Recent reviews by rein

Judging by the media and art regarding the release of SC: Blacklist, I was convinced that the series had taken a relatively bad turn for the worst as in transforming the setalth game into a military third person shooter. Albeit the initial doubts and suscpicion I harbored for the title, I purchased it shortly after release and was pleased to be welcomed with the same generally solid SC: Conviction framework, in addition to sporting missions and levels more akin to the well received SC: Chaos Theory, which focused more on conventional stealth and leaving enemies unharmed rather than hunting enemies from the shadows. Aside from one or two missions which are story oriented ( such as the introduction mission which can be skipped) the levels can be completed entirely on ones own terms. Due to the nature of Splinter cell being a stealth game, the favored approach of most players would be to kill as few enemies as possible without alerting others or raising suspicion from cameras, but akin to others in the series, Blacklist allows for no-kill completion by using the tazer and non lethal hand to hand combat, which offers a generally more intense challenge due to the range limitation and need of disposing unconcious enemies. In terms of story, the game does not offer anything particularly interesting which is slightly disappointing, but the game does feature some great locales and mission sandboxes, so that's a plus. All of the aforementioned details pretty much sum up the gameplay experience in my own words, although in terms of visual aesthetics; the game performs exceptionally well for a Ubisoft PC port, and the level design and texturing is quality work, even for being an Unreal engine game, it manages some remarkable ligh and shadow work in addition to convincing animations.

Ultimately, the game suceeds in most aspecrts regarding what formulates into a enjoyable and elaborate stealth game, although it stumbles in the story department, Splinter Cell: Blacklist is a worthy entry to the series and a must have for those who were slightly off-put by the fast paced nature of Conviction, as it approaches mission design with a more open, sandbox framework.

This game is like no other.

I have many hours spent in every build of this game, from Alpha to release, and I can proudly say that I enjoyed every single one of them.

This isn't a game for everyone, there is no real guidance on what you are intended to do, the tutorials are confusing, and you will find yourself dying from all directions in combat missions. Much of the game's fun is drawn from the sheer uniqueness of it's conflicts - from small 4 man espionage missions at night to full on assaults with armored sections and infantry alike. There are few games that I could irrefutably consider a true sandbox, and Arma 3 is probably one of the best sandbox experiences around, with practically limitless mission oppurtunities from the community due to the excellent mission designer already implemented.

Visually, this game is absolutely breathtaking at high settings - night time is probably the most stellar with it's pitch black atmosphere, and night vision opticals are almost a definite requirement - vehicle lights and weapon lights cast beams through the shroud of night, tracer rounds meander across the vast fields of Altis, destroyed vehicles emit a vicious explosion and emit plumes of smoke. Daytime is equally impressive with Arma's mesmerizing sky boxes and vast expanses of land which seem to travel infinitely.

I don't feel like writing more right now but ultimately, Arma 3 is a visually stunning, virtually endless sandbox of military endeavours.

more like 100 percent based

♥♥♥♥ game

One of the under covered hits of 2013, I find that Metal Gear rising truly takes what we saw Raiden doing in MGS4 and made it into an entire full length game. It's over the top redieculous action with Cyborgs and Metal Gear's abounding throughout and enough limbs being severed and blood being spilled to fill the Pacific. Each boss is fight is incredibly well planned and downright insane with their own traits and attack patterns. Characters aren't exactly the most three diemensional but ones such as Jetstream Sam and blade wolf are actually suprisingly entertaining for a Metal Gear spinoff, dare I say even some of the best in the series? Unlike previous Metal Gear iterations, you will not be spending most of your time laying down or CQC'ing enemies in chokeholds. This game, as you can see from any screenshot is focused around blade play similar to Devil May Cry with a mechanic called Zandatsu where you control Raiden's blade movements in order to percisely slice your enemies into little bits and then target a specific area where once cut you tear the enemies "spine" out and use it to fully restore your health and fuel cells which allow you to use the aforementioned ability. One thing that stood out to me in the mechanics of this game was the excelllent blocking mechanic, it wasn't based on holding a block key but rather facing an enemy and using a light attack which parried the attack allowing for an opening in the opponents defense. A negative part of the blocking mechanic is the sometimes intoxicated camera which can position itself in some unruly places where it is incredibly hard to judge which direction to actually parry without using sound to locate your enemy especially on bosses like Blade wolf and Jetstream Sam. Other than a minor gripe regarding the camera, I found that the games textures are somewhat lacking (although that is nothing new for the metal gear series, I'm looking at you Ground Zeroes) although the character models and weapons are modeled with meticulous detail, and the color scheme is great and much lighter than the washed out previous Metal Gear (Solid) games. In addition for long time fans of the series, unfortunately few characters from previous games make appearences in favor of featuring a new cast (reappearing characters are: Raiden, obviously, Sunny, a Snake cameo within a hidden kendo sword which allows for a no kill playthrough, and some other slight nods to characters such as solidus snake). Despite not having many returning characters, this game truly feels like a Metal gear title, with it's zany story and outrageous characters all formulating an incredibly entertaining experience which you won't be forgetting anytime soon. Oh, and don't even get me started on the soundtrack, I'm sure others have thoroughly covered Jamie Christopherson's excellent heavy metal based soundtrack.

Seriously, play this game. It is one of the greatest experiences I have ever had in gaming. The story is quite good although feeling somewhat angsty at time, albeit that is not a bad thing in a game made by Rockstar. Overall the story and presentation was mind blowing and the connection felt with max was unbelieveable. I truly think Rockstar outdid themselves on nailing the handling and shooting of MP3 making it feel as weighty and dare I say realistic as possible. Much of the plot (without spoilers) revolves Max providing security for a family of rich bastards and his path of revenge. As expected of a Max Payne title, there are somes seriously messed up moments in this game which I won't spoil but more than a few times did my stomach grumble at the violence/horridty displayed. As for the visuals, they are outstanding to comment in the least. Lighting is spot on, character models for even the typical cannon-fodder enemy are incredibly detailed and don't even get me started on the weapon modeling. I could write a whole paragraph at how entertaining and intriguing it is to simply watch the show of firearms, well firing as shells fall smaking from chambers opening and recokcing repeatedly it's simply beautiful to watch a game truly nail gun operation visually. As a Max Payne title, you will be spending quite a bit of time shooting and it's quite a delight to know that the shooting is akin to the other aspects of the game, outstanding. Enemies use the euphoria procedural animatiion system which realistically models and renders physical impact (e.g enemy getting shot in the arm, his shoulder will flench) and the detail Rockstar put into the wounds and "gore" is a little unsettling at how convincing it can be. There are several weapons to acquire which include the plethora you'd expect, assault rifles, submachine guns, handguns, and even a high caliber sniper rifle at one point in the game. I won't go into more detail about the gameplay and visuals as I mentioned, I could go on for days about how good it really feels and looks. Additionally, the characters and cast are SUPURB although some characters are slightly annoying, you really feel as if they are people at times and even disdain others due to their deplorable actions. That's basically all I can spout about the game without revealing too many plot details (which you will be in for some suprises!) Overall, Max Payne 3 is probably my favorite Rockstar with a close seconds being Red Dead Redemption and Max Payne 2. Typically the GTA series outshines Max Payne as Rockstar's signature series, but in almost every aspect (disregarding the world size) in Max Payne 3 is more enjoyable in my opinion. If you have a spare 20 dollars, you most likely won't be dissappointed in this game at all, as I pre ordered it when it came out.

This review is my personal opinion and subject to your own interpretation :)

Gets kind of old after 15ish hours.