[PS3] Left Behind DLC and The Walking Dead S2 Ep1+2 Quick Hits

Some quick hits for the following games I completed recently. No spoilers, of course.

The Last of Us: Left Behind DLC

This was a fantastic addition to the main game. It was well written and well directed. We got a alot more Ellie and also had some real insight into her past. It was full of cute little moments and made me love her even more. What I also loved was that it also cleared up one part of the story in the main game. For anyone who completed the main game, this is a MUST play. 

The Walking Dead Season 2

Episode 1: All That Remains

An exciting introduction to Clementine's journey after Season 1 ended. There were some really crazy unexpected moments. The new characters were pretty interesting as well. It was great to be back in this world playing as Clementine this time.

Episode 2: A House Divided

FANTASTIC. This was even better than the previous ep. Full of character development and some good moments. It was also much more tense than the previous ep with higher stakes. There were some really nice surprises which I will not spoil. This might be my favorite episode in the entire TWD games so far. I can't wait to see what happens next.

Overall

I highly recommend playing both games. Both Left Behind and TWD S2 feature strong young female characters who have to deal with some pretty terrible shit. They are much more interesting than most other video game characters out there. Love Ellie and Clementine.

[Vita] DanganRonpa: Trigger Happy Havoc Review + Thoughts

Finished the game today after a major marathon and it was awesome. So I never actually knew what DanganRonpa was before its announcement for the West. I only knew they were games that were released a while back on PSP and I knew fans loved the series. I also knew about the anime for this game but I never checked it out. I remember checking out some of  the artwork online a few years ago though. But all I heard from fans who recommended it was that it's like 999 and Ace Attorney and I was sold. But after finishing it, I feel it's much more than that.

Story - (No spoilers.)

So do you like the Zero Escape series? How about the Persona series? Or how about the Ace Attorney series? Ever wondered what would happen if someone combined them together? It would be DanganRonpa, yo!

The story was simply incredible. It was full of twists and unexpected moments. You play as one character who is trapped in some weird school and must work with a cast of characters to escape. I won't get into details but there are also trials where you must win to survive. The main plot was simply riveting from beginning to end. What really grabbed me was how much risk it took with its characters and setting. You just never seem to know what will happen next. The game plays around with your expectations all the time. Even when I figured out who the suspect was or how someone was murdered, the game would throw in multiple curve balls to screw with you. It was a lot of fun and kept me entertained. I never got bored with any part of the game. I was sucked into its crazy world. Some of the things that happened was incredibly morbid and disturbing. It definitely made me felt uneasy at times. There is a lot of dark humor that some people will enjoy. When the game wanted to be funny, it was funny. When it wanted to creep you out, it was pretty darn creepy. So good.

The characters were incredibly diverse and fun. They took your typical archetypes and totally messed around with them. I was continually surprised at how well developed and written they were. Most of them weren't what you'd expect from how they looked. Although, there was one stereotypical geek/otaku/nerd fat guy who encompassed all the negative sides of that trope. At least he wasn't dumb, sorta. But anyways, I really liked most of the cast. Most of them were very smart and very clever. In fact, some of them are even smarter than your character which was refreshing. I need to point out that it was very bold of NIS America for them to keep the original Japanese names. They could have gone the other way and made up English names but they didn't. I liked that.

The dialogue between the characters were very well written. I have to give NIS America HUGE props for the localization. I was super duper impressed! The dialogue was extremely natural and flowed really well. It felt like how people would speak in real life if they were put in these situations. Even the jokes were super well written. The lewd jokes in particular were funny as hell. I'm not sure who was in charge of them but they were biting and insanely well timed. Hell, even the cursing felt right for whoever was saying it in their situations. I laughed out loud quite often. I also liked the multiple references to other games and other forms of pop culture. Some are quite subtle while others blatantly mention specific product brands and/or names of real world people. It's a bit jarring when that happens but they don't date the game or make it feel awkward. If it weren't for the strong translation, I don't think I would've liked the game as much as I did. So once again, kudos to NISA for a job well done.

Gameplay

There are several distinct aspects to the gameplay which I will quickly summarize. It contains some familiar aspects you would see from visual novel games but contains a lot of actual game in addition to simply talking to people.

The first aspect is called "Free Time" where you go explore the school in first person mode and talk with any other students along the way. The game also allows you to fast travel to hot spots which made exploration a breeze whenever I had to backtrack to an area. You're given a specific amount of time to talk to students and get to know them. You can even give them presents you get from a vending machine to unlock skills you can use for the trials. I wish the game gave me more time to chat with more students in a day because people will die and when that happens, you can't talk to them anymore.

The next part of the game is the "Investigation" mode where you must gather clues after a murder has taken place. You basically need to investigate crime scenes and other parts of the school to collect evidence and NPC testimony for "Truth Bullets" which are used during the trials. The game won't progress until you find all pertinent clues. What I really liked is if you checked out the information before the trial, you can actually figure out a lot of stuff from your own detective work.

The third aspect is the trial itself. Characters start discussing the crime and you need to point out contradictions with your "Truth Bullets". You  need to literally shoot text on screen with your own text by aiming or tapping. It's quite challenging especially later in the game because it can go crazy with the speed and placement of the words. This was a really fun aspect of the game because how much action is going on. There is also a "Bullet Time Battles" which pops up certain times where it becomes a music rhythm game. Huh, yes, it's true. I'll let you guys see what that's all about but it wasn't too hard and added another layer of gameplay to the trials which was fun. I also need to point out that the trials are 100% voiced unlike the main game which really added a lot to this part of the game.

The final aspect is the "Closing Argument" where you must figure what happened in the entire case. You're given a comic book/manga where you have to put in missing panels that will reveal what happened. It's really fun because once you complete it, you see an animated comic/manga come to life and explain the case clearly and concisely. Very well done.

I need to point out that once you beat the game, there are a lot of fun extras to check out. Hint: School Mode.

Graphics/Audio

The visuals are absolutely stunning all around. Both the 2D and 3D art are super colorful and sharp. The 2D character art in particular is gorgeous. The character designs themselves are very attractive and well defined. There are several art styles that pop up but they're all beautifully illustrated. They look particularly nice on the Vita's OLED screen. The character sprites don't have actual animations like with the Ace Attorney series but they are well drawn and very expressive. The event art (the painted scenes) is stunning and the occasional pixel art is cute as hell. The 3D parts of the school are also beautiful and very detailed. The FMV scenes are a mix of 2D/3D and really interesting. I really love the look of this game. The game even allowed me to remove the UI during gameplay so I could easily take screenshots which was a nice feature. Why can't more games do this?

I also want to point out the gore in this game. The blood has been colored pink for some reason. I assume they were done to stylize the murder scenes or make it less gorey for anyone squeamish about blood in general. Personally, I think it took away some of the horror of the crime scenes. I wish there was a toggle for it. Just a minor gripe.

The audio was equally outstanding as the art. I loved all the music in this game. The trials in particular had several tracks which pumped me up. Great soundtrack all around. I also need to point out the English dub. IT WAS AWESOME. Yea, I'm not even exaggerating, it's just that good. The voices felt shaky at first when I started the game but they only got better and better as the game progressed. I didn't really fall in love until the first trial where it was fully voiced and you could really admire their performances. Everyone matched their roles and they did a great job making all these characters come to life. They read their lines with gusto. If it weren't for them, I wouldn't have liked the characters as much as I did. I became a fan of several voice actors simply because of this game. There was one character that totally floored me with their performance in particular. I won't spoil who though. *grin* Once again, great job NIS America.

Overall Thoughts

DanganRonpa exceeded my expectations even with all the hype from its fans. I loved every minute of it and was compelled to keep playing all the way to the end. Great writing, great story, great characters and great VO with fantastic art and music. It's a complete package and anyone who's into games like the Zero Escape and Ace Attorney series MUST play this. LOVED IT.

[PC] The Wolf Among Us Episode 2 & Jazzpunk Mini-Reviews + Thoughts

No spoilers for either games. Just impressions.

The Wolf Among Us Episode 2: Smoke & Mirrors was a decent episode. The story was still intriguing and the dialogue was still entertaining. This ep is much shorter than the first one and much more linear. It didn't have as many choices or branching paths as the first ep. That was a bit disappointing considering how Telltale kept delaying this installment. I actually replayed a few sections because I wanted to see the other bits of dialogue. I didn't do this for the first ep but I felt compelled to restart checkpoints for this one. It didn't change the results too much but that was to be expected. There isn't too much different here if you played the first ep already so I won't go into details about the gameplay.

The graphics continue to impress. I really love the art and direction. The VO is still amazing as well. I really love all the voices in this game. I swear Telltale has become one of my favorite developers when it comes to who they cast to do voices for their games. Good stuff.

Overall Thoughts

This installment was still enjoyable and added a lot more on top of what we got from the previous ep. Here's hoping Episode 3 is beefier and moves the story further along. I'm excited to see what happens next.

Jazzpunk was not a game that I had on my radar until this week. I wasn't really interested even with the internet buzz until a friend gifted me a copy to check out. I have to say that this is one of the weirdest and most hilarious games I've ever played. This is an adventure game in the first person mode. You're given objectives and you do them. The objectives and optional stuff is quite varied at times. There were some great parodies and homages. The game doesn't have a fail state so you can explore and experiment with all the great gags at your own pace. The jokes kept coming from every angle and were extremely clever AND dumb. I laughed out loud quite a few times. The story is just pure nonsense and super surreal.

The art is simple but very charming and super colorful. It just oozes style. The music and VO is also great. Everyone speaks with a weird filter and is slightly muffled for effect. I do have to admit I was a bit annoyed that subtitles were not available because some of the text that pops up doesn't actually match what is being said exactly. Turn up the volume or you might miss some good jokes.

Overall Thoughts

I'm gonna repeat: this game is super weird and very funny. Even though it was pretty short, I enjoyed my time with it immensely. I highly recommend you guys check this out if you want to try something different. I hope the devs make a sequel because I really enjoyed this strange world and I want to see more of it. Definitely worth checking out.

[iOS] Banshee's Last Cry Review + Thoughts

Finished this game earlier this week. This was a game I bought day one mainly because it was a Chunsoft/Aksys joint. I'm a huge fan of the Zero Escape series so why not? I don't usually play interactive novels (especially horror ones) but like I said, this collab was too good to pass up.

Story - (No spoilers.)

This game is basically a murder mystery in an inn. You play a guy who gets caught up in the mystery. The story has branching paths so you can alter how the story is played out and/or ends. Some paths and endings are jokes while others end in pretty horrific ways. It depends on what you choose. 

The story is really well localized and immersed me into its story and characters. I was quite engaged with it. The writing is excellent and very detailed. I don't think I found any typos either. I don't remember the original version too much but I can tell they had to alter some aspects of the story for the West. This isn't just a straight translation which impressed me. There were some cute moments with your companion but also plenty of really creepy or scary moments with other characters and situations. If you like horror stories, this is definitely a good one.

I need to point out that I actually read about this story years ago. I didn't remember until I started playing and it started feeling familiar. So while I sorta knew what the mystery behind it was, the way the story unfolded was still unpredictable and had plenty of twists. 

My only pet peeve with the game is from the very first page. They mentioned what color my companions's hair was which irritated me since I had an idea of what she looked like to me. Apparently, the Japanese original did the same thing but I wish they allowed me to change that aspect. Oh well.

Gameplay

The gameplay is very simple. You go through the story like a book and choose an option when they pop up. There is very little in consequence since you can go back whenever you want and choose a different path. But like any choose-your-own-adventure book, you decide how much you want to see in one path or backtrack and try to figure it out as you go. 

I also really liked the ability to rename the main character and your companion when you start the game. You could potentially have a bit of fun with the combinations if you wanted. It also made the game a bit more personal if you named the guy after yourself although his personality is pretty well defined.

I do need to point out that once you complete the game and solve the mystery, the game unlocks some really great additional branching paths that alter or expand the game's story immensely. I wish it was unlocked from the start so you could enjoy it fully but it does add some replay to it. You might even see new endings which is cool.

Graphics/Audio

The visuals for the game are pretty well done. You basically have photographs and other CG graphics to show the locations and setting. They're all very crisp and clear images. They do a good job of indicating where you are in the story. No characters are shown in these shots so how they look is up to your imagination. The only time you see NPCs is when they die. There are some up close-up shots of hands accompanied by blood. It's not too gruesome and if you're the squeamish type, you could change the gore level which can make the those images blurry or black and white. There is one room that actually had animation which was a nice touch. The game has a good look although I do wish there were more subtle bits of animation to make the backgrounds more lively. They're pretty static.

The audio is pretty good. There isn't much sound effects but they're effective when they pop up. The real winner is the music. There's a lot of creepy sinister tracks that will gave me goosebumps. Well done.

Overall Thoughts

This was a really great murder mystery. The branching paths added a lot of tension and replayability. It's really well localized and full of personality. If you like interactive horror novels, definitely check this out. 

[3DS] Fire Emblem: Awakening Review + Thoughts

Finished the game today. It was pretty damn good. This is actually the first Fire Emblem game I ever played. I do own a few of the other games but never got around to them for some reason. I decided to check out Awakening because of all the rave reviews. I originally started playing as a male in Classic Mode which had permadeath on. But I found out I screwed up and killed a possible recruit and I kept resetting the game when I lost a Unit I liked. So I decided to play a brand new game with a female in Casual Mode. It was pretty interesting seeing some dialogue changes between the two different genders. I also thought certain story elements were way more interesting but I'll talk about it in the Story section.

Story - (Contains massive spoilers. You have been warned.)

So in switching between a male and female character, your relationship with Chrom is entirely different right from the start. It was pretty interesting to see the male as a bro and the female as a love interest in the Support dialogue for Chrom. I thought the bro thing was alright but the game's story was vastly better when your Avatar is female. The bond between Chrom and my character was super sweet. I also really enjoyed the scenes between my character and her future daughter, Lucina as well. It added a lot of cool moments. I wonder how that goes with the male Avatar? Probably something entirely different.

The overall story/plot was pretty smart. Your Avatar is basically you or your persona but they have a reason why. Unlike most of games where you have this random blank cypher without a true background or story, your Avatar had a reason for being who he/she is in this game. I loved the twist where you're supposed to be the villain fighting your destiny to become one. There were some branching choices that changed the game's outcome in a few specific points in the story. I chose what I assumed was the best ending. The extra scene after the credits cemented my assumption and made the ending super satisfying. Loved it.

I also really enjoyed all the characters you recruited into your army. They're all funny or weird. The dialogue between them can be downright hilarious. I was laughing out loud over some of them. The entire story with the future children interacting with their young parents was also funny as hell. The situations they get themselves into is sometimes really silly. It was worth grinding through the game just to get their Support relationship maxed out and see all their dialogue. I didn't get a couple of characters so I'm really happy that I can replay and try to see the dialogue that I missed. They're really entertaining and added a lot to the Units outside of stats. They did an admirable job making me care about these characters.  Props to the localization team. They did a great job.

Gameplay

The game is a turn-based strategy game with some role playing elements. It's all very standard. I'm new to this franchise so I was a bit confused with the way some of the weapon systems worked. I don't think I actually got a hang of it even after 30+ hours of gameplay. A couple of my Units became OP in the last third of the game so I basically had them clear out most tougher enemies to get through the story. 

As mentioned, the game allows permadeath but this is the first game in the franchise that allows you to turn it off in Casual Mode which made the game way less tense. The game was still challenging at times especially near the end. The ability to turn off permadeath really allowed me to work on building Unit relationships and just enjoy the characters and story. If you guys want the challenge, the game has additional tougher difficulties for you so both noobs and veterans can enjoy it.

Unit relationships is a major deal in this game. The more you fight with certain units the better they fight together. Not all Units allow this but most do. You basically get better stats the more they fight together and you also unlock more Support dialogue as well. So not only is this good for the battles but it also adds to the story. I found myself playing in a very specific way so I could max out the relationship for my Units.

One really annoying thing was having to constantly restock weapons and items though. Weapons can be depleted through normal use in battle which was new to me. There was a lot of restocking which was an extra step this game didn't need. I didn't mind restocking items but weapons was a chore. It's just busywork. Money was hard to come by early in the game but you'll eventually get to a point where you'll find plenty in optional Challenges and story missions. I also didn't like that specific stores only had a certain amount of items in stock so I had to run back and forth looking for a specific weapon/item that I wanted. There should have been a universal store that sold everything to save time. The stores also allow you the ability to Forge but I only used it once and never used them again. It's expensive and doesn't actually make your standard weapons that much more powerful. Maybe I'm wrong but I found forging useless.

I need to point out that once you beat the game, you unlock some stuff in the Extras mode. I won't spoil what they are but they do add a bit of replayability to the game.

Graphics/Audio

The FMV cutscenes were pretty stunning. They're basically 3D CGI made to look like 2D anime. I really liked the look and animation. It's too bad they're so sparse but at least they're there. The actual 3D models were disappointing. The overall look of the character models looked like something from a PS1/PS2 game. Thankfully, the animations for the combat get better and better as it goes on. Some of the later critical attacks and magic spells look fantastic and super smooth. They're very well animated. The 2D sprites on the battlefield look pretty basic and tiny but at least they're detailed enough that you can easily recognize them. The battlefield themselves also look pretty basic with a few standouts. You won't love this game for the 3D visuals. The 3D effects are crap as well so don't bother turning it on. On the other hand, the 2D character portrait art is great and I loved all the character designs.

The audio is great for the most part. The VO is fine although nothing really stood out at me. You only hear full conversations during the FMV cutscenes. There's only some phrases or words spoken randomly during in-game cutscenes and during the Support dialogue. The random chatter/grunts etc during those in-game scenes were semi-annoying because they didn't really match the text.. They do add a lot of personality to the characters but I wish they words they uttered weren't so random. The music is excellent. I never got tired of any tracks even after hours of hours of the same music. There are a few standout tracks but they're saved for big epic moments.

Overall Thoughts

This was a really great game. I found myself super addicted to it for days and days. The story really hooked me and I really liked all the characters. They're all pretty charming and super funny. The writing was terrific. I'm probably gonna check out the previous installments in my collection now that I'm familiar with some of the mechanics. There seemed to be some nods and callbacks to the earlier games and I'm super curious about them now. Anyway, if you like turn-based SRPGs, definitely check this out.

[PC] Broken Age Act 1 Review + Thoughts

Ah, after two years we finally get our hands on one of the first major game Kickstarters I ever backed. This was the second project I ever backed on Kickstarter. When I heard Tim Schafer was gonna do a new point-and-click game, I knew I had to back it. Apparently, I wasn't the only one because it was a huge success and was the start of a multitude of gaming Kickstarters that became quite a success themselves. Of course, the Double Fine Adventure Game would become known as Broken Age and that's what I'm going to talk about here. I completed the game last night and it was everything I hoped it would be. 

Story - (No Spoilers)

I'm not gonna be specific about any aspect of the story or plot since it's an important part of the experience. I will mention what I thought of the worlds and characters. The world and locations are very surreal and strange and yet very familiar. The main characters themselves are very grounded and personable. The various NPCs you meet are very odd yet likeable. I found every character to be endearing and very charming. Even characters that only appear for a few scenes were great. Some of the jokes and sexual innuendos were really clever and made me laugh out loud. 

While the game is incredibly whimsical, there's also a sinister aspect which I won't get into. There's something going on with the world and it's quite intriguing. I was quite surprised with the plot and since this is only the first act of two acts, a lot of questions haven't been answered yet. It's a really nice taste of things to come. 

Gameplay

This is your standard point-and-click game but with essential elements simplified. First thing that I noticed was how incredibly slick the UI was. You get your menu up top while the inventory is at the bottom. Any long time adventure fans will grasp the mechanics in an instant. It's so simple that the game doesn't even give you any tutorials. You're simply dropped into the game and learn to discover what you can do. It's very intuitive. 

The puzzles were also very simple and easy. I only had two or three spots that took a bit of exploration and experimentation to figure out but this game was super easy. Tim Schafer's previous games usually had a few brainteasers that required a guide for me but not here! The solutions to the puzzles felt natural within the context of the world. The game gives you plenty of hints from within the dialogue so it's relatively painless to solve. Even if you were stuck, you could experiment with different objects in your inventory or explore around and it'll click. The game has no failure states or dead ends which was a relief. 

I can understand that some old school adventure fans might find the puzzles too simple but I thought they were well designed. The way they were implemented into the world made sense. I'm not into puzzles that try to scramble brains and Broken Age manages to avoid that issue here. 

Graphics/Audio

One word: WOW. The 2D art was gorgeous. I played on a 2560x1440 resolution and the game was super sharp and colorful through out. Characters were really well designed and cute. They animated really well too. It was like playing a storybook from my childhood. The art direction was beautiful. There's no other word I could describe it.

The audio was equally amazing. The voice-over was excellent all around. Everyone gave a strong performance. I didn't find anyone grating or annoying. You should check out the voice cast after you're done. You'll be surprised who they got to do the voices. The music was also great. It added to the whimsy and was very atmospheric. Really great soundtrack.

Overall Thoughts

This is one of the most refined and well crafted modern adventure games out there. The simplified interface and gameplay will allow both old and new adventure game fans to enjoy it equally. Really intriguing story with a lot of great characters. The wait was worth it and I can't wait to see how it ends in Act 2. Definitely a must play if you like Tim Schafer's games or adventure games in general. Definitely worth checking out.

[3DS] Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds Review + Thoughts

So I finished the game last night. It was a pretty fast marathon in a few days. It's probably the first Zelda game where I didn't need a guide to help me with a dungeon. The only time I needed a guide was for a few specific hidden items that were optional. I really wanted to experience most of the optional gear before I finished the game.

Story - (No spoilers)

The story is good although fans of the previous Zelda games will find certain beats familiar. The game is wide open so the story pops in from time to time. I do like how they set it up and how it progressed. They added some cool stuff to the lore and I did like a few twists. The ending was super satisfying. Once again, it's a very simple story but an enjoyable story nonetheless.

Gameplay

This is the type of game where old school fans will enjoy. The game was incredibly open and having the option to use most weapons near the beginning of the game was genius. I did find myself a bit lost at times because of how open it was. You can basically go almost anywhere. It made finding access to some of the dungeons a bit of a pain but you just need to explore a lot and you'll eventually find it.

The dungeons themselves were incredible. Very well designed and super fun to explore. I didn't find any of them frustrating like with the previous full 3D games. Every dungeon forces you to use a different weapon/mechanic to get through which made them all very refreshing. I also loved how intuitive they were. I found myself figuring them out fairly quickly which also made me feel smart. I hope other devs can learn from this game's dungeon level designs. It was pretty clever in spots.

Boss battles were a lot of fun and challenging. I didn't find their designs that unique or creative though. The designers seemed to have a thing for eyes or eyeballs.

Most of the weapons were familiar so nothing mind blowing about them. They were all equally effective which I enjoyed and the upgrades made a few of them more fun to use. 

There were some features that require StreetPass to work but since I never take my 3DS outside, I didn't use any of those features. Not a big loss.

Graphics/Audio

Graphics were very pretty and colorful. There were really nice touches with the animations and effects. I was quite impressed with a couple of dungeons in how they presented the puzzles with visual cues only. The character designs were cute and simple. Also, I highly suggest playing in 3D. The effects were pretty well done. You don't need to max out the 3D slider. It looks great with the 3D on, period.

The music...OMFG! SO GOOD! This is hands down one of my favorite game soundtracks ever. The remixed old music as well as the new tracks were all fantastic. Really great and moody and also epic at times. I played only with headphones to really enjoy it. There isn't a single bad track in the whole game. I loved every single one that played in every single area and cutscene. I can't wait to get the OST. It's that good.

Overall Thoughts

I'm really glad I played this. It's a fantastic game and was a lot of fun. I've been slacking and didn't play the previous major installments as well as the previous portable ones. Maybe they'll disappoint me after this one but this game was so good that I'm probably gonna check out some of the previous games in my backlog soon. You guys definitely need to check this game out if you have a 3DS. It's a must play.

[PS4] Call of Duty: Ghosts Campaign Review + Thoughts

Well, I finished Call of Duty: Ghosts on Hardened last night and it was actually pretty fun. I'm not sure why people were so down on it. Sure, I can understand that it was a step down from the BLOPS series but it had its moments. It felt more like the early CoD campaigns where the missions were a bit more direct and the story was a bit less convoluted. I think fans who liked the series before MW2 would enjoy it quite a bit.

Story - Contains spoilers so skip it if you care.

Story was pretty simple with a good smattering of wild missions. The story of the brothers was not bad and had a semi-good set up for why they were involved. You do play as other random characters from time to time but just like BLOPS, you played primarily as one character and stayed with the same couple of guys so it wasn't super confusing. Also, Riley (the dog) wasn't in the game much. He disappears after the first couple of missions and then suddenly joins you back for a dumb escort mission. A real waste considering how much they got the internet to hype the canine so much. I can only imagine they didn't think Riley would be so popular but it's the internet and they like digital dogs. Maybe the next game will do a better job.

The reason for the war wasn't explained very clearly though. The setting is scary as hell if you're an American but other than that, we're not told why the Federation wants to crush us or where your allies are in all of this. So while the war is much more protracted and larger scale than the previous games, the fact that the USA seems alone in this war was a bit stupid. The ending bugged the hell outta me. Rorke surviving a bullet to the chest PLUS managing to kidnap Logan to be brainwashed made ZERO sense within the context of the story. Not only did it undermine the awesome feel of completing the mission at the end but it was a very clumsy set up for a possible sequel. I did not like it at all. Why did you guys do that?

Anyway, some missions were better than others. I really enjoyed the stealth missions and all missions where you had to creep around. They were well scripted and had really great pacing and tension. I really didn't mind just following a dude around while trying to avoid guys.The one underwater and infiltrating the base as enemy soldiers were some highlights. The shoot out in space was unexpected and awesome as hell. I'm not sure how they'll outdo that in later installments. I mean, how could you beat that?

Gameplay

The missions were your typical follow-the-leader and shooting most guys or creeping your way to the objective. It was pretty entertaining for the most part. My major gripe is that this game suffers like most past CoD games where there's a few choke points. The enemies near the end were ridiculously accurate and will kill you instantly even after you spawned back sometimes. I can understand making the them tougher but restarting a couple of times from some random dude who suddenly decides to target me only while my buddy is next to him is very annoying. The first 2/3 of the game felt well balanced even on Hardened but the last 1/3 did piss me off a few times. It wasn't as bad as some previous CoD games though. I'm also happy I didn't encounter any spots where infinite respawning enemies occured. Good on ya devs. We don't need that shit in these games. The AI is alright but a bit brain dead at times for both sides. I know I'm the hero but at least put some effort into the suppressive fire.

Anyway, even with my complaints, the missions were still relatively entertaining. Riley was highly underused tho. He had a cool mechanic that was abandoned after the initial 1/3 of the game. So much potential! Boo.

Graphics/Audio

The CoD engine definitely looks dated now. It doesn't look super great even on the PS4. There were some impressive destruction but the overall look was a bit muddy in spots and I saw jaggies in the distance for most objects. Even with all the minor enhancements to the PS4's visuals, it looked last gen. Here's hoping the next game uses a brand new engine. The framerate held up really well for the most part so that's a plus.

The audio is just as impressive as the other games. Some really great surround and the bass was also great during major explosions. The voice-over was great as well. It's your typical soldiers yelling at each other but they were good at it. Even when the visuals disappointed me, I could rely on the audio.

Overall Thoughts

Game was still fun and had an entertaining story. It doesn't beat out the MW games with its over-the-topness nor did it beat the BLOPS games with its storytelling but it was still good. Certain missions could've been better and the ending should've been changed. But overall, I was satisfied with it. Well worth checking out if you're a fan of the previous CoD single player campaigns.