Black Skylands Review (Doc Maccinakloutos)
it's okay.
it's nothing innovative or groundbreaking.
it's a top down shooter, a bit like gta 2, but in a steampunk enveloppe, with some platforming, which can be bypassed by accident.
i dont understand why the passive income mechanic that was present pre-release was removed (you could grow veggies and pets at the home base, which meant getting more cash for upgrades)
nor why the shipbuilding was streamlined (you could build and pick up any combo of parts you wanted, including nerfing some features off to fit more speed and firepower on the smaller hulls)
Now using the bigger ships is completely pointless, unless you need the occasional boost in hitpoints for a battle with lots of ennemies.
why would you bother with a ship that's 50% slower, less manoeverable, doesnt fit in some areas when you can just TP back to home, dump what isnt needed, TP back close to your area of choice and continue?
the smallest and fastest skip was limited to 20 cargo cap, which meant you had to make a choice when going around. now i have 34 cap and i litterally just TP when it's full. from anywhere. getting the bigger hulls only grants a minor hull stash buff...
AI is dumb. reaally dumb. unless there's lots of it and you're doing it in hard, it's never really a threat.
they also kept the RNG'd weapon parts mechanic, so getting upgrades is just a slow, long drag.
there's really no reward in freeing an island to get goodies, and you cant make cosmetic choices. (that would make too much sense imho)
the story has been made further and further less impacting. initially you had your familly wiped, now it's an unrelated uncle you talk to twice before he dies. and dad's doing a fallout 3.
big bad guy is basically nonexistent and the annoying and badly implemented but necessary mechanic where the islands could be invaded again was removed.
so...
since i had 3 saves wiped during the developpment of this thing i'm going to finish it and be done with it.