Ever since release I knew that Aliens: Colonial Marines isn’t a good game. Yet, in space no one can hear how curiosity kills the cat. And it’s almost a shame that despite playing it 7 years later, despite patches, despite other experiences and possible change of perspective, I feel like I still don’t have much to say about this game that hasn’t been already. Not because it’s that bad, but because it’s that mediocre in its poor quality. But, I’ll try to explore this game at least a bit.
Tag: game review
Revisiting Crysis and Crysis Warhead
I don’t like Crysis series. I don’t know what is it about this type of an FPS that doesn’t quite click with me, but that’s how it is. Back when Crysis was melting PCs and Microsoft made their silly comparison of how DirectX 10 looks better than 9, I didn’t find the game actually fun to play. Visually stunning, truly an example of technology yet to come and very open-ended in its gameplay. But not fun. I did like Warhead a tiny bit more. Was bored throughout 2 and liked 3 a tiny bit as well. Now, with the Crysis Remastered announced (even if we lack details on the re-release), I decided that it was a good time to revisit the original and it’s spin-off. And now I understand these games a bit better than back 12 years ago.
Happy about: Tangle Tower
I like the pleasant surprises with games. When you’re seeing something that looks very unassuming and then it turns out to be much more than it first appears. While I don’t remember if I’ve ever played the very first original freeware adventure of Detective Grimoire, I did play the second game Detective Grimoire: Secret of the Swamp. It was a cute little thing that didn’t feel that much evolved over the freeware adventure titles you’d see back on Newgrounds, even though it had good visuals and voice acting. So I didn’t expect much from Tangle Tower either. Turns out, this time the developers decided to really step up their game. Even if it’s not all great.
O tempora: Penumbra series
O tempora is a series of retrospective posts where I play games from ages before to see if they stood the test of time.
The influence of Penumbra series is often understated. Overshadowed by the success of the next projects by Frictional Games. The original Penumbra tech demo from 2006 wasn’t the first horror themed title to be in first person. Neither it was the first to emphasize stealth and puzzle solving over action elements. It might’ve not even been the first to work like a first person adventure game with physically interactive objects, since Trespasser (based on Jurassic Park) exists. Yet, in many ways, this changed how first person perspective horror themed games would work from there on.
And I had very fond memories of the games, apart from respect. Returning to them was a bit scary. And the fears turned out to be justified.
Revisiting F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin
When F.E.A.R. 2 was originally released 11 years ago, I enjoyed playing through it, but the overall impressions of the game were mixed. I still remember being disappointed with some clear downgrades or weird changes in comparison with the original title so I was curious how different the perception of the game will be today. Years since we’ve seen the franchise effectively die, years since Monolith Productions were known and loved for making great FPS titles. I suppose, time mends the disappointments as replaying F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin was actually very enjoyable.
Happy about: Yakuza Kiwami 2
Less than 2 years ago I’ve finally experienced Yakuza series for myself with Yakuza 0. And it was the best and the worst way to get introduced to the series, it seems. The best, because it was an absolutely amazing game. The worst, because neither the remake of the original, nor this remake of the Yakuza 2 get close to what was great about 0. That said, this game is still really great on its own.
So I tried playing Fallout 4
It is extremely rare that I find it hard to continue playing a game, yet write anything about it as a review of sorts. Usually it’s simple – I stop playing, I stop caring, I drop the game, end of story. With Fallout 4, however, things are so complicated that I cannot not write at least something.
Disapprove: Shadow of the Tomb Raider (Definitive Edition)
Oh, Tomb Raider… *sigh*
What a cool experiment Tomb Raider 2013 was. Something to do, to learn from, to never repeat as is. Yet it was repeated almost verbatim in Rise of the Tomb Raider, which I still consider to be the most pointless huge budget game in existence. And then it was repeated almost verbatim a third time in Shadow of the Tomb Raider. Except, this time the game is not just pointless, but often shockingly incompetent. Yet, often entertainingly incompetent.
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In love with: The Procession to Calvary
Three years ago I’ve accidentally stumbled upon Four Last Things, a bizarre comedy point and click adventure game built entirely out of the Renaissance paintings. It was simple, yet incredibly fun and funny and reminded me of the the best elements from the 90s attempts by 7th Level to make a Monty Python game, without all of the crap that was also present in those games. It was also a solid adventure game that wasn’t just a series of funny interactions and gags, even if most of it was simple. So I’m glad to say that The Procession to Calvary, a sequel of sorts, is in many ways even better.
Disapprove: Blaster Master Zero 2
It’s been just a few months since I’ve played Blaster Master Zero, a game that I didn’t expect to like as much as I had. It was a really fun exploration focused reimagining of an 8-bit classic with some unique ideas and very few annoyances. So when Blaster Master Zero 2 got a PC port as well just 2 months after my review of the original, I was excited to play and enjoy that game as well. Enjoyment wasn’t part of the process of playing it, turns out.