Reviews

Up to this day, it's safe to assume that Final Fantasy XIV is easily the best FF experience since IX and Shadowbringers is a testament of this theory.

Shadowbringers uses everything that was great from the last expansins and it takes it further, story-wise, the thing is a well-told and written, everything it's relevant for the plot or the themes so this time even some random characters that may appear like plot devices are actually a solid and needed part of the plot, something that I really liked, also, I'm not sure if the story is darker than previous ones but sure it has a dark and serious tone, it is also filled with amazing moments that I couldn't believe, Shadowbringers took for a hostage within my +60 hour main quest time. At this point is unbelievable how characters that I didn't care that much got me all worried and into them, like Urianger or even the main antagonist which I was really concerned about, they looked like a generic and formulaic boss but by the end I was so touched and grinning at the screen so that's that, XIV writers make it look easy to write at this level.

The dungeons and boss battles are very good, with new more dynamic mechanics and challenge, not as difficult as Extreme but not as easy as Heavensward, the music was good and kinda different from the last entries, it kinda reminds me of XIII-2 in some parts, it's good but maybe not the cup of everyone. I have some minor issues, and one that hasn't been acknowledged (or maybe its just me) but I still find the Aether currents so bothersome and boring to do, but I guess its part of the mechanic now and also for the first time I felt like the graphics weren't that great, sure it has this PS3 era feeling but I believe that an upgrade is urgent, also a lot of the new areas felt ripoffs or recycled from past areas but maybe I'm wrong.

Shadowbringers is more Heavensward than Stormblood but it is its own thing, so don't miss a chance to play this expansion or if you want to play the best modern Final Fantasy you have tons and tons to do but maybe that is not a bad thing.

Machine Games did it again and continues to prove why I favor their shooters over the likes of Activision, Treyarch, Infinity Ward and so many others. The New Colossus takes a further step into this nightmarish world in which the Nazis won WWII. If the first game was unsettling, this game doubles down on the unsettling nature. The New Colossus picks up after the events of The New Order. This time BJ and his resistance set their sights on liberating the United States of America from Nazi control. The story still indulges in the usual absurdities and over the top action, violence and mayhem that Machine Games has now settled in to. But at the same time underneath all of those things are actual characters, and a truly appealing story. The gameplay is better than The New Order, more weapons are added and the dual wield option has been updated and improved to add some variety to the usual Nazi killing antics and improve the bloody, brutal rampage that BJ continues on. Even more variety is added to the gameplay with special perks and equipment that you obtain almost mid game (which is a complaint). Sometimes there is a repetitive nature to some of the missions and level layouts, but it does not impeded on the enjoyment. The Normal difficulty proved to be enjoyable. It wasn't too easy and provided a nice balanced game. The higher difficulties on the other hand are pretty stressful. And "Mein Leben"......well I don't want to talk about that. Overall, this is a fantastic game. The graphics are improved, the concepts, the overall artwork and quality of the game, all of those things cement this game as one of the best games to come out in 2017…now that I mention it, 2017 was such an all around good year for video games and movies.

Rating: 5/5

To this point, I'm not sure if Stormblood has better story or flow than Heavensward, but I can surely say that it maintains that height that was set by the last game, so I think is just a matter or preferences.

The main story of this expansion is about revolutions and geopolitical stuff, if you're like me and like that kind of thing then this is going to be a big hit, but, that's not to say that it's a bad story, it's a great one but certainly is a different beast than Heavensward, this time you focus on other characters (new and old) and it still delivers in character development, the main antagonist while maybe a little one-note it does its job and does it amazing, I'm not sure if its the acting (voiced by the incredible Kosuke Toriumi) or the writing but I was so invested in him.

By this point you know how is this, you go to one map, uncover it by quests, beat some dungeons and bosses and repeat, is more or less the same, de difference is that the boss and dungeon mechanics were tightened, making to really interesting and challenging battles. As far as music goes XIV always has had a very good selection, but I think this time the composers took it to the next level, there are some tunes that I will listen for the years to come, I'm sure.

While is debatable if its better than its predecessor, Stormblood maintains that incredibly high bar set by Heavensward, so I think you'll not disappointed, as, for me, I will always remember that final moment when you finally finish the last boss battle, it was a truly beautiful and powerful moment.

As far as expansions go, Heavensward easily stands as one of the best out there and I don't know but this doesn't feel like an expansion at all but more like a full sequel or something like that. Everything that ARR did good, Heavensward does it better even greater, so long is the sloppy story with a lot of boring diversions and subplots, here you feel like the story and every character are getting somewhere, sure you have to be introduced in certain scenarios and plots that aren't that great, but they never get that long or boring.

The gameplay maintains, with a few tweaks and upgrades but the challenge was really good this time, the dungeons also didn't feel boring and the new skills were also good, there is everything for everyone. As for the real challenge that comes with the endgame, here's where things get double great, the extreme battles are so intense that you'll need a lot of skill and maybe luck (because other players) to conquer them, but they are some of the finest that I have ever played on a videogame. Going back to the story, I really liked that the story is simpler and focuses on way fewer characters, something that works for the best because in ARR sometimes it got really convoluted, here you will find an amazing story of journey, love, despair, and hope, themes that I really like, and speaking of characters, the main cast is just fantastic, my favorite above all is Alphinaud, I don't remember the last time I was so invested in a FF character like him, is that good.

The music still is very good, and it has a lot of diversity as before so I don't have an issue with it, the graphics are also good for an MMO standard.

I have some issues but there are so minor, like in order to use the new fly ability to soar the sky through the maps, you need to find certain "thing" in different parts of the map, and also do some sidequests that for the most part are OK but not that fun, I get that it's to slow you down but it can be really boring and bothersome, so I hope that this can disappear in future updates. Heavensward is a magnificent story, filled with amazing characters, plot twists, and challenges that every FF fan should have.

I feel like I shouldn’t really review this game yet mostly because I haven’t bought the rest of it. So, I’m only gonna review what the game gave me first.

The game is simple: jump by using one hand while eating a burger with the other. The first four levels are honestly really good tutorial levels for what is to come when you spend ten bucks. But that’s all the story I’m getting for now.

While Toad Rally is solid in its own right, Remix 10 is the main attraction here. The game is really hard to put down when you’re just blasting Gorillaz while plugging in your Apple EarBuds with only one of the speakers having any audio at all as you progressively make your way through levels of weird turtles as a red Italian plumber from Brooklyn. That right there should make you go, “Yep, this is the life.”

I’m not really a fan of the whole ticket thing. You either pray to God that a Toad house gives you a ticket or you go on My Nintendo and spend Chuck E Cheese tokens on about five of them...then five more of them. Also, there really is no point in buying coins or even spending them as you’ll earn so many, you’d be a millionaire in five seconds.

Super Mario Run is a fun run game not associated with Fun Run that is best seen as a small time-waster rather than a game you’ll spend days upon days on. If you really wanna get sucked in, play Remix 10...if you wanna wait another 12 hours just to play. At that point, you might as well play another game.

Is kind of hard to rate an MMO because my experience can be significantly different from everyone so I'm going to focus more in the "Single player aspect" and not the social aspect. As you may expect, ARR is a massive game with a ton of quests and jobs to do, the first hours may be overwhelming with all the menus and options and skills, etc, but once you get the gist of it its more or less easy, the control scheme its very good or at least to me felt nice, so instead of buying a keyboard and mouse for my ps4, I stuck with the controller.

So let's do the bad first, the main story its at times and mostly in the first and mid half really slow, its no surprise tho' because Square needs you to take things slowly and take you at least 2 months of subscription but it can be very punishing, the thing goes more or less like this: you accept a quest in some town, you need to take care of some enemies or search for something or someone in another town, then you go to another specified point and then you go back to the requester, this procedure is going to be your best friend for at least the next 30 hours so you better like it or accept it, the main cast is serviceable at first but it develops nicely by the end (more of that later), the dungeons have interesting mechanics but are easy and slow to take, so sometimes it can be boring to do grinding. Speaking of gameplay, there is a lot of positioning and role mechanics that are very fun and interesting, also if you already have friends in XIV or want to invite new ones, the dungeon system has a syncing mechanic, so everyone can join the fight and be rewarded, so that's a good feat, obviously the thing is more fun if you have friends, but if you're a lone wolf like me you can also have some fun, because you don't need to know or speak to any other player in order to advance, it can be played as a single player.

For the main quest, the boss battles are interesting and sometimes kind of challenging but never too much, so you need to wait a little to get the good of ARR, which takes to Pros of this game, the music is really good and different from one another, some boss battles are your epic fantasy stuff and others are more like rock or electronic, and everything works very well. The story goes to good with the first ending to really really good in the endgame ARR patch, which I won't spoil but serves as founding ground for the next (or after?) expansion, that ending was like a solid punch to the gut. As for the endgame, is when things get really good, you unlock new and totally cool gear, raids and hard and extreme boss battles of the bosses, the extreme battles were the ones I enjoyed the most, you need to be in full sync to your party to get things done, like a synced dance where if one fucks it up, there is a big chance that you'll be killed, it maintain the stakes in the sky and gives you goosebumps when you fnally make it.

It's kind of hard to sell this game to anyone since you need to invest a lot of time and money, but I think if you look for a good FF challenging experience, please look no further, this game contains one of my favorite fights and characters of the entire franchise, it can be that good.