Game Reviews #2 - Payday 2

Platform: Steam
Store Page
Price I Paid: £6.54

At first, I really wasn't a fan of this game, I played it for a good two hours or so and found it to be a buggy mess and I left it at that. However, Steam Sales have their ways and I bought this game because my mind thought "Huh, £6 for this game, why not?". I installed it, gave it a good eight hours play and here's my opinion on it.

The game has definitely improved from the last time I played it, but it's improved in areas that wont show until later on into the game. For example, the first time I played through the game, I thought the AI was horrendous, you could have a staring contest with a SWAT team and they'd realise that you were an enemy when you're already gunned them down, taken the money to your car, drove off and had a cup of tea to end the day. The team AI was worse, they had basic commands, they could revive you and shoot their guns, but they couldn't carry bags, that meant if you had eight or more bags, you would have to go backwards and forwards eight times. A working AI is crucial to a game! Obviously Payday 2 thinks otherwise.

Multiplayer is near impossible to play. I'd say about 85% of the community will kick you if you aren't a high enough level, don't have a certain gun or attachment and, best of all, will kick you if you want to have fun. Now, as a gamer and collector, I like to have fun when I play my games. Payday 2 included, I do not launch Payday 2 and go into Bank Heist mode, I go into Relaxed mode.

The maps, you'll play them often, they all get the same, boring. It's randomised where things will spawn in such as the drill or the vault, but there are very few places where they can be spawned, maybe two or three at the most. Some having an advantage over others, the easiest way to get the biggest advantage is to reset the game until you get a good layout where you can be in and out as quickly as possible.

The gun variety is nice, if you get bored of a gun, then you can switch over to another, followed by another and so on. But the only problem really with the guns is that they don't have any, weight, to them. If you've played Black you know what I'm on about. It actually sounds like a powerful weapon, that could kill somebody. The guns in Payday 2 sound like a Nerf gun got jammed and you're trying to unclog it.

One of the most interesting parts of the game for me personally was the Safe House and the promise that we'd be able to customise them with the money we get. I can't wait for that to come into play, I love games like The Sims and that's when I realised. I could just play Sims.

If you really want to play a Bank Heist simulator then play Payday The Heist, it's much better than whatever this is.

Payday 2 gets a 4/10.

Are the Amiibo's over glorified statues?

So, as I hope you're all aware, Nintendo has released something called "Amiibo's". They're miniature statues of all your favourite Nintendo characters (excluding Waluigi) which you can level them up in games including Mario Kart 8 and Super Smash Bros. In essence, this sounds like fun, I mean, you have a miniature statue, which is great for collectors like me and you have something that adds a little extra to your game.

But are they worth it?

Honestly, I think they are. Mainly because they are extremely well made with unique poses and items attached to them. But that's about it. I wouldn't get any benefit from using them, they'd only really be useful if I had completely finished a game and wanted a bit extra, but for games like Mario Kart 8 and Super Smash Bros. there isn't really an end TO the games.

Some of them are posed, strangely too, I mean, take a look at the Luigi one:



Why was it posed like that? Most of them are posed in a stance of sorts, like Mario for example:



That looks awesome, but they aren't really made to aesthetically please, they're meant to be used in game, which there doesn't seem any real point to right now.

Unless you've finished your games and are bored completely, then stay away from the Amiibo's for now, they're like the Skylanders statues but not needed for gameplay.

Games You Haven't Played #2

So, I guess I'll just use these when I can't think of anything new, I'm way ahead of myself on writing the reviews which will come out every Friday, but I'm having trouble filling in the rest of the week, any suggestions would be great, but for now here are three more games you've probably never played.

Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard



Surprisingly, this game is decent enough. I was expecting some sort of sub-par shooter. Which it is, but with one of the most parody filled stories I've ever seen. This game is cheap as hell if you can find it and it's well worth it for the story, but it's nothing special. Did I mention Neil Patrick Harris is in this game? There's another reason to buy it.

Destroy All Humans 2



Damn, I remember playing this game all the bloody time on a PS2 at my friends house. It's a nostalgia fuelled adventure for me and made by the once great THQ and Pandemic, who've both closed down. You can get the first one fairly cheap and the same goes for the second one. While the mixed reviews may put you off this game, believe me it is well worth it.

Crash Tag Team Racing



This is at #3 in my favourite games of all time and it's by far my favourite Crash Bandicoot racer/game. I have spent hours playing this game and it was one of the very first games that I've ever completed 100%. It's full of new and old characters, platforming and racing. It combines the platforming with the racing seamlessly, with a hubworld and the actual races. Not to mention you could morph with other cars, destroy everyone else with a Wampa gun and then disengage as you crossed the finish line. Sweet memories.

Steam Sale Specials - 23rd of February 2015

Steam always has sales and I thought with this post that I'll do daily I could bring some excellent games that are very cheap to your attention!

Banished - 70% Off (£4.49)

So, Banished is a game you technically can't win because apparently everyone dies of frostbite and old age or something. I haven't had the chance to play it unfortunately but judging by the Steam reviews and videos I've seen on Youtube it seems well worth the money and at 70% off, where can you go wrong?

Europa Universalis IV - 75% Off (£8.74)

Another game I've never played but it's such a big discount, what's the point in not picking it up? If you like strategy games then I suggest getting this game. The game has received insanely high ratings from reviews so that's something to vouch on if anything. Personally, I'm sticking with Civilization V on this one, I mean, it's much more simplistic and I'm a simple person.

Dungeons of Dredmor - 50% Off (£1.74)

I've been wanting to get this game for a while now, it's intriguing, so I fancy having a play. From what I've gathered it's gonna be like Dungeons and Dragons, so that'll be great, I think? It's got overwhelmingly positive reviews on Steam, so like Europa, hope for the best.

That's what I've picked out of the current deals that are worth picking up right now. Be sure to follow my blog, the second game review will be out on Friday!

The Five Must Have Games of 2015

So while 2014 has come to a close, about two months ago, we should start looking forward to the games that are soon to come out or are out but you're too lazy to buy. Here's the five games I think everyone should buy and play:

The Legend of Zelda Majora's Mask 3D


We've seen what the 3DS is capable of for Zelda games, especially with the Ocarina of Time remake, I honestly can't see why you wouldn't want this game if you have a 3DS. It was one of the best games on the Nintendo 64, being ported over to a handheld console!

Mortal Kombat X


I think it's been proven to us that the Mortal Kombat games are extremely good, see Mortal Kombat on the Xbox 360 for further details. I'm actually excited to play this game, I'm not very good at fighting games, but that wont stop me from playing the hell out of this game once it's out.

Lego Jurassic World


I just found out that this game was coming out, I mean, it could be terrible for all we know. But, the Lego games have worked wonders with terrible movies if that is the case with Jurassic World. I mean, did you see what they did with the Star Wars prequels? They made it enjoyable! It doesn't seem possible to do such a thing but they actually made Anikan Skywalkers teenage years fun for all the family.

Godzilla


If you've seen my previous blog, you'll know that one of the many forgotten gems of the GameCube is Godzilla: Destroy all Monsters Melee. This game has already been released in Japan, but we're awaiting a release in the UK. I have such high hopes for this game.

Star Wars Battlefront


This series is Legen-wait for it...dary. I mean, I can't name a bad Star Wars Battlefront game. I have fond memories of playing Rogue Squadron on my PSP, this series was one of the greatest of it's time and provided a Single-Player Team Deathmatch experience. Who's behind development? EA.

You have your chance EA, don't mess it up.

Games You Haven't Played #1

So, another new series I'm starting, while the game reviews will be up every Friday, this will be up every Saturday and I'll find something else to fill in Sunday, not sure what yet. But, in this new, thing, I'm going to be listing a couple of good games that you've probably never played or even heard of for that matter. Just remember, these are only games that I've personally played. Let's begin.

Godzilla Destroy All Monsters - Gamecube




                                               





 









I've never been a fan of Godzilla, but then I played this. I heard about it from AVGN and I picked it up from my local game store. The best way of describing this game is that it's like Super Smash Bros with Godzilla characters and lasers. The game I have is for GameCube, which received very positive reviews when it came out way back in 2002, with IGN giving it an 8.5/10. Each character has their own special moves, like Godzilla has the Atomic Ray, while Rodan has the Uranium Heat Beam. It really is a great game, which you should be able to pick up on eBay for very cheap.

Beyond Good & Evil - Xbox




This game was one of the first games I ever bought for the Original Xbox, I mean, it wasn't as soon as the game came out because I was a GameCube fan, but I found it in a game shop for £1 with a lot of other great titles and I thought "Why not?". It was at that point I stuck it into my Xbox 360 (didn't have an Xbox at the time). While the game received extremely positive views, I personally feel as if the game has been forgotten over the years and it could now be considered a hidden gem for the Xbox.




 007 Quantum of Solace - Xbox 360

Wow, a movie tie in that wasn't awful? I used to play this game all the time, I like the James Bond films, the newer ones as much as the older ones. This game is pretty creative, I didn't pay much attention to the story, it's pretty much Casino Royale but with a couple extra missions. While the graphics are, uhm, OK, it's still worth having a look at this game. IGN gave this game 3.5 Stars out of 5, so you can probably tell the game is average, but in my eyes it's pretty damn fun, with some easy achievements too.

So, there's three games to sink your teeth into, you can probably get these three games relatively cheap too, so that's always a bonus.

Game Reviews #1 - Hitman Blood Money

Platform: Steam
Store Page
Price I Paid: £1.99

Hitman is one of the few stealth games that I can actually sit down and play. I don't play stealth games because of my lack of patience and stealth games are usually pretty linear or bad nowadays, but Hitman is one of the few series that still has some life in it.

I remember playing this game first on the Xbox 360, it was the very first game I played on the new machine and was the first 18 game I ever played. I have fond memories of playing this game, so it does hold a dear spot in my heart. But I'm not going to be talking about the Xbox 360 version, or the console game for that matter, I'll be talking about the PC game, which was released on 30th May 2006.

I think what you'll notice straight off for the Steam version is that you can't access the internet or chat, or is that just me? I mean, that's pretty damn big, I like to talk to my friends over Steam while I play games, but this game has disabled that, a lot of other games have that problem too, not necessarily with older titles but with newer, indie games too.

Hitman Blood Money follows the story of Agent 47, an assassin who arrives in the United States (in this game). Narrated cutscenes drive the story, through the form of an interview, where a journalist interviews a former Director of the FBI. The story spans over the course of two years, the first mission being a-No Spoilers-ish.

The graphics, I must say still stand up today in my eyes, but graphics shouldn't turn you off playing a game, that's just stupid. The detail shown on the character models and background is aesthetically pleasing, it always seems to fit the mission perfectly. The missions are all open ended and can be completed in any way you want, ranging from stealth and timing to guns blazing. I went for a stealth option on one mission, which ended up with me stealing a guards clothes, finding a shotgun, garrotting the target, hiding in a closet until the second target came into view, shot him in the face and then ran to a plane as the whole world's military force got nearer to me.

This is most certainly the best Hitman game.

The game is fun and for £6.99 you're definitely getting your moneys worth.

Hitman Blood Money gets an 8/10