The worst voice acting I ever heard in a game was in some fan-made Star Wars mod. The second worst voice acting I ever heard in a game is AquaNox. It's not all bad, granted - some characters sound okay. Most of them, though, are just reading their lines with no emotion to speak of, sometimes interrupted by equally emotionless laughter. After a while (say, half a minute) it really gets on your nerves, ha, ha, ha. The writing of the dialogues is equally horrendous. No one ever talks like this, thank goodness. The intro is possibly the worst offender - the main character talks and talks (possibly explaining what happened in the first game), and it sounds like he's reading a shopping list. Forever. And then you get to float around and shoot stuff. Fascinating. Caveat emptor.
I've loved this game for decades, and I still do. Is it perfect? Goodness, no. The only game in the series that was released only with EGA graphics (there's a fan VGA remake, which is freely distributed and well worth playing), the character import glitch that you need to find the patch for, the in-game minor glitches and annoyances are still there. But it's still awesome. The CASABLANCA of heroic fantasy games. The dry wit of Lori and Corey. The charm of each and every character that the Hero encounters. I replayed it dozens of times, and I still love it. Welcome to Shapeir.
You're greeted with a beautiful animated introduction and professional voice acting. Then you walk around in a swamp. You find your robotic friend, and you walk around in a swamp together. Nothing else happens. You don't fight anyone, you don't talk to anyone, you don't get anywhere. Swamp. Thrillsville.
I enjoyed the game. It's hard at times, but once you figure out the tactics, it's beatable. The comic book in the Digital Special Edition is nice, too. The plot is simple - you must avenge your father who was wronged by a group of powerful and evil people. Fortunately, you were trained by the best. With your sword, grappling hook, and a couple extra gadgets, nothing can stop you! Study your opponents. They can have more than one way of killing you. Time is your enemy. Learn to use the tactical pause option against it. (Tip: to use it outside of combat, you need to press AND HOLD spacebar). The Doctor is the trickiest foe. And be careful with the grappling hook - sometimes it can drag you right through walls, which can be useful but mostly is uncomfortable.
Darkest Dungeon is a very well-made game. The music, the voiceover, the monsters - all work to create the athmosphere of Lovecraftian horror. Learning the world of the game is fun. Interacting with it is fun. The problem for me is the idea that lies in the base of the game - making the best out of a bad situation. It is just too bleeding blighted horrified irrational hard. Heroes die because you make wrong decisions, and also just because. You're supposed to fail. A lot. And when you fail, there's no "but you get better!", you just fail. The heroes are just buried. The quest just remains unfulfilled. The makers primise you a bad situation. They deliver.
It's a simple little adventure, made in 1997. It's got funny (and disgusting) characters and puzzles. A gem for those who played it back then, like I did. Also, the description is a bit misleading - you can play either as a boy or as a girl.
Do you get new adventures of Detective McQueen and Officer Dooley in the slightly cursed city of Twin Lakes? Yes. But you get more than just that. - Cameos of beloved characters from the original Darkside Detective! - Scary clowns! - Real Irish mythology!* *Not exactly real. - A real butler!* *Very real. - Puzzles that, while being ridiculous, actually do make sense when you think about it! - Funny things that make you laugh! - Me, Rick Brickman! I, Rick Brickman, recommend that you play this game, Darkside Detective: A Fumble in the Dark, starring me, Rick Brickman! And also McQueen and Dooley.
This was the third Steamworld game for me, which, I guess, tells something about my feelings towards the series. Simple yet elegant, with nice music and interesting opponents. You have to dig deep underneath the little town where you start (because, well, it's called Steamworld DIG), but it doesn't mean you have to dig out every last bit of metal. Being rich helps, but you can try and beat the game without upgrades, why not! The plot is nice, too. It makes sense, as long as life in the world of steam-powered robots makes sense. Things happen the way they do because there's a reason. Your character gains those odd abilities because there's a reason. It was rather short, but I don't mind that.
While I didn't enjoy the plot much, and the ending was rather disappointing for me, AND the character who supposedly is the main character is annoying and unsympathetic, Ransome the Clown and the Pigeon Brothers were so funny that I give the game 4 out of 5. The game is pretty much what you'd expect from a game like this. Lots of jokes (some better than the others), nostalgic graphics and interface, lots of foolishness. Did I mention how I love the Pigeon Brothers?
