Expendable

The atmosphere is pretty good, as is the general aesthetic of the game and it's clear from the start that the game doesn't take itself too seriously and the opening cutscene is just a simple origin for your character and nothing more. That said, the screenshots make the good look fun, and it could have been, but the controls are god awful. I thought using a controller would fix this issue, but it worsened it, because it added slowness and input delay to the already confusing and poorly assembled control scheme.

I got this game on sale recently, and I was looking forward to trying a twin-stick shooter. It's been a long time since I played one, and Expendable looked like a great game at first. Unfortunately, the controls aren't the issue I've encountered with this game, as even the game will sometime suffer from severe frame drops which makes the game unplayable. This is ridiculous because this is a potato game. Still, I didn't expect much for the 0.98 USD price I paid for the game.

Pretty simple, but very fun game from Rage Software, creators of the INCOMING. INCOMING got its fame thanks to how it was a nice demo for 3dfx technology and back in 1999 Expendable was Rage's next big thing. What can I say here? It looks great and it also keeps the fun part. I mean, INCOMING was pretty simple experience, but that was exactly why it was so much fun. It didn't want you to think. It wanted you to shoot things and have fun. Expendable tries to achieve the same. Aside from collecting various keys, it's just you and those evil baddies who were stupid enough to stay on your way. No major plot (the entire story here is that you're a cloned trooper and should go kill aliens for life), no complicated levels, nothing like that. Just you and arcade-like fun (the game is heavily inspired by arcades, so, if you like such stuff, stop reading this review and go buy the game). Yes, it's kind of dull. Yes, it's kind of short (the game has only 17 short levels). But... it's fun. And that's the most important thing, right? Unfortunately, the game has its share of problems. Aiming sucks, level design can be pretty confusing with no reason whatsoever (even though levels are simple, they can still confuse you here and there), while balance is all over the place (the game becomes MUCH easier in co-op mode). All that ruins the game a bit and personally, I think that INCOMING was more fun than Expendable. My biggest problem here, though, is the fact that there's a better version of the game. I'm talking, of course, about PlayStation release. Sure, it didn't look as cool as PC and DreamCast versions. But it had DualShock support (which means rumble feature) and... it had deathmatch mode. Pretty basic... but extremely addictive. This version? Just co-op. Which is really sad. So... yeah. Do I recommend Expendable? Sure. Even for the full price it's totally worth it. It's fun. Really fun. But it's far from being perfectly polished and there's a better version to play. Dixi.

This type of game is not typical of the GOG library, being a bit (okay, a LOT) more mindless than most other GOG offerings. Therefore, make no mistake that this is an arcade-style shoot-em-up in the vein of the "Ikari Warriors" or "Gaultlet Legacy" arcade games you used to pump quarters into back in the day. The object is pretty simple: blast the bad guys, pick up power-ups, and proceed to the end of the level, and face off with a few "bosses" along the way. The graphics are serviceably great, holding up very well considering the game's age. This game would look right at home on the Playstation 2 or similar console. The 3D third-person perspective works, and I have yet to run into any major camera-positioning issues. The real problem with this game is the controls. Your character has separate controls for moving and shooting (and even strafing). You can move in one direction while firing in another, making the controls a bit hard to adjust to at first. The best solution is to have a dual-analog (or digital) joystick controller with several buttons. Playing by keyboard is very difficult. Overall, though, for the price GOG is asking, this is well worth the price for the amount of arcade-style fun you'll have with "The Expendables." Face it, if this was an actual coin-op machine, you'd have probably pumped more coins into this one than you'll spend downloading the GOG version!

NOT RECOMMENDED. A hastily put together, messed 3D Robotron / Smash TV -like with everything feeling painful. The shooting is guessing whether you hit or not, aiming with a keyboard is not precise enough and aiming with mouse makes it harder to shoot. All in all, you get a carpal tunnel syndrome in record time trying to shoot, strafe and aim (meaning you have to focus on at least three control buttons at all times, causing the carpal tunnel). It's mentally painful as it has no stimulating content, just objects to shoot at. The lack of genuine content and 3D functionality, lowers the game functionally to the level of Asteroids (1979), a primitive arcade game with a similar control scheme. Even if the controls were improved, the content is ZERO, making the title extremely forgettable and not worth any time investment. This is disappointing. Try Hostile Waters: Antaeus Rising instead if you are looking for a GOOD Rage game. This one's barely on a low-end PS1 level of quality. For a 1999 title, that is pretty bad. Graphics do not a game make.