Recent reviews by Headless

The advisor is my text ringtone now.

10/10 would SHAMEFURR DISPRAY again.

p.s. seriously one of the best Total Wars ever, fantastic game, great atmosphere.

Some great campaign feature improvements from Rome II, but terrible balance and fast paced battles kills multiplayer. A fun game at times, but sometimes the art style is a bit too dark and the unit variation is poor. I still very much enjoyed campaigns, especially co-op. If you're interested in the history of this time period you'll enjoy it even more.

Poor DLC practices should be stood up against, but the main experience is good for single player, not great for multiplayer. Have had fun on this game despite its problems, however I would easily recommend Rome II, or even better, Shogun 2 over this.

While the game at launch was a notorious disaster, it's one of the most fun Total Wars ever. Multiplayer campaign is superb, and although it's sometimes tough to find a good game, the multiplayer is superb and can be well balanced or be a good challenge. In it's current state it's a good game with fun battles. Also, the mod community is superb and adds a lot more hours to the already good vanilla game with plenty of choice for different preferences and playstyles. Loads of content here and possibility for great single player stories.

Probably my favourite sidequest so far. Great character interactions. I wish it was longer or there were more like this. It's a level 25 quest from the notice board in Oreton Village, Velen.

I enjoyed the mod, and I really tried to cut this game some slack but I don't know why. The development speed of this game is a joke with the amount of money they've made, and the engine is downright awful. It's a laggy mess that's still not where the mod was. Maybe one day they will figure it out and it'll be decent, but I think people are fed up now and rightfully so. If you want to play this game, go and play the ARMA II mods not this. I may check it in another year and it may be better, but I somewhat doubt it'll ever be a particularly good game.

I know there were plenty of skeptics out there prior to release, especially after hearing about it being a potentially bad PC port, however this is not the case. I went in to the game not expecting that much, and only really thought about getting it at all the day before release after hearing Troy Baker and Peter North were both voice acting in this game. I'll put the bullet points first since a lot of people won't want to read the bulk of the review.

Quick summary:
+ Great combat
+ Uses its inspiration well to create a great gameplay experience whilst still feeling unique
+ Nemesis System
+ NEMESIS SYSTEM
+ Runs very smoothly - I haven't noticed a single frame drop
+ Lots of content and potential playtime
+ Great mouse and keyboard controls
+ Getting around the map isn't tedious or time consuming especially after unlocking several abilities
+ Voice acting, charcter models and the lip syncing are spot on
+ Great sound and music

- Story is still good, but feels like it could be better, missions can feel quite lackluster although I'm only just over halfway so take that with a grain of salt

That's the only con I feel is worthy of actual putting down.

This game is really brilliant. The much talked about 'Nemesis System' being the greatest thing about it for me so far. The captains grow stronger and have their own personalities, and after finally killing all the original ones and having new guys rebuild the hierachy gradually, I am yet to see any simarities between the Captains - they do feel different. Also, the way some Captains refuse to die, and pop back up again when you think you've killed them, scarred, stronger and eager to settle the score straight is brilliant because it makes it so satisfying when you finally get to chop their heads off. There are some on my list which are very difficult, especially when paired together or in strongholds having to deal with 6 'Defenders', a mob of Uruk-hai, a tough guy invulnerable to anything but execution moves and basic combat, and another Captain firing explosive bolts at you or launching poisoned javelins sounds exactly like it should - tough.

A lot of people comment on how the combat looks too easy as well, and yes, while you may be able to easily carve your way through your typical thuggish orc once you get the hang of things, it does offer you challenge. The many enemy types that are introduced as you go through the game make these fights harder, and you will die (or fight your way back in with your 'last chance' scenario). When several Captains attack you at once, you may have to run. You are hugely outnumbered a lot of the time, and they do attack simultaneously - especially around the right Captains. You have to think on your feet, know when to run and know how to use traps to swing things in your favour if you want things to go smoothly. It is also a very satifying combat system, trying to build up your hit counter, unleashing brutal, gory killmoves on your opponents. The stealth is great and satisfying, and the controls are excellent for mouse and keyboard. It's the most fun I've had gameplay-wise since the latest Tomb Raider.

Arkham games + AC + Tomb Raider + Far Cry if you would like it simply put. Borrows some elements, but feels like it's own game nonetheless, it doesn't fee llike a ripoff. The only issues I have is that the running and free-running doesn't feel as smooth Tomb Raider - I never did something I didn't intend to in that game. It shares similar tiny problems as AC, where the camera sometimes gets a bit derpy, you're character attaches to a wall whilst sneaking and gets stuck, etc (which Tomb Raider never had because its cover system was perfect) but that's to be expected in a third-person, fast paced action game.

I've got a decent system, can't remember specifics but it's a 1.5-2 year old system by now and I've also never noticed a drop in frames on my HD 7970, with the settings on a mixture of high/ultra which were assigned to me and I haven't had to change. The game looks wonderful and runs well. The cutscenes are also of a great quality thus far, which brings me onto the story.

I'm only half way through the main missions, and the story has been good but nothing special to me really. Gollum is used quite well in the story, which I believe was another point of controversy to some. For me, the real meat and bones are in the Nemesis system. The story has me interested but I'm never in a rush to go on to the next mission. But hey, I can't let Mukalaka the Skull Crusher boast about his victory for too long, aye? Revenge is sweet.

9/10