VA: I really didn't like or believe V's male voicing; I sounded like an unschooled, heavy drinker from Boston the whole game despite being a Corpo lifepath and also sounding like no-one else from the area; hated it and broke char authenticity for me.
Good review. My first V was a Male nomad, and my second V was a female street kid, and I definitely prefer the VA for female V over male V. I could imagine it being worse on the corpo path as male V sounds like too much of a common thug. Female V especially shines during the later parts of the game when
V is on the verge of dying and as the relic malfunctions become more common. You can really feel the desperation.
Good review. My first V was a Male nomad, and my second V was a female street kid, and I definitely prefer the VA for female V over male V. I could imagine it being worse on the corpo path as male V sounds like too much of a common thug. Female V especially shines during the later parts of the game when
V is on the verge of dying and as the relic malfunctions become more common. You can really feel the desperation.
First was Nomad, male. VA didn’t even register for me because it fit the rugged, scrappy biopath so naturally. Played char for 1-2h, however; had an inkling Corpo was my calling.
Restarted and here I am some 70h later. Very happy with how cool Corpo plays out – except for that same ridden hard, put away wet VA. As a suit, nah. And male has little desperation in delivery, even as spoiler events come to pass – shame for a game with such well-written script.
Definite do-over for me if I could rewind time would be Corpo, female.
Romancing some chicas I liked would feel strange to me as a female protag but echoing your sentiment, I feel the dialogue and immersion would hit so much harder. Will create female char tomorrow to check it out; haven’t another full playthrough in me though as DLC was emotionally draining.
Definite do-over for me if I could rewind time would be Corpo, female.
Romancing some chicas I liked would feel strange to me as a female protag but echoing your sentiment, I feel the dialogue and immersion would hit so much harder. Will create female char tomorrow to check it out; haven’t another full playthrough in me though as DLC was emotionally draining.
Played two good sessions after retarting my character, this time as a corpo. I kinda regret not picking female V though, really don't like male VA either.
I haven't messed around too much in skills/builds yet, but I just love how much better driving feels. They even pulled back the mini map so you can make turns on time.
It's funny, I stopped both sessions when forced to do braindance, I really hate that aspect of the game.
Played two good sessions after retarting my character, this time as a corpo. I kinda regret not picking female V though, really don't like male VA either.
I haven't messed around too much in skills/builds yet, but I just love how much better driving feels. They even pulled back the mini map so you can make turns on time.
It's funny, I stopped both sessions when forced to do braindance, I really hate that aspect of the game.
Wasn’t a BD fan either but honestly, you’re only dragged into that subsystem a few times over the course of the campaign – like 3, iirc, and the first with Judy is the most tedious.
Wasn’t a BD fan either but honestly, you’re only dragged into that subsystem a few times over the course of the campaign – like 3, iirc, and the first with Judy is the most tedious.
Yeah, I'm at the Judy one now. That's where I tapped out for a bit the first time I played way back. Thankfully it's only needed a few times, but it just grounds everything to a halt.
I can't wait to get into the DLC, but I'm enjoying replaying the game, especially just driving around. When I first played, I only ever drove the Akira bike. Every other vehicle drove like ass. I put a bunch of points into the strength (fist icon) skill , just so I could jack any vehicle. I love the cars with guns on them, having a blast!
Finished my 97% playthrough of 2.0 & Phantom Liberty yesterday.
Previously I played through 1.5 twice.
Once as a male streetkid.
Once as a female corpo.
This time I was a male nomad.
While I like the female voicacting more, I much prefer Panam as the romance option.
The 2.0 upgrade system is an improvement it still has its flaws with some perks still not working correctly. Also I played through as a gunslinger and Johnny's gun is the best pistol in the game.
*10 round clip
*Rifle-like precision at long range.
*Sounds like a shotgun.
*Its own cool reload animation.
I played on Hard, but by level 30 gunslinger is OP and the game certainly wasn't 'Hard.'
That's a flaw of the upgrade system. You become far too powerful far too quickly... if you play correctly. By Level 45 of 60 I was basically putting perk points into points I'd rarely or never use.
A year ago I played as a corpo-netrunner, and netrunner builds are stupidly OP. Like it takes all challenge completely out of everything, and from what I've seen in the new 2.0 update its even worse now.
Hands-down the absolute best thing about the updated upgrade system is not having to upgrade your crafting to be able to craft increasingly powerful weapons & items. If you have the specs & components you can craft it.
The financial system of the game is now a complete joke. By Level 40 I had $3.5 Million in the bank and I was pimped out with Level 5+ Cyberware.
The Phantom Liberty is the 2nd best expansion I've ever played. Only major complaint there wasn't as much action along the main narrative after that boss fight I mentioned in a previous post. Dogtown is a small section of Night City but it certainly is the most dense.
So if the Phantom Liberty expansion worth the extra $30? Hell yes, but if you have a big backlog of games it'll probably be $20 or $15 in a year.
As for the rest of the game, I did most of everything. Most being everything worth doing more than once.
Is it worth being an UberDriver again for a clown with a grenade for a nose? No.
Is it worth meditating with a monk multiple times? No.
Is it worth visiting Judy as Male-V at the cabin to close out her storyline? No.
Did I do all the gigs? Yes.
Did I do all the NCPD missions? Yes.
Did I do all the Cyberpsychos? Yes.
Did I steal all the cars? Yes.
Oh, and I skipped the whole 'Help The Mayor Candidate' questline, as well as helping River find the Serial killer. These weren't really fun the first two times I did them so I skipped them this time.
I did notice one thing about the main game that I didn't the first two times I played it. The Panam & Avacados storyline writing is complete ass. I like Panam as a character and the Avacados would be my preferred group of all the groups in the gang... but Nomads are supposed to be distrusting of outsiders of their 'family.'.. and you're a Gary Sue (male version of a Mary Sue) with sharing a hotel room with Panam the first night you meet her. All the Avacados instantly like you the moment they meet you for the first time, and by the ending they've accepted you into the 'Avacado Family' and instantly go on very dangerous mission which Saul even says he's not counting on everyone surviving... to maybe save you. He's a shitty leader and wasn't a surprise at all when...
Adam Smasher curb-stomped his skull into the ground.
...so Panam would then be the leader of the Avacados.
Also, Panam acts like a pissed off teenager thoughout most of the Alvacados storyline. She looks like she's in her mid-20s, and Saul is in his mid-50s, and he outright admits 'You were right. I was wrong' and willingly gives her co-leadership?
That just doesn't smell right with me.
Anyway, those are my thoughts.
I may play through it again next year, but not sooner.
Alright, choombas, the sitch from me: Beat this behemoth last night (savefile: 32h) while sitting maybe 2h into DLC that I'll keep at over weekend.
I have some strong opinions on this that land across the spectrum so let me put some thoughts down.
Pros:
Story: Seriously amazing, creative, complex yet simple...yet complex, at times magical; there's a hopelessness that ultimately consumed me so it's a grim game, IMO, dark in concept.
Writing: Inspiring, effortlessly swinging between future street-speak and sci-fi/techy, then waxing poetic about life, the codes we live by.
Chars/NPCs:So good; Jackie feels too real, wearing his heart on sleeve; Keanu crushes it and is very memorable; Takemura is such a G and should have his own game; really wish I could have romanced Hanako because she was the only char I was interested in romantically.
Expansion: They integrated it so well that I honestly didn't know I was doing DLC quests until a couple were complete – very well done.
Music: Rad as hell; there's a scene in an airborne taxi with Brian Eno-esque music playing that had me spellbound and immersed by a strangely cold feeling; below is the track that plays from OST after you beat the game that hit me like a brick, eerily:
Cons:
Gameplay: WPNs have no weight – tinny, toy combat; no FOV slider had everything shoved into my face and hampering traversal + crosshair comfort, leading me to DOOM-hipfire the F out of everyone for the most part; poor camera implementation as they don't tease enviro/explore and ADS sensitivities apart very well.
VA: I really didn't like or believe V's male voicing; I sounded like an unschooled, heavy drinker from Boston the whole game despite being a Corpo lifepath and also sounding like no-one else from the area; hated it and broke char authenticity for me.
UI/Skill tree(s): Too messy, wordy, compact and thought it unsatisfying to level up; poor selection audio FX.
Glitches: For the last, I don't know, 10h of the game, I had one of my fingers replaced by a cigarette I'd previously smoked with Silverhand and it spoilt a lot of moments for me being an FPS game; I had some cars flashing in and out of existence with streetfolk chatting up walls, as well; no map fallthrough or softlock craziness though.
Design: Third- versus first-person perspectives divided gamerverse so whatever, is what it is but I do think this game could have been superior if having abandoned open-world goals and boundaried game rather to select Night City boroughs/world outskirts; I imagine the pathfinding + bug smashing would have been so much more feasible and diminished original launch fiasco too.
Something interesting on an AI note is that the Polish VA passed away before recording V’s lines for the expansion. Devs had in his stead his son record the lines, then they modulated and manipulated the recording to sound like his father using AI.
Bloomberg reported on it here for those interested.
Good review. My first V was a Male nomad, and my second V was a female street kid, and I definitely prefer the VA for female V over male V. I could imagine it being worse on the corpo path as male V sounds like too much of a common thug. Female V especially shines during the later parts of the game when
V is on the verge of dying and as the relic malfunctions become more common. You can really feel the desperation.
First was Nomad, male. VA didn’t even register for me because it fit the rugged, scrappy biopath so naturally. Played char for 1-2h, however; had an inkling Corpo was my calling.
Restarted and here I am some 70h later. Very happy with how cool Corpo plays out – except for that same ridden hard, put away wet VA. As a suit, nah. And male has little desperation in delivery, even as spoiler events come to pass – shame for a game with such well-written script.
Definite do-over for me if I could rewind time would be Corpo, female.
Romancing some chicas I liked would feel strange to me as a female protag but echoing your sentiment, I feel the dialogue and immersion would hit so much harder. Will create female char tomorrow to check it out; haven’t another full playthrough in me though as DLC was emotionally draining.
Finished my 97% playthrough of 2.0 & Phantom Liberty yesterday.
Previously I played through 1.5 twice.
Once as a male streetkid.
Once as a female corpo.
This time I was a male nomad.
While I like the female voicacting more, I much prefer Panam as the romance option.
The 2.0 upgrade system is an improvement it still has its flaws with some perks still not working correctly. Also I played through as a gunslinger and Johnny's gun is the best pistol in the game.
*10 round clip
*Rifle-like precision at long range.
*Sounds like a shotgun.
*Its own cool reload animation.
I played on Hard, but by level 30 gunslinger is OP and the game certainly wasn't 'Hard.'
That's a flaw of the upgrade system. You become far too powerful far too quickly... if you play correctly. By Level 45 of 60 I was basically putting perk points into points I'd rarely or never use.
A year ago I played as a corpo-netrunner, and netrunner builds are stupidly OP. Like it takes all challenge completely out of everything, and from what I've seen in the new 2.0 update its even worse now.
Hands-down the absolute best thing about the updated upgrade system is not having to upgrade your crafting to be able to craft increasingly powerful weapons & items. If you have the specs & components you can craft it.
The financial system of the game is now a complete joke. By Level 40 I had $3.5 Million in the bank and I was pimped out with Level 5+ Cyberware.
The Phantom Liberty is the 2nd best expansion I've ever played. Only major complaint there wasn't as much action along the main narrative after that boss fight I mentioned in a previous post. Dogtown is a small section of Night City but it certainly is the most dense.
So if the Phantom Liberty expansion worth the extra $30? Hell yes, but if you have a big backlog of games it'll probably be $20 or $15 in a year.
As for the rest of the game, I did most of everything. Most being everything worth doing more than once.
Is it worth being an UberDriver again for a clown with a grenade for a nose? No.
Is it worth meditating with a monk multiple times? No.
Is it worth visiting Judy as Male-V at the cabin to close out her storyline? No.
Did I do all the gigs? Yes.
Did I do all the NCPD missions? Yes.
Did I do all the Cyberpsychos? Yes.
Did I steal all the cars? Yes.
Oh, and I skipped the whole 'Help The Mayor Candidate' questline, as well as helping River find the Serial killer. These weren't really fun the first two times I did them so I skipped them this time.
I did notice one thing about the main game that I didn't the first two times I played it. The Panam & Avacados storyline writing is complete ass. I like Panam as a character and the Avacados would be my preferred group of all the groups in the gang... but Nomads are supposed to be distrusting of outsiders of their 'family.'.. and you're a Gary Sue (male version of a Mary Sue) with sharing a hotel room with Panam the first night you meet her. All the Avacados instantly like you the moment they meet you for the first time, and by the ending they've accepted you into the 'Avacado Family' and instantly go on very dangerous mission which Saul even says he's not counting on everyone surviving... to maybe save you. He's a shitty leader and wasn't a surprise at all when...
Adam Smasher curb-stomped his skull into the ground.
...so Panam would then be the leader of the Avacados.
Also, Panam acts like a pissed off teenager thoughout most of the Alvacados storyline. She looks like she's in her mid-20s, and Saul is in his mid-50s, and he outright admits 'You were right. I was wrong' and willingly gives her co-leadership?
That just doesn't smell right with me.
Anyway, those are my thoughts.
I may play through it again next year, but not sooner.
Good review, G. What are your money-making schemes? I liked car boosting in Dtown for El Capitan and hacking for eurodollars but other than those, only saw real money from side gigs as I'd salvaged WPNs for mats. Felt pretty poor for most of my 70h, TBH.
I was thinking initially this would be an attribute like Intel where there’s vehicular perks but I actually think this gets done via implant from a ripper doc. I never got into the time control stuff, TBH. I had a maxed out cyberdeck that did something like that for me when procced but there’s a way to build into that and do shinobi stuff like above, I think.
If you like anime, you made a very good choice watching Edgerunners before playing CP2077.
Wish I had that option.
But I don't like anime.
Partially kidding.
I typically don't like anime, but Edgerunners kept my attention.
Can't say I enjoyed it as much as much anime fans did, but it does a great job of worldbuilding for the world of the game you're about to play.
Some say it does a better job of worldbuilding than the game itself.
If you like anime, you made a very good choice watching Edgerunners before playing CP2077.
Wish I had that option.
But I don't like anime.
Partially kidding.
I typically don't like anime, but Edgerunners kept my attention.
Can't say I enjoyed it as much as much anime fans did, but it does a great job of worldbuilding for the world of the game you're about to play.
Some say it does a better job of worldbuilding than the game itself.
Didn’t you also say you really liked the League of Legends anime? Arcane or whatever it was called? Or am I thinking of somebody else? Or was it not anime??
Didn’t you also say you really liked the League of Legends anime? Arcane or whatever it was called? Or am I thinking of somebody else? Or was it not anime??
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