43M's Gaming Journal: Now Playing: God of War Ragnarok!!!

[43M]

7 minutes ago, Norm said:

It's been a while since I played this, although I enjoyed it, I was glad it wasn't too long. It didn't drag. FPS games don't need to be 20 hours (for me). I understand wanting to get every hour out of a game though, especially at full price. But between what I own (and coughpiratecough/emulation), games that just drag and aren't really fun after a while except for the 20% that is the main game is getting old.

I completely agree.    I guess I just tend to enjoy games where I can get invested in the world and story, and those tend to be a big longer than games that are only a 5 hours or so.

 

7 minutes ago, Norm said:

Also if you ever see Call of Juarez the Cartel, the one after this, just pass. It's the absolutely most bland FPS you can imagine since PS2 shovelware. 

Ha....yeah, I recall Angry Joe saying that game sucked years back.

[43M]

  Review

 

I have not been a fan of first person shooter games for about 15 years now.    I grew up loving Goldeneye 64 and Perfect Dark, but after that, my love for FPS has dwindled.       Not sure why, but I could rarely get into them throughout my 20s, and so I barely played, and when I did, I didnt enjoy it all that much so I rarely played much.     

Several years ago, I remember reading good things about Call of Juarez: Gunslinger, and when I was able to get it for nothing (literally), I said why not.     It took me awhile to play it, but after I got around to it, I found myself interested in playing more.      I know games like Doom have been widely praised, but I wanted one more grounded in reality (i.e....not shooting demons or aliens ala Doom or Halo).    I had heard rumblings about a new Wolfenstein game and so after reading reviews, I was pretty interested.    Then, after seeing it was free on Playstation Plus (along with numerous other games I wanted to try), I paid of my subscription and downloaded Wolfenstein: The New Order.

So, was it any good?   Did this non-FPS fan enjoy it enough to continue playing FPS games going forward?

Yes, actually.   Thats not to say the game was perfect or even great, but it was pretty enjoyable, despite numerous issues and personal issues with the game.

First off, the gameplay is pretty standard fair FPS combat.    There was really nothing that made it stand out from a gameplay perspective.    However, it WAS done well.     Controls were responsive most of the time and it was obviously fun going on a warpath against the ruthless aggressors.        There were a few interesting gameplay element with some certain enemies, but for the most part, it was just a shoot em up.    There were stealth elements, but there were many parts of the game where the stealth was just ignored.   I know you cant always be stealthy in war, but I just felt like there were parts where that option wouldve been welcomed.

The story was pretty fun, even if scary to think about.    Its an alternate timeline where they Nazis one and took over the world and youre tasked with basically going after them and saving the world.     Its pretty basic, but I did like the story for the most part.

Graphics were pretty nice, even if certain environments felt a bit redundant towards the end.

Let me just say, this game was not a great beginner FPS game.   It pretty much expects you to be a seasoned FPS fan.   I played on normal difficulty and I died....ALOT.   I like challenge, but had I known, I wouldve likely started with a game that "holds my hand" a little more....if only just to get my feet wet.   I did end up enjoying it, but some of the challenging aspects were just annoying.   Some of the enemies were just huge bullet sponges.   I dont really have a major issue with that in some situations, but it never felt like upgrading guns really made a lick of difference, outside of certain cases.

There also wasnt really much to help you improve your weapons or character.    There were "perks" you can unlock after completing certain tasks, but again, it never felt like you improved or got stronger as the game went on, and that kind of annoyed me.  I like being able to feel like the character Im playing as is becoming more of a badarse, and I just didnt feel it much in this.

While I liked the story, the game did a poor job IMO of connecting you to the characters.   The main character you become somewhat attached to, but he is largely stoic and emotionless, so you barely care.     There were numerous characters youre around all game, but you dont really grow attached to them.   It wouldve been cool if you could talk to them more and get to know their backstories more, but the only time you really talk to them is when the game needs to you.   The worst is the girl you "fall in love with", Anya.      Nothing against her, but by the end your character is supposedly in deep love with her, but they never really develop the relationship.     They just show you clappin cheeks a few times and that means your character loves her?     Just felt rushed and cheap.

Bottom line:   I suck at FPS's anymore and I dont care for them much in general, but after this and Call of Juarez, I might play some more in the future.   I definitely wouldnt mind checking out the sequel to this at some point, and hope its improved in numerous ways.     I didnt love this game, but I enjoyed it enough that Ill likely look for some other FPS's that interest me in the future

Gameplay:  6
Story:  7
Graphics: 7.5
Value/Replayability:   7.5
Personal Enjoyment:  7

 

Final Score:   7.4

Edited July 14, 2022 by 43M

[43M]

Now playing....

 

Im about 40 hours in, and I am really loving it.    Its pretty repetitive and it does start to wear on you a bit, but the gameplay and story are top notch, so it keeps me going.    Almost has has much to do it seems as the Witcher 3, with all the damn question marks and missions popping up and just a huge amount of area to explore.

Probably be playing this for another 60 hours or more.   I am on act 2, and there is still alot left to do, including a huge new area to explore in the directors cut.      

[BobbyPhil1781]

Absolutely gorgeous game. You're right about the game play. Top notch stuff as well as the story. I had a ton of fun with that one

[43M]

I really suck at standoffs in this game.   I started off winning most of them, now I lose almost every one....either too early or too late.

Edited August 1, 2022 by 43M

[Shockwave]

4 hours ago, 43M said:

I really suck at standoffs in this game.   I started off winning most of them, now I lose almost every one....either too early or too late.

I'm pretty good at the 1st standoff even when the guy is feinting. But I unlocked the follow up strike and I'm like 40% on that one. Just can't seem to get a consistent timing on it.

[BobbyPhil1781]

4 hours ago, 43M said:

I really suck at standoffs in this game.   I started off winning most of them, now I lose almost every one....either too early or too late.

Once they start flinching as you progress, they got more difficult, for sure

[thrILL!]

18 hours ago, 43M said:

I really suck at standoffs in this game.   I started off winning most of them, now I lose almost every one....either too early or too late.

I stopped doing them unless I knew the opponent wasn't rolling deep.  There were a couple times where I did a standoff and not until afterward would I see a ton of goons step out and I was incredibly outnumbered with no element of surprise.

I haven't played it for a few months tbh after I started playing story mode.  I like this world of samurais, etc far more than I like the Wild West but it was tough playing this after RDR2 which does so many things better.  The map in Ghost is prolly more realistic in that you don't know where things might be but I also felt like I spent too much time meandering around bcuz of it.  

Honestly, the most fun I had with Ghost was playing 2p co-op online with my friend back east.  The two of us stealthily attacking villages and driving katana blades downward thru skulls after jumping off rooftops was so much fun.

Edited August 2, 2022 by thrILL!

[43M]

1 hour ago, thrILL! said:

I stopped doing them unless I knew the opponent wasn't rolling deep.  There were a couple times where I did a standoff and not until afterward would I see a ton of goons step out and I was incredibly outnumbered with no element of surprise.

I haven't played it for a few months tbh after I started playing story mode.  I like this world of samurais, etc far more than I like the Wild West but it was tough playing this after RDR2 which does so many things better.  The map in Ghost is prolly more realistic in that you don't know where things might be but I also felt like I spent too much time meandering around bcuz of it.  

Honestly, the most fun I had with Ghost was playing 2p co-op online with my friend back east.  The two of us stealthily attacking villages and driving katana blades downward thru skulls after jumping off rooftops was so much fun.

I do that all the time with standoffs, lol.

Only thing I dont like about the map is when you are in a town/village/hold, you cant view the map to find where the swordsmith, armorer, merchant, etc...are.   i often spend several minutes trying to find them in town.

And I honestly didn't know it had co-op.    Sounds pretty fun, though.

[Shockwave]

7 hours ago, 43M said:

I do that all the time with standoffs, lol.

Only thing I dont like about the map is when you are in a town/village/hold, you cant view the map to find where the swordsmith, armorer, merchant, etc...are.   i often spend several minutes trying to find them in town.

And I honestly didn't know it had co-op.    Sounds pretty fun, though.

So frustrating running around trying to find the one merchant you need. I'll run past the other two numerous times on my way to finally find the third.

My experience with coop has only been with randoms and one guy just wanted to play songs on his flute lol. So we'd wipe out a village and walk slowly playing our flutes to the next fight.

[43M]

They killed Sora (my horse). 

Bout to go all John Wick on these fools.

[BobbyPhil1781]

On 8/3/2022 at 7:56 AM, 43M said:

They killed Sora (my horse). 

Bout to go all John Wick on these fools.

Yeah, that scene was brutal

[43M]

Review

 

I wasnt really sure what to expect with this game.   I have heard nothing but good things, but I honestly didnt know much about the story or what the gameplay was like.   Then, when I saw it was available on Playstation Plus, I decided to join for the first time ever, since it was cheaper to join and play than to buy the directors cut of the game, and there are also numerous other good games on PS Plus.    It came down to this and Nioh, and initially I picked Nioh, but that game was crazy hard from the get go, so I decided to back off that one and try out Ghost of Tsushima.   

After playing it for a few hours, I was struck by the familiarity of the game.     Even though it took me time to master certain things, it seemed as if every element of the game was something I had played before....in a good way.    Turns out, this game is a crazy concoction of many of my favorite games....

Witcher 3 -  Certain aspects of combat, huge map with lots of question marks
Horizon Zero Dawn -  Climbing, Bow and Arrow gameplay
Tomb Raider - Climbing and exploration
Batman Arkham City - Stealth gameplay
Red Dead Redemption -  Movement, horseriding and aspects of gameplay

Its crazy how it blended so many great aspects of games I loved.   Not that it was intended to copy those game, but it somewhat felt like they did, and Im not complaining.   The gameplay is EXTREMELY fun, especially sword fights and bow and arrow gameplay.    I loved the stealth stuff too, but felt it could have been done somewhat better.      Either way, I dont have any major issues with any aspect of how the game played.    It felt smooth and the controls were USUALLY very responsive.   Slicing through countless enemies on a battlefield never felt so good.     Sneaking around on rooftops and in high grass was really fun as well, and being able to launch chain assassinations was badarse!!!

As good as the gameplay is, that isnt where this game really shines.     The story and the characters are really what drive this game.     The last game I played that made me actually care about the characters God of War (well, FF7 remake too, but I already knew those characters well from OG FF7).    This game made me really get attached to not just the main characters and not just his friends, but a damn horse too!    When my horse was killed, I was on the brink of tears, and I actually did shed a few when Yuriko and Taka died and I was forced to battle with Uncle Lord Shimura.   This was an absolute masterclass of storytelling and characterization.   Jin Sakai was such an awesome main protagonist and easy to get into his character and relate with him in many ways, as he tried to balance doing the right thing with doing what was necessary to protect his people.   The personal tales you embark on with Yuna, Kenji and the other great cast members was exciting to play through and see it through to their conclusions.    The bond your character forms with these others is something I wish we could see more of.    I hate simply being told that Im supposed to care about certain characters without actually developing them or their relationship with my playable character.   I want to "feel the love", and you really do with this game.   And beyond just friendships, they also made you brutally hate the Mongols, especially the leader, Khotun Khan.     I got so much satisfaction taking him down at the end.   Bravo, Sucker Punch.

Graphics are terrific, but Id love to see it on PS5.   They are really great on PS4 Pro, but I feel like Id be blown away on next (or current) gen.     The landscapes, sunsets and open fields of flowers and trees are magnificent.   Is it the best looking game Ive played on PS4?  No, certain environments and areas were absolutely gorgeous.   

If there is one major knock I have with this game, its that it can be mindlessly repetitive.   As fun as the gameplay is, you really are just doing the same few things pretty much all game, and most of that involves raiding Mongol camps or stopping them from doing what they are doing.   For the first 10-20 hours or so, its a blast,   Then the fun wears down a bit as you find new ways to take out the Mongols....but that fades away after you do that another 20 hours of the same thing.      Much like in the Witcher 3, I wish there had been more kill animations, as you end up seeing the same ones over and over and over and....you get it.      If it werent for the story and loving the characters, I may have had to rush through this, because it just got a bit stale....and I havent even finished playing yet.

I had some other minor issues.     The swipe bar on the PS controller got annoying.   My thumb would graze it and my character kept bowing over and over, sometimes in the middle of a mission.   So annoying and that shouldve been addressed.    On occasion, certain controls didnt seem extremely responsive, but that could have been a number of things.     I wish there more stealth options, like being able to throw smoke bombs ahead like you do in the Arkham games.    

Ill stop there.   Im tired, and all Im really doing is nitpicking.   The game is fantastic.  

Bottom line:    Another Playstation exclusive, and another homerun.     I really hope we see more from this franchise and Sucker Punch in general.    If there was more variety in gameplay and more unique kills and animations, this would be right up there with God of War and Horizon.   As it stands, its a notch below those two for me, but still an absolutely awesome game I'd recommend to anyone.

Gameplay:  9
Story:  10
Graphics: 9
Value/Replayability:   8
Personal Enjoyment:  8.5

 

Final Score:   9

[AkronsWitness]

On 8/6/2022 at 9:05 PM, 43M said:

Review

 

I wasnt really sure what to expect with this game.   I have heard nothing but good things, but I honestly didnt know much about the story or what the gameplay was like.   Then, when I saw it was available on Playstation Plus, I decided to join for the first time ever, since it was cheaper to join and play than to buy the directors cut of the game, and there are also numerous other good games on PS Plus.    It came down to this and Nioh, and initially I picked Nioh, but that game was crazy hard from the get go, so I decided to back off that one and try out Ghost of Tsushima.   

After playing it for a few hours, I was struck by the familiarity of the game.     Even though it took me time to master certain things, it seemed as if every element of the game was something I had played before....in a good way.    Turns out, this game is a crazy concoction of many of my favorite games....

Witcher 3 -  Certain aspects of combat, huge map with lots of question marks
Horizon Zero Dawn -  Climbing, Bow and Arrow gameplay
Tomb Raider - Climbing and exploration
Batman Arkham City - Stealth gameplay
Red Dead Redemption -  Movement, horseriding and aspects of gameplay

Its crazy how it blended so many great aspects of games I loved.   Not that it was intended to copy those game, but it somewhat felt like they did, and Im not complaining.   The gameplay is EXTREMELY fun, especially sword fights and bow and arrow gameplay.    I loved the stealth stuff too, but felt it could have been done somewhat better.      Either way, I dont have any major issues with any aspect of how the game played.    It felt smooth and the controls were USUALLY very responsive.   Slicing through countless enemies on a battlefield never felt so good.     Sneaking around on rooftops and in high grass was really fun as well, and being able to launch chain assassinations was badarse!!!

As good as the gameplay is, that isnt where this game really shines.     The story and the characters are really what drive this game.     The last game I played that made me actually care about the characters God of War (well, FF7 remake too, but I already knew those characters well from OG FF7).    This game made me really get attached to not just the main characters and not just his friends, but a damn horse too!    When my horse was killed, I was on the brink of tears, and I actually did shed a few when Yuriko and Taka died and I was forced to battle with Uncle Lord Shimura.   This was an absolute masterclass of storytelling and characterization.   Jin Sakai was such an awesome main protagonist and easy to get into his character and relate with him in many ways, as he tried to balance doing the right thing with doing what was necessary to protect his people.   The personal tales you embark on with Yuna, Kenji and the other great cast members was exciting to play through and see it through to their conclusions.    The bond your character forms with these others is something I wish we could see more of.    I hate simply being told that Im supposed to care about certain characters without actually developing them or their relationship with my playable character.   I want to "feel the love", and you really do with this game.   And beyond just friendships, they also made you brutally hate the Mongols, especially the leader, Khotun Khan.     I got so much satisfaction taking him down at the end.   Bravo, Sucker Punch.

Graphics are terrific, but Id love to see it on PS5.   They are really great on PS4 Pro, but I feel like Id be blown away on next (or current) gen.     The landscapes, sunsets and open fields of flowers and trees are magnificent.   Is it the best looking game Ive played on PS4?  No, certain environments and areas were absolutely gorgeous.   

If there is one major knock I have with this game, its that it can be mindlessly repetitive.   As fun as the gameplay is, you really are just doing the same few things pretty much all game, and most of that involves raiding Mongol camps or stopping them from doing what they are doing.   For the first 10-20 hours or so, its a blast,   Then the fun wears down a bit as you find new ways to take out the Mongols....but that fades away after you do that another 20 hours of the same thing.      Much like in the Witcher 3, I wish there had been more kill animations, as you end up seeing the same ones over and over and over and....you get it.      If it werent for the story and loving the characters, I may have had to rush through this, because it just got a bit stale....and I havent even finished playing yet.

I had some other minor issues.     The swipe bar on the PS controller got annoying.   My thumb would graze it and my character kept bowing over and over, sometimes in the middle of a mission.   So annoying and that shouldve been addressed.    On occasion, certain controls didnt seem extremely responsive, but that could have been a number of things.     I wish there more stealth options, like being able to throw smoke bombs ahead like you do in the Arkham games.    

Ill stop there.   Im tired, and all Im really doing is nitpicking.   The game is fantastic.  

Bottom line:    Another Playstation exclusive, and another homerun.     I really hope we see more from this franchise and Sucker Punch in general.    If there was more variety in gameplay and more unique kills and animations, this would be right up there with God of War and Horizon.   As it stands, its a notch below those two for me, but still an absolutely awesome game I'd recommend to anyone.

Gameplay:  9
Story:  10
Graphics: 9
Value/Replayability:   8
Personal Enjoyment:  8.5

 

Final Score:   9

 

But seriously, Ive been waiting for this game to come to PC forever. Like you said with the graphics, it apparently looked good on PS4. I cant wait to see what it looks like on a 1440p monitor and a GEFORCE RTX 3000 series graphics card.

Suckerpunch has always been really good with graphics, details and almost trying a little extra to make the games they have 'visually immersive'. So its no surprise this is no different. I feel like SP has 2-3 devs on their team whose sole job is to create 'wooooow look at that' moments in their games.

Edited August 8, 2022 by AkronsWitness

[Heimdallr]

Definitely an awesome game. Gorgeous on PS5 and the gameplay is very clean and satisfying. The story and writing is fabulous.

My only complaint is the gameplay gets pretty repetitive, but that is almost every game. I played on an easier difficulty just to get through the story and not worry too much so maybe that took away from some of the satisfaction and need to do side quests.