Sword Art Online: Fatal Bullet is one of the great under-appreciated gems of this generation. It isn't just good "for an anime game" it's a good game by any standard. Unfortunately, that overwhelming anime weeb-ness, and the Sword Art Online in the title, ensured that people who otherwise would have loved it never gave it a chance. I'm telling you, though, that it's great. Click for more and to watch gameplay.
When Fatal Bullet first came out I have to admit I didn't have any interest in it due to the Sowrd Art Online stuff, but I gave it a try anyway and really enjoyed it. Seriously, though, Sword Art Online is disappointing trash, but so is almost every other franchise that overstays its welcome (like Attack on Titan and Food Wars and loads of others I don't care enough to remember). Anyway, I played Fatal Bullet and fell in love with it.
SAO Fatal Bullet is a third-person-shooter in the same vein as the "looter shooter" that is popular these days. You venture out into open world maps, do missions, trek through dungeons, and kill scores of enemies all in the hopes of getting rare item / accessory / armor / weapon drops or finding upgrade materials to fix up the stuff you already have. It is wildly addictive and fun. The story in the game is awful, and it can be a bit (a lot) of a grind in the end game to actually get the stuff you want, but it is a fun ride while it lasts and it has New Game Plus so you can just keep playing through again and again with better stuff, which helps offset the grind a bit.
It also has a fantastic anime character creator that you can spend hours with as well. Sword Art Online kind of has crappy art, so your character's face won't look spectacular, but with some work you can make some pretty amazing characters. I've found myself just remaking my characters every few hours just to refresh things and have something new to look at. The presentation in general is a high point as the graphics look awesome and the music is spectacular.
The gameplay is also genuinely solid as well. The shooting feels good and there are lots of different weapon types to choose from. Your A.I. partners generally do a good job and actually contribute to your success in missions. And the levels are fun to explore, even if dungeons are typically fairly repetitive.
I'm telling you, I've had a ton of fun with Sword Art Online: Fatal Bullet and I think a lot of other people will to if you just give it a try.
One note about this video - my silly Xbox One controller, that came with my Xbox One S, has stupidly loud rumble in it and it is buzzing pretty much constantly while playing this game. You can hear it - a lot - during the video. Sorry about that. I think I'll switch to a different one when recording in the future.
