Recent reviews by Paul Harrell

Game is fun, but doesn't launch anymore after new updates. Tried a ton of fixes/reinstalls (can't edit ini, there is no ini for some reason) and it just wont launch. Same error every time.

Fatal error: [File:C:/buildWork/482dc7ffae9b9a8a/UnrealEngine/Engine/Source/Runtime/Windows/D3D11RHI/Private/D3D11Util.cpp] [Line: 258] Direct3DDevice->CreateComputeShader((void*)CodePtr, CodeSize, nullptr, Shader->Resource.GetInitReference()) failed at C:/buildWork/482dc7ffae9b9a8a/UnrealEngine/Engine/Source/Runtime/Windows/D3D11RHI/Private/D3D11Shaders.cpp:356 with error E_INVALIDARG

Fix your game please.

Game has awful networking and then bans you for hours at a time for connection timeouts. Not happy with my purchase so far. Sometimes connecting to matches actually disables my ethernet controller completely, forcing me to do a full reset on my pc to regain internet access.

I paid money to play this game and I'm being punished because YOUR servers wont connect me, and they even nuke my ethernet connection?

How infuriating!

EDIT: I contacted 343 support and they told me to update my bios, something I've never been asked to do. After confirming my bios is already at the latest drivers/version I replied that my bios wasn't the issue and they basically told me to get bent and just wait for 343 to update the game on their end. I've played too much single player campaign to return the game but if I could I certainly would. 343 does not deserve your money for this!

DO NOT BUY THIS TRASH GAME

The game's engine values regarding combat (swing/windup times, armor spd/dmg values) are very broken and represent a different problem than the ballerina combat of chivalry. The combat boils down to the victor being decided by either who lands the most "insta" accel swings (manipulating swing animation to shrink the parry window to shorter levels beneath above-avg reaction times) or by whoever panic parries first. Weapons like the messer and cleaver are highly abused by players that accel spam. The stab feint is absolutely unreadable. New players will be completely confused and driven away by these issues. The tutorial is useless and does not accurately prepare new players for the pvp combat system that is riddled with as many exploits that not only exist but are accepted by the devs.

Dueling servers are some of the most toxic game servers I've found online. Admins and regulars on these servers are miserable and they *will* let you know. Had to google how to votekick someone (toxic rdm) because there isn't an option in-game. Even then bAdmins will not ban/kick their rule-breaking sycophants because they value their discord clout over trying to retain their already dwindling playerbase.

Beware; Sportmanship is nigh non-existent in this game infested with angry, angry simps and femboys.

The game has no autobalance other than team count. So the game can have all of the skilled players on one team that absolutely annihilates the other team and there will be no autobalance based on skill.

After doing research, it's apparent that the dev team (Particularly "Crush", who is in charge of balancing the game) is just a discord clique that is resting on their laurels and do not listen to community feedback whatsoever. They'd rather chat with their sycophantic simps and brown nosers than fix their game. It's honestly a disgrace considering how simple it is to fix this game.

If you want a game that will make you rage(in a bad way), this is for you.

tl;dr
Cool concept, pretty fun gameplay, but has some major flaws in it's combat and core community that would make this a hard pass for me if I didn't receive it as a gift. The combat is addicting but once you see through the major exploits (and deal with toxic playerbase), you're forced to either die a hero (play without abusing exploits, get destroyed and trolled by higher lvl players) or see yourself become the villain and box yourself into abusing exploits to get kills. There is a reason a game this innovative doesn't have a real competitive scene as well as a dwindling server population.

Huge download (for all the skins) and skins affect gameplay making it pay to win. Don't waste your time with this trash.

This is the most refined, yet weakest GTA game yet.

Story 5/10

I love Rockstar's parody of modern SoCal. The world is rich with detail and stories told visually for the player to experience. The character animations, facial expressions, and mocap performances are top notch. Trevor is by far the best character to play as in the game. Michael is well acted, and his writing is memorable. Franklin is only beaten by Lamar for the worst character in this game. Franklin's motivations are weak, his writing is weak, his missions (those tow truck missions where you have to help and listen to tweakers, just god awful) are weak, and the performance was weak. Carl Johnson is my favorite GTA character, and Young Maylay did a great job with his performance. I cannot say the same for Franklin. The antagonist Devin Westin was lackluster. At least in GTA 4 Jimmy Pegorino either kills Roman or Kate, giving the player an emotional incentive to kill the antagonist. Vlad is ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ your cousin's girl, loansharking him and hustling you. Dimitri convinced you to kill Mikael out of fear for your lives, but used you and betrayed you. With GTAV, I do not see the same level of player engagement with its' antagonists. GTAIV would also give the player moral choices that had very little gameplay reactions, but for the player it gave them the opportunity to put themselves into the character they are playing as. Not so in V.

I enjoy the concept of switching characters, but I wish that it was more freeform and less scripted during missions. Although the mission design obviously improves with every iteration, it still relies on the same core structure that is present in every R* title since GTA3. Go to character initials on map, watch cutscene, go to the area in the open world conversing with character along the way, follow the on screen directions until you reach a scripted sequence, do the scripted sequence, escape the cops, cutscene. Granted; this is obviously a tried and true system, but I yearn for different systems that encourage more replayability and unique player experiences. A notable example of a different yet engaging mission structure can be found in Dead Rising by Capcom; in which the player must adhere to a strict time schedule and be at the necessary place in the open world in order to progress the structure. Dead Rising only had one main story structure, but one can imagine the variety a studio like R* could create were they tasked on building off this concept. That is only a main example, for there are many other games that give players the responsibility/ability to dynamically progress through the game in their own special way.

Gameplay 8/10

The Driving, while highly unrealistic (especially compared to IV), is very fun. Dodging and weaving through traffic at high speeds is a blast. The weapon aiming and movement mechanics are well polished, but they are not "tight". They still haven't nailed the cover system yet. They need a blend of MGSV's and Splinter Cell: Conviction's cover systems and shooting mechanics for it to feel good and properly work in tight situations. You can see many improvements in RDR2 in this matter, yet the "sloppiness" remains.

The euphoria engine was drastically downgraded in this game compared to it's predecessor. In GTAIV the gunshot reactions were more visceral and realistic. It reminded you of the brutality of killing, and it's physics marvelously added to the tone of the game overall. While the physics in V were downgraded, the AI certainly was not. The Cops are much smarter in GTAV. They will follow you off-road and they will coordinate with their cars to make you crash and trap you in. However the wanted level still needs improvements for basic realism. Such as the obvious random cop spawns when i'm using a suppressed pistol out in the wilderness.

In GTAIV one of my favorite missions was the one where vlad sends you to chase that guy on those rooftops and at the end you have to choose to save him or not. One thing that would add a whole new layer of immersion to R*'s worlds is a basic climbing/parkour-ish system. Similar to the InFamous games in the idea of being able to catch/shimmy more ledges and be able to shoot a gun from those positions. I'd like to be able to access more vertical parts of the world without needing a helicopter or climbing a 50ft ladder. Boring.

Online 3/10

Holy hell man, did you guys screw the pooch with online. It's a total mess. Matchmaking system is flawed and some game modes are unplayable because you cant find players. Players are toxic and literally rewarded with flamboyantly unrealistic weapons and vehicles that make playing the game an absolute nightmare for newer players. There is zero online security and you will be harassed by modders, they can even crash your game in their mod menu. Trying to grind in that type of environment is literal insanity. I actually really enjoy the concept of GTA Online, to be your own criminal overlord where you can recruit players and do jobs etc. It's great. It was just executed horribly, especially with the exclusion of private servers that can be moderated by normal people and allowing communities to form around them.

TLDR; 7/10
The story and many gameplay elements were not as good as GTA IV. Certain design choices for GTAV reflect the desire for mass market appeal over more immersive/innovative game design (this point was greatly improved in rdr2, yet certain things remain) which is more likely due to Take Two than R*. I hope they make single player DLC for RDR2 and for the next GTA. GTA IV and RDR1 was a good time for R*, I would recommend for them to really look back at the strengths of their decisions in those times and seeing how they can improve them in the near future.

I am waiting for RDR2 to come out on Steam, and by the gods I really, REALLY want Red Dead Online to be a positive experience. Please R*, don't let us down!

And Keep up the Great Work!

Love this game, easily one of the best games on PC. The art style is the best in the series and civs are well balanced and fun. The mod support is also amazing. I wish that the multiplayer was a bit better polished, I get a lot of crashes. That being said; this game will drain hours and hours of your life, in the best way. I've had civ v dreams. Hope civ 7 looks back on the direction they took with v.

9/10

OLD REVIEW 2018: Would return this if I could. I feel scammed by an unbalanced, buggy game that caters to hackers and toxic players. Would not recommend even for 10$.

2020 EDIT: Came back to SCUM recently after seeing development progress. I must say the Devs deserve a pat on the back for turning this experience around for me. This new update enhances the gameplay greatly, and definitely puts this game above other survival games like DayZ. It looks great, and it's been much better optimized since launch. I've yet to encounter any cheaters or hackers. I now feel that when I die in this game it is 100% my fault, which is what games of this nature especially need to nail in order for players to want to log back on. If you own this already from it's *early* early-access days, I recommend re-installing SCUM and giving it a go.

SCUM in 2020, 7/10 worth the 30$ price tag. Looking forward to new updates from this dedicated dev team. Great work boys, we truly do appreciate the communication and dedication. Rock on!