Aronaar 最近的評論

You could be thinking right now " He has only played a handful of hours, and he writes a review about a JRPG ? Nonsense ! " and I understand that it can seem insufficient. I will update if I find the courage to soldier on, for now, here are my thoughts.

Edit : this is not a widely known game, so If you have time, please share your opinion. I didn't write this to bash the game and I'd like to see diverging points of view, instead of seeing silent downvotes.

Firstly, Last Dream is a successful hommage to the RPGs of old. Indeed you will get a (relative) vintage Final Fantasy vibe (nothing like FF6, but hey, comparing to a masterpiece would be unfair), what with the combat system and the available classes. It holds a quite straightforward approach.
The gameplay is basic but allocating yourself the stats boosts at each level feels more involving, together with the possibility to unlock several skills- passive abilities, spells and special combat actions. They are numberful, reasonably varied but not too terribly inventive either. Classes themselves have a gimmick to them : thieves can unlock chests in cities, black mages can warp you out of a dungeon (even if it should be an option for all parties), beastmasters can tame chocobos, etc.
The developers have been keen enough to allow the player to save anywhere and adjust the random encounters rate, as well as implementing seven levels of difficulty, wich is quite nice.

Even if it's nothing outstanding, the gameplay is not at fault. The design is already a bit. Your first quest ? Saving a woman you don't know, daughter of man you barely know, by going to some shady ruins near. Yup, she has been kidnapped by bats (yes, giant bats) for no apparent reason. The ruins have basic monsters, a cheesy puzzle, no boss (save... really weak bats) and there she is rescued, just so you can have several more starting items.
Oh, by the way, you are supposed to be someone from another world just wanting to go home, in training for one year and having befriended three generic individuals. It gives a bad feeling and for those four hours, I found absolutely nothing compelling about the story.
None of your party member ever say anything, you are pointed in vague directions (go find two random elven relics ! Gosh, can you get more cliché than that ?) and the "visions" you have reveal the beginning of a generic plot " Oh my, a demon has possesed one of the Elders, whoops we screwed up trying to banish it !"
It is difficult to relate to your characters, Last Dream just doesn't offer much incentive to go on. NPCs aren't much better : your usual bunch with 80% saying either not funny, not informative or not interesting things.

Now I perfectly get that for some players, smashing monsters, levelling up, exploring dungeons and getting loot is the meat of a JRPG. Even so, I think the gameplay is not deep enough to warrant a purchase.
See the store page for yourself, they try to make you think the game is ever so rich, just by piling numbers over numbers : " Look ! We have so much of element X, more of element Y and even more of element Z ! "
4000 party variations and 500 unique paths, for examples, are just smoke and mirror. You've gone to the mine before trekking to the oasis and not the other way around ? There's a different path. It's not like branching parts of the scenario, wich would have been interesting.
Yes, you are quite in a free-roaming world for the genre but it doesn't amount to much in the end.
The puzzles are also not mind-bending. So far, it has been pushing rocks/blocks and levers. Hourray ?

I may seem harsh, but I find the store page a bit pretentious. Four hours are sufficient to tell the narrative quality of RPG, stating that Last Dream has an in-depth, captivating storyline is simply a lie. For all I can tell, it is classic and dull, with a really poor introduction.
In the end, I think you should be really craving for a simple JRPG to overlook such flaws. It's not bad game, just far from the quality it thinks it shows.

I expected Magic 2015 with high hopes, and a part of them were deceived. Is that iteration horrible ? Not quite, but it has some glaring flaws. Let's check the features.

- The campaign : you start out with a two-couloured deck of your choice (without the opportunity to look at its content, even if you can reselect your starting deck before confirming your choice). Are they weak ? Not 'enter the dracomancer' weak but in general I'd say there are less effective than the average preconstructed deck you can buy IRL.
Is this a big obstacle ? Not so much. It's manageable "even" on Planeswalker difficulty (mayhap not all the way) and soon enough you can grind for cards.
So the start is slow, but acceptable. Encounters are not fix events, wich can be refreshing. The AI can be quite screwed.
So, no, it doesn't cheat that horribly and doesn't always have the right cards at the right time.

- Obtaining new cards. Apparently there are a lot of complaints about this, but it's not more time-consuming than before. For one, you don't get cards one by one, wich was unnerving before- moreso when you know you're going to unlock a bad card, or a card you already unlocked and won't use. Seriously, there were tonn many useless cards in 2014 (and before).
Here, you get boosters- not 15 cards, but as the pool of cards stands, it is enough.
Once you have reached a certain point in the campaign, you can 'explore' the Planes- random encounters granting you boosters upon victory.
Sure you'll get cards you do not want, but it will cater to several decks, and IRL, that's the same thing- you can't always be lucky.
On a negative note- the "premium cards" can only obtained by paying. Are they super special awesome ? Not really (good luck playing the angel needing one mana of each colour, for example) but it souldn't be there in the first place.

- Multiplayer. Works nicely, albeit (if I'm not wrong) that you cannot turn off the "AI takeover" feature. Well, in any case, I do no think you wil regret the sealed deck mode. More saddening is that 2HG is also out of the window, for no good reason. Only free-for-all remains, no special mode added, or the return of Archenemy. For the main dish of the game, it's a tad bit disappointing.

- UI. Things are a bit quicker durind the duels, but the main menu should have all the icons on one page, instead of the tedious scroll back and forth.

- Deckbuilding. Finally, it's there ! You can sort cards any way you want, and it includes all the stats you should need to evaluate your creations. Goodbye restraints, welcome creativity. It's a real pleasure to build your own deck and upgrade it over time. Two problems, though.
First : the available pool is not so large, around 300 cards. You might think that for 10€ (the only thing the 32€ version will do is nullify 99% of the grinding, as all collections will be available) it's perfectly reasonable. But it's directly related to...
Second : the overall quality of the pool is not really sexy. I know that they were complaints for 2014 : unbalanced decks, anti-creature fest, etc.
All of it has been toned down- a bit too much, in my humble opinion. I don't crave sheer power like Glory of Avacyn, but when you see cards as pathetic as the 3/1 black goblin for 3 mana putting three cards of your library into the graveyard when it is summoned, or creatures as bland as a 2/2 white soldier without any ability, it's a bit disappointing.

I presume we shall already be happy that deckbuilding is implementend ; nonetheless, I think there's still a bit too much "taking the trash out" over " why, look at all the possibilities there !"

> CONCLUSION <

I do not advise to stay away from the game by a large margin. Newcomers will find plenty to enjoy, and the game contains sufficient help to make them learn. It's not a pay to win either. But even for intended casual games, one could feel the game should offer a stronger pool (without having to pay for even a mere fraction of it !) and add other multiplayer features.
For 10€, it is not a rip-off, but we'll have to wait for future content to see if it can become really good.
Like, you know, a decently expanded pool ?

TL ; DR : Nice concept but weak game in all its aspects, repetitive and overpriced.


You will read here and there that Omerta suffered from a lot of backlash. Is it justified ? Mostly, yes. But first, what's this all about ?
You start as a sicilian pursuing his own version of the American dream : becoming a Don in Atlantic City, durin the prohibition era. Of course there are already mafia representatives here, but without big surprises, it won't stop your ascension.
The setting is refreshing and of course reminiscent of the Godfather, with all the shadowy dealings hidden under a face of respectability and honourable principles, while never being half as interesting as the Corleone's story.
There's humor here and there, some sound attempts, but in the end, nothing deep.

For Omerta, you see, is really a light game, in all its aspects. Even for a management game, the graphics are leaning towards mediocre, with the city mostly lifeless, save some cars and silent citizens.
The crux of the game, the management part, also lacks greatness. You take over/buy premises, joints, construct buildings (boxing areas, speakeasy to sell beer and liquor, casino, bookmaker...), managing your income in both dirty and clean money. Unless you have specific objectives, the activities you'll make will likely be globally the same mission after mission : there's no serious planning to build a solid economy.
You have to be wary of the heat (police interest for your activities), but even if it reaches 5 stars, a small bribe will wipe it all away. Besides, you gain money quite easily, so sending your gang for burglars, heists, etc., is not so beneficial.

You also have queries, refreshed every now and often, wich is just soulless trading- and there are only three resources : beer, liquor and firearms. It begs for variety, but there is not much to find in Omerta, wich is commiting a grave sin : being repetitive and prone to bore you.
Why ? Well, because of all the waiting. You don't manage much (once buildings are owned, you can do two upgrades, stopping or abandonning the activity is a weird choice), the cash flows in without much input on your part. So you wait for the queries to be done, the buildings to be acquired or built, the money to roll in, your gang members to accomplish their tasks. No speed button, by the way !

Then you have the combats, a breeze of fresh air. I saw someone comparing it to X-Com, but let's be serious : they don't play in the same category. It's a light tactical, with different classes of "units", special powers, different types of actions, more than the bare minimum but still nothing stellar. Cover is of some use, there's a morale system (without a great impact), in the end, as for the management, serious thinking is not needed. Battles go as smoothly as the rest.
Still, it breaks the monotonous vibe of the title...

Good luck finding someone in multiplayer mode, and the replay value is more or less a moot point, with all the routine and lack of challenge. In a way it's quite soothing. But when you know that Kalypso, of Tropico fame, is behind the project, one cannot help but think they didn't put much effort into it !
All in all, the potentiel is drowned into a sea of blandness. I'd advise not to try unless on -75% discount.
A bit or irony that a game named Omerta, "code of silence", has itself rusted away without a sound...

As it is custom with big licenses, Star Wars had many video games offsprings, and amongst them, KotOR still stands out.
It captures well the atmosphere of the universe and, even if the plot is not that deep (while there is a moral dilemma related to the Force, a big and nicely crafted one, most of the game is like a treasure chase to find something long forgotten).
The gameplay is solid, with a D&D-like system for the stats and combat, dialogues are mostly well written, som characters are pure platinum (HK-47, you exquisite sociopath assassin droïd !), there are loads of fun...
But while I adore this game and would strongly recommend it for any Star Wars fan, I think it a bit too much lauded, moreso when KotOR II did everything better.

So if you are tempted, I'd warn you about some real weaknesses of the game ; how much they weigh in the balance is up to you.

- On the technical domain, it shows its age. Nothing horrid but be prepared for some atrocious eyeballs and clothes (like someone just sprayed paint on a mannequin), aliens of a same species looking all the same except for some color swap, and a lot, lot of clones. Be prepared to see Bob the human many a time.

- The level cap is low (20, combining your pre-jedi class and your jedi-class) meaning that you'll probably reach it way before the final... And it can be frustratring to keep slaughtering enemies in such a gain, when you don't gain anything anymore out of it.

- Related to that, the game is too easy. The beginning, pre-Jedi, can be a little tricky at times, but after Taris you will seldom face tough encounters. HK-47 is a beast in combat and a trio of Jedis is quite formidable too. And unfortunately, the final boss is pathetic.

- The game can be at times a little... Goofy. Sometimes it's because of the dialogues (the "impossiiiiiiiible" from the trial on the aquatic planet is magical), sometimes because of the karma system (light side/ dark side). It, well, lacks of subtelty. Chase off kids tormenting a Ithorian, give him a medkit ? Light side points. Slaughter Tuskens ? Dark side points. Quite manichean.
Worse : near the end, you can make a decision cleaning off the slab, towards dark or light side, don't mind that you acted on the polar opposite all along.

- Carth whines so much you might want to impale him with a lightsaber.

All in all it shouldn't deter you, but my humble feeling is that it's quite enough to makes KoTOr fall from a position of excellence. Still, even factoring all this, it's worth playing it, would it be only to be prepared for KoTOr II !

Timeshift is the prime example of a good concept (time manipulation) badly rendered. The story in itself is utterly slim and unattractive (and with quite the erratic narrative) : a scientist, Krone, decied to found his own empire in an alternate timeline and you go after him. The end. No surprises, no twist, no incentive to continue.
The hero is a soulless mute, joining the Resistance just because and being ordered around, while nobody bats and eyelid at a suit guy appearing from nowhere and able to manipulate time around him.
There's a grand total of two timejumps !

But well, story is not meant to be the strongest point of a FPS. Problem is, the gameplay is also lacking. Not that it plays badly- on the opposite, it plays quite smoothly. But the game is far too easy. Your ability to slow time, combined with the quick regeneration of your health and a genous cooldown for time-controlling abilities, makes you near-invulnerable if you stay cautious. The game compensates by unleashing hordes of brainless soldiers, but it just makes the fights longer, not more interesting.
The puzzles are short of anything creative. A puddle of electrified water ? Stop the time, the water is solidified, go unscathed. The bridge is collapsing ? Activate return, walk on it as it goes back in time for your needs. It won't challenge your intellect, rest assured.

The weapons feel good, especially the explosive crossbow, but in the end you feel like you spend most of your times pushing buttons and going back. Cooke, the leader of the Resistance, yelling at you every twenty seconds in some sections till you accomplish the objective is quite unnerving.
The game is mercifully rather short- about 8 hours, without replay value. In a way, it's quite soothing because you stomp the ennemies with your arsenal and slow time capacity, but it was really clunky and uninspired at the time, it's not better now.
If you want a FPS with the Time them and a good dose of humor, try Time Splitters : Future Perfect. Else, even Singularity is more convincing than Timeshift : at least you interact with the world, you're not a mute puppet in a suit.

Surely Saber Interactive is doing better now, but then they have also produced Battle Los Angeles... Not the brightest past.

Mobile-to-PC port seem quite the trend, and it is a trend loaded with mild or deep failures. Do The Fall escapes this fate ?
While I choosed the "recommend" option, my judgement is more mitigated than that.

First, the game is not as instable as it is commonly said. Yes, they are some bugs- rarely the sound of a dialogue is skipped, sometimes doing a takedown can send an enemy through the environment, or (and there it's unnerving) the games seem to go forward or backward in space without any reason every now and then. It's far from being technically ideal, but it's not unplayable.
That said, like everyone else, I would have appreciated the option of remapping the keys - when you do not have an american keyboard, it's really awkward, but I got over it.

So yeah, even if with the graphics it's quite okay, there's ground for resentment against the game. But the most important is : you still get the Deus Ex vibe. The story is not anything as compelling as Human Revolution's one, Ben Saxon, the ex-Tyrant you play as, is far from being as charismatic as Jensen, but you can have the feeling of this dysfunctional world, and the conspiracy atmosphere.
Of course, it wouldn't be enough without the gameplay, and The Fall manages to keep the core of it : lethal, non-lethal or a mix of both, the pleasure to grow in power with the praxis points, the multiple possibilites to get through an area, the dialog options, the sidequests with several possible outcomes, etc.
Honestly, of all it is a bit watered down. Well, that's what you get when you can purchase weapons, items and ammo anytime you want, and the bodies all disappear even if you took them down without killing them. The alternative paths are easier to find than in Human Revolution, and well...

It lacks challenge. Hacking still rules, and at one point I was sitting on 9 Praxis points ; even without buying you get too much ammo (I was hauling more than 70 shotgun cartridges), having no inventory limitation really ease up the whole thing.
So why recommend it ? Part of it is because I'm quite fed up with the reviews displaying less than an hour played and just a handful of lines bashing the game.
No, the Fall is far from being excellent. But considering it was on mobile platforms, it's doing an honest job and can deliver some fun. The port could be very, very worse, and the pricing is fair... Well, IF the continuation comes for free. The first part lasts roughly 4-5 hours and 10€ would be a tad bit excessive just for that.

As silly as it sounds, in the end, I'd be more in favor of a 'neutral' review. See those facts for yourself, if like me you were looking forward to some more human revolution-like experience, you might appreciate The Fall, with an open mind. I reckon some tolerance is in order to savor it. If you have Android or Ios, there's not much point buying it- but the same can be said about Plague Inc. Evolved or many other ports.

The premises of Plague Inc are enjoyable - you're a pathogen with a simple wish, the eradication of all humanity. You start by infecting a patient zero on a country of your choosing, then get DNA points by several ways to upgrade your illness- tranmission by water, resistance against cold, symptoms like sneezing in order to increaser infectivity, etc.
It is certainly fun to watch humanity being more and more infected with your plague, until (in most cases) you decide to evolve it in a deadly strain.

However, there are several problems ruining the fun. If winning grants you new plagues and genes to enhance them (like increasing infectivity in arid areas), half of the plagues are too similar and thus are played accordingly : you wait until everyone is infecte, then you fuse the "bomb" to kill'em all.
Virus is funnier because it mutates like crazy and humanity will be likely to develop a cure before everyone's infected. The worm, able of thought control (like going to another country of your choice, wich is a tad bit broken) is quite fun too, the nano-virus and the bioweapon both play with humanity rushing to develop a cure.

As is stands now, there are not enough variety, strategies are often the same, plus a lack of interactivity. You wait more than anything in this game, the random events do not make this much more lively. Sure, it's only alpha, and it's to be hoped that the multiplayer will be solid, and the scenarios interesting enough.
Because, quite frankly and currently, no, 14€ is not worth it. At all. Especially not when you know that Pandemic II had the same global idea (and was a free web-browser game) and the original game costed 0,99€.

I don't particularly feel entitled as to say what price is right. But one day, I'd love to see a detailed and honest document, summing up the costs a of a mobile to PC port. Plague Inc was hugely acclaimed and sold millions upons millions of copies on mobiles- if the developer wants to extend his market on PC, why being so greedy ?
Even with all the updates promised, I'm not sure that such a price will be justified. I have my doubts about the "hyper-realistic" aspect of the simulation and watching graphs is neither my idea of fun or depth.

Not to say that the game is horrible, but overpriced. If you are interested, I'd advise the following things : buy it on a mobile or Ios if you possess one, or wait for the final version and a sale to acquire it on Steam.

The game certainly has unique features, but is still very far from being excellent, although the beginning is promising. For once you do not play as the namesake of the game, but her servant - a "lowly" male by the Amazon's standard, or a female elf (both slaves), accompanying her to go rescue her mother. You make some choices about your past actions and here you go for your stats boost. And the whole thing is very verbose, as promised.
Problem being that for a game mostly a visual novel (the RPG aspect is just there to flesh out a bit the adventure), the story is too standard. After rescuing Loren's mother, you learn that Evil lurks. And yes, once again, it's an Evil that was already vanquished in the past, but as everyone know, there's not a soul in the multiverse able to properly seal any evil being whatsoever. Fost, said Evil is uninteresting and cliché.
Let's be honest, for the game's lenght, the background is detailed enough, but still... Too classic. Elves antagonizing humans, orcs, dwarves, dark elves, demons aplenty, lizardmen, etc., things we have seen a bijillion times before. And if there are some talks about tolerance and all that, do not expect much subtelty from the plot, neither originality. Gather all the nations, go to the Big Bad's lair, insert fights, slay said Big Bad, get the girl, the end.

Now the dialogs are quite decent, and some characters are delightful, like the female dwarf Dora (beg yer pardon, totally not a thief !) or the snarky dark witch Chambara. For what I saw, the romances are pleasant too- up to six possibilities, and yes, you can flirt with characters of the same gender as yours.
Concerning the dialog options, you will have three most of the time : joking, friendly or forceful. Of course other people will react differently depending on your choices, I couldn't estimate if having a majority in one kind really forged a real reputation, but that may very well be.

And where does the gameplay fit in all this ? Well, you'll have a great number of fights, six VS six at maximum, with some scripted ones (like having only two members in your roster). Back row cannot be targeted by melee attacks while there are still at least one unit in the front row, wich make it ideal for missile units (bow/magic). On your right you can see in what order characters and ennemies will act, then plan accordingly. There are three classes (warrior, thief, mage), and each of your characters has a skill tree rendering him unique, like the druid being able to cast a heal spell on all a row.
Thieves can use mana for special arrows (fire, ice...), warriors can force an enemy to switch position with one on the back row, etc. Insert potions when needed.
All in all it plays smoothly, but I really fail to see the claim of the developers : there's nothing hardcore in it. If anything, it's quite casual and simple, not much strategy is involved. Money and equipment are not being scarce, the game is quite easy. Towns have an infinite amount of replayable tasks for money, XP and discount at the local shop ; making the possibility of skipping the odd random encounters sound.

Now, I'm one of those stressing the value of story over gameplay for RPG, a reason why Planescape Torment is one of my eternal favorites. But I must insist : the game's intrigue has been seen too often to really be epic. The lack of artworks is rather grueling in that regard, many scenes would have benefited from a dedicated drawing to better depict them. Decently fleshed out characters (the personal quests help) cannot alone bring all the appeal. This not to say a simple story is something bad, here, it's just lacking in a genre where it should shine.

One great flaw is the DLC. I do not know about you, but 17 buckazoids is already a bit steep a price. 6€ for content which could (and should) have been in the vanilla game is a blatant rip-off. You'll even get a message in the base game stating that you could recruit Chambara and a certain monk, but, hey, show the money first ! Worse, those two characters can have a crucial impact on the game's ending, wich is just wrong.

And as for the replay value ? Yes, you can still change the starting character, romance other people, make a few other choices... But is it really worth going back to the same story without any surprise ? The game itself is not sure of that, as you can skip all the dialogs you want, and have cheat mode enabling you to win all the battles once you have completed the game for the first time.

I was intrigued by the aspect of Loren the Amazon Princess at the start and still enjoyed it. It made me think of a Fighting Fantasy gamebook with actual character development.
But if you are tempted, my advise would be to wait for a special promotion like -50%. 14 hours-ish of a classic plot (DLC accounted for) with marginal gameplay and satisfying protagonists are just not enough to be worthy of such a price. "Two novel's worth of in-game text", by the way, is quite meaningless : are we talking 100-ish pages sized novels, or Stephen King's sized novels ?

I'm both a Jr-RPG and T-RPG fan, and when I saw Agarest at a sexy price, well, I couldn't resist. The principle of several generations fighting the same menace lured me in. And I can definetely see how and why T-RPG fans might like. Prefering the likes of Fire Emblem, I, however, am not among those who appreciate the thought of spending tremendous amount of times (I mean, 50 hours is already quite good for me).
But enough about what I like and don't like, you don't care much about it and you're right. What about the game ?

Well, if you wanted some originality, you're off the mark. It begins by the overused trope of Evil getting back to work and people trying to stop itn because Evil beings are not famed to be too people-friendly, ya know. You start off with Leo, a former general from Gridamas, who swore to protect a elf girl he never knew before and is put to death in the process. But never fear ! Random divine being walks by and offers him life, if only he accepts to be her servant, and all his offspring after him, to become "soul vessels".
Well, that's it : you assemble a party and fight the different minions of Summerill (seriously, it's his name), the Lord of Darkness trying to get back to business, i.e. destroying the world, because Evil is Evil, I guess. Then you dot it four more times on four other continents, with a different generation each time.

I won't lie : they are funny moments and the writing is not that bad. Alas, you can still see where it all leads and it remains too classic. And the whole gimmick about choosing a partner in order to produce the next poor dude whose soul will be used to seal one of the five towers of darkness (yeah, right) is not that a big thing. You make some choice for gaining affection with the three ladies available, sometimes you don't understand why it sets you on the Dark and Light pattern, then at the end of the generation you pick one. The impact on gameplay it that your son will have a different weapon mastery and stats depending on your wife.

In theory, it calls for replay value, yes ? Well, no, it's not mandatory. See, it would have been wonderful if the gameplay was solid AND interesting. But honestly it is not that much, maps are tiny and so often the same it's painful, you have AP, skills to use, the possibility to link characters to produce devastating combos ; you can craft new weapons and enhance them, there's also titles to be had, monsters to capture...
But all in all, if you've played Final Fantasy Tactics, it is likely to appear limited. Repetitive battles don't help : on the world map, you will be forced to go through countless storyless and dull battles, sometimes four in a row. Even if you clear them in one turn (the game sure expects you to do so, if you want a S rank to boost a lot your gains in XP, money and such) it's still about five minutes that feel like a hack'n'slash on a grid.
Sure you will need the XP and other earnings, but the truth is those battles represent 80% of all fights. No kidding. And the "boss battles" are the cherry on top of two or more generic battles with some minions harder than usual, you have to do the whole thing in a row without healing between each session. OK, there's more challenge, still : not so really tactical.

As for the dungeons, they feel out of place. You jump around badly rendered 3-D environments for some more random battles and some items locked in chests. Huzzah ! Add to his too few environment artworks for dialogues purpose, and a great soundtrack but becoming hastily redundant.
So, yeah, maybe there's one-hundred hours worth of gameplay in this game if you want to do everything and grind like hell. I must admit I'm kinda tired of seeing excessive length as a praise. Because there, it's excessive with all the repetitive and obligatory battles.

Agarest is not downright horrible but you would have to be patient and lenient to fully appreciate it. And even then, I would only recommend it at half the price.