I beat the game yesterday and though why not write a little review of it. Now mind that this is actually my OPINION and not how I show you the way to enlightnment. I'm gonna cover up the campaing only


1. Main character and Story

You play as Sgt. James Heller, who happens to be black(afro-american whatever) in his 30s or so. I thought that was cool, he's bad-ass. The only problem I have is that he's quite stereotypical. He swears a lot and goes to church. Other than that I like how he's designed.
Along the way you get to meet a priest, Alex Mercer who is the main character from the previous game, his sister and some other blackwatch and genteck guys.

The story was good, I wanted to keep playing to find out what happens. It could make a decent movie.
The side quests were also good with their little storylines.

The game is didived into three zones: the yellow zone is where you start, then you go to the green zone and, you guessed it, end the game in the Red Zone.
Each zone has it's individual side quests and collectibles which you should complete if you want to level up your character faster.

Overall good stuff.


2. Gameplay, Controls, Combat

Very similar to the first game, the sequel has that same fast-paced action combat going on. However the controls felt a little off, like they weren't implemented good enough. Also, I didn't feel like I was in control of the character at times, like he just flies arround and does stuff on his own.
I have issues with the lock-on. If I try to pick something up the character just flies right at the locked target. I had to be right next to the thing I want to pick in order to pick it up and at times that doesn't work either. I find that annoying.

Most of the powers and combat moves from the previous game are here with a few additional ones. The leveling up system was done better but it was still weird at times, like when you come out of a hive or something, how Heller is surrounded by enemy forces and he takes his time to evolve. You not only level up but level up your powers on a different scale which you unlock with side quests. I find that to be a cheap way to force you to play through the secondaries, which I did anyway since they had their own little story and all.
You'll find those quests repetative in construction but they end up to be more or less different and fun.

My favorite power is the bio bomb. The character grabs someone up and punches them in the neck and they explode in a black hole effect, pulling the nearest NPCs and objects towards them. Really nice for infiltrating bases on those side missions. Too bad it wasn't utilized that good because you get it much later on in the game.

I don't like the fact that the game automatically binds my controls and doesn't let me change them. It's a downside considering that I had some issues with the combat but it isn't that big a deal.

The difficulty... well, significantly easier than the first game. I played on Normal since I didn't know what to expect and died only a couple of times, a few of which were exactly because the controls and the combat design are not done properly. I don't know how to explain it... they just feel off at times.

The boss battles were very easy. You just run arround avoiding their attacks and hit them a few times. There is little to no thought process involved during this game. And nothing original too. Shame.

Speaking of which there weren't even that much bosses. I don't wanna spoil anything but the last battle is... well, retarded. You can't lock on, you can't jump too high, you can't glide and fly, you can't use the special power until a certain point... what the hell is that all about? I didn't like it at all.
After you beat the game you unlock the Insane difficulty but I don't feel like playing it all over again. The replay value is low, at least for me.

What I ended up hating the most were those damned helicopter missions. Yeah I understand that they were undercover missions to gather intel but damn... I wanted to play as Heller.

Yeah... there's no thermobaric tank. There's only a thermobaric chopper and the effect of the explosion is much much lamer compared to the first game. At least I think so.

I felt like they didn't add anything new and just took away some of how awesome the first game was. I don't get it, aren't sequels supposed to be superior? But anyway:


3. Graphics and Sound

I never judge a game by its graphics. They are good. I had no performance issues on maxed out settings.

The sound effects were also decent. I can't complain.

4.Overall

To sum it up it felt like the game had a lot of potential but wasn't executed well enough. It felt like there were many things missing, although they added new powers and all.
The game was short, it lacked in boss battles and it lacked in general. I didn't like it as much as the first one but despite what I said it's still a great game. I recommend it.

I'd rate it 7/10