Rate and Review Video Games You've Played

[Hemlock]

10 hr mark for Xillia? NOPE

Gave up after 3 hrs and most likely never going back.

[Hemlock]

why you have no interest in Hottie King  :>_>:

cus Hottie King is in a boring game.

 

hmm i kinda want to do one but i haven't beaten a game in quite a while...

[Hemlock]

 

Dark Souls 2 - PS3

 

Pros

- combat is good

- simplified the upgrading system. No more green, blue, red, etc titanites

- generous amount of bonfires

- stamina management seems more important which makes you think about actions more

- being able to fast travel from the beginning of the game

- Dragon Aerie looks amazing with all the dragons flying around in the sky

 

Cons

- riposte/backstab animations don't look or feel as satisfying 

- some bosses and areas look similar to ones in Dark Souls 1

- most of the humanoid boss fights felt the same

- no more ragdoll physics. Some might like that it's gone but i kinda liked it

- no more upgrading at any bonfire

- a lot of merchants have limited stock of specific items which isn't that big of a deal but it's annoying

 

 

Overall

It's more Dark Souls with some tweaks here and there. I'm not sure how the difficulty compares. It felt easier than 1 to me but i put 200+ hours into DsK1 so i had time to get decent at the game (i still suck). That might be why 2 felt easier.  I know a lot of people hate on 2 but I don't know what the complaints are so i can't address them. I do like 1 more but 2 is a solid game still. Bring on Bloodborne!

 

8.5/10

[Hemlock]

 

Gone Home 

System: Steam

 

I don't think I can review this game with just a pros and cons list so i'll write something out. This is a game that i've seen receive very high praise and a lot of criticism too. After playing it i understand why there's such a difference of opinions and why some people say it's not even a game. I will call it a game just to make it simpler.

 

You are a girl that is coming back home after traveling around other countries but returns to an empty house. Your parents and sister are gone and it seems that your sister is some kind of trouble. The entire game is basically you walking around this big house and reading letters and stuff that you find. You progress through the game by finding key items that triggers the voice of your sister reading her diary. In these audio logs you go through what happened in your sister's life and her relationship with her best friend. It is more interesting than it sounds lol. I just can't really go into detail without ruining it.

 

Possible spoilers...kinda...maybe...

[spoiler]

As you explore this house you continue to learn more about what your family has been going through while you were away. Along with story bits about your parents, there is also the lore of the house itself. Apparently your family inherited the house from a distant relative that went mad and died there. The house gives off an eerie feeling and creates a suspenseful atmosphere almost as if something terrible has happened in the house and your family. This turns out to be completely misleading as the story is actually heartwarming. The jump scares or dark turn in the story you expect while you progress never happen.

[/spoiler]

 

Though the part under the spoiler was kinda disappointing, I enjoyed the game and its story. It's hard for me to explain it without spoiling it and I probably already spoiled a lot, but it is worth checking out. It’s pretty short (which is another complaint). I completed it in 3.5 hours while taking my time and examining almost everything.

 

8/10

[Hemlock]

i give this game 3/10

 

I didnt know i spent 20$ for 30mins worth of gameplay

30 minutes is super fast. You must have ran through the game instead of reading everything, which is missing the entire point of the game. It is still a short game even if you take your time like i did. I understand if it isn't the type of game you enjoy though and 20 is pretty steep. I got it for free from a friend and that might have something to do with it, but i did enjoy the game for what it is still. 

[Hemlock]

maybe more like an hour, i did like some parts the game but i also like long content. I was just expecting something supernatural or some huge plot twist, the game was creepy af though. One of my friends finished it by accident in 2mins .. poor him.

yea that is my biggest complaint about the game and not the length.

 

2 minutes lol. 

[Hemlock]

specially after you find that devil altar thing you expect some ghosts lol, hemlock do you have a steam ID?

yea it's whomlock

[Hemlock]

Final Fantasy 10 HD Remaster - 8.5/10

Very good game, excellent remaster.

amazingly detailed review *claps*

[Hemlock]

The Legend of Heroes: Trails In The Sky SC

(or just Trails SC for short)

System: PC (Steam)

 

 

 

 

Pros:

 

There is a lot of character and world building in these games. The cast is made up of fun and likable characters that are all developed and get their time to shine (with maybe the exception of one or two). It does get emotional at times because you end up caring so much about them. The setting isn’t anything new or special, but it’s told with so much detail as you learn about the nation, its history, and its relationship with the neighboring nations. It feels like a real place that is alive with multiple moving parts, you are just one of them.

 

I like the battle system. It’s kind of a combination of Lunar, Grandia, and Final Fantasy 7. It has the range and speed mechanic of Lunar. It has the turn management of Grandia. And it has a more complex materia-like system. I’d also count the craft system as being like limit breaks. You can Attack, use magic Arts,  Craft skills, and you can also make food for healing, buffs, or attacking, which is kinda like the Tales series I guess.

 

The attention to detail and the little things helps this game a lot. NPCs all have names and their own character portraits. Their dialogue changes after story events. You can talk to everyone again to get a little bit different dialogue. Some people might find this pointless but some NPCs have their own stories and problems that develop over the course of the game.

 

Cons:

 

The biggest con is probably the pacing. The structure of the game can wear on you after a while. You do some quests, go through the story, finish up some more side quests, go to the next town, and then repeat. In each town you meet a new bad guy and a little bit of story, but it’s a slow build and most of the story is given to you in the last third of the game.

 

There are things in the game that are intentional to make it feel like a real world. It’s to make the game feel believable and realistic but at the cost of convenience. There is no fast travel, not even at the end of the game, so you have to walk everywhere. You have to go to the guild house to change your party. You also have to manually unequip them. There are some generic fetch quests and “go kill this monster” quests too. It makes sense because you’re part of the Bracer guild but meh. I think there’s one or two escort quests too. I don’t mind them that much but they should be better if they are the main way to get money in the game (you don’t get money after fights).

 

Overall:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBmtF4TCeic

 

Trails FC and SC combine to basically make one huge game. I love both games and they do a really good job at actually making you care about the characters. Estelle has become probably one of the best female protagonists in a jrpg. My favorite has always been Celes from FF6 but Estelle is now up there too. This game (FC & SC combined) is also now up there with FF6 as my favorite jrpg. Definitely check it out if you like traditional, old school type jrpgs.

 

Read this article to learn how difficult it was to get these games localized and how much time and work went into it: http://kotaku.com/the-curse-of-kiseki-how-one-of-japans-biggest-rpgs-bar-1740055631

 

PS. Olivier is the best. That is all.

 

9.5/10

Edited December 28, 2015 by Hemlock

[Hemlock]

I'll play this soon... soon.

YOU BETTER!  :ohpressor:

[Hemlock]

 

 

 

Cons:  Nothing much to say here, the ending was a bit meh.  Also I got pissed at the final fight because of a glitch, the bad guy disappeared on me once when he was one shot away from dying which peeved me to no end, and a second time the game froze.

But I don't think it was the game, most likely my system was heating up.

 

I fucking hate that boss. It's so frustrating and it feels like you have to get lucky with where and when he throws grenades. And that's on normal difficulty. Doing it on Crushing difficulty was so stupid. Final bosses in the series in general are kinda bad. Haven't played 4 yet tho. 

[Hemlock]

 

 

The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel

System: PS3

 

Long and rambley review~

 

 

Story:

 

The story is very slow building, something that the Trails series has become known for, and also pretty light for a good chunk of the game. You live out your lives as students in a military academy and are sent to various cities across the country. Each city has it’s own history, characteristic, and issues that builds the bigger picture to the problems and conflicts of the country. It’s a story that is focused on politics, society, and war. I’ve seen people compare it to Suikoden, but i think i’d throw FF12 in there also. The story itself isn’t anything special, but how it’s told and comes together is what makes it enjoyable 

 

 

The biggest problem with the story is definitely the pacing. I already said that it’s a slow build but it also gets pretty repetitive. The game has a strict structure that it sticks to. The basic flow of the game goes: school stuff, free day, practical exam, field study, repeat until the end of the game. It can get tiring after a while and i needed to take breaks while playing. 

 

 

Battle System:

 

At first my main criticism of the game was that it was too easy. Like stupidly easy. I was playing on normal and there are 2 higher difficulty settings that i wish i chose instead. The lack of difficulty makes positioning and range irrelevant. It’s not necessary to pay attention to it really. Maybe that’s fixed with bumping up the difficulty though. 

 

 

As i kept playing and was introduced to more systems and given more quartz, i saw how much depth there was to it. You can build your characters in a lot of different ways and mix and match quartz for different strategies and different bosses. There are some quartz that seem very OP and game breaking but they are fun to play with and try out. The follow up attacks adds another layer that basically borrows the press-turn system from the Megaten series to reward you for hitting weaknesses.

 

 

The other issue is the simplification of the orbment system. Each character still has different orbment configurations but the “lines†don’t do anything. In Sky, each quartz had a value attached to it. What quarts you equip and where you equip it mattered and changed what abilities/skills you got. All of that is gone and doesn’t matter here. 

 

 

Characters: 

 

The characters in this game were a mixed bag for me. The main protagonist is kind of one dimensional and uninteresting, especially if you compare him to Estelle of the Sky games. Some characters have good growth and become more likable as you learn about them and their past. Other characters are flat or annoying. The characters in the Sky games start out as tropey but done in a good way and they grow out of it. I don’t know if i can say the same for these characters. It’s also slightly more Tales than i’d like. I’m talking about dialogue that involves boob sizes, light sexual jokes that aren’t funny, and just generally being more “animeâ€. I hate using “anime†as a description but i think it fits and gets the message across. 

 

 

Another thing this game borrows from Megaten games, specifically Persona here, are Social Links called Bonding Events. Some are nice but they generally aren’t as in-depth or personal like in Persona. Think of it as the early levels of S.Links and not the later levels. Those moments happen as part of the story instead. The in-game benefits from increasing these levels also aren’t as good or happen frequent enough to make it a goal to max out.   

 

 

Overall:

There is a lot that i liked about this game but i feel like with each thing i liked there were also parts of that thing that I didn’t like at the same time. It’s why i couldn’t do this review in a normal pros and cons format. My overall thoughts of this game basically boils down to: it’s like Trails in the Sky plus Persona but not as good as either of them. It does some things better but also some things worse. It’s a great game that is held back by a few things.  

 

 

8.5/10

Edited October 27, 2016 by Hemlock

[Hemlock]

 

 

Persona 2: Innocent Sin

System: PSP

 

Pros:

-I thought the story was great and I liked the characters. This has become my favorite story out of the Persona games that i’ve managed to finish (IS, 3, and 4). The premise of rumors coming true sets up some fun but also some really crazy situations. Even with all the craziness going on, the story between the characters and their past was really interesting. 

 

-Ginko’s and Eikichi’s abusive relationship was entertaining throughout the game. Eikichi is also probably now my favorite male character in the Persona series. 

 

-The pacing of the story is pretty good. The game moves from one thing to the next and never seems to drag. The game starts with you just checking out random rumors and introduces the real story and the plotline of their past at just the right moment to keep you interested. Most dungeons are kind of short with the exception of one in the middle of the game and the final one. I was playing the game just for the story and was able to beat it in only ~35 hours.  

 

Cons:

-This game is super easy. The only time i was ever scared of wiping was during the final boss fight. Consumable items are generally pretty cheap compared to in Persona 3 and 4 so I was able to stock up on a lot of SP items. This let me go through dungeons and fights without having to worry about anything because i could replenish my HP and SP all i wanted. This game is up there with Final Fantasy 7 as the easiest jrpg i’ve ever played.

 

-The battle system itself is perfectly fine but it is so damn slow. Painfully slow. Thankfully i was playing on an emulator (i legally own a digital copy but my psp is broken!) and was able to fast forward the game whenever i wanted. 

 

-I am not a fan of the demon negotiation system. I’ve started this game and dropped it multiple times probably because of this. This time i used a contact guide so i don’t have to deal with the trial and error and randomness of it all. I was also constantly underleveled. If this game wasn’t so easy, trying to balance out fighting and making contacts for cards might have ruined the game by making you have to grind to farm xp and farm cards separately. 

 

Overall:

 

The story and characters carry this game and make it great. It’s a really easy game but the lack of difficulty might actually be a good thing here to limit needless grinding and card farming. Highly recommended as long as you play it on an emulator and can fast forward during battles. 

 

8.5/10