Recent reviews by Atraius

So the basic breakdown is this. If you enjoyed Fallout 3, chances are you'll enjoy Fallout 4. Does Fallout 4 do anything tremendously different? Not really, no. It stays very close to it's previous title and tweaks and makes some changes here and there. Namely...

Improved FPS mechanics - Good or bad depending on how you view it. If you hated being whoely reliant on VATS to get those much needed shots to hit, then great! If you felt that having to use VATS added a bit of challenge to the game, then you'll probably dislike that VATS is more of a bonus feature in this itieration.

Weapon Customization - Great introduction, until that you realize that you can do the same thing, to every gun almost. I felt there should have perhaps been some more limits in place in order to vary the options a bit more. I found myself going for the same or similar options on all my guns. Might be me, but I've had others echo this thought as well.

Settlements - I LOVE this feature. It's very SimCity/Sims-ish in that you build, customize, and then assign your settlers to various roles. Eventually linking settlements with supply lines. The problem I have with it? It doesn't feel complete. The build limits I feel are too low, though I understand they put limits to account for various hardware on peoples machines, I still feel they may have been far too conservative. The other issue I have, there's not enough depth in menu options to manage your settlers. It's a guessing game of "Who did I assign where?"

Also don't get me started on how you can't make stringed lights (though you see them ALL OVER BOSTON).

Companions don't die! - Gamebreaking? No. Just remember never give them a stim pack unless you truly feel you're getting kicked royally in the rear. Though DogMeat wimpering is painful to listen too, I find I break this rule all the time.

Speaking of Companions - Companion Quests and perks! Talk to them, stay a while and listen. Some of them had truly interesting stories, while others were meh at best. Also, there doesn't seem to be any consequence for hitting on your companions to the maximum level... which I feel is a bit too accepting. I'm sure someone would get jealous and slap you.

Quest Dialogue (with voice acting!)- Another great feature that gets the job done. But could be more. It's very Mass Effect like, which isn't bad. But the vagueness of the options could be improved (there are mods for this. Get them.)
I've never been one for a silent protaganist, so hearing my character was a nice change and I felt it personally added a bit more to the narative imersion.

Visuals - Not a game to go for the breathtaking, we've used this new tech mumbo jumbo to make this flower look hyperrealistic (WTF is that?) they simply went to make a game that was measured with it's physics engine, and still be visually appealing without demanding cutting edge hardware. I found the game to look wonderful still on my machine, even with High to Ultra High settings. Though many have critized even those visuals, I find them perfectly acceptable. Again, you can download Hi-Res texture packs to beef it up. As time progress I'm sure there are other visual tweaks that people will put out that will only improve this games visual appeal. Though at significant performance loss on older machines.


Overall, I still found myself constantly playing this game. I love the world that Bethesda has built this time around, and while the game could of been in the oven a little longer, it still didn't fail to deliver and engaging experience for me. You can certainly say this was a game for the fans, as it doesn't do much to break the mold. Keeping to the familiar the game plays it safe and sticks to more tried and true ideas than new ones. Hopefuly the next Fallout will expand on those new ideas while keeping to it's roots, as well as add a bit more polish the next time around.

Excellent game. My friends and I have been playing long distance using Skype and the tension to solve the puzzles certainly builds. Communication is essential, making note of details, and delegating tasks is key. It's a great little game for anyone to enjoy.

Let me state I've already played and completed this game when it initially came out on the xbox 360. I've always been an ace combat fan so I'll admit to some bias in that regard, along with a love of military aircraft in general.

That said, this itiration of the Ace Combat series, while fun, full of adrenaline, and still top notch in visual quality as you'd expect, I still felt the new Dog Fighting mechanic took away from some of the imersion.

In previous titles, dog fighting was as you'd imagine, difficult. Trying to follow your target while staying in range for your main gun and leading the target so you actually hit. While at the same time making sure you did not crash into anything. This, obviously takes some skill and practice, which I felt was a good challenge to the game.

Assault Horizon however takes the burden of piloting and has you focus more on the target. Now it's a matter of making sure your crosshair is on target for your main gun or missles (whichever you prefer) and the plane is essentially on auto pilot after the target. You can change your pitch and angle, sure, but you are certainly only following the target aircraft.

This was more a design decision to add cinematic fluff than anything else. That hollywood sequence of flying just underneath a crane while at Mach 2 is undeniably impressive and enjoyable for most. But after repeated intervals, it begins to feel cheapened.

This is certainly a good game for those new to the flight combat sim, or new to Ace Combat in general to get a feel for series. While I wish they kept the old dog fighting mechanics in this, it does allow for a lot of 'wow' moments when you do pull them off.

I actually find myself enjoying this. However it is much more entertaining if you have friends to play with rather than playing solo. That's not to say the isn't good just as a single player title. The format is very similar to old school Metroid/Castlevania (as the description points out). You will find yourself occasionally getting frustrated by some of the old mechanics, like trying to jump back away from a trap, only to still land on said trap because you hit the ceiling and didn't move laterally.

I hate giving scores, but I will say this game is certainly for afficionados of classic game play styles. If you enjoyed metroid or castlevania, and want a game that has a lot of detail while at the same time not taking itself too seriously, you'll find fun in this one.