This game is awesome.
No, really, it's fantastic. The characters are fun and complex. The plot is engaging and intense. The mechanics are (for the most part) tight and responsive. The multi-player is seamless and integrated. It's a great game.
The story is great. You're a hacker for hire out for the big score when your greedy, idiot partner dives too far for too long and gets caught. As a result, your niece is killed while on a car ride with you. The rest of the game, you're fighting your way to the people that did this to your family, wiping out anything in your path.
I wish there was more of a backstory on the main character, Aiden Pierce. Didn't really get to know his past or anything about him. He was apparently taught by his old partner Damien. He has a younger sister. Other than that, he's pretty blank. His growth is dependent on you finding all the goodies in the game, and it's minimal at best. Still, for a game with a linear storyline, they handled it really well.
The other characters are a blast. Clara is one of the best characters in a video game that I've seen since Mass Effect. T-Bone is funny, though one note. Damien is a slime from day one and they do a good job of making you dislike him. Lucky is terrifying. He's a terrifying, creepy old bastard, fantastic design choices, great writing and a good voice actor casting. Iraq was probably my least favorite. He felt like a cliché. You look at him and can interpret how he's going to react. His brother Bedbug is better but too minor to really make up for it. Nicky, the sister, is a bit of a whiner but she makes a great case as the "normal" person looking in to Aiden's world.
Only three major complaints:
1) Family Man
The relationship between Aiden and his family is weird. He and Nicky never felt brother/sister. It felt more like ex-girlfriend material for the most part. I kind of wish that had been the plot instead of this sister bit, but it is what it is. And his obsession over his niece and nephew really feels more like a father watching out for his kids. I wish it had been a broken home kind of thing, resulting from the little girl's death, instead of an uncle thing.
2) Uplay
My God, Uplay. It's a horrible platform. All you console people are lucky in this one regard. You don't have to deal with Uplay. It's just God awful. It's always crashing, resetting my settings, kicking my friends for no reason. I thought Origin was bad but this is a whole other level.
3) Investigation - QR Codes
Screw whoever came up with this side mission. I thought collecting all the Riddler question marks was difficult in Arkham City. Nono, that was just tedious. THIS? This is just throat slicing terrible. The correct camera is almost impossible to find. There are no hints, no obvious (or even subtle) paths. It took me ages just to figure out HOW to even complete the first Investigation, forget actually DOING it. If there were some sort of visual clue about the direction or location of the correct camera, it wouldn't be so bad. Instead, I spend 15 minutes at each damn location to find the right one to line up for the right shot. Seriously, whoever came up with this idea needs a demotion.
Rating: $60
Absolutely worth the full price. No buyer's remorse at all. I do have to admit it was a lot less difficult than I anticipated. Hacking is what will keep you alive and, once it's maxed out, everything becomes much easier in the campaign. Didn't take me long to power through Hard difficulty, though I'm still collecting the extra bits and side missions.
Oh, and the multiplayer bits are a blast, too. This coming from someone who hates multiplayer
GREAT game. Major props to all companies involved.