Recent reviews by Vom

Really impressed with this one.
Basically the same treatment that AoE2 DE got, but for AoE3.

The game is definitely more colorful than it was in the original version so the art style might not be to everyone's taste, but the higher fidelity outweighs that for me.

Also, just like AoE2 DE, quality-of-life improvements, new content added and balanced, modern matchmaking system.

They made home cities customizable and you unlock your shipment cards from the get-go.

My favorite of the bunch even though it's not the case for everyone.

The pathing is still not perfect by any means but at least I'm not banging my head against a wall like in previous games.

Here's to hoping that we also get an Age of Mythology: Definitive Edition!

The AoE2 we all know and love, with better graphics, quality-of-life improvements, modern matchmaking, new content added and balanced. Easy decision.

The pathing still irritates me to no end though.

The gameplay itself is quite fun, especially with friends. Very tactical, encourages diverse team rosters and communication.
Gunplay sometimes feels off with close to zero feedback on hits and especially the killcams can be puzzling.

(Be prepared for absolute a-wipes, toxic people and griefers of course, this being a multiplayer game with voice chat.)

However, I cannot recommend it in good faith due to the following reason: the core monetization.
Sure lootboxes and in-game currencies and microtransactions blabla, we all know the drill, but that's not why.

The real Ubisoft scumbaggery with this game is: this is a hero-based game, like Overwatch or what have you.
However, when you buy the base version of the game, you get access to a total of **0** heroes.
A third of the roster can be unlocked with 15-20 hours of gameplay, but of course they are not the "sexiest" heroes. Those require 10, 15, 20 and 25 times what the basic heroes cost in in-game currency!

The rest of the roster can not reasonably be unlocked, even with hundreds of hours of play.

So if you buy the base version to dip a toe in and see if you like the game, well you need to spend upwards of a 90 dollars to get access to the rest, or hundreds upon hundreds of hours of gameplay. You CANNOT upgrade from the base version to any other version of the game that gives you more heroes.

Basically, they should have made the base version free-to-play with the current monetization scheme.
Always feels like ♥♥♥♥ to PAY for a game, and get NOTHING in content.

This game taught me definitively not to hype up games, completely disregard marketing material and only trust in-depth reviews from tried and true people that share my values - these can be friends, independent YouTube reviewers like ACG, etc... To each their own. Now on to the game.

We all know the story, so to cut it short here's my 2 cents: this is a falsely advertised game that is not even close to what CDPR and its developers sold us on in the interviews.

It's not a deep RPG where you can choose your background and it'll affect the way you interact with the world, where you can "cozy up" to certain factions, bla bla bla.

They tried to sell this game as a Witcher-caliber+ RPG where you create your own character and carve your own path in a huge immersive sandbox, with a city in which "thousands of NPCs each have their daily routines".

It's a glorified Ubisoft-type open-world game. Aside from certain main and side missions that are exciting and sometimes moving, the rest is repetitive filler that lets you bang your head on the jankiness of the gameplay and the bugginess of the product.

If I were to recommend anything, it would be to watch Crowbcat's video about the game on YouTube.

The worthy successor to Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines.

If you like Realtime Tactics stealth games, this is a must-play.

This represents what many MGS fans thought MGS V: The Phantom Pain could have been, and I agree.

Short but great MGS experience.

Not worth the asking price.

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Disclaimer: The game contains some very shocking and disturbing content. Content that I question putting in an entertainment product.

It is not "in your face", but if you are the type of person to read everything and listen to every bit of recording you will be subjected to it, so I'd advise that you do not listen to them.

That is, if you even decide to buy it. Because it is very "japanese" - to say the least, and I am still truly amazed how all of it is not censored.

I would not even be recommending this if it wasn't buried in the extra content a little.

Overall I cannot recommend this game - especially at asking price - but I liked some of it.

If you are irritated by randomly appearing, dragging and honestly very uninteresting cutscenes that outright interrupt your action game, either skip the cutscenes entirely, or skip the game entirely.

The co-op makes for some of the most fun 2 player experiences out there with guns, vehicles, airplanes, grappling hooks, fishing, and many other things...
**WHEN the game and how it handles progress doesn't get in its own way.**

Allow me to explain: there is a main player and a guest player.
Some very important upgrades (such as the ability to have more than 1 primary weapon) is locked behind the game's story progress, and the guest player does not get to make the progress in the main player's game.
You can only keep the money and loot if I'm not mistaken.

This means that in order for both of you to be on the same level, you need to either complete the game twice in a row - one for each co-op player - or go back and forth between your two saves.

This combined with the game's very tedious take on story missions can make for a very frustrating game experience.

A very short albeit relaxing and sometimes mesmerizing experience.
Recommended on deep sale.

If you like classic RPGs such as Planescape where the world around you, the dialogues, the choices and the consequences they have are what gives you your fix and sense of immersion, this game is an absolute must-play.

The lack of combat could definitely turn a lot of otherwise RPG fans off so be aware of that.

My recommendation is mixed, but overall I'd still give this a thumbs up.

As many people before me have also put: if you're an MGS fan, you will be delighted by the new gameplay but absolutely devastated with the lack of narrative and story.

If you haven't played many MGS games before since not that many are on PC, you might really like this overall.

It is a great and deep stealth game with countless approaches to how you want to accomplish your objectives, and you can even run around the open world like it's your personal stealth sandbox.