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kai2
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This user has reviewed 6 games. Awesome! You can edit your reviews directly on game pages.
Created on 18 June, 2026 19:32
Bound By Flame
Created on 06 September, 2019 00:17
Updated on 21 April, 2020 00:34
Bound By Flame

Played on PS4

If you demand smooth gameplay, pristine graphics, and a long, complex storyline, look elsewhere. This is not a AAA title. If you want a good combat system and characters (albeit some cheesy dialogue) in a basic storyline -- and can look past "jank" and budget limitations -- this game can be a lot of fun. Having now finished it twice using very different combat styles (yes, contrary to what you might have heard, you can make it through as a tank without ever using pyromancy!), I can say it's solid, endearing AA fantasy fare, but not a "hidden gem." For a handful of dollars you could do much worse.

8 gamers found this review helpful
Blackguards Special Edition
Created on 21 July, 2019 06:06
Updated on 21 July, 2019 06:26
Blackguards Special Edition

The crushing vice that is Blackguards

If you are extremely well-versed in The Dark Eye role playing system, Blackguards may be quite playable, but for me -- a novice to The Dark Eye -- the first act seemed difficult but fair... but the second act suddenly spiked to an impossible difficulty. With no way to respec skills and attributes, I found myself in battles that I could not win. Period. And that was after starting the game a 2nd time to pay close attention to my skill point allocations! When I figured out I was in a dead end, I dropped the difficulty from "normal" to "easy" (something I never do in games). After that, I enjoyed the game quite a bit -- even with some bugged quests and unclear battle map goals). The voice acting is fine and the characters are fun. With the coming of act 3, the story becomes genuinely involving (althouigh don't expect to care deeply about anything here). Overall, Blackguards as a good game hampered by a lack of clarity in the skill system and terrible balance issues / difficulty spikes that feel very close to "game breaking." I'd suggest getting the game cheap and playing on "easy"... unless you love torure.

3 gamers found this review helpful
Created on 04 July, 2019 21:25
Mafia III: Definitive Edition
Created on 11 August, 2018 20:01
Mafia III: Definitive Edition

Mafia III misfire

Mafia 1 and 2 are two of my favorite story-driven "open world" games of all time. Mafia III is not. A new protagonist, Lincoln Clay, freshly back from Vietnam pushes a Louisiana revenge story. Revenge isn't usually the sole anchor of a mafia narrative, and Mafia III doesn't feel like a mafia story as much as a 60's/70's blaxploitation revenge tale. In the telling of the tale, Mafia III stumbles again; it uses completely unengaging Congressional testimony footage too often (isn't Congressional testimony footage emotional and engaging?) as a narrative device and follows that up with flashbacks that hold absolutely no emotional no weight. It's clear that there was the ambition to tell a sprawling story of race, revenge, and chaos in the 60's deep South, but there wasn't a concerted effort to effectively tell a mafia story with a strong, emotional story. The only aspect of storytelling that works at all in the game are the characters. Clay is almost painfully boring and one-note, but many of the new characters inhabiting New Bordeaux are quite interesting. It's too bad they weren't part of an engaging story. Gameplay in Mafia III is a mess. From broken mechanics to terrible AI and repetitive tasks, gameplay quickly becomes a chore. At one point I whistled 20 times, lured 20 enemies out a single door and strangled all 20, one-at-a-time. Mixed with a lack of weapon balancing, terrible driving mechanics, and a generally non-reactive world, there's little to enjoy from gameplay. In fact, Godfather II, a game from 2009, uses many of the same systems more successfully and is overall a much better game. In the end, Hangar 13 tried to make a revenge game about race and the 60's, but they forgot they were making a mafia game. I firmly believe 2KCZECH could have made a mafia game that encapsulated all of those same ideas and themes but was a fun and engaging mafia game. Other than an absolutely amazing soundtrack, Mafia III is a severe misfire.

31 gamers found this review helpful
Mafia II (Classic)
This game is no longer available in our store
Created on 31 March, 2018 20:58
Mafia II (Classic)

A story-driven crime classic!

If you've played the smart and tragic ode to early 20th century organized crime movies Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven or the specific but complex muddy, bloody narrative of medieval Bohemia Kingdom Come: Deliverance, you're aware of Daniel Vavra's superb writing. His passion is clear in the story, characters, and plotting, and Mafia II is no different. The characters are complex, yet funny and familiar. Every scene feels that it could have been ripped from The Godfather, Once Upon a Time in America, or any of a number of other gangster classics. The writing of Mafia II is top tier. The gameplay of Mafia II is a mixed bag. Driving can be a bit cumbersome (although less so than Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven where early autos were heck to drive) and gunplay isn't quite as tight as shooter fans would hope, but it's all enjoyable and wrapped in great sound effects and music. I can remember specifically one gunfight where glass was shattering and it gave the exchange a feeling I hadn't had since Black. And to the driving, Empire Bay -- although limited in interaction -- is a great, atmospheric drive. You will spend a fair amount of time behind the wheel, but the place never gets boring. On the outside Mafia II looks like a period GTA, but it's far from it. Although you can get into trouble, beat people up, explore the world's sights, and become wanted by police, Mafia II's gameplay is tethered more closely to story than GTA. If you're going to go rogue and wander, forgetting story advancement, you'll lose interest fast. This world is atmospheric and beautiful, but the depth here is the story and not side activities or mini-games. Were there any? Mafia II's limited open world reminds me of LA Noire, a great place to cruise and listen to the radio, but if you want any meat to the gameplay, you better get back to the story (BTW, played Mafia II after LA Noire, and although I admire Rockstar, I felt Mafia II was a better all-around experience). Having played all of the Godfather and Mafia games, this is the one I return to over-and-over -- like re-watching The Godfather on a yearly basis. Brilliantly realized, Mafia II should be in the library of anyone who enjoys games about organized crime. It's a classic.

2 gamers found this review helpful