I got the original version on STEAM, which with the dated controls does feel dated. I was delighted when I heard that Nighdive was going to remaster it in the same way they did SYSTEM SHOCK. First off, we get modern controls with mouse-look and WASD movement, which is a HUGE improvement and makes it easier to control. I don't know how I played it so well in the 90s, but easy-to-use controls are just a blessing. Secondly we get the 1920 x 1080 resolution, which maintains the original graphics style and sprites, but they finally don't look so blocky. Forget Puke Nukem or SHADOW WARRIOR, BLOOD is the ultimate Build Engine game with the best anti hero protagonist ever. Now if Nightdive only could obtain the rights to WITCHAVEN and give it the Nightdive treatment I would never have to buy a new game ever again!
...got stuck in the tutorial mission due to a bug that won't let me pick a lock to progress.
I found myself sometimes starting up THE WITCHER 3 just to lay down some cards. Apparently I was not the only one, as CD PROJEKT RED soon announced a standalone GWENT game, mainly intended for multiplayer sessions. This standalone caters more to single players, featuring a story which is very good with decison making added. You move around a world map and collect resources around the map, manage a camp and fight out battles - GWENT style. It feels and plays just like the HEROES OF MIGHT & MAGIC series with tactical combat replaced by GWENT. And it works! Got it for $30 - half price of an AAA game, which is fair. The conversations, which make out a large portion of the game a fully voiced even with a narrator for between the dialogues. The voice acting is very good. Note that if you were a GWENt expert in THE WITCHER 3, the rules are different here. There are much much more cards and some special rules.
Ravenloft I & II were among my favorites when they came out in the 90s, despite their graphics being outdated at release already (only 90 degrees angles, no curves, flat world with no ramps etc. and pixels! Holy moly do closeups look horrible!). The problem with the "smooth scrolling" 3D games is they aged worse than their "step-by-step" cousins (Dungeon Master 2) and this is especially true about Ravenloft. Atmosphere and Sound effects are great however, I love the fantasy horror touch, which saves these titles from mediocrity, part 2 also has the Ancient-Egypt setting going for it. The voice acting is pretty bad though. Gameplay-wise these titles are just average. I preferred the first one despite terrible graphics and a clumsy combat simply because of the Transylvanian Dark Fantasy setting, the high difficulty and the focus of everybody's favorite enemy type, the undead. Both games are combat heavy and feature low puzzle density (which are mostly just finding keys/buttons/teleporters) with some dialogue but overall is pretty linear.
I must admit, I am not an Ultima (Underworld) fan. I got into the franchise rather late, Ultima VIII Pagan when it came out in 1994, Ultima VII and UU 1 & 2 just recently and the two Underworlds have aged really really bad. When Pagan first came out (on 8 floppy disks) I hated it due to its terrible platforming. If there is something I truly hate in games it is platforming. Compared to Ultima VII, part VIII Pagan was a major step backwards: the world size, the world interaction, the choices and oh heavens, the simplified gameplay! Platforming has become a MAJOR part of the game. Fortunately there was a patch - which is the version on GOG - that fixes the platforming, making it easy: where the cursor is, that's where the avatar will jump to (before the patch you could not aim the jump!). Another issue that will never be fixed is that Ultima VIII was rushed out in an incomplete state (which was not Origin's fault, but Electronic Arts'), which results in major plotholes and incomplete quests. What Ultima VIII does get right ist the atmosphere, just the way I like it: grim and dark. Combat and monsters are good, although the controls overall are a bit clunky. The story was not bad either. I liked the color pallet and the theme as well as the world design. I'd give it a 4 out of 5 were ther not two issues: the unfinished feel of the game and the heavy reliance on platforming (hey! Get the avatar a pair of bib overalls and a baseball cap and let him grow a mustache! No seriously, I hate Super Mario!). But 3 out of 5 it is.
If you like fantasy RPGs, this is a must own. This is THE essential must-have game, this is the best game ever made. Sure, you can't create your own character, you can't be female or an elf or a dwarf, you role play as Geralt. BUT, the story is amazing and gripping, the characters are well fleshed out, the world is immersive and all too real. THE ELDER SCROLLS created open world RPGs but THE WITCHER 3 perfected it. The two expansions HEART OF STONE and BLOOD AND WINE are must haves, both stories are far better than the original campaign with very interesting characters throughout. The graphics are outstanding and a major point of bringing the world to life. The series has come very far from THE WITCHER 1. Character models look good, the world looks amazing, there is very much detail to the world. The voice actors, are top notch as well. Doug Cockle has voiced Geralt in both preceding epics as well, this is great for continuity, Jo Wyatt from DRAGON AGE 2 voices Ciri, overall the English voice actors are great! The musical score is brilliant too, with Polish folklore group Parcival performing their version of several traditional folk songs in a very fitting and fantastic score. What is truly amazing though are the characters and the the story with choices that have true consequences that can be tragic and morally deep. Often times the consequences are surprising and cannot be foreseen. There is a great variety of monsters and quests, my favorite being the Witcher contracts. These often require preparation and tactics, Diablo-style hack 'n slash does not work in higher difficulty settings and in the DLCs combat has a touch of DARK SOULS to it. I love the preparation, when you have to learn about the monsters' weaknesses, use the proper potions and oils for your swords, it makes combat so much more than simple button mashing. THE WITCHER 3 is the closest you'll ever get to a great fantasy novel: it sucks you in, you feel it, live it and wish it would never end.
I was very eager for Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice, and partially it holds up its promise: Graphics and sound are state of the art and the game world is fantastic, even amazing. I love the combat system and the minimalist controls. There is no inventory, so you don't pick up a bunch of junk and have to manage it, there's no tons of weapons, and there is no real exploration - this is not an open world game. Basically it's walk, walk, walk, then an enemy appears and the game switches to combat mode (the game does this automatically, you cannot use your weapon outside of combat mode, and you cannot enter combat mode manually). You fight an enemy, you exit combat mode. Then comes a puzzle. That's basically the came in a nutshell. Rinse and repeat. And it is this that kind of ruins the immersion. The puzzles are ANNOYING as hell and the game would have been a lot better completely without them, as they only stall the game. They are there to simply enhance gameplay time and it shows. Especially when you have to do the very same puzzle twice, trice. They should have ditched the puzzles and added more enemies to keep the flow. Want puzzles, play Tomb Raider, the puzzles there are creative.
