Recent reviews by talgaby

Mafia II was an enjoyable GTA style plot-driven mobster game… in 2010. Now, even some visual uplift cannot mask that it did not age well.

Mafia II, in its own time, was a conflicted product. Almost everyone agrees that it failed to capture the charm and greatness of 2002's Mafia. Still, in its own terms, it was a decent open-world action game.

I mean, everyone can agree that Mafia II has its strengths. For example, its story seems to capture everything that made The Sopranos great. It is gritty, it is raunchy, it is almost lifelike with its dirtiness.
Then, as it goes on, we realise that it lacks character, it lacks style. Once I finished the game, I could not name a single likeable character in it. Even the protagonists were just generic thugs motivated by money or revenge. I swear that in any other game, they would have been two throwaway cannon fodder for the real hero of the story.

The same thing happened with the gameplay. To this day, I count some of the early missions among the best in the franchise. Then, as they regressed into the same car chases or shootouts, I started realising how bored I was. And do not even get me started on the story DLCs! The only thing I would not throw to the junkpile is the opening mission of Joe's Adventures. Everything else is a terribly designed, self-repeating slog.
To make it worse, the game seems to hate its own story. At least it is my only explanation for the gameplay encouraging hoarding money when the story takes it all away more than once. It is a frustrating roadblock that has no place in a game like this.

I could also harp about the wonky car physics or the abhorrent enemy AI, but I think everyone can get my points now. Mafia II, as much as it tries to hide it, is not suited for today's scene. It is still not a terrible game, but anyone buying it nowadays has to prepare for something that has almost as many flaws as redeeming features.

Disclaimer: This review only presents a single-player perspective.
True to its name, this is by far the best version for Age of Empires 2, this decades-old gem on the RTS scene.

Age of Empires 2 is one of the greatest strategy games ever created. It is not an opinion; it now also a fact. After all, how many RTS games do you know that received two re-releases since its conception?

So, here we are, only seven years after the HD release, we have a separate Definitive Edition. Some may consider it a rip-off, but there are good reasons to buy AoE2DE:
• The graphics: Finally, everything runs at 60 frames per seconds and in 4K compatibility. All units received a graphical overhaul, so they now look great, no matter how far you zoom out.
• The user interface: AoE2DE integrates several user-added improvements from the past years. If you are an AoE2 veteran, it will feel difficult to go back to any previous version after these additions.
• The game mechanics: There is detailed information on all units and technologies, the queue works more intuitively... everything is a little better here.
• The campaigns: The developers fixed many historical inaccuracies and sometimes replaced entire scenarios. They play better than ever; and yes, this includes the infamous Forgotten levels. Thanks to the three new campaigns, we have over 150 scenarios to play for hundreds of hours of single-player content.

Still, there are issues. Some of the quirks of the HD edition came over, and they teamed up with new ones:
• The map pool: It is tiny. There are fewer maps than on a modded HD edition, which was already behind the map selection of Voobly.
• The AI: Despite the vast improvements, it still acts nothing like a human. It is challenging, yet too predictable.
• The new campaigns: They are mediocre at best, often with lacklustre stories.
• The new civilisations: They are even more gimmicky than the ones introduced in The Rise of Rajas. At least they are still balanced, to a degree.
• (I cannot comment on the recurring multiplayer issues, sorry.)

I recommend Varenje if you enjoy vibrant graphics and hidden objects. I have to warn you though that despite the appearances, the story is not precisely innocent…

Once you start Varenje, get ready for a lush, colourful world. A world where everything is round, cute, and cosy, and makes you feel warm and welcome. A world that also hides a disturbing secret…

Looking at the store images, it is easy to think of Varenje as a kids' game. Not only it looks like one, but it also plays like one. There are no texts to read, no voice to listen to; everything is in a visual language. Varenje only shows, it does not need to say anything. Even the puzzle instructions are pictograms.
Also, the game uses short chapters to ease on backtracking, so you never have more than five screens to search for an elusive item. Almost everything points to a small child's first HOG, except for one thing—the story.

I will never understand the concept behind Varenje's story. The levels look like perfect illustrations for a picture book, then we get this. And by 'this', I mean cut-scenes that take place in a mental hospital full of madmen. This game is apparently about the hallucinations of a deranged murderer, so my advice is to never play Varenje with your small child, unless you want to induce nightmares.

Skyland is a magical steampunk adventure with a surprisingly touching story and above-mediocre hidden object gameplay.

Skyland's steampunk fantasy world offers plenty of excitement through the adventures of two sisters on the trail of a villain who tries to shake their world to its core. Thanks to somewhat familiar HOG tropes like a crashing airship, exploring some ancient ruins, and even adding some drama through the villain's trial, casual adventure gamers will find everything they can hope for. The story is interesting, the characters are memorable, and the game looks astonishing. What else could we need?
Well, probably it would be nice if the world itself would not be a Xenoblade rip-off, where humanity settled on the body of a giant creature, but you cannot win them all, I guess.

Also, we could use more gameplay. There are too many point-and-click segments with barely any puzzles and hidden object scenes in-between. I admit, those scenes are a joy to play thanks to their fair difficulty scaling, but even then, the main reason to play Skyland is its story and world, not its gameplay.

It is almost strange that King’s Heir is a hidden object game because its short storyline would work even as a standalone adventure game. Thankfully, its gameplay is nearly as good as its plot, making up for its short length.

King’s Heir: Rise to the Throne looks and feels like a hidden object game, but something unconventional hides under its surface. For example, our protagonist is male, has fully voiced lines, and he is always accompanied by his brother and a helping duke. Second, the plot is about a usurper and his plot against the king. In other words, it goes against all conventional HOG storytelling tropes to make it closer to some Arthurian tale.

The classic adventure aspect is even more apparent during gameplay. Whereas many similar HOGs tend to tell their plot only at the start and the beginning, King’s Heir does a great job integrating the usual hidden object scenes and puzzles into a flowing narrative. The storytelling was obviously more important here than gameplay, but if you like these games for their stories, then you simply must buy it immediately.

Yi and the Thousand Moons is a 15-minute long music video that happens to take the format of a walking simulator. If you like surreal tales, you will likely enjoy it. If you enjoy smooth vocals, you will most definitely appreciate it.

Still, I don't think I can call this a video game. The graphics are stuck in the very early 2000s, with some questionable animations and collision detection. Doing anything beyond what the game suggests can lead to immediate soft locks. Essentially, if you don't follow the cues, it is a technical mess, but if you play along nicely, it is an experience that can be worth the affordable asking price.

New Yankee 2 is a bit closer to a trial and error game than a traditional time manager, but that can be fun if you enjoy puzzle-like levels. It does its job well; it just doesn’t do anything else beyond that.

One of the most defining elements of the first New Yankee game was its pace. Since we had many workers to gather food, wood, gold, and mana, there was not a moment of downtime on any level. This sequel tries to follow a similar vein but still attempts to tone down the speed somewhat.

The worker count is up to nine now, but we can only receive resources from production buildings when we assign a worker to them. Also, the levels are closer to little puzzles, where we must follow an intended order and timing to stand a chance beating the countdown clock.

As a result, we get a time manager that is both fast yet still methodical. Trial and error is a large part of playing New Yankee 2… although some may say that it is a too large part of the game. Those, however, who enjoy puzzle-ish time managers, will love this one.

As usual in this genre, there is barely any story; it is mostly pre-level banter among the many characters. Although I have to admit, seeing the big, burly protagonist cover in her from his wife has a few funny moments.

Despite its age, New Yankee brings several new tricks to the time management genre. If you like these kinds of games, you will enjoy it, but get ready for a steep difficulty curve.

New Yankee uses the same basics as any similar time manager: use workers to gather resources, then spend those on clearing obstacles and making production buildings. I know, all of them use this formula. However, almost all of these elements get an interesting twist here.

For example, you don't have to micromanage the workforce. Need another worker? Then build a cheap house. There are up to seven of these guys, so the problem is not waiting for them to finish a task but keeping them busy. Similarly, bonuses (faster movement, more income) act as a fourth resource, so using them requires some strategy.
When we combine these, we get a surprisingly fast-paced time manager, where even the longest stages last barely five minutes. Since there are only 40 of them in total, you'd think the game is short—but this is where you'd be wrong.

New Yankee is surprisingly unpredictable. Some stages are like a puzzle with only a single solution; others give you total freedom. You can finish some levels in less than half of the par time; others can be down to the last millisecond.
This game is frantic. It is also fun, despite not having any actual story to it. I cannot recommend it if you are inexperienced with time managers, but otherwise, you should have fun with it!

Gnomes Garden 3 could be a colourful and cute time manager if not for some design choices. While its cute graphics and simple gameplay are suitable for children, its randomised elements can make it unplayable.

The Gnomes Garden games are simple. I would even go as far as saying they are too simple to the point where only children can truly enjoy their barebones gameplay. After all, using up to three workers to gather four resources and pay two helper NPCs to clear all obstacles is as plain as a time manager can get. Although there is some challenge in the form of a clock, all 49 levels have very generous time limits.

The problem with this simplicity is that stages tend to get repetitive and boring. ‘The thief of castles’ tries to find a solution for that, but this is where the game fails. On the first three dozen stages, we always lack one resource, so players have to plan around this shortage—it is a cheap trick, but it kinda works. From Level 37, resource production starts to get randomised, and nothing can be worse in a time manager than waiting for a random drop. As trivial it may sound in writing, this is the biggest reason I cannot recommend Gnomes Garder 3 to anyone.

Puzzle game lovers are bound to enjoy the dual nature of the final game in The Room trilogy. Sure, the story mode is effortlessly easy, but earning the "good" ending can be a real brain-twister.

I find it difficult not to compare Room Three to its predecessors, especially since it tries to mix a little bit of both. Like the first Room, there is a clear emphasis on mechanical puzzles, including puzzle boxes. However, all stages feature several rooms where the player has to run around constantly to find the next required item, adding some chore to the otherwise great gameplay.
Overall, I would say we are still nowhere near the greatness of the first game, but this final part shines much brighter than the second one.

This interesting duality is also present in the game and puzzle design. As long as you stick to the story mode, the puzzles are easy. The new magical eyepiece always shows a few obvious clues, all items have a clear purpose, and despite some backtracking, progress is straightforward.
However, this will only earn you one of the possible endings, nothing more.

Getting the other ones, especially the last cut-scene, is an entirely different ordeal, as unlocking the additional puzzles and items require great observation and deductive skills—you cannot miss even the slightest details or your get hopelessly stuck. These are the parts where the first game's complexity shines through and the main reason I wholeheartedly recommend Room Three for any puzzle fan.