Hey, mrkgnao is asking about the library ID for this. Guessing you'd know?

(Incoming semi-"political" rant...though it is NOT the main focus. Also spoilers as well for plot/reveals/etc)

Modern Warfare 2(360)

The good: The fighting was good(if on rails a bit much), and the cutscenes(like the ISS one and some others) were nice. I also liked some of the music.

The bad: The game is short(compared to the first and minus the optional co-op extra maps). The game has no after credits map like the first.

Very bad(imo): The whole game seemed subtley then not so subtley against patriotism or nationalism(of any kind)....with quotes between dying/reloading(in SP) being mainly "Patriotism/nationalism bad/a disease" and "Globalism/One World Gov't/etc GOOD". The game itself also showed two extremely bad caricatures(strawmen?) of "bad" patriotism with the russian leader and evil american army general respectively.

All in all it seemed to be trying hard to push a message.

Misc observations: There is a trigger warning for the "famed" no russian level/map.....and in this case I can see why. You shoot(or choose not to for as long as you can) innocent people to prove the game's message and for some it might be best to skip it.

I played it and avoided shooting civvies yet had to shoot the police to advance and to me it still was a bit "wrong"...yet the message it seemed to be pushing by putting it in the game(even if optional) was worse than it being made at all/on such subjects. It wasn't just shock and gore for the sake of shock value and to sell copies, but to push the "patriotism can lead to this sort of stuff happening" message.

Conclusion: The game was fun is with a forced message and short gameplay length...worth buying used for 10 bucks or less if one is into such genre/series & knows when one is being preached to and can avoid being duped by such.

Glass Masquerade 2

Take this with a grain of salt, since I went in with very high expectations, but ... I was a bit let down compared to the original.

The jigsaw aspect of the game is still excellent, and the music is solid.

But I really wasn't a fan of the weird dark fantasy / occult theme, and while I had found the premise of unlocking a mystery intriguing as you play through the game, in practice it falls pretty flat.

The first is a problem for a few reasons: 1) dark fantasy is pretty overdone, 2) the images weren't just (trying to be) creepy, but they were definitely clunky, 3) while I can see wanting to stretch their artistic wings, meh. It just doesn't work.

The second is a problem because 4) All you're really doing is unlocking new puzzles. Calling it a "mystery" doesn't make it one. 5) Most of the text accompanying the puzzles was muddled at best and complete nonsense at worst.

For example, there was one bit of text about something like approaching life like walking on ice - with big long strides. I mean, it's a terrible metaphor, but it's also completely wrong. I dunno, maybe they meant it ironically, but after the first 8 or so puzzles I just stopped reading the text as it actually detracted from the game. Perhaps they just needed to sack the people responsible for the subtitles, Python-style.

Will I almost certainly buy their next game? Yeah. Do I hope they pivot back to their strengths (Which is making interesting, quixotic stained glass puzzle art) and abandon the trendy "oooooh, scary madness dark stuff!"?

And I'm not even scared of spooky evil clowns, but it was played out 20 year ago. And also meant I had to be careful about playing when my young child came in the room, because they are scared of evil clowns.

TLDR: It's fine, but the concept falls flat. I would replay the first game a zillion times by myself, and would also play it more with my child. The second game...makes me hope they chart a different course for the 3rd game.

Eventide: Slavic Fable

An Artifex Mundi HOG. Pretty and serviceable, but not one of their best.

May I know which one you like the most? Just curious.

Clockwork Tales: Of Glass and Ink is my personal favorite of the ones I've played, though quite likely because of the story/theme rather than the gameplay.

Interesting. For me Clockwork was a bit disappointing. But it's true that settings makes the difference. That's the reason I'd say Nightmares from the Deep was one of my favorites. Also Grim Legends (in this case, AFAIR, there are also some improvements and new types of puzzles, especially in newer titles in the series).

All in all - it'd be nice to see more Artifex Mundi games here, on GOG.

Is Grim Legends the one with the dwarf/gnome doing all the bad stuff? I love those.

It starts with kidnapping bride. I don't remember who was fault ;) I don't pay much attention to story in these games.

Wrong series then...I am thinking of the one with the gnome/dwarf called SG or some such....it is pretty decent imo.

Also Love Chronicles has a good first game and so so other games.

I also liked the silliness of Mortimer Beckett.

Dead Space: loved it. Got stuck at one point (giant asteroid) and left the game for years because I refuse to cheat at these things. Still, it was a very good game with a nice final boss.

Dead Space 2. More of the same really but that's no bad thing. Isaac must be the toughest son of a bitch in all of games considering what he manged to survive. The game contains one of the all time great first levels, another nice but frustrating end boss and a bloody terrifying 'eye' sequence (you'll know it when you get it). However, it also contained one of those stupid unkillable creatures just like the first game had (so what's the point in constantly fighting it?).

Hellblade. I was unconvinced for a time and got stuck on more than one occasion but, in the end, it was kinda mind-blowing. I like the runs-solving riddles but disliked that it almost told you where they were, when I'd rather figure it out myself.

That atmosphere though, the acting, the voices, those effects and .. [SPOILERS] one of the best depictions of hell that I've ever encountered. [END SPOILERS]

Mad Max. A bit repetitive, sure, but bloody great graphics and massive areas to explore. Nice car chases and combat, few secrets here and there and some funny characters. Really captured the feel of the films and I recommend it to all Max/Arkham fans

Shadow Warrior 2. The worst script and dialogue that I have ever heard in a game (more childish than Borderlands 2). But also the most beautiful game I've ever seen. Tons of combat, guns, satisfying violence and everything else. Took me a while to get into it because it's not focused like the first one. Still, real nice FPS.

You fight it to make it slow a bit so you can get away from it or do things in the area until it regens a bit.

As for the second game: If you don't mind spending a buck or two during a sale and replaying DS2 you can get into the conduit rooms if you play the side game for DS2(Ignition I think) and saving the first tiem after the first puzzle.

Also DS3 is a bit crap with a few regards(co-op only areas for the SP portion, but only a few....and slightly generic guns with resources needed to build/buy them) BUT the story/characters(including the big bad villain)/cutscenes are pretty wicked.

Also wicked is the DLC(I heartily recommend it as it wraps up the plot a bit more and cranks it up to 11 with a new reveal).....be warned, though, that it ends in a cliffhanger and no DS4 seems on the horizon. :\

Valkyria Chronicles 4 (XB1X)

It's very much like the first one, which is a good thing to me. This time you are in charge of a squad of Federation soldiers of Gallian descent. The events actually occur at the same time as the first game, just in a different theatre of the conflict for Europa.

The artwork and gameplay are almost identical, just this time everything is in higher resolution as opposed to the older game where the cutscenes and text are all PS3 assets. So it's looks the same but sharper and cleaner. After finishing the first game recently this game required almost no learning at all, in fact it was so familiar that the tutorial sections early on were a pain in the ass since it was telling me nothing I didn't know. Well there was a new character class- the Grenadier (they use mortars for indirect fire), plus an APC that can carry some soldiers across the battlefield. But overall it's the same turn based style of tactical combat as before, anyone that liked number one will like this.

I liked the characters better in the first game, but preferred the story in this one. Some of the secondary squad members this time were great fun though- my favourite was Vancey, who went into battle totally sloshed and had abilities like "drunken stagger". In the end it all balanced out and I's say both games are pretty equal efforts, though anyone wanting to try the series may as well start with the first game- it's cheaper.

The new class and the APC actually do change up the tactics, making speed and aggressive tactics even more the order of the day. Speed is still the main measuring stick to getting A ranks in battles, but you don't need to play that way if you don't care about ratings, though I felt getting A ranks was much easier this time- in 29 story missions, 10 skirmish missions, 9 post game hard skirmish missions, another 3 extra hard skirmish missions, I got A ranks on all but 2 missions.

Great games with quite a unique turn based style of gameplay. It took about 55 hours to pretty much complete the story and all post game stuff. I may even have to try my hand at emulating the PSP so that I can play parts 2 and 3 sometime. Part 3 is more of a problem as it was never released outside Japan, though some fans have translated it.

F.E.A.R (PS3)

F.E.A.R is more or less a standard FPS with some horror elements. The big selling point for this game is the AI, being one of the most advanced at the time for a FPS and still pretty good compared to games nowadays. The story centres on an attack on a weapons research facility by a psychic commander leading an army of 1000 psychically controlled super soldiers, equipped with advanced weaponry. The game also features a slow mo power, which you have to use often in order to survive, similar to Max Payne. Also like Max Payne there are multiple hallucination segments while a child screams constantly. You are part of a squad sent in to stop them, however following an ambush you are the only survivor, and for some reason you are not pulled out or given reinforcements, you're just told to go and deal with the 1000 super soldiers by yourself. The story isn't great, more along the lines of a cheap horror film, a low volume for dialogue from allies compared with the volume of enemies also means often struggling to hear what's being said, a lack of subtitles exacerbates the situation. At times it seems more like a showcase of the Advanced AI and the physics engine, both of which are spectacular and manages to save it for me. The horror elements are barely scary, and I regard myself as a coward. The fact the game slows down immediately before a jumpscare (Unsure if this is planned or a framerate issue) means you are immediately prepared. Horror in this game is mostly defined as watching someone walk away from you slowly then disappearing behind a wall, an occasional flickering HUD and putting blood everywhere.

While it wasn't a bad game, several sections drag on too long, certain sections are borderline unfair and could screw someone who didn't have enough health packs and ammo, whilst the ending was rushed and then left on a cliffhanger. Endings tend to leave a final impression on me, and the last 2 levels were awful from a gameplay and story point of view. However for those who appreciate a more challenging FPS, or those who'd like to play a Max Payne style game, I would recommend this.