It’s common these days to immediately clown on the usage of terms like “soul” and “passion” when describing the creation and production of media. However, one game I could never not describe as such is KOF 2000. Mainly because of the many issues going down at SNK during development, it’s a game that, artistically, screams out to me so much.
I mean, this game was made in the middle of SNK filing for bankruptcy, for Christ’s sake. The devs knew they were going down under. This game was not going to be the miracle that would save them from this terrible situation. And yet, the team still dedicated every single ounce of their energy that they would for really any other game they made. It has the arranged soundtrack, a console port, jaw droppingly good stages and character animations, it’s all here and accounted for. But what makes things even better is you can really see this game as a somewhat somber farewell to the original SNK. The extra strikers are tons of homages to KOF, Fatal Fury, Metal Slug, Samurai Shodown, etc. The soundtrack of this game is also so tonally perfect, both compositionally and name wise. So many tracks have such a sense of finality to them, like KD-0084, Inner Shade, Ice Place, Zero, and of course Goodbye Esaka, a track literally naming itself as SNK’s final goodbyes to it’s home station in Osaka, Japan.
With this context, the destruction of Southtown in the ending is very clearly representative of the state of the company. The place where it all began back with SNK’s first fighting game Fatal Fury, completely in shambles. And yet there’s still a feeling of hope to all this destruction. A lead to a new beginning, perhaps…?
Gameplay wise it’s a huge step up from ‘99, pushing the striker system to its limits while also having a more solid roster and game feel. I really like the new characters, especially Kula my beloved <3. Some strikers are absolutely NASTY in this game, and it’s horribly imbalanced, but it’s stupid fun. The presentation with the gorgeous stages and UI design is of the finest quality, which is saying a lot knowing the production values of the previous entries. Even with plenty of the reused character sprites, there’s also lots of new ones that are of the same quality, which really goes to show how well the old ones hold up.
Sometimes this is my favorite KOF game, sometimes it’s 02UM, but at the end of this day it’s definitely up there for me and a game I have the utmost respect for. The developers cared TOO MUCH making this game, and I applaud them for their effort despite the situation surrounding SNK. I’ll always love KOF 02, 02UM, and XI, but 2000 is the last true KOF game from an artistic standpoint. And what a way to go out. Holy fuck.

In order to truly appreciate this game, you have to look at it like a piece of art. The game has terrible ground combat sections that are extremely repetitive with a jarring, looping soundtrack that leaves you feeling like you're going insane. If you manage to make it to the end, congrats! Now the are only 4 more endings to unlock. If your sanity is still intact by the time you get to Ending D, it'll be lost trying to get Ending E!

It has a grim story with a very unique but bizarre narrative, so if that interests you I would highly recommend watching a playthrough and not actually playing the game. Just a truly awful experience playing this game, 5 stars easy.

Man, this game is such a big pile of nothing honestly, sure the cutscenes look great and they got the original Opening in the game but man the longer the game goes on, the more tedious it starts to get, the gameplay is basically just tapping on the screen and all new moves you learn are basically irrelevant since you only need them in one level, which being the levels they are introduced in. And then there's the levels with Bulma, which are basically 80% of the Game, where you have to help her get through the Stage, which are boring at best since most of the time nothing much happens, and eventhough the three flying nimbus stages were neat, they still don't really make the game more interesting

Ich weiß bis heute nicht, wer hier die Zielgruppe bitte sein soll. Doom Fans werden es hassen, da es bis auf wenige Anspielungen, Gegner und Items, so rein gar nichts mit Doom am Hut hat.

Als Fan von Horrorgames, bietet Doom 3 nichts besonderes, außer: "Gegner spawnt hinter dir, Gegner spawnt hinter dir, zu lauter Sound weil das Audiomixing scheiße ist, Gegner spawnt wieder hinter dir". Die seltenen Lichtblicke, wo mit Events versucht wird, eine gruselige Stimmung zu sorgen, kannst du mit einer Hand abzählen und treffen dank schlampiger Ausführung nie den Nerv, den sie eigentlich treffen sollten.

Als Fan von Shootern bist du ebenfalls hier voll Fehl am Platz, da die Waffen keinerlei Gewicht haben, kein gutes Waffengefühl (Fick diese Maschinegun) und kein Gegner eine besondere Herausforderung ist, zu viel aushalten und durch schnelles Laufen, schnell outplayen lassen. Der Kampf in Doom 3 ist ein Witz und zu keiner Sekunde habe ich das Gefühl, in ernsthafter Gefahr zu sein, oder ein Machtgefühl zu bekommen, wenn ich denn gutspielen sollte.

Die wenigen positiven Momente sind hierbei der coole, leicht taktische Einsatz der Taschenlampe, welcher den Spieler die permamente Frage stellt, was sehen zu wollen, um Übersicht zu behalten, oder die Waffe am Mann zu haben, aber das Risiko einzugehen, nichts sehen zu können. Sehr gut, weil die verkackte BFG Edition, das einzige coole Feature für den Kampf entfernte und die Taschenlampe dort ein Gadget ist, welches man mit einem Tastendruck aktiviert, statt eine Waffe zu sein. Bethesda, ihr habt es wirklich verstanden.

Der andere Lichtblick aus diesem Spiel, ist ironischerweise ein ganzes Level, in welchen man zum ersten Mal die Hölle betritt. Dort ist der Ausdauerbalken deaktiviert und du als Spieler bist permanet mit Affenzahn-Tempo unterwegs, tötest einen Dämon nach den anderen, sammelst deine Waffen wieder auf, oder killst mit den Beserk-Item, alle Gegner per Faust. Unironisch: Dieses eine Level, ist mehr Doom, als Doom 3 und es lässt mich erneut hinterfragen, für wen denn nun dieses Spiel hier sein soll.

Stand dieser Review bin ich ebenfalls dabei, dass Addon zu spielen, aber der Ersteindruck dazu, ist nur minimal besser, als das Hauptspiel hier. Doom 3 habe ich ungelogen 5 mal auf verschiedenen Systemen, über Jahre hinweg, neuanfangen müssen, bis ich es endlich in seiner Ursprünglichen Version, für den PC, beenden konnte.

Hat es sich am Ende gelohnt?: Nö

The Japanese title for this game is SHIN Contra. As in, TRUE Contra. Which is perfect, because this game is the ABSOLUTE PEAK of the Contra series. This was a very interesting period for classic franchises, as many wanted to approach the 6th generation with a darker, more sinister-looking approach. Contra: Shattered Soldier really wanted to separate itself from the more colorful "Alien Wars" and "Hard Corps" it had already established back in the 16-bit era (while erasing the shitty PS1 games from its continuity).

With the help of Ashley Wood--best known for his work on Spawn--the original creators of Contra III and Hard Corps made an AMAZING game glazed in a run-down industrial atmosphere full of disgusting alien beasts, and big brutish bots ready to take you out in a single hit! The music throughout ranges between high-velocity techno and head-banging heavy metal, mainly composed by Akira Yamaoka--not just the sound director for the original 4 Silent Hill games, his first job at Konami was composing Contra Hard Corps!

The gameplay itself is phenomenal too, it feels PERFECT. They simplified the gameplay a bit by removing weapon drops. You only have 3 different guns, but are free to swap between them anytime and don't lose them if you get killed, making death a little less detrimental. Of course, this doesn't mean the game is easier. It's probably the hardest Contra game of all to clear perfectly! They also added a mechanic where you can keep the angle of your gun, but continue to move. This made angling your shot much easier with this new option! Something I wish new run-n-gun games have but NEVER acknowledge.

It's tough-as-nails, it's fun, it's disgusting, it's brutal, it's . . . Contra. You're an idiot if you don't like this game.