A classic of before my time, Dungeon Keeper 2 still holds up. It is a great game. Timeless. But I want to write this review about this game for another reason. In fact, I should be honest, this will not be a review. Rather, this will be a reminder of the importance that people who write, create, and talk about games actually have. WTF is this you may ask. Exactly, WTF is, is exactly what I’m talking about. John Bain, aka TotalBiscuit (see also: The CynicalBrit, TotalHalibut, or TB), created one of the earliest examples of the impact a creator can have for the video games industry using modern social media as the catalyst. He was a reviewer. Nothing flashy. But he cared, he advocated for more indie game representation and showed that within his work. He showed his viewership he could be trusted, time and time again. He was honest. He exposed a lot of people to games that, at least for me, have impacted my life in positive ways. Some of these games have made me rethink about what I like in games, others making me think about what it is I want in life. And of course, the spectrum is broader than that, not every game needed to be impactful, some just needed to be fun. And many were. Because of this, I get to thank John Bain for exposing me to Dungeon keeper 2. I want to thank him for showing me so many great works of art and having helped give a much younger me the mental tools to scope out what it is I like in them. I may be just some guy, but that’s perhaps what I appreciate most. There are a lot of some guys out there who I’m sure feel the same. So,on behalf of all the some guys out there; Thank you, John Bain. -A
Control is a remedy developed third person shooter, a genre easily considered to be their bread and butter. I’m guessing many of you reading this already know the history of Remedy Entertainment, that being Max Payne, Alan Wake, Quantum Break. If you’ve dipped your toes in before, you may know remedy has a distinct feel to their games. But, with Remedy, every game comes with iteration, but that iteration comes with great leaps forward. Control feels like that, lessons learned from games before, an attempt to compile aspects of every other property they have touched over the past 20 years and distill them into something cohesive and interesting. Not to be too cliché, but I believe this to be a cornerstone as to why Remedy has garnered such goodwill with their general audience. They don’t make games to simply make money, they make them because they want to make something better, something artistically fulfilling, something good. The gameplay, to put it simply, is mostly good. The game isn’t insanely long, but it’s not short either. Expect 15-30 hours, depending on how much you enjoy the side activities. As you reach the end the combat starts to become slightly repetitive. I’ve now played this game twice and both times had a similar fatigue towards this point/the end. My recommendation, to stretch this out, is to experiment with other weapon types and powers. Despite all these caveats, the combat is fun and fluid when it clicks. But it’s the story, the visuals, the presentation, that keeps me loving this game and pushing through even when the fatigue sets in. This may be the best way to introduce yourself to remedy’s games, it’s certainly one of the most digestible for modern times. Give it a go and TAKE CONTROL. Game Review a day 3/500+
