Recent reviews by Raptor788

TLDR: An amazing tactical shooter that still holds up today. Hard difficulty provides an engaging, strategic challenge that relies on commanding squadmates with pretty good AI. A little bit of bugginess from the age and the port, but nothing too major.

An old classic I remembered faintly from my childhood. A while back I got it on steam, and I must say, it really holds up as a great game today. That isn't to say there aren't a few bugs here and there, and some questionable design choices, such as extreme camera shaking in one of the earlier levels (which thankfully doesn't happen again, so if you can get past it, you're good).

CHALLENGE
I highly recommend playing it on hard difficulty. It makes good strategic decisions a necessity, because you'll have to rely on your squad a lot to help take things down or complete tasks. On hard, you take SIGNIFICANTLY more damage than your squad-mates, so you can't always go in guns-blazing on your own without even thinking about ordering your squad around. The only issue with doing this is that there are a few sections of the game that are much more difficult because you're forced to go solo for a while, leaving you VERY vulnerable.

ATMOSPHERE
I really like a lot of the details they put into this game, like how blood and oil will splatter the visor and it will wipe itself clean after a moment. Really makes you feel like you're in the thick of it, especially when there's a lot of incoming blaster fire.
The dialogue and the characters are great too, when you give orders the responses are snappy and clear. The animations are pretty great- your squadmates even have special takedown animations with enemies in melee, just to add a little flair.
Each of the three stages you perform missions on have their mostly unique motifs, particularly the second one. I won't give too much away, but I was surprised at the amount of variety in the enemies.

GAMEPLAY
Since the game revolves entirely around commanding your squad, it's good that your squadmates have pretty good AI. Their pathing is good and they know how and when to take cover, and they certainly know how to put the hurt on the enemy when you give them the means to. The only issues I've seen is sometimes a squadmate will get stuck in a wall or something and won't be able to follow you, but I think that's more of an environment issue than it is a pathing one.
The gunplay itself is pretty good and very satisfying, and while the selection of weapons is somewhat limited, it's not at all the focus of the combat and thus doesn't leave you really wanting.

CAMPAIGN
The missions were each unique enough that each new situation felt like a new challenge to overcome, and the story was pretty alright, certainly enough to get you invested in the situation. Some of the moments were more interesting than others, though I also feel like a few sections were cut off rather abruptly.
Somewhat of a spoiler(?): The ending felt somewhat anticlimactic, like there was meant to be one final mission after a really intense moment and it seems like a tough decision needs to be made... then it cuts away abruptly and a text box describes what happens before loading the epilogue. It didn't necessarily take away from the whole thing, but it was a little disappointing. I wonder if they had more planned but couldn't put it in in time.

Overall I found it was a very fun game to play through. It doesn't really have much in the way of replayability, unless you play it on a lower difficulty first and want to try going through it on hard later. It was a pleasant surprise that something from my childhood still holds up today, and its quality wasn't just nostalgia.
If you've read this far into my rambling review, I'm not sure what else I can say to convince you. It was a lot of fun, especially for an old game. Check it out.

If you've played the first game and liked it or even just had some issues with it, this one improves on it significantly.

One of the coolest and most interesting RPGs I've ever played. Deep, rich story with multiple layers and possibilities, and a very interesting turn-based combat system. The campaign itself is worth it, playing alone or with friends.
In addition, the game has a custom campaign mode where you can prepare an adventure and take a group of friends through it as a GM, like Pen-and-Paper RPGs like D&D, but with the built-in combat mechanics of the game.

I should note that there is a definitive edition for this game in august that apparently fixes some issues, reworks some parts of the campaign and rebalances some abilities and such, so if you're not sure about getting it now, at least keep it in mind and check it out when that version is released. I'm fairly certain the definitive edition is free if you own this version, though. Either way, I highly recommend this game!

I'm surprised I didn't write this sooner.

Hands down my favorite RTS of all time.
I played a lot of the first game when I was younger when I had it on CD-ROM, and I loved it. Forged Alliance improves on it in almost every way. This game has an excellent campaign with well-designed and lengthy missions, which alone make the game worth getting.
If you have friends who play this game, it's even better. There are tons of maps ranging from 5x5km to 81x81km in size. You can mix in AI opponents/allies of varying degrees of difficulty as well. Most of my time put into this game are skirmishes vs. AI or with friends.

There are some issues, of course, being an old game. One of the biggest my friend keeps complaining about is that the pathing can sometimes be buggy, but it's not game-breaking. Also, BE WARY of tabbing out of the game while in a match. Sometimes it'll just crash.

If you like building and blowing up tanks and big stompy robots on huge-scale maps, this is definitely for you.
FOR THE CYBRAN!

Fantastic game, better with friends. The loot system can get a bit grindy, but has multiple ways of getting you what you want. NOTE: Make sure to download the free DLC available, they'll help make it more interesting. As long as you enjoy the gameplay (which I think is very fun and satisfying), you'll have a good time.
There's a lot more I could say, like about different playstyles or the fun character dynamics, and the interesting look into the Warhammer fantasy setting, but I'm just going to keep this brief. I definitely recommend it.
The DLC missions are good too, a bit pricy, but fun. The game itself is definitely worth picking up.

I played through this game from my brother's shared library. I still bought the soundtrack edition even when I knew I probably wouldn't ever play it again, for the sake of spending money on it and writing this review.

There's not much I can say about the game without spoiling. All I can say is that this was an experience I'll treasure forever, and that it's going to stick with me for a while. This game managed to impact me in a way no other game had done before, with one notable exception. Even then, this is something else entirely.

In short... you're just going to have to take my word for it. Play this game yourself.

This game had a rocky start, but I've stuck with it since the alpha. It's had its ups and downs with balance and technical issues, but Ubisoft has stuck with it and continues to add new content and consistently work with the community to make the game more and more enjoyable.
It's a unique kind of fighting game that's worth taking the effort to learn and master. While the game still has a few balance issues, they're constantly being worked on, and I have nothing but hope and excitement for the future.

Make sure you have DSfix and DSCM (connectivity mod). This game is great but it's a lousy port, these should fix most of the problems for you. Look them up, they're easy to get working.

I had a great experience playing this both alone and with friends. Combat was great.

This game is SO COOL. You can do so many things, combining all different types of magic to make something crazy. Definitely a game you should play with some friends, you'll have a bucket of laughs.

What can I say that hasn't been said? This game is a classic and it's still getting updates. About time I wrote this.

Super fun both on your own and with friends. A big, 2D world to discover, loot, and build in. A sandbox with actual progression, locked behind interesting and challenging bosses. Hundreds of weapons and tools to play with, and plenty of different playstyles. It just keeps on going, and keeps on giving.

I was there at its beginning. Figured if I've sunk this many hours into it, I at least owe it a review.