Rorenado
63 reviews liked by Rorenado
Wolfenstein
2009
Wolfenstein 2009 is one of the most underrated games I've ever played. Critically panned on released, sold poorly and basically killed the series for a long time. But this game is quite unique and fun. Raven basically took the supernatural elements of Wolfenstein and hammed it up to the max. BJ is just some dude now, he isn't the roided out beefcake we are used to. The game at the beginning does play like a average call of duty game, with cover and regenerating health. But turns into its own thing when you get the Veil. A powerful object which buffs BJ with superpowers. Wolfenstein may not be the most praised or favorite among fans, but it's still a fun shooter with an insane premise.
Wolfenstein
2009
Didn't deserve the backlash it got. Was the best Wolfenstein game in terms of story at the time it was made. Built the framework for the MachineGames Wolfenstein games.
Excellent remaster! They accurately preserved the originals, and the graphical updates done are toggleable, but honestly I prefer them to the originals. This is a very respectful, high quality remaster that I wish most remasters were like.
Tomb Raider
2024
I can definitely see why this would become the highly regarded classic that it did for its time. Yes, the controls are dated, as are the visuals, but it still holds up! I love it when an old classic game I’ve never played before is still as much fun to play as a lot of modern games.
Exploration, level design and atmosphere are what make this game truly shine. I feel it’s redundant to criticise the tank controls as they where fully intended to work that way in conjunction with the way the environments are designed. The downside is the combat, which usually resorts to just standing/strafing whilst holding down the action button and then waiting until the enemies are dead. The mummies in particular are just brutal to fight.
In terms of the remastered version, I think they did a great job with the visuals, though that is more or less where the praise stops. This feels more like a port than a proper remaster. I was looking forward to using the camera mode, but there’s very little options for you to use. The modern controls are frankly terrible with no way to side/back flip and the camera goes off the rails in confined spaces.
Compared to other remasters like Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy/CTR Nitro Fuelled, Spyro Reignited Trilogy, Pokemon HeartGold/SoulSilver etc, there’s just not a lot of newish content for you to play and unlock.
Still I had a lot of fun. My god is it difficult though! I kinda miss this era of PS1 games that weren’t watered down and fully embraced their own charm.
Exploration, level design and atmosphere are what make this game truly shine. I feel it’s redundant to criticise the tank controls as they where fully intended to work that way in conjunction with the way the environments are designed. The downside is the combat, which usually resorts to just standing/strafing whilst holding down the action button and then waiting until the enemies are dead. The mummies in particular are just brutal to fight.
In terms of the remastered version, I think they did a great job with the visuals, though that is more or less where the praise stops. This feels more like a port than a proper remaster. I was looking forward to using the camera mode, but there’s very little options for you to use. The modern controls are frankly terrible with no way to side/back flip and the camera goes off the rails in confined spaces.
Compared to other remasters like Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy/CTR Nitro Fuelled, Spyro Reignited Trilogy, Pokemon HeartGold/SoulSilver etc, there’s just not a lot of newish content for you to play and unlock.
Still I had a lot of fun. My god is it difficult though! I kinda miss this era of PS1 games that weren’t watered down and fully embraced their own charm.
Parasite Eve
1998
A unique entry in Square's prolific and experimental PSX era, Parasite Eve adapts FFVII, with its grandiose FMV cutscenes and pre-rendered environments, into a survival horror. It's still a JRPG at its core, but one which trades micro-level complexity for macro-level; the single-protagonist combat cannot match the complexity of the party-based approach of Final Fantasy, but limitations in inventory, ammo, and items mean that choices regarding how you invest in your character's attributes and equipment have consequences that paint a complex picture in the long-term. The "long-term" thankfully isn't too long, clocking in at around 10-hours for me, resulting in a game that's well-paced and with areas that feel fully-developed and lived-in - no endless nondescript dungeons here, it's all-killer no-filler. Pair all this with a bonkers sci-fi story, wonderful music, and a diverse cast of characters, and you're left with a game that completely lived up to its potential.
First time finishing the original TR and I fucking loved it!
Honestly, the game is transformed just by having a save anywhere feature (I know this is in the PC version). The new visuals and 60fps help too.
New art is great and being able to switch back to the original visuals with the press of a button is very helpful when you need its brighter lighting.
No handholding, minimal HUD, great puzzles, a suitably creepy and lonely atmosphere, and a classic soundtrack. What a game.
(Yes, it can be tough at times but it’s far easier - and fairer - than its sequels. Speaking of which, TR2 next.)
Honestly, the game is transformed just by having a save anywhere feature (I know this is in the PC version). The new visuals and 60fps help too.
New art is great and being able to switch back to the original visuals with the press of a button is very helpful when you need its brighter lighting.
No handholding, minimal HUD, great puzzles, a suitably creepy and lonely atmosphere, and a classic soundtrack. What a game.
(Yes, it can be tough at times but it’s far easier - and fairer - than its sequels. Speaking of which, TR2 next.)
A Solid remaster with the fans of the original trilogy in mind. The only issue are those damned spiders, who are tougher than the Tigers and T-Rex. Maybe it is me switching between modern and classic graphics during the cutscene, but there is lag with the speech and animations.
Parasite Eve
1998
Parasite Eve finished. Another great surprise of an old classic discovered this year. Entertaining, fun except for tense moments, and interesting. When SquareSoft made these types of games without worrying about sales. The game deserves to be played, even 1 time, but very dark.
Parasite Eve terminado. Otra gran sorpresa de un clásico viejo descubierto este año. Entretenido, divertido salvo momentos tensos, e interesante. Cuando SquareSoft hacia este tipo de juegos sin preocuparse por ventas. El juego merece ser jugado, aunque sea 1 vez, pero muy oscuro.
Parasite Eve terminado. Otra gran sorpresa de un clásico viejo descubierto este año. Entretenido, divertido salvo momentos tensos, e interesante. Cuando SquareSoft hacia este tipo de juegos sin preocuparse por ventas. El juego merece ser jugado, aunque sea 1 vez, pero muy oscuro.
Deliver Us Mars
2023
This review contains spoilers
The overall story is pretty straightforward. I love that the main story is the prime focus, even though the lack of side-quests is probably a budget thing.
Deliver Us Mars (DuM) is made using Unreal Engine, and as is the trademark of Unreal games, the graphics are probably great, but I never got to enjoy them since my poor GTX 1650 isn't powerful enough for this. Plus, framerates were terrible unless I turned graphics ALLLLLL the way down. But overall, good enough performance.
The story is fine. It feels like so many problems would be solved with a simple conversation and characters make decisions impulsively. The voice acting is spectacular, and the background music, while not cinematic by any stretch of the imagination, was definitely really good for setting the mood.
They really should've toned down the grind for the wall climbing and hologram stuff... The wall climbing mechanics were really cool (managing left and right arms with left and right mouse buttons was an inspired idea) but good god it got tiresome pretty fast. Even more so the hologram puzzles. Sometimes they were 2 puzzles, sometimes 3. How about just finish it after one? We get it. The decryption is quite complicated. Let me play the damn game now ffs.
The final few seconds really turned my opinion. They did all this to return to Earth. So many people have died in this pursuit. Yet the last few seconds are haunting. Because, as is with anything space related, is it worth it if you didn't get some sort of existential horror vibe?
Deliver Us Mars (DuM) is made using Unreal Engine, and as is the trademark of Unreal games, the graphics are probably great, but I never got to enjoy them since my poor GTX 1650 isn't powerful enough for this. Plus, framerates were terrible unless I turned graphics ALLLLLL the way down. But overall, good enough performance.
The story is fine. It feels like so many problems would be solved with a simple conversation and characters make decisions impulsively. The voice acting is spectacular, and the background music, while not cinematic by any stretch of the imagination, was definitely really good for setting the mood.
They really should've toned down the grind for the wall climbing and hologram stuff... The wall climbing mechanics were really cool (managing left and right arms with left and right mouse buttons was an inspired idea) but good god it got tiresome pretty fast. Even more so the hologram puzzles. Sometimes they were 2 puzzles, sometimes 3. How about just finish it after one? We get it. The decryption is quite complicated. Let me play the damn game now ffs.
The final few seconds really turned my opinion. They did all this to return to Earth. So many people have died in this pursuit. Yet the last few seconds are haunting. Because, as is with anything space related, is it worth it if you didn't get some sort of existential horror vibe?
I like this way better than Phantom Pain because I think the open world thing is probably the worst thing you could have ever added to a stealth game. Make it big, make it more open-air, but stealth is always better under constraints.