I bought Ghostrunner on a whim because I saw high praise for it as it was about to release from journalists and reviewers. The game looked and ran fluid when I played the demo and I had decent fun with it. Having played through the game now, I can safely say the game is... alright. I think reviewers definitely praised it to high heaven but at the same time I get why they might like this game. I only briefly glanced through them so I'm admittedly at fault. While Ghostrunner is nothing amazing, it's a decently enjoyable game. For context, I've thought about it and realized I usually don't like a game being the middle of the road. Games in this area tend to be difficult to enjoy becuase it doesn't do anything particuarly well or bad. It just ends up boring. However, there is an area near middle of the road I'm finding myself increasingly missing as I've played the newest "big hig releases." Games that don't do anything particuarly unique, but stay simple, short, and concise. Ghostrunner lands in this category. The most unique thing I can think of in regards to it is the upgrade system. Essentially, it's a tetris grid that is limted and your upgardes are tetris blocks. Whatever you fit into the tetris grid is what you equip. It's interesting and I like it. Otherwise, the game runs relatively fine. The gameplay is fairly smooth. Aside from some rough segments of platforming here and there, it's fairly smooth and enjoyable too. The story was not very good but the performance from the Architect is pretty good in my opinion. The levels while fairly detailed are unfortunately all pretty similar. Overall, Ghostrunner is decent. It sticks with a simple concept and expands on it just enough to keep it fresh. It's fairly short as well (which I'm finding increasingly attractive as I am burnt out from AAA games that don't know their limits). There is replayability if you want to find the collectibles or replay challenges. What you see is what you get and I'm alright with that.
Metal Gear Solid 2 is an exceedingly good entry in the infamous Metal Gear Solid franchise. Prior to its release here, a majority of people I have known was not aware this was ported to PC in 2003. This can be attributed to a lackluster port that had terrible performance issues. Fortunately, fans of the franchise who knew about the PC port have been exceedingly commited to getting it in tip-top shape with fan patches. You can find a link to that port in the most helpful review listed or on /r/metalgearsolid. Installation is a breeze and any issues you have might be patched in the future as it appears the fan-patch is still being actively developed. If you can play MGS 2 via the HD collection on the 360 or PS3, I would recommend playing that version over this version. This version while functional with fan-patches, would still for me inferior to those ports (I played them not long before I played these versions). A controller is recommended regardless of what platform. If you are looking at playing MGS 2 for the first time, I cannot over emphasize you should play the first game right before you play 2. The game was intended to be played not long after MGS 1 and shines the most in that circumstance.
I've only had the privilege of playing Shadow Tactics. Aside from that, I have not touched a Desperados game before. The demo for Desperados 3 paints a picture of the game being as pleasant as my experience with Shadow Tactics. The characters you play with and interact with are immensely enjoyable. Each has their own unique skillset and have well-written dialogue. I was worried I'd feel unfamiliar with some of the story because of it being the third entry. However, I felt like I followed along pretty closely despite that. I appreciate the demo because without it, the game wasn't probably going to end up on my radar anytime soon
Dusk is a game I've had the pleasure of playing several times over. It's easy to pick up, the horror aesthetic is fun, the enemies are memorable, and the levels while flawed in my opinion, are still fun to play through. It's a good modern entry in the old school shooters from old. I don't think Dusk does anything particularly new mechanically. There's nothing here you won't find necessarily in old FPS. That being said, I'm not trying to encourage you to skip it. It's still a very fun experience with some unique levels. The game also has a fantastic atmosphere. Outside of all of this, we got workshop support coming in the future I believe. On top of that, the multiplayer while barebones is still somewhat fun. It can be hard to find matches but you can find people to play with on New Blood's discord.
I'll try to keep this short. I've been playing through a lot of old-school shooter games and modern entries using the same design philosphies of old titles we all know and love. Project Warlock appeared on my radar and was presented to me as a take on the old-formula with a little bit of a twist. While I can see why some people would say what they have about Project Warlock, I think you probably would enjoy this game more if you go into it not expecting that. There are definitely a lot of similar elements but Project Warlock has created it's own identity that makes it enjoyable to play. The game definitely has flaws such as there's been a few really, really tough situations I've been stuck at in later episodes. That being said, the game supposedly randomly generates it's levels. If that's the case, the game definitely deserves praise I think. Randomly generated levels has been done better in other games. However, this game definitely does a great job and has a general flow to it usually. Weapons feel strong and the upgrades for them are real neat. Spells are a bit lackluster in my opinion but I'm here for the weapons moreso than the spells. Overall, a good time but don't go into it expecting something akin to Blood, Ion Maiden, Doom, Heretic, etc. It does share elements with them such as the way secrets are typically laid out, color keys, different episodes/themes, and a large variety of weapons. That being said, there's a specific pillar in the game's design that I can't even pinpoint myself that makes this completely different to play compared to the titles of old.
