Recent reviews by vapr2

LOOK WITH YOUR EYES, NOT WITH YOUR HANDS - what a tremendously gorgeous game, a visual treat, and a loving homage to Neuromancer and Blade Runner.

Driving a HOVA in first person through the rain soaked world was such a delight. However, for the entire 17 hours of gameplay I was constantly hoping to peer into windows that I drove by, sit down at a a table at one of the many diners, interact with the people, walk into those gorgeous skyscrapers, and just live in Nivalis. Despite having a hovercar you can only park in designated parking spaces (and for how many cars that are flying about, there are very few parking spaces). Despite the endless rain, everything is outside. And the walkways - why would there be so many catwalks and walkways?!

Your ability to interact with the world is very limited, and the number of unique places to visit are small. For such a crowded city, the only people that have any commentary are merchants and elevator operators. Obviously I stuck through the game so it was compelling enough, but I came away feeling there is so much more of this story that could have been told. This setting would be tremendous as an MMO or an engine for future games using a Shadowrun ruleset.

tl;dr, it's a good game if you like a (mostly) chill walking simulator.

Per my son: "this game was the best game I've ever played." He's seven ("and five months") and is obsessed with Poppy Playtime.

The game improves on the mechanics introduced in Human Revolution in every single way. You can see how this game could have been a sprawling masterpiece of cyberpunk brilliance if Eidos Montreal were allowed to flesh out the game. Golem City is ripped straight from Neuromancer and could have been an entire Deus Ex game unto itself. Thoroughly enjoyed it, despite all the flaws.

Streets of Rage 4 is a love letter to the franchise as well as beat 'em ups of the previous century. The art is gorgeous, the fan service is impeccable, and local / online co-op is a blast. This is the sequel for which Streets of Rage fans waited a long quarter of a century.

This is very much a niche game in an otherwise dead genre. Thank you Dotemu, Lizardcube, Guard Crush Games and SEGA for making this happen.