Recent reviews by Jake Freakman

I just finished the main storyline, and oh boy do i have a lot thoughts about this game. Cyberpunk 2077 had a obscene amount of hype, and honestly, it was never going to meet that bar for a lot of people. Did Cyberpunk 2077 take a quantum leap forward into the future of gaming? No. Is it a very good game? In many respects, absolutely. Night City is a breathtaking place to explore, and is probably the games greatest success. It truly feels *alive* unlike probably any other game I've played, including GTA 5. The density and sense of verticality really are unmatched. It'll likely be years till anything else comes. I will note i played on a RTX 2070 Super, and was able to play on max crowd density, which really sold it for me, so if you're playing on a rig where you will have to play on lower crowd size, your mileage will vary.

The gameplay builds upon it's RPG forefathers, and is fun and very, very flexible. You want to play a badass hacker / gunslinger? A stealthy close quarters assassin? Go for it. Cyberpunk 2077 lays a full suite of toys and options on the table, and gives you the freedom to pick and choose how to develop your V. At the start, enemies can feel very bullet spongy, but trust me, by the end game, you can become death incarnate. Combat doesn't feel revolutionary, but it does feel solid and responsive.

Cyberpunk's story, without spoiling anything, was well-paced and well-executed. It can be a slow burn at times, but Cyberpunk is a game very much about the people you meet along the way. The main quest will probably take you about 25-35 hours depending on quickly you move through things, but you should absolutely take your time and play through side quests, particularly ones that feature characters you meet over the course of the main quest that later branch into their own divergent stories. Take your time with the game, and let yourself follow interesting leads that pop up.

And finally, the bugs/performance. I played on a pretty strong rig on high graphics, and i will say for me, that it was stable. I got pretty consistent framerates with maybe 3-4 instances where i dropped to the mid 30's while driving. I had no stuttering, no crashes, and mild, yet annoying ghosting while driving on my motorcycle. Again, you mileage will vary, and definitely either look how people will similiar rigs to your are handling it, or wait till it gets in a more consistently polished state. Audiovisual glitches though? Oh boy i hope you love floating objects, because they are as onmipresent as Johnny Silverhands is throughout the game, if not more so. I also repeatedly had issues while driving where I would run into an invisible wall, or get instantly booted out of my ride while trying to get in. Quicksave reloads almost always resolve these glitches, and thankfully autosaves are pretty generous. but as of right now, you will have to reload saves a lot. The game has a bad habit of having multiple conversations play at the same time, which is pretty annoying. All in all, glitches rarely ruined my fun, but again, this obviously has not been everybody's experience.

In sum, Cyberpunk 2077 is a deeply buggy, flawed gem. The story is tight and well focused, and tells a narrative that was often sweet, introspective, and genuinely moving at times. Should have been delayed again so everybody could experience this game at it's absolute best, but if you're looking at this review and are willing to push through the bugs, then i absolutely encourage you to do so as long as you look into how people with similar hardware are handling it. If not, come back in 2-3 months and buy it when it's at the state it should have been at when it launched. You won't regret it.

My first introduction to arcade flight games was ace combat 7, which I've put well over 65 + hours into. So I came into Project Wingman as somebody who deeply enjoyed AC7, but isn't a fully fledged AC fan. I have to say, Project Wingman is a fantastic game for what it is. As a the project of a small team, there are shortfalls where the game falls short of a true triple AAA experience, but that's not PW is. It's a love letter to the feel, style, and gameplay of Ace Combat. You can feel it in the music, the over the top radio check, the emphasis on fun over realism. For 25 USD, it offers a great value for it's price point. I have yet to dive into conquest mode, and I'll probably update my review if i feel either strongly negatively or positively about that section of the game, but as it stands, strong recommend for people who are ace combat fans, who like me were brought into the series through AC7, or who are looking into trying out an arcade flight game, and want an affordable, yet modern entry point into the genre.

This 14 year old game pulls me in and keeps me hooked more than a lot of other games I've played lately. It is the definitive star wars space RTS, and the modding scene is insanely committed. Ground combat is very boring to me, but I typically just doom stack ground forces and auto resolve. Space Combat is where the real fun is anyway. I love this game.

I come to Civ 6 today as a longtime fan and supporter of Civ 5 who was unable to make the transition to Civ 6 when it was released back in 2016. I loved, and still do love, civ 5, and how familiar that excellent game is to me. However, with the release of both Rise and Fall, and Gathering Storm, I decided to give civ 6 another chance, and I am glad that I did. While I still have some gripes about the graphics and certain gameplay choices, I am greatly enjoying my time with the game. With Civ 5, I found myself too often falling into the same pattern of play, with very little variation between runs. Civ 6 is restrictive is the best kind of way. The district system means you have to think carefully about each cities expansion and what their role in your empire will be. Additionally, the new loyalty, dark/golden age, and governor systems mean you have to purposeful with expansion and development. While I have only scratched the surface of the new mechanics of the game, I would reccomend that other players who, like myself, largely ignored the game on launch in favor of returning to civ 5, give the game another chance. I also am aware the investment to purchase the DLC is not insignificant, I do think it is vital to enjoying this game to it's fullest, and if you are the type of civ fan who continues to play and enjoy the games for years after their launch, then I think it surely money well spent.

A very fun and rewarding game, just be ready for the grind. You can get to the mid tier, rank 3-4 tanks/aircrft pretty quickly, but after that it turns into a bit of a slog fest. However, with the new RP reductions, it's a lot more manageable to build u respectable lineups for BR 6.3 and up. Just make sure you do research on the later tier vehicles in your line before you get to far down so you can match your tank/aircraft to your preferred playstyle. Overall, it's a lot of fun, but just make sure you play to enjoy the game, not just to reach the end of your line.

First off, I'll be absolutely clear, I love this game. It's very fun and unbelievably deep. It can be deeply rewarding when you pull off a perfectly executed counter attack and turn the tide of the game. HOWEVER, I cannot reccomend this game for one simple reason: The community is downright terrible. It's like if /pol had a violent hate child with the USSR. There is one cardinal sin of Wargame, and god help your soul if you commit it; Never, NEVER, ever be a new player to the game learning the ropes.

It's fun game to waste a bit of time on. It's quirky, wierd, and pretty enjoyable. For three bucks, it's definitly worth picking up to blow a few hours on.

If this game isn't in your library, you need to rectify this RIGHT NOW. What makes this game special is that you can find a modpack and server for just about anything your heart could ever wish forever: Want to play on a city sim (WW2, Soviet, GTA, SCP-RP[A personal favorite of mine])? Go for it. Hardcore mil sim more your speed? Gmod has that as well, ranging from Halo to star wars (Clone Wars, Rebellion, EU, anything) to plain old modern mil sim. Just want to play an easy game and relax? Try TTT, prop hunt, melon bomber, or any of the other dozens of game mods.

Crusader Kings is a very fun, if somewhat difficult game. You have to manage your kingdom throughout the ages, and ensure your dynasty thrives and survives. Danger lurks around every corner, especially from younger siblings or children who wish to reach the throne. You also need to manage your relationship with your vassals, and tiptoe the line between being a strong leader who can hold his own, but not an iron fisted dictator.

Led a squad with Staff Sergeant Juan Obama and Sergeant Charles Rambo in it, then proceeded to cry as they got brutally gunned down charging across an open field. 10/10 Would charge again.