Recent reviews by Sparrow

Long boring game punctuated by overly long boring melodramatic cut scenes full of exposition. There was one scene where a character says, "You don't have to say anything else." and I thought, good it's going to be a short one. But nope.

The world building is interesting, but the way the information is imparted to the player is poorly executed with boring.

I have the impression the game was supposed to be much more filled out however they decided to polish up an alpha build and sell it because they needed the cash to stay afloat. Maybe Death Stranding 2 will be the game this was supposed to be.

Very boring. Very linear. The only thing more boring than flying a HOVA is walking around. The resource management (i.e. money) is trivial and inconsequential. Also, I really disliked the protagonist. $4.99 is probably the correct price point for this game, in terms of value. If you've got a decent rig, Cybperpunk 2077 is an awesome experience by comparison, even with the $60 tag.

I prefer the first one where I'm just laying tracks and moving trains. TV2 has a puzzle aspect that is quite a grind and loses the free flowing nature of TV1. If you're looking for a puzzle game, there are a lot more engaging ones out there.

If you enjoy finding and crushing bugs, then you'll enjoy Gloomhaven. It's sort of the game within the game, there are so many. On the plus side, haven't encountered any game crashing bugs, just the kind of bugs that play a role in losing the scenario.

Gloomhaven requires meticulous planning and if, for example, you chose to move during a round and the game won't allow it, that's probably game ending. Or if you heal yourself but don't receive the actual heal.

I made an exception and bought an early access game. Won't happen again. Looking forward to if/when the game gets polished.

Biggest problem with this game is the expectaions of the players. It turns out everything Sean Murray says has to be gymnastically parsed by his fanboy defenders to have any truth value. If you interpret what he says the way a normal person would, you'll be surely disappointed.

While the game has most of the basic features you'd expect (walking, shooting, inventories, flying, etc.), it executes them all in the most basic of ways. 18 quintillion planets? Sure, though you'll be hard pressed to distinguish one from another when you think back on your journey. Alien lifeforms? Yep, it you consider MOBS scattered randomly across a planet alien lifeforms, and again you'll be unable to distinguish one from another when you reflect on your journey. Space combat? Yes, again, though the controls are primitive and there is little point to it.

Every feature of the game has this shortcoming. With many games the experience of playing exceeds the sum of its individual parts. With NMS, however, the sum of the parts is a number pretty close to zero.

This game is little more than a walking simulator. In all seriousness $10 would be a fair price for it, though there are hundreds of games that cost less than $10 that are way more sophisticated and complex. It may improve if some of the "promised" free expansions happen, but again, that's Sean Murray talking and it turns out "There will be no paid DLC" actually means "There will be paid DLC" in Murray-speak.

The basis for so many of the bad reviews is that Watch Dogs is not GTA. That's a ridiculous reason to trash the game. If you want to play GTA, buy GTA.

Watch Dogs was a lot of fun to play. The hacking mechanics set it above and apart from other games of this type. My only negative is that if you stop and think about the protagonist too much, you realize that he's really an unlikeable loser.

This price point ($30), while not a bargain, is a fair value for the amount of enjoyment you'll get out of the game.

If you've always wanted to be a caveman then you'd probably like this game.

If you're looking for an engaging story, memorable characters, innovative game play, and/or don't like being called "piss man", seriously take a pass on this one.

As advertised, the game is basically Far Cry 4 with a new skin (minus guns, vehicles, and diverting mini-games). Do not expect it to be more, in any way, shape or form.

I wish they offered a neutral rating, rather than thumbs up or down, because that's what I would have chosen for this review.

TL;DR What should be a fun, smooth, seamless experience is hampered by poor UI, AI, and unoriginal mechanics.

If Fallout 3 and Skyrim are two of your favorite games of all time then you'll probably like Fallout 4, even though it's the lesser of the aforementioned games. If not, then definitely pass on this until it's on sale because there's nothing original here.

Mechanics, plot, UI, etc., have all been done in other games, in better ways. Voice acting and dialogue writing are mediocre at best. Yes, it's open world, but there is nothing new here that creates a more cohesive experience. The best open world game I've played in terms of story arc is Shadows of Mordor and that suceeded because the world was so small. Bethesda once again makes the mistake of believing bigger is better -- it's only better if you value bigger above all else.

I could start nitpicking with specifics, but there's been so much sub par in my first ten hours of gameplay, it would be a laundry list. I'll list a few, though. The UI is confusing and contradictory on the PC. Sometimes you hit ESC, sometimes TAB, sometimes E, sometimes Left Alt, sometimes Enter to perform the exact same function, depending on the menu you're trying to access. Slots for weapons, buffs, etc. are hardwired to specific keys. Outside of combat bodies of friendlies impede your movement -- at one point I found myself trapped in a room because friendlies would not get out of my way and I had to reload to an earlier save. Not to mention I'm constantly tripping over the dog.

This is the most diappointing installment in the Civilization series in some time. It's hard to get beyond the ugly UI and terrain. If all you want, though, is to play Civ 5 in space and you're not concerned about the downgrade in appearance, they you'll love this game.

For a fresh look at a Civ type game, I encourage players to look at Endless Legend. Endless Legend is more innovative than anything Sid Meier has put out in a long time.