For a game that started off as a Resident Evil clone its safe to say that this game stands on it's own as a genuinely impressive piece of media. This is by far the best presentation a horror game of this era has to offer. rife with genuinely scary set-pieces, really cool camera angles along with cleverly conveyed concepts and artistic/stylistic choices.
This is a game that finally, takes a really interesting topic and explores it well, leaving room for speculation and world-building through lore. As far as the story goes, it blows its contemporary influences out of the water by offering a story and that is far more complex than what it's influences have to offer. As far as you know, you're just a guy looking for his daughter, however the more interesting story is there for you to sink your teeth into once you explore the town and are sucked into a seemingly alternative reality. out of the 'What is reality' genre of storytelling in gaming this is probably my favorite.
As far as gameplay goes, the tank controls here are pretty well implemented in a pretty inventive way. Entering a room is cinematic but when in a pinch, the game gives you the freedom to be able control the camera, so that you're able to see freely and process threats or items. The shooting in this game is done via auto-aim so if you're expecting to have to be precise with your shots, don't worry. The chracter you play as seems to miss his shots (I feel this is intentional) which depending on the player could be annoying but I feel this adds to the immersion of playing as someone who is not perfect. Some of the puzzles can be pretty cryptic and some of the sequences left me stumped (having to put a pink ball in the roof of a school in order to mess with the drains so that the drains can push out a key... really) but other than that, it didn't detract from the extremely strong foundation and gameplay loop. for a retro game, i found this thing to be pretty enjoyable.
This is a game that finally, takes a really interesting topic and explores it well, leaving room for speculation and world-building through lore. As far as the story goes, it blows its contemporary influences out of the water by offering a story and that is far more complex than what it's influences have to offer. As far as you know, you're just a guy looking for his daughter, however the more interesting story is there for you to sink your teeth into once you explore the town and are sucked into a seemingly alternative reality. out of the 'What is reality' genre of storytelling in gaming this is probably my favorite.
As far as gameplay goes, the tank controls here are pretty well implemented in a pretty inventive way. Entering a room is cinematic but when in a pinch, the game gives you the freedom to be able control the camera, so that you're able to see freely and process threats or items. The shooting in this game is done via auto-aim so if you're expecting to have to be precise with your shots, don't worry. The chracter you play as seems to miss his shots (I feel this is intentional) which depending on the player could be annoying but I feel this adds to the immersion of playing as someone who is not perfect. Some of the puzzles can be pretty cryptic and some of the sequences left me stumped (having to put a pink ball in the roof of a school in order to mess with the drains so that the drains can push out a key... really) but other than that, it didn't detract from the extremely strong foundation and gameplay loop. for a retro game, i found this thing to be pretty enjoyable.