mateumv
BACKER
25 Reviews liked by mateumv
The year is 3248. Civilisation lies in ruins. The human race is near extinction. I'M STILL SHOOTING THIS DROIDEKA HOW MANY BULLETS DO THEY TAKE FUCKING DIE. AND THAT'S IF I CAN REACH THEM IN THE FIRST PLACE, YOUR MOVEMENT SPEED IN THIS GAME IS COMPARABLE TO ME CIRCA 1998, AKA A TITTY SUCKING 1 YEAR OLD.
The game's awesome, the sprawling landscapes, intricate corridor networks and vehicle variety make the scope feel HUGE and, when you finally do find an enemy after five minutes, you find ALL the enemies, leading to frantic, adrenaline fuelled clusterfucks where the fast time to kill assures high pressure standoffs and a feeling of flow state as your momentum hurls you from enemy to enemy.
The jank elements get fixed in the sequel, meaning there's not really much reason to play this nowadays as it's literally just this game but better, but on its own merits it's fucking fire.
The game's awesome, the sprawling landscapes, intricate corridor networks and vehicle variety make the scope feel HUGE and, when you finally do find an enemy after five minutes, you find ALL the enemies, leading to frantic, adrenaline fuelled clusterfucks where the fast time to kill assures high pressure standoffs and a feeling of flow state as your momentum hurls you from enemy to enemy.
The jank elements get fixed in the sequel, meaning there's not really much reason to play this nowadays as it's literally just this game but better, but on its own merits it's fucking fire.
Ratchet & Clank
2002
I feel a bit mixed on this game overall. It's not a bad game by any means, however I just think there were a handful of issues I had that kept me from really enjoying it. And I think overall most of my issues came from some just, general clunk that this game had.
To start with the positives though, I love the general vibe of the game. I love weird space stuff, and this is definitely that. The characters have a silly charm, and I love the general dynamic the titular characters have. The story is quite simple, but the humor does elevate it a bit. And the general movement that Ratchet has is really nice, especially as you gain new abilities along the way.
However, there's quite a bit of clunk with both the game's platforming and combat. And honestly? The platforming isn't too clunky aside from the magnetic sections. I've had multiple times where I get forced off the magnet because it thinks I walked off of it. The combat is well, another thing. In the case of the basic melee weapon, that's perfectly fine, I don't really have too much of an issue with it. The guns though, were a pain to use, especially with how necessary they are.
One minor gripe as well is I feel the game has a noticeable lack of checkpoints? I'm not against having a small amount of checkpoints in things, but in the case of this game, there felt like there were too many long stretches of levels with no checkpoints. It got to a point where it wasn't challenging, just annoying.
I know I've mentioned a lot of issues with this game, but I don't think I hate this game. I'd say overall I did like it, but I far from love it. I do hope the sequels improve upon this game.
To start with the positives though, I love the general vibe of the game. I love weird space stuff, and this is definitely that. The characters have a silly charm, and I love the general dynamic the titular characters have. The story is quite simple, but the humor does elevate it a bit. And the general movement that Ratchet has is really nice, especially as you gain new abilities along the way.
However, there's quite a bit of clunk with both the game's platforming and combat. And honestly? The platforming isn't too clunky aside from the magnetic sections. I've had multiple times where I get forced off the magnet because it thinks I walked off of it. The combat is well, another thing. In the case of the basic melee weapon, that's perfectly fine, I don't really have too much of an issue with it. The guns though, were a pain to use, especially with how necessary they are.
One minor gripe as well is I feel the game has a noticeable lack of checkpoints? I'm not against having a small amount of checkpoints in things, but in the case of this game, there felt like there were too many long stretches of levels with no checkpoints. It got to a point where it wasn't challenging, just annoying.
I know I've mentioned a lot of issues with this game, but I don't think I hate this game. I'd say overall I did like it, but I far from love it. I do hope the sequels improve upon this game.
Segunda vez que lo juego, y segunda vez que me quedo realmente impresionado a pesar de sus asperezas.
Llegué a él demasiado tarde para tener el cariño nostálgico que tengo con otras aventuras de Lucas, pero es un juego que me inspira bastante respeto por la manera en la que consigue contar una verdadera epopeya de una manera que es bastante inhabitual en el género. Es a la vez una parodia muy graciosa del género noir y una de las mejores historias de este tipo que conozco. Su mundo y sus personajes repiran pesonalidad y cárisma de una forma totalmente única que basta para justificar su puesto de icono del videojuego.
Es tan potente que consigue depasar todo lo que ha envejecido mal, que es bastante. Es un juego hijo de esa época incómoda de principios del 3D cuyas limitaciones son mucho más notables hoy en día que las de la mayoría de juegos 2D. El Remaster arregla uno de estos problemas, los controles, pero el sistema de inventario y la exploración de los escenarios siguen siendo aspectos engorrosos que provocan que cueste experimentar de una manera necesaria en una aventura gráfica. Me he vuelto lo suficientemente competente en el género estos últimos años para resolver muchísimos más puzzles por mí mismo que en mi primera partida, pero aún así hay algunos que acabas mirando porque el simple hecho de probar soluciones es demasiado pesado para que tengas la paciencia de quedarte atascado. En ese sentido noto mucho la falta de un sistema de pistas en el remaster (algo que cualquier aventura gráfica debería proponer, tras Return to Monkey Island lo tengo clarísimo).
Y aún así me parece un juego impresionante al que sé que volveré. Tiene ese toque de auténticas obras maestras que lo hace realmente especial, aunque sea una pena que incluso el remaster siga siendo menos accesible de lo que podría.
Llegué a él demasiado tarde para tener el cariño nostálgico que tengo con otras aventuras de Lucas, pero es un juego que me inspira bastante respeto por la manera en la que consigue contar una verdadera epopeya de una manera que es bastante inhabitual en el género. Es a la vez una parodia muy graciosa del género noir y una de las mejores historias de este tipo que conozco. Su mundo y sus personajes repiran pesonalidad y cárisma de una forma totalmente única que basta para justificar su puesto de icono del videojuego.
Es tan potente que consigue depasar todo lo que ha envejecido mal, que es bastante. Es un juego hijo de esa época incómoda de principios del 3D cuyas limitaciones son mucho más notables hoy en día que las de la mayoría de juegos 2D. El Remaster arregla uno de estos problemas, los controles, pero el sistema de inventario y la exploración de los escenarios siguen siendo aspectos engorrosos que provocan que cueste experimentar de una manera necesaria en una aventura gráfica. Me he vuelto lo suficientemente competente en el género estos últimos años para resolver muchísimos más puzzles por mí mismo que en mi primera partida, pero aún así hay algunos que acabas mirando porque el simple hecho de probar soluciones es demasiado pesado para que tengas la paciencia de quedarte atascado. En ese sentido noto mucho la falta de un sistema de pistas en el remaster (algo que cualquier aventura gráfica debería proponer, tras Return to Monkey Island lo tengo clarísimo).
Y aún así me parece un juego impresionante al que sé que volveré. Tiene ese toque de auténticas obras maestras que lo hace realmente especial, aunque sea una pena que incluso el remaster siga siendo menos accesible de lo que podría.
Darksiders
2010
I'm not going to go too in-depth since Darksiders is a very well known/reviewed game, but what I will say is this is essentially a God of War adaptation of Judeo-Christian mythologies, albeit far more respectful than those games (the pre-reboot ones anyway). You play as the embodiment of War seeking to restore his honor after he prematurely arrived on Earth before the Seventh Seal of Hell was broken.
Overall, I really enjoyed the story. It incorporates a lot of lore from the Abrahamic faiths, but dons its own take on them, keeping it all fresh, exciting, and epic. While characters are essentially archetypal, there's usually an adjacent layer to them that gives them a subtly interesting quality. War, for example, has a dry humor that comes out in many scenes, Azrael a sense of shame that gives him an honor quality, Uriel a sense of justice that makes her rise above her duties, etc...
Visually, Darksiders is definitely reminiscent of the Xbox 360 era, but that's far from a bad thing. You do have polygon modelling that is still blocky at times, but the color grading is top notch, really conveying a post-apocalyptic atmosphere to the whole world. Individual locales stand out thanks to this art style, which is adaptable to the different demands of the various ecosystems (amphibious vs desert vs lava caverns vs flora paradise). Cutscenes have surprisingly aged very well and contribute to that aforestated epic scope.
That being said, with the vanilla version I did have an inconsistent framerate that I was only able to alleviate via turning down the camera motion (didn't fix the problem, but helped make it tolerable). Unfortunately, the battle against the sandworms triggered a massive FPS drop when I pulled out the revolver, and Darksiders also crashed once on me courtesy of trying to tab out of the app to adjust the volume. But those were the only technical issues I experienced- game ran smooth otherwise, including the transition to and from cinematic cutscenes and in-game gameplay (looks consistent).
Gameplay was honestly mixed for me. Hack-and-slash button mashing is always fun, but the combo system was weak courtesy of the button combinations being awkward (having to hold a bumper down + Y/X button + direct with the joystick). Half the time my new attacks wouldn't register, and overall attacks that weren't mapped to a single button didn't flow well as part of a combo. Magic abilities could've also been better incorporated rather than making them two separate buttons that produce independent results not tied to War's attacks (the arrow wall around you for example, igniting enemies on fire).
Exploration is another mixed bag. Darksiders opts for the Metroidvania formula of returning to previous areas with new gear, but the problem is the map isn't designed well enough to find those secrets. You can't create markers, you can't even move from left-to-right between multiple areas (the "open world" is blockaded through doors that literally block visual access on the map unless you enter the place behind said door), and while you can tell if you've been to an area or not courtesy of it being lightened up, you cannot tell if you missed something back there because most of the environs don't provide a map showing all these places or keep a collectable icon visible after discovery. Darksiders also suffers from the Skyward Sword problem of most new gear being largely useless after completing the area you were meant to use it in, making me wonder why so much programming effort went into crafting tools like the portal gun or Mask of Darkness.
For all my whining though, the narrative will keep you hooked. The fallen hero is an overused storyline for a reason- it works, and hearkens back to ancient myths that Darksiders clearly draws from. The voice acting is terrific, featuring top actors like Liam O'Brien, Mark Hamill, Troy Baker, Keith Szarabajka, and Phil LaMarr, who evoke deity/supernatural vibes through their voice registry. That being said, one slight criticism here is that too many voices are on the deep end of the spectrum, meaning some character's lack distinction and blend together ala the Akatsuki in the Japanese version of Naruto.
Sound design is good, but could've been more extravagant. Enemies all die/sound the same, weapon hits are synced to material being struck over individuals (i.e. all flesh sounds the same, all stone sounds the same, all metal sounds the same). What you hear is solid, but when you're unleashing the same attacks multiple times you'll notice the repetitious din quickly. The OST does a solid job blending religious sounds with your typical video game motifs of good/bad guys, even though I did feel the latter overtook the game one too many times. I also didn't think any of the bosses had distinct themes minus the Bat in the beginning.
On that note, boss fights are pretty disappointing, particularly the final one that was being built up to. They're all tied to a repetitive gameplay loop that you'll have to repeat whilst avoiding letting your health drop low. In fact, that even extends to minibosses/tough enemies, where you often have to repeat the same tactic of attack, dodge enemy heavy swing, then attack again ad nauseam.
Part of me does wonder if the devs didn't have the budget to consistently fulfill their vision because the first area with the Bat is long, well-paced, and full of a surprising number of puzzle elements that are slowly dissipated as you go to other areas. I'm not saying it's abandoned completely as there still are a lot of puzzles to solve, but when you play the game you'll notice the simplification. The last act, in particular, is a giant fetch quest that drags and doesn't feature anything unique, despite you having all of your tools at your disposal by that point.
Overall though, I had a lot of fun with Darksiders. While I will not be 100 percenting it courtesy of the poor maps, it helps a lot that the core story (for the remastered version since vanilla isn't sold anymore) offers almost as many hours of gameplay as the $20.00 price tag.
Overall, I really enjoyed the story. It incorporates a lot of lore from the Abrahamic faiths, but dons its own take on them, keeping it all fresh, exciting, and epic. While characters are essentially archetypal, there's usually an adjacent layer to them that gives them a subtly interesting quality. War, for example, has a dry humor that comes out in many scenes, Azrael a sense of shame that gives him an honor quality, Uriel a sense of justice that makes her rise above her duties, etc...
Visually, Darksiders is definitely reminiscent of the Xbox 360 era, but that's far from a bad thing. You do have polygon modelling that is still blocky at times, but the color grading is top notch, really conveying a post-apocalyptic atmosphere to the whole world. Individual locales stand out thanks to this art style, which is adaptable to the different demands of the various ecosystems (amphibious vs desert vs lava caverns vs flora paradise). Cutscenes have surprisingly aged very well and contribute to that aforestated epic scope.
That being said, with the vanilla version I did have an inconsistent framerate that I was only able to alleviate via turning down the camera motion (didn't fix the problem, but helped make it tolerable). Unfortunately, the battle against the sandworms triggered a massive FPS drop when I pulled out the revolver, and Darksiders also crashed once on me courtesy of trying to tab out of the app to adjust the volume. But those were the only technical issues I experienced- game ran smooth otherwise, including the transition to and from cinematic cutscenes and in-game gameplay (looks consistent).
Gameplay was honestly mixed for me. Hack-and-slash button mashing is always fun, but the combo system was weak courtesy of the button combinations being awkward (having to hold a bumper down + Y/X button + direct with the joystick). Half the time my new attacks wouldn't register, and overall attacks that weren't mapped to a single button didn't flow well as part of a combo. Magic abilities could've also been better incorporated rather than making them two separate buttons that produce independent results not tied to War's attacks (the arrow wall around you for example, igniting enemies on fire).
Exploration is another mixed bag. Darksiders opts for the Metroidvania formula of returning to previous areas with new gear, but the problem is the map isn't designed well enough to find those secrets. You can't create markers, you can't even move from left-to-right between multiple areas (the "open world" is blockaded through doors that literally block visual access on the map unless you enter the place behind said door), and while you can tell if you've been to an area or not courtesy of it being lightened up, you cannot tell if you missed something back there because most of the environs don't provide a map showing all these places or keep a collectable icon visible after discovery. Darksiders also suffers from the Skyward Sword problem of most new gear being largely useless after completing the area you were meant to use it in, making me wonder why so much programming effort went into crafting tools like the portal gun or Mask of Darkness.
For all my whining though, the narrative will keep you hooked. The fallen hero is an overused storyline for a reason- it works, and hearkens back to ancient myths that Darksiders clearly draws from. The voice acting is terrific, featuring top actors like Liam O'Brien, Mark Hamill, Troy Baker, Keith Szarabajka, and Phil LaMarr, who evoke deity/supernatural vibes through their voice registry. That being said, one slight criticism here is that too many voices are on the deep end of the spectrum, meaning some character's lack distinction and blend together ala the Akatsuki in the Japanese version of Naruto.
Sound design is good, but could've been more extravagant. Enemies all die/sound the same, weapon hits are synced to material being struck over individuals (i.e. all flesh sounds the same, all stone sounds the same, all metal sounds the same). What you hear is solid, but when you're unleashing the same attacks multiple times you'll notice the repetitious din quickly. The OST does a solid job blending religious sounds with your typical video game motifs of good/bad guys, even though I did feel the latter overtook the game one too many times. I also didn't think any of the bosses had distinct themes minus the Bat in the beginning.
On that note, boss fights are pretty disappointing, particularly the final one that was being built up to. They're all tied to a repetitive gameplay loop that you'll have to repeat whilst avoiding letting your health drop low. In fact, that even extends to minibosses/tough enemies, where you often have to repeat the same tactic of attack, dodge enemy heavy swing, then attack again ad nauseam.
Part of me does wonder if the devs didn't have the budget to consistently fulfill their vision because the first area with the Bat is long, well-paced, and full of a surprising number of puzzle elements that are slowly dissipated as you go to other areas. I'm not saying it's abandoned completely as there still are a lot of puzzles to solve, but when you play the game you'll notice the simplification. The last act, in particular, is a giant fetch quest that drags and doesn't feature anything unique, despite you having all of your tools at your disposal by that point.
Overall though, I had a lot of fun with Darksiders. While I will not be 100 percenting it courtesy of the poor maps, it helps a lot that the core story (for the remastered version since vanilla isn't sold anymore) offers almost as many hours of gameplay as the $20.00 price tag.
Super Metroid
1994
Abrí la Switch para jugar el principio más por curiosidad que otra cosa y he acabado enganchado.
Jugándolo justo tras Dread es inevitable notar que ha envejecido, pero sigue siendo un gran juego que funciona la mar de bien hoy en día hasta un punto que me ha sorprendido mucho. He tirado de guía a menudo para encontrar objetos y llegar bien equipado al jefe final, pero el diseño es tan bueno que no habría tenido problemas para pasármelo sin tener que mirar nada, lo cual es una cosa bastante increíble para los años que tiene.
Se merece totalmente su reputación y ahora me frustra no tener más juegos de la saga accesibles sin tener que tirar de emulador porque creo que jugaría uno o dos más sin problemas.
Jugándolo justo tras Dread es inevitable notar que ha envejecido, pero sigue siendo un gran juego que funciona la mar de bien hoy en día hasta un punto que me ha sorprendido mucho. He tirado de guía a menudo para encontrar objetos y llegar bien equipado al jefe final, pero el diseño es tan bueno que no habría tenido problemas para pasármelo sin tener que mirar nada, lo cual es una cosa bastante increíble para los años que tiene.
Se merece totalmente su reputación y ahora me frustra no tener más juegos de la saga accesibles sin tener que tirar de emulador porque creo que jugaría uno o dos más sin problemas.
Far Cry 2
2008
there's a handful of very bad design choices that stop this from being the good to great far cry game. Seriously, all they really need to do is make stealth viable and and enemies less aggressive and the game would be legit pretty good.
As it is though, being constantly assaulted every time I step food outside a safe zone is not fun. Shame too as it's world is fun to explore.
As it is though, being constantly assaulted every time I step food outside a safe zone is not fun. Shame too as it's world is fun to explore.
Un sistema de combate y una serie de sistemas complementario muy bien cuidados acompañan a una fuerte trama sobre "desafiar al destino" presentado desde una perspectiva que se escapa del cliché. Es, básicamente, un cuento de hadas moderno libre de idealismo.
Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir cuenta con una historia y unos personajes trágicos fantásticamente construidos, qué junto a un mundo interesante y verosímil narra una bella trama que trata su tema sobre el destino de una manera más realista y humana a lo qué estamos acostumbrados. En términos jugables, resulta ser una experiencia gratificante por la mayor parte del tiempo, tiene problemas en cuanto a la repetición y peca de ser condescendiente, pero lo compensa con un muy buen combate y sus enfrentamientos basados en oleadas que ofrecen un reto ya sea contra jefes o mini-jefes. Logra mantener un alto nivel de profundidad en sus sistemas gracias a la personalización del combate, sus diferenciados personajes y las dinámicas complementarias que resultan estar muy bien cuidadas en términos de balance y escalamiento. El peor crimen de esta obra fue optar por un gimmick narrativo que terminó dañando su conclusión, sin embargo no creo que este sea suficiente motivo como para desechar a sus muy cuidadas dinámicas, su profundo combate, su entretenido bucle jugable, sus trágicos personajes, y su muy conmovedora historia.
~ ANÁLISIS COMPLETO: https://youtu.be/N3hNnW5sxkA ~
Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir cuenta con una historia y unos personajes trágicos fantásticamente construidos, qué junto a un mundo interesante y verosímil narra una bella trama que trata su tema sobre el destino de una manera más realista y humana a lo qué estamos acostumbrados. En términos jugables, resulta ser una experiencia gratificante por la mayor parte del tiempo, tiene problemas en cuanto a la repetición y peca de ser condescendiente, pero lo compensa con un muy buen combate y sus enfrentamientos basados en oleadas que ofrecen un reto ya sea contra jefes o mini-jefes. Logra mantener un alto nivel de profundidad en sus sistemas gracias a la personalización del combate, sus diferenciados personajes y las dinámicas complementarias que resultan estar muy bien cuidadas en términos de balance y escalamiento. El peor crimen de esta obra fue optar por un gimmick narrativo que terminó dañando su conclusión, sin embargo no creo que este sea suficiente motivo como para desechar a sus muy cuidadas dinámicas, su profundo combate, su entretenido bucle jugable, sus trágicos personajes, y su muy conmovedora historia.
~ ANÁLISIS COMPLETO: https://youtu.be/N3hNnW5sxkA ~
Killzone 3
2011
Despite a horrifically bad story, Killzone 3 most certainly delivers on its gameplay. Killzone is a series I've been going through in retrospect, since I didn't own a PS3 until the generation gasped its last breath, meaning I've been experiencing most of the exclusive PS3 games after all the attention has faded away. That being said, being able to look back at this series and play it in order (over an incredibly long length of time) has made me appreciate a lot of what Killzone did for shooters in our more modern era.
Despite the praise I can give to the weapons and general combat feel, Killzone 3 still falls into Sony gimmick bad habits with annoying motion control segments to remind you can't have too much fun in this game; this has been an issue for a while, now and I'm more than certain it will continue to be one in Shadowfall. Nonetheless, the shooting still feels really good and I would certainly say it's a massive improvement from the previous games. I do understand, though, that Killzone's clunkier side was a large part of its charm in the shooter market, and that really went away with this game. While I understand many could be frustrated and wish for the "old Killzone" back, I cannot deny that I had a much better playing experience in this game than any previous entry.
Of course, don't play Killzone 3 for its terrible story, which goes so off the rails so fast, it's really hard to care about anything happening due to the awful writing and equally bad voice performances. I understand the previous stories in Killzone were better, but I still wouldn't argue they're very good all things considered.
Anyway, there's not much left that can be talked about with Killzone 3 nowadays. Although bot matches are available for the multiplayer (this NEEDS to be an industry standard), the online services are understandably shut down. Killzone 3 does offer a co-op campaign that I'd like to try someday, but I wouldn't say I'm rushing to it any time soon.
Killzone 3 certainly has its merits, especially its gameplay and visual prowess for the time, but it's certainly aged in some ways and is additionally not the game it was ten years ago. I'll look back on the PlayStation 3 Killzone games with fondness, but also sort of thankful we've moved on from this era of first-person-shooters.
Despite the praise I can give to the weapons and general combat feel, Killzone 3 still falls into Sony gimmick bad habits with annoying motion control segments to remind you can't have too much fun in this game; this has been an issue for a while, now and I'm more than certain it will continue to be one in Shadowfall. Nonetheless, the shooting still feels really good and I would certainly say it's a massive improvement from the previous games. I do understand, though, that Killzone's clunkier side was a large part of its charm in the shooter market, and that really went away with this game. While I understand many could be frustrated and wish for the "old Killzone" back, I cannot deny that I had a much better playing experience in this game than any previous entry.
Of course, don't play Killzone 3 for its terrible story, which goes so off the rails so fast, it's really hard to care about anything happening due to the awful writing and equally bad voice performances. I understand the previous stories in Killzone were better, but I still wouldn't argue they're very good all things considered.
Anyway, there's not much left that can be talked about with Killzone 3 nowadays. Although bot matches are available for the multiplayer (this NEEDS to be an industry standard), the online services are understandably shut down. Killzone 3 does offer a co-op campaign that I'd like to try someday, but I wouldn't say I'm rushing to it any time soon.
Killzone 3 certainly has its merits, especially its gameplay and visual prowess for the time, but it's certainly aged in some ways and is additionally not the game it was ten years ago. I'll look back on the PlayStation 3 Killzone games with fondness, but also sort of thankful we've moved on from this era of first-person-shooters.
Vaya salud de hierro que tiene Resident Evil estos últimos años, y qué gustazo haber descubierto estos dos juegos de Ethan seguidos.
Village es una secuela que no tiene miedo de volver a experimentar aún manteniendose en la línea que inició el juego anterior. Abraza totalmente su apuesta de horror gótico Europeo (o en todo caso lo que Capcom entiende por europa) para proponer un juego increíblemente variado en el que tiene cabida tanto el Resident Evil más aterrador (House Beneviento tiene que ser de lo más intenso que he jugado en mi vida a nivel de terror, sin ser tampoco una barra muy alta) como el más mamarracho o el más enfocado a la acción.
Y creo que su fuerza es conseguir presentar un conjunto cohesionado a pesar de todo, al establecer cada zona alrededor de un villano muy carácteristico y permitirse variar enormemente de enfoque en cada una para adaptarse al mismo. Es una fórmula que ya estaba presente en el VII, pero aquí se lleva a su máximo explendor con excelentes resultados.
Con todo (y a pesar de un jefe final HORRIBLE que me ha dejado con una frustración final que me da bastante pena), creo que me ha gustado aún más que el VII y que se va directito a mis juegos del año.
Village es una secuela que no tiene miedo de volver a experimentar aún manteniendose en la línea que inició el juego anterior. Abraza totalmente su apuesta de horror gótico Europeo (o en todo caso lo que Capcom entiende por europa) para proponer un juego increíblemente variado en el que tiene cabida tanto el Resident Evil más aterrador (House Beneviento tiene que ser de lo más intenso que he jugado en mi vida a nivel de terror, sin ser tampoco una barra muy alta) como el más mamarracho o el más enfocado a la acción.
Y creo que su fuerza es conseguir presentar un conjunto cohesionado a pesar de todo, al establecer cada zona alrededor de un villano muy carácteristico y permitirse variar enormemente de enfoque en cada una para adaptarse al mismo. Es una fórmula que ya estaba presente en el VII, pero aquí se lleva a su máximo explendor con excelentes resultados.
Con todo (y a pesar de un jefe final HORRIBLE que me ha dejado con una frustración final que me da bastante pena), creo que me ha gustado aún más que el VII y que se va directito a mis juegos del año.
Biomutant
2021
Alright, early impressions since I'm not sure I'll keep going with it for much longer. I've played like, 8-ish hours. (edit: I don't think I ever picked it back up, lol)
What Works:
1. The world and characters look incredible. Everything is lush and colorful, the environmental art in particular is really stellar.
2. Weapon customization/crafting is all visually represented. When you make a weapon or put attachments on your armor, it's very satisfying to see the things you made on your character's back.
3. The character creator is pretty unique and fun to mess around in.
4. There are a lot of upgrades and skills, and you're collecting skill points pretty quickly, so the pacing of your character's growth feels steady as far in as I am.
What Doesn't Work:
1. I don't think the narrator does a bad job with what he's given, but I think his casting is an odd choice, and I really hate the implementation of the narrator in this game. I know you can adjust the frequency of his random dialogue, but that doesn't solve the issue that the critters speak in gibberish which is then translated/narrated in a stylistically inconsistent manner, which also has the effect of doubling the length of every line of dialogue since you're hearing it twice.
2. The combat is disappointing, and this is coming from someone who thinks NieR: Automata's flowy smooth combat is good and fun. There's little indication of when you're being peppered with bullets, the "parry this" indicators are unhelpful and the attacks aren't telegraphed enough to rely on the animations (you're usually fighting in grass as tall as your short critter anyway). You can either rush in and get hit a bunch for seemingly random amounts of damage while you chip away at enemy health, or you can kite and shoot. You can't cancel an attack animation with a parry, so I guess you're supposed to stand there and wait for an attack that might be parry-able or might require you to dodge ineffectively. I've spent enough time discussing this, but in summary: For a game that wants to be a kung-fu (excuse me, "wung-fu") fable, the combat is a complete mess.
3. The writing is really stupid. It's full of cutesy made up words, like bullets are "pew pew" and poop is "brown bobs" or something. It's like Clockwork Orange but aimed at the Harold And The Purple Crayon reading level demographic.
4. A devil and an angel on your shoulder argue with each other in the most annoying possible voices through dumb exchanges that are supposed to be comedic. It doesn't work, but it sure does happen literally every time you do something because this game has an Infamous-style morality system that affects which powers are available to you.
I think ultimately the issue with this game is that it has a lot of the same problems Ghost of Tsushima has. Repetitive, no real innovation, a beautiful world that is ultimately empty... This one is much more loot-oriented, and Ghost of Tsushima had an engaging story/characters even if it was rehashing classic stories. I think if I cared about Biomutant's world and characters, and if it had much of a story at all, I'd be able to put up with the combat and the formulaic emptiness. There's nothing drawing me back in.
What Works:
1. The world and characters look incredible. Everything is lush and colorful, the environmental art in particular is really stellar.
2. Weapon customization/crafting is all visually represented. When you make a weapon or put attachments on your armor, it's very satisfying to see the things you made on your character's back.
3. The character creator is pretty unique and fun to mess around in.
4. There are a lot of upgrades and skills, and you're collecting skill points pretty quickly, so the pacing of your character's growth feels steady as far in as I am.
What Doesn't Work:
1. I don't think the narrator does a bad job with what he's given, but I think his casting is an odd choice, and I really hate the implementation of the narrator in this game. I know you can adjust the frequency of his random dialogue, but that doesn't solve the issue that the critters speak in gibberish which is then translated/narrated in a stylistically inconsistent manner, which also has the effect of doubling the length of every line of dialogue since you're hearing it twice.
2. The combat is disappointing, and this is coming from someone who thinks NieR: Automata's flowy smooth combat is good and fun. There's little indication of when you're being peppered with bullets, the "parry this" indicators are unhelpful and the attacks aren't telegraphed enough to rely on the animations (you're usually fighting in grass as tall as your short critter anyway). You can either rush in and get hit a bunch for seemingly random amounts of damage while you chip away at enemy health, or you can kite and shoot. You can't cancel an attack animation with a parry, so I guess you're supposed to stand there and wait for an attack that might be parry-able or might require you to dodge ineffectively. I've spent enough time discussing this, but in summary: For a game that wants to be a kung-fu (excuse me, "wung-fu") fable, the combat is a complete mess.
3. The writing is really stupid. It's full of cutesy made up words, like bullets are "pew pew" and poop is "brown bobs" or something. It's like Clockwork Orange but aimed at the Harold And The Purple Crayon reading level demographic.
4. A devil and an angel on your shoulder argue with each other in the most annoying possible voices through dumb exchanges that are supposed to be comedic. It doesn't work, but it sure does happen literally every time you do something because this game has an Infamous-style morality system that affects which powers are available to you.
I think ultimately the issue with this game is that it has a lot of the same problems Ghost of Tsushima has. Repetitive, no real innovation, a beautiful world that is ultimately empty... This one is much more loot-oriented, and Ghost of Tsushima had an engaging story/characters even if it was rehashing classic stories. I think if I cared about Biomutant's world and characters, and if it had much of a story at all, I'd be able to put up with the combat and the formulaic emptiness. There's nothing drawing me back in.
Oddworld: Soulstorm
2021
This review contains spoilers
So supposedly time constraints led to Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus to be more of an expansion to Abe's Oddysee than the team wanted, and Soulstorm was the chance to tell the story they initially wanted to tell. But...There's very little to the story really. Most cutscenes are just Abe moving forward while Mullock and his henchman slig talk about him, meanwhile other Glukkon's talk about using Mullock as a scapegoat for the Rupturefarms incident. I don't see how they couldn't have fit such a simple story into the original Exoddus game.
It's really in terms of game mechanics that you can see how they may have had to compensate way back then. This game takes the very limited item system from the first game (which let you throw rocks and grenades), and creates an entire crafting system. It works fine I suppose, but was that really the part of Oddworld people wanted more of? Ironically Exoddus did a better job at expanding the Oddworld mechanics by focusing on its signature mechanic - possession - increasing the amount of enemies you could take control of. In the original it was just Sligs, but Exoddus allowed taking control of Paramite's, Scrabs (both of which aren't even in this game!) and even Glukkon's, which you can't do in this game as it goes back to just being taking control of Sligs.
I guess the best new mechanic here is the ability to tie up and pickpocket Sligs. Instead of just having them automatically explode to kill them after you're done possessing them, it's nice to have a choice to instead spare them in order to gain extra resources. Even that is flawed though because tying up a Slig requires tape. You can pickpocket a Slig without tying them up if you lack tape, but for some reason if you have tape you NEED to tie them up before you steal from them. If it isn't a requirement in the first place, why not let me just pickpocket them and save my tape? I guess it's because the game realised the way to abuse easily getting the extra resources by knocking the Slig out, stealing from them, and then re-possessing them and just killing them. But if you need to do something that makes no sense in order to fix a system that you created that is broken, maybe have a look at the broken system you created instead...
And that's the weirdest part of this game to me. You'd think a game that took, what, 5 years to develop that was specifically trying to re-do a game they initially had to compensate on due to time issues, would be massive in scope. Instead it seems to strip all the improvements they had already made in Exoddus and went back to Oddysee as its base and said "The only thing we need is more items, and way more fast-paced action sequences".
They focused far too much on making the game more typical action that it lost all its charm and even a lot of its identity around stealth. To make matters worse, the aiming can make the action sequences a pain in the ass for the tight time limits you have in some sections, as you control Sligs and have to mow down other sligs before they reach Abe, who is standing in the open, but you aim with your right stick and bullets just fly everywhere because trying to steady an aim at small, moving, flying targets is hard.
Speaking of controls, I think where the game is at its worst is trying to get up and down ledges properly. Oddworld's always been a VERY timing sensitive game, and the OG games worked amazingly with it due to being on a very tight system where you could tell exactly where you'd end up after every jump, and hitting ledges is easy. Now it all feels very loose, and half the time I'd jump at a ledge, and Abe would touch it but not grab on. Or I'd want to drop down, but when I tried, Abe would instead grab a ledge and hoist himself up it - straight into view of a Slig that would kill me. The controls just constantly fought me in this game and it's the exact worst game for that kind of thing to happen.
I guess the place the team benefited the most from waiting till 2021 to unleash their "true vision" of Abe's Exoddus was the graphics. Cutscenes look fantastic, and levels contain so many dynamic camera angles (albiet sometimes at the cost of good depth perception. If I'm trying to time jumps to avoid a swinging object I'd like to look at the object straight on please, not from an awkward angle).
Abe's voice acting felt significantly worse here than ever before. I could tell in New n Tasty that things were off comparing the lines to the original, but now he just feels so monotone in everything he says.
The game does have quite a few bugs as of the time of writing. Nothing game-breaking, or even level-breaking, but I lost a few lives or was forced to reset checkpoints due to bugs, such as falling through the floor.
I found the game to vary quite a lot from being great, being terrible and being okay but flawed. The change in focus from stealth and rescuing small groups of Mudokon's at a time, to rapid action pieces that involve you trying to protect literally hundreds of Mudokon's at once was jarring. There is still a lot of the former in here, but that just causes a clash of how important, or lack thereof, a single Mudokon feels now. Also speaking of saving Mudokon's, they often lag behind you in ways that makes trying to time hiding them in lockers or smoke INCREDIBLY painful. I swear the original games had them follow Abe by just a second or less, but now you can hide in a locker and your friends will scramble about for 5 seconds until they get spotted and shot.
After getting past the initial difficulty wall, I did enjoy my time with the game overall, but damn if it didn't piss me off a lot. So many small things that added up, like why put the checkpoint BEFORE the valve that opens the next area? It just means every time I die I waste an extra 10 seconds opening the door again and again.
It's really in terms of game mechanics that you can see how they may have had to compensate way back then. This game takes the very limited item system from the first game (which let you throw rocks and grenades), and creates an entire crafting system. It works fine I suppose, but was that really the part of Oddworld people wanted more of? Ironically Exoddus did a better job at expanding the Oddworld mechanics by focusing on its signature mechanic - possession - increasing the amount of enemies you could take control of. In the original it was just Sligs, but Exoddus allowed taking control of Paramite's, Scrabs (both of which aren't even in this game!) and even Glukkon's, which you can't do in this game as it goes back to just being taking control of Sligs.
I guess the best new mechanic here is the ability to tie up and pickpocket Sligs. Instead of just having them automatically explode to kill them after you're done possessing them, it's nice to have a choice to instead spare them in order to gain extra resources. Even that is flawed though because tying up a Slig requires tape. You can pickpocket a Slig without tying them up if you lack tape, but for some reason if you have tape you NEED to tie them up before you steal from them. If it isn't a requirement in the first place, why not let me just pickpocket them and save my tape? I guess it's because the game realised the way to abuse easily getting the extra resources by knocking the Slig out, stealing from them, and then re-possessing them and just killing them. But if you need to do something that makes no sense in order to fix a system that you created that is broken, maybe have a look at the broken system you created instead...
And that's the weirdest part of this game to me. You'd think a game that took, what, 5 years to develop that was specifically trying to re-do a game they initially had to compensate on due to time issues, would be massive in scope. Instead it seems to strip all the improvements they had already made in Exoddus and went back to Oddysee as its base and said "The only thing we need is more items, and way more fast-paced action sequences".
They focused far too much on making the game more typical action that it lost all its charm and even a lot of its identity around stealth. To make matters worse, the aiming can make the action sequences a pain in the ass for the tight time limits you have in some sections, as you control Sligs and have to mow down other sligs before they reach Abe, who is standing in the open, but you aim with your right stick and bullets just fly everywhere because trying to steady an aim at small, moving, flying targets is hard.
Speaking of controls, I think where the game is at its worst is trying to get up and down ledges properly. Oddworld's always been a VERY timing sensitive game, and the OG games worked amazingly with it due to being on a very tight system where you could tell exactly where you'd end up after every jump, and hitting ledges is easy. Now it all feels very loose, and half the time I'd jump at a ledge, and Abe would touch it but not grab on. Or I'd want to drop down, but when I tried, Abe would instead grab a ledge and hoist himself up it - straight into view of a Slig that would kill me. The controls just constantly fought me in this game and it's the exact worst game for that kind of thing to happen.
I guess the place the team benefited the most from waiting till 2021 to unleash their "true vision" of Abe's Exoddus was the graphics. Cutscenes look fantastic, and levels contain so many dynamic camera angles (albiet sometimes at the cost of good depth perception. If I'm trying to time jumps to avoid a swinging object I'd like to look at the object straight on please, not from an awkward angle).
Abe's voice acting felt significantly worse here than ever before. I could tell in New n Tasty that things were off comparing the lines to the original, but now he just feels so monotone in everything he says.
The game does have quite a few bugs as of the time of writing. Nothing game-breaking, or even level-breaking, but I lost a few lives or was forced to reset checkpoints due to bugs, such as falling through the floor.
I found the game to vary quite a lot from being great, being terrible and being okay but flawed. The change in focus from stealth and rescuing small groups of Mudokon's at a time, to rapid action pieces that involve you trying to protect literally hundreds of Mudokon's at once was jarring. There is still a lot of the former in here, but that just causes a clash of how important, or lack thereof, a single Mudokon feels now. Also speaking of saving Mudokon's, they often lag behind you in ways that makes trying to time hiding them in lockers or smoke INCREDIBLY painful. I swear the original games had them follow Abe by just a second or less, but now you can hide in a locker and your friends will scramble about for 5 seconds until they get spotted and shot.
After getting past the initial difficulty wall, I did enjoy my time with the game overall, but damn if it didn't piss me off a lot. So many small things that added up, like why put the checkpoint BEFORE the valve that opens the next area? It just means every time I die I waste an extra 10 seconds opening the door again and again.
It Takes Two
2021
Vaya maravilla, buah. El mejor juego cooperativo que he jugado.
Este juego dura 14 horas y se las pasa introduciendo mécanicas completamente nuevas y pulidísimas cada dos horas que vienen a reemplazar las anteriores. ¡Y no hay ninguna que no sea divertda y super bien aprovechada! Es una verdadera clase maestra de diseño, lleno de secuencias inolvidables y con creatividad para parar un tren.
Lo único irregular acaba siendo la historia, que aunque se centra en dos personajes que me han caído mejor de lo que esperaba, tira por clichés un poco cuestionables. Pero es que acaba siendo lo de menos comparado con el nivelazo de todo lo demás.
De los mejores juegos del año, no tengo ninguna duda.
Este juego dura 14 horas y se las pasa introduciendo mécanicas completamente nuevas y pulidísimas cada dos horas que vienen a reemplazar las anteriores. ¡Y no hay ninguna que no sea divertda y super bien aprovechada! Es una verdadera clase maestra de diseño, lleno de secuencias inolvidables y con creatividad para parar un tren.
Lo único irregular acaba siendo la historia, que aunque se centra en dos personajes que me han caído mejor de lo que esperaba, tira por clichés un poco cuestionables. Pero es que acaba siendo lo de menos comparado con el nivelazo de todo lo demás.
De los mejores juegos del año, no tengo ninguna duda.
The Wolf Among Us
2013
Uno de mis mayores pendientes desde hace años, víctima de la maldición de jugarse la primera entrega de un juego episódico nada más salir y luego nunca llegar a las demás.
Y sí, se merece su reputación como de lo mejorcito de Telltale junto a la primera temporada de TWD. El universo de Fábulas es riquísimo y lo aprovechan para contar un murder mystery que engancha muchísimo (aunque la resolución deja algo que desear y el final abierto es un poco brusco y confuso), con unos personajes que me han gustado mucho y un apartado visual apabullante.
Lo que me ha resultado curioso es que este juego sea tan popular siendo especialmente culpable de una de las cosas que más se le criticarían a juegos posteriores de Telltale: las decisiones cuentan poco y sirven más para caracterizar a tu Bigsby que otra cosa. Supongo que es una historia tan potente y que salió lo suficientemente temprano en la lanzada de juegos de Telltale post-TWD para que se le perdonara esto, y tampoco me lo voy a quejar, se lo merece.
Y sí, se merece su reputación como de lo mejorcito de Telltale junto a la primera temporada de TWD. El universo de Fábulas es riquísimo y lo aprovechan para contar un murder mystery que engancha muchísimo (aunque la resolución deja algo que desear y el final abierto es un poco brusco y confuso), con unos personajes que me han gustado mucho y un apartado visual apabullante.
Lo que me ha resultado curioso es que este juego sea tan popular siendo especialmente culpable de una de las cosas que más se le criticarían a juegos posteriores de Telltale: las decisiones cuentan poco y sirven más para caracterizar a tu Bigsby que otra cosa. Supongo que es una historia tan potente y que salió lo suficientemente temprano en la lanzada de juegos de Telltale post-TWD para que se le perdonara esto, y tampoco me lo voy a quejar, se lo merece.
Uf.
Lo recordaba como el más flojito pero aún así como un juego mejor que el primero porque ya se hizo tras encontrar la fórmula ganadora en el segundo pero... No, creo que es el que menos me gusta.
Es un absoluto desastre como está construido este juego. Se nota que solo tenían ideas de set-pieces que querían colar (la mansión en llamas, el barco hundiéndose, el avión y el desierto) y que intentaron improviser la trama entorno a ello, con resultados horribles. Es el único de la saga que tiene una historia que grita a este punto "historia cutre de videojuego". La mitad del tiempo no entendemos qué buscan los protagonistas, cómo han llegado dónde están, sus motivaciones...
Y si le añadimos que aquí ABUSAN con los tiroteos, la cantidad de enemigos que hay en cada uno, y que Drake es mucho más incómodo de controlar que en el segundo...
No esperaba que se me cayera tanto pero aquí estamos. Muchas ganas de cuanto toque el 4 para quitarme el mal sabor de boca.
Lo recordaba como el más flojito pero aún así como un juego mejor que el primero porque ya se hizo tras encontrar la fórmula ganadora en el segundo pero... No, creo que es el que menos me gusta.
Es un absoluto desastre como está construido este juego. Se nota que solo tenían ideas de set-pieces que querían colar (la mansión en llamas, el barco hundiéndose, el avión y el desierto) y que intentaron improviser la trama entorno a ello, con resultados horribles. Es el único de la saga que tiene una historia que grita a este punto "historia cutre de videojuego". La mitad del tiempo no entendemos qué buscan los protagonistas, cómo han llegado dónde están, sus motivaciones...
Y si le añadimos que aquí ABUSAN con los tiroteos, la cantidad de enemigos que hay en cada uno, y que Drake es mucho más incómodo de controlar que en el segundo...
No esperaba que se me cayera tanto pero aquí estamos. Muchas ganas de cuanto toque el 4 para quitarme el mal sabor de boca.
Lo empecé un poco pensando que iba a volver a jugar un par de horas para ver qué tal el cambio gráfico y he acabado sacando el platino una segunda vez, creo que eso lo dice todo.
Es un juego que tiene aspectos claramente (y fácilmente) mejorables y que de hecho Insomniac ya implementó mucho mejor en Miles Morales: las misiones secundarias pecan de simples para un juego de 2018, hay demasiados objetivos terciarios reptitivos en la ciudad para lo simples que son, hay alguna set-piece memorable pero se nota el potencial para mucho más y están demsiado espaciadas...
Pero al final nada de eso importa porque es que es un juego triple A de primera línea de uno de mis personajes de ficción favoritos que lo entiende a la perfección, tiene la ambición de ser una adaptación definitiva y memorable de su universo con todo lo que ello conlleva, y además elige contar el mejor origen que he visto para mi villano favorito.
Es increíble lo bien que clavan a Peter y a su entorno, siempre proponiendo su propia versión de cada elemento pero sientiéndose muy genuino en todo momento. Y aunque la trama tiene problemas de ritmo y el cambio de foco de Mister Negativo a Octopus es algo bruco, el climáx es un melocotonazo tras otro que rezuma puro Spider-Man hasta tal punto que me he quedado tan encantado con la historia como la primera vez.
Y todo esto sin hablar de que tiene un sistema de desplazamiento y de combate tan perfectamente ejecutados y que transmiten tan bien las sensaciones que uno se esperaría controlando a Spidey que es muy fácil perdonarle todo lo que he dicho de las actitivdades secundarias.
Es un juego en el que podría quedarme a vivir de lo a gusto que estoy y no dudo que lo volveré a rejugar.
Es un juego que tiene aspectos claramente (y fácilmente) mejorables y que de hecho Insomniac ya implementó mucho mejor en Miles Morales: las misiones secundarias pecan de simples para un juego de 2018, hay demasiados objetivos terciarios reptitivos en la ciudad para lo simples que son, hay alguna set-piece memorable pero se nota el potencial para mucho más y están demsiado espaciadas...
Pero al final nada de eso importa porque es que es un juego triple A de primera línea de uno de mis personajes de ficción favoritos que lo entiende a la perfección, tiene la ambición de ser una adaptación definitiva y memorable de su universo con todo lo que ello conlleva, y además elige contar el mejor origen que he visto para mi villano favorito.
Es increíble lo bien que clavan a Peter y a su entorno, siempre proponiendo su propia versión de cada elemento pero sientiéndose muy genuino en todo momento. Y aunque la trama tiene problemas de ritmo y el cambio de foco de Mister Negativo a Octopus es algo bruco, el climáx es un melocotonazo tras otro que rezuma puro Spider-Man hasta tal punto que me he quedado tan encantado con la historia como la primera vez.
Y todo esto sin hablar de que tiene un sistema de desplazamiento y de combate tan perfectamente ejecutados y que transmiten tan bien las sensaciones que uno se esperaría controlando a Spidey que es muy fácil perdonarle todo lo que he dicho de las actitivdades secundarias.
Es un juego en el que podría quedarme a vivir de lo a gusto que estoy y no dudo que lo volveré a rejugar.