I remember when I saw it for the first time: opening titles had proudly proclaimed that the game was developed by Raven Software and PRODUCED by id. A Quake title, no longer being a vehicle for any kind of graphical revolution, this time it was just an also-run, piggybacking on Doom 3 tech. The most honored PC franchise had entered the age of Half-Life 2 and Halo. Quake 4 was quite competent as contemporary corridor shooter of its time: bombastic in-game cinematic, "go-there/do-that" silent protagonist, smart but not particularly troublesome enemies, and the great Peter Stormare as a sidekick... ehhh... medic? technician? I don't remember. I remember trenches, being sent on too many occasions to "turn on that damn switch, or everybody dies and get back in one piece" and That-Surgery-Scene. And Iron Maidens that were all wrong. Quake 4 was a competent corridor shooter for its time, but as a Quake game it looked awkward. A Quake that didn't move the World forward, but a Quake that was bending in the wind of modern trends. The fact that it was outsourced to Raven (which at the time was no longer the same Raven of Heretic and Hexen fame) was an early hint that its creator, John Carmack, was no longer interested in creating games. His next big thing, Rage, only confirmed that. But the times they'aree changing, I guess. I don't mind, Quake 4 is not a bad game. Just don't call it a good Quake.
Everyone should play at least one of Tim Schafer's games. He's freaking genius! First time I bought this game on Steam, played through several initial levels - but gamepad didn't work, and then RTS elements kicked in (I hate RTS mixed with other game mechanics!)... But the story, characters, humour and this silly world of Heavy Metal Album Covers and... and... JACK BLACK! This time bought it here, maybe they at least fixed gamepad support. Aaaaand I'm an idiot, ok.
Unreal. Is. Better. Than. Half-Life.
Is it Doom 3 done right? Oh no, it's Bioshock done right! Oh wait... Maybe it's a little shame that Soma was advertised as a "horror game", because there's some much more in it. Body horror - yes, but it gradually reveals itself as existential horror which, in turn, appears to be not horror at all... After all, Nick Bostrom (whose "Superintelligence" has undoubtedly influenced this piece) finally clarified himself by saying, that failure in creation of "Strong" AI would be more tragic for humanity than unfortunate creation of malevolent one. Scary - yes, but on the other hand, there are so many opportunities. Soma is not just a great game, it's the strongest piece of SciFi I've encountered so far in any media. And it looks like yet another rabid cult following is born... Game of the year.
The pioneering first person stealth game, antithesis to Quake-style action, Industry Corner Stone and blah-blah-blah and yak-yak-yak. Don't listen to folks vocalizing those banalities. What LGS got absolutely right, is that a good stealth game is a slow game and must play like reading a good book. End of story. PS Oh, and as of today, its gorgeous cutscenes are absolutely working (thanks to community's efforts) and it is 100% playable on Linux (and maybe also Mac?) via wine.