Copanele's collection of trophies and experiences

[Copanele]

Grading system overhaul - Part 2

- 2022 edition-

 

As I mentioned in my previous post, I decided to drop the grading of games via a numbering system and instead use a tier list. While I will continue grading the platinum difficulty  as before (no need for that to change in my opinion), I do agree that games can't be graded with a simple number anymore.

 

So in the past days I actually sit down and "tiered down" each and every game on my list, completed or not. It was a very fun activity, because I could look back at the games I've finished in the past and see how I feel about them in the present. Thanks to @DrunkenEngineer for giving me a nudge to approach this madness  

 

To recap:

- My Tier list is 100% subjective.

- Any and every game can be discussed in this thread.

- The games are ordered only via Tiers. Within the tiers they are ordered randomly. Actually ordering them in a well-argumented and coherent list is a titanic work that only someone like @DrBloodmoney could pull ? I am WAY too lazy for that.

- For the full experience I always count the DLC as well. If it's part of the game/trophy list, it shall be played and analyzed.

- Tier list is this

 

 

An example of why I love videogames - Games that improved my passion for this hobby, similar to a "level up" in terms of gaming experience. Also known as "I don't think I will find a game as good as this anymore" (obviously wrong ) 

 

Fantastic game - Amazing videogames that I have little to no negatives to say about, big thumbs up to the dev team.

 

Worth an investment - As the name says, they're good games, overall had a great time with them, you may either buy them full price or at a discount, but I wouldn't say these are my favorite  

 

A good game with glaring flaws - Games that I wish were better. Or rather, whenever I felt like I had a good time there was a mechanic or a story point that made me go "ew what's this".

 

You could probably skip this one - Games where I felt I wasted my time and are not really that great, but usually have one decent point that save them from the trash can.

 

An absolute mess - These are the worst games on my list mainly from a regular point of view (shitty gameplay, awful story), basically games that I would never recommend no matter what.

 

It makes me want to quit this hobby - The "bait" section, or rather the games that I personally hate with a burning passion. The irony with this particular tier is that they can be good games BUT I have a personal grudge against them for reasons that I usually cover in my posts. Some people love beans, I cannot stand them and I want to nuke them out of existence. But I will NEVER judge someone for liking the games that I despise.

 

OK enough rambling, here's the actual list

 

An example of why I love videogames

Dark Souls/Dark Souls Remastered

NieR / NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139…

Devil May Cry 3

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Game of the Year Edition

The King of Fighters XIII

Mount & Blade: Warband

Shadow Man Remastered

Persona 4: Arena

 

Note - these games are my pride and joy, so to speak. Probably the most influential game on this tier for me is Dark Souls, this stupid game sent me into a "git gud" spiral that I never recovered from, really  Mount&Blade and Shadow Man Remastered are some cream of the crop games from my glorious PC days, these are the "I am afraid to start them, cause I might never stop" games. KoF XIII and Persona 4 Arena are the games that pushed my skills to the limit in my newfound passion, fighting games. NieR is probably the only game that hit me like a truck in terms of feelings, with probably THE best soundtrack I've ever listened to. Devil May Cry 3 is the king of Action Hack&Slash (although DMC5 comes reaaaalllly close in my books). And finally Witcher 3 makes me feel like home. Yes including the dumb peasants and ugly monsters ? game might not be perfect, but the setting is.

 

If there are games I would gladly forget just so I would experience them again, it's the ones above  

 

Fantastic game

Spoiler

Dark Souls II

Dark Souls III

Bloodborne

Demon's Souls

God of War

God of War II

Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice

Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin

God of War

Batman: Arkham Asylum

The Bard's Tale

Assassin's Creed II

Assassin's Creed Brotherhood

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

Cat Quest

Apotheon

Guilty Gear XX Λ Core Plus

L.A. Noire

Guilty Gear Xrd: Revelator

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Cat Quest II

Ultra Street Fighter IV

Cuphead

Devil May Cry 5

BioShock

Art of Fighting Anthology

Persona 4: Arena Ultimax

BlazBlue: Chronophantasma Extend

Yakuza 0

Slain: Back From Hell

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2

Turok 2: Seeds of Evil

Yakuza Kiwami 2

Hades

Chaos Code: New Sign of Catastrophe

Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition

Hitman 2: Silent Assassin

Transistor

Hitman: Contracts

Elden Ring

Skullgirls 2nd Encore

 

Note - Here I put the very best games that I thoroughly enjoyed playing. Despite not completely changing my perspective, they were a blast to play from start to the end. You will find all the Souls/Borne/Elden Ring games here, the very first Assassin's Creed games, back when Ubisoft was worth something, the Hitman games, Yakuza...the top. 

Oh and also Cat Quest. Cat Quest 1 and 2 are better than most of the games on my list and I won't hear otherwise!

 

Worth an investment

Spoiler

God of War: Ghost of Sparta

God of War: Chains of Olympus

God of War III

NieR: Automata

Salt and Sanctuary 

Devil May Cry

Horizon Zero Dawn

Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords

Assassin's Creed Rogue

Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag

Prince of Persia: Warrior Within

Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

Guilty Gear

Abzû

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Eyes of Heaven

Samurai Shodown(2018)

Assassin's Creed Syndicate

Old Man's Journey

Seasons After Fall

Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood

Mortal Kombat X

Far Cry 3

Nioh

Far Cry 4

Tekken 7

Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen

Alice: Madness Returns

Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise

The Last of Us Remastered

Blur

Berserk and the Band of the Hawk

Mortal Kombat 9 (PS3)

Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late

Assassin's Creed Odyssey

Letter Quest

Batman: Arkham City

Broforce

Neighbours Back From Hell

Far Cry Primal

Trine: Enchanted Edition

Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm

Samurai Shodown: NeoGeo Collection

The King of Fighters Collection: The Orochi Saga

Batman: Arkham Origins

BlazBlue: Centralfiction

Garou: Mark of the Wolves

Braid

Guilty Gear: Strive

BlazBlue: Continuum Shift

One Finger Death Punch 2

Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3

The King of Fighters 2002 Unlimited Match

The Last Blade 2

Yakuza 3

The Surge

Castlevania Anniversary Collection 

Catlateral Damage: Remeowstered 

Mitsurugi Kamui Hikae

Fatal Fury Battle Archives Vol. 2

Mark of the Ninja Remastered 

Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights

BlazBlue: Chronophantasma

Curse of the Dead Gods

Treasures of the Aegean

My Hero One's Justice

My Brother Rabbit

Mirror's Edge

Child of Light

Arcana Heart 3

Yakuza 4

Note - The tier with the most entries. Great games, they had some minor issues but eh they worked. Not much to say here, there's also games that were very good but I don't think they were incredibly exceptional like Curse of the Dead Gods or Mark of the Ninja , or Sekiro who didn't make it for the Fantastic Tier  

But again, they are not bad by any means. I just think the games from the Tier above are better.

 

A good game with glaring flaws

Spoiler

God of War: Ascension

Devil May Cry 4

DmC Devil May Cry

For Honor

Assassin's Creed Revelations

Assassin's Creed Freedom Cry

Assassin's Creed Unity

Prince of Persia(2008 Reboot)

Assassin's Creed Chronicles: Trilogy Pack

Assassin's Creed III

Asura's Wrath

Assassin's Creed Liberation

Mortal Kombat 11

Injustice 2

Dante's Inferno

Deadpool

Jotun 

Bayonetta

Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN-

Assassin's Creed Origins

Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection

Brütal Legend

Mini Ninjas

Death's Gambit

Dragon Ball FighterZ

Street Fighter V

Titan Quest

Overwatch: Origins Edition

Raji: An Ancient Epic

BioShock Infinite

Darkstalkers Resurrection

Yakuza Kiwami

SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy

Nioh 2

Unravel

The Wolf Among Us

Guacamelee! 2

The King of Fighters XV

Batman: Arkham Knight

Note - These games had one stupid flaw that prevented them from being in a better tier e.g. Batman Arkham Knight's Batmobile or Bioshock Infinite's DLC story or Street Fighter V's shitty ass online and play-doh characters. Had they fixed that one glaring flaw, they would have been up there in the sky. 

 

You could probably skip this one

Spoiler

My Name is Mayo

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle

Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands

Burly Men At Sea

Goat Simulator

Access Denied

J-Stars Victory VS+

Pro Evolution Soccer 2015

One Piece: Pirate Warriors 2

Lords of the Fallen

BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle

One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3

Diablo III: Reaper of Souls

Yu-Gi-Oh! Legacy of the Duelist

The King of Fighters XIV

Fighting EX Layer

Fu'un Super Combo

Monkey King: Hero is Back

Granblue Fantasy: Versus

Scrabble

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune Remastered

Deadliest Warrior: The Game

Deadliest Warrior: Legends

Nitroplus Blasterz: Heroine's Infinite Duel

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order 

Sinner: Sacrifice for Redemption

Eldest Souls

Koihime†Enbu Ryo Rai Rai

Mortal Kombat: Arcade Kollection

Assassin's Creed Valhalla

Note - We're slowly descending in the sewers department, where games have more negatives than positives. First on the block is My Name is Mayo  because while it functions as a game, it's not really a game either...we also got stuff like Lords of the Fallen and Jedi Fallen Order that had one decent trait that prevented them from dropping further below. Diablo III's main fault is not being nearly as good as its dad Diablo II (plus Blizzard being ass). AC Valhalla is everything that you shouldn't do in an open world game. And finally Uncharted Drake's Fortune because I don't want ONLY nonsensical mayhem and braindead characters in my game.

The others are pretty self explanatory  

 

An absolute mess

Spoiler

Devil May Cry 2

Injustice: Gods Among Us Ultimate Edition

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor(PS3 version)

Duke Nukem Forever

Samurai Shodown VI

Contraptions 

Battle Fantasia

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow

Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite

Note - Welcome to THE GRAVEYARD aka where I wish I would bury these games. The only game that SHOULDN'T BE HERE but I HAVE TO ADD is Shadow of Mordor for PS3. I am absolutely sure that this is a great game on PS4 and it would probably get into the "Worth an Investment" section, but the PS3 version is almost unplayable.

The rest...DMC2 and Duke Nukem Forever need no introduction. Injustice 1, SamSho 6, Marvel Vs Capcom Infinite and Battle Fantasia may be the worst fighting games that I have played out there and Castlevania Lords of Shadow is a complete and utter disaster of a game with stupid camera and stupid mechanics.

Do not play these games.

 

It makes me want to quit this hobby

Crash Bandicoot

Shadow of the Colossus

Garfield Kart: Furious Racing

Catherine 

 

Note - The games that get people riled up, but I can't help it, I really REALLY really hate them. Whenever I play them I want to throw my PS3/PS4 and start a completely different hobby, paired with deleting my account. I can't even explain how much I loathe these games.

Crash Bandicoot - I am the worst platform player ever and this stupid remaster's inability to detect ledges made me never want to touch a platformer ever again. I heard that Crash 2 and 3 are better but I utterly refuse to listen to reason, I hate that stupid orange skunk so much!

Shadow of the Colossus - The horse, the controls and the fans of the game. Look, if you want to see what I felt about this game, check this post. I also gave a 5.6 to this abysmal game for some reason, which shows yet again why the grading system via numbers is flawed.

Garfield Kart - This game pushed my mood for racing games 20 years further. I wanted to play Trackmania before this, but this game drove me insane to such an extent that I am really not up to getting frustrated in another racing game. I am afraid I would smash my controller.

Catherine - If I were to still keep the grading system , I would rate this game -1 million / 10. Just...wait for the moment where I finally platinum it  in my opinion, this is the absolute worst "game" I have ever played.

 

So far these are the games I've played. Of course, the PS4 ports that don't change a thing will not repeat in the list (DMC feels the same in both PS3 and PS4). The only games I haven't 100% are PES2015, Titan Quest, Catherine, Mirror's Edge, AC Valhalla and Koihime Enbu Ryorairai (won't add Metal Gear Rising yet, I am still testing the waters there).

 

So yeah...this was fun  Will update the main page as well at some point in the future, the presentation is really lacking there.
As usual, I can discuss about any game from that list, just know that I am unreasonable in my tastes ?

Edited May 14, 2022 by Copanele

[Yuber6969]

Good job with the MK collection! I had the same issues with MK 2. It took me forever to beat Kintaro, even though I was using a method I saw in a YouTube video. Also not a fan of blocking with R2.

[DrunkenEngineer]

Thanks for the updated list dude!

 

Your take on Shadow of Mordor caught my eye. If the PS3 performance is holding you back absolutely check out the PS4 version. My recollection is that the PS3 port completely omits the Nemesis system, which is the game’s best feature.  
 

Definitely worth a second look, allow me to plug my review.

[Copanele]

3 hours ago, Yuber6969 said:

Good job with the MK collection! I had the same issues with MK 2. It took me forever to beat Kintaro, even though I was using a method I saw in a YouTube video. Also not a fan of blocking with R2.

Yeah the Kintaro fight just devolved to me jumping kicking him into his whiskers. The entirety of MK2 is a crap experience. WHILE not holding R2 because fml it's the only fighting game where you have a button for blocking  

 

3 hours ago, DrunkenEngineer said:

Thanks for the updated list dude!

 

Your take on Shadow of Mordor caught my eye. If the PS3 performance is holding you back absolutely check out the PS4 version. My recollection is that the PS3 port completely omits the Nemesis system, which is the game’s best feature.  
 

Definitely worth a second look, allow me to plug my review.

Oh yes, reading about that game ON PS4 - it's a beautiful experience I'd say. And yeah the Nemesis system is on PS3 as well, although whether it actually works is debatable at best.

I found my past post about the game here - damn I remember now how salty I was on this stupid game  I even gave it a -3/10. Good times, not for me unfortunately ?

[Honor_Hand]

12 hours ago, Copanele said:

Garfield Kart - This game pushed my mood for racing games 20 years further. I wanted to play Trackmania before this, but this game drove me insane to such an extent that I am really not up to getting frustrated in another racing game. I am afraid I would smash my controller.

 

You should totally play Trackmania, though. It's a great game. I'm sure you'd do just fine. ?

 

Great tier list, Copanele. Very well organized and tidied up. ^^ I obviously can't say I agree with all of it (Lords of Shadow was actually a fantastic game in my opinion and I will die on that hill ?), but I was very glad to see games like Guacamelee, Arcana Heart 3, Blur, Turok, Slain: Back from Hell & Bioshock scoring high on your list. I also think those games rocked in their own right. ?

 

Now, will we ever see Catherine and Mirror's Edge completed before the heat death of the universe? Who knows, all I know is that your hate for those games can't really be quantified, lmao. ? Holy shit, man, Mirror's Edge was sweet. All you need to improve on your jump-button coordination for that one, y'know.

[Copanele]

58 minutes ago, Honor_Hand said:

 

You should totally play Trackmania, though. It's a great game. I'm sure you'd do just fine.

I know it's a great game. But every time I see a car now, I hear Jon going "huh-huh!" before throwing a homing pie and ruining my first place...

Garfield ruined me, I can't touch a racing game ever again. Only the sweet embrace of NFS Underground may cure me ?

58 minutes ago, Honor_Hand said:

Great tier list, Copanele. Very well organized and tidied up. ^^ I obviously can't say I agree with all of it (Lords of Shadow was actually a fantastic game in my opinion and I will die on that hill ), but I was very glad to see games like Guacamelee, Arcana Heart 3, Blur, Turok, Slain: Back from Hell & Bioshock scoring high on your list. I also think those games rocked in their own right.

Only you enjoyed that mistake of a game ? but hey, you got way more tolerance to jank than I do, and that's a fact! 

 

Yep the rest of the games are pretty good, had quite the fun time with them. Even Arcana Heart 3, a game that is wrong in every sense of the word, I strangely enjoyed  and no, not because of THAT reason.

58 minutes ago, Honor_Hand said:

Now, will we ever see Catherine and Mirror's Edge completed before the heat death of the universe? Who knows, all I know is that your hate for those games can't really be quantified, lmao. Holy shit, man, Mirror's Edge was sweet. All you need to improve on your jump-button coordination for that one, y'know.

You saying that reminds me of this:

 

Catherine however...I don't know. Need meds for that one for sure, because I can't deal with the pain that game gives me. Mirror's Edge however? I don't really know, I like the game but MAN do I suck at it, even after 3 playthroughs ? me with platformers is you with stealth, you know!

[AJ_Radio]

There seriously needs to be a prequel or sequel to LA Noire. Sucks that Team Bondi went out shortly after the game released back in 2011. I still haven't found a game that quite matches the atmosphere and style of LA Noire.

 

Unfortunately, the bastards at Take Two practically control Rockstar, and they refuse to take any risks which is why Midnight Club, Manhunt and Max Payne are all dead.

 

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow was that bad eh?

[Copanele]

4 hours ago, AJ_Radio said:

There seriously needs to be a prequel or sequel to LA Noire. Sucks that Team Bondi went out shortly after the game released back in 2011. I still haven't found a game that quite matches the atmosphere and style of LA Noire.

 

Unfortunately, the bastards at Take Two practically control Rockstar, and they refuse to take any risks which is why Midnight Club, Manhunt and Max Payne are all dead.

 

Yes, oh I so agree, LA Noire so needed a sequel or even a prequel. Not necessarily in the same time period, but I want the vibe of that game again. 

4 hours ago, AJ_Radio said:

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow was that bad eh?

Yeep I really disliked it. Wish I could record the gameplay honestly (Ps3 would not allow it tho), because my god everything was crap for me. 

Maaaybe the final level had some quality to it but it could not save the mess that the rest of the game was. 

[Together_Comic]

On 5/14/2022 at 2:04 AM, Copanele said:

It makes me want to quit this hobby

Crash Bandicoot

 

Crash did nothing wrong .  That poor Bandicoot!  All he ever wanted was to save his girlfriend from the evil cortex and here Copanele comes and berates his ledges. It's not like he likes them either! How do you think Crash feels when you just decide to jump into the pit and then complain that he's a skunk???? 

 

In all honesty, I definitely can understand the criticisms, but I can't help but adore this game.  Maybe its my nostalgia.

[Copanele]

11 hours ago, Together_Comic said:

 

Crash did nothing wrong .  That poor Bandicoot!  All he ever wanted was to save his girlfriend from the evil cortex and here Copanele comes and berates his ledges. It's not like he likes them either! How do you think Crash feels when you just decide to jump into the pit and then complain that he's a skunk???? 

 

In all honesty, I definitely can understand the criticisms, but I can't help but adore this game.  Maybe its my nostalgia.

Definitely not my decision to throw him into the pit (ok maybe a bit  ).

I say "JUMP"

Bandicoot goes "WOAH" and falls

I say "FUCKING SKUNK"

 

Yeah this is nostalgia alright  since I never grew up with these games, I am immune to the Bandicoot charms so I can safely hate the game for the torture that it caused! 

Plus LET US NOT FORGET THE 6 HOURS OF PURE TORTURE THAT THIS LEVEL GAVE ME!

 

(Totally ignore my placing of Prince of Persia Sands of Time on the list, a game that most players hate nowadays but I love it to death. Not using nostalgia on that game at all ?)

 

[PlutoRico]

I'm a bit late to the party, I was waiting for your Arkham Knight review and I missed it haha. After playing the first two games (+ Origins) I thought that the Batmobile was a nice added feature that brought a breath of fresh air to the franchise. The driving was solid and sharp, it didn't feel out of place and some gameplay additions brought by the Batmobile were actually really fun. I do agree that it may have been overused at some point in the story but it didn't hinder my overall enjoyment that much.

 

It annoys me a lil bit because that's the consensus idea that everybody has about this game, @realm722 might be the first person that I agree with regarding his takes for Arkham Knight. It's funny cause if they didn't include the Batmobile and made a copy paste of the previous games, the critics would have pointed towards the lack of revolution in a game that was closing out the trilogy. I wish the game had more love haha. When I finished it a couple years ago I remember thinking it was my favorite one from the trilogy. I definitely need to complete it again on this account to get a new and fresh idea about it tho. Either way, it's either first or second with Asylum being third and Origins being last imo.

 

As for the story part, I agree that it was very predicable for someone who is a comics fan and for this reason I would put Arkham City's story above Arkham Knight. Arkham City also implemented elements of the No Man's Land comic book and did it so well that it was honestly hard to beat ? 

 

Edited May 25, 2022 by PlutoRico

[Copanele]

Note - this post will have a ton of metal gear rising spoilers, because honestly I can't write about the game without describing the bonkerness. So you have been warned  

 

 No. 187 - Metal Gear Rising Revengeance

+💯 % completed

Platinum Name: Revengeance

Hardest Trophy: Hero of the Metaverse - set the highest score in every DL- VR Mission

DIfficulty: 8/10

 

What in the name of American Bald Eagle have I just played...

 

Metal Gear Rising Revengeance can't be really considered a mere game - it's more of a meme, a show that keeps on delivering, a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Some may find this game tasteless and stupid while others would find it amazing AND stupid. I am definitely in the latter camp, because this game is 100% amazing, 100% cocaine and 200% stupid. 

 

I never played a Metal Gear (Solid) game before. Due to lack of console availability in Romania, all I had was a PC which obviously did not have the staple Kojima series on it. Perhaps things would have been different had I have a means of playing the games, but suffice to say, checking how the series is ... I doubt I'd enjoy it nowadays.  I love stealth games (Bless Agent 47) but the amount of dialogue and cutscenes in the MGS games...I don't have enough patience for it. Mad respect for Kojima's work though, don't get me wrong here  

 

However Metal Gear Rising is a different beast. Unlike the other games where you play as a savvy stealthy commando expert, here you are a ninja cyborg who goes "Nothing Personnel Kid" on every single enemy in the game while dodging a billion bullets. Since this is my type of game, given how I am in love with DMC series (+heard it was a short game), I said fuck it let's see what's this game about. Rest assured, I was not disappointed.

 

Even from the first Mission dubbed M00 you are thrown into the heat of action, as a cyborg bodyguard (cybodyguard?) , you have to recover some African prime minister. After slashing through the pathetic grunts that want to make you mincemeat (and you are introduced to the blade mode, a first person sword gameplay where you slash and dismember everything in quick succession), you are thrown into battle with a Metal Gear, which apparently are sort of final bosses very tough to kill stuff in the main series.

And what do you do? You parry the damn thing, you flip it over your shoulder while your Russian Boss yells "YES YES CUT IT OPEN" and some sick soundtrack yells "RULES OF NATURE!!!!" No intro, no "what are we gonna do" , just hack the damn Gundam and be done with it.

 

I...LOVED IT.

THIS IS HOW YOU MAKE A GAME INTRO!

 

Holy crap that sets the tone for the game so well, because that will happen in most, if not all boss fights. Everything looks intimidating at first but when you kick things into gears the sparks fly, swords clash, time slows, lyrics come into play and you probably will die because you are too amazed from the boss fights and fights in general. I repeat, this is NOT A TACTICAL ESPIONAGE GAME as Metal Gear Solid is. This is a Balls Out Slam Dunk Boomshakalaka game and don't you dare expect anything else from it.

 

Now, in order to have a sort of coherent post, I have to describe what pushed this game for me and what made it so good. For me, this game had 3 key ingredients: soundtrack, gameplay and characters. These are the keys to MGR's success, that keeps the game relevant even today.

 

THE SOUNDTRACK

The soundtrack of this game is what made me finally play this game. My greatest weakness in videogames is that I will 100% play a game with a killer soundtrack even if it is a dog shit game. I will eventually purchase Drakengard 3 in that aspect too, because of soundtrack. Yes I am that weak. Well what would you know, the music in Metal Gear Rising is an absolute banger - honestly there's nothing to say against it here. It's crazy, it gets the blood flowing, it has meaningful lyrics (those who played DMC5 know how important that is), every boss' soundtrack is like a "character sheet" so to speak, since it fits their personality.

 

There are a ton of iconic soundtracks in the game, such as Jetstream Sam and Armstrong theme. However my favorite sountrack in the entire game was Mistral's theme, just because of how it hits you. I was facing this weird French-Algerian chick with a lot of hands and then BOOM the "A stranger I remain" kicks me in the ear. 

A close second is Jetstream Sam's theme, a traditional Brazilian Katana user with a beautiful smile and an even more beautiful taunt. 

And obviously, who can forget "STANDING HERE, I REALIZE" song. Makes me want to go to the gym!

Yeah ok, the soundtrack is a 10/10, getting it out of the way before I start rambling too much  

 

THE GAMEPLAY

 

Being a PlatinumGames game, Metal Gear Rising is a pure Action Hack&Slash. The controls are super snappy and as long as you can control that blasted camera (a thing PlatinumGames only managed to fix in PS4 games) you will definitely have a great time. You don't really need to know intricate combos, as Raiden can slice and dice by the simple abuse of the square button. If you want to get extra spicy, put in some triangle attacks for extra measure...at least in your first playthrough. Obviously things get more complex when you unlock more weapons and more movesets, but if you don't want to learn how to combo a slide into Sky High cancelled into Sai throw that cancels into --- aka Chinese Kung Fu shit, you can just mash away and you'll get decent results either way. Also, since Raiden is literally a Cyborg Ninja, you can Ninja Run by holding down R1, Raiden being able to run and climb at high speeds. He is so fast that Ninja Running is actually bad when you want to be precise in your controls.

 

However, the true finesse of the combat comes with your defensive abilities - Raiden can't simply dodge an attack (or he can via a skill...but that's really situational). In order to prevent damage you have to parry an attack...and I have to say, I do not like how Platinum Games implements obscure mechanics in their games  To parry an attack, you have to move the left stick towards the direction of an incoming attack and press square, during which Raiden will hold his sword in a defensive position and block whatever attack comes from that direction. If you manage to parry an attack a split second before it connects, you can counterattack with a devastating slash that will inflict absurd amounts of damage. This is easier said than done however, given how fast the game moves.

 

Inflicting enough damage to the enemies will leave them open to the most devastating attack in the game - the zandatsu. This one is more of a finishing blow. If an enemy is damaged enough, he will turn blue which is your cue to enter Blade Mode, a First Person Sword mode where you can accurately slice the enemy in whatever way you want. 

Every enemy has a weak point (signaled by a red square), if you slice that weak point in Blade Mode you will get a QTE, pressing Circle will make you rip the blue spine out of the poor cyborg/AI, smash it in your hand, absorb its fluids and FULLY recover your health and blade mode bar. It's gruesome and it's beautiful at the same time.

 

Now every enemy has to be approached differently, from the lowly cyborg to the dangerous and annoying Mastiffs and finally the Wolf Blade copies (I can't remember their names). Obviously the damage and enemy arrangement changes with each difficulty, but rest assured they won't pose much trouble once you learned how to deal with them.

What will test your skill which is easily the best part of the game:

 

Characters/Bosses

 

Standing here, I realize that the third thing which truly propelled this game is the wide array of crazy characters and bosses. As Devil May Cry proved, a proper action game needs to have iconic characters in order to be propelled through history and never be forgotten.

And oh boy does Metal Gear Rising have some CRIMINALLY good characters.

 

Honestly from my point of view Raiden is probably the ...least interesting character in the game?  I don't know his history but for me he's a "yarr justice with a dark past yarr" kind of protagonist. And I dig that, it's the perfect protagonist template. Not everyone has to be as suave as Dante or as bootylicious as Bayonetta. But compared to the others he pales in comparison, just like he could compare to Snake (probably) in the main series.

Raiden has a team of allies that help him throughout the game, but probably my favorite is the Doktor, his cyber doctor who stiches him together and turns off his pain inhibitors when needed  The German scientist has some of the funniest lines in the game and his utter amazement at the enemies' technology (to the point where he forgets to hint Raiden with enemy weaknesses) makes him my favorite ally in the troop.

 

However, nobody can compare to the villains in this game. They are big, they are mean, they are ACTUALLY DANGEROUS WTF and they are super random and odd. You face Mistral, the 10 cyborg hands Algerian - French woman with a pleasure for pain and flipping mini robots at you. You get Monsoon, a piece of shit sectioned robot who will be the headache of your "no damage S rank runs" since he can split at will while he bores you with Memes. Yes you read that correctly. You have Sundowner, a big lug who wants to touch his inner child. Yes you read that correctly the second time.

Then you have Jetstream Sam. 

He is a Brazilian Samurai and Raiden's rival. His motivations? His plans? His skill with the sword? Play and find out. He's the second most charismatic character in the entire game and my god is he cool! Thankfully you can even play as him in Jetstream Sam DLC and yep he's just as amazing as you'd imagine.

But sadly, he's only the second most charismatic, despite his charming smile, because the main star of the show is none other than the final boss Armstrong.

 

You've seen him for sure, he's the Nanomachines Son guy. I kept hearing stuff like "I can't believe that the lame boss that shows up only in the final 30 minutes of the game is one of the most iconic characters in videogames ever" and I was thinking that it's impossible. You need time to build up the character, the evil intents, everything. 

 

There's something amazing about this character. Normally when a boss is super compelling he ends up being a weakling, OR he's a crazy strong bastard but has a crappy background. Not with Armstrong. He has conviction, he is disgustingly evil, you somehow can't help but get his point even if his methods are awful and he will kick the everliving shit out of you when you face him. He is a true final boss in all the senses, both ideologically and gameplay-wise. Again, the only one that surpasses him in my "Final boss" agenda is Vergil from DMC3.

Well done PlatinumGames, well done!

 

THE DLC

aka the Good, the Bad and the Meh it could have been better

 

For those who haven't had enough, this game also has DLC. 3 of them in fact and 2 of them are even harder than the main game!

 

Jetstream Sam DLC puts you in the shoes of the aforementioned Brazilian Samurai, before he joined Armstrong's crew. You get to play one level as him and...I wanted more. Sam's DLC is by far the hardest of the three and the hardest section that I faced in this game. Sam is way squishier, the enemies are faster and hit way harder and you don't inflict that much damage either.

The main differences are the fact that Sam can taunt which enrages enemies. An enraged enemy will inflict more damage but also will receive more damage too. So it's a high risk high reward kind of a trade-off. Then Sam can double jump and dash in the air, adding to his mobility.

His most important attack however is the quickdraw skill, where you charge his sword and do a red slash of doom when releasing it, slicing and dicing everything in his path.

 

So yeah, Sam's gameplay is not for the faint of heart but my god despite its challenge did I want more. Way more. Actually, just kick Raiden away and let Sam handle stuff, he's way more suited instead  .

 

Blade Wolf DLC puts you in the...paws(?) of the metallic dog boss turned ally Blade Wolf, in his "training days". You get a very nice "What is freedom of choice" lesson, but the gameplay is pretty basic (Wolf is not a complex character), you get some crappy platforming section and the final boss was pretty so-so. At least his soundtrack was awesome. Definitely not Jetstream Sam quality but gets the job done.

 

DLC VR Missions are a separate set of extra 30 VR missions for those who loved the main game VR Missions (they are kinda crap so for me the 30 DLC ones were a chore). This is probably the most tedious part of the game, mainly because these VR Missions are super poorly implemented, you have some pretty strict timing paired with a poor camera. The VR Missions made me tear out my hair in frustration just because of random ass fails and explosions. Especially VR 27 where you have to defeat EVERY enemy with a Zandatsu. Enemies being soldiers, gorillas, crazy robot dogs and so on. It was the worst part of the game.

 

The 100% journey

 

I started this playthrough on Normal, just to test the waters and learn some stuff. I was turned off by the fact that I dodge with square + X (seriously who tf implements a dodge button like that?) but i treaded on and sure enough the game caught me. Followed it by a Hard mode playthrough because I wanted to learn more of the game and its intricacies while also collecting everything that I missed (and I missed a lot of stuff).

This turned out to be a good decision, because I jumped right into Jetstream Sam DLC and my god did the game kick my sorry ass there. It took quite a few hours to finally master The Brazilian Way and put that DLC to sleep. Afterwards I approached Blade Wolf DLC which...was a joke compared to Sam.

Then hell started with DLC VR Missions. I think that from those 40 hours required to get the 100%, 15 at least were spent in this godawful DLC. After cleaning them, the main game VR missions felt like a joke in comparison, even the dreaded Mission 18.

Honestly, doing the DLC VR missions helped immensely, because thanks to them I learned a ton of tricks and got my reflexes in top condition. Getting S Rank in every mission in Revengeance difficulty turned out to be such a great and easy task instead. Being instakilled by an attack sounds better than having to zandatsu every enemy. By defeating Armstrong a final time I got the platinum at last.

...ok no I had to grind some grunts and THEN I got the platinum at last.

 

So ... yeah this game is not really that easy. It will kick your ass, the challenges are real but once you master it the satisfaction is guaranteed.

 

Now in terms of ranking...this game gets abit messy. Thank god I removed the number system  I think that depending on the situation, this game fits into one of the three categories:

- If you are a sucker for Hack&Slash games, then this game is fantastic and I can't recommend it enough (I am part of this category as well, I think the game is amazing)

- If you are not a fan of Hack & Slashes like Devil May Cry but still want a well made game, I still would say that it is worth an investment. At least you listen to some killer soundtrack.

- If however you love Metal Gear Solid to death and can't bear the fact that a side team took a character and went ballistics with it...then I recommend you skip this game  plus the fact that it's pure action wouldn't probably cope with the previously accustomed stealth preferences.

 

So yeah, in conclusion, Metal Gear Rising is a game of a kind. Love it or hate it, you gotta admit that this game really left its mark on the world of videogames with its antics. Or at least it left its mark on my trophy list  glad to have played it!

 

THE GOOD:

- insane top notch action

- you can rarely get a soundtrack better than this

- characters are very well written - especially Jetstream Sam and Armstrong

- DLC really expands on characters and improves the experience

 

THE BAD:

- VR Missions are a nightmare

- The camera is drunk again!

 

Recommendation - Devil May Cry 5  if you love Hack&slash but want the cream of the crop in this genre, play this game and thank me later  

Edited December 24, 2023 by Copanele

[Slava]

5 hours ago, Copanele said:

I had was a PC which obviously did not have the staple Kojima series on it

 

I'm gonna stop you right there ?. There were PC ports of MGS and MGS2. TBH, I didn't know about them either until I watched Digital Foundry cover every version of MGS2 in their video. 

 

5 hours ago, Copanele said:

but the amount of dialogue and cutscenes in the MGS games...I don't have enough patience for it

 

 

5 hours ago, Copanele said:

the music in Metal Gear Rising is an absolute banger

 

Yep. I follow some people on Twitter who happened to be MGS fans. When MGRR came out, the first thing that filled my Twitter feed was RULES OF NATURE. That song was everywhere. I listened to the song without having played the game. These posts were later followed by countless rules of nature memes, other songs, and so on. Good times.

 

The two songs that blew up as much as that one were Nuclear by Mike Oldfield from the E3 2014 MGSV trailer and Devil Trigger (you know from which game).

 

5 hours ago, Copanele said:

just like he could compare to Snake (probably) in the main series

 

Correct. The fact that he's not as cool as Snake was one of the points of MGS2's story. Although, his storyline went wild after that game.

 

5 hours ago, Copanele said:

If however you love Metal Gear Solid to death and can't bear the fact that a side team took a character and went ballistics with it...then I recommend you skip this game  plus the fact that it's pure action wouldn't probably cope with the previously accustomed stealth preferences.

 

Yeah. It's kind of a "forget everything you know" situation. Gameplay-wise and story-wise it's very different. Most people (among the ones I see online, at least) adjusted their expectations as soon as they saw the Platinum Games logo in the trailers. MGR is not a traditional Metal Gear, and it shouldn't be. It exists in its own separate world. And it's cool in its own way. The fans who can't accept that will probably not like it as much. 

Edited May 27, 2022 by Slava

[Copanele]

1 hour ago, Slava said:

 

I'm gonna stop you right there . There were PC ports of MGS and MGS2. TBH, I didn't know about them either until I watched Digital Foundry cover every version of MGS2 in their video. 

 

 

Well I for sure did not know of them ?and neither of my gaming buddies. 

Like don't get me wrong I HEARD of the games but they were "oh those ezoteric console games that I can't afford yet". 

But hey at least I played Splinter cell at the time

 

As for story... Can't help it. 

Ok truth be told, it's Kojima's style that I can't get along with (if we are to fully ruin my reputation hahah). I have seen a playthrough at some point and man I could not get through it. It was so "not me" that I didn't even want to bother checking the actual game. The stealth part ain't bad at all but the cutscenes were for me"why did you do that sick exposition and waste my time with stupid shenanigans now? "

 

I will admit though... I have seen scenes with Revolver Ocelot. He did make me laugh not gonna lie ? the whole" I am Revolver ?⬆️⬇️??⤵️⤴️↪️↩️? Ocelot" cracked me up big time. If i ever play these games it would be because of him. 

Now let us move on before this turns into a full blown" I don't like Metal Gear Solid"thread we know how well those end. 

 

1 hour ago, Slava said:

 

Yep. I follow some people on Twitter who happened to be MGS fans. When MGRR came out, the first thing that filled my Twitter feed was RULES OF NATURE. That song was everywhere. I listened to the song without having played the game. These posts were later followed by countless rules of nature memes, other songs, and so on. Good times.

 

The two songs that blew up as much as that one were Nuclear by Mike Oldfield from the E3 2014 MGSV trailer and Devil Trigger (you know from which game) 

Ohh baby the "stop that blade Raiden" moment was mad epic. Gotta credit the game for the ear bliss and the memes that came after. 

 

It's so amazing how much a game experience can improve with the right soundtrack! 

1 hour ago, Slava said:

 

Yeah. It's kind of a "forget everything you know" situation. Gameplay-wise and story-wise it's very different. Most people (among the ones I see online, at least) adjusted their expectations as soon as they saw the Platinum Games logo in the trailers. MGR is not a traditional Metal Gear, and it shouldn't be. It exists in its own separate world. And it's cool in its own way. The fans who can't accept that will probably not like it as much. 

I honestly feel for the fans who want to platinum every Metal Gear game under the ps sun then stumble across this madness  this is the furthest from a tactical espionage game. 

And honestly I can understand fans who go "what is this shit??". As long as they don't attack the other fans of this game. Which sadly happens because we can't have nice things

[Slava]

7 hours ago, Copanele said:

Ok truth be told, it's Kojima's style that I can't get along with

 

Well, If it's not for you, then it's not for you. Sorry, couldn't scroll by without at least posting a sad gif ?.

 

7 hours ago, Copanele said:

I have seen scenes with Revolver Ocelot. He did make me laugh not gonna lie the whole" I am Revolver Ocelot" cracked me up big time. If i ever play these games it would be because of him. 

 

Or you can watch cutscenes from MGS3. I'm sure someone has uploaded an Ocelot gun twirling supercut. 

 

7 hours ago, Copanele said:

I honestly feel for the fans who want to platinum every Metal Gear game under the ps sun then stumble across this madness  this is the furthest from a tactical espionage game. 

 

Yeah, that's a bit of a dilemma. I'd say your game preferences and enjoyment come first, trophies second. Other people decide differently, some are willing to try out even Metal Gear Survive. 

[DrunkenEngineer]

An absolute banger of a review!  It’s too bad Metal Gear Rising is only available on the PS3/X360 on consoles, BUT there is a Steam/PC port floating around.  On to the wishlist it goes!  I believe Vanquish was ported to PS4 so I’m not sure why this one never got the remaster treatment.

[Cassylvania]

I don't know anything about MGS, so I'll just comment on the new grading system because I like tier lists.

 

First, if I were to ever make a tier list, I would put Dark Souls in a tier of its own.

 

It's actually really interesting to see Mount & Blade in the top tier. I played the original on PC many, many moons ago, and I remember liking the game, but it always came across as too clunky and "indie" to appeal to the masses. I just figured only weirdos like me would consider it a really good game. I kinda felt the same about Kingdom Come: Deliverance (a game you should absolutely play), but that got much more universal recognition. I wonder how much influence Dark Souls had in the successes of those games.

 

Tier two. I like that Skyrim sits below the original Dark Souls. I also like that you don't trash on Dark Souls II. The "weakest" of the Souls games to me is Sekiro (you seem to agree), but I'd probably put Bloodborne in the top tier. Cat Quest was pretty good. I like the placement of Elden Ring and Cuphead, even though I haven't played them yet. I'm in the minority in not loving BioShock.

 

Tier three... That's a lot of games. I think if I were to do this, I'd probably just have two tiers for the top games and two tiers for the worst games. Everything else would just be assumed to be somewhere in between. Interesting to see TLoU on the same tier as Old Man's Journey and Child of Light. Can't say I disagree.

 

Let's see the games with glaring flaws. Oh, dear -- you accidentally put The Wolf Among Us in there. That's OK. I'll move it to the top tier for you. We don't want it associating with the likes of...well, honestly, I haven't played most of these games. You like fighting games a lot more than me. (Or maybe not, since most of them seem to land here?)

 

Games worth skipping... Yup, think I skipped most of them. Whoa, Uncharted makes an appearance. Them's fighting words for some people. (I think it's hilarious.)

 

Messy games... Eh, yeah, Shadow of Mordor is pretty good on PS4. Can't speak to the PS3 version.

 

And the games that make you want to quit... Crash. ? Somebody REALLY hates Naughty Dog.

 

Pretty sad to see Catherine end up where it did. I want to play it soon and I'm hoping I'll like it, but that's a big investment for something I've heard more than one person complain about.

[Copanele]

On 5/25/2022 at 3:40 PM, PlutoRico said:

I'm a bit late to the party, I was waiting for your Arkham Knight review and I missed it haha. After playing the first two games (+ Origins) I thought that the Batmobile was a nice added feature that brought a breath of fresh air to the franchise. The driving was solid and sharp, it didn't feel out of place and some gameplay additions brought by the Batmobile were actually really fun. I do agree that it may have been overused at some point in the story but it didn't hinder my overall enjoyment that much.

 

It annoys me a lil bit because that's the consensus idea that everybody has about this game, @realm722 might be the first person that I agree with regarding his takes for Arkham Knight. It's funny cause if they didn't include the Batmobile and made a copy paste of the previous games, the critics would have pointed towards the lack of revolution in a game that was closing out the trilogy. I wish the game had more love haha. When I finished it a couple years ago I remember thinking it was my favorite one from the trilogy. I definitely need to complete it again on this account to get a new and fresh idea about it tho. Either way, it's either first or second with Asylum being third and Origins being last imo.

 

As for the story part, I agree that it was very predicable for someone who is a comics fan and for this reason I would put Arkham City's story above Arkham Knight. Arkham City also implemented elements of the No Man's Land comic book and did it so well that it was honestly hard to beat  

 

I completely missed answering to you sorry  goddamn MGR!

 

So yeah...I saw that people complained about the Batmobile AFTER I experienced it, so I am pretty pretty sure that I dislike the Batmobile just because it ruins my flow. I don't know the reason, I just wanted more batman fights and that stupid car got in the way. Can't help it?

But I still rank Arkham Knight as a very good game, even if it was my least favorite. 

 

Yeah story in AK was truly the weakest point if I think about it. There were so many inconsistencies -- you know what, I will leave it like this ? let's not enter into nitpicking territory because I DO NOT want to re-rank that game.

9 hours ago, Slava said:

 

Or you can watch cutscenes from MGS3. I'm sure someone has uploaded an Ocelot gun twirling supercut. 

I actually did that this afternoon. MY MAN BE TWIRLIN'

I admit, the dude is mad charismatic in his own stupid ways. Wonder if there will be an action game with Revolver Ocelot Revolving Ocelots, cause some pew pew would be fun  

6 hours ago, DrunkenEngineer said:

An absolute banger of a review!  It’s too bad Metal Gear Rising is only available on the PS3/X360 on consoles, BUT there is a Steam/PC port floating around.  On to the wishlist it goes!  I believe Vanquish was ported to PS4 so I’m not sure why this one never got the remaster treatment.

Yep it's on STEAM so go get it!!!

Vanquish was ported to PS4, however MGR is also a Konami/Kojima property or something so I assume there's legal issues there. 

Regardless if they get it on PS4 you bet imma re-100% it.

 

 

AND NOW, time to get crackin'. @Cassylvania ,better prepare, because I have answers to all those ratings ? I am very set in my dumb gaming views, as other friends may attest!

 

19 minutes ago, Cassylvania said:

I don't know anything about MGS, so I'll just comment on the new grading system because I like tier lists.

 

First, if I were to ever make a tier list, I would put Dark Souls in a tier of its own.

Dark Souls for me is a critical ingredient in the glorious soup that is my gaming experience, but it's not the only one.

In fact, if it wasn't for Devil May Cry 3, I wouldn't have had the urge for another difficult game (at the time when I first played it) so I may have never started the game in the first place ?

19 minutes ago, Cassylvania said:

It's actually really interesting to see Mount & Blade in the top tier. I played the original on PC many, many moons ago, and I remember liking the game, but it always came across as too clunky and "indie" to appeal to the masses. I just figured only weirdos like me would consider it a really good game. I kinda felt the same about Kingdom Come: Deliverance (a game you should absolutely play), but that got much more universal recognition. I wonder how much influence Dark Souls had in the successes of those games.

Yes so I played the original Mount&Blade and it wasn't polished enough. But when Warband came out...yeah I don't know when time passed by. I have a thing for medieval stuff so yeah I should definitely also play Kingdom Come Deliverance why didn't I start it yet?

 

Funny enough though - I played M&B before Dark Souls. I played a lot of games before Dark Souls  

19 minutes ago, Cassylvania said:

Tier two. I like that Skyrim sits below the original Dark Souls. I also like that you don't trash on Dark Souls II. The "weakest" of the Souls games to me is Sekiro (you seem to agree), but I'd probably put Bloodborne in the top tier. Cat Quest was pretty good. I like the placement of Elden Ring and Cuphead, even though I haven't played them yet. I'm in the minority in not loving BioShock.

 

Skyrim WITH MODS would be below original Dark Souls for me. I admit that Skyrim is a phenomenal game, BUT the stuff that the mods add on PC ruined the game for me  

I like to laugh about Dark Souls II but in a loving way. It's actually a VERY good game, I invested so much time in that game too, saying it legit sucks would be silly of me.

The reason Bloodborne is not in the top tier is ... because of my BL4 Run. Playing the game "as intended" is a great way, however doing it at Blood Level 4...you see the little issues that game has  And trust me, Bloodborne has some issues.

Plus I can't have 2 Fromsoft games in the Top Tier, I simply can't

 

Nah Bioshock is a product of its time and since I experience that product in that time...can't give it a lower score. I mean heck, I have Prince of Persia way up there! But it is an old game and yeah not liking it is also understandable.

 

19 minutes ago, Cassylvania said:

Tier three... That's a lot of games. I think if I were to do this, I'd probably just have two tiers for the top games and two tiers for the worst games. Everything else would just be assumed to be somewhere in between. Interesting to see TLoU on the same tier as Old Man's Journey and Child of Light. Can't say I disagree.

"TLoU was just alright" is one of my hot takes, never giving up on it ?

19 minutes ago, Cassylvania said:

Let's see the games with glaring flaws. Oh, dear -- you accidentally put The Wolf Among Us in there. That's OK. I'll move it to the top tier for you. We don't want it associating with the likes of...well, honestly, I haven't played most of these games. You like fighting games a lot more than me. (Or maybe not, since most of them seem to land here?)

Yes yes, will pick it up from the top tier and put it back where it belongs. 

Story wise? It made me read the Fables series, so 10/10 no contest.

Interrupt my sexy story with sexy wolf and sexy snow white with dumb ass shit QTEs that have no meaning? naaah you don't ruin my immersion like that game, you shall be punished!

 

Hey, I love fighting games, doesn't mean most of them don't suck ass ?.

19 minutes ago, Cassylvania said:

Games worth skipping... Yup, think I skipped most of them. Whoa, Uncharted makes an appearance. Them's fighting words for some people. (I think it's hilarious.)

Well at least it's Uncharted 1, so I can escape the PSNP Guillotine for now.

Until I play Uncharted 2 and put it in the same spot 

19 minutes ago, Cassylvania said:

Messy games... Eh, yeah, Shadow of Mordor is pretty good on PS4. Can't speak to the PS3 version.

PS3 is unplayable. I scored it a -3/10. 

19 minutes ago, Cassylvania said:

And the games that make you want to quit... Crash. Somebody REALLY hates Naughty Dog.

I have issues with Naughty Dog games it seems...but my god is Crash my nightmare. After I finished Crash 1, idk who recommended me Crash 2 to which I yelled at the monitor "ARE YOU FUCKING MENTAL I WILL BITE THIS LAPTOP RIGHT NOW I SWEAR TO GOD" then proceeded to curse a stupid orange raccoon who woahs off the cliff.

I'd play the shit out of a game where you can shoot Crash Bandicoot, is all am gonna say ?

19 minutes ago, Cassylvania said:

Pretty sad to see Catherine end up where it did. I want to play it soon and I'm hoping I'll like it, but that's a big investment for something I've heard more than one person complain about.

?I wish you?best of ?luck ??

To put it in pretty words, I would retract my "bite the laptop" words and gladly play all Crash games including Crash 4 if I could somehow remove Catherine from my account and from my memory. It is a plague upon my soul, that game.

 

Well that, and i tend to be a bit dramatic sometimes  

[Yuber6969]

Congrats, and nice writeup! I agree with you about the soundtrack, but I'm surprised you didn't mention Blade Wolf's theme. And the Mistral fight was one of the most epic fights I've ever done in a game.

 

Quote

If however you love Metal Gear Solid to death and can't bear the fact that a side team took a character and went ballistics with it...then I recommend you skip this game  plus the fact that it's pure action wouldn't probably cope with the previously accustomed stealth preferences.

 

I loved the MGS series when I was younger, and still loved MGR.

[Copanele]

7 minutes ago, Yuber6969 said:

Congrats, and nice writeup! I agree with you about the soundtrack, but I'm surprised you didn't mention Blade Wolf's theme. And the Mistral fight was one of the most epic fights I've ever done in a game.

Man, all of them are epic  Monsoon's, Sundowner's, even the Blade Wolf final boss DLC theme is a banger.  I just listed 2 of them.

7 minutes ago, Yuber6969 said:

I loved the MGS series when I was younger, and still loved MGR.

Yeep, but you knowwwwwww, there's some people that just can't bear spin-offs (not to mention the other category that judge you for playing anything but the glorious original masterpiece ?)

 

But honestly I would recommend YOU to go for the 100%, just for the pure badassness of it ?and frustration  

[Copanele]

 No. 188 - Metal Wolf Chaos X D

 

Platinum Name: American Hero 

Hardest Trophy: Lord of War - Acquire all weapons 

Difficulty: 6/10

 

Did you ever wake up, stumble to your bathroom, look up in the mirror and think "man what a glorious day for FREEDOM and PATRIOTISM"? If yes, Metal Wolf Chaos is exactly the game for you!

If no, then shut up Metal Wolf Chaos is still the game for you, every day is FREEDOM day.

 

Metal Wolf Chaos X D (I write X D separately cause otherwise I would get this stupid  emoji) is a President of the United States Simulator, disguised as a Mecha shooter. You play as the 47th President of USA, Michael, who has the mission to free the country from the clutches of his evil Vice-President, Richard. Helped by his faithful airheaded secretary Jody, Michael starts his campaign of liberation the only way a true American does: by jumping in his Mecha suit Metal Wolf and laying waste upon the Great States of the Country.

And no I am not joking, this is the premise of the game  

Leave it to Japanese developers Fromsoftware (yeah the Dark Souls guys) to humorously depict USA. This game is a bundle of hilarity and explosion, where every USA trope is being covered. It is also Michael Bay's wet dream because HOLY DAMN THE AMOUNT OF EXPLOSIONS AND MAYHEM in this game. Whoever came up with this idea and pushed it to the committee board deserves a gold statue in front of Fromsoftware HQ.

 

The premise of the game is very simple - pick up the city you want to destr--liberate, select your loadout and start shooting the VP's army that he throws at you. You can pick from a huge amount of equipment, ranging from oversized revolvers, machine guns, assault rifles, 3 assortment of missile launchers, snipers, railguns, list goes on. There's a HUGE amount of weapons, which helps because some levels require some planning before starting. I always recommend having at least a set of machine guns, a sniper for pesky out of reach targets and a Railgun for massive damage. The final upgrades to these weapons legit break the game.

 

However what pushes this game forward is not the gameplay, but the humor. According to an interview with the producer,  Metal Wolf Chaos - "It is America as perceived by the Japanese. It's completely fictional, but at the time, it was our idea of this ideology of American culture and comic book heroes, and we pieced that together and it became the president piloting the mech. We think that when Japanese look at it that way, from the American point of view, it's almost like how they imagine a Japanese ninja, and sort of the same ideologies, the same kind of fantasy, so it goes two ways" . And I have to say that they nailed this perfectly.

Michael is a deeply patriotic and eager to rescue maniac who demolishes and kills everyone, Richard is the ultra hyper true evil moustache twirling villain (with a legit maniacal MWAHAHAHAHHAHA laugh that cracked me up) and Jody...oh Jody what wouldn't I give for a secretary like you. Jody was my favorite character of the game simply because she is the most random ass human being that I've encountered in a videogame. She can tell you a 2-3 minute story about a building and how she went shopping there, just to finally yell "BLOW IT THE HELL UP MR PRESIDENT". She is ABSOLUTELY adorable and I couldn't have imagine the game without her.

 

Retaking San Francisco one cable car at a time

 

The game is, as mentioned, insane amounts of fun and humor...the first time around.

Unfortunately, the Platinum asks you to replay it. A lot. And since I already heard the funny quips, obviously on subsequent playthroughs I started skipping them, case in which you end up with a generic mecha game. 

And I realized that no I am not really a fan of this genre ?

 

Most of the challenges in this game are pretty fun and really test your skills without ruining your experience. However there's 2 main trophies that will make you pull your hair when going for the platinum - Getting S rank in all missions and getting all the weapons in the game (Lord of War).

 

The S rank is the easier of the two, the reason why it's an awful trophy is because you have to play most of the mission in a counter-intuitive way, aka grind out waves of soldiers and score high amount of points. Weirdly enough, killing everything without getting damaged nets you only a measly B rank, at most an A rank. No, you have to KILL a lot (one of the requirements for S rank is a combo count, getting a 100 combo twice per mission usually guarantees S rank). It's boring and annoying, you usually have to spend 20 minutes in a mission killing grunts in a 1 minute mission at most. 

 

Lord of War achievement however is a true pain in the ass. Normally after each mission you get rewards (money and rare materials). You have to invest into weapon manufacturing and then actually build them. HOWEVER there's also the "special" weapons that can be unlocked ONLY if you complete certain game requirements. Most of the weapons are either jokes (a wooden arrow machine gun) or nods to the past games (Souls/ King's Field/ Armored Core fans will recognize the MLGS weapon)

Some requirements are easy - 300 million $ in damage, lots of property destruction will unlock you the special weapon. Or capture all of the hidden aliens in a level.

However you have something like "do not spend more than 2200 bullets in the entire game". In a mecha bullet hell game....

Or "do not take more than x amounts of damage in all levels" in a game where a million rockets fly around and a well placed shot can obliterate 2 of your health packs.

Suffice to say, Lord of War was the equivalent of half of my playthrough. My total playtime was 45 hours, it took me 20 hours to finish the campaign and get all the misc trophies and 25 hours to get the S Rank and Lord of War. I have to say I did not enjoy this platinum run and it really got me bored at some point.

 

Overall this game is a treat the first time you will play it. Even if the platinum is a slog, you will definitely get a few laughs and feel extra motivated in your patriotic ways. So for sure, just for the humor, this game is worth an investment. It gets on sale pretty often too!

 

 

THE GOOD

• RICHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARD
• MMMMMMMMMICHAEEEEEEEEEEL
• Jody is the best secretary in the world
• I want whatever the script writer had when writing this game
• Surprisingly smooth controls
• The mayhem is guaranteed

THE BAD

• Remove the humor and you are left with a generic mech game
• Low replayability value
• Platinum is a slog

 

Recommendation - The Bard's Tale Remastered and Resnarkled  if you want more top notch humor, pick this game up, see how the life of a bard is really like and find out why "it's bad luck to be you"

Edited December 24, 2023 by Copanele

[Grotz99]

Just wanted to say that I looked at the picture first and read it as Metal Wolf Chads...

 

I'm curious when you're going to get back into the world of Kamurocho, I actually just started Judgement as a break in the series.

Edited June 3, 2022 by Grotz99

[Copanele]

Just now, Grotz99 said:

Just wanted to say that I looked at the picture first and read it as Metal Wolf Chads...

I mean, it would make no difference really, the President is the Chaddest of them all

Just now, Grotz99 said:

I'm curious when you're going to get back into the world of Kamurocho, I actually just started Judgement as an break in the series.

I think I will play one or two more games then fire up Yakuza Dead Souls. To be honest I am itching to start it now, but I fear I'd get burned out too fast.

These Yakuza games are mad dangerous if played one after the other  

As for what to actually play...no idea.

[Yuber6969]

Congrats!

 

I have to look at some gameplay footage first, but I will very likely be adding this to my wishlist. I loved the few mech games I played, and always wanted to explore the genre more. I also love silly humor like this, and after seeing the baseball episode of Samurai Champloo, I love seeing how the Japanese think Americans are.  

[YaManSmevz]

2 hours ago, Yuber6969 said:

I also love silly humor like this, and after seeing the baseball episode of Samurai Champloo, I love seeing how the Japanese think Americans are.  

 

Samurai Champloo, nice!

 

Every time I see that show referenced I just think of that beatboxer goin JUWA JUWA JIN?