Leos
Bio
Heya! Im Leos! I enjoy a wide variety of games, primarily shooters, and like to challenge myself, usually choosing the hardest or second hardest difficulty in games.
I aim to give my in-depth opinions on titles and give them a fair shot while also being realistic to how people play them. When I am finished with a game, I usually look at it from the perspective of "Is the reward for completing it 100% truly worth my time?" I generally aim to 100%, but sometime I settle for 80-90%. I might not be a completionist all the time, but it just means that if I take the time to do it, I truly recommend it.
Heya! Im Leos! I enjoy a wide variety of games, primarily shooters, and like to challenge myself, usually choosing the hardest or second hardest difficulty in games.
I aim to give my in-depth opinions on titles and give them a fair shot while also being realistic to how people play them. When I am finished with a game, I usually look at it from the perspective of "Is the reward for completing it 100% truly worth my time?" I generally aim to 100%, but sometime I settle for 80-90%. I might not be a completionist all the time, but it just means that if I take the time to do it, I truly recommend it.
Badges
Liked
Gained 10+ total review likes
Noticed
Gained 3+ followers
3 Years of Service
Being part of the Backloggd community for 3 years
007
Total Games Played
001
Played in 2024
033
Games Backloggd
Recently Played See More
Recently Reviewed See More
I miss when developers genuinely learned what was good about their games and leaned into it instead of appealing to the horrors of the mass market.
Coming from Codename 47, Silent Assassin delivers more of what made the best levels from that game great. Offering the player a variety of interesting environments to explore and more ways to approach targets than the last game. Guns blazing, poisoning, a sniper from a distance, the choice is yours, and the game will even award you with a title and stats based on your performance.
Instead of a semi-determined screen of weapons to choose from with cash limits, Silent Assassin allows players to equip any weapons they have taken from previous levels (or unlocked from completing missions in the stealthiest way possible, only eliminating the target) to really give a player not just a more personalized way of taking down marks, but also offering a fun side challenge of collecting weapons to have a full arsenal.
From the cold streets of St Petersburg to the arid markets of Afghanistan. Hitman 2 offers an even more diverse range of levels that offer unique challenges to the player every step of the way.
While the story is quite barebones, same as the last entry, it is at least interesting enough to keep the player engaged. Being said, its also completely possible to ignore it if you wanted to.
The game also manages to surprise you, especially near the end with some twists that took me by surprise so much that I thought I was experiencing bugs. The return to St Petersburg will be burned into my mind forever as a time I was genuinely trolled by a video game in such a way that you really don't expect to get messed with.
That being said, Silent Assassin still has many flaws that will need tweaking going forward. I ended up not playing on the highest difficulty as I found guards were WAY too jumpy over my actions, even if I was mirroring the pattern and behaviors of the man I replaced. I understand a game demanding perfection. But I really don't find it fun when a game turns from reasonable challenge with fair rules to a game where I couldn't tell you how or where I fucked up if I wanted to. I am a masochist sure, but I prefer the kind of struggle I can work with and understand rather than the pain of being black bagged and gang beat in an alley at seemingly random. This could just be a skill issue on my part, but this is a sentiment I have seen around.
This concludes the first 2 Hitman games that I was told to skip before starting the series. I can understand why people are told to skip the first two games. They are clunky, awkward, and sometimes don't work quite the way you expect them to, but they are 100% worth a try if you are willing to put up with their unique quirks.
Coming from Codename 47, Silent Assassin delivers more of what made the best levels from that game great. Offering the player a variety of interesting environments to explore and more ways to approach targets than the last game. Guns blazing, poisoning, a sniper from a distance, the choice is yours, and the game will even award you with a title and stats based on your performance.
Instead of a semi-determined screen of weapons to choose from with cash limits, Silent Assassin allows players to equip any weapons they have taken from previous levels (or unlocked from completing missions in the stealthiest way possible, only eliminating the target) to really give a player not just a more personalized way of taking down marks, but also offering a fun side challenge of collecting weapons to have a full arsenal.
From the cold streets of St Petersburg to the arid markets of Afghanistan. Hitman 2 offers an even more diverse range of levels that offer unique challenges to the player every step of the way.
While the story is quite barebones, same as the last entry, it is at least interesting enough to keep the player engaged. Being said, its also completely possible to ignore it if you wanted to.
The game also manages to surprise you, especially near the end with some twists that took me by surprise so much that I thought I was experiencing bugs. The return to St Petersburg will be burned into my mind forever as a time I was genuinely trolled by a video game in such a way that you really don't expect to get messed with.
That being said, Silent Assassin still has many flaws that will need tweaking going forward. I ended up not playing on the highest difficulty as I found guards were WAY too jumpy over my actions, even if I was mirroring the pattern and behaviors of the man I replaced. I understand a game demanding perfection. But I really don't find it fun when a game turns from reasonable challenge with fair rules to a game where I couldn't tell you how or where I fucked up if I wanted to. I am a masochist sure, but I prefer the kind of struggle I can work with and understand rather than the pain of being black bagged and gang beat in an alley at seemingly random. This could just be a skill issue on my part, but this is a sentiment I have seen around.
This concludes the first 2 Hitman games that I was told to skip before starting the series. I can understand why people are told to skip the first two games. They are clunky, awkward, and sometimes don't work quite the way you expect them to, but they are 100% worth a try if you are willing to put up with their unique quirks.
This review contains spoilers
I think prior to this review, I should give a bit of context to my review and what I was thinking of going into playing this game
Many dedicated hitman fans have advised I skip the first 2 games and start at Contracts. I understand that Contracts is supposed to be a remake of the first game but I wanted to play Codename 47 because, as someone who wanted to really get into the series, I wanted to see where it started.
Codename 47 at times feels clunky, it feels alot like a tech demo in many ways as not only is it short, it tries to do alot of stuff in its first outing. There is a sense while playing it that the developers wanted to see what worked and what didnt, and considering Contracts later refined these levels and even cut one, I am going to go out on a limb and say they managed to refine their formula quite well at that point.
The game has about 12 levels, taking place across 4 hits. The first job, Hong Kong, taking up about 1/3rd of the game, with the other jobs having less levels.
Hong Kong its definetly the best in terms of refinement, I think its the games best foot forward. Offering a variety of ways to complete its levels and rewarding the player snooping around and investigating. Hitman as a series doesnt really want you to figure out how to do a job on your first playthrough, the game rewards a player being open minded and experimenting with different ways of killing the target, different disguises or entrances, I often found myself being so surprised with the variety of approaches that I would feel a it silly for not seeing an option so obviously. The game, at its best, rewards you for thinking realistically in a way I don't think many games do nowadays or maybe even did in 2000.
This, sadly, turns into a bit of a mess in the next level.
Columbia sucks, Its an endurance test for getting torn to shreds by guys you cant see with little to no options for recovery if things go wrong. The games low draw distance and lack of good checkpoints make each level a test in perfection, (especially if you play on Hard like I did) and not in a really satisfying way. Failure results in a single "revive" that doesn't give you a new disguise, doesn't fully give back armor, spawns you in the dumbest location and expects you to just un-fuck your situations while everyone is hunting you down already. I honestly would be less mad if I wasn't given checkpoints as it feels more like a waste of time when I use them unless I am literally naruto-running to the end.
Budapest is a breif, but welcome, return to the kind of gameplay in Hong Kong, rewarding patience and research of the area to dispatch the target and steal an item before escape. I honestly don't even know if I found all the ways you can get the key off the Dentist but I can tell you that its very entertaining to explore the map and see your options.
Rotterdam at first is promising aswell, but then turns into a level on par in terms of frustration with Columbia, requiring perfection as to even get close to the target without them escaping before you get a chance to finish the job. The game does reward you for exploration once again with the option of a Car Bomb, but its so out of the way and a pain in the ass to get to that frankly, you could always just wait by the car and murder him before he escapes.
The final level is kind of surreal, Its hard to put into words but there is a really odd feeling to it. Killing the target and stealing his uniform make you basically immune in a level that, without it, is a constant assault of SWAT units. Then its traversing the maze of a map trying to find out what you're even supposed to do in the first place. Ending in a boss fight that is really more of a gauntlet (that you can 100% cheese) than a real fight.
Codename 47 is a fine game, I wouldn't recommend it unless you really want to experience the series first attempts, especially at the 11 CAD price tag on steam.
You aren't missing out on much dodging this one, however.
Fuck Pablo and his lame fuckin lab.
Many dedicated hitman fans have advised I skip the first 2 games and start at Contracts. I understand that Contracts is supposed to be a remake of the first game but I wanted to play Codename 47 because, as someone who wanted to really get into the series, I wanted to see where it started.
Codename 47 at times feels clunky, it feels alot like a tech demo in many ways as not only is it short, it tries to do alot of stuff in its first outing. There is a sense while playing it that the developers wanted to see what worked and what didnt, and considering Contracts later refined these levels and even cut one, I am going to go out on a limb and say they managed to refine their formula quite well at that point.
The game has about 12 levels, taking place across 4 hits. The first job, Hong Kong, taking up about 1/3rd of the game, with the other jobs having less levels.
Hong Kong its definetly the best in terms of refinement, I think its the games best foot forward. Offering a variety of ways to complete its levels and rewarding the player snooping around and investigating. Hitman as a series doesnt really want you to figure out how to do a job on your first playthrough, the game rewards a player being open minded and experimenting with different ways of killing the target, different disguises or entrances, I often found myself being so surprised with the variety of approaches that I would feel a it silly for not seeing an option so obviously. The game, at its best, rewards you for thinking realistically in a way I don't think many games do nowadays or maybe even did in 2000.
This, sadly, turns into a bit of a mess in the next level.
Columbia sucks, Its an endurance test for getting torn to shreds by guys you cant see with little to no options for recovery if things go wrong. The games low draw distance and lack of good checkpoints make each level a test in perfection, (especially if you play on Hard like I did) and not in a really satisfying way. Failure results in a single "revive" that doesn't give you a new disguise, doesn't fully give back armor, spawns you in the dumbest location and expects you to just un-fuck your situations while everyone is hunting you down already. I honestly would be less mad if I wasn't given checkpoints as it feels more like a waste of time when I use them unless I am literally naruto-running to the end.
Budapest is a breif, but welcome, return to the kind of gameplay in Hong Kong, rewarding patience and research of the area to dispatch the target and steal an item before escape. I honestly don't even know if I found all the ways you can get the key off the Dentist but I can tell you that its very entertaining to explore the map and see your options.
Rotterdam at first is promising aswell, but then turns into a level on par in terms of frustration with Columbia, requiring perfection as to even get close to the target without them escaping before you get a chance to finish the job. The game does reward you for exploration once again with the option of a Car Bomb, but its so out of the way and a pain in the ass to get to that frankly, you could always just wait by the car and murder him before he escapes.
The final level is kind of surreal, Its hard to put into words but there is a really odd feeling to it. Killing the target and stealing his uniform make you basically immune in a level that, without it, is a constant assault of SWAT units. Then its traversing the maze of a map trying to find out what you're even supposed to do in the first place. Ending in a boss fight that is really more of a gauntlet (that you can 100% cheese) than a real fight.
Codename 47 is a fine game, I wouldn't recommend it unless you really want to experience the series first attempts, especially at the 11 CAD price tag on steam.
You aren't missing out on much dodging this one, however.
Fuck Pablo and his lame fuckin lab.
This review contains spoilers
Well its been a bit since I did a review, lets get back on track, shall we?
Bit of background, I initially played this game when I was about 8, on the original Xbox. One of the first things I noticed is how the game felt like it skipped a whole level, turns out the console versions had an additional prologue level, who knew!
I remember liking this game as a kid, so revisiting it I expected to have a good time going in, it has Wolfenstein in the name! Its gotta be good!
RtCW is fine
The story is not super deep. Bj Blazkowicz returns to kill Nazis, discovering an operation to resurrect Heinrich, an ancient dark knight empowered by black magic, and use him in combination with an army of cyborg super soldiers to win the war. Yes the story is dumb, its played so honestly and you could honestly blink and miss it and it wont affect how the game plays out. Yes, in-game documents exist to deepen the world but in truth, you wont get much from them besides "I just hope X doesn't do something stupid", and rest assured, X did the stupid thing.
Music is fine, the game has some memorable tracks that are stuck in my head for sure. (The track Action! is one I like a lot actually: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zly9d5_8zpI) But truth be told I dont know if the music is like, That amazing? Its just fine.
Visually, the game is aging like dirt. Everything is kinda awkwardly blocky and some of the vista's and valleys give me an eerie vibe, like I am in gm_flatgrass or something. enemy models like the sexy black witch lady towards the end show their age big time. Though, I do think the Super Soldiers are very unique! I like the knight aesthetic they have combined with their robotic bits, drives the whole cross between old magic and new tech home nicely and I kinda wish we saw more of that. Graphics are serviceable and if you aren't a fetish for HD textures, they serve the game just fine.
Gameplay wise, the game is, and I hate to keep using this word, fine. You got a good variety of weapons and while some end up falling off like the hand guns, you end up having a decent arsenal of weapons towards the end. That being said, this arsenal is hardly unique either, with the only weapon of note I remember being the Fg42 which became my workhorse weapon towards the end of the game. Even the tesla canon or the Minigun come across as kinda meh, they are the kind of guns you only pull out on a boss or big encounter and while ammo is plentiful for them in the last few levels, their range and accuracy made it so that I was just better off sniping guys off with the Fg42 anyway. All the guns feel samey, serviceable, but kinda samey. The game lacks a Shotgun, which I am taking half an entire star off for that alone. What the fuck.
Level consist of you killing your way to an exit, sometimes you gotta not trigger an alarm, sometimes you gotta backtrack and hunt a guy, one time you even escort a tank (for 2 seconds). Levels are surprisingly varied, though some do end up feeling samey towards the end and while there are secrets to find it doesn't shake much up. Maybe at the time it didn't need to.
For more context, I played on the second highest difficulty because I found early on it was very easy for you to die with little reaction time, turns out the console ports made the game easier. Once I got into the flow of the game it wasn't really hard, just a few parts where you had to deal with enemies that killed you really fast with little way to stop them if you don't react fast enough (The Lopers are probably the worst for this, constantly jumping your rockets and gunfire, actually they were the most fearsome enemies in my opinion and they were gone quick)
RtCW is the Maple Bacon Quarter Pounder from McDonalds for me. I had it once, really liked it, and when it comes out every year or so, consider getting it, maybe I do, maybe I don't, I don't lose sleep over missing out. Now that I just got my burger again, I recall that it is just McDonalds with a fun sauce. Its fine, I'm not offended or angry, but I am not impressed. It hasn't aged that bad, but I don't know if McDonalds Burgers really age anyway, maybe something they put in the meat, maybe the game was so simple that age wasn't gonna bother it much.
Don't lose sleep on skipping this one, Don't spend over 5 dollars for it either. Its just fine.
Update: apparently a shotgun exists in the console port. The fuck?
Bit of background, I initially played this game when I was about 8, on the original Xbox. One of the first things I noticed is how the game felt like it skipped a whole level, turns out the console versions had an additional prologue level, who knew!
I remember liking this game as a kid, so revisiting it I expected to have a good time going in, it has Wolfenstein in the name! Its gotta be good!
RtCW is fine
The story is not super deep. Bj Blazkowicz returns to kill Nazis, discovering an operation to resurrect Heinrich, an ancient dark knight empowered by black magic, and use him in combination with an army of cyborg super soldiers to win the war. Yes the story is dumb, its played so honestly and you could honestly blink and miss it and it wont affect how the game plays out. Yes, in-game documents exist to deepen the world but in truth, you wont get much from them besides "I just hope X doesn't do something stupid", and rest assured, X did the stupid thing.
Music is fine, the game has some memorable tracks that are stuck in my head for sure. (The track Action! is one I like a lot actually: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zly9d5_8zpI) But truth be told I dont know if the music is like, That amazing? Its just fine.
Visually, the game is aging like dirt. Everything is kinda awkwardly blocky and some of the vista's and valleys give me an eerie vibe, like I am in gm_flatgrass or something. enemy models like the sexy black witch lady towards the end show their age big time. Though, I do think the Super Soldiers are very unique! I like the knight aesthetic they have combined with their robotic bits, drives the whole cross between old magic and new tech home nicely and I kinda wish we saw more of that. Graphics are serviceable and if you aren't a fetish for HD textures, they serve the game just fine.
Gameplay wise, the game is, and I hate to keep using this word, fine. You got a good variety of weapons and while some end up falling off like the hand guns, you end up having a decent arsenal of weapons towards the end. That being said, this arsenal is hardly unique either, with the only weapon of note I remember being the Fg42 which became my workhorse weapon towards the end of the game. Even the tesla canon or the Minigun come across as kinda meh, they are the kind of guns you only pull out on a boss or big encounter and while ammo is plentiful for them in the last few levels, their range and accuracy made it so that I was just better off sniping guys off with the Fg42 anyway. All the guns feel samey, serviceable, but kinda samey. The game lacks a Shotgun, which I am taking half an entire star off for that alone. What the fuck.
Level consist of you killing your way to an exit, sometimes you gotta not trigger an alarm, sometimes you gotta backtrack and hunt a guy, one time you even escort a tank (for 2 seconds). Levels are surprisingly varied, though some do end up feeling samey towards the end and while there are secrets to find it doesn't shake much up. Maybe at the time it didn't need to.
For more context, I played on the second highest difficulty because I found early on it was very easy for you to die with little reaction time, turns out the console ports made the game easier. Once I got into the flow of the game it wasn't really hard, just a few parts where you had to deal with enemies that killed you really fast with little way to stop them if you don't react fast enough (The Lopers are probably the worst for this, constantly jumping your rockets and gunfire, actually they were the most fearsome enemies in my opinion and they were gone quick)
RtCW is the Maple Bacon Quarter Pounder from McDonalds for me. I had it once, really liked it, and when it comes out every year or so, consider getting it, maybe I do, maybe I don't, I don't lose sleep over missing out. Now that I just got my burger again, I recall that it is just McDonalds with a fun sauce. Its fine, I'm not offended or angry, but I am not impressed. It hasn't aged that bad, but I don't know if McDonalds Burgers really age anyway, maybe something they put in the meat, maybe the game was so simple that age wasn't gonna bother it much.
Don't lose sleep on skipping this one, Don't spend over 5 dollars for it either. Its just fine.
Update: apparently a shotgun exists in the console port. The fuck?