Tag: Late Review

Late Review: The Last of Us

Most people can simply enjoy what they do.  I nitpick, poke fun at things I enjoy and appreciate them even more so, whilst others are quite content to be content. Yet there are those vocal few that find it difficult to just have fun.

There are those that like to take the adversarial stance. The more a game, a movie or a show is popularised, the more likely they are to find fault with it. On the other side, some people cannot enjoy something if they know critics find fault with it. You can usually find these two groups bickering about their most/least favourite thing online, whilst everyone else enjoys that thing without issue.

The Last of Us is a hill on which many people have squabbled. I’ve heard the words “prefect game” and “total garbage”. It cannot be both of these things, and its really neither. No game is without issues, and something so popular must have merit…

Continue reading “Late Review: The Last of Us”

Late Review: Final Fantasy VII Remake

I recently replayed Final Fantasy X, and when I was nearing the end I made a comment to a non-gamer friend that I might play Final Fantasy X-2 again.

They immediately had questions:

  • Why is it called ‘Ten Two’? Why not call it ‘Eleven’?
  • Why is only one of the numbers in Roman numerals? Were they worried people would see ‘X-II’ and think they had skipped a game?
  • Why is it written as “X-2”? Looks like ‘ten minus two’. Is it secretly Final Fantasy 8?

I didn’t have the heart to break it to them that there are actually three Final Fantasy XIIIs. With all the other spin-offs, prequels and pseudo-sequels out there, I honestly don’t know how many Final Fantasy games are out there myself.

And now we have Remakes in the mix.

Continue reading “Late Review: Final Fantasy VII Remake”

Late Review: Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order

“It’s like Dark Souls.” That was how Fallen Order was first introduced to me. I’ve heard the comparison made with other games, so I didn’t really react. Since diving into the game, there’s definitely truth to the statement, but it overlooks a lot of other games Fallen Order resembles.

This game is what happens when someone asks “what do people like in games?” and then puts all the answers into one game. There are elements of Fallen Order that are very Dark Souls. There are platforming, wall-scaling moments reminiscent of Uncharted. Metroid influences are everywhere in the level design and progression. Enemies light up when they are about to attack à la Batman. It has the additional story-through-collectables from, well, every modern game.

Continue reading “Late Review: Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order”

Late Review: Subnautica

I am not a particularly adventurous person. For example, I would never, ever go skydiving. I have however, been swimming in the ocean once. I can’t say I entirely enjoyed the experience. I’m glad I did it, and it was a great experience, but I wasn’t ever completely happy about being there.

That’s because the ocean is a scary place. Floating in an expanse of seemingly endless water, knowingly surrounded by life that can move much faster and more gracefully than you that may, at any time, want to investigate your level of tastiness, creates a very daunting atmosphere.

Of course, I could leave the ocean at any time. I wasn’t trapped there. Whilst Earth’s oceans do contain dangerous sea creatures, I was no where near exploding fish or leviathans the length of two football pitches. I also didn’t have to arrive at the ocean on a crashing space ship. All these things would make the ocean much more terrifying, and part of the reason why Subnautica is such a fascinating game.

Continue reading “Late Review: Subnautica”

Late Review: Horizon Zero Dawn

Imagine stumbling upon an object or place from our ancient past. Intentionally or otherwise, you unearth a piece of history that no one has seen for centuries. Regardless of your views on archaeology, being the first person to wander an unknown tomb, to hold a relic in the palm of your hand, would be a wonderful moment.

Now imagine your discovery is both 1000 years old and from the 21st Century.

Continue reading “Late Review: Horizon Zero Dawn”