Recent reviews by solaris32

Act 2 update posted April 28, 2015
I replayed Act 1 and went on to beat Act 2. Everything I already said about Act 1 stays true in Act 2. Act 2 is about another 8 hours if you take the time to talk to everyone and try to do every combo of item with person/thing you can. The puzzles are a little more difficult which is good, but at the end of the game figuring out exactly what to do can be a little annoying what with the multiple possibilities of the "wire puzzle".

The answers to what is going on are basically answered, but not to the depth I (and I'm sure many others) would have preferred, especially given the implications of what it meant. If you're worried about a cliffhanger, there isn't one; it just feels like there could (and hopefully will) be more to the story when you beat it. Sequel perhaps? There easily could be one.

Overall I did enjoy this Act 2 and I feel it was very well done. One of the more memorable point n' click adventure games in a long time.

Posted Jan 29, 2014
As of this writing only Act 1 is available but boy did I have a good time! Act 1 is only about 4 hours if you take your time, but what is there is so superb you're not likely to mind. The story is so well put together with truly excellent dialog voiced by professionals. If you didn't already know, this is a point and click adventure game with 2 main characters that have their own unique and separate, but ultimately converging, story. One story is of Shay, a lonely boy who is on a spaceship with only his AI "mother" and "father" for company, while all he gets to do is play boring child-like games. The other story is Vella who is in a pre-industrial civilization and must prepare for the Maiden's Feast. I can't say more without spoilers.

You may notice a lot of people complaining about the puzzles. What they are actually saying is that the puzzles in this game are all logical and usually have a clear goal given to you. Because of this the puzzles aren't convoluted and illogical like in so many adventure games prior. My only complaint is that the puzzles here aren't complicated at all, but this is only the first act and I expect they will get more challenging in Act 2.

I can't say much about the characters you will meet or places you will go without spoilers, so I'll just say that the people you meet and interact with are all imaginative and well done, no complaints. Although this game doesn't have an examine feature (or taste, touch, etc.) I do like all the different reactions from people as you use items on them. Some are fairly funny with a few adult-oriented jokes thrown in.

I saved the best for last: the ending. Oh man was this cliffhanger of an ending amazing! I seriously can't say more without possibly ruining it and that would be a travesty. For me at least the ending had me continuing to think about and examine the game hours after I had beaten it and even as I was trying to go to sleep. In the context of the game it is so thought provoking, bringing with it many more questions than it answers. I can say I haven't been looking forward to the conclusion in a game with this much anticipation and desire in a long time.

So is this game worth 25 bucks? Right now it only has Act 1 that is 4 incredible hours, with Act 2 to come in the future for all current and future owners. If you want the most bang for your buck right now then you should probably wait for a sale or Act 2 to arrive. If you know you want this game but are thinking you'd rather wait until it's all done, don't! Part of the impact and effectiveness of the Act 1 ending is the fact you can't immediately proceed in the story to see the conclusion. Instead you are forced to think and mull it over, analyzing what it means and could mean. Conclusion: buy this game now or soon if you can and know you want it, otherwise be sure to get it later.

As a huge fan of RE4 and even RE5, I really enjoyed this 3DS port. What I enjoyed of the previous games was the over the shoulder camera and having to watch your ammo while you fight monsters. There are many differences of course, good but not necessarily better, though certainly not worse.

GENERAL INFO
If you've played RE4/5 you'll know generally what to expect here, if not check out screenshots and videos for this game. The vast majority of the game takes place on a large cruise ship. During the course of the game you will explore it and find keys that unlock more of the ship to progress the story. Every once in a while the game will switch to a different duo and play as them for a little while with preset weapons. Not my favorite parts but they do help break up the monotony of the ship and explain more of the story.

GUNS
Where the game shines are the weapons and upgrades. You can have any 3 weapons equipped, even 3 pistols if you wanted though that's stupid. There are pistols, shotguns, smgs/assault rifles, long range rifles, and magnums. For each weapon type there are different guns you will find with differing stats. When you find a gun and take it back to your storage box thing you will have it forever (the gun you dropped is returned too). This is how you switch out your guns and change their upgrades, you can't do it anywhere for obvious balance reasons. Upgrading guns is a lot of fun. Each gun has anywhere from 1 to 5 slots for upgrades, and you can apply upgrades and take them off at will. Upgrades include the standard fare of higher damage, higher bullet capacity, faster reload, etc. and many more unique ones.

YOUR AI PARTNER
By far the biggest advantage this game has, especially over RE5, is that although you have an AI partner he can safely be ignored. In RE5 even if you were playing solo, you still had to manage your AI partners inventory and keep them alive, but thankfully they were generally fairly smart though still a hassle. Here your AI partner is invincible, the enemies pretty much always push past him to come after you, and while your partner can shoot they rarely seem to. Are they useless? Yes. Do they stay out of your way and present no hassle for you and let you enjoy the single player experience you want? Thank goodness yes! Of course you can play co-op if you wanted, but it's far from forced.

PLAYTHROUGH INFO
Your first playthrough on normal if you are reasonably thorough and don't try to rush it will take you about 8-10 hours. Like in RE4 there is a new game+ mode where you keep all your weapons and ammo from before and start over. That's already fun, but this game has an infernal difficulty which you can, and are probably expected to, play on a new game+. This mode features a lot more enemies, enemies in different places than normal, and even enemies early on you wouldn't normally see until later in the game. Furthermore, items are in different places and nothing at all like on normal. Infernal mode is practically a whole new game!

RAID MODE
As if all this wasn't awesome enough there's this RPG-progression-like mode called Raid Mode. In it you do a quick mission where your goal is to find the exit. There are many of these missions, and as you do them you gain experience which allows you to level up. The higher level missions will let you find higher level weapons, of which you need to be the appropriate level to wield. The weapons will have increased stats and effects, very similar to Borderlands random gun drops. You can prepare for each mission using what you've earned/bought. Yes there is a store which resets every time you enter it. You can easily spend dozens of hours on this mode alone. This mode can also be played in co-op if you wish.

CONCLUSION
If you liked RE4/5 definitely check this game out, you aren't likely to be disappointed. If you've never played them before take a look at some lets plays for a good idea.
P.S. Review was 1700 chars too long, had to shorten >.<.

If you like ARPGs (games like Diablo) then you are sure to find enjoyment in Torchlight 2. This game does everything the first did but better. The few complaints I could make about this game are fixed with mods (a mod with more HUD info and a skill reset option is highly recommended for any player). The game is a solid 20 hours to beat (more if you explore everything like me, less if you do only the story missions). But that's not all! You've got new game plus which you can do a few times and maps you can buy in the final act for random dungeons with a boss at the end. And then you get to do it all again for a different experience with the 3 other characters, with advice to do them on a higher difficulty using loot from your "main". And did I mention each of the 4 classes has at least 2 unique builds? Wait, and there's mods for more classes too? The replayability here is insane!

But the inevitable comparison must come: how does this compare to Diablo 2? Most of it comes down to pure opinions because there's little that can be pointed out in either game and described as clearly better. In a way this is a good thing because it means both are very good games at what they do. However which is better can only be determined by you. There might be a few quirks in this game you don't like. Or maybe you're like me and prefer this over Diablo.

Play the demo to be sure, but if this game looks interesting and you're a fan of ARPGs then it's highly unlikely you'll be disappointed.

I can't recommend this game enough, buy it!

The best Far Cry game by far, and a really awesome FPS in general. The linear path you're given is so huge it doesn't really feel that linear, but instead presents to you many ways to approach your goal. The game also isn't short either, being at least a dozen hours in length. If you like shooters and trees, buy this game.

Best multiplayer game ever (after Paladins).