A game I'd recently removed from my Steam wish-list. I'd heard and seen unfavourable reviews. Even talking to a friend recently who's played it said it was 'bad'. Like him I can say I have a fondness for the original game. Getting a chance to play the second game via Xbox Ultimate only enforces those feelings and enhances the nostalgia I have for the first game. The second is good but it's not as original as the first was. Hard to bottle lightning never mind do it twice. Yet the second game at least for me, has grown on me.
The second game has the humor. All the sounds, music, graphics and animations you'd expect from the franchise and they work well. Think of a cross between the The Incredibles and Austin Powers. If you've never played the first game then you'll get why players loved it from this version even if you can't see past the first games graphics. If your like me, a returning player to the franchise, nostalgia will be sated and you'll game on, complete some 'stuff' and then wonder whats really new.
Whats there works well. The world map isn't as 'bad' as I've heard. It does show whats ongoing at a glance once you get used to it's icons. A circle with a % to completion is kind of a giveaway. The game is intuitive in my view and the tutorial does a good job of leading a player through it and into the broader ongoing game world. In a lot of ways this game strikes me as a perfect remaster of the first rather than a followup.
Maybe I'm stuck in a 50/50 situation talking about and considering this game. Pro's and Con's. Free access with Ultimate is free access; But had I bought the game I'd be wondering where the 'new' was. Still it's got a lot of spit and polish to it. It's still fun to play. So no wonder it's gone from a launch review of mixed to positive on Steam.... Then again it's €40 for the base game and €60 for the 'deluxe'. Having already cleared the first game with Max(granted a good few years ago at this stage) there's just not that much changed with the game formulae to be that different to be a real 'game changer' for me this time round. It's good but a super villain can only run an organisation so many times and still feel 'really' fulfilled. It's all down to the player. Personal perspectives for sure.
Loading up the old game and a random early-game save from 2006; the first thing I see is Max in the control room with his boost aura on.
Just like he is in my current save in the second game!
There's an overwhelming familiarity in the second game and I like it for that but it's not got the changes I'd need to make it 'better' for me as an experience. It's hard to point out what those changed would or could be. As the saying goes it's hard to keep all of the people happy all of the time. If the second game was changed radically I'd probably be moaning about that.
Comparing both iterations I don't recall the first having as much between mission faffing about waiting. Set a scheme in motion in the second game and you're gonna be waiting a while till it completes. Not that there isn't other stuff to do, but I found myself waiting on a bunch of schemes in a lot of countries and I could tell I was waiting. A few times. Set them off, do a bunch of work to the lair(not unpleasant in itself), research etc and check back on the world map and the schemes are only up 15% from where you left them. Just seems drawn out at times. I've been playing the game on max speed using the spacebar to pause when 'things' need action or when I'm micromanaging the lair.
While I'm playing the game via Ultimate as a PC title, it's link to Xbox still gives me the console achievements. So a look at some of those stats, ones that stand out; Some of the early ones that a player trips over by accident and can complete with no real effort(in my view!):
Only 70% got 20 minions in the lair....
Only 30% have trained a guard....
Only 8% have trained a mercenary....
Only 14% have built an inner sanctum....
What I thought had the potential to keep me playing the game is the sandbox mode, 'create the lair of your dreams' as it says. But I can see that waning fast enough. The building and micromanagement of a lair is good but it can get messy fast. That mess becomes slightly less when your in sandbox and have a bit more leeway but goals are still there. Still if you've done it one then repeating it 'feels' like repetition rather than a process to 'enjoy'.
Granted I'm not really that far off the 'end game' device for my current play-through but already I'm 'meh' about getting it done. The lair needs work. A second level needs to be put in. Research needs to be moved and expanded there; Which in turn makes more room for expansion of the control room. Which in turn lets me upgrade criminal networks around the globe. Which in turn will let me do the M.I.D.A.S. project jobs. Which is Max's end game. It's not as much a grind as it sounds but it's the waiting that gets me. Maybe that's just me and being impatient about the process.
There are other genius minds as a lead character and while they are all unique with different aims for world domination. The game mechanics are the same in how you go about world domination. Still minions are minions and they still do jobs on the world stage as well as the lair. Lairs are still lairs and do not change theme with the evil genius which is a pity. The island lair is ideal as Max is essentially the epitome of a bond villain, the island setting suits him most of all(imho).
Maybe I'm missing out on a bunch of stuff but I've had fun and will have hours of fun yet. Get the M.I.D.A.S. up and running. Make the world golden.
I'm glad for the opportunity to play the game, glad via XBox Ultimate for PC. It's let me answer the questions I've been pondering about the game long-term. The game is good but unless it's cheap on Steam...... Meh!?
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