Recent reviews by csbh3

This game is awesome. I was skeptical as a fan of Destiny and Destiny 2 about the direction for this game, but I am pleasently surprised; time will only tell how the microtransactions end up, but so far they are completely ignorable.

I find myself thinking about the game constantly when I'm not playing it. I've personally gotten plenty of mileage out of solo queuing, and I've played a few rounds in duos, and both experiences are fun and polished. I cannot speak for squad play but I imagine its much the same. The codex and lore you earn by playing is also a big pull for me, I like the style of the storytelling and the content of what I've learned so far about the mystery of the Tau Ceti colony.

I'd never tried an extraction shooter before Marathon and I'm not sure if they are all good or if Marathon just rocks, but Marathon is extremely fun and the gameplay loop is addictive, exhilarating, and heartbreaking all in one. I enjoy it overall.

Starfield unfortunately is just not fun to play. After playing it on launch and for several days, 174 hours total and well into most quest lines in the game, I cannot recommend it. The game falls flat in so many ways that it's almost hard to really express why I kept playing it. I guess I was waiting for it to get better.

It feels dated when you play it; the combat, movement, and AI are not up to par for a modern AAA studio release and is not much different from Fallout 4, which came out 8 years ago. I'd argue the combat is actually worse in Starfield as you can't pause with VATS, and the melee system is a solid downgrade from Fallout 4 in that it practically doesn't exist. Player movement is the same clunky style as present in most modern Bethesda titles, along with the new inclusion of the jetpack and the rare low-gravity planet or station, but the movement system overall still feels janky and slow, not responsive and quick like the player would want when say, shooting at enemies in a dungeon. It's disappointed that no changes have been made on this aspect since Fallout 4. The weapon variety is larger than past modern Bethesda shooter titles, but it's very lacklustre considering the space sci-fi setting. The laser weapon variety is limited to 3 rifles and 3 pistols, as opposed to more than quadruple that amount in ballistic weapons. Having a sci-fi setting and not doing anything interesting or memorable with the weaponry, the main way in which the player in a shooter interacts with the world, was a total letdown. I'd recommend watching YouTube clips on Starfield gun/melee play to see if its for you before buying.

Everyone on steam or YouTube jokes about this game being a loading screen/menu simulator and while I really wish that I could refute the claims, I can't. Most of your time in Starfield when in your ship will be navigating menus and figuring out where you want to go, and then using a menu to take you there. It makes for a game about space exploration where you skip any and all of the actual exploration in space; you just fast travel to where you need to go rather than fly there. Load times have been fine for me personally, but that will vary from system-to-system.

The choice to have all of the meaningful, content-heavy companions be a part of the main quest line faction was a poor and confusing choice. Here we are as players in a new world, rife with interesting groups, pirates, opposing governments, etc. What we get to represent that in our companions to travel the stars with are 4 people who are largely the same, and a robot. If you've ever eaten poorly-seasoned tofu, where the flavour of whatever was added is just barely present and makes for a bland eating experience, that is what I'd compare Starfield's main companions to. Barely seasoned tofu. They're all members of Constellation, they all generally have the same opinions about the same things, they're all some variation of a lawful and good alignment, and none of them are very memorable. Having completed the quest lines for all 4 companions, I honestly and wholeheartedly can tell you that I didn't like a single one of them. For the first time ever in a modern Bethesda title, I just preferred to adventure alone.

The decision to make the game largely procedural for the planets we explore is understandable; the scope of the game is far too large for Bethesda's designers to hand-craft each planet, system, etc. But the fact that each planet is now bland and boring, the alien life all very samey and uninspired, the dungeons found on each planet just templates copied repeatedly down to enemy placement, makes one question why they ever decided to make a game like this in the first place. Landing on a planet in Starfield largely consists of using a scanner to locate multiples of it's flora and fauna, running to different POIs that are also pulled from a template pool and scanning them, braving the same dungeon you've already seen dozens of times, and then flying away to do it all again on another equally as unremarkable planet. It's mind numbing. The fault lies not in Bethesda's choice to make a game about grand space exploration procedural generated, but to have made the scope of the game so large that it couldn't be hand-crafted and meaningful. As a studio, this is what their games are best known and well-loved for. Walking through Skyrim's beautiful landscapes of Fallout 4's dangerous wasteland make for memorable experiences and well-loved locations. Starfield's procedural planets create a bunch of uninspired slop that is expected to fill the same role as previous titles' gorgeous open world spaces. It falls incredibly short.

It's not all bad, however. The side-faction plot lines were very good and fun to progress, the shipbuilding and ship combat are fun, but the game misses what actually makes Bethesda games fun to play, exploring the hand-crafted world, and leaves us instead with what makes them a chore; Bethesda's poor writing, dated gameplay mechanics, and bountiful loading screens.

Played this game many years ago on my ps3 and recently picked it up again when it was on sale. Still my one of my favourite games, from the puzzles to the all silly dialogue, it is such a good time!

A fun and immersive Elder Scrolls experience. I've got quite a chunk of time in this game, and I can tell that I've only scratched the surface. I recommend it to any Elder Scrolls fans who have the time to spare. The worldspace of Vvardenfell is amazing and very unique, and the dungeons are a blast to crawl through, and the roleplaying is immense.

My tip for newbies (like myself going into Morrowind) is to not be afraid to lower the difficulty your first time around. It can take a while to get used to the chance-based system after coming off of some modern rpgs, but it's rewarding and fun once you put in the time. I started out at -75 and brought it back up to 0 after a few levels, and I am now comfortably playing the game, while still having a challenge and a blast.

Left 4 Dead but with magic and ratdudes. An amazing co-op game with some friends!

Had the game since launch. Cannot recommend it enough. If you love space exploration games, you're in for a treat, especially after the Origins update.

f a l l o u t .

Fun game bro

gud game.