WHERE'S THE PANNA MUSIC VIDEO!?
Weekend's over so now I can get back to playing this;D
Still at the beginning of Code 3.
I feel like the reddit review is half-right - there are a lot of points that could have been done better. I wasn't a fan of the "go here, do this" fetch quests / back tracking they had in Code 2. Right now, I find myself more interested in the "A" of the ARPG. It's too bad because Freedom Wars seems like it has (had) the potential for a really good story.
Having said that, I really like the setting, even if your fellow prisoners don't necessarily act like prisoners. Every time I start to feel like it's out of place though, I try to remind myself of shows like Battlestar Galactica, where the crew still manages to have fun and act positive in the midst of a totall effed up situation. Still, the story isn't going to revolutionize the gaming industry and, to be honest, it doesn't have to. It sets the mood and I "enjoyed" having years added to my sentence at unexpected times.
Action-wise, the game is still a lot of fun though I haven't seen most of what the game has to offer yet. The game does a TERRIBLE job of explaining weapons, particularly their attributes and special attacks. I don't mind so much as I like to try everything myself anyhow, but I think it will frustrate a lot of gamers who want to make informed decisions when upgrading their stuff. I mean, you can find everything you're looking for online, but I miss the days where they actually tell you about this kind of stuff in the instruction manual. The stealth missions aren't the best, but I didn't mind them too much. The Prisoner / Accessory relationship is fun and creepy at the same time. Having your Accessory die (or worse, get abducted) in battle has very real consequences. They will also SAVE YOUR ASS a billion times. I mean, hey, they can't let you die until you've worked off your time, right?
I like how they've integrated plants into the game. It's neat, but it feels a bit half-baked. Why institute a building time? I *feels* cool - like the crew are actually working to build my stuff, but it doesn't really add anything to the game. I kind of like it, but I can be a masochistic player at times. Having to wait to upgrade your weapons will probably piss a lot of people off. This is another feature that I feel like they could have explained better. Since you don't know hardly anything about upgrading weapons (including materials needed) without a ton of checking, it's hard to know what you should sac and what you should save. When missions end, I look at the list of regulated materials and think, "I'll probably need that stuff for something, but since I don't know what I'll just donate it." I think they could have improved the UI here. When highlighting an item, you should be able to hit a button and see what known upgrades it can be used in. It's too much of a hassle to go back and forth between menus figuring out what I need. Maybe if Japanese was my mother tongue, it'd be easier for me to remember all of the items names, so that could be on me. I feel like they could improve this part of the game though.
Difficulty levels in games never really bothered me. I feel like this generation of gamers is like the Veruca Salt gif Parakeetman put up. They want everything and they want it now. It's probably impossible to get a difficult level that everyone can appreciate. Make it too easy and people will sail through the game and complain that they finished it. Make it too hard, and they complain about that. All you can do is know your target and try to aim for it. The developer response to player complaints was very thorough. Man, Demon's Souls got so lucky with player response. They made a hard-ass game and people loved them for it. When other games come along and try to do the same thing, they get served a big, juicy poop sandwich.
I think Monster Hunter, especially the earlier versions, was a lot harder. Even Soul Sacrifice was harder. Granted, I'm still in Code 3 so I could be very wrong.
Overall, I think it's a very good addition to the Vita. Playing it on the go is great and I think it stands up for itself in the Hunting-like genre. It's very good for a new IP. Hell, even Soul Sacrifice didn't get it completely right from the get go. I look forward to seeing them polish the game and I hope they can keep it engaging in future updates / installments. I'd buy a Freedom Wars 2...
STILL it's going to be hard to stick with this game with OreShika 2 comes out in about 2 weeks. @.@ I plan on beating it though;D