A very good surprise ! Here is a summary of the good points that convinced me: -You can create your own hero. Customize face, clothes, hats. Also select 2 perks, one serves as a skill and the other is much more related to personality. You can even create characters that will join the roster of random encounters you will recruit during your journey. Heroes are very funny to play with. As an example i've found "Alvis" a brawler that sings during fights. Or Anton a boring man but resourceful in bad situations... (i love this guy !). Many skills to choose. -Objectives are straight forward but varied. Collecting, trading, encounters are clear and difficulty is fair enough to give you ways to solve problems. As an example: if you're low on food, encounters will quickly turn around collecting/trading food. Wich is quite logical, you will do everything to get what you need. But random encounters can turn things up side down like when my hero, injured and unable to heal himself, got killed by a bee inside our car... -Fights requires timing and reflexes. You exhaust your heroes when you are in melee. Zombies are all the same in terms of attacks, however during hordes/sieges events they can fall from roofs or dig out from the ground. The feeling of urgency is really pleasant and selecting weaponry before every missions makes the game rather interresting even if combats are still a bit limited. The progression in general consist into collecting lighter or deadlier weapons and face bigger hordes. Also skills can be trained or bought with supplies. Note that before and during missions you can select characters loadout and change their strategies. To defend, chase enemies or flee. -Very nice graphics. Clear and simple interface. I really liked the fact that zombies turns into piles of rotten blood, brains, livers and skulls that explode when you walk on. -High replayability ! A really fine catch in the genre, highly recommend it especially with the co-op planned feature !
Mother Russia Bleeds (MRB) is the mix between Streets of Rage and Hotline Miami with a big dose of talent... and madness. Okay I have to admit that menus and controls, especially remapping, are bad. I had to figure out how to select a character and start the game in 30 mins. Discovering that enter is the key to do so. Even if you change the appropriate key. But after that this game becomes a monstruous gem... You are a brawler, trained in the streets of this dying Russia of the year 1986. Taken by the police, you wake up in a lab, veins filled with an horrible drug: the Nekros. Haunted by horrible visions and surrounded by madness you are still strong enough to stand up and fight. It's time for you to punch your way trough hordes of junkies and others wastes of humankind to find the ones who did this to you... even if you have to cross the hell itself to make them pay. MRB is a descent into this hellish Russia created by Le Cartel Studio. We are still in known territory. You punch, kick, grab, dodge and even jump. Some combos are rather cool especially with the addition of drugs that gives a temporary boosts/skills that can be unlocked as you progress in the game. The syringe you bring with you can be refilled on enemies and forces you to keep some alive, turning some situations into epic moments. Because, even if drugs are bad and destroyed millions of lives ... in MRB it refills a part of your health.Giving you the choice between 4 super powers or 4 shots of health. Also weapons are present and numerous. Baseball bats, knives, batons and even toilets... Firearms are also here. They are powerfull and, this time, filled with a clip or two ! Difficulty is very high due to very fast and powerfull enemies. Bosses gives a hard time and rather often you will pray to have a friend by your side... and you know what ? You can call a bot ! TO CONCLUDE: MRB is an excellent game that clearly walks on the path of Hotline Miami as a fighting game. A must buy.
Titan Quest is a classic. Everybody knows that. It added an interesting setting for its time especially before LOKI which was far more polished than this game. Here are the points you need to know if you're, like me, addicted to this kind of game: - Very nice set up and bestiary. The dubbing is excellent and dialogues are really well done. But lacks the possibility to choose different answers/ paths in quests. - 8 Masteries/ Classes to choose from. Beware you can fail your character construction. Plan your progression wisely. Statistics are a bit too simple to manage. Health, Mana, Strength, Intelligence, Dexterity... each class need 2 stats or 3. Also nearly every magic school has a cool companion to summon. A very good point for some that are based on direct damages and area of effects. - Returning to villages/locations to resupply and selling gear is very easy. The portal stone is a marvelous item. Only inventory management is a bit tedious due to lack of space/ size of items in general. - Clear and simple, the interface leaves not much place for mistakes. My only regret is some controls that don’t respond immediately like one of the most useful: the quick pick up key. - Beautiful game with a night/day circle. Environments are varied. Lacks character body/face customization. You can only dye your basic tunic with 6 colors. - Excellent Multiplayer. Classes were tailored to be played with other players. Many buffs, restorative effects, traps and other companions can do nice synergies. Noticeable in front of the increased difficulty in multiplayer. - The difficulty setting is a bad point in solo. You can't select a higher one if you didn't finish the game previously. If you're used to this kind of game, first hours will be rather boring. -Huge life span due to countless sets and items, huge zones to explore. Higher difficulties hide some great moments. Boss fights are good. -Wizards are all funny to play... maybe too much compared to others.
"The sun is rising and I hold tight my rifle as if this piece of scrap was my life line against horror… Why am I here? In this slurry pit which is the Zone I thought I would find wealth and wonders… and glory maybe. As a welcoming, this old crook of Sidorovitch sends me doing his dirty work with an old Tokarev and few disgusting rations. And it’s been few days I’m advancing cheating death at any moment. I’m starting to lose my mind… so many of my dreams have turned into nightmares. The Zone, the biggest quarantine in the world! 1986 was not enough apparently. It was needed to study again the whys and the wherefores. And the tragedy happened again. Fortune they said. You only find plants with exceptional proportions, radioactive anomalies that defies science, mutated creatures that defies understanding… and men who’s acts defies reason. And in his hell he reigns supreme. Some factions try to dominate the Zone whatever the cost. And it’s not counting with bandits and others raiders waste of humankind that massacre innocents and idealists like me. But the Zone has always the last word because its children feast on our corpses. It has a life of its own that spreads more and more. I hear it… it speaks to me… these voices… they come back sometimes. Or maybe it’s the radiation poisoning that starts again. A draft of this bottle and it will be okay right? And next morning will be blurry with the stomach upside down and the body covered with injuries. The sun is rising. Gun shots and screams in the distance. So I make a fuss of my rifle. My only friend … because I’m a Stalker. One more day in the Zone. " N.B: Stalker is one of the hardest games ever created where survival will push you to the limit. The atmosphere is incredible and mods created by the community will hold you for dozens of hours. Try AMK mod after you've beaten the game to feel how Stalker would have been when finished. Its only flaws were its chaotic development and release. A classic.
The idea behind Okhlos is great: take the command of a furious mob and fight your way through ancient Greece to take down Gods of Olympus. All that action in a very funny way with its share of destruction, onomatopoeia and colorful graphics. However I felt rather quickly without any challenge or strategies to think about. The first clues of this lack of depth are controls. You can move directly your leader with the keyboard and order the mod to move/attack/defend a specific location with the mouse. You can also run or regroup your plebs. It's nearly a copy and paste of Pikmin.... depth in less because you can't sort your mob. Of course you can check the forming of the mob or trade new units/plebs with some traders. But again the fact that you need to run over new units on the field makes team management ultra-limited and disappointing. Sorting the mob would have been great too especially for strategies or difficulty because Okhlos has not much ways to win especially with items that you can pick up and gives too powerful bonuses. 4 items in total, the powder keg deals damages directly, the shield gives a temporary invincibility, the meat regenerate all health point and the helm gives a bonus to moral. So even if you encounter enemies that deals damages with areas of effect (which are the nemesis of your mob) you can totally negate these effects by only guarding or using items at the appropriate time. Also the more units you have the better. As an example I could gather more than 10 items in total and I could have been able to hold my 50 units invincible during a whole boss fight... Compared to a game like Pikmin where enemies can split your units, trap them, change their attributes or even transform the terrain... Okhlos is far more limited even if it's a totally assumed action game. To conclude: I was a bit disappointed. Especially when I've beaten the last boss after my 3 first hours and with not many efforts. Secrets to find are still a good addition.
Dungeon Souls is a roguelike action rpg that tries to overcome many problems that cripples actual rogue-likes. The overall idea is great to mix Risk of Rain loot with a universe/layout inspired of Hero Siege and Hammerwatch. It's fast paced. Colorful and well made on many aspects like the fact that your hero is trapped into a dungeon and dies in desperate tries to escape it. This leads to an interesting progression system where you need to collect gold, materials and receipe to forge weapons for your heroes. You can equip some during your runs or even pay for permanent buffs to tailor your character according to your play style.
Zombie Night Terror is Lemmings with undeads. Sounds simple enough... but it's not ! ! ! Don't get wrong by the trailers. Zombie Night Terror is very subtle game which tries to be a blend of puzzle, reflexes game tribute to 80's horror movies. Each levels has one primary objective and a second optional that serves as a challenge. Of course you will learn how to use new powers as you progress through the game. And if you think that the 8 powers you saw in the trailer will be a piece of cake to handle... you are totally wrong. Frankly i was amazed by how vicious are levels. Especially if you consider that YOU are the bad guy in the story... Powers/ mutations can be mixed to gain various effects on your zombies/ lemmings and elements that blocks you from your targets. To use them you must manage a pool a dna that increases with human deaths or sacrificing your zombie horde. Also you can give simple orders like destroying special objects or even using stairs. Which a way like many others to divide your zombies and prevent some catwalk to collapse in a very Pikmin way... And it won't be too much against the number of traps, enemies or simply very difficult mutations to use. Like jumping coupled with an overlord to make a temporary trampoline which is very funny but also frustrating because in a hurry you didn't aimed carefully and a whole horde turned into a bloody pile of meat. Note that some levels just disable some mutations to make your rotting life easier ! Graphics are greats and reminds me some other games like blood on floor in a Super Meat Boy style. Very nice effects compensate shades of black and white, i really enjoyed animations and lights/lightnings. Also Zombie Night Terror has some very funny dialogues and a weird story to follow. My only regret is the ost which far less punchy than the "Daft Punk" trailer. Zombie Night Terror is an excellent puzzle game with an honorable life span. And it's made in France ^-^ Chapeau les artistes !
It's some kind of mix between Zelda with bits of Rogue like in a very limited way. Funny during few mins it gets boring very quickly. Your primary weapon is a machete and you don't have much choice in terms of weapons. Some items can be picked up but like cards/pills in Binding of Isaac, nothing is explained. Skills can be earned by trading "goo" dropped by monsters or upgrades with coin found in barrels/crates and others containers. You can also recruit crew members who gives you passive buffs or can open-dig out chests/ revive you/ build bridges. But in general the game has a lack of "Je ne sais quoi" that disturbs a bit. Like the simple fact that you smash every containers/bushes/ enemies on your path. Making your hero like a psychopath that waves his machete for any reason. The impression of power in less compared to other action games... Or to be forced to run everywhere with allies that follows and die like lemmings... Also fights are very straight forward and some passive buffs gives incredible powers like for "Strength in number" + 50 % damages per crew with this skill.... So quite often you will rush like a berserker smashing your attack button with maximum damage buff "behind you" and farm goo/grind you experience as fast as possible. Making this exploration game a marathon rather mindless with often bad camera placement. Note that controls are designed for XBox game pad and there's no key remapping... THANKS A LOT ! To conclude. If you want : to run and smash the same button all the time, have not much variation in your attacks/tactics, to be a cartoonish Jack Carver followed by lemmings in a very color full world. So this game is for you... or maybe your kids/brothers and sisters to prepare them for the Rogue likes you have beaten.
The idea was great to mix a Diablo like action rpg, bits of survival/basic needs management, base/house/farm building, deep crafting system with fancy stuff like cleaning scrolls, puzzles or pet taming. But so many flaws... Moving you hero is a pain. You can choose between mouse clicking or keyboard. The problem is the isometric view where only 4 keys are available for 8 directions making diagonal movements nearly impossible without the mouse (grid can be toggle) And the mouse is rather unaccurate especially during fights. You can select Master difficulty and dare like me to challenge your nerves... because this mode is extremely difficult. Hard to accept if you consider many problems of gameplay like for some classes (3 in total). As an example, begin a wizard is a pain. Expensive to level up, constant regen and forced to collect anything that looks like a plant. Being a wizard is also a problem due to spell hit miss. Actually the game should update your character sheet about spell hit depending on the target you aim giving the opportunity to know if you can manage your mana pool and at least have a chance to beat your opponent. In general it will be a matter of luck especially if you consider that enemies have in general more skills/spells than you and your pet together. By talking about pets, note that you can tame few animals to help you in combat. The bear is a tank, the mantis is a more magical one, the wolf is fast, ect... Sounds good on the paper but in game pets tends to be stupid and rather dangerous is narrow rooms. They block your path, bring unwanted attention. Developpers tried to be realistic with many buffs and cooldowns to play as a real hero: potion overdoses, diseases, fear, hunger, thirst, exhausting. Funny to see that in a game where you are unable to mount a horse or anything that helps to prevent "constant robot walking". Many ideas brought down by mistakes and tedious gameplay. Disappointing even with good crafting and farming.
29 January 1996. Duke Nukem 3D. This date should have been written on the grave of Strife. Because being released in May 1996 was the only mistake this game did... Amazing, isn't it ? Especially if you consider that Strife was an extraordinary game. A very satisfying blend between rpg, exploration, gun fights and stealth. Supported by a story almost entirely voice acted with beautiful artworks in an interesting universe. Night Dive did an amazing job and again deserve respect to bring back on our modern computers such incredible titles. So now it's your turn to resurrect the biggest collateral damage of Duke... A must buy.
