Recent reviews by XShadowY

What an amazing "end of the year" surprise...

I didn't have any expectations towards this game when I started it, I only know that I generally like twin-stick shooters. I prefer to play them alone, however. Rushing around a map with other people is not my thing, I love to linger as long as I like and check all the details.

And this game has a lot of them, I mean... as in... nowadays you really don't get that very often anymore.

It reminded me of classics like "Crusader: No Remorse" and I was directly brought back to the good old days, when games were full of details.

The modeller(s) and level designer(s) did an unbelievable job. Such variety in objects and environments is very rare these days. Every scene is literally littered with ...things. Cables, rusty bolts or generally just junk. And every corner of the "city" feels fresh and doesn't have a construction kit vibe to it.

Shady back alleys, small and bigger bars, a casino... or do you prefer the premium waiting area of an airport? Even after getting the achievement for discovering all areas I stumbled across parts of the city which I hadn't seen before.

It's like the game designers said: "We will have XY main missions and YX side missions." But the level artists didn't care, they already planned out and modeled the whole city. ...and they would have done it anyway, because it looks like they had fun doing it.

For some people it might be too widely stretched, sometimes you need a little patience going from A to B. At least for me the map and fast travel system was hard to grasp and only at the end I half-way understood how it worked. But this also might have come, because I enjoyed walking around.

I really don't like it in games nowadays that every maggot is levelling up with you. Not here... (big grin) After you levelled up and also treated your tools with a little care, life expectancy of everything opposing you will go down to zero.

Emphasized by great sound effects (the most violent and scary sounding flamethrower I came across in a game) and film like explosions it's pure entertainment. ...or, it was for me...

I only faced a game-braking bug once, just after the end, my character fell through all floors and could only be "saved" by bringing up the main menu again. However, I have to say that the auto-save system worked really nicely throughout the whole game. I never had to repeat minutes of gameplay after the character died. Only before boss fights there can be the notorious cut-scene which has to be skipped to be able to quickly continue.

Oh, did I mention the photo-mode? Finally a (vanilla) game in which you are able to truly move the camera in a free and unlocked way. Sure, you can see the "backstage area", all the parts of the game which might not be as glorious as the rest. But that's just the reality of how games are made and if this doesn't take you out of the overall atmosphere you will get a great photo tool, which allows for some creative shots.

I'm full of praise for the game, which was truly unexpected for me. But, if your aim is to play it in co-op I probably would listen to the other reviews which focus more on the multiplayer side.

My single-player run was a great experience and I can only recommend it for people who like the overall setting and don't need company.

I hope there will be much more content coming, because I'm looking foward to return...

I'm quite sure, I haven't seen everything yet!!!

Since this game has been ripped apart right from the start, yet I consider myself among the very few who really enjoyed playing it, I want to leave my feedback. I wouldn`t call it a review, because in my opinion this expression should always have a touch of objectivity...

However, after playing it through for two times and getting 100% achievements I think I have seen enough to be able to leave a remark.

In short, and leaving all technical troubles you might face aside, you need to ask yourself, whether you like the shooting/ stealth mechanics this game has to offer, or not? And, because this game consists of millions of shoot-outs who play out very similar it stands or falls with liking that or not.

The good thing about it is that you can easily find this out within the 2 hours refund range Steam offers.
If you have played the first "Watch Dogs" you will directly feel familiar with handling those bad guys and this means, if you stay in control of the situation and patiently sneak through the enemy ranks it is relatively easy to survive. Should you be seen or using unsilenced weapons, however, the situation can quickly turn and enemy reinforcements can overwhelm you.

For me the gunplay and stealth mechanics feel very satisfying (what a morbid thing to say given the brutal nature of those encounters) which actually didn`t let them get boring for me.

So, from an open world game like this I expect "driving and shooting", and when the game delivers exactly this is it valid to call it repetitive? You wouldn`t play the "Middle-Earth" games, if you don`t like to hunt down thousands of Orcs, often in exactly the same way, right?

I love how the game is presented, showing cut-scenes about every major character. You annoy the bad guys, often this will result in a cinematic depicting their mood after you did this. To me this felt very satisfying… and fresh.

Maybe the game would have had a better chance, if it wasn`t called “Mafia”? Playing a colored Vietnam Veteran on a vendetta maybe has a more “Rambo 1,5” vibe to it? However, I personally couldn`t care less about the name, and since most people compare the game to “Mafia 2”…

For me that one was the emptiest open-world game of all times, filled with Mafia clichés and a main character that is rising within the family just to keep doing the work of Henchman #9.

I think Vito has much more personality in “Mafia III” than before, so he gets a thumbs-up from me for his guest performance.

I find the history behind everything in this game quite interesting and equally tragic, and after a gaming session I caught myself googling for many subjects I met in-game.

Mardi Gras, Papa Doc, Dixie Mafia...

And then, of course, being colored in the United States of the 60`s…

Is there any other non-RPG game where a shop owner threatens you with the police just because you want to buy a beer?

Kudos to the game developers that they have taken this route. I found the characters and overall atmosphere very fresh.

Again, I don`t care a lot, if the game runs with 30 fps or 1000 fps, if many of the buildings are copy and pasted models …or that there are completely dark areas whereas you don`t have a flashlight… (what???).

I found the whole mix of the used ingredients entertaining, captivating… but also touching.
Oh, and on a side note: Once you (according to most people) tortured yourself through the game, don`t skip the credits at once.

There`s yet another cut-scene which might be able to put a satisfying grin to your face…

What? This cut-scene is capped at 29,97 fps and not in 16K??? Burn it, burn it!!! Bring torches and pitchforks!

First let me say that I really like the game, in particular for its "gunnery and aiming system". It`s a fresh and demanding change compared to "Victory at Sea" and "Battle Fleet 2". In this game, especially in comparison, experience will not make you too powerful, or the game too easy.

Basically you constantly need to update the direction of your batteries and control the angle of the guns and you have different indicators to help you with that.

However, the most reliable source of input is your own experience and the map on which you are able to track where your shots have landed during the past six turns, and how the fleets have moved since then. And after a while of playing you will get a better understanding of how much you need to adjust the range when your fleet is crossing the T, instead of steering head on towards the enemy and therefore drastically reducing the distance.

You have the option to extend the starting distance of the opposing fleets and add a wind modifier to the battles, so the engagements can get quite demanding and sometimes you will need several salvos to score your first hit.

So, you keep comparing your own assessment of the situation to the targeting computer`s calculations and making a better choice based on the map recordings than the value the computer is offering is really satisfying and can make the difference of landing the first hit, or watch some nice magazine explosions on your own ships.

The main and only game mode for me to play (after the "tutorial phase" has been finished) is the dynamic campaign. I want to be suprised by the events and random engagements and build my own fleet which I try to protect throughout the campaign (in the dynamic campaign you have the option to build 30 ships, 10 ships maximum per fleet).

The dynamic campaign in this game tries to be historical correct, so the engagements mainly happen around merchant shipping. The Axis forces try to sink a pre-defined value of supplies and the allied forces will do their best to stop them.

Unfortunately, for me personally, this historic setting is a little bit too repetitive for my taste. I like clashes of big surface vessels, but, since they didn`t happen for real with Germany trying to avoid Her Majesty`s Royal Navy, you won`t find them during this dynamic campaign.

Sure, there are battleships around and you will fight them, but as an escort or rather small fleet. To reach the objective in sinking or protecting the convoys you need to spread your forces and this means you need cheap ships and many of them. ...and this means submarines or destroyers.

And this brings me back to my aforementioned point: Submarines and Destroyers are not my particular favourite class of ships.
...and during the dynamic campaign there`s a lot of Submarine vs. Destroyers. ...I mean... a lot. ... I mean ...a grindy lot.

Probably historically correct, but for me not very thrilling. This also has something to do with the implementation of submarine warfare in this game, which is rather simplistic.

If you create a wolfpack and an engagement is about to start your submarines will be automatically placed around the convoy. This means a few of them are already in a good spot for firing their payload, but others have no chance of keeping the pace of the surface vessels, at least not when they are submerged.

Since the game takes the "workload" off of you to manually have to destroy each and every merchant ship after you have knocked out the escort (which is a huge plus), you actually focus your fighting on the enemy combatants. Should you be able to destroy them, you are able to stop the battle and all merchant ships will count as "sunk".

So, there are 1-3 destroyers and (a little bit historically uncorrect I would say) instead of hunting the merchants, you start to hunt them. How do you hunt a destroyer moving in a torpedo-evading zig-zag line? You fan out your payload... and you do this with all of your subs. With a little bit of luck you will hit them badly, badly as in "there won`t be any opposition left" and you just "collect" the merchants...

Should you not be as successful and one of them is even starting to bully you, no problem, you just dive away and are able to disengage from the battle. Hm...

And as mentioned before, since you try to sink all merchant ships that have ever been built, these kind of engagements will happen a lot.

As a destroyer captain you just have to move over a sonar contact marking and drop your depth charges close to it. Hm, also not so thrilling... at least for me.

But, this is just my personal opinion, maybe the way submarine warfare is implemented in this game is exactly your thing...

For me the game shines in its surface battles. When you encounter an enemy battleship and can say good-bye to the idea of "I even won`t let them scratch the paint job of my battleship!!!"... Then it`s gloves off and a nail-biting shoot-out will commence.

Things I noticed which give the game a little raw look and feel to it are an unintuitive interface with no tool-tips.
Instead of dragging a wheel with pressed mouse button to reach an angle of "16.3" why not just let the player enter a value with the keyboard?
When wanting to buy a new ship during the dynamic campaign you have to switch on the labelling of the map, which makes names and ports visible. Then click on a zone in front of a port to get to it. Then, in the harbour screen, you need to click on the "purchase" button...
Why not just add a purchase button below the map on the main screen?

Submarines have no heading indicator above the surface when they are diving. To check where your sub is going you need to move below sea level with the camera and look for yourself.
All different ammo types are on the same button, which you have to click several times to get to the one you want... and at the end of the battle you will notice... "Oh, I had 3 air strikes available?"

You want to check how many torpedoes are available or have been reloaded? Click the ammo button. You realized that you have none available and want to continue to the next turn? Press the same button again until it shows "Done"... Hm, a dedicated "End Turn" button would be smoother and more user friendly...

It looks like that the sea has always the same swell, unfortunately there`s no difference in visual depiction of rough or calm sea.

I`m also missing some sound effects, like UI/ button sounds or firing of depth charges and torpedoes...


I think the game has a lot of potential and I really like it. It is not my intention, if my criticism sounds a little bit harsh. I merely wanted to explain that some things might feel a little bit rough for potential new or interested customers.

The scenario might not be the perfect one for me (probably a Pacific game will match a little better for my taste), but`s that`s just my personal thing. The same is valid for this completely subjective "review".

The production value of this game is great and the naval warfare experience is unique nowadays, the developer is very active in the forum and, if you are only a little bit interested in turn-based navy engagements I would suggest you give this game a try.

...and I love it for that!

I`m a little tired of the flood of typical 2D side-scroller with their 8-bit looks and sound. A pixelated look does not necessarily deliver an old school gaming experience.

Well, this game here comes very close to what I think is a very good "gaming in the 80`s experience" and it does so without the blocky look of its competition. And it`s pure survival, no leaderboard race...

What fascinates me, besides the artwork and sound, is the flow of events you take part in. The weapons, enemies and levels are very well designed and after a while of playing you feel like the main dancer in a gun ballet...

You can handle each situation with your standard pistol, you are never defenseless, it`s just a little bit more fun to take out the other surgical instruments. Some guns are better in specific situations, but basically you could use the pistol throughout the whole game and this, in my opinion, is very good game design.

And if you solve a tricky situation with just your standard piece it will put a huge grin on your face.

What else makes me smile all the time? The reloading animations and general physics engine!

It`s just fun to see (and hear) how your guy is reloading the good old double-barrel shotgun, and the empty cases gently sliding down an elevation. After reloading the pistol he is even pulling back the slide...

The levels offer a great variety of putting your gun ballet dancing to the test and are well balanced. At some points you just need to rush through a room guns blazing and then there are other moments in which you can pause and hide behind an obstacle...

...and speaking of the grin you got while playing: The chain reactions caused by a misthrown grenade are just hilarious.

So, my final words regarding this game:

To the developers: Where can I sign-in for a monthly subscription of more levels, enemies ... more everything?

To you: Never forget to reload your gun after a shoot-out!

(If you don`t ... meh, it doesn`t matter anyway, if this game is your thing you will just smile and return ...double prepared this time, of course)

If 2D enforcing for the mob is something you always wanted to try this game is an offer you can`t refuse!

With help of the manual, tutorial messages and forum you have made it past the clunky UI of the operations map. Your units have been resupplied, at least most of them, and you figure out that it will have to do for whatever is coming next.
You arrive on the battlefield at 06:48 a.m., the morning mist creates a surreal look of the environment. Will you even be able to make contact with the enemy? You wanted to take your time and encircle him, at least secure your flanks. But he surprised you and attacked first...

Are his units as battered as yours or did he bring reinforcements in without you knowing it? You have no idea about what`s coming at you...

One thing is sure, however, you don`t want to let objectives Amethyst and Malachite fall into enemy hands. So, you decide to split your forces in two battlegroups. One is worn out, but has better equipment left and the other one... well, they are rookies, but you don`t have anything else. And the tank, what will you do with the tank? Should he try to break a possible attack in the first minutes or do you keep him in reserve, as a last option when everything else has failed?

You decide to leave the tank behind and use him as a wild card, if one of your battle groups is wavering. Both task forces are set up along the way to the objectives, based on the environment you found good ambush spots and hope that the enemy will pass through them. You are confident with the way you placed your forces, the only thing which makes you worry is ...both battlegroups are separated by around 3 kms.

07:14 a.m. and still no contact. You chose the most battered squad and send them on a recon run in the hope to get a position of the enemy`s assault force. 20 minutes later you are sure, the opponents main attack will hit the rookies...

What will you do with your units of the second road block? Should they hold their position in case of enemy activity, should they rush for aid to help their fellow comrades at the first road block? 5 minutes later you are still not sure, if you need the second ambush point at all? Meanwhile forward elements of the enemy have made contact with your weaker task force. Mortar rounds are pouring in on them, the whole task force is in danger of just being swept away.

You decide to mobilize the units of the second ambush point. It seems to be more important to support your buddies than waiting for an enemy who might not even arrive. But it`s 3 kms through rough terrain, will they make it in time? And what about the tank?

The tank will maintain his position and you decide to only use him in case of utmost emergency. In the meantime the mortar fire on the first task force has stopped and it looks like for the moment they can defend their position.

Battlegroup No. 2 is still on its way and around 1,5 kms out. Suddenly, they receive fire from a small forest and you think about dealing with them first or to continue to their original objective which was "helping out those rookie guys". It looks like the rookies earn their stripes and haven`t moved back an inch, you decide to clear out the forest to secure the flank of the rookies.

Halftracks are moving in, infantry disembarks and you follow them into the misty forest. The halftrack with the much needed 7,5 cm gun takes the first hit, it goes up in flames you can only feel pity for the ejecting guys. Yet, you don`t know what hit it. Infantry is continuing their march into the woods when they suddenly spot an AT gun, secured by an HMG. Your people are in the line of fire of both guns and hit the ground earlier than you could order them to fall back. They are pinned down, one by one is being taken out, but still, they are crawling towards the guns and still push forward.

Of course it has to be like this way, while your second task force plays hide-and-seek in the forest the rookies are giving in to the pressure and it looks like the line is ...vanished. Time for the tank!

You have high hopes for the steel beast to turn the tide of battle in your favor. Eagerly you follow your tank while it uses the road for faster movement. After about 100 m something explodes around the tank, you zoom in just to find out that the enemy has secretly managed to sneak engineers through your lines. The tank treads are gone... Why didn`t you at least spare a squad to secure the tank? You will never know, meanwhile the tank, stationary like a AT gun, is fighting for survival. The engineers throwing everything they have, ...but miss. Burning spots around the tank, but the crew inside manages to stay calm and takes out the enemy one by one until he surrenders. The tank didn`t live up to your expectations, but, at least he is not lost.

Unfortunately that can`t be said about the units in the forest. They have overcome both guns, but at what cost? After having sacrificed 70% of their strength you move them back to the halftracks, let them embark and try to save the rest of what`s left of task force 1. There is not much shooting anymore around the first ambush point, it seems both sides are exhausted.

A few minutes later the halftracks finally arrive at your first battlegroup and bring much needed support, though tiny in numbers. But, as soon as the first vehicles open fire the enemy is offering a cease-fire. Will you accept it and call it a day, ...or, what if, the enemy is close to break? Should you risk to go all-in with your tiny relieve force and take a not so glory victory back home?

You decide to go in for the kill and, at least this time you were right, soon after the transported infantry disembarks and joins the fight the enemy surrenders, the battle is won.

It is 08:33 a.m., you lost 85% of your combat strength and you think about, if there`s enough left to continue at all. Then you notice that your enemy lost even more...

For the battles to come you will adapt, ..and you will repair your tank. And you won`t make the same mistake twice.

And, since this round lasted almost 2 hours, there`s still laundry to do and your wife needs help with the kids, you decide to leave the game behind for now.

Yet, you surely will return. You lost 85% of your troops but you feel like General of the Month...

At least until your wife enters the room and recites the "today`s to-do list" in front of you...