Recent reviews by vassilevb

I bought this twice - once here and once for my PS3 (the DLCs are non-transferable between platforms), because I like these guys' music so much. I've listened to The Black Keys on a few occasions only, but I've only recently conditioned my brain to make me humming/whistling their tunes (i.e. what most people call "x likes y" happened). It's good to know that good rocky/bluesy tunes are still produced today (contrary to popular opinion and (grand)dad rock fanboys). I hope Ubisoft gave them some of the money.

No zebras.
No shrews.
No giraffes.
No leopards.
No cheetahs.
No sea cows.
No elephants.
No mongooses.
No rock hyraxes.
No hippopotamuses.
One dead rhinoceros.
No crocodiles munchin' on wildebeests.

Etc.

It's also got a supernatural BS-story (which gets bonus negative points from me; I wouldn't expect something other than superstition and folklore delusions, but still).

Doesn't quite look like Africa to me / 1o.

EDIT (10th of April, 2024):
I couldn't enjoy this reserve very much two years ago, but, if you like Africa, you probably will. Only buy it if you really find the idea of pretending to roam around Africa very attractive.

Also, you get a .470 Nitro Express, but you get no elephants, no rhinos, no leopards, so... no big five[en.wikipedia.org] for you, my gamer buddy!

Also, please, consider this:
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/id/vassilevb/recommended/1608440

It's like Tarkov (minus the gun customization/control, plus some zombies, which I'm really fed up with), but worse (and Tarkov is really bad (I played it for ~3000 hrs., so I probably know)). But, unlike Tarkov, it's sold as a finished game. O.o
To be able to enjoy this, you will have to waste 1000+ hours and utilize modded servers, because the official servers are worse than Tarkov's servers. So, you'll have to rent (goodbye, money), or use someone else's (goodbye, control) servers. It's really, really bad (I am aware that Tarkov Streets (the latest map) is currently unplayable; even Lighthouse (released one year ago) is unplayable) and unenjoyable. I was checking for a decent Tarkov alternative, but this isn't it.
If I have to choose a game to get mad at for losing, because of the fücking game's sh1++y design and technical problems, then...

... guess I'll keep getting mad at Tarkov / 1o.

Pff, it looks like that I am a sucker for new weapons in this walking sim / mass murder sim / total psycho sim. Especially when there's another .308 and the once-holding-the-world-record-for-the-longest-distance-kill .338 Lapua Magnum (unfortunately, you can't roleplay as the Royal Marine sniper, since you'll only be able to see an animal at maximum of approximately 420-430 metres (they don't get rendered farther away — an intrinsic main game limitation, which can be worked around with a mod, but I've never tried it myself (I prefer my games as vanilla as possible))).

The .308 AR-10 autoloader (another DLC) is more practical for sure, but bolt actions have their own aesthetic and feel, even in a game.

The 7mm single-shot rifle (base game) was favoured by the youtuber ronMctube as the most versatile weapon (covering animals classes 4-9, i.e. delivering "ethical" kills to animals as massive as a whitetail/boar up to a bison). The 7mm bolt-action in this DLC is simply a more practical version of the 7mm single-shot rifle from the base game, since it's got a 4-shot magazine.

I really can't tell what are the IRL models behind these fictional names, because, man, there are so many fückin' weapons out there! And there are too much discrepancies (e.g. if the .338 is an AI AWSM, then it's lacking its distinctive thumbhole; if the 7mm is a Christensen Arms Ridgeline, then it's got some "extra" iron sights; and there are a lot of .308 bolt-actions with carbon fibre stocks, fluted bolts that are lacking iron sights (we're talking about a ~EUR 2500 class of weapon here (these carbon fibre stocks are kinda expensive), I doubt someone would give that amount for a rifle and use it with iron sights)) and I just gave up on researching. I'd appreciate the input of someone more knowledgeable. :)

In my opinion, the intent behind this DLC is pleasing the hardcore players by offering them more choice. Is it worth it? I'm not sure. If that's a game that you play a lot (i.e. hundreds of hours) without getting sick of the endless grind, then probably yes. If not, then just use the base game weapons to save some money for an IRL hamburger or try the .308 AR-10 autoloader (sorry, it's paywalled) for increased practicality.

20 GB download yet again (+74 GB swap file extracted on my OS logical drive and copied over to my library logical drive) for three frickin' weapons — come on, man! / 1o

Cute art style and dialogue. Not much gameplay. Cool music. Clearly made with passion by competent people (mocap really made the dancing of non-human animals nice to watch). It's like a children's book, but it's a little bit more interactive. You can try it if you're into that kind of thing, but do yourself a favour and get it during a sale. If you wanna give more money to Grace, just find her online and send her some via PayPal (no need to give 30% to Lord Gaben).

Great uninstall material right here / 1o.

Dammit, I never learned to make even a simple ollie / 1o !
I feel very Swedish, thanks Nikola Šarčević / 1o !
Nikola's gonna hit 50 soon, man, I feel f°kken old already / 1o !

Jah live, mi bredda, it smelz of ganja hiar / 1o.
I hate this smell, open the window, please / 1o.
I hate hippies, but their music (incl. Grateful Dead) brings me joy / 1o.
There are no Laurel Aitken/Desmond Dekker/Alton Ellis/etc. DLCs, so I'm sad / 1o.

I still stand behind what I've said about the previous game — https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/id/vassilevb/recommended/205190 .

Again, two thumbs down for the DRM cable (and before some entitled @55hole "corrects" me that the DRM cable "is an accessory", I'd suggest he/she learns his/her own language, plus one more hint in a dead language — google "conditio sine qua non" and then open a dictionary to understand the meaning of the word "accessory") and the servers (servers in a single player band simulator game, give me a f°kken break).

Thumbs down for the incredibly massive money sink that the DLCs are (I don't remember spending more money on any other game, including DCS World; I bought both the original and the remaster for my PS3, plus some DLCs, because neither the main games, nor the DLCs are transferable between platforms (but the disc import tools are mandatory, if you want the songs/DLCs from the original on the remaster, regardless of the platform); it's a literal cash burner).

Thumbs down for the already disappearing DLCs (this will happen in the subscription-based RS+ too, don't be a smart@55, please).

Two thumbs up for everything else — this "game" really kicks @55. One great addition (compared to the original) is the session mode (I'd call it a band simulator), which is dope if you're tired of all the songs & DLCs or you just want to improvise. I'd compare RS2014 to an interactive encyclopedia (which, erm, doesn't have a chapter about proper musical notation; the majority of guitarists live without it (and hate music theory in general) for decades anyway). Yeah, if I had to create an interactive encyclopedia, that's what I'd do (without the DRM and the temporary licensing $#1+ of course). You're pretty much guaranteed to learn something new (e.g. a new scale, a new chord, a new exercise, a new song that you didn't like listening to, but enjoy playing along with, etc.), even if you played your instrument for a decade already.If you're a musician wannabe and find guitars sexy, then, please, do yourself a favour, don't waste your time, get a loan from a friend/parent/hell, even a frickin' bank, and (after buying your instrument) buy this before it gets buried in the digital graveyard (i.e. removed from Steam/PlayStation Store).


SLAP THAT bASS / 1o

USING A PICK IS AGAINST THE LAW / 1o

Davie504 currently has almost double the amount of subscribers, compared to the population of my country, basically slappers checkmate a whole frickin' country / 1o

Neutral/Good:
1. New harvest screen. You get it even if you don't buy this DLC.
2. The new reserve looks nice (looks like Hirschfelden+Layton Lakes copypasta, but it still looks nice).
3. Colton has a ~40+ y.o. son, named Trevor. Okay, cool. Making me personally invested in fictional characters' lives sounds cool. Trevor is making jokes = instant likeability bonus points.
4. I believe the male moose are now making new warning sounds. Either that, or they fixed something that was previously inaudible. I guess you'd get this even if you don't buy this DLC.
5. It seems to me that mortally shot animals react slightly more different than before. I guess you'd get this even if you don't buy this DLC.
6. I got a new .50 caliber muzzle-loading rifle. Thanks, but I prefer the Hawken/Hudzik rifle (it's a separate DLC).

Bad:
1. The game has to re-download completely (~20 GB) and reinstall completely (~70 GB). You still don't care about my hardware, I get it, thanks! Again. Even if I don't buy this DLC.
2. I own and upvoted the Bloodhound DLC, because I find it useful (I like to turn off track highlights and rely on the dog's tracking abilities for immersion's sake), but the dog is now useless (can't track, doesn't react to commands). I guess that would happen even if you don't buy this DLC.
3. No new animals. That's now a tradition - the African reserve still doesn't have elephants and will probably never have.
4. I've always had Dolby Atmos enabled. Now any item switching is noticeably louder than before the update. I guess that would happen even if you don't buy this DLC.

There's probably more stuff to add to those lists. I gave the "labour of love" nomination to this game, because I believe all the repeating failures are due to poor management, not developer incompetence/laziness. I still believe that's the case. Management often considers negative feedback to be an evaluation of the developers' work (which isn't the case most of the time). Thus, developers, if you read this, please, tell your managers that they need to start questioning their own work/decisions, not yours.

If simply (pretending to) flying isn't stressful enough for you (it is stressful enough for me, since one can f°kk up anytime), then this is your game. Unlike the majority of other flight sims, the additional gameplay element here is that you fight to preserve your life and to decimate enemies (i.e. you get to care for flight and fight controls, no pun intended). You can also fly without fighting, of course, with all those cartridges/rockets/bombs on board, ha-ha.

The base game gives you two planes:

a) Sukhoi Su-25T Grach (please, it's pronounced grɑʧ ) — a Soviet twin-engine jet from the late 1970s. It lacks cøckpit interaction, which is a bummer and destroys the immersion (which the game is supposed to sell you). I am not surprised that this aircraft is still used today (December 2022).

b) North American Aviation (that's the name of the company) TF-51D (variant of P-51D) — a U.S. propeller from the early 1940s that offers cøckpit interaction (pretty cool, even with this kind of aircraft; I prefer flying propellers for some reason).

Any other aircraft will cost you a solid amount of KA-CHING. The rule of thumb is: the more expensive the DLC, the higher quality simulation you'll get (fully interactable cøckpits is what gives me the tickles). I really want the Dassault Mirage/M-2000C, but I'm still hesitant to throw away such amount of KA-CHING for just one aircraft. If you're serious about flightsimming+combat, I guess you won't regret it.

If you watch one of the trailers, you'll hear "we're also focused on giving newcomers a smooth learning curve". I laughed.

If you have the money / 1o.