Back when TellTale were at the top of their game, they released three of my favorites: The Walking Dead Seasons 1+2, The Wolf Among Us and Tales from the Borderlands. The Wolf Among Us plays out like a detective story, with the twist being that it's set in the comic books world of "Fables" created by Bill Willingham. The comic book license is well used, resulting in an intriguing plot and intersting characters. Finding out where these well known fairy tale characters ended up in our world, in what kind of shady situations they've gotten themselves into, was a highlight for me. It also helped that the voice acting was top notch. I recommed this game to those who just want to sit back and relax, follow a (short) detective story unfold in the form of a point-and-click adventure game, that requires minimum input from the player.
I really wanted to like Iron Harvest, from the beautiful artwork drawn by Jakub Rozalski, to the steampunk mechs, this should had been an easy win. Sadly, it just didn't come together. Compared to Company of Heroes, the game it clearly tries to emulate, Iron Harvest falls short in many aspects. The mechs which are a substitute to tanks, feel clunky and unresponsive, as do most of the units in this game. It's like I'm battling their bad pathfinding more than I'm fighting the enemy. Despite there being 4 distinct campaigns, they all end up feeling samey and repetitive. It's nice that every mission has cutscenes, but the voice acting in them is subpar. Multiplayer is dead. "Eurojank" does not excuse the terrible performance still present years after release. My advice is to stick to Company of Heroes, Dawn of War, World in Conflict - much better experiences than this.
I was having a good time with this Western. Got halfway through the game... then my saves just disappeared. This has never happened to me with a GoG game. Syncing my cloud saves didn't help. Buy at your own risk.
Tired of the same desert environments seen in Fallout or Wasteland 2? Then come cool off in snowy Colorado! PROS: - Gripping story, constantly making you second guess your own decisions, the people you side with or against; - A shorter but more FOCUSED campaign than the one in Wasteland 2; - A very well implemented skill-check system; it feels so satisfying overcoming obstacles with the help of the skills you've been constantly honing; - NPC lines are all voice acted, which I greatly appreciate; CONS: - While graphics have been improved since the previous game, Wasteland 3 still LOOKS DATED when compared to most other isometric games; - Performance isn't great either, with loading times taking far longer than they should; My final 2 issues have been fixed by MODS from over at Nexusmods: - "Free Retrain" let me respec my soldiers for free at the base, avoiding the hassle of starting the game over several times; - "Better Equipment Mods" allowed me to remove/reuse weapon and armor mods, a feature that should've been in the game from beginning;
The New Colossus is at its best when setting you loose and letting you go wild with the Nazi shooting. - The guns, movement and shooting mechanics work very well. Graphics still hold up nicely. - The main campaign is fairly long, taking you to New York, Roswell, New Orleans and... Venus! My best advice is to stick to the main campaign and SKIP any additional content the game throws at you. - Skip the DLC's, they're short and unimportant. Skip the side missions, you'll get everything you need by doing the main story. The side missions send you back to places you've been at, to do boring repetitive tasks. - Another advice would be not to get bogged down with stealth sections. If you are detected, just start shooting like crazy and have fun. If I were to compare The New Colossus to the other games in the (new) series, I'd say it's slightly worse than The New Order and The Old Blood but way better than YoungBlood.
- Fallout was one of the first role playing games I ever played. It holds a special place in my heart, as I'm sure it does for many older gamers. - A clear indication of its success is the fact that DECADES later, fans still keep coming back for yet another playthrough, trying out different builds, installing unofficial patches and mods made by a very dedicated community. - That being said, I can't exactly recommend Fallout to newer gamers. Its dated graphics, clunky UI, severe lack of hand-holding when it comes to quests, frustrating RNG during combat, awkward companion A.I. - I'm afraid these are things only the older fans can look past. - It's definitely worth checking out, just remember to adjust your expectations before journeying into the Californian Wasteland.
- This game is similar to Diablo, Grim Dawn and Path of Exile, but with a more lighthearted tone. Instead of the usual doom and gloom, you’re treated to many pop culture references about iconic movies, video games and celebrities. My favorite part was the funny dialogue Van Helsing constantly had with his ghost companion, reminding me of Vampire Hunter D and his talking hand. - Gameplay is fast. A little too fast for my liking. Blobs of enemies charge in and either you kill them within seconds or they’ll kill you within seconds. This is essentially the “loop” of the entire game, so if repetitiveness annoys you, this is NOT the game for you. - I personally had a great time playing the Constructor class, which is the “summoner” class of this game. I’d run around with a small army of robots, who did most of the fighting for me. The enemies do NOT respawn and the game autosaves whenever I quit, letting me continue EXACTLY from where I left off. This worked even when I reset my computer during play! - Lastly, there’s an optional patch for high resolution textures. It does make things look better but it takes up a lot of space. My game ended up being around 55 GB after installing it!
Metro Exodus is a great game hampered by a few technical issues. Its campaign is long and varied, taking you across a multitude of landscapes. The graphics are gorgeous, even if not playing at max settings. Game takes you across 5 distinct locations, 3 of which are quite large, allowing you to explore at your own leisure. Add to this the second DLC (Sam’s story) which surprised me by how big it turned out to be. Well over 1/4 of the base game! One aspect that’s different from the other Metro titles is that you now have a crew with you. There’s great banter between them and by the end I’ve grown very fond of them. They make this bleak world seem more tolerable. While Metro Exodus nails it in terms of story and gameplay, it falls a bit short on a technical level. I simply can’t excuse the large numbers of crashes I encountered during my playthrough. To those experiencing problems with the controls (controls locking up for no apparent reason), I recommend turning off Windows Sticky Keys.
- This game manages to hold up surprisingly well, provided you install the RealRTCW mod. The mod lets you play at higher resolutions, let's you select whichever map/level you want to play on, adds in some new weapons and items. Game runs smoothly with RealRTCW installed and I've suffered no crashes. - Gameplay resembles the WWII shooters of the time, specifically Medal of Honor: Allied Assault and Call of Duty, with some paranormal and occult aspects thrown in. The first time you face undead in a crypt is both tense and atmospheric. - There are only 3 negative aspects I wish to touch on. Game expects you to "save scum" a lot, especially towards the end, when you're facing mechanical monstrosities. There are a few "forced" stealth sections that are a pain to get through. Luckily, they're far and few between. Game has that early 2000's map design, where I'd get stuck and not know what to do to progress (press some obscure button somewhere). - All in all, shooting nazis was still fun. More fun than in Wolfenstein 2009.
- It’s been 18 years since Troika (this game’s developers) have disbanded, yet their legacy continues to endure. A game rushed out before it was finished, riddled with bugs, yet beloved by a small and dedicated community. - Bloodlines’ biggest feature is letting you pick the vampire clan from which you hail from, and interact with the many members of the other clans. This results in many roleplaying moments, as well as reasons to replay the game. - The world is divided into 4 hub areas for you to explore, which get unlocked as the story progresses. As for side missions, they’re all well put together and thought out to fit the game’s theme. NO radiant quests here. - Gameplay wise there’s dialog and combat. Dialog is a joy to engage in, thanks to the excellent voice acting. My suggestion is investing heavily in the Persuade skill. - Combat unfortunately feels clunky, especially ranged combat in the early game. My recommendation is to focus on Unarmed/Melee in the Santa Monica and Downtown areas, then start investing skill points into Firearms only after reaching Hollywood. - But whatever you do, make sure you download the latest version of the UNOFFICIAL PATCH, install it and play from the new shortcut it creates. If you want to make sure it’s installed correctly, just go to the Gameplay Options menu and there you should see "unofficial patch" written along with the current version number.
