2013
The Madden game that lets you simulate the ultimate gamer fantasy: running the ball on the goal line with Marshawn Lynch instead of throwing a FUCKING PICK in the Super Bowl. What the FUCK Russell.
Also has my GOAT Barry Sanders on the cover.
Also has my GOAT Barry Sanders on the cover.
2023
Game Devs Put A Map In Your Game For Christ's Sake
(UPDATE 2024: THEY PUT A MAP IN.)
a game I really, really loved even when it was driving me nuts. I am just crazy for this artstyle, Sybil is a great character who is animated beautifully, and playing as her feels skillful and elegant. I often find myself bouncing off of modern platformers like A Hat In Time because everything feels so automated and that it's too easy to do anything, but Psuedoregalia has some truly challenging platforming sections that require great timing and skill to pull off. The aesthetic and feel of this game is done so well, it's a must-buy for that alone. Unlocking new moves for Sybil and getting to play with them, building a flow of movement, it all works in such a professional way that it's hard to believe this was made by a solo dev.
But the combat is fucking atrocious. ATROCIOUS. For how great rittzler's instincts for the platforming is, their instincts for the combat is almost entirely putrid. Hitboxes are completely jank, attacks don't feel satisfying and enemy attacks feel random, the mechanic of Sybil losing her staff is one of those "why would anyone think this is an interesting idea" elements that is such an inane that I wish one of rittzler's friends had spoken up in their hour of need. The presence of this fucking rancid combat in an otherwise brilliant game is an unfortunate reality for platformers that have this insecurity that their game flow can't carry the day on its own.
So other than one element of the game being so bad that it nearly brings it down an entire star, I think Pseudoregalia is so wonderful and passionately made that I have to recommend it. For $6 it is an absolute bargain for how good it is.
There is really no reason for there to not be an in-game map though. Why are games now opposed to this? I get we're obsessed with landmarks and all that but sometimes I just want to open up my fucking map and check goddammit.
Also this game is REALLY dark. Like, not tonally, but visually. Put a slider in, you asshole!
(UPDATE 2024: THEY PUT A MAP IN.)
a game I really, really loved even when it was driving me nuts. I am just crazy for this artstyle, Sybil is a great character who is animated beautifully, and playing as her feels skillful and elegant. I often find myself bouncing off of modern platformers like A Hat In Time because everything feels so automated and that it's too easy to do anything, but Psuedoregalia has some truly challenging platforming sections that require great timing and skill to pull off. The aesthetic and feel of this game is done so well, it's a must-buy for that alone. Unlocking new moves for Sybil and getting to play with them, building a flow of movement, it all works in such a professional way that it's hard to believe this was made by a solo dev.
But the combat is fucking atrocious. ATROCIOUS. For how great rittzler's instincts for the platforming is, their instincts for the combat is almost entirely putrid. Hitboxes are completely jank, attacks don't feel satisfying and enemy attacks feel random, the mechanic of Sybil losing her staff is one of those "why would anyone think this is an interesting idea" elements that is such an inane that I wish one of rittzler's friends had spoken up in their hour of need. The presence of this fucking rancid combat in an otherwise brilliant game is an unfortunate reality for platformers that have this insecurity that their game flow can't carry the day on its own.
So other than one element of the game being so bad that it nearly brings it down an entire star, I think Pseudoregalia is so wonderful and passionately made that I have to recommend it. For $6 it is an absolute bargain for how good it is.
There is really no reason for there to not be an in-game map though. Why are games now opposed to this? I get we're obsessed with landmarks and all that but sometimes I just want to open up my fucking map and check goddammit.
Also this game is REALLY dark. Like, not tonally, but visually. Put a slider in, you asshole!
2021
After completing it: Yeah, this is an all-time favorite.
Feels like a grab-bag of games I really love: Shadow of the Colossus, JSRF, Sonic Adventure 2, Prince of Persia Sands of Time (no joke), and Outer Wilds. Surprisingly, its highs are as high and sometimes moreso than those games. However, it does falls a little short of Sonic Adventure 2, but you can't ding a painting because it isn't the Mona Lisa.
Momentum is just such a fun thing to experience in video games, and skating around such beautifully varied environments is basically just asking me to give your game a near 5 stars. I was consistently just so overjoyed with the new ways they found to create challenges for the mechanics, as skating, grinding, climbing and jumping are all you do in this game. There is NEVER any stupid ass gimmick to detract from what is such a solid foundation. There is one section that involves grappling and grinding to get to a ship in the sky and my god, it is so fun. There are so many moments throughout this game that I am going to think back on and go; "Damn, that was really fucking fun!" Which, to me, is the litmus test for a good game.
The sheer fantastic delight on display here reminds me of playing Spyro the Dragon as a kid, interestingly enough. The sheer amount of color and whimsy is such a visual treat, and make no mistake, this game is an artistic triumph. The fact this thing was sent out to die on the Epic Games Store is an Art Crime because no one fucking played it because of that. I have nothing but respect for how difficult this game looks like it was to make. No game is easy to make, but this game in particular is so well-made and functions so tight that I'm stunned by how SHORT the credits were, how SMALL this team was for how ambitious this game is.
One thing that struck me was that I 100% completed it my first run through. That isn't me saying that I have the game mastered due to my Gamer Instinct, that is more a testament to really good level design and FOCUSED design that meant I always knew what I was looking for, where to find it, and how to get to it. By keeping the systems so simple, there was never an overwhelming amount of shit to look for, it always came naturally. Also the amount of times I would just explore random stuff that had no benefit proves a truth that Super Mario 64 got and no one else did: gamers will explore for its own sake if exploring is fun. If playing the game and moving around the game world is fun, I don't care if I find something useful.
The boss fights are also really something special. The game is obviously drawing a lot from SoTC, which it makes no secret of, but the way you interact with the bosses here is much different, it gives the game a very one of a kind playstyle. You skate around the bosses, timing jumps and hits almost like a rhythm game, with each variation becoming more challenging and requiring more precise timing. I don't think any of the fights can match Shadow of the Colossus's finest moments, HeartMachine does a really great job giving Solar Ash's bosses an identity all their own.
That identity is why it is such a bummer that it is trying to remind you SO MUCH of Shadow of the Colossus. It feels like a very insecure game in that regard, that it doesn't think it can stand on its own so it needs to evoke SoTC in almost every regard. The ALMOST here being that SoTC was a very quiet game, that had very little voice acting, and let its gorgeous visuals do a lot of the talking.
Solar Ash almost has this, but for some GODFORSAKEN reason they have elected to have Rei not SHUT UP EVER. I find the voice acting completely out-of-place too: a made-up language would be fine, but having a very graceful and divine looking being like Rei speak like she is ringing me up at the record store is just a total mismatch. Turn the voices off if you want to be able to get into the alien-nature of this world, as the writer's are trying to sabotage it with every fucking quip. There is so much writing in this game, and the writers were not in their bag for much of it. The lore is not well-explained, over-written and too dense to be interesting, the whole "protagonist is actually doing something bad" angle is so foreshadowed that it actually felt like a joke at a certain point. The game was inspired by SoTC, of course the protagonist is doing something bad. I would be lying if I said that some of this didn't actually work though. I started to grow fond of Rei and CYD, the twist was actually fairly well done and the final fight has some good groundwork laid for it narratively that I'm not opposed to its rather hokey nature. I have no idea who the writers are, and they ARE hacks, but they're at least creative hacks.
I would love for HeartMachine to make another game like this, as this gameplay loop is something I am absolutely crazy about, I just want them to be more confident in their game, and not feel this aching need to remind me of a completely different title. Solar Ash is a beautifully made game and it IS one-of-a-kind. If only people actually knew it came out!!
Feels like a grab-bag of games I really love: Shadow of the Colossus, JSRF, Sonic Adventure 2, Prince of Persia Sands of Time (no joke), and Outer Wilds. Surprisingly, its highs are as high and sometimes moreso than those games. However, it does falls a little short of Sonic Adventure 2, but you can't ding a painting because it isn't the Mona Lisa.
Momentum is just such a fun thing to experience in video games, and skating around such beautifully varied environments is basically just asking me to give your game a near 5 stars. I was consistently just so overjoyed with the new ways they found to create challenges for the mechanics, as skating, grinding, climbing and jumping are all you do in this game. There is NEVER any stupid ass gimmick to detract from what is such a solid foundation. There is one section that involves grappling and grinding to get to a ship in the sky and my god, it is so fun. There are so many moments throughout this game that I am going to think back on and go; "Damn, that was really fucking fun!" Which, to me, is the litmus test for a good game.
The sheer fantastic delight on display here reminds me of playing Spyro the Dragon as a kid, interestingly enough. The sheer amount of color and whimsy is such a visual treat, and make no mistake, this game is an artistic triumph. The fact this thing was sent out to die on the Epic Games Store is an Art Crime because no one fucking played it because of that. I have nothing but respect for how difficult this game looks like it was to make. No game is easy to make, but this game in particular is so well-made and functions so tight that I'm stunned by how SHORT the credits were, how SMALL this team was for how ambitious this game is.
One thing that struck me was that I 100% completed it my first run through. That isn't me saying that I have the game mastered due to my Gamer Instinct, that is more a testament to really good level design and FOCUSED design that meant I always knew what I was looking for, where to find it, and how to get to it. By keeping the systems so simple, there was never an overwhelming amount of shit to look for, it always came naturally. Also the amount of times I would just explore random stuff that had no benefit proves a truth that Super Mario 64 got and no one else did: gamers will explore for its own sake if exploring is fun. If playing the game and moving around the game world is fun, I don't care if I find something useful.
The boss fights are also really something special. The game is obviously drawing a lot from SoTC, which it makes no secret of, but the way you interact with the bosses here is much different, it gives the game a very one of a kind playstyle. You skate around the bosses, timing jumps and hits almost like a rhythm game, with each variation becoming more challenging and requiring more precise timing. I don't think any of the fights can match Shadow of the Colossus's finest moments, HeartMachine does a really great job giving Solar Ash's bosses an identity all their own.
That identity is why it is such a bummer that it is trying to remind you SO MUCH of Shadow of the Colossus. It feels like a very insecure game in that regard, that it doesn't think it can stand on its own so it needs to evoke SoTC in almost every regard. The ALMOST here being that SoTC was a very quiet game, that had very little voice acting, and let its gorgeous visuals do a lot of the talking.
Solar Ash almost has this, but for some GODFORSAKEN reason they have elected to have Rei not SHUT UP EVER. I find the voice acting completely out-of-place too: a made-up language would be fine, but having a very graceful and divine looking being like Rei speak like she is ringing me up at the record store is just a total mismatch. Turn the voices off if you want to be able to get into the alien-nature of this world, as the writer's are trying to sabotage it with every fucking quip. There is so much writing in this game, and the writers were not in their bag for much of it. The lore is not well-explained, over-written and too dense to be interesting, the whole "protagonist is actually doing something bad" angle is so foreshadowed that it actually felt like a joke at a certain point. The game was inspired by SoTC, of course the protagonist is doing something bad. I would be lying if I said that some of this didn't actually work though. I started to grow fond of Rei and CYD, the twist was actually fairly well done and the final fight has some good groundwork laid for it narratively that I'm not opposed to its rather hokey nature. I have no idea who the writers are, and they ARE hacks, but they're at least creative hacks.
I would love for HeartMachine to make another game like this, as this gameplay loop is something I am absolutely crazy about, I just want them to be more confident in their game, and not feel this aching need to remind me of a completely different title. Solar Ash is a beautifully made game and it IS one-of-a-kind. If only people actually knew it came out!!
2021
My God This Game Never Shuts Da Hell Up!!!
An absolutely gorgeous looking feast for the eyes, with the camera panning to showcase some truly wondrous vistas. I'm not entirely surprised this thing is beautiful, as Hyper Light Drifter somehow had great looking vistas in pixel art. This team just makes games that look awesome.
What is a surprise is how fucking wordy this game is, as Hyper Light Drifter has NO words. Maybe they felt they needed to compensate by writing three million words, but if you like a ton of boring lore in a go-nowhere story, they have covered their bases!! Also if you want my professional opinion: shut the voices OFF. the voice acting isn't bad, it's just completely inappropriate in a game like this. I think a made-up language like what's in Gravity Rush or Shadow of the Colossus would be much more fitting, and maybe have Rei not QUIP ALL THE TIME and we can make it work. But this is a way too verbose game that tells so much story visually that you have to wonder if this was just them capitulating to someone. That someone barged into the development studio with a AAA game and said, "See, the protagonist comments on everything, you need this in your game."
Also combat mechanics. I have given up my battle against combat mechanics. I am going to have to interrupt my platforming to press square 4 times in front of a generic monster for the rest of my life.
This game is so enjoyable though. I love the boss fights, I love the flow of the game, I cannot believe a smaller indie studio could make something that feels so good to play. I've seen people complaining about the price tag (40 bucks) but this game looks like it was a massive pain in the ass to program so if they want to charge that much for their work they fucking should.
An absolutely gorgeous looking feast for the eyes, with the camera panning to showcase some truly wondrous vistas. I'm not entirely surprised this thing is beautiful, as Hyper Light Drifter somehow had great looking vistas in pixel art. This team just makes games that look awesome.
What is a surprise is how fucking wordy this game is, as Hyper Light Drifter has NO words. Maybe they felt they needed to compensate by writing three million words, but if you like a ton of boring lore in a go-nowhere story, they have covered their bases!! Also if you want my professional opinion: shut the voices OFF. the voice acting isn't bad, it's just completely inappropriate in a game like this. I think a made-up language like what's in Gravity Rush or Shadow of the Colossus would be much more fitting, and maybe have Rei not QUIP ALL THE TIME and we can make it work. But this is a way too verbose game that tells so much story visually that you have to wonder if this was just them capitulating to someone. That someone barged into the development studio with a AAA game and said, "See, the protagonist comments on everything, you need this in your game."
Also combat mechanics. I have given up my battle against combat mechanics. I am going to have to interrupt my platforming to press square 4 times in front of a generic monster for the rest of my life.
This game is so enjoyable though. I love the boss fights, I love the flow of the game, I cannot believe a smaller indie studio could make something that feels so good to play. I've seen people complaining about the price tag (40 bucks) but this game looks like it was a massive pain in the ass to program so if they want to charge that much for their work they fucking should.
This review contains spoilers
CW: more of me dealing with stuff. tl;dr, i hate this VN more than i ever did before.
I had already found this to be a cynical and tasteless shock-game for streamers to gawk at back when it was new, but now that i have lived the experience that is the main shock of this game, i think i hate it more than any other game ever made.
i know this is very specific to me, but turning the worst moment of my life into Sonic.Exe has some kind of nastiness to it that i can't quite put away. i had wondered if revisiting it would make me soften on it, and for the first half there is that chilling feeling of helplessness at someone dealing with something you are powerless against. but as soon as it goes into creepypasta horseshit, i remember this VN was made by total shitheads.
a haunted game isn't scary, the silence once the sirens are gone is scary, because it's now just you and the annihilation of your life as you knew it. what's scary is life after the fact, when you are forced to find a new living situation, clean out the old apartment, replay the day over and over again. i get that DDLC isn't trying to make light of suicide or depression, but the way it handles such a destructive topic under the guise of the haunted video game is so ridiculous and preposterous that i hold nothing but contempt for the game and its creators.
i still think this is a cynical ploy to get streamers to gawk at a game and go "WHAAAT? A DATING SIM THAT'S SCARY?!" but now i also think that the developer was so enamored with this idea of being shocking he forgot to say anything meaningful about anything.
I had already found this to be a cynical and tasteless shock-game for streamers to gawk at back when it was new, but now that i have lived the experience that is the main shock of this game, i think i hate it more than any other game ever made.
i know this is very specific to me, but turning the worst moment of my life into Sonic.Exe has some kind of nastiness to it that i can't quite put away. i had wondered if revisiting it would make me soften on it, and for the first half there is that chilling feeling of helplessness at someone dealing with something you are powerless against. but as soon as it goes into creepypasta horseshit, i remember this VN was made by total shitheads.
a haunted game isn't scary, the silence once the sirens are gone is scary, because it's now just you and the annihilation of your life as you knew it. what's scary is life after the fact, when you are forced to find a new living situation, clean out the old apartment, replay the day over and over again. i get that DDLC isn't trying to make light of suicide or depression, but the way it handles such a destructive topic under the guise of the haunted video game is so ridiculous and preposterous that i hold nothing but contempt for the game and its creators.
i still think this is a cynical ploy to get streamers to gawk at a game and go "WHAAAT? A DATING SIM THAT'S SCARY?!" but now i also think that the developer was so enamored with this idea of being shocking he forgot to say anything meaningful about anything.
An absolutely stunning script, delivered beautifully with some jaw-dropping voice acting that is directed so well it should be studied in schools, surrounded by the same gothic artwork that defined the previous entry and makes it look as close to a comic book as a video game has ever come.
All of this incredible framework is in service to a game that is Cold-Hard Mid.
All of this incredible framework is in service to a game that is Cold-Hard Mid.
2023
An incredible platformer once again sabotaged by feeling the need to have combat mechanics.
2007
NFL IS FINALLY BACK!!! FUCK!!! I'VE BEEN DYING!!
i no longer have to pretend i give a SHIT about basketball or hockey, it's time to hit the fucking gridiron baby.
Week 1 opened with my beloved Detroit Lions beating the Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs, THE official team of rascism. That was a "We Are So Back" moment for a franchise that has provided about 3000 "It's So Over" moments.
The Vikings lost to the Buccaneers at home, that was pathetic and embarassing. I had a great time watching it! Fuck the Vikings.
Also what the fuck is up with the Bears? all this big talk about how they own the north and it ends with them getting dog walked by the Packers at home, WITHOUT Aaron rodgers? C'mon.
Just a quick week one update to everyone, also Madden 08 was a pretty good one and Vince Young would have been better if he wasn't on a Jeff Fisher team, probably.
i no longer have to pretend i give a SHIT about basketball or hockey, it's time to hit the fucking gridiron baby.
Week 1 opened with my beloved Detroit Lions beating the Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs, THE official team of rascism. That was a "We Are So Back" moment for a franchise that has provided about 3000 "It's So Over" moments.
The Vikings lost to the Buccaneers at home, that was pathetic and embarassing. I had a great time watching it! Fuck the Vikings.
Also what the fuck is up with the Bears? all this big talk about how they own the north and it ends with them getting dog walked by the Packers at home, WITHOUT Aaron rodgers? C'mon.
Just a quick week one update to everyone, also Madden 08 was a pretty good one and Vince Young would have been better if he wasn't on a Jeff Fisher team, probably.
2023
indie games will always have some really ugly ass screen-tearing and not let you turn any vsync on. c'mon dude i'm not looking at that shit for an entire game's length.
1998
It's a really good racing game with a killer aesthetic, nothing to add there.
what is worth noting is the soundtrack, which showcases musical mastery in the combination of two of God's Gifts To Music: breakbeats and pinch harmonics. through the intertwining of these two things, music perfection is made and by the end of the soundtrack you'll be saying, "Beatles who?" "Mozart who?"
what is worth noting is the soundtrack, which showcases musical mastery in the combination of two of God's Gifts To Music: breakbeats and pinch harmonics. through the intertwining of these two things, music perfection is made and by the end of the soundtrack you'll be saying, "Beatles who?" "Mozart who?"
2005
Blaze the Cat is one of my favorite characters, I love her design, color scheme and general attitude. Unfortunately, I have come to accept that most of the games she is in aren't very good.
What the hell were they actually thinking with those boss battles?
What the hell were they actually thinking with those boss battles?
1997
The most 3 star game in history, perhaps.
Quake 2 is weird, as it had an extremely focused development where they knew exactly what the game was going to be, and yet it will NEVER be as good as Quake: a game thrown together of disparate ideas, those tonal clashes turning out to be some kind of magic that is often duplicated hit never replicated.
Conversely, Quake 2 is almost defined by its workmanlike competency. The sign posting in levels is stellar, it gives you enough hints at secrets to find them but doesn't spoil the fun for you, ways forward are always clearly telegraphed to further show just how Id had level design down to an exact science.
Guns sound and feel good to shoot, enemies bloody and gib satisfyingly, the act of playing Quake 2 is by every metric exactly what it should be.
What's missing though? Why did Unreal, a game with less refined encounter design and a way too long runtime, eat Quake 2's lunch so significantly? The two answers I've formulated range from nebulous and vague, to more concrete and defined. Let's start there.
These enemies are weaksauce, dude. The Night Dive remaster reintroduces more complex behaviors to them, and the game actually feels genuinely challenging now, but even with Quake 2's superior challenge escalation, a fight with a single Skarrj blows this shit out of the water. Especially the Tanks, who the game seems to think are equal to Shamblers as far as danger goes, but they are basically ammo dumps and nothing more. (when I was a little kid though, they scared the HELL out of me, and was always terrified of seeing one IRL. Now as an adult I know how to circle strafe, though.)
My more nebulous reason is the same reason Prey (2017) isn't a beloved classic despite being a competently built game: it's not weird enough.
Think about some really beloved games: Final Fantasy 7, Deus Ex, Killer7, NieR, and of course, Quake 1. These games are weird as hell. Idiosyncratic, oftentimes obtuse, but dripping with personality and character. In Yahtzee's review of Quake, he mentions that the lightning gun exploding you in water has John Romero written all over it. That's why it's so good! Romero has a wonderful developer penchant for catching you on your backfoot, waiting for you to get sloppy. This doesn't even get into Sandy Peterson's maddeningly difficult labyrinths in Episode 4. The game just OOZES style and personality. It may have become an FPS late in development, but goddamn if it wasn't going to be an esoteric one.
Quake 2's science fiction corridors just can't ever hope to match that. Which is a shame because the body horror angle they take here is very cool, and was very effectively spooky when I was a kid. It wouldn't be until Quake 4 in 2005 that this idea would get the pizzaz it so needed in 1997.
So, while Quake 2 is an extremely competent FPS campaign with great level design, a solid core of enemies and weaponry, and effective visual design, it just lacks that "what the hell just happened??" moment that defines REAL classics of the medium. The part you reload a save and bring everyone to the computer because they HAVE to see this weirdo shit, a la Cloudman in Killer7. You try and make anyone watch Quake 2 you are going to be bored to tears, it just is what it is.
How about the remaster though? It honestly is so good I wish I could have a seperate star system just for "Presentation." This is 5 fucking stars. Night Dive have updated the visuals without fucking with the artstyle, so weapons no longer do that insane bubbling thing, and the guns have MUZZLE FLASH NOW. Honest to god they didn't used to have that. An insane thing to not have, so thank GOD it's here. Included a new campaign by MachineGames, who are so good at making these it's stupefying. The two quake 2 expansion packs, which, you know, are.
And QUAKE 2 N64!!!! My favorite game as a kid, I played the SHIT out of it and to this day know it like I used to live there. Absolutely play this, the level design is really fun and it has much more colors than base Quake 2.
So, that is Quake 2. Better than average, but never amazing enough to surpass it. The soundtrack is godly though, blows Doom 2016 the fuck out. Industrial metal forever.
Quake 2 is weird, as it had an extremely focused development where they knew exactly what the game was going to be, and yet it will NEVER be as good as Quake: a game thrown together of disparate ideas, those tonal clashes turning out to be some kind of magic that is often duplicated hit never replicated.
Conversely, Quake 2 is almost defined by its workmanlike competency. The sign posting in levels is stellar, it gives you enough hints at secrets to find them but doesn't spoil the fun for you, ways forward are always clearly telegraphed to further show just how Id had level design down to an exact science.
Guns sound and feel good to shoot, enemies bloody and gib satisfyingly, the act of playing Quake 2 is by every metric exactly what it should be.
What's missing though? Why did Unreal, a game with less refined encounter design and a way too long runtime, eat Quake 2's lunch so significantly? The two answers I've formulated range from nebulous and vague, to more concrete and defined. Let's start there.
These enemies are weaksauce, dude. The Night Dive remaster reintroduces more complex behaviors to them, and the game actually feels genuinely challenging now, but even with Quake 2's superior challenge escalation, a fight with a single Skarrj blows this shit out of the water. Especially the Tanks, who the game seems to think are equal to Shamblers as far as danger goes, but they are basically ammo dumps and nothing more. (when I was a little kid though, they scared the HELL out of me, and was always terrified of seeing one IRL. Now as an adult I know how to circle strafe, though.)
My more nebulous reason is the same reason Prey (2017) isn't a beloved classic despite being a competently built game: it's not weird enough.
Think about some really beloved games: Final Fantasy 7, Deus Ex, Killer7, NieR, and of course, Quake 1. These games are weird as hell. Idiosyncratic, oftentimes obtuse, but dripping with personality and character. In Yahtzee's review of Quake, he mentions that the lightning gun exploding you in water has John Romero written all over it. That's why it's so good! Romero has a wonderful developer penchant for catching you on your backfoot, waiting for you to get sloppy. This doesn't even get into Sandy Peterson's maddeningly difficult labyrinths in Episode 4. The game just OOZES style and personality. It may have become an FPS late in development, but goddamn if it wasn't going to be an esoteric one.
Quake 2's science fiction corridors just can't ever hope to match that. Which is a shame because the body horror angle they take here is very cool, and was very effectively spooky when I was a kid. It wouldn't be until Quake 4 in 2005 that this idea would get the pizzaz it so needed in 1997.
So, while Quake 2 is an extremely competent FPS campaign with great level design, a solid core of enemies and weaponry, and effective visual design, it just lacks that "what the hell just happened??" moment that defines REAL classics of the medium. The part you reload a save and bring everyone to the computer because they HAVE to see this weirdo shit, a la Cloudman in Killer7. You try and make anyone watch Quake 2 you are going to be bored to tears, it just is what it is.
How about the remaster though? It honestly is so good I wish I could have a seperate star system just for "Presentation." This is 5 fucking stars. Night Dive have updated the visuals without fucking with the artstyle, so weapons no longer do that insane bubbling thing, and the guns have MUZZLE FLASH NOW. Honest to god they didn't used to have that. An insane thing to not have, so thank GOD it's here. Included a new campaign by MachineGames, who are so good at making these it's stupefying. The two quake 2 expansion packs, which, you know, are.
And QUAKE 2 N64!!!! My favorite game as a kid, I played the SHIT out of it and to this day know it like I used to live there. Absolutely play this, the level design is really fun and it has much more colors than base Quake 2.
So, that is Quake 2. Better than average, but never amazing enough to surpass it. The soundtrack is godly though, blows Doom 2016 the fuck out. Industrial metal forever.
1994
an incredible step forward in the genre of yaoi visual novels. also a pretty good fps.
2019
Through countless man hours, the brilliance of fans, and dedication by the community and modders, Sonic 06 has been raised from the ashes of 0 stars to the dizzying heights of 2 stars.
2006
A thing people forget about Project 06 is that even if it was a functioning, finished game, Sonic 06 is designed like total shit and no amount of polishing will change that it is, by nature, a turd.