Recent reviews by Weeddrunken

(v.1.9.0)
With version 1.9.0 EA introduced EA's Anticheat to the game, which cannot be disabled e.g. for offline-play. This software generally prevents running other services (mods) next to it. And this "technology" was implemented 9 months after the game release, but the software existed long before and could've easily been implemented back then. But, then EA wouldn't have sold as many copies on release.
My other personal issues are that EA Sports WRC neither uses the Frostbite Engine nor the UE5, but forbids us to use ReShade to make the old UE4 engine look less outdated. And the more arcadish controls compared to DIRT Rally 1/2 are also an absolute downer for me. Why, just why?
https://sp.zhabite.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3068889169

Two Workarounds...
https://sp.zhabite.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3293220256
https://sp.zhabite.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3414541265
See also...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MauEld_Pi0

10/10
Oh boy, Chucky never gets old!
A truely fantastic implementation of a Chucky themed pinball table. With lots of details, the original sound fx, some nice table customizations and I simply enjoy the campaign mode to unlock more atmosphere to your beloved mature pinball table room. Definitely worth your time and money - especially if you're missing your beloved murder doll.
Verdict: "I hate children - let's play." quote Chucky

TopSpin 2K25 looks, feels and plays very well for the first few hours and is in many areas an improvement over the 13 year old predecessor. Although it is massively missing out on the player roster, especially for its hefty NBA-2K alike price tag. But therefore not on the monetized content-related clothing part of this tennis game. Which could be okay as an addition, but when the only updates for the game are not focusing on gameplay or bugs but only on this monetized cloth-related content, something is far off (classical 2K btw). But moreover TS2k25 is lacking in gameplay depth, a lot. And that is simply a no-go for me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOrvHkEvApY
PS: I highly recommend giving TE4 a chance!
https://sp.zhabite.com/steamstore/app/760640/Tennis_Elbow_4/

2/10 "Not even proper ultra-widescreen support..."
...and only 15% of the 10,360 reviews are positive at this time, which should be enough to pass on this one.
Verdict: Refunded. <3

10/10
Play with Dukes' balls of steel.
A truely fantastic implementation of a Duke Nukem themed pinball table. With lots of details, the original sound fx, some nice table customizations and I simply enjoy the campaign mode to unlock more atmosphere to your beloved mature pinball table room. Definitely worth your time and money - especially if you're all outta gum.
Verdict: "Death Pinball before Disco."

8/10
"Very enjoyable story with a great atmosphere."
First off, 'The Invincible' is like a digital book and not a walking simulator. The main focus of this game lies on the perception and immersion the one in front of the screen obtains, while visually exploring the world around the exciting story. And the 'The Invincible' delivers regarding those aspects. The story's atmosphere is fantasticallly supported by the excellent music, voice acting and sound. As well as by some but few decisions you have to choose from. Visually I have excpected a bit more from the UE5 tbh, as it's not like "omg next-gen". But it feels pretty optimized (4800x2000 'ultra' @60fps ~135Watt), which was not that common in 2023(!) and don't get me wrong it does look pretty nice overall and has nice animations, too. Still what's a total bummer for me is the missing ultra-widescreen support, as well as a preferrable tobii eye tracker support - as this would have benefited the immersion so much. And in the end that is the reason for me to give an 8 instead of a 9/10, for this otherwise really enjoyable experience I had.
Verdict: Great story, but no ultra-widescreen support is a no go in 2023.

The Good: You'll fall into a deep fantasy book, which is affected by your decisions and actions.
The Bad: The poor implemented inventory system.
The Ugly: The need to find more time to play it a second time.

8.5/10
"The Darksouls of Motorbike Racing is finally back."
I didn't expect much to be honest, but TT3 has definitely surprised me positively! Even there is not that much of a change overall. But the small open-world without this modern hipster trash stuff is already kinda priceless and a very nice addition. Also the handling, speed, feeling, tracks, ai, controls, options, difficulty settings, visuals (when using ReShade), performance, ... everthing is smooth and jsut feels aligned! I haven't run into any bug or crash, TT3 feels like an actual gold-status title - yes in in nowadays gaming industry. Nevertheless I wish for 6 features PLZ: 1) open every road on this beautiful island and make them driveable! (even if it's a paid dlc), 2) an option to see friend's ghost-bikes, 3) let us adjust the position of the minmap in the hud (24:10 ultra-widescreen rider speaking here), 4) the rain drops need to drip off the windshield depending on your speed/physics, 5) add some production motorcycles (even if it's a paid dlc), 6) and maybe add some more different faces to the fans/crowd next to the street. The devs know hat I mean. ;)
Verdict: The reference for open-road motorbike games. And could easily become the best motorbike game overall, if some features would be added in the future.
TT3 > RiMS > TT2 > RIDE4 (I've never played MotoGP)

Improved Visuals for TT3 (via ReShade):
https://sp.zhabite.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2998274139
Micro Stutter Fix (for Nvidia GPUs):
https://sp.zhabite.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2999403639

Well this is a short one. Do yourselves a favour and just get:
1. Shredders if you are into winter sports,
2. Descenders if you are into downhill, or
3. you could even consider buying Steep from 2016 before getting Riders Republic!

8.5/10
"Great, but could easily be outstanding."
Forza Horizon 5 is definitely a great casual racing game with its' over 690 cars, beautiful graphics and a solid open world, etc. But, imagine this game with a) police - and crimestats and b) gas stations - and the need to refuel!!???!! Just a thought. ;) Happy driving!
Verdict: Definitely improved over Forza Horizon 4, but the two big DLCs are so not worthy.