Reincarnatedwolfgod said:
Kotor 2- With out the restored content mod I still think it's a great game despite it having a magnitude of problems. with the the restored content mod It's much better while still having glaring problems. The combat is never satisfying and but it's tolerable for the most part. a few areas are a real slog to fight though, in particular the final area of the game. Kreia also happens to be my favorite video game character and one of my favorites in all of fiction.
I still need to play
KOTOR 2 (I have it on Steam), but count me in for
KOTOR 1. It's overall well written for the time it was released and while the plot twist would probably be pretty obvious if you played it at an older age it works well. The problem lies in the incredibly boring combat gameplay. I enjoyed it at first then realized this later. The only reason I was able to keep going is that I have an incredible capacity to grind through things like that even though I hate them and that helps ease the pain. There is also the issue that some of the character relationships in your party fall flat. I had a much better time playing as a female Revan because, wow, Bastilla is annoying/boring in a relationship. All her lines felt corny, scripted, and forced whereas Carth with his trust issues felt more natural. Bastilla has a better dynamic as just another person in your party.
Speaking of
Star Wars, why not count the Episode 3 tie-in while I'm at it. It's a solid game based off the best prequel movie even if that is not saying much for the movies. Between all the characters you can play as, some of them have one too many similar basic moves and I don't think it's fair how you can't play as Yoda in the multiplayer. While I'm on the topic of multiplayer, I think it was a wasted opportunity to not make co-op available for the campaign. It'd be nice if one person was Obi-Wan, the other Anakin during the early levels and then players could switch off between whichever character was the main one for later levels and a mook (clone). If there were no mooks accompanying then the other player could act as a help cursor like in
Super Mario Galaxy or as one half of the moves list (one person moves the character and controls basic actions, the other controls complex actions). Another nice thing about co-op is the developers could then make the Dooku fight much harder. I thought it was too easy and with a player as Obi-Wan instead of the AI, it'd probably be funner coordinating attacks. It would also make the final level that much more painful: After that great coordinating experience all those levels back you now have to fight your friend, not only in the game, but in real life. I am tempted to just learn hardcore modding, hack my Xbox, and add this stuff myself in honestly. That's how flawed I think it is for them not to do any of this.
Batman: Arkham Origins is definitely one of my flawed gems. End of the day, I like it. I liked the countering counters mechanic although I wish its scope had been expanded. I like some of the new gadgets. The story, all things considered, is pretty well done even if the big twist is obvious and just another way to shoe-horn in the overly used major villain (who, mind you I still like). I was really hoping for Black Mask to remain the big villain. It'd be nice to get a focus on somebody else for a change. Deathstroke has WAY too many copied moves from Batman and Robin's arsenals to be a different character. He does have different moves, but way too many similarities and considering Joker could use a gun when you play as him on the PS3 version of
Arkham Asylum I see no reason Deathstroke should not be able to. The multiplayer does not live up to the promise it has one bit. Then, there's the fact that a lot of
Arkham Origins is just
Arkham City in terms of the map. I'm still upset this series hasn't included a boss mode despite the fact the bosses get better every game. The fact the AI has seen no improvement is a damn shame too. The remote claw would be a great opportunity to showcase improved AI design, like if they heard it being shot, saw it coming, and ducked or cut the wire after it grabbed them or pulled it off after it attached or SOMETHING. I single out the remote claw because it makes stealthing too easy and kind of came off to me as a more combat oriented version of the Batclaw and Batman's grappling gun. There's also the fact they shoehorned in WAY too many gadgets from the previous games. Their excuse for this is abysmal as well. Finally, the lack of citizens in Gotham is a sad state of affairs and another thing they wave aside rather pitifully. Unfortunately,
Arkham Knight decided it's going to shoe off the citizens too. So much for getting the full Batman experience they promised.
Mirror's Edge is another flawed gem of mine for what I like to think are obvious reasons.
The latest flawed gem I've played though is
DmC: Devil May Cry. A friend showed it to me not too long ago relatively speaking and that's what got me into the franchise at all. I bought 3 and 4 soon after and with a recent Steam sale I now have the reboot too. The attempt at plot is pandering, juvenile, and poorly done social commentary to please what the developers think is their demographic. Capcom coercing them into fitting a more West oriented audience did not help either. I do not find Dante to be a likable character. While it is easy to see coming even if you haven't played the originals, Vergil's actions at the end feel forced though the song that plays while he gets ready to fight Dante is nice. Nonetheless, the gameplay is solid: I love the angel dodge, the grabs, and the different dynamic for air juggling compared to the originals. There is some good music among all the meh dubstep. The visuals are good. It is a good game. It is terribly flawed however, only really worth it on sale.
