Now, to start off i have not finished the game yet but i am about 6.5 hrs in already. I didnt go deep in researching the game before i got it but i did see a gameplay clip and the trailers. The game suprised me with how much they left out. In a GOOD way.
Lets begin
The game is much longer than you think it can be. I thought it would be a linear closed game but its a open world game. The world reminds me of when i saw a friend play one of the final fantasies. Open, traveling groups you can try to avoid lots of loot everywhere.
Dungeons are not part of the main story but they give you loot that you will definitely want and are unlocked either through collecting "prisim cores" or others with "corebots". Dungeons GREATLY extend the game time and are rewards for your exploration efforts. To give you a example; i have 11 prisim cores so far and there is a dungeon with a 75 core requirement to enter. I have found about 10 dungeons i have yet to explore excluding the story.
"But op what loot who cares about loot"
This was a feature i never saw in this game. YOU CAN CUSTOMIZE YOUR BOTS. Changing their looks as well as their bonuses. There are hp/energy/defense/rng stats for each bot that you can upgrade.
Examples of customization:
My k-9
[url]http://xboxdvr.com/gamer/spartain%20096/screenshot/4783524[/url]
My sp
[url]http://xboxdvr.com/gamer/spartain%20096/screenshot/4783532[/url]
^^ this is why you will seek dungeons to complete these sets if you need a reason other then completion purposes.
The combat so far is not stale for me yet and i binged. You will have multiple colors fighting so it keeps you on your toes as you switch. Multiple colored wolves in your face. Core retreival mechanic adds flavor to your shootouts. Once you master gun fu of combos though enemies become easier to kill so you lose out on cores here and there. But fortunately cores stealing and killing rewards you with their own type of loot and both are needed!!! Dont be afraid to kill!!
[b][u]THE CONS[/u][/b]
The game does have a long load (at times) and a day 1 patch for that would have been nice. There were also two times in rooms where visual textures did that strech through plane thing. Also... not that the game is hard and i rarely died... but be warned there are status effects and i have been comboed to death (like 100 hp to 0 in a second) i mean its fair. But once i got hit with so many snares my character stayed in a snared state until i fast traveled.
[b][u]IN CONCLUSION[/u][/b]
I believe this game is another case of critics going overboard. The game is great and i can tell even as i reach the later strech of the story, i have ALOT of bot unlocked materials to collect now and a number of dungeons to keep me playing past its supposed 8 hr run time. The game is visually stunning and every object you see you can climb on allowing me to bypass bot requirements at time. Reminds me of the great games back in the day just with a new polish. There is only a few issues but all can be rectified in a patch. All in all definitely worth my $40.
[u]compared to every game[/u]: 7ish. Only because 8+ are reserved for single/multiplayer combo games except for witcher 3.
[b]as a non AAA rpg shooter[/b] 10/10 more content than destiny vanilla maybe dlcs and just as smooth gameplay.
If anyone needs advice or tips i will reply in a spoiler :)
Edit: near the end is friggin lame. I understand its use and does hark back to olden times but still..
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I didn't know it was open world. Do you know if it's going to pull a Fallout 3 and completely end your progress after beating it? Or does it keep on going? Because I'm already wanting to buy it and if I can keep progressing after the story, I will be completely sold.