Game Review: The Outer Worlds

Hello Enthusiasts,

I remember when Fallout: New Vegas came out and got subpar reviews because it was being compared to the game it was building off of, Fallout 3. While it certainly wasn't as large of a game as the main entry into the series, I loved New Vegas and, honestly, it was the game that got me really into the series. So when its developer, Obsidian, announced that they were releasing a brand-new IP, I was excited to give it a try. Would it be another gripping experience to remember for years to come? Below is my review of Outer Worlds, though keep in mind that there will be some Spoilers Below.

The game starts with a scientist freeing your created character from a transport ship full of cryogenically frozen people from Earth, which was headed to the Halcyon colonies. There were some issues and the board in charge of these colonies decided to just leave these people frozen and drifting off into space. As you're rescued by this scientist, Phineas Wells, he tells you to find him some chemicals to wake up the rest of the ship, because the board of corporations is full of a bunch of selfish and short-sighted jerks (paraphrasing there). You're dropped onto a planet, killing your mercenary escort upon landing, whose ship you end up claiming on as your own, and thus begins your journey.

I'm leaving a lot out of my story overview because this is very much a story-driven game and I don't want to give too much away. However, I will say that my favorite story element involves the way the corporations have handled the management of these colonies, as the story writers have thought of every conceivable way that the corporations would try to get more money out of these people. These's even a point in the game where you learn that the "Spacer's Choice" company considers worker suicide as vandalism of company property, which means that they take a fee out of the rest of the worker's paychecks to cover the damages. 

Anyway, outside of the story, what are the other best parts of this game? Well, for fans of the older Fallout games, the dialogue options in this game are great and versatile. Focusing on upgrading your character's speech abilities is an easy way to avoid a whole lot of combat and uncomfortable situations in this story. However, even focusing on other elements of your character can help with dialogue, as there will sometimes be options that are based off of your characters other traits, such as knowledge in medicine, engineering, handguns, etc. The companions in this game are done well, though I found myself sticking with the same two for most of the missions. It's easy to get attached to their specific personalities (as well as enjoy the specific perks they grant your character by being in your party). Also, while it does take some getting used to, the inventory management system in this game isn't bad at all. Without raising your skills too much, you're able to break down weapons and armor for parts from your inventory rather than traveling to a workbench. Plus, there are a ton of vending machines around these colonies that allow you to sell your junk or other items for credits.

It's not all praise though, because there are some elements of this game that don't work quite as well. Unfortunately, one of my biggest knocks against the game involves one of my favorite elements, the dialogue. As varied as it is and as much as I love it, what you say often doesn't matter. There are several instances where you can tell that the NPC you're speaking to would give you the same information or response regardless. There are times when your companion will chime into the conversation as well, which is cool, but the character you're speaking with won't even acknowledge that someone else said something. I would have also appreciate some more variety in the available weapons and modifications. I ended up finding dozens upon dozens of the exact same pistol, which was great for getting additional weapon parts, but did make that part of the game a bit less exciting. Finally, last gripe here, but there should be some post-game content. The Fallout series has adjusted itself to allow players to continue their journey after they beat the main story, and it's disappointing that this game doesn't allow that. The player should be able to continue to roam the galaxy after the end of the story, but that's not the case.

Despite my grievances, this is actually a fun game. While there is room for improvement, I enjoyed my time and the worlds that the designers built into this game. If you're not into really into action RPG's, this might not be your kind of game, but I think it's worth a purchase for anyone who has a soft spot for this style.

I give The Outer Worlds a 7 out of 10.

Sincerely,

The Bored Enthusiast

Game Review: Luigi's Mansion 3

Hello Enthusiasts,

I am a huge fan of the Nintendo character, Luigi. So I was understandably excited to get the new entry in Luigi's solo series, Luigi's Mansion. Does it hold up to the previous games? Below, you will find my review to Luigi's Mansion 3. 

While this isn't a heavily story-based game, still know that there are some mild Spoilers Below.

The game starts with the Mario gang arriving to a fancy hotel that they were exclusively invited to. Everything seems fine at first, but things quickly turn south as it's revealed that the whole hotel is a trap. Luigi learns that King Boo has escaped from the painting that he was trapped in and has started to get his revenge by trapping the rest of the Mario gang in paintings. Luigi escapes and now it's up to him to use the newest version of the Poltergust and save everyone. To do this, he'll need to go through the hotel floor-by-floor, defeat the ghosts, and retrieve the stolen elevator buttons to ascend further through the hotel.

I love the diversity of this game above everything else. Each floor of the hotel is unique to one another, with some floors being set aside as a gym or a mall, while others are more outlandish, like pirate themed floor that has an entire beach inside the hotel. It keeps the game feeling fresh throughout the duration of the play time, which was an issue with the previous titles. The game also benefits from its newest key feature, Gooigi. Gooigi is a goo copy of Luigi that can be used to solve puzzles in interesting and creative ways. I found some of these puzzles to be fairly difficult, especially before I got used to utilizing Gooigi effectively. There were also some difficult bosses, through more in regard to figuring out how to defeat them instead of actually pulling it off. The game also looks great, though in a more cartoony way than some of the other big titles on the Nintendo Switch.

Also, a big "thank you" to Nintendo for continuing to include local multiplayer in their games. The multiplayer mode of this game is a fun and welcomed addition to this game, though I haven't put nearly as many hours into it as I did the single player.

While the game does have a lot going for it, there are a few areas in need of improvement. One of the biggest areas for me is the control layout. It can be difficult to use some of the features on the Poltergust effectively because of where they are placed on the controller, since both joysticks are needed to aim when a feature is being used. I also wanted more items to spend the in-game money on, as I have over $30,000 in game right now with nothing left to buy. These are small issues, but they are apparent enough to get annoying.

Overall, I think this is an outstanding game. It not only continues the great things about this series, but does well in furthering the series overall. It's a definite recommend for anyone that has a Switch, though I wouldn't call it a system seller like Breath of the Wild or Mario Odyssey. 

I give Luigi's Mansion 3 an 8.5 out of 10.

Sincerely,

The Bored Enthusiast

Comic Book Review: Civil War II

Hello Enthusiasts,

Marvel's comic book event Civil War was a wonderful, accessible story for readers. It brought up a point that, at the time, hadn't been explored too heavily in any major Marvel or DC events, where the government decides to force all super-powered beings to work as agents. It was creative but so obvious, because of course the government would do something like that. The event went over so well that it became the plot behind the third Captain America movie in the MCU (kind of) and Marvel decided to put together a sequel. Today, I will review Civil War II and there will be some Spoilers Below, though I will try to keep them at a minimum.

This event follows two teams of heroes, with their figureheads being Iron Man and Captain Marvel. The point of contention between these groups is a new Inhuman that has the power to see events that have yet to occur. This Inhuman, Ulysses, was actually just a regular student that ended up being exposed to Terrigen Mist, which changed him. Ulysses sees a horrific future in his first vision, an apocalyptic type of future, and eventually approaches the heroes about it. Some of his smaller, more short term visions end up coming true, and Captain Marvel's team is able to prevent some tragedies because of that. However, not everyone is on board with following this new early-warning system that the heroes have. Iron Man in particular is opposed to this idea, because the future isn't set and the predictions could end up causing more harm than good. The two sides fight it out, there are losses on each side, and there's a pretty clean wrap-up of the whole event right within the pages of this story.

There are some things that do work very well in this story. For starters, the art is clean and enjoyable. I really enjoy the work of David Marquez, and he has a history of working with Brian Michael Bendis and conveying these stories well through his illustration. I also love when these events include a lot of different heroes and series that I enjoy, since some of the other Marvel events end up having a smaller scope of heroes (Original Sin, Siege, Secret War). This event also made an effort to lay some groundwork for major changes in the Marvel universe moving forward, even though not all of them stuck. I also enjoyed a bit of the character building in this story, especially Captain Marvel. It can seem like she's being hard-headed about this whole thing and not willing to listen to any opposition on the topic, but she's taking a similar stance to Iron Man's in the first Civil War. She knows that there's some moral ambiguity with what she's doing, and she doesn't enjoy arresting the heroes that have done so much good in the past, but she feels that she is doing what's best for the world. She sees these visions coming true and takes a risk based on their previous accuracy. There are other characters who have deeper plots like this one, but I can't really go into them without spoiling major plots of the story.

While there are some positives for this limited series, there are some drawbacks that I need to rant about a bit. First of all, this was not nearly as fresh of an idea as the first Civil War. Acting on predictions from the future, arresting people that haven't committed any crimes yet, having a group that is adamantly opposed to the actions, these are ideas and plots that have been explored numerous times in the past. All Marvel adds to the worn plot is superheroes, and it's still not as strong of a story a the film Minority Report. Don't get me wrong, the writing is strong, as all of Bendis' work is, but Marvel just didn't have enough to add to this kind of story to make it feel worthwhile. It's also frustrating that some many of the threads from this book end up going nowhere in the larger universe. Sure, some of them play out for a bit, like Iron Man being put out of commission near the end of the book, which set up for Iron Heart's short series, but he's back in the game before long.

I also have a significant gripe about Iron Man's side in this. I know that a character can grow and change over time, and there are events early in this book that are impactful to Iron Man and his perception of using Ulysses power. However, Tony Stark was arresting heroes who were out risking their lives for people because they wouldn't sign up to work for the government in the first Civil War series. He locked up friends, allies that he had for years, and said that it was all worth it. Even after Captain America was killed while in custody after the events of that series, Tony still moved forward with the Avengers Initiative and spearheaded the team of government heroes. To say that he would be opposed to something preventing major tragedies because there's some grey area around whether or not the visions can be trusted feels like a bit of a stretch. He mentions that he has an understanding of time, that it is always changing and that there's an ebb and flow to it, which helps swallow the pill of his opposition a bit, but it really feels like his stance is just so we can have a powerful figurehead to oppose Captain Marvel.

Overall, this comic isn't bad, but I wouldn't call it a priority read. Yes the art is excellent and the writing is solid, but the story that Bendis was told to write for isn't as strong as it could have been. It feels less like this was an event that we were building to and more as a set up for future lines of comics. Feel free to pick it up, it's certainly not the worst book in my collection, but I can certainly recommend others before this one.

I give Marvel's Civil War II a 5 out of 10.

Sincerely,

The Bored Enthusiast

Game Review: The Walking Dead (Seasons 3 and 4)

Hello Enthusiasts,

A while back I reviewed seasons 1 and 2 of the Telltale Games series The Walking Dead, which you can find here. Telltale Games has closed down since then, but the series was finished with two final seasons. Today I will be reviewing the final two seasons of the series, and know that you are in for Some Spoilers, though I will keep them at a minimum.

The third game, titled A New Frontier, switches away from being a completely Clementine focused story. The main character in this game is Javi, a former baseball player that is traveling around with a few select members of his family. He meets up with Clementine pretty early on, they find a large settlement of survivors to join, and drama ensues. It's not too long before everything goes south, and Javi must work with Clementine to survive and save those that they care about. The plot does feel pretty similar to other Walking Dead stories that can be found in the TV shows, comics, and other games, but the it's the characters that make this game enjoyable. Clementine is aggressive and understandably damaged by the world that she has grown up in. She's protecting an infant, AJ, and she could not care less about anyone else at the start of the game. She's not necessarily mean, but she is very wary of others. Javi has a deep history with his family as well, though he didn't live a perfect life before the rise of the walkers. Together they work through a difficult situation and really make the player want the best for the both of them.

The forth season, simply titled The Final Season, ran into some issues while in production. The first two episodes were released like normal, and then Telltale Games shut down with little-to-no warning for those working on the game. It looked as though it would end there, but several members of the team that had worked at Telltale Games decided to push forward with the last two episodes. These folks, who had moved on to Skybound Games, worked with their new employer to finish the final season and get it out to the fans. With all of this drama, it would make sense that the last season would be sub-par to the rest, but the final season of this series is potentially the best one in the series. It's deep, emotional, and compelling all the way through. The season follows Clementine as she raises a young AJ with the intention to help him grow into the best possible version of himself. This is wildly difficult in this kind of world that has seen so much death and destruction. It puts Clementine into a role similar to that which Lee had in the first season. They do find another compound, which is run entirely by children, and it seems like a better place for them than anything else they've found so far. Again, drama ensues, but I won't spoil anything else for the story as this is the end of the entire run.

It is difficult to convey how well these stories are told. It's gotten to the point where it feels like I have a direct connection with Clementine through these games, and that cannot happen without the wonderfully gripping storytelling that happens in this series, these two games especially. I know that I've already gone over it a bit, but these games are nothing without an interesting story, so much of their success is built on getting the player invested in the situations and having them care about the characters, and this game gets it so right. I also don't want to discount how good of a character Javi is, because it can get easy to just focus on Clementine, but Javi was great. His story was deep, a past riddled with a bit of betrayal and blame for the deaths of loved ones. I only had one game with this character, but I would have pushed for him to live above others even if I was playing as someone else. Outside of the stories and characters though, the game still has a lot of positive stuff to stand on. I didn't run into any technical issues with these two entries, though I would still die from time to time as some of the quick time events require...well...very quick timing. The final game also introduced an additional combat element where you can stun a walker by kicking out its leg. This is faster than going for the kill right away, which is needed when facing down an entire horde. I also enjoyed the added element in the final season of collectables, which made exploring the areas seem worthwhile, even if the objective in the area was obvious.

My only complaint with these two entries into the series is the same as I had previously; some of the  events and outcomes are completely locked in regardless of your choices. This isn't apparent unless you play through the game more than once or watch videos online, but it can take away some of the tension in a situation when you know that. Now some choices do greatly impact the game, so still treat all of them in such a way, but I would have appreciated some radically different outcomes based on choices.

At the end of the day, these games aren't for everyone. I know there are a lot of people who prefer the high-octane thrill of a first-person shooter like Call of Duty or the frustrating grind of a game like Dark Souls, and that's completely fine. For anyone looking to play a great story that doesn't offer as much in regards to fast-paced action, this is an absolute recommend. This whole series has been fantastic, and these final two games bring it to the next level. They're emotional, engaging, and entertaining for anyone that enjoys these types of games.

I give seasons 3 and 4 of The Walking Dead a 9.5 out of 10.

Overall, I give the entire series a 9 out of 10.

Sincerely,

The Bored Enthusiast

Game Review: Jurassic World Evolution

Hello Enthusiasts,

My favorite computer game when I was younger was Sim Theme Park. I would spend hours building a park, managing the budget, making sure the guests were satisfied, reading their comments on what could be better, and I enjoyed every minute of it. I've been trying to find an up-to-date version of that game that is just as satisfying, but nothing seems to live up to that. The Roller Coaster Tycoon games are fun, but they seemed to be missing something, some missing ingredient that brought Sim Theme Park to the next level . So when I heard that there was a new theme park builder available with a Jurassic Park theme to it (but not the mobile game), I decided to give it a go. Today, I will be reviewing Jurassic World Evolution. 

The game has you traveling to the same grouping of islands that we've seen in the movies, which are called the Muertes Archipelago in game. You go from one island to another to either build a park from scratch or expand the few existing facilities to create a successful Jurassic Park. You're in charge of security, you'll pay for teams to dig up fossils that can be used to rebuild the genomes of more dinosaurs, you have to ensure the welfare of the dinos, as well as a ton of other tasks. To guide you through these tasks, you have a team of advisors that will chime in and offer you objectives that will help lead you in the right direction to build your park. Some of these people are new faces, while others are recurring characters from the films, including Dr. Ian Malcom who is voiced in-game by Jeff Goldblum. As you build one park up and increase its overall rating, the other islands will slowly open up to you, all of which come with their own obstacles to overcome. When you do unlock the original island, Isla Nublar, you will be treated to a sandbox experience where you can use any research from your other islands, and you have unlimited funds to build with. It's only with getting parks to a full five star rating and completing tasks for the various teams that you unlock all of the content in this game, so it does incentives the player to keep going after all five islands have been opened up.

I found that a lot worked with the game. It does allow you to do a lot on your own without directly following the missions, but the missions are mostly helpful in advancing the park. I loved keeping track of everything and building my own paddocks for the dinosaurs, as well as ensuring that I was keeping certain dinosaurs separate unless I was looking for them to fight. The management system for the stores and restaurants in the park is more than I expected, allowing me to control what food is served and what price to charge, keeping in mind that guests won't pay ridiculous prices. The game also has you place viewing areas for the dinosaurs, and a paddock with a poorly planning viewing area won't bring in as many guests as one where they can see most of the area where the creatures roam. The game also incorporates a decent bit of detail in regard to caring for the dinosaurs. They all have specific needs in regard to what food they eat, having access to water, and how much space and foliage they require to be comfortable. If the dinosaurs aren't kept comfortable, they will become aggressive and break through their fences. If this happens, your guests will being in danger and you'll need to have a team tranquilize the creature. The dinosaurs can also get sick and need to have a ranger team medicate them in order for them to survive. It's all of this extra detail that keeps the game interesting as you build your parks and increase your revenue, because there are always possible issues that can arise.

While I don't have a lot to complain about here, there are some things that bug me with this game. One of my biggest problems is not being able to transfer funds from one park to another. At one point I had a park that was making over $800,000 a minute, but I couldn't send any of that over to my park that kept getting hit with storms and needed the cash to make repairs. I also feel like the terrain adjustment tool could use a bit more detail. An easy fix would be something that lets me know the actual elevation of an area so I can try to match it with other nearby areas for building purposes instead of having me try to eyeball it. That has been a bit of a recurring frustration as I've been playing through these islands. Also, a small complaint, but there's no way to change the color of the buildings in the game. There's an entire system of researching different DNA sequences so you can have different colored dinosaurs of the same species, yet I don't have the option to paint any of my buildings a different color. I know it's petty, but it feels like a simple mechanic that could have been included and would have added another layer of enjoyment for me.

With all of that being said, this is a great theme park builder. It incorporates some of my favorite elements from other builders, plus it has the added fun of maintaining dinosaurs. It does have some issues, but it is overall a solid recommend from me if you enjoy these types of games at all.

I give Jurassic World: Evolution an 8.5 out of 10.

Sincerely,

The Bored Enthusiast

Game Review: The Witness

Hello Enthusiasts,

Today, I will be reviewing a game that I would not have played at all if it wasn't free on PS Plus this month. Today, I will be reviewing the puzzle game The Witness. I'm not sure if anything I will say will qualify for this, but note that there may be some very mild Spoilers Below.

The game follows your unnamed character as they walk around and solve a plethora of puzzles. You'll travel from location to location, with each one offering slightly different types of puzzle and/or puzzles of varying difficulty. Once you solve all of the puzzles in a location, a laser will rise from the area and fire a beam at a fixed location on top of the mountain. Once all of the locations have been completed, the final area at the top of the mountain opens up to be solved. It's a short synopsis, but the game really doesn't offer much in terms of a story.

I will say that some of the puzzles in this game do offer a challenge. There were times where I would roam around for 10 or 15 minutes trying to figure out how to solve a single one. Some of them are pretty straightforward, while other require a bit more creativity to solve, such as the puzzles that require that the player view them from behind a tree to see the solution. I also have to compliment the art in the game, which is wonderful. Everything is bright, colorful, and somewhat stylized. There's a lot of attention to detail, from the trees to the dilapidated buildings and even the weird states that you'll find around the island. I also appreciated the soundtrack, which was fitting for each environment and seemed to change seamlessly.

My biggest issue with the game is the assumption that everything can be intuitive. There are absolutely no instructions in the game, nothing to let you know what your doing. It doesn't even prompt you that this is a puzzle game when you start, you're just standing there and walk over to a puzzle. The game tries to introduce you to new types of puzzles by having easier areas, but without a map being available and not being given much in terms of a sense of direction, it's very easy to breeze right past those areas. I am all for treating your players with some respect and not hand-holding them through everything, but this game takes it a bit too far. In that same vein, I also think the game could have benefitted from a hint system for the more difficult areas. Nothing that gives too much away, I still enjoyed figured the puzzles out on my own, but something that can at least point the player in the right direction.

Ultimately, I enjoyed this game. It does have its flaws, primarily its stance that it doesn't need to offer the player any information, but it was satisfying to complete the puzzles in here. If you're not one . who enjoys difficult puzzles that may take a while to finish, this isn't the game for you. However, if you do like that kind of thing, this game offers a challenge that may just scratch that itch.

I give The Witness a 6.5 out of 10.

Sincerely,

The Bored Enthusiast

Retro Game Review: Star Wars - The Force Unleashed

Hello Enthusiasts,

Star Wars games don't have the best history. Most of these games are either debatably good or downright terrible. There are a few exceptions to this, and today I look at one that is often put into this category, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. As always, there may be some Spoilers Below. 

The game starts off strong, as the prologue has the player learn basic controls by playing as Darth Vader. After slaughtering endless waves of Wookiees, Vader finds the Jedi he was looking for (to murder), as well as a force-sensitive child. Vader takes on this child as his apprentice, and he becomes our protagonist for the duration of the game. Known only as Starkiller, Vader's apprentice trains to the point of being able to hunt down the few Jedi left in the galaxy since the Clone Wars. We find out that Vader's ultimate goal is to use Starkiller to kill Emperor Palpatine. Is that all there is to it though? The game throws some low-levels twists into the story that, while apparent from a mile away, do add enough variety to justify the story's end.

More than any other Star Wars game I've played, this game uses force powers very well. As the story progresses Starkiller gains access to more and more powers. He can use a force push, a force grip, force lighting, create a lighting shield, a shockwave called force repulse, and throw his lightsaber using the force. All of these attacks would drain Starkiller's force energy, though it refills relatively quickly. Having multiple ways to defeat enemies without ever engaging them in combat grants a feeling of real force mastery. The block button also allows Starkiller to deflect most laser fire, and after upgrading the ability he can block one or two blasts at a time without even having to press block. The levels take place on a variety of different worlds, which are all pretty well built out, and the game is rich with Star Wars lore. I also enjoyed some of the different collectable pieces in the game. There are a variety of different colors for the lightsaber, as well as compressed and unstable versions of each color. On top of that, there are different power crystals for the lightsaber as well, which allow the saber some different abilities (added damage, electrical damage, force powers costing less force energy, etc). Having such variety for the lightsaber and having to only pick one made for some difficult decisions on what to sacrifice, though the game allows the player to change them freely. Each level also has Starkiller in a different costume, which can be changed to any of the ones that he had worn previously (though changing the costume causes the player to start the entire level over, so it's better to make that decision earlier on on).

Not everything for this game is fantastic though. The graphics are certainly dated, especially in the cutscenes. The melee combat is also frustrating, as a number of the enemies won't have any slowdown when hit with the lightsaber and can just hit you as you're slashing them. This is especially frustrating when you're trying to fight three or four of these enemies simultaneously.  Some of the platforming in the game is also irritating, as the movement controls aren't perfectly designed and some of the sections require precision. There are some other small issues, such as a few bugs with the enemies and some lag, but my biggest complaint lies with the loading times. Levels will take a while to load, and levels are broken up into two or three sections. I had to wait for over a minute for some of levels to load just their second section, and it gets annoying after a while. This could be overlooked, but even the pause screen and the upgrade screen have extended wait times. It could take fifteen or twenty seconds just to get to the upgrade screen, which is only two button clicks away from playing the game. It's bad enough that I was completely aware of the wait times throughout the duration of the game, I never got used to it. Little things like that, just a few added seconds for everything, can take away a great deal of the immersion that the game often does so well.

Despite any of my complaints, this is a good Star Wars game at the end of the day. There was certainly room for improvement, but it's not hard to see why this game is remembered so fondly. If you're a fan of the series and have a compatible system to play on, this game is certainly a good buy. You may get frustrated with some things, but you'll likely enjoy the experience overall.

I give Star Wars: The Force Unleashed a 7.5 out of 10.

Sincerely,

The Bored Enthusiast