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Mafia: Definitive Edition

Mafia is a 3rd person open-world action adventure video game, following the tale of Tommy Angelo, a cab driver thrust into the world of organized crime.

Overview -

Mafia: Definitive Edition is a remake of the original Mafia game that was released back in 2002. Mafia: Definitive Edition sets an example of how a remake should be. 

Mafia follows the fun, thrilling and intense journey of Tommy Angelo that immerses players for hours on end, with its amazing open world, varying gameplay and combat.

Gameplay -

Mafia heavily relies on driving with driving mechanics very similar to that of many open world games out there. The driving sections of the game could’ve been a lot more fun if the handling wasn’t so frustrating at times, but it does what it’s supposed to.

The most exciting part about playing a game set in the early 1900′s is the collection of vintage cars such games have. Mafia has a huge collection of said cars and God are they beautiful! The game gets every detail of the cars right, from the body, to its acceleration, to its handling and more. This might not seem like that big a deal for most players, but it is for some who are into such cars (like me).

The game features a fun and engaging combat system that allows players to equip up to 2 long range weapons, a melee weapon, grenades and Molotov's. Even with all the different ways players can take out enemies, the most satisfying way to take them out, at least for me, was fist fighting them. Players can pick up and equip weapons from either defeated enemies or by visiting Vinny. 

What makes the combat so much fun is the AI’s reactions to the player and the scripted events in place, providing a stellar combat experience.

Just when you think the game can’t any better, it manages to add more variation to the gameplay with its excellent pacing and by transitioning from one type of gameplay to the other. The game manages to transition from intense combat sequences, to the calmer sections of the game - exploration, to intense car chases, to fun and satisfying stealth experiences, without lingering on any one type of gameplay for too long. This helps keep the experience fresh and exciting for hours on end.

Mafia’s world is beautifully designed to fit the theme 2k was going for. The incredible world design, excellent cast of characters, breathtaking visuals and the stunning attention to detail all account for an incredible experience this game promises to deliver.

Verdict - 

Mafia: Definitive Edition is not only an incredible remake of the original game, but is also a brilliant game that strives to provide a stellar experience throughout, making it deserving of all the acclaim and a must play for fans of the genre.

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Nier: Automata

Nier: Automata is a 3rd person action role-playing game, following the stories of the androids 2B, 9S and A2 in their battle to reclaim the machine-driven dystopia.

Overview - 

Nier: Automata features not one but 3 playable characters with each of them having specific characteristics that discerns them from one another. Each of the playthroughs only allows control of one character.

Gameplay -

Nier: Automata features 3 main playthroughs as each of the above mentioned characters with each playthrough feeling fresh and exciting. The game has 26 endings players can experience during their playthroughs, allowing players to spend several hours in the game without ever feeling bored.

Each of these characters have stories unique to them and the game does a brilliant job in getting players emotionally attached to the character they play as.

Combat:

Nier: Automata’s combat features hack and slash combat with droids (2B and 9S) that shoot bullets, lasers and missiles at the targets at the press of a button. These droids are customizable using the chips acquired in-game to shoot various ammo types and more.

9S and 2B support each other during each of their playthroughs while A2 goes in solo. The game ahs so much variety in combat with its combat mechanics, damage dealt, health and play style being different for each of these characters.

The game introduces various enemy types and bosses that require players to use different weapons, droid ammo and playstyles to fight them. This variety in combat plays a crucial role in a game that heavily relies on combat.

The screen also turns monochromatic while the player's health is low and turns back to normal on gaining health back.

Nier: Automata takes place in a beautiful post-apocalyptic open world overrun by machines. The different sections of the world feel so true to the theme and story and so calm due to its excellent background score.

Verdict -

A unique rpg game that has players emotionally invested for hours in its story and gameplay, making it well deserving of all the acclaim.

Nier: Automata is a wonderfully designed RPG game that excels at providing a unique but stellar experience throughout.

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Hitman 2

Hitman 2 is a 3rd person stealth sandbox game with unparalleled stealth mechanics and brilliant level design, that encourages innumerable ways to play the game. It is a sequel to the 2016′s Hitman, following the story of Agent 47, a genetically engineered assassin.

Gameplay - 

Players are equipped with a silenced pistol, cord (to strangle), coins and more at the start of the game and can pickup and equip more weapons in the game. While Agent 47 cannot last in a firefight, he can however stalk and take out any target in any way he sees fit, he is an ultimate assassin after-all.

Level design - 

Hitman 2 features large open-ended levels that feel more like real places, providing players with ability to choose how to traverse through the levels and deal with any given situation however they like. Every single level in Hitman 2 is an intricately designed fully exploitable space. The people (NPCs) in the game are designed and programmed to go about their daily routine, making it seem almost real.

NPCs going about their business on clockwork routines.

The Designers of Hitman 2 designed the locations first followed by the characters that would fit great in that location and mission. The Miami level was designed to let Hitman explore areas of the Race venue that players normally never would, like VIP lounges, food stands and more except the track itself. Hitman (Agent 47) is not the center of the universe, meaning that the world goes on even if he stays still and the people (NPCs) in the game react to everything Agent 47 does, just like in real life.

Image Credit

Items, hiding locations and environmental interactables are sensibly placed throughout the level to provide an incredible stealth experience. Excellent stealth mechanics, intricately designed levels and world and interesting stealth encounters, all account for a stealth experience like no other.

The levels are built in such a way that allows players to enter almost any building, pickup up any object and disguise themselves as almost anyone. Hitman’s targets often have small loops, that has them move around from 1 location to another performing various small tasks, often situated in safe locations that require security clearance. This allows for multiple interesting encounters and provides players with a plethora of options to choose from in going about the missions. Players can go about assassinating their targets in any way they see fit, i.e. they can either disguise themselves as a security guard with high security clearance that lets them through any checkpoint undetected, kill the target and walk out as if nothing happened, or observe the guards’ and the target’s patrols and plan to take them out while on their patrol, or set up any objects in the environment to take out the target when they interact with it and can watch as everything goes according to plan from a distance, or even go full on guns blazing.

Hitman disguised as a mascot to assassinate his targets.

This kind of freedom allows players to craft their own experiences and more importantly, makes them feel like they are indeed a professional assassin, Agent 47.

Verdict - 

As a huge fan of the stealth genre, I can unequivocally say that Hitman 2 is one of the best stealth games, that strives to provide a stellar experience no matter how you play it. Hitman 2 makes up for its lackluster story with its magnificent stealth mechanics and world (not to mention its breathtaking visuals).

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The Witcher 3

The Witcher 3 is a 3rd person action role-playing video game and a sequel to The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings. The Witcher 3 is based on The Witcher series of fantasy novels.

Overview -

The Witcher 3 excels in every aspect, from story, to visuals, to characters, to gameplay. It has a 40 hour long campaign and a ton of extra stuff for players to do, providing a very magical experience for well over 80 hours depending on your playstyle.

Players are not expected to play the first two games in the series in order to understand and enjoy the game as intended.

Gameplay -

The Witcher 3 is a systems heavy game, with every system complementing the story and gameplay, in order to provide an extraordinary experience.

The game features a branching dialogue system, with every dialogue option having a consequence and these consequences often lead to interesting encounters. While many of the decisions may seem small, the impact they have on the world play out in huge ways. These decisions, no matter how big or small, can change the world around the players including their relationships with characters. But this however doesn’t change the outcome of the story.

Leveling System and Abilities:

The Witcher 3 features a leveling system, where players level up upon gaining experience points. Experience points are gained by completing quests, defeating enemies, slaying monsters and more. Geralt's health and damage are increased every time he levels up and ability points are awarded to unlock and upgrade skills that help Geralt gain an upper hand in battle. This also means that players have to level up before they fight higher level enemies.

Players can use their acquired ability points to upgrade their signs, alchemy and combat skills. Upgrading these abilities helps increase Geralt’s damage, resistance, sign strength and various characteristics of the above mentioned categories. These abilities and Alchemy are to be assigned to the slots (as shown in the diagram). Assigning the right Alchemy for the equipped abilities can help boost their properties. These help players gain an upper hand in battle. The ability slots are unlocked as players level up and progress through the story.

The sources of the ability points are as follows - 

Leveling up.

Place of Power.

Golden Egg.

Magic Acorn.

Inventory:

The Witcher 3 features an Inventory menu where players can equip armors/outfits, weapons, craft items, potions and look through the story items. 

A total of 6 pieces of Witcher Gear are available for players to collect and upgrade. These gears consist of armor, a sleet sword and a silver sword and are upgradable. These gears are more powerful than any piece of armor or weapons that can be found in the game.

The Witcher 3 derives some of its best story structures from the detective genre. Geralt is required to find clues and solve puzzles in many parts of the game, using his deduction skills and Witcher Senses. Witcher Senses are an important gameplay mechanic that helps Geralt see clues and tracks that nobody else can and they also highlight interactive objects in red.

Combat:

The game’s brutal real-time combat makes it so much fun to just wander around hoping to find bandits to fight. Players can switch between a Silver sword a Steel sword in battle, with each of the swords dealing varying damage. Players are also equipped with 5 distinct spells that have specific characteristics and have different effects depending on the enemy type. The combat feels so fluid and satisfying compared to the previous games in the series.

The game manages to keep itself fresh even after several hours of gameplay due to the different regions players can explore, various enemy types that force players to use different attacks, spells and strategies and the transitions between Geralt's and Ciri's gameplay sections.

The Witcher 3 is just as dense as the other 2 games in terms of role-playing mechanics and the incredibly beautiful massive open-world adds more depth to the game. The world is divided into 6 regions of varying size. These are Kaer Morhen, Novigrad, Velen, White Orchard, Royal Palace in Vizima and The Skellige Isles. Each of these regions are so diverse and are distinct from each other in every way, while also fitting the theme and age the game takes place in. Players can travel between the regions by riding their horse (Roach) or by fast travelling to already discovered signposts.

There are tons of stuff for players to do in the game, from doing the main quests, to taking up side quests, to defeating monsters, to bandit camps, to monster-hunting contracts to just exploring its vast world. More often than not, these side activities and hunts provide interesting and compelling insights into a world devastated by war.

Verdict -

Are you ready to invest over 80 hours of your time in a game that provides an experience like no other? Then this game is for you.

The Witcher 3, with a story so engaging, world so beautiful, gameplay so unique and interesting and lore that further contextualizes the world, is truly a masterpiece in every sense that is well deserving of all the acclaim.

Console players are now entitled to a free upgrade to the next-gen version.

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Quantum Break

Quantum Break is a 3rd person Sci-Fi action-adventure shooter, following the story of Jack Joyce who is granted time manipulation powers after a failed time-machine experiment.

Overview -

Quantum Break is another one of Remedy's strangely beautiful concepts that centers around time and time manipulation abilities, delivering on the promise in providing a brilliant sci-fi experience throughout.

Gameplay -

All of the player's abilities revolve around time manipulation and each of the mechanics are introduced to the players as the game progresses, in a way that makes sense to the story.

Quantum Break, upon introducing a new, mechanic, teaches players about the underlying mechanic and how to use it, forcing players to use it in the encounter it was introduced in.

Players have the ability to control or manipulate instances of fractured time, which play a major role in the combat of the game. Following are the powers players can use in combat -

Time Vision.

Time Stop.

Time Shield.

Time Rush.

Time Dodge.

Paul Serene, the antagonist of the game, also shares the same powers as Jack Joyce, as they were both exposed to high Chronon energy during the malfunction of the Time Machine in the Project Promenade lab.

Players can take weapons from defeated enemies to use alongside their time manipulation powers. Players get their first weapon, the Pistol, in the earlier parts of the game. Players can only carry one of each of the 3 types of weapons; primary, secondary and heavy, with each type having unique characteristics.

Quantum Break has a ton of variety in combat not only due to the various powers and weapons players can use, but also due to the distinct enemy types. Each type of enemy encourages players to use different powers, sometimes a combination of those powers, to defeat them. Different enemy types also deal varying damage and have more resistance to certain attacks, allowing for a more varying and fun combat experience.

The levels are designed with the player's abilities, encounters and types of enemies in mind. Objects and cover locations are placed in a way that makes sense to the world while also supporting the player's movement and abilities.

Quantum Break also has a feature that allows players to be reminded of their objectives with the press of a button.

There are tons of collectibles that can found throughout the game. Many of these collectibles, often referred to as Narrative Objects, provide additional story details, while Chronon Sources are vital to upgrade Jack’s time abilities.

Verdict -

With an innovative concept and story, intricate combat mechanics, seamless integration of its TV show in the game, excellent voice acting and great world and level design, Quantum Break is a brilliant yet underrated game that strives to provide an experience so fresh, making it one of my favorites of the genre.

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Mirror’s Edge

Mirror’s Edge is a first-person action-adventure platform game, following the story of Faith Connors. an underground parkour courier who transmits messages without attracting the attention of the government.

Overview -

Mirror’s Edge is played from a first-person perspective and players must complete a series of levels that involve performing a series of acrobatic maneuvers, including jumping across rooftops, sliding down ziplines, running along walls, fighting off and evading the guards and cops, in order to progress in the game.

Gameplay - 

Mirror’s Edge does a fantastic job in conveying the story through its gameplay, environment and the dialogues during the gameplay rather than solely relying on its cutscenes. The cutscenes in the game follow an animated cartoon style and are often pretty short. These cutscenes happen at the end of every chapter.

Players spend majority of the game platforming. The platforming sections are usually fun and the game has a ton of variety allowing players to alternate between the different platforming mechanics. It is also important to remember that many of the platforms and pipes that can be grabbed are to be approached at the right angle. Not doing so causes Faith to fall, depleting her health completely, forcing players to start from the last checkpoint.

Faith’s hands and legs are visible when performing various activities. This is imperative as it conveys the player’s movement and interactions with the environment and enemies, which helps players get a sense of what their character is actually doing and how she reacts to their actions.

Players are guided to reach their destination with the environmental pieces that players can interact with highlighted in red, known as Runner’s Vision. The Runner’s vision is designed in such a way that it shows players where to go but not how to get there, leaving it up to the players to solve that puzzle for themselves. Preserving momentum is a very important aspect of the game as it allows players to run faster, jump farther and climb higher. Preserving enough momentum also allows players to use an ability know as Reaction Time, that slows down time allowing them to time their next move.

Although players can disarm enemies, perform melee and acrobatic attacks, players can also use weapons to take them down with ease. The issue with this is that carrying a weapon slows Faith down considerably and renders her acrobatic abilities useless until players drop them. Players regenerate a certain amount of health when they don’t take damage for a while

Mirror’s Edge features a 3 button control scheme for wall running, jumping off buildings, swinging on poles, climbing pipes, sliding under objects and jumping across obstacles and a number of other moves that are styled after parkour. This helps players play fluidly preserving momentum.

Although Mirror’s Edge does not provide any side content or free roam, as it is a very linear game, it does feature a time trial mode that tests the player’s speed, knowledge and skill of using shortcuts to get to a designated point.

Verdict - 

Mirror’s Edge is a great platforming game with excellent platforming mechanics and dynamics, great soundtrack, good environmental storytelling and a simple fast paced combat, that provides a stellar experience for fans of the platforming genre like myself. 

What’s more exciting is that the game’s graphics hold up well even today!

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Prototype 2

Prototype 2 is a 3rd person action-adventure video game, where players play as Sergeant James Heller, a genetically mutated shape-shifter who lost his family to the devastating viral outbreak. He must hunt, kill and consume his way across the infected to exact revenge on the man responsible.

Gameplay -

Prototype 2 features the same fun parkour system as the first game with a few improvements, that allows players to size up buildings by wall running, leaping small structures and objects, air dashing and gliding across New York City.

Prototype 2 features a notoriety system and a notoriety meter for Heller and his disguise that is filled upon detection. The meter turns yellow when the enemies are suspicious and turns red when detected. Players can just escape the area and disguise themselves, with the press of a button, to lose notoriety.

Prototype 2 has plenty of content players can engage in; the main story, side activities or just tear through the infected using the acquired super powers.

Prototype 2 introduces its mechanics one by one as the game progresses, in a way that makes sense to the story. The game teaches players on how to use the abilities upon acquiring them. Scripted enemy encounters are triggered upon acquiring new abilities that allow players to use the new abilities in an attempt to defeat or escape them.

The combat system is simple and fun, allowing players to combine different moves and abilities that lead to fun and gruesome encounters. Players can select two major powers and can change them in abilities menu at any given time. Players learn 5 major weapons throughout the game, used as melee weapons. They are as follows -

Claws.

Tendrils.

Blades.

Hammer fist.

Whipfist.

Other abilities and powers that can be used in combat include -

Biobomb - An organic explosion that can be planted on the targets, where tendrils force themselves out from the target, and pull anything they touch to the epicenter.

Consume - A very useful ability that allows the players to replenish health and bio-mass. It is also a requirement to the story that has Heller consuming different targets in order to disguise as them.

Juggernaut pack - An ability that is exclusive to a particular mission, that allows players to summon two juggernauts upon consuming them.

Pack Leader - An ability that allows players to summon brawlers to fight by their side.

Shield - A useful defensive ability that soaks up damage until it shatters.

Consume -

Biobomb -

The game also features mutations that allows players to upgrade their abilities. There are 33 mutations that can be unlocked across 5 distinct categories -

Offensive - Mutations that increase damage.

Defensive - Mutations that increase Heller's ability to withstand more damage.

Locomotion - Mutations that increase Heller's acrobatic abilities.

Predator - Mutations that guarantee bonuses to the energy bars and bio-mass bars.

Power Specialist - 5 special mutations with each of them associated with the 5 major powers. Upgrading them can increase damage and various other properties of these powers.

Players can also upgrade various aspects of Heller using development points, that allow for a more fluid and fun gameplay. Players receive development points upon gaining experience points in the game. These development points can be spent across 6 distinct categories -

Health - Focuses on increasing the maximum health of Heller.

Movement - Focuses on increasing movement speed, height of jumps, distance and frequency of dashes.

Regeneration - Focuses on increasing automatic regeneration of energy bar.

Shapeshifting - Focuses on increasing the effectiveness in disguise.

Mass - Focuses on gathering and spending resources.

Finishers - Focuses on increasing the abilities associated with destroying tanks and helicopters.

Players can also upgrade their melee powers, mutations and other abilities in the “Heller” tab in the menu.

There is so much variety in combat, where some enemy types take less damage from certain powers certain types of attacks forcing players to make use of the different powers acquired through the course of the game.

All these mechanics, what players can do with these mechanics (dynamics) and the variety in combat and gameplay make for a brilliant experience.

Verdict -

Prototype 2 is game like no other with a very unique concept, interesting characters and protagonist, a good story and its fun combat, making it a game to remember. If you can overlook the old gen graphics, I would suggest getting your hands on Prototype 2, as there is no other game like it.

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Heavy Rain

Heavy Rain is an interactive drama and action-adventure video game, featuring 4 playable protagonists attempting to solve the mystery of the Origami Killer, a serial murderer who drowns his victims using extended periods of rainfall, leaving an origami figure behind as some sort of message.

Heavy Rain is a story heavy game striving to provide an incredible interactive experience with its excellent cast of characters, voice acting, cinematics and a well-designed world.

Gameplay - 

Heavy Rain features QTEs (Quick Time Events) and some basic controls that include walking, rotating the camera, changing the camera perspective and accessing thoughts. The game features a 3rd person camera that changes perspective in various scenarios. Players can also change the perspective at any given time at the press of a button. The reason this control scheme works so flawlessly with the game is due to everything in the game revolving around its story.

                                                (Perspective - 1)

                                                (Perspective - 2)

Though each of the 4 protagonists are unique and have nothing to do with each other at the beginning of the game, their stories are intertwined as the game progresses. Heavy Rain does a great job getting players emotionally attached to its characters due to them being well written and presented and likable.

Missing a single prompt in an action sequence often just leads to the chase or fight playing out differently, while missing too many might lead to the bad guy getting away or worse. In other instances, the button prompts allow players to choose between the provided options that decide what a character says and how they react. Every action in the game has a short term and long term consequence that influences how the story pans out, allowing for multiple playthroughs. 

With this kind of control, Heavy Rain makes players feel like they influence the events in the game, rather than just react to it. Heavy rain manages to always keep players on their toes, punishing those who don’t pay attention to the details. The action sequences are often very spontaneous, requiring the players to be ready at all times. 

Verdict - 

With a story so touching, so intense and so emotional and a new control mechanic/scheme that complements its story, Heavy Rain is unequivocally one of the best interactive titles I’ve ever played and would totally recommend playing if you haven't done so already. 

It’s available on pc too!!

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A Plague Tale: Innocence

A Plague Tale: Innocence is a 3rd person action-adventure horror stealth video game, following the story of young Amicia and her little brother Hugo, in a harrowing journey through the age of Plague.

Overview -

A Plague Tale: Innocence takes place in 1349, in the Kingdom of France that is ravaged by Plague, where the two protagonists are hunt down by the inquisition through the villages devastated by the disease.

Gameplay - 

A Plague Tale is a game that focuses heavily on stealth and getting caught in the earlier parts of the game often leads to the game restarting from recent checkpoint after playing a cinematic showing Amicia or any other supporting characters get killed. 

Players have a variety of items at their disposal to distract or take down inquisition guards. The game introduces its stealth mechanics earlier in the game, that teaches players to observe the patrol points of the inquisition and using pots and rocks to distract them. The closing chapters of the game require aggression rather than stealth, with the combat resembling puzzles more than anything else.

Rocks can be either thrown or shot using a sling, where sling deal more damage and have more range. While using a sling can seem more prudent, it makes noise attracting nearby guards, therefore using slingshots in stealth encounters is not advisable. The guards can hear players if they run or walk closer, so its best to walk crouched and stay hidden in grass, as noise plays an important role in the game. 

The game adds to the base mechanics of the slingshot and rocks to create new variations in gameplay and forces players to use them as the situation sees fit. 

Rats infestation serve as the main puzzle mechanic, and players can only be safe from them when surrounded by light. Torches and lit sticks can be carried to repel rats, but the lit sticks fade out pretty quickly forcing the players to speed up on solving puzzles and make use of different mechanics to keep the rats away. The levels have unlit braziers in many places that requires players to use the Ignifier on them to light them. Ignifier, like most of the mechanics in the game, are crafted in the game and they require various resources in order to be crafted. These resources can be found throughout the game world and the most important requirement for all projectiles are rocks.

Crafting can be done by using the weapon wheel, crafting menu or upon players approaching a workbench. Work benches also allows players to upgrade their projectiles, equipment, mixtures and Alchemy.

The alchemy mixtures are gradually unlocked as the game progresses. It's clear what abilities are to be used even as the areas and puzzles grow in complexity.

Pacing -

A Plague Tale has incredible pacing. The game transitions from intense stealth sequences, to calm explorations, to intense puzzle and combat sections, to cinematics never lingering on one type of gameplay section for too long. The intensity varies as the game progresses making it a fun and exciting game to play.

World Design -

A Plague Tale: Innocence has a beautiful world design, which is almost empty except for the overwhelming waves of terrifying rats and inquisition guards and a horrifying ambience that strives on delivering the emotional experience it intends to deliver.

The game gives an illusion of open world due to it's clever level design, but is actually very linear.

Verdict -

A Plague Tale is stealth gameplay in its purest sense, providing a stellar stealth experience with story and gameplay so unique that it is well deserving of all the acclaim. This is a must play for fans of horror, adventure and stealth genres.

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Life is Strange

Life is Strange is a story-driven 3rd person episodic graphic adventure video game, following the story of Max Caulfield, a photography student who discovers she can now rewind time!

Overview - 

Life is Strange is the 2nd major game from DONTNOD Entertainment after Remember Me, who excel in approaching games from a different angle than most developers. Life is Strange is a story-driven game that heavily relies on conveying the story through gameplay rather than cutscenes.

Gameplay -

Life is Strange is a bewitching exploration of a teenage girl deeply affected by loss and trauma and has the emotional closure completing a memorable and exciting journey.

Life is Strange fully commits to gameplay-derived storytelling, that strives in giving players a more personal story in every step of the way. The game plays on Max’s ability to rewind time and relive memories, which requires players to have a good sense in listening and observing everything going on around them, since every choice made has short-term or long-term consequences that affect the story and mood of the game.

Max’s thoughts often allow players to learn more about Max and how she feels about everything going on around her. Max’s moment-to-moment interactions felt real and fun. Although, the dialogue delivery in some places could’ve been better.

Life is Strange has a lot of little posters, sticky notes, emails and messages that players can read and spend time doing as it helps get a better sense of the story and helps make the game feel more personal and believable.

Though Life is Strange is a very linear game, it still allows for multiple playthroughs. Not only because of the multiple endings and choices the game has to offer but also since it feels great to play it again.

Verdict -

Life is Strange is not just a video game but also feels like an interactive movie that tugs at the heart strings of players, that is not only fun (and also emotional at times) to play but also an experience like no other. 

DONTNOD Entertainment went all out in designing an incredible game with an innovative concept, excellent story, brilliant cast of characters and great soundtrack that is unequivocally the best episodic graphic adventure I’ve ever played, making it very well-deserving of all the acclaim.

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Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey

Assassin's Creed Odyssey is a stunning 3rd person action RPG video game and is the 11th major installment in the Assassin's Creed franchise.

Overview -

Every Assassin's Creed game made was set in different locations and era, featured diverse cultures and great characters and Odyssey is no different. The game is set in ancient Greece with its historical story set in 431-422 B.C.

Ubisoft took a different approach to the beloved Assassin's Creed franchise with the development of Assassin's Creed Origins, leaning more towards the RPG style of gameplay. Assassin's Creed Odyssey features a massive open world, one of the biggest (biggest in the franchise) open worlds that, much like Black Flag, puts a lot of emphasis on traversing by sea.

Gameplay -

Assassin's Creed Odyssey has a ton of content for the players to engage in. The main campaign takes just over 40 hours to complete plus the game has a lot of additional content that sums up to and over 100 hours. Assassin's Creed Odyssey hosts a ton of side quests, conquest battles, arenas, fishing, hunting and a beautifully designed massive open world just begging to be explored, keeping the players engaged for days or even weeks (if you love exploration like I do).

After a tutorial masked as the prologue ends, players are provided with 2 playable characters to choose from with both the characters having the exact same story.

Assassin's Creed Odyssey is a systems heavy game with a lot of systems complementing each other, striving to provide a great experience.

Leveling system:

Players earn experience points every time they fight, for every quest completed, every location discovered and completed, every conquest battle won and more. These experience points help players level up. Leveling up increases the player character's health and damage and provides them with a skill point that can be used to unlock skills. Higher the level, stronger the player character is making the combat easier.

Skills:

Players can unlock skills across 3 categories; Hunter, Warrior and Assassin. The skills in these categories increase the damage stats for hunting, combat and assassination or stealth abilities. Each of the categories also have various abilities that can be unlocked, upgraded assigned to the ability wheels that can be used in game.

Abilities:

Assassin's Creed Odyssey has a plethora of abilities that can be unlocked and assigned to ranged and melee ability wheels. Players can equip up to 12 skills at any time, split between 2 melee and 1 ranged ability wheels (4 slots per wheel).

Abilities can be swapped by accessing the abilities menu.

Ranged ability wheel can only consist of Hunter Abilities and they are as follows -

Multi-shot.

Devastating Shot.

Predator Shot.

Spread Shot.

Rain of Destruction.

Overpower Bow Strike.

Ghost Arrows of Artemis.

The two melee ability wheels can consist of the following abilities -

Warrior -

Bull Rush.

Sparta Kick.

Second Wind.

Shield Breaker.

Flaming Attacks.

Ring of Chaos.

Battlecry of Ares.

Assassin -

Venomous Attacks.

Vanish.

Rush Assassination.

Call to Arms.

Hero Strike.

Slow Time.

Shadow of Nyx.

Players also start with some basic abilities that are upgraded automatically when certain conditions are met. The baseline abilities are as follows -

Summon Phobos - To summon Phobos, the player's horse.

Meditation - Allows players to rest and moves time forward.

Eyes of Ikaros - Ikaros, the eagle can be used to tag locations and enemy targets.

Assassination - Allows players to assassinate targets using the Spear of Leonidas.

Leap of Faith - Allows players to smash the ground and stun nearby enemies without taking any damage.

Whistle - Players can whistle to attract enemies.

Man at Arms - Allows players to equip a second weapon from the inventory.

Defensive Maneuvers - Provides players with the ability to dodge or parry right before an attack hits.

Recruit - Allows players to incapacitate and recruit enemies to join the crew of the Adrestia.

Ship Upgrades:

Players can upgrade their ship to increase the ship's health, arrow damage, ramming damage, javelin damage and the ship's armor. The following upgrades increase the previously mentioned properties -

Arsenal - The Arsenal upgrades increase the number of consecutive throws and damage of Javelins and Arrows and also increases the fire buildup and fire power segments of Braziers.

Weapons Damage - The Weapons Damage upgrades increase ramming, arrows and javelin damage.

Ship and Crew Endurance - These upgrades increase the ship's armor and health along with the crew's armor and also increases Rower Stamina that helps use the boost ability a little longer.

Special Lieutenants - Recruiting, hiring and assigning special lieutenants helps increase some properties of the ship.

Ship Cosmetics - As the name suggests, players can customize the look of their ship.

Inventory System:

Assassin's Creed Odyssey features an inventory menu that allows players equip armors and weapons. Player’s equipment are available in 4 different categories; Common, Rare, Epic and Legendary with Legendary equipment being the most powerful. Armors and Weapons are available upon looting and completing quests and they are assigned level numbers. Higher the level, the stronger they are. Players need to be at the same level as their weapons and armor in order to equip them. Armors and weapons can also be upgraded to the player's current level by visiting a Blacksmith. Blacksmiths also have weapons and armor available for purchase and allows players to engrave their equipment that provide special benefits.

Ship upgrades, engraving equipment, crafting arrows require various resources that can be found around the game world, such as; Olive Wood, Iron, Leather, Obsidian Glass and Precious Gems. Most of theses resources can be looted while wandering around. Leather can be acquired by looting hunted animals and fish.

Equipping the right weapons and armory helps increase the following stats of the player -

Health.

Hunter Damage - Increases damage dealt when using the bow and Hunter abilities.

Warrior Damage - Increases damage dealt with melee attacks and Warrior abilities.

Assassin Damage - Increases assassination damage and damage dealt with Assassin abilities.

The inventory menu displays the basic stats mentioned above and difference in stats when equipping a new equipment. It also has an option to view the detailed stats of the player character.

Modes and Extra Content:

As established earlier, Assassin's Creed Odyssey hosts a ton of content players can engage in. I'd like to refer to them as modes and they are as follows -

Conquest Battles:

Conquest Battles are an important means of players establishing dominance in the Peloponnesian War. These battles are available as part of the main story and as side missions that can be undertaken while players explore a region. Players can pick sides while taking up Conquest battles, where the winning side conquers that nation. Conquest Battles are available only when the Power of a Nation is lowered.

Mercenaries:

Mercenaries are powerful enemies wandering around the world. A bounty is placed on the player every time a crime is committed, making the mercenaries hunt players down. Players can avoid being hunt down by paying off all bounties in the Map.

Defeating mercenaries raises the mercenary rank of the player. This information is displayed in the Mercenaries menu. Players can spend hours hunting down the rest of the mercenaries to be the best mercenary in the whole of Greece. Although it should be noted that some mercenaries can be found and defeated in Arenas only.

Combat -

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey’s combat system is more complex than the previous games of the franchise up until Origins. Players can use the equipped weapons to fight enemies, attack enemies from a distance and perform stealth attacks on enemies or assassinate them. The various abilities and skills add variety to the the combat and help deal more damage and help get out of tough situations (depending on the abilities equipped). The game also features a parry and dodge mechanics that help parry and dodge incoming attacks. When the attacking enemy has a red glowing outline, it is advised to dodge as they cannot be parried. There are 2 versions of dodge that can be achieved by wither pressing the dodge button or holding it. The player character upon pressing the button, performs a simple dodge by stepping backwards and holding the button makes the character roll away in the intended direction completely avoiding the attack.

The combat mechanics of the ship are the same since Black flag with changes to the machinery used (due to the change in era) to attack rather than controls or mechanics. Cannons are replaced with arrows and heavy shots with javelins. Although mortars and swivel guns are no longer featured in the game.

Verdict -

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey is an incredible game in every aspect; be it from World Building, Level design, Combat, Story and the freedom it provides the players with. This is a must play game not only for the fans of the franchise but also for people who want to enjoy a well rounded game.

[game-design-break-down]

Horizon: Zero Dawn

Horizon Zero Dawn is a 3rd person action role-playing open world adventure that follows Aloy, a hunter in a world overrun by machines.

Overview - 

Horizon Zero Dawn is a systems driven role-playing game that weaves the tale that encompasses complex themes. Guerrilla, a company specialized in developing first-person shooters (the Killzone franchise) managed to develop an open world game with a beautiful post-apocalyptic world, intricate game systems and an incredible story that provides a wonderful interactive experience throughout.

Gameplay - 

Horizon Zero Dawn combines RPG and stealth gameplay elements where the two go hand in hand most of the time. There are patches of grass scattered throughout the world that can be used for Aloy to hide in. Aloy can attract the machines toward them by whistling and take them down or perform a stealth attack. 

Each of the game’s 8 weapons come in 3 distinct tiers; normal, Carja and Shadow. Armors come in 3 tiers as well with the only difference being their stats.

There are a variety of weapons that are meant to be carried to switch between them as the encounter requires it. Players can and are advised to carry all 3 bows (with different functionalities), the shadow and blast slings, rope and trip casters and the Tearblast gun. 

Weapons: 

Horizon Zero Dawn has an extensive armory of weapons to use in combat. Weapons get specialized as they get better and stronger. The game features 3 types of bows; the Hunter Bow, Sharpshooter Bow and War Bows, each with distinct functionalities. 

Bows -

Hunter Bows are the basic ranged weapons with useful ammo options; Hunter Arrows, Fire Arrow that deal flame damage and Hardpoint Arrow that deal Tear damage.

Sharpshooter Bows are like sniper rifles as they greatly increase the distance Aloy can fire. Sharpshooter Bows feature Precision Arrows, Tearblast Arrows and Harvest Arrows as ammo options. Precision Arrows deal more damage than any other arrow in the game. Tearblast Arrows deal a blast of Tear damage (removal of components and parts of the machines). Harvest Arrows are specialized for removing components and resources from machines.

War Bows deal elemental damage making them great for specialized attacks whose range is similar to that of a Hunter Bow. War Bows feature Shock Arrows, Freeze Arrows and Corruption Arrows as ammo options. Shock Arrows can detonate Power Cells on machines and inflict Stun status over time. Freeze Arrows detonate Freeze Canisters on machines and inflict Frozen status over time. Corruption Arrows turn targets to allies.

Ropecaster - 

Ropecasters resemble harpoon guns, dealing no damage directly but have an ability of limiting the movement of targets. Ropecasters add ammo types that allow for more powerful ropes to be shot that can tie down machines with as fewer shots as possible.

Tripcaster -

Much like a Ropecaster, Tripcaster is a mid to long ranged weapon that fires out a trip wire to that trips machines knocking them out temporarily, providing players the opportunity to attack them until they get back on their feet. Players can use Tripcaster from cover. Tripcaster features Shock Wires, Blast Wires and Fire Wires as ammo options. Shock Wires stun any machine or human that trips over them. Blast Wires deal Tear damage and Fire Wires deal Flame damage upon detonation.

Slings - 

Slings are mid-range weapons that deal huge amounts of damage that also deal area damage. There are 2 types of slings; the Shadow and the Blast Sling. Shadow Slings deal elemental damage and the Blast Slings deal pure explosive damage. 

Horizon Zero Dawn also features a Spear for melee attacks. Players can use light and heavy attacks with each having pros and cons over the other.

Tearblaster - Tearblasters are highly specialized weapons that are used to knock off components and parts off a machine. They are often useful at close and mid ranges.

Armor:

Horizon Zero Dawn has various types of armor that can have their effectiveness increase by carrying multiple armors for every situation. Armors are produced by different tribes with armors of the same type but of different tribes having different functionalities and effects.

Stealth armors are great for, as the name suggests, stealth that reduces the range players can be seen from, lower tolerance of noise produced by the player, width of the enemies’ detection angle and enemies lose detection of players faster. Stealth armors can be obtained in Silent Hunter Light, Silent Hunter Medium, Silent Hunter Heavy, Silent Hunter Heavy Adept, Silent Hunter Master and Silent Hunter Master Adept varieties with an increasing number of mod slots.

Survivor armors offer protection against all elements. Survivor armors can be obtained in Light, Medium, or Heavy varieties with an increasing number of mod slots. 

Stalwart outfits are produced by the Shadow Carja and provide immunity to several status effects with a high number of modification slots. Stalwart outfits can be obtained in Light, Medium, Heavy and Adept variations.

Protector Outfits boost the wearer’s resistance to Melee damage. Protector outfits can be obtained in Light, Medium and Heavy varieties.

There are a lot more outfits in the game that share the similarities and some of them increase resistance to corruption, flame and shock.

Mods:

Every equipment in the game can be modified by applying mods to the modification slots of the corresponding equipment to increase stats and perks. Modifications cannot be purchased. Modification are available in 3 major types; Common, Rare and Very Rare with increase in given stats depending on the rarity. It is advised to use modifications that can provide a boost to more than one stat.

Coils and Weaves are the different types of modifications available. Coils are modifications that are used to add to weapons to increase damage dealt or handling stats. Weaves are modifications that are added to various outfits to increase damage, resistance to melee and ranged attacks and stealth stats.

The Frozen Wilds dlc adds a lot more modifications.

Crafting and Resources:

Players can pick up a ton stuff from plants, to rocks, to machine parts that count as resources in order to craft.

Metal shards are considered currency and are required by literally every purchase and crafting. Ammo, Crafting expansions such as; satchels, quiver and pouches, potions and traps can be crafted by finding the resources found on the ground and by looting the dead machines. Health can be refilled by picking up and using herbs. Rocks are used to distract enemies and have them investigate that location so players can plan their attacks.

The crafting menu also allows players to add modifications for outfits, weapons and ammo.

Skills:

Horizon Zero Dawn has various skills players can unlock across 4 distinct sections; Prowler, Brave, Forager and Traveler to help them in combat and gathering resources.

Combat -

Horizon Zero Dawn's combat is similar to the combat in many open world action games, with unique elements that have the players methodically learning how each weapon works, strategically setting traps, observing the patrol paths of the machines and silently stalking enemies performing stealth rather than blasting their way through. The mechanics introduced through the game's progression, weapons available for purchase in exchange of metal/machine components and the various combat mechanics such as dodge, melee and ranged attacks and traps are responsible in making the combat feel very fluid and exciting.

Conclusion -

With great combat systems and mechanics, a great story, intricate RPG mechanics, a beautiful world and the highlight of the game; the machines, are the reasons why Horizon Zero Dawn is not only one of the best PS4 exclusives available to date but also of the genre. And now it's available on PC too!!!

[game-design-break-down]

Red Dead Redemption 2

Red Dead Redemption 2 is a 3rd person action-adventure game, featuring Rockstar’s most authentic and lived-in open world ever following the epic tale of the infamous Van der Linde gang, where players assume the role of an outlaw Arthur Morgan, on the run across America from their long time enemy the Pinkertons.

Overview - 

With a story campaign of over 40 hours long and over 20 hours of side activities, there’s a lot of things to do, so many places to explore, so many people to meet and so many other fun activities to undertake like fishing, hunting and more.

RDR2 manages to keep the players excited even after hours of gameplay, not just due to the sheer size and variety of its intricate world, but how alive the world feels with every NPC performing their assigned tasks, their interactions with the world and reactions to the player’s actions.

Gameplay -

It feels like life goes on in the game whether or not players interfere in any events taking place around them, which makes the players feel like they're just a part of the world rather than making them feel like the center of the universe.

RDR2 provides players with a weapon and equipment wheel that allows them to choose among the various weapons purchased or picked up and to choose among equipment such as a fishing rod, health tonics and food, binoculars and more. Weapons need to be maintained regularly by cleaning them in order to perform efficiently. Players can add health tonics (purchased, obtained by looting enemies or looting houses) and cooked food to Arthur’s Satchel that help in recovering health, stamina and dead eye.

(Arthur’s cores are displayed above the mini-map)

Core Systems - Red Dead Redemption 2 features core systems for Arthur and his horse that manage their health, stamina and dead eye (Arthur’s ability). In RDR2, core refers to the circles with an icon associated to each of the cores and abilities and the rings around the cores are consumed when players lose health, stamina or dead eye and the cores are depleted when the rings are completely drained. Rings refill over time whereas the cores cannot be refilled until players consume tonics or food that help refill that particular if not all cores.

Bounty and Wanted System - The Bounty system is just fines for the crimes committed by the players. Having a bounty placed on the players’ head incurs the wrath of the law enforcement while in that area. Bounties can be paid off at Post Offices.

A notification reading “WITNESS” is received with the associated crime at the top right corner of the screen when a crime committed by the player is witnessed. Witnesses need to be stopped before they can report the crime. Not doing so leads to the law enforcement officers investigating the crime and eventually catching up with the player if still in the vicinity. Players can stop witnesses by tackling them and choosing to either Threaten or Beat them.

Honor System - Many in-game actions and decisions influence the Honor System that is divided into 17 ranks, ranging from -8 to +8 and determined by gaining or losing points (point values range from -320 to +320).

This Honor System determines how players are treated by other characters in the game. Players also get store discounts and Dead Eye tonics (if the player has -40 points or lower) based on the honor points accumulated by them. Having a high or low Honor meter also has an impact on the game’s ending (before the epilogue).

RDR2 has tons of content players can engage in, from playing the story missions, to completing side quests, robbing trains and banks or even just exploring the world. Players can also get their hair trimmed at saloons, change and equip outfits and weapons at the safe house, upgrade the safe house by donating money, fish and hunt animals and more, providing a varied and beautiful experience through and through for over 60 hours. Red Dead Online has its own short story and tons of other content players can engage in.

Conclusion - 

The excellent story, stunning visuals, cinematics, well-designed gameplay mechanics, fantastic characters and voice acting and a beautiful world full of life is why Red Dead Redemption 2 is very well deserving of having won over 175 Game of the Year Awards.

[game-design-break-down]

Control

Overview -

Control is a supernatural gravity-defying 3rd person action-adventure video game that challenges players to master the combination of interactive environments and supernatural abilities fighting through an unpredictable world, where players play as Jesse Faden, the new Director of a secretive agency struggling to regain control. 

Gameplay -

Remedy is known for crafting games with an incredible sense of place, great gripping story and provide a unique gameplay experience.

Remedy has made each of Jesse's supernatural abilities fun to use with a lot of variety for the entirety of the game. Players can take down the Hiss with the help of the Service Weapon, a powerful melee attack and psychic abilities that include launching enemies into the air. Grip (Handgun), Spin (SMG), Shatter (Shotgun), Pierce (Sniper) and Charge (RPG) are the different versions of the Service Weapon. Weapon mods are used to unlock additional forms of the Service Weapon as well as more buffs for Jesse.

Jesse's psychic abilities include;

Launch - A telekinetic ability that pulls objects and enemies around closer and launches them forward with a thrilling zoom. As the most effective ability in the game. It is suggested that players upgrade this ability at some point in the game if not earlier. Control has various puzzles to be solved across the Bureau that require the use of the Launch ability.

Evade - Evade is a flashy dash in the direction intended by the player, that proves invaluable against the Hiss shooting at or throwing objects at Jesse. Using evade consumes the energy bar and the player is forced to wait until the energy bar is fully recharged to be able to use the ability again. It would be wise to spend ability points on beefing up the energy bar to be able to use it more efficiently.

Levitate - This ability lets the players hover in air to reach places otherwise unreachable. Though this ability isn't very useful in combat, it proves crucial for the challenging platform sections introduced later in the game.

Seize (acquired upon competing the side quest - A Captive Audience and complete a puzzle in the Hypnosis Lab) - Though this ability is optional, it proves useful in combat as it allows Jesse to possess enemies with low health and turn them into temporary allies.

Shield (acquired by completing a side quest - A Good Defense) - As the name suggests, this ability lets the players block incoming attacks with a floating wall of rock.

Players can chain attacks in order to fight efficiently against the Hiss.

Cleansing control points scattered across the Bureau of Control(as required by the game) allows players to fast travel to previously cleansed control points, change outfits, access abilities menu and Astral Constructs. Astral Constructs allow players to spend a mixture of Source Energy and Materials to create weapon and personal mods.

Control manages to keep players on their toes with its intriguing story, introduction of its cool mechanics, variety of enemies and gameplay, background score and stunning visuals.

World Design -

Control takes place at the Bureau of Control, that is divided into a number of different business sectors with each of the areas feeling different from one another. One of the areas, The Oldest House, has the ability to change its internal structure at will, in an attempt to convince the players that the Bureau is invaded by otherworldly threat.

Each of the rooms are beautifully designed to support the gameplay and provide the intended experience. Placement of objects, cover locations and the way each room supports the abilities of the player character all come hand in hand in providing an experience that is not only unique but also true to its concept and story.

Below is the map of the Bureau of Control -

Conclusion -

Control has a great story, gameplay, stunning visuals, some great character moments and lore that further contextualizes the world, making it a must play for fans of Remedy's unique stories or even fans of the genre in general.

[game-design-break-down]

The Last of Us

The Last of Us is a 3rd person action-adventure game, where players play as Joel, tasked with escorting a teenage girl in midst of a pandemic.

Overview -

The Last of Us features a post-apocalyptic situation navigated by two characters; Joel and Ellie, who embark upon an unpredictable and dangerous journey with one goal, i.e. to survive (and escort Ellie of course!). 

The beauty of The Last of Us lies in its beautifully crafted interactive story and its stellar choice-based gameplay, providing a remarkable experience from start to finish. The interactions between the two protagonists and other characters, the consistent voice acting, gameplay and the graphical feat of its time, which holds up well even today, all come together to form this masterpiece we all know and love.

Gameplay -

The Last of Us is almost all stealth, where players are expected to sneak around enemies and take them out without arousing suspicion. Being seen doesn’t necessarily ruin the fun, it just means that players need to change their tactics to fight their way out. The Last of Us does a staggering job of making every enemy feel as human as possible (except for the inhumane enemies, of course) for every life taken has a consequence on the character and each of the targets feels unique and alive. Humans often work together, planning their actions, with the ability to communicate with each other, making it challenging for players to take them out. Whereas the infected attack without remorse and don’t hold back, making it terrifying to fight them.

The realistic animations, impeccably designed stealth mechanics, levels that support it’s gameplay mechanics and abilities of the player character, all contribute in making the stealth encounters as intended and as enjoyable as possible.

The Last of Us allows players to craft items in real-time, without having to go to the pause menu, forcing players to choose a safe location to craft without being interrupted. Players need to first scavenge for items by thoroughly exploring the environments in order to craft useful items that can be used offensively and to cure oneself. With the items gathered, players can create either one or the other, given that the resources required by items are the same, that requires players to strategically choose what to craft. For example; Alcohol and rags are needed to craft health kits and Molotov cocktail, so crafting only health kits will mean that players cannot craft the Molotov cocktail and vice-versa. Bullets and items are scarce throughout the game making every component and ammo found very precious.

Every decision the player makes has an impact on gameplay and the fore-coming encounters, from choosing to create a shiv or a makeshift weapon, pick-up some components and items to hopefully craft useful items later on or just bypass picking them up hoping they don’t need it. These choices often lead to interesting gameplay, that not only feels realistic but is also a great experience.

The AI design was competent and provided a great challenge through and through, making every enemy encounter as exciting and interesting as possible. Enemies react to noise, vision and human enemies also communicate together to patrol to last known locations of the players or attack players upon detection, forcing players to strategize their actions every step of the way. To balance the AI capabilities, players are given an ability to see and hear through walls, so they can make an informed decision moving forward. 

Stealth is the best way to play the game and experience the game as intended, but that doesn’t limit players to not explore other ways to play the game, provided they have enough resources to do so.

Conclusion - 

Naughty Dog managed to craft a game that, with its great stealth gameplay, exceptional story, the aesthetics that convey the emotional aspects of the game as intended, immersive audio and its unique experience, makes the game well deserving of the “Game of the Year 2013″ accolade.

If only The Last of Us was available on other platforms too, as we’re all missing out on one of the best games ever made.

[game-design-break-down]

Watch Dogs 2

With innumerable open world titles out there, Ubisoft succeeded in making a game, back in 2014, that stood out in every way possible due to its innovative concept, gameplay and story. The sequel Watch Dogs 2 is fundamentally similar to the first game, with a few additions to and improvements in gameplay mechanics with a not-so-serious story.

Overview -

Watch Dogs 2 is an action-adventure open world game with all its gameplay mechanics based on its concept of “hacking”. Players play as Marcus Holloway, an employee of DedSec who intends to take down Blume and CTOS 2.0.

Gameplay -

The game improves on its skill tree allowing players to unlock skills across a variety of categories such as; Botnets, Social Engineering, City Disruption, Tinkering, Marksmanship, Remote RC and Vehicle Hacking, that allow for a more tailored gameplay experience based on the player’s play-style (except if players manage to unlock all skills). Upgrades can be obtained as players earn followers and research points. It should also be noted that some skills require Key Data in order to be unlocked. The gameplay mechanics were validated upon consulting real-life hackers, for authenticity.

Marcus is equipped with a stun gun that can be used in gameplay sections where stealth is imperative or even if players choose to play with a stealthy approach as opposed to just obliterating everyone on their path. Players can obtain various weapons, drones and RC jumper by 3d printing them in the safe house. Enemies can be taken down by strangling them with the weapon’s cord.

Watch Dogs 2 lets players craft their own experience in missions to an extent, where players can either complete their objectives stealthily or by wiping out everyone on their path or even by just sending in the RC Jumper and Drone to complete their objectives (although there are a few missions that require Marcus’s presence).

(For stealth players only) The best stealth experience can be gained by using the stun gun to temporarily stun the enemies as killing them depopulates the level making the game boring, as quoted below;

“The vast majority of players embark on relentless concussion rampages, which depopulates a level/ severs connections between systems/ makes the game boring. So the optimal choice results in increasingly worse game” - Robert Yang - Professor, NYU.

World Design -

Watch Dogs 2 takes place around the San Francisco Bay area, CA with the map being roughly twice as big as the original game with tons of content for players to play and experience, keeping players invested in the game for days. The driving mechanic was overhauled to introduce a sense of realism to driving and the world players live in. Level design that supports the mechanics and abilities of the player, the dynamics, placements of the hack-able objects, patrol points of the enemies all come hand in hand in providing a stellar experience to players. 

Conclusion -

The gameplay mechanics, combat, parkour and the world design all contribute to making Watch Dogs 2 a great game to play and experience.

[game-design-break-down]

Batman: Arkham City

Overview -

Batman Arkham City is an open-world action video game, whose main storyline revolves around Batman’s imprisonment in Arkham City, incorporating stealth and predator tactics.

Gameplay -

The game features the same combat system and predator modes as the first game (Arkham Asylum). Batman also has all of the gadgets previously obtained in the first game at the start of Arkham City (except line launcher and Ultra Batclaw), with most of them having improved or new capabilities.

The improved free flow combat of the game is snappy with Batman snapping from enemy to enemy on pressing the strike button, also allowing for multiple counters. The camera pulls back and out during combat allowing players to see all the enemies attacking. The predator sequences are as fun as they were in the first game with the AI reactions and capabilities improved over the first one.

The improved combat system includes changes and upgrades to the counter mechanic, batclaw and batarang attacks and allows the use of multiple gadgets such as exploding gel, freeze blast and more in the free flowing combat.

The AI reacts to every move made by Batman and their reactions often lead to exciting gameplay segments. Guards patrolling areas by scanning the gargoyles wanting to smoke Batman out or guards firing in random directions & walking closely with other guards out of fear all provide opportunities for using different tactics and encounters, and not to mention it also looks very lifelike and believable.

Players play as Batman, grappling and gliding across Arkham City to complete the main mission objectives, side quests and even just free roam. Moving across the open world design of the game is so much easier thanks to the upgrade to Batman’s gliding ability, allowing players to dive downward and pull themselves back up, increasing momentum and making it easier to move through the air.

Catwoman is also a playable character for a good portion of the game and players can switch between her and Batman upon completing the main story. Catwoman has her own gadgets she can use in combat to her advantage and has her own version of detective mode called “Thief Vision” to reveal items for stealing and more. 

The levels are designed to support the abilities and playstyle of both playable characters. The levels have varied elevation, wide or open spaces for hand-to-hand combat sequences to support the free flowing combat system and good placement of snipers and gunmen that force players to take them out in anyway they see fit, which play a major role in providing the intended experience to players. 

The game also features various side activities/quests upon completing the main story, that also include 436 Riddler challenges to keep the players engaged for long.

Conclusion -

Batman Arkham City earned the title “GAME OF THE YEAR” being the best designed game of the series from story, to AI, to the open world and provides players with a great fun experience that makes you feel like Batman! 

If only we got a Superman game of this caliber...