I member. Artists like Flytronix, Aquasky and Dom + Roland from the leading DnB music label Moving Shadow provided the music, which was especially written for the game. GRIP continues that tradition with 28 killer DnB tracks as background music for a Rollcage inspired futuristic racing game, giving us a solid 2 hours and 11 minutes of pure DnB energy. The only downside here is that there's no lossless format, only 256 kbps MP3. Even if you're not a race fan this soundtrack is definitely worth it.
The Good: + Remarkable graphics + Superb soundtrack by the late Daniel Licht + Some excellent voice acting + Atmospheric Steampunk setting + Very optimised (Will even run on a toaster) + Play the lethal or non-lethal way + Multiple ways to finish a level + Non-linear gameplay in the hubs + Levels change based on your playstyle + Different endings based on your playstyle + Playing with the different Void Powers is super fun + A lot of graphics and gameplay options + Dunwall City Trials provide more challenges + The two Daud DLC's are as good as the main game + New powers, weapons and enemies in the Daud DLC's + More non-lethal options in the Daud DLC's + New hubs to explore in the Daud DLC's + Buy favors that can help you in-game (Daud DLC's) + Daud is not a silent protagonist like Corvo + Michael Madsen does a stellar job as Daud's voice + Lots of fun side missions + Responsive controls + Manual saves The Bad: - Predictable storyline - You'll see the twist coming from miles away - Corvo is a silent protagonist - Enemy AI is a bit stupid at times - Too many repeating enemy voice lines - Chloe Grace Moretz's voice over is pretty bad - Stealth can be a bit twitchy on higher difficulties - Limited options for non-lethal playthrough - Some bad textures here and there The Ugly: - Blow off, choffer.
The Good: + Great graphics + At times very atmospheric + Likable characters + Two large sandbox hubs to explore + Shooting feels good and responsive + Weapon mods can be used for more than 1 weapon + Finally subtitles for almost every conversation + Spider Bunker & Dead City + Day/Nighttime cycle + DLC The Bad: - Metro's confined gameplay doesn't really work for open world - Story doesn't make any sense if you think about it - Hilariously bad English voice-overs - Artyom still is a silent protagonist in-game! - Artyom has no stamina and is tired after running 50 meters - Extremely dumb enemy A.I. - Too many unskippable cutscenes - QTE's for literally every movement (crawling, opening doors etc) - The Caspian is a big and boring Mad Max-like hub with very little to do - Yamantau is an on-rail shooting gallery - Can't sleep/rest on the train! - Waaaay too much talking!! - Stealth is too easy - Invisible walls - Annoying bear boss fight (again!) - Bugs, bugs, bugs The Ugly: - Realizing that still no game can beat S.T.A.L.K.E.R.'s immersion and A-Life.
The Good: + Updated graphics + At times very atmospheric + Semi-realistic shooting mechanics + Sneak or shoot your way through the game + New weapons to play with + Pay girls for a lapdance + Collect diary pages + Bigger maps + Secrets + DLC The Bad: - Less interesting story than Metro 2033 - Morality system forces you to listen to minutes long conversations - Too many QTE's and cutscenes - Too much hand holding - Annoying boss fights - Forced combat sections - Unlikable love interest - Stealth is still way too easy - Human enemies behave like idiots - Artyom's still a silent protagonist in-game - Still the same 5 people doing all the English voices - Overstays its welcome (the end drags) The Ugly: - Random crashes that weren't present in the Steam version
The Good: - Updated graphics - Still oozing atmosphere - Semi-realistic shooting mechanics - Improved stealth mechanics - Weapon upgrades - Ranger Mode - Expanded levels - No filter 'problem' anymore - Biomass level isn't infuriatingly difficult now - New spiderbug enemy - The Bastard - Bugfixes The Bad: - Volumetric lighting and particle effects are worse - Sneaking is way too easy now - They've made the trolley level even worse - Enemies armor is now made of plastic - English voice acting (still) sucks - Unclear morality system - Removed the Plated Nosalises - Removed the stealth and combat suits - Different voice actor for Artyom - No weapon slot for knives The Ugly: - GOG version is prone to crashes - Still can't buy the original Metro 2033 on GOG!
The Good: - Weapons feel punchy - Enemies aren't as dumb as in Project Origin - The Mech levels are good - Playing as Paxton Fettel is super fun - Some good levels like the warehouse and airport - The graphics look alright - Bloody violence The Bad: - Wonky story - Cutscenes that don't make any sense - John Carpenter doesn't add anything to the game except his name - The first two levels (Prison, Favela) feel like a CoD game - The horror element fails miserably - Point Man looks like a hobo - Invisible walls everywhere - You move like a snail The Ugly: - No co-op anymore - This release basically killed the F.E.A.R. franchise
Let's get rid of the elephant in the room first: Yes, this game has grooming and can be disturbing to some people, judging the negative reviews here. Is it a bad game? No, not really. I'd say it's average. The Suicide of Rachel Foster tries too hard to be like Firewatch, which is a masterful walking sim. The graphics are nice but nothing special. The soundtrack and voice acting is okay, but the real star is the location. Our main character Nicole needs to hide in her deceased parents old hotel during a snowstorm, which brings up memories of The Overlook Hotel from The Shining. It even has similar carpet and furniture. Here she discovers family secrets she's unprepared for. Her only contact during her stay is some FEMA agent she talks to on satellite phone, but can she trust him? Sounds familiar? The story never trancends that of a regular Midsomer Murders episode, with some grooming thrown in there. People shouting 'pedophilia' have probably never heard of 'ephebophilia', which is exactly what the theme in Rachel Foster is. Yeah, it's still wrong, but judge the game on it's gameplay instead of its disturbing theme, will you? I wonder if people like this also protest movies with similar dark themes. A sad bunch of snowflakes and prudes if you ask me, not ready for the real world. Anyway, play Firewatch instead, or if you want horror Amnesia: The Dark Descent. If you really want to see what all the fuzz is about, wait until this is for sale for a couple of bucks.
I'm having tons of fun with this game! It's certainly the best 'boomer shooter' I've recently played. Prodeus copies several gameplay mechanics from Doom '16 and Doom Eternal, and mixes it with the excellent level design of 'Knee-Deep in the Dead', the first episode of the original 1993 Doom. The pixelated graphics look great and the moody electro-metal soundtrack by Andrew Hulshult kicks ass. The over-the-top gore in this game can be compared to the Brutal Doom mods: Enemies explode into fountains of blood and guts when hit. Every weapon packs a punch and has a secondary fire mode. What I don't like is that you have to buy certain abilities like the double jump to get access to secrets that you can't reach without it. The devs are basically making you replay the levels you've already finished to get all the secrets and ore. Not having this ability from the start is kinda BS if you ask me. The save system is weird. It uses a checkpoint system in the form of Nexus Points which are spread throughout the level. If you happen to die you'll get spawned at the latest Nexus Point. What they don't do is save your progress. Prodeus only lets you save when exiting the game, but then you'll have to play the whole map from the beginning again. It's not a big problem since the maps aren't that big, but nineties shooters let me save anywhere and the maps in Doom '93 aren't that big either. This is more of a nitpick than a real problem, but when I boot up the game I have to click through 9 screens (1. Photosensitivity Warning 2. ProNet 3. ProNet Log in 4. Main Menu 5. Campaign 6. Episode Select 7. Continue 8. Map overview 9. Map Info 10. Play) until I can finally start unloading bullets into hapless monsters. This isn't very conductive when you are already suffering from RSI. All in all, amazingly fun shooter, but it still drops the ball a bit here and there.
This PC version of Powerslave (Exhumed in Europe) is different from the Saturn/PSX versions as it has a linear progression through the levels, no backtracking, old school weapon management and different maps entirely. It runs on the Build Engine, like Duke Nukem 3D and Shadow Warrior. I like this version a bit better than the Saturn/PSX remaster from Nightdive Studios. There's no annoying platforming and backtracking to speak of. No floaty jump mechanics either and every weapon has it's own ammunition. The game has no dificulty setting, but that's not really necessary because it gets ridiculously hard in the later levels. It still retains the terrible checkpoint system though, although the checkpoints are more evenly spread throughout the levels. It's not a treasure hunt like in the console versions and remaster. The shooting is just okay. You'll be mostly using the M-60 machine gun, but ammo is pretty scarce and you'll run out of it frequently, which sucks because most of the enemies are real bullet sponges. The weapons are fairly standard: A machete, a revolver, a machine gun, grenades and a flamethrower. Later you'll get your hands on the Cobra staff and the Manacle. If you get turned into a mummy you can use their mummy power against them, which is a nice touch. I'm about halfway into the game now and it's getting a bit of a slog. What Exhumed is missing is more variation between levels and enemies. You'll just travel from one tomb to the other, killing the same boring enemies while hunting down keys to open different doors. The Egyptian theme is really nice, but that can't save it from feeling extremely repetitive. As I said the maps are huge, which is also a negative point since you'll be running around the level a lot, looking for a way out. All in all I've enjoyed this original linear PC version a bit more than the Nightdive remaster, but it's not in the same league as Duke Nukem 3D, Shadow Warrior, Blood, Heretic and Hexen.
Powerslave/Exhumed is a shooter from Lobotomy Software based in ancient Egypt. Back in the day it was released for PC, SEGA Saturn and PlayStation. These versions were different from eachother, as the PC version was a straight up FPS, but the Saturn version was more like Hexen with different hubs you needed revisit to progress further. In my country it was called Exhumed (I still have the CD-ROM somewhere!), but in other countries it was called Powerslave, which is also the name of an Iron Maiden album. This is a good remaster which combines all the versions into one playable game. The graphics look really nice, the soundtrack is good and the shooting also kicks ass. But taking off my nostalgia goggles Powerslave/Exhumed is a pretty mediocre shooter. The enemies are boring (the first few maps you are mostly shooting bugs, eagles and jumping scorpions), the player's hitbox is too wide, making it hard to dodge projectiles in the many narrow hallways, the maps are confusing and there's too much annoying platforming. Worst of all is that they took out the manual saves and put in a terrible checkpoint save system! The checkpoints are pretty far from eachother and sometimes well hidden, making it a real chore to play if you want to quit the game, but not want to lose your progress. All in all: great remaster, but still too many flaws to be memorable. Guess I'll have to buy the original PC version too now, since that one's very different from this remaster.
