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PirroEpirote
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This user has reviewed 20 games. Awesome! You can edit your reviews directly on game pages.
Fallout 3: Game of the Year Edition
Created on 23 April, 2021 12:24
Updated on 23 April, 2021 12:36
Fallout 3: Game of the Year Edition

Get New Vegas instead

Bethesda treats us to another disgrace in terms of gameplay, story, art direction, graphics, dialog, engine and programming. Unlike Oblivion, this doesn't veer into "so awful its kinda funny" territory. It's still reasonably entertaining as an exponent of their proven open world exploration formula, but why would you chose this to scratch that itch instead of the far superior Fallout New Vegas is above me. Minus points for misuse of a classic, venerable franchise.

9 gamers found this review helpful
SpellForce 3 Fallen God Digital Extras
Created on 27 December, 2020 17:59
SpellForce 3 Fallen God Digital Extras

The most exhaustive SF3 Art Book yet

Note that for Fallen God, the soundtrack and art book are sold separately. This review is for the art book only. At first, I was a bit skeptical about buying the art book on its own, but have to say I'm glad I purchased it. Unlike previous entries, this one seems to collect ALL of the loading screens, and concept art for each and every troll unit, building and weapon in the game. At 83 pages, it's the most detailed and exhaustive art book for the SpellForce 3 saga. Recommended.

9 gamers found this review helpful
SpellForce 3: Soul Harvest - Digital Extras
Created on 27 December, 2020 00:32
SpellForce 3: Soul Harvest - Digital Extras

Great value, superb soundtrack

Bastian Kieslinger delivers again with a great soundtrack. While it doesn't boast as many memorable themes as the mamMoth (50 songs) SF3 soundtrack, the main theme ("Dark City of Cahlabrok"), with its Bulgarian-style female chorus, and "Katras" theme are worth the price of admission alone in my opinion. The songs are delivered on both mp3 and flac formats. In addition, the pack includes a nice art book focused on the expansion which is a nice treat given its good art direction. The only criticism I can find is that it is not exhaustive and seems to lack some material (for example, concept art for some units and dwarven buildings).

8 gamers found this review helpful
SpellForce 3 Fallen God Soundtrack
Created on 26 December, 2020 23:46
SpellForce 3 Fallen God Soundtrack

More great sound from Bastian Kieslinger

If you played any of the SpellForce 3 games, you know that the soundtracks from Bastian Kieslinger are exceptional. In this one, energetic drums, mongolian fiddle (morin khuur) and throat singing bring a different flavor that I specially enjoyed. This time delivered both on flac and mp3, which is nice. Although it's a bit short (12 themes), it's well worth the price of admission in my opinion. Note that this time around, unlike with SF3 or Soul Harvest, the artbook is sold separately.

6 gamers found this review helpful
SpellForce 3 Digital Extras
Created on 26 December, 2020 22:36
SpellForce 3 Digital Extras

Great value, superb soundtrack

A great value, combining an absolute beast of a soundtrack (50 tracks) with a beautiful artbook. If you played the game, you'll know that the music from Bastian Kieslinger is absolutely great - a thematically varied orchestral score that truly stands on its own. You'll also know that the art direction is very good, so a well-curated artbook is a welcome treat. The only fault I can find with this is that the tracks are only in mp3, not flac.

5 gamers found this review helpful
SpellForce 3: Fallen God
Created on 26 December, 2020 22:29
SpellForce 3: Fallen God

Great expansion with a unique theme

Fallen God is a new standalone expansion to SpellForce 3 (itself a great RTS+RPG hybrid) that allows you to play as a new faction, the Trolls, and makes superb use of its original theme. Again, the developers maintain the high level of quality and care of the previous installments, so you can count on great graphics, sound and art direction and truly outstanding writing, voice-acting and music. The star of the show is doubtlessly the uniquely-themed, involved campaign were you are made to empathize and appreciate the unique culture of the Trolls. This time around, it revolves around a fixed faction and a closed group of characters, which I think works as a strength, as they each are developed with depth and care. The characterization in particular is truly great, as the all-too-real personalities of your trollish companions interact and conflict. The feeling of sadness and despair punctuated by humor and humanity of the characters makes for a unique experience, and the general theme is skillfully and humorously exploited (e.g. the trolls have no use nor recognize the value of the unique items you find in previous installments, so they just break them and scrap them up for materials). Sadly, for me the (otherwise great) ending had a rather cruel streak that was a tonal shift and detracted from the rest of the experience, but not all may agree. On the "minus" part, the "streamlined" (i.e. dumbified) RTS+RPG model of Soul Harvest makes a return (no carts, worker/carrier, material refining, multiple resistances, etc.) , so don't expect the more interesting RTS or RPG models of the original campaign. The RTS also retains its rush friendly nature. Those faults, however relevant, don't really detract considerably from the general experience (though they deprive the game from reaching its full potential), so, again, this an easy recommendation for me, and a truly unique game both for its mechanics and theme.

8 gamers found this review helpful
SpellForce 3: Soul Harvest
Created on 26 December, 2020 21:54
SpellForce 3: Soul Harvest

A great game at expansion pack price

This standalone expansion to SpellForce 3, a solid RTS+RPG hybrid, delivers exceptional value (almost a full game at expansion price), and retains the high level of quality and attention to detail of the original. Once again, great graphics, sound and art direction are joined by outstanding writing, voice-acting and music (though perhaps I preferred the original plot, where characters evolved more naturally). Two new and rather unique factions spice-up the RTS side, and the campaign is as involved and adventurous as ever. On the flip-side, sadly the RTS part got "streamlined" - that is, simplified, as the features that made it unique were unceremoniously removed (supply chains, worker/carrier, balance, multi-step production lines). This didn't help in fixing the actual problems on the RTS model (snowball effect, rush friendliness). Also, the RPG model was simplified too (less damage types, simpler items, no unique specializations for companions, etc.), which is a shame. Still, for the price, this is hard to beat and it remains a very fun experience (some rather well written and voiced characters that return from the original are worthy of the price of admission alone). Another easy recommendation for me.

10 gamers found this review helpful
SpellForce 3 Reforced
Created on 26 December, 2020 00:42
SpellForce 3 Reforced

Quality and attention to detail

SpellForce 3 is part of a saga that blends RPG and RTS in a rather appealing mix (think Warcraft 3, but with much greater emphasis on the RPG part). This particular installment offers solid RTS gameplay with many interesting ideas (a unique worker model with detailed transport and production chains) combined with an enjoyable action-RPG model and, most specially, a well-written campaign that makes the most of the fantasy setting and keeps you engaged the whole journey. Graphics, sound, art direction are excellent, and writing, voice-acting and music in particular are truly outstanding. In general, the game boasts a high level of quality, care and attention to detail throughout. It's a labor of love, and it shows. If you have any interest in the genres involved (particularly RPGs), it's an easy recommendation Note that there is a fundamental problem with the RTS model in that there's a "snowball effect" in terrain acquisition - if AI gets a hold of enough, there is almost no way to overcome it (I believe it "cheats" so the unbalance is fundamental). This forces a "rush or be rushed" style of play in RTS-heavy missions that is at odds with the general design of the game. This however, is not a big enough problem to overshadow the general quality of the product. Finally, note that an upcoming patch may "streamline" (simplify/dumbify) the RTS side to to bring it more in line with the expansions, which is not to my liking at all.

3 gamers found this review helpful
ELEX
Created on 08 December, 2019 17:14
ELEX

Open-world done right

ELEX is an exploration-focused Open-World Action-RPG from the makers of the classic Gothic series. It takes place in a world ravaged by a comet that left a material, the titular ELEX, whose control has divided the remnants of humanity. The game immediately places you in the brutal open world with no guidance, leaving you to piece together the combat system and exploring a huge world whose setting and story, while refreshingly juvenile (it acts as a pretext to cram in as many cool-stuff as possible), are nonetheless very enjoyable and endearing. And exploration is undoubtedly the high point of the game, as the massive (and I mean massive), seamless, hand-crafted world has superb level design and huge amount of love and care put into it. All this made possible by an excellent engine that offers zero loading times, astounding draw distance, and top-notch lighting. As for the panned combat system, it's actually quite fun and deep, but requires practice (and some character stamina) to enjoy. The graphics are great, with excellent art design offering one impressive vista after another. The music is nice ambient that doesn't wear it's welcome after many hours. Sound is solid but weapons need more oomph, and voice actors do a good job. As for cons, there are quite a few, but none that prevent enjoyment in my view. They include: wrong or non-existent explanations of key mechanics, poor balance among factions/skills/items, dubious voice acting direction (characters reading lines that aren't theirs, out-of context delivery), rough edges on out-of-the-way landscapes (floating assets, low-poly terrain), non-aesthetic and non-functional console-inspired interface (needs more quickslots!), rough spots on quests near the end of the game (triggered dialog that is incoherent or doesn't correspond to your choice). In short, the game sadly required extra spit-and-polish. All said, this is a labor of love and a master-class in open-world design with limited resources. Recommended.

12 gamers found this review helpful
Kingdom Come: Deliverance Royal Edition
Created on 30 November, 2019 00:11
Kingdom Come: Deliverance Royal Edition

My favorite game in decades

I always dreamed of a first-person historic RPG with an uncompromisingly recreated historical setting. A game where reality inspires the game systems instead of recycled systems being shoehorned into a new setting. Well, my dream is here and I enjoyed it as much as I hoped. This game is an Open-World RPG starring a humble blacksmith's son, Henry. It has an interesting story that is designed to give a sort of "medieval life tour". You'll attend executions, serve as man-at-arms for your liege lord, enter a Monastery, help alleviate pestilence, learn to read, and much more. It also features a lovingly crafted world that is just a pleasure to explore. Instead of auto-generated landscapes, you see the hand of the designers in every corner of the dense forests, pastoral landscapes, humble towns and imposing castles. It was fun to see the approach the developers took to showcase the diverse aspects of medieval life, the ways the weaved real history into a plausible plot, the winks and jokes at the expense of our foreknowledge, and so on. The developers evidently were making their dream game, and it shows in a myriad of subtle ways. For me, the only true fault of the game was in the scripting bugs that affected some of its quests. Fortunately, as of the Royal Edition most of them have been fixed. Of course, there is room for improvement (e.g. in quest reactivity), but what the developers pulled off with their limited resources is nothing short of impressive. Some notes: - I found the controversial combat system quite excellent. Few games reproduce the physicality of combat as this one, as well as organically integrating it's many intricacies. Its faults are more a matter of implementation that wrong fundamentals. - I loved the ending, but many didn't appreciate it because it's inconclusive. - If you are an old-school player, do yourself a favor and play in Hardcore Mode. It sounds like an exercise in frustration, but you gain a lot in immersion and joy of exploration.

121 gamers found this review helpful