Cautious Recommendation After renting this game once or twice decades ago for the Nintendo 64, I only retained vague memories of the opening Hoth level and vivid, terrifying memories of the final boss in the sewer level. The title built up a kind of mystique in my mind over the years. Playing to revisit those memories, Shadows of the Empire more than fulfilled it's purpose. Its age is immediately apparent making it tough to recommend for the average gamer, but those interested will find a cool little time capsule of star wars gaming history. The shooter controls are quite awkward, but the game is designed well enough with these controls in mind that adjusting is an initial challenge to overcome rather than a constant annoyance. The worst is the vertical aiming, which requires a button hold and isn't nearly responsive enough, but apart from the AT-ST battle in the first level it's not too essential to do this in any timely manner. Ord Mantell's train setpiece was a standout for me. It matched the game's controls surprisingly well and I found myself recalling Uncharted 2's classic train level. Obviously that is much more advanced, but similar thrills can be found here. Sometimes the rough edges of 90s game design makes it more exciting. Echo Base and Gall Spaceport are easy choices to round out the top three levels. Of interest here is the early 3D level design. Environments are weird abstractions of Star Wars complete with some nonsensical routes and hallways jetting off at oblique angles. Cool stuff, and the more open levels still do a solid job of creating a sense of place. Vehicle missions are a mixed bag. The hoth opening is quite great and I dare say that harpooning AT-ATs feels just as good as it did in Pandemic's Battlefront games. The Tatooine speeder chase is a bit of a mess, with sections of the level being blatantly repeated. A turret section near the end is obviously designed to eat up lives, so grab extra lives and challenge points wherever you can.
A game that's mostly aged well. The setpieces are tense and actually interactive (gasp) It also unfortunately has the single worst implementation of enemy snipers I've ever seen. Snipers hide behind thick layers of foliagemaking them near impossible to see, but through which they can consistently shoot you if you so much as peak from behind cover. This combined with your character's dramatic reaction to every hit had me repeatedly shouting WHAT IS EVEN HAPPENING at my screen during one mission, where the only tolerable way to progress is cheats and/or save scumming. Honestly, have some cheats ready to go beforehand, otherwise you may be so frustrated that you won't even care about the game anymore.
I picked Dyad up on launch a few years back on the Ps3, and I'm glad to double dip on the PC version. It's a unique and simple (but challenging) experience that's well worth the few bucks you can get it for during a sale. It's beautiful, and a great balance of relaxing trance-inducing indie games and blood-pumping score chasing. The soundtrack is top-notch as well, and unlike anything you'll hear in another game Every level adds something new; no levels are wasted. It starts off pretty laid back, and quickly gets intense. On top of all the standard levels, you have the corresponding trophy levels which add a different restriction or objective to achieve. I've never been much of a trophy or achievement hunter, but Dyad made them simple, logical, and fun. The only complaints I can really make about Dyad are as follows: 1. It's a bit repetitive. It's not a game you'll play day after day until you're finished, but one you'll come back for 30 minutes to an hour every once in a while. 2: The visuals can get a bit *too* distracting in the later levels, making the challenge more about understanding what's going on than anything else (this should be a smaller issue on the PC version though if you're sitting at a desk)
I reluctantly picked this up for 4 or 5 dollars during GOG's summer sale, thinking there was a good chance I'd never beat it. I installed it later that day just to give it a try, and it ended up consuming most of my gaming time. Money well spent. Quick rundown: Gameplay: Very much a "classic" shooter, which I like, but it also has some more modern features which are used pretty well. The limited manual health-regen was a pretty good take on that system, in my opinion. It means fights are never impossible, but still makes you manage your health. Gameplay is fast and swarming with enemies. Most guns aren't all that satisfying to fire and bosses in particular can get repetitive, but the powers and sword combat are unique and fun enough to make up for that. 4/5 Graphics: Not the most advanced game out there, but the artstyle is phenomenal. This is a game with a big colour palette and it knows how to use it. 4.5/5 Sound: Admittedly, I felt the sound desgin was pretty weak. Gunshots lack any kind of punch which makes them even less satisfying. Sword sounds are better. The music and voice acting are fine but don't really stand out. 2/5 Story/Writing: This is a bit of a mixed bag. Some jokes are pretty funny, others are complete headscratchers. The main plot turned out pretty decent and the characters grow to have some charm after a while. 3/5 Overall: 3.5/5
