Recent reviews by h0bb1t

As someone who has been mild to Dragon Age Inquisition at best, and deeply disappointed by Dragon Age 2 at worst, I can't wrap my head around the negative early reactions to this game when it launched.

The issues that seem to dominate the "feedback" aren't issues new to Dragon Age. Hell, I think Dragon Age has been a problem-child ever since the succes of Origins. And issues with writing, illusions of choice and "oh no the woke-genda" aren't exclusive to Veilguard, nor the Dragon Age franchise.

But there are many, many aspects in both writing and gameplay where it offers a more than solid experience in terms of an AAA-game. Which, and this is important; the game isn't actively trying to fight you.

No. Progression feels well-paced. Item upgrades are done without a fuss or need for a bloated crafting systen. The characters I want to engage with are open to it. I lets me fight enemies 5 levels higher just because I want to. It's handing out skill points like there is no tomorrow.

The combat feels satisfying. The lore feels well connected to what has come before. The characters, while bland at first, really open-up late game. The game runs like a well-oiled machine. And Rook might be just behind Shepard in terms of character.

It certainly is a different sort of Bioware game. But when judged on its own merrits, it does offer hours of story, character exploration, thematic resonance and some amazing closure to an overarching narrative, without being Mass Effect 3 pre-extended cut.

Probably the best battle royale since the movie.

Multiplayer: It's back, baby.

Well, somewhat. As many other will point out, the gameplay feels so much like the Halo we used to know. 343i definitely put a lot of effort in the gameplay to make it tight and balanced. While there are some minor gripes (like late-game vehicle drops, no in-game lobbies and a lack of varried maps) it kind of pales in what it brings. If done right, this game will stick around for a long, long time.

However, customisation and the "micro"transactions are horrible. They took away basic customization from previous Halo games and turned it into a money-machine.

Want to use a basic colour you have on another armor? Pay up.

Want to combine multiple pieces from different armors? Too bad.

Already unlocked 2 gold-tinted visors, well grind another 10 hours for a third.

This might be good for 343i in the short term, but the entire store and battlepass feel like a Mobile game in how pushy it is to the player. This game NEEDS you to buy these armors, instead of playing to unlock it. And sure, it's all free to play. But if you paid for the SP, you don't unlock anything (yet) that makes it sort of worth it. You still need to cough up even more money to have some sort of rewarding progression system. Maybe this will change on the 8th, but I don't have high hopes.

However, the gameplay is worth it just to try it out.

Fans of the series will definitely enjoy this foray into the Alien-universe, mainly because of the power-fantasy of being a marine. To my surprise it manages to connect the mess that Ridley made to the rest of the universe even better than whatever was going on in Prometheus and Covenant.

As far as the gameplay loop goes, it's pretty solid because it's kept simple, which is refreshing in this day and age with systems upon systems. There is a surprisingly good 'perk' mechanic and progression feels good as well.

Special shout-out to the music as well, because its one of the best OST's I've heard in a long while and it sounds like it came from a non-existant 80's Aliens sequel.

However, what will kill this game isn't the lack of voice or text chat. It's not 'only' five missions.

It's the complete lack of a 'quick-match'. First of all, you're forced into playing the story in order, which is fine for a first-timer. But after you've completed every mission, it's basically impossible to find a new match on a mission you want to play because people are all seperatley searching for different missions on different difficulties. Next to that you're only able to search for a mission for 60 second, and instead of offering you the option, they force you to play with AI.

So if you don't have at least one friend, this game will be unplayable in a month

However, if you get this for max 30 euro's with at least another friend, you'll have a good time.

After 7 years I finally got in the mood to finish this game.

It's not only impressive how well this game holds up, it's also impressive how well it captures the 'vibe' of the original film. Every motion has weight, takes long and has meaning. It's also a good game that might suffer from a bit too long of an introduction and a long ending.

While the story isn't original, for me personally, it functions perfectly as a actual mid-part of the Alien duoligy (Alien and Aliens).

Here's hoping for an actual sequel to this.

If you love shooters but are a bit overwhelmed by simulators like ARMA, and to a lesser extend Squad, this game offers the right amount of realism and tactical squad co-operation.

It's flawed in some aspects but never game-breaking. The added bonus of customisation makes it all feel more rewarding.

While it is still in EA, it has a very good basis to build on.
I've had some great experiences so far and I hope the team can keep expanding on the game as it progresses.

I can only describe this game as a mix between three games I actually don't enjoy: RuneScape, Terraria and Skyrim.

The lack of punishment when you don't play this game "the right way", and lack of complex survival mechanics, make it so much more enjoyable than any other game in this genre.

And as others probably mentioned; the basic mechanics in this Early Access title are already really tight. This is what Early Access should aspire to.

The building mechanics are also quite impressive. It allows for a lot of free-form while still being visually appealing and in line with the overall aesthetic of the game.

I've played for 45 hours in singe player and with friends, and I have so much more stuff to explore, build and craft.

While the game is already worth its price for now, I hope it will receive consistent updates.

At the moment of writing this, the game has a few issues like problems with the correct refresh-rate, a broken match-making system and a lack of meaningful customisation options.

And yet I still keep playing this because there is no other game that makes me feel like an actual star-wars pilot. It's bloody briliant. Do a bombing run on a star-destroyer, hide behind astroids to surprise enemies, catch them in your trackingbeam, putting all power to front-shields, make a sick drift whilst killing a guy who was chasing you? You name your fantasy, and it's probably in here.

However, the true briliance comes from the basic dota-like gameplay. There are so many ways to deal with a certain situation that it never feels like there is a set-meta that happens every single match thanks to an in-depth upgrade system that has really good trade-offs.

And while it has issues (like the tie-bomber is super overpowered, come on) it really shines in other places. Play this with your Star Wars loving friends and you're good to go.

In terms of atmosphere, music, gameplay, looks and design, it's basically the same as what you loved from The New Order. The crazy characters, amazing voice-work and a Tarantino-eque vibe keeps you interested in the otherwise shallow story. Though it gets more personal, in return you won't see as much of the american supression than you'd like.

But there are some great and memorable set-pieces in this game. Sadly, it never really commits to any of them long-term, because as soon as you get in the mood they change the setting and objective. So it feels as if they wanted to do a lot in this game, but never take the time to explore more of a thing that happens or a location; if you want to know more you have to find collectables.

In return, the story itself feels a tiny bit underwhelming. Not sure if it's a lack of varied-locations or the really weird pacing. Plus, Nazi's don't feel as a treath anymore, and even less as opressors compared to TNO.

All-in-all, it's a pretty complete package and still one of the better shooters out there, so I'd recommend getting it. Maybe not at full-price, but it's still good buy and fun game all the way trough. Especially if you liked the first one.

This game should be nominated for not being a good game that you can play at night with friends, because guaranteed that you will laugh. A lot. And wake people up.