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

[MKnight82]

4 hours ago, 43M said:

Been awhile.     Been playing Witcher 3 for a LONG time.  Trying to get pretty much every last drop out of that game and have about 200 hours in, and the Blood and Wine DLC is pretty extensive.    Since I already did a Witcher 3 review, I will just give my random thoughts on my 2nd playthrough and give a review of the 2 DLCs, which are almost like Witcher 3.5 on their own.    I should finish sometime this month.

I am playing another "light" game on the side, and that is....

 

Always wanted to try this, and I am enjoying it so far.   Not so much a game as an interactive story, but again, just something to keep me a bit fresh while finishing Witcher.

After this......not 100% sure.      I will update my "upcoming games" list soon.   

I think I may run through the Uncharted games next.    There are several new and upcoming games I want to play, but with my backlog, Id rather just play older and cheaper games and wait for some of these other games (FF16,  God of War Ragnarok, etc....) to go on sale.

Oh, and I still gotta play the Horizon Forbidden West DLC.   🙂

The Batman telltale series is pretty fun.  They took the characters some different directions than you’re used to so it feels fresh. It doesn’t really have a satisfying ending though cause I think they were going to make more of them but then went out of business. 

[43M]

Replay Retrospective

 

Since I’ve already played and done a pretty in depth review of Witcher 3, I am just going to give a bunch of thoughts on the game and my experience after playing the game for over 200 hours.

 

-First and foremost, and it goes without saying, but I absolutely adore this game.     The amount of love and time that had to go into almost every aspect of this game almost brings tears to my eyes, if only because we don’t see many like this.   This game is truly a special achievement on so many levels.   The attention to detail is just absurd.   So much cause and effect stuff in this game that flows so beautifully and was obviously planned with excruciating detail.   I paid $15 for the Witcher 3 with the DLCs a few years ago when I first bought it on PS4, and then paid $5 for the complete game with all DLCs on PC.   So in total, I paid $20 for damn near 400 hours of gameplay, and beyond that, I enjoyed every minute of it.     I don’t expect every game to necessarily be on this level, because it’s a special accomplishment and CDPR and the entire team who worked on this game deserve every bit of praise they got, but it annoys me seeing how many games get released, sometimes yearly, and are just mediocre as all hell, and sell for full price, and they aren’t even remotely close to Witcher 3.   

 

 

-The DLC’s, which I didn’t play last time, are absolutely fantastic.    DLC’s have become so exploitative and ridiculous, sometimes making you pay for the ability just to change the color of gear or a few new armor sets,  but this just shows what most DLC’s SHOULD be.    Sure, I don’t mind extra armor sets, weapons, and other small stuff if its dirt cheap or part of a bigger package, but much like how the base game raised the bar for RPGs in general, the DLCs here are the standard for what DLCs should strive to be.    Each DLC was pretty much an entirely new game on their own, and combined, added an extra 50 to 60 hours of gameplay.   That is absolutely insane to me.    And the way the final DLCs ended perfectly wrapped everything up, and didnt feel out of place or tacked on.    Just absolutely incredible from top to bottom.

 

-My first time running through the game, I rarely ever used magic, oils or bombs.    Playing on Death March was really the way to go because it forced you to use more of the tools at your disposal.    My first time, I just swung my sword pretty much all game.   This time around, I absolutely HAD to use a lot of that stuff to get through certain parts, especially early in the game     The need to use all that other stuff added numerous levels of enjoyment, because I actually had to think and plan how to beat certain parts.     It wasn’t all perfectly done, which I will cover a bit later, but I suggest everyone play on Death March, at least after you get a hang of the controls and how to use oils and bombs effectively.

 

 

-I know not everyone has the option, but I would highly recommend to anyone looking to play this to play it on PC with mods.    Did the mods make the game a completely different experience?  No, and the game is fantastic with or without them, but it definitely improved the overall experience and helped make the game more challenging, rewarding, smoother and added different dynamics that kept the game feeling fresher.   I am not going to into every mod I added, because I had close to 100 and honestly could have added more.   There are probably a few of them which I wouldn’t use next time around, if only because they made the game maybe a bit too easy in some ways (such as AutoLoot that grabbed everything in a certain radius and no wear and  tear to equipment, thus no need to fix them), but many were absolutely fantastic…

Top 5 mods

1. SCAAR  -   Combat Overhaul.    Made combat feel smoother, but the best part was it allowed you to change the dodge animations.  I really REALLY hated the jump and roll every time you dodged in the vanilla game.   Nothing gamebreaking, but enough to annoy me a little, and probably would have annoyed me much more this time around since I played on Death March and needed to dodge much more than a I did in my first playthrough.   This mod allows to shuffle side to side and backwards WITHOUT rolling every time.   The animation was faster, more fluid and more realistic.   I wish it was in the base game.   Much better.

2. Magic Spells -  This creates different tomes and artifacts to collect that will completely change and enhance your magic spells, and breath new life into rather boring magic in the vanilla game.   I wont go in depth here, but if you ever play Witcher 3 on PC, I highly recommend trying it out.

3.  Shades of Armor -  This just adds a bunch of unique and upgradable armor and weapons to the game, and puts them in various locations throughout the game you can discover in sidequests.

4.  Darker Nights -  I will touch on this a bit later, but as the name suggests, makes the nights and caves much darker than in the base game.   Actually makes Cat potions and torches necessary to see.

5.  Aggressive Enemies and/or Enemy Damage Scaling -  Kind of a two-fer, but they go better together.    Basically, it can make the game more challenging, if you want it to be.

There were numerous other small mods that made the game better, but these are the 5 major mods I thought added the most.

 

-My first time through, I didn’t do things like Gwent, horseracing and fights.    Horseracing and fights I did a bit more, but they were largely boring so I never did all of them.   Gwent, however, I played the hell out of.    Its nothing overly special, but once I got the hang of it and built my deck, I did enjoy it.    Certainly better than the old poker dice game.

-The game, despite being about 8 years old now, still looks fantastic.   Yes, the Next Gen upgrade helped, but either way it would look great for a game that old.   The design of the landscapes, cities, towns, architecture, etc….is truly magnificent.     Graphics don’t mean a ton to me if the game if fun, but they do help with immersion into a world, especially in RPGs.

-Last but not least, its amazing how well this game did at making you care about characters, not only the main ones, but even side characters and even some NPCs.    There is one girl you give a witcher potion to early in the game, and Geralt says it could either kill her painfully or save her life, but you don’t find out immediately what happened, and I was wondering what ever came to her.   Then, you eventually bump into her brother who tells you she survived but has drastically changed as a result of the potion.   Stuff like that is just incredible.

 

As amazing as this game is, and as much as I love it….its far from perfect.   Here are some of my gripes…

 

 

-The game is way, WAY too bright during the night and in caves.   I probably wouldn’t care quite as much in most games, but the problems are a) it takes away from the atmosphere of this game, and b) it completely renders torches and Cat potions useless.   On my first playthough, years back, I do not recall EVER using Cat or the torch.   It wasn’t needed.    Then I played Witcher 1, and in that game, you couldn’t see a thing in the caves without the Cat potion or a torch.    As stated, I downloaded a mod to make the nights and caves darker in Witcher 3, and while it was much better than the vanilla game, it wasn’t perfect and didn’t always work right, especially as you went to new areas.   This isnt a huge gripe, but one that I think could have and should have easily been solved….especially with the Next Gen upgrade.   At least give the option to make it darker.

-The skills are very meh for the most part.     I covered this in my original review, but the skills could have been so much better.        I never really found myself getting excited to learn new abilities.   A few were okay, but it would have been so much better if they gave you more useful stuff.   Hell, even if you could learn new unique kills and magic spells like the mod allows.    As it stands, Id say at least half the skills are nearly useless or barely useful.   Just my opinion.

-Even on Death March, the game got too easy.   Don’t get me wrong, I still died a lot more and there were some challenging parts, but it was pretty inconsistent.     Large groups of smaller/normal sized enemies (humans, drowners, wolves, etc…)  could prove very difficult, but largely enemies were USUALLY way too easy.      I got torn apart by packs of wolves numerous times, but I never had much trouble beating golems, trolls, giants, etc…    The Wild Hunt at the end was way too easy.   Actually, the first guy you face was somewhat difficult, but the final boss of the Wild Hunt (Eredin, I think?) was defeated way too easily.   I probably could have fixed this myself a bit with the damage sliders, but again, the difficulty was just inconsistent and larger, slower enemies weren’t really much of a challenge at all.   If there were sliders for each enemy type, that would be great….but there isnt.

-The game could get a bit repetitive.    This is not a major complaint since most of the game sidequests are pretty unique and enjoyable and the main story is terrific, but as far as gameplay goes, and going to all the question marks on the map, it could get pretty tedious.     For instance, when you are in Skellige, there are a ton of question marks under what for various underwater treasures, and literally the only enemies in the water are drowners and sirens, and you pretty much kill them all the same way…with a few crossbow shots.    And every time you go for those treasures, you face 5 or more of them usually, and it got so boring that I just gave up getting all the treasures, because by that point, there wasn’t much in those chests worth getting anyway.  I think it would have been much more enjoyable if they made various underwater battles and dangers lurking underneath, AND if they added more reasons to search all those shipwrecks.   But more often than not, you find things that don’t really help you or upgrade your gear.

-Another complaint along the same lines is the approach to combat.      I get that Geralt is a Witcher and stealth really isnt his thing, but I feel like a little bit of steath would have been great.   Didn’t have to be like Ghost of Tsushima, but I hated that anytime you got near a bandit camp or enemy, they instantly knew you were there before even really seeing you.    The ability to kill and enemy or two among a large group would’ve been very nice, and added some variety to combat.

-Finally, and I hate this in most RPGs, is enemy scaling.    Its such a terrible part of most RPGs.    Its not that I don’t kinda get why they do it, but in some cases, it kinda hurts the overall experience.     For instance, early in the game, you face things like wolves and humans, and lets say they are level 5 at that time.   Then, you go to another area in a DLC or late game area, and humans and wolves there are level  40 and so hard to kill.   Why are humans and wolves in those areas so much stronger?      It would be one thing if special types of humans and wolves were stronger in late game, but normal ones?   I feel like there should be level caps on certain enemies throughout the game.    For instance, normal bandits should fall in the level 5 to 15 range.   Normal wolves should maybe be the 5 to 20 or 25 range.    But it really feels like it takes away from your characters growth when it takes 5 or more hits to kill one normal bandit or wolf, whereas if you went to and earlier area, you could kill them with one hit.   What makes these new bandits and wolves so much stronger?    It just makes no sense.    I don’t mind new and more powerful enemies popping up, but it can be done better than it was in this game and many others.

In conclusion….

Despite my various gripes, as I said, this is one of my absolute favorite games of all time, and despite playing it for as long as I did, I wasn’t really that sick of it.   I wanted to move on, but if there was more meaningful stuff to do, I could keep playing.   And honestly, I will very likely revisit this game in the future, although probably several years down the road….perhaps if the Witcher 1 remake comes out and it isnt completely ruined since they are apparently doing a “modern retelling” of the story, which is usually a very bad thing for games and movies.    

Regardless, I would highly recommend the ENTIRE Witcher game series to anyone who hasn’t played them before.    3 is easily head and shoulders above the other two, but 1 and 2 were still both fun and playable (especially with mods) and gave a lot of backstory to what you end up seeing in the final game.

So for now, I say goodbye to my dear friend Geralt of Rivia and the Witcher series as a whole.   I hope to see you again, one day…

 

Edited August 20, 2023 by 43M

[43M]

Sorry about the weird formatting.   I typed it up in word and it transferred over like that and couldnt fix certain parts of it.

[MKnight82]

I've actually played through Witcher 3's main story twice, but never done the DLCs.  I own them I'm just always so burned out on the game by the time I get there that I haven't tackled them.  I fired the game up last night after watching the new season on Netflix and started the first DLC.  Interesting start, the wedding with the ghost possessing Geralt was pretty fun. 

[43M]

Playing through the entire Uncharted franchise right now.   Almost done with 3.   Should start 4 this weekend.   

The PS3 games hold up pretty well IMO.   Some people complain about the first one, but it is still really fun.   

[43M]

Rapid Review

Uncharted is easily one of my favorite action/adventure series ever, and recently, I felt like going back and playing the remasters versions of the all the games.   Its been awhile since I played through them all, but I felt like some quick, largely mindless fun after the long, slow adventure of the Witcher franchise.    The question is, do the games still hold up?

The answer is a resounding YES.     I heard someone not long ago say the first game in particular didnt hold up well today.    I am not sure how much of a difference playing the remastered version made, or if the gameplay mechanics were improved much from the original, but I can say without hesitation that the Nathan Drake Collection is still a ton of fun, even 10+ years after the trilogy has been released.    The gameplay was still very satisfying, and even though its not quite as smooth or polished as Uncharted 4, still hits all the right notes if you are looking for a great 3rd person shooter.

The graphics hold up very well.   These PS3 era games got a fresh coat of paint, but even without them, the environments and characters were done so well to begin with.     The details in their expressions and the environments are really a thing to behold and appreciate, because we do not see it much anymore.     The stories and characters what really drive this game though.      Nolan North is a ******* legend, and helps make Nathan Drake one of the most memorable protagonists Ive ever played as.   All the supporting characters are amazing too, especially Sully.

Bottom line:    No need to spend a ton of time on this, as Im sure everyone knows about these games and already has their opinions about each of them, but for me, this is one of the best franchises ever, and each game just got better and better.    Not saying they are perfect, but they are games I can go back to again and again and never really get bored.

I was going to grade these 3 games separately, because 2 is better than 1, and 3 is better than 2, but they dont differ THAT dramatically, so I will just lump them together....

Final Score:   8.7

[43M]

  Review

 

The original 3 Uncharted games kind of redefined what 3rd person action shooters could be for me.     I know alot of people say Resident Evil 4 did that for them, but I didnt end up playing that until several years after I played the first Uncharted, so  the Uncharted series really took things to the next level for me.   Obviously it drew inspiration from sources like Tomb Raider and Indiana Jones, but Naughty Dog did a great job of making it its own thing, as opposed to just shameless rip offs of previously established franchises.   

When Uncharted 4 came out, it was considered one of the best action franchises ever, so it had alot of hype to live up to...and boy did it ever.     Naughty Dog has a fairly sterling reputation between Uncharted and The Last of Us,  but Uncharted 4 I felt like really took it to the next level.

First off, even 6+ years after the game has come out, it still looks absolutely incredible, and with the PS5 upgrade, it runs buttery smooth, and it looks better than ever.     If I didnt know any better, and someone told me this game was released in 2023, I would believe them, and say it looks amazing.     The environments, landscapes, attention to detail, character design, etc.....it was truly a remarkable achievement several years ago, and still is to this very day.     Just an absolutely beautiful piece of art.

The story and characters, as usual, are pretty much on par with what you expect from the Uncharted series.     Nothing over the top special, but doesnt need to be.   its a good story thats done well.    If you played through all the games, you are already connected to the characters, and if Uncharted 4 was the first one you ever played, it still does a great job of making you care about these characters, both new and old.       

And let me just say, this....THIS is how you end a franchise and popular series of games.     I dont believe we will never see another Uncharted game, but this does a great job of ending the Nathan Drake saga.      Its an incredibly satisfying conclusion from any angle you look at it.   It doesnt leave a bad taste in your mouth like say, Mass Effect does with its ending.    Its something you finish, and you feel like the entire story has been told with the payoff you expect after getting as invested as you do.

Gameplay, again, about what you expect from Uncharted, but so much more polished and refined from the first game in the series.   Each game had slight improvements to make the gameplay feel tighter, and while Uncharted 4 didnt really introduce any major changes, it made its already stellar gameplay even more satisfying.     There were a few dynamics added I really did like and kinda wish they were in earlier games, like the grapple rope system.    Overall, though, the games are pretty consistent with how they play.

There really arent many negatives.    Some of the puzzles and fights were annoying, but nothing too frustrating.      AI could be a little silly at times, but again, nothing that got in the way of enjoyment.     All of my issues are just nitpicky, and not much worth going into detail about.      

Bottom line:    Uncharted 4 is a pretty special game, that is both a great stand alone title, and also the perfect culmination of an amazing series of games.     This is the type of game I can actually keep going back to, just given how fun it is and its not very heavy and just easy to jump into and play for a little bit when youre board.    I will probably revisit this franchise again in the future.       I wouldnt mind seeing the original 3 get completely remade at some point, but even if they dont, they are still incredible, and 4 is the perfect cherry on top.

Final Score:   9.2

[43M]

 

Rapid Review 

 

As a huge fan of Batman, I have been wanting to try this for a long time, and after finishing Witcher 3, I needed a change of pace from the long winded RPGs.      I tried the Back to the Future TellTale game years ago and even though I only played one episode, I really liked it.   So, I knew that eventually, I would give this a go.

While I certainly miss the action that the Arkham series provided, the stories in these games (which is the focus) are honestly top notch.      Both stories were fantastic, and even though it changed certain things about the Batman mythos, it was still very well done and added more surprises since you didnt know what was coming.

The voice acting and art style were both fantastic.    Even though Kevin Conroy (RIP) and Mark Hammill will always be my definitive Batman, Troy Baker is phenomenal in this version (and he also played a great version of Hamills Joker in Arkham Origins).   Beyond Batman, I thought all the voice acting was really good.

On a final note, I absolutely love, love LOOOOOOVE the fact that this is an R rated Batman.    So much ******* potential!!!!!       

Bottom Line:    I really enjoyed both of these, but right now, I am depressed for 2 reasons.     First off, there likely wont be a 3rd game in this, which is sad because it left on somewhat of a cliffhanger, and secondly, this darker, more mature version of Batman is exactly what I wish my dream, big budget, HBO Max Batman series would be.   its just so perfect and works so well.....and we will likely never ever see it.      

Still, the game (or interactive story, whatever), is very good and well worth playing for any Batman fan.

Final Score:  8.8

[MKnight82]

On 8/26/2023 at 3:04 AM, 43M said:

 

Rapid Review 

 

As a huge fan of Batman, I have been wanting to try this for a long time, and after finishing Witcher 3, I needed a change of pace from the long winded RPGs.      I tried the Back to the Future TellTale game years ago and even though I only played one episode, I really liked it.   So, I knew that eventually, I would give this a go.

While I certainly miss the action that the Arkham series provided, the stories in these games (which is the focus) are honestly top notch.      Both stories were fantastic, and even though it changed certain things about the Batman mythos, it was still very well done and added more surprises since you didnt know what was coming.

The voice acting and art style were both fantastic.    Even though Kevin Conroy (RIP) and Mark Hammill will always be my definitive Batman, Troy Baker is phenomenal in this version (and he also played a great version of Hamills Joker in Arkham Origins).   Beyond Batman, I thought all the voice acting was really good.

On a final note, I absolutely love, love LOOOOOOVE the fact that this is an R rated Batman.    So much ******* potential!!!!!       

Bottom Line:    I really enjoyed both of these, but right now, I am depressed for 2 reasons.     First off, there likely wont be a 3rd game in this, which is sad because it left on somewhat of a cliffhanger, and secondly, this darker, more mature version of Batman is exactly what I wish my dream, big budget, HBO Max Batman series would be.   its just so perfect and works so well.....and we will likely never ever see it.      

Still, the game (or interactive story, whatever), is very good and well worth playing for any Batman fan.

Final Score:  8.8

Its definitely a different take on Batman, but I also enjoyed these games quite a bit.  It sucks they didn't make more of them. I agree with you that going a different direction with it made it more enjoyable because it allowed for more surprise moments. I honestly think if they just stuck with the regular old batman tale it would have been pretty boring in this kind of format. 

[43M]

11 hours ago, MKnight82 said:

Its definitely a different take on Batman, but I also enjoyed these games quite a bit.  It sucks they didn't make more of them. I agree with you that going a different direction with it made it more enjoyable because it allowed for more surprise moments. I honestly think if they just stuck with the regular old batman tale it would have been pretty boring in this kind of format. 

It just sucks they left so much open....but not the first time a good game has teased a sequel we never got. *cough* Sleeping Dogs *cough*  🤬

[43M]

So, its been awhile since I posted in this (even though it looks like no one cares anymore  😄), but I figured I would drop some updates.

I havent stopped playing games, I just started playing some older stuff....some games Ive played before, and some I havent.

Most notably, over the last several months, I got really invested into a game I never I thought I would, that being....

  

For years, I was highly critical of how overrated I felt this game was.   Not that I felt it wasnt a good game with alot of good stuff, but I never got why it was QUITE as beloved as it was.   Most notably, I always felt the gameplay was very underwhelming.     I tried it for about 10-20 hours years back and couldnt really get into it, and said that if I ever did get into it...it would be on PC with mods.

So, back in October or so, I took that leap and started looking at various mod packs and eventually found a pretty expansive one on Nexus.     It made the gameplay better and even though there are still flaws, I was able to get deeply invested and I am pushing 150 hours in and I havent even really started the main quest yet.

Beyond Skyrim, I got into and beat several other games, which I am about to post some quick reviews for.

[43M]

A few quick reviews....

 

Good, older games Ive played before YEARS ago, and still play decently and hold up okay....but are a bit clunky and hard to go back to from modern games.

Final Score:  7.2

 

Never played it before, but wanted to finish the trilogy, and by far the best of the 3.   Granted, it game out several years after the first two, but its still and excellent game that still holds up today.   I will probably go back and play this again at some point....its that fun.   Wish they revive this game.

Final Score:  8.9

 

Bought this at full price over a decade ago and didnt even open it from its packaging for its first 3 years.   Tried to play it numerous times over the years, but either never got into it, or got away from it due to other stuff I had going on.   I finally got into it and beat it, and while its a very good game, I feel like it hasnt aged exceptionally well.  I played on PS3 and I had issues with aiming and framerate stutters.   Was able to enjoy the game a good bit, but I am more just happy to be able to say that I finally beat it after all these years.

Final Score:  8   (mightve been higher years ago, but thats the absolute highest I can give it right now)

 

 

[43M]

Game I am now playing concurrently with Skyrim....you may have guessed from my last review....

[43M]

Upcoming games and Games Im considering updated on page 1.

[iknowcool]

RDR 1 (along with the first Uncharted games) changed the game for me.  I played it right around when it came out on my PS3.  Before that game, I played the usual stuff a kid/teenager was playing.  Madden, COD, WWE games, etc.  It, along with Uncharted, were the first single player games that hooked me on their story.  And it was the most gorgeous game I had ever played at the time.  The music, the story, the voice acting, all superb.  Hopefully one day they remaster it and you can revisit. 

Will be interesting to see how you feel about RDR 2.  If you didn't necessarily like the aiming and gun mechanics/gameplay in the 1st one... well, it doesn't get a whole lot better lol.  It is a slow experience.  But the game is the most detailed I have ever played.  You can tell they made the game with love.  Highly recommend not rushing through the story.  Just sit back and let things happen.

Edited January 24 by iknowcool