Fez is an atmospheric puzzle/adventure/platformer with an emphasis on exploration rather than combat. Despite having no Goombas to stomp on, the platforming and their animations are very tight and satisfying. Gomez is committed to momentum-based jumps, which are a little less common to see in platformers these days, but work well for the type of game that Fez is. If I had any advice for newcomers: You'll have to relax if you expect to enjoy Fez to its fullest. I would almost liken it to playing Proteus, only with far more to do. It is not a fast paced game by any means, however there is a great attention to detail if you're not in too much of a hurry to notice. I will say that the port is solid. Some early review builds expressed a few concerns that are not present in this release. The game is not letterboxed (you can select a resolution of your choice.) It works well with a controller, including full rumble support, but you shouldn't be disappointed by your keyboard either. Audio cues replace puzzle-related vibrations. If it seems like you might enjoy Fez, give it a try. Don't let the salty reception to the creator's legendary poor public relations put you off. Who among you has honestly never been rude or opinionated before?
I never played Daikatana in its day, and had only heard stories about how awful it was. When I saw it here, I knew sheer morbid curiosity would eventually fish 6 dollars out of me. I didn't go in with my mind already made up. On the contrary, I expected it to be an earlier "Duke Nukem Forever"; mediocre, but by NO means as bad as people liked to pretend. Daikatana however, while entertaining in an ironic sort of way, is still legitimately frustrating. There is "difficulty" to speak of, but its difficult for all the wrong reasons. The weapons are the worst part for me. The Ion Blaster is fun to shoot, but will tend to ricochet back into your face for massive damage. The C4 launcher is a joke, and will tend to get stuck on a nearby texture, killing you more often than your foes. The shotgun unloads ALL SIX shells from one mouse click... I thought I was experiencing a glitch at first. Most importantly, all of them lack stopping power. Even if you shoot first, you will take damage. Quite a bit, even from the most basic soldiers. I could go on, but I'll just wrap it up by saying Daikatana is a less satisfying Quake. It has a few cool ideas, and I've even been enjoying working my way through it, but at the end of the day, it deserves most of its reputation. I'd try to recommend avoiding it, but you'll buy it anyway won't you? You sick bastard.
It may not top the original, which I would go as far as to call "perfect", but for a modern platformer it comes incredibly close. The visuals and soundtrack are nothing short of delightful. Worth every penny even at full price.
I'm not here to advocate Steam in any way. In fact, I hate Steam, but that's irrelevant. What matters is that this game is FREE there. Free forever. I wish someone had told me, because I've essentially been ripped off.
I feel like I shouldn't need to review Raiden to GoG shoppers. Suffice to say this is a very good, and most importantly, very user friendly package. Everything is wonderfully laid out. Games are quick and easy to swap to and from, and keybindings are shared between all four games. THIS is convenience done right in a compilation package.
A very, VERY good turn-based RPG which I thoroughly enjoyed to the very end. Eschalon is tough, in that "oldschool" way it wants to emulate. There is almost no hand holding; your character is what you build it, and you've a lot of freedoms in doing so. The story definitely isn't this game's strong point, but that's not to say it is bad by any means. While linear, (that doesn't bother me as much as it seems to others) it was well written and enough to keep me interested. I'm docking one star for the completely nonsensical hit probability. This is one of "those games" where 80% "ToHit" rating means you can still miss 25 times in a row. My best advice to newcomers (playing a melee) is do NOT neglect your Dexterity, and dump a LOT of points into the weapon of your choice (swords, cleaving, bludgeons, bows, whatever you plan to use), else be prepared to miss. A lot.
