SpecialUnitt
6 reviews liked by SpecialUnitt
Star Fox Adventures
2002
An underrated and enjoyable adventure game, although a very strong departure from the usual Starfox format. Incredibly derivative though - particularly of Zelda - there's no denying that.
Resistance 2
2008
May 17th/2020:
After a long break I come back to find I was only a mission away from completion, so it's over in like ten minutes. The final stage is a little samey, the boss more annoying and repetetive than epic (though not difficult), and the classic "escape before everything blows up" climax is pretty buggy.
Overall closing thoughts on the experience: Resistance 2 isn't a great game, but it's a good game. At its peak it's damn fun, and has some truly well designed levels, stewarding tension and enabling engaging combat situations. At times it definitely succeeds in pulling off the epic, and the entire "Chicago, Illinois" stage is nothing short of fantastic - all of the game's strengths are packed in here and it's just really satisfying.
At its worst, it's buggy and repetetive. Although it brings a lot of good to the table, it tears down as much as it builds on the first game. Possibly the most glaring and annoying change being the non-committal switch to only 2 weapons at a time; non-committal in the sense that you are basically fed what weapon you should be using constantly, the irony being that if you had all the weapons you would have to be strategic in which ones were fit for purpose.
At the end of the day, it's going to be a different experience for different people depending on how you feel about the first game, but I think if you're into the genre it's worth a play regardless.
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April 11th/2020:
- When the game chucks so many enemies at you that not killing them means things get buggy and the framerate drops to slo mo.
- Dark places + fast moving feral creatures = me no likey.
Still a mixed bag. Generally pretty enjoyable FPS fun, though I feel like the game simultaneously moddle coddles AND throws you into the thick of it at times - some sections being far too reliant on you both finding and utilising a specific weapon. The effectiveness of cover also seems hit and miss, and if there's any jugger mukker with an Auger in sight (a gun that shoots through walls) then you better stop shooting and start writing your will - It's a much better use of your time.
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8th April/2020: 2nd session.
I think the game starts off a little weak, with an overreliance on scripted events; more "babying" than immersive. However, it's picked up considerably. Really enjoying gameplay more now that I've gotten over some of the changes. Some people complain about the invisible "one hit kill" enemies, but I think they're awesome - bloody scary at points and it keeps you on your toes. You won't die if you're on the ball.
A frustration that I don't think I'm going to get over is how the game holds you by the hand, conveniently giving you weapons it thinks you will need. It robs the game of what initially was a great tactical element in Fall of Man, and now you can even predict which enemies are up ahead somewhat by what weapon happens to be lying around. Not only that, but on occasion you can't even seem to opt for a different weapon when you want to. You might kill an auger welding chimera and no auger will be left lying around in sight. Easily the most disappointing element so far.
It makes so much more sense to retain the weapon wheel and let the player choose what's best for the situation. If they didn't want a player to rely too heavily on the more powerful gear then they could have just starved them for certain ammunition.
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7th April/2020: 5 minutes into my first replay of Resistance 2 today - Initial impressions...
-Can a game look both dated and epic?
-Scripted A.I. gets stuck while moving. Not a good omen.
-Graphics are much brasher than I recall, in a sickly kind of way.
-Why is the weapon wheel gone.
-WHY IS THE WEAPON WHEEL GONE.
After a long break I come back to find I was only a mission away from completion, so it's over in like ten minutes. The final stage is a little samey, the boss more annoying and repetetive than epic (though not difficult), and the classic "escape before everything blows up" climax is pretty buggy.
Overall closing thoughts on the experience: Resistance 2 isn't a great game, but it's a good game. At its peak it's damn fun, and has some truly well designed levels, stewarding tension and enabling engaging combat situations. At times it definitely succeeds in pulling off the epic, and the entire "Chicago, Illinois" stage is nothing short of fantastic - all of the game's strengths are packed in here and it's just really satisfying.
At its worst, it's buggy and repetetive. Although it brings a lot of good to the table, it tears down as much as it builds on the first game. Possibly the most glaring and annoying change being the non-committal switch to only 2 weapons at a time; non-committal in the sense that you are basically fed what weapon you should be using constantly, the irony being that if you had all the weapons you would have to be strategic in which ones were fit for purpose.
At the end of the day, it's going to be a different experience for different people depending on how you feel about the first game, but I think if you're into the genre it's worth a play regardless.
-------------------------------------------------
April 11th/2020:
- When the game chucks so many enemies at you that not killing them means things get buggy and the framerate drops to slo mo.
- Dark places + fast moving feral creatures = me no likey.
Still a mixed bag. Generally pretty enjoyable FPS fun, though I feel like the game simultaneously moddle coddles AND throws you into the thick of it at times - some sections being far too reliant on you both finding and utilising a specific weapon. The effectiveness of cover also seems hit and miss, and if there's any jugger mukker with an Auger in sight (a gun that shoots through walls) then you better stop shooting and start writing your will - It's a much better use of your time.
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8th April/2020: 2nd session.
I think the game starts off a little weak, with an overreliance on scripted events; more "babying" than immersive. However, it's picked up considerably. Really enjoying gameplay more now that I've gotten over some of the changes. Some people complain about the invisible "one hit kill" enemies, but I think they're awesome - bloody scary at points and it keeps you on your toes. You won't die if you're on the ball.
A frustration that I don't think I'm going to get over is how the game holds you by the hand, conveniently giving you weapons it thinks you will need. It robs the game of what initially was a great tactical element in Fall of Man, and now you can even predict which enemies are up ahead somewhat by what weapon happens to be lying around. Not only that, but on occasion you can't even seem to opt for a different weapon when you want to. You might kill an auger welding chimera and no auger will be left lying around in sight. Easily the most disappointing element so far.
It makes so much more sense to retain the weapon wheel and let the player choose what's best for the situation. If they didn't want a player to rely too heavily on the more powerful gear then they could have just starved them for certain ammunition.
------------------------------------------
7th April/2020: 5 minutes into my first replay of Resistance 2 today - Initial impressions...
-Can a game look both dated and epic?
-Scripted A.I. gets stuck while moving. Not a good omen.
-Graphics are much brasher than I recall, in a sickly kind of way.
-Why is the weapon wheel gone.
-WHY IS THE WEAPON WHEEL GONE.
Cuphead
2017
April 8/2020: A million deaths and a handful of successes later... Really enjoying the aesthetic and creativity in this game so far. It's incredibly hard right off the bat though, which will be a challenge if you're used to the "run and gun" genre or a nightmare if you're not. It ain't half satisfying when you finally beat a stage though.
April 7/2020: So when ya'll said this was really hard, what you meant to say was that it's really really hard, yeah?
These controls are gonna take some getting used to.
April 7/2020: So when ya'll said this was really hard, what you meant to say was that it's really really hard, yeah?
These controls are gonna take some getting used to.
Continues the first game but massively improves every aspect and putting in a minor open world element. The levels start really getting interesting after the 1st world and the story is great. Art style works great several years later. Definitely a must play but play the ps3 version, the ps2 one has massive motion blur.
A true delight. 10/10
A true delight. 10/10
It continues the story of the first game while MASSIVELY improving its play style. Favoring more of an open level design, you take on missions that lead up to a heist in each area instead of completing run-and-gun sublevels in each area. This allows for the stealth mechanic to become MUCH more prevalent. Voice acting and writing is way better, the overall plot is way better (though nothing groundbreaking), and the characters are more memorable. The comic-book aesthetic really suits it. Boss battles all feel like they have stakes, and the fact that each area introduces each villain and builds you up to the point where you fight really helps. The addition of extra abilities is really fun to experiment with, and combat feels more like a back-street brawl than just picking off enemies to pass a level. Really fun!
I never liked this back in the day, and I can't explain why (I was more of a Ratchet and Clank guy), but I pushed through to the end out of curiosity for the sequels - and then I just fell in love with Jak 2 and 3, loving every change made to the world and the style of gameplay.
Revisiting Jak and Daxter in later years, my appreciation has gone way up - it's still my least favourite of the three, but for what it is (an open world platformer), it's highly enjoyable and presents a good challenge. Yes, aspects are dated, but not to a significant point IMO. It's a satisfying play, and the camera issues aren't much different to many other 3D platformers. It's something the genre is notorious for.
Plus, even if you don't LOVE it, playing this for context and then experiencing the transition to the wonderfully dark and challenging Jak 2 is something special.
Revisiting Jak and Daxter in later years, my appreciation has gone way up - it's still my least favourite of the three, but for what it is (an open world platformer), it's highly enjoyable and presents a good challenge. Yes, aspects are dated, but not to a significant point IMO. It's a satisfying play, and the camera issues aren't much different to many other 3D platformers. It's something the genre is notorious for.
Plus, even if you don't LOVE it, playing this for context and then experiencing the transition to the wonderfully dark and challenging Jak 2 is something special.
