I purchased Q2 on GOG a long time ago and just heard about the update. After watching a YouTube video about the update I was ready to buy the game again. Lo and behold GOG is letting owners of Q2 have the updated version without paying anything extra. I played the N64 version of Doom when it was made available for the PC and I really enjoyed that. I was looking forward to playing the N64 version of Q2 and I'm very happy with it. I like the smaller levels in that version. The PS2 port of Q2 was good but the levels were really big. The N64 port has short levels and brutal gameplay. The only drawback is the bigger download. Pick this game up if you don't own it already, whether you have played Q2 or you're new to the game.
Slipstream is a really simple game to play, as if someone gave an Atari 2600 game a 16-bit makeover. I've been playing it a lot lately and it reminds me of several games I've played before: Enduro, in its simplicity, Rad Racer in its appearance and finally OutRun in its music an inspiration. But it lacks the environmental condition concerns of Enduro, the map and turbo boost of Rad Racer and it never quite reaches the heights of OutRun. The music is good, but unlike OutRun the tracks don't sync well with the road section you're on so the music changes abruptly and it's kind of distracting. The game is very easy to play and requires little skill because of the rewind feature. You get 5 seconds of rewind time to use if you crash and that's able to bring you back to a point where you can easily retry and avoid whatever mistake you made. After a short cool-down your tachometer/speedometer will flash and you've got another rewind at your disposal. You don't have to do anything but wait to get a new chance. There are several modes to play, from simple time trials on a section, grand prix tournaments, a "cannonball run" race where you compete against computer opponents, a grand tour mode that lets you race 5 out of 15 tracks on a branching path and single races of multiple laps on one track. The computer driven "rivals" are little more than a target car to chase and overtake. It's not a bad or boring game but it's nothing that really stands out beyond its visual style. I enjoy playing Slipstream when I just want to blow through a few simple races.
I had this on a collection of PC games back in 1995 or so and I always enjoyed its fast and frantic play. The critics at the time loved it as well. But many heaped compliments on it like "nearly perfect" and "Game Of The Year". But there were quite a few good RTS games at the time, and before its time, that did a few things much better. So this game should be in line for a well deserved re-master. Movement is a bit of a pain because your soldiers tend to get hung up on scenery. Fixing their pathfinding would help, or at least make the scenery less troublesome. Shooting can be difficult because you must hold the right mouse button to shoot, but if you're trying to move and shoot quickly it's easy to toss a grenade or shoot a rocket and wipe out your own team. Just assign hotkeys to grenades and rockets so we don't have to select them from the edge of the map. Finally, movement is frustrating because your pointer moves while your team moes, always trying to bring the two together. RTS games at the time were allowing your pointer to stay in the same relative position so directing units was easier. Cannon Fodder is a great game and it's definitely worth picking up, but be ready to die a lot of deaths that seemingly come from nowhere. I guess that's the appeal of this game and its message?
I remember this from back when it was originally released. One of the big selling points was it never left you scratching your head, trying to figure out some sort of "moon logic" puzzle. If you take what you have at any given point in the game, you can find a solution to the problem in front of you. That is also one of the game's few weaknesses; you'll finish this game because once you figure out how things work the answers are easy to come by. But I liked Loom. It was a lot less frustrating than the other Sierra games that had come before with their often bizarre solutions and ""dead man walking" scenarios. It was easy in old point & click games to miss something very early on and find yourself in an unwinnable game but not know it until you have already sunk several hours into the game. Then there's the fact that this version is missing a lot of artwork, is oddly censored (to eliminate any signs of blood) and is missing some sounds and music. It'd be nice to have someone remake this game with modern art and sound. It's a good game, just not the best version of Loom you can find out there.
I want to play the game but the colors are mondo bizzarro, like a severe psychedelic trip. I can't even adjust the settings in game because the graphics are so whacked out. Think Cruelty Squad but unintentionally bad. Can anyone offer any help? I'm not playing on a top-of-the-line system and no graphics card and upgrading is not part of my plan.
I liked Dusk, it's a good game but I'd still rather play Quake 2 or Strafe. It's loaded with atmosphere, the lighting and locations are great. The weapons are underwhelming though. Their sound lacks any punch; explosions sound more like puffs than BOOMs The guns lack substance and weight to their sound and effect, very anemic. The enemy design is a little off as well. Soldiers wearing combat armor go down with a single shotgun blast while unprotected scientists take 2 or 3 of the same shotgun blast to kill. Movement is fast and smooth but I tended to get hung up on the environment in a alot of places. There's a slide mechanism that I can see the use of but it took me by surprise. There are jump pads too that really fling you high into the air, making for levels with a lot of good verticality. Exploring the levels is actually quite fun, but some of the secrets are really secret. They can be tough to find, so that's fun. I CAN see this game being a lot of fun in multiplayer modes. My overall impression is that Dusk is like Rise of the Triad from 1995. That game was technically (literally) better than Doom in almost every way but there are just a few issues I had with it that keep me from enjoying it more than I expected.
I just played this demo and I'm pretty pleased with it, as I usually am with UnEpic's games. I've playe Mini Ghost to completion, got to the Brain boss in UnEpic and played the full version of Ghost. I've liked them all except for one thing. UnEpic can't tell a joke and move on. They must... Beat. It. To. DEATH. I am not a fan of their style of humor, which is akin to a person who tells a joke and immediately asks you, "Didja get it? HAR HAR HAR." Which is too bad ecause everything else about their games is excellent. They really understand the genres they are making games from. With UnMetal They have made the perfect 16 bit version of Metal Gear I always wished had been made but dammit if the humor doesn't get in the way. I'll be buying this when the price drops below $10.01 and I'll wait a long time if I have to.
I picked this up a while ago and finally installed it last week. I've had a lot of fun playing this. With 6 character classes, skill trees that affect the entire team as well as individuals, a multitude of weapons and gear plus some interesting environmental features makes this a lot of fun to play. You'll definitely need to go from 0 to 60 in the blink of any eye while playing. Do your best to pay attention to cues, look ahead and lean to anticipate what could happen. Many times you'll be able to see ahead and plan accordingly. Other times you'll go in blind. Once you kick a door open you have to go fast and hard but watch out for hostages. unfortunately this isn't a perfect game. There's only 4 types of missions: Rescue hostages, eliminate all the enemies, defuse the bomb (then kill all badguys and rescue all hostages) and kill everyone except the one guy you have to arrest. Police work is kinda glossed over with this game... There's a lot of room for improvement definitely but I really enjoy this light action game. One thing that has really set it apart from its bretheren is the visual storytelling sprinkled in everywhere. As you approach an airport you see 3 fellow cops taking cover, one cop dead in the street and a hostage out in the open. It's set up nicely and sets the scene well. you've arrived during a hostage crisis and you're going in hot. It's little stuff like those details that make the world in the game come alive. I would love to see a wider variety of missions and more options as to where you start a mission instead of everyone starting at one. as it stands, this game is a lot of fun and worth my money.
STRIDER! Yes, this game is less like Ninja Gaiden and a lot more like CapCom's 1989 release for the NES, Strider. Yes, it has a ninja protagonist. Yes, it has some well designed and cinematic cutscenes. Give Cyber Shadow and Strider for the NES a try and compare them. You'll find many of the same elements at play here: Your hero starts with basic run, jump and slash techniques and gradually improves their ablilities by collecting upgrades. As you collect those upgrades you'll be able to revisit previously conquered areas to access new areas that grant you some other upgrade. It's not really a MetroidVania though as there is little exploring to do and secret areas are pretty obvious. It'll be very clear what you need to access them as you play. Cyber Shadow also rewards careful and deliberate play more than a run-n-gun game like Ninja Gaiden. Whenever I find myself having a tough time with an area I find it's a lot easier than it seems. Aggressive play will put you in a die/respawn cycle that'll have you developing tendinitis from griping your controller too hard. Realx, breathe and move carefully and you'll find yourself breezing through areas that had you nearly in tears. The bosses are the same way too and once you spot the patterns you'll be cutting them down in no time. There are some frustrating spots in the game, mostly a cheap kill that reveals itself once you manage to clear the screen just before it. The techniques can be a little tricky to pull off but once you get them they're useful. Speaking of useful, there are powerups that remind me of those from Section Z and Rygar; a barrier that shoots a beam and a bladed yo-yo weapon that you control and sling around by moving your ninja. There's also a pod that follows you around and replenishes your spirit, thus refilling your ammo. Overall it's a good game and I'm glad I picked it up. It's been fun to play in my free time.
I've been enjoying the whole rouguelike sensation for the most part. I've had a lot of fun with games like NeuroVoider, Enter The Gungeon, STRAFE and Hotline Miami. Yeah, the last one isn't really a rouguelike but it is a twin-stick shooter. They all offer their unique experiences and challenges. This game promises a lot in terms of unique gameplay and presents its reload mechanic as a special feature. It requires multiple buttons and presses to work correctly, none of which I haven't seen before. Gears of War had something like that, press reload, press it again when the bar reaches a narrow color bar for bonus buffs. Golf on the NES ofeered the same thing. Jack Nicklaus Golf on the C64 offered the same thing. some people rave about it. I find it takes my eyes off the action and takes too much attention away from an already cluttered screen. The XBOX controller is suppoorted but be ready to tweak your video settings and the aim assist to keep the screen from shaking wildly. Be ready for a lot of tries at booting the game. I've had more than a few instances of it crashing from the start. Be ready for gameply tips to keep flashing on the screen even though you've read and used them a dozen times in one session. Be ready for slow movement across large areas because the mobs and PC are finely detailed. Be ready for wildly inaccurate shooting since your Synth seems to have drank more than his share of coffee before deploying. Be ready to do a lot of reading from external FAQs just to learn the basics of the game as there is very little in game help to use. This game is a great example of, among many, why GOG and other digital distribution platforms need to offer a Try Before You Buy option like the old shareware days. Being allowed to play through the first 2 levels of this game would have helped me make a much more informed purchase.
