DOOM3 and it's expansions could have been a system shock clone. They do dark and scary well; the lighting and shadows provide a frightening atmosphere. The space colony's very extensive dark deserted and claustrophobic corridors, crawling with demons and zombiefied humans are reminiscent of the ss series space station/space ship. On the otherhand, there is not anywhere near the interaction, depth and sophistication of the ss series. The whole evil coterie returns, but instead of the hordes, you're ambushed at every opportunity by usually a few at a time. It's still an action game at heart, albeit a frightening one. Survival horror it's not. There's plenty of guns and ammo to deal with the denizens of doom. The production values are very high, & although it is a typical old school shooter, it feels like a real industrial base in a remore, hostile location. The two expansions take place in the same location and similar environments to DOOM3; pretty much extensions of the first game. RoE brings the story to a close and introduces a bit more depth and variety to the gameplay. It is however easier than the first game. The lost missions is far more balls-to-the wall than RoE and DOOM3. Monsters spawn often and everywhere. Armour, ammo & health pickups are less numerous than in both preceding games, although there is still more than enough. Be prepared for many jump-scares and some frantic multiple-enemy encounters. The original Doom3 is darker and far more scarier, exacerbated by having to switch between weapon and flashlight. BFG is definitely lighter, has more pickups, enables simultaneous weapon and flashlight use. No doubt it was altered to appeal to a more mainstream audience. If you want the full original experience, get the original game or play with settings and install mods to get BFG to approach the original look, feel and gameplay.On the other hand, BFG contains a hell (ahem) of a lot of value, upgraded graphics and is the most accessible DOOM3.
Played this a few years after release, when it was still extremely popular. No story, purely multiplayer; singleplayer is simulated multiplayer against lethal bots. If you're looking for a fast, streamlined game to test your reflexes and deathmatch skills, this is it. Although the characters are low-poly, the graphics still hold out, primarily due to the textures and lightning. Certainly, some of them were jaw-dropping at the time, invoking a justifiable accusation that the game was as much a deliberate advertisment for the Q3 engine as it was an arena shooter. Speaking of the engine, it's scalability is impressive. Turning off features sequentially enabled gameplay on weaker and weaker cards in an almost linear fashion, until it would run on almost any card that did texture-mapped triangles. John Carmack's magic! But that's something of no concern for even laptop bog-standard gpus today. Although Tribes revolutionised openworld multiplayer deathmatch and team gameplay modes, Q3 and UT pushed these right into the mainstream in 1999.
Quake 4 is good for what it is. And what it is, is an old school corridor shooter dressed up in impressive graphics, (the doom3 engine can do lighting!),, populated by well-animated and modeled capable teammates and fearsome biomechanical foes. The graphics and sound succeed in creating a creepy, disturbing alien industrial environment. The level of gore and some story elements make this game unsuitable for minors; the Strogg's intention wrt organic lifeforms leaves much to be desired. The game is a fps with team assistance; not a team-based game. The enemy AI is good enough; the weaker enemies dodge & hide, the stronger ones charge at you because they can handle what you dish out. That being said, don't play on the first two difficulties if you want a challenge. The difficulty does ramp up in the last third of the game, with increasing numbers of enemies dishing out punishing attacks. The game is very linear, with a storyline that suffices to tie the stages together. Quake 4 has no pretensions to be anything else than a modernised, improved continuation of Quake 2, and in this it succeeds admirably.
I played this game years ago, so can't recall all the details, pros and cons. Old-school fps but not "hordes of monsters" ala doom. More sophisticated gameplay, great levels, graphics and ww2-era atmosphere. Not to be compared with the MoH series or suchlike "realistic" ww2 shooters of the time, but a really enjoyable, immersive fps; wolfenstein storyline including a bit of supernatural silliness.
A cinematic game with an intriguing story and character depth that keeps one involved and immersed. The graphics, although simple by todays standards are nice enough and don't detract from the imemrsion. On hq the aa & filtering makes the picture butter smooth and compensate for the 1024X768 max res (didn't try widescreen). Kinematics are not fantastic, but good. Voice acting is very good and enhances the imemrsion. I found the button mashing irritating at times but acceptable within the context of the game and the developer's aims. Simple adventure elements, nothing brain-straining, although your selection of some questions and actions will influence how much information you acquire, and have an influence on how the game plays out. The one big disappointment is the bizarre storyline development in the last third of the game. The logical and coherent plot development deteriorates as the protaginist inexplicably turns into Keanu Reeves and silly and irrational plot elements are introduced. The game needs to be at least an hour longer, in order to develop the plot coherently and logically to a satisfying conclusion. Instead, it progresses rapidly via a series of big, unbelievable events to the (anti)climax. The game revolves around its story, so why did this happen!? Were the devs told that the deadline had been moved forward from next year to next month? The remastered version was released in 2015, with improved graphics. The time would have been better spent on fixing the story and lengthening the game. The graphics are not the issue here. The abruptly degenerating storyline prevents this game from achieving at least its full potential, if not greatness. Nothwithstanding that the incredulity induced by the infantile plot elements of the last third broke my suspension of disbelief , I don't regret playing this game. I found most of it to be enjoyably immersive and always wanted to see what would happen next and how it would end
This review is based on a ss portable that I played a few years ago. I first tried playing the original CD version of the game, but, after eventually getting the DOS config correct, gave up due to the horribly awkward controls. SSP solved these issues, making the game playable by introducing mouselook, and a number of other improvements. IMO, the enhancement isn't an enhancement, but a gameplay necessity. The fact that it's viable to play this game today is solely due to the efforts of those who created the enhancement mods. I excluded technology when rating ss1; obviously the graphics , audio & AI aren't comparable to today's standards. I played it as a precursor to ss2, because it's a piece of gaming history, and due to it's sterling reputation. And I enjoyed it! The learning curve is due to the elaborate hud and gameplay, rather than the old technology. SS1, a hybrid fps/role-playing experience, is immersive, possessing an impressive complexity and storyline, not to mention innovative concepts such as cyberspace. Citadel is a fully architecturally-realised space station. Impressively for 1994, you can return to previous levels of the station, making the experience seamless and coherent. The mysteries and horrors of Citadel will slowly unfold as you explore its desolate but not uninhabited interior. Accept ss1 for what it is, and plug yourself into an iconic piece of gaming history.
4.5-5 stars. Other than being made from an enhanced Unreal1 engine, using similar weapons and the optional inclusion of Skaarj and Nali characters, UT has absolutely no connection to Unreal1. There's a backstory about the nasty Liandri mining corp. hosting gladiatorial contests and how you must fight to be the ultimate winner and blah blah. Pointless but necessary exposition aside, the game does everything right. The tech holds up well today. Graphics still look good enough (imho) and can be played on any current system with all the bells & whistles. It's multiplayer only, the single player being simulated multiplayer against bots who I'm sure have more intelligence than many govt. bureaucrats. The AI is brilliant, with the difficulty levels mainly revolving around the multiple opponent AI settings (n00b to lethal). I'm sure the bots can pass the Turing test, so convincing and human-like is their behavior. The gameplay is fast and simple: reflexes rule, assisted by judicious weapon selection. And there are many types of gameplay: deathmatch, ctf, assault, domination, ect. All levels & gameplay types are playable in multiplayer and "single player" modes. Additionally, completing the single-player campaign mode on a high difficulty is a challenging achievement. Paying no heed to reality, the game is constructed largely from the imaginations of the designers. The resulting arenas, buildings, space stations, low-gravity environments and a myriad other locations, make the game hugely fun to play. There's an active UT community. A huge no. of community maps exist, with new ones being made. Online games are available. LAN games are easy to setup. I'm sure that significant graphical enhancements exist, but the game looks fine as it is. The bottom line is that UT is a superb and fun multiplayer game, with an excellent single player campaign, that will play well over the internet and LAN, looks good & plays on just about any pc hardware even ten years old.
The 4 stars are for a game which achieves its few aims superbly. Although the campaigns of all 3 entities are worth playing, I have based the review upon the marine one, as it had the most impact upon me. AvP is disconcerting,and frightening. The designers captured the essence of the aliens experience and atmosFEAR, and in so doing achieved the holy grail of pc gaming: complete immersion. You don't play the game; you experience it. Everything in the game is subordinated to this one objective. The game is pure; uncomplicated and intellectually simple. No complex storyline, rpg or strategy elements. The environments are dark, oppressive and claustrophobic, illuminated with flickering lighting, mirroring the drab, utilitarian, industrial LV426 colony after the aliens took over. The screeching, hissing and scampering of the aliens adds to the terror, as does the individual and co-ordinated attacks of ruthless, intelligent creatures. You will not be inclined to relax & admire the scenery . Nothing here sets you at ease. Complete the assigned tasks and survive. This is a simple survival horror fps. If that sounds contradictory, then understand that no amount of powerful sophisticated weaponry gives you an overwhelming advantage over the aliens. The product of Geiger's dark imagination is the terrifying star of the show; fast, agile, stealthy, deadly, with superior senses, the ability to crawl on walls and ceilings, and who co-operate in their attacks. And there are lots of them! You are always weaker & vulnerable; almost always the hunted. The creatures attack anywhere, anytime. Weapons jam. It's difficult to see in the dark. You get lost easily. Objectives and paths are not obvious.You die easily and often. And that's on the easy setting. AvP is almost purely a visceral experience; one that induces fear and terror, and requires you to step away from the pc at times. If Alien: Isolation is the definitive Alien game, then AvP is the definitive Aliens game.
I don't believe in giving games 5 stars, and suspect that the judgement of many gamers about old games is often distorted by nostalgia. For me, nostalgia doesn't apply here. I played it in 2012, albeit on 2004 hardware, and it blew me away. The stunning graphics; the huge, detailed, varied (although the entire game occurs on a small group of tropical islands) environments; the smart, difficult and (later in the game) frightening enemies; the sandbox approach (there are engagements that can be avoided). Real environments, real enemies, real fear, real challenges. If you play fps's, then this game is a must. If you don't play fps's, play this to alter your view.
I played this game years ago and still have the original cd. A 3rd person hack & slash, but this doesn't cover the game's intricacies. The fantasy and mythology are deep, dark and captivating. The level design and graphics suit the theme, and the dynamic lighting is impressive; better than Doom3, imho. The effects of flickering torch light (the flame variety) is a sight to behold. The combat is brutal; enemies can be hacked up in a variety of manners. It is also very challenging, with enemies that are difficult to kill, capable of inflicting heavy damage, and attacking singly and in groups, intelligently. The control is awkward, with a steep learning curve. I don't know why the developers settled on such an unintuitive and frustrating system. Due to the challenging combat and the difficult control system, be prepared to die many times, Nevertheless, this is an unusual and immersive game, and well worth playing.
