tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43810602167877767512024-03-05T22:22:11.532-08:00Alyxx' Game RoomGame reviews, top 10's and other game related topics by Alyxx ThorneAlyxxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17218865125519689016noreply@blogger.comBlogger117125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4381060216787776751.post-87860194291020479942019-12-14T07:19:00.001-08:002019-12-14T07:25:23.751-08:00Top 10 Games of 2019<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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2019 was a pretty mixed bag for gaming. E3 last year gave some pretty big promises for 2019, with Anthem being one of the games I was the most hyped for. And while it certainly was fun, it still lacked a LOT and when BioWare and EA straight up abandoned the roadmap for the game, it was pretty disappointing to see.<br />
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And the less said about Fallout 76 and Bethesda's handling of that the better. I mean, talk about a wasted opportunity. The concept was sound, heck I was really hyped for it. But when it launched that hype quickly turned to just a big old "what the fuck happened?" feeling.<br />
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And just what the heck was Rage 2? I mean, on paper it had some merit. Making an open world FPS set in a post-apocalyptic Mad Max world, made by the people who made the Mad Max game. But with the uninteresting story, unlikeable characters and boring repetitive gameplay I just couldn't get into it and that was a huge shame for me. <br />
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But, we're not here to discuss the biggest failures of 2019. We're here to celebrate the best 2019 had to offer, at least for me. So let's take a look at what I played in 2019 and what my best experiences were!<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">10. THE ETERNAL CASTLE</span></h2>
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This fake remaster caught my attention early this year. Boasting some rather intense visuals using solely a CGA palette and with very great use of shadows and contrasts, Eternal Castle definitely won me over with its artistic direction.<br />
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It also helps the game draws a ton of inspiration from classic cinematic platformers like Prince of Persia, Flashback, Out of this World / Another World and BlackThorne, games that I grew up with on PC. It was a huge nostalgia rush for me and with a great synthwave soundtrack, there's not a whole lot to dislike about the game.<br />
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If you haven't checked out The Eternal Castle I highly recommend doing so. Even if it may not be an actual lost game from the 80's, it's still a really cool retro-inspired experience. And we need more games with CGA graphics.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">9. ANTHEM</span></h2>
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It may not have been what they promised, and in terms of end-game content it fell disappointingly short in the end. But Anthem still was one of my most fun experiences this year.<br />
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It's a game that definitely is best enjoyed with some friends, as the game unfortunately was not fun playing on public servers. But having some friends in a private game was definitely the way to go for me.<br />
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Anthem won me over with the gameplay and just how well the different Javelins synergized with each other. And not to mention just how cool you felt using them, especially the Storm. I know a lot of people love to hate on Anthem for how badly EA treated the game and not to mention the working conditions it was made under.<br />
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But for what it's worth, I still think this is a game with a lot of potential. And let's hope BioWare and EA can rework it into something better than what we got.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">8. HEDON</span></h2>
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This Doom 2 mod is probably one of my favourite games this year. In terms of content, it delivers a solid 15 hour campaign with a ton of exploration, an exciting story and a lot of intense retro FPS action.<br />
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It also helps the protagonist is a thicc orc berzerk with a penchant for huge axes. And with the game's multiple difficulties, some involving special weapons and more of a melee focus, it's a game worth replaying just to see the different things it has to offer.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">7. DUSK</span></b></h2>
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It's almost difficult to recommend DUSK to anyone who didn't grow up playing countless hours of Quake on a dusty Pentium in a basement while trying not to step on your Pog collection and guzzling Surge. DUSK is a love letter to the mid 90's FPS scene in so many ways, it could almost itself be from that era. And at first glance, you could easily mistake it for the best Quake engine game ever made without the Quake engine.<br />
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It sells itself as somewhat of a mix of everything great about retro shooters, taking inspiration from the aforementioned Quake, Blood, Redneck Rampage and Half-Life just to mention a few and mixes elements from all these classic shooters in seamless ways.<br />
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It's fast, it's fun, and is tailor made for boomers like myself. So if any of what I said above tickles your hype glands, <a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/519860/DUSK/" target="_blank">go and grab a copy on Steam right now</a>.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">6. UNTITLED GOOSE GAME</span></h2>
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The success of Untitled Goose Game is baffling and completely understandable at the same time. Despite its lack of a name, and despite it releasing only on Epic Game Store and Switch, it has amassed a huge cult following this year, myself included.<br />
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There isn't much to dislike about the game in all honesty. It has an incredibly charming cel shaded art style that gives the game a very timeless feel to it. And you play as a goose whose only goal in life is to be a complete dick. As geese pretty much tend to be.<br />
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It's a short game but what it packs in there is pretty much a nice world to explore and interact with. And just as a stealth game I think it works beautifully.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">5. SUPER SMASH BROS. ULTIMATE</span></b></h2>
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One of the things I got this year was a Nintendo Switch. And it came with one of the games I wanted the most for it. being Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.<br />
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I've always had a love for the Smash Bros. series, ever since my first experience with it on the GameCube with Smash Bros. Melee, it became one of my favourite fighting game series for its huge cast of diverse characters.<br />
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And with Smash Bros. Ultimate that cast is not only bigger than ever, but the game has some of the best gameplay in the series. It's been so distilled at this point it's turned into the perfect Smash game.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">4. AMID EVIL</span></h2>
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Amid Evil might be one of the best shooters I've played period. With its dead simple story, it still manages to deliver an amazingly memorable experience just from the sheer impact of its visuals and level design alone.<br />
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It takes you to vastly different places, all with distinct architecture and design, with some of its later levels providing some of the most beautifully dream-like landscapes I've seen in games in a while.<br />
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This is a game you need to play simply for the experience of it. So <a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/673130/AMID_EVIL/" target="_blank">grab it on Steam now</a> if you haven't!<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">3. BORDERLANDS 3</span></h2>
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To say I'm a huge Borderlands fan might be an understatement. I have almost 300 hours in the first game, and over 1000 hours in Borderlands 2 only on PC alone (not counting the countless hours I've spent with the PS Vita port). And combined with Pre-Sequel and the Tales From The Borderlands games, that number might be close to around 2000 hours across the whole franchise. <br />
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So a third game is something I've been anticipating for a long time, especially given the ending of Borderlands 2 which teased at the possibility of exploring vaults across the universe.Which is exactly what Borderlands 3 is about.<br />
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So far Borderlands 3 has ended up blowing away all my expectations. The quality of life improvements brought to the core gameplay are extremely nice, to the point where going back to play the older games would feel archaic. And the writing has matured so much that it makes Borderlands 2 feel like it's embarassing to play through.<br />
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So definitely go check out Borderlands 3 if you have any interest in the franchise like me.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">2. THE OUTER WORLDS</span></h2>
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When this was first announced, I was thrilled to hear about it. A game from the makers of Fallout New Vegas with a similar style to Fallout? Sign me up.<br />
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And still, even with that in mind, Outer Worlds has completely blown me away. The game's universe feels so rich and developed, and the writing is amazingly satiric yet still touches just the right amount of heart strings to feel emotionally impactful.<br />
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And props to Ashly Burch for her portrayal of Parvati Holcomb who is just one of my favourite companion characters in any game now. I've always enjoyed her as a voice actress and seeing her break free from the typical "crazy girl" roles she's had so far is refreshing.<br />
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I just can't say enough good things about this game. It's pure RPG bliss, and the combat is great. It's the best Fallout game not made by Bethesda to be honest.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">1. ION FURY</span></h2>
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This may be the game I was most anticipating this year. After teasing us with a preview campaign that honestly blew me away, and a name change from Ion Maiden to Ion Fury due to a stupid legal battle, Ion Fury finally released on August 15th. And since then, I've had a pretty near religious relationship with this game.<br />
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Built on the Build engine, the same engine that powered a ton of 90's FPS classics like Duke Nukem 3D, Blood, Shadow Warrior, Redneck Rampage, TekWar and so on, Ion Fury is one of the best old school shooters out there right now, since it authentically feels like a game from the era it draws its inspiration from.<br />
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It has everything nailed to a tee. Gameplay wise it lacks a bit of the crazy weaponry from its inspirations, but makes up for it by making every weapon feel powerful, unique and useful depending on the situation. In most shooters of its era, the pistol is your desperation weapon. But in Ion Fury, with a lock-on mechanic it becomes one of the most useful weapons for dealing with the smaller enemies in the game. And every gun has an alt-fire mode that offers tactical advantage.<br />
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And the soundtrack. MMMF. It's been so long since I've heard a proper tracker music soundtrack, probably not since the days of Deus Ex, and Jarkko "Roz" Rotsteen has delivered an AMAZING soundtrack in Ion Fury. With a range of genres, taking inspiration from everything from dub, breakbeat, techno, synthwave and so forth, it is a diverse and beautiful soundtrack that I've taken to remixing myself in my own style, simply for my own love for it.<br />
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I simply lack the praise needed to properly tell you how good Ion Fury is. You just need to play it yourself. <a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/562860/Ion_Fury/" target="_blank">So go on Steam and grab it now</a>.<br />
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And those are my top 10 games of 2019. Have any games of your own you played this year and wanna tell me about? Feel free to drop a comment and follow me on <a href="https://twitter.com/LadyLyxx" target="_blank">Twitter</a>!Alyxxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17218865125519689016noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4381060216787776751.post-71177279162397527522019-08-18T13:50:00.004-07:002019-08-19T01:47:52.375-07:00PC Game Review: Ion Fury<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>GAME: Ion Fury</b><br /><b>RELEASED: 08/15/2019<br />DEVELOPER: Voidpoint<br />PUBLISHER: 3D Realms<br />AVAILABLE ON: PC (Steam, GOG & Boxed)</b></span><br />
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Before I begin my review, I have to get a bit personal and talk a bit
about myself and my life as a gamer. I was born in 1988 and some of my
earliest memories come from gaming on PC. And the very first game I
remember playing was Duke Nukem by Apogee Software. And those familiar
with Apogee should also know that they eventually became 3D Realms and
published titles such as Terminal Velocity, Duke Nukem 3D and Shadow
Warrior. The last two games used a certain engine called BUILD,
developed by Ken Silverman. This engine was also used to make games such
as Redneck Rampage, Exumed/Powerslave, TekWar and not to mention the
glorious tribute to horror films that is Blood.<br />
<br />
Now the build
engine didn’t really see much use after 1997. id Software’s Quake engine
and Epic’s Unreal engine were both quickly blowing it out of the water
and while it continued getting fan support and eventually got ported to
Windows and becoming EDuke32, there hasn’t been a Build engine in 20
years…<br />
<br />
So
that should give an indication of why Ion Fury is so significant. This
is a game released in 2019 using the BUILD engine. It is a game sharing
so much of its DNA with these classic titles that it could almost be
considered a child. Which brings me back to my personal story. These are
the kind of games I grew up with being a PC gamer in the 90’s. And
sure, some of them didn’t hold up as well today, especially Shadow
Warrior with its somewhat problematic stereotyping and male-centric
tone, but games like Blood are very much still fun playing today. So
when I heard about Ion Fury, back when it was called Ion Maiden until
the band Iron Maiden threatened to sue <a href="https://www.vgr.com/retro-fps-ion-maiden-now-ion-fury/">(that actually happened)</a>, I was absolutely thrilled.<br />
<br />
Sure we’ve seen a resurgence of throwback shooters recently with games such as Dusk and Amid Evil (<a href="https://alyxxgameroom.blogspot.com/2019/08/pc-game-review-amid-evil.html">which you should check out my review of</a>)
getting attention for recreating the type of games we saw in the 90’s.
But Ion Fury is special in the sense it doesn’t actually use a modern
game engine to look old school. By using the BUILD engine, which at this
point is old enough to drink hard liquor, the team at Voidpoint have
been working with limitations that inherently gives the game a certain
old school feel. And there is something unique about BUILD engine games
that has been lost in the process of everything becoming true 3D. So
let’s take a look at the greatest tribute to 90’s FPS gaming ever, ION
FURY.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJzka4PfcFZ5Zjl3-GM3kafIxpllNFG0cZLh6DrzEv2PTTNhElT1CvPR4cYTNqCMD8EH0Zrl3C00Hn0JY1TwENiX2XZNZWEKj8ZIu5fWoT0vy-oWCWMfM1LXFLYU9V6xXQUDQtnBeobJ0/s1600/20190813201229_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJzka4PfcFZ5Zjl3-GM3kafIxpllNFG0cZLh6DrzEv2PTTNhElT1CvPR4cYTNqCMD8EH0Zrl3C00Hn0JY1TwENiX2XZNZWEKj8ZIu5fWoT0vy-oWCWMfM1LXFLYU9V6xXQUDQtnBeobJ0/s640/20190813201229_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Much like its inspirations, Ion Fury is chock full of references to
other games. And also makes me wish these arcade cabinets were real!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h2>
STORY</h2>
Ion Fury is actually a prequel of sorts to a previous 3D Realms game
titled “Bombshell”. It features Shelly “Bombshell” Harrison who herself
is based on a cut character from Duke Nukem Forever, who originally was
going to be a sidekick of Duke. After 3D Realms lost the rights to the
Duke Nukem franchise to Gearbox, they decided to give Bombshell her own
game and further developed the character into a badass with a robot arm.
Unfortunately, the game didn’t do so well thanks to a myriad of bugs
and the game not being as good as people hoped <a aria-label="(check out my review of it for more info on that) (opens in a new tab)" href="https://alyxxgameroom.blogspot.com/2018/03/pc-game-review-bombshell.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">(check out my review of it for more info on that)</a>.
But already when Bombshell released, the Deluxe Edition gave people
early access to an upcoming “BUILD engine prequel”, which is where
development started.<br />
<br />
Ion
Fury follows Shelly’s exploits as a GDF police chief in Neo DC,
tracking down the leader of a cybernetic cult that has risen on the
streets, which are flooded with augmented punks that seem eager to die
for their new leader. As it turns out, the leader is Professor Jadus
Heskel, a scientist hellbent on world domination. It is up to Shelly to
track him down and end his reign. Yeah the game is certainly not heavy
on story, but much like its fathers, it doesn’t really need one. So
let’s move on to talking about the gameplay.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLaClYZ5royf1i6DzWX4OzWr98vG96MXjSy9aWGjanoveFqqVRuNSJhLMRYaHWATkpZRn6PcEOlLSWdgVWsK5Wq9x57fsTSsgnfy9zvaR446MqYysGY9SKQ2JQvC9ITwIRMlPSuwAJpJc/s1600/20190814212326_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLaClYZ5royf1i6DzWX4OzWr98vG96MXjSy9aWGjanoveFqqVRuNSJhLMRYaHWATkpZRn6PcEOlLSWdgVWsK5Wq9x57fsTSsgnfy9zvaR446MqYysGY9SKQ2JQvC9ITwIRMlPSuwAJpJc/s640/20190814212326_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shelly’s reflection certainly makes it clear you don’t want to piss her off.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h2>
GAMEPLAY</h2>
Being a 90’s style FPS, Ion Fury plays deliciously old school. The
focus is on collecting key cards, throwing switches, blowing shit up and
generally causing mayhem. What sets it apart though is its structure.
Unlike pretty much any BUILD engine shooter before it, it uses more of a
hub structure similar to games like Quake 2 and Half-Life where the
game is split into zones and each zone has multiple levels to go
through. This makes each zone feel like one large level and helps make
the game feel bigger in scope than most BUILD engine shooters. The
weapon selection is pretty good too.<br />
<br />
Your
melee weapon is the Electrifier, a high powered stun baton that
delivers enough juice to power a generator and killing enemies with
repeated hits.<br />
<br />
You have the Loverboy, a revolver that Shelly can
either dumb fire or lock on to enemies and kill in rapid succession, Red
Dead Revolver style.<br />
<br />
The
Disperser is a shotgun that doubles as a grenade launcher (although the
grenade launcher is also a separate weapon somehow, it’s a bit
confusing).<br />
<br />
The Penetrator (snicker) is a SMG that fires
incindiary flechettes. It can also be dualwielded by picking up another
and is one of the weapons in the game with the highest damage output,
especially damage over time with its added fire damage.<br />
<br />
The Minigun is a powerful heavy weapon that can be picked up from a dead mech or found in levels as a pickup.<br />
<br />
The
Bowling Bombs are bowling ball sized bombs that seek out enemies (in
theory, I found them often not really doing a good job at this) and blow
them up into chunks. They can also be lit in your hand and thrown like
regular grenades.<br />
<br />
The
Ion Bow is a powerful sniper weapon that can either fire single or
multiple bolts. It deals incredible damage to enemies on headshots and
can also stun them on body shots.<br />
<br />
Clusterpucks (pffft) are mines
that can either be attached to a surface and used as proximity mines or
thrown at enemies or walls to explode on impact.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7sFEMvrLBSsxTDu7sdQkOJBtpXWESav5gDdhCtgwgegVywfnpoSYrpTEf6NCRfzNm-A4l6BwfJuhw2XlfL9_qelOqAjmw2kyYEGuFZukMZPx7BheD9OQInnBG9TyVNpqjQnb-XSNqR4s/s1600/20190815175822_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7sFEMvrLBSsxTDu7sdQkOJBtpXWESav5gDdhCtgwgegVywfnpoSYrpTEf6NCRfzNm-A4l6BwfJuhw2XlfL9_qelOqAjmw2kyYEGuFZukMZPx7BheD9OQInnBG9TyVNpqjQnb-XSNqR4s/s640/20190815175822_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Penetrators are probably my favourite weapon in the game as they
scratch my itch for dualwielded guns AND fire ammo. Nothing quite beats
lighting an enemy on fire and watching him burn to a crisp.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
If I were to criticize anything about the game it would probably be
the lack of any real power weapon. Having something akin to Duke’s
Devastator or some kind of cyberpunk thing like having Shelly get her
robot arm during the game would be awesome. The weapons as a whole feel
kind of bland and like they’ve been done before.<br />
<br />
However, that
being said it does feel like focus was put on making sure that every
weapon in the game feels not only useful but also as badass as possible.
The Electrifier might be one of the most useful melee weapons I’ve ever
seen in a game, trumping even the Katana from Shadow Warrior in how often I used
it during the game, and its use for turning on generators in the game
makes sure it also has an interactive function. Throughout the game I
found myself stocked with plenty of ammunition and the game incentivizes
using your entire arsenal for different situations and different
enemies.<br />
<br />
For
instance, I found you can insta-kill the spider enemies using the
Electrifier, and the Ion Bow’s incredible headshot damage made it l
invaluable during the later parts of the game with the flying enemies
that shoot rapid fire rockets at you. The grenade launcher also entirely
owned the centipede enemy. Thus I found that overall the weapons have
been integrated really well into the game and I feel everything
syngergizes in a way that makes sense and makes you feel clever for
using the right weapon for the right situation. I’m not sure whether a
power weapon or exotic weapon would work or even add anything to that
ecosystem of strategies. Ion Fury feels like it puts less focus on
“let’s make the most OP weapon ever” and more focus on “let’s give the
player an arsenal of OP weapons but also give the enemies weaknesses to
certain weapons”.<br />
<br />
Sure Doom has its BFG 9000 but it also has its
fists and pistol that you pretty much never use. Duke Nukem has its
Devastator but you almost never found ammo for it which forced you to
not use it as much, and let’s be honest, very few players actually used
the freezeray and shrinker/expander more than the shotgun and chaingun.
What sets Ion Fury apart in that regard is definitely that each weapon
feels really good. Blowing up enemies with bowling balls and grenades
never gets old and even rewards you with armor shards, so the game as a
whole has a very tactical vibe to it.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJoSj55B4KfR9aNxrgQzHStGfCb9m1pY_u2l3PkWWf-td1phIUJrmwxn7ldDJun0rcA2RbiycP8dJFJlddMaQrit6tWf8DqYmBNXz7RdxizlAhKA02reogGaiwbxzV0WSa969Gvz86w5k/s1600/20190817125311_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJoSj55B4KfR9aNxrgQzHStGfCb9m1pY_u2l3PkWWf-td1phIUJrmwxn7ldDJun0rcA2RbiycP8dJFJlddMaQrit6tWf8DqYmBNXz7RdxizlAhKA02reogGaiwbxzV0WSa969Gvz86w5k/s640/20190817125311_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ion Fury provides some gorgeous lighting with its use of shadow textures
and palette swaps. The artistic talent behind the game brings out some
really impressive work with the engine.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The game offers you healing items in the form of medpacks and armor
in the form of 3 armor suits. Light (blue, 50 armor), medium (brown, 100
armor) and heavy (red, 200 armor) respectively. Though the cool thing
about Ion Fury is that both health and armor can be overcharged. You can
consume food and soft drinks you find in the levels to get your health
temporarily above 100, and also use armor shards from exploded enemies
or in the level to get your armor above your current armor’s maximum
level.<br />
<br />
The game is also really long, providing around 8-10 hours
of gameplay if you stroll through it casually and a lot more if you
plan to find all the secrets and easter eggs hidden in it. In fact,
finding secrets and exploring the game is highly recommended if you want
to survive on any difficulty higher than Normal. Usually stuff like the
heavy armor and ammo are hidden in secret areas, so this is not the
kind of game you want to rush through, or you’ll find yourself having to
scrape by on very little ammunition. Despite its length though I never
felt like the game was a chore to get through. Having played it almost
continuously for the last few days, I always felt that itch to keep
playing and once the game was over I couldn’t help but wish there was
even more of it. The pacing is perfect, steadily amping up difficulty
until the final battle.<br />
<br />
Speaking of the final battle, without
spoiling anything it does feel kind of disappointing. Just don’t expect
anything too epic. But considering how much of a good time I had with
everything leading up to it, and how in character it still feels, I
can’t really say it didn’t feel good either.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI31CEBtxWvxSAQuTbuhSGKbRKUyhdmA3bJioP_2UKtwaJpLX4np-KfR2CXPu1MptPJ9jH2IZE_KXhomkonpHLfj7Im_-foQGSfYZ4TE4ZwPm-tahNMtFychmKyNJMvUehn6yHV7hzjDs/s1600/20190817162912_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI31CEBtxWvxSAQuTbuhSGKbRKUyhdmA3bJioP_2UKtwaJpLX4np-KfR2CXPu1MptPJ9jH2IZE_KXhomkonpHLfj7Im_-foQGSfYZ4TE4ZwPm-tahNMtFychmKyNJMvUehn6yHV7hzjDs/s640/20190817162912_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shit. Zombies. Shit zombies.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
My playthrough for this review was on the Wanton Destruction
difficulty which is probably the most fair. The game also has two
additional difficulties, being Ultra Viscera and Maximum Fury. Ultra
Viscera is the hard difficulty, which the game only recommends for FPS
veterans. And Maximum Fury is just insanity and something akin to the
Nightmare difficulty from Doom. First Blood is the easiest difficulty
and is a good option for those who just want to have fun and explore the
game without suffering too many deaths.<br />
<br />
The game does capture
that visceral and explosive feeling that comes with a BUILD engine
shooter though. It’s hard to put my finger on it but the weapons, the
sprite work and everything works together to create a very unique style
that you don’t see in games afterwards. It has this crunchy feel to it
where your weapons feel like they can deal immense damage and everything
feels very heightened and high octane like in old school action movies.
The game quickly becomes a gore fest where you can kick enemy heads
around, much like Blood, and it’s just immensely fun to play. To put it
mildly, I had a very difficult time putting this game down and even
writing this review I’m just itching to go back and play it all over
again on Ultra Viscera difficulty.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyX8QRZpJgAA4yomLE5rC7j8u2vBZkGCiCY7q9vhzl055DPcUIW8JDPl-H_F3PBh21moo7Xkl8JYGMOllVkh6UJQSjiiwi0F5w4PfupgQk92kISp4ofN8RFgJTQakVKwkx75TtOak06hA/s1600/20190815132753_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyX8QRZpJgAA4yomLE5rC7j8u2vBZkGCiCY7q9vhzl055DPcUIW8JDPl-H_F3PBh21moo7Xkl8JYGMOllVkh6UJQSjiiwi0F5w4PfupgQk92kISp4ofN8RFgJTQakVKwkx75TtOak06hA/s640/20190815132753_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I should have expected to find the Dopefish. Did not expect to find him
in a screenshot from the original Quake though. I guess that makes this a
double cameo.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h2>
GRAPHICS & SOUND</h2>
If you can’t tell by the screenshots, this is an absolutely gorgeous
game. It has a really solid art direction that pushes the BUILD engine
to its absolute limits. The amount of detail in the level design is
immense and the colour palette is very pleasing to look at. Despite not
having any kind of dynamic lighting or even lighting period, the mappers
have used palette swaps and textures to create shadows and lighting
that looks pretty much like something out of a modern game. I also
didn’t encounter any performance issues on my playthrough aside from
some slight framerate drops here, but compared to my initial experience
with the game, it has been extremely optimized.<br />
<br />
The amount of
detail is insane too, especially in the gore effects. Enemy heads can be
kicked around, blood can splatter onto surfaces, you can leave bloody
foot prints and you can even squish enemies in doors like in Duke 3D.
This attention to detail almost disappeared entirely when FPS games
turned to full 3D engines, and it’s a delight to see it brought back on
such a large scale. The game also utilizes voxels to give the game 3D
objects for stuff like ammo, weapons, health and items. There are still a
fair amount of objects that remain 2D sprites, such as chairs and
barrels, but it is impressive to see nonetheless.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZzFo04QWZ5uFn87WYrHBelPaqtEC7c3eNtW_7e7XAEld9se6mlAPV2V8-jL6aiGNSbr_aybYYo_Fs4zTLAMfi4_mT3cpqajssP7sCjvTIJTeNjrT9JhMcWXU7f23kwbRQDKW63fetW0Y/s1600/20190815111338_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZzFo04QWZ5uFn87WYrHBelPaqtEC7c3eNtW_7e7XAEld9se6mlAPV2V8-jL6aiGNSbr_aybYYo_Fs4zTLAMfi4_mT3cpqajssP7sCjvTIJTeNjrT9JhMcWXU7f23kwbRQDKW63fetW0Y/s640/20190815111338_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The game has a ton of secrets, including a message from developer DavoX who put his daughter’s shark plush in the game.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The music is also definitely worth mentioning. It was done by
demoscene artist Jarkko Rotsten, and the entire soundtrack has been done
as tracker music. If you don’t know what tracker music is, it’s
essentially like MIDI files, except it uses samples that are included in
the files themselves and thus have far more diversity in terms of what
sounds can be used. They were famously used in games such as Jazz
Jackrabbit, Unreal Tournament and Deus Ex to name a few. The soundtrack
as a whole gave me some serious 90’s vibes and reminded me a lot of
games such as SiN and Unreal. It’s all electronic techno goodness that
fits perfectly with the game’s cyberpunk vibes.<br />
<br />
The sound design
is also top notch. All the weapon noises are perfect, the headshot
sounds are crunchy and the gibbing noises are just perfectly wet
sounding. Everything comes together to create an aural soundscape that
feels right at home in a BUILD engine game with lots of nods to Quake,
Duke Nukem and Blood to name a few. The voice acting is also fun, with
Shelly providing one-liners that feel in line with the BUILD tradition
of pop culture references. Jon St. Jon also does a great job portraying
Heskel, with just enough of his humor injected into it to make him a bit
fun to listen to as well. So yeah, I don’t think I have anything bad to
say about the sound or voice acting.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZBagvuDOF9kzYhRp6XFNNs3T2-myZYlu_IvH9ZyQgyTFYnCdNSk1OTPQG51kctH5Smobybn0zwO5f4-icb8DMLTekP8mE6TBgfJLNsPfm8tjXIQxfiDb0T60alf3V-rkibBwY9HXrYZo/s1600/20190815164718_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZBagvuDOF9kzYhRp6XFNNs3T2-myZYlu_IvH9ZyQgyTFYnCdNSk1OTPQG51kctH5Smobybn0zwO5f4-icb8DMLTekP8mE6TBgfJLNsPfm8tjXIQxfiDb0T60alf3V-rkibBwY9HXrYZo/s640/20190815164718_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Any game with a reference to the Black Lodge from Twin Peaks is good in my book.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h2>
SUMMARY</h2>
All in all, I would consider Ion Fury the best BUILD engine game ever
made, and honestly one of the best FPS’s I’ve played period. With its
incredibly satisfying armory, enormous world, charming main character
and kickass soundtrack I am seriously at a loss of finding anything bad
to say about it. If anything lacks it would be some of the cringy and
sexist parts from games like Shadow Warrior and Duke Nukem 3D, but I
honestly do not miss that at all. It’s extremely addictive though and I
had problems putting it down, but to me, that’s when you know you’re
playing something truly special.<br />
What is obvious to me is that Ion
Fury is crafted with a ton of love and passion and you can tell when a
game is made not because a company wants to make a profit, but when they
want to make something that they think is fun. Because when a developer
has fun making a game, that translates into the playing experience. It
hails back to an era when games were honestly more fun because teams
were smaller and game engines like the BUILD engine allowed for more fun
details and fun gameplay.<br />
<br />
If you for some reason haven’t played Ion Fury and ANY of this looks fun to you, I HIGHLY recommend picking the game up on <a aria-label="Steam (opens in a new tab)" href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/562860/Ion_Fury/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Steam</a> and DRM-free on <a aria-label="GOG (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.gog.com/game/ion_fury" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">GOG</a> for the incredibly fair price of $24.99. You can even buy a <a aria-label="physical big box edition (opens in a new tab)" href="https://3drealms.com/catalog/ion-fury-big-box-2_146/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">physical big box edition</a> for $60 that comes with a whole bunch of goodies if you are so inclined. So what are you waiting for? GET FURIOUS!<br />
<br />
<h3>
SCORE</h3>
<b>STORY: 8/10<br />GAMEPLAY: 9/10<br />GRAPHICS: 10/10<br />SOUND: 10/10<br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">FINAL SCORE: 9/10</span></b><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> Originally posted at <a href="https://www.vgr.com/ion-fury-pc-game-review">https://www.vgr.com/ion-fury-pc-game-review</a></span></span><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></b><br />
<span id="goog_644182004"></span><span id="goog_644182005"></span>Alyxxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17218865125519689016noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4381060216787776751.post-43153158904160665082019-08-09T14:01:00.005-07:002019-08-09T14:01:41.826-07:00PC Game Review: Amid Evil<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih7FQGqae2N6uhAhMPr_BOC3PmLagJat-O8N5mGkLe2Waf01HJxI3Tv35-JDLmqMn0C4myjsqh-mJc19DKCENls5UsPYilFvu7ZTrhSrvaY_Ol6K6WKrkdYmNrBSEjjy0Pn6mKpU8Qaqw/s1600/Amid+Evil+Review+Banner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih7FQGqae2N6uhAhMPr_BOC3PmLagJat-O8N5mGkLe2Waf01HJxI3Tv35-JDLmqMn0C4myjsqh-mJc19DKCENls5UsPYilFvu7ZTrhSrvaY_Ol6K6WKrkdYmNrBSEjjy0Pn6mKpU8Qaqw/s640/Amid+Evil+Review+Banner.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong>GAME: Amid Evil</strong><br /><strong>RELEASED: 06/20/2019<br />DEVELOPER: Indefatigable<br />PUBLISHER: New Blood Interactive<br />AVAILABLE ON: PC (Steam & GOG)</strong></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">New Blood Interactive shouldn’t be a stranger to PC gamers by now. Their
game Dusk has already garnered attention for its 90’s Quake throwback
visual style and similarity to old school first person shooters such as
Quake, Blood and Redneck Rampage. It didn’t take long for a similar
project to follow. Amid Evil is the brainchild of developer
Indefatigable who are based in New Zealand. And where Dusk is a love
letter to aforementioned titles, Amid Evil’s inspiration comes from
similar but still different sources. Amid Evil is a love letter to games
such as Heretic and Hexen, and also Quake to a large extent. So while
I’m on such a boomercore kick with my previous review of <a href="https://alyxxgameroom.blogspot.com/2019/08/pc-game-review-hedon.html">Hedon</a>, today I’m going to be taking a look at Amid Evil and let’s find out if the game is a worthy tribute to the old legends.</span></span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW1UWr_R_wj5WmX1KcQ4TXOGfrcsHKgdPHLxTsGppvuPqp4W3j_vMfq_9eGnIqQJ_ruNLkc0opUegabPWc58vdivdCeoPrOBD_4PCkH8UyfwNdAk-iL44yJfXxVKeN-d_bLFRBcMj7XVw/s1600/20190628202119_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW1UWr_R_wj5WmX1KcQ4TXOGfrcsHKgdPHLxTsGppvuPqp4W3j_vMfq_9eGnIqQJ_ruNLkc0opUegabPWc58vdivdCeoPrOBD_4PCkH8UyfwNdAk-iL44yJfXxVKeN-d_bLFRBcMj7XVw/s640/20190628202119_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Amid Evil’s weapon selection includes a wand that shoots spikes, allowing you to pin enemies to scenery.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h2>
STORY</h2>
Amid Evil, much like most 90’s shooters, is rather light on story
content. Essentially some kind of evil has invaded several realms and it
is up to a chosen warrior to cleanse these realms of evil, seek out its
source and destroy it. It really is the most straightforward story you
can think of, but the game doesn’t really need much more. There are no
lengthy cutscenes in sight, no text crawls, and very little in terms of
dialogue. It’s just you, your weapons, your enemies and the gameplay. So
let’s discuss it, shall we?<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirrU5qlHKnGtI81e3CeckEeIIQWoyc1Zs2iekC6wzJjZBjC6B0oEwmNzIo4IpQYzQSPBppyfM1XTSrZgKxKcUvUXAhVRyJLOtUEkr0hZUhpDzneoIi1LE3rcYGAxyCBisfC-Tzk6Vmt74/s1600/20190713123636_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirrU5qlHKnGtI81e3CeckEeIIQWoyc1Zs2iekC6wzJjZBjC6B0oEwmNzIo4IpQYzQSPBppyfM1XTSrZgKxKcUvUXAhVRyJLOtUEkr0hZUhpDzneoIi1LE3rcYGAxyCBisfC-Tzk6Vmt74/s640/20190713123636_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Most of the lore in the game can be read on walls. Or hidden messages from Dave Oshry.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h2>
GAMEPLAY</h2>
Amid Evil, despite its fantasy inspirations plays very much like a
fantasy version of Quake. No RPG mechanics in sight, just pure action
with the occasional puzzle. Puzzles are typically solved by shoving your
body into buttons until a sequence is complete, so don’t expect your
brain to get any massive exercise. What Amid Evil mostly focuses on is
pure combat. The main gameplay consists of traversing levels, going from
room to room and cleaning out the badguys.<br />
<br />
However
what makes Amid Evil stand out is the weapon selection. Since you’re
not using guns, the arsenal is rather unique to say the least. You start
out with a badass axe but quickly acquire more exotic weapons. Such as a
staff that shoots magic bubbles, a sword that shoots green energy, a
trident that fires electricity, a claw that fires minituarized planets
(yeah really), a wand that shoots spikes and a weird purple crystal
thing called the Aeternum that is essentially the game’s BFG-9000 and
fires orbs that kill everything in vicinity.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWwJClsYhM9jDPhjhP3VLKNOioUZicc1eLIdzVspHo-OyGOT3RsKZ-gUl52cFmT2pDl8dVKVwAJ13bordGmBH_gD8SF0R3m0VB2bXXujDIYrsvJ6X_9H7orP_Ita1g44VFSSqZICf5szk/s1600/20190727111252_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWwJClsYhM9jDPhjhP3VLKNOioUZicc1eLIdzVspHo-OyGOT3RsKZ-gUl52cFmT2pDl8dVKVwAJ13bordGmBH_gD8SF0R3m0VB2bXXujDIYrsvJ6X_9H7orP_Ita1g44VFSSqZICf5szk/s640/20190727111252_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Amid Evil features some of the coolest level design I’ve ever seen that
evokes nostalgia in a way you don’t see much nowadays, often resembling
90’s fantasy media with checkerboard patterns abound.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
And that’s not all. Enemies upon being killed will drop souls. The
size of the soul depends on the power of the enemies you kill, ranging
from small souls to large souls and even legendary souls (although the
legendary ones never drop from enemies and instead show up as normal
pickups, of which I am grateful). These souls fill up your soul meter
and when it fills up, you can unleash what’s called a Soul Mode.<br />
<br />
In
this mode your weapons function very differently and often more
powerfully than they would normally. Essentially it functions as a
limited time alt fire. Your axe turns into a boat propeller, the bubble
wand shoots out even more lethal bubbles, the sword shoots out even more
powerful projectiles, the trident fires a continous stream of
electricity, the planet claw’s planets create huge nova-like explosions,
the spike wand shoots spikes much faster and the Aeternum now creates
small black holes that sucks in everything nearby (even you if you’re
not careful).<br />
<br />
All of these weapons also use different types of
mana. Blue mana is used for the bubble wand and trident, green mana for
the sword and spike wand, orange mana is used exclusively for the planet
claw, and purple mana is used exclusively for the Aeternum. It would
also seem these different types of mana represent different elements
though I’m not sure about it. Basically they just function as different
ammo sources and making sure you usually have a fallback weapon if you
run out of mana for any of them. Another cool mechanic is that you can
overkill enemies. And overkilling enemies with some weapons can cause
chain reactions that take out nearby enemies, such as with the electric
trident.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKofGqrXzLB3GvQ_-fASrR1axucTX2jn-NEibJJSE6jjeGhB7jjYV96iqjMPkxtCstxrZfCkHQLL0FjV-Z1ylyEZbeHh5s-sMvL2FAx29Xe9Dddadip94Um6aOl8q8_7gbcokDurWwCZE/s1600/20190804164306_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKofGqrXzLB3GvQ_-fASrR1axucTX2jn-NEibJJSE6jjeGhB7jjYV96iqjMPkxtCstxrZfCkHQLL0FjV-Z1ylyEZbeHh5s-sMvL2FAx29Xe9Dddadip94Um6aOl8q8_7gbcokDurWwCZE/s640/20190804164306_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The game’s cheat codes include different retro colour palettes. You can
even play through the game in an 80’s style CGA palette if you so
please.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The game’s true strength lies in its level design. Each realm you
visit has its own distinct theme and style that runs through everything
in it. Both in terms of its level design, visual style and enemy
selection. The fact each episode feels so unique makes the game insanely
fun to play through, given you’re never sure what to expect around the
corner.<br />
<br />
And some of the later episodes really threw me for a loop
with some seriously awesome level designs that evoked dream-like
imagery such as floating islands in a void, ethereal places and just
realms where things are completely abstract. It evoked a similar feeling
I got when playing Quake where things didn’t make sense in any
realistic way, but felt realistic for the realm you were in. In an era
where games strive for realism, it is refreshing to play a game that
more tries to make something you either haven’t seen before or don’t see
too often.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjN-MPSpo9Ndx6KyR5OS2GaAQvdu-uxAo0TmD0vGgjwSN2K5xWnuUVB8HNJGq0NrFPOuYATiEimVkNs35LAoPDZWN_Q_qj0nMQZ4A8yFHrDjjrzxX4SmdIy_3lwKobhey75QbAwfRMgPw/s1600/20190804173520_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjN-MPSpo9Ndx6KyR5OS2GaAQvdu-uxAo0TmD0vGgjwSN2K5xWnuUVB8HNJGq0NrFPOuYATiEimVkNs35LAoPDZWN_Q_qj0nMQZ4A8yFHrDjjrzxX4SmdIy_3lwKobhey75QbAwfRMgPw/s640/20190804173520_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Amid Evil definitely features some remarkable levels, often involving castles and dungeons similar to Quake.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The game’s difficulty overall feels really fair and not only rewards
skill but also at times demands it. Especially in the final episode
where health pickups are extremely rare or hidden and you have to rely
on your skills to survive. But it is forgiveable to increase the
difficulty near the end of the game where the player should and most
likely will be very familiar with the game mechanics. I like that none
of the enemies use hitscan weapons, so pretty much every projectile
coming towards you can be dodged which feels more rewarding for skilled
players.<br />
<br />
The enemies seem a little on the simple side. Some of
them force the player to think differently but for the most part it’s
just a matter of shooting them until they die. But the designs are
pretty cool at least, with each episode having their own enemies to
fight with unique designs and themes.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY9_5c7QTXiYwWhUdbixD5vwe3065EYLNazXGAc0lJ9yzzCguOQ9Zp7Jme1pGM-uxRdpDwroJ7tIdMmYcy-mTxIoeP6Pbv9pOPe6EsuaMhpYypAWAWpVZDAdy-NYX2m3ctBXwFlBFp9y0/s1600/20190727135604_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY9_5c7QTXiYwWhUdbixD5vwe3065EYLNazXGAc0lJ9yzzCguOQ9Zp7Jme1pGM-uxRdpDwroJ7tIdMmYcy-mTxIoeP6Pbv9pOPe6EsuaMhpYypAWAWpVZDAdy-NYX2m3ctBXwFlBFp9y0/s640/20190727135604_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Picking a favourite realm is really difficult with Amid Evil as all of
them are so distinct and pay homage to different sources. This
industrial realm in particular gives me some delicious Quake vibes.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h2>
GRAPHICS & SOUND</h2>
The game’s graphics is definitely the strongest point of Amid Evil.
With such diverse episodes there is a huge array of influences at
display. The game is downright beautiful at times with dark and
colourful lighting. It manages to look both retro in its use of baked
shadows and simple colored lighting but also somehow more beautiful than
a lot of photorealistic games released today. Its retro style evokes
very dream-like and abstract imagery at times that most modern games
don’t bother with. It’s a very strange kind of nostalgia where it
reminds you of something you’ve never seen before.<br />
<br />
The soundtrack
and sound design is done by Andrew Hulshult who I feel once again has
outdone himself. Rather than sticking to his (somewhat boring) rock and
metal style he’s gone for a more synth heavy ambient soundtrack that is
stunningly beautiful at times. It definitely fits the otherworldly and
magical levels of the game in the same way Nine Inch Nails’ soundtrack
for Quake fit that game perfectly. I was really impressed by the work
done on the sound here and would easily recommend picking up the game
soundtrack alone.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbWfEUX27RqxZfa1YZ0UxirvlIODVpFZjaG27IPUne6PvfFNCWvBmC5aLpq4N7QLEeDPYSLIQ7C43tB8q76p0oBP3c12gjsfp8wkUgOEQEq-erpytOD-4WMk98m2JDG8B4J8m97QA-adI/s1600/20190805201657_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbWfEUX27RqxZfa1YZ0UxirvlIODVpFZjaG27IPUne6PvfFNCWvBmC5aLpq4N7QLEeDPYSLIQ7C43tB8q76p0oBP3c12gjsfp8wkUgOEQEq-erpytOD-4WMk98m2JDG8B4J8m97QA-adI/s640/20190805201657_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The game’s final realm provides some of the most alien and beautifully
assymetrical level design I’ve seen, relying heavily on geometrical
shapes and shapes that make you feel really uncomfortable and unsafe.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h2>
SUMMARY</h2>
In a market of shooters that focus so heavily on story and realism,
it is extremely refreshing to play a shooter that harkens back to when
games were games and movies were movies. If I were to say anything
negative about Amid Evil I don’t know what it would be other than I wish
it had a multiplayer mode and that there was more of it. Which in my
opinion aren’t really bad things and don’t really detract from the fun
of it.<br />
<br />
What Amid Evil lacks in story and depth, it more than makes
up for with its stunningly diverse level designs, extremely fun combat
and immersive atmosphere. This is the kind of game you can get lost in
for hours upon hours before you realize how much time you’ve spent
playing it. If you’re a fan of old school shooters, heck shooters in
general you should definitely pick this up. You can get it on <a aria-label="Steam (opens in a new tab)" href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/673130/AMID_EVIL/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Steam </a>and <a aria-label="GOG (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.gog.com/game/amid_evil" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">GOG</a>.<br />
<br />
<h3>
SCORE</h3>
<strong>STORY: 8/10<br />GAMEPLAY: 9/10<br />GRAPHICS: 10/10<br />SOUND: 10/10</strong><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><strong>FINAL SCORE: 9/10</strong></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong> </strong></span>Alyxxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17218865125519689016noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4381060216787776751.post-91787752134187241582019-08-08T12:33:00.004-07:002019-08-08T12:34:19.674-07:00PC Game Review: Hedon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_d72U4JbKip3QOSAM6_bCtT40FZQHgKNElHZmLJE1pD2W-EnZVHV-Vdvu7XzxGqrGPcMtUf8jk7IV9jjQ_2ywAywWu5aLPbV8yW-LCn9CNYZpx7yUFvca0AHxbs7iBL99GJ3d1-z6o3U/s1600/Hedon+review+banner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_d72U4JbKip3QOSAM6_bCtT40FZQHgKNElHZmLJE1pD2W-EnZVHV-Vdvu7XzxGqrGPcMtUf8jk7IV9jjQ_2ywAywWu5aLPbV8yW-LCn9CNYZpx7yUFvca0AHxbs7iBL99GJ3d1-z6o3U/s640/Hedon+review+banner.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="has-small-font-size">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>GAME: Hedon</b><br /><b>RELEASED: 05/16/2019<br />DEVELOPER: Zan<br />PUBLISHER: Zan<br />AVAILABLE ON: PC (Steam)</b></span></div>
<div class="has-small-font-size">
<br /></div>
<div class="has-small-font-size">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">The term “boomercore” is being thrown around a lot lately to describe
this new trend of making new games that either mimic 90’s shooters or
straight up use 90’s shooter game engines. With games like Dusk, Amid
Evil, Overload and the upcoming <a href="https://www.vgr.com/retro-fps-ion-maiden-now-ion-fury/">Ion Fury</a>
to just mention a few, it’s clear that we’re in a pretty good period
right now if you’re into old school shooters. And one of the less talked
about ones is Hedon, a shooter that’s made entirely in the most classic
of game engines; The Doom engine. Having played through the campaign in
its entirety, I do still feel it deserves a review. So let’s talk about
Hedon.</span></span></div>
<div class="has-small-font-size">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUsjmR0-uMJLn57-FOKf-tTCOv41AN6m34N0H0t0G9igk7ovC7KJPu-tnxyWjUVKbrGdOikR55ETM3fjkS2COsyvbGv9fd2y4UJ6FvVfZDVU9JjNsz2G3PVLaZThcQcQpN1Aai3ywqAYw/s1600/20190610205144_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUsjmR0-uMJLn57-FOKf-tTCOv41AN6m34N0H0t0G9igk7ovC7KJPu-tnxyWjUVKbrGdOikR55ETM3fjkS2COsyvbGv9fd2y4UJ6FvVfZDVU9JjNsz2G3PVLaZThcQcQpN1Aai3ywqAYw/s640/20190610205144_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hedon starts off rather slow exploring a large cave.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h2 class="has-small-font-size">
STORY</h2>
In Hedon you play as Zan, a female Orc warrior who wakes up in a cave
system. After exploring a bit, you find out that an invasion has taken
place and your entire village has been wiped out. It’s the classic Doom
story though Hedon takes more of a fantasy take on it. Unlike Doom
however, Hedon focuses a lot more on its story with several levels
dedicated almost entirely to the story.<br />
<br />
One
thing I love is how the story is always told in first person, much like
games like Half-Life. And also similarly to Unreal and System Shock,
most of the story is told through in-game journals and diaries you come
across. I can’t really discuss the story in too much detail without
spoiling much. All I can say is that it’s really well done.<br />
<br />
The
universe and characters in the game feel unusually developed and deep
compared to most Doom mods I’ve played, which really helps make the game
stand on its own. There is a ton of lore in this game in the various
journals you come across. And you really feel there is a lot more than
you see going on, and that you’re often too late to witness what’s
really going on. The game feeds you information at a perfect pace and
often leaves you open to put the pieces together yourself.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOMh8sN5OXqfLdl6_yPweUyiUlh3KuKIR-RD_vnTVb8e1fhU5-WZn_6wqpe-GyixnYMYzgVp15FhpXfyIJVPwjG2Gdw9YvoWzJLB853FELFmZs9lVpcYAAsdXxi21w2jJ99PNak5R7piU/s1600/20190610210815_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOMh8sN5OXqfLdl6_yPweUyiUlh3KuKIR-RD_vnTVb8e1fhU5-WZn_6wqpe-GyixnYMYzgVp15FhpXfyIJVPwjG2Gdw9YvoWzJLB853FELFmZs9lVpcYAAsdXxi21w2jJ99PNak5R7piU/s640/20190610210815_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zan could be described as… thicc.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h2>
GAMEPLAY</h2>
Hedon is technically a mod for Doom. Specifically for GZDoom, a
popular source port. But considering it uses no assets at all from the
original game and even adds a lot of new content, I would consider it
more being its own game using the Doom engine, in a similar vein to
games like Heretic, Hexen and Strife.<br />
<br />
Like
in Doom you have a health meter indicated by Zan’s face getting
progressively bloodier as you take damage. You also have armor that
functions identically to the one in Doom. Though in Hedon they’re called
armor crystals (probably to justify the fact that everyone’s clothing
is rather skimpy).<br />
That’s where most of the similarities end
however. The weapon selection is probably the most interesting part of
the game. For melee you have your fists which is essentially your
desperation weapon and you pretty much never use them since you get an
axe shortly into the game. You then pick up the Spike Gun, which
functions as your basic assault rifle. It feels similar to the nail gun
from Quake in that it fires spikes at your enemies. Its alt fire allows
you to aim down the sights and fire short bursts at your enemies.<br />
<br />
The
Fragfire Gun is a combination shotgun and flamethrower that fires
piping hot shells at your enemies or with the alt fire shoots out flames
of death at them that can ignite an entire group in seconds. It’s a
very powerful weapon and ammo for it is thankfully not in short supply.<br />
The
fourth weapon is the Crushbow, which fires explosive arrows at your
enemies, similar to the dynamite launching crossbow from Redneck
Rampage. The alt fire fires weaker but faster bolts that have a smaller
explosion radius. It’s very useful against groups of enemies and larges
ones as well as the damage is pretty substantial.<br />
<br />
The
fifth weapon, the Potion Launcher is also the most utility based one.
Its first ammo type are Toxic Grenades which create clouds of toxic gas
upon impact. These can also be ignited though to create massive
explosions. So combining them with the Crushbow or using them against
fire based enemies can prove to be quite effective. The second ammo type
are Acid Grenades that cover their target in corrosive acid upon
detonation. Extremely useful against hordes of enemies and even some
tougher armored enemies. The alt fire makes your grenades bounce around,
which can be tactically useful in some situations but I never used it.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy-jLxhxwWelGH0xNNNIVXzq9Nj9bASEeDQS20zxXR4Ll6f0LQgnkgBWSxV6c1Nduw2B7ZNSAedA1veRTvoXfa7XOQMvneza6E7q-UVlc_lac8WNI6tI8w_fJ3BtohcfH1RX2CZhym1CI/s1600/20190619192412_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy-jLxhxwWelGH0xNNNIVXzq9Nj9bASEeDQS20zxXR4Ll6f0LQgnkgBWSxV6c1Nduw2B7ZNSAedA1veRTvoXfa7XOQMvneza6E7q-UVlc_lac8WNI6tI8w_fJ3BtohcfH1RX2CZhym1CI/s640/20190619192412_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The aftermath of battles tend to look pretty spectacular with the game’s gore effects.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The final weapon is the Crylance, which uses the power crystals you
find scattered around in the game as its ammo source. It is easily the
most powerful weapon in the game and can deal massive damage to most
enemies. Its alt fire fires off a large projectile that explodes upon
impact and sends out numerous smaller ones.<br />
<br />
There
are also some additional weapons that are only available on the
Bearzerk difficulty, a special difficulty mode that removes access to
the game’s usual weaponry and instead gives you a unique set of weapons
to play with.<br />
<br />
The Hatchet and Shield gives you a less powerful
version of the Axe, but it does give you some defensive option with the
shield, which can soak up damage for you. The Fire Hammer creates
explosions when used against enemies and can also be thrown to be used
as a makeshift grenade. The Force Pike can be used as a powerful spear
and can also be used to pull enemies towards the player. The final
weapon is the Great Axe which deals massive melee damage to enemies. Its
alt fire allows you to spin around in a 360 degree circle with it,
dealing damage to everything around you.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif95sWwU2yx8PxlryGiePnmMKs3bFs3Fkw7Re_8xJoSBanJsoFR4iiR7IFKdK3ZSSwUafB1D6dBQyUYOwlSWwe8bMS1DYz9z4UG7jALbLRNPvPfrUjNEkDspNt9z8_P9MHQrSUXEFMyxw/s1600/20190724145057_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif95sWwU2yx8PxlryGiePnmMKs3bFs3Fkw7Re_8xJoSBanJsoFR4iiR7IFKdK3ZSSwUafB1D6dBQyUYOwlSWwe8bMS1DYz9z4UG7jALbLRNPvPfrUjNEkDspNt9z8_P9MHQrSUXEFMyxw/s640/20190724145057_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Using the Crushbow against a group of Cultists.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
In addition to the weapons you also have some helpful items at your
disposal. Unlike the original Doom where items would be used upon
pickup, Hedon is more similar to games like Duke Nukem 3D in that your
items are stored in your inventory and can be used at any point. All of
the items are temporary buffs and none of them are reusable.<br />
<br />
The
Vial of Healing restores your health by 10 HP up to a maximum of 100.
It’s very useful during combat when access to health potions are
limited. The Fixer Goggles functions as the game’s aid in low light
conditions and not only illuminates the area around you in a neat “night
vision” mode but also highlights enemies. They are particularly useful
against some of the late game enemies which are pure black and blend in
very well with the darkness around them. My only criticism with these is
that they have a limited supply. And given how much of the game is
covered in darkness, I often found myself running out of juice when
exploring or getting stuck in a level, which lead me to having to fumble
through a lot of the darkness.<br />
<br />
The
Time Shard is an artifact that allows you to freeze time around you.
It’s useful for escaping out of bad situations but I found it most of
the time to be pretty useless. It doesn’t really offer that much
tactical advantage I found, but some players might find it more useful.
The Potion of Stoneskin is probably the one I found the most useful. It
gives the player massively increased damage resistance and also removes
the pain flashes from the screen when taking damage.<br />
<br />
The
Elemental Ring provides you with massively increased protection against
elemental and magic damage. It’s very useful in combination with the
Potion of Stoneskin for providing damage protection. The Potion of Might
increases your Axe and Fists damage 4 times (basically a melee
equivalent of Quad Damage) but ranged damage is reduced by 50%. This
makes the Potion very useful for when you want to do insane melee
damage. Combined with the protection potions, it turns you into an Orc
sized grinder.<br />
<br />
The
Amulet of Shadows is your invisibility power. Although it doesn’t
technically turn you invisible, only makes you much harder to see. It
also makes you much faster, making it handy for crossing large gaps. The
Potion of Haste, unlike what its name suggests, doesn’t actually make
you run faster. But it does increase your firing rate as well as your
reload speed temporarily, making it very useful during combat. In
combination with weapons like the Crylance it’s a really useful buff.<br />
<br />
The
Choker of the Beast are items that not only makes your enemies run away
in fear (unless they are immune to the fear effect) but also reflects
any damage they dish out. The Sentry Gun are helpful allies that you can
carry around and place anywhere in the world where they will dutifully
attack any hostile in their near vicinity. They do unfortunately have a
limited range however.<br />
<br />
The Scroll of Wizard’s eye is a useful item
which functions like the automap in Doom, filling out the entire map
for you, including secret areas. Easter egg areas are however not filled
out by this item. The item also charts monsters, items and projectiles.
There’s also the Bag of Holding which is only obtainable in a single
level and gives the player a permanent inventory upgrade, similar to the
backpack from Doom. I never picked this up in my game and I did fine
but it is a useful item still.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXh-k_BVJs0-hXtXMYZcPXSusy3lHlp9iQePCB9hu6_K33DPPdetgrXe40arbxLEGuUxkr5KOA5_5LZy2gCUxGBfFvVZ8oxDwaCA0cVHJtDqqZk_xKupLAlvI2hiTUQS8x8pE2Qi0jgPk/s1600/20190724182608_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXh-k_BVJs0-hXtXMYZcPXSusy3lHlp9iQePCB9hu6_K33DPPdetgrXe40arbxLEGuUxkr5KOA5_5LZy2gCUxGBfFvVZ8oxDwaCA0cVHJtDqqZk_xKupLAlvI2hiTUQS8x8pE2Qi0jgPk/s640/20190724182608_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The level designs are easily some of the best I’ve seen in a Doom engine game.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Most of the gameplay feels similar to Doom where you’ll mostly be
searching for keys to unlock locked doors and progress through the game.
Although Hedon will sometimes mix things up by tasking you with finding
certain spells or completing puzzles in order to progress through the
game. All items in your inventory can be examined by pressing the Enter
key with the item selected. This can give important clues for Quest
items which can only be used in specific circumstances, such as in the
first level where you need a pickaxe to get through a crack in a wall.<br />
<br />
Combat
is a lot more tactical than Doom however with a bigger reliance on
elemental damage as well as various weapons and items working together.
Finding the right weapons and items to use in the right situations can
be key to survival. I also found the general difficulty to be really
high as enemies can deal a lot of damage to you. Particularly some of
the stronger ones.<br />
<br />
But with the items and weapons at your
disposal there is also a lot of possibility for yourself to not only
deal a lot of damage but also become almost invincible so the game feels
very fair and rewards skill and quick tactical thinking over mindless
shooting. It is very easy to play Hedon like you’d play Doom but it
isn’t as fun or rewarding. It’s easier to approach it like a FPS
hack’n’slash rather and use the buffs at your disposal as the game
really is built around them.<br />
<br />
What I like the most about the game
is the varying pace. Some levels are more focused on exploration and
building atmosphere. And I found the pacing to be perfect in that
regard. In one level you’re going from battle to battle while in the
next you’re simply exploring an ominous facility and avoiding organic
trip mines. The use of black slime and tentacles really gives the game a
very Lovecraftian vibe, even more so than Quake. And you truly feel
like you’re up against a realm that’s beyond understanding.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR66NVraSNoQDpExntVoR_LbolGb_No696Qoa4yZKTc7tx3KSVCiHf9SItMTzWjTesg0F13jGJheZEAskTgC6s1SC0lA0PKwl_gk6V9Xcs9fj0WlJDI53_4Zhj2Xh2wPvyGZJn3gh0zq0/s1600/20190724180759_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR66NVraSNoQDpExntVoR_LbolGb_No696Qoa4yZKTc7tx3KSVCiHf9SItMTzWjTesg0F13jGJheZEAskTgC6s1SC0lA0PKwl_gk6V9Xcs9fj0WlJDI53_4Zhj2Xh2wPvyGZJn3gh0zq0/s640/20190724180759_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The game features a rich universe with multiple characters and feels unusually deep for a Doom engine game.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h2>
GRAPHICS & SOUND</h2>
Graphically, Hedon looks amazing for a Doom engine game. It looks
unmistakably retro, but with some very nice lighting effects and the
sprite artwork is undeniably well done. Of course it feels a little male
oriented with the amount of scantily clad women in the game. In
particular the boss feels like she’s straight up wearing dominatrix
gear. But it never really bothered me that much. I mean it is a fantasy
game and if I had a body like Zan’s and a crystal that gave me armor
without needing any physical armor, you’d bet I would show some skin.<br />
<br />
The
sound is really good though, with a lot of satisfying crunch to the
sound effects and with some excellent music. A lot of it is composed by
Alexander Brandon who might sound familiar to those who grew up with
games like Jazz Jackrabbit, Unreal and Deus Ex. He really brings his own
sound to a lot of the music in the game and it’s really good stuff. The
soundtrack is also really diverse, ranging from creepy ambience to
melodic breakbeat tunes and even some heavy metal. I really hope a
soundtrack album is or will be available at some point. Cause it’s one
of the best soundtracks I’ve heard in a while.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVsvmdh7Dvp7qoxACDmXRnxMxqJE9Yyj5TEJ8swA4JPGW-DSpUpcfR4P78mKsjikWsVwZJ0j8o3370n8sh8NyOzKkWkCujGxf0BXnMKIVWen3_B2Cvf_VN4oenyb1WRSHK80CO-EwYpG0/s1600/20190617200750_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVsvmdh7Dvp7qoxACDmXRnxMxqJE9Yyj5TEJ8swA4JPGW-DSpUpcfR4P78mKsjikWsVwZJ0j8o3370n8sh8NyOzKkWkCujGxf0BXnMKIVWen3_B2Cvf_VN4oenyb1WRSHK80CO-EwYpG0/s640/20190617200750_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The levels really give a sense of this underground fantasy world in Hedon, where crystals are used as light sources.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h2>
SUMMARY</h2>
All in all, Hedon is an amazing retro FPS that I highly recommend if
you’re a fan of old school shooters. Its difficulty might turn some
people off and its confusing level design can sometimes be a bit of a
chore to get through, but this is a really rich experience that feels
highly rewarding to those who are willing to get good at it. You can
grab it now on <a aria-label="Steam (opens in a new tab)" href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/1072150/Hedon/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Steam </a>for about $10.<br />
<br />
<h3>
SCORE</h3>
<b>STORY: 8/10<br />GAMEPLAY: 7/10<br />GRAPHICS: 8/10<br />SOUND: 9/10</b><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>FINAL SCORE: 8/10</b></span><br />
<div class="has-small-font-size">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b> </b></span></div>
Alyxxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17218865125519689016noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4381060216787776751.post-5406339416778148432019-07-25T05:53:00.001-07:002019-07-25T05:54:24.981-07:00PC Game Reivew: Borderlands 2 - Commander Lilith & The Fight For Sanctuary<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicnrAiLikcWOmCd0Zvse-N7ytdGQFZVQVRoH3AUTXugsnHp0xnlTlD1BTia-2fQylvQ3YpR5B5h2NVjr4k5UnTv2A7ZYrUPAI6-Bc6D_9ZkTmeWzAS7a7KFAAPuFxa5vO87Z-3uF3NMaQ/s1600/Lilith.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicnrAiLikcWOmCd0Zvse-N7ytdGQFZVQVRoH3AUTXugsnHp0xnlTlD1BTia-2fQylvQ3YpR5B5h2NVjr4k5UnTv2A7ZYrUPAI6-Bc6D_9ZkTmeWzAS7a7KFAAPuFxa5vO87Z-3uF3NMaQ/s640/Lilith.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b data-rich-text-format-boundary="true">GAME: Borderlands 2 - Commander Lilith & The Fight For Sanctuary (DLC)</b><br data-rich-text-line-break="true" /><b>RELEASED: 06/09/2019<br data-rich-text-line-break="true" />DEVELOPER: Gearbox Software<br data-rich-text-line-break="true" />PUBLISHER: 2K<br data-rich-text-line-break="true" />AVAILABLE ON: PC (Steam), PS3, PS4, XBOX 360, XBOX One</b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">It's been quite a while since Borderlands 2 released. 7 years to be
precise. But seeing as it is finally time for Borderlands 3 to be
released (and it has to be said it's looking really good), in order to
get their fans prepared for Borderlands 3 they have released a brand new
and completely free DLC for Borderlands 2. Today we're going to take a
look at Commander Lilith & The Fight For Sanctuary, a DLC which is
set a while after the end of Borderlands 2. I will do my best to avoid
any spoilers for both the DLC and the main game, but I will definitely
touch on some things that are story related to if you want to go into
the DLC completely blind, I suggest not reading this review. Because I
can probably say right away that if you're a fan of the series and
especially if you're hyped for Borderlands 3, you should definitely play
this DLC. But let's get into the details of why you should.</span></span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDziXS0vErtJh4vfkSLLkQv3tpum0TJycXpDRV4TSSXSZj1lnnmBDiN-Ebnxa8t0juV0bnyVnRsbwdMDUvNAfHJN1bInwc1UKQzuKF6dznu5feJ9VbXHPTcL7RW8hMiQkVFYSitWS8A5g/s1600/20190611193440_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDziXS0vErtJh4vfkSLLkQv3tpum0TJycXpDRV4TSSXSZj1lnnmBDiN-Ebnxa8t0juV0bnyVnRsbwdMDUvNAfHJN1bInwc1UKQzuKF6dznu5feJ9VbXHPTcL7RW8hMiQkVFYSitWS8A5g/s640/20190611193440_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fight For Sanctuary has quite a different theme to it, with a heavy focus on plants. Good thing I'm playing a fire-speced Maya.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h2>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span>STORY</h2>
Set after the events of Borderlands 2, Fight For Sanctuary is about how the vault hunters must help Lilith, who have now become the leader of the Crimson Raiders, fight an invasion of Sanctuary at the hands of Hector. How does he plan to invade Sanctuary you may ask? Why by releasing spores into the air that turns everyone into mutated plant zombies of course. Seeing as the gas soon affects not only the inhabitants of Sanctuary but also the Crimson Raiders themselves when Mordecai becomes infected by it, the stakes are definitely put pretty high from the get-go. Along the way you meet Vaughn who has his first and only appearance in Borderlands 2, and you of course also meet all the familiar faces from the core game, including Ellie, Scooter, Moxxi, Tiny Tina, Mordecai, Brick and the whole story almost feels like a family get-together where all of these characters we have spent 7 years playing with are coming together to fight a final threat before the next big adventure.<br />
<br />
In all honesty, something I did not expect was just how much the story would tug at my heart strings. It not only gives characters like Tiny Tina much needed character development and depth, but some of the writing is extremely well done in both terms of humor and emotional depth. Something I can definitely say is that you can tell this was not written by Anthony Burch, so people who didn't really enjoy his style of humor in the main game may definitely enjoy the writing in this DLC more. It still has a lot of references here and there but they're not as common and it feels more like the writing focuses on the characters themselves and gives them more room to shine. Especially Vaughn I feel was extremely well done here and his voice delivery combined with his writing just made me laugh so many times.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqMeqxcL5b71ndOXUyD94KXVJQdeby2GWV1LQfFK4t3XWBNjUHKj1toMdxqplmg8S8NozrXMN2rZD1G-SNmP7RKSA5n0c5BZavJ3VMHTpulkczF-KlOVbdQTemE57qFQwoXgTvjG-nLCo/s1600/20190613181816_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqMeqxcL5b71ndOXUyD94KXVJQdeby2GWV1LQfFK4t3XWBNjUHKj1toMdxqplmg8S8NozrXMN2rZD1G-SNmP7RKSA5n0c5BZavJ3VMHTpulkczF-KlOVbdQTemE57qFQwoXgTvjG-nLCo/s640/20190613181816_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It just wouldn't be Borderlands 2 without some... "adult" magazines
would it? If titles like "Racks & Rakks" interest you anyway.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h2>
GAMEPLAY</h2>
In terms of gameplay nothing is radically different here. It's still the good old looter shooter gameplay you'd come to expect from this game. The DLC does add some notable updates to the game however. The level cap is raised even more from 72 to 80 so now you can actually have even more skills at max level, a much welcome update in my opinion. It also gave an excuse to brush some dust off my old max level character I've had since 2012 or so.<br />
<br />
The DLC also makes it possible to start a game at level 30 instead of level 1, putting you at the end of the main story with gear befitting the class you pick. This is a perfect addition for people who have played the game a lot and want to start a new character without having to do the entirety of playthrough 1.<br />
<br />
Another notable addition is the new weapons tier, the Effervescent tier. We didn't find much of these in our playthrough but what we did find was pretty cool. One of the items was a grenade mod called the Electric Chair which proved extremely useful against some of the shielded enemies in the DLC. We also found a fire SMG that didn't seem to do anything that unique but it had a pretty high elemental damage so it was definitely useful. Some of the Effervescent tier gear also seems to have abilities that gel well with each other so collecting all of it seems to possibly give some "set" bonuses.<br />
<br />
There is kind of a gameplay mechanic about how the toxic gas from the plants makes your damage output higher the more you have in your system but taking too much of it causes you to take damage over time. It would've been neat if this had been developed further and perhaps given you some random debuffs or even buffs depending on which class you played, so it's a little bit disappointing they didn't go further with it.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR681QTdtVViRzq8t-BSjDvHk1_iFFo5XfW-VwYu4V8iZgSo84OCxjK8-SlU3jLfuC6KXIs-UofkWpvxMSd1Hxn0f1elMNA_iz1CIRpcLldiHK_ziALHictqnUa9t5mRRV-01LDn1WN08/s1600/20190614204659_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR681QTdtVViRzq8t-BSjDvHk1_iFFo5XfW-VwYu4V8iZgSo84OCxjK8-SlU3jLfuC6KXIs-UofkWpvxMSd1Hxn0f1elMNA_iz1CIRpcLldiHK_ziALHictqnUa9t5mRRV-01LDn1WN08/s640/20190614204659_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The good thing about plants is that they burn well.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<h2>
GRAPHICS AND SOUND</h2>
Graphically I really love some of the level designs in the DLC and the design of the enemies. Granted some of the models do look a little bit weird in the cinematics and it still doesn't look amazing, even with the HD textures added, but it definitely doesn't look awful for sure. Everything in the DLC suits the style and the atmosphere is generally really well done.<br />
<br />
The voice acting is really good I would say, especially Vaughn who absolutely has some killer delivery in this DLC. There isn't really much new to comment on in this DLC in terms of sound and music though. The music sounds good but doesn't really stand out and the lack of a proper end credits song is disappointing. It would've been nice to hear something like a remix of "Ain't No Rest For The Wicked" or something similar to give the game a proper sendoff before Borderlands 3, and it feels like a missed opportunity for some fanservice.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQCJR9U_zJlOx_sWp1m6NhJulzDw53vnAR-9g5uiIsus3l3jZHxOj1ykD_GixL3fqY1pJICvFst21BRfyxOKf54INqwANEndgtPnKaTPs7IIFlpgE7GxFoWCO-I8FrTmUus90UWYtDy-M/s1600/20190614192812_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQCJR9U_zJlOx_sWp1m6NhJulzDw53vnAR-9g5uiIsus3l3jZHxOj1ykD_GixL3fqY1pJICvFst21BRfyxOKf54INqwANEndgtPnKaTPs7IIFlpgE7GxFoWCO-I8FrTmUus90UWYtDy-M/s640/20190614192812_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You know, this is pretty much how I feel during pollen season...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h2>
SUMMARY </h2>
All in all, this DLC is really good and considering it's free, it's
definitely worth downloading and playing. I think it's really nice of
Gearbox to give this little gift to the fans and give us a story bridge
between Borderlands 2 and 3. It ties up a lot of loose ends from
Borderlands 2 in terms of story as well and some events that happened in
other spinoff games, Tales From The Borderlands in particular. And if
you haven't played Borderlands 2 yet then you should definitely give it a
go as you now have even more to explore.<br />
<br />
<h3>
<span style="font-size: large;">SCORE</span></h3>
<b>STORY: 8/10<br />GAMEPLAY: 8/10<br />GRAPHICS: 6/10<br />SOUND: 6/10</b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">FINAL SCORE: 7/10</span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b> </b></span>Alyxxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17218865125519689016noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4381060216787776751.post-54516374690854364712019-06-16T10:50:00.002-07:002019-06-16T10:50:21.977-07:00PC Game Review: Borderlands - Game Of The Year Edition<span style="font-size: x-small;">Originally published at <a href="https://www.vgr.com/borderlands-goty-edition-pc-game-review/">https://www.vgr.com/borderlands-goty-edition-pc-game-review/</a></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnIrm06l4UrmYUF8u57r8ait8cfViPa75RPXP7F2t8y3JNFe3U-AXTdC3u7qjKKfCPtUCDdpzbtl4yDNOslVZYJbeWi_LYCuzFic1jtyAo5Xr6EoCHgPLtV5ux_KRuNaQv4Ywv3LnvLQk/s1600/Borderlands+GOTY+Banner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnIrm06l4UrmYUF8u57r8ait8cfViPa75RPXP7F2t8y3JNFe3U-AXTdC3u7qjKKfCPtUCDdpzbtl4yDNOslVZYJbeWi_LYCuzFic1jtyAo5Xr6EoCHgPLtV5ux_KRuNaQv4Ywv3LnvLQk/s640/Borderlands+GOTY+Banner.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="font-size: 10px;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong>GAME: Borderlands Game Of The Year Edition</strong><br /><strong>RELEASED: 04/03/2019<br />DEVELOPER: Gearbox Software<br />PUBLISHER: 2K<br />AVAILABLE ON: PC (Steam), XBOX One, PS4 </strong></span><br />
<h2>
<b><span style="font-size: large;">The Original Looter Shooter</span></b></h2>
Gearbox is a developer that most
gamers probably have a bit of a love/hate relationship with. When they
aren’t busy pissing off the collective Alien and Duke Nukem fandoms,
there is one franchise that they seem to put more effort into. And that
is of course their very own IP, Borderlands.<br /><br />If you’ve never
heard of Borderlands, you have probably heard of the term looter
shooter. It’s a term that gets thrown around quite a bit nowadays, but
Borderlands was in many ways the first of its kind. It’s best described
as someone at Gearbox having the lovely idea of getting Diablo and Call
Of Duty together in a bedroom with some sexy music and letting nature do
its thing. What we ended up with was a pretty addictive game that
combined FPS combat with hack’n’slash mechanics.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqfMB7mLXxpNFwx1K4GBl_duYyHKZhKu95HS6si9qylhiwcCFBk2MbvErJteAdlDaCK_Ebs-0Vjzj3vDVds1Bh3J3xyxOc2HtqOkn1GpQKd9OwlcfM74XGwtSOmTqj6t6sIg7U25JCKwI/s1600/20190404193439_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqfMB7mLXxpNFwx1K4GBl_duYyHKZhKu95HS6si9qylhiwcCFBk2MbvErJteAdlDaCK_Ebs-0Vjzj3vDVds1Bh3J3xyxOc2HtqOkn1GpQKd9OwlcfM74XGwtSOmTqj6t6sIg7U25JCKwI/s640/20190404193439_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">When your co-op partner gets a perfect headshot on the person you’re about to attack. 😛</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The original Borderlands was in that regard a very original shooter
when it came out in 2009. Being a co-op shooter, it gave you four heroes
to choose from. The so-called “vault hunters” who each had a distinct
personality and skill sets.<br />
<br />
You
had Mordecai, the brooding hunter type with his pet bird of prey
Bloodwing, with skills that makes him an excellent gunslinger and
sniper. You had Brick, a towering mountain of a man capable of wielding
rocket launchers with ease and punching enemies into submission. There
was Roland, the soldier type more focused on support with his trusty
turret. And finally there was Lilith, a siren. Sirens in Borderlands are
legendary females with blue tattoos who are gifted with immense powers.
Lilith has the power to literally enter another dimension, an ability
called phasewalk. She is also more centered around elemental damage than
the other hunters and has skills more focused on SMG’s and automatic
weapons, as well as crowd control.<br />
<br />
The
plot in Borderlands is pretty simple. You learn that Patricia Tannis,
an archeologist on a planet called Pandora is studying something called
Vaults, which she isn’t entirely sure on what is but she seems to have
found one on Pandora and intends to find a way to open it. As the four
vault hunters, your main task in the game becomes to assist Tannis in
her journey towards opening the Vault and finding out what’s on the
other side. This of course would be an easy task if Pandora wasn’t also
an incredibly harsh environment with not only local wildlife to deal
with but also humans that have either turned insane or are there to
seize the Vault for themselves.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQA3YRuo27PWvh5wNDNgl9_zuTeNQyxuMIdOPGMpviE4s3Ng4XAsHDE9H9wAX410MBFFBBLwgHIDuIKSfzm8_5-Y4eOYOhyocdYjLhe6DRPL7Vrhzt_52xQwKtqVi75koF2_nPZfDt4aM/s1600/20190404193311_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQA3YRuo27PWvh5wNDNgl9_zuTeNQyxuMIdOPGMpviE4s3Ng4XAsHDE9H9wAX410MBFFBBLwgHIDuIKSfzm8_5-Y4eOYOhyocdYjLhe6DRPL7Vrhzt_52xQwKtqVi75koF2_nPZfDt4aM/s640/20190404193311_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Game of the Year Edition of Borderlands adds “heads” which are essentially just accessories to your character.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<h2>
<b><span style="font-size: large;">What Makes It Different?</span></b></h2>
Being the game’s 10th anniversary,
it’s therefore a perfect time to release a remaster of the game. Because
while it is a great game, it still suffers from being the first in the
series, with a lot of the quality-of-life improvements from Borderlands 2
having always felt absent from it. And therefore I would argue it is
the game that has benefited from a remaster the most compared to the
games in the Handsome Collection which were essentially just glorified
texture packs. The Game of the Year Edition of Borderlands is a far more
substantial update of the core game that adds those improvements back
into the first game and also updates the visuals by an incredible
amount.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnkVkUGKfxqvwg6aTIlFYnbEkB8kQ_zaD3LbCFpoNfXvdB70ce7hXqX7r7nbFOFGRAF4b7wDBocRs_xEKU0vvF8DdRFh5nvBPht-cMWPAnV5XFwyGcaDluAyS-7xwSw97ZATBuCgLuGSc/s1600/20190405190353_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnkVkUGKfxqvwg6aTIlFYnbEkB8kQ_zaD3LbCFpoNfXvdB70ce7hXqX7r7nbFOFGRAF4b7wDBocRs_xEKU0vvF8DdRFh5nvBPht-cMWPAnV5XFwyGcaDluAyS-7xwSw97ZATBuCgLuGSc/s640/20190405190353_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The SHiFT system is now in full swing in Borderlands 1, meaning you have
access to a golden chest in the game’s many main locations which can be
used to get really good loot at your current level.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
You now have a minimap in addition to the compass from the first
game. An issue in the original game was always navigation since the
compass would only give you a vague idea of where something was. With
the minimap and the game’s added objective markers, you’re now never
stuck being unsure of where something is during one of the game’s many
fetch quests. And it also shows enemy locations which helps a lot during
combat.<br />
<br />
Another issue in the first game was that you had to
manually pick up everything, which included stuff like money and
ammunition. This is now fixed so that like in Borderlands 2 you
automatically suck up consumables, which probably is one of the most
welcome fixes to the game.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-gcmBKw6z1KoRznS6945VwK4p0rj-_6X3M_npjHeMgg1xhRZeSNRAyg4_0yBu65CYO1fkL_WKtQF4g-dE_f0lPsDUSUQpSAaycHSLrIGPDBpRVjCHbHCavjz3lfSSMHtLE7qMv5ZKWbw/s1600/20190404195946_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-gcmBKw6z1KoRznS6945VwK4p0rj-_6X3M_npjHeMgg1xhRZeSNRAyg4_0yBu65CYO1fkL_WKtQF4g-dE_f0lPsDUSUQpSAaycHSLrIGPDBpRVjCHbHCavjz3lfSSMHtLE7qMv5ZKWbw/s640/20190404195946_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inventory has been massively overhauled, with items now being markable
as junk or locked so that you can’t accidentally lose them. You can also
sell all items marked as junk in any store with a single key press</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h2>
What Makes It Unique?</h2>
Despite the changes that makes
Borderlands 1 play more like Borderlands 2, it is still a very different
game at its core. The gameplay in general is far slower and more
tactical, with more focus on shooting from cover and advantageous
locations than running around blasting enemies. The difficulty is
generally higher which means that running and gunning is more likely to
get you killed faster, even if you have a decent shield. Compared to the
sequels which had gameplay that felt much faster paced and twitchy, it
definitely makes the game feel unique to play.<br />
<br />
There is of course
also the lack of the trademark humor from Borderlands 2, since
Borderlands 1 in general had a more laid back tone to it. So if you were
never a fan of the writing in Borderlands 2, you may still enjoy
Borderlands 1. That’s not to say Borderlands 1 isn’t funny at times
either, it definitely has some funny references and quirks, but it never
reaches the same points that the sequels made.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9v45NxLJNSAClmyN-FXSn8bQp93jocNYEYTgTToGm14B-uMgpoNeFf8qV3HKyvq5Hi4Nv8QWgy3nErYVcyhAW7-22aXPdAggDWArCD_MzG0AuChJXmwCTU5eGkjVIjYYtajJyayyxj24/s1600/20190404195134_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9v45NxLJNSAClmyN-FXSn8bQp93jocNYEYTgTToGm14B-uMgpoNeFf8qV3HKyvq5Hi4Nv8QWgy3nErYVcyhAW7-22aXPdAggDWArCD_MzG0AuChJXmwCTU5eGkjVIjYYtajJyayyxj24/s640/20190404195134_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boom.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />The combat also feels distinctly gorier, with heads actually
exploding when you get a perfect headshot, something that was missing in
the sequels. And with Borderlands 1 being the only game where you could
get snipers and SMG’s with explosive elements, it also has a more
diverse feel with the weapons, since the explosive element isn’t
exclusive to a single manufacturer like it was in the sequels.<br />
<br />
And
of course it has to be mentioned that cars are just the most powerful
weapon in the game, capable of running over pretty much any enemy and
making them explode instantly. Granted this does damage your car a fair
bit when running over heavily armored enemies or corrosive element
enemies, but it still feels amazingly overpowered. Compared to the
sequels where your car dealt more realistic damage to enemies, it feels
almost comical in comparison but not lacking in fun factor for sure.<br />
<br />
And
that’s of course not counting the fact that Borderlands 1 offers unique
locations and enemies you likely won’t see in the sequels, such as the
Scythids which always felt absent from the sequels. The flying space
slugs are probably some of the most annoying enemies in the game though
so that may be a reason they decided not to include them in future
games.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWzpw5lyIaBN6mNPCVMX8NhqE-6NYKufoZ-uni8LMCipNOCl3v3z6fOSpeuf729dx5pNKbgdBek6nWmFG0uaRJ3Pqohte8ve0W3Q6gYzQK_iWKJATKcoxpWP_7aAMMOYd916e8eCMiOuU/s1600/20190405200521_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWzpw5lyIaBN6mNPCVMX8NhqE-6NYKufoZ-uni8LMCipNOCl3v3z6fOSpeuf729dx5pNKbgdBek6nWmFG0uaRJ3Pqohte8ve0W3Q6gYzQK_iWKJATKcoxpWP_7aAMMOYd916e8eCMiOuU/s640/20190405200521_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Well this guy had a nasty surprise.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<h2>
A Mixed Bag</h2>
Visually the Game of the Year edition features
some noticable enhancements. Textures are at a much higher resolution,
making it actually possible to see fine details on them, as well as a
higher shadow resolution. And the game on PC now has an FOV slider,
meaning you’re no longer forced to deal with the low fixed FOV of the
original game. It does not feature any massive visual enhancements
though, the colours still look a bit muted and the lighting still feels
very basic and reliant on bloom like most pre-2010 games tended to do.
So in a way it does look like a 2009 game still, albeit with higher
resolution textures.<br />
<br />
That’s
sadly not to say the new edition is without its flaws. And most of them
come in the audio department. The audio mix is kind of all over the
place with gunfire constantly cutting out during heavy combat which
makes the game feel oddly quiet despite there being a lot of sound going
on. Noises made by enemies and cars feel like they have no distance
factor to them, being incredibly loud no matter how far away you are
from them which makes combat incredibly disorienting, and other players
can be on the other side of the map and still sound like they’re right
next to you. And music changes so abruptly you’re almost given sonic
whiplash. This is the area where the remaster suffers the most and it’s
hard to understand how the audio could get this badly messed up.<br />
<br />
It
doesn’t stop there either, the audio settings in the menus doesn’t do
anything. Changing volume sliders doesn’t actually change any volumes
and everything still feels like it’s mixed completely bonkers, with it
almost being impossible to hear Echo logs when you pick them up due to
them being drowned out by other noise. And that’s not to mention that
whenever you start the game, your voice settings are reset to always
broadcasting, which means you have to enter the audio settings every
time you start the game to toggle them. It gets incredibly frustrating.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGTS37sI3Kadmz9K-6A8eVB0lQPxi2Uk9l41IX7KIZ2FuW4W9NcdSc-4_HkMIfcgICtwojSVodLawRvWrgJYpO8Jcz-xqh64pWv1QVIq8fEq_q08IZdU6cBlhuZSmMh0R-FKvvX_39RiM/s1600/20190406211325_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGTS37sI3Kadmz9K-6A8eVB0lQPxi2Uk9l41IX7KIZ2FuW4W9NcdSc-4_HkMIfcgICtwojSVodLawRvWrgJYpO8Jcz-xqh64pWv1QVIq8fEq_q08IZdU6cBlhuZSmMh0R-FKvvX_39RiM/s640/20190406211325_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mothrakk is looking pretty awesome.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<h2>
In Conclusion</h2>
Despite the audio issues, I would still
recommend getting the GOTY Edition of Borderlands 1. It’s a substantial
and welcome overhaul of the game that makes it a lot more fun to play,
to the point that I find it very hard to go back to the original. Heck,
if you already own Borderlands on Steam, you also own the new version
since you get it for free! So hopefully these issues will be addressed
in a future patch and we will have the absolute definitive edition of
Borderlands 1 to play.<br />
<h2 class="has-large-font-size">
<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>SCORE</strong></span></h2>
<span style="font-size: large;">STORY: 7/10<br />GAMEPLAY: 8/10<br />GRAPHICS: 8/10<br />SOUND: 5/10</span><br />
<div class="has-large-font-size">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><strong>FINAL SCORE: 7/10</strong></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong></strong></span>Alyxxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17218865125519689016noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4381060216787776751.post-66655508076393369292019-06-16T10:37:00.002-07:002019-06-16T10:51:37.706-07:00PC Game Review: Rage 2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Originally published at <a href="https://www.vgr.com/rage-2-pc-game-review/" target="_blank">https://www.vgr.com/rage-2-pc-game-review/ </a></span><b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMFyUf176CoOQo65YHirLkkmdEuf1iOEepMfFxooeXVQmvArkSI540AiBQksPKrEVmGU38RxvRGU26sn35MHGOh4j6fOhDflss2rqyoVCiMKTEdGDYLYpqP4v3-7z88rSC0Xse2zSO-tY/s1600/rage+2+review.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMFyUf176CoOQo65YHirLkkmdEuf1iOEepMfFxooeXVQmvArkSI540AiBQksPKrEVmGU38RxvRGU26sn35MHGOh4j6fOhDflss2rqyoVCiMKTEdGDYLYpqP4v3-7z88rSC0Xse2zSO-tY/s640/rage+2+review.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<br />
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>GAME: R</b>age 2<br /><b>RELEASED: 14/05/2019<br />DEVELOPER: id Software, Avalanche Studios<br />PUBLISHER: Bethesda Softworks<br />AVAILABLE ON: PC (Steam), PS4, XBOX One</b></span></b><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://alyxxgameroom.blogspot.com/2013/01/pc-game-review-rage.html" target="_blank">Rage</a> was not a particularly memorable id Software title but it certainly
had a lot going for it. Being mostly a showcase for id’s new idTech
engine, it showcased a lot of impressive graphical detail for its time
and certainly was unique in its approach to things like texture
streaming. It gathered mostly average reviews, aside from myself who
personally loved the game aside from the lackluster ending. So
personally I was actually pretty excited when they revealed that Rage 2
was being made, and even better by the team who made the Mad Max game.
So how is Rage 2 compared to the first game, or even other id Software
titles? Let’s find out when we take a close look at Rage 2.</span><b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b> </b></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span></b>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCsCC8S58pAJ87GBVHq1QQXBRIhEvl5yOxzmvDWkcLOkT0qTaN95C9q3wKY_VVG_2AXWXrKfzS60t90yC-_UwssWvJs1jW_dw3X6pAOV29moKQVtim15JjRaFr5MtMoKdwQqQ73d503Fc/s1600/20190526192226_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCsCC8S58pAJ87GBVHq1QQXBRIhEvl5yOxzmvDWkcLOkT0qTaN95C9q3wKY_VVG_2AXWXrKfzS60t90yC-_UwssWvJs1jW_dw3X6pAOV29moKQVtim15JjRaFr5MtMoKdwQqQ73d503Fc/s640/20190526192226_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span></b>
<br />
<h2>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><b>STORY</b></b></span></h2>
As a whole the tone of the game is very 90’s, and not in the good
way. It just feels like the game is trying too hard to be “extreme” in
every way possible and gross you out as much as possible. The entire
time I was playing this game I just felt like it was trying to be this
gritty hardcore wasteland game, but it just ended up making the game
feel remarkably difficult to get into.<br />
<br />
One
fascinating aspect is how Rage 2 simultaneously has a better story yet
somehow worse story than Rage 1. The story itself has more of an actual
arc to it. The focus is on avenging your adopted mother’s death at the
hands of an Authority general known as Cross. Taking down the general
proves difficult however, since he has the ability to clone himself. So
you have to work with three head figures of the wasteland to take him
down. Loosum Hagar from the first game in the town of Wellspring, John
Marshall in the town of Gunbarrel, and finally Doctor Kvasir (also from
the first game) in his laboratory. Sounds all fine and dandy right?<br />
<br />
Well,
Rage 2 has some serious issues with its story in all honesty. The most
glaring issue is how none of these elements are properly introduced.
Instead you’re just kinda thrown into it without given much opportunity
to get to know any of the characters you’re supposed to care for. Your
mother for instance gets killed in the very first mission you play. Rage
2 completely misses the point of a game, where the story is
interactive, to allow the PLAYER to actually feel attached to characters
before sacrificing them to the plot gods. It doesn’t help if this is a
good driving factor for the main character if we as players have no real
attachment. Heck, even if Rage 2 was a movie, having a character die so
soon that is integral to the plot would just feel cheap. And that’s how
it feels here.<br />
<br />
The game also has a serious lack of any likeable
characters. Most of them feel like caricatures or one-dimensional
gimmicks, lacking any sort of actual personality or likeability. It
leads to a situation where you have plenty of characters to talk to and
accept quests from. But due to how the game makes no effort to get you
to know these characters before helping them, you’re left feeling kind
of distanced from everything going on. Not that the main character
Walker lacks any eagerness to do all of this but we as players certainly
do not share that enthusiasm.<br />
<br />
Walker
is the main character of the game. Unlike Rage 1 where you played a
nameless Ark survivor (Rage Guy if you will), in Rage 2 the main
character has a voice and a name. And a gender that is up to the player.
Personally I decided to go with female Walker simply because that’s the
gender I always pick when I have the option. But it doesn’t seem to
matter which Walker you pick since, well, both are equally boring and
bland. Walker doesn’t have any discernable personality traits beyond
being your basic hero and thus ends up feeling kinda boring for most of
the game. You’re not even allowed to make any choices that could affect
the story itself. So really you’re just kinda going through the motions
as the game strings you along from location to location.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw-KmcwUXZyW6-Yw-WmvJ36GJUzkKovvWmihdfP5KCz1Z9mJZKTLCLVfJ5sX6pjvQ_R60kbFsUchB8cevpLgJcaU2_syhrAQlNRbEeKEgGN8MS51X9p4L_WORnQTdP0gpzadQt8LqAm_8/s1600/20190514201652_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw-KmcwUXZyW6-Yw-WmvJ36GJUzkKovvWmihdfP5KCz1Z9mJZKTLCLVfJ5sX6pjvQ_R60kbFsUchB8cevpLgJcaU2_syhrAQlNRbEeKEgGN8MS51X9p4L_WORnQTdP0gpzadQt8LqAm_8/s640/20190514201652_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">He had a bad hair day.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h2>
<b><span style="font-size: large;">GAMEPLAY</span></b></h2>
Which brings us on to the topic of gameplay. Rage 1 was really a very
linear game that had the illusion of being open world. But Rage 2 on
the other hand is completely an open world game. In fact it’s extremely
similar to Mad Max, the game Avalanche Studios were probably most known
for prior to Rage 2. The main issue with Rage 2’s gameplay is its
repetitive nature. Sure you have a massive world to explore but several
locations you visit feel quite literally copied and pasted around with
some feeling identical and some quests having you visit old locations
again, giving a very intense sensation of deja vu throughout the entire
thing.<br />
<br />
Aside
from the story missions, you have a number of different mission types
in Rage 2. Bandit Dens are essentially outposts where the goal is to
clear them out. Crusher Nests are dungeons with a boss at the end. Road
Chokers are more basic road blocks where the goal is to raise the
roadblock and clear out enemies. Authority Sentries are massive turrets
that deal a shitload of damage to you, but are worth a fair bit of XP to
take out. Mutie Nests are nests of… you guessed it, muties, where the
goal is to take out all of their eggs. Pit Stops are places where the
goal is to blow up all the gas tanks. Repowering Stations are places
where you have to overload some energy Pylons until they overload from
waves of enemies.<br />
<br />
The main issue with all of these locations is
that all of them feel the same. You mostly kill enemies, gather loot and
rinse and repeat. And that brings me to my biggest gripe with Rage 2.
The loot and how it ties in with your character upgrades. All of your
character upgrades are locked behind resources of some kind. And instead
of these upgrades being out in the world for you to find, each location
only gives you seemingly random resources to spend on these upgrades in
the menu. There’s really no rhyme or reason to it and it feels
extremely boring to essentially grind resources from location to
location, rather than perhaps more locations being built around getting
certain upgrades or ability upgrades.<br />
<br />
The
only locations that offer anything worthwhile are the Arks which offer
either a new Nanotrite ability, or weapon. I kind of wish more locations
would feel like these ark locations and offer more unique loot rather
than just spewing resources at you.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijZc30IVb9RFZjE1CjMBLOOjy5dp5GxLKcD5RAYLJRLiV4Sx3IWrY01CaLIyz8qxp5bJz6tS03J_8glotRrvRBvKAHN1z3loG3fo7tKfhmBqJUt2wuxo65XT2I9hu4yUOkug5AQKeuCho/s1600/20190530213558_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijZc30IVb9RFZjE1CjMBLOOjy5dp5GxLKcD5RAYLJRLiV4Sx3IWrY01CaLIyz8qxp5bJz6tS03J_8glotRrvRBvKAHN1z3loG3fo7tKfhmBqJUt2wuxo65XT2I9hu4yUOkug5AQKeuCho/s640/20190530213558_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yay. An Ark chest. Another one.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
That being said, what the game does well and what makes the game
somewhat fun is the combat. Given all the nanotrite abilites you can
find and the various weapons you pick up, it becomes sort of a combat
playground where you’re free to approach combat however you want. Your
nanotrite abilities allow you to several cool things, including
shattering enemies with a kinetic push, slamming down into them, or even
creating a vortex that sends them flying into the air.<br />
<br />
You
also get a fair amount of weapons to play with, including wingsticks
from the previous game. All of the weapons are pretty fun to use and all
have different tactical uses depending on the type of enemy you’re
facing. Another cool addition is the overdrive mode which boosts all
your weapons and your strength. Unfortunately even on Hard mode this
ability becomes insanely overpowered once you’ve leveled up your
abilities, and allows you to pretty much be in Overdrive continuously as
long as you have enemies to kill.<br />
<br />
The combat is not perfect
however. One major issue is that the enemies just kinda blend together
in the end. All of them just kinda act the same way in terms of AI with
no real threat or challenge once your character is upgraded enough. I
played the game on Hard difficulty and after a while it just felt like I
was breezing through the game on Very Easy unless the game got cheap
and faced me with obstacles that killed me in 2 hits or less. Sure, some
enemies charge at you with shields but you can just shatter them or
throw grenades at them. And then there’s the issue with the BFG 9000.<br />
<br />
The
BFG 9000 is a deluxe edition exclusive weapon that is pretty much the
game’s kill button. It can take down most bosses in one or two shots and
is devastating to the Authority Sentries you meet. Sure, the ammunition
for it costs 1000 bucks per plasma cell, but even that is pretty cheap
when you consider how easy it is to earn money in the game. It creates a
situation where you have this weapon that is ridiculously overpowered,
and very easy to get ammo for. The weapon ruins all the challenge in the
game and feels like a cheap way for people to just get a pay-to-win
weapon.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXbtc4n4QZ3nuG1dIvfqTXKhc1CH8B6kaDVQyqNK82TN7pZZn_KJL5JRk88qC3wlcoR3064jiX8vM4_lJays8R4WyHr3463PZZQyb0-6yBmpinCklCkdLON_x9cI2e47hth392JwukuM4/s1600/20190530192705_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXbtc4n4QZ3nuG1dIvfqTXKhc1CH8B6kaDVQyqNK82TN7pZZn_KJL5JRk88qC3wlcoR3064jiX8vM4_lJays8R4WyHr3463PZZQyb0-6yBmpinCklCkdLON_x9cI2e47hth392JwukuM4/s640/20190530192705_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">SPLAT!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The game also has a lot of driving in it, which feels exceptionally
clunky and unresponsive. Which is a shame given you have to actually
drive some races to progress the story in the game. Unlike the first
game the only thing you get from driving are auto parts you can use to
upgrade your vehicles. It’s nowhere near as involved as the first game,
making racing almost feel like an afterthought in Rage 2. Though given
how clunky the driving controls are, it may be a blessing in disguise.<br />
<br />
One
of the main issues with the car controls is how the turret will lock
onto things. Why is this a bad thing? Cause it also locks onto things
that aren’t a threat to you! I’m serious, the turret locks onto to empty
cars and even loot! WHY ON EARTH WOULD YOU HAVE THE TURRET LOCK ONTO
THINGS THAT POSE NO THREAT TO YOU?!!! Especially during car combat where
you NEED to shoot things that have a higher priority this is
infuriating beyond belief! I cannot stress how bad of a game design
decision this is!<br />
<br />
You also have the Mutant Bash TV arenas making a
combat with the incredibly unlikeable Desdemonya as the new host. Her
entire personality is that she’s old and gets off on murder. The arenas
lack any sort of original gimmicks and feel like complete rehashes of
the ones from the first game, making it feel entirely pointless and like
the racing it feels like a complete afterthought.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi72D6Lp3WVXflLc_si255GWLAjNLupnvyeD11wHTf-w0YjAL6yvN-2OYSlj5pjOfbiw_BxkuYKBEGQfw52K6BdjTkqQftmTP_fhTD0ZkbmI5i3nnilT6t0k48XssYBJSautojrVRJvyQs/s1600/20190529213149_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi72D6Lp3WVXflLc_si255GWLAjNLupnvyeD11wHTf-w0YjAL6yvN-2OYSlj5pjOfbiw_BxkuYKBEGQfw52K6BdjTkqQftmTP_fhTD0ZkbmI5i3nnilT6t0k48XssYBJSautojrVRJvyQs/s640/20190529213149_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Such a beauty.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
And let’s get talking about the controls as a whole. For the most
part, the game controls fine on PC and on console I can probably see no
issue with it other than the fact you’re playing a FPS with a gamepad
which to me just feels weird. But the PC version has some notable
missing features, such as being able to bind the mousewheel. By default
the mousewheel is bound to up being your next weapon and down being your
previous weapon. This is actually the opposite way to how I prefer
things. Which drove me absolutely insane at times where I meant to
switch to the next weapon, but accidentally picked the previous one.<br />
<br />
Oh
and despite the game having a ton of pitch black areas, there’s no
button for a flashlight. Go figure. I mean when Doom 3 had more features
than you, you know you have issues.<br />
And whoever thought it was a
good idea to have messages that pop up and cover the screen for every
time you complete objectives needs his ass kicked. Especially whoever
thought requiring the player to press ENTER to get rid of them was a
good idea. Because you may be aware that on a keyboard, Enter is on the
right side. Which is very awkward when you have your hand on the left
side and your right hand on the mouse, having to move either hand away
from those positions to press Enter whenever any message is on the
screen.<br />
<br />
In all honesty, having popups that pause the gameplay in
any game like this is a crime. It baffles me that they still have some
instances where all you get is a simple message that shows up on the
screen without pausing the gameplay. Why couldn’t the rest of them act
this way?<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5t-ebUENglDQWxj-fxAXMHmJf_KZjP1DrmhanZ_aryoG7L-2dSFPoHb5EI4O5SrvIQKLdOJrq_psdKaMwqWpxLLLhwLYDuaYLe4VKxNEw1siQD1wZWuGrUI5m6bsHzERkoma0VKbxh0U/s1600/20190527193858_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5t-ebUENglDQWxj-fxAXMHmJf_KZjP1DrmhanZ_aryoG7L-2dSFPoHb5EI4O5SrvIQKLdOJrq_psdKaMwqWpxLLLhwLYDuaYLe4VKxNEw1siQD1wZWuGrUI5m6bsHzERkoma0VKbxh0U/s640/20190527193858_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Uhm... that looks kinda threatening.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h2>
<b><span style="font-size: large;">SOUND AND GRAPHICS</span></b></h2>
For the most part the game sounds pretty good. You have some really
good weapon sounds and crunchy headshot sounds. All good stuff. The
voice acting unfortunately is often so boring to listen to that I
praised the gods the game had an option to skip dialogue. I mean, it’s
not easy to make the dialogue interesting when it’s written like it is
to begin with, but the voice acting did not help. I also ran into a
pretty annoying bug where voice clips would randomly not play or were
playing at such a low volume they were inaudible. This wasn’t even just
voice clips from NPC’s, it was all kinds of things. Sounds just not
playing for various reasons. And the music is okay. It suits the mood.
Nothing memorable, nothing bad. It’s there.<br />
<br />
Graphically the game
looks as you’d expect. For the most part. They decided to put a very
saturated color filter on it that enhanced pink and blue colours, giving
the game a very intense neon look that makes it hard to look at at
times. Especially during the overdrive mode where everything just looks
like you took an overdose of LSD. It has a fair variety of areas to
explore but never really looks all that interesting. I did like some of
the Authority base interiors though, simply because they really reminded
me of Doom 2016.<br />
<br />
Oh and the game is extremely prone to crashing
for some reason. Not sure how well it plays on consoles, but on my PC
system it wasn’t unusual for the game to crash like 3 times in half an
hour. Especially near the end of the game or when certain events
happened. It was especially common when driving around. That coupled
with the game having abysmal performance drops very frequently made it a
chore to get through it. I was running the game on low to medium
graphics settings and would still get frame dips into the 30’s and even
20’s occasionally. And I have a fairly decent system with a Ryzen 7
1800X CPU.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeAyKbc3bl67mRvpwvkJZw54usnQVjkfEUADpGWSsZDzebvRUg_JVLkAWS0ueJE5wB3C25GWTQZrhMjkhqS-_DSuWdeyzF8L9l_P9sqrBfXbv7SpdXePkIzg1Rs5Wdtc5qZ4NJExmSc-A/s1600/20190523193022_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeAyKbc3bl67mRvpwvkJZw54usnQVjkfEUADpGWSsZDzebvRUg_JVLkAWS0ueJE5wB3C25GWTQZrhMjkhqS-_DSuWdeyzF8L9l_P9sqrBfXbv7SpdXePkIzg1Rs5Wdtc5qZ4NJExmSc-A/s640/20190523193022_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Character models tend to look… questionable.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">SUMMARY</span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span> <br />
<br />
All in all, Rage 2 is an extremely underwhelming game. It does some
things right but ultimately does a lot of things that just feel like
it’s checking things off a checklist. The difficulty for the most part
is way too easy once you’ve got some upgrades going. Or too difficult in
places where you’re either in a vehicle or faced against a really cheap
enemy. But even those fall victim to the BFG 9000 which ruins any
challenge the game could pose you. It’s a bug-ridden mess at times too,
prone to both crashing and just not working as you’d expect. At times it
gets so close to being good. But whether it is the weapons just not
feeling strong enough, or the locations not feeling interesting enough,
or the story just being both predictable and completely incapable of
engrossing the player, there’s always something that ruins the
experience.<br />
<br />
It also feels like it has no original cell in its
code. Everything feels derivative, with the open world feeling literally
copied from Mad Max, the suit you have and its abilities feel copied
from Doom 2016, and a lot of the elements that were in Rage 1 are also
here but feel completely soulless and copied over just to be there. It
is a sequel that completely lacks the charm and likeable characters that
made Rage 1 fun to play.<br />
<br />
That being said if any of this looks
like something you’d have fun with, you’ll probably enjoy the game.
Because at times, it is enjoyable. But it’s not great. The game is
currently available on <a aria-label="Steam (opens in a new tab)" href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/548570/RAGE_2/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Steam </a>and from <a aria-label="Bethesda (opens in a new tab)" href="https://bethesda.net/en/game/rage2" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Bethesda</a>. And if the game’s current story is not enough for you, there is <a href="https://www.vgr.com/rage-2-post-launch-content-roadmap-includes-two-dlc-expansions/">more DLC coming in the near future.</a><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOwIkvppQlKCJNpZBkeCStTsoc6o3FBD5mkkC2EFWG4SVWMdPt6HYD6o7bMX4aYldf3lKl7gq8xRrHLAiVZtJp5fIY-l1MWOAjKDFfIXboHq_CtF4Bz3OTW6YO40YFXNaWrNfkdL9c0ns/s1600/20190526192352_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOwIkvppQlKCJNpZBkeCStTsoc6o3FBD5mkkC2EFWG4SVWMdPt6HYD6o7bMX4aYldf3lKl7gq8xRrHLAiVZtJp5fIY-l1MWOAjKDFfIXboHq_CtF4Bz3OTW6YO40YFXNaWrNfkdL9c0ns/s640/20190526192352_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Damnit, Willits. Stop putting your sausages in games.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h2>
<b><span style="font-size: large;">SCORE</span></b></h2>
<span style="font-size: large;">STORY: 2/10<br />GAMEPLAY: 5/10<br />GRAPHICS: 6/10<br />SOUND: 5/10<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br />FINAL SCORE: 4/10</span></b> </span><br />
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b></b></span></b>Alyxxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17218865125519689016noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4381060216787776751.post-1419813875713226152019-03-16T01:05:00.002-07:002019-03-16T01:05:42.834-07:00PC Game Review: Anthem<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglsVP6jJugoyBviciOweh8EjNVWLiMiacGFEdfeKWNZUE-Eh93Cv9I8VYeYKHLz-Uu7EvdUtpEpZ-Ii_NkT8EeBGAvnLD8n2ZCclF-LprC7B10H5-m2s2OxpU2MmRCtSQLPjpeO9Ik8sc/s1600/Anthem+Review+Banner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglsVP6jJugoyBviciOweh8EjNVWLiMiacGFEdfeKWNZUE-Eh93Cv9I8VYeYKHLz-Uu7EvdUtpEpZ-Ii_NkT8EeBGAvnLD8n2ZCclF-LprC7B10H5-m2s2OxpU2MmRCtSQLPjpeO9Ik8sc/s640/Anthem+Review+Banner.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<h6>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">GAME: Anthem<br />RELEASED: 02/22/2019<br />DEVELOPER: BioWare<br />PUBLISHER: Electronic Arts<br />AVAILABLE ON: PC (Origin), XBOX One, PS4</span></h6>
<h2>
BioWare's Anthem</h2>
It's been a while since I was really into a game. And I'm talking beyond just enjoying it. I mean like compulsively obsessed with it. For me, Anthem has been one of those instances where a game has occupied my headspace more than most games I've played. A game that I've not only thoroughly enjoyed, but a game that has really clicked with me. Ever since it released, I've played Anthem almost to a religious degree. Aside from going to work, sleeping, working out and all that important stuff, I've done nothing but play Anthem.<br />
<br />
I already knew the game was going to be special when it was first announced at E3 2018. I was a bit shocked to hear about BioWare of all things releasing an online multiplayer shooter. It's not really the first thing that comes to mind when you think of BioWare. The company is probably more famous for their work on games such as Baldur's Gate, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Dragon Age and of course Mass Effect. Not only that but we haven't really seen a new IP from BioWare in quite a while. It would seem EA were more than content to delegate BioWare to making Mass Effect sequels.<br />
Then again with Mass Effect Andromeda being rather badly received, it makes sense that EA wanted to give the old BW a chance at something new. And in a way, that does make Anthem a truly special game. A new IP in a new universe, with a whole new style to it.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Anthem Character Creation" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-40292" height="360" src="https://www.vgr.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/20190222185927_1-924x520.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h6>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Anthem lets you customize your Freelancer by choosing your gender and appearance.</span></span></h6>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
In either case, Anthem spoke to me in a way few games have done before. I immediately felt almost drawn to the game, in a way similar to how people in the game itself feel drawn to the Anthem. As soon as I saw those early demos where you could see people in different Javelins flying together, I could already just feel how fun the game looked. And that's something I hadn't really seen from EA in a while. A game that simply looked fun.<br />
<br />
Fast forward to late January and I was lucky enough to get invited to the VIP Demo (<a href="https://www.vgr.com/anthem-first-impressions-vip-demo/">which you can read my first impressions of here</a>). And while my experience was no doubt buggy, the experience did leave me hungry for more Anthem. After having played the open demo a week later, I knew this was a game I was going to love. And even before the game launched, I saw negative reviews. The game was being absolutely torn apart by critics. I became anxious, if the game I was so hyped for, felt so much attachment to would prove to be a disappointment.<br />
<br />
Luckily, when I played the game on its launch day on February 22nd, I felt the entire opposite reaction. I was not only having fun, I absolutely loved it. Yet that makes it even more confusing to me why so many people hate this game. That being said the game is not without its flaws either. So without further ado, let me go into detail about what I love and what I dislike about BioWare's Anthem.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Anthem" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-40295" height="360" src="https://www.vgr.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/20190224180836_1-924x520.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h6>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">From beginning to end, the world of Anthem is a gorgeous place.</span></span></h6>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h2>
A Different Place, A Different Time</h2>
Anthem takes place on an unknown planet in an unknown time, giving it a bit of a Star Wars feeling where it could be the distant past or the distant future. The planet is covered in relics of advanced technology, all harnessing an immense source of power known as the Anthem of Creation. Unfortunately these relics can at times get unstable, doing all sorts of unpredictable stuff. Which includes terraforming, mutations and spawning in hostile creatures. The most unstable artifacts can envelop an entire area in storms, energies and creatures. Known as Cataclysms, you were once sent into one, known as the Heart of Rage. Unfortunately things didn't go as planned and most of your squad were killed, leaving you alone as one of a few survivors. And those who survived were both mentally and physically scarred.<br />
<br />
As a Freelancer, whose gender and appearance is left up to the player, it is your job to keep the hostile monsters and factions brought on by the Anthem at bay. You're given a Javelin, a powerful exo suit with flight capabilities, as your main weapon. In addition to flight, the Javelins are also equipped with powerful abilities and weapons that can strike true fear into your enemies. Your main goal becomes to put a stop to the Dominion, a hostile group whose goal is to use the Anthem for their own purposes. In other words, you have to keep it from falling into the wrong hands. Which is easier said than done when you have no way of returning to the Heart of Rage where the Anthem is located. And such it is your job to find a way to return and keep the Dominion from obtaining the Anthem.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Anthem" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-40314" height="360" src="https://www.vgr.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/20190222224542_1-924x520.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h6>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Customizing your Javelin with different weapons and abilities becomes necessary to survive.</span></span></h6>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h2>
Fort Tarsis - Where It All Begins</h2>
Outside of missions you'll be spending your time in Fort Tarsis, which serves as the game's hub. This is where you'll interact with NPC's who you can have a chat with or get missions from. As a bit of a nod to BioWare's earlier games, chatting with someone will bring up dialogue choices now and then. Unfortunately these are always simple binary choices of mostly a positive and negative response to the NPC. It almost feels superfluous to have choices at all if you're not given a more extensive dialogue tree. Though it is nice to see how your dialogue choices affect the NPC's decisions. I just wish the game allowed for a higher degree of roleplaying and more dialogue options.<br />
<br />
That being said, generally the voice acting is great and the writing is really good. And not to mention funny, given how many times I laughed out loud during NPC interactions. And given how quirky and interesting the characters are I always found myself talking to them between missions for no other reason than just the joy of doing so. I just wish the conversations weren't always so binary. But for how engaging the writing is and how much I grew to love the characters, I can forgive it.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Anthem" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-40315" height="416" src="https://www.vgr.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/photo_2019-02-24_19-26-15-799x520.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h6>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">NPC's in Anthem definitely have some interesting fashion choices...</span></span></h6>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h2>
Your Javelin</h2>
Customization seems to be a huge aspect about Anthem. While I wish the character creation for your Freelancer was more indepth, given how little you actually see of their face it makes sense that you wouldn't need to spend a lot of time on it. The options you get are there to help immerse you into the role. The Freelancer is nameless and fairly bland in terms of personality, making them more of a shell for the player. So customization in that regard is adequate in my opinion. Heck, it's great to see some customization at all given the demo only had a choice between male and female voice for the Freelancer.<br />
<br />
Customizing your Javelin becomes almost 50% of what you do in the game as well. Using The Forge you can customize your Javelin's gear and appearance. I was a bit afraid that cosmetic customization would be very restricted, but I am happy to say this isn't the case at all. For one, you can basically choose any colour you want, you can access any part of the Javelin's body you want to paint, and you're even given a bunch of Vinyls to add from the get-go.<br />
<br />
And any kind of cosmetics you want to purchase can be purchased using in-game currency. I'm a huge fan of how this game approaches microtransactions since they are entirely optional. And you can easily save up some in-game currency for that item you really want. So far I haven't spent any real money on the game but it is nice knowing I have the option if I absolutely want to.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Anthem" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-40316" height="360" src="https://www.vgr.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/20190223183319_1-924x520.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h6>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">My absolutely BAMF Storm Javelin that I used for most of the game.</span></span></h6>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h2>
Strong Alone, Stronger Together</h2>
As you progress, you can unlock a new Javelin at levels 2, 8, 16 and 26. While you only have four to choose from, you can unlock any of them you want during these moments. The Ranger is the marksman and soldier type, focused on using grenades and artillery to blast enemies into submission. The Interceptor is a smaller and more agile Javelin, focused on melee and agility. The Storm has weak armor but packs the most punch, able to deliver elemental attacks that can set enemies up for combo attacks. And finally, the Colossus is the tank of the group. It's able to shield allies from enemy attacks and draw enemy fire. It also is the only Javelin capable of wielding heavy weapons, at the cost of not being compatible with pistols. You can read a more in-depth look at the Javelins and their capabilities <a href="https://www.vgr.com/complete-guide-javelins-anthem/">here</a>.<br />
<br />
There really isn't any wrong Javelin to choose, each of them support wildly different playstyles. And there is no wrong way to play any of them either. Due to how versatile the Javelins are there are multiple ways to use them. Since all Javelins can use pretty much all weapon groups, with the only exception being the Colossus, you're really not that limited in terms of range either. The combo system allows you to prime enemies using certain attacks. A combo can then be detonated by a different attack. These combos are often related to elements, as using elemental attacks will prime enemies for combos. This allows multiple Javelins to work in sync and time combos, often to devastating results.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Anthem" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-40323" height="360" src="https://www.vgr.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/20190224191332_1-924x520.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h6>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Yes, Anthem has warp pipes. Off to minus world!</span></span></h6>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h2>
Iron Man - The Game</h2>
The above statement really sums up the experience of playing Anthem. While there is a slight learning curve to the controls of your Javelin, once you get used to them, playing Anthem is almost an intoxicating experience. The moment you realize how quickly you can go from running on the ground to soaring in the air, you really feel like you're Iron Man. Exploring the world in Freeplay mode is really where you get a sense of absolute freedom, exploring the world at your own leisure and casually doing world events with other players. The game almost beckons you to explore every nook and cranny of it, to uncover collectables and bits of lore. A thing I enjoyed in particular was how seamless the transition between water and air was. Essentially when you're under water, you're still flying. So when you exit from a body of water you go straight into flight seamlessly.<br />
<br />
As fun as this is though, the core of Anthem's gameplay is still that of doing quests. And similar to older BioWare titles you have "Critical Quests" that are essentially story missions, "Agent Quests" which serve as side missions, and "Contracts" which are basically just shorter "go here do this" missions that serve as more of a way to level up than serving any actual story purpose. And while you can do all this in public matchmaking, and are encouraged to do so in order to have a full squad, I would say I never really enjoyed the game much in this mode.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Anthem" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-40330" height="360" src="https://www.vgr.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/20190226201525_1-924x520.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h6>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Nearly all cutscenes in the game are in first person. Luckily the face capture is excellent.</span></span></h6>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Especially on a first playthrough, playing in public mode pretty much ruins the experience. The issue is that when you're playing with strangers, you really have no idea how they are going to play with others. And sad to say a lot of the time you risk running into people completely ignoring you when you're down and need repairs. Or worse, rushing ahead. And thus forcing you to follow them since the game will automatically respawn you with the group if they advance too far ahead. Granted BioWare did address this issue by making the timer more lenient, but it's still an issue when you're not allowed to play at your own pace.<br />
<br />
Thus I highly recommend playing the game in Private Mode on a first playthrough. Even if you're just playing with a single friend, it's totally worth it. This allows you both to enjoy the game at your own pace. As well as listen to the dialogue which in all honesty is far too good to be ignored. Anthem is truly a game that comes alive when you can play with a group of close friends, and all of you can communicate with each other while playing. That's not to say public play doesn't have its place though. During Strongholds and Freeplay, which are essentially public game modes, it's never really much of an issue. Since there isn't really much story to pay attention to and you're just there to earn some XP and loot.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Anthem" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-40333" height="360" src="https://www.vgr.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/20190225194011_1-924x520.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h6>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Similar to vistas in Guild Wars 2, the game world is full of spots
where you can stop and take in the view. It really lets you appreciate
the amount of work that's gone into creating the world of Anthem.</span></span></h6>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h2>
Looter Shooter</h2>
Anthem gives loot to the player in mainly two different varieties; crafting materials and items. Crafting materials can be embers, plant material, mineral material or Javelin parts. All are necessary in order to craft your own weapons and gear. You can also craft sigils which are single-use items that grant you certain bonuses for a single mission. Whether you wanna focus on defense or offense, these sigils actually make a fairly significant difference in gameplay. And it's highly recommended to at least use one for each mission.<br />
<br />
Items can be anything from weapons to gear for the Javelin you're using. Now here's where a little confusion comes into play. Items have a rarity and a Power level. The rarity doesn't really seem to mean anything as it seems to scale with your level. And since all item drops are client side, if an Epic item drops for you, it doesn't mean it will be available to other players. So the rarity doesn't seem to affect all that much, other than the fact the more rare your item is the better stats it will have.<br />
<br />
The power level also doesn't really seem to indicate much, other than how powerful the weapon is. But since weapon stats are completely random, it's possible to have a weapon with a higher power level, but with WORSE stats than a similar weapon with a lower power level. The game also had a bit of an issue of assigning useless bonuses to several items. Though BioWare did thankfully address this in a recent patch. But it seems as a general rule the rarer the item and the higher its power level, the better it is. Just keep an eye on the bonuses and stats as well since it might not always be the case.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Anthem" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-40337" height="360" src="https://www.vgr.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/20190203183540_1-924x520.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h6>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">People who played the demo might remember the Cataclysm event at the end. A foreshadowing of things to come it would seem.</span></span></h6>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h2>
Not Always Well</h2>
Generally I would say Anthem has been an amazing experience for me but that's not to say I didn't run into some issues with it. The menu system is extremely confusing to navigate, with several menu options often being placed at the bottom of the screen in small text. I've had a hard time just finding where things are and I wouldn't exactly call the menus intuitive at all. It took me an entire day to realize where I could claim my pre-order rewards.<br />
<br />
And it doesn't exactly help that a loading screen separates you from customizing your Javelin. And you have to wait for it to load every single time you want to customize, which is going to be a lot I promise. Luckily some of this is addressed by the fact you are given the choice of going directly to the Forge screen after a mission. There's even a public lobby option called the Launch Bay where you can access numerous options between missions.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Anthem" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-40338" height="360" src="https://www.vgr.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/20190301203126_1-924x520.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h6>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Anthem is simply a fun game to play, no matter how you put it.</span></span></h6>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
And of course, I would be remiss to not mention the numerous bugs that are still in the game. Often it can be very minor things like enemies glitching out, items and quests being wrongly marked as new, the wrong mission being played, or servers failing to connect. Or it can be major things like the game crashing or audio completely cutting out. I wouldn't say these bugs have been severe enough to ruin the game for me though. And they haven't been frequent enough for me to consider them a massive flaw. But it's definitely something to be aware of.<br />
<br />
And yeah, the final mission did feel quite anticlimatic. I wouldn't exactly call it bad by any stretch, but it wasn't what I was hoping for either. Calling the puzzles in the game puzzles is also a stretch. I've seen more challenging puzzles in children's puzzle books. And then some missions suddenly throw really obtuse puzzles at you that takes you ages to solve. It's either too easy or going full "what the heck do I do". The game also feels a little barren on content as it is, but given <a href="https://www.vgr.com/bioware-anthem-future-updates/">BioWare's plan going forward</a>, I am still looking forward to what's to come for Anthem. Because despite all these issues, I've had an amazing time with Anthem. So far it's been one of the most fun experiences I've had in 2019.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Anthem" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-40339" height="360" src="https://www.vgr.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/20190222214754_1-924x520.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h6>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">"Yes. It is true. People hate this game."</span></span></h6>
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<h2>
A Beautiful Anthem</h2>
In terms of visuals, Anthem is absolutely gorgeous. And running perfectly smooth on my Ryzen 7 1800X rig with an 8GB RX580. I haven't run into any kind of major performance issues, with the game generally running at a stable framerate, and very rarely dipping below 60 FPS despite pushing my hardware to its limits. Of course, the Frostbyte engine has always been beautiful and Anthem is no exception.<br />
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I especially love the animations and motion capture work. It truly feels like a lot of it is acted in front of you, and it helped me get really engaged in the story. I also loved just taking in the gorgeous landscape, and I love the fact the game has a seamless day/night cycle. There's also an incredible attention to detail, with your Javelin looking increasingly damaged as it takes more and more abuse. Stylistically it does look similar to games like Warframe and Destiny, but still stands on its own. It's really hard to compare it to anything in terms of setting, and the world feels like a mix between various cultures. It often clashes but in a beautiful way that almost symbolizes nature's and humanity's diversity.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Anthem" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-40340" height="360" src="https://www.vgr.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/20190223215234_1-924x520.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h6>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Underwater segments of the game are particularly noteworthy, showing off some amazing lighting and designs.</span></span></h6>
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I've of course already mentioned the voice acting which I think I have nothing bad to say about. Everyone gives a great performance here. Even the main character I enjoyed who has an almost dry wit to them. Sound effect work is also really good, I especially love the combo sound and the sound work on the attacks and weapons. The weapons just have a really satisfying punch to them, especially the shotguns.<br />
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And while I wasn't 100% into the music and I'm still not as orchestral music isn't my cup of tea, it has grown on me considerably and I found myself enjoying it a lot. Even if some of the instrument choices such as using a didgeridoo felt a little weird to me. It still isn't a soundtrack I've enjoyed as much as the original Mass Effect. But it serves its purpose for sure.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Anthem" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-40341" height="360" src="https://www.vgr.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/20190223222039_1-924x520.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h6>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">A shout out to my co-op buddy Kira who kicked serious ass during our campaign.</span></span></h6>
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<h2>
A Flawed Masterpiece</h2>
To sum it up, Anthem is not a perfect game. It's got its flaws for sure. But it remains one of the absolutely coolest games I've ever played. In some ways it feels like a spiritual successor to Mass Effect, with a similar focus on a mystical energy source, and the threat of the end of the world. And playing this game just makes you feel like the coolest badass that's ever existed. Your Javelin moves with such elegance and flair that you can't help but just grin when playing the game. It just has this indescribably coolness to it that you feel when playing it. And I simply haven't played any other game like this recently. What it lacks in polish, Anthem more than makes up for in charm and I am sad to see so many people just not seeing it.<br />
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Anthem does not deserve the hate it gets, nor does it deserve to be called a bad game. To anyone who doesn't like Anthem as much as I do, I completely understand your criticisms for the most part. But saying Anthem is one of the biggest disappointments of 2019 is being way too harsh.<br />
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The game does microtransactions perfectly, and since it's co-op there's no way to gain an unfair advantage. It has an amazing cast and story that still grabbed me and it's a game I've simple been unable to put down since it came out. And to me, that's the sign of a good game. So whatever you may think of Anthem, I absolutely love it and I think it deserves to at least be played. So if you find this game on a discount, don't hesitate to pick it up.<br />
<h2>
SCORE</h2>
<strong>STORY: 8/10</strong><br /><strong>GAMEPLAY: 7/10</strong><br /><strong>GRAPHICS: 10/10</strong><br /><strong>SOUND: 8/10</strong><br />
<h3>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><strong>FINAL SCORE: 8/10</strong></span></h3>
Alyxxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17218865125519689016noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4381060216787776751.post-87892952537333529982019-01-06T10:36:00.000-08:002019-01-06T10:36:46.846-08:00PC Game Review: The Eternal Castle (Remastered)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1729A42c3W3p9I2E01G2TqfUsoaWMLVmZqw3d5lVB5rrYGYbKCw2eUMeDiQ2tWEIPK4Ex7F9BfQFC5w3SCAWW8GcPj4Q9TYmuITIpebZX-9ZJJVfSgo9Gy1LAyESMnobkMIMXtbXQBb0/s1600/The+Eternal+Castle+Review.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1729A42c3W3p9I2E01G2TqfUsoaWMLVmZqw3d5lVB5rrYGYbKCw2eUMeDiQ2tWEIPK4Ex7F9BfQFC5w3SCAWW8GcPj4Q9TYmuITIpebZX-9ZJJVfSgo9Gy1LAyESMnobkMIMXtbXQBb0/s640/The+Eternal+Castle+Review.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /> </span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">GAME: The Eternal Castle (Remastered)<br /> RELEASED: 01/05/2019<br /> DEVELOPER: Leonard Menchiari, Daniele Vicinanzo, Giulio Perrone<br /> PUBLISHER: Playsaurus<br /> AVAILABLE ON: PC (Steam)</span></b><br />
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In the indie game scene, a lot of games take inspiration from the games of the past. Typically this comes in the form of tributes to oldschool consoles like the NES, SNES and Mega Drive. But it’s not often you see games that pay homage to the graphics of old IBM PC’s. The Eternal Castle, a supposed remake of a lost 1987 PC game, is such a game. And much in the vein of the game MURI, it acts as a tribute to old school PC games from the late 80’s and early 90’s. In this review we’ll be taking a look at this game and also discuss its legitimacy as a remaster. So strap in, it’s time to explore the CGA glory of The Eternal Castle.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="360" src="https://www.vgr.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/20190104224212_1-924x520.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A lot of levels present traps that need to be avoided. Often you’ll end up learning it the hard way.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
In Eternal Castle you can play as either Adam or Eve as you explore their dream on a post-apocalyptic Earth, in which they fight their way towards a malevolent AI. After a brief intro where you crash land into the region of the AI, your ship is damaged and loses its Gliders. In other words, you’re on a big ol’ fetch quest to get the Gliders back and repair your ship into working condition so you can assault the game’s namesake, the Eternal Castle head on. The plot feels strangely reminiscent of id Software’s classic Commander Keen: Marooned On Mars, where you also crash landed on a planet and had to get parts for your ship back. Of course, the plot itself is not terribly original either, but feels suitably cyberpunk for a late 80’s game.<br />
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The gliders have ended up in 4 separate locations, all of which serve as levels to explore before the final showdown. Granted while the game only has five levels including the final one, the levels are generally quite large and require a lot of exploration, and not to mention trial and error, before you can get through them. The first location is the one you explore after your ship has crashed. It consists largely of industrial landscapes and serve as a tutorial level to get you familiar with the game’s controls and mechanics. After completing it you have 3 choices of where to go next. The main goal is to gather Gliders for your ship as well as fragments that have scattered across the region.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="360" src="https://www.vgr.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/20190104225313_1-924x520.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On your first playthrough, these tablets serve as checkpoints and also refill your health.</td></tr>
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The Ancient Ruins is mostly a melee focused level where you’ll be fighting a tribe of hostiles. It’s probably the hardest level in terms of traps and combat but also gives you access to some decent melee weapons. The Forgotten City is more of a ranged combat area where you’ll assist a band of friendlies against hostiles using rifles and shotguns. The Unholy Lab is more of a stealth focused area and unlike what I did in my playthrough, it might be best to save this level for when you have the stealth upgrade that makes you invisible. Otherwise this level is truly a terrifying place and really gives the game some horror vibes, where you’ll be running for your life a lot.<br />
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As you explore the levels you’ll not only come across fragments to collect, but also items that give you permanent upgrades. These include a stealth upgrade that allows you to become invisible when crouching, increased health, armor and so forth. While you don’t require all of these items to reach the final level, they do generally help make the adventure less painful. You can carry a maximum of two weapons at any given time. The game takes a bit of a modern approach to weapons though as once they run out of ammo you have to find a replacement, so you’ll be switching out your weapons constantly.<br />
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Enemies will always drop their weapon if they are carrying one, which helps give you options. Choosing which weapons to hold on to becomes a tactical choice since they can help you in the levels where they are sparse or non-existent, as each level offers very different gameplay experiences.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="360" src="https://www.vgr.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/20190105190315_1-924x520.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The game will offer very different experiences in each level, and also switch between different CGA palettes frequently.</td></tr>
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The game plays very much like cinematic platformers of the early 90’s. If you’ve played games like Another World/Out of This World, BlackThorne or Flashback, it should feel pretty familiar. For people more used to Mario or Sonic style platformers, cinematic platformers tend to feel a bit sluggish and unresponsive due to the heavy amount of animation that has to play out for every action. But if you’re like me and grew up with the genre, you probably won’t have much of an issue with it. The trick is mainly to plan your movements in advance, and be aware of how your character moves in kind of blocky increments instead of exact locations. It’s a bit hard to explain but once you get the feel for it, it becomes second nature.<br />
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Now to move on to the game’s alleged roots as a 1987 game and it’s so called “remaster” label. It’s all pretty much fake. There is simply no way this game is originally from 1987, nor is there any way it is a remaster. Prince of Persia, the game often touted as the game to popularize this genre didn’t come out until 1989. And games like Another World and Flashback which this game feels extremely derivative of, didn’t come out until 1991 and 1992 respectively. And the game’s startup sequence not only copies lines of text from DOOM, which came out in 1993, it also includes lines of Linux text which would never belong on a DOS system.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br />
<img height="360" src="https://www.vgr.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/20190106002501_1-924x520.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Your character will often react to or interact with the environment, often quipping on things like arcade machines.</td></tr>
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And of course then there’s the enormous fact the game is not running in a 4:3 ratio. You see, while some games did support video modes that technically were widescreen in the 80’s, most games opted for a 320×200 resolution, which normally would look really stretched on a widescreen 16:9 monitor. Except this game does not. While you could boil this down to the “remaster” bit, there is one massive question on my mind. Why CGA?<br />
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In 1987, several video modes were available in fact. 16 colour EGA was most common during this time for PC games, a standard which launched in 1984 already. Heck, VGA which supported 256 colours LAUNCHED IN 1987! And not to mention you had the Tandy standard which also supported 16 colours. Most games of the late 80’s supported multiple modes, and granted CGA was among them. But the way this game utilizes CGA is unlike any of the games from the 80’s. CGA was often utilized with composite monitors in mind where the colours would blend together and create more colours than the 4 colours the CGA cards were capable of. But The Eternal Castle uses CGA more to simulate shapes and lighting in a far more modernized way that simply no games of the era did. The only reason this game would use CGA is for artistic purposes.<br />
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And it does not always use its graphics well either. A lot of text is near impossible to read, almost like it’s been poorly scaled down, which I myself have had issues with being a game developer, but if the game was a legitimate product it would not have this issue. They could’ve gone with EGA or VGA and still gotten away with “it’s a 1987” game but for its gameplay style, even that would be a stretch and going for a lost 1991 game would be far more applicable.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="360" src="https://www.vgr.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/20190106002054_1-924x520.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The game uses CGA to create really intense contrast, often to great effect in scenes.</td></tr>
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Marketing the game as a lost 1987 game feels like a missed opportunity as well. They could’ve gone all the way with this, actually done proper research into DOS games, maybe even developed the game as an actual CGA game on actual DOS hardware. Not saying I blame them for not doing that given the enormous amount of difficulty associated with such a task. But when it’s so easy to tell the game is a modern design, it really feels like they expect their player base to not know better. Instead of just making a game based on a very shallow understanding of PC gaming from the 80’s and 90’s, they could’ve gone the way of <a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/267360/MURI/">MURI</a>, <a href="https://www.vgr.com/ion-maiden-coming-consoles-pc-2019/">Ion Maiden</a> or <a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/519860/DUSK/">DUSK</a> to create a game that could legitimately be a lost game.<br />
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The game’s use of bitcrushed sound effects makes it painfully obvious the game has no roots in the 80’s. And it features no option to listen to original PC speaker sound effects. The sound effects aren’t bad but they definitely don’t feel like actual PC sound effects from the era. At least the soundtrack is excellent, featuring everything from ambient noise to driving synthwave beats. While it does not at all feel like an actual product from the 80’s, it does feel like a tribute to them, much like the entire retrowave culture does.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="360" src="https://www.vgr.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/20190106170752_1-924x520.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The final boss battle is probably the game’s high point and feels like a well earned climax.</td></tr>
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All criticism aside though, this does not at all make The Eternal Castle a bad game, but it does make any claims of it being an actual 1987 PC game remastered complete bullshit. But for what it is, it’s still a really good game with hand crafted animations in a really striking and bold art style that stands out in a sea of Nintendo 8bit clone games.<br />
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The CGA style is more used as a filter, and in that regard gives the game a unique style where there is a lot of detail but it’s all hinted at and you’re never quite sure what you’re looking at. It gives the game an eerie alien atmosphere that very much fits its post-apocalyptic feel. At times it feels like you’re exploring an entirely different planet, where things feel familiar yet look completely different. It’s weird how the game completely captures the feeling of playing oldschool PC games without succeeding at itself feeling like one. And you’re not likely to have ever played anything quite like it.<br />
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Much like a lot of modern retro games, it’s simply a big tribute to our childhoods. To growing up with games that brought us into another world of archaic graphics and mastery through repetition. It’s <a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/963450/The_Eternal_Castle_REMASTERED/">definitely worth a grab</a> if anything for capturing some of that essence.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">SCORE</span><br /><br />STORY: 7/10<br /> GAMEPLAY: 8/10<br /> GRAPHICS: 8/10<br /> SOUND: 7/10</b><br />
<b><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">FINAL SCORE: 8/10</span></b>Alyxxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17218865125519689016noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4381060216787776751.post-30722356060702194542019-01-01T05:27:00.004-08:002019-01-01T05:41:33.836-08:00Alyxx' Top 10 Games Of 2018<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYyjXQGgbVjSwLq62Kg8MzdZ-4daIzyjwe1RTm9QcRD0W6X2d6yFFTStwQSrHNzO3JhCGph9vSIdE-eEH6RsioTtC3uRbOACymtK-yaPbqbKF6qd26lErusrsZEK8toA0NusNW16e91Ts/s1600/TOP+10+2018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYyjXQGgbVjSwLq62Kg8MzdZ-4daIzyjwe1RTm9QcRD0W6X2d6yFFTStwQSrHNzO3JhCGph9vSIdE-eEH6RsioTtC3uRbOACymtK-yaPbqbKF6qd26lErusrsZEK8toA0NusNW16e91Ts/s640/TOP+10+2018.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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2018 was a year where I sadly wasn't able to play all of the hot new titles. For one, I didn't build my new PC until like October and my old PC was too limited for me to greatly cover new titles. I also don't have the ability to play any console exclusives so games like Red Dead Redemption 2, Spider-Man or God of War won't be on my list I'm afraid. But here's what I did play in 2018 and what I thought about it. It'll be less of a "these are the best games I played in 2018" and more of a "games from 2018 I wanna talk about" kind of list.<br />
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<i><b><span style="font-size: large;">10. FALLOUT 76</span></b></i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE62zMmswYCxif1X3vrmeLI0sLMiE-6XB8h_qUrqE0StRZQjHUxDm4dCueOjaK4H3TrvasjLo1kzDURK1X69Ssr4LtsclYIT1kUUhS0ehsuIryCtBvTPw0OXpwVxqwkH8lwQ3KURbAOMA/s1600/ScreenShot19.png"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE62zMmswYCxif1X3vrmeLI0sLMiE-6XB8h_qUrqE0StRZQjHUxDm4dCueOjaK4H3TrvasjLo1kzDURK1X69Ssr4LtsclYIT1kUUhS0ehsuIryCtBvTPw0OXpwVxqwkH8lwQ3KURbAOMA/s640/ScreenShot19.png" /></a><br />
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For the record while I did really enjoy Fallout 76, it definitely hits the bottom of my list for obvious reasons. Fallout 76 is not a $60 game, neither is it a particularly good game. But it does a lot of things right and credit where credit is due, if you're looking for a co-op Fallout 4 experience, this is pretty much spot on. And exploring West Virginia with its absolutely gorgeous hills and landscape is a real treat. I've been enjoying my time in Fallout 76 this year and definitely will continue to do so in 2019.<br />
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<i><b><span style="font-size: large;">9. DESTINY 2</span></b></i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT9mBNLrUGWqiIlKGEwurONFmNsilhWQ5okRuPym2sb3YiYzuzpyS_3aqju9Nab_v4RDyzrrhWUIb_hV5PYPOeSojcW0WYwe06Nc-cP4Fqg_pATlkMGvBgS3j57RR_dETrVSJmryFYYsw/s1600/45361646_10156704759472836_468258169496272896_n.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT9mBNLrUGWqiIlKGEwurONFmNsilhWQ5okRuPym2sb3YiYzuzpyS_3aqju9Nab_v4RDyzrrhWUIb_hV5PYPOeSojcW0WYwe06Nc-cP4Fqg_pATlkMGvBgS3j57RR_dETrVSJmryFYYsw/s640/45361646_10156704759472836_468258169496272896_n.jpg" /></a><br />
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While it technically released in 2017, I started playing Destiny 2 this year when Blizzard decided to make it free in their Battle.net launcher, and I definitely enjoy what I've played so far. Having a still really active playerbase and being pretty much something I've wanted for a long time, being a massive multiplayer online FPS, it's not hard to get into Destiny 2. I had my reservations going into it from people who gave it fairly negative reviews, but so far I definitely think it's a great game and I look forward to continuing playing it. I also enjoy how the story bits makes it feel like a single player game at times, just one you can also play with friends. <br />
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It also might be one of the most gorgeous games I've played recently, having a gorgeous colour palette and industrial look at times that I really enjoy. Kind of like Mass Effect it does feel really Star Wars influenced with its humanoid looking aliens and space opera story, so that may explain why I enjoy it so much, being a huge Star Wars fan. I haven't played the expansions yet but definitely will do so eventually. <br />
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<i><b><span style="font-size: large;">8. FORSAKEN REMASTERED</span></b></i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdUTLD4WGpYqwbX_yC6sgIjLQDqkKtYu1hWo6TEM-U4pdzs7QJVwSe-JMRexn6wykDIj-I7cUloU1aNa0N6SwaKbu10SaQQ10HrUj3a59KjGpD2MD9RDEcacrosLNJrJAQH5RaC-oz61w/s1600/FORM1.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdUTLD4WGpYqwbX_yC6sgIjLQDqkKtYu1hWo6TEM-U4pdzs7QJVwSe-JMRexn6wykDIj-I7cUloU1aNa0N6SwaKbu10SaQQ10HrUj3a59KjGpD2MD9RDEcacrosLNJrJAQH5RaC-oz61w/s640/FORM1.jpg" /></a><br />
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A bit of an unexpected but welcome release this year was Forsaken Remastered. I'm admittedly a huge fan of Forsaken and played it a lot in the early 2000's as a free copy of it was bundled with a PC gaming mag my mother subscribed to at the time (though I was the one who probably enjoyed it more). It's a 6DOF shooter ala Descent though with more of a dystopian cyberpunk tone to it. <br />
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The remastered edition is definitely worth grabbing as it makes the game more playable on modern PC's and adds a lot of new graphics options, making the game more gorgeous than it's ever been. I'll be covering this game in a review pretty soon but so far this is one hell of a remaster to grab if you're into 90's FPS's.<br />
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<i><b><span style="font-size: large;">7. WOLFENSTEIN II: THE NEW COLOSSUS</span></b></i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAdnaGuRVYx565gIH72Vk8Y_OZ2eJN-KzP2UPNV6-_g7GOq26jfJMR5gwMtYEhidEC0qfenTJLL_x5sO7JJyf3Dwg8rHnIQAPTiDUY-r2y6Y7o7_vxDDP7I2ju6KnbgqcnNT92NiYZVXA/s1600/612880_screenshots_20181005143830_1.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAdnaGuRVYx565gIH72Vk8Y_OZ2eJN-KzP2UPNV6-_g7GOq26jfJMR5gwMtYEhidEC0qfenTJLL_x5sO7JJyf3Dwg8rHnIQAPTiDUY-r2y6Y7o7_vxDDP7I2ju6KnbgqcnNT92NiYZVXA/s640/612880_screenshots_20181005143830_1.jpg" /></a><br />
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B.J. Blazkowicz returns in this awesome direct sequel to 2014's "The New Order", the first time the franchise has ever had a direct sequel mind you, this time taking on a Nazi invasion of the USA. Much like The New Order offered a glimpse into an alternate future, Wolfenstein II takes this concept even further by showing a 60's USA that's become tinted through the occupation of Nazis. <br />
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It's a dark and at times really disturbing game that also gives a ton of backstory about BJ and why his hatred for Nazis is so strong. While I remain conflicted on whether this is my favourite game in the franchise so far or not, I definitely think it's an amazing game and I've had a blast with it so far. Looking forward to giving it a full (and awfully delayed) review coming 2019.<br />
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<i><b><span style="font-size: large;">6. MASS EFFECT ANDROMEDA</span></b></i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3GF_M7x9qeCaHjNoSBHi3c0Zvv9IGkeWScwubmmvsxP_6HKHDNYmx_j056oVUmwdDVsubbmAKsb0pc4CuCs6BrFjqBQQvFOqMTicxapey08asyXaqzui8Shlt6FOGxrNbIhQeK8QgrSY/s1600/11153749331503218688_screenshots_20180726181111_1.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3GF_M7x9qeCaHjNoSBHi3c0Zvv9IGkeWScwubmmvsxP_6HKHDNYmx_j056oVUmwdDVsubbmAKsb0pc4CuCs6BrFjqBQQvFOqMTicxapey08asyXaqzui8Shlt6FOGxrNbIhQeK8QgrSY/s640/11153749331503218688_screenshots_20180726181111_1.jpg" /></a><br />
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A game I probably should have reviewed in 2017, Mass Effect Andromeda is a game I've decided to take my time with. Not because I think it's bad, far from it, I am enjoying it a lot to be honest. And I want to be able to give it a proper review from someone who has spent considerable time with it rather than the kneejerk reaction most reviewers tended to give the game when it came out. <br />
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The main reason for the delay though is that my previous PC simply struggled a lot with it. With my current PC being able to handle it at max graphics I am finally ready to tackle it all and a full review will be coming in 2019. I've been playing it on and off in 2018 and so far I am really enjoying it. Hopefully I'll be able to complete it pretty soon.<br />
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<i><b><span style="font-size: large;">5. RAD RODGERS</span></b></i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjROvM8HHJ7jIU7uq5kXDjMeJfwZgFPz4u_yKZK9eBJHLgL2MTbB9YbXAXIusuS9HVJyt7jxncfA6oYXxnLY_AuaneKvAATQtXQbTRfDF8TDMZkhE0O2Yk8ujMxt4bny6iRemGO9DZGRbg/s1600/805660_screenshots_20180226180419_1.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjROvM8HHJ7jIU7uq5kXDjMeJfwZgFPz4u_yKZK9eBJHLgL2MTbB9YbXAXIusuS9HVJyt7jxncfA6oYXxnLY_AuaneKvAATQtXQbTRfDF8TDMZkhE0O2Yk8ujMxt4bny6iRemGO9DZGRbg/s640/805660_screenshots_20180226180419_1.jpg" /></a><br />
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Rad Rodgers is one of the latest games from 3D Realms and developer Slipgate Studios (Bombshell, Rise of the Triad), and received numerous updates this year including a port to Nintendo Switch. If you want my complete opinion on the game, make sure to check out my <a href="https://alyxxgameroom.blogspot.com/2018/03/pc-game-review-rad-rodgers.html">full review of it here</a>. But summarized, it's one of the best platformers I've had the joy of playing recently, helped by its unique off color Rick & Mordy esque humor.<br />
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<i><b><span style="font-size: large;">4. DUSK</span></b></i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNDvqPfTa3PVuBAtVTr8C-rM4u_vTHELjAyKqEEUD_xjafbCSlhQQMp1PAXY9hyphenhyphenj7wkIi8Ob1SodWbnaKltaqnDQoiN3ikvtd-R7o3Oa3OE_TBeoGhjYWN0e6xM-tTXvXDefSQRQ_vTdM/s1600/20181231173937_1.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNDvqPfTa3PVuBAtVTr8C-rM4u_vTHELjAyKqEEUD_xjafbCSlhQQMp1PAXY9hyphenhyphenj7wkIi8Ob1SodWbnaKltaqnDQoiN3ikvtd-R7o3Oa3OE_TBeoGhjYWN0e6xM-tTXvXDefSQRQ_vTdM/s640/20181231173937_1.jpg" /></a><br />
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This game. This game right here. So imagine if someone took Redneck Rampage, Blood, Quake, Half-Life and somehow mixed these things together and made some kind of game that plays and looks and sounds like it somehow was taken out of 1997 and then polished up slightly. That's basically what DUSK is. A pastiche of the best 90's FPS's and as much of a love letter to that era as it could potentially be a product of it. DUSK foregoes almost all modern gaming trends including randomly generated levels and health regen in favour of hand crafted levels with old school armor and health systems. Even its movement feels like it belongs in the Quake engine with its bunny hopping, rocket jumping and insanely fast gameplay. Expect a full review coming very soon. So far this game is a hell of a blast.<br />
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<i><b><span style="font-size: large;">3. SHADOW WARRIOR 2</span></b></i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwMS4ex2AW0z1rbKVBc58w6j9eO4srB-GNyFKRBdU8NArRdoaGrxuSImVTQOGXeWjg5Yh7BfIhUByA8_PHxvansoK9P-SizeK6fCz6c-VUIpKH_zuwViAPYfB17g4WoqdUQueXwefOAPQ/s1600/324800_screenshots_20161128213548_1.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwMS4ex2AW0z1rbKVBc58w6j9eO4srB-GNyFKRBdU8NArRdoaGrxuSImVTQOGXeWjg5Yh7BfIhUByA8_PHxvansoK9P-SizeK6fCz6c-VUIpKH_zuwViAPYfB17g4WoqdUQueXwefOAPQ/s640/324800_screenshots_20161128213548_1.jpg" /></a><br />
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Man 2018 was just my big backlog year. Shadow Warrior 2 for some reason is one of those games that just ended up in my backlog after briefly playing it in 2016. So I jumped into it with a friend and we had a fucking blast with it. This might be one of the best co-op shooters I've played lately and it was surprisingly in-depth with the customization of weapons and abilities. It feels like it focuses more on the guns than the previous game where almost too much focus was put on melee combat. Melee combat gets a lot of focus here too don't get me wrong but it does feel like guns now serve a bigger purpose than in the first game. I'll hopefully get around to giving it a full review soon which is long overdue.<br />
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<i><b><span style="font-size: large;">2. CLIVE BARKER'S UNDYING</span></b></i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7_w2hwbEoCMXRRuSRJrJCnI4AQe3ATZvD9AqJh4zm7rmhVtfWxWRItjhm-T9MMMUIhwJPyrQsNiFmzIIcGevxh3GfYT9fZvpIiBAKGML9-i7htIdD5wJc1c5DeLbLvLIkESAqUAIdJkA/s1600/20181106174934_1.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7_w2hwbEoCMXRRuSRJrJCnI4AQe3ATZvD9AqJh4zm7rmhVtfWxWRItjhm-T9MMMUIhwJPyrQsNiFmzIIcGevxh3GfYT9fZvpIiBAKGML9-i7htIdD5wJc1c5DeLbLvLIkESAqUAIdJkA/s640/20181106174934_1.jpg" /></a><br />
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So for Halloween this year I decided to revisit a game from my childhood. I'd played a short demo of Undying back in the early 2000's but never actually played the full game. So when I saw it was cheap on GOG.com I decided to get it and give it a go. And man is this game just an awesomely dark and disturbing horror shooter. Like with Hellraiser, Clive Barker's story here really delves into themes of a dysfunctional family ruined by a horrible curse. The backstory behind this family is probably the best part of the game and the thing that holds it all together. Like with alot of games on this list I do plan on writing a review of it eventually but for now I'm still playing through it and having a great time. This game at times feels like a first person Resident Evil and it's done wonderfully.<br />
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<i><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">1. DELTARUNE</span></b></i><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEierAQuE-y8MALNrpVwPcxzhRAZ1V-r4i7ueWtKgwb7uxGMQJydhGevR_rkqSC31tpgornZ8fxo8kPdoE7NBABBC8dS8bidDC7W8v23uhnsLtmdQWZMhqgz83snyTmhyUnTKE1ZIXWoSvk/s1600/DeltaruneKeysHeader.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEierAQuE-y8MALNrpVwPcxzhRAZ1V-r4i7ueWtKgwb7uxGMQJydhGevR_rkqSC31tpgornZ8fxo8kPdoE7NBABBC8dS8bidDC7W8v23uhnsLtmdQWZMhqgz83snyTmhyUnTKE1ZIXWoSvk/s640/DeltaruneKeysHeader.jpg" /></a><br />
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This game came out of absolutely nowhere this year. After a series of mysterious tweets on Toby Fox' Twitter (seemingly in character as W.D. Gaster from Undertale), he eventually linked to a site containing a "survey program". Later revealed to be the demo for a yet unfinished game named Deltarune (a clever anagram of Undertale), my experience playing through this was one of the most mixed experiences I've ever had. I had no idea what this was going into it since I was one of the earliest people to play it (before everyone knew what it was) and when I played it I wasn't sure what to think. Was it a sequel to Undertale? Was it a prequel? Well apparently, Deltarune is neither and that is what's fascinating about it. <br />
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Essentially, it is an alternate reality story, set in a universe of Undertale where the war between monsters and humans never occured, which is just incredibly fascinating to see. It's like looking into what Undertale could've been if it had been developed as a more linear game with less focus on player choice. Because in Deltarune, your choices don't matter. It turns a lot of the ideas from Undertale on their head entirely so whatever this game turns out to be when it gets completed, it will be a totally different experience from Undertale. Regardless, I am incredibly hyped for it and I truly hope it gets made. Because it's easily the most memorable gaming experience from 2018 for me.Alyxxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17218865125519689016noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4381060216787776751.post-46631012533633206302018-12-26T12:54:00.002-08:002018-12-26T12:54:36.700-08:00PC Game Review: Duke - Nuclear Winter<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW49TchGnCU3rsl7m_ygd5oKfEReQrFaDZxBrrk8zBYZfF4Z_kRtF4mT26SwBAtuA4cXrzz5roRTwd9KwuBKHeM8VW4jZjoXNNpU6v90wibQlPa9_JJ0u_BF1Y_689u-szxo4jEb1xus8/s1600/banner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW49TchGnCU3rsl7m_ygd5oKfEReQrFaDZxBrrk8zBYZfF4Z_kRtF4mT26SwBAtuA4cXrzz5roRTwd9KwuBKHeM8VW4jZjoXNNpU6v90wibQlPa9_JJ0u_BF1Y_689u-szxo4jEb1xus8/s640/banner.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">GAME: Duke - Nuclear Winter</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">RELEASED: 12/30/1997</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">DEVELOPER: Simply Silly Software</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">PUBLISHER: WizardWorks</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">AVAILABLE ON: PC</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Duke Nukem 3D had a few expansion packs released for it after its release in 1996. These were "Duke It Out in D.C", a capitol themed campaign through DC, "Duke Caribbean - Life's A Beach" which is more of a summer vacation themed pack. And then there is "Nuclear Winter", the mandatory Christmas themed pack which was the only one to be developed by Simply Silly Software. So while I am sitting here with my mulled wine and Christmas cookies, and having just finished my annual playthrough of this expansion, I figured I'd give my thoughts on it before the year is over. Consider this my Christmas review this year.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">The story goes that the Feminist Elven Militia (... yes, you read that correctly) has brainwashed Santa and are being supported by the aliens in a plot to take over the world. This brings up a fair amount of questions... Like why is there a Feminist Elven Militia, why are they taking over the world, and how does this stop Christmas from happening? In either case, Duke has to stop the feminazi elves, evil snowmen and aliens, get Santa back to normal and save Christmas. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAiu1g3XsxyzFj8LVKvrQQk0nItSSnzfeRGhw8NKyPBzn88ka3Aqn9r1ihfn1WXCbs7N_ZM3sjOQHI65LnxGwQ3BvbXmykFhZ4gQlw-vSvR9M64UwVeMxFjXwJwwGMXSBfRuLt6TFMqlw/s1600/steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAiu1g3XsxyzFj8LVKvrQQk0nItSSnzfeRGhw8NKyPBzn88ka3Aqn9r1ihfn1WXCbs7N_ZM3sjOQHI65LnxGwQ3BvbXmykFhZ4gQlw-vSvR9M64UwVeMxFjXwJwwGMXSBfRuLt6TFMqlw/s640/steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the most interesting and surprisingly out of place things in this expansion is a partial recreation of E1M1 from Doom.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Your journey begins surprisingly by playing the first two levels from Episode 1 of Duke 3D in reverse with a bit of a Christmas twist. While it does feel a little lazy, the levels still feel different enough to be somewhat fun to play, especially since these are levels that most people have probably played a fair bit. After that you journey towards the north pole through numerous levels that all carry a pretty fitting winter theme, complete with snowy weather and icy water.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Your enemies consists of reskinned pigcops and aliens, though some new enemies make their appearance exclusively to this expansion pack. Evil snowmen replace the Assault Commanders, Pigcop tanks and also function as generic troops that throw snowballs at you. The flying ones also use Freezethrower projectiles in place of the rockets from the vanilla Assault Commanders. And of course, the Elven Feminist Militia (EFM for short which sounds like a radio station), which consists of all female elves that either use dual UZI's, shrinkers or shotguns.<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b> </b></span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elves have a tendency to drop gifts upon dying which Duke can unwrap to pick up extra goodies like health, armor and weapons.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The level design is mostly alright in my opinion. It might be because of how much I've played the expansion but I rarely feel lost and aside from the level designers having a bit too much of a fetish for cheap tripbomb traps, I find the levels pretty fun to play. I especially love the level set in Santa's workshop and a Christmas village at the North pole. The levels are full of cool little details like Santa's naughty list, boxes of presents for rich and poor kids, and even a launch facility for Santa's sleigh. I must admit playing this pack always brings a smile to my face the further I get into it. My only complaint if anything would be that it's probably a bit short. The fight with the evil Santa Clause feels like it always comes sooner than I expect, perhaps not helped by the fact the first two levels are just reskinned versions of older levels from Episode 1.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Santa's a bit of a dick in this expansion until you beat him.</td></tr>
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Graphically I think Nuclear Winter holds up fine. It doesn't always impress a lot with the level design, which at times feels like it could easily be made in the Doom engine, but I still love the little "Christmas-fied" details like the reskinned enemies, Christmas trees, unique enemies and even singing carolers in the second level. The cutscenes all use pretty cheap looking CGI which even at the time looked kinda nasty and some of the sprite work is also not up to par with an official Duke Nukem product. But it gets the job done.<br />
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The game features a rather nice selection of MIDI renditions of classic Christmas music. If you've ever wanted to hear a crappy synth version of Sleigh Ride, Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer or Frosty The Snowman then you're in for a treat. Admittedly I have a bit of a soft spot for these renditions and there is something endearing about spilling a ton of Feminist Elf blood while a cheery Christmas tune plays in the background. Santa himself has a pretty crappy voice too which sounds like it was recorded by one of the dev team. Definitely no Jon St. Jon.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFAF9jF3P_WIG7yCLp1F0HQIuYuTvOMqBhuLztKwFR1CU3gW_RyiuOGqcjXxk_2DUtq5AaNsthhGdeXAnPr1Ye1zDDMRaWa2sz_9JsSF7ZYGLtP4Vt6VlJA-CkiPf_VKfasf9p3rAXrp8/s1600/nukem+poem.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFAF9jF3P_WIG7yCLp1F0HQIuYuTvOMqBhuLztKwFR1CU3gW_RyiuOGqcjXxk_2DUtq5AaNsthhGdeXAnPr1Ye1zDDMRaWa2sz_9JsSF7ZYGLtP4Vt6VlJA-CkiPf_VKfasf9p3rAXrp8/s640/nukem+poem.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This ending screen almost perfectly sums up the entire experience. I especially love the cheap Arial text and the "where" typo.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
All in all, Nuclear Winter doesn't really feel like an official expansion at all. It feels like a fan made mod pack that you'd download for free. But despite its somewhat amateur presentation, I do feel the people who made this game were legitimate fans of Duke Nukem and wanted to do a fitting Christmas themed expansion for the game. And while the jokes don't always land that well and stuff like the "Feminist Elven Militia" and kinda weird Mario parody almost makes me feel like the game was made by angry teenage fanboys who just kinda hate anything that isn't porn and guns, I genuinely have fun with Nuclear Winter every Christmas. Whether I play it on my PS Vita or on PC, I don't feel Christmas is complete without it. I definitely don't recommend spending a lot of money on it, but if you got it with the Megaton Edition while it was still being sold or got it for free through less legal means, I definitely recommend at least giving it a try.<br />
<br />
Merry Christmas! <br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>SCORE:</b></span><br />
<br />
<b>STORY: 5/10</b><br />
<b>GAMEPLAY: 8/10</b><br />
<b>GRAPHICS: 7/10</b><br />
<b>SOUND: 5/10</b><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>TOTAL SCORE: 7/10</b></span>Alyxxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17218865125519689016noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4381060216787776751.post-66662928089710682692018-12-21T08:32:00.001-08:002019-10-09T10:41:26.975-07:00PC Game Review: DOOM (25th Anniversary Review)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrrG196JRJnv0ZTaTQzudOtgy3fwlSgYmO6dEMdqKPbQxgV21Raqx2oKL8x625F0HYS-aCi6tljb2DCwYyWKiE3Pk5_0YFJdFs0qTYFtnHcwZysB_R6h8G6bg-7dDtHfgbrKhYax2Expo/s1600/doom+review.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrrG196JRJnv0ZTaTQzudOtgy3fwlSgYmO6dEMdqKPbQxgV21Raqx2oKL8x625F0HYS-aCi6tljb2DCwYyWKiE3Pk5_0YFJdFs0qTYFtnHcwZysB_R6h8G6bg-7dDtHfgbrKhYax2Expo/s640/doom+review.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<h6>
GAME: DOOM<br /> RELEASED: 12/10/1993<br /> DEVELOPER: id Software<br /> PUBLISHER: id Software<br /> AVAILABLE ON: PC + all major platforms</h6>
1993
was an amazing year. Norwegian electro-rock group Apoptygma Berzerk
released their debut album “Soli Deo Gloria”, Intel shipped the first
Pentium chips, Windows 3.11 was released and a little game from a small
indie developer was released on the 10th of December. The developer was
the Texas based “id Software”. The game was simply titled “Doom”.<br />
<br />
<a class="xs-hidden sm-hidden md-visible" href="https://www.vgr.com/forum/topic/35-contest-no-1-ps4-pro/?page=1" target="_blank"></a>Leading
up to the date, id Software had already released Commander Keen, which
became a pretty big hit for the company due to being one of the first PC
sidescrollers that actually smoothly scrolled the screen similar to
console games like Super Mario Bros. They had also released the
grand-daddy of FPS’s, Wolfenstein 3D a mere year earlier. But
Wolfenstein 3D would look a generation behind what was to come and the
moment Doom released, the hype had already reached a fever pitch. Demos
had been released to the press, screenshots had been shown. People
already knew that what was to come would be groundbreaking.<br />
<br />
The
day it released, the server it was hosted on crashed. It became a game
that would define the 90’s for gaming as Nirvana’s Nevermind album had
for music. It would be installed on more PC’s than Microsoft Windows,
prompting Bill Gates himself to acknowledge the game’s immense
popularity in a Windows 95 press conference. And it was one of the games
that prompted the ESRB rating system to be created. When Doom arrived
in December of 1993, the world changed and nothing was ever the same
again.<br />
<br />
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<br />
Doom
was a groundbreaking title mostly for the technology behind it. Back in
the days of the early 90’s, 3D was seen as the next step in gaming. A
lot of developers seeked to create a 3D game that could not only deliver
a fully 3-dimensional immersive experience, but also run very fast on
consumer hardware of the time. Wolfenstein 3D had achieved this by
utilizing a technology called raycasting, where it would only draw the
parts of the world the player looked at and the rest of it would not be
in memory. This had its limitations of course and id Software dropped
this engine in favour of something that would make a far more believable
3D world, without actually being 3D.<br />
Due to CPU’s of the time
still not being powerful enough to actually draw a true 3D world fast
enough, and dedicated GPU’s not having even been made available yet,
certain tricks were employed to make the game seem 3D without it
actually being it. In reality, what you see on the screen is not
actually 3D, but rather a 2D plane that appears 3D. This is why you
can’t look up or down in vanilla Doom, and why your aim generally
doesn’t matter since if an enemy is in front of you, he’s still on the
same plane even if he’s drawn higher up than you.<br />
<br />
What this meant
for computers at the time was that Doom could run on any standard 486
computer of the time, and it would generally run very fast, and still
deliver a world that seemed like true 3D. For many, myself included,
playing Doom was like witchcraft. It turned your PC into a dimension to
another world. The marine, who was left intentionally nameless (though
he’s been affectionately known as Doomguy by the fandom), was meant to
be you. Doom transported you into a world of demons, shotguns and heavy
metal music unlike any game before it. It sucked you in relentlessly in a
mercyless grip. It’s not without reason Doom was banned at several
workplaces due to how insanely immersive (and ADDICTIVE) it was at the
time.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
Doom’s
story is simple, almost cliché to a point. Science experiments on Mars’
moons Phobos and Deimos have unintentionally opened a portal to hell
itself, and hordes of demonic forces have made their way through these
portals and either killed everyone or turned them into zombies. Everyone
except you. As the lone survivor of the invasion, it is up to you to
put an end to it, and shooting, punching, chainsawing, exploding,
eviscerating and all around killing every single demon that stands in
your way of doing so.<br />
<br />
John Carmack has been quoted saying “stories
in games are like stories in porn movies; they are nice but ultimately
pointless.” And that mantra certainly holds true in Doom as the game is
almost solely about its gameplay and the story takes a massive backseat
to it, almost feeling trivial as the only story you get are a few text
screens at the end of each episode.<br />
Doom is split into 3 episodes,
with a 4th episode added in the Ultimate Doom retail release (which is
the basis for all future releases of the game on PC).<br />
<ul>
<li>Knee Deep In The Dead (shareware episode)</li>
<li>Shores Of Hell</li>
<li>Inferno</li>
<li>Thy Flesh Consumed (Ultimate Doom)</li>
</ul>
The
first 3 episodes are where the main story is and the fourth episode
provides little more than some extra levels of extremely high difficulty
compared to the main trilogy. It ties losely into the events of Doom 2
but otherwise was probably meant more as a bonus to those who bought the
retail release.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
To
aid you in the battle for humanity, you have access to an arsenal that
would serve as practically the prototype for all future games in the FPS
genre. Your fists serve as your last resort, a mostly useless weapon,
unless you get yourself a berzerk pack. Your starting gun, a pistol
serve as a way of dispatching with the weakest of enemies and is only
useful for dealing with zombies. You’ll soon acquire the most iconic
weapon of the game and its main workhorse, the shotgun. A weapon that
can efficiently deal with most of the game’s enemies and has a lot of
ammo available for it.<br />
<br />
The chaingun, which you first pick up in
E1M2 if you gain access to a secret area, is the game’s main automatic
weapon and can easily deal with large groups of enemies. And if you look
closely in E1M3 you can pick up your very own rocket launcher. A weapon
that can splatter most weaker enemies and deal reliable splash damage
to larger enemies. Just make sure you don’t stand too close when firing
it as the splash damage applies to you too.<br />
<br />
Of course that is just
the beginning. Episode 2 also gives you access to the Plasma Rifle, a
powerful automatic rifle that can deal with most enemies quickly. And if
you are clever you can even get access to the legendary BFG (Big
Freakin’ Gun) 9000. A weapon with such devastating power that it can
clear an entire room of enemies. In addition to these weapons you can
also pick up a chainsaw, which becomes the default weapon on your number
1 key. It’s a more powerful melee weapon that is useful against some
enemies that like to get up in your face such as the pinky demons and
the spectres.<br />
<br />
Guns aren’t the only thing helping you though. In
addition you also have numerous powerups. Green armor will boost your
armor to a maximum of 100%, while blue armor will boost it up to 200%. A
blue sphere will boost your health to 200%. In addition you have the
invisibility sphere, which turns you invisible. You have the berzerk
pack which turns your fists into some of the deadliest CQC weapons in
the entire game, able to splat weaker enemies in a single punch. The
radiation suit which protects you against hazardous chemicals, including
lava. And finally the invincibility powerup which makes you immune to
all damage while it lasts.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY94VwcPTTKNxrrdh53ZTsDnWU7Ikl0nPuesBvZBFPFNfU0ePSHPiVJPqvd-9nTdFeXcE3bNT3rc6EwJ-OlQfUzEQUGh7STvw5WWrh4i58IuWO3IwRZL8S-tAuptLDot1AhVQpd3Y6b8U/s1600/doom_008.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="320" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY94VwcPTTKNxrrdh53ZTsDnWU7Ikl0nPuesBvZBFPFNfU0ePSHPiVJPqvd-9nTdFeXcE3bNT3rc6EwJ-OlQfUzEQUGh7STvw5WWrh4i58IuWO3IwRZL8S-tAuptLDot1AhVQpd3Y6b8U/s640/doom_008.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
The
hordes of hell are definitely not to be trifled with and even if most
of the enemies you fight are fairly weak, they do face you in large
numbers. Especially if playing on the higher difficulties. Zombies come
in two varieties. The normal pistol zombie and the more powerful shotgun
sergeant. The shotgun sergeant in particular needs to be a priority in
firefights as their shotgun can dish out some serious hitscan damage if
you’re not careful. The imp is a fairly weak demon that flings fireballs
at you and does claw attacks up close.<br />
<br />
The pinky is a lumbering
pink (hence the name) beast that likes to run up to your face and eat it
off. Spectres are pinkies that are invisible. Barons of hell are
towering demons that have more of a typical devil look with goat legs
and a bloodcurdling roar. They fling plasma balls and can take quite a
beating before going down and two of them serve as the episode 1 boss
fight. Later on you’ll face the cacodemon, a floating monstrosity that
belches plasma at you.<br />
<br />
Boss fights are also a bit of an ordeal in
Doom. At the end of episode 2 you’ll be face to face with the
Cyberdemon, an enormous towering beast of cybernetics and flesh that
fires rockets at you. Best dealt with if you have a BFG-9000 handy. The
episode 3 boss is the Spider Mastermind, a frightening demon consisting
of a brain with cybernetic spider legs that fires massive gatling guns
at you. Both need to be dealt with using superior weaponry and fast
skills.<br />
<br />
Some of the demons, such as the aforementioned cacodemon,
seem to be largely influenced by DND, which is no surprise given that
the game started out as a DND campaign the team were playing.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
For
its time, Doom’s graphics were unparalleled in gaming. It marked the
point where consoles could no longer deliver an experience that PC
could, although attempts were certainly made given the game’s immense
popularity at the time. A lot of it stemmed from the fact that the team
put a lot of effort into making its world as realistic as possible with
limited resources. Unlike today where everything in a game world is 3D,
given the limitations of the engine most of the in-game assets are
2-dimensional sprites and textures. A lot of the textures were made from
photo-references of various things. Even a fresh wound from one of the
team members was used as a source for one of the textures.<br />
<br />
The use
of real-life objects also extended to the game’s weaponry and enemies.
Several enemies, particularly bosses were modeled out of clay and then
digitized into the game to give them a realistic look. And some of the
weapons such as the chainsaw and shotgun were photographed from real
life props. The shotgun was a toy shotgun they bought at Toys R Us and
the chainsaw was borrowed from one of the team members. This immense
attention to detail and dedication helped give the world a more
realistic feel than most shooters of its time.<br />
<br />
The graphical
display became another essential part of Doom. Not only displaying all
important information about your current state, it also shows a portrait
of the helpless dude you’re playing as, and as your health drops the
face will get bloodier and bloodier, similar to BJ’s face portrait in
id’s previous game Wolfenstein 3D.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
Sound-wise
Doom has since become legendary for its use of stock library sound
effects for pretty much all of its sounds. This is probably the reason a
lot of the sounds from Doom can be heard in a multitude of other media,
especially movies. Which often makes people assume the sound effects
are taken from Doom, not realizing not a lot of sounds were made
exclusively for Doom to begin with. Even its music is somewhat
derivative, with a lot of it almost copying other works by hard rock
bands such as Judas Priest and Metallica. Not that it’s necessarily a
bad thing, given the music fits the game perfectly. It’s very hard to
imagine Doom without its iconic soundtrack.<br />
But there’s no doubt
that from its legendary shotgun sound, to the haunting cries and roars
of its demonic hordes, and its mostly silent but grunting protagonist,
Doom’s soundscape is as memorable as it is perfectly fitting its
setting. id Software did a lot with very little and it paid off. And
with a decent sound card such as the Roland SoundCanvas or MT-32, the
music sounds amazing.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
It
is hard to imagine a gaming world without Doom. Doom was a
groundbreaking achievement not for how well it did 3D graphics, but how
well it did them for machines at the time. And while it may seem
outdated and not as shocking nowadays, it is important to remember that
at the time, there simply was no other game like it. It marked the
beginning of an era, the true beginning of the 90’s era of gaming. With
Doom came the first person shooter genre. With Doom came multiplayer,
modding, and a lot of the culture we now take for granted with first
person shooters. It coined terms such as fragging, deathmatches and gibs
(short for giblets).<br />
<br />
The only sad thing about Doom is really what
it could’ve been. Originally it was meant to have more RPG elements,
and more of a story and be a more cinematic game. The team even
envisioned hub worlds that one could travel back and forth in. Imagine
how groundbreaking the game could’ve truly been if the team hadn’t
decided to make a pure action game. But perhaps the world was not truly
ready for that yet and needed Doom as a stepping stone. Because as fun
as it is, Doom is also repetitive and very little new is added in each
episode. And once you have completed it in its entirety, there’s not
much incentive to revisit it beyond playing mods.
It’s not a game that is fun to play for long periods given its lack of
story and gameplay beyond simple shooting. But it’s definitely really
good at what it set out to do.<br />
<br />
And regardless, Doom is a true
classic in every sense of the word. A game that despite showing its age
will continue to age like wine. Or perhaps blood. Because Doom has
served as the life blood for so many following games after it. Games
that will be remembered for a long time in the future. And with Doom Eternal soon showing its face, there is certainly no reason to stop celebrating this game’s 25th anniversary any time soon!<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>SCORE</b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>STORY: 8/10</b></span> <span style="font-size: large;"><b> </b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>GAMEPLAY: 9/10</b></span> <span style="font-size: large;"><b> </b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>GRAPHICS: 10/10</b></span> <span style="font-size: large;"><b> </b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>SOUND: 10/10</b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>FINAL SCORE: 9/10</b></span>Alyxxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17218865125519689016noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4381060216787776751.post-41052970107388545322018-12-14T11:32:00.005-08:002018-12-14T11:33:46.162-08:00PC Game Review: Fallout 76<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPqude26pvcelEFkeAbliOxxYAML7-ScPjaHnNYYgL2e6sM5kYgtMdD1Us19_K42Oum70vd8K7XMCOSnjs-DmWvl3j7mgY6gwWBQrz-rVKt699o9GlTAHy0PGk3nAPDaHfncGc4FAdX7E/s1600/fallout+76+banner+alyxx.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPqude26pvcelEFkeAbliOxxYAML7-ScPjaHnNYYgL2e6sM5kYgtMdD1Us19_K42Oum70vd8K7XMCOSnjs-DmWvl3j7mgY6gwWBQrz-rVKt699o9GlTAHy0PGk3nAPDaHfncGc4FAdX7E/s640/fallout+76+banner+alyxx.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<h6>
GAME: Fallout 76<br /> RELEASED: 11/14/2018<br /> DEVELOPER: Bethesda Game Studios<br /> PUBLISHER: Bethesda Softworks<br /> AVAILABLE ON: PC, PS4, XBox One</h6>
<h6>
<i>Thanks to my friend Kira for helping out with screenshots.</i></h6>
My
first memory of the Fallout franchise comes from when I was in junior
high, around 2001 or so. My mother subscribed to this gaming mag that
would come with free full versions every month. One month it came with
this game called Fallout 2. I blame this game solely for me missing
school several days in a row. I was obsessed with Fallout 2, so much it
took up nearly all my free time. It was the game that introduced me to
RPG’s as a whole, and to this day remains my favorite in the franchise.<br />
<a class="xs-hidden sm-hidden md-visible" href="https://www.vgr.com/forum/topic/35-contest-no-1-ps4-pro/?page=1" target="_blank"></a><br />
Later
on I played Fallout 3, and became hooked again. Another game I played
almost religiously and the amount of hours I have in the game is
probably only rivaled by the amount of hours I have in Deus Ex. Fallout
New Vegas I dug as well but didn’t play as much. And of course, Fallout 4
I loved (make sure to check out <a href="https://alyxxgameroom.blogspot.com/2018/04/pc-game-review-fallout-4.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">my review</a> of it in case you don’t believe me).<br />
<br />
So
my point is I’m no stranger to this franchise and it is one of my
favorite franchises in gaming as a whole. And it’s probably the reason I
was really on board with the idea of releasing a multiplayer Fallout
game. In fact, me and my friends discussed it as we played through the
aforementioned Fallout 3, New Vegas and 4. What if we had a big
wasteland to explore together, could form different factions and all
around go wild in a multiplayer Fallout game?<br />
<br />
Well,
it seems we weren’t alone in thinking this, because Bethesda has now
released Fallout 76. And as you may already know, it is the first game
in the franchise to be a multiplayer focused Fallout experience. You may
also already know it hasn’t exactly <a href="https://www.vgr.com/early-fallout-76-reviews-not-good/">delivered on that promise to any satisfying degree</a>. But I’m not here to tell you what other people have said about the game.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Fallout 76 Power Armor" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-31132" height="360" src="https://www.vgr.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/20181116191110_1-924x520.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h6>
Nothing like walking around in power armor and kicking ass.</h6>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h6>
<i><span style="font-size: large;">A Different Fallout</span></i></h6>
Fallout
76 sets itself strictly apart from earlier entries by being the first
Fallout game without any human NPC’s. In Fallout 76’s setting of West
Virginia, which takes place shortly after the bomb fell, the vault
dwellers are the only humans that exist. Which means the only humans
you’ll run into are other players. The game is still full of quests to
do and unlike what people will tell you, it does actually have a story.
Just not one that is straight up told to you, you will have to read a
lot of emails and listen to a fair bit of holotapes left behind by the
people who died.<br />
<br />
It takes a bit of an oldschool Bioshock approach
to storytelling which to me feels a bit refreshing. While it does make
the world feel really void of any friendly life, it does make it feel
more like the humans you meet in the world aren’t just glorified
quest-dispensers, they’re actual people. And you’re never left in a
situation where you’re caught in a conversation with a NPC while
something attacks you out of nowhere, which was common in Fallout 4.<br />
<br />
The
main story is basically just figuring out what the heck has happened to
the world, and digging into the backstory of Appalachia, of which there
is a fair bit. Most of the quests are related to sort of fixing the
world and rebuilding it, trying to just sort of survive and make a new
world out of the ruins. It’s a theme that fits the multiplayer approach
the game is taking. A lot of focus is put on survival and exploring the
world of Fallout 76.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Fallout 76 Cooking" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-31134" height="360" src="https://www.vgr.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/20181115192638_1-924x520.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h6>
Crafting is back in Fallout 76, with recipes found in the wild that you can use to cook up anything cool or tasty.</h6>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h3>
<i><span style="font-size: large;">Exploration</span></i></h3>
And
there is a lot of incentive to. Exploration rewards you with caps,
recipes for your crafting benches, enemies to kill which grants you
experience and holotapes, terminals and notes that offer a look into
Appalachia’s past. And when you’re not exploring, you can build your own
place and deck it out with paintings and other decorations.
Unfortunately, the building leaves a lot to be desired as a lot of
restrictions are put on you. For one you can’t really build anywhere you
want, your camp must be plonked down in an area that is free of
obstructions, nowhere near an established settlement and you’re given a
strict budget that means you’re limited to how much you can build.<br />
<br />
Compared
to Fallout 4 where you could build entire settlements, it feels a lot
more scaled down. It’s pretty much like comparing EA’s Sim City reboot
to older Sim City games. You’re mostly left with an inferior experience
that is fun, but could be better. It doesn’t feel like you are
rebuilding the world as much as you are simply making your own little
cabin in the woods. And the building itself can only be described as…
finnicky. It’s very particular in how it allows you to place parts. It
likes flat terrains in general and as you will soon find out, Appalachia
is anything but flat. So finding a place to build can be a real
challenge.<br />
<br />
There’s also the issue of your camps disappearing after
a while in-game. Your stuff is thankfully stored in your inventory when
that happens, but you still have to find a new place to place your camp
when it’s removed. Generally there are a lot of these minor annoyances
that don’t really ruin the game but does make it feel like it could be a
lot better.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Fallout 76 Building" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-31135" height="360" src="https://www.vgr.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/ScreenShot17-924x520.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h6>
Building houses is easy but a bit finnicky.</h6>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h3>
<i><span style="font-size: large;">Crafting</span></i></h3>
Crafting
is pretty much as easy as it was in Fallout 4. You gather junk and can
even break these down into materials that you use for everything from
crafting building materials and pieces of armor or weapons. You’ll need
to find specific plans for some things if you want to craft them, which
adds some further incentive to explore the game world. But overall it’s
pretty simple. You can even craft your own ammo if needed and overall I
find the crafting a lot more fun and deeper than it was in any previous
game.<br />
<br />
There is a photo mode where you can freely move the camera,
add filters, adjust FOV and generally take really good screenshots. Even
better, the game will display your screenshots on loading screens,
which I wish more games would do. An even bigger bonus is that you can
customize your appearance anywhere you want (as long as no enemies are
nearby and such). Just having this option without having to pay a
plastic surgeon to do it makes the game a lot of fun for me, since I
love customizing my appearance a lot.<br />
<br />
You can share items with
other players in the world by dropping them on the ground. And
thankfully items that are stored in containers are client-side so you
don’t have to worry about people taking stuff in front of your nose too
much. I did notice items that appear in the world itself are server side
though. And someone taking it before you do will remove it from the
world (for a while anyway). And in your camp you can store items in your
own stash, which helps if you need a place to store stuff like junk or
legendary items you don’t want to sell or scrap.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Fallout 76 Creature" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-31136" height="360" src="https://www.vgr.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/20181123211418_1-924x520.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h6>
Fallout 76 features quite an additional and unique cast of enemies, some inspired by West Virgina folk lore.</h6>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h3>
<i><span style="font-size: large;">Enemies and Weapons</span></i></h3>
Enemies
range from the expected Super Mutants, ghouls, mole rats and radroaches
to more unique enemy such as the game’s Scorched faction. Which are
semi-ghouls who can wield guns and other weapons and pose more of a
threat than regular ghouls. There are also things like Mothman,
Scorchbeasts and Grafton Monsters that can seriously ruin your day if
you come across them. So don’t piss them off. Ghouls and Scorched are
fairly easy to deal with. But the more powerful monsters will require a
lot more manpower to take down.<br />
<br />
The weapons also feature a lot of
series mainstays such as the 10mm pistol, pipe rifle, pipe pistol and
hunting rifle, but also more unique melee weapons such as the fire axe
and golf club. Playing a melee focused character in this game was a lot
of fun for me because of all the different melee weapons. And you can
customize your weapons as well, adding all kinds of new things like
rocket engines to your sledgehammers.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Fallout 76 Power Armor Glitch" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-31137" height="360" src="https://www.vgr.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/20181124160103_1-924x520.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h6>
If you ever wondered how you would look without power armor while
wearing power armor, now you know… and I bet you wish you didn’t…</h6>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h3>
<i><span style="font-size: large;">Glitches and Bugs</span></i></h3>
The
game does have its fair share of glitches which range from mild
annoyances to straight up hilarity. Sometimes the game will just give
up, have a complete seizure and things will go horribly wrong. Such an
experience was when a world I was in for some reason wouldn’t let me
equip power armor. Instead it would disappear from my inventory and
leave me a horribly disfigured glitchy mess until I rejoined the world. I
think I must’ve gone through like 3 power armors this way since all of
them disappeared. Luckily I’ve never had any crashes or seriously
game-breaking bugs. So my experience has been fairly tame compared to
what I’ve heard from other players.<br />
<br />
I’ve also never had any
particular issues with the game’s performance and it’s been fairly
decent on my rig. Granted my PC is pretty powerful, but not more so than
what other people are running. I’ve heard the game plays a lot worse on
console though so take that into consideration. I’ve had some server
issues of disconnecting, stuff that’s completely expectable in an online
game, and not really that annoying.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Fallout 76 Landscape" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-31138" height="360" src="https://www.vgr.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/20181118235024_1-924x520.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h6>
The game might be the most colorful in the entire franchise, with a
very beautiful autumn atmosphere to it. Beautiful godrays also help make
the game look rather beautiful.</h6>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h3>
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Graphics and Sound</i></span></h3>
Graphically
I’ve heard people say the game is pretty ugly. I’m not sure if I agree
with that as I honestly find the game rather beautiful. Especially if
you compare it to earlier titles like Fallout 3 and even Fallout 4. The
amount of color in the game is amazing. The game has a very appealing
Skyrim-like feel to it with a lot of nature, hills and very dynamic
terrain to explore.<br />
<br />
Other Fallout games so far have felt kind of
flat so Fallout 76 feels extremely refreshing to explore as a result. I
very much have enjoyed all the vistas in the game so far and continue to
sort of just get taken back with how good the game looks. That is when
the lighting doesn’t glitch out or textures don’t load properly.
Sometimes the game just doesn’t seem to know what to do with the
lighting. Which is a shame as the game does look really good otherwise.<br />
<br />
Sound-wise
the game is pretty good as well. The soundtrack is amazing, with
several great songs to listen to. The voice acting is generally good
across the board as well. It’s a shame most of it is limited to
holotapes and such, but it’s good enough to make me engaged in the game.
Weapons sound pretty good as well and overall I can’t complain about
the sound in the game.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Fallout 76 Sleep" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-31139" height="360" src="https://www.vgr.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/ScreenShot16-924x520.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h6>
Given Fallout 76 is an online game, you cannot wait or rest and skip
time so you sleep in real time and heal up while doing so. Thankfully
the game shows you in third person while you do so, much like many mods
for Fallout 3 and Fallout 4 did.</h6>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h3>
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Final Thoughts</i></span></h3>
As it
stands, Fallout 76 is not the best game in the franchise. But is it the
worst? I’m not really sure. The game is still awaiting private servers
which may add more mod support. And patches keep fixing the worst issues
of the game. But how much you’ll enjoy the game will definitely depend
on your expectations. So if you expect a typical Fallout experience you
may be pretty disappointed by Fallout 76.<br />
<br />
But if you are willing
to embrace it as a multiplayer Fallout game where you can bring some
friends, share some Nuka Cola and explore a beautiful wasteland while
listening to the Beach Boys, then I definitely recommend getting it.
Definitely not at full price as it’s not worth $60, but definitely
around $20-30 which is what the game seems to have dropped down to
pretty quickly after launch. You can definitely go worse than Fallout
76.<br />
<br />
<i><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>SCORE</b></span></i><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>STORY: 6/10</b><br /> <b>GAMEPLAY: 7/10</b><br /> <b>GRAPHICS: 8/10</b><br /> <b>SOUND: 8/10</b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>FINAL SCORE: 7/10</b></span>Alyxxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17218865125519689016noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4381060216787776751.post-74428646919253362452018-10-30T15:01:00.005-07:002018-10-30T15:04:19.620-07:00PC Game Review: Quake<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgStIj2NSgbjk3Q-at1U8L2PESCFL9_R9rFA-SUtjidWk_sxs42UO7ftVxZRkM_3PyTgD5yFytbxIaT9LzdKZ0GMqjJCMbZ7T1u16M6v7y2YDmwiv-qcmLvYXFwgSdlWbmWjQgrYBkpRaI/s1600/quake+review.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgStIj2NSgbjk3Q-at1U8L2PESCFL9_R9rFA-SUtjidWk_sxs42UO7ftVxZRkM_3PyTgD5yFytbxIaT9LzdKZ0GMqjJCMbZ7T1u16M6v7y2YDmwiv-qcmLvYXFwgSdlWbmWjQgrYBkpRaI/s640/quake+review.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">GAME: Quake<br />RELEASED: 1996<br />DEVELOPER: id Software<br />PUBLISHER: GT Interactive (Original release), Bethesda<br />AVAILABLE ON: PC, Mac, Amiga, N64, Sega Saturn</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></b>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Screenshots are from the DarkPlaces source port of Quake on PC.</i></span><b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></b>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Back in 1996, it cannot be understated what a massive influence id Software had been on the entire gaming landscape at that point. Their shareware hit Commander Keen had gotten some attention, sure. Wolfenstein 3D had become an even bigger shareware hit. But their 1993 game Doom was the game that truly made id Software into game development legends. Suddenly these guys were on top of their game. Doom was installed on more PC's than Microsoft Windows and by 1995 Bill Gates announced a Windows 95 specific version of Doom.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">But Doom could only take them so far. Ever since the days of Commander Keen, the team had tossed around the idea of "The Fight For Justice", a VGA RPG side scroller featuring the hero Quake, wielding thunderbolts and a Ring of Regeneration. And while this original idea was scrapped, the team picked up the name Quake once again after finishing Doom. Quake would become the final masterpiece from id. And personally to me, Quake became the end of an era for id. After Quake, John Romero left the team, and id's games would become increasingly tech focused, to the point where Quake II did little to innovate over its predecessors on any gameplay or story level. Quake 3 forewent any story entirely and was purely a multiplayer game. In many ways, Quake was the final game in id's masterful classic FPS trilogy of Wolfenstein 3D, Doom and Quake. This (un)holy trinity of shooters not only were excellent games in their own rights, but also provided tools and engines for other developers, with remnants of Quake's code possibly remaining in engines that are still used today. Quake was the game that tore id Software apart. The game that marked the end of their incredible streak. Ladies and gentlemen, it is my honour to present to you, Quake.</span></span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizyLNJNo8ObqBQaQDIEGQzTpxIKNkXSJVLFQaC-kQnszw10vcJXsirH2hqvPEexvJ56nQNIYgqY0p5D4XQf4hyI2gdEg-NjuFjB0fCDkFv-yHZs7M8NR__A5GCqiqO_Rnx2Q4lqhdvwBE/s1600/dp20181021173725-00.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizyLNJNo8ObqBQaQDIEGQzTpxIKNkXSJVLFQaC-kQnszw10vcJXsirH2hqvPEexvJ56nQNIYgqY0p5D4XQf4hyI2gdEg-NjuFjB0fCDkFv-yHZs7M8NR__A5GCqiqO_Rnx2Q4lqhdvwBE/s640/dp20181021173725-00.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The slipgate awaits...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">An Introduction To Madness</span></b></span></span> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">The moment you start up Quake, you might be lured into thinking the game is another Doom. Industrial rock music, courtesy of Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor fills your earspace, pumping you full of adrenaline and getting you ready for the adventure ahead while a demo of gore and explosive weapons plays. Then... the music dies down, becoming a series of drones and ambience. The shift in tone the Quake theme has perfectly symbolizes Quake's subversion of expectations. Of turning the familiar into the unfamiliar and unknown. Of taking what you know and love and may even expect, and twisting it into something different. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Nothing about Quake is as you would expect. Instead of a simple menu like you would get in any other id Software FPS, you're placed right into the world, instead using portals to choose your desired difficulty from Easy to Hard respectively (with a fourth Nightmare difficulty hidden from the player). From there you are given four episodes to play, each with their own themes and gradual increase in difficulty. While you can play the episodes in any order you desire, you will no doubt have the best experience playing them in order on your first few playthroughs, due to the rise in difficulty and because the first episode serves as a tutorial of sorts. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgesCCaMVaqnEPqwUREFvnMq10w07uSuGy4wuJRqCtfEIighLGDoCWhEqCBCHclnd-QuIshAnuCvqy9JVy0C_Q3CJZdnPKdGI6tprdtfbG7gZvmAOFygksizUx7TYBSEvHZJsLnNGbsBKc/s1600/dp20181021161932-00.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgesCCaMVaqnEPqwUREFvnMq10w07uSuGy4wuJRqCtfEIighLGDoCWhEqCBCHclnd-QuIshAnuCvqy9JVy0C_Q3CJZdnPKdGI6tprdtfbG7gZvmAOFygksizUx7TYBSEvHZJsLnNGbsBKc/s640/dp20181021161932-00.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Quake's levels are at times abstract to the point of making you feel like you're playing inside someone's dream.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Once you enter your episode of choice through any of the four slipgates, your adventure begins. And yeah, the first level of each episode begins in a base of sorts. These levels are extremely deceiving as they feature rather weak enemies and have almost more of a Doom feel to them, focusing on fast action. It's very easy to be mislead into thinking Quake is just another Doom upon playing the first level alone. In a way this is a genious move though as most players of Quake would no doubt have played Doom beforehand and having the first level be more of an easy Doom-esque FPS romp eases you into the world of Quake. And into the world of 3D, seeing as Quake was id Software's first game utilizing a true 3D renderer. No more sprites and fake trickery to achieve a 3D effect, this is the real deal.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">It is only when you enter the slipgate at the end of the first level that the true nature of Quake starts showing. The music becomes increasingly menacing and terrorizing, levels take on an otherworldly feel as you enter a different dimension entirely. The effect of this is achieved by not re-using ANY of the enemies from the base levels, none of the same textures or architectures or music theme. This theming is what sets Quake apart from practically every other id Software shooter before or since. Each episode, each level and even the way the game is structured is done with incredible attention to detail and gives you the feeling of stepping into a world you should not have stepped into. And this is what brings me onto the horror aspect of Quake. Because Quake is nothing like Doom. Gone is the fast paced combat against hordes of enemies. Gone is the fun heavy metal music. Gone are the colourful levels inspired by real life buildings. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaSEjNOpqIx_ZeG7-4XmVMGD5jA1dSdeg0sE9I7Fb7_mIHJ6qht0sbhvXVVkIaI8T4Cpf6gthygyM8UScyA5_6ZfsNWwx3e15bL_Hp8QnjEgQxMHwv6u3ZqCgUiy2OXbTXtKKmXR0yd08/s1600/dp20181021160725-00.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaSEjNOpqIx_ZeG7-4XmVMGD5jA1dSdeg0sE9I7Fb7_mIHJ6qht0sbhvXVVkIaI8T4Cpf6gthygyM8UScyA5_6ZfsNWwx3e15bL_Hp8QnjEgQxMHwv6u3ZqCgUiy2OXbTXtKKmXR0yd08/s640/dp20181021160725-00.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...crap.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Existential Dread - The Gameplay of Quake</span></b> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Quake in many ways is id Software's game that truly explores horror. Its Lovecraftian influence is particularly strong in some of its levels. Quake goes out of its way to make you feel alone, vulnerable and constantly struggling for survival. Supplies are finite so careful play is rewarded over running and gunning. Enemies are no longer plentiful and weak, but few and strong and each of them can ruin your day if you don't watch your step. Particularly the Shambler and the Vore are exceptionally powerful enemies but even regulars like Fiends and Ogres with their clanking grenades can be a bitch to deal with. I don't think I like any of the enemies in Quake. Instead, they make me feel anxious, panicking at times. They induce a feeling of unease and fear that so far is unparalleled in id Software's catalogue. The only enemy that comes close is the Arch Vile from Doom 2. The gameplay in Quake has a disjointed feel to it where you're often required to be fast and nimble when combat does break out, but also careful and meticulous in your approach to avoid taking damage. Especially on Hard difficulty the game becomes incredibly tense and truly brings out the survival horror aspect with much stronger enemies assaulting you.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">As a side note, Quake may have been the first game where the WASD+mouse control method originated. While the game originally did not have any mouse look option in the menus, you could enable it by typing "+mlook" in the game's console. Up until WASD though there was really no standard for how people played Quake and people would often come up with their own ways of playing. Personally I played Quake with a keyboard only, much like Doom when I first played it in the late 90's (with my dad not knowing I did), and it did take a while for me to adjust to WASD+mouse controls, but nowadays of course it's impossible to play it any other way. Most modern source ports however come with mouse look enabled and buying the game on Steam or GOG will have the game come with WASD controls preconfigured.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Something about Quake feels otherworldly beyond what even Doom achieved. Because nothing in Quake feels familiar. The levels often have heavily abstract layouts that would make no sense in reality as we know it, but make perfect sense in the game itself. This gives Quake an almost dream-like quality, a feeling of exploring a nightmare as you play it unlike any other game I've played. The levels are never too maze-like though, and you can find your way if you spend enough time exploring them. If there ever is a Quake remake, I would love this dream-like aspect to be explored even further. And each episode features unique level textures and designs that help each episode feel unique, with Episode 1 featuring an almost medival theme, Episode 2 continuing that theme with castles and forts, Episode 3 having more of a nightmareish feel with numerous traps that invoke all kinds of phobias and fears, and Episode 4 being the most difficult with the most dream-like quality of all of the episodes. The biggest moment where Quake made me feel like I was playing a dream was when I exited from a pool in a castle into a graveyard outside. This would make no sense in reality, but in the game it makes perfect sense to suddenly be in a graveyard. The only way I can describe the level design in Quake is that it's incredible and still holds up today.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNfyzyli6R7mDX8MhqbEGlSJcbTOt8xaoMwgb68PKezGkdVVzMCaRUHBx9K68_MT9cfXDYOgqjBN4krWHvJ6ZMHwCeT2HFbhOVJRPffS1xhC4ngYMYDvXI791GEVgdPpmFKDZWqfewr3g/s1600/dp20181021173431-00.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNfyzyli6R7mDX8MhqbEGlSJcbTOt8xaoMwgb68PKezGkdVVzMCaRUHBx9K68_MT9cfXDYOgqjBN4krWHvJ6ZMHwCeT2HFbhOVJRPffS1xhC4ngYMYDvXI791GEVgdPpmFKDZWqfewr3g/s640/dp20181021173431-00.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">He seems pissed I grabbed his rune.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">The Armory of Quake</span></b> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">While Quake does a good job instilling a feeling of fear and vulnerability, you aren't completely defenseless. The game features some pretty classic staple weapons such as the Shotgun, Super Shotgun and the Rocket Launcher. However it does have its own spin on things with the Nailgun and Super Nailgun, both using nails as ammo (with the ammo boxes bearing the Nine Inch Nails logo in a tongue in cheek reference to Trent Reznor's band), as well as the Thunderbolt which fires a constant stream of electricity (although its ammo is incredibly rare in all but the fourth episode where it's definitely needed), and Grenade Launcher which fires bouncing grenades. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">You can also pick up items such as Quad Damage (which multiplies your damage by 4 as expected), Pentagram of Protection (makes you invulnerable and sets your armor value to 666), Environment Suit (allows you to swim without drowning as well as swimming through slime without taking damage) and Ring of Shadows (makes you invisible). All of these activate upon pickup and expire after a while.Most of these are hidden in secret locations though, so exploration is often greatly rewarded.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQoPJ2G8kowty23YJiX9xLEZU57Qe4UinJpP8XXYJrl-1UxvyQmxDJYYQhzOnj1Xurem1t-ofuTKV5KmfqauTwzts6g26Fvmbv1POJMt2guvBrt3xc8bTFwL5cbG4uyKVdTV0NUPOOMXk/s1600/dp20181021204132-00.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQoPJ2G8kowty23YJiX9xLEZU57Qe4UinJpP8XXYJrl-1UxvyQmxDJYYQhzOnj1Xurem1t-ofuTKV5KmfqauTwzts6g26Fvmbv1POJMt2guvBrt3xc8bTFwL5cbG4uyKVdTV0NUPOOMXk/s640/dp20181021204132-00.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mandatory Dopefish cameo</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Graphics</span></b> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">It's often said that Quake is not the prettiest game to look at. And there may be some truth to that. The colour palette in Quake is often incredibly drab and with very little colour variation. Levels are often painted in tones of brown and grey, with some episodes having more of an azure theme. However, this does aid the atmosphere in Quake, adding to the feeling of dread and alienation you feel. It's really hard to imagine Quake would be a better game if it had more colour as that would almost ruin the entire feel of the game.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">It's very easy to say Quake has aged a bit in terms of fidelity. The low poly models tend to look slightly like papermache figures at times, and the choppy animation of the original builds of the game definitely makes the game feel like it at times suffers under its limitations of the time. However with a decent source port like DarkPlaces or DirectQ, or even the original GLQuake port, you can achieve some pretty good results. DarkPlaces in particular offers some stellar lighting effects and smoother interpolated animation and is the port I recommend playing for the best experience on modern PC's.</span></span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0OMVGzH5HG6R3TWKkXlEGhl_aDlq7BVEc4fIzaXT7LAw_RYZYT1UsgiTKZViSYzxGbb0IYYJYK6TcH-FbIMyfyQYNA1n2RIj67VulQayKu7dZgs2S20PUSkJfJiOLMwPRdQKLBR8mcDI/s1600/dp20181024195127-00.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0OMVGzH5HG6R3TWKkXlEGhl_aDlq7BVEc4fIzaXT7LAw_RYZYT1UsgiTKZViSYzxGbb0IYYJYK6TcH-FbIMyfyQYNA1n2RIj67VulQayKu7dZgs2S20PUSkJfJiOLMwPRdQKLBR8mcDI/s640/dp20181024195127-00.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Quake running in DarkPlaces with max lighting effects. While this dips the framerate considerably at times, it does look amazing and brings new life to the game.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Sound</span></b> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Of course it would be a crime not to compliment the sound in Quake. With all of it done by Trent Reznor and the Nine Inch Nails, Reznor has managed to craft a soundscape that is entirely unique to the game. From the moment you hear that opening theme, those droning ambient soundscapes that creep in on you like a blanket of pure terror, you really feel immersed in Quake's otherworldly atmosphere. And it doesn't stop with the amazing soundtrack either. Quake's sound effects are equally terrifying with the Shambler's roar, the Vore's alien shrieks, and the Ogre's animal-like grunts and groans making you feel like you're facing creatures born from nightmares with no shred of humanity to them. It is hard to imagine Quake without its sound as it helps give it so much of its identity. If you can I highly recommend ripping the game's soundtrack to .ogg files and running them from the hard drive in DarkPlaces to get the music playing without the need to have the game CD inserted. If you bought the game on GOG or Steam there are also ways to get the soundtrack online and add it to the game yourself.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb2x7fXmI6V20164YWJ3Dgy2u-8PKtuzDtDuW-v6UgomTVDFmoq9wSi55jd-ZK2pieNfnwOo-XoMC0-LU28IJoLcwhiLIKiavnExD8ER-imG8eJuSuqhtev-wG4RtpKKmo3-eOVEHgnhg/s1600/dp20181029175144-00.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb2x7fXmI6V20164YWJ3Dgy2u-8PKtuzDtDuW-v6UgomTVDFmoq9wSi55jd-ZK2pieNfnwOo-XoMC0-LU28IJoLcwhiLIKiavnExD8ER-imG8eJuSuqhtev-wG4RtpKKmo3-eOVEHgnhg/s640/dp20181029175144-00.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">While it is easy to say Quake has a very boring palette, it has a beauty all of its own at times with its dream-like architecture and design.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Final Thoughts</span></b> </span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
only bad thing about Quake is that id Software never fully resolved its
story or fully realized a lot of its potential. A lot of things are
explored in Quake but never completely fleshed out. And the fragmented
development of the game does show in how Quake feels pieced together by
so many different ideas and concepts. But I wouldn't have it any other
way.</span></span> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Quake is a masterpiece in every sense of the word. </span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">It may be easy to dismiss Quake as a Doom clone but that would be doing it a disservice. </span></span>With meticulous attention to detail, Quake gets your adrenaline going in ways that Doom never came close to. Quake is about true horror, about exploring the unknown and facing creatures beyond your capability of understanding. About exploring impossible places, places that could not exist in our dimension. They exist in dreams, in our nightmares, in the space between death and life itself. Quake explores themes that seldom are explored in games and for the time and even today remains entirely unique. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">And perhaps, we all are in the end, figments of some creature's imagination. The very thought itself sends shivers down my spine. </span></span><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;">SCORE </span></span></span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">STORY: 8/10</span></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">GAMEPLAY: 8/10<br />GRAPHICS: 9/10<br />SOUND: 10/10</span></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></b>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>FINAL SCORE: 9/10</b></span></span></span>Alyxxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17218865125519689016noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4381060216787776751.post-1199314189302975992018-10-21T22:23:00.000-07:002018-10-21T22:40:19.384-07:00PC Game Review: Call Of Duty - Black Ops 4<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4usx6EmBdMQfEDmKlmTTPmQw2YTaFhsPsz-WbzOYezeGvlhl3WvXzUVsVKi7__JkxBZPWzRpQt_MgKgDWGiRvk2zy2362Qm3yBFR8DgU8vMgJ6_vwZzySqZOx0tqmEfzsZXwTRYkSZFc/s1600/banner+text.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4usx6EmBdMQfEDmKlmTTPmQw2YTaFhsPsz-WbzOYezeGvlhl3WvXzUVsVKi7__JkxBZPWzRpQt_MgKgDWGiRvk2zy2362Qm3yBFR8DgU8vMgJ6_vwZzySqZOx0tqmEfzsZXwTRYkSZFc/s640/banner+text.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">GAME: Call Of Duty: Black Ops 4<br />RELEASED: 2018<br />DEVELOPER: Treyarch, Beenox<br />PUBLISHER: Activision<br />AVAILABLE ON: PC (Battle.net), PS4, XBox One</span></b><br />
<br />
Even before Black Ops 4 was
released, I was disappointed. The news that Black Ops 4 would ship
without a campaign hit me hard. I’ve always been one who enjoyed the
campaigns in the Call Of Duty series. Especially in the latest games
where the facial capture and motion capture has been unparalleled. It’s
something I’ve always been excited about, as the campaigns has been the
mode that most efficiently puts the money on the screen. They have
showed what a AAA game can do in terms of storytelling on a grand scale.<br />
<br />
<a class="xs-hidden sm-hidden md-visible" href="https://www.vgr.com/forum/topic/35-contest-no-1-ps4-pro/?page=1" target="_blank"></a>I
also heard that like with WWII, the game would be boots on the ground.
No exo suits. It seemed in all honesty like they were removing
everything that the franchise had done to re-invent itself over the
years. It felt like several steps back and no steps forward. And having
gotten my hands on the game and given it a few hours, I feel I am
finally ready to give my honest opinion on Black Ops 4.<br />
This
review will focus on each of the three available game modes.
Multiplayer, Blackout and Zombies, as well as the Specialist HQ training
mode. I will also give my thoughts on my experience as a whole. So
let’s get started.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Multiplayer</span></b><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Call Of Duty Black Ops 4 Multiplayer Best Player" class="alignnone wp-image-24765 size-large" height="360" src="https://www.vgr.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/screenshot2-924x520.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the end of each match, rather than showing final kill, it shows best play.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h6>
</h6>
If
you’ve played any Call Of Duty in the past, then multiplayer should be
familiar to you. That is, if the last Call Of Duty you played was Black
Ops II. In terms of abilities, scorestreaks and weapons, everything has
been massively scaled back. The most obvious change is that you no
longer have exo suits. You’re firmly grounded, literally, and while you
can slide, mantle and climb ladders, any verticality from the previous
games is entirely gone. I know it was an unpopular change among some of
the fanbase, but I see no reason why they chose this direction.<br />
<br />
The
maps feel like they were originally made with these abilities in mind.
Not to mention coming from Black Ops 3 and Infinite Warfare makes it
feel like someone clipped your wings. It’s not a very nice feeling at
all. And this is still a fairly futuristic game with the specialists
from Black Ops 3 returning, so why they chose to scrap the exo abilities
is beyond me. It feels like a blatant attempt to satisfy the fanbase,
instead of sticking to what I felt reinvigorated the franchise.<br />
<br />
Scorestreaks
have been scaled back to the point where they almost feel trivial. You
no longer have memorable ultimate streaks like the nuke that would turn
the entire battlefield into ruins. Or the exploding balls of doom. As
the ultimate scorestreak you get to shoot people from a gunship. I’m
pretty sure this was a lesser scorestreak in earlier games. All in all
the entire scorestreak selection feels laughably pathetic. There’s no
real sense of doom or danger from the final scorestreak and everything
just feels kind of there. The sniper nest is annoying and frustrating
when anyone calls it in, but it never feels threatening since you can
just shoot it out with a couple rocket launcher rounds.<br />
<br />
And
speaking of Specialists, you get 2 females and 8 freaking males. The
ratio of males to females is absolutely insane and what you often end up
with is that people who wish to play as a female all pick either
Battery or Seraph, while the rest are stuck with the male cast. Say what
you want about Black Ops 3 but at least it had 3 females so there was
one more to choose from. Look, I have nothing against males, but some
equality in the gender representation would be nice. I really hope more
female characters will be added in the future because this is pathetic
and feels like they’re trying to avoid getting flack for having too much
focus on strong female characters. What they end up with is the other
extreme, that females are hideously underrepresented in the game.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Call Of Duty Black Ops 4 Multiplayer" class="size-large wp-image-24771" height="360" src="https://www.vgr.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/screenshot1-924x520.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The game is hardly good-looking by any standards and mostly just looks bland.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h6>
</h6>
On
the other hand, the specialists do have abilities that synergize very
well with each other. There is a sort of rock, paper, scissors feel to
the dynamic between them and how they interact when put against each
other. For instance, in a recent match I was playing Battery (as I tend
to do, given she’s one of only two female characters) and threw her
sticky cluster grenade on someone playing Ajax. Ajax’ ability is that he
has a riot shield that makes him pretty much invulnerable to any
incoming damage from the front. Of course, Battery’s cluster grenade
made that shield entirely pointless. It’s that sort of feeling of being
able to completely out-smart your enemy with your abilities that brings
some fun to the gameplay.<br />
<br />
There are several playstyles as well. If
you want more of a support role you can play as Crash who supplies the
team with buffs. If you want to be a tank you can play the
aforementioned Ajax. And if you wanna be a complete asshole you can play
Firebreak. Nobody likes Firebreak. There are several other specialists
to choose from, all with their own abilities so if you wanna read more
about that, <a href="https://www.vgr.com/black-ops-4-specialists/">check out my article on them.</a>
And do you want more outfits for the specialists? Tough luck. All of
that is locked behind a massive paywall as only people who bought the
deluxe edition have access to extra skins for the specialists.
Presumably more is to be added in the future, but, as I have stated
before, the selection right now is bloody pathetic.<br />
<br />
Another
notable change to the formula is that players now have a lot more health
than in previous games. While this does make the game feel more fair,
as you are less likely to be insta-killed (unless you face someone who
love sniper rifles and quickscoping a bit too much and have probably
spent far too much time playing the game), it can also make combat feel a
bit spongy. Players tend to soak up a lot more bullets before going
down than in previous games, and can even heal themselves on the fly
with stimpacks. This isn’t really an issue for me as it does make the
game feel less about getting kills and more about staying alive.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Call of Duty Black Ops 4 Multiplayer Glitch" class="size-large wp-image-24781" height="360" src="https://www.vgr.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/photo_2018-10-18_13-47-20-924x520.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Where’s your head at? No seriously, where is it?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h6>
</h6>
Another
thing I find a bit lacking is the weapon selection. You have 5 SMGs, 5
assault rifles, 3 tactical rifles, 3 light machine guns, 4 sniper
rifles, 3 pistols, 2 shotguns, ONE freaking rocket launcher and ONE
freaking melee weapon! I assume more weapons will be added later but as
of now this is a genuinely lackluster selection. And guess what, none of
the pistols can be dual wielded. Dual wielding has been a staple of the
franchise for a good time now. With games like Advanced Warfare and
Infinite Warfare providing ample amounts of them. And in Black Ops 2 and
3 you could akimbo pretty much every pistol. But not here.<br />
<br />
I’m
not sure why this was done, if it was because everyone complained about
akimbo weapons, or because they felt it was unrealistic. Regardless this
is extremely disappointing and makes it feel very boring to use the
weapons. One of my favored playstyles has always been running up in
people’s faces with dual machine pistols and unloading on them. Granted,
one of the operator mods allows dual wield for the Saug 9mm but you
don’t unlock that weapon until level 52 which is 3 levels from the level
cap. Which means you will spend most of the early game unable to use a
single akimbo weapon.<br />
<br />
Oh, and multiplayer is a hot mess at the
moment. I’ve had more crashes and glitches than any of the previous
games. Whether the game crashes because I use a broken attachment
(specifically the FastLock attachment for the rocket launcher) or
whether it just crashes for no good reason, Black Ops 4 seems to crash
almost every session for me. The worst part being it doesn’t crash to
the desktop. Oh no, this baby freezes so you have to force quit it in
Task Manager. Which locks up my computer for a solid minute before I can
do anything again. Yeah, not so much fun. Some glitches have been funny
and harmless like Battery suddenly missing a head in multiplayer. Some
have not been, such as my game crashing during a training mission in the
Specialist HQ training mode.<br />
<br />
And if your connection dies and you
wanna play some offline bot matches or training missions… well f*** you.
The game refuses to even show the main menu unless you have an online
connection. Meaning that if your connection dies or the servers shut
down, you can’t play the game. It’s entirely bricked. Over 50GB of data
locked behind a connection error. Welcome to 2018.<br />
<br />
If I were to
describe multiplayer in a nutshell, then I would say it just feels par
for the course. It’s not memorable or amazing, but it is fun. The
specialist HQ training mode has some funny voice over lines by Frank
Woods, and some impressive cutscenes, but overall feels pointless.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Blackout</span></b><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Call Of Duty Black Ops 4 Blackout Airdrop" class="size-large wp-image-24785" height="360" src="https://www.vgr.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/screenshot3-924x520.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Time for the somehow mandatory Battle Royale mode.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h6>
</h6>
So
let’s get to their excuse for having no campaign. The Battle Royale
inspired Blackout mode. I was completely indifferent to this when I
heard about it as I don’t exactly play Call Of Duty to play Battle
Royale. I’d play Fortnite or PUBG for that. And yeah, Blackout just
feels… out of place. It feels like someone took PUBG and slapped a Call
Of Duty skin on it. And so far it’s not even particularly fun to play.<br />
<br />
You
often face people who have snipers, rocket launchers and otherwise way
stronger weapons than you. People love to kill people on their own team
since friendly fire is on by default. And yeah it has the biggest map in
CoD history. But that kind of leads to spending most of your time on it
just hiding from people and trying not to get killed and it often just
feels kind of empty. Sure it’s fun if this is your thing. But it’s not
my thing and never will be.<br />
<br />
The worst part about Blackout however
is the lack of customization. You can choose between 4 heads per gender,
and that’s it. That is seriously it. Oh, you have a LOT of characters
to choose from but… GUESS WHAT! THEY’RE ALL F****ING LOCKED! You have to
complete really specific challenges and go through hoops to unlock them
which feels entirely unnecessary. WHY have extra characters when your
players most likely cannot even play them? And why have such absolutely
pathetic customization options for players? Have some hairstyles, have
some different outfits. Just… SOMETHING! This is 2018 for f***’s sake!
We have better customization in other games and have for years. Jesus
Christ.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Call Of Duty Black Ops 4 Blackout Gameplay" class="size-large wp-image-24791" height="360" src="https://www.vgr.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/screenshot4-924x520.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blackout. The mode where you either die quickly because everyone else have better weapons than you. Or you die slowly because everyone else have better weapons than you.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h6>
</h6>
Blackout just feels uninspired. It feels like a
cynical attempt at excusing a lack of campaign, and selling more copies
to people who are hooked on the mode. The game blatantly rips off games
that already do Battle Royale way better than it does. It does a good
job at it, sure, but that’s just it. It’s still a knockoff. A good
knockoff is still a knockoff. Regardless, it’s there. If this is your
thing you’ll probably love it. But the lack of customization options and
the unbalanced gameplay just kind of ruins it for me. It would be nice
to have the option to vote for friendly fire. And it would be nice to
have more customization options. I am not very likely to spend a lot of
time in this mode at all.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Zombies</span></b><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Call Of Duty Black Ops 4 Zombies Titanic Map" class="size-large wp-image-24793" height="360" src="https://www.vgr.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Call-of-Duty®_-Black-Ops-4-18_10_2018-19_57_39-924x520.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Welcome to Titanic. Now with zombies.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h6>
</h6>
Obviously
a major reason people buy the Black Ops games is the staple Zombies
mode. And yeah, it is here and surprisingly the most fun I’ve had in the
game. Probably because it doesn’t really need exo suits to be enjoyable
and it offers a co-op option in a game where two of its game modes are
competitive. Yeah you know how Black Ops 3 had a co-op campaign which
meant it had 2 co-op modes to choose from and one competitive? Wasn’t
that great?<br />
<br />
Anyway, you have two maps to choose from at the
moment. IX which is set in a gladiator arena during the roman empire and
Voyage Of Despair which is set on Titanic. You also have a third map
called Blood Of The Dead. But you can’t play it unless you buy the
season pass. Another example of how something is locked behind a
paywall. And I highly doubt you’ll be able to play more zombies maps
without paying for that season pass. As it stand right now, both maps
are fun to play and can last for hours if you play with good people. But
you’ll probably get pretty tired of them eventually. I know I do.
Especially given the repetitive nature of constantly shooting the same
enemies over and over as they get increasingly spongy and you die more
and more.<br />
<br />
Look, Zombies is not my thing. It has never been my
thing. While I enjoy the co-op aspect it simply gets too boring and
monotonic for me to really enjoy. It’s fun for maybe 5-10 minutes but
after that it begins seriously outstaying its welcome. But I know a lot
of people buy Black Ops 4 for Zombies and if you wanna do that, then you
won’t be disappointed.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Call Of Duty Black Ops 4 Zombies Gameplay" class="size-large wp-image-24797" height="360" src="https://www.vgr.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Call-of-Duty®_-Black-Ops-4-18_10_2018-19_54_09-924x520.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h6>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">If shooting the same enemies over and over with weapons that feel out of place from the era, then Zombies might be your thing.</span></span></h6>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h6>
</h6>
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Graphics And Sound</span></b><br />
<br />
Graphically
the game looks alright. I won’t say it looks amazing. It has really
great pre-rendered cutscenes but it often just looks kind of bland. On
my Ryzen 7 1800X PC, running the game with an RX 580 8GB GPU gave me a
very solid framerate that never dipped below 70 fps. It definitely runs
pretty well, that is when it doesn’t crash or lag due to bad connection.
Due to the nature of multiplayer you won’t really be able to enjoy the
scenery much. I think the zombies mode definitely looks the best of the 3
modes. The effects on the Titanic level are seriously cool to look at.
But for the most part, it looks average.<br />
I would probably say the
same about the sound. It’s average. The voice acting is pretty good, I
like the dialogue in the zombies mode and some of the banter in
multiplayer. And Frank Woods as the training instructor is a stroke of
genius, and pretty much saves that entire mode. But overall, the music
is forgettable, the sounds feel typical and nothing stands out.<br />
<h4>
<span style="font-size: large;">Final Thoughts</span></h4>
Call
Of Duty Black Ops 4 is a colossal disappointment. It’s not a bad game
by any stretch but it misses so much of what used to make Call Of Duty
fun for me. I was looking forward to the campaigns, I was excited by the
new stuff they added. Black Ops 4 has one new thing, it has a battle
royale mode. But everything else feels scaled back just for the sake of
scaling back. It’s reached the point for me where the entire experience
just feels mediocre. It’s fun, when it doesn’t crash. But it’s so
lacking. It lacks customization options, it lacks weapons, and it lacks a
lot of what I enjoyed about the previous games.<br />
<br />
Most of all, I
miss a co-op campaign. I miss a story and being able to experience it
with a friend. If there is one single thing I would want back then it is
a co-op campaign. I don’t care if the exo suits don’t come back. If
Activision wants to keep everything “boots on the ground” then that’s
fine. It feels even more lacking than Titanfall. Because Titanfall was a
new IP, there were no preconceptions of what it should be like.<br />
<br />
But
as it stands, Black Ops 4 is NOT, by ANY STRETCH OF THE WORD, worth
$60. It’s worth it at a 90% discount. Because most likely you are
getting the game for only one of the modes. I cannot recommend this game
unless you are either a hardcore fan or have too much money to spend.<br />
<br />
Because if that is a legit problem you have, then Black Ops 4 is
literally the same as burning money.<br />
<h4>
<span style="font-size: x-large;">SCORE</span></h4>
<h4>
STORY: N/A<br /> GAMEPLAY: 5/10<br /> GRAPHICS: 5/10<br /> SOUND: 7/10</h4>
<h4>
<span style="font-size: large;">FINAL SCORE: 5/10</span></h4>
Alyxxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17218865125519689016noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4381060216787776751.post-46364641209774742472018-09-16T18:14:00.002-07:002018-09-16T18:15:43.456-07:00PC Game Review: Alpha Prime<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN0_8M2aEiAEm8qsnxH9ZuwHd80pthajXWmus4SnlRg-SYv5qBQzgc8h6RyllWTVhoBFemTwD6uL9Nfdvg9BEERwxLR-XYrVppWL7Q9OYGyh3eFj-XeLEt3z4zaZaIbrtS3lnJoRCjfxk/s1600/alpha+prime+review.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="841" data-original-width="1600" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN0_8M2aEiAEm8qsnxH9ZuwHd80pthajXWmus4SnlRg-SYv5qBQzgc8h6RyllWTVhoBFemTwD6uL9Nfdvg9BEERwxLR-XYrVppWL7Q9OYGyh3eFj-XeLEt3z4zaZaIbrtS3lnJoRCjfxk/s640/alpha+prime+review.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>GAME: Alpha Prime</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>RELEASED: 2007</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>DEVELOPER: Black Element Software</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>PUBLISHER: Bohemia Interactive </b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>AVAILABLE ON: PC (Steam)</b></span><br />
<br />
Alpha Prime is a game that I've had in my library for a while. I probably picked it up at some point due to its low price (it's pretty much a <a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/2590/Alpha_Prime/" target="_blank">$1 game at the moment on Steam</a>). So I figured it was about time I gave the game a playthrough. Here are my thoughts on this 2007 FPS from the Czech Republic.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT09U8DVxPJtX1661IaTsDKvHz0uCCwaoE6yfBUHWzRWq7RuTpZ9pcpfLjKuY0ew80_EPAj-m3BfRPvvfjs2D71fn7NulhfiAZ2aq3BBOxnp9pvMuM1oO0ropbrSQILI6L3VporgnGI3g/s1600/20180915162956_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT09U8DVxPJtX1661IaTsDKvHz0uCCwaoE6yfBUHWzRWq7RuTpZ9pcpfLjKuY0ew80_EPAj-m3BfRPvvfjs2D71fn7NulhfiAZ2aq3BBOxnp9pvMuM1oO0ropbrSQILI6L3VporgnGI3g/s640/20180915162956_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looks like we've got ourselves a corridor shooter. Oh boy.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The game starts off on a mining colony on the distant titular planet of Alpha Prime, where a group of miners are unearthing what seems to be Hubbardium, a powerful substance that when injected into a human being has the effect of slowing down time for the user (similar to the drug SlowMo in Judge Dredd). Rumors begin spreading of the drug coming from some kind of living deity on the planet, which the miners have dubbed Glomar, and it seems the use of Hubbardium is turning a lot of the miners insane. Soon all hell breaks loose when what is said to be the Heart of Glomar is found, which seems to be the source of Hubbardium. Your mission as Arnold (who I have a suspicion is named after a certain action star) aka Arnie is to stop the wrong people from getting their hands on the Heart of Glomar while also finding out who the bad guys is as you're caught up in a conspiracy involving your ex girlfriend Livia.<br />
<br />
The story isn't really that well written in the game. It is told mostly through lengthy cutscenes that aren't particurarily engaging nor well acted and through conversations that are equally lengthy and boring. For most of the game I had difficulty paying attention to what was going on story-wise as the story just seemed to not really go anywhere until the latter part of the game. It involves an Italian (who is fittingly voiced by an Italian with a very lacking grasp of the English language), a black dude who couldn't be any more "bro", and a scientist, as well as Olivier, the leader of the mercenary group sent to retrieve the Heart of Glomar, who turns out to be the game's main villain. The side characters in the end only serve as reasons for you to go after Olivier, who may or may not be on the same side as your ex girlfriend. I dunno, it just seemed like the story tried way too hard to add twists that you could see coming a mile away or that didn't make much sense.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjncO-_7drI1omrF2_ZBz5Fx-SE0X-kqerqvoHPX1Flp4kZ88cZzympsyYoUAoBqzhAaynDoCZN3HgfIqAtd3EjAq0m6p7LDvXUCW62TmJz-X_csNbEtIPk4uYov_dnXWcAPn68Uygkx2Q/s1600/20180916195335_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjncO-_7drI1omrF2_ZBz5Fx-SE0X-kqerqvoHPX1Flp4kZ88cZzympsyYoUAoBqzhAaynDoCZN3HgfIqAtd3EjAq0m6p7LDvXUCW62TmJz-X_csNbEtIPk4uYov_dnXWcAPn68Uygkx2Q/s640/20180916195335_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"So. You got any porn on that computer?"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The gameplay in Alpha Prime feels like very much a product of its time. There isn't much that is particurarily original about it, and a lot of it feels taken from other better games. The main gameplay feels heavily influenced by F.E.A.R. with the slowdown mechanic that was already used in games like Max Payne, the aforementioned F.E.A.R. and Doom 3 Resurrection of Evil. The slowdown mechanic becomes something you'll rely on a lot due to the game's rather unforgiving and unbalanced difficulty. Even on Easy mode enemies can fire at you with pinpoint accuracy no matter their distance and deal a lot of damage which can easily kill you within seconds of engaging the enemy unless you're taking cover. This makes the slowdown mechanic come in handy since it allows you to react faster to enemies firing at you, though it doesn't seem to boost your health in any way, meaning that you can't really rely on it too much for close quarters combat. <br />
<br />
Unlike a lot of modern shooters, you aren't limited to only 2 weapons though, and can carry an entire arsenal, similar to other oldschool shooters, with ammo for weapons being dropped by enemies and found in lockers and other parts of the levels. You start out with an axe as a melee weapon, but quickly acquire a pistol, a shotgun, an assault rifle (which fires like a miniature Gatling gun), a sniper rifle, a rocket launcher, a flamethrower and grenades which you toss at varying distances depending on how long you hold down the trigger. Most of the weapons feel kind of underpowered and lack any sort of "oomph" to them. The shotgun is fun to use but requires you to be somewhat close to the enemy, which as mentioned already might not be the best idea given how easy you die, so most of the time I used the assault rifle or the sniper rifle and just kind of leaned out of cover to avoid taking damage. The shotgun and flamethrower probably became some of my least used weapons in the entire game due to how pointless close range combat is in the game. The rocket launcher is probably the most useful weapon since it can easily dispatch groups of enemies and take out heavily armored ones in a couple hits, although ammo for it doesn't become common until the latter parts of the game.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtjgS8mLVWjAvuLTEO6a22YpYl_MjaHrTK_5kxJlfNCb9FiSIxNfmOZz4jdkLa5j838MdR9QUiDXm1xC-jUVMumPX5E-6giVfTXXnHuZv5HebJsA_zPbbLCGLasvP4y-tkw-dBagUmQMg/s1600/20180916200210_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtjgS8mLVWjAvuLTEO6a22YpYl_MjaHrTK_5kxJlfNCb9FiSIxNfmOZz4jdkLa5j838MdR9QUiDXm1xC-jUVMumPX5E-6giVfTXXnHuZv5HebJsA_zPbbLCGLasvP4y-tkw-dBagUmQMg/s640/20180916200210_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Leaning out from behind cover is the best tactic when engaging the enemy in Alpha Prime.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Also unlike modern shooters, there is no regenerating health, but also unlike older shooters there is no armor either. You have to rely solely on refilling your health using health stations and medkits to stay alive. Personally I feel the game could've used an armor system similar to
Quake 4 to at least make it more balanced given how some of the later
enemies can take multiple magazines from your assault rifle while you go
down quicker than a horny teenager at a stag party.<br />
<br />
One of the game's somewhat more unique mechanics is that you can hack certain objects using what the game calls the ReCon (short for Remote Controller). By simply aiming at what you wanna hack, the ReCon does everything for you, making it more akin to something like Watch_Dogs where all you do is pretty much aim at something while the game hacks it for you at the press of a button. This mechanic is highly contextual though and doesn't come into play for a lot of the game, only during certain parts where you may have to rearrange objects using a lifter robot, or increase pressure in pipes to blow them up close to enemies.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWSmuoO2xo6DHwAhS_sIrc0LLU0ty2v23m4TVF-L4A_kWtshngBqq4k-wEQL5vnEPERHAso33M_kXGoiT_TCEGxdYT7D567_Jy4a65TZn5VEpiy3gKIScrjPaPFMOUIv32gx5Qvy2U3zo/s1600/20180916182931_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWSmuoO2xo6DHwAhS_sIrc0LLU0ty2v23m4TVF-L4A_kWtshngBqq4k-wEQL5vnEPERHAso33M_kXGoiT_TCEGxdYT7D567_Jy4a65TZn5VEpiy3gKIScrjPaPFMOUIv32gx5Qvy2U3zo/s640/20180916182931_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The game technically lets you hack some things, but not everything and it's not exactly letting you actually hack something...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Some of the faults of the game come into play with the controls and physics. The game's physics can best be described as... floaty and slippery. Stairs in particular seem to absolutely hate you in the game and will refuse you to stand still on them, making it impossible to aim at enemies while standing on stairs since you will automatically move down the stairs even when you're not moving. Jumping on things is also a huge pain, given that the collision detection seems way off for how you land on things and you end up slipping and sliding all over the place. This can be particularly painful when trying to jump on top of objects like boxes to reach higher places where you may overshoot or undershoot the jump since there is no good feedback from the game on how you will jump due to how unpredictable the physics can be.<br />
<br />
Most surprisingly the final boss is... kind of a pushover. You shoot him with the rocket launcher until he becomes weak then turn on the generators in the area to fry him while he's recharging and then fire some more. His rocket projectiles are incredibly easy to avoid since they aren't hitscan weapons like the soldiers in the game are using. Given how utterly devastating the common enemies in the game can be, the final boss fight felt almost insultingly easy at that point. <br />
<br />
The movement in general feels a bit weird, especially when you have to ride anything that's moving. There is a part of the game where you have to take trams, similar to the ones in Doom 3, except in these ones, while the tram is moving, you don't seem to really follow the tram's speed very well and kind of move all over the place, which makes it particularly difficult to aim at enemies attacking you while you take the tram. Similar to Doom 3 there are sections of the game where you have to preserve your oxygen. Thankfully oxygen dispensers are plentiful during these sections.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU-kevAc5VIbTPmJAAkO0eJGWPJitRiXRwN1FiPSz_7zYtfcKqpGqLu74rPvHjfBIn-xBlUqGsFuXEcSiDUat-xkToAtygyrdetDkykwrkEqPJqqZv0SDGCxZhWB2XB9EfkEeEAMn3gjk/s1600/20180916183038_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU-kevAc5VIbTPmJAAkO0eJGWPJitRiXRwN1FiPSz_7zYtfcKqpGqLu74rPvHjfBIn-xBlUqGsFuXEcSiDUat-xkToAtygyrdetDkykwrkEqPJqqZv0SDGCxZhWB2XB9EfkEeEAMn3gjk/s640/20180916183038_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">During conversations with other characters, you cannot do anything but listen to it as the game goes into third person.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I was also not a fan of how whenever a character talks to you via your com, the game, for no good reason that I can tell, takes away control from you, forcing you into this view behind the character during the entire conversation. I would prefer a more fluid way of delivering exposition, again I would prefer if the game was more like Doom 3 or Quake 4 in this regard, giving you exposition without taking control away from the player. Having to sit through conversations without being able to move is really boring. I was also not a fan of how lengthy the cutscenes were. Thankfully you can skip them but if you want the story, be prepared to sit through some really awkward and lengthy cutscenes with pretty terrible acting.<br />
<br />
There are also sections of the game where you are required to control robots and vehicles and the controls for these are just awful. Straight up awful. Controlling the loaders feels really stiff and unnecessarily sensitive at the same time. The same goes for the vehicles you drive on the surface of the planet. A simple press of a direction will send you flying in that direction and the slippery physics makes driving a nightmare. It was an enormous chore getting through the driving sections, especially when having to drive on top of any object. Involving the horrible driving controls AND the wonky physics when moving on top of objects at this point in the game just seemed like a horrible idea...<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEAazsCB9A0X0_4tPJjQ6GyFJ1dEe8v7WuYQ36DuyYsPjrMJviDJ6fvF7bOiX2vV7xEouUzTTZdOqsAgCqj8vBeD14thZH3LUpPN8wdG-x7kujHtpBtqEy-OUMx5t4XVlvWb-mv5n6BPo/s1600/20180917002712_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEAazsCB9A0X0_4tPJjQ6GyFJ1dEe8v7WuYQ36DuyYsPjrMJviDJ6fvF7bOiX2vV7xEouUzTTZdOqsAgCqj8vBeD14thZH3LUpPN8wdG-x7kujHtpBtqEy-OUMx5t4XVlvWb-mv5n6BPo/s640/20180917002712_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dat skybox tho.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Luckily there are some good things to say about Alpha Prime. Graphically the game is gorgeous and follows a similar aesthetic to games like Doom 3 and Quake 4 with a heavy emphasis on very metallic industrial corridors and brown/greyish surface surroundings. The game is fairly heavy on bloom like a lot of games from the mid-late 2000's, but the texture work is really good and the detail on the guns are also really well done. The game is no Crysis, but it definitely feels on par with other mainstream AAA shooters of its era. I was seriously loving the art style in Alpha Prime, despite it feeling at times like somewhat of a straight up ripoff of Doom 3/Quake 4 and even F.E.A.R. to an extent. But I do love those games and I guess it's true that imitation is the most sincere form of flattery. If anything the game could be considered a lesser homage to classic sci-fi shooters.<br />
<br />
I did encounter some minor graphical glitches, especially during some of the surface parts where the draw distance seemed very low, and parts of the terrain would glitch out into weird shapes. Also during the cutscenes, it has to be said the facial animation is not the greatest. It's not even on par with Doom 3 and Half-Life 2 which launched 3 years earlier, with characters often having a very dead eyed stare and robotic lipflaps. But for the most part, it's a really nice looking game, especially if you are into that 2000's sci-fi aesthetic of industrial corridors. With everything maxed out and running at 1080p, the game still runs at a smooth framerate with hardly any crashes or hickups. It definitely feels like a rock solid engine most of the time.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAneH7TI3RRuNmRLDazbZes-eDbU7i6BioStYMnW0eegsIU7nZW0bd5IGjmZQC4VOQNSHo5rVy0ZOYC1p8_BtpbpWX2DuQgEAmvpuz0jFyW6ITOPKvWeDMm2vsLmDOuaMlrxw18VLFvsI/s1600/20180916235514_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAneH7TI3RRuNmRLDazbZes-eDbU7i6BioStYMnW0eegsIU7nZW0bd5IGjmZQC4VOQNSHo5rVy0ZOYC1p8_BtpbpWX2DuQgEAmvpuz0jFyW6ITOPKvWeDMm2vsLmDOuaMlrxw18VLFvsI/s640/20180916235514_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I feel like I've done this before...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
On the audio sound of things, things could be better. As mentioned before, the weapon sounds feel a little on the unsatisfying side, and the voice acting leaves a lot to be desired. A lot of the time, the actors feel like they are simply reading a script and not really acting, and while the script isn't the best in the world I feel they could have done a better job. For a lot of the game I just didn't feel invested in the characters at all, especially Arnie who is meant to be the protagonist and the one you relate to. Rule number one for any FPS game with a talking protagonist is to give the protagonist a strong personality. This is why games like Duke Nukem 3D, Sin and Shadow Warrior are so fondly remembered, because they had memorable one-liners and trash talking protagonists who didn't take everything too seriously. Sure, Arnie has his moments now and then but for the most part he's just boring and completely silent during the gameplay which makes absolutely no sense given how talkative he is whenever a cutscene or conversation happens. I just feel giving him some more personality and making him more of a badass would've helped make him a lot more likeable. Especially when the rest of the cast are equally forgetable.<br />
<br />
That being said, the soundtrack is definitely one of the strong parts of the game. Ranging from orchestral ambient music that perfectly builds atmosphere as well as some pretty asskicking industrial rock tunes that play during some more intense moments, I was really enjoying the soundtrack for most of the game. It was definitely a strong point of the game for me.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFEuBvYEQqCiASmRgfgJM9Z3qbfF92_b6HAS8wb9hAmDPsPQ1oYnst2WlbMc7llRaLV6t95IHw8wXpDByg7qrS9pLMS_6XZwS6_ZAtN1KvNo4Pn1tfXJBKUpGnJZPbNJNHUSD77gPC9K8/s1600/20180917013958_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFEuBvYEQqCiASmRgfgJM9Z3qbfF92_b6HAS8wb9hAmDPsPQ1oYnst2WlbMc7llRaLV6t95IHw8wXpDByg7qrS9pLMS_6XZwS6_ZAtN1KvNo4Pn1tfXJBKUpGnJZPbNJNHUSD77gPC9K8/s640/20180917013958_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The game gives you a ton of ammo before the final boss fight against an enemy that is easier than even the basic soldiers you fight in the game, making the final boss fight a joke.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Alpha Prime is kind of a mixed bag. It doesn't have any strong memorable story or main protagonist. It ends on a sequel-baiting cliffhanger that leaves what story there is unresolved since there has never been a sequel, and the gameplay feels both uninspired and misguided with it being too difficult to really be enjoyable since the difficulty feels incredibly cheap. It also suffers from numerous issues with the engine's physics and controls. But on the other hand it's only $1, is piss easy to get running in 1080p on any modern PC and looks really good for its time. But you could probably spend that dollar on something more worthwhile since in the end, Alpha Prime doesn't really satisfy anything for me.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>SCORE:</b></span><br />
<b><br /></b>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>STORY: 4/10<br />GAMEPLAY: 5/10</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>GRAPHICS: 6/10<br />SOUND: 5/10</b></span><br />
<b><br /></b>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>FINAL SCORE: 5/10</b></span>Alyxxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17218865125519689016noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4381060216787776751.post-85726990273610968842018-09-15T06:23:00.004-07:002018-09-15T06:23:45.081-07:00PC Game Review: ZIQ<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhM-xOv9LnDHloKecu2vvI5B8jb4_wp6GEBEwcdiar56Q3X0xBYxswuStsl6eRneeY-OGlz87IE1Qk4Wm6NKNY8dbWk2m0wHq1-UzLVQqGzr6-3XR8SQHe5ZXhS-ZIIdtyeuJwf6qPfQ0/s1600/banner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhM-xOv9LnDHloKecu2vvI5B8jb4_wp6GEBEwcdiar56Q3X0xBYxswuStsl6eRneeY-OGlz87IE1Qk4Wm6NKNY8dbWk2m0wHq1-UzLVQqGzr6-3XR8SQHe5ZXhS-ZIIdtyeuJwf6qPfQ0/s640/banner.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<h6>
GAME: ZIQ<br />RELEASED: 08/01/2018<br />DEVELOPER: Midnight Sea Studios<br />PUBLISHER: 3D REALMS<br />AVAILABLE ON: Steam</h6>
<h6>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">3D Realms are probably best known for their action titles. With games such as the Duke Nukem series, Wolfenstein 3D, Commander Keen, Max Payne and the recent FPS Ion Maiden in their catalogue, it's kind of easy to miss that some of the early 3D Realms/Apogee games often explored other genres as well. And with the recent releases of <a href="http://alyxxgameroom.blogspot.com/2018/08/pc-game-review-graveball.html">Graveball</a> and this game, it seems that 3D Realms are doing just what they did in the past. Picking up talented developers making fun games in all genres, and giving them some attention. ZIQ is by no means an action shooter like a lot of 3DR's library, but it does still fit in, in its own quirky way. Let's find out exactly how ZIQ can be called a 3D Realms title.</span></span></h6>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkd2LQjKPFP2GrhSsJ7u4ezKC3PO0n4ffteMqrMz6Xyyr8m81Khg5IGVxHBz1RuYBgs4Hcq4ChaQ3ntmgoCPjs8HmPWasMAsilUxYz8Uw6QHvpPixywehlDTvTUBgNqiQLJ8xH1P5mnkI/s1600/ZIQ+2018-08-16+14-49-57-04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkd2LQjKPFP2GrhSsJ7u4ezKC3PO0n4ffteMqrMz6Xyyr8m81Khg5IGVxHBz1RuYBgs4Hcq4ChaQ3ntmgoCPjs8HmPWasMAsilUxYz8Uw6QHvpPixywehlDTvTUBgNqiQLJ8xH1P5mnkI/s640/ZIQ+2018-08-16+14-49-57-04.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ZIQ is all about grabbing orbs in the right color sequence.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h6>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span>ZIQ is straight up an arcade game. While there has been confirmed to be a definitive end to the experience by the creators, the goal is still to attain the highest score possible and rise up the leaderboards. You of course do this by accumulating points through gathering orbs on a track, avoiding obstacles along the way. The caveat is that you need to gather the orbs in a set sequence of two colors, orange and cyan. Once you've gathered one the sequence will count down before it resets until you get the next one, but the timer is fairly slow.</span></span></h6>
The good news is that you yourself control the color of the orbs around you, with being able to switch the color of your runner on the fly. And thus you have full control over gathering the right colors in the sequence. The bad news is that the obstacles require you to be a certain color to pass through them as well, meaning you have to both focus on which color the orbs are, and which color your runner is when passing through an obstacle. It creates some very tense gameplay situations that require a lot of focus.<br />
<br />
You basically have 3 lanes on the path you run, at times you are required to stick to one field when there's a pool of acid on one side or either side. Pressing left on the controller moves you to the left lane, pressing right moves you to the right lane and not pressing any direction keeps you in the center lane. You can also jump to avoid acid pits or certain obstacles. As has been described by one of my friends, it can be difficult adjusting to the control scheme and I have to admit in the beginning it took a while to adjust to it, but it's something you do get used to after a while.<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGIAVCcbFqG1GYkyOGRcx_TIUds9gBfeOhHo6XS3eCUhHv3fsLwNpXmgfZDn00jLbXxud6ethkl2PgzLmX5XY9xEQBOvFecYANF57KFouGL3ZfKS9KsNMpb9WF-Bq8JIkRptRu3caMBH0/s1600/ZIQ+2018-08-16+14-50-22-03.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGIAVCcbFqG1GYkyOGRcx_TIUds9gBfeOhHo6XS3eCUhHv3fsLwNpXmgfZDn00jLbXxud6ethkl2PgzLmX5XY9xEQBOvFecYANF57KFouGL3ZfKS9KsNMpb9WF-Bq8JIkRptRu3caMBH0/s640/ZIQ+2018-08-16+14-50-22-03.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Being the right color on the obstacles is key to surviving.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
There is an exception to the color rule however. If you have completed enough sequences in a row, you get supercharged for a brief period, in which you can blast through obstacles at the opposite color and gain a destruction bonus to your score. But you also run faster making you have to react quicker to obstacles and orbs which is the tradeoff for increased power. The game does a pretty good job of rewarding skilled players while punishing players for failing, and also having a voice that berates you when you do badly, and sarcastically praises you when you're doing well. It makes you kinda want to punch the guy, but also kinda makes you want to prove to him you're good, so I suppose it works as intended. Of course, from his perspective I can kinda see why he's gotten so rough, seeing an infinite amount of runner clones fail again and again.<br />
<br />
The game is very good at not being too punishing though. If you die, you do not reset to the beginning but continue where you left off. And if you fail a sequence you instantly get started on a new one. You of course lose your chance at getting supercharged but you're not terribly punished for it. However once all of your extra lives are spent, it's game over and you're presented with a leaderboard showing your final score and given the opportunity to retry from the beginning. But all in all I feel the difficulty curve is just right and I would consider it a hard game, but not unfairly so.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN7tyRVhUZmeIBo_Z1FzdxiE7EiKTcga2NiHMQyTvwqGyAE0RYt_PAVXsioWQnJB8vEvnvYWYHXln2jtVKaNiJ7zjJvmV_wvjtiOcRJ3k_omyDJKEYClQPrC0OZ1DLTyiyVkUAbRn24WU/s1600/ZIQ+2018-08-16+14-49-27-04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN7tyRVhUZmeIBo_Z1FzdxiE7EiKTcga2NiHMQyTvwqGyAE0RYt_PAVXsioWQnJB8vEvnvYWYHXln2jtVKaNiJ7zjJvmV_wvjtiOcRJ3k_omyDJKEYClQPrC0OZ1DLTyiyVkUAbRn24WU/s640/ZIQ+2018-08-16+14-49-27-04.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Great. Obstacle course.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Graphically the game looks pretty good for an indie title. I would probably personally like if the path wasn't constantly straight forward but maybe had turns and loops, more akin to a racing game. It probably wouldn't impact the gameplay any differently but would give you more of a sense of not just going forward but also following a path. And some variation on the things around you could also add some flair to the game. The game looks a bit boring and uniform at times, and staring at the same walls, the same patterns and the same structures over and over does get a bit repetitive. But the graphics serve the gameplay and it looks alright, especially for the cheap price the game asks. The game is made in the Unity engine and I've definitely seen worse come from it.<br />
<br />
The sound is probably the game's strong point. It features a really nice synthwave score with some trap elements, perfectly fitting the game's futuristic sci-fi aesthetic. I also love the voice actor who plays the overseer creature. While I do want to punch him at times for being such a dick, it really helps edge you on to do better. The sound design in general is pretty good though I noticed that if I turn the volume down, some sounds still play at max volume, which I think should be fixed in a future patch.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT5oAiSa3WCNwXAQuqMbtYfGurx4ht5bcBPRXXpHy-PQHaeBwEWisUCr17tMHKJUmBN22x_1I3wKdubOVA48TdzfzmJSfN9SqDk0N2U3QU40_A3DuF4lm_rr34gB-Pbx4UFZ12jV1x4eA/s1600/ZIQ+2018-08-16+14-50-17-04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT5oAiSa3WCNwXAQuqMbtYfGurx4ht5bcBPRXXpHy-PQHaeBwEWisUCr17tMHKJUmBN22x_1I3wKdubOVA48TdzfzmJSfN9SqDk0N2U3QU40_A3DuF4lm_rr34gB-Pbx4UFZ12jV1x4eA/s640/ZIQ+2018-08-16+14-50-17-04.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Passing through gates like a boss.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
All in all, ZIQ is a really addictive arcade runner. The price is also really nice, being around $10 on <a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/538900/ZIQ/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Steam</a> right now. There's also already a pretty competitive community surrounding the game, giving you plenty of competition when getting high scores. I definitely recommend ZIQ if you are into these type of games, though ZIQ is anything but casual, giving you a bit of a learning curve before you can dent the leaderboards.<br />
<h3>
<span style="font-size: x-large;">SCORE</span></h3>
<h3>
GAMEPLAY: 8/10<br />GRAPHICS: 8/10<br />SOUND: 9/10</h3>
<h3>
<span style="font-size: x-large;">FINAL SCORE: 8/10</span></h3>
<h6>
</h6>
Alyxxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17218865125519689016noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4381060216787776751.post-47037796244363996282018-08-15T14:49:00.000-07:002018-08-15T14:50:47.961-07:00The 10 Best SNES Games Of All Time - Honorable Mentions<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://www.vgr.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/maxresdefault-2-1200x450.jpg" width="640" /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
2 weeks ago I posted my list of the <a href="https://www.vgr.com/best-snes-games/">10 best SNES games of all time</a>,
and I still want to clarify it was more of a personal favorites list,
rather than a list of the 10 best games by popular opinion. So a lot of
games had to be left out of the list either because I hadn’t played them
or for other reasons. So here’s a list of games that didn’t make the
top 10, and the reasons why that game wasn’t on there. Hopefully this
should answer some questions you might have to my list and specifically
to my opinion on these games. So without further ado, let’s get started.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">DOOM</span></b><br />
<img alt="Doom" class="alignnone wp-image-14271" height="479" src="https://www.vgr.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Doom-U-_00001.png" width="547" /><br />
I really wanted to put this on the list due to it being an incredible
port. Just the fact this is Doom running on a console that was never
intended for this style of game is amazing. Granted it’s not running
that fast, the resolution is extremely limited and there’s a lot of
missing textures on the ceiling and floor due to the console’s
limitations. But the music sounds awesome, it has all the levels from
the original PC game and is running on a 16 bit console that shouldn’t
be able to run it. So this port is more notable for its technical
achievements than the game itself as it is a seriously inferior version
of Doom and thus why I didn’t want to list it. But it’s definitely worth
checking out if you’re curious.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">TMNT – TOURNAMENT FIGHTERS</span></b><br />
<img alt="TMNT - Tournament Fighters" class="alignnone wp-image-14272" height="479" src="https://www.vgr.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/TMNT-Tournament-Fighters-U_00000.png" width="547" /><br />
The 16-bit era was the golden age of fighting games. With the release
of the seminal Street Fighter II (and its ton of re-releases) by
Capcom, a slew of imitators popped up. One of these that I definitely
recommend checking out is TMNT Tournament Fighters by Konami. Much like
TMNT IV – Turtles In Time, a lot of attention and care was given this
game to make it a fun competitive brawler and in my opinion it works
perfectly as a companion game to TMNT IV.<br />
You have a roster of characters from the TMNT franchise to choose
from and it’s to this day one of the few games where you can play as the
badguys. Much like other fighting games of the era, it’s even more fun
with friends, so if you’re looking for a Street Fighter II alternative
for your next multiplayer session, this might be a good pick.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">BLACKTHORNE</span></b><br />
<img alt="Blackthorne" class="alignnone wp-image-14307" height="483" src="https://www.vgr.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Blackthorne-U_00000.png" width="552" /><br />
Blizzard are known for a few titles, such as World of Warcraft and
Diablo. But before those franchises became their bread and butter they
delved into some other genres. Their cinematic platformer Blackthorne is
definitely worth checking out if you are into games like Prince of
Persia, Another World and Flashback. It’s a sci-fi fantasy game where
you play as a shotgun-wielding badass named Kyle Blackthorne who has to
save his people from the clutches of an evil satanic figure known as
Sarlac. I grew up with the PC version and to this day I still play it
regurarily.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">ALADDIN</span></b><br />
<img alt="Aladdin" class="alignnone wp-image-14308" height="483" src="https://www.vgr.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Aladdin-U-_00000.png" width="552" /><br />
The main reason I kept this game off the list and several other
Disney games like Lion King was that I wanted to highlight Magical
Quest. But of course, this one is also worth checking out and it came
out during the era when multiplatform titles could actually be vastly
different from each other. The Sega Genesis version of this game was
developed by an entirely different team and Capcom was behind the SNES
version, giving it a unique character. It has some solid gameplay,
stellar music and some great visuals, so as far as Disney games go,
Aladdin is up there among the best on both systems.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">MEGA MAN X</span></b><br />
<img alt="Mega Man X" class="alignnone wp-image-14311" height="482" src="https://www.vgr.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Mega-Man-X-U-V1.1_00001.png" width="551" /><br />
Of course it’s hard to talk about the SNES without mentioning Mega
Man X. While I personally don’t have much attachment to this game and
have never completed it, I can totally see why so many people hold it in
high regard. It definitely feels more “evolved” compared to the earlier
NES titles and helped Mega Man stay fresh for a new generation. I think
personally it adds a bit too much for my taste and while it isn’t a bad
game, I just can’t really get into it as easily as the NES titles.
Which is why I didn’t include it.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">THE LEGEND OF ZELDA – A LINK TO THE PAST</span></b><br />
<img alt="The Legend of Zelda - A Link to the Past" class="alignnone wp-image-14312" height="483" src="https://www.vgr.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Legend-of-Zelda-The-A-Link-to-the-Past-E-_00000.png" width="552" /><br />
I’m only including this game as a mention because I feel someone’s
going to kill me if I don’t. So, full disclosure, I have played this
game. I just didn’t find myself very engaged in the story, sorry to say.
I have the same problem with Ocarina of Time. Look, both of these games
are good games, there’s nothing wrong with loving them and I totally
respect that people do. I just… don’t connect with them. I don’t click
with them in the same way others do. I just find myself just not really
caring much for them. And that’s why you won’t see ALTTP on my list.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">ARKANOID – DOH IT AGAIN</span></b><br />
<img alt="Arkanoid - Doh It Again" class="alignnone wp-image-14313" height="483" src="https://www.vgr.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Arkanoid-Doh-It-Again-U-_00002.png" width="552" /><br />
If you’re looking for something to use that SNES mouse for beyond
playing Doom and Mario Paint, this game is a perfect choice. I didn’t
include this game because I don’t really see it as necessarily a SNES
exclusive experience, and it’s not really THAT playable on the system
without a mouse or paddle controller. But if you have a mouse, then it’s
still an excellent version of Arkanoid, which is still one of my
favourite games to play.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">FINAL FANTASY VI</span></b><br />
<img alt="Final Fantasy VI" class="alignnone wp-image-14315" height="483" src="https://www.vgr.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Final-Fantasy-III-U-V1.1-_00001.png" width="552" /><br />
Amazing music, a great story and a really cool combat system are
common descriptors for Final Fantasy VI which many regard as one of the
best games in the franchise. And yeah I’ve played a bit and what I’ve
played, I enjoyed. Do I enjoy it enough to put it among my personal
favourites? Probably not. I don’t really have much nostalgia for the
game nor has it really been fun enough for me to really love it. But I
like it. Enough to mention it.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>F-ZERO</b></span><br />
<img alt="F-ZERO" class="alignnone wp-image-14316" height="483" src="https://www.vgr.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/F-ZERO-U-_00001.png" width="552" /><br />
I’ll be honest, if I could, I would put both F-Zero and Super Mario
Kart on my list as recommended racing games because I love both of them
almost equally. I just happen to have more nostalgia for SMK and I
personally consider it the superior game due to being more playable and
having more variety. But F-Zero is a very different experience so
comparing them is like comparing apples and oranges. It’s up to you what
you prefer. F-Zero definitely has some great music and gameplay and
utilizes mode 7 amazingly to create some sweet pseudo-3D graphics for
the time.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>EARTHBOUND/MOTHER 2</b></span><br />
<img alt="Earthbound" class="alignnone wp-image-14318" height="482" src="https://www.vgr.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Earthbound-U_00000.png" width="551" /><br />
So… why wasn’t this on the list? Well, honestly? I haven’t played it.
I have played plenty of Mother 1 because I was intent on finishing that
game before tackling its sequel. And I have played little bit of
Earthbound and yeah, it’s great and I’ll probably love it once I have
played it and will consider it worthy of being in my list but until then
I can’t really speak much about it.Alyxxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17218865125519689016noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4381060216787776751.post-35485344008536957362018-08-15T14:25:00.003-07:002018-08-15T14:27:48.955-07:00NES Game Re-Review: Mother/Earthbound Zero<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNz2hPCqYVmRGkIaEpEMktLcWkmcPDVx9eOQ_5kWlQLpXa702TtISsPyc5ARKrB1Y297P5Idn61uk4rNQV58-B9_vXif9FuxAwnzOtHHXtJG9CJ_k8LSEWzDxuSkJsEMiCyXxc_eug3ww/s1600/Mother+Review.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNz2hPCqYVmRGkIaEpEMktLcWkmcPDVx9eOQ_5kWlQLpXa702TtISsPyc5ARKrB1Y297P5Idn61uk4rNQV58-B9_vXif9FuxAwnzOtHHXtJG9CJ_k8LSEWzDxuSkJsEMiCyXxc_eug3ww/s640/Mother+Review.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">GAME: Mother (Earthbound Beginnings on WiiU)</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">RELEASED: 07/27/1989</span></b> </span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">DEVELOPER: Ape</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">PUBLISHER: Nintendo<br />AVAILABLE ON: Famicom, NES (unofficial release), GBA, WiiU</span></b><br />
<br />
<b>SPOILER ALERT! This review will spoil the story of Mother. If you haven't played the game yet, I strongly urge you to do so! If spoilers do not bother you, please go on.</b><br />
<br />
Recently I was attacked by a nasty cold and have been out for a few days. I took the opportunity to revisit a game that's been on my mind for well over a few years now. Back in 2013, <a href="https://alyxxgameroom.blogspot.com/2013/01/nes-game-review-mother.html">I reviewed this game on my blog</a> without having really finished it. But already then it left a pretty lasting impression on me and it's always been sitting in my backlog since then, always having been that game that I knew I had to finish some day. And it seems that day has come as I have finally completed Mother. Granted, I have only completed Earthbound Zero Easy, a romhack of the fan translation which decreases encounter rates, increases XP gained and overall makes the game more managable so my review will more reflect this version of the game than the original, just so it's said. But I will still be keeping the original game in mind. So here's my full review of Mother after 4 years of trying to get back into it.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYVbCqq8SEXMhMQlqzDSOEUwHuCAQeX5VnMZRATHBIAVbHIvgo4dSy9_hVAG0cCiepqyeZk38iXC4w69Oi0uNJYoTFwpzvgUyuKSN33pZs6Ek6AI4gGHUsArXjx-BUpIUosNEDKN93X3k/s1600/Earthbound+Zero+Easy+%2528U%2529-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="224" data-original-width="256" height="350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYVbCqq8SEXMhMQlqzDSOEUwHuCAQeX5VnMZRATHBIAVbHIvgo4dSy9_hVAG0cCiepqyeZk38iXC4w69Oi0uNJYoTFwpzvgUyuKSN33pZs6Ek6AI4gGHUsArXjx-BUpIUosNEDKN93X3k/s400/Earthbound+Zero+Easy+%2528U%2529-1.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This game knows how to ask the important questions!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Mother tells the story of three characters who's fates intertwine as their world falls victim to an alien invasion. Set in a somewhat off beat 1980's America, you start out in the town of Podunk when young boy Ninten is awoken by a loud noise. He runs to his sister's room to find her doll posessed, moving on its own, and after fighting it, the doll stops moving. But not without revealing something incredible, inside it is a music box that plays a little melody, which Ninten remembers. Unknown to Ninten, this melody is part of a puzzle he has to solve in order to stop the invasion. After finding the key to the house's locked basement on his dog, he discovers a diary from his great grandfather, George, revealing that Ninten posesses special psychic powers.<br />
<br />
At some point on his journey, he ends up in a faraway land called Magicant, where in a castle Queen Mary resides. She mournfully tells Ninten that she cannot remember anything. She can vaguely remember a song but seems to have forgotten this as well, and beckons Ninten to find all eight pieces of this song which seem to have been hidden around the world. Together with Lloyd, a nerd with a knack for science and Ana, a seemingly fragile girl with extraordinary psychic powers.<br />
<br />
The story of Mother is driven by the eight melodies and your search for them. Because as it turns out, these hold a significance beyond what you can imagine as they are the weapon you need to defeat the leader of the alien invaders, Giegue, who as it turns out, was once the adopted child of George and Maria and the melody is the lullaby she would sing to him. Reminded by the love of his surrogate mother, Giegue is forced to leave the planet and let go the people he has abducted.<br />
<br />
To me, the story of Mother is really what got me coming back to it. It's one of the games that somehow creates an entirely unique narrative and uses the game mechanics to tell the story in a way that gives it a unique feel I've never seen in other games. And I find the way you defeat the final boss incredibly ingenious. Since you play as children, despite your powers, there is no way you can defeat a foe that is so infinitely more powerful than you can ever imagine. The only weapon you have is love, and you have to intentionally not attack him to beat him which I find amazing. It's easy to see why this game has been an inspiration to so many modern game makers such as Toby Fox who made the amazing Undertale, since this too kind of took the RPG genre and did something new and interesting with it, even if it also fell victim to some of its more outdated perks. So let's get on to discussing the gameplay shall we?<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgtirRMl3vowrdhdpcYE1VUD9oAKKOfgapsfzHWmQz6VBLVExvJ3MabkCnAorbWI4cgq7XLFCy-JdOGj31xC96WXFh-YptFOaeu3Ju3XRKy_CIrrAprVX-3XonqBGodgNrcx3GHfkcR20/s1600/Earthbound+Zero+Easy+%2528U%2529-13.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="224" data-original-width="256" height="350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgtirRMl3vowrdhdpcYE1VUD9oAKKOfgapsfzHWmQz6VBLVExvJ3MabkCnAorbWI4cgq7XLFCy-JdOGj31xC96WXFh-YptFOaeu3Ju3XRKy_CIrrAprVX-3XonqBGodgNrcx3GHfkcR20/s400/Earthbound+Zero+Easy+%2528U%2529-13.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mother, despite its cute first impression, has many dark heartfelt moments.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Gameplay-wise, Mother honestly plays like a traditional RPG for the most part. You level up through battling enemies in turn-based combat, and each of your characters have different stats and different talents which you need to get accustomed to in order to fully be efficient in battles. Ninten uses mostly melee weapons such as bats and has mostly defensive PSI. Ana has a lot of offensive PSI, but a low health pool and cannot use most weapons other than frying pans (bit of stereotyping there). Lloyd doesn't deal a lot of physical damage and can mostly use guns and items such as bottle rockets, bombs, plasma beams and flamethrowers, but can dish out a lot of damage with those items.<br />
<br />
Much of Mother requires you to utilize the game's powerups correctly for these characters. Getting the right items can be crucial to easing the game's harsh difficulty, and there is a lot of grinding involved to make sure your characters are strong enough to tackle the road ahead. Granted I was playing the EB0 Easy hack, which cuts down on the difficulty a great deal and allowed me to appreciate the game more so I highly recommend playing this ROM if you can get it, but be prepared to deal with a lot of the typical tropes of early RPG's. This game definitely benefits from using a walkthrough so don't feel bad if you have to pay <a href="http://starmen.net/">Starmen.net</a> a visit. I used their walkthrough for EB0 for my playthrough and do not regret it as the tips and strategies in it helped a lot with easing the game for me. Granted you can play the game however you want to but the walkthrough saves a lot of time and grief from wandering around aimlessly.<br />
<br />
It's very hard to recommend Mother on its gameplay, because it is sadly very outdated and not always in the best way. It requires a lot of patience, and requires that you find that drive to keep playing even when it feels tiring. To me that drive was the Eight Melodies. As stated in my original review, when listening to the eight melodies I would feel inspired to play the game, to see it through. And I felt that the eight melodies I picked up were valuable treasures that were almost lost in the world, it drove me to finish the game and bring peace to the world. The game feels bigger than the world you see, it feels like you're on an epic quest to save the world from a threat you at first cannot even understand. And your enjoyment of the game will definitely depend on how engaged in the world you become.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ93Fz7eBkm5U7RAwRjm-IdnesjhwI6wTrPrHtvnYLkHkhDSCJijWokU43uFSnR1snRDxxeUrzyUHGjeCqs_GvfzM6gVHAz10k6LWvN8Dm-_E9ahhxUfhVNbiQrXlp_jskBfTSagPBBE8/s1600/Earthbound+Zero+Easy+%2528U%2529-11.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="224" data-original-width="256" height="350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ93Fz7eBkm5U7RAwRjm-IdnesjhwI6wTrPrHtvnYLkHkhDSCJijWokU43uFSnR1snRDxxeUrzyUHGjeCqs_GvfzM6gVHAz10k6LWvN8Dm-_E9ahhxUfhVNbiQrXlp_jskBfTSagPBBE8/s400/Earthbound+Zero+Easy+%2528U%2529-11.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Well... fuck.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Graphically, Mother isn't impressive. But it definitely has a style. Heavily influenced by the Peanuts comic strip, it uses a style that feels really easy to like. It's bright, colourful and uses the NES palette to greatly enhance each area's look and feel. From the green fields of Podunk and Merrysville, to the snowy plains of Snowman and the cold industrial designs of the factories and laboratories, the world of Mother looks as varied and diverse as you would imagine it to look. The only thing I don't really like the look of is the battle screen. It's mostly just a black screen with enemy sprites on it, which granted are really detailed and great to look at, but having a background would probably help a lot here in my opinion.<br />
<br />
Musically... this game has the best soundtrack of the entire NES library in my opinion. From the get-go, Mother bombards you with some of the most emotional and some of the most catchy music you may ever hear from an 8 bit system. From the mellow and soothing opening theme, to the driving beats of Pollyanna and Bein' Friends, to the dark disturbing industrial moods of factories and the sheer emotional power of the Eight Melodies, Mother's soundtrack is unforgetable. The soundtrack is varied too. There's everything from rock'n'roll tunes,
to ballads, to menacing industrial atmospheric music. It feels like it
never gets boring and perfectly fits every area you go to.<br />
<br />
Every time I hear the Eight Melodies, I cannot help crying, because the melodies feel like they represent pure love. The kind of love you've felt from your mother. It feels like a genuine lullaby. And it soothes me in a way few things can. When I am angry at my friends, when I feel down and depressed, the Eight Melodies can soothe me like nothing else I know. It's become one of my favourite tunes in all of gaming really for this reason and it's why I can truly believe it can make even an alien menace like Giegue break down in tears and leave. In its simplicity, in its eight little melodies, it holds immense power and hits harder than anything I've ever heard. It was one of the things that truly stuck out to me about the game and the reason I've kept playing through it.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBJK0_2Eyj1e4xUN07bW-Vxdl0zkhO2QCyOOKBjMj5kZn6ihtHENZ90Jphbwjt6Vbs-6WLmKqSXogGo_YjMiytu-tgMdfemeq3yqBtcUPSai4cjSvMaJO8X3rQJ-zrxdx5iXHxC6RJYLs/s1600/Earthbound+Zero+Easy+%2528U%2529-22.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="224" data-original-width="256" height="350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBJK0_2Eyj1e4xUN07bW-Vxdl0zkhO2QCyOOKBjMj5kZn6ihtHENZ90Jphbwjt6Vbs-6WLmKqSXogGo_YjMiytu-tgMdfemeq3yqBtcUPSai4cjSvMaJO8X3rQJ-zrxdx5iXHxC6RJYLs/s400/Earthbound+Zero+Easy+%2528U%2529-22.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thank you for your nice song indeed <3</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Mother is flawed. Incredibly flawed. Even with a guide, the game is brutally difficult and at times is confusingly vague. It can be an infuriating game without knowing the right strategies and what the different items do. And yet, with its flaws, it holds one of the best stories of its generation, one of the best soundtracks, one of the most important messages and some of the most memorable worlds ever in a video game. It's an experience I will never forget, one I will keep with me until I die. Those moments when I sat there, singing along to Ninten, Ana and Lloyd as their song brought Giegue to tears, brought me to tears as well. The fact an 8bit game could make me feel so many emotions to me is amazing and if you're at all a fan of RPG's, or even better, Earthbound, you definitely need to play this game some day.<br />
<br />
I guess it's time to finally tackle Earthbound next. A game which has eluded me for a long time and I swore I would finish Mother before playing it. Now I have no excuse not to.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">SCORE</span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">STORY: 10/10</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">GAMEPLAY: 6/10</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">GRAPHICS: 6/10</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">SOUND: 10/10</span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">TOTAL SCORE: 8/10</span></b>Alyxxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17218865125519689016noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4381060216787776751.post-29788991592569456672018-08-08T12:59:00.000-07:002018-08-08T13:16:46.170-07:00PC Game Review: Rise Of The Tomb Raider<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6BKJ-XFCsg78L_0qjdildtJoQQxvkjgS64yynFS90vzmpdB6axU-fVfBPQ4gV1_a9PrLpHcmbYRrfRqgqOkvOYSzH90HRul-g0ISlkzCKUucZZnkvQf3l0241fcZzePqoAQN-0b9w04s/s640/banner.jpg" width="640" /></div>
<h6>
GAME: Rise Of The Tomb Raider<br />RELEASED: 02/09/2016<br />DEVELOPER: Crystal Dynamics, Eidos Montréal, Nixxes (PC)<br />PUBLISHER: Square Enix<br />AVAILABLE ON: Steam, XBox 360, XBox One, PS4, MacOS, Linux</h6>
In 2013, Eidos decided it was time to completely reboot the Tomb Raider franchise, with the aptly titled "Tomb Raider", a complete reimagining of the franchise, offering a Lara Croft that we had never seen before. She was more human, more fragile, and taken to a different place than she previously had, a stark contrast to the kind of over the top action heroine she had been in the past. It made for a more interesting story, a story in which she would grow with the player, getting tougher as she gained more experience, ending on an iconic shot of Lara wielding two pistols after having beaten the final boss of the previous game.<br />
<br />
It seems a no-brainer that after the success of the reboot, which received almost universal acclaim, the same team would work on a sequel. And 3 years later, in 2016, we received "Rise Of The Tomb Raider", the next chapter of the Tomb Raider saga. Despite being 2 years since its release already, during which I have been playing the game on and off, I want to give my own personal opinion on this game given <a href="https://alyxxgameroom.blogspot.com/2013/04/pc-game-review-tomb-raider-2013.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">I already reviewed the original at my blog in 2013</a> and absolutely loved it.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Rise Of The Tomb Raider" class="size-large wp-image-13593" height="360" src="https://www.vgr.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/391220_screenshots_20160703194826_1-924x520.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And then they saw "Lara Croft Go"...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The story of Rise is more of a personal story with Lara following in her father's footsteps, looking for an ancient artifact in Siberia, that allegedly contains the "Divine Source", the fountain of youth itself. Her father was on the trail for it, but died before he could finish his work, which is where Lara decides to pick up. Hunted by an ancient group called Trinity, she travels to Siberia in search of an ancient city known as Kitezh to find the Divine Source before they do. A journey which takes her through the Siberian wilderness, cold war installations and a valley where she meets the indigenous people, who she has to work with in order to find a way to stop Trinity from getting their hands on the Divine Source.<br />
<br />
The story is told through amazing acting, both in terms of the animation
and voice acting, which is absolutely stellar. The game does a great
job feeling like a true cinematic experience, going back and forth
between flashbacks and current events and utilizing the gameplay to also
relay backstory to the player through artifacts which can be picked up
and read or inspected to reveal little stories from ancient times.
Throughout the game, Trinity remains a constant threat, and it becomes
your main task to survive long enough to not only stop them but also
clearing your father's name who was labeled a lunatic for his
discoveries. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Rise Of The Tomb Raider" class="size-large wp-image-13639" height="360" src="https://www.vgr.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/391220_screenshots_20160703193848_1-924x520.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The opening level in Siberia shows off some gorgeous graphics, and details like leaving foot trails in the snow.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The gameplay in Rise largely follows the same mechanics from Tomb Raider. Moving around the environment is often done through climbing, scaling walls and all that good stuff. A lot of focus is put on survival and using your environment to aid you. Resources can be gathered around you to upgrade your weapons and craft inventory items such as ammunition and healing kits. Whether you are hunting animals for pelts, picking mushrooms or gathering wood, your environment is your best friend in this game. Campfires serve as spots where you can fast travel between places in the game, craft items and upgrade your equipment and skills.<br />
<br />
The combat also remains largely the same, with Lara being able to carry 4 weapons in her inventory at any given time (which can be swapped out and upgraded at campfires). Lara can automatically take cover behind stuff and in addition to shooting enemies can also engage in melee combat, where you can dodge your enemy's attacks while also landing attacks on them. Ammunition is scarce though, so often the best course of action is to either avoid combat if possible or use stealth.<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Rise Of The Tomb Raider" class="size-large wp-image-13640" height="360" src="https://www.vgr.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/20180805213517_1-924x520.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">If you have a fear of arachnids, perhaps look away from this scene...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Lara will usually (unless the story calls for otherwise) approach any enemy group already in stealth and it is up to the player if you want to break stealth or maintain it. Maintaining stealth is usually more rewarding as it conserves on ammunition and lets you stay more in control of things. Picking enemies out one by one without being seen and ensuring their bodies aren't discovered is essential to keeping stealth and on higher difficulties, this becomes crucial as enemies will deal a lot more damage to Lara. The environment is typically also offering plenty of opportunities to remain hidden so using your environment to your advantage is another crucial element to survival in Rise.<br />
<br />
The controls can be a bit confusing at times. While largely intuitive, during quicktime events and button prompts it can often catch you a bit by surprise if you're not expecting it and lead to an unfortunate death because you didn't time a button press correctly or pressed the wrong button. Granted it's a huge improvement over the previous game where quicktime events were a much bigger problem and button presses felt almost entirely random, but it's still a bit of a pain to deal with.<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Rise Of The Tomb Raider" class="size-large wp-image-13644" height="360" src="https://www.vgr.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/391220_screenshots_20160717235146_1-924x520.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This squirrel knows what's up.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Another element of the game is exploration. As opposed to the previous Tomb Raider, in this game there are a LOT more actual tombs to raid, and they're usually hidden from the main path. Each tomb provides a unique puzzle to solve with a pretty high reward for solving them. There are also a lot of other perks to exploring the environment in Rise, such as coin caches to find, hidden pieces of lore and so on. If you truly wanna 100% complete the game, you are looking at a lot of hours spent searching every nook and cranny of the game to find all it has to offer. After my first completed game I was left with only 86% completion, and that was after a whole 2 years of playing the game on and off with a solid 20 hours of actual game time. So if you're a completionist, you're definitely looking at a pretty substantial amount of game time, even though the story itself can probably be completed much quicker than that.<br />
<br />
In addition to the main story campaign, the game has some additional challenges to play through in the form of the Expeditions mode. Here you can use cards to grant additional buffs during the gameplay. You can do Score Attack, where you are trying to get the best time while also going for objectives that grant you a better score. You can beat an earlier chapter in Chapter Replay, faced with additional challenges such as completing it without dying. Expeditions is also where you can play additional DLC levels for some extra content after completing the main game, similar to the DLC missions in Deus Ex: Mankind Divided.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Rise Of The Tomb Raider" class="size-large wp-image-13648" height="360" src="https://www.vgr.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/20180620201319_1-924x520.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the most gorgeous games of its generation, Rise features a world
that feels incredibly inviting and daunting at the same time.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Rise offers far more arctic conditions than Tomb Raider did, with its setting being the cold mountains of Siberia. While Tomb Raider had more of a tropical island feel to it, Rise offers more mountain areas and cold conditions, which helps set it apart from its predecessor and gives it a feel of its own. Everything is rendered with an incredible attention to detail, such as Lara's facial expression during moments of the game and animals limping after being shot. Your feet will leave realistic trails in the snow, sunlight will break up very realistically through snow and clouds. And the mountains and valleys are rendered beautifully in the background, giving the game a gorgeous world to explore. The facial animations are also something to behold with very realistic expressions that almost head into uncanny valley territory, but like the latest Call of Duty games somehow actually manages to go past that due to some tasteful style choices. You also have a variety of outfits to choose from with more being available as DLC, so if you're not happy with Lara's clothing, just change it.<br />
<br />
As previously mentioned the voice acting is superb. The entire cast is giving a stellar performance here, especially Lara's voice actress who definitely sells her role of being a young adventurer often ending up in harsh situations yet surviving them through sheer will. The rest of the sound design is packed to the brim with realistic animal sounds, as well as lush environmental sounds such as weather and water flowing. Weapons sound realistic as well, but still sounding satisfying to use, especially using the pickaxe for melee attacks which always have a brutal crunch to them. As with the previous game the musical score is sadly largely forgetable background music, which makes sense given the game's cinematic focus but compared to the classic games that had memorable themes, it feels too forgetable to be noteworthy. It feels more functional than memorable, largely just being there to build up the atmosphere than doing anything else. It makes me miss the classic themes from the older games for sure, especially when they weren't afraid to mix in some techno and classical music, which is something I feel has been lost with the newer games.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Rise Of The Tomb Raider" class="size-large wp-image-13649" height="360" src="https://www.vgr.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/391220_screenshots_20160703223640_1-924x520.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And it was there, surrounded by ice all around her that Lara began
seriously questioning her life decisions, and why she had decided not to
bring more rations.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
All in all, Rise Of The Tomb Raider is a great game. The story feels more personal and thus the stakes feel much higher than the previous games, dealing with themes of Croft cleansing her family name and living up to her father's expectations. It feels like a story where Lara is dealing with her past in order to leave it behind her and thus feels very important to her. Gameplay wise it improves a lot on its predecessor without taking anything away that shouldn't be, and it's an absolutely gorgeous game to behold, even on the lowest settings. <span id="goog_1562786868"></span>And with its sequel coming later this year<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null">,<span id="goog_1562786869"></span></a> now is as good a time as any to give Rise Of The Tomb Raider a playthrough.<br />
<br />
<h4>
<span style="font-size: x-large;">SCORE</span></h4>
<h4>
<span style="font-size: large;">STORY: 9/10<br />GAMEPLAY: 8/10<br />GRAPHICS: 10/10<br />SOUND: 8/10</span></h4>
<h4>
<span style="font-size: x-large;">FINAL SCORE: 9/10</span></h4>
Alyxxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17218865125519689016noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4381060216787776751.post-45614218744588200002018-08-01T22:29:00.001-07:002018-08-01T22:42:53.058-07:00PC Game Review: Graveball<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje7OdCP36xIba8LojJz356gcCpiswO_r1GwrlMIObgso0ZOm3q9d2Kj5vNyx5mmBsyNow9cFm9To9oALgTWgC5c7wkSafTE3cO35hLrkIMyT5tytNrYQrTLnp3ufSdxfomMKJBOznp2v8/s1600/Graveball+Review+Text.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje7OdCP36xIba8LojJz356gcCpiswO_r1GwrlMIObgso0ZOm3q9d2Kj5vNyx5mmBsyNow9cFm9To9oALgTWgC5c7wkSafTE3cO35hLrkIMyT5tytNrYQrTLnp3ufSdxfomMKJBOznp2v8/s640/Graveball+Review+Text.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<h6>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">GAME: Graveball<br />RELEASED: 07/13/2018<br />DEVELOPER: Goin' Yumbo Games<br />PUBLISHER: 3D REALMS<br />AVAILABLE ON: Steam (consoles TBA)</span></h6>
If you've ever pondered the question: "What if goblins played sports?" then it seems <a href="http://www.3drealms.com/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">3D Realms</a> and developer Goin' Yumbo and their new game Graveball has the answer. Given goblins are probably less known for their great sportsmanship, and more for their immense bloodthirst, it should come as no surprise they play it with clubs, massive bones, whatever blunt or sharp weapon they can get their hands on. And of course, the ball is a skull. Go figure.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Graveball Screenshot" class="size-large wp-image-13116" height="360" src="https://www.vgr.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/20180801000545_1-924x520.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">5 seconds left... gotta run for it!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
There isn't much of a story to Graveball, if any, other than that goblins apparently love getting together at cemeteries to play their own version of rugby. Gameplay in Graveball is fairly simple and if you're at all familiar with rugby or handball, it shouldn't be too hard to grasp. Two opposing teams of 3 goblins each face each other in matches where the ultimate goal is to get the skull into the opposing team's goal zone. When the skull lands in the zone, it will start counting down. Unless the ball is moved, it will eventually explode, upon which the scoring team wins. The team that gets the most goals until the timer reaches zero wins the match.<br />
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There are of course some quirks to this game that makes it a bit more interesting. As you can tell from the screenshot above, there are quite a few weapons to use and these are what makes Graveball more of an action sports game. Because you can just kill the crap out of your opponents to keep them from getting the skull into your goal, using any weapons you find laying around. You can also toss your weapons at your opponents, which will leave you unarmed until you can find a new one, but can be immensely satisfying if you manage to hit an opponent on the other end of the field.<br />
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Another aspect to the gameplay is that when you get killed, you are dead for 5 seconds until you respawn as a ghost. In this form you cannot interact with the playing field and still count as dead but you have access to a unique weapon in this form, being the scythe, which you can grab and then respawn as a goblin to use as a weapon. If all of your team are turned into ghosts however, the match ends, so even if you are respawned, keep in mind it's not a safety net.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Graveball Screenshot 2" class="size-large wp-image-13117" height="360" src="https://www.vgr.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/20180801002724_1-924x520.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Death is not the end in Graveball. He just kind of casually strolls by at times.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
There's a lot of customization options you can use for your player character too, such as custom hairstyles, masks and taunts which adds flavour to the game. You unlock these by earning gold in matchmaking, so there's a lot of incentive to keep playing. One thing I'm not a huge fan of is that what you unlock is always randomized, so there's no way of previewing a hairstyle for instance and purchasing it, it's always a bit of a crapshoot what you'll get. I prefer being able to pick what to customize my character with personally. And it's not like I want to stop unlocking things to customize with either, I just would prefer that freedom.<br />
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Graphically the game looks alright. It uses the Unreal engine, which always looks excellent, so there's plenty of neat effects going on. I did run into some slight performance issues on my copy, so optimization might still not be 100% there, but all things considered it ran and looked great on medium settings for me. How the game runs might depend on your PC since mine is starting to get a bit old at this point.<br />
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I of course have to mention the music by <a href="http://brianbrennanmusic.com/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Brian Brennan</a> who did a pretty great soundtrack. It's sort of synthwave with a classic horror twist that perfectly builds up the mood and atmosphere in the game while also providing some driving music for the gameplay. The voice acting is also hilarious, with the goblins speaking entirely in grunts and garbled speech. I also love the punchy sound effects when using the weapons. All around the sound isn't stellar but it definitely works.<br />
<br />
And while that is really all there is to this game, it makes for some great fun. You can either play solo against bots, create custom matches and invite friends to play, or create a party and join an existing match through matchmaking. Unfortunately it seems the playerbase at this point is kind of non-existent, which is understandable given the game just launched but I really hope that more people will get this game. Because it is stupidly fun at times, especially during those unforgetable moments where you just landed a goal and can still kill someone of the opposing team just to rub salt into that already deliciously fresh wound. And since the game is like $5 at the moment on <a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/563170/Graveball/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Steam</a>, with a console release coming later, I see no reason not to grab this game. It's not any deep or massive game, but it's definitely a worthwhile game to play with friends for short periods.<br />
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<h3>
<span style="font-size: x-large;">SCORE</span></h3>
<b><span style="font-size: large;">STORY: N/A<br />GAMEPLAY: 8/10<br />GRAPHICS: 8/10<br />SOUND: 7/10</span></b><br />
<h3>
<span style="font-size: x-large;">FINAL SCORE: 8/10 </span></h3>
Alyxxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17218865125519689016noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4381060216787776751.post-6464058975788458902018-07-30T02:10:00.004-07:002018-07-30T02:23:25.282-07:00The 10 Best SNES Games of All Time<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<br />
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System,
or SNES for short, is arguably one of the best consoles ever released.
To this day it has remained a cornerstone of gaming for well over two
decades, living on through emulation (despite Nintendo’s persistent <a href="https://www.vgr.com/nintendo-files-lawsuit-against-two-popular-rom-sites/">fight against ROM sites</a>) and most recently Nintendo’s own Virtual Console releases and SNES Mini <a href="https://www.nintendo.com/super-nes-classic/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">plug-n-play console</a>.
It not only carried on classic franchises from the 8-bit NES era, such
as Metroid, Zelda and Super Mario, but improved upon these classic games
in ways that cemented their status in pop culture forever. It even gave
birth to new franchises such as Star Fox and F-Zero, that still live on
today in some form.<br />
<br />
Personally the SNES was part of my introduction into the world of
video games. In addition to playing classic DOS games on my dad’s PC,
the SNES was my mother’s foray into video gaming and one of the perks of
growing up with separated parents was that I got exposed to both things
at once. I would play DOS games while at my father’s place and while at
home the SNES was my go-to source of interactive electronic
entertainment.<br />
<br />
So as a nostalgic celebration of this legendary console, I will be
listing my personal top 10 games for the SNES. Keep in mind that if your
favorite game is not on this list, it does not in any way mean that
game is bad, it simply means the game is not one of my favorites. The
SNES has one of the best game libraries in the world and with so many
great titles to choose from, no matter what you do a lot is going to be
left out. So without further ado, let’s get to the meat. Here are my top
10 best SNES games of all time.<br />
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<h3>
<span style="font-size: large;">10 X-ZONE</span></h3>
<img alt="X-Zone" class="alignnone wp-image-12708" height="498" src="https://www.vgr.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/X-Zone-E_00002.png" width="569" /><br />
If you own a Super Scope, and have grown tired of the pack-in “Super
Scope 6” cartridge, I highly recommend giving X-Zone from Kemco a try.
At heart it’s pretty much a straight up light gun railshooter, where the
entire goal is to make it to the end of the game in one piece.<br />
<br />
A unique feature of the game is that it uses the Super Scope’s cursor
button to display a cursor on screen as opposed to using the Super
Scope’s actual scope. This means you don’t necessarily need to hold the
Super Scope on your shoulder, but can hold it more like a rifle and aim
with the on-screen cursor. The on-screen cursor is necessary in either
case for firing your secondary weapon. A key feature of the game is that
you can target enemies’ weakpoints and fire missiles at them when you
let go of the fire button. Mastering this game mechanic is pretty much
key to winning the game on Hard mode, which is what you need to do in
order to get the best ending.<br />
<br />
The game sports some pretty impressive graphics for the console, with
an airdiving stage opening the game and utilizing the SNES’ great Mode 7
graphics to an impressive effect, similar to Pilotwings. It also
features a pretty rocking soundtrack. If anything is holding it back in
particular I would say it’s a bit short, but being more of an arcade
game, it can be forgiven and is pretty fun to play through once in a
while.<br />
<br />
What I like the most about the game is that while playing it I sort
of go into a trance-like zen state of just killing everything on screen,
and it feels strangely satisfying. The game throws a constant barrage
of enemies at you, with your survival dependent on how quickly you can
shoot everything flying at you before it hits you and takes away
precious shield energy. Enemies will drop frequent P symbols though,
which you can shoot to recharge your shield a bit.<br />
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<h3>
<span style="font-size: large;">9 THE MAGICAL QUEST STARRING MICKEY MOUSE</span></h3>
<img alt="The Magical Quest Starring Mickey Mouse" class="alignnone wp-image-12715" height="507" src="https://www.vgr.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Magical-Quest-Starring-Mickey-Mouse-The-U-_00000.png" width="579" /><br />
Disney was an absolutely massive part of my childhood. As a child of
the 90’s I grew up right in the middle of the Disney renaissance, with
great movie after great movie coming out and the Disney TV shows airing
on Saturday mornings. So it goes without saying there was a fair bit of
Disney on the video game market as well. Capcom was mostly in charge of
these games, as they had been during the 8bit era as well, and their
pedigree for quality was practically unmatched at the time. Disney chose
their developers wisely during this era and it shows.<br />
<br />
There are a ton of great Disney games on the SNES, with movie tie-ins
such as Aladdin and The Lion King being particularly memorable. But one
of the Disney games that I played the most growing up was The Magical
Quest, starring the one and only Mickey Mouse.<br />
The premise of the game is that Pluto has been taken by the evil
emperor Pete to his castle, and Mickey must go to rescue him. He’s not
alone however, and aided by a magician and his trusty friends Goofy and
Donald, Mickey soon gains an arsenal of costumes that give him different
abilities to overcome the challenges ahead of him.<br />
<br />
The game features a lot of different gameplay elements that keeps it
constantly fresh and challenging. It’s not a massive game and can be
completed in one sitting, but it has some of the best music, graphics
and level design of its era and all with the distinct Capcom style that
their games had during this era.<br />
<br />
The game doesn’t really follow any specific Disney IP but it feels
very inspired by the short films with Mickey and Pete, and feels more
like its own original story, which I like since it puts it on its own
compared to tie-in games. I definitely recommend giving it a try if
you’re a Disney fan like me and need something to play that’s a bit
different than Aladdin or The Lion King.<br />
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<h3>
<span style="font-size: large;">8 STAR FOX</span></h3>
<img alt="Star Fox" class="alignnone wp-image-12721" height="514" src="https://www.vgr.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Star-Fox-U-V1.2-_00000.png" width="588" /><br />
During the SNES era, most games on the console were 2D and while the
SNES was capable of delivering pseudo-3D effects such as Mode 7 which
was used to great effect in games like F-Zero, Pilotwings, Super Mario
Kart and the SNES port of Doom, it was widely believed that true
real-time 3D rendering was impossible on the console. That’s until the
folks at Argonaut came up with a brilliant idea. The idea was to instead
of relying on the SNES’ CPU to do the 3D, they would create a
specialized co-processor that would do the actual 3D graphics,
essentially making the Super FX chip the first industry standard GPU. It
allowed the creation of what initially started as a tech demo for this
new chip, Star Fox.<br />
<br />
Star Fox eventually grew into a game of its own, utilizing the Super
FX chip to create graphics that up until this point had never been seen
on the SNES, using shaded polygons to create 3D shapes that would make
up the game’s world and creatures. It achieved this while maintaining a
mostly acceptable framerate and the game itself is a pretty good game
all things considered and not just a tech demo.<br />
<br />
It follows the exploits of the Star Fox crew, a team of ace pilots
consisting of Fox McCloud (the main character), Falco Lombardi, Peppy
Hare and Slippy Toad, lead by general Pepper. All of the characters are
anthropomorphic animals who speak in a sort of gibberish language due to
the SNES’ limited audio capabilities (although the game does feature
actual speech samples at several points). The game is a straight up rail
shooter, where you go through levels while avoiding obstacles, shoot
enemies and do your best to stay alive until you face the level boss and
head on to the next level, until you reach the final boss, Andross.<br />
<br />
Back in the day, whenever I wanted to show off what the SNES could
do, this was always the game I would show to friends, rather proudly as I
didn’t have any more advanced consoles at the time. To this day I am
still amazed by what this game pulled off on a console that shouldn’t be
able to do what it did, and the Star Fox series is now one of my
favorite Nintendo franchises, and possibly a major reason why I later
became a part of the furry fandom (I also blame Sonic SatAm for this).<br />
<br />
<h3>
<span style="font-size: large;">7 SUPER MARIO KART</span></h3>
<img alt="Super Mario Kart" class="alignnone wp-image-12722" height="522" src="https://www.vgr.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Super-Mario-Kart-U-_00001.png" width="597" /><br />
Before 1993’s Star Fox amazed us with its true 3D rendering wizardry
thanks to its Super FX chip, there were a few other games that equally
impressed gamers with more pseudo-3D effects. Mode 7 was a central part
of several SNES titles, most notably F-Zero, Pilotwings and this one,
which is the one I’ve played the most and have the strongest personal
relationship with.<br />
<br />
It was a game my mother picked up on a road trip, and it quickly
became one of the most played games on our console, thanks in large part
due to the fact we didn’t really have any racing games on it. I spent
so much time with this game that I eventually beat it on the 150cc mode,
a feat I remain somewhat proud of to this day and even playing it for
this list, I managed to beat the 100cc mode easily. That is until I got
to the special cup and its expert-level tracks that I felt a bit too
rusty to deal with. At least I got a sweet screenshot from the first
Rainbow Road track in the series in all its Mode 7 glory.<br />
<br />
If you have never played Mario Kart, or only <a href="https://www.vgr.com/mario-kart-8-deluxe-will-receive-more-updates-according-to-nintendo/">recently got into it</a>,
then this is probably a good game to check out since it was the very
beginning of the franchise. As such it has very different gameplay
compared to later titles, but several fun multiplayer modes, and a lot
of unique elements that would never show up in the series for a long
time, such as the feather powerup and gathering coins. In my opinion it
remains extremely playable today, and is probably the most accessible
racing game on the SNES.<br />
<br />
<h3>
<span style="font-size: large;">6 TERRANIGMA</span></h3>
<img alt="Terranigma" class="alignnone wp-image-12723" height="523" src="https://www.vgr.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Terranigma-E-_00003.png" width="598" /><br />
The SNES is probably one of the best consoles for the RPG genre, with
games such as Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy VI being some of the
biggest classics on the console that remain widely enjoyed today. My
personal favorite action RPG on the SNES however is a little game called
Terranigma. It shares similar themes to a couple other games, Soul
Blazer and Illusion Of Gaia. All of these games were developed by the
same team, Quintet, and are widely considered part of a spiritual
trilogy.<br />
<br />
That being said, if you are going to play one of these games I highly
recommend Terranigma as it is the one that has grabbed my attention the
most. It’s arguably one of the biggest and deepest games on the SNES,
with an epic story that spans space and time and history itself, telling
an alternate Earth history unlike any I’ve experienced before. You play
as Ark, a young boy and a bit of a troublemaker who lives in the
underworld, one day finds a box hidden away in his Elder’s basement.
Upon opening the box, he sets in motion the awakening of the surface
world, which at this point is an uninhabitable wasteland.<br />
<br />
The story is told extremely well through its dialogue and grabbed me
unlike most games of this era ever has. The game has some of the best
music and visuals of its era, using sometimes digitized real photographs
for its artwork. It’s honestly one of the most engrossing games I’ve
ever played and while I have yet to beat it, I can honestly say it’s one
of my favorite games on the SNES and if you’re at all a fan of 16-bit
action RPG’s, then please give this game a try. I can promise you won’t
regret it. Sadly the game was never released in the US, only Japan and
Europe, so finding a copy might be a bit difficult if you live in the
US, but no matter how you choose to play it, it’s worth playing for
sure.<br />
<br />
<h3>
<span style="font-size: large;">5 WARIO’S WOODS</span></h3>
<img alt="Wario's Woods" class="alignnone wp-image-12724" height="534" src="https://www.vgr.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Warios-Woods-E_00000.png" width="610" /><br />
Growing up, Wario’s Woods was my mother’s game of choice, which is
understandable given her taste in gaming has always been on the casual
side (she’s pretty much exclusively a mobile gamer nowadays) which is a
massive difference from myself. But this game is something both she and I
enjoyed immensely growing up, and one we’ve both gotten really good at.<br />
It’s basically a puzzle game where you have to match 3 or more
monsters of the same color then use a bomb of the same color to blow
them up until all the monsters are destroyed, while trying to keep a
massive Thwomp from crushing you as it moves lower and lower the more
monsters are on the level. Some monsters will require special tricks to
destroy such as non-standard patterns or destroying twice. While you’re
playing, two different creatures will be shown on top of the screen. A
fairy and some kind of insect (a fly maybe). The fairy will spawn bombs
for you to use but the fly will spawn more monsters to destroy. In the
“Round Game” mode, the fairy belongs to Birdo who cheers you on, while
the fly belongs to Wario who kind of just wants to screw your day over.<br />
<br />
The game features several modes, both for multiplayer and single player.<br />
The “VS Com” mode where you have to clear your screen before the
computer opponent does. You face increasingly difficult levels and
increasingly skilled players until you eventually face off with Wario
himself, who serves as the final opponent, after which you beat the
game.<br />
The “VS 2P” mode is similar to “VS Com” except you play against a
human opponent, choosing a skill level, amount of monsters and so forth
before seeing who can clear their screen first.<br />
The “Round Game” is a mode where you finish increasingly difficult levels with nothing to worry about save for screwing it up.<br />
“Time Race” is a mode where you simply try to finish levels as fast as possible, and get graded based on how fast you are.<br />
<br />
Finally there’s a “Lesson” mode where you can learn the game’s
mechanics through different challenges which is great to introduce
beginners to the game.<br />
If you’re a fan of classic puzzle games such as Tetris and Dr. Mario,
definitely give Wario’s Woods a try. I can’t tell you how many hours I
have spent playing it but it’s incredibly addictive. Unfortunately I
haven’t seen the SNES version on the Virtual Console, only the NES
version, which I find strange as it is inferior to the SNES version in
every way, but has the distinction of being the last official NES game
ever released, for whatever it’s worth.<br />
<br />
<h3>
<span style="font-size: large;">4 TMNT IV – TURTLES IN TIME</span></h3>
<img alt="TMNT IV - Turtles in Time" class="alignnone wp-image-12725" height="543" src="https://www.vgr.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/TMNT-IV-Turtles-in-Time-U-_00015.png" width="621" /><br />
It’s probably as difficult imagining the early 90’s without the
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as it is imagining the 80’s without Duran
Duran. They were pop culture icons, omnipresent in our collective youth
to the point where I don’t think anyone I knew hadn’t either watched the
animated series, bought the toys or played the games. And TMNT IV is
probably the one we all played the most, not just among my friends but
in general.<br />
<br />
To this day it remains one of the best arcade ports ever, to the
point where it even surpassed it, adding new mechanics, new stages and
being just all around a superior experience. This was the era that to a
lot of gamers cemented Konami as one of the best developers of their
era, with titles like this, TMNT Tournament Fighters and Super
Castlevania IV. And I probably don’t need to go into what Konami is to
gamers nowadays…<br />
<br />
Regardless, if you’re looking for a fun 2 player co-op brawler, you
really REALLY can’t go wrong with TMNT IV. It features some of the best
music on the SNES, some of the most fun gameplay, the best stages and of
course, some of the most iconic characters of its decade. It’s not
without reason this game has remained a popular cult classic, to the
point it received a rather disappointing remake not too long ago. So
instead of playing that, just grab some pizza, a friend or two and pop
this cartridge in for some good times. Cowabunga!<br />
<br />
<h3>
<span style="font-size: large;">3 B.O.B.</span></h3>
<img alt="B.O.B." class="alignnone wp-image-12727" height="543" src="https://www.vgr.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/B.O.B.-U-_00003.png" width="621" /><br />
I will admit, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a top 10 list with this
game and probably for a good reason. A lot of my love for this game is
tied to my own nostalgia and memories of playing the absolute crap out
of this game back in the day.<br />
Before the days of the internet and access to pretty much every game
ever made for a system, you were often stuck with what you had, and
you’d get good at what you had because it was all you had. B.O.B. is
such a game for me. It was included with the system my mother bought and
of course, having already played Duke Nukem on my dad’s DOS PC, I
really fell for its sci-fi aesthetic and run’n’gun gameplay.<br />
<br />
Story-wise the game is dead simple and almost hilarious in how
arbitrary it feels. It’s about a teenage robot going on a date. He takes
his dad’s car, crashes on an alien planet, has to make his way to find
another ride using an arsenal of powerful weapons and gadgets he picks
up on the way, and that’s the entire setup for the game. I swear I’m not
making it up. And the story has practically no impact on the gameplay
itself, it’s just an excuse for the character to do this stuff. Though I
find it hilarious that this character is doing mass genocide of alien
creatures in order to go on a date with another robot. Can robots
procreate? Is this turning into Blade Runner? Eh, let’s just not read
too deeply into this…<br />
<br />
<h3>
<span style="font-size: large;">2 SUPER MARIO ALL-STARS</span></h3>
<img alt="Super Mario All-Stars" class="alignnone wp-image-12726" height="543" src="https://www.vgr.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Super-Mario-All-Stars-Super-Mario-World-U-_00001.png" width="621" /><br />
The concept of HD remakes is pretty common today but the concept
itself is hardly new to gaming as a whole. Already back in the early
90’s, Nintendo released probably the most famous example of an early HD
remake, Super Mario All-Stars, a 16-bit collection of the first 3 Super
Mario Bros. titles, including both the international and Japan versions
of Super Mario Bros. 2, all remade with 16 bit graphics and sound. Later
copies even included the 4th game, Super Mario World, making it one of
the most substantial game packages of its time.<br />
<br />
It’s probably needless to say how big Mario was at the time. He was
practically the face of console gaming itself, having saved the US from a
home console video game crash in the 80’s. And all of his titles are
some of the most solid platformers ever released. The Mario games have a
unique quality to them, an almost kinetic connection with your
controller and Mario on the screen. Super Mario World in particular is
the game I probably played the most growing up, and to this day it
remains my absolute favorite in the franchise. But in my opinion all 4
of these games are absolute classics that everyone should play at some
point.<br />
<br />
<h3>
<span style="font-size: large;">1 SUPER METROID</span></h3>
<img alt="Super Metroid" class="alignnone wp-image-12728" height="544" src="https://www.vgr.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Super-Metroid-JU-_00001.png" width="622" /><br />
My first experience playing Super Metroid was ironically not growing
up. It came much later, when I was in my teens and had just started
getting into emulation and exploring games that I had never had the
chance to play growing up. And Super Metroid became the strongest
experience I had coming from this time in my life.<br />
<br />
The only enduring image I had of Super Metroid was from an ad poster
that came with one of our games growing up, and it was the image above,
the statue of the four bosses. This image evoked a lot in me when I
looked at it, most of all it envoked a deep curiousity. What type of
game was this, who were these creatures, what was it about? All of these
questions became answered much later when I finally sat down to play
Super Metroid after a decade of waiting.<br />
<br />
I had probably never felt so deeply engrossed in a 16 bit game
before. I mean, sure, I had played the crap out of other SNES games
before this, but Metroid was something else.<br />
The atmosphere. The story that was told exclusively through visual
cues, without a single word of dialogue. The amazing soundtrack filled
with industrial sounds and haunting melodies. Foreboding levels that
seemed daunting yet inviting. The unforgettable boss fights that had all
kinds of hidden strategies in them.<br />
<br />
And that moment when you’re about to die at the hands of Mother
Brain, when the titular Super Metroid sacrifices its life to save you…
All of this added up to make what in my eyes is the best Super Nintendo
game ever made.<br />
<br />
I’ve played a lot of SNES games, but none feel as complete, cohesive
and all around solid as Super Metroid does. It feels purposeful, like
nothing is wasted. It creates such a massive vast world within itself
that feels alive and real despite using only 2D art and 16 bit sound.
It’s a testament to how a strong vision can often be more important than
hardware, when the vision dictates the hardware and uses it to its
absolute fullest potential. It didn’t rely on a Super FX chip, it didn’t
rely on Mode 7. It was all done in 2D with the SNES’ best strengths in
mind. It shows off what was really possible on the system, and for that,
I consider it the best.Alyxxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17218865125519689016noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4381060216787776751.post-59923822308030784822018-07-22T16:06:00.001-07:002018-07-22T17:04:44.310-07:00PC Game Review: MDK<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoAhhLKfHn4ZLGnS5Ngotojg3W-oqoHwMHveKdoUkdvgVi6kVAlIoJY48ECF7WPcW9yMdEuOU8jtu7kR5PJfntw2Vxil1AZvdk-8SqKYd5xGPh3qMuf4HI6EgT3PZuGlh7xBc9zolvVHQ/s1600/MDK+BANNER.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="955" height="386" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoAhhLKfHn4ZLGnS5Ngotojg3W-oqoHwMHveKdoUkdvgVi6kVAlIoJY48ECF7WPcW9yMdEuOU8jtu7kR5PJfntw2Vxil1AZvdk-8SqKYd5xGPh3qMuf4HI6EgT3PZuGlh7xBc9zolvVHQ/s640/MDK+BANNER.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: xx-small;">GAME: MDK</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: xx-small;">DEVELOPER: Shiny Entertainment</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: xx-small;">PUBLISHER: Interplay</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: xx-small;">RELEASED: 1997</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: xx-small;">AVAILABILITY: PS1, PC CD-ROM, <a href="https://www.gog.com/game/mdk" target="_blank">GOG</a>, <a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/38450/MDK/" target="_blank">Steam</a></span></b><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Murder Death Kill. Mission: Deliver Kindness. Max, Doctor, Kurt. Mother's Day Kisses. It's never been clear what exactly MDK stands for, but what is clear is that MDK is probably one of the best shooters of the 90's, heck maybe even one of the best games of that decade. Coming out in the post-Doom and post-Quake era of gaming, MDK set out to do one thing; shake things up. So in today's review I'm taking a look at one of my all-time favourite games, Shiny Entertainment's 1997 masterpiece MDK.</span></span><br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsleBhavwVFXRrEz4KVKMAk8T4OEuXZItLGHZ42RK176Q9rzk3pF1WsSl9jW1Z1hm2KkKs4SctJv1-g-aOrA_-zuVsw3qaL-J1Cj9h0N-x-bNI60fePClGMexJgEOEzV4WqJ8KFzCvkko/s1600/20180721230811_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsleBhavwVFXRrEz4KVKMAk8T4OEuXZItLGHZ42RK176Q9rzk3pF1WsSl9jW1Z1hm2KkKs4SctJv1-g-aOrA_-zuVsw3qaL-J1Cj9h0N-x-bNI60fePClGMexJgEOEzV4WqJ8KFzCvkko/s640/20180721230811_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Look out below!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Dr. Fluke Hawkins, the genious who many disregarded as a raving madman and exiled to a space station surrounding the Earth, was the first one to discover the energy beams coming towards our planet. Then one fateful day it happened. The stream riders, a species of aliens never before seen in our galaxy, invaded the planet with massive city-sized tanks that began leveling entire countries to the ground<b>.</b> A time of crisis indeed. But the doctor had an ace up his sleeve. His cybernetic dog assistant Max and his janitor Kurt Hectic, who he outfitted with a tight androgynous kevlar "coil" suit, complete with a built-in parachute and sniper helmet (with detachable machine gun). It is now Kurt's mission to deliver kindness to the invaders and destroy the minecrawlers before they reach the remaining cities on Earth.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">MDK's story is directly tied to its gameplay, and doesn't have much of an impact on the overall game save for its core mechanics. Each stage begins with an airdiving sequence towards a minecrawler, in which you have to avoid a trackling laser and homing missiles, while gathering supplies that Dr. Fluke is dropping in after you. The trick here is just to take as little damage as possible before the stage begins.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">GERONIMOOOOO!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">After this initial airdiving sequence you find yourself at the minecrawler, where you will have to traverse multiple areas before reaching the minecrawler's commander, who serves as your boss fight for that minecrawler. There are 6 minecrawlers in total with a 7th level taking place at the Streamriders' home planet where you have to face down with the final boss, the Streamriders' feared leader, Günther Glut. While this means the game is somewhat short, each of the levels are divided into multiple arenas, each presenting a unique challenge and often connected via tunnels or roads that can provide fun minigames such as a snowboarding cruise. The game is probably one of the least repetitive I've played in terms of gameplay, given that the levels provide you with multiple types of challenges that not often can be solved by simply shooting everything (although this game IS a shooter so you will be doing a lot of it). One of the most groundbreaking aspects of the gameplay though is the sniper helmet you are equipped with. Taking your machine gun and attaching it to your helmet, the gun converts into a sniper rifle that can take several kinds of ammunition and can zoom in at extreme distances without losing clarity. MDK is probably the first shooter or 3D game of its kind that I know of that allows you to do this, and it's an incredibly impressive feat at the time. There is also an incredible attention to detail in the damage you can do to enemies. Shoot an enemy in the foot, and he will drag it around while bleeding, shoot an enemy in the chest and he will fall over and die, shoot an enemy in the head and it pops off, giving you an insta-kill. Sniping is a little clunky given it takes away a lot of mobility from you but it makes up for it in the sheer damage and accuracy you are given in return. One key element of the gameplay is that you're on a timer that counts down to when the minecrawler reaches the city you're saving, shown by the green area outside your health meter. When the timer reaches zero, the city is destroyed. This timer will go down quicker the higher your difficulty level is. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You didn't really need that leg, did you?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">The amount of powerups on display is also impressive. And your suit must be implanted with a tracker of some sort because Dr. Fluke will constantly drop supplies for you wherever possible. The super chaingun will upgrade your machine gun with massively increased damage output, but has a limited ammo supply. Hand grenades can be used for a lot of purposes but are really useful for blowing up the numerous grunt factories you'll come across as well as tanks and tougher enemies. The world's smallest nuclear bomb is exactly what it is, except you'll use it for opening door locks. The world's most interesting bomb is also exactly what it is and will draw all enemies in an area towards it before exploding and killing all of them. The tornado is a more advanced bomb that functions similarly to a frag grenade, being a literal tornado that spreads exploding fragments upon detonation in a whirlwind like pattern. The thumper is a hammer-like contraption that causes a minor earthquake. The decoy is a crude puppet of Kurt that somehow fools the aliens who will gladly chase and fire at the decoy instead of you while it's active. There are other fun powerups as well like the Earthworm Jim powerup which launches cows at enemies, and there are also multiple types of sniper ammo to pick up such as sniper grenades which explode when hitting enemies, homing sniper bullets and homing sniper grenades, and mortar grenades, turning your sniper into a grenade launcher. You can also call in an air attack by Max, but this only works in open spaces. There is also numerous healing items to pick up, healing different amounts of health. A candy will heal 1% of health up to 100%, an apple will heal 10% up to 100%, </span></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">a turkey will heal 50% up to 100% , </span></span>the vial will bring your health to 100% if it is below it, and finally the monkey box (it will make sense when you see it) will boost you up to 150%. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snowboarding leather-clad heroes are the best heroes.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">If I were to have any criticisms of the gameplay, then it would be that the game feels a bit too short. After the 7 levels the game offers, you're presented with a music video by French pop rock artist Billy Ze Kick, who does a cover version of "Non Non Rien N'a Changé" by Poppys set to probably one of the coolest music videos ever. I think a lot of the game concepts in MDK are presented but never fully explored further. Powerups such as the world's most interesting bomb only showing up probably 2 times over the course of the entire game, making it feel very underutilized and not fully realized, and the thumper powerup never really feels like it does anything specific for the game and feels kind of pointless. The game itself is very dense though and the amount of variety does make up for its length, I just wish that some parts of the game were further realized and that there was more to it. But of course if you finish a game and wish there was more of it, then that's definitely a good thing. The controls can also feel a bit clunky to use as even though you can map the buttons to a WASD layout, the left and right keys are still used to move you around during airdiving sequences, which can be a little awkward. Otherwise, the game controls really well and plays pretty much like a third person Doom most of the time, with your chaingun automatically aiming at any enemies in front of you.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOV65Yk1GT6qJfQjIop80D9RysxzNT5oPQa_nNa9QC_1PUKS-3VSwHw1YjNiYwpFanW-GcUp1yECLBDwO-1_6da6pulVU-hhViYxLiha9PbcTjZjoYS2nOVep-3W8Zw_6SBsnGFfOdPbE/s1600/20180722001024_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOV65Yk1GT6qJfQjIop80D9RysxzNT5oPQa_nNa9QC_1PUKS-3VSwHw1YjNiYwpFanW-GcUp1yECLBDwO-1_6da6pulVU-hhViYxLiha9PbcTjZjoYS2nOVep-3W8Zw_6SBsnGFfOdPbE/s640/20180722001024_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">How post modern. Who knew the aliens were such great architects?</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Graphically MDK looks amazing for its time. It's sort of drenched in this really cool dark gothic Giger-esque cyberpunk style that is still extremely unique to this game. Few games of this era look as downright cool as MDK and it pulls off a lot of things that for the time were rather unique such as large open areas, reflective surfaces, a ton of unique textures and shaded polygons, and it has a style that is very much born of mid 90's 3D limitations with its sharp and pointy polygonal geometry. Most impressively it's used actual motion capture for Kurt himself, giving him very natural movement and animation. Kurt is actually a sprite during most of the gameplay save for the airdiving sequences and post-level tunnel sequences. The game was actually made mostly for software rendering, which makes it even more impressive as even in software mode the game looks absolutely stunning at times. It did require a FPU at the time though and was pretty much made for the then recent MMX processors. Using 3DFX Voodoo hardware acceleration doesn't really do much other than allowing the game to run smoother, and doesn't really give that much of a graphical improvement. Same with the Direct3D mode which actually is kind of broken on modern PC's due to lack of legacy support for older DirectX API's. I had to make a fan patch for Steam based on the GOG release which uses nGlide emulation, since the Steam release ships with the broken D3D executable of the game, which I find strange as using the software rendering exe would be more stable. The game has gorgeous backgrounds as well, giving each level a unique theme and feel to it. It's very easy to remember distinct areas and each minecrawler.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGsHxCXH1QytiLLHdxFMVrqIN1JXXnUiPJmtHEN85HWw_WksVk2xBNfOWoPbCAevmvUpC1Y7wtkjoaDEFcHwvE73rI42hl3BHwriu_aT9oYIIYd61eopWmnxE1e9M-gO27TrDTZbmM4Yg/s1600/20180721233608_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGsHxCXH1QytiLLHdxFMVrqIN1JXXnUiPJmtHEN85HWw_WksVk2xBNfOWoPbCAevmvUpC1Y7wtkjoaDEFcHwvE73rI42hl3BHwriu_aT9oYIIYd61eopWmnxE1e9M-gO27TrDTZbmM4Yg/s640/20180721233608_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These reflective surfaces look much more impressive in actual gameplay. But even in screenshots it looks insanely cool, especially with that background.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Sound-wise the game isn't lacking either. Tommy Tallarico is providing a soundtrack worthy of a Tim Burton movie which does fit the strange, alien and gothic looking landscapes of the game perfectly. Another impressive feat is that instead of relying on CD redbook audio which would've meant the game required the game CD inserted at all times, it streams the music off the hard drive which is very unique for the time. Interestingly the PS1 version of the game does stream the music from redbook audio which gives it slightly higher quality than the PC version though the PS1 version is not as graphically impressive, using a lot of lower resolution textures.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">I also love the sound design in the game, with aliens taunting you, whimpering as they quiver in fear when you're bombing them, and shouting at you when they attack. All in all, MDK sounds as good and unique as it looks.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitCf2vALRaADyDSBoQxYaScYcl4H7x_y28uccPntjWNfgM6OdiXE-FZnCPemPBMJ14FVClXK8NqwuvDS34-ZpvwtjyE6HGZfuBxJJaK0iuD3cfkmHR3bvttihRDyso_xDfsOJuv_w9gdQ/s1600/20180722211755_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitCf2vALRaADyDSBoQxYaScYcl4H7x_y28uccPntjWNfgM6OdiXE-FZnCPemPBMJ14FVClXK8NqwuvDS34-ZpvwtjyE6HGZfuBxJJaK0iuD3cfkmHR3bvttihRDyso_xDfsOJuv_w9gdQ/s640/20180722211755_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Level design done right.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">In conclusion, MDK is arguably one of the most solid 3D games of the 90's, with a distinct visual style that hasn't aged as badly as it may look at first. Despite its short playtime, it's an incredibly rich and diverse experience and if you have never played it, I highly recommend you give MDK a try.</span></span><br />
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<i><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">SCORE</span></b></i><br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">STORY: 8/10</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">GAMEPLAY: 8/10<br />GRAPHICS: 10/10<br />SOUND: 10/10</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">TOTAL SCORE: 9/10</span></b></span></span>Alyxxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17218865125519689016noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4381060216787776751.post-60061111207710740542018-07-15T12:43:00.005-07:002018-07-15T12:57:51.369-07:00PC Game Review: Messiah<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh43hArjkWGHUbYwlJZzs8uZquH-LbuNMySi3_EwsvtcxG8gRmCCVIh-Nfrlmu3tP6oFTVKEkFCc9c6E-SsvVtvZkNc_HKB3ndGwOn1abDQDGrzfWJx7tE7rXqOiK5zFM_XKNuZ2JVUpdo/s1600/messiah+review.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="558" data-original-width="1024" height="348" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh43hArjkWGHUbYwlJZzs8uZquH-LbuNMySi3_EwsvtcxG8gRmCCVIh-Nfrlmu3tP6oFTVKEkFCc9c6E-SsvVtvZkNc_HKB3ndGwOn1abDQDGrzfWJx7tE7rXqOiK5zFM_XKNuZ2JVUpdo/s640/messiah+review.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: xx-small;">GAME: Messiah</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: xx-small;">DEVELOPER: Shiny Entertainment</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: xx-small;">PUBLISHER: Interplay</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: xx-small;">RELEASED: 2000</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: xx-small;">AVAILABILITY: PC CD-ROM, <a href="https://www.gog.com/game/messiah" target="_blank">GOG</a>, <a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/577980/Messiah/" target="_blank">Steam</a></span></b><br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Warning: There will be <u>SPOILERS</u> in this review. </b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">As far as game developers go, I am kind of sad Shiny Entertainment aren't around anymore. Back when I was young, they made some of the most interesting, impressive and awe-inspiring PC games of all time. After getting their start with Earthworm Jim, the team developed the enormous cult classic MDK which released in 1997 to glowing reviews (and low sales figures). Their games always had a very quirky feel to them and often a dark sense of humor. Today I'm going to take a look at a game that to me embodies everything Shiny Entertainment represented back in those days, before they fell down into the black hole of developing nothing but movie tie-ins. Ladies, gentlemen and everything in between, I present to you: Messiah.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Bob is a working class angel, a cherub, who is given a pretty huge task by his father, the creator. Earth has become a bit of a cesspool as of late and is in need of some cleaning, so he sends Bob down to deal with it. Of course, once you're there, a few issues present.<br />1. You're a tiny cherub with no means of defending himself.<br />2. Society seems to be at war with a race of cannibalistic mutants.<br />3. A dark figure named Father Prime is trying to open a portal to hell.<br />So things seem to be a bit more challenging than anticipated. But Bob is given a very useful ability. He can possess any living being and use them as a second skin. And that's where Messiah begins and its main gameplay element is introduced.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Messiah is an absolutely gorgeous game and soaked in a late 90's cyberpunk aesthetic. Some of the levels use very nice dynamic lighting.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Messiah is a game that can be rather deceiving. On the surface it might look like a third person shooter, much akin to Shiny's previous game MDK, but the reality is that Messiah is really a puzzle game at heart and approaching it in any other way will make it insanely hard to progress in the game. So the open nature of the game is in of itself deceiving as the puzzles really only have one solution most of the time and it is more than possible to absolutely ruin any progression if you do something wrong, so saving often and having multiple saves is a must in this game. The game will often put you in a hub of rooms where you will need to possess various types of humans to progress, and may have to kill some people or use stealth to achieve your goal. The game never holds your hand, never tells you the solution, it will drop hints in the environment but other than that, this game is truly more a test of your brain than your reflexes and I hesitate to call it an action game because while it has the elements of one, I spent most of my time in this game just trying to figure out how to proceed. In that sense I would more call it an adventure game in the guise of an action game. The game also rather insidiously messes with your expectations of what it might be. It puts you in control of an angel, a baby even who looks rather innocent but requires you to do a lot of horrible things during the game, creating a very strong contrast with its diaper-clad hero and its themes. During the latter part of the game you're even required to infiltrate a night club in a red light district, filled with drug addicts and prostitutes and strippers. The game is definitely not what I would call child friendly, but it does have a lot of things I think more mature gamers would enjoy.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4X8gAzMsoCWfRYD7Tzkd0hFNMHTHeE2Im7ynOJjJcB3elId1L-NJx7dBYb1vH98csnaOYj_5-ga5Z_q4SvZa72IdFSPxDZXxz4tTdxyi4ZA9K-vEnb3PMS7T43GYgeXDoDcJAR6fuBBU/s1600/20180715001015_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4X8gAzMsoCWfRYD7Tzkd0hFNMHTHeE2Im7ynOJjJcB3elId1L-NJx7dBYb1vH98csnaOYj_5-ga5Z_q4SvZa72IdFSPxDZXxz4tTdxyi4ZA9K-vEnb3PMS7T43GYgeXDoDcJAR6fuBBU/s640/20180715001015_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dance contest time!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Messiah is a game that surprisingly doesn't take itself too seriously. Sure, it creates a gritty dystopian future where people no longer have a sense of selves, but are just workers and cops, but at least it has fun with its setting, puts humor where it is needed and gives the different human types enough personality to stand out. My favourite moment is when Satan is revealed to be the main villain but his broadcast is broken when his imps, who are quite hard to control, start messing with his stuff. Moments like these feel very typical of Shiny's style and the mix of humor and a very dark and bleak setting feels like a continued exploration of similar themes from MDK (which I will get more into whenever I review it). </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">The gameplay mostly revolves around the main possession mechanic that is pretty much introduced the moment the game begins. You will need to possess various humans with different jobs/roles to access new places, for instance only workers can operate machinery or only commanders can access high security areas. Different human types will also react differently to seeing you depossessed. Cops will shoot at Bob if he's not in disguise and will continue to do so if they see him possessing someone. Scientists, workers and other non-aggressive human types will leave him alone though and mostly just act with curiousity. The game puts a lot of attention to details like these which helps a lot in just making the world feel like it's real and developed. It's not exactly Deus Ex levels which I find a bit disappointing, I would certainly have loved if Messiah had some RPG elements where you could talk to people while possessing certain humans. I feel there's a lot of unexplored potential here, so this game could really benefit from a modern remake in my opinion.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6X9Z6UmeebMWQ07Odnnm7pOKim3jRAdQxyYne8atIeuDZQBSa7xaCjpgK7asfOetGjgIbE3itFb14VXE54jZ9CM8F8I4aBBL0pRRZvPaKYzlfaPuib0C4MtapN_0OVBqvgM_Cxa9NAL4/s1600/20180714171916_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6X9Z6UmeebMWQ07Odnnm7pOKim3jRAdQxyYne8atIeuDZQBSa7xaCjpgK7asfOetGjgIbE3itFb14VXE54jZ9CM8F8I4aBBL0pRRZvPaKYzlfaPuib0C4MtapN_0OVBqvgM_Cxa9NAL4/s640/20180714171916_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">News are boring as usual. Dat ass tho.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Despite the somewhat unexplored potential in the game, the game does feel pretty deep for a game of its time. Like I said it's not exactly Deus Ex levels but compared to Shiny's previous game MDK it's a huge step up and a rather different game in tone from that game. But what it does have in common with MDK is probably the enormous variety in gameplay elements. There are moments where you need to shoot everything in sight, moments where you need to be stealthy, and levels that are so straight forward you're pretty much just looking for the way forward. The game's early levels surprisingly proved the most difficult for me. The latter part of the game is actually fairly easy and straight forward and by then you will be fairly attuned to Bob's abilities and the various human types of the game and their roles in society. Story and hints are usually relayed to you through regular messages given to you when your head is ringing, first presumably from God and then later from Satan.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">The game's environments consist almost entirely of urban landscapes, exploring various complexes and buildings set to the backdrop of a dystopian city, with some architecture (possibly intentionally) reminiscent of the buildings we saw in their earlier game MDK. The first part of the game largely explores a major human city where there's a bit of a war going on between the upper class of people and a race of mutated cannibalistic humanoids called Chots. This conflict dominates large parts of the early game but is never revisited once you've beaten Father Prime (which only happens in a cutscene, kinda sad they never developed a full boss fight there...) which leaves it feeling somewhat unresolved.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitL4Iu4YI9Rek14iHVff8nQ0BAsmcnVbAVsu1cZMHuhS5U5LYjHPpwDtuYHR4uj0hVsiY_zzDDOficc8gaX0OnseALC4a4uJUQwxykaxuG18vvWna2BAkwUOdVJU1CRD-EDl9QtBdnB7s/s1600/20180708173531_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitL4Iu4YI9Rek14iHVff8nQ0BAsmcnVbAVsu1cZMHuhS5U5LYjHPpwDtuYHR4uj0hVsiY_zzDDOficc8gaX0OnseALC4a4uJUQwxykaxuG18vvWna2BAkwUOdVJU1CRD-EDl9QtBdnB7s/s640/20180708173531_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You haven't played a good game until you've possessed a rat to crawl over a sewage duct filled with human bones and intestines.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">It quickly becomes obvious though that a lot of the mutants you meet in the game, ranging from Chots to Behemoths are really just results of Father Prime's experiments, so it makes sense that once you've beaten him, they become less of an issue. Later on it becomes a bit unclear whether Behemoths are considered enemies or allies of the cops in the game, given that you'd usually find them in highly secured areas, typically locked up and if you possess them and walk around, cops will usually just ignore you but they will still fire at you. I guess it could imply that they know something is wrong when a Behemoth is loose but still... it was a bit confusing.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">The latter part of the game sends you into a place called Sex City where your goal is to infiltrate a night club called Club Kyd (very likely named after Jesper Kyd who made parts of the game's soundtrack). Somehow from there you make your way into a millitary installation and to the Earth's moon where Satan is waiting for you. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense, probably cause it shouldn't, but the absurdity of this happening just kinda feels right in this future dystopian city you're in.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The final boss fight against Satan can be tricky until you figure out the correct strategy. But it's one of the best boss fights I've had in any game given it's, like most things in the game, really just one big puzzle.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Combat in Messiah is actually pretty straight forward, and at times required to progress in the game. The game will use an auto-targeting system where you aim in someone's general direction and a reticle will appear on them to signify you are locked in on them. The targeting also works likewise for enemies and if an enemy is locked in on you, you will see a similar reticle appear on your body to signify where you are being shot from. I noticed some issues getting a lock on enemies that were too far away in some parts, though this is rarely an issue due to the scarcity of the battles. The main challenge comes from how you manage your resources in a level and which of the humans you should get rid of and which you should keep and use given how the different groups will interact and how people will react to seeing you outside a body.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5YDT9w_2-3VDsDIYScYsGU8Ffd2jrKlkaoaCQl11HW85k6pu0CIPi2lYFWh_oLSO_VC35MA46Qpdg6agluY61zaBGlpZP2Dye5DEkoVDoYqKcKRIQ40eGwVc5minVj3IROPw9VqP_Sxg/s1600/20180708174443_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5YDT9w_2-3VDsDIYScYsGU8Ffd2jrKlkaoaCQl11HW85k6pu0CIPi2lYFWh_oLSO_VC35MA46Qpdg6agluY61zaBGlpZP2Dye5DEkoVDoYqKcKRIQ40eGwVc5minVj3IROPw9VqP_Sxg/s640/20180708174443_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Guess I'm wanted.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">The weapons in the game are pretty varied. You'll mostly see the shotgun which seems to be standard issue for most cops, but there's also machine pistols (typically carried by Commanders but also some heavy cops). There's also a flamethrower in there because... why not. One of the more notable weapons later in the game is the Maser, a plasma weapon distinctly designed to combat Behemoths who carry pretty bulky armor, but is practically useless against humans (though it does a good job knocking them down for a few secs). Just like people, the weapons are treated more like tools in this game and the Maser comes into play during a section where you're tasked with getting through a bunch of Behemoths. Using the Maser makes this a very easy task but attempting it without it, even by possessing one of the Behemoths, makes it a suicide mission.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">The controls can take a bit of getting used to. I would recommend mapping the game to use a more appropriate WASD setup, just keep in mind that the game might feel a bit weird at first since moving the mouse also moves your character's direction. There is a freelook button but it's not possible to move while holding it, and it's not possible to move around in first person either (unless you're possessing a rat or crawling through a duct) which would've been neat. During platforming sections I noticed that Bob's flying mechanic takes some getting used to as I died a lot not being able to reach other platforms. Keep in mind that in order to fly you have to rapidly tap the jump button, not holding it down or tapping it slowly like I assumed.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWgxCptw4fC_pkYX87xXtn_PA4EbYBLw9pU2I7iOUmSaTEFsMX9_dDau_WghYUaW0JV_dOAk4zfA99mszZhvrpQfoT2lyEf-0Y-s79fRn1F2ck-TJ9JyVsS7QzbpL6f-GZaRj-v8epvXw/s1600/20180711001128_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWgxCptw4fC_pkYX87xXtn_PA4EbYBLw9pU2I7iOUmSaTEFsMX9_dDau_WghYUaW0JV_dOAk4zfA99mszZhvrpQfoT2lyEf-0Y-s79fRn1F2ck-TJ9JyVsS7QzbpL6f-GZaRj-v8epvXw/s640/20180711001128_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Whatcha lookin' at?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Graphically the game looks absolutely amazing for its time. On modern system the legacy support is kind of terrible though and sometimes models will glitch out and warp a bit at certain angles, but the environments are absolutely gorgeous, and the game has a very distinct dystopian cyberpunk atmosphere that is so thick you can slice it. The costumes for the various models also makes it very clear what type of human they are. Cops are dressed in protective gear, radiation workers wear radiation suits, scientists have... scientist apparel, Chots are dressed in body suits with gas masks, workers wear overalls and wield welders and welding goggles and strippers, prostitutes and such are very obviously of that profession. The amount of variety in the game is surprising at times, especially in sex city where there are at least 2-3 unique prostitutes/dancers and you'll sometimes come across female cops and cops with riot shields. I can't really find much to complain about with the graphics, for the time this game was state of the art and as a I recall even shipped with some graphics card at the time.</span></span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSplKR3kos5AEhOW1lznV_Mkn2jftfkYUv8tnKFbMZtLDjq8mm6EjrfZ6L0AH1EMp6jACk_-v3yJGOSPt_8aNNXpKk9w5mKSwrm6_53k-jCTEosGwqXeRtFsAIscOXNjAzpPTbIurCGfY/s1600/20180708200403_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSplKR3kos5AEhOW1lznV_Mkn2jftfkYUv8tnKFbMZtLDjq8mm6EjrfZ6L0AH1EMp6jACk_-v3yJGOSPt_8aNNXpKk9w5mKSwrm6_53k-jCTEosGwqXeRtFsAIscOXNjAzpPTbIurCGfY/s640/20180708200403_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In some areas, cleaner bots (the clawy thing in front) will swoop around and clean up dead bodies which seems like a great in-universe explanation for freeing up game memory.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">The game also has amazing sound. The soundtrack, which was made by Tommy Tallarico Studios, Jesper Kyd and others, is mostly ambience and while in most games I am not a huge fan of this style, here it makes total sense as it builds up the atmosphere in the world you're in and since most of the game is spend just exploring, using your brain and figuring out how to work the world around you, a less intrusive soundtrack is actually welcome. There's also a lot of great voice acting, with Bob seemingly voiced by a toddler (who does a pretty good job) and all of the humans will say little things now and then, often somewhat humorously. During combat there's some heavy industrial metal playing, by the band Fear Factory, which fits those situations as it really gets your adrenaline going. There is an option for disabling Fear Factory's music during combat but I highly suggest leaving it on as it adds a lot of welcome diversity to the game's soundtrack. As a note, it seems the GOG version of the game has some Spanish speech on the included soundtrack which is at times really distracting and pops up seemingly at random. I tried googling this but found no other mention of it so either there is no fix for it or people just don't care. It's not a major issue, and </span></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">I haven't tested the Steam release for it,</span></span> but something to be aware of.</span></span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM1p0s6Nam87k0Qw9KS1r6mh5yNwIuvwXnbky7K-mwqstV04ntqhTcS11m1X0Rayz6eXhgftEtnDdlz1Nq80hqeWgq6sgI746ZIEXIHViollSUlAXWE-JrN1lxyH2YJlltedEZDExvYkc/s1600/20180708191643_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM1p0s6Nam87k0Qw9KS1r6mh5yNwIuvwXnbky7K-mwqstV04ntqhTcS11m1X0Rayz6eXhgftEtnDdlz1Nq80hqeWgq6sgI746ZIEXIHViollSUlAXWE-JrN1lxyH2YJlltedEZDExvYkc/s640/20180708191643_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I feel... big.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">All in all Messiah is a really quirky, really fun, and really REALLY challenging game due to how it constantly catches you off guard. But you'll not likely ever play anything like it again and despite its flaws, I highly recommend playing it at least once. Getting it running on modern systems can be a bit of a hassle but I think it's worth it. It offers a massive world to explore, absolutely unique gameplay both for its time and even today, and if you love other Shiny games like MDK, Sacrifice and Giants: Citizen Kabuto, then you owe it to yourself to play it.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>SCORE</b></span><br />
<b><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">STORY: 8/10</span></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">GAMEPLAY: 7/10</span></span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>GRAPHICS: 10/10<br />SOUND: 10/10</b><br /><br /><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">TOTAL SCORE: 8/10</span></b></span></span>Alyxxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17218865125519689016noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4381060216787776751.post-24763680990601314452018-07-01T16:55:00.000-07:002018-07-19T09:18:16.053-07:00Top 10 Anticipated Games of 2018After E3 has run its course, and left us with a mixed bag of disappointments and incredible gaming news, I feel it's time to throw my proverbial hat into the ring and list the announced games that I feel the most hyped about this year. I am currently saving up for a new gaming PC and cannot wait to dig into these games soon with new specs to match the demands. So without further ado, let's dig in!<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">10. FALLOUT 76</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span></b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs88xHvYOsBYZorm8UI-CD-8RdGI856SKNyI_JKNDA7vK3yuzP9Dv3qJ0dV9oJJ_0IsxQcwvdjByYBiUM23zNpBwb63ePvQlvpWCgLWraW-R7E1ACuzYoBMUWX-tOg2oQllg4lxDsciaA/s1600/Fallout-76.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs88xHvYOsBYZorm8UI-CD-8RdGI856SKNyI_JKNDA7vK3yuzP9Dv3qJ0dV9oJJ_0IsxQcwvdjByYBiUM23zNpBwb63ePvQlvpWCgLWraW-R7E1ACuzYoBMUWX-tOg2oQllg4lxDsciaA/s400/Fallout-76.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
Ever since the release of Fallout 3, me and my friends have thought to ourselves "you know, this would be a lot more fun if you could actually play together". And it seems Bethesda has thought the same thing as they have wrestled with the idea for a while and now come up with an answer to our collective prayers for a multiplayer Fallout game. Fallout 76 apparently will be a sort of MMORPG thing with a large focus on co-op and building settlements. So far it's looking really promising and I can't wait to explore West Virginia with my friends. I think the thing we really liked so far is that you really don't seem forced into a certain role. You can do crafting, and selling items like food seems to be a legit thing in the game. So it seems like a game where people can assume the roles they want and not everyone has to be warriors. Definitely excited to dig into that game this November.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">9. ANTHEM</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span></b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_CkvJ1rlv7PYZjsrtiSlAuXCrNyYcbh2MmYCbtnIAoFUZWdXv2X825L_JTkhWJriY6WV82mny0w2Vo-HnhtIye0GsIBfDte2TnrgnVth4Y-PTCqz0uJuegViJn4VWl2t_iu5OLNwzaW0/s1600/anthem-hero-2018.jpg.adapt.crop16x9.1920w.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_CkvJ1rlv7PYZjsrtiSlAuXCrNyYcbh2MmYCbtnIAoFUZWdXv2X825L_JTkhWJriY6WV82mny0w2Vo-HnhtIye0GsIBfDte2TnrgnVth4Y-PTCqz0uJuegViJn4VWl2t_iu5OLNwzaW0/s400/anthem-hero-2018.jpg.adapt.crop16x9.1920w.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
Anthem is a game I've actually been fairly hyped about ever since it was first announced. And I know a lot of people have said they're on the fence about that cause of Mass Effect Andromeda. Listen... Andromeda wasn't made by the main Bioware team. It was made by an offshoot team that changed its directors multiple times. This game is being made by a different team with a different director, there is no reason to assume it will be like Mass Effect Andromeda. I actually think Andromeda isn't that bad of a game but I'm planning a review so I won't get ahead of myself there.<br />
Anyway, so far it seems really cool, I love the aesthetic of the Javelin suits and apparently you can customize your freelancer in everything from gender to looks and I absolutely love that. It's going to be a co-op game for up to 4 people with a large MMO-esque open world to explore outside the story instances. And fuck, it's a new IP from Bioware, a studio that for years now have pretty much only done two franchises: Mass Effect and Dragon Age. Just the fact they are doing something new and something still within the sci-fi realm is really cool to me.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">8. SHADOW OF THE TOMB RAIDER</span></b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkVvli0f5_Rm63GQLKrqnL3uIJNadVlnSmcw__kevW76W_2SNI_hB6moXS1BZkmkDTUhlEgwEh5uM3bFDlmqlo6-RFUCGIfNGLYn0xXEfoXguVyhHxpKKiaFihxh8MsQCSQZGOu6QY_7s/s1600/5b83592ca76d41f1f2264f2122a617c7663efd36.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkVvli0f5_Rm63GQLKrqnL3uIJNadVlnSmcw__kevW76W_2SNI_hB6moXS1BZkmkDTUhlEgwEh5uM3bFDlmqlo6-RFUCGIfNGLYn0xXEfoXguVyhHxpKKiaFihxh8MsQCSQZGOu6QY_7s/s400/5b83592ca76d41f1f2264f2122a617c7663efd36.png" width="400" /></a><br />
Lara's next adventure is coming soon, and what gameplay we saw at E3 showed her sneaking around the jungle in a game where she has inadvertently caused armageddon and is rushing to stop it. I love this idea of her adventures actually having huge ramifications that she never considered and I look forward to playing the game.<br />
Hopefully Lara will be more badass in this game. I'm still a bit tired of "wimpy Lara" from the last couple of games as I grew up with the oldschool Lara, but what I've seen so far looks promising. The devs clearly have written her to be a reluctant badass who will do what it takes to survive in a harsh situation but still holds on to her humanity somewhat. I would just still love for her to turn into a darker character like in the early games and I've been waiting for it to happen for a while now. And for crying out loud, add some dual-wielding pistols to the games at some point soon. Stop teasing us with shots of her holding two pistols and then doing nothing with it.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">7. RAGE 2</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span></b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh8AVNkgHzl0QzfSMIOtdZUQc5zXxjW5QOVjIhRQ4C_quwR_RgrqdDmUTAE3cAMSt_F0mynkX8GP9DOm_5jnZ_W6OmbzbmpCkbmoep-3cU3WfsiO_jxWgYG0tufhhoeCahpir0xPS2w0Y/s1600/rage-2-trailer.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="439" data-original-width="780" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh8AVNkgHzl0QzfSMIOtdZUQc5zXxjW5QOVjIhRQ4C_quwR_RgrqdDmUTAE3cAMSt_F0mynkX8GP9DOm_5jnZ_W6OmbzbmpCkbmoep-3cU3WfsiO_jxWgYG0tufhhoeCahpir0xPS2w0Y/s400/rage-2-trailer.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
As surprised as I am that RAGE actually got a sequel, I am even more surprised to see it being made by the studio that made the Mad Max game (actually, that's probably not that surprising). As has already been pointed out, the game doesn't look that original. It kind of looks like Mad Max, Doom and Borderlands had a big ol' threesome and this is the outcome. But in the words of Tim Willits: "That's awesome, isn't it?" It truly is.<br />
Not a lot has been shown so far, but it seems they are expanding on the nanotrite abilities more and doing a combat style more similar to Doom 2016. And yeah, can't wait to play it. And hopefully there will be a Switch port for those long train rides where I need a Rage 2 fix.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">6. WOLFENSTEIN: YOUNGBLOOD</span></b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEYYTOQzdYwznZ0-vGrCYlfsaYm-JWarDKhBoH9mr676ltK7EzTIPSTW0dli6wOhFeqP221hzXs8tcJh_M_mOW-0SS04kOsCJ2qkyVCOIKNnUSiDLS2AB_ZX6Ns1CyszoEqye8DHqcpsU/s1600/3398880-wolfensteinyoungblood_trailer.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="960" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEYYTOQzdYwznZ0-vGrCYlfsaYm-JWarDKhBoH9mr676ltK7EzTIPSTW0dli6wOhFeqP221hzXs8tcJh_M_mOW-0SS04kOsCJ2qkyVCOIKNnUSiDLS2AB_ZX6Ns1CyszoEqye8DHqcpsU/s400/3398880-wolfensteinyoungblood_trailer.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
A co-op Wolfenstein game set in the 80's with two female characters for the first time in the series' history? Sign me the fuck up! Sadly not a lot of gameplay has been shown so far, but it seems you are playing as BJ's daughters (explains why his wife's belly has been so huge in Wolfenstein II) fighting Nazis in an 80's alternate history Paris. I really love how they are just taking this alternate Nazi-fied history further and further and I can't wait to play through this with Kira.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">5. BEYOND GOOD & EVIL 2</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span></b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfW-E_IMo1yt9PTmwQ-MJCOIAF9lJLIyh6dao7LD9Xf6XnH_cEn5FnKh-wHWkrKHI1OqtwwpGrpMX7T02YwaVpe56HgZPomwGWAyZ7k7rpgEqDaMmFDG5OH2NyppWbBIiTkVz3wGOacdw/s1600/dims.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="798" data-original-width="1400" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfW-E_IMo1yt9PTmwQ-MJCOIAF9lJLIyh6dao7LD9Xf6XnH_cEn5FnKh-wHWkrKHI1OqtwwpGrpMX7T02YwaVpe56HgZPomwGWAyZ7k7rpgEqDaMmFDG5OH2NyppWbBIiTkVz3wGOacdw/s400/dims.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
So yeah, Ubisoft yet again teased the prequel to one of their biggest cult games, and they have even announced it will have co-op. The most recent trailer showed something shocking though, that being Jade is apparently a villain in the game. This is most intriguing given she's the hero of the first game and this is allegedly a prequel. How does it all fit in? I can't wait to find out and I really hope it's going to do the first game justice. I still haven't finished the first game so might be time to do so very soon. Regardless, BG&E2 is looking better and better the more we get to see of it.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">4. ION MAIDEN</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span></b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYoeDdtI8RzZZZDguHXfauqRewbazb_y3uaFdOqNZzryyvmgC3S-iyZoJHl4IsCyNA5H_3tEgNAvDBzPuCyCS0dRlpli7qsS9U39ORIrxTLz-qJpLLj3nikaIYhyGpK39KszESIFWA4fQ/s1600/72ef2c6c347c4820bb1a9bc01fbac238.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYoeDdtI8RzZZZDguHXfauqRewbazb_y3uaFdOqNZzryyvmgC3S-iyZoJHl4IsCyNA5H_3tEgNAvDBzPuCyCS0dRlpli7qsS9U39ORIrxTLz-qJpLLj3nikaIYhyGpK39KszESIFWA4fQ/s400/72ef2c6c347c4820bb1a9bc01fbac238.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
As far as shooters go, we haven't seen a Build engine one in ages. So the folks at 3D Realms and Voidpoint figured they'd fix that by making a Build engine FPS prequel to the isometric shooter Bombshell that came out a few years back. What I have played so far is pretty fucking badass and truly feels like a proper 90's shooter up there with greatslike Duke Nukem 3D and Shadow Warrior. Apparently there's going to be a physical release with a USB floppy disk, which I am SO going to pre-order when it comes out. I highly recommend giving the early access preview campaign a go just to see what it's all about.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">3. DOOM ETERNAL</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span></b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcnYGxb8j3iVIAsy_ilsezQAqQcny6gl-ZgxF44MfzuhKYmjDTzXKBdEvuk-6ZHHqDGj2l4S8N2biLPMiuI6K5PayDHxNPAeF772X3YIXjRuRwdSbBnISkEK8iNvgaVRpiKP9elNQ5wsw/s1600/doom-eternal.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="464" data-original-width="825" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcnYGxb8j3iVIAsy_ilsezQAqQcny6gl-ZgxF44MfzuhKYmjDTzXKBdEvuk-6ZHHqDGj2l4S8N2biLPMiuI6K5PayDHxNPAeF772X3YIXjRuRwdSbBnISkEK8iNvgaVRpiKP9elNQ5wsw/s400/doom-eternal.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
So apparently id are already working on a full blown sequel to DOOM 2016 and just that simple fact is enough to have me giddy for hours. Whatever it's going to be, it's probably going to involve demons, super shotguns and lots of gibs. Hopefully we'll get more info soon cause fuck me this reveal had me so hyped!<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">2. RESIDENT EVIL 2 HD REMAKE</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span></b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG1fOxioVtv41BGZoDbLr5Vmc_2sok0hODsKprpl7eMf-IzLBFLYdMG4lnAl_QZXh1HmCZ9FaAvR8Jsv_OuYLwaFoW7WB9rCv44yXDeIe7M9UKAXf_1OWcUTVLH4XI-TOiTz9xVIvwOo8/s1600/resident+evil+2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="844" data-original-width="1500" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG1fOxioVtv41BGZoDbLr5Vmc_2sok0hODsKprpl7eMf-IzLBFLYdMG4lnAl_QZXh1HmCZ9FaAvR8Jsv_OuYLwaFoW7WB9rCv44yXDeIe7M9UKAXf_1OWcUTVLH4XI-TOiTz9xVIvwOo8/s400/resident+evil+2.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
Fuck. Yeah. Resi 2 is without a doubt my favourite Resi game and hearing about it being remade just had me screaming with joy. And what we saw looked absolutely amazing. I absolutely can't wait to revisit Raccoon City in full HD glory when it comes out. Hopefully it will have better controls and camera than the original game too.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>1. CYBERPUNK 2077</b></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNXyg7vtYBMaCH-ym1RbK8qWenlYB4Y10LVH1HlTyZ3zHqLWSqjfofmeLqiFe533cr3SOfxv6RyrBfOKH-Wad56RTVgviihp4o9JVtT22o5Criu6BNcHtwYt2HQAQJwDyQKcXOjHXIETs/s1600/Cyberpunk2077_Just_around_the_corner_RGB.0.png.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="1200" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNXyg7vtYBMaCH-ym1RbK8qWenlYB4Y10LVH1HlTyZ3zHqLWSqjfofmeLqiFe533cr3SOfxv6RyrBfOKH-Wad56RTVgviihp4o9JVtT22o5Criu6BNcHtwYt2HQAQJwDyQKcXOjHXIETs/s640/Cyberpunk2077_Just_around_the_corner_RGB.0.png.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
Everything about this game sounds like it was made for me. Cyberpunk is probably my favourite genre of any medium and this game seems to be absolutely steeped in the aesthetic of cyberpunk. I just love the universe they have created, and it seems like the kind of game I'm going to absolutely immerse myself in for probably years to come once it's out. We've been waiting a long time for it and apparently might have to wait a couple years more (aiming for a fitting 2020 release date) but it seems to be worth the wait.<br />
It sounds amazing, especially with how the world will react to your choices and how they can impact the game world, and how you can create any character you want. And of course there's going to be some nudity and sexy stuff, which I am fine with.<br />
Truth to be told I've never really been into CD Project Red's Witcher series, but this is definitely something that's entirely up my alley, to the point where I'm now using Cyberpunk 2077 wallpapers exclusively for my PC.<br />
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So yeah, that was my list. There are several other games I am also anticipating but these are the ones that I feel the most hyped about at the top of my head. Let me know what games you're excited for!<br />
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- AlyxxAlyxxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17218865125519689016noreply@blogger.com0