Review

Nier Automata – Final Thoughts (Updated Review)

Matthew Roys Review, Uncategorized , , , , ,

Image result for nier automataHaving had a few weeks to mull over Nier Automata since completing it and taking the time to read/watch several reviews, I’d like to layout my final thoughts on the game and offer a closing review that coves the game’s whole scope rather than my first impressions review. Obviously there are spoilers ahead.

I’m not planning to retread old grown. My more general thoughts haven changed so for mechanics and the like you can read though my original review here, and for my feelings after Ending E that cover a major theme of the game then you can check out this.

My original score for Nier Automata was an 8, which in my system is a god score. Too much hyperbole exists within reviews now with many looking at anything less than a 9 as somehow bad. But for me, some of my all time favourite games I would score as low as 7 because to me a score should include mechanics, scope, characters, story and enjoyment. Something that I absolutely loved could be clunky and sparse of content while something I personally hate could be a masterpiece. In my head, an 8 is a great game that I would recommend to everyone. Continue reading →

Review – Dark Souls 3: The Ringed City DLC.

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The final ever piece of Dark Souls content has been release for a few weeks now, giving fans plenty of time to fight through the fresh terrors and study the obscure clues to piece together some semblance of lore. But how does this final bit of content compare with the grand legacy that the Dark Souls series has created?

Well, it is certainly more Dark Souls. The enemies, the level designs and everything else feel like they belong with the rest of the game. They got the tone right and produced more great content which is really all that most fans want. We got more weapons, spells and armour to play with and new challenges to overcome. And boy were there some challenges. Continue reading →

Nier Automata – First Impression Review.

Matthew Roys Review, Uncategorized , , , , , , ,

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In an action-packed first quarter to 2017 for games, with such massive titles as Horizon Zero Dawn, Nioh, Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Mass Effect Andromeda, Platinum game’s sequel to a relatively unknown JRPG: Nier Automata was not the obvious choice to pick up. I had never played the original Nier and neither had I played the Drakenguard series that are Nier’s spiritual ancestor. Added to this, I have never really played any of Platinum’s catalogue either. So why did I choose this game to be my first game of 2017?

Something about Nier stood out for me during the early footage we were shown. It wasn’t the titillation of the scantily clad lead female, 2B, (though I won’t argue against it), and it wasn’t that I particularly like Japanese RPGs. What got me was the style. The aesthetics. The world. The androids were sleek and gothic, the robots strangely endearing, and the ruined shell of humanity that formed the landscape was eerily beautiful. This caught my attention and, unlike many other AAA games, nothing came up to cast doubt in my mind. Continue reading →

Gwent – Closed Beta First Impressions

Matthew Roys Foresight, Review, Uncategorized , , , , ,

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The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt was by far the best game that I have played in several years. I have put around 200 hours into the game by this point and a good number of those were lost to the addictive mini-game known as Gwent. As somebody that loves collecting things, the whole finding cards to collect them all was something that really drew me in and the card game itself was engaging and fun. When the great CD Projekt Red announced that they were releasing Gwent as its own game I was thrilled. As such, the second that I could I put my name down for the stand alone Gwent game’s closed beta.

So is this new Gwent just more of the same? The game as it was in The Witcher 3 (we’ll refer to this as W3G) was fairly basic and was stacked heavily in the player’s favour once they had collected a few cards. The standalone Gwent shares the same spirit and basic layout as W3G but has been reworked to better suit PvP play and extended deck building.  Continue reading →

Dark Souls 3: Ashes of Ariandel – Review

Matthew Roys Review , , , , , ,

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I never reviewed the base game for Dark Souls 3. I loved the game but felt like it was missing something. As such I wanted to wait for the DLC to be released in the hopes of it completing the excellent experience. So for reference, the base game would be a 9/10 for me.

So did the first DLC have what I was looking for? Sadly not. Playing AoA was a strange experience for me since I loved every second of it yet felt nothing but disappointment after about three hours. The reason being that I completed the it within that time. Barring one area where I fell off a tree a few times, I only died once to each of the DLC’s two bosses, and I am far from a good player. Most of the enemies were slow and weak bird fetuses and bloated flies. The bigger Vikings were a fun challenge and I hated the Edward Scissor Hand crows guy in a good way but that was really all of the enemy variety available. The same was true of the areas: they were beautiful and interesting but so short that I felt like a traveler walking straight through the scenes rather than actually visiting them. Continue reading →

Review: Overwatch

Matthew Roys Review , , ,

Overwatch is the hugely praised first person multiplayer shooter from Blizzard. It has been a massive talking point from its colourful characters, its Pixar quality animated shorts, its solid gameplay and its rampant use in porn. Some sing its praise while others see it as an overhyped Team Fortress 2 clone.

I don’t usually play FPS games. In fact the only one that comes to mind is the Halo series. I tend to prefer narrative driven RPGs but the vivid visuals and a strange longing for human interaction like in the days of early Halo 3 made me interested in Blizzard’s first venture into the genre. I played Overwatch in the open beta and have put a fair few hours into its release version. Continue reading →

Xcom 2 Review

Matthew Roys Review , ,

Xcom 2 is a turn based strategy game about human resistance fighters trying to overthrow the aliens who now control Earth.

If you played the first of the new Xcom games Enemy Unknown or its expansion Enemy Within and did not like them then you will not like this one any more. Lots of little things have changed but the visuals and mechanics are still very much in the same vain as the previous game. It is improved in most ways but nothing is different enough to sway opinions on the series.

If you did enjoy the previous Xcom then chances are that you will enjoy this one too. This review is more for the people who have never played an Xcom game or were left on the fence about their feelings towards them. Continue reading →

Review – Fallout 4

Matthew Roys Review ,

Bethesda’s Fallout 4 is a good game. You don’t need some nobody on the internet to tell you that. How good is it though?

I enjoyed Fallout 3 back when I played that but was not as fond of New Vegas. Of the games that I’ve played, Fallout 4 is the best game of the series graphically, mechanically and narratively. It is not perfect though and has split opinion.

With the hype that the game received when it was announced, it was impossible for it to fully live up to people’s expectations without heralding the second coming of Christ. That isn’t to say that it failed to please. Continue reading →

Review – The Witcher 3: Hearts of Stone

Matthew Roys Review , , , , , , , ,

A strange first review. The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt feels too old to review now but I have yet to finish enough of Fallout 4 to do a write up on that. Being the last piece of game content that I completed, the first dlc content for The Witcher 3 seems like the best place to start.

I loved the main game of The Witcher 3 to the point that it will likely be my game of the year. I bought the £130 collector’s edition and got my money’s worth out of it. Before Hearts of Stone my gameplay time was at 146 hours. I purchased the collector’s version of HoS too, (I needed those gwent decks after not getting any with the PC version of the main game), spending £15 on it.

Hearts of Stone is late game content that expands the existing region of Novigrad, adding more weapons, armour and enemies on top of the new quests and mass of new question marks to investigate on your map. It truly is an expansion like those of the past. While the extra area added is not massive, it is densely packed and beautiful to behold. Continue reading →