The game looks fantastic. It runs well. And that's about all we can hope for anymore isn't it?

Let me tell you something. You've already played this game. Probably a dozen times. I know I have. You've cleared the building before. You've swapped your gear for more gear. You've opened the shiny loot container for a bandage that you can't carry. There is nothing new or innovative about this game. It's the same old thing in a new shiny package. It has crafting. Of course it does. Everything has to have crafting these days. Lots of long runs to the next objective. Cause none of us have played any hiking simulators in the past few years. Talent system with special powers? Obviously. Special powers in a cover-based tactical 3rd person shooter...

The gameplay is extremely easy and I find it deeply unsatisfying. The overwhelming majority of quests are kill quests of one degree or another that provide little challenge. The third person view and cover based mechanics directly clash with each other. It's not a shooter. It's Zeus hurling lightning bolts. You can see everyone at all times, all their movements, preparing to throw a grenade, when they pop up, when they go down. You can shoot with astounding accuracy over cover without exposing yourself. And should an enemy actually be hidden, don't worry, theres a superpower that gives you xray vision.

On the point of upgrading gear, they've found a way to make it even less satisfying than its been in all the other games we've been playing since WoW. They seperated the gear with stats from the gear that alters appearance. Ignorning that the majority of the "appearance gear" looks largely similar, now you have two gear screens that you have to maintain and more nonsense sort. What that achieved for me is making it so that I completely ignore my characters appearance. Well done.

Personally, I don't think this game deserves the hype or the success it's recieving. But that's the state of gaming today isn't it? As much as I dislike this game, it's probably going to be one of the best titles to come out of the next month or two.

With the recommend buttons looming below my ever-growing review I'm forced to concede that if you are as disillusioned as I am about the state of gaming these days then you must admit this game does not deserve your support. But what else is there? If you are interested in this game and are willing to knowingly pay more than it is probably worth... then it's ok. It's ok because we don't have a better benchmark right now.

tl;dr This game is like another Wal-Mart popping up in your home town. You know it's not good. You'd rather it wasn't there. But Wal-mart has shiny graphics and it runs well on your PC. So it's not the worst thing in the world to shop there. But your money is better spent elsewhere.

*edit - some commas and some words