Recent reviews by Mammoth Tank

First time with the Helldivers series, and what a great first entry. Excellent random pickup group PVE game with bountiful charm and gameplay loop. Weapon impacts feel meaty and the pendulum swing between feeling like an unstoppable force and desperately dodging enemy claw swipes and friendly bullets trying to get them off of you are like no other game in recent memory.

An excellent entry into the narrative-driven, choices matter game genre. Gameplay was akin to a surprisingly slick First-Person dialogue and interaction experience in the vein of Obsidian's Fallout New Vegas.

If you enjoyed any of the following games, or choices matter games in general, I highly recommend you invest time into Modern Storyteller's The Forgotten City:

Shadow of Destiny (Konami)
Twelve Minutes (Annapurna)
Life is Strange (DONTNOD)

Spoiler-free Quick Review - As a longtime fan of story-driven “choices (don’t) matter” games; Deck Nine’s True Colors restores the magic that DONTNOD has squandered.

If you really enjoyed Life is Strange 1, you’re going to have a good time with True Colors.

If you really enjoyed Life is Strange 2 or Tell Me Why, you’re probably not going to enjoy True Colors.

When I was trying to decide between the standard and Deluxe versions; the fact that Deck Nine was developing this game and the Remasters pushed me to spend the $80 on the super bundle. If DONTNOD was behind this one, after their last few projects, I would have most likely waited for a deep price cut.

Was the game worth $80? After completing it in about 12 hours, no; however, I spent those 12 hours with a friend watching me stream and we both became really entrenched in the drama and the remastered version of Life is Strange and DLC I feel will definitely make up for it.

RECOMMENDED! Reminded my of the hidden gem PS2 game Shadows of Destiny. If you enjoy story-driven, choices games; go into this one blind.

7 Hours in and I'm loving the game. Has it crashed? Once. Does it have various glitches? Hell yes, but mostly minor audio and visual snags. Controls? Cumbersome and often a struggle. That said, 7 hours in and I'm loving this game. Great art direction, excellent to decent voice work, intriguing plot threads, entertaining choices, and great jazz soundtrack make this title a win in my book. I recommend turning OFF the tutorial as it's all standard dialogue-based QTE mechanics that anyone who's played a Telltale game can pick-up easily and only hampers the initial experience as the tutorial pauses are excessive. I would have enjoyed the option to turn off the notifications that current clues can be pieced together for a slightly added difficulty; however even then, most deductions still feel rewarding. Looking forward to more work from these guys.

**Spoiler free**I admit, I'm only about 2-3 hours into DONTNOD's latest official chapter in the Life Is Strange universe; but I honestly had to stop to voice some frustrations with this title.

1) The most glaring issue is the writing for the actions of characters in this title. Antagonistic characters, which is nearly half the voiced characters in the first episode, act completely irrational or sociopathic for the sake of the narrative. The main character is not immune to this irrational writing either and continues to choose the worst possible actions and things to say; which is ironic for an interactive storytelling genre game.

2) My god, the political overtones are insufferable. There is zero subtly with the game’s ham-fisted writing. Firstly, there is no reason for a game to have political narratives. Doesn’t matter what political narrative it is, the writers turned it up to the nth degree and shove it down the throats of players with most NPC interactions this episode.

I want to like this game as I was a big fan of Life is Strange, Before the Storm, and especially Captain Spirit. I like what seems to be a teaching mechanic, like Telltale’s (RIP) The Walking Dead Final Season AJ’s learning mechanic. However, so far it’s like I’m watching a show with extraterrestrial aliens acting out the role of humans (spoiler??)

*Upon completion of episode 1*

After completing episode 1, I have put in a formal request for a refund for my season pass which I had pre-ordered. I love interactive storytelling games; however, the writing is completely alienating in this first episode. The catalyst for the “journey” is unbelievable (and I'm not talking about the super-natural aspects), the characters are illogical sociopaths, the choices are for frivolous matters while critical choices are not even offered, and because of all this; I’m uninterested in everything this story has to offer. This is from someone whom owns every post-TWD season 1 Telltale game (with the exception of Minecraft Story Mode) and thoroughly enjoyed all three Life is Strange experiences.

With the collapse of Telltale studios, this underwhelming offering from DONTNOD could seriously put the interactive storytelling game genre in the ground for some time.

In my honest 25-year gaming opinion, one of the best games of the PS360 generation. Sandbox games have grown so tiresome to me. Saints Row IV was everything a city sandbox game should be, and more. Hilarious voice actors and writing, core story missions packed full of innovation at every turn. Seriously, BUY THIS GAME!

This is not a GTA clone, run of the mill city sandbox. This game is a love letter to the gaming industry.