Recent reviews by TheMadManSFX

I don't think Control isn't a bad game in particular, but it does nothing worth mentioning.

Story wise, I found nothing of note. Jesse as a character, as she's not given backstory like another Remedy protagonist, is somewhat boring and it's hard to really ask what makes her and her journey of finding her brother interesting. Jesse has one motivation and lacks any real character outside of that, making it hard to root for or against her one way or the other. The progression through the FBC intertwining with the progression of the story/world is somewhat interesting due to the layout of the Bureau being actually well done and intriguing to navigate, but the side characters are all bland and forgettable, maybe barring Dr. Darling. Sam Lake gives a good performance of the character which helps greatly. Everyone else left my mind as soon as they were out of scene. It didn't help that most of the story isn't told, but rather printed on these handouts you find. A few here and there would've been clever, but it felt like they didn't want to let any idea go to waste so there's dozens and it is a chore, and a brutal one at that, to read through all of them. I frankly didn't, I left the endeavor 1/3 of the way through the game and just stopped caring about the universe Control tries to set up. I'm sure it's interesting, but it breaks the number one rule of writing: show, don't tell.

Speaking of the world, Remedy nailed the FBC. It's interesting, well designed, layered, fun to explore. Good stuff, probably one of the two highlights of the game. It's more orthodox office design is contrasted with a lot of this "Early Americana Office" look, some interesting science labs and research grounds, and a general sense of variety. Good Job!

Speaking of variety, however, the game lacks it in the enemy department, so let's talk about the combat on the whole. Combat is actually fun, moment to moment is quite satisfying due to nice sound design and feedback, but the game suffers here in some degrees. The gun upgrades are boring, and the side options are all so useless compared to the base pistol. I got the shotgun, the smg, and the sniper rifle, and none ever came close to dethroning the stock pistol. Enemy variety is sorely lacking too, <10 if I'm generous.

My fundamental issue with Control is that, it's frankly boring. Where Alan Wake's simple but intriguing story left me on the edge of my seat and wanting to keep playing, never over-complicating anything by letting the world tell the story and let the game progress naturally with tight and simple combat, along with actual sparse but interesting lore pickups and using visual storytelling, Control fails in every aspect where Alan Wake succeeds. Like I said, it's not an incompetent product by any means. Remedy clearly worked hard on it and gave a strong attempt, but as someone with no connection to SCP, this game left me sorely disappointed. I don't recommend it unless you like SCP, it's just not worth the time.

C:CO is an amazing game, and before I get into spoilers I highly reccomend it even if you've never played a horror game before. For the $2 I paid, I got a horror thriller that has a gripping, if initially simple, story. It has some of the best atmosphere I've seen in a game, keeping the player on edge throughout nearly the entire journey with it's use of ambient noise and constant "creaking" of the world. Very few but some really interesting characters, including Ethan Thomas himself as an interesting protagonist. The fact that you're only source of outside interaction from the start is Rosa really heightens this sense of loneliness and "rat-in-maze" mentality. The mysterious Vanhorn touching base every now and then also kept the intrigue alive, especially near the end.

My only real nitpick is the combat. I understand to a degree it's supposed to be clunky; Ethan is picking up random melee weapons like rebar and planks and fighting abominations of the night to try and just get out, with guns being a rarity. For the most part, it works as intended and the inclusion of the taser makes things manageable, along with the steady stream of health packs. However, at a few select moments in the game, it throws multiple enemies at you which really breaks the immersion, personally, and I found there were times when I couldn't quite tell how I got hit. This also applies to the guns to some degree. Pistols worked well, but the shotguns are highly inconsistent, the inclusion of sub-machine guns near the end felt a bit silly, even if they barely appear.

Overall, I highly recommend Condemned 1. It was my first horror game, and an amazing one to boot.

Wolfenstein: The New Order is probably one of if not my favorite first person shooter I have ever played. It really struck a personal cord on top of being fun, varied, and having a strong story. For starters, the gunplay and map design are incredibly tight and give options to the player whether they want to stealth, go in guns blazing, utilize range, etc. The guns have a satisfying feel to them even 5 years after the game's initial release and hold up to the likes of DOOM (2016). The story is the strongest in the current timeline, telling the story of the soldier lost to time who has a mission he needs to complete, with a very well executed ending to boot. Musically, Mick Gordon is here and that speaks for itself. In terms of complaints, really only minor nitpicks and maybe the game being a touch too short, but even then, its a game I can go back and replay over and over so maybe thats an upside. I highly recommend Wolfenstein: TNO if you love FPS games and are looking for a strong story.

Risk of Rain 2, in spite of how new and in Early Access it is, is just so much fun. It's combat and Game play loop of collecting items and fighting bosses and proceeding to the next levels is so simple yet so satisfying and compelling, with certain runs that can last from 30-90 minutes feeling like they go on so quickly and go before you even know it. From an art design perspective, the Cel-shaded visuals and character/monster design are superb and feel so together and fit so perfectly all together. The soundtrack is stellar as well, having this nice ambient yet upbeat tone and sound to it, it only helps in getting lost in this game.
My only major complaints come from minor bugs, and the Magma Worm and the Stone Titan. I don't want to spoil any bosses in the game, as they're all really interesting and unique to fight, but the Magma Worm goes too fast to hit for basically anyone that isn't Mul-T and Commando, with all the other classes being able to but having a higher risk of death. The Stone Titan is fine for the most part, but if you're in an open area, his tracking laser borderline guarantees death and you are almost required to find cover. Also, some classes like the Artificer the Engineer having weak primary fire abilities (Artificers has a delay and a cool down so she, if you don;t play right, could end up being nothing more than a meat-shield for her teammates, and Engineer's delay before fire makes the grenade launchers so much harder to use and not as satisfying, in spite of being able to charge up 8), and Mercenary being too weak for the role he's supposed to fill.
However, don't let these tiny negatives affect how stellar Risk of Rain 2 is. At $20, even now, it's highway robbery for such a great game that has so much more content coming.

Wolfenstein: The New Order was a fantastic FPS, telling a great story with compelling and well developed characters, strong storytelling, and just gameplay better than it has any right to be for a first game studio. However, this games, this game takes all the good that TNO did and decides "Let's be tone-deaf and shove modern politics in. Oh, and lets also give BJ 50 heath for the first half of this 6 hour game that throws in 3 hours of cutscenes." Great. So, where do I begin? All those intereting characters? Development gone and some replaced with characters like Grace or Reverend Horton that are clearly meant to pander to "muh feminist", with a mustache twirling villain who does not compare nearly as much to Deathshed. Alternatively, the repetitve plot points and overall lack of a proper conclusion, without spoiling anything. Overall, the story is subpar and doesn't do anything better than TNO or anything good to begin with.

Some may say "Okay fine, well what about the gameplay?" Well, it's one of the most mixed bags I've ever reached into. The first half limits BJ to 50 Health and 200 Shield. On paper, that seems fine as you get 1/2 the health but double the armor, but in execution, BJ feels so much less spongey than he did in TNO due to that, as you take damage on both ends and you'll 100% run out of health before shield ALWAYS. However, the game feels like its designed with that extra 50 in health in mind, so you still gotta face the same amount of enemies, just with the added frustration.A minor sidenote, if you want to change guns, the game doesn't slow down so you might tank some damage while switching which can get quite annoying However, here's where the good comes in: the level design is quite good, not amazing but more than solid, the shooting feels so tight it might as well be a virgin, and the upgrade system is interesting and provides a bit more depth than TNO's. Even the midpoint upgrades provide some interesting additions. However, this video game, this game meant to be played, took me 9 hours to beat compared to the TNO's 13. However, this game had 3 hours of cutscenes, and that leaves 3 hours of gameplay that's frustrating and unfun, and 3 hours of actual solid and tight gameplay to work with.

In conclusion, in this $60 dollar game, theres 3 hours of good and fun content carried by a bad story. Buy this only if you're a diehard Wolfenstein fan, or a masochist for your money. Instead, go check out Wolfenstein: TNO and DOOM (2016) to get a much better experience.

Danganronpa 1 has some issues. The PC port looks like an upscaled Vita Port, some characters have some depth and development issues, but overrall, DTTH is a really great visual novel. aside from those minor issues, the art looks quite good especially by 2009 standards and holds up well now, most of the characters are well developed and interesting to follow, with an exciting story that keeps you interested and on your toes throughout its surprisingly long campaign (As someone whose first foree into Visual Novels prior to this was a bit of Aviary/Ace Attorney, this caught me off guard by its 30 hour length) and the "gameplay" to stay spoiler free is, also for the most part, really interesting and hooks you by the first chapter, well done, and frankly incredibly unique. If you enjoy Visual Novels as a game genre and thrillers in general, definitely pick this one up.


But Hangman's Gambit can eat a fiery ♥♥♥♥ in hell.

THis isnt a game, its a short film stretched in $20 of filler with the most nonexistent story I've seen. I laughed at the ragdolls and thats about the only emotion I felt. Watch a playthough on youtube and if you like atmospheric games, get Hollow Knight, that has actual gameplay. If you're bad at games, Night in the Woods. Just not this.

My Friend made me make it a positive review to get it to be overwhelmingly positive

Capcom has really been hitting the ball recently. FIrst, we get Monster Hunter: World coming to PC. THen we get Mega Man 11. Then we get Monster Hunter Doublecross: Ultimate for Nintendo Switch, then we get DMC: HD. But now, Capcom has shown us that, unlike companies like EA and Activision, they know what the real Gamer is looking for in their DLC. Before, I had about 50 wallpapers cycling per hour on my desktop. Now, both of my monitors are adorned with this beauty. It's even tatooed on my member! Overall, this is a 5/7 perfect score DLC. Highly Recommend!