I've played several of the Tomb Raider games over the years (including one that came bundled with my Dreamcast back in the day), but I would never really consider myself a fan. This was the first one that I played from start to finish, but I know it's because it was trying to not just be new, but also be something that could compete on the same level as games like Uncharted. TOMB RAIDER (2013), I think, was overall an exceptional reboot of the series, complete with all the series staples, but with a strong emphasis on cinematic action. By that, I mean a lot of set pieces and quicktime events, but not enough to get annoying. The game was very exciting, boasted a very creative and visually-impressive setting, and was a blast to play through. As far as drawbacks: it really felt like the story struggled to do anything meaningful outside of Lara's gradual growth and her becoming the "Tomb Raider" we all know. That was by far the best part and was handled extremely well. Other than that, it felt like most of the story, which pushes Lara through all these events and across this vast setting, was mostly: "Hey, your friends got kidnapped again." It felt like 75% of the story and actually got a little annoying. It also started to run out of steam after a really bombastic second act. I also felt like while all of the combat worked *well,* it never really let you play exactly how you wanted until maybe the very end. There's stealth, but it's rather limited and not very forgiving. You have a number of weapons, but they don't really get super fun to use until several upgrades in. There's a "survival" element, but it basically boils down to shooting chickens for XP. The action; the evolution of Lara going from a woman literally begging the other characters for help to the twin-pistol wielding force of nature; the fun and often-creative tomb puzzles; as well as the creative Bermuda Triangle-esque setting were all my personal highlights of this very fun game.
I somehow missed out on MachineGames' take on the Wolfenstein franchise and I regret it like crazy now. THE NEW ORDER is a story-centric FPS that takes place in an alternate history where Germany won the Second World War. You play as Captain Blazkowicz as he joins the resistance against this new world order, which amounts to you gunning down scores of Nazi soldiers, supersoldiers, and robots. That alone would be fun enough, but THE NEW ORDER boasts a tremendously engaging story and interesting characters to carry you through the length of the game. For a game that does not skimp on the outrageous, it also does *not* shy away from an honest narrative that treats the violence, dehumanization, and sundry other depravities in which the Nazis often engaged with admirable realism. I'll be thinking about THE NEW BLOOD for some time. As for the GOG version of the game: I have no point of reference for how the game is supposed to perform, and I've heard its initial launch six years ago was fraught with instability. In my experience, the game generally performed well. No crashes or freezing during gameplay. The biggest problems I had were cinematics freezing when the level in the background was finished loading. I also felt like the sound mixing was messed up, since some things seemed quieter than they should've been, voices were almost unintelligible during actiony sections, and a handful of sound effects seemed to be missing.
The other reviews aren't wrong when it comes to the overall package in which SPEC OPS: THE LINE is delivered. The gameplay never really bothered to innovate on what was standard for third-person shooters at the time. Really, that's all the gameplay is: standard. But when all is said and done, it's an adequate vehicle for one of the best stories ever told in the medium. You play as Walker, tasked with leading your squad of three into a Dubai that has been absolutely ravaged by sandstorms to track down a US commander gone rogue. What follows is a military power fantasy that plays out in the vein of your Call of Duties and your Battlefields, but that only serves as the hook. Ever so gradually, as you descend deeper and deeper into Dubai, things start to feel not quite right. That feeling intensifies as you chase your quarry, and soon takes over the narrative completely. To say much more would spoil a most excellent journey into the madness of war. Do not buy this game for the gameplay, and definitely don't buy it for the multiplayer (if it even exists at this point), as it exemplifies the tacked-on publisher-mandated multiplayer mode that so many single-player games shipped with at the time. DO buy it because you love narrative- and character-driven games (a more modern comparison I might make is to HELLBLADE: SENUA'S SACRIFICE), and want to check out one of the best video game stories about the horrors of war that's ever been released. Keep a close eye on your surroundings, because there are precious few assets placed into this game without intent.
It was only recently that I learned that the writers of THE WALKING DEAD S1 had jumped from Telltale to make this game. As you start making your way through FIREWATCH, you can definitely tell. Despite being a walking simulator, the writing elevates almost everything within the game. The story begins with a quick intro of Henry, the protagonist, who has come out into the Shoshone National Forest to escape after his wife succumbs to dementia. Henry has taken the job of being a lookout for fires, living on his own with his supervisor in the next tower over, Delilah, as his only form of human contact. As you play through FIREWATCH, the relationship between Henry and Delilah takes on an interesting kind of complexity, as both of them are dealing with isolation. It's this interaction, often presented in the form of branching dialogue, that drives the game forward as Henry tends to his tasks in the forest. The dialogue feels natural, the voice actors put in some fantastic performances, and the themes of isolation and guilt are ever-present throughout the story. What really had me annoyed at the end of FIREWATCH, and what had me wondering if I was going to give this a high score or a low score, is just how artificial the ending feels. The writing is strong, the dialogue is strong, the theming is strong, the environments are wonderful, but this is still a walking simulator with what was probably a lower than standard budget. Although the game gives you many options for how you can "play" Henry, those options don't quite matter in the end. The game cuts to black and railroads players into a specific ending that doesn't quite jive with, say, a man who has decided to move on. Perhaps the relationship between Henry and Delilah is so bright, that it outshines any struggles Henry has with regards to his wife. It outshines the conflict that the ending insists on suddenly pushing to the forefront, as if proclaiming, "Remember this? You must care about this now."
The RMS Titanic seems a strange and unfortunate place to decide the fate of the modern world, but so it goes. In this point-and-click adventure game, you play as a disgraced British spy who has been given one last chance to right the wrongs of his career and the devastating aftermath those failures created. Aboard the Titanic, you stumble upon a plot being formulated by several different parties, each with their own goals but the general outcome being the same: a World War. As you move about the ship, you must acquaint yourself with its layout, its passengers, and crew, all in the name of intercepting four invaluable items that will change the course of history if not found in time. And that ticking clock comes in the form of the Titanic steaming fatefully towards its own dark destiny. At the time of this game's release, TITANIC: AOoT was something unique... and still is! Very few games use nicely researched history as the backbone of a story, fewer go through the trouble of creating what was at the time the most accurate rendering of the Titanic (and might still be), all while still giving you a generous amount of agency. Goals can be accomplished in various ways, with eight different endings available, determined by your choices and which items you were able to gather. Because of this, the game has a ton of replayability. (I should know, I've been playing it consistenly for over 20 years!) This release by Night Dive is a great package that includes all the extra content that was released post-launch. It has a couple unfortunate bugs: one involving dialogue being cut off (easily fixed, check the forums) and another involving a door to the Boat Deck not sending you to the right spot. Those aside, this is a wonderful game and a true gem of the genre--and a rare treat for Titanic fans or folks who love historical fiction in their games.
