Human Revolution is pretty damn solid. It’s successful in what it tries to achieve, and overall a fine entry in the legendary Deus Ex franchise. The gameplay is pretty good. The controls are smooth enough, and as expected from a Deus Ex game, your playstyle is very customizable: there is a satisfying variety of weapons and items to exploit, and the multiple cybernetic augmentations seem mostly well-balanced and all find a use in the game world. You can use many different ways to go through levels: using back entries to sneak up is as valid an approach as blowing up locked doors and shooting everyone in sight. The plot and writing are really solid: it’s a cyberpunk conspiracy thriller full of twists, imagination, and interesting reflections about our bond to technology. The world drips with atmosphere, the characters are well-written and the voice acting is on point: you often feel like interacting with living, breathing people. It’s arguably more compelling in that regard than the first Deus Ex – although the themes it tackles are not as deep and well-handled. In fact, DE:HR’s only real problem is that it suffers from the comparison with the original cult classic. Sure, it is clearly sleeker and more modern in its presentation, but there is arguably little-to-no emergent gameplay, less environmental interactivity, and the level design offers fewer and more obvious alternate paths. The experience gains and the level design also tend to make it so that there is one way to play DE:HR correctly, and that’s to be stealthy, non-lethal, and hack everything you can. These are not big issues, but I think they diminish the appeal of the game compared to its more open-ended predecessor. It’s also worth noting that this “Director’s Cut”, which is a console-to-PC port, may present performance issues, such as stuttering, or crashes in the last level – something that by now should definitely be fixed. Still, DE:HR is a good game, and probably worth replaying from time to time.
To this day, The New Colossus suffers from a mixed-to-negative reputation, which I think is mostly unwarranted: it’s a really fun game. Granted, it has its flaws. I agree with the common criticism that the tone is... all over the place. While previous games managed to struck a delicate balance between pulpy antics and crude depictions of Nazi atrocities, in TNC, it’s not uncommon to have a really bleak and shocking scene followed by toilet humor: not the best way to handle this story, plus the cutscenes can’t be skipped. Still, it’s well-written. The characters are fun, the dialogues are solid and the worldbuilding is good. It also looks pretty great. TNC’s game design also has its faults : some levels feel too short and the path you need to take to progress can be unclear. There are too many stealth sequences, and they are way more frustrating than they were in The New Order. As for the assassination missions, they feel like an excuse to recycle levels - but they’re mercifully optional and basically amount to bonus content. Still, the shooting mechanics definitely redeem the game. The gunplay has been enhanced and made even more satisfying than in previous entries : besides the slightly improved controls, you can now wield two different guns at the same time, all weapons have good upgrade options, the perk system is more streamlined, and the heavily armored enemies are much less of a pain to deal with. Overall, the way the movements and guns handle is incredible, and resonates well with the level design and the enemies. Most combat areas are a blast to shoot your way through, with good cover and enemy placements as well as multiple pathways to exploit: you are encouraged to stay mobile and there’s a weapon for each situation, which I think was lacking from The New Order and is the mark of a great shooter. While I understand some of the hate towards TNC, I genuinely think it’s underrated and an extremely fun FPS game. Get it on sale and see for yourself.
Ruiner is a game that may let you wanting for a bit more, but is very competently made and successful at what it tries to do. The gameplay is rock-solid overall: you get to wield an impressive and creative variety of weapons, and the skilltree has a lot of interesting (if not always balanced) options: as a result, the combat is fast, manic, brutal and satisfying. This is not really an unfair or frustrating game, but it quickly turns into a challenging one... The difficulty curve is steep, and while Ruiner starts off easy, by the end it often feels like it’s mindlessly throwing hordes of tough foes at you. The short length of the campaign is adequate, as it would get repetitive if it lasted any longer. Ruiner’s level design is, alas, very linear: it’s a repetitive succession of narrow corridors and large arenas, and I really think it could have benefited from a more complex approach to exploration. The best example of that may be the “hub” zone you get to visit several times, which has little to offer except very basic and pointless sidequests. The cyberpunk atmosphere is pretty damn cool. The plot is fine, the music is badass, and while the character and set designs are nothing extraordinary, they’re distinctive and creative enough to be memorable. The graphics are not particularly detailed and the environments could use more variety, but the lighting and color palette are put to such a great use that it’s hard not to admire the worldbuilding and art style on display. Overall, to me, Ruiner is not perfect, but it's fun while it lasts. The plot, the art and the gameplay felt good, but not great, and my impression is that it is a great foundation for a more ambitious and memorable game… Still, there is clearly a great deal of talent and effort invested in it, and it has more than enough style and energy to make for a fun playthrough, even if it’s your first twin stick shooter: while I don’t plan on replaying it, I’m looking forward to the developers’ next romp.
Alan Wake is just short of being a classic. Its atmosphere, notably, is a highlight, and a good enough reason to revisit it. The game is all about getting lost in dark woods and dilapidated farms, and the world it depicts is definitely pretty unique and a ton of fun to explore. The level design is solid and consistently rewards you for going off the beaten path. Visually, while the textures are not always great for 2010, it’s compensated by the believable environments and stellar lighting / smoke effects. Generally speaking, while it’s not a particularly scary horror story, the plot is enticing and fun: it finds a good balance between being a dark tale full of mysteries and a more tongue-in-cheek adventure with eccentric characters. Yet, Alan Wake has one major issue: the combat is surprisingly awkward, and overall quite disappointing. In fact, I feel it lacks basic features: for instance, in the absence of camera lock-on, precision aim, or even a crosshair, the beam of your flashlight is used to aim, which I never was 100% comfortable with. Using light sources is necessary to make foes vulnerable to your attacks, which is an interesting gimmick at first but more often than not makes the fights tedious. There is no melee option, even though all enemy types (of which there are few) love to get up close and personal. And sure, since it’s a survival horror game I guess combat is meant to be somewhat harsh and better kept avoided… but I don’t think this fully excuses how clunky the controls are. That being said, the guns all pack a good punch, the slow-mo effects never get old, and the game is fairly generous with ammo: the combat can sometimes be lots of fun (the first half of chapter 5 and the second expansion are awesome), but actual good fights are few and far between. Alan Wake thus end up being one of those games you mostly play for the atmosphere: there are better horror shooters out there, but if you can live with janky mechanics, it’s definitely worth a try.
Prince of Persia is a solid game, but it remains divisive, and for good reasons. The best thing about it may be the atmosphere: it looks gorgeous, with its unique watercolor-inspired graphics that stand apart from the gray-brown aesthetic that was in fashion in 2008. Both main characters are cool, likable, and they have an interesting relationship. The music is good. A lot of effort was clearly invested in making the adventure memorable, and I think it succeeds in that regard. The core gameplay is similar to previous entries: you go through levels by performing insane acrobatics, and get into a fight from time to time. Overall, the controls are sleek and easy to get a hold of, but quite simplistic: there is no real way to get a game over, and it often feels like the game plays itself… but it’s still very fun and finds a decent balance between approachability and depth. The platforming is definitely a high point, the camera is much better than it used to be, and the level design is great and takes an interesting “metroidvania” approach to exploration. Yet, some flaws may hinder your enjoyment: not only are PoP 2008’s mechanics very simplistic and forgiving, but most of them are introduced early on, making for a repetitive romp after that. The combat, notably, pales in comparison to previous titles and does not even come close to the savagery of Warrior Within and The Two Thrones. Plus, the game makes you hunt down hundreds of collectibles, which… is not very fun. It’s also worth noting that the epilogue DLC was never made available for this PC version, which is a shame. In short, on the one hand this is a somewhat simplistic and repetitive game which does not live up to its predecessors. On the other, PoP 2008 is fun throughout, a good experience on its own… and it feels like one of the last times Ubisoft (and big studios in general) would attempt to develop a game with such a high level of artistry. For that, I would recommend it, and I hope it has its fans...
This game rules. 15 years after its release, it’s still a blast to play, and it remains a rare example of a movie-to-game adaptation done right. Stranglehold is short but extremely intense. It is often said to be a Max Payne clone, which seems reductive: sure, it’s a third-person shooter with slow-mo mechanics, but it feels a lot more “arcady”, and follows a very different design philosophy. It offers gunfight after gunfight and barely anything in-between, and lets you use a wider and crazier variety of cool moves. You can dodge mid-air! Jump and slide on handrails! Perform “special attacks” involving slow-mo and temporary invincibility! The gunplay is quite sleek and smartly implemented overall: everything is fun, works as intended, and does a great job of emulating the action scenes of Hard Boiled (and John Woo movies in general). Each combat is a glorious ballet of ultraviolence where everything and everyone explodes around you. It’s just beautiful. The story is fine but not too memorable, has only a few tie-ins to Hard Boiled, and mostly serves as a pretext to send you to kill bad guys. Graphically, it looks neither uniquely great nor bad for 2007 but the character animations are solid and the environments are pretty varied, believable and atmospheric – plus, they are destructible to a remarkable extent! Alas, the game has a few issues: the FOV is messed up and can only be fixed through a fan-made patch; I sometimes had trouble interacting with usable items and covers, since you need to get very close to them before pressing the “action” key, which is hard to do in the middle of a hectic gunfight; finally, enemies often spawn right behind your back and chew through your health in a few instants, which can be annoying. Fortunately, these problems never spoil the fun. So yeah, Stranglehold is an underrated shooter I’ll probably often come back to. If you love over-the-top action and want something to play over the course of the next weekend, look no further!
Beyond Good and Evil deserves its status as a cult favorite. First off, while everything is made of chunky polygons and big pixels, it’s still a good-looking and atmospheric game. The color palette is vibrant, the character and world designs are fantastic, it has a lot of solid animations, and the soundtrack (which is included for free in this release!) is as varied as it is excellent. I would describe it as a playable cartoon with a lot of charm, humor, emotion... and even iconic characters and interesting themes! BGnE is very Zelda-like in its presentation and includes multiple gameplay styles: despite this “jack of all trades” approach, everything works as intended and it’s a fun game throughout. While I think the camera is weird at times and the stealth mechanics are not very well introduced, I never felt I was struggling against the controls, and had a blast for the entirety of my 10-12 hours playthroughs. A common criticism is that the gameplay is simplistic, but I don’t see it as an issue: it’s simply not a game you play for the challenge, and the intuitive controls and rather easy difficulty makes it a good pick for younger and inexperienced players. My only big problem with BGnE is the quality of its PC version: it’s a playable but low-effort port without noticeable improvements, controls you can’t rebind, and unfixed performance issues that already existed on release and have only gotten worse on modern systems. You may need to tinker with graphical options and install some fan-made patches for it to run well, and some framerate issues and bugs are likely to subsist anyway. In short, while I would recommend avoiding this particular version if you own a console to play it on, you should definitely give this game a try. Those were the times when developers put a lot of love and effort into making their games unique and memorable, and BGnE is a great example of that: to me, it just oozes childhood memories, even if I never got to experience it as a child!
Underworld is the third entry in the Tomb Raider Legend trilogy, and for the most part, it’s a lot of fun: when it comes to platforming, puzzles and exploration, the gameplay is as good as ever. It keeps building on both previous entries’ strengths, and thus has a ton of great sections filled with badass acrobatic feats and well-designed puzzles. However, the camera tends to get crazy and the control scheme is still very much implemented with consoles in mind, so you may want to play with a controller. Much like Legend and Anniversary, it’s a really good-looking and atmospheric game. The music is great, the character models and animations are rock solid, but the environments are the real star of the show here: the vegetation is lush, the architectures are crazy, the wide open spaces are intoxicating. It’s simply... gorgeous. The writing is decent and gives Lara some good lines. And yet, this game is far from perfect, and has issues that seem to point towards a rushed development. The combat is fun overall and lets you use cool slow-mo mechanics, but it’s a bit flat and even annoying at times: the developers seemed to be aware of it, since combats are quite scarce and that there are sadly no actual boss fights. Underworld also pretty much demands you to be familiar with both previous installments: it does little effort to recap their storyline, and even assumes you’re already familiar with the mechanics of the series and doesn’t bother explaining them to you. Among other issues: DLCs were released but are not available on PC, the collectibles are annoying to find and don’t unlock new outfits, and some glitchy physics and occasional crashes are to deplore. To be clear: none of Underworld’s problems are really huge on their own, but their accumulation can definitely have a negative impact on your experience. Still, it’s a good game on its own and a satisfying conclusion to this trilogy. If you enjoyed the other Tomb Raider games, this one is definitely a good pick!
Quake IV is solid. The level design is decent, the guns all pack a great punch, the enemies are varied and fun to shoot at. It really aims for that feeling of comradery between you and your squadmates, and fighting alongside them is never a burden. The campaign is just the right length and renews itself when it needs to: for instance, you get to play a vehicular section from time to time, and while these aren’t great, they still feel like a breath of fresh air. A remarkable job has been done on the atmosphere. It looks great for its era, with a ton of elaborate environments, solid animations and really badass uses of colors and lighting effects. It’s also surprisingly scary at times, with a lot of dark rooms and really disturbing body horror. One issue is that it’s a very literal corridor shooter: not only is it extremely linear, but most combats take place in confined spaces, which often makes dodging projectiles and melee attack more difficult than it should. The boss fights are kind of mediocre, and I’m also told the multiplayer was meh - but nowadays it’s mostly a game you play for the campaign anyway. But Quake IV’s biggest sin is probably that... it does not really care about being a Quake game. It’s a sequel to Quake II, but its aesthetic is very different: the atmosphere is less “heavy metal”, the technologies don’t have the same appearance, and none of the monsters look like their Q2 counterparts. Most importantly, it largely disregards the elements that made its predecessors so fun, like the reloading-free gunplay, the ludicrous running speed and the complex level design. It instead focuses on being a “Halo-esque” sci-fi FPS. Fortunately, the second half feels more like a fast-paced boomer shooter! In short, much like Doom 3, your appreciation of Quake IV will largely depend on your ability to ignore its lack of connection to the series. Otherwise, well, you have here a skippable but very fun FPS that definitely deserves to be reevaluated as such!
Mixing horror game and military shooter, F.E.A.R. is great at what it does, and even excels when it comes to action. The horror element is, well... serviceable. The game has a few chilling moments, but I think it relies too much on tired old tropes (lights that go out, creepy children...), and I actually felt more threatened by the combat encounters than the scripted horror scenes. The story is decent, but mostly predictable. At least, it still looks great: the models and textures are nothing to write home about, but F.E.A.R. makes great use of lights, shadows and particle effects. Every place you visit, no matter how mundane, drips with unsettling atmosphere. It really shines when it comes to combat: not only do the guns feel great to use, but each hostile encounter is an awesome life or death battle with a surprising amount of tactical thinking needed. The enemy AI is one of the best out there, most combat rooms have multiple entry points and covers to exploit, and you’ll need to plan ahead and have a good sense of improvisation to survive – even if going all over-the-top and acrobatic can be a reliable strategy! The bullet time mechanic is the true star of the show, giving you a much-needed edge against the bad guys and looking really awesome: gunshots and explosions distort the air and send sparks flying everywhere, the walls and furniture explode in smoke… F.E.A.R’s combat is an achievement which has not really been reproduced since - except maybe in its first expansion “Extraction Point”, which is even more fun than the base campaign! The game has small issues however: it can feel a bit too forgiving, the enemies that are not base soldiers tend to be annoying to deal with (notably the gun turrets and the armored guys), and the "Perseus Mandate" expansion is decent but definitely skippable. You may also need to download a DirectInput fix to avoid framerate issues. Still, it’s a cult classic for a reason, and I would absolutely recommend giving it a try!
