UnderRail

The Merchant Guild approves.

Just finished. Apparently I spent 175 hours in this including expedtion! I think I spent like $20 for the pair. Good value for sure. I remember my first impression was that it was just OK. I after nearing the end of everything I could do around South Gate Station before the train was unblocked I figured the game was almost over. It felt like it was a mediocre experience fighting some rathounds and slightly more interesting in Junkyard. I still felt that classic Fallout/Fallout 2 were a little more fun, and something was kind of missing. Then I realized that yes those rocks around the caves can actually be breached. Then I found all kinds of hidden areas I hadn't seen before. I hand't seen the entrance into foundry and though that the one area at the front was it. I had completely missed rail crossing location. Then I got to core city and there was such a massive amount of content there there was much more diverse and interesting than previous stages. Then having the side quest with "Dude" was epic and hysterically funny and at that point I began to love the game. By this time I considered this game superior to classic fallout games that are some of my favourites of all time. Then I started into Expedition expansion and it adds a pretty massive amount of areas and quests (including aforementioned "Dude"), and blown away by just how massive this game is, and each stage keeps introducing new and interesting elements. Frustrations? For sure. There are a number of situations where game balance just doesn't seem fair or features seem introduced merely to annoy you. However, the solution is almost always to just go away and do other quests until you are high enough level. By late game, you will feel much more in control. I did a stealth sniper with psionic (metathermics), and not much else mattered. Aimed Shot/Snipe/Stealth, combined with frozen psi ability could manage most combat challenges.

Addicting! Time Consuming! Frustrating! A GRAND DELIGHT! I like games that are a challenge...admit I was frustrated at not being able to readily find game cheats but it made me play smarter. Yes, I saved--a lot! I almost quit--a lot! But I keep coming back, keep playing, keep finding new areas to explore (I still haven't figured out how to finish the Foundry quest!) The 'Expedition' game is on my wish list...but I have to figure out how to survive in the Deep Caverns. I've died so many times, so quickly, that I went back and started a new character...and found new areas where there were none before. This game will remain on my playable list for a very, very long time.

While I love this game as much as the next person, there are some glaring issues that crop up. Chiefly, the biggest problem is that you'll be going at this alone the whole way; there is no party system in the game, making some sections INSANELY difficult when they really shouldn't be (seriously, I'm being killed by STRAY DOGS over here?!), and restricting how much you can carry (which is half the fun in games like this -- unloading a ton of shit onto a hapless shopkeeper after a good long dungeon run). As well, it feels like there are way too many skills used exclusively (or mostly) for crafting things; this could have been circumvented with party members that had crafting skills of their own, but again, no party system was implemented AFAIK. I'm not asking for the world here, just a buddy or two. Even the Fallout games had that much. On the technical side, you cannot move the camera around, meaning that if something is around a corner you'll never see it until you step over it or it comes after you. Also, the mines in this game are SO overpowered; most games are forgiving in at least giving you a few chances for stepping onto explosive traps, but in this game they pretty much obliterate your poor soul if you aren't a walking tank (maybe even then as well). And spotting them apparently takes an eagle eye (which I guess is realistic, outside at least), because you have to be practically on top of them or invest everything into your perception to see them from more than a few feet away. Speaking of traps, the bear trap and net are completely useless. Have the devs ever SEEN a real bear trap?! Those things can snap leg bones and cripple people when they go off, but in here they just take a few health off and hold you in place. And the net misses so often it might as well just be a bed sheet. Overall I do like this game for what it is -- someone's first commercial game -- but there are a lot of glaring issues that really show the amateur hour production.

I played this ages ago on an old panasonic toughbook CF19, before expedition was released. I loved it and got quite along way into it. It was about as close as i could hope to get to the likes of fallout 1/2, but with a lot of improvements. Fast forward to more recent times and i've re-installed it on a 51M with the expedition expansion added. I haven't got that far, but in the short time i've been back i've noticed various changes and improvements to the whole thing. The UI has been improved, a fair number of new things have been added that enhance the game, and the whole thing feels somehow more balanced and fluid than those earlier days of playing it. The devs clearly cared about what they were doing with this one, and i look forward to reaching the point where expedition opens up. The graphics and sound are decent for the genre. Once you move past the opening phase of the game and the first few missions that let you get a feel for the whole thing, the world branches out into a massive network of locatons and secrets. It rewards the strategic use of items and weapons in combat, where a seemingly impossible encounter will reveal itself to be quite easily beaten with a bit of thought beyond just trying to pile on the rounds with the biggest gun. Bring on underrail infusion. On the strength of this and the expedition pack i'm about to get to know, i can't wait for infusion to arrive. I'll definitely be be picking it up on release when it does. Props to the devs for puttign in the work on these games. From an old dog like me, it's very much appreciated :) If you love old school isometric in the style of FA1/2, then you'll pretty much guaranteed to enjoy this. Both the main game and the expansion at full price are a steal for the amount of game you get. On sale it's a no brainer to snap them up.