dogs
2018
AD is a testament to the skill and passion of the quake mapping community (❤️) but it's also a monument to excess.
2+ hours , 250+ enemies, and 25+ secrets per level is just too much. no map concept can survive that kind of overexposure.
for my money (lol) something like the snack pack or the 100 brush maps are better examples of quake level design: short and sweet and not as concerned with spectacle or polish.
AD is super worth playing, if for no other reason than because it's an important cultural object, but i do not enjoy it.
2+ hours , 250+ enemies, and 25+ secrets per level is just too much. no map concept can survive that kind of overexposure.
for my money (lol) something like the snack pack or the 100 brush maps are better examples of quake level design: short and sweet and not as concerned with spectacle or polish.
AD is super worth playing, if for no other reason than because it's an important cultural object, but i do not enjoy it.
[prolonged wet fart sound]
what a crime. just a total fucking travesty.
writing and delivery (the things that i was so pleasantly surprised to enjoy in the last game) are abysmal. just some trite sub-marvel sputum that reduces its characters to shallow shticks with none of the nuance or soul of the previous entry. blazkowicz is immediately relegated to the "sad husband who doesn't express his emotions or talk to his wife" bin, because apparently no one took a look at any of the already established characterisation (except they did because it's the same god damn writers! what happened???).
on top of this the gunplay (which makes some smart decisions that i agree with) is undermined by spongy level design that doesn't play to the strengths of the player's verbs; stop putting me in circular environments where i'm constantly being flanked you idiots this is a cover shooter all your best levels are obfuscated corridors fucksake.
what a crime. just a total fucking travesty.
writing and delivery (the things that i was so pleasantly surprised to enjoy in the last game) are abysmal. just some trite sub-marvel sputum that reduces its characters to shallow shticks with none of the nuance or soul of the previous entry. blazkowicz is immediately relegated to the "sad husband who doesn't express his emotions or talk to his wife" bin, because apparently no one took a look at any of the already established characterisation (except they did because it's the same god damn writers! what happened???).
on top of this the gunplay (which makes some smart decisions that i agree with) is undermined by spongy level design that doesn't play to the strengths of the player's verbs; stop putting me in circular environments where i'm constantly being flanked you idiots this is a cover shooter all your best levels are obfuscated corridors fucksake.
this game isn't perfect by any means but it has no right to be as excellent as it is. they didn't have to make blazkowicz a richly nuanced character who gets to be tender and sweet as well as a badass nazi-killer, but they did, and the game is so much better for it.
gunplay feels great. level design is pretty darn good (not without its rough patches; play on easy imo). writing and delivery is stellar. just a real fucken triumph of a videogame.
gunplay feels great. level design is pretty darn good (not without its rough patches; play on easy imo). writing and delivery is stellar. just a real fucken triumph of a videogame.
2000
this game owns if you only play the first act and then walk away from the computer.
2013
game's too hard and it owns. you don't need to finish this game (or even get close) to have a great time. enjoy your stay then put it down and live your life.
2021
astoundingly ambitious game with some of the worst kinaesthetics i've ever experienced. visually marvelous. terrific setpieces. confident and compelling narrative delivery. but every time i have to fight an enemy i'm like duuuuude this suuuuuckssss. extremely worth playing.
2016
i love this game. it's one of my all-time favourites, but i'm not exactly sure why.
i've bought it not only on steam, but also on itch, and as a physical card for some reason, and i've played it through like 10 times at this point; i come back once every year or so, just to visit again.
it's not a game about tight mechanics or a compelling story, it's just ("just") a cool weird place to hang out for 2 hours and then be done with. i think that's part of why i like it so much; you can play all the way through in one sitting and then go away and think about it, instead of it requiring you to invest huge amounts of time and energy just to get to the good bits.
it's full of all kinds of strange and incongruous features, which feel more like ruins of an old and decaying world than shallow attempts at "gameplay". i find myself thinking more about the way the waves crash against the rocks, the strange tinkling pinwheels, and the plants that twang and judder as you pass by, than i do about any of those vestigial game systems.
i don't really know what else i can say about this game. it's important to me. maybe it'll be important to you too.
i've bought it not only on steam, but also on itch, and as a physical card for some reason, and i've played it through like 10 times at this point; i come back once every year or so, just to visit again.
it's not a game about tight mechanics or a compelling story, it's just ("just") a cool weird place to hang out for 2 hours and then be done with. i think that's part of why i like it so much; you can play all the way through in one sitting and then go away and think about it, instead of it requiring you to invest huge amounts of time and energy just to get to the good bits.
it's full of all kinds of strange and incongruous features, which feel more like ruins of an old and decaying world than shallow attempts at "gameplay". i find myself thinking more about the way the waves crash against the rocks, the strange tinkling pinwheels, and the plants that twang and judder as you pass by, than i do about any of those vestigial game systems.
i don't really know what else i can say about this game. it's important to me. maybe it'll be important to you too.
2015
this game rips. really glad they added a "save at last town" option for idiots like me who aren't very careful and can't spend ages building characters all the way back up from scratch. literally made this a 10/10 for me.
2010
this game is so dumb it rules.
1996
thank goodness for ironwail.
2021
this game is sick as but i wish it had like some more level design. i think the bosses are tight and the weapon variety is so compelling but there's just not enough meat here. it's a great zone-out game (not something i'm usually a fan of) and i'd gladly play something else by this dev.
PS: big recommend playing with joytokey. not being able to rebind controls is unkind on my delicate hands.
PS: big recommend playing with joytokey. not being able to rebind controls is unkind on my delicate hands.
2022
basically the coolest game ever made but only complete sickos can play it, which is as it should be.
2015
this game rules but i do not have infinite time. failures take so long to come back from that i had to put it down. the game is thematically coherent in a way that i deeply respect, but don't actually want to play. i'm really glad enough people loved it that red hook got to make a sequel because they are clearly thoughtful and studious designers.
pretty cool and weird, but occasionally frustrating and awkward. not my favourite trash-action experience, but pretty darn compelling nonetheless. real heads will get something out of this one.
- much though it pains me to say it: the game would be better without tank controls.
- don't play on hardware. there's too much time-wasting bullshit in the form of unskippable cutscenes and poorly placed save points.
- the menus take way too long to navigate because of excessive fade-in fade-out animations, but i do really like the main one on the world map, even tho it is profoundly stupid.
- the writing is some nonsense, and the plot itself is neither clear nor compelling. it's not egregious by atlus standards, but it does kinda feel like eating a large bowl of unseasoned rice.
- the action is actually pretty good. it's simple, but supported well by the level design (nothing flashy, but commendably aware of the game's verbs in a way that similar games often aren't), the number of different (playable) characters and enemies, and intensely good hitstop.
- even if you know you're never going to play this, i highly recommend watching a vid of the final level cos it looks incredible.
i'm glad i played this one. i don't think it reaches the lofty heights of a true trash-action gem, but it was worth my time.
- much though it pains me to say it: the game would be better without tank controls.
- don't play on hardware. there's too much time-wasting bullshit in the form of unskippable cutscenes and poorly placed save points.
- the menus take way too long to navigate because of excessive fade-in fade-out animations, but i do really like the main one on the world map, even tho it is profoundly stupid.
- the writing is some nonsense, and the plot itself is neither clear nor compelling. it's not egregious by atlus standards, but it does kinda feel like eating a large bowl of unseasoned rice.
- the action is actually pretty good. it's simple, but supported well by the level design (nothing flashy, but commendably aware of the game's verbs in a way that similar games often aren't), the number of different (playable) characters and enemies, and intensely good hitstop.
- even if you know you're never going to play this, i highly recommend watching a vid of the final level cos it looks incredible.
i'm glad i played this one. i don't think it reaches the lofty heights of a true trash-action gem, but it was worth my time.
this game has a special place in my heart but let's be real it's not a must-play. the soundtrack is lovely and the dungeons are beautiful, but i don't think it's worth playing from like, an academic standpoint.
if you really want to then go ahead, but don't play the "remaster", it has serious input lag and unnecessary (and insufferable) voice acting. just emulate the original. you can even play multiplayer in dolphin now, which i highly recommend; the game is really lovely when played with a friend -- more than two people is a bit hard to manage tho and probably inadvisable unless you're all very familiar with the game already.
anyway yeah i love this game. go listen to the soundtrack and have a chill time.
if you really want to then go ahead, but don't play the "remaster", it has serious input lag and unnecessary (and insufferable) voice acting. just emulate the original. you can even play multiplayer in dolphin now, which i highly recommend; the game is really lovely when played with a friend -- more than two people is a bit hard to manage tho and probably inadvisable unless you're all very familiar with the game already.
anyway yeah i love this game. go listen to the soundtrack and have a chill time.