game review – Page 38

O tempora: Icewind Dale II

12/07/2019 12/07/2019

O tempora is a series of retrospective posts where I play games from ages before to see if they stood the test of time.

After my recent replay of the forgettable (and honestly deserving to be forgotten) Icewind Dale in the Enhanced Edition version, it was time to play the last Infinity Engine game that I’ve never actually played before – the Icewind Dale II (in the Complete version as it’s sold on GOG). Due to its source code being lost, an Enhanced Edition of this game might never happen. And that’s actually a bit of a shame.

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O tempora: Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition

06/07/2019 27/08/2019

O tempora is a series of retrospective posts where I play games from ages before to see if they stood the test of time.

Of all the Infinity Engine-based games that I’ve played (I’m to play Icewind Dale 2 next for the first time, but otherwise all of them) Icewind Dale was the only one that I had barely any memories of. I remembered playing it, remember it being obnoxiously high on combat and not much else, but otherwise, I couldn’t remember anything else. Now that I’ve replayed the game in the Enhanced Edition version (with the expansion and the add-on to the expansion I’ve not played before included), I understand why it was so.

Thoughts on: Paratopic

30/06/2019 30/06/2019

Once in a while I stumble upon games that more traditionalist of people would rather classify as “interactive experiences”. And there are countless different various ways they can be made and shapes that they can take. Paratopic works as a very linear, very directed interactive horror game that doesn’t really let you explore much and leaves you with more questions than answers. And even I am slightly torn about it.

Happy about: Final Fantasy XII The Zodiac Age

24/06/2019 24/01/2025

Ever since Final Fantasy IX the series struggled to get to the same levels of love and adoration that the earlier entries received. I myself only recently got over myself to check Final Fantasy X (in it’s HD form) to discover that it was better than I originally gave it credit. XI and XIV are solid MMOs, but due to the massively multiplayer nature don’t get necessarily the same audience who loves the series for the singleplayer stories and characters. XIII was a hot mess. And XV, while enjoyable, turned out to be a bunch of cool but rough ideas, which sometimes combined into something fun, but almost as often fell apart. There was one game, however, that I did play about 10 years ago, highly enjoyed my time with it, yet, when it was time to beat the last boss of the game, got tired and decided to return to it sometime later.

Well, sometime later is now. And replaying Final Fantasy XII in its The Zodiac Age remastered version on PC was far more enjoyable than I expected.

Thoughts on: Tesla Effect: A Tex Murphy Adventure

17/06/2019 17/06/2019

I have not played Tex Murphy games until this one. I’ve planned to for years now and I had all of them on GOG since forever, but… I need to be in a certain mood to enjoy FMV adventure games, especially older ones. Finally, I got in the mood to play Tesla Effect. Good news is that I still want to check the rest of the series. Bad news… This one isn’t good.

Thoughts on: The Journey Down (All 3 Chapters)

12/06/2019 28/06/2019

I’ve been checking The Journey Down, as it was slowly getting released chapter by chapter and liking it. Though never quite loving it. Which might be the reason why I was never feeling quite that interested to check the finale of it, even though it’s been more than a year and a half since it got released. I have now, however, so I might as well talk about the game as a whole.

Thoughts on: Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster

04/06/2019 28/06/2019

When Final Fantasy X was released back in 2001 I was very new to the series. I had only recently gotten a PlayStation 1 of my own and was busy catching up with all the cool titles I’ve missed on that platform. When I finally got my first chance to play the game properly years later, I didn’t like it at all. The tone, the characters, the setting – it all just didn’t click with me and I decided to move straight into XII. Almost another decade later I decided to give this game a proper chance. And since Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster version I’ve got on PC also had the direct sequel of the game and a bunch of complimentary stuff, I decided to give them a go as well. This was… something.

Disapprove: Finding Paradise

30/05/2019 28/06/2019

When I first played To the Moon 7 years ago I had certain expectations. The game was talked a lot about, with people describing it very emotional and moving. The “I cried” sentiment around it, in fact, turned into the same bandwagon stock phrase/meme similar to whatever would form around any hugely popular game. And I liked it. It didn’t move me in the same ways it seemed to affect people and it was mechanically annoying at times, but it was also a nicely put together story that I was glad to go through and could easily recommend to others. Though, I also said that the free Mirror Lied from the same developers was a much more engaging title and still stand by that.

Then A Bird Story happened. An absolutely pointless title with a story that could’ve and should’ve been told in about 10 minutes Since that was supposed to be somewhat of a prequel to Finding Paradise, my expectations were quite a bit lower this time around. And even with that, Finding Paradise managed to disappoint, despite having a strong central story.

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Late thoughts on the original S.T.A.L.K.E.R. trilogy

23/05/2019 14/03/2024

Despite following the development of S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl ever since GSC set out to create “our own Ukrainian Fallout”, I wasn’t really into it when it came out. I admired the game for what it was, but I didn’t have fun. Yet, I still bought Clear Sky as soon as it got released and… never finished it. When Call of Pripyat was announced, I originally took it as a joke and then simply ignored the game altogether.

For years I wanted to give the series another go. And I finally got in the mood to do that. No mods, no enhancements, no fan patches, just the final versions of each game as they are. Let’s see how they feel in 2019.

Thoughts on: Grim Dawn (with 2 expansions)

18/05/2019 28/06/2019

Back in 2006 a studio called Iron Lore Entertainment released Titan Quest, a “Diablo-like” action RPG that didn’t break any new grounds, but felt like one of the best all-rounder aRPG experiences out there. It also used the Greek mythology as its setting, something that still remains a novelty for the genre. Unfortunately, while developing a new game pitch called “Black Legion”, the studio failed to get enough interest and had to eventually close down. Part of the team created a new studio called Crate Entertainment, bought out the rights for the pitch, acquired the license for using the same engine and continued development. Despite having a core team of just 2 people at the earliest years of development and supported by volunteers (many of whom were also from Iron Lore), the project was finally unveiled in 2010 as Grim Dawn – a spiritual successor to Titan Quest, but this time with Eldritch-themed setting.

Game went through long development, a successful Kickstarter campaign to expand the funding, and a long Early Access period before being released in 2016. Since then, there was an additional mode DLC and two expansions, Ashes of Malmouth and Forgotten Gods, the second of which has been released just a month and a half ago. And it’s at this point, I finally decided to give it a go.