Recent reviews by Lovenfloofen

This game is prone to some pretty generous sales, so that alone means it's worth keeping an eye on this title, but let me sum it up nice and quick:

This game is a bit like Company of Heroes and a Wave Defence game having a love-baby, and honestly I think it was a lot of fun to play. You play as the Terran Forces, controlling small squads to kill thousands of Bugs. You make the most out of their different strengths and weaknesses and tactical superiority to make up for the fact that the bugs outnumber you all stages of the game.

The soundtrack is forgettable, but inoffensive, but where this game does show off in sound design is in replicating the cheesiness of the Starship Troopers movie, the cutscenes are all told from the perspective of Federation News and it's all hammed up to maximum, if you're a fan of the cheesy movie, then you're going to love this attention to detail and the love put into the cutscenes, the callouts, the responses.

The difficulty is managed through the damage of your weapons, so dial it down to deal more damage, dial it up to deal less damage, I like this implementation because it means you can be as tactical as you like, good tactics means you'll always be strong even at 0.5 damage, as opposed to making the hives spawn stupidly fast. I like the choice.

Community Scenarios means there's no limit of well made strategic content once the story is complete.

This is a good, fun game. Don't take it too seriously, it doesn't take itself seriously. It's just simple but well-executed mindless bugsquashing.

I'm doing my part!

I always find it hard to review Steam Games, it's either Yes or No, but no "Eh" button. The Age of Mythology: Retold is strongly Eh.

If we put aside the wave of nostalgia that this is Age of Mythology again, and actually look at the game objectively, there are a few issues that have to be called out, so I'm gonna do my typical pros and cons thingy, and I'll do my best to keep my nostalgia out of it, I promise.

Pros:

- The game looks good, it achieves a lot without demanding a PC built by NASA, there's lots to look at and the original blocky, concrete fists of Arkantos and crew are gone.
- The sound design is lovely, it's still Age of Mythology, it's a faithful remaster not just to the songs, but even the classic sound effects that you may or may not remember, and if you don't remember, it's good, easy on the ears.
- The campaign has been toned upwards, the Moderate level AI will actually attack you, and age up, which is a big step up from it used to be willing to do.
- Strong Anti-Cheat
- There are some inspired touches on the classic mechanics, such as a Wonder Age, the ability to recast God Powers, extra abilities to old units.
- Mythology and ♥♥♥♥
- Some cool ideas like auto-distributing villagers that sound great in practice, but fall short in execution.

Cons:

- Amanra, pretty much the only issue with the new sounds is Amanra, no matter what volume your game is in, Amanra shouts at you at 100% volume, it's both unnerving and annoying that every time you select her, she shouts at you as if you've just interrupted her Zen
- Auto-Distribution of Villagers is a cool concept, that doesn't really work, you'll get spammed with messages about villagers only being able to gather at one farm at a time, even if you delete all your farms! It's very annoying.
- Game doesn't crash, but it does like to do the pre-crash Freeze as it thinks about what to do, familiar strategy gamers will know this as the AI-Attack freeze from early command and conquers on the playstation which we should be past by now
- Predatory Marketing plan, the other AoE remasters included all their old DLC as part of it on release, this game doesn't do that, not only does this game not include it's old DLC, but it's exceptionally likely that what they're advertising as new DLC will be the old DLCs with a new coat of paint, not the end of the world but let's call a spade a spade, shall we? They even charge you for the pleasure of the old bloody portraits, so if you are carried to this game by nostalgia, enjoy giving them money for the privilege
- Train 10000 Villagers achievement, I'm in a 1v1 with AI deleting my 100 villagers over and over to get this and it's been 3 hours atop of the 57 hours I've already played, don't like achievements like this.

Summary:

Game good, fun, not 10/10, not even close, heavily carried by nostalgia and suffers from predatory model, but it is fun, I will say that once more.

The game is fun, I enjoyed playing it, but I couldn't in good conscience recommend people pay as much as Netherrealm want you to pay for it, and that's the biggest gripe.

The Good:
- Some of the reinvigorated characters are more interesting now than they were in previous timelines
- Lots of nods to previous MK games to make those nerdbumps grow
- The Story Mode is fun with some seamless transitions between cutscene and fighting but only if your computer is powerful enough.
- There's plenty of colour, it's not all dark and gray.
- Achievements are quick and easy for you completionists

The Bad:
- $60 for the game, $35 for 5 characters and an extra $6 for Shang Tsung who you even play as during the story, predatory levels of DLC being added on top of the usual microtransactions. Yes sales exist but even so, someone makes the decision that people out there should pay that much, and I'm at the point where you have to speak up against Games as a Service.
- The Kameo system makes the screen very cluttered during fights, you can hit the Kameo and they go flying around, it makes a very busy screen that you might expect from those anime type games, I understand some people like this system, I personally don't.
- Characters are made and broken by the Kameo they work with, Kameos can sometimes be as important as the core fighter which defeats the point of Kameo. Some characters have lost their identity entirely.
- Core characters are missing from the revamped universe, appearing only as tiny Kameos.
- Yet more Time Travel

This game is janky, it's buggy, it's frustrating and it can be incredibly annoying.

But damn if it isn't one of the most unique gaming experiences out there. Playing with a group of friends and clearing voyages can be a lot of fun, and if you dip your toes into 'proper' mechanics of the game, it's incredibly complex, nuanced and difficult, for a game that appears so simple on the front.

Is Sea of Thieves perfect? Nope

Is it a unique gaming experience? Absolutely
Is it a great laugh with friends? Yes it is
And is it worth hundreds of hours of play? Surprisingly, yeah!

Fun design, a lot of amusing little things you can do (like playing music while the character is drunk) and just a great time. I do heavily recommend this game.

I saw a lot of people recommending this game as a Pokémon like. It was enough to sell me on the game, but now that I've played it, I actually take issue with this description. This game is far more than an indie clone, it is inspired by that genre of game but does more to be innovative and unique to the series than any main line Pokémon game has ever tried to do.

From charming sprites, great and well implemented dynamic music, interesting monster design, a refreshing take on type matchups, good characterisation and a story that isn't forgettable, this game would be worth the price of a triple A game that a certain, Nintendo Entity might produce and then some. So much so that I actually feel a little guilty for buying it in a sale!

Pros:
- Refreshing take on combat, Type Advantages and Disadvantages are far more 'strategic'
- Great sense of humour interwoven within the world, from funny monster names to the move 'Bad Joke'
- Music is well composed, catchy and dynamically adapts to whether there are any fusions up
- Sprite Work is well done
- Cassette/Retro theme is well executed, and fun to experience. Items and mechanics are appropriately named
- Remaster (Evolve) criteria are unique and interesting
- Metroidvania style world exploration with abilities allowing you to explore more and more

Cons:
- Game can't decide what type of achievements it wants to give you, you get 5 achievements in the space of 10 minutes for breathing, and then there's one that will require near enough 100 hours of gameplay
- End game options could be a little more diverse to make grinding 5* a little more invigorating
- Some movement bugs, one of the stations doesn't like you going right straight after exiting, one of the other stations sometimes won't let you leave it because the loading zone (ironically) doesn't load
- Dying feels very punishing, especially as a lot of the captains/archangels won't clue you into their gimmick until you fight them, leading you to be trapped in a very frustrating situation. It never looks good to see 8000 pieces of material disappear.

All in all, this game is amazing and I've been absolutely addicted to it since I picked it up, the game oozes love and effort from every orifice, and if you pick this up as an RPG fan, you will not be disappointed.

What can I tell you about Populous: The Beginning? Actually, just about everything.

I have been playing this game for about 24 years of my life, and am a content creator dedicated exclusively to the multiplayer of this masterpiece. Lovenji Gaming on YouTube and Lovenfloofen on Twitch, if you're interested. I will do a proper review below but first!

If you think this game runs like arse, if you want to play it with people, if you want a version that supports modern resolutions, has bugfixes and more, then take your Steam version to Populous: Reincarnated. We're a community of Populous Loyalists who help each other enjoy this game to the fullest, whether you want to play our coop campaign, stop your game crashing, get stuck in with fun multiplayer supporting up to 8 players, or just watch high level tournament gameplay, Populous Reincarnated is the place to be.

NOW, THE REVIEW:

Populous is Half God Game and Half RTS, it focuses around the super unit called the shaman, the shaman has the power to level entire villages by herself, but to do that, she needs mana. Mana is obtained by building your tribe so a careful balance of growth and assaulting forms the core of Populous Gameplay.

It is a game that is simple at its core, it is for all intents and purposes a game where you build. Building gives you more mana, more mana means more spells, more spells means a higher chance to win. But this simple concept becomes incredibly nuanced when you add the skills that Populous players use. Increasing population at breakneck speeds, effective soldier control to avoid the enemy shaman. Populous will give you as much, or as little as you want from it.

NOW, the soundtrack is a wonderfully soothing ensemble done by Mark 'TDK' Knight, a good old school sound composer, and I believe the game's sprite work holds up well in its light, comical nature even today.

Populous' campaign offers you a peaceful adventure to Godhood, with plenty of time to enjoy all of the game's elements, whilst the multiplayer elements speed the game right up into something you'd expect for modern RTS standards, I should know, I host the tournaments!

So this game is a great piece of the past, revolutionary in what it achieved in its time, and although a little difficult to get running these days, always a worthy play.

Again, join Populous:Reincarnated, and grow our tribe's population just a little bit more

I wasn't sure what to think of this game when I first started playing it, but actually, I like this game for the method in which I choose to play it.

Whilst the game plays well on the PC, I really fell in love with this game once I began treating it like a Sit-Back-And-Relax type game and playing it for a few hours on the Steam Deck when I have a few moments, the game is exceptionally fine tuned for Handheld, to the extent I think it plays really well, and is great fun!

I'm also writing this review not long after the death of my 4th Hardcore Character, so you know, if there's any bias, it's frustration!

Pros:-

- This game is simple, mechanically, get stronger and blow up enemies
- Every class has a decent build, there are obviously strongest classes but I've met players at max level on all classes
- Most classes have numerous builds, I've met Sorcerers who between them have used every skill available to them
- The sound design is amazing, simple, great music.
- It's so satisfying to drop into huge groups of enemies and annihilate them
- Season Pass is cosmetic, and not a mandatory purchase for strength
- Regular, challenging seasons with new features and updates

Cons:-

- There is a Season Pass, huzzah for Games as a Service -,-;
- Whilst the world is open, it can feel very samey
- Some builds do dwarf others entirely
- Open world filled with collection content, game is not helpful about collecting that content
- Tuning doesn't feel quite right, enemies either obliterate you or are obliterated by you
- Constantly Scaling world makes it harder for you to feel like you've truly progressed, as there is no easy area to go back to and bully.
- Paragon System is... interesting.

Take away the Blizzard tag, I like it, a great deal. It's fun, sometimes mindless and the edge of playing on Hardcore never gets old.

I wouldn't buy this at full price, but on sale? It's a solid pickup.

I don't know what the best part about this game is, it is either:

- The level of depth of automation that this game allows
- The level of decorating your factory you can do
- Annoying your friends while they try to build a complicated network of machines.

A great game if you really like the words "Activating Combat Mode" or "Conflict Resolved".

Like a Dragon Gaiden is what I would call, Yakuza lite. It has all of the things that you would expect from a Yakuza game, but in very small quantities, such that I believe it would be a great introduction to anyone new to the series, it has minigames, substories, an epic boss song and an epic boss battle, it has easier to obtain achievement lists and a simplified ability tree.

It has everything you know, just a lot less of that everything. So to keep this punctual and help you make your mind up, here's some points about the game!

- Numerous minigames make their way back into the Yakuza series, Shogi, Mahjong, Koi Koi, Oicho Kabu, Golfing, Sega Arcade and more

- The Completion list is shorter than usual and not tied to achievements, making a 100% significantly faster than before

- The normal Yakuza series averages 12-13 Chapters of story, sometimes even more. This game only has 5 chapters of Story

- The events of this game happen at the same time as Like A Dragon's story about Ichiban Kasuga, if you do care about the overarching plot, it's still worth playing that title first

- Classic Yakuza combat with an albeit simplified 2-style system.

- Only a couple of boss-fight cutscenes in this one sadly.

- Despite being connected to Ichiban Kasuga's story, this is the classic Action RPG style, not the JRPG Style they used for that game.

- Great music

- Only some comedy

- Substories rework here falls very flat for me, lost a lot of the charm and personality.

I'm a die-hard fan, and I do not regret this purchase, however this is definitely a Yakuza game where I think "wait for a sale" is a justified stance to take. It has all the things I love about this series, just not enough of it. It left me wanting more by the end instead of feeling exhausted like I'd been taken on an intense, emotional journey.

First Yakuza game in the series to not make me cry.

Good game though.