Great, almost perfect, but I felt the second half of the game was noticeably weaker and the story wasn't as compelling as the original. The end of the game just felt phoned in, like they didn't really know what to do with it. Which is a shame, because the set-up and first half is genuinely fantastic. You only get a taste of Raccoon City mid outbreak, but it's incredible to see. Exploring the police station is eventful and feels like figuring out one big puzzle. The game is obviously showing some age in terms of resolution, but the art direction is phenomenal and the game still (IMO) looks amazing as a result. The choice of colours, and the design aesthetic of everything is just so.. distinct and striking. It's hard to explain, it's just gorgeous. I really enjoyed how crisp and satisfying combat felt, the animations are still great, the sounds crunchy, headshots never get old. Though I felt the faster and/or tougher enemies were more of a resource trade, you can't really dodge them or manouver around them, so they weren't as fun as zombies to me. I liked trying to avoid zombies, trying to break a group down while repositioning, the way they can play dead or be dismembered. I've only gone through Leon A in full, so maybe Claire B will change my mind on the story but. As a whole, I can see why people loved this game, it's great, recommend picking it up and getting through it. I struggled to put it down most of the time..
It's a Star Wars reskin of Age of Empires II, with a few things thrown in. Akin to a total conversion mod, albeit one that focuses mainly on the visual/audio side and adds very little in terms of gameplay to make it stand out. Age of Empires II is a classic RTS so if you like it and Star Wars you're in for a good time here, just don't expect something all that different gameplay wise. It's not Command & Conquer or StarCraft, you're not getting different styles of play with each faction. They're all the same, bar visuals, and the odd unique unit. Just like Age of Empires, it's really just the visual appearance of your structures and units that changes. And like that game, you are quite limited in strategy, since the only units that can really demolish buildings at a usable pace are Artillery (Trebuchets) and you only get them in Tech Tier 3 (Age 3) so it's a race to that tier and a race to siege weapons. Did I mention, it's literally Age of Empires II lol
I play a lot of old FPS, I love that era of gaming. Allied Assault is.. okay.. but it's not worth picking up if you're not nostalgic for it (i.e, grew up playing it). You can understand why genre fatigue was reaching critical mass at this point. Without the seamless narrative of a game like Half-Life, the combat sandbox of Halo, or the outlandish fiction of Return to Castle Wolfenstein (all games that released before this) you're left with a very dry WWII game just seemingly going through the motions. It's a very simple run-and-gun shooter with often frustrating level design that relies too heavily on sucker punches. Constant machine gun nests, respawning enemies, snipers hidden in bushes, and in general an enemy AI that fires at you before they've finished rotating to face you. It's not terrible, it can still be fun, but this isn't a must-play despite what many people who grew up with it will tell you. I picked it up on sale (75% off) and I'd say that's really the price you should pay for this these days.
SWAT4 is an excellent, distinctly unique game rich with atmosphere and environmental storytelling. Everything is grounded, plausible, almost familiar. It's laser focused on what it wants to be, but has enough concessions to keep it enjoyable as a fun video game. What sets SWAT4 aside from nearly every other game is it's focus on de-escalation, and avoiding violence. A good mission in SWAT4 is one where barely any shots were fired, and you brought most if not all of the perps in alive to have their day in court. Tear gas, stingers, tasers, pepper balls you name it. You have the tools, and the game actively hands out a higher grade for restrained use of force. A lot of the characters are presented like.. well, people first, and enemies second, so you feel kinda vindicated when you go out of your way to pacify rather than harm them. Arresting a failed bank robber, and hearing him say "I knew this was a bad plan", it reminds you these are people. Not great people, but people still. Missions are a perfect length to match fatigue; they end roughly around when you need a mental break, as the game requires a lot of concentration and rapid decision making. There's enough variety to keep it interesting, and slowly escalate -- but never into the ridiculous. My only complaint, honestly, is that the otherwise stellar AI can be a little frustrating at times. Suspects are lightning fast on the draw, and often you don't have enough time to clock that they're not dropping the weapon before they've shot you. You're penalised for shooting before they've had a chance to surrender, so it can get frustrating. The team AI can often get wiped out for being too slow to react, or being blind, but it's less frequent then would be problematic. A few rough edges I wish they'd ironed out, but the overall package is a classic. I wish there were more games like this, it's really sad that the only one in nearly two decades is Ready or Not, which is still in development as of writing.
