#or finally get a big meaty pc

[mossymandibles]

I’m curious/excited for new silent hill stuff

[irrigos]

Irrigo's Best and Worst Exceptional Stories from Every Year

This is going to be incredibly long. Should I have split this up into several posts? Perhaps. But I didn't. Anyway here's my extremely subjective opinions that may or may not match up with the subreddit's yearly survey. This post is long and has some spoilers, but I've tried to mention them only when necessary and labeled which little blurbs have spoilers in them.

2015

Best: Cut With Moonlight

I can say this very confidently now that I've played many many too many Exceptional Stories: a lot of them really fumble the ending. So, the fact that Cut With Moonlight has a good twist I wasn't expecting, and ties the ending back into the beginning of the story is what makes it a (haha) cut above the rest

Worst: Flint

There are lots of people who like Flint, and that's not illegal (despite my many petitions to the government), so I just have to accept it. I played it when it came out, and liked it at the time, even though I couldn't really grasp what was happening! I thought it was just because AK's writing was too deep and poetic for my simple mind, but now that I'm no longer a teenager, I think maybe he might just be a bad writer? Playing it now (when it's not split in half with a month between) it's way too goddamn long, it's really boring, I don't know why he made it canon that the Mountain of Light experienced sexual violence when she's literally a pile of rocks, and also the fatphobia in it really started to get to me. Like, I get it. The Imperturbable Patroness is big, but it felt like her size was brought up constantly. It might just be me, and other people maybe wouldn't have gotten this impression, but when I played it last, it felt like every sentence about her was like, "She heaves her huge body, holding a knife in her meaty fist, and stomps her big feet on the ground, and looks at you fatly"

Honestly, I would recommend this ES if you want to remind yourself why we're glad AK is gone.

2016

Best: Five Minutes to Midday

Are there better, more compelling stories, with more variance in the choices you could make? Perhaps. But this is MY list, and I'M in love with the Subdued Protestor. This one was extremely in character for my PC, and also particularly timely (I think when it happened, Morgan had just lost their soul), and the Protestor was sooooooo big and handsome and I love him. He's my best friend, my homeboy, my rotten soldier, my sweet cheese, my good time boy. I really don't have much more to say than that!

Worst: A Waltz to Move the World

(Spoilers)

This one's complicated! There's a lot to like about it. I like that it has a soundtrack! I like that it's got cool Great Game stuff! In isolation, I like the idea of helping a woman reconcile with her father! But... I just can't escape the fact that the story expects you to have a lot of sympathy for this guy whose problem is he's so sad about the time he murdered his wife. Also- was any of the lore about The Old Man and the Winter in Vienna ever followed up on, or has it been mostly dropped? I don't remember. Someone who knows more lore than me might know, and I frankly don't care enough to check.

2017

Best: HOJOTOHO!

This one is one that is widely loved, and yeah, it deserves it! I don't actually have too much to say about it. Who doesn't love hanging out with some weird little kids? Having a little girl see an opera, latch onto a part of it, and just immediately be like "THIS IS ME NOW" is so accurate. Also, the final choice in this one was really tough for me! It was a doozy!

Worst: The Clay Man's Arm

I've written about The Clay Man's Arm already, so I almost wanted to pick something else for worst, just so I'd have something new to say. But how could I pick anything else! This is my least favorite story I've ever played in Fallen London. There are others that I think are worse in construction or morals or metaphorical implications, but I have not found a single one of them to be as repulsive. You couldn't pay me to play this one again.

2018

Best: For All The Saints Who from Their Labours Rest

(Spoilers)

Everyone knows I love Church and Hell stuff. And if you don't, you should! I'm the one who made them put the Bishop of Southwark in Mask of the Rose, because he's my special favorite! That said, I can't say I really loved this one as much as some of the other "best"s. I mean, I got some got Reggie moments, so that's good. But... I don't know. I was excited about there being a sexy priest, but sadly the Intrepid Deacon is EXTREMELY not my type (my type is.. well! Reggie! not little baby men who've never done nothing to nobody!). Also... well I'm not quite sure how to express this, but I think it's really weird that the end of this one basically confirms that Lucifer is... real? That he's one of the fallen princes of Hell, or something? Possibly implied that the Christian God is a Judgement? idk it rubs me the wrong way to have a religion confirmed true or false within the fictional universe. So, while I think this one is the best of the year, I can't say I don't have some pretty hefty problems with it. Also I always get the name wrong

Worst: Factory of Favours

I already wrote about this one here, but the important thing is, it's boring. There's really not too much more to say- you do a series of boring actions to achieve dull goals for NPCs who I wouldn't even say rise to the level of being actual "characters", and then it's over and you go home. It has all the substance and style of a dinner consisting of a single sheet of blank paper.

2019

Best: Cricket, Anyone?

Yeah, yeah, yeah, we all know it's the best one. Everyone says it's the best one. I'm so filled with spite I wanted to be super contrarian and pick a different one, but I can't. It's so fun, you guys. The lore reveals in it are cool (and it's important when an ES doesn't make me resent the presence of a Master- I do not enjoy those guys!), and the plot is exciting, the mechanics work really well, but in my opinion, the most important thing about Cricket, Anyone? is this: it's funny. There are points in FL where you can really smell the influence of Terry Pratchett, but they never manage to actually emulate him (turns out, when you try to combine Terry Pratchett, TS Eliot, GK Chesterton, and Jorge Luis Borges, you just get like... Neil Gaiman. And nobody wants that!). I love Pratchett's humor, so Groover capturing that, and actually delivering on the "hilarious" part of the "dark and hilarious Gothic underworld" that's advertised on the log-in page was really exceptional to me.

Worst: The Stag & The Shark

(spoilers)

2019 was actually a really good year for Exceptional Stories, and I had a hard time picking a Worst one. The Stag & The Shark was well-constructed, and I wouldn't say there was anything really wrong with it! I just wasn't really invested in the characters and I didn't care about any of their goals. The titular Young Stag wants to kill a Bound Shark because he think it will prove that he's cool, his dad wants his son to be safe and also stop being so fucking weird, and the fisherwoman whose boat you're on wants to recruit the Young Stag to the New Sequence. I don't really care about some rich kid wanting to fit in with the Young Stags, I don't care about his dad, and I also think the New Sequence sucks, so I don't care about them achieving their goals either!

2020

Best: Go Tell the King of Cats

Okay, you need to know one thing about me: I'm a cat guy. Also, a Cats guy. It's a good musical. And auxiliary to both of those: I love stories about old and busted bastard people. So this one was basically made for me. I don't want to talk much more about it, because I really think you should play it, especially if you like a story about an old bastard man (who is also a cat) trying to get a second chance. I teared up at the end.

Worst: The Dilettante's Debut

(spoilers)

uuuguughghguhgughguhghghghhhhhhh. Okay, the thing about The Dilettante's Debut is that I wanted to like it. I always want to like Exceptional Stories! I like it when things are good! But the ending on this one is.... god. It's bad. So you're trying to help the Dilettante restore the reputation of the Fairfax family, and also show up his cousin (the Wild-Eyed Socialite). I'm on board with this! I can do this! I generally don't see the point in undermining the people who hired me, so I didn't work against the Dilettante for the majority of the story...

... and then it turned out the final goal of the Dilettante's Footman was to use shapeling arts to mutate the Socialite into a Starved Man. If you agree to help him with this, in the end, you're told she's been put in a sanitarium. This is possibly (probably) a lie, but also... I mean, I'm supposed to mutilate this woman's body without her consent, and then banish her to either the Roof (most likely), or genuinely a sanitarium, a place where women were frequently abused, and for what? Because she drinks too much? She's successful and the Dilettante isn't? She's kind of rude to him?

I refused to help the footman, but then I didn't have enough cache with the Socialite to decent ending, so it felt like I was being punished for being loyal to the guy who hired me (because I didn't really have much reason to betray him) until he was going to commit and atrocity. I was either supposed to betray him for no reason earlier, or stick with the atrocity, and both are bad.

Anyway, it felt like Unto Dust (the story two months later) was trying to do something similar to The Dilettante's Debut, but it did it way better.

Anyway, it felt like Unto Dust did "last scion of a noble house dealing with his grandparent's legacy" way better two months later

2021

Best: The Tempest

Between this story and HOJOTOHO!, Fallen London really is the only game that I've ever played that truly understands little girls. The Tempestuous Urchin is pissed the fuck off about her lot in life, and she's right to be! And I just really enjoyed a story about how powerful anger can be, both to let go of AND to utilize. I just feel like you don't really see that a lot, and I really liked it.

Worst: For A Dream of Innocence

(spoilers)

I've talked about this one before, way back when it came out, but short version is: this one had a lot of errors, the story was unfocused, and I thought that it had some really Troubling implications.

The long version is: There were a lot of typos, or times when it referred to a character with the wrong pronouns. It seemed to have three different ideas, any of which would have been a decent ES in itself (a rogue French spy, making a new life in a vat, an enclave of Rubberies living under a bridge), but because they're all crammed together, none of them really seemed to pay off, and it just felt like the story wasn't really ABOUT anything.

And then the Troubling Implications.... first of all, the Abbess's motivations for being duplicitous and manipulative is that she's old and wants to be young and hot again, which... I mean it's possible for a person to want that, but it just seems kind of misogynistic to me. Like, yeah, why else would a woman bargain away the lives of a town? Women be obsessed with their youth!

On top of that, it also doubled down on the Rubbery lore that I really hate. I kind of thought that the fact that Rubberies are constructs with no interiority or culture had been retconned, or at least allowed to fall to the wayside with the Tentacled Entrepreneur/Helicon House bringing focus to Rubbery art and music. And I was glad for it! So I didn't like that it was brought up again here, and in a way that came across as particularly colonialist. These beings, who are less than people, do not have any culture, and any they have acquired is only from association with a More Civilized people (in this case, Londoners), and this is viewed as a disgusting aberration by their close-minded rulers, is. um. Well. It Sure Is Huh.

2022

Best: Adornment

I would say that I'm a pretty well-known Masters Hater, so when I saw that the art for this one was Mr. Stones, I was like.... ugh. Great another one to pander to the Masters fuckers, the only audience that FBG cares to cater to.

I was wrong! I was very wrong. I mean, maybe I wasn't wrong, but I was being too negative. This was a really fun story, and I really really liked all the characters in it. A fun nonbinary anarchist criminal and a Quaker clay man? Were they writing this one for me exclusively? I even enjoyed Mr. Stones' presence in it!!! It was really fun. Anyway do you guys think Mica and the Smuggler ever explored each others bodies

Worst: Darnier Cri

(Spoilers)

You gotta do real bad to make me hate the story that's about Victorian fashion, a thing I love very much. You get asked to help a fashion house design their new collection, and eventually learn that the fashion house has been run by revolutionaries, using the inherent magical powers of Neathy fabrics to influence Surface politics (specifically to undermine the Transvaal Republic, which was an independent republic in what is now northeaster South Africa, in an attempt to drive the colonists out of Africa). It's newest investor is an agent of the Transvaal Republic, who is trying to destroy the fashion house.

I guess I would say that it's a... BOLD choice, to try to explicitly address colonialism in your alt-history adventure game where you can fuck a squid. I'm certainly not a "keep politics out of my video games" type person (I think art is inextricable from politics, and I talk about the politics of FL all the time) but I really don't think that FL is equipped to actually address this subject head-on. And, frankly, it's incredibly jarring, when the idea of anti-colonialism has never come up in the game before. I know there ARE colonies in the Neath, even one that you can be the governor of, but I would argue "the magical fantasy talking tigers seem to graciously tolerate your presence" is very different from "the European settlers in Africa think they are genetically superior to the native Africans." It's just kind of jarring!! And honestly, I don't think this game is really equipped to address it!!! It's just a little out of place. And on top of that, a lot of the language the villain uses to... uh. be racist, I guess, is also a lot of the same language the game uses around the Great Chain/Liberation of the Night, like talking about a "hierarchy of being" and people "knowing their place in the chain". Like... the implication of that allusion is that the fictional hierarchy that exists in Fallen London, that puts Judgements above Curators above Humans above Apes, is the same as... racism? Real world racism? So LoN is anti-racism? So anyone who doesn't support LoN... supports white supremacy? And if that WERE the case, then why would the game keep framing LoN as morally ambiguous? Do we not like anti-racism actually?

I don't think that was necessarily intentional, or at least, I don't think that's an implication that FBG meant to include with the Liberation, but I think it's pretty sloppy writing.

Also, I hated the ending choice. The clothing studio is on fire, and you can save one thing from it. Your options are: a unique clothing item, a different unique clothing item, or the garment you made to send to a high-ranking client on the Surface, that is intended to influence them to side with the Africans over the European colonists. Like... why. Do you want a special hat that you can only get by paying real money, or do you want a special coat that you can only get by paying real money, or do you want to end racism?

Baffling. And that's not even getting into the fact that it's been pretty well-established that the special Neathy fabrics lose their special qualities in the sunlight, so the entire premise of this story is either impossible or a huge retcon.

In Conclusion

if you're wondering how much I've spent on exceptional stories over the decade I've been playing this game... uh... no you're not!

[punishedsurge]

SBFC 001: This is Gonna be Terrible. [08/13/13]

1hr 12min runtime, respectable.

“TheSw1tcher” man…

Rustlemania and LoU this year on the channel, awesome.

Dragon’s Crown talk. [Still haven’t played it.]

Wonderful 101 demo talk, haven’t played it either. “WiiU is a Platinum Box.” They wonder why games are developed to need the big gamepad. [I mean of course Nintendo wanted devs to utilize it.]

Matt: I bought a brick with a screen, it’s called a Vita.

Pat: Woolie, you’re the only person without that particular brick!

Woolie: This is the worst peer pressure ever.

Matt talks about the vita making his hands cramp and ache, says meaty man hands are to blame. [I agree, mobile gaming ergonomics still suck.]

Guacamelee talk. [Haven’t played this either.]

Divekick talk, [Me no play.]

Liam: AoT and Free are the best anime ever. Free has well developed characters and abs.

Smt 4 talk.

Pat: It’s not like Persona. That would be like saying Darkstalkers is like SF because they’re 2D fighters by Capcom.

Project CrossZone talk. [No play dis either nope nope nope. They all dropped it eventually for being too long and not seeing characters they like.]

“Visual Sex Game” Ghost Song kickstarter talk. [It hit it’s funding but didn’t get released until 2022?! What the fuck.]

Shitting on Shadows of the Eternals. [CP charges dropped on someone in the dev team in between kickstarter campaigns. Oof.]

Project Phonenix talk. The various titles and IPs the team had worked on screams that the game is too good to be true. [And it was. This shit died with zero fanfare lmao.]

Pat: Diablo 3 is a weird game because it’s so good and one decision fucking ruined it (the auction house). [Sounds kind of like Diablo 4 tee-hee lol.]

Yatagarasu kickstarter talk. Bunch of small Japanese fite game devs came together for this kickstarter. Matt and Pat had issues with the characters, Matt for their designs and Pat for half the cast being palette swaps. [Max made a video about this too.]

Project Awakened mention. Matt is glad it’s kickstarter failed because it looked like shit. Looking at it, it’s hard to argue against him. [They confuse the name with “Project Awakening”, a much newer game that looks like a more generic FF16.]

Infamous and Prototype talk.

Woolie: Second Son is the first one that looks interesting.

Liam: I played Festival of Blood, that one was good.

Woolie and Pat both like Prototype more.

Pat: Infamous clearly had better production and gameplay, with more thought put into it— but you run faster in Prototype, so I’ll play that one.

Atlas sale. Index Corporation turned out to be fucky-wucky and stopped existing because of bankruptcy. The entire company is up for sale, Sega is offering 201 million dollars for the company.

Pat doesn’t like it because Sega’s output sucks, which even then wasn’t all that true. But he’s right about them axing Sega USA after bad business practices which lead to a lot of games not coming to America, except for European PC games? Idk sure I guess.

Woolie doesn’t like Sega because they ‘mistreated Platinum.’ Name a more overrated game developer (I still like their old games)

Liam accurately describes Sega’s plan for Atlus, “let them cook”, basically. He also argues there’s a huge market for Persona in the West.

Pat: Persona and SMT have a larger market out here than Yakuza ever had. [I feel Yakuza is a lot more popular than Persona nowadays, but idk]

Pat tells Liam to shut the fuck up about his desire for Project Diva to come out, he punches back by asking when Streets of Rage 4 is coming out. Pat responds with “Never”. [It finally came out in 2020, I dunno if he played it or like it.]

SALTY BET MENTIONED GODDAMN I FORGOT. [It’s still going to this day, I looked it up on Twitch and it had 300+ viewers.]

Discussion about pot splitting and collusion in the FGC. “Spooky is going nutssss” is dropped. The boys also shame players who did it. [One of the guilty is Justin Wong, one of Matt’s co-hosts on Triple K.O.]

MATT WATCH: One of the people he’s ’stalking’ is Bryan Singer for his return to the X-Men movie series with Days of Future Past, after going to a talk with the director he thinks he’s a cool enough guy.

[Dude has had sexual harassment/assault allegations since 1997, definitely not cool lmao. Pre-MeToo era Hollywood really protected shitty people, still do.]

Outro is that dope KI sample by Mick Gordon. So much better than the choice to let Woolie put on 144p songs at the end.

[doorbloggr]

Friday 1/10/21 - Media Recommendations #20

Contents: Deltarune

I'd been meaning to get to this one for ages, so once again, I think to make it easier on myself, and my readers, today I am only recommending the latest videogame creation of Toby Fox. This ended up being quite an extensive article, so I split it into sections:

MY CONTEXT

OVERVIEW/PREMISE

GAMEPLAY

PRESENTATION

CONCLUSION

Deltarune (Chapter 1+2)

Toby Fox

1. MY CONTEXT

So context for my own gaming experience going into Deltarune, I have never actually played Undertale. Back when Undertale was getting big, it was only a PC game I think, and I just don't play games on PC. I probably should but yeah nah. Soon after it got popular however, I watched a comprehensive Lets Play of Undertale by Rubber Ross and Barry Kramer, and their voices for Sans and Papyrus are still to this day how I imagine those characters. Through that Lets Play, I experienced both the Pacifist and Genocide runs, and got intimately well acquainted with the characters and world Toby Fox had created, and how the actions of the player can shape how we save or ruin that world.

As a general context, I have always been a person who likes the idea of turn-based, random encounter fantasy RPGs, but the deepest I really got was Pokémon. I've been trying to change that recently, and after beating Monster Hunter Stories 2 a while back, I wanted to try more of the genre. Turn based battles are a lot more my speed than pure skill, like fighting games I've become sick of, and RPGs seem to be big on story, so when I heard the Deltarune demo had an update, I thought this is finally the time to jump into that world.

Going forward in this review, I'm gonna try and stay broad and unspecific with my descriptions, so as to not spoil. I may discuss some gameplay themes and characters, but I'm avoiding giving specifics away. I really think you need to experience all parts of the game yourself first.

Minor Spoilers for Undertale and Deltarune Ahead

2. OVERVIEW/PREMISE

Deltarune is a project of love. Pure charm and personality ooze from every aspect of the game. Dialogue is clever and snarky, and that charm even leaks into item and location flavour text. The setting and themes are fun, but with a bloodstained silver lining that is best appreciated by mature audiences. I guess I should just explain the premise?

Deltarune puts you in the shoes of a human named Kris. For unexplained reasons you live in a world of monsters and you are the only human. And by monsters, I mean curious looking critters of a variety of shapes and sizes, since, there is really nothing monstrous about them. One day at school, Kris and classmate Susie end up being transported to a whole different world where dark fountains construct monstrous subworlds, and it is up to the chosen ones, the lightners Susie, Kris and darkner (dark world native) Prince Ralsei, to seal the evils of this dark alternate world.

Deltarune is still a work in progress, and as the subtitle of this article suggests, 2 Chapters of a possible 7(?) have been released, and it is unknown at the time of writing if the rest will come out when the game is done, or as more standalone chapters.

3. GAMEPLAY

Deltarune borrows a lot of theming and game loop premise from its parent game Undertale. The tag line of Undertale was: the RPG where noone has to die. This is because the encounter based battle system is built on two courses of action to take. You may FIGHT enemies and reduce their HP to zero, or you may ACT, and talk the enemy into leaving the battle. Deltarune is built on this same system, but with extra layers. Kris is the stand in for the Undertale MC, who has the options to FIGHT, ACT, ITEM, SPARE, or GUARD. Most of those options were in Undertale too, but Guarding is a new addition where you earn Tension Points, or TP, for not engaging the enemy at all.

This TP is used for extra powerful ACT actions, or for special moves of the other party members. This is the main big difference in gameplay loop. Since the player controls a party now rather than just one person, each party member can specialise in different action types. Kris's ACT can incorporate input from other party members; Susie for toughness and Ralsei for softness, in general. Susie is the powerhouse, and if you chose the violent route, she does more damage. Ralsei is the Mage, and can heal allies, as well as use magic to resolve fights peacefully. Those extra abilities use TP.

In most turn based RPGs, there is a back and forth, where the player chooses actions, and sometimes there is a timing aspect to how well those actions perform, and then there's the enemy's turn, where most of the time you just have to wait and let it happen. Undertale and Deltarune have this truly unique system where the soul of the party members, represented by a heart, is directly controlled on the enemy's turn. It's a mini game unique to every enemy type, where you must move the heart around to dodge their attacks, and how good you dodge will decide whether you take a lot of damage, or even none at all. Deltarune adds an extra layer onto this, where if you make the dodge closer, so that the enemy only JUST misses, you earn TP, and open up more options for your next turn. I found this extra detail really endearing, and I made a lot more riskier moves than if there was no incentive to.

I probably mentioned it above, but just to close out this section, the option to either ACT or FIGHT opens up two types of play. Chapter 1, being a sort of intro part, does not differentiate, but the distinction becomes important later. ACTing to SPARE an enemy earns you money, and in Chapter 2, will lead to befriending monsters. FIGHTing will also earn you EXP in Chapter 2, making your options to hurt enemies more powerful. In Undertale, this difference in playstyle actually changed the ending in real time, and from what we know of Deltarune, it is likely going to be the same case.

4. PRESENTATION

Undertale had this unique visual charm to it that may have been a limitation of its Independent Development, but it was probably also a stylistic choice. Deltarune builds on the same type of artstyle, adorable pixel sprite graphics that bring a lot more colour and depth than its predecessor.

Many, but not all characters have little character portraits in their textboxes, and they change expressions to match the situation, and its so cute.

Character and enemy design are so top-notch. A team of designers have been brought on this time, and every one of them have brought gold to the table. Every random battle encounter is dripping with personality, as you learn how best to sweet talk your way out of battle, or how to best destroy them. Most recurring NPCs are lovable, and those who you hate, you love to hate. Dialogue is witty and hilarious, and the writing is fun.

The chiptune style soundtrack is phenomenal. Although I think Undertale's common enemy battle them was more memorable, that may just be that I have become more familiar with it. All character and boss battle themes are so catchy and energetic. Toby Fox is a master of high energy... fun music. It gets stuck in your head, and your brain bounces around at high velocity.

5. CONCLUSION

Ok so this review is already like 3 times longer than a normal Media Recommendation Article, and like 5 times longer than I planned it to be for this one game, so I should probably wrap it up here. Deltarune is a game experience I put off playing for way too long, and now I can't hold my excitement for when the next part comes out. And important to keep in mind, it is essentially a demo, in that it is just a taste of what's to come, but it is a damn meaty demo that will keep you engaged for many hours.

Chapters 1 and 2 are packaged together as a free game on most game platforms at this point, so there's nothing really stopping you from giving it a try. I don't usually rate my recommendations, but since I wrote this more like a review, I might as well...

Deltarune Chapter 1+2: 9/10

Please play it!

[theirrationalzone]

Yakkin ‘bout Games: Wolfenstein: The New Order

Yakking ‘bout Games is a series where I talk about games that I’m currently playing or have just finished. It can be new or old, console or PC, good or bad, it really doesn’t matter. If it’s a game worth talking about, you’ll see it covered here.

I think it’s fair to say that the FPS genre has enjoyed a bit of a renaissance over the last decade and a bit. The modern military shooters that dominated the late 2000s and early 2010s have become less common. We have seen the return of classic franchises like Doom and Half-Life, and we have also witnessed the influx of “boomer shooters” like Dusk and Amid Evil. A lot of cool stuff indeed.

With that being said, let’s take a trip back a few years. 2014 to be exact.

This was the first year of the (then) brand spanking new PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The two consoles were not off to the best of starts though. Their early exclusives like Killzone Shadow Fall, InFamous Second Son, Forza Motorsport 5 and Dead Rising 3 had failed to impress. The only games picking up the slack were multi-platform releases like Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag. The only FPS games available at the time (other than Killzone on PS4) were Call of Duty Ghosts (dull as dishwater) and Battlefield 4 (I enjoyed it but it was completely broken on release.)

Not exactly the most exciting of times for an FPS fan on console.

Wolfenstein: The New Order finally came along that May. It had been announced the year prior but it didn’t have much fanfare behind it. The initial E3 showing didn’t really impress anyone and there wasn’t really a great excitement for the game’s release. Perhaps it was because the previous Wolfenstein game was largely ignored by people or maybe because people were skeptical due to the game being MachineGames’ (the developer) first effort. People needn’t have worried though. The game turned out to be a massive surprise. It ended up being one of the best of that year.

Why am I covering this now? It’s because I recently got the urge to play it again after all these years. Plus I wanted to see how it would function in a post modern Doom world. So with that in mind, let’s get psyched and see how the game holds up.

Never has a smile brought terror to my heart so fast. Well this and my last dental appointment...

The New Order is set in an alternate universe where the Nazis won World War II due to their advanced technology being too much for the Allied forces. After an operation to try and assassinate the spearhead behind this growing technological evolution goes horribly wrong, Captain William “B.J.” Blazkowicz ends up taking a piece of shrapnel to the back of the head which puts him into a vegetative state. He ends up spending fourteen years in a Polish mental asylum before finally being awoken again due to witnessing a horrible atrocity committed by the Nazis. B.J. is now in the alien world of 1960 where the Nazis rule over the world with an iron fist. It’s up to B.J. to link up with the remnants of the Resistance and take the fight back to the Nazis once and for all.

The story was and still is one of the most surprising elements of The New Order. It paints a brutal picture of a world controlled by an evil and ruthless force who will stop at nothing to assert their dominance. The cast as well are very memorable. You have the plucky and likable Resistance fighters who you get to spend quite a bit of time with. You then have some memorable encounters with the evil figureheads of the Nazi regime at certain parts of the story. Anyone who has seen the train sequence in this game knows exactly what I’m taking about. I have to give MachineGames credit as well for the characterisation of B.J. himself. They managed to turn a character who was known for being a badass Nazi killer to a very sympathetic and likable Nazi killer. B.J. in this game is weary and tired after years of fighting evil and tyranny at every corner. The man wants nothing more than for the war to be over so he can hang up his guns and finally settle down. How could you hate the man after hearing something like that?

B.J. is such an upstanding guy that he would infiltrate a Nazi controlled train just to get you some coffee. Liberation and a Cappuccino, you can’t beat it. 

The real bread and butter of The New Order though is the gameplay. It has held up fantastically for the most part. Combat is a blast thanks to the very meaty arsenal at your disposal including assault rifles, shotguns, marksman rifle and a Laserkraftwerk which allows you to blast enemies to smithereens. You’ll have plenty of enemy types to cut through including rank and file soldiers, big mech suit soldiers with heavy weaponry and robots that have massive lasers. B.J. has a few abilities though to help turn the tide of battle. Leaning is one such ability and it’s implemented very well. How it works is that if you hold the L1 button, it locks B.J. in place and you can then use the left stick to lean at different angles. It’s super useful. Earning a well placed few shots at a Nazi from a very awkward angle never gets old. B.J. also has the ability to dual-wield certain weapons to deal even more hefty damage to his foes. Press up on the d-pad and prepare to bring the carnage. While this is a pretty fun feature, it does limit your movement speed and it can result in you burning through ammo quite quickly. It also is restricted to two types of the same weapon. You can also find upgrades for weapons which give them different ammo types and fire modes. The Laserkraftwerk, for example, can be used to cut through certain boxes and materials which is pretty nifty.

In terms of how health works, it’s a hybrid between classic pick-ups and regeneration. You can recover health by picking up health packs and food throughout the game. Armor can be found as well to allow you to take some extra damage. If you take health damage and managed to find cover, you’ll eventually get 10 health points back. You also have the ability to overcharge your health. How this works is that if you end up picking up a health item that takes you over your max health, you get higher health points for a brief period which is quite useful. You can increase your max health by finding hidden health upgrades throughout some of the levels.

AI is decent for the most part. They will attempt to find cover in the heat of a firefight and they do try to flank you. Some of the heavy soldiers will also attempt to rush your position. I certainly didn’t notice any unusual behaviour from them. Boss fights are a bit unremarkable for the most part. The game pretty much spells out how to take them out and they don’t really put up much of a fight. The main exception being the final boss but even then, it really isn’t that hard.

The secret painting boss fight was an interesting idea though. Definitely a canvas for them to work on in the future. (Apologies for the bad pun and joke.)

The game does have a basic stealth system and it works fine. When you enter most of the areas in the game, you will be informed that there are two commanders in the area. Take them out without being spotted and you can sneak through the area without having to worry about reinforcements if you get spotted by an enemy. You can take down enemies stealthily by using a silenced pistol, throwing knives or by sneaking up to them and performing a takedown. Stealth can feel a little overpowered during some of the early sections because the pistol is super accurate and it only takes one headshot to take some of these enemies down. The game does balance this a bit better later on as areas are populated with more elite enemies that harder to kill without being spotted.

Being a Wolfenstein game, you would expect exploration to be a big part of the gameplay and it does play a part for sure. There are hidden areas to be found with collectibles such as the Enigma codes which can unlock new difficulties and cheat codes. You can also find hidden max HP upgrades and other stuff as well. Maps can be found in each level which will indicate possible hidden secrets with a question mark. Levels are definitely more linear than some of the prior Wolfenstein games so don’t expect huge hidden areas or levels.

Key and item hunting still exists of course. You will find doors that require a key or a tool needed to progress which requires a bit of skulking around to find that key or item. You see this especially in the Resistance HQ sections which occur after most of the levels. In these sections, you will be tasked with finding a certain item for a character to progress to the next level. There are also side missions where you can do the same thing for other characters in the HQ and completing these unlocks extras such as artwork. I’m mixed on the Resistance HQ sections overall. On the one hand, they’re good from a lore perspective because you can overhear conversations from some of the characters and there are newspaper clippings and notes to find which do a good job of building up the world. On the other hand, they do feel a little bit like filler. Swings and roundabouts, I suppose...

I don’t really have many issues with the gameplay as a whole. My only real gripe is how the weapon wheel works. Weapon wheels are commonplace on console because a controller doesn’t have many buttons when compared to a keyboard. Makes perfect sense. The New Order’s one however can be such a temperamental thing to use. How it’s supposed to work is that you hit the R1 button to bring up the wheel and then you use the right stick to pick the weapon you want. Sounds simple enough. In reality what happens is that the game ends up giving you the wrong weapon time after time. I can’t even begin to count the amount of times that I tried to switch to the assault rifle and the game switched me to the dual-wield pistols instead. It can be a bloody nuisance. Part of this is down to how sensitive the stick is when using the wheel. It’s way too fast. Also why do the dual-wield options even need to be there? You can already hit up on the d-pad to dual-wield a particular weapon plus I didn’t really need to dual-wield all that much so it’s just clutter. They could have cleaned this up a lot better. I also had issues with swapping back to the previous weapon. It would sometimes default back to the Laserkraftwerk even though it wasn’t my previous weapon. Thankfully these issues didn’t get me killed but they certainly got on my nerves a little bit.

Textbook schadenfreude here from one of the villains. Shouldn’t be that shocked really...

From a graphics point of view, Wolfenstein: The New Order still holds up remarkably well. It runs on the same idTech engine that powered Rage before it and it certainly looks great. Character models are well detailed and they animate well. Cutscenes are well framed and the angles are perfectly done. Environments are beautifully crafted with amazing detail so whether you are in rainy soaked London or even the friggin’ Moon, you feel immersed in the world of the game.

I wasn’t kidding about the Moon. Look Ma, I’m in space! (In a video game...)

The game is quite aliased on the consoles. You definitely see sharp and jagged edges at times. Plus the textures look a bit low-res when viewed up close, but the game still looks great, and I imagine the PC version cleans up most of this stuff anyway so there’s that.

Tumblr’s image compression doesn’t do this environment justice. Oh well. C’est la vie, I suppose...

I can’t fault the game’s sound though. All voice performances are pitch-perfect with Brian Bloom (the voice of B.J.) being the standout. The music is incredible too with a great balance between atmospheric tracks and hard edged ones when the action really kicks off. It’s composed by a guy named Mick Gordon. Don’t think he’s done anything of note since though.

In terms of length, you’re looking at about roughly 8-10 hours for a first time playthrough. There is replay value with the collectibles and the Timeline system. To briefly explain, the Timeline system is related to a choice you make at the start of the game which changes some of the characters you encounter during the game. It doesn’t drastically change much. The events remain the same. You just get some unique dialog and a scene or two. Not much else.

So as you can see, I think that Wolfenstein: The New Order is still a bloody good time. The shooting still feels great with some really meaty weapons, the story and characters are super engaging, and the presentation and sound still kicks some ass. It has some minor issues here and there, but this game is well worth experiencing. You can pick it up pretty cheap nowadays on most of the platforms and it does go on sale quite often.

It’s nice to go back sometimes and revisit a classic, isn’t it? 

Check back here soon for Part 2 of this where I take a look at The Old Blood. Until then, stay safe, folks!

[cousinmarcustalkswrestling]

Best NXT Matches of 2020 15-11

15

Dakota Kai vs Tegan Nox - Steel Cage Match - March 5th

This was the second chapter in a great feud that was basically NXT’s version of The Rockets break-up. They were a lovable babyface duo and Kai viciously turned on Nox at Takeover War Games. They faced each other in a really good street fight at Takeover Portland that Kai won thanks to the debut of her Diesel, Raquel Gonzalez. The first half was very standard cage match fare, but well-executed with a good amount of intensity. As the match deepened, they got more creative and much more intense. After neither lady hitting the cage for a while, we got an awesome spot where Nox just tosses Kai into every side of the cage. Nox chokeslams Kai off the top of the cage and when she’s scared away from escaping by Raquel, she soars off the cage with an awesome crossbody on Kai. Raquel Gonzalez’s involvement added even more drama as I could see either lady winning. They have some really dramatic nearfalls and near escapes, but Gonzalez eventually traps Tegan between the door and the cage allowing Dakota to escape and win this chapter of a feud. Great storytelling and drama.

14

Damian Priest vs Johnny Gargano vs Bronson Reed vs Cameron Grimes vs Velveteen Dream - Ladder Match - Vacant North American Title - Takeover XXX

This wasn’t at the level of the NA Title ladder match from Takeover New Orleans, but its a damn fun ladder match nonetheless and was the best match of the weakest Takeover of the year. You could argue its a “spotfest” but I think it mainly comes off like that, because the PC shows don’t really have matches with a lot of space in them, it kinda incentivizes a fast pace. There’s some really fun spots and allegiances formed and broken along the way. Bronson Reed is the clear MVP of the match, constantly entangled in cool spots and really embracing the spotlight. He squashes everybody in an entanglement of ladders, busts out the Terry Funk helicopter spot and has a great suicide dive onto everybody. Candice Lerae interferes on behalf of Gargano and ranas Cameron Grimes onto everyone else, but she gets on Bronson’s back and he splashes Gargano. The PC gets silent as hell everytime Velveteen Dream did anything and they cheered like hell when he got pushed off a ladder through a table. Priest was a great choice for a winner coming off his great performance against Finn Balor at In Your House and he’s still rising his stock.

13

Damian Priest vs Johnny Gargano - North American Title - Takeover 31

Considering their skillset, there was no way this wouldn’t be good. Priest has been riding high after a great showing against Finn Balor and winning the NA Title and Gargano has been after the NA Title, basically since his heel turn. Gargano tries to find openings early on, but Priest just thrashes him with high impact strikes. In the first Undertaker allusion of the match, Priest goes for the old school rope walk, but Gargano yanks him down. Things still don’t work out for Johnny though and he takes a Razor’s Edge on the apron. Gargano targets the leg to get an advantage and Priest’s selling of it is very shoddy, but luckily Gargano uses the leg work to transition into other offense rather than making the leg the story of the match. Gargano counters the South of Heaven chokeslam numerous times and smartly rolls to the outside when he’s finally hit with it. The second Undertaker allusion comes when Priest goes for a big ass senton, but Johnny pulls two camera men in front of him to take the impact. Gargano lowblows Priest and locks in the Gargano Escape in a great dramatic moment. Priest escapes and counters the Final Beat DDT to the Reckoning and retains. Best Gargano match of the year and another great one from Priest.

 12

Rhea Ripley vs Mercedes Martinez - Steel Cage Match - September 9

Say it with me; BIG! MEATY! WOMEN! BUMPING! MEATS! This was billed as the Battle of the Badasses and it definitely lived up to that billing as the two Goliaths beat the hell out of each other inside a cage. Rhea was pissed at being cheated out of a women’s title shot so she jumped Mercedes early and introduced a bunch of weapons into the cage. Everything here is big! Big clotheslines, big suplexes, big weapon shots, big everything! This is the lady equivalent of Jeff Cobb vs Tomohiro Ishii from the G1 Climax with two big people just crazily tossing each other around and beating the hell out of each other. Ripley delivers a super Riptide through a table to win the crazy brawl. It took them a while, but they finally reasserted Rhea as the badass that made her popular in the first place.

11

Finn Balor vs Damian Priest - Takeover In Your House

So Priest attacked Finn Balor to get a shot at a match with him so he can move up in the world. Simple professional wrestling. Balor returns the favor by dropkicking Priest basically as soon as he gets into the ring. Priest has a starmaking performance as he controls Balor. His offense is high impact and well-paced and he stays aggressive. He also does a great job selling for Balor when he makes his comeback. Balor has been automatic for years, so he makes Priest look great as well as dishing out his own hard hitting offense. At one point, Priest Razor Edges Balor on the apron in a hard bump. Priest planned on ending it with a Razor’s Edge to Balor from the ring to the steel steps on the outside, but Balor slipped out and knocked Priest from the apron to the steps in a crazy bump. Coup De Grace to Priest’s back and then one to the stomach ends this great match. One of Balor’s best matches of the year and a great performance from Priest who would be elevated to North American champ a few months later.

[grigori77]

Summer 2019′s Movies - My Top Ten Favourite Films (Part 1)

The Runners-Up:

20.  ANGEL HAS FALLEN – Gerard Butler’s arse-kicking secret service agent returns in this third (and, from the look of it, final) entry in the trilogy started with surprise hit Olympus Has Fallen and its London-set follow-up, and this time HE’S the prey after he’s framed as a would-be assassin of Morgan Freeman’s new US President.  It’s not as memorably meaty as its predecessors, but latest director Ric Roman Waugh (Snitch, Shot Caller) certainly has the action chops to pull off the necessary heavy lifting, and Butler’s great as ever.

19.  STUBER – summer 2019’s most irreverent guilty pleasure is a gleefully non-PC action comedy in which pathetically nerdy Uber driver Stu Prasad (The Big Sick’s Kumail Nanjiani) is effectively hijacked by dangerously myopic renegade LAPD cop Vic Manning (Dave Bautista), who’s looking to take down his “white whale”, murderous drug lord Oka Tedjo (The Raid’s Iko Uwais).  This is one of those hilariously foul-mouthed, gruesomely violent and unapologetically crude romps that does exactly what it says on the tin.

18.  MEN IN BLACK INTERNATIONAL – Friday director F. Gary Gray certainly has the required comedy pedigree to succeed Barry Sonnenfeld on this sort-of sequel/soft reboot, but while it’s certainly as consistently, inventively funny as its predecessors there’s still something missing here.  Thor: Ragnarok duo Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson have still got chemistry to burn, but they’re no substitute for Smith and Jones, although there’s definitely potential for a solid new series here if they can iron out the kinks.  It IS a moderate improvement on MIB 2, though.

17.  BOOKSMART – actress Olivia Wilde makes her directorial debut with this sharp-witted and enjoyably unpredictable coming-of-age comedy that follows straight-A high school graduates Molly (Lady Bird’s Beanie Feldstein) and Amy (Last Man Standing and Short Term 12’s Kaitlyn Dever) as they indulge in one crazy night out so they can experience the inappropriate partying chaos they always avoided to get those top grades.  Funny, fascinating and powerfully heartfelt, this is a guaranteed future gem of the genre.

16.  ROCKETMAN – hot off his patch-up directing gig finishing off Bohemian Rhapsody after Bryan Singer jumped ship, Dexter Fletcher tackles the life-story of another musical icon, Elton John, in this far more stylized but also thoroughly memorable “musical fantasy” interpretation of the rise/fall/rise-again of the man born Reginald Dwight.  Kingsman star Taron Egerton delivers the finest performance of his career so far, displaying an impressive lack of vanity as he crafts a warts-and-all portrayal of Elton, while Jamie Bell is equally excellent as his lifelong friend and writing partner Bernie Taupin.

15.  I AM MOTHER – the best of Netflix’ original movie summer offerings is this impressively original and edgy sci-fi thriller based around a killer concept – Mother is a robot (voiced with chillingly seductive duplicity by Rose Byrne) in a hi-tech bunker in the aftermath of some unknown apocalyptic cataclysm, the de-facto parent and sole companion of Daughter (The Lodge’s Clara Rugaard), seemingly the last human in the world, who’s never known anything of the outside, until an unexpected arrival threatens everything.

14.  DETECTIVE PIKACHU – Pokémon returns to the big screen with this brilliant live action feature that beautifully builds on the expansive source material while simultaneously repackaging it nice and fresh for a new generation. Ryan Reynolds is a fiendishly inspired choice to voice the eponymous investigator, who enjoys impressive chemistry with Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom’s Justice Smith as the failed Pokémon trainer who is, inexplicably, the only human who can understand him.  You don’t need to be a fan to get this film, either – it’s well-thought-out enough that even newbies can get maximum entertainment out of it.

13.  MIDSOMMAR – Ari Aster, the disturbingly talented writer-director of acclaimed horror gem Hereditary, drops another mind-melting, skin-crawling slowburn treat of pure, unadulterated sustained dread and terrible expectation on an unsuspecting summer audience, although this one certainly proved far more (ahem) seasonal.  Florence Pugh (Lady MacBeth) and Jack Reynor (Strange Angel) are both excellent as the unsuspecting American couple whose visit to a remote Swedish festival exposes them to a twisted cult.

12.  THE STANDOFF AT SPARROW CREEK – debuting writer-director Henry Dunham proves he’s going to be one-to-watch in the future with this insidious little suspense thriller starring James Badge Dale as a former small town cop drawn into a tense internal investigation of the local militia he’s part of after it becomes clear one of its members is responsible for a terrorist attack that’s got the local police up in arms.  A perfectly-pitched lesson in slow-building tension crafted with consummate skill.

11. TOY STORY 4 – marking the feature directorial debut of long-serving Pixar animator/writer Josh Cooley, this is another gold standard entry in the studio’s flagship franchise that also marks a watershed moment for many of its beloved characters.  Woody and Buzz (Tom Hanks and Tim Allen, both on top form) are front and centre once again, but the biggest fun to be had here involves the new faces, particularly Keanu Reeves as hapless Canadian stunt-biker toy Duke Caboom.  This may not be QUITE as essential as what came before, but it’s still a series that continues to play very much to its strengths.

[britesparc]

Weekend Top Ten #492

Top Ten Team 17 Games

I’d already been thinking a lot about old Amiga games this week, because news came out of the blue that some kind of Zool update was on its way. Now, I really liked Zool back in the day, and I thought that it was fondly remembered, but if the comment section on that Eurogamer article is anything to go by, I seem to be in the minority. I don’t care; Zool rocked and I’m glad he’s on his way back, with his sticky hands and feet and gloriously sugar-coated levels. Frankly, in a world that seems mostly populated by people who spent the entire 1990s playing Metroid or Zelda, I could do with an Amiga renaissance.

This was exacerbated when I discovered that Team 17, beloved purveyor of 16-bit computer classics, has an office in Media City. Quite how this passed me by I do not know (I, er, guess I just didn’t see the Tweets), but all the same it’s very good news; perhaps I’ll stop some of them in the piazza and bore them about the good old days. Especially if they’re, like, 25 or something.

Anyway! All this is a boring preamble to me listing my ten favourite Team 17 games. If you don’t remember, T17 was a major player on the Amiga: tons of classic games, phenomenal graphics, and – something I didn’t quite appreciate properly at the time – a nice Northern sense of humour. I don’t want to do much more preamble, because really I wanna let the games do the talking. One thing I will say, however, is I’ve taken advantage of their more recent moves as a publisher to include some games that they didn’t develop too – because I do feel like they’re really good at picking publishing projects that reflect the core tenets of their “brand”, such as it is (as opposed to Core tenets, which is probably something to do with Chuck Rock).

So here we go: my ten favourite Team 17 games. Enjoy! And bring them all out on the Xbox.

Alien Breed: Tower Assault (1994): the Alien Breed games were almost platform-defining, atmospheric blastathons that evoked the tension and exhilaration of Aliens, with superb (and difficult!) twitchy gameplay. Tower Assault, with its less linear, more explorative gameplay, was the best of the bunch. Back in the day, this was the equivalent of a Mass Effect or BioShock to me: an intense action game coupled with an enjoyable amount of back-and-forth. One thing I’ve always been a bit sad about is never having played the 3D Alien Breed games; I graduated to PC just as they were coming out, and I’m not even certain if they ran on an ordinary A1200. I wonder what they’d be like to play nowadays…?

Worms World Party (2001): how do you differentiate between the Worms games? I mean, I’m old enough to remember the “Total Wormage” demo that marked the first appearance of the little critters. But there was a point there when the gimmicks were still new, but they’d had a couple of releases under their belt, and there was a short run of games that were utterly hilarious, gameplay out the yazoo, and still a slight air of rough-edged weirdness. Can you still get the Yorkshire “Tykes” voice set in new Worms games? I mean, the formula is still unbeatable, but the Golden Age of Worms will be the World Party era for me, when my brother and I played it all the blinkin’ time. Get under that.

Assassin (1992): if Zool was the Amiga’s Sonic, then arguably Assassin was the platform’s equivalent to Strider or Shinobi (er, despite those games actually being released on the Amiga; never mind, just go with me on this). I remember the game mostly for its acrobatic movement, allowing you to climb walls (hey, shades of Zool again!); also, you had a boomerang, which is really cool, apart from when they re-released the game after two years and got rid of the boomerang. Basically, I really dug it for a lot of reasons. I also think it’s the Team 17 game which had an hilarious spoof of the “Reg” ads for Regal cigarettes, a joke I thought was incredibly clever thirty years ago but which I can find no evidence of on the internet.

Body Blows (1993): back when Street Fighter II ruled the world, and everyone was going gaga over the Super Nintendo, the Amiga suffered in comparison; it couldn’t do the multiple parallax layers of animated backgrounds, and most common joysticks didn’t have the button configurations to do the special moves justice. Step up Body Blows, a gorgeous, chunky, responsive fighter that’s still probably my favourite beat-em-up (I’m not the biggest fan of the genre, to be honest). One of the few games I remember really trying really hard to complete it, but I’m pretty sure I never saw the final opponent (some kind of Terminator-style robot, if I remember right). I always wanted the sequel, but never played it.

Yooka-Laylee (2017): feels a bit of a cheat, as this is really a Playtonic game, but they published the physical release, so it counts! And in many ways the cheeky British sensibility of the game fits right into the T17 ethos. I remember getting so excited for this game – I backed it on Kickstarter, in fact – and it didn’t disappoint: a colourful, meaty-looking platformer with a nice line in terrible dad jokes and a slowly-unfolding roster of abilities. It might not quite coalesce the way the old Rare platformers did in the late nineties, but it’s still fun; and it was a very popular game in our house with my wife and daughters.

Superfrog (1993): would probably be higher, as it’s thought of as one of the classics, but it didn’t quite hook me the way it seemed to everyone else. But even back then I could see everything about it that worked even if I didn’t fall in love; a beautiful, colourful world, with a tremendously designed lead character who looked like he’d leaped from a Cosgrove Hall cartoon. It also had a pretty naughty sense of humour. All in all, a good game, and one I’d love to revisit with a more refined palate.

Overcooked (2016): I think I first started to fall in love with this game when I saw it on Go 8-Bit; an anarchic and crazy-looking multiplayer fun-fest. And, sure enough, it’s a delightfully chaotic experience, really funny, with colourful and nicely-designed characters. However, it loses points for being one of those games that give you an odd-numbered Achievement. Multiples of five, people! Multiples of five!

Arcade Pool (1994): this one feels a bit niche, but I loved this back in the day. After the full-3D polygon wonderment of the Archer McClean pool and snooker games, going back to a simplified top-down aesthetic might have felt like a step back, but for me it was an excellent and really, really fun pool game. It’s the sort of experience I’ve chased in years since – a totally hassle-free arcade pool game – but nothing’s quite scratched the same itch (or, at least, the itch I remember, if that makes sense).

Golf With Your Friends (2020): the most recent game on the list, and another one that’s just damn fun. A wild and rather weird crazy golf game, with a succession of increasingly-bonkers courses, but one that’s easy to get into and – yes – persistently entertaining. I started playing it due it being available for cloud streaming on Game Pass, and it’s a pretty good phone game, even if the touch controls don’t give quite the nuance needed for some of the trickier shots. Also it’s worth saying that I am just terrible at the game. Really, the worst.

Project-X (1992): a bit like Superfrog, this is a game I respected rather than adored, hence it being a bit lower on the list. I think the big problem is just that I was utterly shit at it; I mean, I was flat-out rubbish at all these side-scrolling shooters, even if I really wanted to be good. But this game was a stunner way back when, and I think one of the ones that really cemented Team 17’s reputation as a graphical powerhouse of a studio. It also had a tremendous score from Allister Brimble, T17’s resident maestro. It’s funny, because I remember this as being heralded as “the new masterpiece from Team 17” upon its release, but it was actually one of their first titles; so either they hit the ground running or this is one of the games that secured their reputation. Either way, it’s still a classic of its type. And apparently there was a sequel on the PlayStation. You learn something new each day.

So I hope you’ve enjoyed this trip down Commodore Memory Lane. Yes, I know, some of the games are a lot newer than that, but I’m afraid I’ll always think of Team 17 as “an Amiga studio”. They did sterling work back in the day, they really helped define the Amiga and give the platform its own identity, distinct from consoles (even though a lot of their games were, obviously, ported to other systems). And thanks to the success of Worms, they’ve endured, even as most of their contemporaries have fallen by the wayside. And now they’re in Salford! A Yorkshire invasion of Lancashire. What could go wrong?!

[judgeanon]

So I finished For Honor’s SP campaign...

... and I’m trying to figure out why I enjoyed it so much, so if you’d like to read me rambling about a five hour campaign attached to a big fat MP game that I haven’t even touched, click on that jump.

My first time with For Honor was a few months ago, during the first free weekend thing. I was lured in by the promise of Jennifer Hale as an armored lady knight slicing through fools, and brother, I was not disappointed. But because I thought the free weekend only included saturday and sunday, I only got to play 2/3rds of the SP, with the game cutting me off literally after the first Samurai mission.

Luckily for me, my savegame was not erased, and when I tried it again now, on its second free weekend, I got to start right where I left off. And got my ass kicked hard because I’d totally forgotten how to play it. But a few replays after I got back in the groove and breezed through to the end. And when I was done, I realized something: I was having a shitton of fun.

I’m going to get the gameplay bit of this game done with relatively quickly because it’s not what I want to talk about, but it definitely deserves to be mentioned. This game is the most believable depiction of “Getting Stuck In” I’ve played yet. And I’ve tried Dynasty Warriors. There’s something incredibly thrilling about the meaty thuds and animations that come with every landed blow, especially when you’re plowing through regular soldiers. The duels are also tons of fun, with a great balance of snap reflexes and strategic thinking. And when you’re not overcrowded with distractions, it’s pretty cool how organic the game flows from mass of jobbers to slightly tougher guys to It’s Go Time dudes. There’s a very cinematic flow to it, like a scene in an epic movie where two name actors are walking towards each other, slaughtering random folks on the way to their own personal duel. Feels good man.

Stripped to its bones, the SP campaign definitely feels like an intro to the three factions and a half-hearted tutorial/practice mode for MP. The story is simple and straightforward. The characterization is broad like a battleaxe. But there’s something about the whole campaign in general that I still managed to find profoundly appealing, and it boils down to two elements: character recognition and a really good fucking villain.

You start the campaign as the aforementioned lady knight voiced by Jennifer Hale, who is introduced as a member of a weakened order turned mercenary. The first mission concludes with you duelling an opposing faction’s champion during a siege, and the leader of that faction is so impressed, he offers you a job. By the start of the second mission you are being sent all alone to turn the tide of an entire siege (which is where my favorite bit of comedy takes place). And through the rest of the campaign, your knight remains an important figure, even in levels where you don’t play as them, culminating in a big fat boss fight full of small, very personal moments of character agency that keep it from feeling like a chore given to you by your master.

This is where character recognition starts showing up. There’s a tangible jump from “random mercenary” to “one-knight army”, and it makes all the sense in the world when you consider that’s what the game’s gameplay is all about. You’re literally winning entire battles on your lonesome, so why wouldn’t the game’s characters recognize it? In a lot of action and RPG games, your character’s bodycount and feats rarely seem to be noted in-universe. They’re either already expected of you or go completely unnoticed, and your character remains a tool that removes obstacles to the plot as other cast members have all the agency and relevance.

The other Ubisoft game I just finished recently, Ghost Recon: Wildlands, was a massive example of this. Literally every other character in that game feels more important and gets more development than your PC. And to be fair, your character in that game is an editable cypher, but that doesn’t stop other games like Fallout from giving you some measure of importance.

Anyway, back to For Honor. This pattern of character recognition/agency continues in the Viking part of the campaign, where you play as a Raider who comes down from the mountains to punish a bunch of greedy warlords and help unite the beleaguered tribes. That is already a massive improvement over most campaigns, where your character’s motivation is just whatever their boss orders them to do, but it’s enhanced further by the way nearly every other viking immediately recognizes your Raider. It’s never explained why, but there’s a strong feeling of this giant nameless fuck being someone in this world, someone that people recognize in sight, to the point where the second mission boss literally screams “I KNOW IT’S YOU!” as you release some captives. Even when you actually rescue a Jarl, your Raider remains the unquestionable leader of the warband all the way through as they raid the Samurai territories.

The last character you play as, the Orochi, has a similar pattern of in-universe fame: they are the Emperor’s Champion, the greatest swordfighter in the Samurai army, but they were imprisioned after “speaking out of turn”. The game’s backstory even suggests that, had the Orochi not been imprisoned, the raid at the end of the Viking missions would’ve failed.  And throughout the campaign, that fame proves very well-founded, especially since it’s the Orochi who gets to fight the final boss.

There’s an interesting pattern of evolving fame that runs through the three main playable characters in this game: the Warden carries a certain amount of fame due to their position as member of an order, but personally is an unknown who is “discovered” by another. The Raider has no position, but is extremely personally known (and hated) by nearly everyone they know. And the Orochi has both, having a position but also being personally known, yet remains an outsider due to their imprisonment. So all three characters are outsiders to a certain degree who turn the course of their factions, yet each one’s individual situations are different enough to make them interesting. Though they are simple, their sense of in-universe recognition and few moments of strong personal agency (with aid of some pretty good VA performances) help keep them compelling and endearing.

Of course, all this wouldn’t count for much if you were only fighting faceless mooks, and while each campaign has its own boss, with their own unique designs and techniques, they’re all just one-fight wonders. Except for the big one: Apollyon.

Look, I’m not gonna front: I fucking love Apollyon. She dominates pretty much every scene she’s in, either by slaughtering dozens of dudes with some really impressive coreography, or through a seriously inspired performance by VA Catherine Kidd. Sure, her lines are pretty generic and her motivations are like baby’s first Metal Gear Solid, but she sells it like an absolute champ. It’s a shame that her backstory is hidden away in collectables and a special edition booklet, but her constant presence and direct or indirect involvement with everything happening in the game’s campaign makes up for it by giving you a clear villain to fight.

And the kicker? You actually do get to fight her.

Full disclaimer and spoilers: my excitement over being able to actually fight her stems from the massive sense of frustration I got from finishing Wildlands and realizing that the massive, heavily-tatooed drug emperor with the silenced auto shotgun that you see in nearly every single cutscene in that game and who has a gigantic mausoleum built for his grave that you drive towards in the final mission is not, in fact, fight-able. You never even aim at him.

But Apollyon is different. After spending the whole game either helping with, reacting to or fighting against her actions, you actually do get your duel with her. It’s no Platinum Games’ final boss (altough you do get to fight her through three stages that end top of a castle tower in the middle of a siege with rocks being chucked by catapults at your battle arena, so it’s like 20% of a Platinum boss fight) but it’s still a huge pleasure to actually get to cross swords with her. So even though the game ends in a very open way, it doesn’t rob you of your sense of completion by denying you a climactic encounter with the awesome bad guy that has ruled the entire game’s narrative.

Overall, I have to say I’m mildly impressed. I’m not sure how much of all this is by design and how much is the restriction of an SP campaign in a mostly MP game, and I’m not sure I’d buy the game just to replay it over and over again, but I have to give props to the team for taking something that a lot of MP games consider optional and turning in something surprisingly endearing and enjoyable.

And if nothing else, we’ll always have my screenshot folder...

[entergamingxp]

Horizon Zero Dawn Pixel Fan Art Would Make for a Great Retro Game

May 14, 2020 6:30 AM EST

Horizon Zero Dawn pixel fan art is giving us dreams of how great it would be to play it as a 16-bit game.

An Horizon Zero Dawn sequel is one of the most requested after games since its release on February 28, 2017, and it’s not hard to see why players love it so much. Thankfully though, developer Guerrilla has its fingers on the pulse of the gamers and a full-blown trilogy is reportedly in the works on Sony’s next-gen console the PS5 and apparently they’ve already written a script in multiple parts if future sequels were greenlit by those at Sony. But what if – hear me out – what we really want is a 16-bit retro version of Horizon Zero Dawn instead?

For those of you who haven’t played this incredible game yet (I mean, seriously – what are you doing with your life that you haven’t?) Horizon Zero Dawn is an action role-playing game played from a third-person view where players take control of Aloy, a hunter who ventures through a post-apocalyptic land ruled by massive robotic creatures but also enjoys battling it out with human enemies, such as bandits and the Eclipse cult. One of the game’s best features is its manageable map that isn’t too big nor too small and consists of forests, jungles, deserts, and snowy mountain regions. As beautiful as the game is and most certainly one of my favorite games of recent times, I think I am warming to the idea that it could be just as amazing scaled down to 16-bit – you know, just for the fun of it and that little bit of nostalgia.

Twitter user toyaken21 from Japan has crafted a gorgeous pixelated version of Horizon Zero Dawn in one of their many pieces of fan art and I have to say, I think many people would jump all over this if it was turned into a game. Over the years, retro gaming has been making a steady comeback and even during the lockdown due to the coronavirus, Jason Moore, who runs a website that sells and trades in Retro games, told E&T that after an initial dip when the crisis began he saw a record spike in sales, “going up around 30 percent over the past few weeks.” If a Horizon Zero Dawn 16-bit retro version were to appear on a console such as the Nintendo Switch, for instance, I would for sure snap it up as I think many others would as well. I think with how the Switch boosts the color scheme of its games, the pixilated robots and landscapes would make for some beautiful visions and who doesn’t love a good meaty platformer where they can get lost in for hours on end, something similar to Ori and the Blind Forest or Hollow Knight.

For those of you who don’t own a PlayStation 4, the news that Horizon Zero Dawn will be making its way to PC is great news. In an interview with Sony Interactive Entertainment’s Head of Worldwide Studios, Hermen Hulst finally put the rumors to bed and confirmed that Horizon Zero Dawn coming to PC was true. As a huge fan of the game myself, I was thrilled to hear that more people would experience Aloy’s adventures for themselves. Many of us love a good board game so when board game makers Steamforged Games launched the Kickstarter campaign for its upcoming Horizon Zero Dawn: The Board Game, I couldn’t be happier. Unfortunately due to COVID-19, it has been put on hold for now but hopefully, everything will be up and running as soon as possible because, I for one, would love to get my hands on it.

In the meantime though, if you love comics as much as I do then July can’t come quick enough.  A new comic book series based on Horizon Zero Dawn and set to launch on July 22, 2020, written by Anne Toole, is set to explore the story after the events of the first game. Anne is known for having been a writer on Horizon Zero Dawn, as well as written work that can be found in games such as Days Gone, The Witcher, and TV shows such as “Days of Our Lives.”

Horizon Zero Dawn is available now on the PS4 and later on in the year on PC. If you haven’t played it yet, you can check out DualShockers’ review.

  This post contains affiliate links where DualShockers gets a small commission on sales. Any and all support helps keep DualShockers as a standalone, independent platform for less-mainstream opinions and news coverage.

May 14, 2020 6:30 AM EST

from EnterGamingXP https://entergamingxp.com/2020/05/horizon-zero-dawn-pixel-fan-art-would-make-for-a-great-retro-game/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=horizon-zero-dawn-pixel-fan-art-would-make-for-a-great-retro-game

[thegamecollection]

READY? LET’S RAGEEEEEEEE!

The launch of RAGE 2 is finally upon us and we’re well on our way to the wasteland! After allowing the excitement of trailers and breadcrumbs of information into our lives over the past months, it’s a day of celebration here at the The Game Collection office. A few of the guys are quite literally wishing the day away to get home and play. We know what you’re thinking! Sadly no, being a video game retailer does not mean that we sit around playing games all day. I know, right?! We have asked.

Anyway - It’s important to acknowledge the fact that yes, today is a celebration but it’s only an extremely small area of the RAGE 2 Roadmap that has been chartered. We’ve included an image above that gives the lowdown on the meaty mixture of big things coming our way through until the end of 2019. Take a look and you’ll see that developers and publisher have just made your summer plans for you with a stacked roster of content including wasteland challenges, skins, cheat codes, world events and expansion packs! Close your mouth. You’re dribbling.

You’ll also see that a portion of this will in fact be FREE Content! That’s £0.00p. Nought. Nada. Zilch. Sweet. Take a look at the freebies below:

All World Events

Day 30 Update

Select Weapon Skins

Cheat Codes

Wasteland Challenges

One Wheeler Vehicle

Avalanche Studios, id Software and of course Bethesda have indeed been busy boys and girls to ensure that the post launch content is something to be proud of. Congratulations, ya did it. Our minds are blown and our fingernails are bitten to, well, bits. Only 6 hours and 48 minutes to 5pm! Not that we’re counting or anything...

Grab your copy with us on PS4, Xbox One and PC before 3pm for same day dispatch here at The Game Collection!

-Jack

[spicynbachili1]

Review: Call of Duty: Black Ops 4

No marketing campaign, no drawback

Name of Obligation: Black Ops four has ushered in a brand new period of AAA: one the place each studio and their grandmother tries to pack a battle royale gametype into their mission. The factor is, Activision truly did it proper, whereas additionally offering a powerful zombies outing alongside its token conventional multiplayer factor.

After extra testing past our evaluate in progress, my view hasn’t modified all that a lot. Your mileage could range relying on how a lot you weigh every mode.

Name of Obligation: Black Ops four (PC, PS4 [reviewed], Xbox One) Developer: Treyarch Writer: Activision Launched: October 12, 2018 MSRP: $59.99

Let’s keep on with the identical format we used within the evaluate in progress, we could: however this time, with numbers!

Blackout (eight.5/10)

Whereas it is easy to slam battle royale video games and modes as a option to make a fast buck, all of it actually relies on the way it’s dealt with. To date Blackout has upended that mentality and exhibits promise as well. It has the potential to proceed evolving, drawing from the collection’ 15-year historical past.

It is the identical shtick, certain: bounce right into a crowd of ~100 individuals and ensure you’re the final one standing. However Black Ops four goes a bit wilder with it with out absolutely going off the rails looking for consideration. There’s sufficient selection on this shooter subgenre proper now to make room for Blackout, particularly when it takes Name of Obligation in a very new, and albeit, thrilling route. Sprinkling zombies into choose areas is a enjoyable option to spice issues up, as are devices, Easter eggs, and particular skills.

In the end, Blackout is one thing you possibly can waste your complete day with or sneak in a fast repair for: such is the ability of battle royale. One other bit that rivals typically wrestle with that Blackout nails, gunplay, is solved by nature of the mode slotting instantly into the present incarnation of the Name of Obligation engine. Whereas it is easy to knock its age (and it is up there) it is purposeful and stronger than many different shooters available on the market.

Talking of age: Blackout does have split-screen on consoles and you could know proper up entrance that it is janky. The framerate and visuals take a big hit (even with my exams on a PS4 Professional) to permit this course of to occur. On condition that no different main battle royale available on the market even presents it, it already has a leg up. It really works is what I am saying, as long as you don’t have any excessive within the sky aspirations of turning into a Blackout professional whereas sharing a display.

I’ve all the time checked out Name of Obligation as extra of an arcade-tinted different and Blackout hammers that time residence whereas sustaining a semblance of tactical gameplay. It manages to strike a steadiness that many different rivals simply have not but (you are typically both an ultra-serious tactical operative or Thanos doing the Charleston after leaping 100 ft up within the air, with no compromise in-between).

Multiplayer (6/10)

I usually Status not less than as soon as yearly (with just a few exceptions) however I feel Black Ops four‘s multiplayer goes to interrupt that streak. With an underwhelming deal with smaller, extra intimate affairs that lack character, this 12 months’s multiplayer factor presents a distinctly totally different method in comparison with Blackout.

Out of Black Ops four‘s 14 maps, 4 are flashbacks (learn: straight re-uses of earlier arenas from previous video games). A number of others, like Seaside, really feel like flashbacks though they’re technically new. There are only some distinctive arenas value noting: the sandy Warzone of Contraband and the crime boss HQ of Hacienda. If you have not performed Name of Obligation in years you may get one thing out of it, however the over-reliance of the map rework angle (which is normally sparingly saved for DLC) didn’t work in its favor right here.

Specialist courses (distinctive characters that present totally different skills) return however are extra underwhelming. They do not even get an opportunity to shine in “Specialist Ops,” that are mainly tutorial missions with a unfastened MCU-esque storyline to attach them. Baggage of well being and guide therapeutic choices attempt their greatest to really feel totally different, however the previous “Choose 10” perk/gear system brings every little thing again all the way down to actuality. The core hasn’t modified all that a lot and all you are left with much less unique modes and maps to battle with.

Within the case of Black Ops four, multiplayer is merely one in all three meaty choices. Though I felt like the opposite two modes higher captured the spirit of Name of Obligation, you may recognize the shift to compact, objective-based matches. For the remainder of us, zombies remains to be on the high of its sport.

Zombies (9/10)

I do know some diehards are going to disagree, however as somebody who’s been enjoying zombies for the reason that starting (and each DLC), that is essentially the most accessible version so far. I’ve one phrase for you: bots. Okay two phrases: good bots.

Black Ops four has some actually, actually badass bots that can allow you to obtain your wildest desires of really making strides in zombie maps in case you can by no means wrangle up a static group. The choice of three maps initially (4 in complete if in case you have the season go, with 4 extra on the best way) makes it really feel heftier as a complete, particularly when the Roman Colosseum (IX) and cruise ship (Voyage of Despair) storylines are simply as off-the-wall as ever and full of secrets and techniques. Break up-screen makes a welcome return, which may also be performed with bots (that is the final use of the phrase “bots” within the evaluate, I promise).

With its “Powers of the Gods” angle (Dani, Ra, Zeus and Odin, on high of wacky weapons like a Chakram that might really feel at residence in Krull, or an historical therapeutic workers that shoots laser beams) and absolutely customizable loadouts, Black Ops four‘s zombies mode is exclusive with out getting determined. The brand new solid can be extraordinarily chatty (and catty) and I like it. The whole lot slots into place. It is traditional Treyarch doing their very own factor.

I lied, I’ve two extra phrases so that you can actually drive the purpose residence that this zombies iteration is value giving a shot: efficient tutorial. Accessibility and depth are each current right here and it is incredible.

All three of Black Ops four‘s modes are tied collectively neatly with a theater recording possibility, accessible from the principle menu. It is a bizarre feeling, having three evolving merchandise tied collectively underneath one SKU; regardless of the unevenness of the experiment, it does reach persevering with to get individuals to care in regards to the collection.

The panorama has modified. Name of Obligation: Black Ops four cannot simply function with the identical business-as-usual mentality from Activision, now that it is taken this step. Blackout has the potential to be its personal sport in the identical method Epic tore its Battle Royale mode from the principle package deal as a separate entity. Depart it to Treyarch to create a conundrum after introducing a non-traditional mission into the fray. How properly Activision manages Black Ops four will probably affect the complete way forward for the collection. For now, two-thirds of it’s rising to the event.

Bots.

[This review is based on a retail build of the game purchased by the reviewer. We also did not attend the industry review event.]

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      Name of Obligation: Black Ops four reviewed by Chris Carter

eight

GREAT

Spectacular effort with just a few noticeable issues holding it again. Will not astound everybody, however is value your time and money. How we rating:  The destructoid evaluations information

        from SpicyNBAChili.com http://spicymoviechili.spicynbachili.com/review-call-of-duty-black-ops-4/

[guitarpornography]

Versus Steam: Game of the Year Award 2016: #4

Have you ever tried to describe fun to someone? It’s an odd thing to do since all the feelings associated with it are rather nebulous. While I could sense that fun is the feeling of joy and catharsis that comes from an activity, I feel like I’m piling up adjectives rather quickly more or less for the sake of doing so. But for all my pretensions about video games as art, I tend to neglect to directly say that a game’s art can come from how much fun you have with it. And this is where my love of video games originally extended from: the point where watching things I interact with move on the screen and I am able to create an action, which in turn creates fun. If this seems like a weird set-up for our Versus Steam #4 Game of the Year Award, it is because it speaks so much for itself.

Developed by: id Software

Published by: Bethesda Softworks (PC, PS4, XBox One)

If this doesn’t appear on most Game of the Year Award lists, I will eat my non-existent hat. First person shooters are such a bread and butter genre for gaming and I know what I like in mine: fast, frenzied gunplay, seemingly overwhelming odds, a cavalcade of ways of dealing death and just enough story to let me know why things need the bullets in them. Doom delivered this for me almost to a T, but let me talk about something kind of offbeat that really caught my fancy: I like the fact that the upgrade system is useful but largely arbitrary. I don’t know when every shooter decided it needed an RPG-like upgrade system in their makeup, but it's always struck me as being completely superfluous. Why would killing something make my gun stronger unless this is David Brin’s The Practice Effect (hello obscure sci-fi reference)? The necessity of this seems to be giving the player some sort of triggered reward for playing, as if doing the basic mechanics of the game or finding currency is reward enough to simply make the load a little lighter. Doom has this element as well but in a way that makes more sense to me. Most weapons the player acquires have the ability to have one to two secondary fire modes and the bulk of the upgrade system comes from unlocking these and then upgrading them, with their final evolution coming from use of the secondary fire. While some of these are downright silly to use, others make chaotic fights more enjoyable, as the more ways to deal punishment, the better. The fact that you can more than fully go without them is nice, but I enjoy the fact that rather than make it a reward for playing, they come about as an increased toolset that you are able to use more usefully if you so choose. The rail gun’s alternate fire is very powerful, but starts off leaving the player stationary, so being able to upgrade it by doing my killing business so I can move is a big bonus in encouraging me to use it. The assault rifle’s micro rockets are a hoot to explode demons with, but when they become unlimited, it's even more joyous to run and gun with. Rather than just be an extra thing, upgrades are a way to make the killing more enjoyable rather than less cumbersome in their use and this is such a little nitpicky thing, that it should speak volumes about the rest of the game.

...which of course is awesome. Gunplay in Doom is outstanding, with almost everything having a rather satisfying feel to its use. The shotgun feels meaty in its blasts, while the chain gun feels fast in shooting, slow in carrying and unwieldy in firing. It's a nice touch that the visceral satisfaction of each weapon feels appropriate and the hellspawn you face are a wonderfully varied bunch to soak up the fire. Of all the enemies in the game, I was most unusually vexed by the standard imp, which slings fireballs at the player while crawling all around the scenery. While my usual strategy was backpedal with some spray and pray, the more mobile enemy type could give me fits and whittle my health down quickly. While not an imposing challenge, they’re matched to plenty of enemies that are willing to and will be up in your grill the entire time, chasing you relentlessly or firing huge blasts at your direction, requiring the added mobility you experience. Unsurprisingly, this is very reminiscent of the original Doom with all the chaos transpiring on screen, making shooting not about precision, but instead about overall damage, cutting down what you can without jumping in the center of it. I was also pleased to see health and armor are not regenerating throughout and guns never be reloaded, making things even more frantic as you search for ways to stay alive without ever breaking up the feel of actually staying alive. Coupled with the inclusion of the “instant kill” chainsaw, which costs fuel but can get enemies to drop ammo in copious amount and the glory kill system, which rewards the player for getting an enemy on the verge of health, and a fight becomes a lot to take in: a big mass of enemies of all stripes trying to kill you, the ability to fight them off but not without the risk of resources and plenty of in a pinch fire power to pull it off with.

Now normally, I like to spend a great chunk of these write-ups talking about story and Doom has one for sure. Is it one you’re really involved with? Not… really. Don’t get me wrong, almost all actions are driven by the Doomslayer and his quest to make demons not be alive, but the overarching story is more of a pissing contest that the Doomslayer wants no part of, but is invariably drawn into. I’m sure you’ve heard about the opening segment but it bears repeating about just how cool it is: the Doomslayer is awakened and an NPC begins telling him why, only for him to rip the monitor off the wall so he doesn’t have to listen and gameplay begins. This devil may care attitude is such a wonderful change of pace, as a larger struggle over occultism and energy harvested from hell has so very little to do with what the player is actually doing, making the Doomslayer a player surrogate, caring more for destruction than reasoning. The odd thing is how much this does in making him an interesting character, as we can easily see his viewpoint about how killing hellspawn and shutting down things at any cost might outweigh political posturing. Id does a great job of programming a lot of little gestures that bring across his tough and focused persona, like a revenant bent on achieving his one goal and kind of just going along for the ride for the rest. I’m told the story is well fleshed out in ephemera one can find about the levels but the game is all meat and blood, so the amount you want to engage the brain should be left to such an arbitrary standard rather than forcing the player to deal with it.

The irony of me being really into something so largely gameplay heavy is not lost on me, but dammit the game is fun and acts in quick witted ways I enjoy. While I can definitely enjoy most shooters, it feels like its been awhile since I’ve gotten so into the chaotic feel of combat, the whirling dervish of death I can become at the right moments. Doom provided me a fairly challenging, but ultimately satisfying way to engage all my visceral instincts and I really appreciate the depth of ways to execute the same general ideas. While certainly old school in feel, Doom is all for the power of smarter faster feel a new game can provide and along with Shadow Warrior 2, has shown me that shooters can still be the crazy fun rides I love them as.

[waynekelton]

The Best War Games for Android & iOS

If you have ever looked for wargames on your iPad/android device you will know what I mean when I say it’s akin to walking into a swamp to find your wallet. Hundreds upon hundreds of tower defense, sniper and risk clones drown out the truly decent experiences. Like the 'strategy' genre at large, free-to-play 'gacha' games have invaded our app stores and are proving nigh impossible to resist.

Still, equipped with the latest in swamp draining technology, we've been able to bring together a crack squad of some of the best android and iOS war games currently available.

What are the best iOS & Android War Games?

Company of Heroes

Pacific Fire

Heroes of Normandie

Wars Across the Worlds

Vietnam '65

Panzer Corps

Carrier Battles 4 Guadalcanal

Drive on Moscow

John Tiller's Modern Campaign Series

John Tiller's Civil War Battles Series

Joni Nuutinen's Conflict Series

Command & Colours: The Great War

Ancient Battle: Hannibal

Napoleonics: Waterloo

Company of Heroes

Publisher: Feral Interactive Platforms: iPad Only Price: $14.99

While it may not fit the traditional definition of 'war game', Company of Heroes is none-the-less one of the finest WW2 real-time tactical experiences of the past twenty years, and it's finally on iPad. Feral Interactive have done a great job porting over this classic to mobile, with a remade interface to deal with touch controls and reduced screen size. It's still a bit fiddly in places with the more complex operations, but as our review notes, it still plays very well.

At the time of writing, Feral have only ported the single-player campaign, plus the ability to play in Skirmish matches vs. an AI. We anticipate multiplayer coming at some-point down the line, as well as possibly Company of Heroes' two expansions. An Android and phone port wouldn't go amiss either.

Pacific Fire

Publisher: Wirraway Software Platforms: iOS Universal, Android Price: $2.99

Genuinely new entries into this category are rare, but thankfully 2019 gave us a real indie gem to add to this list. Wirraway's Pacific Fire is a cheap, but surprisingly deep, combined arms war game that throws you into the Pacific Theatres of WW2. There's plenty of scenarios on offer that portray both sides of of the conflict, and it's your job to make the best use of the ground, sea and air assets you have available in order to capture and secure your objectives.

This is a solitaire experience, but the developers have stated several times they're fully committed to adding content to this game, as well as working on new titles that follow the same format. What's especially compelling about this is that it uses a 'WEGO' turn-based format, where all turn orders are resolved simultaneously. This is a great war game available at at great price, and you should read our Pacific Fire review for more.

Heroes of Normandie

Publisher: Slitherine Platform: iOS Universal Price: $14.99 (with additional IAP DLC)

Not only is this an adaptation of a pretty decent physical war game of the same name, it's a pretty decent war game on its own merits as well. Taking inspiration from classic hex-and-counter style games, Heroes of Normandie instead used a square grid and more 'to scale' counter pieces that depict squads of troops, vehicles and individual commanders. Really it's a squad level-tactical game that involves die-rolls, action cards, but also careful use of your units' abilities and the surrounding terrain.

Slitherine actually did an excellent job adapting this game to digital, retaining the 'larger-than'life' art style of the board and playing pieces, and offering a way to play the game without having to try and read the rule-book (which was kinda terribly laid out) and dealing with all those pieces. Slitherine were parhaps a little ahead of the curve when they launched this in 2016, as it hasn't really been getting the post-release support we'd expect despite the digital board game port genre in general growing in popularity. At $14.99 it's definitely one of the more expensive games out there, but we'd dare say if you want something meaty, but portable, this is worth the expense. Slitherine have always been Android averse, so we doubt it'll ever appear there, but there was a patch as recent as March 2019, demonstrating that they haven't totally abandoned the game.

Wars Across the Worlds

Publisher: Plug-In Digital Platform: iOS Universal Price: $1.99 (With IAPs)

Wars across the World's premise is to present a universal war game system so that it can applied to a range of scenarios and settings from across history. You could be fighting in the forests of Tannenberg one minute, storming the beaches the Normandy the next, before finally taking on the Syrians in the Six Days War.

We were very impressed with how well the mechanics translates from era to era, giving a consistently fun and challenging experience. Bespoke flavour is introduced via the card system, which can offer meaningful tactical and strategic choices. The base game only comes with the tutorial and one additional scenario (hence the cheap price), but so far none of the $1-a-pop scenario offerings have disappointed. The Berlin 1945 scenario (priced $2.99) is currently our favourite.

Vietnam '65

Publisher: Slitherine Platform: iPad Price: $9.99

The core mechanics simulate the nature of counter insurgency operational warfare in a plausible and realistic manner. The constant pressure to keep a presence out in the field makes it difficult to scrape together the forces you need for the big sweeps to destroy the core enemy bases without comprising somewhere. The result is a demanding just one more turn experience, and you should read out Vietnam '65 review for more. The developer made a follow-up game, Afghanistan '11, which is also really good and covers the events following the 2001 War in Afghanistan. You're put in charge of American forces as you try and build up the 'hearts & minds' of the local populace, whilst also tackling Taliban-sponsored insurgents. Sadly, Apple arbitrarily removed the game from the App store and it has yet to return. You can still pick it up on PC though, if you want.

Panzer Corps

Publisher: Slitherine Platform: iPad Price: $19.99

Panzer Corps has been hailed as the 'the spiritual successor' to the Panzer General series. If you don’t know Panzer General it was a wildly successful 1990’s war game. Panzer Corps is light-weight operational level WW2 game play that allows you to play a series of linked scenarios in which your forces will upgrade over time though around 800-unit types. The challenge is taking a specific objective within a time limit whilst retaining your force. Probably not for anyone who is interested in an actual simulation or specific order of battles.

Also Consider:  OpenPanzer, a completely free alternative to Panzer Corps which you can read more about on our ‘free games’ lists for iOS and Android.

Carrier Battles 4 Guadalcanal

Publisher: Avalon Digital Platform: iOS Universal Price: $6.99

This is an outstanding pacific carrier battles game played out at the operational level. The excellent AI, easy interface and accessibility combined with realism and plausibility makes this game a must if you have a vague interest in naval operations. But most of all I love how this game gets you so quickly to the interesting decision points and the thick of the fighting. Read our review for more.

At the time of writing, a successful Kickstarter means that this game will be coming to Android (and Desktop PC) in the near future. Huzzah!

Drive on Moscow

Publisher: Slitherine Platform: iPad Price: $9.99

This is an operational level, area activation game allowing you to defend or drive or Moscow with realistic units. Battling against time you face a series of agonising decisions in this game, constantly trying to figure out when is a good time to push ahead or fall back to a new line. The outcome is determined by your skill in judging those correct moments. Realistic, tense and accessible, this a most excellent game indeed. Read our Drive on Moscow review for more.

Also Consider: There is another game in Shenendoah's original 'lite' war game series, Battle of the Bulge, which is iOS Universal and well worth checking out.

John Tiller Software

Publisher: John Tiller Software Platforms: Android, iPad Price: Free - $2.99

Modern Campaigns Series

This is a series of four operational level games covering the Arab-Israeli wars, a hypothetical cold war gone hot in Germany in the 80s and Quang Tri offensive in 1972. These games provide detailed order of battle, some good fog of war and a realistic tactical combat element. However, the core system is somewhat dated, the AI isn’t great and the experience doesn’t provide a particularly plausible command simulation if that matters to you. If you don’t like endless drop-down menus then these games aren’t for you, accessibility is not a key strength here.

Modern Campaigns: Quang Tri '72 

Modern Campaigns: Mideast '67 

Modern Campaigns: North German Plain '85 

Modern Campaigns: Fulda Gap '85 

John Tiller's Civil War Battles

There are a ton of civil war battle games on the various stores and most of them are a complete waste of time from a wargame perspective. However, the JTS Civil War Battles series does provide a tactically solid game with a strong order of battle backed up with good combat mechanics.

However, like Modern Campaigns the core system is dated and the overall simulation of the command experience doesn’t feel right. You will be hard pushed to find a better hard core tactical wargame of the ACW out there and with 11 games in the series you will be kept busy. Note, unlike the Modern Campaign games, not every game in this series has been released onto Android:

Civil War Battles

The Battle of Antietam

The Battle of Shiloh

The Battle of Chancellorsville

The Battles of the Peninsula

The Battle of Chickamauga

Battles in the Ozark

The Battle of Corinth

The Petersburg Campaign

The Battle of Atlanta

The Battle of Franklin

Also Consider: There are more JTS games on iOS than Android, but in addition to the above JTS has put out some of their Panzer Campaigns and an air warfare and naval warfare game. All are worth checking out, and some are even free!

Alternatively if you want something lighter then look to Hexwar and their series of Civil War: 186X games or their slightly more complex game American Civil War Battles based on the wildly popular Terrible Swift Sword board game Great Battles of the American Civil War.

Conflict Series

Developer: Joni Nuutinen Platform: Android Price: Free to $5.99

The conflict series covers an absolutely huge number of WW2 operational level games that have been put out by this Finnish designer. The main thing about this series is that they are very accessible, time to combat is very quick and its probably the main reason for their success. This is combined with reasonable pricing and a design that makes you want to take just one more turn. On the downside the games don’t look great, they are all pretty similar and the AI can be very poor which without 2 players makes the game long term viability pretty limited.

Nuutinen's gamelist is a bit too numerous to list here (and it doesn't appear that he's on iOS?), so check out this link for the full list of games he's created. 

Command & Colours: The Great War

Publisher: Hex War Platform: iPad, Android Price: $9.99

While we weren't that impressed during our review, the team at HexWar have been putting a lot of work into their digital adaptation since its release. It has some new well themed mechanics that well represent the tactical challenges of the era and to be fair, there's not a lot of digital WW1 games on mobile around. Since we've just come out of the 100th anniversary at the end of the war, this one might be worth reconsidering if it comes up on sale again.

Read our Command & Colours: The Great War review for more details and impressions.

Ancient Battle: Hannibal

Publisher: Hex War Platform: iOS Universal Price: $4.99

It’s hard not to like the Punic Wars with its diverse number of units, colourful characters and wide ranging geography. This game offers different battle scenarios in a traditional hex, you go, I go format linked together by a wider campaign. Whilst their games are pretty standard one thing that HexWar really surpasses in is in its ability to make their games look great and accessible.

This is not only immersive but it allows the player to quickly get to the hard decisions and the crucial turning points that one can agonise over and reflect upon later. The base engine used by HexWar has been used across a number of their games including the early and late medieval and Napoleonic wars. So there are plenty of different era’s here to pick and choose from if you are looking for some serious plate metal on your horse.

Napoleonics: Waterloo

Publisher: DK Simulations (David Kershaw) Platform: Android Price: $1.99

David Kershaw has a traditional mix of mobile wargames that are none too dissimilar to the conflict series but Napoleonics: Waterloo stands out as it takes the mechanics of the Napoleon’s Triumph and Bonaparte at Marango board games and ports them to Android (I couldn't locate them on the app store -ED). If you are bored of traditional hex war games and want something that better reflects the challenges of a real command and battle using a different kind of mechanic then look no further.

Other iOS & Android War Game Recommendations

Fort Sumter

Assault on Arnham (Wargamer.com Review)

Pike & Shot (if you have a pre-iOS 11 device)

What are your favourite android or iOS war games? Let us know in the comments!

The Best War Games for Android & iOS published first on https://touchgen.tumblr.com/

[bharatiyamedia-blog]

A Premium Gaming Chair at a Aggressive Worth – Evaluation Geek

http://tinyurl.com/yxaxfj7m Score: 8/10 ? 1 – Absolute Sizzling Rubbish 2 – Sorta Lukewarm Rubbish 3 – Strongly Flawed Design 4 – Some Execs, Tons Of Cons 5 – Acceptably Imperfect 6 – Good Sufficient to Purchase On Sale 7 – Nice, However Not Greatest-In-Class 8 – Implausible, with Some Footnotes 9 – Shut Up And Take My Cash 10 – Absolute Design Nirvana Worth: 289 EWin Gaming chairs are usually three issues: costly, ugly, and a bit bit uncomfortable. However one way or the other, someway, EWin has managed to interrupt away from the competitors with its inexpensive, comfy Champion gaming chair. Here is What We Like Snug and Breathable Supplies Sturdy Aluminum Base and Metal-Framed Physique Simple to Assemble The whole lot is Adjustable, Together with the Arm Rests Comes with Fancy Gloves Inexpensive And What We Do not Awkward Pillows Agency Seat Cushion Prior to now, I’ve spent an embarrassing quantity of power complaining about how gaming chairs don’t work nicely as workplace chairs. To show my level (to myself, I assume), I made a decision to make use of the EWin Champion as a full-time workplace and gaming chair. At this level, I’ve in all probability spent over 100 hours with my butt planted within the Champion, and it’s now my devoted workplace chair. Even the cat likes it. Go determine. So, what units the Champion aside from the remaining? Is it the supplies? The anime-esque design? The reminiscence foam innards? Nicely, my love for the Champion started as quickly as I opened the field. The Best Meeting Possible Let’s begin with a little bit of honesty. I like to assemble new toys and furnishings, to the purpose that it’s a little bit of an issue. Buddies and family members draw back when I’ve a instrument in my hand; they’ve realized to not interrupt the manic episode that takes place when my eyes lock on a hunk of free supplies and disorganized screws. However within the final month, that manic obsession has taken a success. See, I’ve simply moved to a brand new constructing, and the assembly-gland in my mind is exhausted from disassembling and reassembling a lot stupidly designed furnishings. When the EWin Champion chair arrived at my doorstep, I truthfully dreaded the considered coping with it. I thought-about swearing off furnishings for good, however then will energy to slice open the field. I’m nonetheless impressed by how nicely the field was organized, and by the quick 15 or 20 minutes that I spent assembling the EWin Champion chair with an included Allen key. Andrew Heinzman Within the field, the big components of the chair (the seat and backrest) come largely pre-assembled, and the smaller items are clearly labeled and partitioned into baggies and packing containers. At first, I used to be confused by the small variety of bolts and screws which might be included within the field, however I rapidly realized that many of the screws are pre-installed within the chair’s physique, so that you don’t should go on the lookout for them. Naturally, the chair comes with an instruction handbook. I’m completely happy to say that this handbook was written by a creature with a pulse. It’s simple to observe, it’s just one web page lengthy, and it doesn’t comprise any typos. The EWin Champion chair additionally comes with a nifty pair of gloves. This appears a bit odd (I assumed that they fell in in the course of the packing course of), however they’re included with each EWin gaming chair. Are these gloves for gaming? Are you purported to put on them whereas assembling the chair? I do not know, however I recognize their existence, I assume. Stunning Construct High quality As a lazy work-from-home kind and a devoted PC gamer, I’ve spent quite a lot of time in my new EWin Champion chair. In that point, I’ve been pleasantly stunned by its construct high quality. A chair’s development is just like the human physique. All chairs have a dense boney body, smooth meaty innards, and a protecting outer shell (I don’t really feel comfy saying {that a} chair has pores and skin). As a human being, you in all probability don’t need to be made up of a bunch of low cost components. Nicely, chairs don’t need to be manufactured from low cost components both, which is why the EWin Champion is constructed with a metal body, a dense reminiscence foam physique, and a surprisingly wealthy and tightly-stitched polyurethane upholstery with a leather-based end. With these parts, the EWin Champion chair is a sturdy, heavy beast. It’s stain-resistant, it feels very safe, and regardless of my greatest efforts, I haven’t managed to fall again whereas sitting in it. So long as my cats proceed to like and respect my belongings, this chair ought to final for a very long time. And imagine me, I hope that it lasts for a very long time, as a result of because it seems, well-built chairs are tremendous comfy. Consolation and Adjustable EWin isn’t mendacity when it says the Champion is made out of high-density reminiscence foam. This can be a agency chair. And whereas I hate to sink right into a chair, particularly whereas I’m at a pc, I feel that the Champion may use a bit extra cushion. Often, I don’t discover the firmness, however generally I’ve to set a small blanket on the Champion’s seat to maintain issues comfortable. Fortunately, the Champion’s innards are smooth. Let me reiterate one thing; the EWin Champion’s PU leather-based upholstery is lush. It’s smooth, like an costly coat. And whereas artificial leathers are infamous for trapping warmth, I haven’t caught myself sweating within the EWin Champion chair. The Champion is surprisingly breathable. However consolation doesn’t rely fully on supplies; it additionally depends upon adjustability. And each a part of the Champion is adjustable. Andrew Heinzman Like most desk chairs, the Champion has a hydraulic height-adjustment lever. I’m a bit over six ft tall, and my ft can barely contact the bottom on the Champion’s highest place. The Champion additionally has a reclining lever, and it may possibly recline to an virtually fully horizontal place, which is extraordinarily comfy (albeit not wholly sensible). Surprisingly, the Champion’s armrests are additionally totally adjustable. EWin calls them “4D armrests,” as a result of they will rotate, they will slide to the left or the proper, they are often raised up and down, and you may push them ahead or backward. When you don’t like armrests, you possibly can take away them altogether. I wish to maintain the armrests at their lowest setting. I spend most of my pc time typing, and the armrests are nice for supporting my elbows and maintaining my wrists straight. The one factor about this chair that makes me uncomfortable is the lumbar pillow. It’s a bit too cumbersome and a bit too low for my tastes. And whilst you can technically modify the pillow’s peak by elevating it alongside its straps, the straps can’t be tightened, so the pillow doesn’t keep the place you set it. As for the neck pillow, I don’t understand how I really feel about it, as a result of I can’t attain it with out awkwardly forcing my again into the chair. Plus, its straps can’t be tightened, so I can’t modify it to go well with my tastes. Fortunately, each pillows may be faraway from the chair, and I normally use a bit throw pillow instead of the lumbar pillow. The “Huggy” Issue Andrew Heinzman Now, I’ve a selected (and presumably unjustified) criticism about most racing-styled gaming chairs. They’re a bit too “huggy.” Like a booster seat, racing-styled chairs are usually folded inward, and you may really feel it in your again and your butt. In my expertise, lumbar and again pillows have a tendency so as to add to this discomfort. The EWin Champion chair is exclusive, because it’s simply the correct amount of “huggy.” It’s comfy, nevertheless it nonetheless retains me from rolling right into a crooked or un-ergonomic place. That being mentioned, I feel the lumbar pillow’s bulkiness and lack of adjustability subtract from the posture-supporting “huggy” issue by pushing my decrease again ahead. Possibly it’s simply my physique kind, however once more, I feel {that a} smaller lumbar pillow would make this chair even higher than it already is. A Cool, Albeit Area of interest Design Prior to now few years, I’ve managed to undergo an embarrassing variety of chairs. Of these chairs, the EWin Champion is the one one that appears prefer it’s from an anime. Now, is {that a} dangerous factor? Not essentially. I really feel like I’m controlling a mecha whereas writing product critiques or enjoying video video games, and that’s comforting. It provides me an odd sense of energy. However would I counsel this chair to a buddy based mostly on its design? I assume it depends upon the buddy. Don’t get me unsuitable; I feel that EWin’s struck the proper steadiness between type and value. And I perceive the Champion wants to face out from the competitors as a result of avid gamers have a tendency to purchase the merchandise which might be utilized by their favourite Twitch streamers or YouTubers. It’s simply that the design is a bit area of interest. That being mentioned, I feel that the Champion appears higher than most gaming chairs, and recognize that the chair’s embroidered EWin emblem isn’t too flashy. Total, it is a nice chair. It’s comfy for work and play, and it’s constructed to final. At slightly below $300, the Champion is the most effective in its league. I simply hope that I can discover a use for these gloves. Right here’s What We Like Snug and Breathable Supplies Sturdy Aluminum Base and Metal-Framed Physique Simple to Assemble The whole lot is Adjustable, Together with the Arm Rests Comes with Fancy Gloves Inexpensive And What We Do not Awkward Pillows Agency Seat Cushion !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s){if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window,document,'script','https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js');fbq('init','1137093656460433');fbq('track','PageView'); Source link

[terryblount]

Crackdown 3 – Campaign Review

The past four months paint a bleak picture of the big-budget gaming scene as players had to endure a long series of major disappointments. Games that have been overstimulating our salivary glands for months – or even years – since their announcement only seemed to drive the wedge between publishers and us as consumers deeper and deeper. It was also no secret that long-time fans of Microsoft’s classic, Crackdown IP branded the third instalment as yet another game that missed the bar in terms of fan expectations.

It was therefore with a sense of wariness that I installed my review copy of Crackdown 3 since the current state of the AAA scene has been likened to a dumpster fire by many. Adding to my reluctance was the fact that I never played the previous games, which ruled out any sentimental attachment I might have had to the series as a whole. Ironically, Crackdown 3 turned out to be a game that I think was lambasted due to being a product of its context rather than a lack of quality.

“Quack, quack motherducker!” Apparently it is some sort of long-running gag in the series. Don’t ask me.

I am not saying that fans of this series have no reason to be upset; it has been nearly nine years since the previous game after all. However, as a player experiencing Crackdown 3 in isolation from its roots (and with curbed enthusiasm), I really had fun with it. It has no ambition to be original, nor does try to convey a compelling narrative, but what it can offer to players is a hearty sandbox experience that never tries to overreach itself.

Join the crew, Terry’s crew!

The game plays out in a world where super criminals have given rise to super mercenaries for hire thanks to an organisation simply called ‘The Agency.’ With the power of cybernetic and genetic enhancements, The Agency has ushered in a new age of peace keepers where a single ‘Agent’ can represent the military advantage of a one man army. As in the previous two games, The Agency has once again been summoned into a metropolis (called ‘New Providence’ this time round) where the power of corrupt bureaucrats has grown beyond the reach of the law.

This time the focal point of corruption lies within a super corporation named ‘Terra Nova,’ and it is up to Terry Crews… I mean Commander Jaxon and his squad to overthrow the establishment from within. In a style that is virtually identical to Middle Eath: Shadow or Mordor/War, the aim is not to kick down the front door and open fire on the person sitting behind the desk. Instead, Terra Nova must be destroyed using the one, true antidote for tyrants: Anarchy.

The leader of Terra Nova, Elizabeth Niemand. The final boss.

As such, the player will spend their time unleashing all kinds of hell on processing facilities, freeing the local resistance militia, and recapturing outposts all while mowing down masses of hired thugs. You do this until the commanders of each division get mad enough to face you head-on, at which point the opportunity presents itself to strike at the head of the snake. Once all of the lessor bosses have been blasted to kingdom come, the time will come to move against the leader of Terra Nova itself.

That weird feeling of Déjà vu

Shadow of Mordor/War is not the only book that Crackdown 3 has borrowed a few pages from. In fact, virtually all of the gameplay mechanics will feel extremely familiar to anyone that has so much as touched a sandbox or open-world game in the last ten years. Fans from Saint’s Row, Grand Theft Auto, Infamous and even Far Cry will all find something they instantly recognise within Crackdown 3’s gameplay mechanics.

Much like Shadow of War/Mordor you can even gather bits of intel on the bosses, and defeating one makes a path up to those in the higher hierarchies.

Still, the most obvious pedigree would have to be Just Cause 3 both in terms of how the game plays, and equally within the structure of the objectives. Crackdown 3 similarly puts you at the edge of the game’s world, and lets you tackle goals and activities in any order of your choosing. The player can spend an hour blowing up chemical plants manufacturing a green goop called Chimera, and then switch freely to liberating resistance soldiers who could offer additional support against the pesky local militia.

All that matters is results, and I never felt pressured to focus on one particular path. Yet, the thing is, I can list so many other games off the top of my head doing the very same thing, and this is perhaps Crackdown 3’s biggest weakness. Instead of being the stylish, next-gen, sci-fi epic that would be a more authentic continuation of 2010’s Crackdown 2, this game’s identity faces a real risk of disappearing beneath all of its more generic elements.

Why would you NOT want to play as Terry Crews!?!?!?

As I mentioned, there is not a whole lot going on in terms of the story which might make many of the tasks seem superficial, if not somewhat repetitive. The city of New Providence is small when compared to some of the dizzying, colossal sandboxes from modern entries in this genre. As such, you don’t exactly pick out an objective, stock up, and take a long trip to where you carry out your tactically-planned mission. You blow up one stronghold, before literally walking to the next one where you just rinse and repeat.

I can likewise agree with the haters that this game never fully realises its visual potential (without digressing into whether or not Crackdown 3 was visually downgraded). The world is characterised by that sterile feeling of a game engine more interested in keeping the frame rate up as opposed to depicting a lush, full environment. The developers, Sumo Digital, even removed those iconic, cel-shaded aesthetics that have always defined the visual identity of this series. This all adds up to a game that just does not have the eye-candy worthy of a nine-year wait.

I thought you said you liked it?

In spite of all this, Crackdown 3 really began to grow on me once I noticed several small, yet significant ways in which the game made an effort to keep things tight and polished. Even if the narrative fades into the background, and the gameplay never innovates beyond what is familiar to the genre, Crackdown 3 is still really good at what it does. The action is slick, volatile and it just works for a AAA title that you expect to have Terry Crews in the lead.

Good for crushing enemies or blowing up pumps!

Take the gun play for example. Here Crackdown 3 lays emphasis on the thrill of momentum and agility, so there is the option of an auto-lock on mechanic. Just bring anything into the gun’s sights, and the designated target will automatically remain locked on while you are free to jump and dash around the battlefield like a kangaroo on opioids.

It is not just purely for style though, since movement is a crucial defensive manoeuvre against the ruthless, hit-scanning AI. The game eagerly throws large numbers at the player once the fight begins, so those moves serve the purpose of making you an impossibly lively target to hit. Moreover, just one strike from the later bosses is enough to take a meaty chunk off your health bar, so getting good at dodging projectiles is anything but a wasted skill.

Agent + mining facility = flames.

The guns are also really fun even if the arsenal at the player’s disposal is not exactly vast. Each gun has been tailored for maximum efficiency towards a specific enemy type which prevents the player from just going in guns blazing. Chemical weapons are virtually useless against refinery workers in hazmat suits, but once you start bringing out the incendiary charges and explosive weapons, the fight suddenly shifts in your favour. This forms a welcome aspect of sub-strategy in addition to the already frenzy combat lighting up your screen.

On top of all this, just because I think Sumo Digital did not fully replicate the visual potential of this series does not mean the game is ugly. On the contrary, the environment is still unmistakably colourful and vibrant, and Crackdown 3’s physics engine is anything but shy when it comes to flashy, thunderous explosions. A distinctive visual style has also been worked into the vehicles and the architecture so, overall, the game is rather easy on the eyes.

Not much in the way of draw distance, but the game can be beautiful when it wants to.

Everything is more fun with friends… or not

Regrettably, I never got a chance to play the multiplayer so my apologies for not being able to comment on that. This is because, firstly, the upload speed of my shoddy internet will only end with me hurling my controller and, secondly, you need an Xbox Gold membership. Besides, in between Anthem and Apex Legends coming out within the same month, will anybody even be playing this?

It behooves me to mention that the multiplayer aspect of Crackdown 3 is called “Wrecking Zone” due to the physics-heavy gameplay mechanics. Much like Warmonger, which came out way back when PhysX cards were still a thing, the player is able to use super realistic, environmental destruction as an active advantage during gameplay. Feel like raising an entire building to the ground to flush your opponent out from hiding? Go for it. Feel like blasting a hole in the wall for a quick getaway? Sure!

Microsoft, however, does the physics calculations for you on the cloud, so you don’t have to stress about bringing the frame rate of your PC or Xbox One to its knees. Let me know how it is if you get a chance to play the multiplayer (or if you would REALLY like a review of it).

Haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate

So the dissatisfaction of fans is not entirely misplaced, and I had a blast playing through the relatively short campaign, but where does that leave you making your way through this review? Well, my final opinion is that Crackdown 3 cannot be called a bad game in spite of a few superficial flaws. I am truly disappointed that they did not squeeze more of the sweet visual juices from the Unreal Engine 4, and Terry Crews was hopelessly underused as a leading character.

The agency car you can summon at any time. Once you earn some additional driving skill points it turns into a buggy.

Yet, I just ended up having so much fun because, again, this game just focuses on a near flawless execution of its core gameplay. The action and movement are based on an intuitive control scheme that will have you feeling like a total juggernaut in no time, and the environments make up for their lack in visual fidelity through the level of thought that has been put into their design. The more skilled I became at running and gunning, the more rewarding the overall experience became because the game had no trouble making me look like such a badass.

Crackdown 3 therefore makes for the perfect game to play over weekends when you just want to blow stuff up without having to sift through intricate narrative webs or plot twists. If you already have a Game Pass subscription, or you have a sweet tooth for the more anarchic flavour of sandbox games, play this as soon as possible. For avid fans of the first two entries and newcomers alike, perhaps waiting a bit until the price comes down would be best, but you might just end up liking it lot.

Fast and furious combat

Easy to master

Rewarding exploration

Collectable hunting

Voice acting and sound

Somewhat bland world

Limited story depth

Repetitive in moments

Mediocre graphics

        Playtime: 10 hours total. For the single player campaign

Computer Specs: Windows 10 64-bit computer using Nvidia GTX 1070, i5 4690K CPU, 16GB RAM – Played using an Xbox One Controller

Crackdown 3 – Campaign Review published first on https://touchgen.tumblr.com/