This is not a game a lot of people will enjoy. It can probably be best described as an “interactive fragmented imaginary documentary film about a curious case that never got solved”, where “interaction” comes almost only in how you sort out the fragments of the story together. It’s a weird and interesting experience that feels a bit… lacking, but still satisfying.
Last year people were joking that Rockstar intentionally spread the ports of GTA V over 3 years so it could get Game of the Year award 3 times in a row. Many played the game in all its version. I was waiting for the PC port… Actually, no. Reality is – I wasn’t waiting for this game at all. I don’t know why, but I simply didn’t care about another sequel to the series that used to be so interesting to me. I just didn’t care anymore. So when it was released, I was checking reviews, I was listening to my friends’ opinions on it, but wasn’t much interested in playing it. Perhaps that’s exactly why now, when I’ve completed it, I feel so strange.
Less than a week ago 4A released Metro Redux – remastered versions of Metro 2033 and Metro: Last Light. Both games were moved to an updated engine with updated lighting, both games have new distinct modes of playing them – Survival (closer to 2033) or Spartan (closer to Last Light). Both games got updated voice acting, with the same voice actor for Artyom in all main languages and new localisations including the Ukrainian. 2033 was affected the most, of course, but I will talk about it later. After replaying both original versions of the games I decided to play Redux in the opposite order. Partially because I never got the DLCs for Last Light which are included here. Partially because it was fresher on the mind. Let’s see how the game and its Redux versions fair.
Oh and I’ll start with my older Last Light screenshots and then will use the LL Redux screenshots for comparison. The old ones are in 5:4, from my older monitor.
O tempora is a series of retrospective posts where I play games from ages before to see if they stood the test of time.
Monolith Productions has remained one of the most important studios for me for the longest time. I liked Blood as a teen, but my own proper PC wasn’t a thing until 2001, which was just about the time The Operative: No One Lives Forever got released. That classic, which is still sadly not re-released due to rights issues, was just the beginning. Fantastic Aliens versus Predator 2 followed with its 3 story campaigns that constantly cross over – something that is still a rarity for games. Then, of course, a long expected sequel No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy in H.A.R.M.’s Way. Then one of the best movie license games ever – Tron 2.0. And then, in a single year, two amazing games got released – F.E.A.R. and Condemned: Criminal Origins. I am not listing a couple of other games they developed, just due to not playing them myself (though I did play Contract J.A.C.K., which isn’t worth mentioning), but point is – Monolith never disappointed me.
F.E.A.R. was the point where everything started changing. With the game itself, as it was a unique blend of ideas from classic FPS titles and the more “modern” ideas for the genre. For the company, since after this year their projects started getting less praise. And even for the company focus – a switch from their PC-centric development (LithTech engine was specifically designed to be a showcase of DirectX), to a far larger emphasis on consoles. 8 years after F.E.A.R. was originally released, a lot of its faults are more obvious. Yet, it still never fails to amaze.
Almost exactly 10 years ago Tomb Raider series was meant to be “refreshed”. Add characters, make it more story-driven, include RPG elements and make it about Lara Croft learning to become Lara Croft (again). It was called Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness and it failed miserably. It became the last title from the original TR developers Core Design and the studio was closed soon after. And the main reason for the failure was brutally simple – the game was only about 60% finished on release and played horribly. Ten years later, the new development studio currently responsible for the series Crystal Dynamics (a studio I admire a lot) approached the “refresh” in a very similar way. Except, this time they had a chance to finish the game before releasing it. Happy birthday yet again, Lara.
When I first heard about Capcom developing a game based on Divine Comedy where Dante Alighieri is making mincemeat out of demons I rolled my eyes. “This is so stupid, why would anyone want this?” Then the demo of this weird game that was to be called Devil May Cry was added as a bonus to the PS2 release of the new entry in the super popular (and much loved by me) Resident Evil series – the Code Veronica X. I still remember the longstanding joke that most people who got that version spent more time playing the DMC demo than RE: CVX itself. The game became a forerunner for a new genre of action.
When DmC: Devil May Cry was announced people started rolling their eyes and hitting tables with their heads for more or less similar reasons. And yet, just like the last time, the results are pleasantly surprising.
Max Payne 3 has looked like a controversial game ever since the announcement. From the start, it had people who refused to believe in a game with Max without NYC and Remedy. It was clear that this franchise, that originally taught early 00s gamers the word “noir” (without explaining what it meant), was to become something else entirely. But change is never just bad or just good.
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 Dino Crisis franchise has a weird spot in Capcom catalog. On one hand, the first two games were really popular and apparently sold well. On the other, the company has been obviously unsure about making a new title, especially after the failed experiment with the third game. And besides, if they do make a new game, what type of game would it be? All three games in the series were so different.
A bit over a year ago one of my most long awaited RPGs was released. BioWare promised to make this “spiritual successor” to Baldur’s Gate since 2003. And after how pretty boring Neverwinter Nights was, it was something to wait for. Yet, years later and several releases from the studio that haven’t tried to be BG, there were no news on what was to become Dragon Age. Only about a year before release we finally got some new info. It was all exciting apart from the announcement about the change from being PC-exclusive, which made me worry that the game will get postponed again. And, of course, it was.
Yet, even with an extra year of development the game was pretty buggy when I played it the first time. Though, there was plenty to criticize the game for apart from the bugs too. I didn’t write a “proper” review in hopes that later patches and updates can turn the game into something far better than the game originally was. Dragon Age: Ultimate Edition is the most complete the game will ever be, so it’s time to talk about Origins, Awakening and a bunch of DLCs included in it.
I tend to dislike most FMV games. I loved this one.
