Recent reviews by EricJustEric

I'm having fun and I hate video games.

This game doesn't suck at what it's trying to do. It's also very mean at times. You're going to need a crew of worthy vikings to get through this.

This is the best RPG I have ever played hands down. I've read all of The Witcher books and this game captures every single ounce of each character in the series. It is rare that a game nails a universe so perfectly and pure.

RPGs with this much content are usually given a gameplay handicap when it comes to reviews due to the overwhelming amount of content balancing things out. That's not the case here, the gameplay in this game is fluid and stands to trade blows with any action game like Arkham Knight. It's always fair. When you get hit, it's because you failed to dodge or parry, when you get a satisfying blow, it's because you timed things just right. It's because of this, that even in late game when you're able to kill any enemy in just a few hits, you're still having a blase because it's just that satisfying to play.

The only complaint I have about this game is that the level scaling is off by like 25% throughout most of the game. Up until about level 15, enemies at your level are challenging and you have to really think out how you're going to approach fights. After level 15 you're leveling so fast that you're going to pretty much be at a higher level than that recommended for any quest you receive. This makes the game pretty easy, even on the hardest difficulties, especially if you put your ability points into the right combat tree skills. Throw in some decoctions and you're probably doing well over 1000%+ damage in combat at level 30 while the game is probably balanced around you doing 100% damage. This really bothered me for a few hours, but in the end I realized this didn't matter because I was still having a blast and the storyline was so engaging that I might have been able to enjoy this game even the gameplay wasn't as amazing as it is.

I have probably only finished a handful of RPGs in my life and I'd attribute that to most RPGs being a series of unique main story line quests with several hundred copy pasted side quests. Where the Witcher 3 stands out is that there are probably 100+ side quests in the game, all with their own unique stories loaded with references to all books in the series. Even if you've never read the books, these side quests flesh out an entire universe. What I loved the most about these side quests, and something that may be unique to this game, is that your decisions matter in side quests. Your decisions in one side quest may determine what decisions you can make in another side quest, and that decision may even make an impact in the main story line.

In conclusion, nothing in this game is filler content and every single aspect of this game feels handcrafted with a purpose. I never felt at any point that any minute I spent playing this game was pointless, I was always doing something that mattered. For this reason, I'm going to say this:

The Witcher 3 is an artistic masterpiece that goes far beyond being a form of entertainment. It is clear that every action taken while making this game was an act of precision and passion. I genuinely cannot express in words how this is the best video game I have ever played in my 10,000 hours+ and 20 years playing video games.

I cannot wait to see what CD PROJEKT RED releases next.

Colin McRae can finally rest in piece knowing that the series that once bore his name has finally released the perfect rally game.

Career mode leaves a lot to be desired, but the gameplay is perfect. The more the Dirt series strays from this game, the more they are in the wrong.

Name one other game that got solid expansions 15 years after release.

Who knew that reloading my gun in a firefight would be the most intense thing I have ever experienced in a video game.

Only major recommendation I have is to improve the AI so it doesn't see you straight through foliage, it destroys the immersion and makes you avoid playing the game in a way that makes sense.

All of the games that Bohemia has released outside of the Arma series have been pretty disappointing. They might be able to save this one, however I can't recommend it until I see where they want to take it. So far, I'm impressed by the engine and the world itself, but after playing it for a few hours I can't help to say that it all feels rather pointless. Give this game a purpose and I think it can be redeemed.

This is pretty much just AAA Dwarf Fortress. This is one of the few games in my library I avoid playing because it's too good at what it does. Only open this game when you have a full 12 hours to lose in the blink of an eye.

I've been playing this series since Arma first came out, and boy have they improved. This series has slowly transformed from a human mech pilot game into a playable military sim. There are still some rough edges, but I feel the next iteration of the series is going to finally be what they've been aiming for all along. The only major issue left in the series that they need to address is the AI, once they get that down, they will have a masterpiece on their hands. Aside from the game itself, the engine is an impressive piece of engineering.

I wanted to love this game, but the developers spent so much time on forced half-baked features that I'm just not going to be able to recommend it. I was really hoping that Bethesda would take some notes from Obsidian and incorporate better storytelling and more base game content. Instead, they spent most of their time adding a settlement system and forgot to make an rpg.