As a street thug affectionately called "Thug" by its fanbase, you've been given a beating by Nikki Blanco, the right hand man of the titular Kingpin, in a crime-ridden world that never was. With an urge to "bury those two motherf-ckers" in your heart, you grab a lead pipe and begin a roaring rampage of revenge against Blanco and eventually the Kingpin himself. As you can tell, this game is one of the first truly adult-geared experiences in video games: Everyone is a criminal out for eachother's blood, the setting is a dystopian city ruled by crime, the dialogue features a lot of fighting words and profanities, and most importantly, the game contains one of the most robust gore systems of its time: Limbs and heads can be blown off, leaving viscera and bone in their wake. Combine this with the above, and you have every reason why this game was so controversial and why it wasn't a good idea to release this in the wake of the Columbine Shootings. Also, the weapons and enemies are unbalanced. Now, my opening blurb which lists the two big problems and that description will give you the idea that this game is a piece of journalist outrage-bait aimed at pathetic edgelords and sociopaths from 4chan, like the later Hatred (made as a deliberate successor to Postal 1) and Tormentor (no good excuse and is being made just to get attention, thus the worst offender). However, beneath the swear-filled gory combat and unbalanced weapon roster and enemies lurks a genuine game made to deliver something unlike other games of its ilk: A semi-open criminal combat experience. You can speak with fellow thugs for information and possible recruiting opportunities, you can provoke for open combat with taunts. You can buy items like weapons, ammo and health at stores, and the AI is as smart as you are (mostly). It's a genuinely ambitious game that succeeds at what it sets out to do, and it's crazy fun to be honest. If you want something different, or something genuinely adult, buy Kingpin.
In the 1990s, Mech games were really popular. Most were simulations, but a few more arcade-inspired action titles popped through the cracks, case in point: Slave Zero by Test Drive creators Accolade. Slave Zero is a third person twitch shooter inspired by 1990s anime like Macross Plus, Neon Genesis Evangelion and The Guyver: You play as the eponymous Slave Zero, a bio-organic machine inhabited by the brain of a rebel named Chan, as he does battle against a fiendish dystopian government ruled by the sinister Sovereign Khan. And that's all there is to it: A bio mech blasting the snot out of other mechs. AND IT'S CRAZY FUN. Slave Zero lasts four-to-five hours, and has a simple, yet fun gameplay loop of destroying anything that stands in your way. The controls feel weighty and satisfying, the weapons destructive, and the art design and soundtrack are utterly fantastic. It's arcade shooting at its best. Levels are nice and vertical, with you scaling up and down buildings in the megacity and running down corridors and sewers. Not to mention it makes you FEEL like you're playing as a mech: You can grab cars and throw them at enemies, you can stomp on the ground to create shockwaves, you can let out a mechanical roar, it's awesome! However, it is flawed: The last third does take a turn for the Kingpin-Unbalanced, with the enemies becoming more cheaper, levels more choking, and bosses more unfun. Not to mention certain quirks like movement jets only being available when strafing. Due to the cult status, and the game being bought out by indie publisher Ziggurat, you'd expect that there will be a sequel to fix these flaws. And there is... BUT it's a generic Indie 2D side-scrolling action game with the name slapped on (Slave Zero X). I don't even need to tell you to avoid that load of In-Name-Only blandness and buy this instead; even with its flaws, it is a satisfying mech game that scratches an itch very few can.
[NOTE: played on a smartphone] Doctor Who is both one of British television's most beloved shows and the longest running Sci-fi show to date, spanning 60 years of this writing. It's also a show that, despite being one its owners DO care about, has unfortunately seen better days, currently in a bit of a slump where the show preferred Far-Left pandering to good storytelling and where the mythology was destroyed thanks to "The Timeless Children", regarded as the worst Doctor Who story ever, with not even the returning showrunner Russel T. Davies deciding to at the very least ignore it. However, the BBC DO care about this franchise, as shown by Collection releases of the classic era seasons, special short films, and this game, because this is hands down the best thing to come out of the current "slump era" of Doctor Who. Despite the game being made during Chibnall's tenure which is infamous as where the "slump era" began, thus including Jody Whittaker's 13th Doctor alongside archived footage of Tennant's 10th and nods to her stories, the game actually owes more to the Russel T. Davies era by serving as a continuation of the classic story "Blink" by Steven Moffat. The game plays very much like a found-phone mystery a la the devs' other series, Simulacrum, but with a Doctor Who aesthetic. If found-phone mysteries aren't your cuppa, then you'll definitely pass on this. However, if you're interested, you should definitely play it as not only is the plot well-written and plays out like a better episode of the show, but the gameplay is immersive, acting solid, and atmosphere spot-on. Even the titular antagonists, the Weeping Angels, feel like a credible threat with them haunting the player and sometimes trying to get them, leading to some tense scenarios. So, yeah. If the "slump era" ticked you off, or you don't like found-phone mysteries, you won't like Lonely Assassins. But if you don't care, like what you see, and are a fan of Doctor Who regardless... go for it.
Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion is a game that was rushed out the door: at Two Hours long, it is easily the shortest of the Turok trilogy and also the odd-one out, trading in the wide-open areas from Dinosaur Hunter and Seeds of Evil for a more linear affair inspired by Half-Life's cinematic storytelling. Also, the game takes place mostly in earth-like environments like ruined cities, junkyards, and even a Black Mesa inspired military compound. From that description, you'd expect that this game sucks. On the contrary! Shadow of Oblivion is fantastic. An obvious downgrade from its predecessor due to the factors I mentioned, but still a solid send-off to the original Turok trilogy that mops the floor with other console-based shooters of the time. Above all else, Shadow of Oblivion succeeds as a shooter. Once again the weapons are fun to use and varied, leaving enemies a bloody mess on the floor, and every weapon has a function and neither outweighs the other. In fact, you can even take your time dismembering and destroying the corpses, Soldier of Fortune-style. And lemme tell you, it's so much dark fun. Also, taking influence from Resident Evil, we get two characters to play as: Joseph and Danielle. Dani can jump higher and has access to more explosive weaponry whilst Joseph gets a pair of Night Vision Goggles, the Shredder, and more marksman-based weapons. I went with Joseph as he gets the Shredder, but you can't go wrong with either character. Finally, the sound design is also top notch, with some pretty solid voice acting, enemy noises, gunshots, and ambient music. Everything just feels so good to hear and it adds so much to the fun of the game. Overall, despite the level design being the weakest hands-down, Shadow of Oblivion is still a must play. It's basically Iguana saying "Well, our time in the sun is almost up. But you know what? We still rule the shooter space! Let's make this short sendoff the best we can!" And make it the best they did.
If you're looking for a fun gothic arcade-style shooter, you'd probably look into Painkiller. The debut game from The Astronauts (formerly a pre-AAA/Outriders People Can Fly) and their best work, hands down, Painkiller is fast, frenetic and refreshingly basic. Playing out as a swarm-fighting shooter akin to Serious Sam only slightly better (yeah, I said it), Painkiller is as basic as it gets: Just you, your gun, and a shit ton of enemies. And by god, does the game excel at both. Despite bad/serviceable AI, the enemy designs are pretty creative and creepy-looking, and are fun to fight against as they still pack a punch. You'll face Skeleton Knights, Ghost Monks, Reaper Templars, Zombie Ninjas, Insane Amputees and even more nightmarish enemies of different forms. It's genuinely varied and it keeps the adrenaline pumping as you unload lead into another swarm of bizarre freaks. And guns? The roster of guns in Painkiller is unique and fun: We have a basic shotgun and a rocket launcher-chaingun combo, but we also get the Stake Gun, a weapon that fires wooden stakes to nail enemies to the wall, and the game's main crowd control weapon, the ElectroDriver, aka. The Gun That Shoots Shurikens and Lightning. All of these guns are great to use thanks to the game's awesome physics, sound design and even function of these weapons, and despite only being a roster of 5 including melee (7 in Battle out of Hell), you will get a lot of mileage out of this arsenal. Combine this with awesome music, fantastic level design and an interesting, though flawed Tarot Card system that gives you powers, and you have a gem. It won't convert those who despise swarm-style shooters, but for everyone else? Grab an ElectroDriver and tear those monsters a new one.
Right off the bat, I really loved Turok: Dinosaur Hunter. It was a non-linear, fun, satisfying FPS with gratifying exploration-based gameplay. I began Turok 2 immediately after beating it in 2021, but I abandoned it for some reason... Now, after picking it up again in the wake of the announcement of Turok 3's remaster, all I have to say is THIS IS THE BEST FPS FROM THE N64, BAR NONE [with one of Night Dive's best remasters to boot]. It improves on the non-linearity and exploration of the first game, giving you larger environments to traverse with some of the most eye catching level design I've ever seen. You're also given objectives, from finding level keys like in the first game, to rescuing innocents and destroying enemy armories. And of course, you're encouraged to use 'Talismans' which give you powers to explore further and go back to prior sections to see what you missed. This results in a long, very varied game where the variety of things you do helps add some longevity to the experience... But that's not what you'll remember about Turok 2 as above all else, the game succeeds as a shooter. Turok 2 features a larger weapon roster than its predecessor spanning two weapon wheels, and not only do these weapons feel satisfying to use like before, but they're probably even more satisfying because THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST VIOLENT FPS GAMES I'VE EVER PLAYED. A head shot on a raptor causes blood to spill out from its decapitated neck, explosives can tear a Dinozoid in half, you can punch a hole in a War Club with a shotgun and you see the ribcage! It's RoboCop levels of satisfying bloodshed! AND I LOVE EVERY SECOND OF IT! With improved level design, superior, bloodier combat, and tons of mileage for your buck, Turok 2: Seeds of Evil is more than a recommendation: It's a must-play. And the remaster's QOL improvements only add to a game brimming with delightful deliciousness.
Developed by Ukrainian developers Action Forms (before they went on to famously work on a cancelled Duke Nukem game), Chasm: The Rift wears its Quake influence on its sleeve: 3D environments, dark ambient music, human enemies in the first levels that get replaced in favour of monsters of all shapes and sizes, etc. BUT, Chasm more than makes up for it with its level design, atmosphere, core gameplay and just plain feeling of claustrophobia. Chasm themes itself around twisted histories and time travel, with each episode taking on a different level style depending on which time period you're in. The atmosphere feels more like a gothic version of Tomb Raider rather than its inspiration, the levels are labyrinthine (in a good way) and packed with secrets, and you will get a lost a lot on your first playthrough. Thankfully, the gameplay is fun and makes it worth it. Chasm was one of the first FPS games to use a dismemberment system, and although not as detailed as Soldier of Fortune's years later, it's so much fun to strategically dismember your enemies, be it removing their arms or legs. The weapons are also good, too. So yeah. As one of the games that influenced the modern Boomer Shooter movement (Hrot, but Dusk took influence from it too), Chasm: The Rift is worth looking into. It's simple, but fun. And the dismemberment alone is satisfying.
The amount of people praising this garbage here is utterly depressing. "Why be afraid when you were afraid during the previous two games. It's time to end with a SPARKLING ACTION!" THE NAME OF THE GAME IS FEAR 3. THE FRANCHISE WAS LITERALLY ENVISIONED TO BE A HYBRID OF JON WOO ACTION AND J-HORROR. AND THIS GAME FAILS AT BOTH. You wanna know why? They built the entire game around Co-op. It's not that they have a singleplayer campaign and a co-op one, THE ENTIRE GAME is a co-op modern military shooter with the F.E.A.R. name and universe slapped on. No horror, no effective AI, weakened bullet-time, regenerating health, a cover system, more action, and no F.E.A.R. in every sense of the term. Combine this with a bizarre plot that ignores the events of the F.E.A.R. 2 expansion, and tries to (among other things) retcon Harlan Wade into the true main villain of the series when the previous game LITERALLY ended with Alma raping the protagonist, and you have the ultimate recipe for a dreadful closure. I'd only recommend this game, if you're curious. Screw this game. It's honestly tied with Resident Evil 6 as the worst videogame sequel I've ever played. If games like THIS are what's becoming the cult classics of a new generation, I'd rather take my chances with an ACTUAL paranormal haunting.
The reason why I don't recommend the original, aka. The HUNT Begins & Dark War? Because this game is not playable in a desirable state if you're a new player. I mean, DOS box is one thing. A slew of source ports that SUCK is another. WinrottGL, the popular source port, doesn't work on Windows 10, and the one that does, rottexp, is terrible with some atrocious mouse look. Now, 3D Realms themselves are aware, and as such, have been working on a remaster to provide a definitive modern way to play The HUNT Begins/Dark War. However, we haven't recieved an update on development, and I don't know when it will be released. For new players, I'd say to stick with Rise of the Triad (2013), a remake of HUNT Begins/Dark War with new level design and more risque dialogue, and then, once the HUNT Begins/Dark War remaster finally releases, go for that version. Shame too, because HUNT Begins/Dark War is an influential title in the FPS space for introducing the ability to look up and down and features fun gameplay. It's just not the right time to play it.
