Recent reviews by Shida

Edit: Sony has gone back on their idiocy. I hope all game developers have learned an important lesson from this about not choosing scummy publishers like Sony and Paradox.

Excellent game. Magnificent gameplay, and great developers that, unfortunately, decided climbing into bed with Sony was the direction to go. And they were wrong. Do NOT touch this game until AH breaks free from Sony's slimy, wretched grasp. Forcing people to sign up for a platform who is mostly known for leaking its users' data in hacks is a stupid move, and however much I might like this game and appreciate the obviously immense dedication, passion, and expertise by AH in creating this, I simply cannot condone unethical behavior like effectively locking out certain regions where a COMPLETELY SEPARATE COMPANY'S ACCOUNT SERVICE isn't available. I'll be looking to refund this game. I did not buy this game to be chained to Sony's grimy service model and TOS.

Look. . . I like this game, but given the price, and given the devs behavior, I really just can't condone this. It's been out for 4 years, and yet, we got one major update, and then complete abandonment of a game that, in all honesty, feels more like an early playtest build than a finished game.

As far as the behaviors of ships and aircraft, the AI is just baffling. It either cheats and gets your position instantaneously, or bumbles around aimlessly while you club them to death with torpedoes, missiles, etc. They evade like headless chickens, and yet, are capable of immense feats of tactical precision, like instantly counterdetecting a torpedo launch and, in the case of ships armed with rocket standoff torpedoes, dropping them right on your head with nothing to go on but a bearing. A number of other things are a little off, sonobouys are modeled as default 3d spheres, animations for rocket trails and other particles are downright lazy, a number of voicelines are incomplete (classifying a target as an oilrig yeilds "Sierra [X] is classified as. . .". In the campaigns, you will often be assigned impossible missions; not that they're too difficult, but in the case of the South China Sea campaign, missions that literally expire before you can reach them if you're deploying from Guam. Also, the sonar mechanics aren't great, and seem to have some bugs. Occasionally, a target on which track is lost will *never* be re-detected, in my experience, regardless of proximity, use of active sonar, or speed. Torpedo evasion can be cheesed by constantly forming "knuckles" in the water behind your ship by maneuvering violently, and in many cases, can de-necessitate the use of countermeasures. Everything else is modeled so primitively; towed arrays, torpedo wires and guidance, airborne ASW; this does not deserve a $40 price tag. This is a playtest version of what should have been a much better game. But the devs have moved on to another project, which I'm sure will also be abandoned relatively soon, based on their track record.

The interface is non-configurable, and feels right out of 2005. Time acceleration doesn't really go far enough to feel like you're getting anywhere faster. The campaign is an hours-long slog through the same couple of encounters over and over again. Do better.

tl;dr It's as deep as a kiddie pool and as ergonomic as a cinderblock. It chokes on unnecessary complexity in gear and inventory handling, and frankly, DayZ Mod is better, and none of the mechanics introduced by this game actually improve the game. The focus is ripped away from the world, players, and zombies, and you are forced to micromanage things like inventory and item quality/durability in such a manner that detracts from the game. The mod is better, and other games handle the complex mechanics better.

I've owned this game since the alpha days, and it was a dumpster fire then, and truthfully, it's no better now. The interfaces are trash; the Arma 2 interfaces were frankly better. The durability system for gear is and obtuse and obnoxious addition to a game that would be better served without it. If I want to micromanage item durabilities, etc. , I'll just play Rust. The controls are wonky at the best of times, and the undead never fail a perception check. What's that? You've stabbed a zombie with a butterknife? Prepare to be assaulted by every zombie within 500m.

Bottom line? I do not appreciate the complexity that this adds over DayZ. As an avid Eve Online player, I have a distinct appreciation for complexity and intricacy, but keep it out of DayZ. DayZ mod was approachable and simple. The interface, after some getting used to, was actually fairly ergonomic. The underlying game could be clunky, but it worked. It had zombies, a medical system that was exactly as deep as it needed to be, survival mechanics that were simple and made sense, and the tactical nuance of Arma.

Let me put it this way: In DayZ mod, you had time to focus on the world around you. The gear system was minimal, and the loot system was similarly practical. You went from place to place, gearing up, always looking for a few select items, slowly fulfilling a hierarchy of needs from "not dying of starvation/thirst" to "not completely defenseless" to "high powered weapon" to "sufficiently armed to invade a small nation". In this game, we have that plus a bunch of extraneous intermediate steps and optimization-driven farming, a bunch of extraneous gear instead of just default uniforms, taking more focus away from the world and putting it on you. Durability based food and water, which, sure, is neat, but is it adding to the game?

All this game has added to DayZ is visual flair and a bunch of complexity that, while not inherently bad, does not add to the game. In DayZ, you might have spent a couple seconds in the inventory, a couple clicks and drags for the absolute most complicated tasks, and a quick scroll to switch weapons. Now? Want a soda? Drag it into your hands and drink a specific amount, then drag it back into your backpack. Enjoy spending half a minute carrying out the most mundane tasks that in the mod of olde might have taken 7 seconds. All of this complexity for end goals of gear/killing/helping that are no more complex or rewarding than they were in DayZ. All mechanics that other games like 7 Days to Die (if you want that survival/basebuilding/singleplayer vibe with complex quality mechanics and progression), Rust (if you want to focus on survival and player interaction), and I will carry these words to my grave, DayZ Mod is better.

Oh, and there's also the "charging 40+ USD for a game that amounts to a pretty rework with irritating mechanics" bit. Hell with this.

Battlefield 4 is a first-person shooter.

Yep.
There you go.
Got it for $9.99.
It's fine.

Hey you! Yes you! Do you have a life outside of gaming?
Do you really need it?
This game will take that away from you.
11/10 not reccommended

It's ok.

The GAME is great.
The Dovetail-esque DLC scheme is disgusting and obnoxious.

Visitors from the Psychopaths of Rimworld have left you the following gift:
Human Leather Cowboy Hat (excellent)
Mods(x7089) (masterwork)

1300hr update: it's ok. the dlc are overpriced.

A grindfest like no other War Thunder was a good game. Four years ago. And then Gaijin decided to take a page from the capitalist book and make the grind absolutely impossible unless you're willing to shovel money into their pockets. Of course, even doing that isn't going to stop you getting one-shotted by Soviet aircraft in air battles or getting one-shotted by impenetrable Soviet heavy tanks, because that doesn't get old on day one. If you ever want to have a jet, be prepared to either give up 1,000hrs of your life, or $1,000 USD of your own money. War Thunder is quite possibly the worst case of a good game being ruined by terrible developers ever, unless CCP doesn't fire Fozzie soon, but that's another rant for another day.

TL;DR don't waste your time, and especially don't give these cash-grabbing pillocks your money/

Newest does not mean best, and the same is true with the Civ series. I can confidently say that if large scale turn based strategy is your thing, don't bother with Civ VI, just get Civ V. I may only have a few hundred hours, but not one of them has been unpleasant. It's got the perfect mix of pseudorealistic grapics, trade agreements with England, intuitive, and complex, but not overly so mechanics. It's the best civ builing strategy game so far.

I had such hope that Civ VI would simply be a better version of this, but those who said it would be nigh impossible to top this were correct.

Pros:
- Trade agreements with England.
- Graphics are simple, but kinda pretty in their own way.
- Trade agreements with England.
- Most mechanics are somewhat complex, but intuitive, and work how you would expect them to.
- Trade agreements with England.
- Stable game, great Steam workshop support.
- Trade agreements with England.
- Unpredictable AI, but with just enough rationality to make singleplayer games against AI interesting make the AI susceptible and insusceptible to the same manipulation and tactics as real platers.

Cons:
- Trade agreements with England.