Recent reviews by Dana The Elf

Frankly, there are two questions you need to ask yourself about this game:
Do you like One Piece? Do you like Warriors games?
If you answered yes to both of these questions, you will not be disappointed.
If you answered no to both, well, give this one a miss.

If you answered yes to one, or "I don't know" - there are a few things to know.

Pirate Warriors 3 follows the Warriors tradition of expanding upon existing games - you do not need Pirate Warriors 1 or 2, as Pirate Warriors 3 will cover the story from the beginning.
The story, of course, is the storyline of the One Piece series - if you have read the manga or watched the anime you will be at an advantage in some instances, as the battles you undertake are indeed based on the series' events, and prior knowledge can help you know who your character should be targeting for certain bonuses. Essentially, you tend to be rewarded for following the events of the series "correctly."
It must be noted, of course, that the story presented in the game is abridged - if you want to experience the One Piece story in its entirety, you should opt for the anime or manga.

As for how it stacks up as a Warriors game, it's the standard formula with some tweaks - as is standard for Warriors spin-offs.
This time, we have the basic standard/strong attack combos, Musou-style specials, camera-targeting, a dodge-dash, an unorthodox "unique attack"on a separate button - seems to be a ranged attack, and the 'big' feature of Pirate Warriors, the crew system. Crew members will join up with your character and charge a meter not unlike the rage gauge or similar in previous Warriors games, when full you can activate the crew assist, which functions much the same as the rage state did - boosting your abilities in various ways, while also bringing the crew member in to fight beside you. While active, you can also use a powered up Musou special attack, teaming up with your crewmate. This gets stronger as you play, as after using this crew assist, you will form a team with that crewmate, at which point you can switch your crew assist member, and build the gauge anew - which is where it gets interesting! With the new crew member, building the gauge again and executing the crew assist will form a team with THAT member - the previous member will stay part of your team, and thus your crew assist grows in strength, with both joining in for the Crew Musou special attack. You can have a team of up to four for your crew assist - the sheer devastation caused by a team of this size is really something to behold.
If you like the spectacle of wiping out large crowds in your Warriors games, you will have a lot of fun with this!

There is definitely less focus on capturing terrirory compared to other Warriors games - most of the time, capturing a territory removes it from play, stopping enemy spawns but not providing any benefits to your own forces. This fits with the theme, obviously, since the Pirates are a small band of rogue agents only sometimes assisting other forces.

If you've never played a Warriors game and aren't a One Piece fan, I would suggest cutting your teeth elsewhere, but as it stands, this is a really solid Warriors installment! Lots to do, lots to unlock, definitely a title to keep you invested for a long time!
Highly recommended for the right audience!

Some remakes feel utterly unnecessary.

Then there's Tomb Raider: Anniversary - a perfect example of why remakes should happen.

Have you played the original Tomb Raider recently?
It doesn't hold up well. It has aged terribly.
The graphics are laughably blocky (let's face it, even for its time, Tomb Raider wasn't pretty) and we've got those terrible, muddy, low-res textures... but beyond the superficial cosmetic stuff, there's the unrefined gameplay and ESPECIALLY shoddy controls.
If you want the authentic retro experience, you can get the original here on Steam...

As a series continues, it is refined. The developers get a handle on what was good; what worked; what didn't... they can learn and grow.
Tomb Raider: Anniversary is putting the lessons you've learned over time into practice and fixing your mistakes.
Tomb Raider: Anniversary is the original, only better in every way.
Visually improved, of course, but VASTLY superior mechanically, and with respect to the controls.

What hasn't changed, is Lara's bizarre choice of a tank top and short-shorts for a snowy expedition.
I'll accept that she wants to wear that for manoeuvrability, fashion, and/or for hot weather. There's nothing wrong with that. But good gods is it inappropriate for a bloody blizzard!
So, poor Lara is sexualised and objectified, but she is still one of gaming's most badass leading ladies; basically "lady Indiana Jones," which is probably one of the most awesome things ever.

If you're looking to experience the franchise's story, this is going to be a better entry-point than the PS1-era classic.

So, in the '40s there was this little scuffle called World War II.
And during this time, a woman named Violette Szabo joined the British Army.
She married a French soldier, worked a number of military positions, found out she was a bit pregnant and took some time off to give birth to her child, then went right back into duty.
A few months after her little girl was born, her husband was killed in action.

And that just pissed her off.

Seeking some Nazi-revenge, she accepted a field position, and went into Spec Ops.
The only thing she ever screwed up in training was a parachute landing. Once. Pulled it off just fine after she recovered from the sprained ankle.
Her only weakness was that damn ankle.
She had a talent for dead-aim with a gun, sabotage, and undetected assassination.

Basically she was a stone-cold Nazi-stopping machine, and one HELL of a spy.

While heading to a mission, she got stopped by an unexpected road checkpoint, at which point an apparent firefight broke out. Her comrade got away, but she sprained the ankle again, and was captured after running out of bullets.

She was taken prisoner, and almost escaped from the camp, before being moved. Eventually her true identity was discovered, leading to her interrogation, and tragic execution.

This game is inspired by her.

And I must assert INSPIRED BY, since it is not a telling of the Story of Violette Szabo, but a character based on her.
A strong, intelligent, skilled woman working as an active spy, infiltrating Nazi territory and getting some hardcore Nazi-vengeance.

If you like badass female protagonists, just go ahead and get this game.

It should be noted that there are some questionable choices, like the highly sexualised, skimpy gown she wears in "Morphine Mode" and some pre-rendered pinup-style loading-screen images.
And look, I'll forgive the pinup renders in general - it fits with the World War II theme... though it must be said that sexualising a hospitalised woman is incredibly problematic... but the Morphine Mode change felt mostly unnecessary.

Get past that, though, and you're sneaking about in a solid WWII Stealth game, taking down Nazis from the shadows.
You do not get the ammo to shoot your way through, so you will rely on stealth executions. You have a very small health allowance, too, adding to the "no really, stealth is the way to go" factor.

This is NOT a "shoot 'em all" WWII Nazi-killing game.
Go play Wolfenstein or something, if that's what you're after.

One of its shortcomings is the AI. Completely incapable, apparently, of thinking "hey, maybe that spy we were just chasing is on the other side of the door we just saw her run through!"
They have a very short memory, and attention-span.
Certainly, the AI is the weakest part of the game, and breaks the immersion, but as the detection mechanics are pretty unforgiving, you'll probably be grateful that all it takes for them to forget about you is to hide behind a door, and watch through the keyhole as they go back to their post.

One particularly interesting element was its presentation of the Nazi soldiers. Often dehumanised, faceless, evil goons, here you get to see what a spy would have encountered - casual chatter: Feeling sorry for the drunk guy (you just killed) for his apparent alcoholism after the things he'd seen during the war. General complaining about when the replacement next shift will arrive. Arguments over who stole someone's chocolate.
It's an unusual thing to see Nazi soldiers humanised, and it really does add a lot to the atmosphere - they're normal human beings; when unaware of observation, they will behave as such. It's a simple thing, but it really adds to the feeling of being a spy; seeing things you wouldn't normally see, like your enemy being so normal - so casual.

Perfect? No.
Good? Totally.
Recommended? Yes.

There is a sharp divide in the player base. And it's the same divide you see over most of the internet and its associated communities: Half the players are awful bigots, white nationalists, and just generally gross people who sexually harass you, scream awful things in the shoutbox, or otherwise hound and harass you - these ones tend to be ex-WoW players, who joined once the game received high review praise.
The rest, however, are lovely, kind people, who are pleasant to be around and always helpful.

You will be pestered fairly frequently by goldfarmers trying to sell you in-game currency.

The game is really good. The crafting system is a great. Battle system is solid. Party mechanics work well.
You can literally try any class out with your character, just by equipping the necessary stuff.
What stands out to me are little things, though - a rather robust character creation system, and the ability to dye most of the armour/equipment as you see fit.
I just love things like that.
Superfluous outfits are available too. And at lv.50, you obtain the ability to "glamour" your gear, to wear whatever you like without sacrificing stats.

They have a system of marriage, with no restrictions on gender.
Is this the first game with marriage equality? Because I can't think of any others.
And that is just an awesome touch.

So much love, Square-Enix.
<3

Dynasty Warriors is great.
If you've played a Warriors game before, you will know exactly what you're in for.
If you're new to the series, expect fast-paced action as your hero slices through whole armies with ridiculously over-the-top attacks and combos.
Follow objectives, capture territory, win the battle, and move on to the next one. Level up your warriors, collect better weapons... there really isn't a whole lot of complexity to the underlying system. It's just fun.

Story-wise, the game can be considered Historical Fan-Fiction. I love this.
Based on the history of Three Kingdoms-era China, you play as real (though fictionalised) historical figures, and take part in historical battles.
Beyond this, the story delves into "Alternate Universe" Fan Fiction in "what if" scenarios, where the outcome of one battle is altered somehow, changing many events that occurred after.
It's an absolutely HUGE game, and will keep you playing for HUNDREDS of hours.

The characters are, as I mentioned, fictionalised versions of real historical figures. And since these people literally lived CENTURIES ago, some details are sparse.
Let's be clear, though, this game has NO shortage of playable characters. No less than 83 playable heroes are at your disposal.
Unfortunately, since it is based on historical accounts, and - as we all know - history is pretty bloody sexist, women are a little underrepresented. However, they ARE doing a pretty good job with what they have to work with! For example: Historical accounts of Lu Lingqi are practically nonexistent, as far as I know, and they've made her a pretty cool character. Hopefully they can expand on her in the next game.

Wang Yi is the best, though. Just saying.

What I am LESS pleased with, however, is K-T's incredible exploitation of DLC.
To buy it all will cost you more than the base game, for crying out loud! I really feel like they're charging too much, but new costumes for 83 characters is no small feat... and hardly essential to the experience.
I really just take issue with K-T's constant squeezing of their players for every cent they're worth, with the DLC.

Despite that, I would go so far as to call this one of my favourite games ever.
Highly recommended.

As is typical for this sort of game, you can make choices, and the actions of your character don't seem to quite match up with your intent. That said, you do have a lot of freedom to be the kind of hero you want to be - there's replayability in the different approaches you can have, relationships you can pursue, etc.
I was hoping for deeper romantic encounters with Black Magic, but overall it was enjoyable, and definitely worth the purchase.

Lesbian superheroes. We need more of this. (Note that you choose your gender and orientation - there may be less lesbians for non-lesbian players? I dunno. I don't really care.)