Many ideas in Revolution are pretty cool; physics, water, and new ways to interact with the environment made this feel fresh. Problem is, the game feels very sluggish.. and that has nothing to do with framerate. The game feels sluggish and slow. Movement is "floaty". Some of the ui is a little too big. Biggest issue is that you can't play this multiplayer anymore. Only local games, or versus ai. Wish they had kept some of the physics elements for the newer Worms versions, especially water features.
Armageddon and World Party are still the better Worms versions to play. WMD has improved many small areas of the game, including better sizes of maps for many players, as well as better management of the small tiny debris that sticks around (you know, those 1 pixel piece of ground that are annoying in thesse games). But, WMD lacks any CPU players if you play multiplayer, which is pretty much a deal-breaker for my brother and I. We like to play a big free for all with a few CPU's. Worms Armageddon may not look as polished, or recent, but it still holds up perfectly fine. It's a blast to play!
What hasn't been said already? The late 90's/early-2000's were a tactical-shooters dream era. Rainbow Six, Ghost Recon, SWAT 3 & 4, Operation Flashpoint.... Wow!! I've specifically been playing Ready or Not, at the same same time as SWAT 4. I wanted to see what has changed, what hasn't. It's actually quite interesting to re-visit these 20-25 year old games. I have to admit, for a very long time, I was more invested into the Rainbow Six 1-3 games. I actually really enjoy the planning strategy phase. A tiny part, I always felt SWAT 4 could have also borrowed. But, one thing SWAT 4 had in spades, is more atmopshere! It has more 'drama', from to the locations, missions, debriefs & 911 calls. Has a feeling of urgency! From your first mission onwards, from intensity, to lonely eerie feelings... to a dinner with a train passing over head... they nailed the feeling of an urban environment very well. For sure, advancements in graphical tech, sound recording, budgets, etc... have all made most shooters on par, or even more extravagant. Nonetheless, there is something nice about stepping into the 2000's and reliving some incredible moments. The game may be 20 years old (at time of this review), but I think it still stands up in many departments. And, fortunately, this type of slow tactical shooter is in very good hands; Ready or Not is an awesome spiritual successor, worthy of carrying this awesome legacy! It keeps so much of the great aspects, but gives it a fresh coat of paint (great graphics), awesome settings, very intense situations, and much better (and dependable) AI. Still, to ANYONE who likes a slower-paced shooter... SWAT 4 is very much deserving a go!
There is little for me to add that hasn't already been said.. ..nonetheless, I am compelled to share what I feel about this experience. This "game" is where I feel there is a very fine line between a game and an experience. This is more than moving around, overcoming challenges and 'beating' the game. It manages to avoid clichés, genre tropes and to fall into a generic style of gameplay loop. It is part adventure game, part walking simulator, part stealth game... but it never abuses any of these genres. It's like a perfectly balanced visual experience. If you've ever enjoyed classic science-fiction, this is THE video game version of that perfect science-fiction book that questions us. SOMA is the type of experience that leaves you with feelings, emotions, questions and a theme that can have you ponder on its meaning. Unlike many games... actually, unlike almost EVERY game ...this is an experience that also means something and has a message... ...so, what is being alive?
I expect weight, impact and to feel like I drove a 3 ton beast into the opponent, to feel the momentum and the hit; alas, cars are featherlight & provide mushy spongy and control with little to no precision. While it is normal for some cars to be prone to oversteer, others some understeer... maybe rolling over; in this game, it's like they put all the sliders to the max of every setting and reduced any kind of weight. Have they ever driven a car?! Try ramming cars with something like the monster truck with its huge spike... you just bounce all over the place, there is no weight, no impact to the hits, it feels like trying to crash a bubble into a wall. There is no momentum from the weight. That super-wide lambo-looking car, low to the ground; looks like it's agile and will handle well, but you can barely corner with that thing, even at slow speed it just simply ALWAYS wants to spin out and go all over the place. Sure, I CAN win races with it... but it's really no fun, because you fight your own car more than you fight other cars. I remember the old Carmageddons, and while the cars are all graphcially recreated "ok" in this remake.. they just don't feel the same at all. Impacts don't feel the same, ther is no "feedback", no predictability. The amount of times the slightest imperfection in the road will send you in an uncontrollable spinout makes it hard to aim and really ram an opponent. The police cars aren't the "fearsome" opponents they used to be, now, they made them these tiny really pesky little cars that are really just annoyances more than a challenge, always just in your way of your fun. This game could have been really fun had they worked on better car physics... nothing grand; not like we expect simulation-level physics here, but you compare this to a game like Flatout where cars feel like they have heft, weight and they impact with force.... and this feels like a flimsy poorly conceived game. Actually, physics aren't jsut poor. There are none.
