I didn't enjoy this one quite as much as the first, but that was a pretty tall order to begin with; it's still quite a worthy follow-up. This time, you play as Zanthia, and every time you enter a new area, she changes her outfit, sometimes with good reason, and sometimes just because; either way, it's a nice touch, even if she has occasionally questionable fashion sense. It took me a little time to warm up to her, but by the end, I enjoyed her character. The jokes come a lot more often than in the first game, but that's not quite a point in its favor; the humor wasn't bad, but could've used a little restraint. The music was good, but not quite as good as in its predecessor. Where the game shines most is in its visuals and its gameplay. The places you visit are beautiful, my personal favorite being the fourth area with its flowing lava, it jagged shards of emerald, and its dark, crystalline dinosaurs. The puzzles are pretty good, too; you have a spellbook that teaches you how to mix potions, a system greatly expanded from the first game. Though unfortunately, there are a few potions that you will never use, it is still fun to experiment with making new things. The hints are a little cryptic, too, so you really have to think outside the box for some of the ingredients, but it doesn't go into moon logic territory too often.
This Point-and-Click Adventure is very short, but it's is a game that I used to just dream about playing someday. It's hard to really nail it down, but there's something about the atmosphere, the environments, and the way it all unfolds that makes it something I've always wanted. The story, itself, isn't anything terribly out of the ordinary, but the way it takes you to the places that it does is what makes this really shine. Humor is sprinkled throughout, but sometimes, it's hard to tell whether or not it's intentional. The music is spectacular, if you like early '90s synth. The actual gameplay is good, what little is there. You'll collect gems and other ingredients for a variety of things, but primarily for mixing potions. The puzzles are pretty decent, with a few obtuse moments, but in this day and age, walkthroughs are common. so it's not really a problem. There are a few moments where I wish the game told you what certain things do, including one of the spells that you get. There's even a section where it would behoove you to draw your own map, if you're into that sort of thing. My biggest gripe with the gameplay is that there isn't enough of it. Mixing potions is fun, but very limited and the actual game is pretty short. Your mileage may vary, but this is a game that I wish I'd had back when it was new, though I'm still glad that GOG brought it to me now!
Though I'm not a huge aficionado of the genre, this is easily one best Scrolling Shooters I've ever played. The music ranges from good to excellent, and really gets your blood pumping when it wants to. The visuals are pretty good; it's very obviously a relic of the VGA era, but manages to be colorful enough throughout. The game actually has a story, and it has a few interesting spins on science fiction, and even video games in general. The actual writing is top-notch; there are a lot of good jokes in the data cubes that you read. The best, though, is the gameplay. There are a ton of different weapons available: front weapons, back weapons, left and right weapons, and even new fighter models, engines, and shield generators. You don't lose your weapons when you die - or even your progress, really; you have multiple save files and there is no lives system - and can upgrade them so long as you have the cash. Just buy something you really hate? No problem; you can exchange it in for a FULL refund! The game gives you the freedom to experiment with different options and layouts, and has a ton of choices to make that meaningful. The actual stages vary in degree of difficulty, but a lot of it is shield management. Your shield regenerates depending upon your engine power, but each ship also has armor, which takes permanent damage if your shield is out. This leads to some strategic gameplay, where sometimes, taking a shot is the best option. If you enjoy, or even just don't hate Vertically-Scrolling Shooters, you owe it to yourself to give this a try; it's a dream come true!
I'm not the biggest fan of Diablo, because it's all click-click-click, and it's slow, clunky, and mindless. It's not the worst game in the world, and it's okay, but Nox takes the formula and makes it a little smarter. You can't just wade into a crowd unless you want to get your rib cage realigned; you have to be smart about how you manage crowds, bait enemies, what weapons you use, and sometimes, even what's around you. Loot is something you have to pay attention to, as well, because you'll need it to scrape together just enough money to repair your equipment. I guess what I'm trying to say is that you have to pay attention at all. The action is much faster, movement is more efficient, and you have to avoid traps and dodge obstacles, as well. Explore well enough, and you'll find little hidden areas, which give you an experience bonus. Equipment comes in a variety of colors, sometimes to denote what properties it has, and sometimes just because. The music's pretty good, too, for the genre, and the voice acting is top-notch, especially the antagonist, Hecubah; Joann Cassidy is an absolute treasure. There's also a fair amount of humor in Nox; it's serious enough to convey danger, but it throws in a good gag now and then, too. I don't normally like inconsistency in tone, but Nox pulls it off pretty well. It might not be a masterpiece, but I'd definitely recommend this if you like the genre.
A lot of people liken this to Diablo, but the mechanics are a bit tighter, so you don't have the tedious click-click-click-click-click through every battle. That aside, another huge difference from Diablo is that rather than a dungeon with individual levels, Sacred takes place in a big open world that's mostly open to you from the very beginning. For the most part, the world is a joy to explore, and held a sense of intrigue for me, wondering what was up on that mountain to the west, or what was in that weird forest to the east. You have a decent variety in equipment, and can switch between several sets on the fly. Leveling allows you to improve both stats and passive skills, while active skills are found as items, and level up as you use more. Having 8 different playable characters keeps things fresh; there's a lot of variety among them. The combat is passable; there's no real room to be very strategic, but it gets the job done. While the Ancaria Campaign is a very enjoyable romp, the Underworld Campaign is where you run into some problems. Enemies scale to your level, so they're always 2-5 levels higher than you are. This alone isn't so bad, but everywhere you go, you're attacked by giant mobs. Again, not so terrible, but all of this combined with the fact that you'll often find yourself in a situation where there are no shops at which to buy health potions can leave you completely stranded, relying on cowardice or straight-up dumb luck to survive; the final stretch is particularly grueling. Map markers are glitchy in this campaign, too, and a lot of it just seems slapped together. This is especially true of its world, which just teleports you to the tiny bits of map that weren't in the other campaign. To its credit, though, these areas are visually interesting. Even if the Underworld Campaign drags a bit, you still have the Ancaria Campaign, which is worth the price of admission alone.
This WRPG starts off in an unusual way, enough to catch your attention. Once you leave the first area, and enter the first town, the game begins to open up, perhaps a bit too much. The story is a slow build, however, and by the time you reach the end, it becomes an incredible experience; I was completely sold! You really get to know and care about your companions - most of them, at least - so their fates and actions carry a much greater weight than they would have otherwise. I could go on and on about the story for hours, but it is something that simple needs to be experienced. You've probably heard that the story is what justifies the awful combat, but it's really not as bad as you've likely heard. Your characters attack mostly on their own, but manual actions, such as magic and other skills, I wasn't a big fan of the melee combat, but the spells - especially those at higher levels - bring a genuine glee to the experience. In either case, the combat is serviceable, if occasionally frustrating, and not really the main focus of the game, anyway; you can talk your way through many situations, and as a mage, your high wisdom and intelligence will aid you in that regard. You won't be able to complete a total pacifist run, but when completing quests gives you far more experience than killing enemies, you can certainly stand to minimize fights. In any case, if you have any love for good writing, I'd recommend this game, regardless of your genre preferences; there's a reason that this is considered by many to be "required reading", so to speak!
This First-Person Adventure is very immersive, which is interesting, given the content. You have some interesting puzzles and puzzle-solving mechanics, but its strength is not in Adventure. You have a dystopian future with virtual reality and some excellent social commentary, but its strength is not in Cyberpunk. You will have moments that fill you with a deep sense of dread, but its strength is not in Horror. >observer_'s greatest strength is in the surreal mindscapes that you explore, and how the line between realities will often blur. The game's main boast is the ability to jack into people's minds, and when you do, you will enter worlds that are as beautiful as they are horrifying, and utterly surreal. All sorts of things get jumbled together inside someone's mind, creating strange, nightmarish landscapes that often make little or no sense. Whether this is because the subject's mind is in a subconscious state, as in a dream, where the barriers of logic we erect to understand our conscious world are in a state of rest; or whether it is simply because it is the struggle of an outsider attempting to understand another's mind is never explained, but is interesting food for thought. The biggest flaw would be the abhorrent stealth sections, which occasionally create fear and tension, but more often provoke frustration and anger. Of course, this may be a personal bias, because I've never been a fan of stealth, but these were far more frustrating than in any other Horror title I've ever played. There are also occasional optional (ACTUALLY optional) opportunities to play a minigame called Fire & Sword: Spiders. Though it is a great deal of fun, it's a bit too lighthearted for the game's tone, so some might find it an unnecessary distraction. Despite its flaws, I think it's worth playing, because the overall experience more than makes up for it.
I'm not necessarily one to shy away from challenge, but UnderRail takes it a little too far. At first it struck me as being a bit similar to Fallout, which I had just played and finished for the first time, so I dove right in. It does start out very similarly to Fallout, too. The combat was similar, but improved in a few subtle ways, and it seemed a bit clearer how to build the sort of character that I wanted to play. I began exploring the settlement, and found that I could learn to develop my psychic abilities. Fallout with a magic system? And I can set people on fire!? Sign me UP! This is where things started to go south... I did the same thing that you'd do in any RPG: check rooms for things that might be useful to me. Well, suddenly, I'm the one being lit on fire. Okay, it's more realistic, so I can't just take people's stuff. Beginner's trap, but I can learn a lesson. This time, I looked at some aquatic plant the wrong way, apparently; gun to the head from some angry botanist that hadn't paid me any attention prior. Okay, don't do anything. Finally survived the town - the safe zone - and made my way out into the world. Soon began my first real fight against rathounds. I had something that was supposed to rot their muscles into mushroom fertilizer; should be an easy fight. Even with maximum proficiency in melee weapons and firearms, I was hopelessly slaughtered, even before the reinforcements arrived. Well, maybe I'm not supposed to go that way yet. Every other way that I went got me killed EVEN FASTER, and I never once got close to any kind of victory. That's all well and good - again, I'm no stranger to challenge - but this was impossible, and I was on EASY.
How do you follow up a satisfying Shooter about battling dinosaurs with a ridiculous arsenal? By battling more dinosaurs, hybrids, mantis aliens, and robots with a LUDICROUS arsenal. You have bows with explosive arrows and sniper scopes, homing missile launchers, flamethrowers, plasma gatling guns, and jet-powered torpedo launchers, just to name a few, along with weapons you couldn't even imagine, like the Shredder and the Cerebral Bore. Better yet, enemies are no longer just one static hitbox; you can blow off arms, legs, and even heads for an instant kill. The bosses are generally more interesting, too, since you have to figure out how to kill them, rather than just shoot. It's not a terribly deep puzzle, but it's a but more engaging than the usual. Levels are fewer in number, but generally smarter in design, as compared to its predecessor. There are additional objectives to complete along the way, like rescuing prisoners, purifying toxic rivers, or destroying weapons storage facilities. New to the series are the talismans, which give you special abilities, which are activated at special tiles throughout the levels. This does lead to a bit of backtracking, but in my opinion, it's exciting seeing a new tile, wondering what kinds of strange new areas lie behind it. My only real gripe with the level design is that some things are a bit too well hidden, and with levels this long with so many things that you are required to find, it does lead to the occasional frustration. If you liked the original, you'll probably like this one even more; it takes everything that made its predecessor fun, multiplies it, and throws in some great new ideas. This is where it also starts to build up a pretty interesting mythos, but future entries sadly don't compare in my eyes.
I'll be honest: I completely obsessed with this game back in the day, and I've lost track of how many times I've played it through. I haven't had an N64 for at least a decade, so to see this on GOG was pretty exciting. I sat down to play, still remembering all the secrets and where to go to find every little thing, thinking this would be nice to finally have again, but I was still surprised. Playing this with mouselook makes a world of difference; it's a HUGE improvement, and now that draw distance doesn't suck anymore, the game looks a lot better, as well. This isn't going to be a game that everyone enjoys. As I haven't played a lot of modern Shooters, I can't really speak to the idea that it's dated, but I have heard as much. You'll also find quite a few platforming sections, and if that turns you off, I'd definitely stay away. I will say that the platforming is a lot better than in many of its contemporaries, but I can see why some would flinch at the idea. Most Shooters of this era stand mostly on the merits of their respective arsenals, at least in my opinion, and this one more than delivers. This game has a ridiculous number of weapons, many of which are quite creative; it wasn't afraid to stray from the melee/pistol/shotgun/machine gun/weak energy/powerful energy formula that Doom had popularized. In fact, it has more than a few that are so over-the-top that even the BFG would turn its face sheepishly away and furtively slink out of the room. So, if you're not one to shy away from a little first-person platforming, and think that taking down cybernetically enhanced velociraptors with a nuclear-apocalypse-launching energy rifle, then give this one a go!
