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Final Fantasy X remastered

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The Final Fantasy games have always looked beautiful and the remastered version of Final Ffantasy X is no exception, but does the gameplay hold up in 2017? Like most of the series, the story is pretty weird and convoluted. You play Tidus, a teenage blitzball star for the Zanarkand Aces. During a match, the city is attacked by a huge monster. You are sucked into a vortex and wake up in a world where people tell you Zanarkand has been destroyed for thousands of years. You meet a colourful group of characters and become a guardian to the summoner who is trying to save that world from Sin, the monster that you met at the start of the game. Along the way, you will fight a lot of battles in standard jrpg fashion. The spells, summons, actions and items will be familiar to those who have played earlier games in the series. One improvement is that you can swap characters in and out midbattle with no penalty- and you will want to do so as often as possible to keep everyone at a simila...
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Endless Space 2

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I was a little sceptical about buying this at full price because I was unsure if there was enough change from the original to justify paying full price. Having spent a couple dozen hours on it since buying it on sale I am impressed. Like Endless legend, the factions feel a lot more unique than in other 4x games. They have not only different strengths and weaknesses which push you towards different victory conditions, but also have different gameplay mechanics. The Cravers get a massive production boost but deplete the resources of the planet so over time they become virtually useless. The Unfallen can only colonise planets which are part of an unbroken network of huge tentacles you try to spread across space. The Vodyani use the essence of souls as currency to produce arks which are required to be stationed in a system whereas Horatio are able to use influence to rush buildings and technology. Each faction comes with an intro video which gives you a glimpse into its history and motiv...
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Dishonored

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Dishonored is another massive game that I didn't get around to at the time. How does this game hold up five years after release? Was it worthy of all the hype and multiple game of the year awards? There is a lot to like about the game. The murder of a queen and saving the princess from those looking to exploit her is certainly not an original plot but the world that had been created is a really interesting one. It is revealed to you through large levels which are full of content. Most combine outdoor areas and buildings but some focus more on one than the other. You are not going to run into the multiple invisible walls and buildings which you aren't able to enter which are so common in most games of this type. In each level you have to eliminate a target. The most obvious way is to kill everyone in between you and the target and then them as well. The other option is to focus on stealth and avoid as many enemies as possible and occasionally to use your wits an...
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Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

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I was surprised to find that this came out earlier than World at War. In a lot of ways I found this the more enjoyable game. There is a  nice variety of settings as you- following the story of a British and American soldier- travel the globe dealing with threats to modern civilisations. You will find yourself fighting in desserts, on ships and in many urban environments.  The main plot surrounds a terrorist in the Middle East and. ironically considering the current situation in Ukraine, an ultranationalist threat in Russia. It's cool to have fictional bad guys rather than just generic German and Japanese soldiers. I enjoyed the smaller scale of fighting and the AI of allies and enemies is very impressive. Sometimes they will be cautious, only occasionally peering out from hiding whereas at other times they will charge at you. What was a little disappointing is that the weapons used feel very similar to those i...
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Braveland Review

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It's time to save another kingdom in Braveland. You play a generic hero who must raise an army, defeat bad guys and monsters, find loot and confront the evil sorcerer who terrorises the land. On the world map you you will decide where to move. There are places to recruit units and buy items, find treasures and shrines which boost stats. You start off with just peasants and archers but soon you will have a large army including priests, knights etc. They have the usual stats: damage physical and magic defense, health, movement and range. They also have a special ability which can be learnt and used either on a timer or a specific number of times per battle. Your hero gains experience and when he levels gains a point in a stat of your choosing as well as being able to have more units of each type in the stack and more points to use in deciding who to bring into battle Most of your time will be spent in the battle screens. The battles play out like thos...
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Alien Isolation Review

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In space no one may be able to hear you scream but on the Sevastapol station humans, androids and the Xenomorph can hear you slightest movement in this tense stealth action game. In Alien Isolation, you play Amanda Ripley, daughter of Ellen Ripley. The ship your mother was on has been found and you set out to discover what happened to her. When you arrive all hell has broken loose on the station as systems are ailing throughout the station and different groups have banded together to try to survive and escape. It has a very similar atmosphere to Deadspace but with for the most part, a lot less combat. The levels are large and beautiful. They have kept the aesthetic of the movies in terms of color schemes as well as the shape and materials of objects such as airlocks, levers and doors. Some are reused in a similar way to the Batman Arkham series and you can access more rooms and areas as you get new equipment or upgrade the equipment you have. Like Ellen, you do not have combat...
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A-Z Backlog challenge: zafehouse

not finished
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