Recent reviews by Parakeet

Pros

• +An entertaining story with multiple branching paths
  
• +Several different endings depending on your choices

Cons

• -Moving around can be wonky at times and mouse inputs are not read properly at times
  
• -Poor voice acting from several characters
  
• -Some parts of the story were a bit questionable

Comments
Heavy Rain is a story focused game where you play as four different characters. The gameplay is mostly walking around for clues/events and QTE events. The story was entertaining, but some parts of it could have been done better. Overall, if you are looking for a story-based game and are okay with the QTE-based gameplay, I recommend checking this game out on sale.

Pros

• +Amazing combat system with a variety of weapons to use and three stances to change between
  
• +Plenty of loot that lets you further customize your character
  
• +Each weapon has a skill tree on top of two other skill trees for tools/spells
  
• +You’re able to co-op with other players and play through the missions together
  
• +The three major DLCs are included

Cons

• -Managing your loot can be a bit cumbersome since you’ll probably have a lot of it
  
• -The game can feel unfair at times. For example, there are some enemies/bosses with very fast attacks that do a lot of damage.
  
• -It can be easy to get lost in some levels since there’s no map
  
• -Inputs don’t register at times. This was noticeable sometimes when I tried to heal, but had to press the button multiple times for my character to actually use an elixir.
  
• -Poor enemy variety
  
• -Some levels have too many ambushes, making it tedious to have to check every corner. However, the enemy sense ability greatly helps with this.

Comments
Nioh: Complete Edition is a good game that takes inspiration from Dark Souls, Ninja Gaiden, and Diablo’s loot system. The combat feels great with three different stances to switch between when using any of the seven weapons. This gives you a lot of combos to choose from depending on the enemy you’re fighting against. The loot system allows you to create a build, such as focusing on fire damage or electricity damage.

While I really enjoyed the combat, the biggest thing that holds me back from giving this game a full recommendation is how it can feel unfair at times. A few of the regular enemies have fast attacks that can take out a significant portion of your health if you get hit. However, some of the bosses also have this issue. There were several bosses that had at least one very fast attack or combo that took out 50 to 75 percent of my health if it hit. This created frustrating moments where I either had to play super cautiously or use items/abilities that slowed the enemy down.

Overall, I give this game a cautious recommendation. The combat was a lot of fun, but the unfair moments tested my patience at times. I have read that Nioh 2 is more fair compared to this game and improves upon this game in general. However, if you are looking to spend maybe around $10 to $15, it may be worth taking a look at this game when it's on sale. Just be aware that the game can feel frustrating at times. I may update this review once I play through Nioh 2.

I only recommend getting this dlc as part of the deluxe edition or if the year one pass is on a deep discount. The Ancient Gods - Part 2 is a follow-up to part 1. This dlc also has 3 levels, so it's overall shorter compared to the first part. The hammer is introduced, which is fun to use since it stun enemies, allowing you manage the chaotic encounters better. Unfortunately, spirits from the first part make a return and two new annoying enemy types get introduced. The grey imp demons are resistant to every damage source except the hammer and auto shotgun mod. The cursed prowler, if it hits you, takes away your dash ability and you slowly lose your health until you kill it. Unfortunately, you have to kill it with a blood punch, meaning you have to chase after it. In a fast-paced game, I feel like the cursed prowler is out of place.

In addition, the final boss fight is bad since you have to wait for him to use a certain attack. Once you uses that attack, then you can attack him and deal damage. Overall, I am only recommending this dlc because the hammer is fun to use. I don't think it is as good as part 1 or the main campaign due to the new enemy types and the final boss. However, the hammer made playing through the dlc pretty fun.

I only recommend getting this dlc if the deluxe edition is on sale or if the year one pass is on a deep discount. There are three levels in The Ancient Gods - Part 1 and all of them are decently long. The first level is pretty good, but in the second level, the spirit enemy is introduced. When you fight against a spirit possessed enemy, they are faster and are tankier. This makes them tedious to fight against and once the spirit is vulnerable, you have to use a weapon mod that you probably rarely used in the main campaign in order to truly defeat them.

In addition, many of the encounters have a lot of enemies thrown at you. This makes some of the encounters chaotic. Thankfully, the slayer is fully upgraded, so this makes it a bit easier to manage these encounters, though they can still be overwhelming. Overall, while this dlc was frustrating at times, it is still good, but I don't think it's as good as the main campaign. If you do end up getting the ancient gods dlcs, consider dropping the difficulty level since it is harder than the main campaign, even at the same difficulty you played as in the main campaign.

Pros

• +Great gameplay with several weapons to use, each with their own mods and upgrades
  
• +A variety of enemies to fight against
  
• +Explorable levels, allowing you to find upgrade points and collectibles
  
• +Great soundtrack and nice graphics
  
• +Able to upgrade your suit and some of your equipment along with further customization with the rune system

Cons

• -Some fights can feel overwhelming, especially when multiple tougher enemies spawn at once
  
• -A few of the enemy types are annoying to fight against
  
• -It feels like the amount of ammo you can hold is on the lower side, even when fully upgraded

Comments
Doom Eternal is a great game with fast paced gameplay and a decently sized campaign. Throughout the campaign, you will unlock several weapons that you can freely switch between in order to defeat your enemies. Most of the weapons also have two weapon mods that you can freely switch between. These mods change the secondary function of the weapon and offers more gameplay variety. There are a variety of enemies to fight against, though a few of them can be annoying to fight against. A few of the encounters can get overwhelming since multiple strong enemy types can spawn at once. Overall, the campaign was very fun to play through.

There is also a horde mode, though it is more of an arcade mode since there aren’t endless waves. It is more level based with each level having around 2 to 4 waves and there is an ending to horde mode. It incorporates enemies from the dlc as well, though some of the waves can be overwhelming since so many enemies can spawn in. I have not tried out battle mode so I cannot comment on that.

Overall, I greatly enjoyed playing through Doom Eternal’s main campaign. If you are a fan of shooters, I highly recommend picking this game up. If the deluxe edition is on sale, I recommend getting that version instead of the standard one if it doesn’t cost much more. The deluxe edition comes with the two ancient gods dlcs, but while they are good, I did not enjoy them as much as the main campaign.

Pros

• +Nice gameplay that involves you leading your squad through enemy territory
  
• +Several different upgradeable unit types to utilize
  
• +A decent amount of enemy tower variety

Cons

• -Not much replayability outside of going for a higher score or beating all of the missions on the highest difficulty

Comments
Anomaly: Warzone Earth is a game where you lead a squad through enemy territory where the enemies are towers. If you have played tower defense games, this is basically the reverse of that where you fight against the towers. There is a decent amount of content for the price, though replayability was low for me since I did not go for the highest score. If you are a fan of tower defense games or if the idea of a reverse tower defense interests you, I recommend checking this game out, especially when it goes on sale.

Pros

• +Decent gunplay and a large variety of weapons to find and use
  
• +Low gravity lets you jump around higher and further, giving you more ways to move around
  
• +Your character talks, adding to the story
  
• +Four different characters to play as (six including the two dlc characters), each with their own skill trees

Cons

• -Loot sometimes goes flying in low gravity areas, meaning that you might not get it
  
• -Some areas feel like they are too big and feel empty. There are not many fast travel points either, making traveling tedious at times.
  
• -If you mainly focus on the main quests, you will be underleveled, meaning enemies will feel like they have quite a bit of health. You will need to do the side quests to level up, but some of these quests send you to different areas and can take a little while to complete due to the large maps. This can make the gameplay repetitive.
  
• -The main story is not that interesting

Comments
When I first started playing Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, I found it enjoyable. However, after a while, it started getting boring. The main reason is some areas feel like they are too big. In addition, there aren’t many fast travel stations, making traveling tedious at times since some side quests take you to different areas. Even some of the main quests involve you running around a lot. I cannot recommend buying Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel because of this. I did have fun playing as the Doppelganger, but the large areas, few fast travel points and quests that involve you going to different areas made me stop playing the game.

This DLC follows the story of future Trunks from the time he is training with future Gohan to some story content introduced in Dragon Ball Super that takes place after the story of future Trunks finishes in Dragon Ball Z. The main story is interesting and takes about four hours to finish. There is a also decent amount of side content to play through. Overall, this DLC is definitely worth playing through. I recommend getting it as a part of the deluxe edition or the season pass.

The first two DLCs are included with this DLC. The first part is based off of the Battle of Gods. There is very little story involved in this DLC and it mainly consists of training Goku and Vegeta. You also get exp items that you can use to quickly level up your characters. This offers a great way to quickly level your characters, but it can make the main game easy if you play through the first DLC before finishing the main game.

The second DLC is based off of Resurrection of F. There is more story involved in this DLC and it also introduces horde battles. There is a bit of side content outside of the main story as well, which is good since the main story itself is quite short.

Overall, I recommend getting this DLC as a part of the deluxe edition or the season pass, especially when they are on sale.

Pros

• +Great presentation and art style
  
• +Fun combat system, though it can feel a bit simple at first
  
• +A good amount of side content to play through
  
• +Able to fly around various areas of the world and visit several iconic areas from the show
  
• +The major cutscenes were done well, though they are locked to 30 fps

Cons

• -Some iconic scenes from the show are not present in the game. This is more noticeable during the Android Saga and is especially noticeable during the Majin Buu Saga.
  
• -The random battles during exploration can get annoying at times
  
• -Many of the sub stories are not interesting

Comments
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot revisits the main story from the Dragon Ball Z series. If you already know the main story from the show or manga, then most of the story will be familiar to you. There are substories present, but many of the ones I did were not interesting. There were some good ones though and there might be better ones that I have not done yet. The combat system felt a bit basic first, but as I gained more abilities, it became more fun. Moving around during combat also felt great. The random battles during exploration got in the way at times, especially when I was trying to complete objectives for a substory or when I was gathering materials. You can tackle enemies and auto complete battles if you are at least five levels higher than the enemy, but the battles still got in the way at times.

Overall, if you are a fan of the Dragon Ball Z series or are familiar with the series, I recommend checking this game out. If you are unfamiliar with the series, you may want to watch the show or read the manga first. However, playing Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot can also be a good introduction to the series. However, just be aware some scenes have been cut out, which is more noticeable in the Android Saga and is very noticeable during the Buu Saga. I recommend getting the deluxe edition since it comes with the three major DLCs.