METAL GEAR SOLID V: GROUND ZEROES
Barebones explanation about this game. This is not a demo!
In the eve of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, I’ll be reviewing Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes because some people still don’t seem to get it at this point (short version at the bottom of the review).
First of all, I’ve played most of the MGS games before this and I love them to death, so my opinion may be a bit biased.
Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes is a prologue to Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, like way back when there was a pretty short and limited Gran Turismo 5 Prologue but was still sold as a full game. That’s not the case with GZ.
– Real player with 38.6 hrs in game
Read More: Best Stealth Tactical Games.
“You’ve already seen the “Overwhelmingly Positive” user reviews, haven’t you? Why are you here, then? Why do you continue to scroll through them while your memory betrays you? You enjoy reading reviews, that’s why.”
I’ll get straight to the point. This review’s main goal is to address common misconceptions.
Amount of Content:
Ground Zeroes offers 7 missions: one main story, four side missions with different objectives, two extra side missions that are aimed at the fans of the series. Each mission has two difficulty settings (hard unlocks after beating normal), secret collectibles/objectives and unlockable trials (challenges). Throughout all missions you’ll be dealing with only one location: Camp Omega, which is a fairly large facility. Each mission has it’s own time of day.
– Real player with 31.7 hrs in game
Heartbeat: Regret
I would not recommend this game as a horror game. I feel like it has a lot of potential as a horror game but due to the frustration of movement. The game losses any sort of suspense and is replaced by frustration. Some people have mentioned that the lack of a tutorial was an added challenge; I didn’t find this to be true for myself. However I did find a lot of difficultly reading the text. As well as finding the tempo for the movement difficult especially at slower tempos.
The text being hard to read is not a huge problem as the text is read out loud and I got used to it over time. Though for people that are better at spelling than me I’m sure this is even less of an issue if it is an issue at all. Though for the issue of movement the tempo is very hard to find. I died severely times just trying to move around the areas and spent a bunch of time sitting in one spot just waiting for the heartbeat to go down. This made it very frustrating when most of my time is either spent sitting around waiting to be able to move without dying or trying to get back to a point that was right before I got killed just to march into death again. For as long as it takes to move around the areas you just lose anything that makes it scary. Honestly the most scary thing about it was how I was about to pick up my keyboard and chuck it across the room in frustration.
– Real player with 1.2 hrs in game
Read More: Best Stealth Mystery Games.
An extremely unique idea! Never thought I would have typing horror and rythm in the same game! I love it! A little bit of trouble with instructions and knowing what to a couple times, but the incredible sound design makes up for it. I’ll be playing this for a while I can already tell
– Real player with 1.1 hrs in game
Ho-Ho-Home Invasion
A fun, charming little indie game for the Christmas season. It’s short, but enjoyable, and really easy to get all of the achievements on. All in all, I’d say it’s one of those rare games that’s worth more than what they’re charging for it.
Let’s be honest, ‘Ho-Ho-Home Invasion’ is not a complicated stealth game. I’d go so far as to say it’s a pretty good introduction to the stealth genre. It has no complex mechanics which on one hand means that it’s easy for even beginners to pick up, but on the other means it lacks depth for anyone more experienced in the genre.
– Real player with 3.4 hrs in game
Read More: Best Stealth Top-Down Games.
This game is pretty great, especially for something free. You really get to experience the stress of being a home inva… of being Santa Claus. The 5th level in particular is really well done. It’s the last level, but easily the one that really solidifies the concept with lots of moving parts and things to keep aware of to not be caught.
I played the first few levels with m/k, but finished with controller and felt both work pretty well. I prefer the controller for this one though. The music is fitting, but has some jarring looping. That could have been better, and there’s not a lot of use for the peaking around the corners ability. Since you have the map which lets you see everything around. Maybe a hard mode where it disables the map would make that more useful though. Sometimes your visible overhead view isn’t as useful as the one you see on the map.
– Real player with 2.4 hrs in game
Cat Burglar: A Tail of Purrsuit
Sly Cooper Meets Toads Treasure Tracker
Just like in Sly Cooper you’ll be avoiding spotlights from above as well as the flashlights from the guards. While just like in Toads Treasure Tracker you’ll need some fancy camera work and angling to navigate your way through the platforming in these levels. Like a true master thief and cat burglar you’ll have to think three steps ahead while navigating watching the guards and lights patterns to map out the best routes to go through as well as a safe stopping point to plan again. If you don’t think it through and time it right then you’ll most likely just keep getting caught.
– Real player with 7.3 hrs in game
Cat Burglar: A Tail of Purrsuit is a good and an adorable adventure, 3D Platformer game, so the story. Kat the world’s best cat burglar has entered the highly secure doggo base, her mission to steal all their gems.
Now the likes. Well the game is very cute from the characters and to the little bit of story we have in the game. The game’s Graphics are pretty good and captures the feel of an old school platformer.
The music very good especially the music for the last level it has a nice spy feel to it. It was great that after completing the main game you can play two more games one being collecting Jewels under a certain amount of time, the other game collecting the Four Keys with a whole bunch of dogs in the area.
– Real player with 5.9 hrs in game
Flicker of Hope
I really wish I could recommend this game. There are some very interesting aspects to this game that I’ve never seen before. Unfortunately, however, the gameplay is just too poor to recommend.
First the good: So, the first thing you’ll notice is that the main character design is absolutely adorable and beautifully representative of the themes of light, hope, etc. that is visually expressed throughout Wick. Additionally, the way that Wick and the candles that he lights are the only light in the map (and how the light changes as you sneak and run) and the idea of the light being what leads Sister Mara to you is gorgeous and elegant (and can only really be expressed in the form of a video-game). Finally, the method by which Jean Wick revives is by possessing one of the candles that he’s lighted, which once again is beautifully representative of the the theme and story of spreading light around the cathedral.
– Real player with 10.6 hrs in game
Pros and cons are down below) Check out the gameplay here (the game is the 1st there):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUU8y9NG5sA
Advantages:
1. A very cool stylee! It’s so adorable but terrifying at the same time! Reminded me A LOT of Little Nightmares. Such a great job on this one!
2. I absolutely loved how the story is unravelled through the environment! Game mechanics are also fascinating, I never ever played as a candle! I think the whole concept was amazing!
3. The game was terrifying! I loved it! It’s so cool! I didn’t expect that I will produce high pitched screams playing this at all!
– Real player with 7.0 hrs in game
Rogue Warrior
IN A WORD: MAYBE
IN SHORT:
SIMILAR GAMEPLAY TO: Zombie Parking, Older FPSs
WHAT TO EXPECT: Short campaign. Dated, stiff, unexciting gameplay. Basic graphics. Functional AI enemies. Mickey Rourke voice-over. Difficulty establishing multiplayer session.
ACHIEVEMENTS: COMPLETABLE.
STATUS: COMPLETE.
WHEN TO BUY: AVOID. Unless bad & corny is your thing!
More info below….
THE LOWDOWN:
Rogue Warrior is an old-skool corridor shooter with limited cover mechanics and minor stealth elements. Your objective is to one-man Rambo; an eight mission campaign, set in the Peoples Republic of North Korea. Choose to kill by stealth but be seen and its time for gun-toting action. The campaign is single-player but it has a multi-player arena style deathmatch with a few maps.
– Real player with 38.6 hrs in game
Rogue Warrior is horrible. Beyond Mickey Rourke’s hilarious voice acting, this game is linear, poorly programmed, and very shallow. Now, that’s not to say that it’s not at least an enjoyable experience, but you need to know what you’re getting into before you buy it, for hopefully a price below $10.
I beat the game in under 3 hours, and that was with me being killed many times in certain levels. The enemies are extremely repetetive, and pose no challenge unless they gang up on you. Dick (protagonist) moves around like a tank. The “stealth” aspect of this game is laughably broken. You can run up to every enemy, making as much noise as you want and kill them with a prompt that appears on the screen. The sound broke for me towards the end, which ruined the ending cutscenes. Grenades rarely ever work in this game, they’re pitiful. The grenade launcher is also a piece of garbage and may kill you more often than save you. Weapon selection is extremely limited. The levels design is boring and, again, very linear.
– Real player with 19.4 hrs in game
Gunpoint
Gunpoint is a sidescrolling stealth platformer with smooth jazz, guns and cool hats.
I’ve never been a gigantic fan of platformers, but this game is a big, big exception in my library, and I felt I needed to address this by updating my review in 2020. I’m going to reinforce this by saying that I have MANY more hours than steam says, and it provided me with endless entertainment on a couple of bus rides half way across the country, and that says something!
Gunpoint is unique in that it’s stealthy gameplay extends much further than ‘sneak around, shoot guy’ with some pretty complicated puzzles made by the in-game wiretapping feature “Crosslink”, which leaves every level open ended, akin to something like Metal Gear Solid V in a completely new medium.
– Real player with 15.6 hrs in game
-Quick Review-
Gunpoint is an indie puzzle game with loose ties to “stealth” and “technology”, Gunpoint was developed by Suspicious Developments and released 2013.
-Detailed breakdown review-
Story: The story is all in written format, somedays I feel like reading all that is writen in a video game, other times I see a chunk of text and think “I don’t really care” and skip right into the mission.
Gunpoint lets you skip dialogue and jump right into the puzzle solving action if you feel so inclined, however the story is quite well written. You’re a detective and have multiple choices for interaction with your clients. (Naturally I was as condescending and insulting as possible – the reactions were very much worth it!)
– Real player with 11.6 hrs in game
Nightwalker
This is a good game. It can be further developed and if it is successful, I can guarantee you people that this game will skyrocket itself. The highlight of this game is the music. the music really give that atmospheric horror. Although the graphic is not that good, I hope they can further developed this game. I have the full walkthrough, it is just 15 minutes long so enjoy.
– Real player with 1.8 hrs in game
Not bad, not good, not scary but somehow enjoyable. A fun little indie-horror game, it is not as short as other reviews make it out to be.
– Real player with 1.4 hrs in game
Retool
Its not a bad game, just not fun, challenging, engaging, or interesting… but nothing inherently bad. A meh way to spend an hour and a half, but not really anything else. Maybe almost worth a dollar, definitly not 10. Oh, and before I forget, not a hacking game, you just use a computer to redirect buttons.
– Real player with 1.8 hrs in game
What can i say about Retool that…. It’s a game? it has idea’s? I’m sure the developers have had the best of intentions with this title, but from top to bottom this title is a mix of bad mechanic to worse execution.
Full review:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LAQRVa19hU
Text:
As always, watch the video for the best possible impression of a title.
Retool markets itself as a hacking puzzle game, where you would assume that would be it’s two main focuspoints. Hacking mechanics and puzzles.
Sadly, starting from the top, the hacking is … weak. you use a console and suddenly to can reconfigure some lines on the map, sometimes you need TWO consoles, but the base is really that. The UI is annoying with different buttons for actions that have no reason to be separate actions, with MANY of the “hacks” serving no purpose, boiling it down to “lets move to the lines so the doors open, and remove all the other lines so I don’t get shot by a turret”.
– Real player with 1.6 hrs in game
Deus Ex: The Fall
Deus Ex: The Fall should be taken for what it is. A mobile entry into the Deus Ex Universe. Admittedly, I’m a fan of the universe and getting another chance to play in this world, is something I am always looking forward to. So there may be some bias.
One thing that must first be noted, is that this game is a direct port from Mobile. If you look at what the game offers from a mobile perspective, it’s pretty amazing. I wouldn’t actually want to play it on mobile, as I can’t imagine pulling off some of the stuff I do with just gestures, but hey, more power to those who want to.
– Real player with 14.6 hrs in game
After completing a masterpiece Human Revolution and writing review on it, it seemed that there was only Mankind Divided left on the horizon and that’s all, the series is complete! But no! There was one more game that is rarely talked about (like with Invisible War) – Deus Ex: The Fall. Many told me that this is crap, but it is the direct sequel to the Deus Ex: Icarus Effect book, which I liked. So, like with Invisible War, I decided to check myself, what this game is, and… things turned to be no so simple…
– Real player with 11.5 hrs in game