DJSCheddar
Starts out as a marginally successful upgrade to its predecessor and ends as utter nonsense. Lots of poorly thought-through, poorly-implemented, but above all STRANGE ideas in the gameplay and the narrative. I feel like I need an explanation for why this is so weird.
1997
This is a much, much better expression of what they were going for with the first one. The obscure, multiple level-spanning switch puzzles have been replaced with reasonable, well-signposted riddles and item scavenger hunts, and the aimless wandering has been replaced with true exploration through exciting 3D worlds. It's a tad buggy and the FPS combat is only so-so (especially compared to it's engine benefactor, QUAKE), but that's okay.
What a delightful adventure! I think if I had played this as a kid I would have gone absolutely nuts for it. A simple and great use of early 3D and an interesting spin on the '90s FPS framework.
What a delightful adventure! I think if I had played this as a kid I would have gone absolutely nuts for it. A simple and great use of early 3D and an interesting spin on the '90s FPS framework.
1994
DOOM, but a little bit up its own ass.
Very easy to see this as the proto-HALO, with overblown sci-fi lore, goofy, colorful and decidedly un-intimidating alien enemies, and a very tiresome emo AI character.
The gameplay is fine. Walking around and shooting works and the guns are okay. There's not a lot of design to the enemies or encounters, though. Mostly just small trap rooms with lots and lots of enemies plopped in with no further thought put to it. The only time you'll see more deliberate placement is in a few unimaginably cheap monster closets, the kind that any reputable shooter -- even one of this vintage -- would tactfully eschew.
It's playable. But it's the perfect Mac DOOM -- fussy, overdone, ugly, focused on the wrong things, and about half as good.
Very easy to see this as the proto-HALO, with overblown sci-fi lore, goofy, colorful and decidedly un-intimidating alien enemies, and a very tiresome emo AI character.
The gameplay is fine. Walking around and shooting works and the guns are okay. There's not a lot of design to the enemies or encounters, though. Mostly just small trap rooms with lots and lots of enemies plopped in with no further thought put to it. The only time you'll see more deliberate placement is in a few unimaginably cheap monster closets, the kind that any reputable shooter -- even one of this vintage -- would tactfully eschew.
It's playable. But it's the perfect Mac DOOM -- fussy, overdone, ugly, focused on the wrong things, and about half as good.
1996
Fun! Charming! Good levels! For a piece of advertising made by non-full time game developers, this is impressive work. Wish it was longer and had a little more variety in the enemies and the guns, but whatever. I Like it more than half of the other DOOM clones I've played!
1991
Tough! Wish it worked a little better -- the physics are pretty inconsistent. I never got very far in this as a kid, not any better at it now, lol.
1998
This game has been more or less untouchable in my mind for a long time, but playing it again now after a month-long binge of classic shooters gave me a new perspective. I think it definitely shows its age now more than some of its contemporaries.
For whatever reason, in my younger days the strict linearity of the level design didn't bother me at all, but now it feels downright claustrophobic. It's also too much, too fast. There are a few really effective moments of quiet non-combat traversal that sell the setting and Gordon's solitary, unbroken journey, but this is something that they wouldn't expand until the sequel. Here, it's just really loud, fast action almost constantly, and it wore on me a bit. HALF-LIFE 2's sublime pacing is sorely missed here.
There's no denying what a quantum leap forward this was in the development of the FPS, and much of it is still impressive even without that context, but I don't find it quite as much fun to play now as I once did.
For whatever reason, in my younger days the strict linearity of the level design didn't bother me at all, but now it feels downright claustrophobic. It's also too much, too fast. There are a few really effective moments of quiet non-combat traversal that sell the setting and Gordon's solitary, unbroken journey, but this is something that they wouldn't expand until the sequel. Here, it's just really loud, fast action almost constantly, and it wore on me a bit. HALF-LIFE 2's sublime pacing is sorely missed here.
There's no denying what a quantum leap forward this was in the development of the FPS, and much of it is still impressive even without that context, but I don't find it quite as much fun to play now as I once did.
Doesn't quite have the vision of the original. The campaign loses focus halfway through and the final boss is kind of weird and abrupt. It's too bad, because the military stuff is quite fun and if it carried the quality of its strong opening chapters all the way through, I probably would have ended up putting it above the base game. Still a very worthy expansion. Doing the different perspective was an inspired idea.
I remember being quite disappointed by this back in the day. Now, though, I really appreciate a lot of little things about it, like how it foregrounds the slaughter of the scientists or getting to experience the totally thankless position of the working class protagonist. It's nice to get back to fighting the soldiers again too, instead of trying to humanize them, although OPPOSING FORCE did a decent enough job of that. I'm much more comfortable playing as some poor shmoe who gets no respect.
Given that this was originally meant as an extra for the Dreamcast port, you can't expect a huge new campaign from it. But even without knowing that, there's not really much to criticize. It doesn't matter that it's short, or that there aren't any new weapons or enemies -- it's a nice extra slice of HALF-LIFE action, and that's enough.
Given that this was originally meant as an extra for the Dreamcast port, you can't expect a huge new campaign from it. But even without knowing that, there's not really much to criticize. It doesn't matter that it's short, or that there aren't any new weapons or enemies -- it's a nice extra slice of HALF-LIFE action, and that's enough.
1994
A very Euro-PC bargain basement SONIC THE HEDGEHOG ripoff. Not sure what's more embarrassing, that Cliffy B. and co. had the nuts to take shots at Apogee while making something so unoriginal and hawking shitty Gravis products nonstop in-game, or that this junk was actually a minor hit.
1996
Quite good looking, but fails to clear a certain level of playability. The controls are busted and all movement feels like crap.
1998
Visually impressive (looks markedly better than HALF-LIFE) but the tech is in service of the most bog-standard, boring shooter design imaginable. Nothing about the levels, enemies, guns, or story stands out whatsoever. It's essentially a tech demo.
QUAKE with no personality. I was falling asleep by the third level.
QUAKE with no personality. I was falling asleep by the third level.
2020
It would be a hell of a lot easier to be cynical about this cavalcade of corporate nostalgia (and Sony's comparatively shallow bench of PlayStation mascots) if the game itself wasn't so great and the comprehensive fan service wasn't so loving. You put Robbit from JUMPING FLASH in your game and I'm in the bag for it, simple as that. No amount of THE ORDER: 1886 references can undo it. Sorry!
But yeah, this is fun. Even the controller gimmick sections are (mostly) good. They should make a whole game out of the touchpad MONKEY BALL one.
Kind of cool how at this point the little Astro Bot guys have more or less cemented their place in this Sony pantheon they've established here. I say keep these games coming.
But yeah, this is fun. Even the controller gimmick sections are (mostly) good. They should make a whole game out of the touchpad MONKEY BALL one.
Kind of cool how at this point the little Astro Bot guys have more or less cemented their place in this Sony pantheon they've established here. I say keep these games coming.
2015
Megajank. Barely playable.
1996
Unapologetically commits more or less every sin of bad platformer design. It just plain feels bad to play! And given how floaty and imprecise the controls are, it demands way too much from you.
It's colorful and good-natured, but they probably should have paid a little more attention to the big Nintendo platformers they were cribbing from and focused on making the game more playable.
It's colorful and good-natured, but they probably should have paid a little more attention to the big Nintendo platformers they were cribbing from and focused on making the game more playable.
This review contains spoilers
It's like Capcom went, okay well our TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE game went over pretty well, what classic horror movie should we do next? and they somehow landed on the Hugh Jackman VAN HELSING.
- goofy beyond all description. The moment they introduced German cowboy Magneto I was just done
- linearity masked much more poorly than in RESIDENT EVIL 7
- extremely predictable once you figure out the general structure, after the first area it just feels like going through the motions. It's reasonably polished and has plenty of content, but it feels hollow and soulless overall.
- best character killed in the first couple hours
- brutally bad writing and voice acting, for the most part
- pervasive sound mixing issues, had to play with subtitles because the dialogue was constantly getting lost
- exceptionally easy combat, enemies never ever feel threatening in the least
- ultra-lame nothing of a final boss
- mind-destroyingly cringe callbacks to previous games and RE lore
- trying wayyyyyyyyyyy too hard to be RESIDENT EVIL 4
+ strong offering of post-game content, good to see The Mercenaries again
+ as in the last game, the story manages exactly one emotionally powerful scene (meeting the 'real' Baker family in that one, Ethan realizing that he has been dead since the beginning of RE7 and that he is essentially a high-functioning zombie in this one)
+ a couple good bosses. Ronald D. Spinnerman (pretty sure that's the propeller guy's name) was a standout to me for some reason
+ da big bitch
What can I say, even though it's a perfectly passable AAA game, this is a disappointment for me. I really liked RE7 (specifically how focused and above all how SCARY it was) and I was pumped to see them follow it up. But what we have here is another RESIDENT EVIL 5 situation -- bigger, more action, more series lore, but made with nowhere near the love or clarity of vision of its predecessor. Mediocre!
- goofy beyond all description. The moment they introduced German cowboy Magneto I was just done
- linearity masked much more poorly than in RESIDENT EVIL 7
- extremely predictable once you figure out the general structure, after the first area it just feels like going through the motions. It's reasonably polished and has plenty of content, but it feels hollow and soulless overall.
- best character killed in the first couple hours
- brutally bad writing and voice acting, for the most part
- pervasive sound mixing issues, had to play with subtitles because the dialogue was constantly getting lost
- exceptionally easy combat, enemies never ever feel threatening in the least
- ultra-lame nothing of a final boss
- mind-destroyingly cringe callbacks to previous games and RE lore
- trying wayyyyyyyyyyy too hard to be RESIDENT EVIL 4
+ strong offering of post-game content, good to see The Mercenaries again
+ as in the last game, the story manages exactly one emotionally powerful scene (meeting the 'real' Baker family in that one, Ethan realizing that he has been dead since the beginning of RE7 and that he is essentially a high-functioning zombie in this one)
+ a couple good bosses. Ronald D. Spinnerman (pretty sure that's the propeller guy's name) was a standout to me for some reason
+ da big bitch
What can I say, even though it's a perfectly passable AAA game, this is a disappointment for me. I really liked RE7 (specifically how focused and above all how SCARY it was) and I was pumped to see them follow it up. But what we have here is another RESIDENT EVIL 5 situation -- bigger, more action, more series lore, but made with nowhere near the love or clarity of vision of its predecessor. Mediocre!