Great And addictive, but play it on PC!! A relief in these times!
* All reviews for pc are 8-10 and most reviews for xbox are 4-5, and for two good reasons:
- control seems inadequate for console,
- the console market may not be interested in a game that difficult, rich and complex, where you will reach nothing if you are not willing to suffer through the challenge of, well... as the story, being a survivor from a shipwreck on an unknown island for the first 10 hours (how easy to you expect that to be honestly ;-))
* This being said let s go to the core review:
-story: nothing great but engaging enough, new geographical background makes it great, as many mentioned, a bit of "Lost" in here. The few plot twit are also quiet engaging even if generic, but honestly, I do not see how to make new anymore since the late 90's... 7/10
- Gameplay: good and intense; combat is hard, and yes you will lose 8% of your fight if you just button mash through fights.
Enemies are vicious, and a wolf is a very threatening thing when you have only a stick to fight (as it should be). No Fallout 3 youngster god here, smashing experienced raiders minutes after leaving mom and pa. In here, you are new, you are merely a shrimp, and yes you will get beaten down lol
Positioning, counters, and parry are vital. What I also Iike is that there is a lot of ways to interact with the environment and good crafting. 9/10
- Graphics: PC and PNC model are average at best, surroundings are fine really fine. Anyhow, the immersion does not come from the graphics but the gameplay, so no need for crysis extravaganza here. 7/10
-Sound: Very nice. the crippy mood of crypts, the bliss of the seashore, and others are greatly rendered (even the cave effect when your character speaks within an hollow place). Voice acting is alright if not superior, every PNC really feels diferent. Bye bye the sad feeling from Oblivion to speak 100 times to the same guy who apparently never remembers you... 8/10
Overall tilt:
You will hate it or love it, the more you are a true RPG lover, the more you will love it. I am speaking to the old school people here, not the action RPG type. You hated Oblivion but loved Morrowind, you will like it. you loved Gothic II, you will love it.
You like bumping your head in the wall after losing the same fight for the 5th time but keep trying and win, you will be very satisfied. You just like killing stuff while unplugging you brain and running in the fields, this game is not for you. 8/10