Weirdly enough, combines the far future and space faring of Starfield, and the dystopian "Corpos are scum" theme from Cyberpunk 2077, and it came out before both. Jokes aside, The Outer Worlds is a semi-open world FPS RPG where Main Character Protagonist Mc-Gee is thawed out by Doc Brown's wacky descendant, who sends you on a galaxy spanning quest to fetch more drug- chemicals to revive your fellow colonists still in stasis, many of which are brilliant scientists and engineers that can help humanity with dire impending problems, that the corrupt government is too stubborn to solve on the account of their own heads being too far up their own asses. I made my character The Adoring Fan (and named him Adora) from TES IV Oblivion and Starfield because he is a dimension hopping immortal wizard who is keen on saving the doomed dimensions of existence, and also because it's funny. You can whack things with 1 or 2 handed whacking devices, shoot an unvaried amount of enemies with a variety of guns, while using NotVatsTM bullet time to make precision strikes with added force and status effects, and then put your desired skill points into your nuclear persuasion skill to Speech 100 your way to victory. Then get ripped off by merchants, like any good RPG, will charge you your literal internal organs for just a bite to eat, and then give you 5 cents in return for something actually valuable, then causing you to laugh because you just realized, that kind of shit is true to life COUGH GAMESTOP. Then in your off time, you and two party members can ragdoll something 10 times your size into the sky because Tactical Time Dilation + Melee Attack said so. The game is certainly a bit weak and hollow in some areas, the variety isn't great, but it's a decent enough RPG, and doesn't overstay it's welcome at about 25-40 hours long. Worth it on a sale. Here's to hoping the sequel is much richer in just about all aspects.
In a parallel universe where we got neuro-interfacing headbands many decades earlier than intended that beam a bootleg Windows 98 OS, and a bizarro late 90s internetscape into your head when sleeping, you as a volunteered internet admin cop must casually surf the incredibly 90s web, while stopping any net crimes you come across. Download wacky images, funky music, themes and wallpapers, and earn/spend hypnocoin earned by banhammering internet atrocities, while also being accompanied by a floating cybernetic skull who looks like he's about to laser someones crotch off and ask questions never. Get scammed, encounter wacky viruses, then cure them with bootleg ClamWin. Find secret webpages, pir- confiscate unauthorized music and software downloads from secret bootleg Dropbox pages, and copyright claim the hell out of a cartoon fish while harassing a middle aged woman about it. Adopt a virtual pet who will never stop shitting on your desktop, then play a cheesey horror point and click game where every googly eyed object wants you dead. Accuse bootleg Pokemon/Neopets of being satanic, and then tell your boss that he looks like 90s Internet Todd Howard. And most importantly of all, remember to ban Zane, so he can stop wasting time on bootleg Myspace, and eventually make his zany boom shoot game.
They finally fixed the game up enough to be presentable now. Went through the game and only encountered just a few minor problems, mostly comical ones, and the game ran fine. Gunplay feels a bit floaty at times, and the stealth is passable at best, but the original has similar flaws too. I prefer the original over the remake slightly, even if the remake made some things a bit smoother. Both games are worth it on a sale, especially the original. In short, XIII is loosely a cousin of the Rareware type of first person shooter, like Goldeneye / Perfect Dark / Timesplitters, etc. A level based / objective based FPS, except this is a bit more narrative driven and stylistic. The objectives are generally simple, and you usually only have one at a time, and you can't screw them up as bad as you can in the Rareware-like-FPSes, having to restart the entire level after you accidentally planted a tracking bug on a soldier's crotch (don't worry, this has checkpoints). You're biggest threat in XIII is failing a stealth critical area, or falling off a cliff. The combat is relatively easy, unless you play on hard. The boss AI is weirdly dumb, sometimes they just stand there and spin a bit, like they're really shy in the presence of bullets or something. Pretty sure it was better in the original. Still want that sequel, though.
It might not have writing as good as other entries in the series, and has a bit less soul in some areas, but it's still a blast to play. Out of the modern Fallout games, it has the best gunplay, although the melee system is arguably a sidegrade from 3 and New Vegas (insert countless instances of accidentally using a grenade while trying to melee power attack here). There's a good amount of memorable companions to choose from, with at least some of them having their own unique quest. The skillpoint system is ditched in favor for a much more dynamic perk system (Like 3 and New Vegas, but there's a metric ton to choose from, and you get them every level), and unlike Skyrim, they didn't get rid of primary stats, they are in fact, required in higher levels to get higher leveled perks. Power armor actually feels like power armor this time, instead of just bulky armor that has a higher armor stat. It's customizable with better parts and mods, such as a jet pack. The game also has the best main menu in the series, mainly for the music, "Heroic Shinra Theme" is very inspiring. Weapons are customizable, there's a junk scrapping system for parts, and a settlement building mechanic. One of my favorite ways to make caps, is to found a bunch of settlements that produce clean water, then sell a ton of bottled water to merchants at exorbitant prices. I call it the "Bottled Water Scam". Then on the side I grow a bunch of crops, to cook with, and gain a galaxy brain from all the exp I get from cooking them, especially with a high intelligence stat. Also, the default male protagonist kinda looks like a younger Brendan Fraser.
It's like the nemesis system from Shadow of Mordor, except there's only 3 orcs- I mean alien heroes to hunt you across the globe. Eventually you can hunt them, permanently defeating them. I liked the sniper chosen the best, he's the least frustrating to fight and has the best personality of the three. You also recruit a unique hero unit called Pratal Mox, and he kinda looks, and sounds like Robocop. I call him Robert Cop. Much like the Enemy Within expansion for Enemy Unknown, the expansion isn't it's own separate campaign, but is integrated seamlessly into the main campaign. Which is great if it's your first time playing, but might get slightly tedious at times if it's a subsequent playthrough. It also adds new maps, enemies, 3 new XCOM soldier classes, unique XCOM soldiers, and other stuff.
If you liked the first, chances are you'll probably like the second*. *Although this definitely feels less tight than the first game, and good lord is the targeting system shit as ever. You wanted to use execute on the only captain around for miles? Nah, the game targets an enemy thats not even on screen instead. 10/10 target priority system. If I had a dime every time that happened, I'd had enough money to give out 10 free copies of this game, while buying it at full price. Too bad you can't just target a specific enemy while in bullet time and then use the ability, but that would make too much sense. The parkour system is also shite as ever, as with the first game, it's more or less Assassin's Creed parkour system, but less responsive and accurate. Talion will be doing the stupidest shit and clinging onto everything you don't want him to at the worst time possible and with the force of a rare earth magnet. Game gets real grindy towards the end, the final act becomes a real sink for the game's currency. I was fine for most of it, even kept getting lucky from my captains saving my ass like 3 fortress quests in a row, but then became literally broke betime the last fortress defense quest. Of course I end up dying from some stupid bullshit, probably from a captain that hit like a truck and with the No Chance attribute, and then said f*** it and changed it to easy at the last literal second. About half the game is fortress attack/defend quests. I get it's part of the plot of the game and such, but holy shit does it get old. First game was better. And GREAT GOOGLY MOOGLY THAT 100 GIG FILE SIZE. I thought Cyberpunk had a big file size. That's a bit absurd for a 2017 game. Does nobody care about compression anymore? It would certainly help if you didn't prerender 90% of the cutscenes for no reason. Let me guess, bloating the game's size is to deter piracy, am I right? Could be that they just don't give a shit, either is equally likely.
Like any good remake, it straddles between giving you the game you know, while also adding new stuff, improving gameplay and visuals, remixing things, and so on. As with many remakes, there is an unwritten rule that the remake must be harder, and that's definitely the case here. The original was no walk in the park either, but the remake definitely feels harder, at least combat wise. I recommend all players that are new to System Shock 1 in general just pick easy for all the difficulty options, and it will still be harder than your average FPS. Some elements from SS2 bleed into the remake, with there now being a grid inventory, instead of there being a list of stuff you have on you and being able to shove an entire armory down your trousers. You have to pick a playstyle in what weapons you use, just like in SS2. For example, I ended the game with SMG, Assault Rifle, Magnum, Shotgun, EMP Shotgun, and Railgun. I abandoned my melee weapon about 70% through the game because meleeing enemies at that point was a bit dangerous. New to the remake, is credits and buying stuff (weapon upgrades, ammo, meds, and recycling kind of like Prey 2017, but less fun). You recycle junk at recycling stations for credits to buy with. Junk takes up room in the inventory, but you can vaporize it into scrap, which lowers the credit value, but saves space. I think SS2 is still the better game, even with the remake of 1 being here. SS2 is more fun and less convoluted, it still holds up. Original SS1 is goofy as hell, the remake is not. As with the remake and original versions of Resident Evil 1, the OG is still worth playing for how wacky and charming it is. *Incredibly pixelated high energy techno music plays while the player leans left and right quickly doing a rapid dance while robots and cyborgs hurl obscenities at you while the player's ears bleed from how shrill and piercing the UI sound effects are while also being blown up by an exploding roomba of death* THE REBEL THE DEBEL
Undying gives me some Eternal Darkness vibes (You explore a spooky mansion and fight eldritch horrors and such) and does the Bioshock 2 thing where you can dual wield a weapon and magic. Pretty rad overlooked horror FPS. Make sure to get the Widescreen + High Resolutions patch, or Undying Renewal. You explore spooky locales, you shoot, you zap, you get key items, journal entries, amplifiers that permanently upgrade your spells, and there's portable medkits, also like System/Bioshock. There's different ammo types, vaguely useless dynamite/molotovs, and the protagonist is probably the most Irish protagonist ever, other than Sean Devlin from The Saboteur.
You like grid based first person dungeon crawlers like Grimrock? Well this is that, but different. Instead of having a party of 4, you are solo, and the combat is more weighty. Attacks aren't instant like they are in Grimrock, there's a slight delay to all attacks. This game is definitely harder than Grimrock, at least combat wise. Vaporum, however, introduces the Bioware Tactical Pause Time™ system where you can toggle the flow of time, and can advance it by holding LShift, moving, or taking an action while it is enabled. It can help with tougher combat scenarios, and some trickier time sensitive puzzles. Then you have your gadgets, which is essentially your magic. Gadgets you have to find throughout the levels, and have about 4 ranks each, becoming more powerful and costing more energy to cast with each rank. You can specialize as a dual wielding maniac, a gunslinger, a mage, a tanky shield knight, or a little bit of everything. (I was a blunt weapon dual wielding battlemage maniac) Like Grimrock, you have your various enemies to fight, traps to avoid, puzzles to solve, and secrets to find. The game is a bit stingy with restorative items, so make sure to make good use of the lifesteal gadget when you find it, and probably get 3 points in the school that gives you up to 25% max hp regen at the 3rd rank. Vaporum certainly has Bioshock on the mind in it's aesthetic and plot. The protagonist is an amnesiac in a Steampunk world, returns to the place where he once lived, crazy scientists discover some eldritch energy that drives everyone insane, and all that jazz. You aren't a big daddy, but you are A dad, and are wearing somewhat massive armor, and the protagonist's daughter resembles a little sister, so close enough. Plus, the shotgun and sledgehammer wielding thugs have a fair resemblance to a certain Bioshock staple. I shall nickname them.... "Massive Fathers" I like Grimrock a good deal better, but Vaporum is cool too, if a bit frustrating at times....
Daymare 1998 was developed by the same people who were making the fan made Resident Evil 2 Reborn RE2 remake, but then cancelled it at the request of Capcom. Invader Studios then took their love for survival horror and put it to creating a new game. Gameplay wise, it's not too different from RE2 Remake. You got your modern movement and aiming controls, complete with dynamic crosshair, the camera is third person shoulder, etc. The zombies are slightly unpredictable, etc. How this differs from REmake 2 in gameplay, is the inventory and ammo management. The inventory is in real time, like System Shock 2, so you can't piddle around in it when there's something about to claw your face off. Then there's the ammo management, kind of reminiscent of RE Outbreak's reloading system. Daymare has the RE7 problem where the enemy variety is few. You got zombie, steroido zombie, other steroido zombie, acid zombie, and.... final boss. That's about it. The puzzles are hit or miss depending on which one it is, and then one was flat out glitched (compass puzzle), displaying the wrong text with the selected setting, making the puzzle more confusing than it already was. There are small packets of Engrish throughout the game, and even some mismatching subtitles. The developers are Italian, after all, but after all this time, you think they would have spellchecked and fixed these mistakes by now. I could have fixed these grammatical mistakes for them in 2 days, tops. Paul Haddad (OG RE2 Leon VA) voices the "narrator" of the game, and ironically sounds like Oswell E Spencer in this. Rest in peace, Paul, you're still the best Leon. I'd give Daymare a 3.5/5 (or a 7/10), most of it's pretty decent, not too bad for one of their first games... then it had to leave a sour taste in my mouth around the finale. The 2nd last phase of the final boss gets a hard to avoid instadeath move while you're trying to escape from him. This kind of ruined the entire game for me. It was that bad.
