While there have been a lot of classic FPS titles coming out in the past decade, the usual expectation of them is that the title will take Doom or Quake or Duke Nukem 3D as a reference point and then evolve the ideas from there. Wizordum does things differently. For one, its main gameplay and level design reference point seems to be something more along the lines of Wolfenstein 3D and Rise of the Triads, so gameplay area is far more “flat” than what Doom introduced with stairs and elevators. For another – instead of looking and sounding like a typical classic FPS, it instead goes for epic fantasy atmosphere. So, think less Hexen and more Might and Magic VI. Which is probably the main reason I decided to stick with the game til the end, because as an FPS title, it isn’t particularly exciting.
Tag: great soundtrack
Revisiting Grand Theft Auto V (Enhanced)
Ten years ago I’ve experienced Grand Theft Auto V for the first time. My opinion on it was very positive, but somewhat underwhelmed – not by the quality of the game itself, but rather by how evolutionary, rather than revolutionary, it all felt. Again, it wasn’t really much of a fault of a game that it couldn’t quite follow up on the previous entries (especially the first three 3D games) in terms of their inescapable impact on the entire game industry and defined an entire genre. But either way, in 2015 I felt very pleased with the game, but not too excited. Now with the Enhanced version of the game being out, I’ve decided to revisit the entire series with this new playthrough of GTA V being the final title. And surprisingly, I’ve found myself loving the game a lot more than I did ten years ago.
O tempora: Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered
O tempora is a series of retrospective posts where I play games from ages before to see if they stood the test of time.
Almost precisely a year ago, I’ve experienced Tomb Raider I-III Remastered collection and my thoughts on it were conflicted. One one hand, it was the best way to experience three classic titles in the influential franchise. On another – all games apart from the original weren’t that good and collection itself had some questionable choices made. As a result, I was quite curious about what Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered could be, given that I already considered The Last Revelation the best classic TR title and liked most of Chronicles. These were the games I’ve played a lot and the games that, in my opinion, aged a lot better. The collection includes The Angel of Darkness as well, of course, that I did not expect much from this re-release, given how dreadful my first and only experience with the game was over 20 years ago. So, how did it go this time? In some ways worse with the collection itself raising a lot more questions.
O tempora: Sonic Origins Plus
O tempora is a series of retrospective posts where I play games from ages before to see if they stood the test of time.
I watched my friends play Sonic games a lot, I played Sonic games a fair bit, the style, the soundtracks, the Knuckles himself… So many memories about these games that… I don’t love that much, if I’m honest. I’m not much into platforming games in general, unless they focus on exploration and/or puzzle solving, so despite the era of games I grew up with having so many great (and not great) examples of the genre, I didn’t play a lot of them much or at all. But after replaying Sonic Generations for the Sonic X Shadow Generations release that I really liked, I was in the mood for more Sonic. So after giving Frontiers a try and getting frustrated with it after a few hours (even though it has so many things done so well), I’ve decided to finally play Sonic Origins with the Plus expansion. And this return to the classics was somewhat predictable, but still necessary for me.
O tempora: Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater – Master Collection Version
O tempora is a series of retrospective posts where I play games from ages before to see if they stood the test of time.
If there is one entry in the Metal Gear franchise that is unanimously beloved, it would be Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. Impressive for a PS2 release, wonderfully balanced in gameplay and storytelling, funny and dramatic, systemic but easy to understand. Yet, it was never among my personal favorites. I’ve only played the game (specifically Subsistence release) once and while I liked it enough, many things about the game frustrated me. And due to that, MGS2 remained my favorite. And yet, surprisingly, as I was revisiting the games through the Master Collection, I found how MGS1 and 2 didn’t age as well as I had hoped… While MGS3 felt a lot better than I have remembered.
Read more“O tempora: Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater – Master Collection Version”
O tempora: Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty – Master Collection Version
O tempora is a series of retrospective posts where I play games from ages before to see if they stood the test of time.
For the longest time I’ve considered Metal Gear Solid 2 to be my favorite entry in the series, from the mechanical perspective. Not the most popular opinion, to say the least, given how much controversy surrounded MGS2 and how much more beloved MGS3 usually is. But in many ways, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty was the final evolution of what Metal Gear was up until that point and a glimpse into what it turned into for the next couple of entries. And because of how much I liked that simpler stealth action approach of the earlier titles, it was very nice to see the idea taken to its logical conclusion. Still, it’s been decades since I’ve played the game so I was a bit worried if I will like it again, as it did before. I did. But it definitely didn’t age as well as I’ve remembered.
Read more“O tempora: Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty – Master Collection Version”
Few notes on: Videogame music 2024
Fourth year of me writing about wonderful soundtracks in gaming while listening to Ukrainian Air Force protecting my life from russian missiles and killer drones behind the windows. I’m starting to get slightly angry at games that include air raid sirens in their soundscape, which is somewhat funny, but also a bit sad.
But speaking of games like that, Silent Hill 2 remake from last year is not even going to be included in the list because the original had a better soundtrack and was included last time. Plus, Akira Yamaoka composed one of his best soundtracks last year for a different game you will find listed. Anyways, as usual, I am listing the games and their soundtracks that I’ve played or re-played since the last time I’ve done this type of an article last year. This time it was about the same amount of new titles and re-releases. And while re-releases do win in numbers, a few of the new games had soundtracks that are bound to become instant classics.
O tempora: Metal Gear Solid – Master Collection Version
O tempora is a series of retrospective posts where I play games from ages before to see if they stood the test of time.
Geez, when was the last time I played Metal Gear Solid?.. It’s been at least 20 years. This is a bit strange, because out of the entire franchise, I always had the warmest feelings towards the first two MGS entries. Apart from MGR: Revengeance, of course. Last time I’ve played MGS1 was with the interesting but flawed PC port of the game that is still available on GOG… but I’ll speak on the different versions of the game later. The main reason I’ve decided that it was finally time to replay a classic was the release of Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Volume 1. Yes, it has been released back in 2023, but the original release was highly flawed, so I’ve waited for some time for it to get patched and it seems like the game included in it are at their potential best by this point. So it was time. And Metal Gear Solid, originally released in 1998, is still really cool but also far more flawed then I have remembered.
Read more“O tempora: Metal Gear Solid – Master Collection Version”
O tempora: Clock Tower: Rewind
O tempora is a series of retrospective posts where I play games from ages before to see if they stood the test of time.
Discussing Clock Tower is a bit strange. On one hand, the original game is still incredible in many ways and at the time was highly influential. On the other – it never figured out how to become a franchise, despite 3 further attempts. The latest entry in the franchise was released back in 2002, but several other attempts to re-create the experience were made since then… only for all of them to mostly fail as well.
Clock Tower: Rewind is the first official international release of that inventive original game. And it’s a mixed bag of a release, with a lot of good and some very bad.
O tempora: Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1&2 Remastered
O tempora is a series of retrospective posts where I play games from ages before to see if they stood the test of time.
Legacy of Kain has been one of the most important franchises for me personally. While it has not been a series I replayed very often, unlike a lot of survival horror classics, it has remained a benchmark of worldbuilding, character writing and storytelling. The incredible work Silicon Knights did when creating the world of Nosgoth for Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain still holds up. As do the stunning writing and cutscene direction of Amy Hennig and her team with later entries, as Crystal Dynamics became the owners of the franchise. There has been only one dud in the main series (Blood Omen 2), and even that game had its moments. Franchise consistently had incredible music, some of the best voice acting in games and one of the most cleverly written storylines… That to this day remains unfinished. Legacy of Kain: Defiance, the final “proper” entry in the series was released in 2003 and was an ending, but not the ending to the incredible tale started in 1996. And since then only cancelled projects, including some incredibly misguided ones, followed. By now, with almost all of the original team spread across the industry (or sadly not among the living) getting a sequel is not just unlikely but may even be preferable. The industry is too different and Legacy of Kain requires a strong vision and choices that development studios and especially publishers would simply not risk to make.
So, given that getting no future games in this wonderful franchise might be the best outcome possible, let’s look at its past with the recently released Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1&2 Remastered.
Read more“O tempora: Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1&2 Remastered”