esque RPG that reminds me of the old school RPGs like Baldurs Gate or Icewind Dale mixed with the combat from X-Com. So already, we're on a roll. There are some small downsides to the game though. The Hacking "mingames" are pretty repetitive at best, and the NPCs aren't customizable. Both this game and the Expansion have good storylines and multiple ways of finishing combat. The Expansion - Dragonfall has a much better story though and it's totally standalone. I recommend both games, 8/10 for this one based on the price and probably 9/10 for Dragonfall.

Somewhat insane but very good. It is short, but if it were any longer it would be a bit forced. Enjoyed very much... would recommend buying on sale.