kuehnau's Profile - Metacritic

Average User Score: 8.0

Feb 4, 2019

8

Fans of the franchise have been waiting almost two decades for Kingdom Hearts 3, so now that it's finally here, how well does it stand upFans of the franchise have been waiting almost two decades for Kingdom Hearts 3, so now that it's finally here, how well does it stand up against it's memory with an aging fan base?

For all intents and purposes it's a Kingdom Hearts game through and through. It still has the same spirit and soul that the previous entires in the game have. The combat mechanics have been refined fairly well, without straying too far from the path. The game looks about as good as it ever did.

With that being said, there are some flaws in this diamond.

To begin with, there is a technical aspect to the game that can sometimes be borderline disappointing. When the Xbox One and Playstation 4 Pro made their debuts, both companies made a point to hammer in the fact that all games would work across all consoles, games wouldn't suffer on the older hardware, but instead, users could expect a better, more premium experience with the newer, updated models of hardware.

Unfortunately, that doesn't appear to be the case with Kingdom Hearts 3. Playing on the original PS4 or the Slimline models, players are going to be faced with slightly muddier colors, jagged textures and a frames issue that can bounce anywhere from 60FPS, to 30FPS and in some cases, down into the low twenties. It's 2019, this game has been in development for 15 years, this kind of technical performance and occasional slow down isn't accetable anymore and I am surprised Square thought htis would be okay.

While the graphics look great on the Playstation 4, many of the character models have a tendency to lack emotions in their faces. A lot of the times, they look like pieces of clay that are talking. This tends to lead to a lot of weird, uncanny valley moments where the dialog being spoken isn't being properly displayed on faces.

The dialog and writing is another aspect really aren't up to standard. A lot of the English voice acting sounds off, not a lot, but enough for people to question what's going on. How characters talk and the inflection of their voices aren't always great and a lot of the dialog can come off as overly cheesy.

One of the most early surprises in the game for many people familiar with the franchise is a complete lack of dialog from Phil. A character that is usually overly chatty and sarcastic is completely silent in the game, giving them an almost errie feeling. This was a terrible decision from Square and it's one of the most obvious glairing flaws early on in the game.

Finally, for a game franchise that started off with quite a bit of darker undertones, more often than not, the game feels way too overly cheery and feels like Disney had a much larger impact on the development of the game, going as far as having special movies, skills and spells that actually mimic some of their well known attraction park rides. The game, writing and dialog feels overly optimistic to the point that it negatively impacts the game.

At the end of the day, it's a great game with some flaws that I feel like, personally, could have been buffed out if Square simply had paid a bit closer attention to details.… Expand

27 of 30 users found this helpful

Yakuza 0

Average User Score: 8.0

Jan 30, 2019

4

I got Yakuza 0 in this month's Humble Bundle.

I was really looking forward to playing this game since I had been eyeing it this game onI got Yakuza 0 in this month's Humble Bundle.

I was really looking forward to playing this game since I had been eyeing it this game on STEAM for awhile. Honestly, I'm glad I never pulled the trigger on this title.

When I first saw it on STEAM, the store page game me the idea it would have been kind of like Grand Theft auto, only with Yakuza. And it's not really the case at all.

For me, Yakuza 0 really feels like a visual novels with some sparse moments inbetween where you can walk around, get in fights, that sort of thing, but the game was never deep enough or interactive enough to be able to really capture my attention all that much. It feels more like a Grand Theft Auto Super Lite.

The city map isn't all that big and the things you have access to are few and far between, there are very few times that you are really given the chance to actually make any sort of decisions and when you do, it never feels like it has any real sort of impact.

The game boasts that it is "open world", but I disagree completely with that sentiment. The game likes to give you the illusion of an open world, but you are actually railroaded into a very specific story with a very specific plot. There isn't much variation in it and even if you do somehow manage to stray a bit away from the beaten path, they still manage to drag you back in to what they invisioned.

Another aspect that I found fairly annoying is that this game is rated "M" for mature for Blood, Intense Violence, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Use of Alcohol. It's pretty ironic that Yakuza 0 managed to get a "M" rating and actually fail to deliver on almost any of these aspects.

If you are going to be a "M" rated game, then you should own it. Yakuza 0 actually goes out of it's way to constantly avoid showing any sort of graphic violence. The blood shown in the game is fairly tame by almost all standards, the "intense violence" is PG-13 at best, use of alcohol is some dudes drinking beers and as far as sexual content goes? If you consider lingerie that literally covers everything then you are a pearl pearl clutching prude. Sure, they say the "Eff" word, but so does everone at my job.

Long story short, Yakuza 0 fails to deliver on almost every aspect advertised.… Expand

0 of 2 users found this helpful

YIIK: A Postmodern RPG

Average User Score: 4.5

Jan 19, 2019

4

What starts off appearing to be a delightful, Earthbound inspired meta RPG quickly devolves into unpolished schlock almost as soon as you areWhat starts off appearing to be a delightful, Earthbound inspired meta RPG quickly devolves into unpolished schlock almost as soon as you are given control over the main protagonist.

The main character's constant inner monologues get tiresome even befor the half hour mark simply because they feel a overwhelming desire to constantly repeat what was either already said or shown just seconds before hand. It isn't endearing in any sort of aspect.

The graphical assets of the game are wonderful, but is almost always constantly marred by ugly artwork in contrast. Good examples are paintings hung on walls that look like they were ripped stright from Google Images, basketballs that are photorealistic that don't even roll when kicked, ect.

Character animation is another one that looks janky and ugly. The models themselves look great, but their movement is stilted and jarring as if they are missing a number of frames from them, but then other animations, such as water moving or trees swaying move just fine on their own.

I think the worst aspect of the game and one that happens to effect the game the most is combat. Every single action, from attacking, to dodging and even running away are made into these stupid little mini games. The first time you fight, it's okay, but now try playing a RPG that has hours worth of content having to play the same mini games over and over and over again. It's simply terrible and out of all of the issues I have with the game, this one is the worst, this is the one that caused me to HATE this game.

There's a lot to like about YIIK, but unfortunately there's so much to dislike about the game it's impossible to actually enjoy, which is a massive shame.… Expand

1 of 2 users found this helpful

Batman: Arkham Origins

Average User Score: 7.5

Jan 18, 2019

5

There has been plenty of Batman games ever since the franchise first took off, many of those games fell into either an action adventure or aThere has been plenty of Batman games ever since the franchise first took off, many of those games fell into either an action adventure or a side scrolling beat-em-up arcade game.

When Arkham Asylum first came on to the scene, it changed a lot of what we expect for Batman games. Unfortunately the design and game mechanics were so popular at the time of release that it simply encouraged game developers to continue to copy the play mechanics for every iteration going forward.

While this is an enjoyable game, that doesn't mean there aren't glairing issues with the product. The biggest being that it's simply a mimic of it's predecessors. You really aren't going to find anything new or unique with the game if you've played the previous installments.

"Detective Mode" can be a frustrating experience. It often involves you just wandering around a crime scene, scanning objects until you meet a certain percent of the current investigation and then using Batman's seemingly magical technology to reconstruct the crime scene, to the point you can even reward and fastforward it. It's tedious and boring. It would have been better if they had just changed these into cutscenes or something. As it is right now, the only thing I can see this mechanic as, is filler to pad out the length of the game.

Combat can be satisfying at times, but relies on a lot of context senestive situations and as a result, players are often going to just find themselves mashing buttons instead of engaging in any sort of meaningful combat. This problem is often compounded by the fact most boss fights in this game are really nothing more than a series of quick time events.

It's not a bad game by any means, but it features many repetitive mechanics in the game that can make it long winded and tedious. If you are a fan of the other games, it's likely you'll enjoy this one too, but I recommend you wait to buy this game until it's on sale.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful

Final Fantasy

Average User Score: 9.1

Dec 29, 2018

7

Final Fantasy for the PSP is a remake of the classic RPG that first appeared on the Nintendo Entertainment System.

It features updatedFinal Fantasy for the PSP is a remake of the classic RPG that first appeared on the Nintendo Entertainment System.

It features updated graphics that look wonderful, a slightly lower difficulty, a bestiary and more. It all sounds wonderful, doesn't it?

Well, that's before you start to notice the downgrades in the game that for whatever reason the developer decided to put in.

To begin with, the game normally feels easier than the tough as nails NES game, but there's theres weird spikes in difficulty that doesn't really seem to make sense. You'll still spend a lot of time grinding in the game and dying.

Another issue I have is they still haven't fixed the encounter rates, they are still really frustrating and I'm unsure why they didn't do anything about that.

Yet another issue is, there's been item changes, name changes, dialog changes, some stores don't sell what they used to, some spells no longer work with some classes, that sort of thing. You won't be able to use any other guide besides the PSP one, because none of the other guides are going to be accurate.

I honestly don't know why they did it to be honest. Maybe they thought they were balacing out the game, but in reality they may have actually made it more difficult in some sections than it should have been by screwing with these things.

Another small complaint I have is that, for whatever reason they made it so you had to press O + Select to bring up the world map. With the NES this was understandable, they only have a couple of buttons. With the PSP they had more than enough control realestate to just assign a standard button, or even have the option in the game's menu, but now, they kept with the hidden world map thing. Stupid.

Honestly, at the end of the day, there ARE better versions of this game out there. This isn't a bad game by any means, but there was some uneeded changes forced on the game and it's annoying.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful

Mega Man Powered Up

Average User Score: 7.6

Dec 26, 2018

5

Mega Man Powered Up is a PSP game that takes the first Mega Man game and remasters it with 3D graphics on a 2.5D plane. Along with the newerMega Man Powered Up is a PSP game that takes the first Mega Man game and remasters it with 3D graphics on a 2.5D plane. Along with the newer graphics, the game also offers two new robot bosses, a saving system, a new difficulty setting, a option to build your own stages and the ability to unlock extra characters you can play as an alternative to Mega Man.

While this all sounds fabulous, there are issues. To begin with, the character models are kind of squished up, giving it a chibi looking style of art. Also, the game screen is super zoomed in to the point sometimes you'll jump and bump your head on unseen platforms or obstacles.

Further, the game has employed sort of a story based explanation to the game, along with voice acting and cut scenes, but the game largely ignores source material and some of the story telling choices make no sense.

Finally, the game suffers from lag or slow down a lot of the time. When too many enemies are on the screen, the game can slow to a crawl and when you consider the fact most Mega Man games rely on quick reflexs to get past some enemies and obstacles, it becomes a huge issue. Considering the fact this is on the PSP and there are much more graphically intensive games on the platform, it's pretty obvious it is due to poor programming and that is absolutely unacceptable.

A decent little game, if you can overlook it's flaws or are a huge fan of the Mega Man franchise as a whole, you'll most likely enjoy it.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful

Vampyr

Average User Score: 6.9

Dec 9, 2018

5

Vampyre is kind of a hybred of a adventure/horror/rpg/mystery game in which you play as a Doctor who has managed to come down with a bad caseVampyre is kind of a hybred of a adventure/horror/rpg/mystery game in which you play as a Doctor who has managed to come down with a bad case of vampirism. While struggling with his own demons, he also finds himself in the middle of a horrible epidemic of spanish flu.

Your role in the game is to discover why you were turn into a vampire while still trying to hold on your humanity and save as many people as possible, all while groups of hunters and monsters attempt to tear you to ribbions.

The entire concept is actually really good, but it has been implemented poorly as there is a complete lack of polish to the game.

There have been times that dialog spoken and subtitles do not match, as if the voice actors couldn't properly remember what they were supposed to say. Sometimes, there can be multiple vocal dialogs going on at the same time, making it hard to understand who is saying what or what is going on.

Characters have what appears to be almost completely static faces, It's almost impossible to be able to tell how they feel or what they are thinking based on looking at their faces. There are cases in which characters may be talking but their mouths don't even move.

Most of the game enviroments feel like they are nothing more than cattle paths, pushing you to a specific location or place. A bigger issue arises when locations are built maze like and you are never quite sure where you are supposed to go. Add to the fact the quest tracker for the game is complete garbage and it can be a overall frustrating experience trying to get a job done.

For a game that likes to tout that your decisions and choices matter, a lot of times it feels like the developers (or in this case the writers) often try to shoehorn you into many decisions to meet whatever criteria they have for the writing of the story.

As RPGs go, I never really felt immersed in the game, because I couldn't put myself in the role of the main character and the game refused to allow me to make choices that I would want, instead simply forcing the character's opinions on me. What makes this even more frustrating is the game never really gives you any clear ideas on what your choices will do or how they will change the landscape, comebine that with a completely unforgiving save system that refuses to allow you to back track.

Combat is the worst part of the game by far, especially with the stamina system they have in place. Playing as a vampire you should feel powerful, but often everyone else around you is more powerful than you in almost all aspects. What kind of vampire gets tired after swinging an axe two or three times? I mean honestly!

Enemies are often at much higher levels than you, putting you at a constant disadvantage. Expect to die. A lot. You'll constantly encounter quests that are 5 or 6 times out of your level range, the only way you'll know they don't expect you to be there yet is by going in to an area and dying. When I bought this game, I wasn't under the impression this was some sort of Dark Souls knock off.

It really is a beautiful game under all of this rust, but I would never be able to recommend this game to anyone at it's full retail price. If you can get it at a discount (like I did), go for it. Otherwise I'd suggest you wait.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful

Yooka-Laylee

Average User Score: 6.5

Dec 3, 2018

4

Yooka-Laylee is inspired by retro platforms like Banjo Kazooie, Super Mario 64 or Gex. It's another run of the mill collect-a-thon games thatYooka-Laylee is inspired by retro platforms like Banjo Kazooie, Super Mario 64 or Gex. It's another run of the mill collect-a-thon games that require you to run, jump and swim through worlds, collecting random odds and ends in order to unlock newer worlds, events and skills.

It's a beautiful looking game and when you turn the settings up to max, it really outshines even some of the more modern releases of games in the same genre.

With that out of the way, I have nothing nicer to say about Yooka-Laylee.

The game worlds are huge, often too large, if you ask me. Much of the space is completely empty, leaving you wandering around while you look for the bits and pieces you need to collect to progress in the game. Even enemies are amazingly sparse in the game. If the developers would have made the worlds smaller and more populated I feel as if the game would have been significantly more enjoyable.

As it is, the game feels like it's 90% mini games and 10% action and adventure. Some of the worst aspects of the game are all of the racing trials the game puts you through. They aren't handled well and are amazingly frustrating, combine that with super poor hit detection and slippery as ice controls and you are gonna be in for a bad time.

On the surface, this game looks like it would be great for children, on the contrary, the game can be so so frustrating that I can see younger players throwing controllers and melting down in frustration over the game. I myself ended up doing the first racing challange about a dozen times before I was able to beat it and by the time I was done, I was already sick of the game.

Frankly, I don't know if I can even bring myself to complete this game. Yes, it's a throwback to an earlier games from yesteryear, but even those games knew how to package it and present it to the players. Yooka-Laylee does it all completely wrong and brings out the worst aspects in this genre of games.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful

Code of Princess

Average User Score: 5.7

Dec 2, 2018

5

Code of Princess is a mobile game that was ported over to various other platforms, including the PC.

As for what it is, it is your standardCode of Princess is a mobile game that was ported over to various other platforms, including the PC.

As for what it is, it is your standard beat-em-up game that mixes in some light RPG like elements and a equipment system.

If you are a fan of games like Streets of Rage, this game might be for you. If not, well it's rather grindy and is going to require you to take time to actually level up character in order to be able to actually finish the game.

The games not bad, but it uses the leveling and equipment system to increase the length of the game. Without it, I doubt this game would be more than an hour or so worth of play. As it stands, I wasn't a huge fan of it.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful

Fallout 76

Average User Score: 2.6

Nov 27, 2018

0

Fallout 76 is as much of a Fallout game as that awful Brotherhood of Steel game was.

3 of 4 users found this helpful

kuehnau

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