Amid Evil is at its best when you're up against a barrage of melee enemies and a few sparse projectile ones. So it's fair to say I had a bad time with the mage and final episode. The final episode was especially irritating. Just a nonstop blasting from these little ghost guys who are constantly rushing you, along with these bigger shmucks who have the ability to teleport you to them. The final boss somewhat made up for the agony I had to previously endure. All of that said I'd still play an Amid Evil sequel.
Maybe there's something wrong with me but I personally enjoyed the gameplay in Spec Ops: The Line. The hectic story and character moments compound the equally chaotic enemy engagements. I played on the harder difficulty which may have given me this outlook on it. The back and forth between Walker and his companions progressively deteriorating over the course of the game made the fights even more intense. Towards the end of the game I was aggressively weaving between cover, constantly on the offensive. It's still an exhilarating experience 3 playthroughs later.
It has a nice skill ceiling if you're looking for something you can replay multiple times over a long weekend. Split-aiming, dodge twirling, and knowing when to use the slo-mo to your advantage. A great first game from this dev.
I wouldn't recommend this if you're looking for a game where you are continually presented with a variety of choice. However, if you want something more unique and investigatory than I would say give Vampyr a try. I was continually enthralled in the narrative. Discovering all the personal details of the citizens inhabiting the diseased boroughs of London was excellent. The added mechanic of administering medicine to the individuals you come across and watching over their health as the nights progress was an interesting one. You are often urged to turn these people into your victims and embrace them for massive boosts to your power. I ended up playing the good doctor throughout, but there are plenty of rotten characters in this one, which should make for an entertaining replay in the future. Peeling apart the different social layers throughout the city was the definite highlight for me. I don’t have much to say where the combat is concerned. It’s serviceable, maybe a bit clunky at times. Without a doubt it’s the major area the devs should focus on improving when the time comes for the sequel. Ultimately it didn’t spoil the overall experience with the game.
I'd recommend this if you're looking for something that is carried by its main character's plight and world. Christof Romuald (voiced by Nicholas Guest) is a phenomenal character, a crusader whose black and white sense of morality is constantly tested after being placed into the world of vampires. There is some prime dialogue in Redemption, it's really quite exhaustive and often goes deep into the lore of the setting. It's rare that you have a set protagonist so engaging that they add their own quality input to the scenes they're in. My only real complaints with the game are the buggy pathing for the AI, where your party members become stuck or just stop moving all together for no apparent reason, and the inventory management. Neither of these issues ultimately ruined the experience for me, but I thought it would be best to note them.
Coming off of Sins of the Fathers I was apprehensive about the switch to FMV and the replacement of Tim Curry with Dean Erickson as Gabriel Knight. To my surprise, I was won over on both accounts. The switch to FMV allowed for a better connection to the historical elements, exploring real locations and interacting with real people added a believable quality. Incomparable to anything I've played before. The expanded role of Gabriel's assistant Grace from the previous game was a welcome addition. Having the chance to play as her and diving into all the historical lore of the story was a real treat. This game will definitely make you want to visit Germany at some point in your life. The handling of the werewolf material here is well done. The philosophy established for it goes far above what is normally expected from the topic in the world of video games, and allows for The Beast Within to easily secure its place as the best werewolf video games out there.
For a 26 year old game Gabriel Knight holds up incredibly well. Cycling between the many different action icons in hopes of finally executing the correct interaction and a few insane late game puzzles mar the overall experience, but New Orleans is beautifully realized. The composition, characters, and story are all wonderful. Navigating the voodoo underworld is fascinating. The back and forth between Gabriel and his assistant Grace is always entertaining, definitely one of the highlights. Uncovering the deeper lore within the game was what drew me in the most and it didn't disappoint. I would certainly recommend this one, even if you have to look up some hints now and then.
I put off playing BioShock 2 for a very long time, since the original release of the game had me experiencing horrible, constant stuttering. So I shelved it for years. It wasn't until this Remaster made its way to GOG that I finally decided to give it another shot and I'm very glad I did. This is without a doubt the best game in the series from a pure gameplay standpoint. Combat engagements are always fun. Swapping between your drill and your array of other weapons feels great. I wasn't sure how I would find Rapture after revisiting it after all this time, but the Rapture present in BioShock 2 is as incredibly beautiful and mysterious as it has ever been. Some of the levels present in this one even surpass the original in terms of exploration and environmental storytelling. As many others have already pointed out this Remaster is frequently prone to crashing. I must have crashed around 30 times over my 15 hour playthrough. Not exaggerating. It's sad that the game seems to have been left in this state but it surprisingly didn't harm my overall experience with the game. I just had that great a time with it. I definitely recommend BioShock 2 to anyone who has been putting it off.
I'm honestly surprised by how much fun I had playing through this. The game is just pure chaos. Some of the earlier weapon pickups you're saddled with aren't enjoyable at all, such as the flamethrower and freeze gun. But once you get a hold of the mass driver, a weapon that fires these high-intensity bolts and looks a bit like a portable rail gun, things definitely pick up. There's also this spinning saw weapon which is a lot of fun at close range when you're dealing with dozens upon dozens of enemies surrounding you. On top of the fast paced gameplay you'll hear some humorous monotone lines from the cyborg you're playing as and encouraging words from the scientist who created it, which do a good job of injecting a nice amount of character into the game. There's also a pretty good soundtrack. The whole thing felt like a third-person Smash TV at times. I'd say the game is definitely worth checking out if you're interested. It's only 3-5 hours long anyway.
I loved The Bureau back when it originally came out in 2013, but I wasn't entirely sure what my experience with the game would be in 2018. Now after having replayed and sinking 40+ hours across Steam and GOG I can safely say this is one of my all-time favorite games. Commanding your squad and dominating the area by throwing down turrets, helper drones, and mind controlling enemies is a pure joy. Engagements are often tense and exhilarating on max difficulty where you will more often than not be constantly on the move and reshuffling the positions of your squad so they aren't obliterated by one of the many hulking opponents in the game. The lack of a complete pause when giving out orders, instead applying a slow-down effect where you can still be damaged, causing you to think fast, only increases the tension of combat. On top of that what really hooked me was the story and world design. Everything is played completely straight, you're never taken out of it with horrible comic relief characters. The vivid depiction of 1960s America ravaged by an alien invasion is taken seriously, which allows for a lot of quality character interactions and story developments. It's really quite immersive. If you account for The Bureau going through and surviving multiple reboots during development, which unfortunately turned it into more of a lower budget title, and the fact that the regular XCOM series is still kicking, then you might very well find something special here with this one.
