Recent reviews by Salacious

I just finished watching the series finale of The Grand Tour and decided to come back and play this.

I then heard about the shutting down of The Crew 1, and realized The Crew 2 probably doesn't have long.

I have one final achievement to get, which is complete 40 photo op locations. I guess I'll be re-installing this to go on one last "Grand Tour" of my own in this game so I can 100% the achievements and take one last look around while the game is still a living and breathing environment.

I'm going to return my favorite car to stock so things will take longer, and I can enjoy the scenery without being tempted to go insanely fast. Might instead buy something I haven't driven before and leave my favorite as it was.

It's been a blast, The Crew 2.

Thanks for the laughs, thrills, and broken monitors/keyboards through the years. :srgearbox:

(Originally posted by myself in a Steam Discussions topic asking if Pay Day 3 is better than 2)

This is a mixed bag for me. Pages of typing incoming.

I have 624 hours in Pay Day 2, and 130 hours in Pay Day 3.
I've had Pay Day 2 since late 2015 and for Pay Day 3 I have Gold Pre-order.

TL;DR at bottom.

Starting with the main course of the game for me, stealth: I can't go back to Pay Day 2 Stealth. Pay Day 3 has added/fixed/re balanced many of the complaints I had about 2's system.

-Guards don't give a ♥♥♥♥ about you being in public spaces unmasked, as it should have always been. Same for cameras (except for the modifier on some harder difficulties). You get caught in a private space unmasked? You get escorted out to a public space, just don't run from the guard if spotted and follow him close.
-Camera looping is now able to be done remotely
-Some heists can be done completely unmasked, all the way through extraction. If playing with others you can even have someone mask up while another or others chill and mark guards or haul loot to the van, keeping the masked player(s) out of the public eye.
-Working off of the last point you can even lock pick, crack safes, use keypads etc while unmasked. The casing mode is almost chefs kiss except for the fact you can't jump until you mask on. I really don't have any negatives about stealth except for the Lead Guard's infinite pager and the not being able to jump in casing mode parts, but both are avoidable.

Now for loud... Loud has been absolutely gutted and butchered. In general the fun has been removed and it feels like a grind.

-Health builds in 3 are still virtually useless since release, whereas in 2 you can do some amazing and crazy builds that almost make you invincible if you know what you're doing.
-Armor has received a worthy buff in 3 at release but has since been kneed in the nads a few times.
-The gun play is meh, and most guns feel like you're hitting enemies with an airsoft or BB gun. Headshots are mandatory even moreso than in 2. Absolute bullet sponge simulator.
-In 2, you can play like you're smoking rocks and run around guns blazing akimbo shotguns etc. In 3 you have to be more tactical and use cover smartly because your skin is made of wet paper, and your armor is made of thin cardboard. You're also taking high doses of blood thinner medication.
-Bots have become completely brain dead. They contribute very little to a loud mission. in 2, bots at least were competent and *almost* could fill in for an empty player slot. Their only use in 3 is to hold loot bags you throw at them to help you transfer the bags faster.
-There is more, I just have not played loud much recently to remember what else to complain about. Stealth is much more enjoyable and rewarding in my opinion.
-2 had jokers. You take cops hostage and convince them to join you. I miss my joker buddies... Maybe some day they will return to 3.

Now onto general UI things, cosmetics, customization etc...

-The UI in 2 is way more user friendly, and also makes use of crime (dot) net. God I miss crime (dot) net in 3.
-In 2, your gun stats are conveyed in number form. Very easy to understand, see changes, and figure out what weapon mods you would like equipped. In 3 the stats are conveyed in bars like a graph. The system is just a mess. Many weapon mods seem not worth having at all.
-In 3 the cosmetic customization for weapon coloration and skins etc seem decently similar, i do not have any real complaints here nor for masks. One thing about masks in 3 though is they're all awkward half head masks, as a hockey goalie would wear. Some masks from 2 (chibi kitteh) used to be full head, like a full face motorcycle helmet or mascot head; but now in 3 they have been awkwardly converted to the goalie mask style. I personally hate this change.
-Pay Day 2 also is moddable with custom HUDs, displays, loot bag skins, character models, etc. However keep in mind many players do not want to play with modded players so keep it to yourself or a group of friends. Pay Day 3 says mods are a bannable offense. I really hope this changes in the future.

That's pretty much everything off the top of my head.

>>>>>Here's my TL;DR:<<<<<

Get Pay Day 2 if you want to play loud style run and gun content, and maybe dip your toes into stealth here and there.

Get Pay Day 3 if you want to play stealth and sneak around, maybe occasionally playing loud missions.

Friendly reminder that these are all just my opinions. I would definitely recommend giving both a try, and keeping an eye on your play time so you can return the games if you don't like them.

Both games are fun in their own way. Clown reward me or whatever for saying this but I'm still hopeful for the future. Don't ♥♥♥♥ up stealth though or this review is changing to negative.

Labor of Love? Funniest joke of 2023 and into 2024. Game is dead and has been. Give this award to a game who deserves it. Tiny bug patches here and there don't count as a labor of love. Generation Zero and Pay Day 3 are doing a better job than you clowns with Red Read Redemption 2 and that is saying something.

Used to recommend, switching to "probably not."

Starting on a positive note, I am really excited for the progression system and the game has been a lot of fun up to this point (pre tempest).

However...

I extremely dislike how much the devs are nerfing casual players and catering to the MLG pros who watch a plate get thrown and calculate the speed/trajectory then pull a ghost type out of their ass and get it right. Why should casual players be punished for wanting to, you know, hunt ghosts? Actually USE the equipment and find evidence? Isn't that the main content of the game, not walking in with a lighter and guessing? I'm fine with harder modes being put in, I know people need challenges and all that. But FFS don't nerf casual players so much.

Really dumb how you can have a way more difficult custom game mode than nightmare or w/e and then have it reduce to 4x or 5x because you chose to have 3 evidences and be able to use THE GHOST HUNTING EQUIIPMENT. YOU KNOW, FOR HUNTING GHOSTS? If anything, bringing gear in is more risky because if you die your ♥♥♥♥ is gone and you have to re buy it. The MLG types lose nothing if they die except some still cameras and a lighter.

Last side note, broken power box and flashlights on DO NOT conflict! Having flashlights: on does NOT enable the ghost to turn the room lights on or flicker them so it can be found easier. Flashlights: on does NOT enable the ghosts to mess with the fuse box. All flashlights: on does is allow you to see more than half a meter in front of you. It is fine to have an extra bonus for shutting flashlights off with fuse box broken, but please re-enable the bonus for flashlights: on with fuse box broken.

TL;DR: Casual players are getting shafted for hunting ghosts, and MLG players get to expand dong further with their guesses. But at least we get progression, yay.

...Not like progression will matter. Up-gradable tools? Why bother, when you get ♥♥♥♥ tier rewards for using them...

<RANT RESUMES>

Let's also add in a "no ghost" scenario! That will give the MLG players a challenge! Who knows if the foundation is just uneven, and the cabinet doors just open sometimes? Or maybe a draft blew the door open or slammed it? Fuse box: on, eh? Maybe the houses wiring got chewed on by mice/rats and the lights flicker? Maybe a mouse knocked that cup over when you weren't looking? Or that noise you heard, a raccoon or bats in the attic? Dirty water in the sink? Maybe it hasn't been used in a while and the valve finally corroded away some, filling the sink basin with sediment? Let's add a non-removable shame counter for when people guess its a ghost but actually its just a house in severe disrepair and the home owner/team was paranoid for nothing.

Matchmaking is God awful and so is the community, if you struggle don't even bother mentioning it. People just tell you the typical useless mouth breathing troll comments:
"Git gud"
"Lol u need 2 point da gun at da enemy!"
"Are you even pressing the button you have bound to shoot?"
"You're already rank 10 and still don't have a positive K/D in a match? You're trash!"
Well, you awful tryhard community:
//////YOU WIN.\\\\\\
I've taken the only advice I found USEFUL, and have uninstalled and won't be coming back. Good riddance to myself as well as you. I deal with enough ♥♥♥♥ already and don't need it in a damn game.

Go right on ahead and check off the "funny" box. Prove me right.

If you love getting cucked on the final boss(es!) before you can obliterate and get a cosmetic, this game is for you! Nothing like having 20 clay gunners turn you into swiss cheese within 0.05 seconds of spawning. I for one, am probably the biggest cuck around! This game is perfect for me. It makes me think I'll get somewhere but slaps me, ties me down, and says "ah, ah, ahh! Not for you, back to the beginning :)" fantasies fulfilled 11/10 would buy again, I always come back for more despite not ever getting anything in return.

Gameplay is good, however if there aren't dev/admin hosted events running don't bother playing unless you're meme trash. May as well fire up Call of Duty or something, the experience will be the same (except it will go faster). No modders that I've seen, but people can't get their heads around the fact that this isn't a typical rooty tooty point and shooty ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥. This game has class and should be treated as such. Disappointed in a majority of the community. Refunding for now, may buy again later if I find that the community has matured and the meme trash has left (one and the same).

Oh god... Just play the first Hotline Miami and love it for what this series used to be. Wrong Number seems like they took what people liked from the first, and them amplified it 2000%, which makes it absolutely unbearable. It's like someone who is naturally funny, and then you point it out, and then they try extra hard to be even more funny and then they're not funny anymore, just annoying.

"Ohh, oh oh! The players really like how you have to think quick! Let's make it so right at the start of the level you have to kill someone 3 feet away from you, and then right as you kill the enemy 2 more walk into the room along with a dog! Yeah, let's put that in! Oh, we could also make it happen almost every other level! The players will LOVE IT!!!!"

That aside, NPCs are way too RNG in what they do. I keep clipping on invisible walls, melee weapons will sometimes go *through* the enemy, this game is just a hot mess. Don't even get me started on the story... Just stick with Hotline Miami if you loved it.

I'm only keeping this because I got it for about $3.50, and I need the DLC unlocks in PayDay2.

Game is fun enough and has a nice art style, game plays similar to Binding of Isaac. I feel it does some aspects better, things like the items: their powers, getting them, having a choice at the end of a round if you can afford it, etc.

Pros:

+Easy on the eyes

+Quite easy to learn, yet difficult to master

+Seems to play well without issues

+Decent item variety

+Easy to understand stats (fire rate, damage, crit chance, movement speed, etc nothing cryptic like 'The Ring of Jeshire shall bring you great fortune!' and it really means you gain a little bit of crit chance, but it never says this so you always think you get more money. Or, 'The Hood of Dodongus will take you bowlink with your cousin on tuesdays' who the hell can even guess what stat something like that would bring? Nah, no need to deal with that ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ here. Just SMART items such as 'Surgery: Gain double damage, but lose 1 HP at the start of every round' and (memory is failing me, this probably isn't exact) 'Fireworks: +20% fire rate'.



Cons:

-Game is either a walk in the park, or ball achingly hard. There is no in-between. Pray to RNGeesus and he might deliver unto you.

-Seems like there is never enough in game currency to go around, unless you get a certain item which takes your health down to 1 but gives you money at the start of each round.

-Game is fairly short

-Controls feel somewhat clunky and cumbersome or sluggish, sort of like having play in the steering wheel of your car. You turn it and it doesn't do anything for a half turn, but then eventually the car reacts and it starts to turn. Speed up items fix this feeling of slop, but the game still shouldn't feel so much like a run down $400 beater you bought for winter.


TL;DR: Game is pretty fun, just give it a chance.

I really wanted to like this game. Granted I didn't check out all the features, but the ones I did check out seemed kind of buggy. Rotary swapped my sedan, wanted to check out what exhaust parts were available and blew all my money upgrading and removing without realizing I was spending money. I then picked a map to try and earn some money, and it felt very alone and desolate. Not to mention you earn money pennies at a time, IF you don't tap the edge of the track. Was in the middle of finally holding a drift that was more than just a slalom, and the car flipped into the air and rolled for about 12 seconds. That all said though, I feel this game has potential somewhere down the road.