I think this is a somewhat unpopular opinion, but Prodeus never really clicked with me. Don't get me wrong, it is a good game - but it's not amazing or outstanding What I do like: - The graphics. This game just looks really good in my eyes and the gore is really neat. - The weapons. Basically what you would expect from a Doom-like shooter. They pack a punch and feel good to use. - The map-editor. Things like that are always very welcome in my book, even though I have not really used the one in Prodeus - I remember liking most of the levels. They were interesting to explore and varied from one another. What was meh: - Variety of enemies. Honestly, I felt like the variety of enemies was just a bit too underwhelming and they never really posed any danger. Usually there is only 1 or 2 types present at the same time and you just shoot them, there seems to be little tactics or thinking involved, like prioritizing a certain type of enemy. Also I really hated that in the later parts of the game most enemies were just buffed up in terms of how much damage they could take - but they are still as unthreatening as before. - The music. Honestly, I just felt the music was somewhat weak and not very memorable. There was not much variation overall. - I did not like the concept of the store you have to visit to upgrade your guns and buy new equipment. Just let me do it at the start and / or end of a mission and don't make me visit a certain spot on the world map. Personally I never really resonated with this game. In my humble opinion DOOM 2016 is a better choice to sink your teeth into.
I never played the original, so I cannot compare to that. I have, however, played and finished System Shock 2 and Arkane's Prey from 2017 - both of which were clearly inspired by the original System Shock. It sure took a long time for the game to arrive - but it was worth waiting for. System Shock is somewhat of a throwback to an era where games were made differently - but at the same time it feels modern and accessible in all the right ways. Allow me to elaborate a bit on why I think the game is so good. - The game requires you to pay attention. Clues on how to progress are given via audiologs or text messages. There is no mission log or markers - and in my eyes that is a great thing and helps immensly in making the world feel realistic and logical. - Exploration is rewarded and required. Often you will find doors or areas that are inaccessible, since a keycard or piece of equipment is missing. There are many optional pathways that reward the player with valuable ressources. - Personally I love the graphics. It is a unique look, that I have not seen in any other game before. Basically slightly "retro-looking" textures are combined with state of the art lighting and shadows. The leveldesign is closely based on the original game (from what I have seen from comparisons). And in my eyes it works really well. - Performance was very solid for me (to be fair my computer is powerful, but looking at performance metrics, it should scale well). Also I did not have any severe or game breaking bugs and I recall only 1 crash to desktop. - Be aware however, that three achievements are currently not obtainable (2 of them are in game tasks, the third is for unlocking all the others) - And finally, I like the soundtrack a lot. As a verdict, I enjoyed System Shock a lot. It might be my favourite game this year. It is a brilliant remake and a great way to play a classic that is now close to 30 years old. Full recommendation
20 hours in and I have mostly positive things to say about Asterigos. What I liked: - Graphics are nice, but what really makes it eyecatching is the presentation, the particle effects, FX and the animations. There is a lot to like here, especially the combat combo moves look fantastic. - I like the world and enemy design quite a bit. - I do like the weapons, but I must admit that I have basically only used 2 for the majority of my playtime, especially since I started upgrading them. - The story is picking up a lot. In the beginning it was not very convincing or well written at times, but that has improved and some of the characters are actually really interesting and I wish to learn more about them and their motives. - For me the game has been 100% stabsle so far and I have only noticed very minor visual bugs. Great job! What I did not like - A lot of enemies will not notice you unless you run right up to them and start hitting them - Since the games does not have a real map, navigation could be helped by having signposts or sth. similar in the gameworld to guide the player. Usually you know the name of the place you need to reach, but it is not always clear which way can be taken. That being said it is usually communicated quite well to the player what the next objective is and how it can be achieved Overall a thumbs up from my side! I am curious to see whats next in line.
Despite the short length, I stand by my review: I enjoy Shadow Warrior 3 a lot. Shadow Warrior 3 does many things right in my eyes. Combat is fast paced, relying on movement and using small enemies to keep you stocked with ammo and health. In addition to a solid weapon arsenal, Lo Wang gets a grappling hook, that allows him to swing around battle arenas and traverse the environment. The characters and humor are a big improvement over the second game, which had lots of downright badly written dialogue and Lo Wang was not likeable at all. In SW3 I found myself immensly enjoying the one-liners and the banter between characters. In terms of the graphics, I think this game looks very nice indeed. Lots of detailed backdrops for the levels. In terms of performance the game runs mostly well on my machine (RX6800XT @ 1440p @ 130 fps on High settings with FSR on). There are some combat intensive sceanrios however, where I could feel my framerate momentarily drop. On older hardware this could be even more pronounced, so i suggest to get a feel on how the game runs on other peoples systems. For such a fast paced shooter, fluent movement is essential. On the negative side I could mention that I frequently get stuck on geometry in the level, especially when trying to jump up the side of things like staircases. Also: On Gog there are no achievements as of now. I am pretty sure that they used to be mentioned on the storepage, but not any more. I know some people wont care, but I do and I sure hope they will be added soon. Update: That is not the case any more, achievements have been added! Overall great game, but be wary that this is drastically different from SW2 and closer to SW1, but with much more movement. It seem like a much more focussed and hand-crafted experience and it shows.
Overall Underworld left me with many good feelings, but also with just as many bad ones. Since I never played the previous games, I was very confused by some of the characters and stories. That is not the games fault and does as such not influence my view on it. Just know that Underworld is the first of the "old" Tomb Raider games that I have played. I do enjoy the graphics, the puzzles, the exploration of the environments and the varied locations that you visit throughout the game, even though one is literally recycled a second time. Traversal and climbing, which are the central aspect of the game are enjoyable and work very well for the most part. What I absolutely did not enjoy was combat in this game. It is quite terrible and luckily, only a minor part of the overall experience. Especially the camera has a mind of its own sometimes. Enemies are brain-dead and get stuck on object regularly. Lastly I should point out that I had quite a few issues with bugs and glitches, like platforms that disappear for a split-second leaving me to fall to death or object physics going bananas after a save-game reload. Overall I would still recommend the game, especially since its very cheap to get on sale.
Shadwen is a game about a woman named Shadwen who is out to infiltrate the castle of a king and dispose of him. On the way she makes the unintended aquantance with a girl named Lily who starts to follow her on her adventure. Gameplaywise the game is straight forward: You and Lily both have to move through levels without being spotted. Shadwen can climb, jump and swing around using a rope, while Lily has to scoot from cover to cover. Usually the way to get through a level is to distract guards by sounds so their attention shifts and Lily can move to the next savespot. Luckily Lily can never cause guars to detect her. If the alarm gets raised or a guard realises you are around, its game over. But instead of a save system, the game relies on a rewind mechanic. At any point in time you can press "R" and rewind any previous actions. I think this was the correct choice to use, since guards kill you in a single hit on sight and they never miss. In addition to that the time within the gameworld only moves forward when Shadwen moves or by pressing and holding the "Q" button. It allows for well planned out parkour and rope swinging and once again, is a very good choice. I do think an additonal toggle option would have been nice as well, so you dont have to hold down "Q" for 5 minutes while that one guard you are waiting for slowly gets into position. Graphically the game looks nice, with some believable locations to visit in a medieval inspired town. I do, however, think that the game is too long overall since most of the levels are very similar to each other and can look literally identical at times. A few chapters less would have been a good choice in my eyes. Verdict: Overall I would recommend this to a friend, but only if on sale and if they like this kind of gameplay.
Ghostrunner is a movement based action game in which you use your katana and the environment around you to jump, slide and slash through levels set in a dystopian cyberpunk world. You are constantly moving around and standing still will almost certainly mean death. And dying is very common. Every single enemy can kill you in a single hit and they are ruthless, especially when facing groups of different types. But dying is part of the learning process and does not feel undeserved or frustrating - also because you respawn instantly and never far away (the checkpoints are actually really well done). Graphically Ghostrunner looks beautiful, a very believable rendition of a futuristic city illuminated by the glow of neon lights. In addition the action on screen is supported by an outstanding soundtrack by Daniel Deluxe. It is a mix of electro and synthwave, providing a heart-pounding musical backdrop to the fast paced action. Extremely well done and already one of my personal favourites in my personal musci collection. Yes I do recommend Ghostrunner, it is a fantastic video game (even though the story is a little bit prdictable). I would personally not call it hard, but there is certainly one bossfight that is extemely hard to get through (I died 250 times I think).
First off: This game is different from the first game in many ways. Do not expect the same style of gameplay. Shadow Warrior 2 adds one very welcome feature to the series: It can now be played in coop with up to 3 friends, so you can slash demons with up to 4 players. Gameplay is very fast paced, fluent and violent. The graphics are extremely impressive for how well it ran maxed out on my (admittetly) older GTX 970. The music is not quite as good as the first game I would say, but especially the main theme is on fire. The weapons are very varied in their design and funtion and are a welcome addition to the genre. Levels are partially based on random generation, meaning that there are several building blocks that will be mixed and matched every time you go to a location on the world map. In my eyes this works really well. There are unfortunately also many aspects that do not work well. First off all, SW2 tries way to hard to copy Borderlands in the way that enemies have different elemental resistances. Loot is mostly given in form of crystals that can be used to imbue weapons with effects like elemental damage or special properties. The issue is that you get absolutely flooded with these items (somtimes 100+) in one single mission - and most of them worthless trash. To upgrade them you can combine several, but the effects of the resulting crystals are random. This is so infuriating! You never get the upgrade you want unless you luckily find it. Secondly, the upgrade menu is just a terrible and unorganized mess. It is not possible get an easy overview of installed upgrades and what the new upgrade will change exactly. Lastly, the story is just stupid in this game and Lo Wang is an annoying prick most of the time, mainly because of poorly written dialogue. Overall a great game, but it tries some new things for the series that do not work very well overall.
