Y
Yorick
Guest
What does that have to do with anything?
Games: Rate and Discuss
- Thread starter Asknoone
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What does that have to do with anything?
Shem
The Freeman
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If that's the case, count me in.
Tollbooth Willie
The Freeman
- Joined
- Jul 27, 2005
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NeverDead
I'm not even going to bother giving this a rating. Pure dog shit. Rebellion are a shit dev, AVP1 was overrated, etc. etc. On to the next game.
I'm not even going to bother giving this a rating. Pure dog shit. Rebellion are a shit dev, AVP1 was overrated, etc. etc. On to the next game.
Gargantou
Companion Cube
- Joined
- Jan 6, 2005
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- 9
Half-Life: Opposing Force - 6/10
Maybe my opinion is coloured by having played Half-Life itself very recently, but I felt this was quite mediocre. Very short, took me around five hours to beat. Don't like the new enemies from Race X. One of the most boring final bosses of any FPS I've ever played.
Maybe my opinion is coloured by having played Half-Life itself very recently, but I felt this was quite mediocre. Very short, took me around five hours to beat. Don't like the new enemies from Race X. One of the most boring final bosses of any FPS I've ever played.
- Joined
- Dec 31, 2004
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- 20,876
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- 419
Sonic Generations: EVERYTHING IS GOOD
Actually the final boss is a terrible cluster**** and there is a lack of end-of-level bosses is disappointing but overall it's a really fun game. This is the first properly 3D Sonic game I've played and it's a lot of fun. There are nine zones each taken from one game in the series. They're divided into three areas with three zones in each area. Each Zone has two Acts, the first with Classic Sonic and the second with Modern Sonic.
Classic Sonic is pretty much the same as from the Megadrive games but with a dedicated button for spindashes (and you can spindash while running) and you get stunned for a second when hurt. I can't say which games Modern Sonic is like but his levels are a mix of side-scrolling and 3D and the transitions between them are pretty smooth. He's also much faster. Modern Sonic can do a homing attack (double jump to shoot towards enemies) which is actually a lot of fun to use and expels the issues of the difficulty of aiming a jump in 3D space. He also has a boost button instead of a spin dash which instantly accelerates you to max speed and allows you to plough through enemies and obstacle but you only have a limited amount and must charge it up by killing enemies, smashing things and collecting rings.
To be honest I think the Modern Sonic levels are probably a bit more fun. Maybe I'm a bit to easily entertained by bright moving fast colours but charging through a level with Modern Sonic and just tearing things apart with the homing attack and boost is just really really fun. Not to say the Classic stages aren't also fun, but one of the best part of 2D Sonic is careful manoeuvring your attacks in the boss battles, which are annoyingly lacking.
After completing the levels in each area you unlock challenges for those level (such as beat the level with only one ring, race another character, play the level with enemies that attack twice as fast). I find them pretty fun but if you find them annoying you only have to beat one challenge for each Zone (so if you prefer Classic Sonic and don't like the challenges you can just do three short ones for Classic Sonic) to unlock the boss to that area. There are only three areas and only one boss for each, so bosses are fairly lacking. There is also one Rival Battle per area. They're option for progressing to the next area but you need to do them to get the Chaos Emeralds but you'll want to do them anyway because they're brilliant. The first one is Metal Sonic. I won't say who the other two are, but they're pretty obvious.
So yeah. Not sure what else I can say. It's really good (except as I said, the final boss). Makes me wonder should I go back and try some other 3D Sonics.
Edit: Oh for god's sake also turn off the little robot thing that gives hints. I left him on because I thought it might help tell me stuff about how to play Modern Sonic that I wouldn't know otherwise and he's not actually that annoying in normal levels (though he is redundant as pretty much all info he gives is also given by hint boxes in the loading screens and by Sonic's friends) he is incredibly annoying for boss fights. I turned him off straight after the first boss fight because he starts giving instructions on exactly how to beat the boss as soon as the fight starts instead of letting you try yourself for a minute before chiming in.
One of the reasons the final boss is so bad is because Sonic's friends chime in instead of the hint character telling you what to do and narrating every single thing the boss does. "He's firing a homing attack" may be slightly useful the first time it's said (though you could easily figure this out yourself when you see the attack obviously homing in on you) but they say it every single ****ing time the boss uses any attack. I'M NOT ****ING BLIND SHUT THE HELL UP.
Actually the final boss is a terrible cluster**** and there is a lack of end-of-level bosses is disappointing but overall it's a really fun game. This is the first properly 3D Sonic game I've played and it's a lot of fun. There are nine zones each taken from one game in the series. They're divided into three areas with three zones in each area. Each Zone has two Acts, the first with Classic Sonic and the second with Modern Sonic.
Classic Sonic is pretty much the same as from the Megadrive games but with a dedicated button for spindashes (and you can spindash while running) and you get stunned for a second when hurt. I can't say which games Modern Sonic is like but his levels are a mix of side-scrolling and 3D and the transitions between them are pretty smooth. He's also much faster. Modern Sonic can do a homing attack (double jump to shoot towards enemies) which is actually a lot of fun to use and expels the issues of the difficulty of aiming a jump in 3D space. He also has a boost button instead of a spin dash which instantly accelerates you to max speed and allows you to plough through enemies and obstacle but you only have a limited amount and must charge it up by killing enemies, smashing things and collecting rings.
To be honest I think the Modern Sonic levels are probably a bit more fun. Maybe I'm a bit to easily entertained by bright moving fast colours but charging through a level with Modern Sonic and just tearing things apart with the homing attack and boost is just really really fun. Not to say the Classic stages aren't also fun, but one of the best part of 2D Sonic is careful manoeuvring your attacks in the boss battles, which are annoyingly lacking.
After completing the levels in each area you unlock challenges for those level (such as beat the level with only one ring, race another character, play the level with enemies that attack twice as fast). I find them pretty fun but if you find them annoying you only have to beat one challenge for each Zone (so if you prefer Classic Sonic and don't like the challenges you can just do three short ones for Classic Sonic) to unlock the boss to that area. There are only three areas and only one boss for each, so bosses are fairly lacking. There is also one Rival Battle per area. They're option for progressing to the next area but you need to do them to get the Chaos Emeralds but you'll want to do them anyway because they're brilliant. The first one is Metal Sonic. I won't say who the other two are, but they're pretty obvious.
So yeah. Not sure what else I can say. It's really good (except as I said, the final boss). Makes me wonder should I go back and try some other 3D Sonics.
Edit: Oh for god's sake also turn off the little robot thing that gives hints. I left him on because I thought it might help tell me stuff about how to play Modern Sonic that I wouldn't know otherwise and he's not actually that annoying in normal levels (though he is redundant as pretty much all info he gives is also given by hint boxes in the loading screens and by Sonic's friends) he is incredibly annoying for boss fights. I turned him off straight after the first boss fight because he starts giving instructions on exactly how to beat the boss as soon as the fight starts instead of letting you try yourself for a minute before chiming in.
One of the reasons the final boss is so bad is because Sonic's friends chime in instead of the hint character telling you what to do and narrating every single thing the boss does. "He's firing a homing attack" may be slightly useful the first time it's said (though you could easily figure this out yourself when you see the attack obviously homing in on you) but they say it every single ****ing time the boss uses any attack. I'M NOT ****ING BLIND SHUT THE HELL UP.
Dandan
Medic
- Joined
- Jul 19, 2011
- Messages
- 317
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- 0
on Chapter 9/14? of FFXIII. The game is good but I never devoted much time to it. Currently about 26 hrs into it and the game seems linear but sometimes too much exploration feels like wandering like in Skyrim. Its nice to bounce back and forth between the two games
Tollbooth Willie
The Freeman
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- Jul 27, 2005
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- 17,556
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- 820
Do you see this man? Do you see? Look upon him people. Oh wait. You can't. Because he's going fast.
Bob_Marley
Tank
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2005
- Messages
- 2,093
- Reaction score
- 2
Jagged Alliance: Back in Action
Well, the long years of waiting for a new Jagged Alliance game appeared to be over at last. Sadly they are not. Back in Action is a competent, somewhat enjoyable squad based tactics game but its no JA. It certainly tried to be a Jagged Alliance game, but it fell flat in my opinion. It doesn't have the sense of humour, the excellent voice acting, the little pointless things one could do if one wanted. I would say it feels somewhat soulless compared to my beloved Jagged Alliance 2. This particularly suffers as the game is afflicted with some of the problems that tend to appear when something isn't developed with english as the first language - poor voice acting & lipsynch as well as issues with the text - even with parts that are lifted directly from JA2 (obviously this only applies to the english version as far as I know). There is also the new character portraits, gone are the old artful images, replaced with polygon heads, many of which look rather similar to each other, particularly the males. All with a curious green overlay, which makes them look even more washed out and soulless.
However, assessed as a squad tactics game its not too bad. Combat is capable of being enjoyable despite the moronic and overly agressive AI and lack of fog of war. This game is much more about the set up, as there is no tentative advance to contact followed by quick adaptation - you see all the bad guys all the time and when they don't see you they sit there, doing nothing. Now, it may well be the case that the AI in games like JA2, X-COM or 7.62mm does exactly this - but you don't see it. Its different but still offers up some fun.
The non-combat parts of the game are, however, rather clunky compared to other games of the genre. The lack of a sector inventory is a big issue for me - having to manually run around and check every body to collect up ammo, weapons and other bits and bobs after a battle is a bit of a pain. Another bug bear I have is the new system for recruiting militia - there is no training any more, militia are recruited by handing out weapons to potential recruits has the same issues as going around collecting kit post battle. Also aquiring sufficient weapons to hand out to your militia can be a problem - guns are expensive to buy so at least initially you'll be relying on what drops from the enemy, which is random (as it was in JA2, but in JA2 enemy drops were just a source of shiny new kit and money). The militia are also rather less competent than in the previous game, which compounds the problem as you can find yourself running back and fourth from the front lines with freshly captured weapons so you can replace the horrific casualties your militia have taken during an enemy attack (I've had 20 militia kitted out with assault rifles, SMGs & shotguns facing off against a similarly equipped enemy force less than half its size and take more than 50% casualties in auto-resolve). It really slows down the progress of the game and, in my opinion, provides an unneeded annoyance when attempting to advance your cause.
Weapon availabilty appears to ramp up rather faster than in the old game - rifles becoming available for purchase and appearing in the hands of your enemies almost as soon as you step out of the starting area.
To be honest, while the game is enjoyable, to a degree, I do regret purchasing it at launch. I feel that everything that JA:BiA does well has been done before, better. If you want a pausing squad tactics game buy 7.62mm or Brigade E5: New Jagged Union. If you want the Jagged Alliance 2 experience get JA2. If it goes on sale I could reccomend it, but its not worth £30 compared to what other excellent games of the genre are available for significantly lower costs.
Note: I've not finished the game yet, so my reveiw is not based on having had the full experience, that said I feel what I've played so far is a good representation of what the game has to offer.
Well, the long years of waiting for a new Jagged Alliance game appeared to be over at last. Sadly they are not. Back in Action is a competent, somewhat enjoyable squad based tactics game but its no JA. It certainly tried to be a Jagged Alliance game, but it fell flat in my opinion. It doesn't have the sense of humour, the excellent voice acting, the little pointless things one could do if one wanted. I would say it feels somewhat soulless compared to my beloved Jagged Alliance 2. This particularly suffers as the game is afflicted with some of the problems that tend to appear when something isn't developed with english as the first language - poor voice acting & lipsynch as well as issues with the text - even with parts that are lifted directly from JA2 (obviously this only applies to the english version as far as I know). There is also the new character portraits, gone are the old artful images, replaced with polygon heads, many of which look rather similar to each other, particularly the males. All with a curious green overlay, which makes them look even more washed out and soulless.
However, assessed as a squad tactics game its not too bad. Combat is capable of being enjoyable despite the moronic and overly agressive AI and lack of fog of war. This game is much more about the set up, as there is no tentative advance to contact followed by quick adaptation - you see all the bad guys all the time and when they don't see you they sit there, doing nothing. Now, it may well be the case that the AI in games like JA2, X-COM or 7.62mm does exactly this - but you don't see it. Its different but still offers up some fun.
The non-combat parts of the game are, however, rather clunky compared to other games of the genre. The lack of a sector inventory is a big issue for me - having to manually run around and check every body to collect up ammo, weapons and other bits and bobs after a battle is a bit of a pain. Another bug bear I have is the new system for recruiting militia - there is no training any more, militia are recruited by handing out weapons to potential recruits has the same issues as going around collecting kit post battle. Also aquiring sufficient weapons to hand out to your militia can be a problem - guns are expensive to buy so at least initially you'll be relying on what drops from the enemy, which is random (as it was in JA2, but in JA2 enemy drops were just a source of shiny new kit and money). The militia are also rather less competent than in the previous game, which compounds the problem as you can find yourself running back and fourth from the front lines with freshly captured weapons so you can replace the horrific casualties your militia have taken during an enemy attack (I've had 20 militia kitted out with assault rifles, SMGs & shotguns facing off against a similarly equipped enemy force less than half its size and take more than 50% casualties in auto-resolve). It really slows down the progress of the game and, in my opinion, provides an unneeded annoyance when attempting to advance your cause.
Weapon availabilty appears to ramp up rather faster than in the old game - rifles becoming available for purchase and appearing in the hands of your enemies almost as soon as you step out of the starting area.
To be honest, while the game is enjoyable, to a degree, I do regret purchasing it at launch. I feel that everything that JA:BiA does well has been done before, better. If you want a pausing squad tactics game buy 7.62mm or Brigade E5: New Jagged Union. If you want the Jagged Alliance 2 experience get JA2. If it goes on sale I could reccomend it, but its not worth £30 compared to what other excellent games of the genre are available for significantly lower costs.
Note: I've not finished the game yet, so my reveiw is not based on having had the full experience, that said I feel what I've played so far is a good representation of what the game has to offer.
Bob_Marley
Tank
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- Apr 17, 2005
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- 2,093
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- 2
I wanted to believe Garg! I Just wanted to believe! ;(
Y
Yorick
Guest
I started playing last night and I agree with Marley, it's fun, but it's not "full price" fun. As Marley said, the AI is pretty weak, and there are a few other things that keep it from being really good.
My biggest annoyance so far is that it seems that having an enemy within like 10 feet of you means they're too close too shoot, which seems absurd to me. So I tend to die when waiting for my weapon to switch to melee.
My biggest annoyance so far is that it seems that having an enemy within like 10 feet of you means they're too close too shoot, which seems absurd to me. So I tend to die when waiting for my weapon to switch to melee.
Y
Yorick
Guest
This is my first!
Gargantou
Companion Cube
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- Jan 6, 2005
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- 9,582
- Reaction score
- 9
Binary Domain - 8/10
Enjoyable gameplay. Solid third-person shooting action with decent enemy variety.
Decent story with cutscenes that give you some pause between the action, as can be expected from the studio that brought us the Yakuza titles.
Haven't really had the ability to properly try the multiplayer since currently it seems like I am the only westerner that actually is playing it because whenever I've gone online I've only been able to find Japanese players and as such the latency when actually playing has been quite terrible.
Enjoyable gameplay. Solid third-person shooting action with decent enemy variety.
Decent story with cutscenes that give you some pause between the action, as can be expected from the studio that brought us the Yakuza titles.
Haven't really had the ability to properly try the multiplayer since currently it seems like I am the only westerner that actually is playing it because whenever I've gone online I've only been able to find Japanese players and as such the latency when actually playing has been quite terrible.
Remus
Companion Cube
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- Mar 9, 2006
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- 7,919
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- 45
Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines 7/10
Been playing this game for the past few days, and although I'm not really a fan of RPG overall I enjoyed it. There are similarities between this game and deus ex, so anyone that likes that series should also like this.
So I went for the psycho/asshole route as usual. Been working for that corporate asshole LaCroix. Corrupted an inocent and got her killed. Did some backstabing. So yeah, a lot of fun.
However this game has some serious issues. The graphics are subpar even by 2004 standards. It's based on the source engine but doesn't look nearly as good as HL2 did.
It suffers from a lot of glitches:
- character animations break down often
- getting stuck on all sorts of physics objects (which is very "amusing" in the midle of a boss fight)
- AI break downs. Once all the enemies in an entire room just froze, with one of them embeded in the floor.
- weird graphics glitches.
And of course some of the most annoying and infuriating bossfights ever (currently strugling in one). The game devs were all like: Hey I know what would make this boss fight more chalenging! Lets make this monster spam melee attacks that knock the player to the grond, and lets make the player take ages to get back up, durhurhur herp derp.
Also, taking damage and being able to hit a target depending on probablility percentages etc. instead of your playing skills, is bullshit RPG or not.
So in conclusion, if you're patient enough to look beyound it's many flaws, you'll find a good game with a decent story line, intersting characters and atmospheric levels.
Worth checking out.
Been playing this game for the past few days, and although I'm not really a fan of RPG overall I enjoyed it. There are similarities between this game and deus ex, so anyone that likes that series should also like this.
So I went for the psycho/asshole route as usual. Been working for that corporate asshole LaCroix. Corrupted an inocent and got her killed. Did some backstabing. So yeah, a lot of fun.
However this game has some serious issues. The graphics are subpar even by 2004 standards. It's based on the source engine but doesn't look nearly as good as HL2 did.
It suffers from a lot of glitches:
- character animations break down often
- getting stuck on all sorts of physics objects (which is very "amusing" in the midle of a boss fight)
- AI break downs. Once all the enemies in an entire room just froze, with one of them embeded in the floor.
- weird graphics glitches.
And of course some of the most annoying and infuriating bossfights ever (currently strugling in one). The game devs were all like: Hey I know what would make this boss fight more chalenging! Lets make this monster spam melee attacks that knock the player to the grond, and lets make the player take ages to get back up, durhurhur herp derp.
Also, taking damage and being able to hit a target depending on probablility percentages etc. instead of your playing skills, is bullshit RPG or not.
So in conclusion, if you're patient enough to look beyound it's many flaws, you'll find a good game with a decent story line, intersting characters and atmospheric levels.
Worth checking out.
When did you last play Half-Life 2? Bloodlines looks way better than Half-Life 2.
There's also more depth, and more side quests in any game released in the recent years. The game does change depending on your actions, gender, clan, and skills. There's a huge amount of variety.
There's also more depth, and more side quests in any game released in the recent years. The game does change depending on your actions, gender, clan, and skills. There's a huge amount of variety.
Remus
Companion Cube
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- Mar 9, 2006
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- 45
Yes I did, and the game still has tons of bugs.
It's been a long time since I played HL2 so I searched for some screenshots to make sure, and I stand by what I said, it looks worse than HL2. As for the other things, where did you see me complain about depth or variety? That's not the issue.
Gargantou
Companion Cube
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- Jan 6, 2005
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- 9,582
- Reaction score
- 9
No doubt, I just wanted to make sure that you patched the ones that are patchable.
Gothic 2: Gold
Many hours in and I still feel like I haven't scratched this game. I bit my lip and got over the initial pain of the learning curve and I am very happy I did. This is one of the few RPG's I can tell I will be happy for spending the time on. The Graphics are similar to Morrowind, but arguably "worse", but I still find the game to be very good looking.
It's pretty amazing how much more interesting and enjoyable this experience is compared to Skyrim or Oblivion. Hardest part is picking a faction.
Many hours in and I still feel like I haven't scratched this game. I bit my lip and got over the initial pain of the learning curve and I am very happy I did. This is one of the few RPG's I can tell I will be happy for spending the time on. The Graphics are similar to Morrowind, but arguably "worse", but I still find the game to be very good looking.
It's pretty amazing how much more interesting and enjoyable this experience is compared to Skyrim or Oblivion. Hardest part is picking a faction.
Gargantou
Companion Cube
- Joined
- Jan 6, 2005
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- 9,582
- Reaction score
- 9
Alan Wake's American Nightmare - 7/10
Bought the game around noon, took me roughly five hours to beat the story-mode. The story mode was kinda boring, in that it was just three maps repeated across three acts so there wasn't as much variation as I had hoped. The arcade mode on the other hand is quite fun though it could have been even more fun if it supported co-operative multiplayer. In the end, if you enjoyed Alan Wake, you'll enjoy this, especially given its price.
Bought the game around noon, took me roughly five hours to beat the story-mode. The story mode was kinda boring, in that it was just three maps repeated across three acts so there wasn't as much variation as I had hoped. The arcade mode on the other hand is quite fun though it could have been even more fun if it supported co-operative multiplayer. In the end, if you enjoyed Alan Wake, you'll enjoy this, especially given its price.
Half-Life: Rebellion - 1/10
I don't even know why I'm doing this to myself. I need to stop playing terrible games. It's nothing, but a pain. Rebellion is a singleplayer addon made by a French team for Half-Life. It's a direct sequel Half-Life: Vengeance.
You're Gordon Freeman (surprise!), the last hope for humanity. Your mission is stop GMan from doing something evil (you can't refuse it, trust me, I've tried). So all you have to do is survive through 50 maps, watch poorly scripted cutscenes, and kill hundreds of soldiers to stop GMan. Sounds cool, right? Well, it's not.
:|
pros:
nothing. there's nothing good about this piece of crap
cons:
first of all, it's not compatible with most versions of Half-Life. it's really hard to get it working
pretty much everything
poorly lit maps. what, you don't like getting killed by soldiers in dark maps?
extremely long, meaningless cutscenes
there's no gameplay, you just shoot, and kill countless soldiers in huge, arena like maps
no ammo, no health, nothing
shut up, freeman. your voice sucks
your suit talks when you switch your weapons. first, it sounds like a nice idea, but it gets extremely annoying in minutes. you can't disable the voice
>start the game with 4 health
>you're tasked to stop three nuclear weapons in 50 minutes
>and you need to find a bed to sleep to heal yourself
look at this screenshot. it sums up everything in a single frame. you're trying to kill bunch of soldiers, in the most bland map ever made for Half-Life, and at the same time, there's an asshole on the hills, rocket spamming you. where the hell I'm supposed to go?
conclusion:
this mod sucks, and it gives me headache. here's more screens:
I don't even know why I'm doing this to myself. I need to stop playing terrible games. It's nothing, but a pain. Rebellion is a singleplayer addon made by a French team for Half-Life. It's a direct sequel Half-Life: Vengeance.
You're Gordon Freeman (surprise!), the last hope for humanity. Your mission is stop GMan from doing something evil (you can't refuse it, trust me, I've tried). So all you have to do is survive through 50 maps, watch poorly scripted cutscenes, and kill hundreds of soldiers to stop GMan. Sounds cool, right? Well, it's not.
:|
pros:
nothing. there's nothing good about this piece of crap
cons:
first of all, it's not compatible with most versions of Half-Life. it's really hard to get it working
pretty much everything
poorly lit maps. what, you don't like getting killed by soldiers in dark maps?
extremely long, meaningless cutscenes
there's no gameplay, you just shoot, and kill countless soldiers in huge, arena like maps
no ammo, no health, nothing
shut up, freeman. your voice sucks
your suit talks when you switch your weapons. first, it sounds like a nice idea, but it gets extremely annoying in minutes. you can't disable the voice
>start the game with 4 health
>you're tasked to stop three nuclear weapons in 50 minutes
>and you need to find a bed to sleep to heal yourself
look at this screenshot. it sums up everything in a single frame. you're trying to kill bunch of soldiers, in the most bland map ever made for Half-Life, and at the same time, there's an asshole on the hills, rocket spamming you. where the hell I'm supposed to go?
conclusion:
this mod sucks, and it gives me headache. here's more screens:
"stop it, don't open that door!"
well, why not remake the second game, we already did the first.
looks like they want me to stop "metal gear" too
I think I'm in a nod temple
generic city shot #1
generic city shot #2 (is this supposed to be a church?)
generic city shot #2 (is this supposed to be a church?)
Sliver
Companion Cube
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- Mar 12, 2007
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- 34
Silent Hill 3
Coming off of the first two in the series, Silent Hill 3 was initially a bit disappointing honestly. The level, monster, character, and sound design were all top notch and high quality, but the story fell so flat for me. It comes in very large and obtuse chunks at random intervals, and is met with some pretty shitty voice acting, even by the standards the first two had. But by the time I finished it (took me about 4 and a half hours total) I had begun to enjoy it more and more, as the story unraveled. Yes, it's some standard fare compared to the awesome and captivating story of the second, but it has it's place.
The best part of the game for me is the level design. It's pretty normal as far as survival horror goes: go into big building, look through every door, find key, solve puzzles, done. But the way the maps work in the Silent Hill series, checking off doors you've gone through, or doors you can't open, makes it feel a lot more genuine. The way the levels transform into the "Hell" version also works very well, as new areas are opened and some areas are now impossible to go through.
Overall, I really enjoyed it and it was a worthy Silent Hill title. Now on to Silent Hill 4...
Coming off of the first two in the series, Silent Hill 3 was initially a bit disappointing honestly. The level, monster, character, and sound design were all top notch and high quality, but the story fell so flat for me. It comes in very large and obtuse chunks at random intervals, and is met with some pretty shitty voice acting, even by the standards the first two had. But by the time I finished it (took me about 4 and a half hours total) I had begun to enjoy it more and more, as the story unraveled. Yes, it's some standard fare compared to the awesome and captivating story of the second, but it has it's place.
The best part of the game for me is the level design. It's pretty normal as far as survival horror goes: go into big building, look through every door, find key, solve puzzles, done. But the way the maps work in the Silent Hill series, checking off doors you've gone through, or doors you can't open, makes it feel a lot more genuine. The way the levels transform into the "Hell" version also works very well, as new areas are opened and some areas are now impossible to go through.
Overall, I really enjoyed it and it was a worthy Silent Hill title. Now on to Silent Hill 4...
- Joined
- Dec 31, 2004
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- 20,876
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- 419
They really started to play with the other world transitions in 3 didn't they? (look at me talking like I'm an expert in a series I've played two entries of)
If you have a Wii definitely get Shattered Memories mate. It's just so well done. It translates all the gameplay tropes of Silent Hill (the radio, the maps, finding random notes, the flashlight, running away like a pussy) into more refined, modern and sensible ways and it has the best use of the Wii controller in any game I've played. By that I mean they stuff everything into the phone/hand held flashlight and let the remote be your right hand. You get to point the flashlight around yourself instead of it being glued to your chest and most of the nonsense mechanics are redefined in terms of a smartphone you get. Who the hell carries around a monster-alerting radio? The static now comes from your phone. The maps are your phone's GPS. Instead of Silent Hill having an outbreak of compulsive note and diary writing you intercept texts and voice messages on on your phone (sure it makes slightly less sense from how you actually get these messages but it just seems more natural somehow. The origin of the messages makes more sense, even if how they get to you doesn't).
So yeah. Get it. Everyone. Get it.
If you have a Wii definitely get Shattered Memories mate. It's just so well done. It translates all the gameplay tropes of Silent Hill (the radio, the maps, finding random notes, the flashlight, running away like a pussy) into more refined, modern and sensible ways and it has the best use of the Wii controller in any game I've played. By that I mean they stuff everything into the phone/hand held flashlight and let the remote be your right hand. You get to point the flashlight around yourself instead of it being glued to your chest and most of the nonsense mechanics are redefined in terms of a smartphone you get. Who the hell carries around a monster-alerting radio? The static now comes from your phone. The maps are your phone's GPS. Instead of Silent Hill having an outbreak of compulsive note and diary writing you intercept texts and voice messages on on your phone (sure it makes slightly less sense from how you actually get these messages but it just seems more natural somehow. The origin of the messages makes more sense, even if how they get to you doesn't).
So yeah. Get it. Everyone. Get it.
Silent Hill 3 is nothing, but a rushed sequel. It's the same, old formula with no innovation. Hell, Silent Hill 2 even feels like a big, budget reimagination of the first game. Yes, I'm a huge fan of the original Silent Hill.
Silent Hill 4 is way worse. It's not even a Silent Hill game. It's a random horror game, renamed to Silent Hill in the last minute, just to make people buy it. It was so bad that I uninstalled the game after 30 minutes of mindless exploration. There was an immortal ghost (yes, you can't kill it, or make it disappear) chasing me in the subway cars.
Silent Hill 4 is way worse. It's not even a Silent Hill game. It's a random horror game, renamed to Silent Hill in the last minute, just to make people buy it. It was so bad that I uninstalled the game after 30 minutes of mindless exploration. There was an immortal ghost (yes, you can't kill it, or make it disappear) chasing me in the subway cars.
Gothic 2: Gold/Night of The Raven (Finished)
7/10
I can't believe I actually beat this game. It was ****ing hard, and I came close to quitting a number of times. One of the best free roam fantasy RPG's I've played however. Certainly better than any of the Elder Scrolls.
The Bad: Lots of bugs and balance issues. The combat can be quite frustrating, and I can't imagine playing a ranged character as the "selecting and tracking" mechanic of this game is awful, buggy, and awkward. When you go to select something highlighted, it jumps to the next highlighted thing for example. Or, when you go to talk to someone sitting down, the game selects the chair instead and tells you "Can't sit there", so you have to position yourself sideways in order to select someone. Very awkward.
The Good: Lots of game, if you are into something difficult and long, it's a great. Lots of exploration as well. The story is interesting, and the voice acting and dialogue is great (Very cheesy, but very lively and interesting, more than can be said for most games)
7/10
I can't believe I actually beat this game. It was ****ing hard, and I came close to quitting a number of times. One of the best free roam fantasy RPG's I've played however. Certainly better than any of the Elder Scrolls.
The Bad: Lots of bugs and balance issues. The combat can be quite frustrating, and I can't imagine playing a ranged character as the "selecting and tracking" mechanic of this game is awful, buggy, and awkward. When you go to select something highlighted, it jumps to the next highlighted thing for example. Or, when you go to talk to someone sitting down, the game selects the chair instead and tells you "Can't sit there", so you have to position yourself sideways in order to select someone. Very awkward.
The Good: Lots of game, if you are into something difficult and long, it's a great. Lots of exploration as well. The story is interesting, and the voice acting and dialogue is great (Very cheesy, but very lively and interesting, more than can be said for most games)
Wanted Bob
Companion Cube
- Joined
- Oct 17, 2006
- Messages
- 5,212
- Reaction score
- 49
Been a while since I reviewed some games, so here's a few quick thoughts...
Chronicles of Riddick - Escape from Butcher Bay- 8.5/10
I should preface anything I say about this game by mentioning that I adore the Riddick universe, and this game absolutely nails that dark and gritty atmosphere. The upgraded edition of this game doesnt look too shabby, and the voice acting still stands out as fantastic in my opinion. For the most part, this game gives you the feeling of being Riddick, though there are some parts where I felt like I was forced to run around like a moron just to stay alive. On that note, I found EfBB to be rather difficult in some scenarios, in which you were basically forced out into the open against a bunch of guys with very little room to hide (really enjoyed the mech levels though, listening to the guards freak out was awesome). There are also some sections of the game that require a lot of backtracking, which sucks no matter how it is presented.
Basically, if you love Riddick, go buy this. It's cheap nowadays, and comes with a multiplayer mode and a sequel (which I haven't played, but I've been told is nowhere near as good).
Skyrim - 9.6/10
Not gonna say much here, as so many people have talked about it, but for me this was a significant step forward in the right direction from Oblivion (which I still loved, even saying that). Both archery and magical combat is way better, as are the designs of the dungeons, and the character models. I could nitpick about how the animations still arent very good, and how the guild questlines are not as good as in past games, but the biggest disappointment for me was how this Elder Scrolls game still hasn't captured the superb world design that made Morrowind one of my all-time favourite games. There was something so wonderous about exploring the world in Morrowind, taking in the alien scenery and fantastical culture and politics, that just wasn't present in this game. I understand that perhaps the lore of Skyrim didnt allow for such wild ideas, but if there was one thing I really want them to improve on for the next game, its this.
With that said, I obviously adored this game hence the high score, and its well deserving of the award of being my second favourite game of 2011 (the top honour going to Deus Ex: HR).
The Binding of Isaac - 9/10
Forget if I reviewed this game before, but in short, just buy this game. It's got a charming yet creepy art style, the music is awesome, it's short enough to fill in a quick half hour of gaming, but highly replayable and addictive enough to have me coming back to it months after I bought it.
Oh, and it's only $5.
Chronicles of Riddick - Escape from Butcher Bay- 8.5/10
I should preface anything I say about this game by mentioning that I adore the Riddick universe, and this game absolutely nails that dark and gritty atmosphere. The upgraded edition of this game doesnt look too shabby, and the voice acting still stands out as fantastic in my opinion. For the most part, this game gives you the feeling of being Riddick, though there are some parts where I felt like I was forced to run around like a moron just to stay alive. On that note, I found EfBB to be rather difficult in some scenarios, in which you were basically forced out into the open against a bunch of guys with very little room to hide (really enjoyed the mech levels though, listening to the guards freak out was awesome). There are also some sections of the game that require a lot of backtracking, which sucks no matter how it is presented.
Basically, if you love Riddick, go buy this. It's cheap nowadays, and comes with a multiplayer mode and a sequel (which I haven't played, but I've been told is nowhere near as good).
Skyrim - 9.6/10
Not gonna say much here, as so many people have talked about it, but for me this was a significant step forward in the right direction from Oblivion (which I still loved, even saying that). Both archery and magical combat is way better, as are the designs of the dungeons, and the character models. I could nitpick about how the animations still arent very good, and how the guild questlines are not as good as in past games, but the biggest disappointment for me was how this Elder Scrolls game still hasn't captured the superb world design that made Morrowind one of my all-time favourite games. There was something so wonderous about exploring the world in Morrowind, taking in the alien scenery and fantastical culture and politics, that just wasn't present in this game. I understand that perhaps the lore of Skyrim didnt allow for such wild ideas, but if there was one thing I really want them to improve on for the next game, its this.
With that said, I obviously adored this game hence the high score, and its well deserving of the award of being my second favourite game of 2011 (the top honour going to Deus Ex: HR).
The Binding of Isaac - 9/10
Forget if I reviewed this game before, but in short, just buy this game. It's got a charming yet creepy art style, the music is awesome, it's short enough to fill in a quick half hour of gaming, but highly replayable and addictive enough to have me coming back to it months after I bought it.
Oh, and it's only $5.
FrostedxB
Tank
- Joined
- Jun 7, 2009
- Messages
- 1,276
- Reaction score
- -2
JASF - 3/10
I've played a lot of bad games in my day but this may actually be one of the most disappointingly bad ones. My biggest issue with the game, and I have many issues with it, is that there is absolutely no cockpit view. 1st and 3rd person view, no cockpit. When I figured that out, it was the beginning of the long, downward slope this game was going to slide. The flying in this is really dull as well. I'm not really sure why I say this, but after playing HAWX 2 and Ace Combat 6, it just didn't feel like there was anything really special going on.
The game has a pretty lousy drawn-in, every time I start/restart a mission or checkpoint, I'd be watching the ground draw back in in three layers. Speaking of which, the ground looks pretty bad, very flat land, mountain that look pretty angular and buildings that look basic. The planes themselves look alright though. Flying in the third person POV, I noticed the jets rocked back and forth A LOT and the camera would swing to the opposite side that the plane was swinging. The way the weapons look and fire is also pretty shoddy. Your missile will lock onto and follow an enemy jet relentlessly, yet enemy missiles seem to just fly straight forward and are easily dodged.
At the end of the day there are worse flight games, but this one is not very exciting nor is it worth paying full price for. It's short and dull and lacks a cockpit view.
I've played a lot of bad games in my day but this may actually be one of the most disappointingly bad ones. My biggest issue with the game, and I have many issues with it, is that there is absolutely no cockpit view. 1st and 3rd person view, no cockpit. When I figured that out, it was the beginning of the long, downward slope this game was going to slide. The flying in this is really dull as well. I'm not really sure why I say this, but after playing HAWX 2 and Ace Combat 6, it just didn't feel like there was anything really special going on.
The game has a pretty lousy drawn-in, every time I start/restart a mission or checkpoint, I'd be watching the ground draw back in in three layers. Speaking of which, the ground looks pretty bad, very flat land, mountain that look pretty angular and buildings that look basic. The planes themselves look alright though. Flying in the third person POV, I noticed the jets rocked back and forth A LOT and the camera would swing to the opposite side that the plane was swinging. The way the weapons look and fire is also pretty shoddy. Your missile will lock onto and follow an enemy jet relentlessly, yet enemy missiles seem to just fly straight forward and are easily dodged.
At the end of the day there are worse flight games, but this one is not very exciting nor is it worth paying full price for. It's short and dull and lacks a cockpit view.
Dynasty
Space Core
- Joined
- Jul 2, 2004
- Messages
- 4,976
- Reaction score
- 17
Skyrim - 10/10
After hilariously deleting my save game files due to a fiddle with the uGrid settings causing them to become unloadable, I have started Skyrim from scratch packed full of mods.
Decided to play a heavy armour wearing, 2hd weapon wielding Dark Elf mage type character. COmpletely different way of playing compared to my stealthy assassin Khajit with double daggers.
I am a bit livid over having to get my stats up again and get the daedric armour and weapons (grind much?), but hey, price I pay for fiddling with files.
Feels like a different game in this new play style.
Portal 2 - 10/10
Less than 8 quid for Portal 2? Sold. I was waiting for this day, and god Ive been missing out. Havent laughed this much in a game.
After hilariously deleting my save game files due to a fiddle with the uGrid settings causing them to become unloadable, I have started Skyrim from scratch packed full of mods.
Decided to play a heavy armour wearing, 2hd weapon wielding Dark Elf mage type character. COmpletely different way of playing compared to my stealthy assassin Khajit with double daggers.
I am a bit livid over having to get my stats up again and get the daedric armour and weapons (grind much?), but hey, price I pay for fiddling with files.
Feels like a different game in this new play style.
Portal 2 - 10/10
Less than 8 quid for Portal 2? Sold. I was waiting for this day, and god Ive been missing out. Havent laughed this much in a game.
Stigmata
The Freeman
- Joined
- Jun 2, 2003
- Messages
- 15,906
- Reaction score
- 371
Skyrim - 3/10
PROS: Music's pretty good, it's fun to explore the environment, future mods might make the game's existence worthwhile.
CONS: Soulless, clunky combat, absolute dogshit engine, bad writing, bad voice acting, boring loot, boring quests, unmemorable characters, stupid skill trees, the ****ing laziest PC interface I've ever seen, and poor texturing.
Dota 2 - 9/10
PROS: Visuals, character design, voice acting, aesthetics of gameplay (e.g. smooth attack animations -> easier last hits), balance, tactical depth, teamplay.
CONS: It's a beta and it has the Dota community (which, to be fair, is nothing compared to League's).
PROS: Music's pretty good, it's fun to explore the environment, future mods might make the game's existence worthwhile.
CONS: Soulless, clunky combat, absolute dogshit engine, bad writing, bad voice acting, boring loot, boring quests, unmemorable characters, stupid skill trees, the ****ing laziest PC interface I've ever seen, and poor texturing.
Dota 2 - 9/10
PROS: Visuals, character design, voice acting, aesthetics of gameplay (e.g. smooth attack animations -> easier last hits), balance, tactical depth, teamplay.
CONS: It's a beta and it has the Dota community (which, to be fair, is nothing compared to League's).
Dynasty
Space Core
- Joined
- Jul 2, 2004
- Messages
- 4,976
- Reaction score
- 17
Try modding Skyrim from the Skyrim Nexus.
Recommend the FXAA Processor Injector mod for better colouring.
Texture mods for landscape, especially rocks.
Fiddle with the ini files for grassfade and tree distance, better shadows on objects etc.
Makes it look and play so much better. But the combat doesnt change much, or the quests, or skills...so if they are your main problem, then Skyrim isnt for you.
Recommend the FXAA Processor Injector mod for better colouring.
Texture mods for landscape, especially rocks.
Fiddle with the ini files for grassfade and tree distance, better shadows on objects etc.
Makes it look and play so much better. But the combat doesnt change much, or the quests, or skills...so if they are your main problem, then Skyrim isnt for you.
Edeslash
Party Escort Bot
- Joined
- Mar 4, 2009
- Messages
- 607
- Reaction score
- 70
Journey - 10/10
It sure is hard to talk about this game. It's such an emotional and personal experience, a game about human nature if you really want to dig in deep. It changes the way you think about games.
In the middle of a vast, endless desert you find yourself walking towards an enormous mountain in the horizon. Very simple visual clues guide you towards it as you walk through the ruins of an ancient civilization. Journey may be the first game that didn't make me want to wander off the track to see if there is anything interesting. It is a very beautiful game. The color palette is very simple yet effective and the ruins through which you walk are extremely impressive. The game isn't just walking through sand - there are a couple of very varying environments.
The gameplay is as simple as in thatgamecompany's earlier games. Pressing the X button lets you fly. Flying drains away your energy that is stored in your scarf - the longer your scarf is, the further you can fly. The length is increased by finding glowing runes hidden in the world. The energy can be restored by interacting with other creatures made of the same fabric as you. These can be often woken up or released by singing near them. Singing is the other gameplay mechanic - it restores the energy of other creatures. Pressing and holding the circle button lets you sing. Holding it down longer makes the sound larger and more powerful.
But the real beauty of Journey is in the greatest multiplayer mechanic of all time. At some point of the game, you will come across another creature which looks just like you. It is another player. The only way to communicate with him is singing - each player has a bit different tone. Singing to your friend restores his energy - this creates a wonderful symbiosis between you two.
The emotional bond that this anonymous multiplayer creates is incredible. It's extremely strong in the last minutes of the game. There are exceptions, though. The first person I met in the game simply left me behind as I got stuck at one point. I kept trying to sing to him to make him notice me and help me but he simply walked off. But it's just a part of the game. I went through the whole game with the next person I saw - it was a fantastic experience. The simple signing allows way more meaningful communication than you'd think. Later in the game there are a couple of dangerous and shocking moments - they really bond you together with your partner.
On my second playthrough I had to stop playing for a while. I sang something to my partner and sat on the ground. Fifteen minutes later I returned to the game and my partner was sitting there with me. We continued and played through the game.
Journey is a game you have to experience. Words can most definitely describe it.
It sure is hard to talk about this game. It's such an emotional and personal experience, a game about human nature if you really want to dig in deep. It changes the way you think about games.
In the middle of a vast, endless desert you find yourself walking towards an enormous mountain in the horizon. Very simple visual clues guide you towards it as you walk through the ruins of an ancient civilization. Journey may be the first game that didn't make me want to wander off the track to see if there is anything interesting. It is a very beautiful game. The color palette is very simple yet effective and the ruins through which you walk are extremely impressive. The game isn't just walking through sand - there are a couple of very varying environments.
The gameplay is as simple as in thatgamecompany's earlier games. Pressing the X button lets you fly. Flying drains away your energy that is stored in your scarf - the longer your scarf is, the further you can fly. The length is increased by finding glowing runes hidden in the world. The energy can be restored by interacting with other creatures made of the same fabric as you. These can be often woken up or released by singing near them. Singing is the other gameplay mechanic - it restores the energy of other creatures. Pressing and holding the circle button lets you sing. Holding it down longer makes the sound larger and more powerful.
But the real beauty of Journey is in the greatest multiplayer mechanic of all time. At some point of the game, you will come across another creature which looks just like you. It is another player. The only way to communicate with him is singing - each player has a bit different tone. Singing to your friend restores his energy - this creates a wonderful symbiosis between you two.
The emotional bond that this anonymous multiplayer creates is incredible. It's extremely strong in the last minutes of the game. There are exceptions, though. The first person I met in the game simply left me behind as I got stuck at one point. I kept trying to sing to him to make him notice me and help me but he simply walked off. But it's just a part of the game. I went through the whole game with the next person I saw - it was a fantastic experience. The simple signing allows way more meaningful communication than you'd think. Later in the game there are a couple of dangerous and shocking moments - they really bond you together with your partner.
On my second playthrough I had to stop playing for a while. I sang something to my partner and sat on the ground. Fifteen minutes later I returned to the game and my partner was sitting there with me. We continued and played through the game.
Journey is a game you have to experience. Words can most definitely describe it.
Y
Yorick
Guest
Not quite as much as your post.
