Splodey
2011
Technically still an extremely impressive game, mixing up things well with good puzzle variety. Unfortunately, I just didn't enjoy it as much as the first Portal.
Could mainly be due to me not being the target audience for the overall tone and humor of the game. I really enjoyed the somewhat unsettling and creepy atmosphere of the first game, which seemed to be absent here.
Could mainly be due to me not being the target audience for the overall tone and humor of the game. I really enjoyed the somewhat unsettling and creepy atmosphere of the first game, which seemed to be absent here.
I understand that ex-Dead Space developers were involved, but playing this only made me think of how cool this game could've been if it was a prison escape without the alien zombie creatures. It would've fit much better with the melee orientated gameplay.
On the topic of gameplay, this has got to be the least scary horror game I've ever played. No suspense and overreliance on cheap jump scares that you can see a mile away. There's also no consequence to dying, since you just respawn at the nearest checkpoint, so you just swing like crazy during every combat encounter.
The visuals are without a doubt the most impressive aspect of this game, especially some of the characters. But this alone isn't enough to keep an 8-10 hour game engaging.
Overall it felt more like a Black Ops 3 zombies campaign instead of a spiritual successor to Dead Space that it tried so hard to be.
On the topic of gameplay, this has got to be the least scary horror game I've ever played. No suspense and overreliance on cheap jump scares that you can see a mile away. There's also no consequence to dying, since you just respawn at the nearest checkpoint, so you just swing like crazy during every combat encounter.
The visuals are without a doubt the most impressive aspect of this game, especially some of the characters. But this alone isn't enough to keep an 8-10 hour game engaging.
Overall it felt more like a Black Ops 3 zombies campaign instead of a spiritual successor to Dead Space that it tried so hard to be.
Not the worst game ever made like a lot of people claimed, but it's just very barebones. The gameplay loop felt that it was made for mobile/free to play market, since it's repetitive and most levels could be completed in a few minutes.
The cast of characters is the main thing that keeps this game from being completely generic.
Despite this being the studio's first title, it seems like they have the workings to make a decent game. A roguelike heist game isn't a bad idea, but currently it's suffering from major identity crisis.
The cast of characters is the main thing that keeps this game from being completely generic.
Despite this being the studio's first title, it seems like they have the workings to make a decent game. A roguelike heist game isn't a bad idea, but currently it's suffering from major identity crisis.
It was cool to finally playthrough the whole game, since I didn't manage to finish it back when it was released. If you played the original MOH games, you'll be surprised how well the overall "feel" of the previous games carries over to this title.
While it starts off fun enough, the difficulty spikes hard and some missions become extremely frustrating. I'd really recommend toning down the difficulty towards the second half of the game.
Despite the flaws it's still an impressive game, some of the set pieces are very well done from a technical side of things. The expansions are decent, though Spearhead is the one I enjoyed the most. Breakthrough is alright, but got boring quick, since it felt like playing through a bunch of cut levels from the main game.
If you enjoyed the PS1 Medal of Honor games, it's still worth checking out, since it has a certain charm to it all.
While it starts off fun enough, the difficulty spikes hard and some missions become extremely frustrating. I'd really recommend toning down the difficulty towards the second half of the game.
Despite the flaws it's still an impressive game, some of the set pieces are very well done from a technical side of things. The expansions are decent, though Spearhead is the one I enjoyed the most. Breakthrough is alright, but got boring quick, since it felt like playing through a bunch of cut levels from the main game.
If you enjoyed the PS1 Medal of Honor games, it's still worth checking out, since it has a certain charm to it all.
2022
Not much going on here, just a typical soulless AAA game which is a shame, since Arkham Origins was great, so clearly the devs are competent. It felt like playing a free to play MMORPG that last minute was converted into a "premium" title.
It would've fitted the ARPG format way better, akin to X-Men Legends or Marvel Ultimate Alliance. Can only recommend playing this in coop, since as a single player experience it's extremely shallow.
It would've fitted the ARPG format way better, akin to X-Men Legends or Marvel Ultimate Alliance. Can only recommend playing this in coop, since as a single player experience it's extremely shallow.
2021
For a mainline Halo game, I didn't expect this one to have such a melancholy tone. The agonies of the development team can really be felt when playing the game, but despite that, it's the most solid Halo title 343 has made so far.
The gameplay feels great, shooting and traversing the environment is very smooth. Initially, I was skeptical about the addition of the grapple hook, but to my surprise it worked great and added a lot to both combat and exploration.
Same skepticism rings true for the hub like nature of the world. Again, I was surprised how well it worked here, none of the side activities ever felt intrusive, nor did the HUD get cluttered with "points of interest". Most of them were found naturally by just exploring the world.
Co-op worked decently, though we encountered some soft locks, luckily restarting the game or mission fixed most of these issues.
It's close to a really great game, it just needed that extra push to make it shine. Hopefully with the change in leadership at 343, they will rally together and make the new Halo entry their best one yet.
The gameplay feels great, shooting and traversing the environment is very smooth. Initially, I was skeptical about the addition of the grapple hook, but to my surprise it worked great and added a lot to both combat and exploration.
Same skepticism rings true for the hub like nature of the world. Again, I was surprised how well it worked here, none of the side activities ever felt intrusive, nor did the HUD get cluttered with "points of interest". Most of them were found naturally by just exploring the world.
Co-op worked decently, though we encountered some soft locks, luckily restarting the game or mission fixed most of these issues.
It's close to a really great game, it just needed that extra push to make it shine. Hopefully with the change in leadership at 343, they will rally together and make the new Halo entry their best one yet.
2022
A decent racing game with a single player experience that encapsulates what the series itself was going through. Finishing the story mode feels bittersweet knowing the current state of GRID.
While most likely this is the last entry in the series, it's great to see it come to a positive conclusion.
While most likely this is the last entry in the series, it's great to see it come to a positive conclusion.
Have fond memories of playing this ages ago, but seemed to have enjoyed it back then a lot more too. It's cool how they connect the two games though and the premise itself isn't something seen too often.
By no means a bad game, but I prefer the original over this one. I think it's mainly due to the frustrating difficulty spike on the second half of the game.
By no means a bad game, but I prefer the original over this one. I think it's mainly due to the frustrating difficulty spike on the second half of the game.
1999
Nostalgia aside, a fun game with satisfying shooting that still holds up really well. All the hit reactions enemies have when being shot are very impressive. The overall atmosphere is also great, especially so accompanied by the moody soundtrack.
Great game to play if you're just getting into the series or coming back for old times' sake.
Great game to play if you're just getting into the series or coming back for old times' sake.
Solid Bond title, but I kept wishing it would push the envelope a bit more. The opening is very strong and you keep hoping for more moments like that, unfortunately the pacing plateaus after that. It could be because they had to respect the source material, but still it would have been nice to see more creative freedom.
Still a good and varied game, the mix between regular on-foot and vehicular combat was quite enjoyable. One major issue I had though was that the game is extremely tight fisted with ammunition. It runs out way too quick and you need to fallback on weapons that aren't too fun to use.
Overall, it's worth checking out as it's a solid entry in the series. Though I would recommend playing this one before Everything or Nothing if possible.
Still a good and varied game, the mix between regular on-foot and vehicular combat was quite enjoyable. One major issue I had though was that the game is extremely tight fisted with ammunition. It runs out way too quick and you need to fallback on weapons that aren't too fun to use.
Overall, it's worth checking out as it's a solid entry in the series. Though I would recommend playing this one before Everything or Nothing if possible.
2021
So much for returning to the series roots, this game stinks!
The overall gameplay is decent, mainly since it has been well established from the 3rd game and the visuals are great too.
Though rest of the game is just such uninspired and boring slop. Narratively this is by far the worst game in the series, honestly I don't remember a game with such a horrible cast of characters. By the end of it all, you wish there was an ending where you could just nuke the whole island.
Can't stand this common trope in game narratives, where you as the player do all the legwork and the side characters claim all credit for your actions. While in reality they just loiter in the hub areas and don't do jack.
It's best to just sit this one out, even if you're a fan of the series.
The overall gameplay is decent, mainly since it has been well established from the 3rd game and the visuals are great too.
Though rest of the game is just such uninspired and boring slop. Narratively this is by far the worst game in the series, honestly I don't remember a game with such a horrible cast of characters. By the end of it all, you wish there was an ending where you could just nuke the whole island.
Can't stand this common trope in game narratives, where you as the player do all the legwork and the side characters claim all credit for your actions. While in reality they just loiter in the hub areas and don't do jack.
It's best to just sit this one out, even if you're a fan of the series.
2023
I think this game is a good example how fantastic visual presentation can be overshadowed by lackluster gameplay.
It starts off interesting enough, but by far the biggest issue for me was reaching the "open world" area of the game.
It acts more like a hub connecting the different mission areas with some optional ones to explore for weapon upgrades. This whole area felt so dull and uninteresting to explore, I just ended up skipping all the side content and focused on the main story missions. Plus having the enemies be constantly revived by repair bots in this area was insanely frustrating, especially since some enemies can stun lock you.
I'd highly recommend playing with Russian VO, since it adds a lot to the overall atmosphere. Naturally, the main character sounds way better this way too.
Honestly, I think if this was a tight 8 hour linear game with some cool set pieces sprinkled throughout, it would've been far more enjoyable. It's still worth picking up, since even though it can be frustrating at times, you can still feel a lot of work has been put into the game.
It starts off interesting enough, but by far the biggest issue for me was reaching the "open world" area of the game.
It acts more like a hub connecting the different mission areas with some optional ones to explore for weapon upgrades. This whole area felt so dull and uninteresting to explore, I just ended up skipping all the side content and focused on the main story missions. Plus having the enemies be constantly revived by repair bots in this area was insanely frustrating, especially since some enemies can stun lock you.
I'd highly recommend playing with Russian VO, since it adds a lot to the overall atmosphere. Naturally, the main character sounds way better this way too.
Honestly, I think if this was a tight 8 hour linear game with some cool set pieces sprinkled throughout, it would've been far more enjoyable. It's still worth picking up, since even though it can be frustrating at times, you can still feel a lot of work has been put into the game.
2021
I guess some people will enjoy it, but was just way too obnoxious for my tastes to continue playing.
I was going to give this the benefit of the doubt, but it does kind of suck. It feels like playing a generic mid-2000s military FPS, but set in the Aliens universe. The plot gets very muddled, to the point where I can no longer remember exactly what happened in the game, it just gets all muddled up.
I think the upside of finishing the campaign is moving onto the expansion "Stasis Interrupted". While being far shorter than the main campaign, it delivers a much better experience in comparison.
If you happen to be playing on PC, be sure to get the "ACM Overhaul", it will iron out many issues that the vanilla game has. Though I'd recommend to keep the enemy speed on vanilla setting, since anything above makes the Aliens way too fast.
I think the upside of finishing the campaign is moving onto the expansion "Stasis Interrupted". While being far shorter than the main campaign, it delivers a much better experience in comparison.
If you happen to be playing on PC, be sure to get the "ACM Overhaul", it will iron out many issues that the vanilla game has. Though I'd recommend to keep the enemy speed on vanilla setting, since anything above makes the Aliens way too fast.
2014
Great game, much like Frontiers, but improves a bit on the core gameplay. The progression now feels much faster and you unlock tower upgrades within the first few levels, which is a great change.
Also the inclusion of hero abilities was really cool, since it added more control over them. Everything just feels more balanced.
One thing that I missed from Frontiers was the boss battles. There was a few before the last boss, but they felt more like normal enemies just scaled up.
If you enjoyed the previous Kingdom Rush games, you'll feel right at home with this one.
Also the inclusion of hero abilities was really cool, since it added more control over them. Everything just feels more balanced.
One thing that I missed from Frontiers was the boss battles. There was a few before the last boss, but they felt more like normal enemies just scaled up.
If you enjoyed the previous Kingdom Rush games, you'll feel right at home with this one.