Recent reviews by Ishavet

Let’s address the war elephant in the room first: I initially approached “Battle for Greece” with skepticism. I hadn’t enjoyed AOEII:DE’s previous venture into Ancient History with “Return of Rome”—territory that traditionally belonged to AOEI. Both expansions would fit better with the first game in the franchise. While AOEI:DE and AOEIII:DE appear abandoned content-wise, AOEII:DE seems to have pivoted from its Medieval focus to become more about a particular gameplay style and aesthetic. This nearly led me to skip this DLC entirely—which would have been a significant mistake. “Battle for Greece” delivers some of the most enjoyable gameplay I’ve experienced in any AOEII:DE campaign expansion. The updated storytelling, voice acting, map design, varied mechanics, and even the soundtrack are remarkably inspired. Each of the three campaigns struck an excellent balance between timed missions, optional side quests, and the classic ‘destroy all enemies’ objectives. The quality and creativity throughout is impressive. My only criticism is the increasingly cluttered ‘game within game’ menu presentation, which I hope gets streamlined in the future, especially with more expansions apparently planned.

There are some valid criticisms of this DLC—namely, that the production value feels relatively low compared to previous ones while maintaining a similar price point. However, I’m less convinced by complaints about the maps taking too long to complete. As a single-player veteran, I wouldn’t mind more campaign-style content myself, but I found these larger standalone maps to be a nice throwback to the classic “Historical Battles” maps. Those were often sprawling and time-consuming, which, to me, used to be one of AOEII’s best qualities—just clear my schedule for an evening or two and let the story and event triggers guide me through a massive battlefield. If anything, recent DLC campaigns have leaned toward shorter, easier missions. On the other hand, while I generally enjoy large maps, I’m not entirely sold on this DLC’s attempt to depict vast real-world territories within a single in-game map. Conquering most of Scandinavia loses some of its immersion when all of Iceland is reduced to the size of a mid-tier base. Still, in terms of both storytelling and gameplay, the new Viking maps were a definite highlight for me.

I’ve loved the world-building of the “Outcast” franchise since my earliest moons as a PC gamer many cycles ago. And while I usually dislike the ‘hero with selective amnesia’ trope, it was probably the best way to handle the wealth of existing lore and characters—especially for newer players unfamiliar with them after so many years. Sure, the story and characters in “Outcast – A New Beginning” are packed with cheesy and campy moments, often bordering on self-parody (think of a character introducing himself as “Rumbar, son of Tekilabar”), but honestly, in these bleak times, I welcome a game that embraces lighthearted fun for a change. Playing as the wisecracking Cutter again felt almost comforting, like revisiting an old-school sci-fi action movie. What I enjoyed most, though, was the map traversal and—lacking a better word—the verticality of the world. After an initial “What in the Gork is this, a gorking jump’n’run?!” reaction to the first Orym trial, these quickly became one of my favorite aspects of exploration. The game has a wonderful score, looks gorgeous, and while I ran into a few minor technical issues, they never got in the way of my enjoyment. Definitely recommended for the non-cynical gamer.

If there’s one thing I love even more than a great Wild West game, it’s a great Wild East game. The Jidaigeki genre has always been one of my favorites, and “Ghost of Tsushima” superbly blends period drama with the open-world gameplay I’ve come to love over the years. It’s also one of the most visually stunning games I’ve ever played—I spent countless hours in photo mode, and the Kurosawa mode for New Game Plus is just *chef’s kiss*. The landscape and lighting direction make nearly every frame feel like a work of art. That said, the trade-off is that the map feels more clinical compared to “The Witcher 3” or “Red Dead Redemption 2,” which have more quirks and personality. But aesthetics aren’t even GOT’s greatest strength—its combat is where the game truly shines. While not as punishing as “God of War,” the fighting is both raw and brutal yet graceful and cinematic. Even stealth is well-executed, and I often found myself switching between different playstyles. Do we really need an online mode in a single-player game though? Probably not, but this one is well-crafted and fun—at least as long as the player base holds strong.

Playing the original “Red Dead Redemption” after falling in love with its sequel has both its positives and negatives. Experiencing the franchise in this order allows the story to flow naturally, as the events of “RDR” pick up right after those of “RDR2.” The narrative is engaging (even if it doesn’t quite pack the same emotional punch as the sequel’s) and exploring the Mexican side of the map was a highlight for me. That said, the relative limitations of this older game’s map were a constant reminder of how spoiled I’d been by the open-world masterpiece of “RDR2.” Still, I was pleasantly surprised by how many mechanics that felt fresh in the sequel are already present here. While the complexity is nowhere near the same, this simplicity means fewer hurdles for new players, allowing you to dive into the action much faster. Finally, the “Undead Nightmare” DLC included in the Steam version was a delightfully wacky and fun way to wrap up an already great experience.

I am not exactly a contrarian, so when I don’t enjoy a game with an “overwhelmingly positive” rating on Steam, it almost causes me more of an existential crisis than the Lovecraftian story of “SOMA” did. Maybe I’m just too much of a non-dualist to appreciate the philosophy behind it. Don’t get me wrong—the atmosphere, sound design, and visual experience (aside from the parts that look like they require the use of some ancient 3D glasses) are mostly well-executed. But I felt the story overplayed its hand too early by trying a bit too hard to impress with its narrative techniques. It was also immersion-breaking when characters seemed tonally disconnected from the story they are in. Instead of asking questions or reacting as a normal person might, they often just plow forward because the plot or underlying philosophy requires it. (The voice acting quality didn’t always help in this regard, either.) I am glad this game has its fans and that it resonated with so many, but I’m also glad I won’t have to play it again.

“God of War: Ragnarök” has the unenviable task of following an almost perfect game. Like most sequels, it sticks to the formula that worked so well in the original but amplifies it on a grander scale, while also adding some variation. The introduction of a new playable character and many other new faces slows down the pacing of the story at times, but since everything pays off so beautifully in the end, I have no real complaints about these narrative choices. The world could feel more dynamic and populated in places, but since this isn’t an open-world game, that criticism is somewhat moot. The visuals are, once again, stunning, the soundtrack is epic, and the atmosphere is just as immersive as it was in the first game. But most of all, the combat and dialogue are absolutely next-level, and especially towards the end, so wonderfully intense that I had chills all the way through to Ragnarök.

“God of War” may seem like a straightforward game with relatively few characters and side activities, and a main map that feels like a mid-sized theme park, but it sure as Hel gets the combat right. Like most console games ported to PC, where the lightning-fast action relies heavily on melee combos, you’re better off using a gamepad. For me, this meant - again - a few painful hours of getting wrecked by enemies until I built up the necessary muscle memory. But then something interesting happened: as Kratos struggled with his parental responsibilities and divine heritage, my skills improved. What once felt like impossible matchups became merely difficult, and then, fun. After honing my combat skills and refining them through the trials of Muspelheim and Niflheim (with some added help from the save/load function), I finally showed the Aesir and their minions who the true God of War was. Now this is entertainment.

Despite its title, “Desperados III” is as much a sequel (or prequel) to the “Desperados” franchise as it is a successor to “Shadow Tactics”—another installment of Mimimi’s uniquely flavored take on the real-time tactics genre. In fact, you’ll be much better prepared for this game if you’ve already played “Shadow Tactics,” as the gameplay is nearly identical. But don’t let the Wild West setting fool you into thinking it’s merely a reskin. Minor issues with controls and map design (particularly in narrow environments) aside, the mix of level design and gameplay mechanics in “Desperados III” is fantastic, making it another masterclass in this sadly still underrepresented genre. And it’s all held together by a solid revenge story and some cool dialogue.

I am seriously surprised by how much fun I had with “Desperados.” Even though I loved the first two “Commandos” titles, I never played this one when it came out because I remember critics saying it was an inferior addition to the real-time tactics genre. If that is true, it’s not by much. The art must have been on par with or even more detailed than the first “Commandos” title, by which this game is obviously heavily inspired. But it adds so many things, both little and big. Almost every mission introduces either a new mechanic, a new character, or both. Scripted events and the AI behavior create a more lived-in world. While I usually prefer the stealth method, it’s fitting to the Wild West setting that brute force is not punished as much as it is in “Commandos.” I also appreciate that the game takes its time to get the player acquainted with each of the playable characters and their abilities, and tries to string the missions together with an overarching (albeit cheesy) story.