Stabbed
As an avid Half-Life fan, my opinion may be a little biased, but I thought it was a pretty fun expansion. The gameplay is the same as HL1 which is fine, since it's fun to play, but it falls short really hard when it comes to how it tells the story. Valve has never been an "exposition" team when it comes to developing a story, only really having it in small doses to serve where the gameplay is going and for some iconic monologues. Unfortunately, Gearbox fumbled in that category and has Jon St. John dump info on you multiple times, and it's really jarring. Are they necessary to understanding the story of the expansion? Somewhat, but they could have been trimmed down and more spaced out. The level design was passable; nothing as good as Blast Pit or Questionable Ethics, but it never particularly bored me. A serviceable and fun expansion pack that misunderstands Valve's development process but still remains enjoyable.
1998
I love this game so much. Despite its sequel being my favorite of the series, the gameplay in this is easily the best of... really, anything Valve has put out. Some of the most nuanced and thoughtful combat ever put into an FPS ever, if not the most. Every weapon has a purpose, despite some trumping others. (shotgun for life!) Battlefields are not a test of your abilities, but rather, the closest thing to a chessboard in a shooter. Just as much as you plan out your moves, your enemies have reactions that challenge those moves. You're not shooting at idiots who blindly walk at you like in other games (hell even Half-Life 2 does this), you're shooting at trained military officers who know what they're doing and will fight back against you just as hard as you fight against them.
The most common complaint I see about this game is some of the levels are frustrating, the two that get called out most being On A Rail and certain parts of Xen. All I can say is... I don't see it. I had no problems with On A Rail, and the only part of Xen I was frustrated with was the platforming in Interloper, and that was a short segment.
Despite being their first game, Valve already showed how they told their stories, with a fair bit of storytelling and worldbuilding being from what you see rather than what you're told, a concept which would be amplified tenfold in the sequel, of course. Regardless, for a debut, it showed immense skill and care taken to make sure the game would hold up in the decades to come, and I say it has. Sure, the graphics are dated, but they have a charm to them, y'know? For newer fans of the series, I do recommend playing Black Mesa and then coming back to the original if you enjoyed it to get the full experience, but this game still holds up completely on its own.
The most common complaint I see about this game is some of the levels are frustrating, the two that get called out most being On A Rail and certain parts of Xen. All I can say is... I don't see it. I had no problems with On A Rail, and the only part of Xen I was frustrated with was the platforming in Interloper, and that was a short segment.
Despite being their first game, Valve already showed how they told their stories, with a fair bit of storytelling and worldbuilding being from what you see rather than what you're told, a concept which would be amplified tenfold in the sequel, of course. Regardless, for a debut, it showed immense skill and care taken to make sure the game would hold up in the decades to come, and I say it has. Sure, the graphics are dated, but they have a charm to them, y'know? For newer fans of the series, I do recommend playing Black Mesa and then coming back to the original if you enjoyed it to get the full experience, but this game still holds up completely on its own.
2015
I fucking hate this game with a burning passion. I've said many times I only subscribe to one circlejerk, and it's Fallout's. Not only does Bethesda completely misunderstand the world and lore of Fallout, but they also managed to make an RPG that doesn't want to be an RPG. Everything about this game is wrong, and I don't feel like listing it all.
I'm shocked and somewhat saddened at putting this below Blue Shift, as I do think this is the better-made game overall, but I have to give a low rating due to how frustrating and unfun a lot of the combat in the later parts of the game is. The Shock Troopers are annoying to fight against and the Voltigores are so tanky to the point that I would save-scum my way around fighting them and just run away. I've mentioned in the past that Gearbox doesn't quite understand how Valve makes Half-Life games, but it's a lot more clear in this than in Blue Shift. Oh well. The first half was great, and the guns are really fun to use! If the enemies were fun to fight, this would easily be a 4 or even a 4.5.
2003
This review contains spoilers
There will be spoilers in this review, marked for you to know. Before that mark, it is spoiler-free.
Silent Hill 3 is a great addition to the series, with possibly the best visual atmosphere of the 3 that I've played so far. The textures and music get so abrasive at times, it feels like the game itself is full of outward hatred towards everything, it's a very unique feeling I've gotten from a game.
The gameplay is what you would expect from a Silent Hill game, rather clunky and a product of the PS1-era movement days, but still enjoyable enough to not severely detract from your playing. I felt like the camera was much better and less finnicky in this than in the 2 games that came before it.
The game falls very flat for me in the character department. Heather is a very well-made protagonist, following in the upgraded footsteps laid by James in the predecessor, and I felt very sympathetic to her journey in the story, but I can not say the same for the other people that she comes across in the game.
=== SPOILERS FROM HERE ===
Claudia is my least favorite Silent Hill character so far, even more than useless-ass Cybil. I get that she's supposed to be an insane religious fanatic, but it's so frustrating to listen to her babble every time she comes on the screen. What's worse is that near the end of the game, they try to get you to sympathize with her. I don't want to sympathize with her, she killed my dad and wants me to birth a god, fuck off. Vincent is no better, an annoying smug aura perpetuating everything he says. I get that's the point, but it doesn't make it any less grating to hear him talk down to you about his "knowledge."
Speaking of that, that's another thing this game gets wrong for me. Silent Hill 1 was heavily based around pure psychological horror with the occult stuff being in the background. Silent Hill 2 was psychological horror with no occult matter whatsoever, instead looking more inward and speaking on depression, guilt, and judgement. Silent Hill 3 could have been a great blend of those 2 games, but instead chose to go full on occult horror. I think it works for the most part, but I feel like they could have had such an interesting story if they talked more about how Heather felt about who she was, and that battle was more apparent throughout the entire game. Instead, she feels like a pawn in a game that other characters are playing, and she doesn't get the treatment that James got in SH2.
Overall, I still think the game is great. Improved gameplay, visuals, and sound over the first 2 make its rocky story and annoying characters tolerable. Plus, c'mon, it's a Team Silent game. There's not much I can say to convince someone of its quality other than that.
Silent Hill 3 is a great addition to the series, with possibly the best visual atmosphere of the 3 that I've played so far. The textures and music get so abrasive at times, it feels like the game itself is full of outward hatred towards everything, it's a very unique feeling I've gotten from a game.
The gameplay is what you would expect from a Silent Hill game, rather clunky and a product of the PS1-era movement days, but still enjoyable enough to not severely detract from your playing. I felt like the camera was much better and less finnicky in this than in the 2 games that came before it.
The game falls very flat for me in the character department. Heather is a very well-made protagonist, following in the upgraded footsteps laid by James in the predecessor, and I felt very sympathetic to her journey in the story, but I can not say the same for the other people that she comes across in the game.
=== SPOILERS FROM HERE ===
Claudia is my least favorite Silent Hill character so far, even more than useless-ass Cybil. I get that she's supposed to be an insane religious fanatic, but it's so frustrating to listen to her babble every time she comes on the screen. What's worse is that near the end of the game, they try to get you to sympathize with her. I don't want to sympathize with her, she killed my dad and wants me to birth a god, fuck off. Vincent is no better, an annoying smug aura perpetuating everything he says. I get that's the point, but it doesn't make it any less grating to hear him talk down to you about his "knowledge."
Speaking of that, that's another thing this game gets wrong for me. Silent Hill 1 was heavily based around pure psychological horror with the occult stuff being in the background. Silent Hill 2 was psychological horror with no occult matter whatsoever, instead looking more inward and speaking on depression, guilt, and judgement. Silent Hill 3 could have been a great blend of those 2 games, but instead chose to go full on occult horror. I think it works for the most part, but I feel like they could have had such an interesting story if they talked more about how Heather felt about who she was, and that battle was more apparent throughout the entire game. Instead, she feels like a pawn in a game that other characters are playing, and she doesn't get the treatment that James got in SH2.
Overall, I still think the game is great. Improved gameplay, visuals, and sound over the first 2 make its rocky story and annoying characters tolerable. Plus, c'mon, it's a Team Silent game. There's not much I can say to convince someone of its quality other than that.
2012
Very cool puzzle game with amazing visual design. Not much I can say, and there isn't much replayability, nor is it long at all, but the experience is worth the time.
I wrote an old review for this, here it is. https://pastebin.com/NKrkhuMP
Man, I used to hate this game, huh?
I'll be the first to admit, this game is not the best. Not even close. It's still my least favorite game in the series, and by a pretty large margin. The bosses are 2/3 of the time lame, some of the areas are so spammy and annoying (Iron Keep and Shrine of Amana will give me PTSD for the rest of my life), and some of the game design choices are kinda undefendable, specifically Soul Memory matchmaking and tying I-frames to a stat. Now that that's all out of the way...
I love this game.
For every misstep it has, it really does continue to pick itself up and carry itself to the finish line. There's never a point where you can pinpoint where effort started to dwindle, it really does feel like the devs tried their damnedest to really make something all throughout. Obviously, they had massive shoes to fill (and, if I remember correctly, some rather quick deadlines), but they tried, and that effort is what makes me admire this game, even in its lowest moments.
My favorite thing in this game, as many people also agree with, is powerstancing. It is just so much fun, and it feels like a genuine reward for leveling up your damage stat of your choice rather than just seeing numbers go up. In fact, my replay was done completely powerstancing between rapiers and maces, it makes for a super enjoyable experience.
Another thing that this game has that I honestly don't know if the other Souls games have is the art style. I think DS1's style fits its mood, and DS3 has higher highs, but DS2 is so consistently pretty in every area. Majula has a beautiful look and theme music to it, Heide's Tower of Flame might be the best looking area in the Souls games, and Frozen Eleum Loyce has great atmosphere. Pretty much every area just looks and/or feels amazing, to a level that I don't think the other Souls games get to. I also love the much more apparent sombre atmosphere, with characters like Maughlin and Lucatiel (the latter of which I think is the best written character in the trilogy) going through dementia-like symptoms of this unseen "curse" that everyone is said to go through.
I don't have too much to say about this game, since I'm still kinda love/hate with it, but it has grown on me tremendously and I appreciate the game for what it is. Give it a try, just make sure to not view in through the lens of DS1 or DS3. It's its own beast, and I love it for that reason.
Man, I used to hate this game, huh?
I'll be the first to admit, this game is not the best. Not even close. It's still my least favorite game in the series, and by a pretty large margin. The bosses are 2/3 of the time lame, some of the areas are so spammy and annoying (Iron Keep and Shrine of Amana will give me PTSD for the rest of my life), and some of the game design choices are kinda undefendable, specifically Soul Memory matchmaking and tying I-frames to a stat. Now that that's all out of the way...
I love this game.
For every misstep it has, it really does continue to pick itself up and carry itself to the finish line. There's never a point where you can pinpoint where effort started to dwindle, it really does feel like the devs tried their damnedest to really make something all throughout. Obviously, they had massive shoes to fill (and, if I remember correctly, some rather quick deadlines), but they tried, and that effort is what makes me admire this game, even in its lowest moments.
My favorite thing in this game, as many people also agree with, is powerstancing. It is just so much fun, and it feels like a genuine reward for leveling up your damage stat of your choice rather than just seeing numbers go up. In fact, my replay was done completely powerstancing between rapiers and maces, it makes for a super enjoyable experience.
Another thing that this game has that I honestly don't know if the other Souls games have is the art style. I think DS1's style fits its mood, and DS3 has higher highs, but DS2 is so consistently pretty in every area. Majula has a beautiful look and theme music to it, Heide's Tower of Flame might be the best looking area in the Souls games, and Frozen Eleum Loyce has great atmosphere. Pretty much every area just looks and/or feels amazing, to a level that I don't think the other Souls games get to. I also love the much more apparent sombre atmosphere, with characters like Maughlin and Lucatiel (the latter of which I think is the best written character in the trilogy) going through dementia-like symptoms of this unseen "curse" that everyone is said to go through.
I don't have too much to say about this game, since I'm still kinda love/hate with it, but it has grown on me tremendously and I appreciate the game for what it is. Give it a try, just make sure to not view in through the lens of DS1 or DS3. It's its own beast, and I love it for that reason.
2016
An absolutely fantastic ending to the Souls trilogy with easily the best boss fights out of all 3. Every single one is incredibly memorable and fun, and I love how it manages to connect itself to DS1 without going full-on fanservice, outside of a few times. The only thing holding it back from a 5/5 is the disjointed world design making the game feel a lot more linear. Still, an amazing experience that I'm definitely going to be coming back to.
I'm sorry, but I really don't enjoy how this plays. It feels very clunky and jagged, with a very aimless sense of direction towards your journey, despite being told where to go. Maybe I'm just stupid, but I got lost a bunch before even hitting the Dark World. I might come back to this later, but for now, it's not done enough to grab me and keep me.
1999
This might be the only game I've played where I am fully biased towards it because of when I played it. It was my first ever video game, and brother, I played the absolute hell out of it. On replays throughout my life, I definitely recognize its flaws, especially if you're 100%ing it, but... man, I just can't hate it, both for nostalgia reasons and for having such loveable Rare charm to it. If you hate it, I wouldn't blame you, but I'll always love it for the memories alone.
2014
A quirky, fun, and harrowing RPG about trauma and abuse. Great gameplay keeps you playing through the less meaty parts of the story, and it all leads up to an incredibly powerful (and painful) third act that leaves you truly speechless. My only fault with the game is the use of RNG for difficulty at points (those of you who have played will know what section I'm talking about), otherwise, an absolutely phenomenal experience as both a video game and an emotional journey.
2015
You know what I can't stand in media? Character assassination. There was probably more to be found, but after about 30 minutes of playing, I was just disgusted at everything that was going on. The writing took a nosedive, to the point where I'm not continuing.
2001
I could write page after page about what this game means to me and the themes you can find it in it, and I do kind of want to, but I feel like it's just one of those things you have to experience yourself, preferably as blind as possible. The more time you spend thinking about it, the more you'll come to love it.
2014
Definitely a SURVIVAL HORROR game in every sense of both words. I didn't dislike it fully, but it was a very mixed bag for me. The final chapter is brilliant, and I liked the beginning mansion bit quite a bit, but a lot of the middle parts were either great or terrible. All the boss fights were pretty pathetic, but the puzzles were all really good, I never felt like they were cheap or time-wasters. Jill was a frustratingly stupid character at times, but that's more of a fault of the writing than anything else. And man, the writing (and voice acting) was noooot great for a lot of the time.
At the end of the day, I enjoyed it, and would definitely recommend it to anyone interested in horror games, but I don't plan on really ever coming back to this. Maybe I will for a Chris run. Maybe.
At the end of the day, I enjoyed it, and would definitely recommend it to anyone interested in horror games, but I don't plan on really ever coming back to this. Maybe I will for a Chris run. Maybe.
2019
An absolutely brilliant blend of cheesiness and seriousness. My friend put it best: if Silent Hill took inspiration from David Lynch films, then this takes inspiration from all those cheesy 80s action movies. However, just leaving it at that understates how well this game understands tone, for the most part. Outside of a few very odd moments, the game manages to perfectly balance itself between being a completely straight-shot story about a rookie cop trying to save his town, and an over-the-top extravaganza of gore, guns, and G-viruses.
The gameplay is silky smooth, it never felt clunky despite the fact that I was playing on controller in a game VERY aim-heavy. Some QOL features from the original RE in regards to your map marking unfinished puzzles and missed supplies also make things a lot more enjoyable, as well as being able to craft ammo for whenever you might need. Inventory space can be expanded, which makes things so much more comfortable than RE1, while still retaining moments of having to properly manage space. Puzzles are still fun and rack your brain without ever feeling cheap, and feel very satisfying and rewarding when you solve them. The length was also perfect, it never felt like it was dragging or losing steam, everything had a constant momentum and consistent pace to it.
So you might be wondering, why the 4.5? Well, as much as I did love this, I really was not a fan of the sewer area. I know they tend to be low points in most games, but man it really shined here. I had multiple instances of the sewer monsters completely blocking my path, forcing me to take damage, waste ammo, or use a self-defense item. Perhaps I played it wrong, I don't know. It was still an unenjoyable experience that stuck out like a sore thumb in a game this fantastic. Maybe I'll get over it in future playthroughs.
I am writing this upon just finishing my Leon playthrough, and I plan on going back to replay the game with Claire, and perhaps more after that. Not only does the game heavily open itself up to replayability, it's also just a downright fun experience that you'll WANT to come back to over and over again. I can definitely see a 5 for this in the future if Claire's run turns out to be good.
Edit: Ahahahahaaaaaaaaa, fuck yeah. This is a 5. Any potential problems I had with Leon A were wiped out in Claire B, while still having the difficulty to always make things interesting, as well as switching up where certain things were to make the experience similar, but still different enough to be an entirely separate path. Toss in an awesome ending section and a gnarly final-final boss, with some added emotional connection from Sherry, and you got yourself a playthrough that I actually think I preferred more than my first. Can't recommend this enough to anyone both inside the horror game realm and out.
The gameplay is silky smooth, it never felt clunky despite the fact that I was playing on controller in a game VERY aim-heavy. Some QOL features from the original RE in regards to your map marking unfinished puzzles and missed supplies also make things a lot more enjoyable, as well as being able to craft ammo for whenever you might need. Inventory space can be expanded, which makes things so much more comfortable than RE1, while still retaining moments of having to properly manage space. Puzzles are still fun and rack your brain without ever feeling cheap, and feel very satisfying and rewarding when you solve them. The length was also perfect, it never felt like it was dragging or losing steam, everything had a constant momentum and consistent pace to it.
So you might be wondering, why the 4.5? Well, as much as I did love this, I really was not a fan of the sewer area. I know they tend to be low points in most games, but man it really shined here. I had multiple instances of the sewer monsters completely blocking my path, forcing me to take damage, waste ammo, or use a self-defense item. Perhaps I played it wrong, I don't know. It was still an unenjoyable experience that stuck out like a sore thumb in a game this fantastic. Maybe I'll get over it in future playthroughs.
I am writing this upon just finishing my Leon playthrough, and I plan on going back to replay the game with Claire, and perhaps more after that. Not only does the game heavily open itself up to replayability, it's also just a downright fun experience that you'll WANT to come back to over and over again. I can definitely see a 5 for this in the future if Claire's run turns out to be good.
Edit: Ahahahahaaaaaaaaa, fuck yeah. This is a 5. Any potential problems I had with Leon A were wiped out in Claire B, while still having the difficulty to always make things interesting, as well as switching up where certain things were to make the experience similar, but still different enough to be an entirely separate path. Toss in an awesome ending section and a gnarly final-final boss, with some added emotional connection from Sherry, and you got yourself a playthrough that I actually think I preferred more than my first. Can't recommend this enough to anyone both inside the horror game realm and out.