Recent reviews by AxeMan808

It's the best GTA game I've played.

It's Open World Dark Souls 3+2. You can summon YOURSELF to help against bosses.
Dragon Covenant Redux.
POWERSTANCE!!!

At it's core, it's Asteroids Meets Robotron with Weapon/Ship/Armor/Shield/Ally mods and upgrades. Wave based with bosses at certain set levels (lvl 40, 80, 100 always same 3 bosses - so far). Good variety of the Archetype Choices (Ship / Gun / Shield); hopefully more to come.

While it gets frantic, I can sometimes find that Zen Flow where I'm more watching what I'm doing than actually doing it (I used to get this in Killing Floor especially as Commando starting in Zed Time - not so much in KF2, though I haven't played much Commando since early on).

Great arcade game. You can jump in and play without consequence. Quit without consequence. Yet within that game you have NAIL BITING DECISIONS AND ACTIONS.

Do it. Buy the game.
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2384703506

P.S.: I had to turn the screen shake and screen flash off; I started contracting epilepsy around wave 110.

EDIT FOR VERSION 1.0:
If you have been on the fence, get off it. If you've been waiting to play until full release, play it.
Enemies 2.0 with the Combined Arms enemy squadrons is fantastic, and some of these new powerups (I just used a Triple Acquire on the Map Zoom-out!!)

Even with the RAW FLAMING HATRED I hold for their server system for my SINGLE PLAYER CAMPAIGN (oh hey, that entire game didn't count because their servers DC'd at some point during the game), it's still by far the finest on-court basketball I've ever played.
And I started with arcade trak-ball B&W Atari top down. Dr. J vs. Larry Bird Go One-On-One (better than the Jordan version, IMO). The OG Lakers Vs. Celtics which became NBALive.

If not for the horrible horrible servers and that entire thing being entangled in all facets of the game, this would be a near-perfect basketball sim. I'd like more co-op/friend-play options, and where's my Player Lock in vs?

OMG this game is hard as balls.

And I mean, sure I've lost a step in hand-eye speed, but the number of times I've died from not having KEYS (and thus unable to open chests) or the mysterious occurrence of a perfect run up to a boss who then DESTROYS me with perfect shots at where my tumble will end up. From off screen.

It's fun though, good meta-unlocking, great humor around the items, the anthropomorphic bullet enemies are great, item/gun variety is good...

I'm kinda over the 8-bit/16-bit graphics devolution, but it works ok here.

For the record, I beat the level 4 Boss once (fought 2-3 times prior/since), last night I played four games: first three died to first boss, 4th game died in level 2 to a Sarcophagus.

Worth a buy for arcade fun; often on sale.

I am going to add to this later, but judging from the first day, this game is Super Gradius/Nemesis HD Ultra 2018 Remix++.
And WOW the number of Attachments!
I am pleased and will spare your quaint primitive blue-green planet.

Is not Gravitar.
It's OK as long as you don't go in wanting Gravitar. Because it's not.

Take 3 pounds of fresh Ninja Gaiden Black (or Onimusha 3 if Ninja are out of season), a 20 oz box of actual historical events and entities, moisten with a cup of Dark Souls, mix well, and bake in a 1600 AD oven of Japanese Warring States.

Hideyoshi is dead. Who will be the next Shogun? Well, these Movers & Shakers - some toying with demonic and undead forces - may well have the last word. Unless, perhaps...YOU would like to speak up?

The details are astounding. Historical, mythological, equipment, architecture, decoration, even down to the sword drawing animations.

*BONUS*: I can free run and side slash an opponent in passing with my (N)Odachi in Mid-Stance a la Bushido Blade.
Pro-tip: anything I can compare favorably to Bushido Blade is something amazing, whether game, film, book, or idea.

You should all read Taiko (about Hideyoshi) and Musashi, both excellent novels by Eiji Yoshikawa. Also the Sano Ichiro series by Laura Joh Rowland, about The Royal Investigator Of People, Places, and Events.
The Tomoe Gozen series by Jessica Amanda Salmonson offers a more fantastical/mythological angle which fits in really well with Nioh's setting.

So I finally picked up Cryptark while it was on sale. I'm liking it! (I really shouldn't have waited, but my BACKLOG though!)
It's superficially like Galak-Z, a top down Neo-Roguelike exploring huge randomly generated Space Hulk style spaceships (also asteroids in Galak-Z), killing enemies and picking up new equipment and earning money.
Ship Layouts:
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/ugc/867363717186110151/A50785744D3936F239058069A925EA28AACDE49A/
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/ugc/867363717186110870/E3AECAAEEED01D7A4D780397E8BBD9B90C19165A/
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/ugc/867364059419289047/762FB33939F40A7B7DEE7F007FA3974050EAB103/

Where Galak-Z has one ship-type equipped with a main laser and guided missiles (also transforms into a mech with sword), with pickups being modifications to those weapons, Cryptark has 7 Mechs (1 to start, the rest are unlockable with Artifacts) and a wide variety of weapons under various categories: MGs, Cannon, Shotguns, Grenades, Rockets, Energy, etc. There is enough difference between the weapons in a given category to make it worth making even slight changes like Medium Machine Gun vs Burst Med MG vs Heavy MG vs Pierce Hvy MG, much less trading out a Shotgun for Grenades or Grenades for Rockets or Rockets for a Shield.
Loadout Screen with Ark info:
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/ugc/867363717199172595/E32AE2740B198E972766DE0E03D5DD680CFDFCD6/

Each Mech has a different Active Ability to use, as well as different Passives, Max HP, Loadout Slots, and Speeds. Each mech has a different default loadout of weapons to start a run, but you can unlock all the weapons during your run and change them as you see fit. (You cannot swap Mechs during a single run however)
Mech Selection:
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/ugc/867363717186109477/BBA5E259ECD077B541F3B3DD2F5E73E10718CE12/

It's super unforgiving, but once you learn how to balance your loadout cost (weapons, equipment, ammo) vs your earnings and bonus requirements, and learn what systems you need to take out in what order according to proximity to you and other Systems and doors (and bonus requirements), things become much more manageable. Also you can choose 1 of 4 ships to engage in each system you go to, each with different layouts, enemies, and Payouts & Bonus requirements.
Mission Debriefs:
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/ugc/867363717198527827/66E569C8B6064EFCF17EFDDB7D5876EF59001291/
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/ugc/867364059419288671/15F88ED6AAE48AF8694FF49DAAFAAF635AD681D1/

And the core combat loop is very satisfying! Galak-Z is more of an Asteroids/Space Duel/Gravitar control scheme (I keep expecting gravity to pull me close to surfaces, but it never does), while Cryptark is a Twin Stick shooter but the 2nd stick aims and your weapons are mapped to the Triggers/Shoulder buttons. The controls remind me a lot of Rogue Stormers or Risk Of Rain (if you had an 'Aim Stick' in Risk Of Rain).

Action-y shots:
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/ugc/867363717186109818/D254DA1C91885C71A0A4292CBC94BC1C84149490/
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/ugc/867363717186110362/AA9055C247D1D243F6FADA8D05690F9CFB5CE966/
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/ugc/867364059418597403/A98F9744A704916408E92B8A7AE2B655D385C4A1/
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/ugc/867364059419289461/69E47403CE6B4B13DD3D6C8CFE308BEF2C04831F/
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/ugc/867364059419289646/D36D4AFAF0F7AFA31B5B7D0380BCC5011E7767F0/
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/ugc/867364059419289986/60B537C1FB70603347BAD52494615085AC4470F1/

Killing a Core. That railgun wiped all 3 chunks of a hemisphere with one shot, where the pulse laser took 55% energy to almost kill 1 chunk (probably 15-20 rounds)
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/ugc/867364059419290165/FC4D6A2714BB0E8168A4A9258431ED7A3F4B6DE9/
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/ugc/867364059419290348/8EE3352D720634CFE8A15520AF1F9359F5DD7465/
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/ugc/867364059419290508/73DE2BADD6D3B389A2A1A85782BB2EE8C624B743/

If you like neo-Roguelike Top Down Shooters, and/or Galak-Z, and/or Rogue Stormers, you really should try Cryptark.

- It's the third Dark Souls game.
- It feels like a steady progression in game play from 1 to 3, with the exception of Dual Wielding which was far more open in using (nearly) any two weapons rather than Dual Sets.
- The interconnected maps and shortcuts of DS1 have made somewhat of a comeback after their absence in DS2, and there is genuinely a return to beautiful architecture.
- Co-operative play through summons is the easiest it's been in the series, and 4 to 6 player PvP is not unusual
- There are a HUGE number of NPC questlines and AI invaders.
- The game is GORGEOUS. giant vistas, surprisingly colorful.

- Shield Blocking multiple attacks makes a huge comeback after DS2's Block & Roll paradigm
- DS3 Poise is unlike Poise in previous games; it is still being researched in the forums.
- Dual Wielding, while still viable in DS3, had far superior options in DS2.
- It feels like a decent combination of the world/lore/layout of Dark Souls 1 with the mechanics/combat/builds of Dark Souls 2

- Note: DS3 runs considerably worse on my system than DX11 DS2 SotFS.

Update1: the first DLC, while fun, felt short, especially compared to DS2 DLC.
Update2: the second DLC makes up for the length of the first, with around 1.5 areas, and 4+ bosses
Update3: in 2018 this is still the best PLAYING of the various Souls-esque games. I haven't played Bloodbourn but I'm still including it.