great soundtrack – Page 2

Thoughts on: Silent Hill 2 (2024)

18/10/2024 18/10/2024

I still find it odd that Silent Hill 2 got remade. Original game was such a surprise to those who played the first game, but that one did not get a remake and is still exclusive to PlayStation 1. When I revisited both Silent Hill and Silent Hill 2 last year it felt “right” to play them in sequence, despite no direct story connection between the games. But that is far from the only reason I wasn’t exactly sure about what to expect from this new game. The franchise has been dead for over a decade and apart from few bright spots here and there, Silent Hill began losing relevance with SH4, 20 years ago. Was there even a point in reviving the franchise not just with a remake, instead of a new game, but also a remake of one of the most praised games in history?..

Well, whatever the case, Silent Hill 2 (2024) is here now. And it’s… alright, actually. I can see lots of people loving this game much more than the original. But only time will tell, if the remake will have the same “timeless” appeal. I have my doubts.

O tempora: Doom + Doom II

11/10/2024 22/11/2024

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

Well, it finally happened. I’ve finally played both classic Doom titles start to finish and even all of its official expansions. It might sound weird to some, given how huge and important Doom has been for the development of FPS and game industry as a whole, but it just so happened that I was never much of an id Software games player. Even though Spear of Destiny was my first introduction to this type of games, I just never really played through any of their titles start to finish until decades later. Which includes the classic Doom games – I have played and finished the original Doom (that is, the first three episodes) a very long time ago, but I’ve never played any other title in its entirety apart from the Playstation version of the Final Doom, which was my only point of contact with the Doom II expansions. And yes, I did get it back in the day, because I thought it was the “final definitive version of Doom”, not realizing that it’s a completely different game…

But now Doom and Doom II have been officially re-released on all modern platforms in a remastered package by NightDive, with all of the official, and even some previously unofficial, releases combined into one game. And I’ve decided that it was finally time to give it a proper go.

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Happy about: Hebereke 2/Ufouria: The Saga 2

29/09/2024 29/09/2024

Immediately after playing Hebereke for the first time, I’ve decided to see how the recently released sequel is going to tackle the seemingly same basic concept. The results were surprising, often pleasantly but sometimes not as much.

Thoughts on: Hebereke Enjoy Edition and Gimmick! Special Edition

24/09/2024 24/09/2024

A lot of people have nostalgy for games from Sunsoft and I can see why. However, for me it was never the case. I did play Blaster Master and perhaps Batman on NES a bit as a kid, but the only game of theirs I’ve played a lot was their PS1 Hard Edge/T.R.A.G. (which I do love). So, seeing the company return to making games recently and re-releasing their old classics on their own or through other companies wasn’t a big deal to me. I was curious, however, since some of their games are considered cult classics.

Two of such titles were re-released over the past two years in the new format that emulates the original NES game, but with cool quality of life editions and bonuses. These are Hebereke Enjoy Edition (known as Ufouria: The Saga in the European and Australasian release on NES) and Gimmick! Special Edition (also known as Mr. Gimmick in Scandinavian NES release). Which I was glad to finally play, because I don’t ever want to play them again.

In love with: Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess

12/09/2024 12/09/2024

Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess is not a game that I could call revolutionary or innovative. It is a very curious mix of hack and slash action game with a tower defense strategy and I haven’t seen it done quite like this before. But definitely not revolutionary. And yet, I can’t help but love this project and wish to see more huge development companies and corporations learn from it. No, not from the mix of genres, but rather from the approach this game takes. You see – this is very much a “AA game”, made by “AAA” standards, which is something you used to see all of the time back in the late 90s-early 00s, but which doesn’t really happen anymore. And playing this game reminded me of how much are we all missing out with the current gaming market trends.

In love with: Withering Rooms

21/08/2024 24/01/2025

Withering Rooms is the kind of game you don’t get every day. Back when the title was still in Early Access, one of the ways the developer described this game was somewhere along the lines of “If Clock Tower was an action RPG”. Which… fits and, even more surprisingly, works incredibly well. This game is so strange, yet so fascinating and inventive. Its influences are recognizable, yet its mood is immaculate… And while I didn’t enjoy every second of the game and do find faults with some of its aspects, it was also one of the most inspiring gaming experiences I’ve had in quite a while.

O tempora: Beyond Good & Evil – 20th Anniversary Edition

17/07/2024 17/07/2024

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

Beyond Good & Evil has always been a pretty odd game. Inventive and unforgettable in many ways, but also clearly unfinished and frustrating in many others. Born out of incredible ambition of the team inside Ubisoft, back when their games were fresh and exciting and not the same game with different coats of paint released several times a year with 15 minutes of end credits they’re known for nowadays. Though even this game’s release was a bizarre choice on the company’s side – released the same day as Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, another beloved classic, the two games competed for attention, leaving both of them with very high critical scores but less than exciting sales figures. Nonetheless, a sequel Beyond Good and Evil 2 have been in development for… who knows how long, as the game was originally announced back in 2008 (just 5 years after the original), and the development of it has been far more troubled than that of the first game, since no one knows what it’s going to be anymore… That is, no one knew at all until 20th Anniversary Edition remaster of the first game has been released that, among other things, has additional elements that seem to exist specifically to tie the game better with the prequel concept last shown in 2018.

But, that’s all great and all, yet BG&E is now a 21 year old game and not games age well. Is it still worth playing, with the fresh coat of paint or not?

Happy about: The Talos Principle 2 – Road to Elysium

10/07/2024 10/07/2024

The Talos Principle 2 was easily one of my favorite game releases of 2023. Wonderfully paced, wittily written and well-balanced in terms of difficulty, the first person puzzle game was an improvement in my eyes over the already amazing original game. That did get a well received epilogue DLC Road To Gehenna half a year after its release. So, I guess, it only makes sense that half a year after the release of the sequel it receives its own DLC – Road to Elysium. And while I doubt it will get as well received, it’s a really fun three piece addition to an already wonderful title.

O tempora: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection

29/04/2024 29/04/2024

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

While I suck at fighting games and (to a lesser extent) beat em ups, I grew during the era when they were The Coolest Thing Ever. A local arcade, and I’m still surprised we had one after the crapshow that was Soviet Union, had cabinets with Street Fighter II, Mortal Kombat, Streets of Rage II, Vendetta (Crime Fighters II) and, of course, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. And all of the NES clones came preloaded with X games in one packages where at least one of the classic TMNT games would be included. The TMNT animated series from the 80s were also all the rage and so was the first live action movie. Heck, as a child I even liked the second one.

But it’s been decades, TMNT is no longer as popular as it used to be (though still quite liked), Konami stopped making good games and then any games (and are quite disliked). Curiously, the same year as this Cowabunga Collection released, a genuinely fun new game inspired by the titles from the collection was released – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge. So, while game preservation is really important, would there be a reason for people who didn’t grow up on the titles from this collection to check it out?

O tempora: Tomb Raider I-III Remastered

22/04/2024 23/04/2024

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’ve been meaning to replay the classic Tomb Raider games for years now. I could – I own the PC versions on GOG and while there are some nuances about running them on modern systems, those ports are solid. But I never had time or desire, as all Tomb Raider games are quite long and slow. I used to love The Last Revelation and quite enjoyed most of Chronicles and played them a lot as a teen. But the first three? I’ve never properly finished the first, stopped playing the second at around midpoint and remembered next to nothing about the third, despite completing it decades ago. There were also three PC exclusive expansions – Unfinished Business, Golden Mask and The Lost Artefact for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd games respectively that I never even saw.

With the release of Tomb Raider I-III Remastered (Starring Lara Croft), I couldn’t delay this any further. A definitive package of the three games I was least familiar with, with the mentioned expansions and a bunch of quality of life and visual upgrades? Sign me up. A entire month of playing them later I can finally share what I think of the collection and the games themselves.