muck
basically no other multiplayer fps that plays like this, certainly none in the past decade. the closest is TF2 but that's a bit of a stretch. classes aren't the best designed (perhaps a little too many people play medic) but they are all still useful enough for there not to be dump classes. besides covert ops sort of, but what do you expect from the sniper/spy class? play with ETLegacy!
2011
does not deserve its reputation for being difficult much at all. they are obviously unfinished, but post-ornstein&smough areas aren't that bad. the narrative of both this game and 3 is good but that's somehow gone largely unrecognized and people either overanalyze its surface level details or think it's just pulp fantasy.
2003
perhaps the peak of the Hack subgenre of roguelikes for all it removes, with the possible exception of IVAN.
2005
love creating uranium stars in my spare time.
2013
one of the best multiplayer pvp games.
miscellaneous notes:
- the first and only multiplayer pvp game to incorporate building and destruction in a way that feels natural (that is, does not come off as a gimmick) and actually matters.
- extremely simple mechanics with extremely high skill ceilings -- archer is not worse than knight, but they are certainly harder. high-level builder requires absurd and excessive skill.
- incredibly dynamic matches with territorial ebb and flow and war-infrastructure construction and demolition that is reminiscent of real warfare but sped up.
- i would say there's a potential gamemode better than CTF, but CTF is in many ways perfect for this game.
- there could probably be another class. it feels like some niche is missing its fulfillment, some piece of the puzzle is absent, but i'm not sure what. maybe this is just the maximalist part of me talking, and if i had my way there would be minimum 9 classes.
miscellaneous notes:
- the first and only multiplayer pvp game to incorporate building and destruction in a way that feels natural (that is, does not come off as a gimmick) and actually matters.
- extremely simple mechanics with extremely high skill ceilings -- archer is not worse than knight, but they are certainly harder. high-level builder requires absurd and excessive skill.
- incredibly dynamic matches with territorial ebb and flow and war-infrastructure construction and demolition that is reminiscent of real warfare but sped up.
- i would say there's a potential gamemode better than CTF, but CTF is in many ways perfect for this game.
- there could probably be another class. it feels like some niche is missing its fulfillment, some piece of the puzzle is absent, but i'm not sure what. maybe this is just the maximalist part of me talking, and if i had my way there would be minimum 9 classes.
1994
wandering the dark jungle halls of lower Brinstar desperately trying to figure out where to go next as the piano part of the song comes on. traversing the magma pits of Norfair scouring the map for secrets while simulacra of opera voices sing in the backdrop. very possibly the best atmosphere of any game, period, in large part due to the music. certainly the best Metroid (that I have played). also, of course, the ur-metroid game, what people really mean when they talk of "metroid" in a general sense. the previous two were mere protoypes. may increase score to a five.
2012
ultimate toilet game.
once any non-human animal learns to play minesweeper its over for us.
2011
a pack of reanimated corpses bursts out of a neighboring wall. i light a molotov cocktail. i throw the molotov cocktail. the corpses slowly burn. one manages to infect and wound me in a single hit while burning to death. i retreat and attempt to heal. one corpse reanimates for a second time. i attempt to shoot it with my M1911 but miss. i attempt to shoot it again. i miss. the re-reanimated corpse strikes me. -I AM DEAD!-
2024
better gunplay than most multiplayer FPS games.
2007
eyyy im thinkin with portals ova here
the ultimate filter. not even that hard.
2018
one of the two games i have perfected on Steam.
2016
not the best social game, but anything is at least okay with friends!
TBD
This review was written before the game released
Giving the Combine large-breasted transhumans with spider legs is an interesting choice but ultimately I think it works.