128 reviews liked by Zark


(another replay of a game I last played 10 years ago)

Playing this so soon after the original, there is one thing that I can say I miss about RE1: the isolated and creepy atmosphere of the Spencer mansion, and the more interesting puzzles, which were far more straightforward here.

But this daring change (different characters, different setting) worked so well because it was replaced by something equally compelling. Setting this game in a ruined city and derelict police station gave the locations a much more lived-in feel where every room told a subtle story, from the festive decorations meant to welcome Leon on his ill-fated first day to the main office which is literally crawling with zombie cops. The less isolated feeling also created the opportunity for more side characters, and the fact that so many of them appeared in later entries shows how much of a hit they were. And while the RE series isn't as horror-focused as something like Silent Hill, this does have some very effective subtle scares, like how the camera angle in one of the early rooms you unlock is positioned just right so you can see a licker crawl by outside the window (when you don't even know what a licker is supposed to be yet).

This game also feels infinitely better than its predecessor. I'm not entirely sure what it is, but it's probably tighter controls and more refined graphics which makes navigation a lot easier and more intuitive. On top of this, the game actually features some proper physics - enemies can be staggered, and shoving a zombie into a crowd causes the other zombies to stumble.

Unlike RE4 which delivers a much more action-focused experience, these refinements actually serve to enhance the survival horror aspects. The original Resident Evil had more than enough ammo to kill every enemy (though it's scarce at first), so the best approach was to memorize which order to enter rooms so you would never run out of ammo. But in RE2, dodging around enemies feels much more intuitive and consistent, which adds weight to the fight-or-flight decisions you inevitably have to make whenever you run into an enemy. This lent itself very well to this particular playthrough for me where I still remembered the mechanics but forgot the layout - I spent a good chunk of the game fumbling around, half-lost, low on supplies, juking around zombies and lickers. It felt gloriously stressful!

One exception to the better game feel was the boss fights. They were a little more action-oriented than in the previous game, and unfortunately the claustrophobic feel created by the fixed camera angles became more of an annoyance, never affording me a clear line of sight. The lack of a quick-180 or auto-aim function also felt like a hindrance, ensuring that many boss battles felt anticlimactic because the optimal strategy was to just stand in one place and DPS-race the boss.

Overall this is a fantastic refinement of the RE1 experience, feeling so much better to play without straying too far from the feel of the original. The different scenarios and unlockables gave it respectable replay value too. RE3 is next on my playlist - I haven't played it yet, but this entry will take some beating!

(played as jill)
awesome game!!! very fun puzzle solving, great audio design and beautiful pre-rendered visuals make RE1 an absolute treat. story is engaging the whole way through, the voice acting is great in an endearing sort of way but the localized text is genuinely great, i love reading all the lab reports and such. the item management can be a little difficult sometimes, i'd often go out of my way to put away certain weapons and key items only to realize i needed them 3 rooms ahead from where i was. (not entirely sure how much of this is my fault!) i think it's cool that this is basically just a sierra/lucasarts style adventure game with combat. remains to be seen if i will do a chris run... excited to check out re2!

Something that always turned me off about the original release of Prime was the control scheme; having no camera aiming is a struggle to get around. The remaster with a 'modern' control scheme leaves me no excuses.

That being said, this is an excellent experience. Exploring Tallon IV is a joy, constantly opening up new areas and finding secret areas for items never gets old. Even regular backtracking, a feature synonymous with the Metroid franchise, is never boring when you consider optimizing your routes and revisiting areas to use newly collected upgrades.

Speaking of upgrades, Samus gets several across the game, including suit upgrades (Nothing new if you haven't played a Metroid game), missiles and beams for your blaster. As opposed to previous metroids, these have to be switched manually. Each one is distinct enough to offer clear advantages without mitigating the rest, especially when incorporated into solving puzzles and defeating enemies. That being said, switching beams quickly to kill enemies with specific weaknesses can be a juggling match if you don't want to lose several bars of health.

The last major point of discussion, the story, is interesting, however it does require that you are invested from the start. If you aren't scanning major logs from the start of the game, you're likely to miss the mountain of lore around the old and new civilizations of Tallon IV. Under the dangerous and infested surfaces and depths of the planet is a story about loss and despair coupled with greed and power, and the outcomes of both.

Overall, Metroid Prime Remastered is an excellent game that every gamer should experience at least once in their life.

Fuck the Chozo Artifacts though, that can suck it

One of the surprise releases of 2023, this was the first time I played the first Metroid Prime, and I'm happy to say that it's one of my favorite gaming experiences I had this year!

The sense of being alone on this planet figuring out what exactly is going on was fun from beginning to end. It's also one of the prettiest games out there on the Switch, and runs super smooth! The music and ambience fits perfectly for the colorful areas that you traverse on this lonely planet.

The isolated feeling you get from this game might make it, for me, one of the most immersive games I have ever played. So many little details can be seen if you take the time to look, and makes everything feel so real. And it doesn't feel like you're going through menus, since its all integrated on Samus' visor in some way.

It is very difficult as well. If you are not prepared for what is coming, you will get your ass kicked in one way or another. But it's very rewarding to figure out patterns and how to kill the bosses here. If i had any kind of complaint it would be the backtracking, it could be a little cumbersome if you didn't pay enough attention to certain clues that the game lays out for you, but that is only a small gripe to have.

This a game that I'll remember and I will come back to this from time to time.

After finishing RE2, I can say that RE3 is a bit lackluster. Not bad at all but it's not up to par. Let's get into it:

First of all, I realized some sort of a trend in Resident Evil games. Their first levels are great, then the rest of the game never reaches that quality. I felt the same thing in this one as well. I guess that's the strategy Capcom is deliberately going for RE games.

Anyway, the thing with RE3 is that it is fast paced. Levels are smaller, ammunition is plentiful and our character Jill is more agile than Leon. She can roll away from attacks now and runs a bit faster. For some reason I felt than way.

This design choice is a bit of a mixed bag. At one point, as an action fan, I like it. Especially pulling those perfect rolls are satisfying. However, the levels are uninspiring because of this design choice. Even if you try to discover stuff instead of blitzing through, it doesn't feel as satisfying as in RE2. Best part of the game was the initial area where you roam around the chaotic and ruined streets of Raccoon City but it took me less than an hour to finish it. And that was me trying to discover every corner of the city.

Another elephant in the room is your arch enemy, aka Nemesis. He relentlessly chases you throughout the game and you get to have a boss fight against him 4 times. He simply does not stop. I like his agility and long range attacks. Since you have a roll ability now, it is fair that Capcom gave him some moves. However, for some reason, I don't think he feels as menacing as Mr.X. You stop shitting your pants after some time when you see Nemesis unlike Mr.X. You know that you're gonna kick his ass again for sure.

Anyway, this game is simply the faster version of RE2. You go in and blast the fuck through everything. It is a solid experience but a step back compared to its predecessor.

Embora eu não tenha jogado o Resident Evil 3 clássico e não possa comparar o conteúdo original com o do remake, é visível o potencial desperdiçado desse jogo. Ainda que competente em alguns pontos, RE3 me parece uma cópia de RE2 Remake só que pior em todos os aspectos. A familiaridade e seus momentos de gameplay(muitos deles chatos por sinal) me cansaram rápido, e isso mesmo o jogo sendo extremamente curto.

fun spectacular romp but no staying power. Highlight is being brutally chased by the nemesis, even if heavily scripted. For me it feels more like a RE2make bonus or epilogue than a separate game

Definitely one of the greatest shooters of all time. At the time I would have argued it's as close to flawless as you could have made. Endless hours poured into repeating the campaign.

Confession time, this is the only Tomb Raider game I've put any significant time in. With that in mind, I liked this game. Its inspiration from Uncharted does make it feel like a snake eating its own tail, but I think it does differentiate itself.

Its combat is actually better than the OG Uncharted trilogy, and some of its levels are a bit denser and less linear. The downside to that is I found them a bit difficult to orient myself in. The plot leans more into the struggle of being lost on an island, being hunted and in danger, than the more knockabout silliness of Uncharted. I think it works well despite people parodying or criticising the suffering. I don't think it's as bad as they say.

The downside is that it removes some of the uniqueness and puzzle solving of the older games, to my understanding. This is very much an action adventure first, with over the top stunts to boot. It's also just not as memorable as other games. In making Lara relatable, they made her less memorable.

On the whole, I like this game quite a bit, but it doesn't have that X factor that makes those other games last. It doesn't surprise me that sequels to this game struggled to grab people's attention in the same way, despite it being a quality game overall.

The most 2011 game of all time. A dark, gritty zombie game packed to the brim with dated immersive mechanics to give a sense of “realism.”

The controls are clunky; you get used to them but it’s like saying you mastered walking in shoes 5 sizes too big. You’re constantly bodyblocked by teammates and are forced to fight tons of enemies in close-quarter hallways. Forced aim-assist makes gunplay near impossible, along with no steady source to find bullets until 2/3rds the way through finishing. The neatest thing to the controls was a dodge jump that isn’t really told to you, it’s super useful for dealing with all the special zombies and different than every other game from the era giving you a little bitch push move just for a little wiggle room.

My biggest issue with this game has always been the RPG-elements, specifically with the weapons. Any time I tried to optimize my loadout, I would get frustrated from investing all my money and resources into my cool baseball bat, only to find the shop just rotated and there’s a new baseball bat that’s way stronger and sinking my money into that, but then 10 minutes of walking outside I found a new baseball bat even stronger. I had to basically put on a blindfold any time I looked at my weapons and throw all my money into a fire pit just to hope I do enough damage to the next zombie I encounter. I’ve always been told “just ignore it” and if that’s really the best response for a game about getting weapons to kill zombies with, then I think there’s a problem. 99% of quests are “go here, grab this, but zombies are in the way” and if finding the way to most optimally kill zombies should be “ignored” then what do you even have left? A mediocre looter-shooter? After a while, our group did missions by running past the zombies and I just thought to myself what’s the point of doing them if the reward is just more resources to kill the zombies that we are skipping? I didn’t complain out loud though, it got the game over with quicker 😎

I feel like most people have fond memories of this game because they could kick the shit out of a zombie with friends; it’s really this games biggest blessing because playing alone will just bore the hell out of you since your only friend is the baseball bat that you’re gonna replace in the next 10 minutes.