Recent reviews by OptoNick

It's still an awesome game, but it's a very disappointing sequel. Instead of trying to add co-op that no one cares about in Hitman they should've focused on the game itself.

1. There are only two new gameplay features:
- hiding in a grass/bushes - good addition, but they're overusing it even in places where it doesn't fit.
- briefcases for hiding weapons - pretty useless, could be taken for some specific weird-ass challenges.

2. They cut the majority of season 1 content (contracts, escalations, suits). In legacy pack there's only a bare story missions with locked rewards. Yep, you'll need to grind again the same old missions for the very same weapons/gear. And forget about your rewards for Elusive Targets, they're gone forever.

3. There are zero technical/QoL improvements from season 1. They even managed to lost a few features that were present in season 1, like default loadout for a mission.

4. There are 6 new missions - one of them is a brief prologue, another one doesn't even qualify as a full mission (9 identical suburban houses on a tiny map). So there are only 4 full-size maps, and Mumbai is officially the worst Hitman map since Hitman Absolution. They are still a good sandbox for a hitman, but very non-interactive and plain. Almost all non-typical killings are buried behind long chain of unnecessary triggers - feels like gamedesigners holding your hand on every step.
In general words - nothing wildly new and original, just a bunch of old ideas in new decorations.

Final map has some interesting level geometry, can praise it for that.

5. New weapons/gear is straight up laughable. It's either absolutely useless, or a copy of a gear from Season 1 with a "2" drawn on it - "This one has the signature Mk II look" (c).

6. Story now being told in slideshows instead of videos, and there's nothing good about that.

7. Apparently, they thought that Elusive Targets was a great feature and continuing them in season 2. Dear IO, they are ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ suck and will suck until all your buggy animations will be ironed out.
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SUMMARY:

It would qualify as a good expansion pass instead of that "Patient Zero" fart in the wind. I'm not recommending buying it as a sequel for a full price right now, but it could worth it a year later with all old content being restored, new good content being added and improvements being made.

But if you don't own and haven't played Season 1 - buy this game with Legacy Pack, though, it would be the best way to play new Hitman.

I was hoping for XCOM-like tactic action/strategy meta-game with Shadowrun-tier story, dialogues and characters.

Battletech falls short from these expectations. But it is still very enjoyable tactic action.

Great:
Visual style, music, art

Good:
Tactical gameplay, despite the fact that there's only one viable way to assemble your team - bring all the heaviest mechs that you have. Fights between giant leaping and shooting robots can't be not fun.

Ok-ish:
Strategic layer. Too easy, nothing new and original, but not bad.

Disappointing:
Story. I really had high hopes about the storytelling from authors of Shadowrun games, but Battletech's plot and characters are just plain. I won't remember any of that in a few months.

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Solid and enjoyable game, but nothing overwhelming. 7.5/10.

Well, after 300+ hours in I just might give a positive review :)

I'll start with not-so-good stuff:

- missed a few classic features, like human shields, weapon customisation and briefcase for sniper rifle. There are alternative decisions to rectify that.

- too gamepad-friendly interface: oversized tiles in the menu, weapon wheel, etc.

- lack of dark and grim atmosphere that I loved in Hitman: Contracts, for example

- soundtrack is forgettable.


BUT
Right now, after numerous updates, it's definitely the best game in Hitman series (and like the only good AAA game in last couple of years)

- In terms of sandbox and variative gameplay it's like Blood Money cranked to 11. Seriously, guys, sandbox is great over here.

- In terms of difficulty it has normal mode that is optimal for experiments and fun, and a Professional Mode that will remind you about your butthurts in Hitman 2: Silent Assassin.

- Player contracts mode is a huge upgrade on contracts mode from Absolution. Well, mainly because the maps in this game are actually designed for a Hitman game this time.

- Tons of content. 6 main missions, 4 bonus missions, 4 missions from GOTY campaign, about 60 escalations (new game mode), 26 elusive targets, challenge packs, player contracts...

- While the game is looking good but not very stylish, cutscenes in main story are amazing.

It's like a sequel to Anachronox, but in 2D Wild West decorations. Perfectly stylish, tons of puns and wordplay jokes, surprisingly deep RPG system, kinda clumsy turn-based combat - everything is in the best traditions of Anachronox :)

Thoroughly enjoyable game.

It deserves 10/10 just for Malkavian banter, facial animations and boobs physics, but it's also one of the best action-RPGs ever

I think it deserves a positive review after all, so I'll add my 5 cents.

Reminds me a lot about E.Y.E. Divine Cybermancy - interesting and very stylish concept of low-budget action, sometimes it shines, sometimes it's obscured by questionable gamedesign. Also, incoherent mumbling instead of voiceover, just like in E.Y.E.

Not a fan of dungeon crawlers, bought it just to support devs in gratitude for Shadowrun games, and still found it pretty fun, especially at the beginning. Endgame levels, though, were more of a chore, because the lack of new enemies and new gameplay options.

Earlier this year Harebrained Schemes added a whole new mini-campaign for Shadowrun Hong Kong for free, so if they'll find resources to add little more gameplay elements in this game, it'll shape up just great.

A few rough edges, but it's as close to a perfect Homeworld game as a heretic concept of 'ground-based Homeworld' could be

After almost ~170 hours in game, most of which were driven only by my perseverance, I have to change my review to negative. Old review that was written after ~10 hours in game is placed below.

So, the only pros of this game are roleplaying system, basically slightly revised old Fallouts' system, and crafting system. They are interesting and engaging, no gripes.

But the game is ruined by its gamedesign and narrative. It has huge territory and very few quests, and almost all of them located inside a few hubs. No kidding, 90% of game world is an endless labyrinths of look-alike caves/labs/stations with no quest-related content; pure dungeon-crawling and grinding. But in some cases you could actually break quests if you would explore certain locations too early, so you have to grind with caution and check the playthrough before entering another abandoned facility.
So, time distribution of my ~170 hours in game feels like this:
- 40% - lengthy logistics runs through empty locations between loot stashes and merchants (it's a chore even inside the hubs)
- 40% - grinding in the caves/abandoned facilities/subway lines for the reward of couple of level-ups and two broken quests.
- 20% - completing actual quests (which are also sometimes have troubles with design and backtracking for the sake of backtracking).

And the narrative is just plain bad in every aspect. I can't remember the names of majority of the characters that I'd met week ago, all of them are completely one-dimensional, and the lack of unique portraits/models for them doesn't help as well. Main storyline is "go there, check WTF is happening" without any real motivations behind it. And the world lore could be fully expressed in one sentence: "Postapocalyptic (what was the apocalypse, BTW?) underworld community was dominated by one megacorporation that fell apart (reasons for that is also unknown)".

I give up, this game is bloated with low-quality filler content beyond any reasonable limits. I've tried.

6/10, for die-hard fans of dungeon-crawlers with RPG elements.
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Old review:

Well, it's not from the same league with Fallout 1-2 and recent Shadowrun games, but still a decent RPG.

- Loot variety and crafting system are quiet deep. Non-combat stuff feels more diverse.
- Skills and perk...ahem, I mean, skills and feats with cross-related synergies are nice, too.
- Sometimes it actually delivers that 'post-apocalypse in cyberpunk-ish underworld' feeling which is meant to be here.
- All of the above-mentioned traits are enough to trap you for a long time here.

But:

- Exploration and scavenging are way more interesting than grinding in fights, though it's still inevitable. So there's a bright side and a downside in that. It falls in the same trap where most of single-hero RPGs eventually ends up - you will stuck with your character build, and, therefore, general combat abilities and tactics for a dozens of hours, and variety of tools helps with it only partially. But they had tried.

- There are two systems for gaining xp: combat-based and exploration-based. BUT you can't use both, had to choose one of them at the start of the game. Weird decision, because half of the character traits automatically became less useful. Merging it into one mechanics with little rebalancing would add even more depth.
- Story, world-building, quests, dialogues and characters are 'meh' at best.

7,5-8/10

Mooom, SHODAN calling me 'insect' again

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Decent release: graphically updated version of community-created 'System Shock Portable', running natively without DOSBox, packed with lots of good bonuses. Even more enjoyable than before.

If you are looking for a game which will make you rip away hairs from your buttocks and swear like a dock worker - here it is