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I assume isthereanydeal.com
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Turn-Based Tactics Showgunners (formerly Homicidal All-Stars) - turn-based tactics in a brutal late 21st century reality show from Hard West creators
- Thread starter Kacper Szymczak
- Start date
Lemming42
Arcane
I'd say it's worth about £10 - £12. I haven't finished yet but I'm on the final level and I'm mildly annoyed at having paid the full £20, but if I'd paid around half that I'd be pretty satisfied with it.
My main complaint about this game is that the latter part feels very rushed - everything from the moment you meet Zoe is sort of a mad rush to the finish that's so quick that you barely have time to process anything that's happening. Plus there's what looks to me like indications of cut features - for example they indicate that you'll be able to choose who accompanies you on the non-combat map, but in actuality you can't, you get stuck with Tybalt with no real explanation, I assume because development was rushed at some point and the feature was cut. They also introduce Tybalt by saying that he can hack certain doors on the overworld map, which led me to believe that each character would have their own unique overworld ability so you'd have to choose who you bring along carefully, but yeah, those doors never show up again and you never get to choose anyone else.
Similarly the introduction of Phantom and Marcus feels extraordinarily abrupt with them basically popping up one after the other with minimal real introduction and just immediately becoming squad members. All the squad members are pretty cool but you don't get to spend any time with them (despite the game having the between-missions-HQ that seems to be a mandatory feature of all these types of games these days). Scarlett and Tybalt both get memorable introductions with quite a bit of story attached, Warden gets an entire special mission dedicated to hiring it, but then Zoe just sort of gets a half-introduction, then Phantom and Marcus just pop up and say "hello we are your teammates now" and I have no idea who the fuck either of them are meant to be.
The story is okay but the premise calls for a much stronger sense of insanity than is actually present - the omnipresent obnoxious announcer is a great touch and the interactions with your fans are suitably disturbing, but Scarlett herself is just sort of dour in the way that so many game protagonists are these days. Someone who's decided to enter a deadly game show that she finds morally repugnant in order to take revenge on the reigning champion and then assassinate the producer live on TV should be interesting but in practice she's just sort of a bit gruff and downbeat. Probably the only interesting thing you can do as her is when fans call you a role model and you can harshly respond that they should absolutely not try to emulate you (you can also ruin the confessional segments, which is fun). Tybalt has an interesting story but is also pretty boring in practice, and the rest of the team don't even leave an impression.
I do like the game overall, it gives exactly the dose of nu-XCOM style TBT that I'm looking for, it's just a shame that it's a very concentrated and short dose. It was a courageous decision for the devs to insist upon hand-designed levels when template/procedural levels have become the standard for this genre, but the tradeoff is that the amount of content is pretty limited - I honestly think a few copypasted optional maps for players who want to spend more time with the game would have made the game quite a bit better. Probably a comfortable 7/10 as it is, maybe 7.5 if you really like this sort of thing, which I do. The whole thing just needs a lot more room to breathe, a few extra optional missions, more time for the teammates to show off their characters and more time to develop the villains.
My main complaint about this game is that the latter part feels very rushed - everything from the moment you meet Zoe is sort of a mad rush to the finish that's so quick that you barely have time to process anything that's happening. Plus there's what looks to me like indications of cut features - for example they indicate that you'll be able to choose who accompanies you on the non-combat map, but in actuality you can't, you get stuck with Tybalt with no real explanation, I assume because development was rushed at some point and the feature was cut. They also introduce Tybalt by saying that he can hack certain doors on the overworld map, which led me to believe that each character would have their own unique overworld ability so you'd have to choose who you bring along carefully, but yeah, those doors never show up again and you never get to choose anyone else.
Similarly the introduction of Phantom and Marcus feels extraordinarily abrupt with them basically popping up one after the other with minimal real introduction and just immediately becoming squad members. All the squad members are pretty cool but you don't get to spend any time with them (despite the game having the between-missions-HQ that seems to be a mandatory feature of all these types of games these days). Scarlett and Tybalt both get memorable introductions with quite a bit of story attached, Warden gets an entire special mission dedicated to hiring it, but then Zoe just sort of gets a half-introduction, then Phantom and Marcus just pop up and say "hello we are your teammates now" and I have no idea who the fuck either of them are meant to be.
The story is okay but the premise calls for a much stronger sense of insanity than is actually present - the omnipresent obnoxious announcer is a great touch and the interactions with your fans are suitably disturbing, but Scarlett herself is just sort of dour in the way that so many game protagonists are these days. Someone who's decided to enter a deadly game show that she finds morally repugnant in order to take revenge on the reigning champion and then assassinate the producer live on TV should be interesting but in practice she's just sort of a bit gruff and downbeat. Probably the only interesting thing you can do as her is when fans call you a role model and you can harshly respond that they should absolutely not try to emulate you (you can also ruin the confessional segments, which is fun). Tybalt has an interesting story but is also pretty boring in practice, and the rest of the team don't even leave an impression.
I do like the game overall, it gives exactly the dose of nu-XCOM style TBT that I'm looking for, it's just a shame that it's a very concentrated and short dose. It was a courageous decision for the devs to insist upon hand-designed levels when template/procedural levels have become the standard for this genre, but the tradeoff is that the amount of content is pretty limited - I honestly think a few copypasted optional maps for players who want to spend more time with the game would have made the game quite a bit better. Probably a comfortable 7/10 as it is, maybe 7.5 if you really like this sort of thing, which I do. The whole thing just needs a lot more room to breathe, a few extra optional missions, more time for the teammates to show off their characters and more time to develop the villains.
Wishlist it on Steam and they send you an email when it's on sale.
Last edited:
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- Jan 15, 2015
- Messages
- 12,699
isthereanydeal is better as you can set treshold and watch over multiple stores of choice
PanteraNera
Arcane
- Joined
- Nov 7, 2014
- Messages
- 1,024
While I do like the setting, the art style and the music the rest is meh at best.
A lot of wasted potential.
There is no real choices, eventually you will unlock all skills on every character.
Picking a sponsor is straight forward as well, as there is always one choice that is clearly better than any other.
The first 1/3 to half of the game feels different to the rest, as in more polished, more interesting.
The last couple of battles are a total drag, it feels rushed and stretched.
It became so boring that I actually have stopped playing it after just entering the final battle.
The game could have been way more.
The systems seem to be there, it just seems they had not the time or money to really flesh them out and make them interesting.
I recommend to pay not more than 10$ for it.
For me it is more than I expected, I tried to like Hard West and Phantom Doctrine but just could get into them and stopped playing after the first half hour.
A lot of wasted potential.
There is no real choices, eventually you will unlock all skills on every character.
Picking a sponsor is straight forward as well, as there is always one choice that is clearly better than any other.
The first 1/3 to half of the game feels different to the rest, as in more polished, more interesting.
The last couple of battles are a total drag, it feels rushed and stretched.
It became so boring that I actually have stopped playing it after just entering the final battle.
The game could have been way more.
The systems seem to be there, it just seems they had not the time or money to really flesh them out and make them interesting.
I recommend to pay not more than 10$ for it.
For me it is more than I expected, I tried to like Hard West and Phantom Doctrine but just could get into them and stopped playing after the first half hour.
Lemming42
Arcane
Just beat the game and the final levels were great fun, enough to improve my overall opinion of the game slightly. No idea what the fuck was going on story-wise - I don't know how Ford was in any way responsible for the murders, nor do I know why Scarlett's teammates, who had no knowledge of her plan, just blithely followed her into the tower without a word. Look at Phantom, Zoe and Marcus in the ending slides, they just joined the show to get money and suddenly they're stood behind some lunatic who's trying to start a revolution, and they're too polite to ask what the fuck's going on or why they're still there. But yeah, the final levels were very good, with the finale getting to just the right amount of retarded with the 5+ waves of reinforcements.
7.5/10 overall. Let's see if any of the other stuff coming up this year can best it.
7.5/10 overall. Let's see if any of the other stuff coming up this year can best it.
- Joined
- Sep 5, 2017
- Messages
- 1,416
I just finished it today.
Even though it is pretty short, I had my fun.
I really enjoyed the final area, wish it was that way throughout larger portion of the game.
Some abilities are fresh, interesting to use and allow different approachers to deal with combat encounters.
The writing is something else, I hope whoever wrote the Ukrainian hacker declaring "ACAB" the second you meet him was awarded their share of brownie points.
The setting is interesting, but it's underminded by the characters cast.
It's as diverse as it gets (want to bet there is a purple haired black lesbian strong woman?), but interaction with your team is minimal, so they don't become annoying.
What worse is that all the characters seem to secretly be good and noble people with hearts of gold.
The only exception is Zoe, but even she is too mellow.
For a wanna be edgy cyberpunk setting it's a real let down in my opionion.
The biggest disappointment is that
and even that
can't be trusted.
Even though it is pretty short, I had my fun.
I really enjoyed the final area, wish it was that way throughout larger portion of the game.
Some abilities are fresh, interesting to use and allow different approachers to deal with combat encounters.
The writing is something else, I hope whoever wrote the Ukrainian hacker declaring "ACAB" the second you meet him was awarded their share of brownie points.
The setting is interesting, but it's underminded by the characters cast.
It's as diverse as it gets (want to bet there is a purple haired black lesbian strong woman?), but interaction with your team is minimal, so they don't become annoying.
What worse is that all the characters seem to secretly be good and noble people with hearts of gold.
The only exception is Zoe, but even she is too mellow.
For a wanna be edgy cyberpunk setting it's a real let down in my opionion.
The biggest disappointment is that
there was no turncoats in the team in the final battle
Warden robot was not switched to go against you despite the constant warnings that Omega corp provided machine
Blah, I was hoping this would be better. The Running Man as a tactics game is a solid premise.
PanteraNera
Arcane
- Joined
- Nov 7, 2014
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- 1,024
- Joined
- Sep 5, 2017
- Messages
- 1,416
Yes, that's the main reason for me,
the whole team and the larger scale of encounters with enemies coming from all sides.
The bosses themselves were pretty shit to be honest.
Ulysses only got to attack twice before retreating and sticking to overwatch duty.
And the last guy just stood in his little room waiting for a single shot to end him.
Compare that to Naheulbeuk were slaying bosses required coordinated teamwork from all characters.
In my opinion the Shadowrunned would have benefited greatly from an active and agressive boss who
would press forward with a number of different attacks.
Lemming42
Arcane
The game feels quite restrictive up until the finale, so letting you have the whole team really did have a big impact and sense of freedom for me. Plus, the only real challenge I experienced in the whole game came in those final levels. Most of the game is way too straightforward but at the end you can really get overwhelmed pretty fast.
- Joined
- Mar 9, 2019
- Messages
- 3,790
yes
orcinator
Liturgist
Very deep critique of capitalism where we release a handful of crappy reskins for a bugerbuck each.
ArchAngel
Arcane
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2015
- Messages
- 20,085
You know desperate times and all that..
*-*/\--/\~
Cipher
- Joined
- Jul 10, 2014
- Messages
- 912
he dies in a stupid mandatory cutscene so you're only left with the mandatory stronk wahman, i dropped the game at that point and never looked back
found it pretty meh overall and this was the tipping point
- Joined
- Apr 24, 2015
- Messages
- 19,296
JA: Rage was back in 2018.
- Joined
- Apr 24, 2015
- Messages
- 19,296
mediocrepoet it's ok game which does some things right with level design and stealth.
It's biggest sins are bearing the JA name and nearly game breaking bug in one level.
It's biggest sins are bearing the JA name and nearly game breaking bug in one level.
- Joined
- Sep 5, 2017
- Messages
- 1,416
So while waiting for JA3 to fix the Outbreak quest bug I checked out the Security Breach DLC.
It takes place just before the final encounter with Ford himself.
But there's an option to start the DLC right away.
In the later case you get max level characters, some decent weapons (not the best though) and enough Fame to unlock 4 out of 5 tiers of sponsors.
There is no free-roam exploration, just 5 battle zones.
Two are mandatory, "the entrance" and "the exit", and 3 are optional and can be done in any order.
All characters get a new weapon as a reward for completing one of the optional missions.
Each weapon has a unique trait, like increased explosion radius for the asian-wannabe-paladin-bro for example.
But some seem to a trap choice - the minigun Zoe gets can be winded up twice in just 1 action, but it still does about the same damage as her iconic "C-333 Army of Me" winded once.
The unexpectedly-trustworthy-warden-bot got the best gun:
And they even made a reference to why his so much foreshadowed betrayal has never happened.
Yeah, it's an excuse of an explanation, but at least they acknowledged it.
The new battle zones are great.
Just like in the final areas of the base game, you can field all 6 characters.
Each encounter has a mechanic that encourages aggressive playstyle.
There are field objectives, multiple waves of reinforcements and they throw large number of enemies at you all the time.
Enemy composition is also good, there are always a few healers, some heavy-weights like Ogres or Fumes, a bunch of cannon-fodder scum, and the main attraction - the Stalker.
The new enemy did not impress me much though.
Stalker has a fuckton of health (200 HP, that's twice as much as the Ogres) and can go invisible and teleport away on taking enough damage.
He does this ninja trick even if he was stunned or hit with an overwatch attack.
Instead of assassinating your characters from stealth like the strong-diverse-lesbian-sniper-womxn can do,
the Stalker reappears at a random spot and does nothing but marks the nearest character. He rarely gets a chance to get any use from his mark, as he is not immune to control.
Anyways, all 5 arenas were fun to play
Especially I liked the "dynamic cover lab" with walls rearranging each turn and of course I did not miss chance to shot myself in the foot by disabling half of my team in the acoustic weapons labs, just as the new wave of enemies arrived.
Each battle took me about 30 minutes, so 2.5 hours in total. Pretty good for a free DLC.
It takes place just before the final encounter with Ford himself.
But there's an option to start the DLC right away.
In the later case you get max level characters, some decent weapons (not the best though) and enough Fame to unlock 4 out of 5 tiers of sponsors.
There is no free-roam exploration, just 5 battle zones.
Two are mandatory, "the entrance" and "the exit", and 3 are optional and can be done in any order.
All characters get a new weapon as a reward for completing one of the optional missions.
Each weapon has a unique trait, like increased explosion radius for the asian-wannabe-paladin-bro for example.
But some seem to a trap choice - the minigun Zoe gets can be winded up twice in just 1 action, but it still does about the same damage as her iconic "C-333 Army of Me" winded once.
The unexpectedly-trustworthy-warden-bot got the best gun:
And they even made a reference to why his so much foreshadowed betrayal has never happened.
The new battle zones are great.
Just like in the final areas of the base game, you can field all 6 characters.
Each encounter has a mechanic that encourages aggressive playstyle.
There are field objectives, multiple waves of reinforcements and they throw large number of enemies at you all the time.
Enemy composition is also good, there are always a few healers, some heavy-weights like Ogres or Fumes, a bunch of cannon-fodder scum, and the main attraction - the Stalker.
The new enemy did not impress me much though.
Stalker has a fuckton of health (200 HP, that's twice as much as the Ogres) and can go invisible and teleport away on taking enough damage.
He does this ninja trick even if he was stunned or hit with an overwatch attack.
Instead of assassinating your characters from stealth like the strong-diverse-lesbian-sniper-womxn can do,
the Stalker reappears at a random spot and does nothing but marks the nearest character. He rarely gets a chance to get any use from his mark, as he is not immune to control.
Anyways, all 5 arenas were fun to play
Especially I liked the "dynamic cover lab" with walls rearranging each turn and of course I did not miss chance to shot myself in the foot by disabling half of my team in the acoustic weapons labs, just as the new wave of enemies arrived.
Each battle took me about 30 minutes, so 2.5 hours in total. Pretty good for a free DLC.
- Joined
- Jan 28, 2011
- Messages
- 97,508
ArchAngel
Arcane
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2015
- Messages
- 20,085
Hopefully they got rid of all the useless dangerhairs and non developer diversity hires.
ArchAngel
Arcane
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2015
- Messages
- 20,085
It seems so did most of gamers :D
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