The Division 2 - Review

I remember playing The Division a couple of years ago, it had some great gameplay and looked fantastic.  Naturally, when The Division 2 was announced I was pretty excited.  It was recently released and I knew I had to play it as soon as possible.


Walkers Crisps recently enough released a new style of Crisp - Max Strong.  There are a handful of flavors which are really intense including Jalapeno and Cheese.  However, initially, I wasn't too pushed on them.  I found the heat level on them overly intense and could taste that and nothing else.  While I like a little heat I need flavour too.  I gave it time and tried them again and I really loved them and now they are one of my go-to crisps.  Playing The Division 2 I found myself asking was it an instant winner or did it need more time to fully appreciate it?

Story

In the first game, you were dealing with the aftermath of Green Poison - a deadly virus that resulted in the break down a lot of the world as we know it.  Division Agents were activated to try and uphold law and order, along with helping to rebuild.  Several months after the initial outbreak the Strategic Homeland Divison (SHD) network goes dark.  This network connects all Division Agents and its loss will cause chaos, which is where The Division 2 starts. Essentially you need to travel to Washington D.C., get the system online and potentially get the cure for Green Poison.  There will be many obstacles along the way but you won't be alone.

The story in many ways takes a back seat to the gameplay.  Reflecting on it now, there is some good story scattered in the main campaign, but in a lot of ways, the most rewarding stories are the settlements mission which I'll get into later.

Visuals

The visuals in the first game were fantastic, but Ubisoft has stepped up their game even further in The Division 2.  This time you have moved away from the snow-covered streets of New York City and into the beautiful and dire-looking Washington D.C.  The world looks and feels a lot more open and something that really stood out to me was the weather.  Sometimes the sun will be shining, or it could be raining heavily or there could be a light mist.  All of this helped to create a more organic feel in the world.  One of my favorite moments visually is when you are making an incursion into the Capital Building - it feels really intense, smoke everywhere, mortar rounds going off, your character getting stunned, bullets flying everywhere.

Overall the visuals look great and are a welcome upgrade from the original game, I can't even imagine what The Divison 3 will look like (they are totally doing another one).

Music

The music perfectly fits the game, it can often be subtle sounding but always present, that is until the battle tracks start and things get crazy.  The sound moves from light guitar work and low key orchestral sounds to a more intense rock sound.  The composer is Swedish composer Ola Strandh, who worked on a number of video game score including; The Division, World In Conflict, Ground Control and Far Cry 3.

The score comes in at just over two hours and features many great tracks.  My favorite being; 'Prologue 2', 'Balcony Rotary', 'Dock Wrecks', 'Espinoza', 'Fire', 'Hyena Hunt', 'Junior' and 'Take The Capitol'.

The soundtrack is perfect and really helped heighten my overall enjoyment of the game.

Gameplay

There is so much talk about when it comes to the gameplay but I will try to limit it all to a few paragraphs.  I like organisation, so a well-structured menu is a good thing, but sometimes you can have too much of a good thing.  Even the menus have menus, it can be overwhelming at times and some menus feel like they could have been removed and/or simplified.

The weapons are great and there is a huge variety of them.  There is an option to obtain them through missions, buy them, upgrade them, or break them down and make better ones.  The same goes for protective armor.  There is the option to buy and sell items with credits but honestly there is no point, you will find and craft better gear then you will ever find in the shop.  Credits as a whole seem to be a rather useless currency.

There are options to change the look of your character from facial hair and tattoos to clothing.  I didn't feel the need to pimp my agent but it was nice to have the option.  Something I couldn't stand apart from the obligatory loot boxes were the dumbass Fortnite dance moves and other unnecessary gestures you can 'purchase'.  Not only was it unneeded but felt very out of place and clunky.

The Division 2 offers a perks system, you can purchase them by finding SHD Caches around the world.  Quickly I had purchased the all the upgrades I wanted with plenty of SHD caches to spare.  There are also skills you can obtain by doing certain missions, my two favorites were the drone and turret.  Both great for crowd control and even better if you like to play solo like me.

The settlements are a great element of The Division 2, you get to upgrade them see them improving and earn rewards from doing so. I also feel there was a more human element to the settlements than anywhere else in the game.

The enemies in the game can be tough at times and each faction has a different way to attack you. Winning a battle doesn't feel like dumb luck as the AI is pretty sophisticated when it comes to combat. There are strongholds, control points, and many activities you can complete to help reduce the enemy threat and help make Washington D.C. a safe place.

After the story ends what's next?  Well when the story is over, there is not only the Dark Zone which players of the first game will be familiar but also a new enemy. These enemies are so tough the game will let you know that even with Epic gear you need even better gear to stand a chance.  Signature weapons are unlocked which are great powerful weapons that really help clear an area, each of these have their own perks and can be upgraded.

Overall there is some great gameplay but also some really annoying elements and that's without discussing some of the bugs and glitches I encountered while playing - such as my character not responding, almost as though the server connection was lost. The result was occasionally having to reset and return right to the beginning of a long mission, rather than restarting from a checkpoint. 

Final Thoughts

So, after forty plus hours how did I feel?  Not bad.  The story felt a little lacking in places, but the settlements helped in picking up some of the slack.  The visuals and music were spot-on.  The gameplay had a lot of good parts to it but also some bad ones as noted above.  Overall this game was tough to score, higher than a 3 out of 5 for sure, but not quite a 4 out of 5.  I don't like decimal scores but in fairness, I don't see any other way.  The Division 2 gets 3.5 out of 5

Assassins Creed Origins - Review

Another year, another Assassins Creed game.  I have a strange relationship with the series, I like it and I don't.  There is something that intrigues me about the games but at the same time I know I'm letting myself in for a level of disappointment.  I can't quite put my finger on what it is about them, perhaps it's their similarity to Fifa.  A new one gets released each year, there are improvements made each time but in many ways, it's the same game.  Anyway, I finally decided to play Assassins Creed Origins.


Museli.  I am not a big breakfast person but on occasion, I do like some cereal.  Muesli is my fall back cereal, it's not particularly exciting but it's reliable and does the job.  Playing Assassins Creed Origins I found myself asking, was this my muesli?

Story


Where to start?  There is a machine called the Animus, which allows you to see the memories of your ancestors. This is the part of the basis for series, the rest of it revolves around good and evil.  In honesty though that is a huge oversimplification of the series.  Anyhow, I digress.


The game takes place in 48 BCE Egypt and sees you take control of Bayek.  Unfortunately, Bayek is about to have a bad day.  Shortly after the murder of his son, Bayek decides to seek revenge.  Quickly it becomes apparent that this task will be a lot more difficult and intricate than he could have imagined.  It will involve Greece, The Roman Empire and Cleopatra.


Overall the story is okay but feels less like Assassins Creed and more like a stand-alone game.  While there are nods to the series as a whole it feels very isolated from the others.  The closest comparison would be Resident Evil VII Biohazard, it's a good enough story but just doesn't feel like part of the series.

Graphics


The visuals are fantastic, they are lush and the whole world feels really organic.  The pyramids look amazing, the cities, towns and marketplaces feel alive which really helped sucked me into the world.  The people look really detailed and the animals are simply amazing.


Overall the game visual spectacle and is certainly one of the strongest parts of the game if not the strongest part.



Music


The music has a middle eastern sound with a little of the Assassins Creed series music we have gotten used to hearing grated on top of it.  The creator of this score is American composer and performer Sarah Schachner.  Some of her work includes Assassins Creed Unity, Call of Duty: Infinity Warfare and Anthem.


The score runs a little over seventy minutes, my favourite tracks included 'Assassins Creed Origins Main Theme', 'Return of the Medjay', 'I walk on your water' and 'The Alexandrian Pleiad'.


Overall the score is okay but nothing really standout, especially by comparison of the others in the series.

Gameplay


Assassins Creed Origins has overhauled the combat system which has made it more challenging but also more rewarding.  Enemies have levels assigned to them similar to an RPG meaning that running blindly into enemy forts swords and shields swinging is not going to end well.  While you will have many weapons and tools including swords, spears, bows and shields the best weapon/tool in your arsenal is Senu.  Senu is your eagle friend, great for locating objectives, annoying enemies, and marking targets.


There is now a distinct levelling up system which will allow you to unlock new abilities.  Some will allow you to focus on your skills as a warrior, some on stealth and others will unlock new tools.  No matter what your preferred play style is there is something there for everyone.


Similar to previous games there are shops to buy and sell goods along with buying craft materials.  There is more focus on upgrading equipment that in pervious games, so prepare to hunt.


Overall the gameplay was pretty solid with few complaints, I won't lie I missed being able to use my hidden blade whenever I fancied but it's called origins after all.




Final Thoughts

So, after thirty hours how did I feel?  Not bad. The story was alright, the visuals were fantastic, the music was okay and the gameplay was great.  The story was alright but it didn't really add a whole lot to the Assassins Creed Universe.   The visuals and gameplay were the best parts for sure and really helped in improving the series as a whole.  The music was okay but was a far cry from the likes of Assassins Creed Black Flag.  Overall this one gets a slightly underwhelming 3 out of 5

Ghost Recon Wildlands - Review

Welcome to another review! This time around I am playing Ghost Recon Wildlands.  One of the first games I got with the XBOX 360 was Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter, before this point I had never played a Tom Clancy game.  I found it really tough initially, I was used to games that were not as tactically challenging.  After a while, I really got into it,  I then played the sequel which was even better.  Then there was Future Soldier, I remember seeing the trailers and thought yes this is going to kick ass.  There were a number of delays with the game but it finally got released, it was good but was missing something that I just could not put my finger on.  Fast forward to 2016 and Ghost Recon Wildlands was announced,  I immediately signed up for the Beta Test.  While there were elements I liked about it, such as the open world and the impressive visuals there were certain things I didn't like, the driving felt sloppy in all vehicles, in particular, the planes.  When the game was released  I didn't rush to get it.  Recently my buddy (D to the G) loaned me his copy and assured me it was worth the play and was as important as Metal Gear Solid V, which I highly enjoyed.


Bolognese, it's got pasta, sauce, mince and vegetables, all things I like.  Unfortunately, no matter what I add or take away from it I am always a little underwhelmed.  It's incorrect for me to say it's bad, all the elements are there but it just doesn't do it for me.  Playing Ghost Recon Wildlands I found myself was it really for me?

Story


The story is set in Bolivia, there is a cartel called Santa Blanca who have become so powerful, so influential that they have created a narco-state.  The cartel is run by El Sueno, who is a powerhouse of man and looks like he could kill you with his pinky finger or his gravelly voice. The operation is broken into four divisions, Security, Production, Smuggling and Influence, each has multiple Lieutenants (Buchons), an Underboss and a Head.  They need to be taken down before you have a chance of taking on El Sueno.  So, who you gonna call?


Enter the elite team of soldiers known as Ghosts, you play as the Leader Nomad, along with three interchangeable characters, Larry, Moe, and Curley.  There is undercover CIA agent Bowman, who runs point and provides you with all the intel.  She has been working with the local Rebel Leader Pac Katari to help destabilise the cartel.


Overall the story is quite engaging and there are some interesting characters, unfortunately, your teammates are not among them.  There are two endings to the game depending on your percentage completion, great if you like getting 100%.

Visuals


The visuals in the game are simply breathtaking, I loved jumping in a helicopter and surveying Bolivia which has a varied landscape.  There are lightly snowed cover mountains, dense jungle, rural villages, mines and excavations sites.  El Sueno's mausoleum is particularly impressive, being honest it is hard to pin down my favorite area as it all looks so good, even down to smaller details like the water and plant life.  The only downside is that I found it hard to see due to the sun burning my eyes so unfortunately, I relied on using night vision more than should have been necessary.  I messed around with the brightness settings but to no avail.


Overall some very impressive visuals and probably some of the best I have seen to date on the new generation of consoles.


Music

I felt the soundtrack mostly lingered in the background, save for one or two tracks, but with the style of game Ghost Recon Wildlands is that wasn't necessarily a bad thing.  There is a lot of use of both Electric and Spanish guitar, which while both are used quite subtly works well and reminded me of some of the music from Spec Ops the Line, the composer for the soundtrack is:

Alain Johannes, a Chilean-American performer, composer, and producer.  He has been part of many bands including Eleven, Spinnerette, Ten Commandos and What Is This?  Outside of this, he has worked with many talented artists such as PJ Harvey, Queens of the Stone Age, Chris Cornell, UNKLE, and Kelly Clarkson to name but a few.


The soundtrack runs at just over ninety minutes and has more than thirty tracks.  The score isn't amazing but contained some great tracks including 'Wildlands', 'Night Counters', 'Chopper Fight' and 'End of the Road'.

Gameplay

Onto the meat! Ghost Recon Wildlands is a third-person open world tactical shooter.  Running into an enemy camp going for a spray and pray tactic won't generally pay off.  The enemy AI is one of the best I have experienced in a game and their not afraid to run, hide or circle back behind you.  There are multiple types of enemies that are broken into two groups, the Sicarios who are part of Santa Blanca and the security forces know as Unidad (ever wondered who unilads father is?  Now you know).  Unidad has different levels of aggression ranging from one to four patrols, similar to Grand Theft Autos star system.  The team AI left a lot to be desired, unlike previous Ghost Recon games you do not have as much control over them.  This I felt made the game a little less tactical then it could have been, additionally teammates will often do their own thing like getting hit by a train. The commentary by them was often poor, for example 'that was fuckin' close', when there was only one enemy who was nowhere near spotting me or 'I think they know we are here' when you are in the middle of a firefight but not said in a haha kind of way but quite seriously.


There are many, many weapons in the game but as I find in a lot of these games I usually gravitate towards a few and they become my permanent loadout. Wildlands was no different.  My favorite weapons were the M4 A1 Assault Rifle (suppressed), a Drone with an explosive payload and C4 (lots of it).  There is a nice variety of weapons that suit any and all play styles.


The vehicles felt much improved over the Beta Test with once exception, planes.  Planes handle like you are trying to fly a bar of soap with cardboard wings and it has been raining.  The car and helicopter controls handle like a dream.  I can say without a doubt I spent more time in a helicopter than any other vehicle, not only due to their variety but also I got the additional benefit of checking out the picturesque views.   There are boats in the game which was a nice option to have but save for one or two areas were unnecessary.  Two things I found quite funny and certainly took away from the realism element of the game was when the car is full a teammate will get in the boot and you can see his weapon poking out.  If you don't want to wait for your teammates to get in a vehicle drive off without them and as if by magic they will appear beside you, hey presto.


There is a leveling up system but for the most part feels irrelevant.  There are skill trees, and perks to be purchased.  Multiple skill points can be found in every region, however, that in itself is not enough you also have to collect supplies such as Medicine, Communications, Gasoline, and Food.  The early perks require few supplies but later they need a crazy amount which can only really be collected by playing side missions which for the most part are not very interesting and quite repetitive.  Overall the perks are nothing exciting, they help a bit but there are only a few I found to be essential such as maxing out sync shots and some of the drone upgrades.  The rebels also provide support once you complete one of each side mission, these can be upgraded later.  In honesty, I never found them that helpful with the exception of 'call for a vehicle'.


There is a multitude of collectibles including weapons, weapon accessories, skill points and King Slayer files (provided by a dead DEA agent).  I collected most of the King Slayer files to start with but they didn't really add a lot to the experience so I focused on the other collectibles instead.


Overall the game got very repetitive within a short space of time, the only thing keeping it alive at times for me were the visuals and the story.  While I am slow to play co-op I think this game would have been vastly more entertaining had I done so.  It may be something I look into in the future but if I view it from a solo campaign experience I found it to be a little underwhelming.




Final Thoughts

So, after little over thirty hours how did I feel?  Umm, it was alright, far from terrible but also far great.  The story is interesting, the visuals are amazing, the music was okay and the gameplay itself had its moments.  I struggled to rate this game as I felt 3 out of 5 was too low and 4 out of 5 was too high, as I haven't used decimal points for scoring up to this point I am not going to start now.  After much debate, I am giving this one 3 out of 5

Assassins Creed Syndicate - Review

Have you ever eaten a Pot Noodle?  Well, if you haven't I will try to describe the whole experience for you.  You have gone shopping, you are not entirely hungry but could use something & you are on a budget.  Slowly you traverse the isle filled with pasta, noodles & other low cost food stuffs.  Nope, nothing really jumps out at you, but wait what's this - a Pot Noodle - Bombay Bad Boy, that sounds fun.  Check the price, it's on special - yoink!  After paying for it you go home, boil the kettle & just add water.  It tastes good enough at the time but then you finish it & feel empty & disappointed inside.  It was so cheap what did you expect?  You decide not to have one ever again until of course you do, generally with the same results.


That is in nutshell how I feel about Assassin Creed Syndicate & to a degree the series.  I continue to buy & play each of the games, some better that others but with the exception of Black Flag & the first two games in the series I am always left feeling unsatisfied. For some reason I continue to play each one of them that gets released.  Maybe I should give up on the series but I can't help myself I always get drawn toward it & generally get left disappointed.

The game is set in London 1868, the industrial revolution is in full swing. Unfortunately the Templar's have all but taken over London & there is no one to help save the city.  Henry Green seems to be the only Assassin in the City, he asks for help from the Brotherhood but receives none.  I have a small problem here, London is seen at that time to be hugely important but yet the Brotherhood could not muster together anyone to help them? That to me is a bit odd no matter what the state of the Brotherhood some effort should have been made to free the city right?


Enter Jacob & Evie Frye, the brother & sister duo, they see how bad London is & want to free it from oppression. George Westhouse who seems to be their senior says that it is too hard a task, to be patient & wait.  Of course, wait while the Templar's get stronger in London that will make it a lot easier to take them down.  Jacob & Evie decide to take on the task but they are not alone in their fight.  They have many historical figures who are willing to help along with a street gang they form called the Rooks.


The main thorn in your side is Crawford Starrick, the Grand Master Templar.  He loves the sound of his own voice & clearly likes the Conor McGreggor - check out his hair.  Evie & Jacob's mission is to take down Starrick & all his head people along with freeing London.


As in previous games you are another faceless person in the real world who this time you do not get to control at all.  I know people complained about Desmond Miles in the earlier games but I always liked the character.  You were invested in a someone outside of the Animus & this made you more aware of what you were fighting for rather than just being in what felt like another simulation.

Graphically speaking the game looks good & London feels alive.  There is a lot happening around you; people talking to each other, the Thames is filled with ships carrying all kinds of goods, the trains looks impressive & running on top of them is great fun.  While it looks great there always felt like there was something missing.  Perhaps it is because I grew up in London, admittedly it was not in 1868. I just did not get that excited when I climbed landmarks like; Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Nelson's Column & being honest I would have expected to,  they seemed almost too small.  That being said the game as whole looked good.


The music is composed by Austin Wintory & Tripod.  Tripod take care of most of the lyrical performances, which sound like old style pub songs mixed with a dash of comedy.  My favorite songs they perform are; 'The Late Pearl Attaway', 'Jokes Jokes Jokes' 'Tale of Twopenny'.  Austin Wintory composes some good tracks that heavily features strings of all shapes & sizes.  Some of my favorite pieces are 'Top Hats & Sword Canes', 'Men Have Become Monsters', 'A Gauntlet Scherzo' & 'Hooded Allegro Vivace'.


While I enjoyed some of the score the person who stole the show was Bear McCreary.  He composed the music for the add on Jack The Ripper.  The music is intense, pulse pounding & feels more dramatic than the score for the main game.  I can't pick a favorite piece as I enjoyed all of it. At the end I was left wondering how different the overall game would have sounded if he had composed the score for the entire game.

On to the gameplay itself, let's start with combat.  For the most part the combat was fluid & easy to get used to.  The system is definitely more refined than in previous games, this especially noticeable once you start upgrading each of Evie's & Jacob's skills.  Counter attacking opponents feels more straight forward & helps in keeping your combat counter high during fights, this results in awesome finishing moves.


Like in previous titles in the series you have an arsenal at your disposal, the latest addition is the grapple hook.  When I was using it I was reminded of the grapple hook HG Wells uses in Warehouse 13 & how cool it was.  I had a love/hate relationship for it, it was a great way to get around but almost made it too easy & took away from the parkour elements that I enjoyed from the earlier games in the series.


Just like previous games there are things to upgrade, the primary & most important ones being for Jacob & Evie.  The skill trees are broken into brawler, stealth & miscellaneous,  for Jacob I focused on the brawler skill & for Evie Stealth as this naturally suits each of them.  Outside of this you can upgrade your train hideout by completing missions & upgrade the Rooks to make them more effective along with granting you certain bonuses in game.


The main mission assassinations were often really good, you were given choices as to how to kill your mark.  Often you could seek the help of someone close by who could get you close to the target or steal a key to access an area or throw caution to the wind run in there & just kill them outright. I generally mixed between stealing a key or just using a hidden blade to take them down.  The downside to assassinations is the long drawn out death scenes.  The victim tells you that you are wrong they are right & you are not seeing the big picture.  Please Ubisoft I am begging you stop doing this, it was interesting in the early games but now it is just boring & over used.


The differences between Evie & Jacob are vast. Jacob is a go in guns blazing & hope for the best kind of character where as Evie is about thought, stealth & all good things assassins aspire to be.  When using Evie she moves gracefully, her attacks feel more precise & again just feels more like an assassin should.  Then there is Jacob who runs like he has full nappy but rather than change it keeps on going.  He is a brawler & very rough round the edges, while I know this is intentional it just does not feel right.  When I look at Jacob I think of that Father Ted quote, "Dougal, how did you get into the church in the first place? Was it, like collect 12 crisp packets & become a priest?"  I wonder the same thing about Jacob.  When it comes down to it feels like he is an assassin because his dad & sister are. I think the game would have played out better had it focused on Evie & had Jacob as minor character.


There are some great characters in the game that really add to the gameplay such as, Alexander Graham Bell who you have great interactions with & is a very likable character.  Charles Dickens was another great character & his ghost hunting/disproving missions where really fun.  Lydia Frye is a character that you can play during a World War I sequence, while I liked her character the missions were not very exciting especially if you consider those in Assassins Creed Unity.  Crawford Starrick left me feeling deflated, he was not a great villain, spent too much time yammering on & generally did not ever move out of his study.   He reminded me of an 80's/90's villain but instead giving cheesy dialogue it was just plain old bad & the climax with him was, well meh.

So after 30+ hours of gameplay how would I rate Assassins Creed Syndicate, thumbs up, thumbs down or just meh?  I have to say guys I have to give it a 'Meh' rating.  The combat was good, some good story & some great characters.  That all being said a lot of the story was dull & some characters just did not hit their mark.  When Ubisoft releases another assassins Creed game will I buy it? Yes. Perhaps I am just junkie or maybe I feel if I run at a wall enough times that eventually the outcome will be different.