I was very curious about how Armikrog can turn out way back when the Kickstarter project for it got announced. Yet, for many reasons I didn’t have too much hope even then. When it was finally released in 2015 to mostly damning reviews I considered simply forgetting about this game. But recently, after seeing it go on big discount, decided to give it a go and see how bad things really were. Turns out, they weren’t as much “bad” as they were just “tedious” or “poor”.
Tag: Not recommended
O tempora: Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary (MCC)
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 never played Halo on the “intended platform”. Never owned an Xbox, don’t plan to unless Series X impresses me with something exclusive and unique and even when I was borrowing one of the 360 from a friend of mine, I never ever played Halo on it. Yet, I did play Halo: Combat Evolved. The PC port done by Gearbox Software in 2003 which had some improvements and unique features, but also several bizarre downgrades. And back when I played it, I didn’t like it much. I did, however, feel that it was still a curious game to look at.
With the Master Chief Collection available and slowly updated with supported titles on PC, however, the Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary brings the newest remaster of the original game to PCs. And, being curious about the series for a long time, I’ve decided to give it a go and play the games in the order they were released. As usual for me, I don’t plan to play the multiplayer or even the coop in these games, which is an important point to stress since Halo has always been most loved specifically for those modes. Yet, I feel that even with coop, I wouldn’t have enjoyed this revisit of the original Halo. Because by 2020 its campaign is genuinely unpleasant to go through.
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Disdain: Aliens: Colonial Marines
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.
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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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.
Disapprove: Kentucky Route Zero
Kentucky Route Zero has probably become more known by now not by the praise it’s first Acts received but due to how it took to get the “full” release of it. But here we are, Act 5 is out, those who followed the game since 2013 are finally getting what they wanted. Those who were curious since 2013 but don’t like unfinished products (like me) are getting to finally learn what the game is all about. I can see why 7 years ago Kentucky Route Zero, with its first two Acts out, was an interesting and mysterious journey to look forward to. As a complete game, though, it’s a drag.
Разочарование: Kentucky Route Zero
Kentucky Route Zero сегодня более известна не позитивными отзывами, которые получили первые эпизоды, а тем, сколько пришлось ждать “полной” игры. Но вот вышел Акт 5 на радость всех, кто ждал окончания ещё с 2013-го. А те, кто ждал, пока игру закончат, потому что они не играют в незаконченные игры (например – я), наконец получили возможность поиграть. Я понимаю почему 7 лет назад, когда были доступны первые два Акта, люди ждали продолжения этого необычного путешествия. Но проходить полную версию невероятно скучно.
Disapprove: Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus
I was afraid that Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus would turn out to be more of what The Old Blood was – not bad, but feeling somewhat pointless. But the problem with this game is much more disappointing. Instead of continuing against the grain, it shows the desire to follow the worst trends.
Disapprove: Call of Cthulhu
Despite still never giving a proper go with the works of H. P. Lovecraft, I’ve had a lot of experience with art and entertainment based or inspired by his writings. That included the previous most recent videogame official adaptation of his “lore” in Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth from 2005. Despite its shortcomings and multiple issues that game was genuinely interesting and had numerous great moments and ideas (and I really should revisit it soon, since it’s been a while). This new Call of Cthulhu? Well… There’s hard to find many good things to remember this one by.
Disapprove: Call of Duty: WWII (Singleplayer)
Three years ago I decided to catch up on all the CoD games I’ve been missing out on since Black Ops II and it turned out that there were some occasional attempts at making a fun single-player campaign. The one I found most enjoyable, despite it’s dumb QTEs and the still infamous “pay respects” scene, was the Advanced Warfare entry as it had both fun gameplay elements to it and an actually good-ish story. It lacked the really creative “choose your own adventure” ideas from Black Ops II, but storytelling was solid and the characters were memorable, so I had somewhat high hopes for WWII, as it was made by the same team at Sledgehammer Games. I was extremely disappointed.