Recent reviews by -tonio

GRID 1 was a great mixture of realistic racing and arcade mechanics that features a great list of cars as well as tracks. The game followed up what Toca Racing Driver already built and improved it even further. When we heard they made a sequel, of course everyone was naturally excited since big names such as Gran Turismo and Forza had stepped up their game in terms of graphics and gameplay. So, did the game improve from the last installment? did it manage to hold it's candle to shine even further than Gran Turismo and Forza?

Gameplay 7/10
What made Grid different to other racing games is that it mixes between realism and drift mechanics, although at times it can be ridiculous looking at cars like a Le Mans Prototype car drifting through the Mulsanne corner in Circuit de la Sarthe. In the second installment, it seems that the mechanics is increased to a point where drifting is super important in order to gain an advantage against the other racers. If we're speaking realism, it reaches to a point where it's not even realistic anymore. But if we're talking about the competitive aspect and the challenge of the game, it's actually pretty good. It takes a lot of practice and time to get used to the new mechanics, but it feels so satisfying when you nail every corner without losing too much time and it rewards those who put a lot of dedication to understand how the game works. Race modes such as Race, Elimination, Touge/duel, and Drift are back with an addition of Live Routes or Endurance where the track keeps changing every lap, Overtake where you have to pass through cars under a time limit, Checkpoint in which you have to pass through gates to increase the time limit, and Time Attack where you have to set the fastest time against the other racers. The new additions are nice and welcome to the game, although the lack of actual endurance race like the 24 minutes of Le Mans in GRID 1 is a bit sad, but that's very personal.

Story 5/10
Like the first GRID, you start as a novice who decides to climb the ranks in order to become the best driver in the world and create the best racing team. Pretty straight forward, isn't it? Because that's pretty much it. The issue with this second installment is the fact that you can no longer hire a teammate to race alongside with you, which takes away the immersion on having a team to begin with. You can still earn sponsorship where you can earn bonus fans in order to advance through the story mode, but it will be nicer if they didn't took away one of the core elements on having a motorsport team.

Graphics 8/10
This is the strongest point from Grid 2. The visuals in this game is still stunning for a six year old game and it still stands out until this day. The damage models, while aren't really realistic gameplay wise, still looks nice to see.

Conclusion:
Enjoyment 8/10
Actual score 7.5/10
This is still a great arcade game and better than the recent Need For Speed games (except Hot Pursuit 2010 because that game is in the league of it's own compared to the rest NFS). While the game didn't shine bright enough to beat Gran Turismo and Forza, This is still a good challenging racing game that mixes realism and arcade. I suggest you should take it for a spin.

A simple challenge from Top Gear might have been the inspiration of this game, but the game developed into something more than just ramming a ball to a goalie. The easy to pick up, hard to master mechanics is one of the main keys to create a competitive game with a high skill ceiling. However, this game did not only captured the eyes of many because how complex the game is. It established a successful e-sport scene with the help of the developers in three years and it is still going strong. By 2018, the game had six seasons of their championship under the name "Rocket League Championship Series" and the recent event had a prize pool of a million dollar. As a comparison, it took four years for CSGO to make a six figure prize pool for their tournament and CSGO was arguably more popular than rocket league in 2016.

This game is not without problems from the developers and the community themselves however. Some of the veterans had probably encounter some game breaking glitches over the past few years and the servers have not been entirely stable since it came out (although numbers of fixes has been made). While it is true that the community is deemed to be toxic by many, there are always a bad side in every competitive games out there. So if people are looking for a great game with a mechanic so complex that makes them intrigued to keep on learning as well as trying to compete for their championship, yet able ignore the toxicity and some hiccups from Psyonix, this game is a must have.

I got this game when it was free and by the time I wrote this review, I almost reach the first infamy and I have played the majority of the loud heists and some stealth heists that are non dlc with my friends because I don't want to mention it otherwise they'll smack my face to my keyboard. So what do I think of it?

It's awesome.
The game itself really captures the essence of good ol fashion heisting and breaking the rules, with its variety of missions that requires going gunblazing or going stealthy. Sure, it's not really realistic but my god it's so fun and rewarding, adding the fact that some missions can either go for stealth mode where you can get more exp, but it forces you to be more patient or loud mode where you need to face a dude with an oversized armor, a guy who can ninja kicks you to custody and tasers while listening to one of the best soundtracks in a video game which leads to a good replay-ability

As for weapon lovers, this game also have a pretty deep weapon list and customizations. You can put explosive rounds on a pistol-shotgun up to straight up medieval style with crossbow that can shoot explosives (DLC required for more explosives and more firepower :c) That being said, even without dlc you can still have some fun with customizing your gun for the highest difficulty that this game can offer and make it somewhat viable - which is also one of the best aspects of this game

This game also have perks and skills that you can choose and customize. This is a really great feature because it can aid you during loud or stealth mission greatly and there are times where you might get caught up in a sticky situation, yet you still survive by the skill or the perk you used. There are 4 skills tree that you can choose and you can mix it to suit your preference. Four of them are the mastermind skill tree where one skill can allow you to shout your friends to get up after being shot multiple times, the enforcer skill tree where one skill can allow you to go iron man (not really, but close enough), the technical skill tree where one skill can allow you to use a sentry that no one cares bout, the ghost skill tree where you can dodge thousands of bullets while going super sneak man and last but not least, the fugitive skill tree where one skill can allow you to fake your death and laugh at the devil himself because you're not going to hell... At least for now. Perks are also a neat feature, but it's hard to explain it for newer audience or those who just got started since it's a little bit confusing for some and there are tons of perks to choose from.

The drawbacks of the game currently are two. One is the lack of in game graphical customization. This is not really a huge problem for some, but for those who are using a low end or a potato PC, good luck running this game even on the lowest settings.

Second, it's the DLC. Don't get me wrong though, the dlcs that OVERKILL has to offer are amazing. But previously, you can buy the dlcs separately, which is a nice gesture since some of the dlcs are probably fun for casual, but not viable on higher difficulties. Sadly, you have to purchase the ultimate edition as a whole just to get one dlc you wanted.

Negative notes aside, do I recommend this game?
Absolutely. Even without dlc, you can still enjoy the game with enough missions to keep you busy and enough guns to keep you alive. Oh, and make sure to grab your friends because public servers are downright atrocgfgjhhcfdsaruihb246621hjkgcljhbhvcxs

The hardest game to explain to your dad

I never truly had a desire or any sort of determination to play any game where you have to waste a lot of time to play a casul game and plain farming, but Borderlands 2 changed my perspective on that.

I want to tell you how I felt the first time touching this game. I got BL2 from my friend and he told me that "it's pretty goood". So I delightfully thanked to him for being kind and he didn't bother to play with me also teaching me how the game mechanics works along the way. Bottom line, it was just simply fun and unforgetable. At first glance, I thought it's just gonna be some FPS story based game, but there's just that magic where it's not just a simple as that. I always had a thought what is that magic, either how amazing the story is written, how smooth the gameplay works or just the fact that this game was meant to play and mess around with your friends.

The story is about the vault hunters, the protagonists of the BL series where they dedicated their life on searching some weapon n whatever in a world called Pandora. However, the vault hunters' plan was choked by the hyperion leader, Handsome Jack where his plans to eradicate them and the people who lived in Pandora as well. Want to know more? buy it or spoil urself with utube. The story is just simply outstanding, though there are some plot holes which I think it might spoil the fun.

The gameplay is also outstanding. I played the first borderlands on the xbox and it was kinda fun, but I felt it was also kinda slow paced. BL2 fixed that and everything works at just about an equal pace. When it comes to shooting, the default sensitivity is a bit high but thankfully you can change it .
Of course, the borderlands series is rather known for its farming system and BL2 is no exception. Even though this game only have hundreds of weapons, the variants and the different parts of those weapons will take you a decade to count them all [unless you have a gibbed editor and can solve it in less than 10 minutes or so]. By the time you got your favorite weapon with the perfect variant, you will proud of yourself and you will feel this big accomplishment the fact that you just beat the living hell of the person/creature your farming for hours and finally got what you want... kinda sounds wrong tbh

But In my opinion, the reason why BL2 is still being played till this day is the fact that you can experience all the things I mentioned earlier with your friends. The game becomes 100x times more fun when you gather your *expert farmer* type of friend, *the loot ninja* type of friend, & *the no idea what's going on* type of friend. It was rage inducing, yet strange, but also the best moments I ever had. Borderlands 2 is pretty much one of, if not the best casual game you can afford and still going strong till this day

"10/10 best ninja loot simulator" ~RayXD, the one who gave me this game

D4LE'S EXPERIENCE: RACE DRIVER: GRID

Let me tell you a story if you don't mind because this is pretty much sums up my childhood and my reason why did I bought this game on Steam.

*F L A S H B A C K S*
I was a big fan of the Toca racing games. I owned Toca world touring cars for the ps1, Toca racing driver, Toca racing driver 2 and also the 3rd one, all which are for the PS2. Jump to 2007 where I got the Xbox 360, I heard Toca racing driver is back but this time they changed the name to "Race driver Grid". Me and my dad went to a gaming store to buy the game and when I got home, I quickly went to my room, turn on my Xbox, put the disc in and play it. Aaaannnd, I barely touch it because my 7 years old brain told me "it was too complicated". I didn't touched the game until late 2015 (THAT LONG BOYS N GIRLS) and the disc was full with scratches. In other words, Rip in Porsches.
Hop to 2016 where I was messing around playing a game with my friend and he told me he wanted to play GRID. I was a bit shocked and asked him "Wait, u can play grid on steam?" and he replied with 1 word "Yes." I quit the game and checked to the store and to my surprise, the game had 80% discount. I bought the game, download it and play it for quite awhile. This is my experience and my opinion on Race Driver Grid.
* END OF F L A S H B A C K S*

First of all, I was surprised that my PC can run this game smoothly. My PC is categorized as a potato and it runs like in the Xbox with slightly better graphics. And if you're saying "Well d4le, this game is made in 2007. How come u find it surprising?" There are games made in that year where my potato is screaming for help and in this case, it wasn't screaming. Though there were times where the fps is dropping, I don't really mind because it's not really major. Speaking about the graphics, this game has some pretty nice graphics & visuals. At the time which I believe was the competitor for Forza, I liked this more because the color and you can see how well detailed if you had an accident on a corner or you rammed a car on purpose like when my brain was 7 years old.

Second, I fell in love with the gameplay. Yes, I do know this game can be frustrating and I know this game isn't really realistic (I see it as half arcade and half sim tbh), but when you get the hang of it, you feel this big sense of accomplishment like "YOU DID IT SON. I'M PROUD OF YOU". There was this one moment when I used an old mustang against a Honda NSX in a Touge race. The level was extreme and It was painfully hard but after couple of restarts and start to realize my mistakes, I did it. I felt like I was the king of the world and I literally screamed to my monitor saying "HAAHAHAH LOOK AT ME NOW, BOYS. I'M THE CHAMP". In short, I had a lot of fun with the gameplay and with all my seriousness, I can't wait playing it again.

Third, the cars and the track selection are awesome. There's actually a DLC for this game which I'm not mistaken, they added a Bugatti veyron and other cars and also other tracks that I might have forgotten, but even if you don't have money to buy it, it doesn't really matter. The thing I remembered is the San Francisco track and I also remembered every time I race against a Mustang GTR, he always fail at the corner before the last chicane. Even if I race or drift alone in that track, I will still remember it as the Mustang corner.


However, there are things sadly I have to nitpick.
Probably the only thing that is quite bothering me is the controls and physics. Every car controls differently which is great and understandable. But oh my lord, the default force feedback is so awful. If you don't know what I did, I spent just around the first 15 minutes of the game just to tune the force feedback (if you want to know what I truly did, I just put 10% more on it except the strength) and after that, it made the game like how I wanted to. Don't get me wrong though, I like the EGO engine and I enjoyed the first DiRT because it's a good mixture between arcade and simulation, but in some aspects there are parts where the car gets too twitchy to the point of frustration. On my right brain, I see it as a challenge. However with my left brain, I see it as the other way around.
If you want to know how I see it as a challenge and just plain throwing cuss words, welcome to my love/hate relationship with this game.

Now this is where it's located somewhere in between because I like it and I don't really like it for some reasons and so far, it's only these two.
Imo, Endurance and drift events are the love/hate relationship in GRID. Let's start with the endurance races. I love how they interpreted the 24 heures le mans and the day/night cycle is amazing.
However, it will becoming a some sort of an annoyance because the game starts to offer endurance races everytime in the end of the season but you can actually reject it if you don't want to. I mean, ya it's cool to get more de_moni but let me ask you this: are you gonna spend 24 minutes not including you complaining bout the AI crashing your sanity harder than Miley Cyrus's mixtape and the never ending restarts just to get a new set of wheels? It's a tough decision

Alright, the drift events are the true meaning of what I meant about the love/hate relationship. First of all, the cars that were designed for drifting looks outstanding. I mean, look at that s15, the supra and the rx7, and the.. 06 Pontiac GTO? Why yes. Oh and look at the tire smokes! It looks gorgeous at the time.
But my issue with the drift events are located on my nitpicks. First off, turning off the traction control is like removing your life vests while you're stranded somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. Sure, you will look like an olympics athlete, but it takes some man out of you to get to your destination. However, turning on traction control is like the opposite of what I've said earlier. Your legs won't be bitten by jaws, your hands aren't going to be chopped by barracudas, your eyes won't be looking down for sunfishes (serious tho, those things are scary as hell), but where's the fun in that?
In short, I love the challenge turning down the TC, but you're probably gonna need a lot of time just to drift around a track. If you turning on TC, you will get the event down in no time, but no challenge. Again, it's a tough decision whether you will go for it or not.

In conclusion and even though the controls are a bit weird, this game is still an awesome racing game and I will recommend it for ones who adore racing games in general.

D4LE'S EXPERIENCE: RED CRUCIBLE: FIRESTORM

In 2011 when I was scrolling down my Facebook,I saw my friend playing a game called Red crucible beta. I tried it and it was pretty much a battlefield clone. You shoot people,you ride various vehicles such as tanks,jeep,helicopter and more tanks,and you can go rambo mode. After 2 years,I realized this game is out of beta and some how this game made its way to steam.

This is my thoughts on Red Crucible Sand... Oops I mean firestorm.

Gameplay is still the same. Last time I played the beta (2013), the gameplay is like what I said before,battlefield clone. But there are problems:

First,Using consumables. You can't hold your grenades and your airstrikes. The problem with this type of mechanic is you don't have time to aim where you want the grenade or the airstrike to go. Once you press it by mistake,that thing will go without saying goodbye.

Second,MICRO TRANSACTIONS AT ITS FINEST
I dislike micro transactions because it shows you are too dependent on the item. I'm sorry,but this is not the right way to make a game. A game like this should give you 100% downright to your skill. There are guns that can simply murder someone with 2-3 shots on the body. It makes you quite literally,the king of the server.

Speaking of the server,The third problem with sandstorm (yes I said it,idc anymore) is Servers. No Asia,no Europe,no Africa and no Aussie. Only 'Murica. Murica.

Fourth problem is the map. You have to unlock it. I'm sorry, what? Unlock maps? This is ridiculous. That's like: "hey,I think it's a good idea to put the decent map unlockable so the players has to play the not so decent map until they give us cha ching cha ching"

Now the problems sorted,Let's go to the good stufferino.

First off,The vehicles
Yeah,I enjoyed it. One of the best aspects of red crucible is the vehicle because you can have the same level of messing around in battlefield yet this is free. You got your tanks and jeeps,helicopters and jets,It's very addicting. The reason why it's addicting is because the controls are basic,yet it's good.
Also,the pleasure murdering the enemy team with a helicopter is very satisfying.

Second,Leveling up your weapon
Thankfully,this game is not pure pay to win.
Because you can actually level up your weapon. It's a nice touch because this makes variety and it shows that you can actually progress the game without paying a single penny. However the upgrade is slow,but it's better than nothing.


Well, this game is already became full release, they haven't really changed anything significant and if so, I would edit some of the words. Remember this alright? when I recommend a game, I could've say " ERR MA GERD DIS GAME IS SAO GUUD PLS DONLOD DIS GEM THNX" if that game really good. When I don't recommend a game, I could've say in the opposite like "EW DIS GAEM IZ SAO UGH". Like what I said before my recent edit, this game is still mediocre but there are still a lot of room for improvements and I would be looking forward for a next major update that could possibly change my mind.

D4LE'S EXPERIENCE: UBERSTRIKE

Alright,i played this game before this went to steam. I played it from 2011-2012.
It's a decent for a facebook game and i kinda enjoyed it... till the pay 2 win feature went crazy.
There are guns and armors you need to pay with in game cash and the prices are quite rather too expensive.
Hackers everywhere and the never ending glitches.
I stopped playing the game and I decided to go back just for funzies.

First of all,You start with some in game cash. Enough to buy nice guns and strong armors.
Personally,I think it's a good idea for starters because in 2011,you start with low cash and you can barely buy anything for permanent,making unfair for newcomers. so now, newcomers are even against long time players. But this doesn't mean this is a plus. People are still depends on guns that are overpowered. Talking to you,the gun that shouldn't exist in a game like this (AWP)

Last time i played the game,the gameplay are sort of like Quake.There are Melee,Machine Guns,Shotguns,Snipers,Grenade Launchers and Rocket Launchers. The only downside is there are only 4 weapon slots. Each weapons has their own "ammo box" to refill the ammo. The ammo boxes scatters around all the maps. Speaking of the maps,I actually like the maps. All of them are interesting and till this day,I still remember where are the ammo boxes usually located. However,Some of the maps has 1 or 2 glitches. Example, On the map "Cuberstrike" If you can't reach the certain platform,There's an invisible ledge where you can (obviously) reach the platform or use it as a hiding spot. Each maps has a jumping platform. One goes up and one goes forward. There are multiple servers for SEA,Aussie,America and EU

Now,i realized some of the servers are gone. Only 1 server per continent and no more Aussie servers.
Gameplay wise,still the same. Obviously,more hackers to deal with.
Oh sorry,I forgot about the graphics. It's decent for a web browser game. It's not the best,But at least you can run the medium graphics setting with a toaster.

I also heard the developers of uberstrike mostly care about the money,rather than the game itself.
But I'm not gonna full bash the developers until its gone out of hand.

So in conclusion,This game is alright and all; But because the lack of servers,admins that aren't active 24/7,Highly dependent on items instead of default weapons,I don't recommend this game. But if you want to try, there's nothing wrong with that. Just expect all the things I mentioned earlier.








Oh, the game died. Welp...

D4LE'S EXPERIENCE: TRACKMANIA NATIONS FOREVER

A while back ago,I was watching a hot wheels video then I saw a thumbnail with a Trackmania picture.
I asked to myself: "What is Trackmania?"
I take a look of the video and I was stunned because all the things you can do there
I realized its free,So i download it and gave it a go.
It was amazing

First of all,This game is free [10/10]
Like TF2,This game is pretty fun and well made,Yet its free. Although you need to sit out after 5 races,That didn't killed the experience in my opinion. You can buy Trackmania United Forever so you can play as much you like,but I have no cash [lmao]

Second,Track Editor [10/10]
The track editor is simply perfect. The track editor is basically someone gave you a box full of Hot Wheels track and one instruction. Use your imagination to build the track. Superb.

Third,Gameplay [10/10]
Gameplay is simple. It basically a time attack but you go to point A-point B. You face other racers until you reach the time limit. Whoever sets the fastest time wins. It's like pikes peak,but with loops and ramps.

Conclusion:I recommend this to pretty much everyone. Download this now,and trust me. This is one of the best free games you can play right now. 10/10

I played it for a bit and I think it's great.