•  
  • dark_being
  • Level: 45 (56%) 
  • Rank: Mishima Zaibatsu
  • Member since: Jan 25, 2004
  • Last online: 11/15/09 2:21 pm PT
  • My Emblems:
    • Rank: Registered Member
    • Popular
    • Greatest Game Hero Bracket Submitter
    • Greatest Game Hero Preliminary Voter
    • First espisode of TOTS!
    • Virtually There: E3 2009 Microsoft Conference
    • Virtually There: E3 2009 Nintendo Conference
    • Virtually There: E3 2009 Sony Conference
    • Rank: Registered Member
    • Popular
    • Old-School
    • Bad Taste
    • Serious Collector
    • PC Aficionado
    • Aspiring Designer
    • Top 100 Community Reviewers
    • Artistic Genius
    • Vote Rocker
    • Voted Twice
    • Tagger King
    • Public Access
    • Video Blogger
    • Speed Runner
    • Walking Commercial
    • MK Scream It Contest
    • I voted
    • Radio Star!
    • Virtually There: E3 2007 Microsoft Conference.
    • Virtually There: E3 2007 Nintendo Conference
    • Virtually There: E3 2007 Sony Conference.
    • Virtually There: E3 2007 GameSpot Show Zealot
    • Tokyo Game Show 2007
    • Player's Ball
    • BlackSite Badge
    • Readers' Choice 2007 Chooser
    • Fear the Reaper
    • Interactive Achievement Awards 2007
    • Virtually There: E3 2008 The Big Three Conferences
    • Virtually There: E3 2008 GameSpot Show Future Outlaw
    • LittleBigPlanet BigLittleEmblem
    • Halloweenmania Scavenger
    • The Dread Hallowiener
    • Gears of War 2 Marathon
    • Animal Crossing City Folk Live Gameplay Marathon
    • PoP-o-Matic Emblem
    • Delicious Thanksgiving
    • Readers' Choice 2009 Chooser
    • Game Developers Conference 2009
    • Game Night 2009 Celebration
    • Webby Awards People's Voice 2009 Voter
    • Virtually There: E3 2009 Day 1
    • Virtually There: E3 2009 Day 2
    • Virtually There: E3 2009 Day 3
    • Virtually There: E3 2009 Sony Conference
    • Virtually There: E3 2009 Nintendo Conference
    • Virtually There: E3 2009 Microsoft Conference
    • First espisode of TOTS!
    • Greatest Game Hero Preliminary Voter
    • Greatest Game Hero Bracket Submitter
     
     

My Friends

Sleepless Nights

The occasional rantings of a disgruntled PC gamer

  • 10Nov 09

    I fall victim to the Dragon Age game yesterday. Played it through most of the night and some of the morning before I remembered I have a class I have to get to. But now all I can think of is powering on my PC and kill some more Darkspawn (and maybe save the kingdom or something).It's weird, since I usually don't play RPGs, especially not fantasy RPGs. But I have to say the DAO is probably the best one I have tried (and this is coming from a guy who couldn't stand Baldur's Gate).

    I started the game as a Dalish Elf Warrior on easy mode and I think it was the right choice. I hate micro-managing by party or issuing commands mid-fight, so obviously I get my ass handed to me a lot, but as long as I have enough health potions and injury kits,I'm having fun. Combat is a little hectic and hard to follow, but exploring the world and completing quests is awesome. I can safely recommend it to anyone who has enough time and a strong will (addictive much?)

    Who knows, maybe now I start playing more RPGs, at least from Bioware (I loved Mass Effect as well). And if you are playing Dragon Age as well, leave a comment telling me which Origins story you picked.

    • Posted Nov 10, 2009 5:52 am PT
    • Category: Games
    • 5 Comments
  • 3Nov 09

    I WAS planning on make this a 3 part impressions blog entry, but since I finished the game yesterday, part 2 will be the last one.

    So yeah, I finished saw in 3 days, and in less than 7 hours. Some would say it's a bad thing, but I'm glad it was a short game, since I was getting tired of it towards the end. The game is divided into 7 chapters and in each one detective Tapp needs to save someone he had wronged or had wronged him in the past. Basically the whole game revolves around solving puzzle after puzzle, trying not to get killed in between, and then solving one longer, more complicated puzzle to save this person. It is a weird formula, but it works.

    In case you were wondering, puzzles do tend to repeat themselves quite a lot, but it never feels dull or over used, since they keep getting harder and harder. For example, one of the more common puzzles is to successfully complete a wiring circuit by re-routing power to a light bulb through pieces of wire. When you have one power source and two bulbs, it is pretty easy, but when having 2 power sources and over 10 bulbs, things are a bit more complicated. Add a ticking down clock and a man screaming in agony in the background and you got yourself a sticky situation.

    In my playthrough I've discovered that combat is a lot easier than I initially thought. The various weapons Tapp can utilize are completely useless (with the exception of the gun) and using his fists is a lot quicker and deadlier. The main reason for that is that weapons are slow, while the fists are fast. Landing a punch on an enemy causes him to stumble a bit, granting an opening for another punch. SO tapping the punch button over and over is the best way to win a battle, even against the toughest of enemies.

    All in all, Saw is a nice game, with solid atmosphere that would not shame a classic survival horror game. I will be writing a review, so for any more information about the game, check back soon. The reason this impressions blog is a bit short is because nothing much had changed since I started to game. Maybe someone with an interest in the movie series will appreciate the plot a bit more, but I can only look at it from a gameplay point of view. Anyways, if you're going to play this game, do so knowing this is a weekend game that will not last you very long or will offer much of a challenge. For you who won't be playing this game, go check out the ending video I posted HERE.

    • Posted Nov 3, 2009 12:53 am PT
    • Category: Games
    • 3 Comments
  • 1Nov 09

    I started Saw 2 days ago on my PC (I would get it for the X360, just for the achievements, but I don't own one) and played through two chapters (about 2 hours,maybe more). I have to say that in spite of my expectations, I had fun, and will definitely see it to the end.

    I'm not a big fan of the Saw movies, and I've only seen the first 2. First one was very cool, IMO, mostly thanks to Cary Elwes, one of my favorite actors. But nevertheless, I think Saw: The Video game has potential.

    First of all, it is a really slow paced game (so far), and the ever present sense of dread doesn't make it easier to walk the corridors of the abandoned insane Asylum your character is trapped in. It does feel more like a survival game more than a horror game, since it isn't really scary, but the instinct for self-preservation is always there, in the back of your head. I've encountered several puzzles so far and about 4 enemies (the rest I managed to avoid or lure into a trap), but it is obvious that puzzles are the game's strong side (like most survival-horror games): they are more fun and challenging, and seem to capture the spirit of the movies perfectly. True, in the short time I played some puzzles already appeared several times, but in different variations, but it is still fun to solve them every single time.

    The combat is a whole different thing. The enemies I was forced to fight face to face were not very clever, but for some reason they were quicker than my character, and could beat him half to death before I could lay a single blow on them. It is possible to dodge and counter attack, but the mechanism is a bit clunky and un predictable. The best way to is to avoid combat altogether, or set traps along the way (using some tripwires and shotgun shells).

    The main reason I'm enjoying the game is because of Jigsaw, the killer from the movie series. His part in the movie is flawless and really sets the entire mood of each new area or puzzle. His voice acting is superb (not the rest of the characters are trash), and the cryptic clues he leaves behind are a delight to solve.

    The only really annoying thing I've noticed are the quick-time events triggered by opening certain doors. They are too obvious and really hard to mess up. And they repeat way too often... It seems like they are there just for the sake of keeping the player on his toes (I was already on my toes, thank you very much) and for the sake of having QTEs.

    Anyways, I still can't recommend anything, but if it keeps going in the same direction, and will manage to stay fresh, I don't see any reason why fans of the genre and the movie alike won't enjoy this game.

    • Posted Nov 1, 2009 1:31 am PT
    • Category: Games
    • 4 Comments
  • 7Oct 09

    It seems that lately most of the games I've played left me feeling really disappointed. Both Bionic Commando and Red Faction: Guerrilla turned out to be boring as hell, and Wolfenstein was nothing more than a mediocre shooter that holds no real interest. I am looking forward for some actual good games for my spanking new PC, but apart from the occasional Adventure game, there is a bleak wasteland of disappointment. The only ray of sunshine on my PC is Batman: Arkham Asylum (an awesome, awesome game). But that's no what I'm here to rant about (well, maybe just a little).

    As I mentioned in previous blog entries (i think I did anyways) my girlfriend bought herself a Nintendo Wii, a console I have strong feelings of raging hatred for. She has little time to use it though, so every time I come over, I try it out a bit with a very miserable expression on my face. Nevertheless, I've decided to make good use of said console and get some of the more interesting games for it:

    I got No More Heroes, which I'm bored with already;

    I got House of the Dead: Overkill, which is quite fun actually (but only with a friend);

    I got Dead Space Extraction, which I haven't had the time to try out yet;

    I got Broken Sword 1: Director's Cut, played it all the way to the end, and enjoyed it so;

    and of course some games for my gf: Mario Galaxy, de Blob, Rayman Raving Rabbids and that Brawl-Mario-Thingy.

    But the game I want to talk about is Cursed Mountain, The Wee, sorry, the Wii's first attempt at survival horror, a genre that is very close to my heart (and my PS2). My full opinion on the game can be found HERE in my new review, but there are a few things I'd like to address here as well:


    Cursed Mountain is not a good game, and I don't know if I should blame the developers or Nintendo. Most of the game's problems stem from the fact that it is a Wii game. The biggest problem is the controls, or to be more specific, the motion controls; they are simply unresponsive at a frustrating level. There are some more issues, but none as major as the controls.


    Cursed Mountain is boring. Its slow pace and lack of any story development can really take the wind out of the most enthusiastic gamer. The story's premise is good, but I would have liked to see it go somewhere...

    Cursed Mountain is uninspiring. There it nothing rememberable about it, and as soon as it is over, any trace of the game's experience simply fades away.

    But most of all, Cursed Mountain is disappointing.

    • Posted Oct 7, 2009 8:52 am PT
    • Category: Rant
    • 5 Comments
  • 21Aug 09

    Of course you do!

    Anyways, it is now available as an official review on the site www.gameobserver.com. Check it OUT!

    On a side note, my new PC hasn't arrived yet, and I must say it pisses me off quite a bit... I want to play some more games! I sick of second rate adventure games, and I need my new uber-computer to play the awesome recently released or up-coming titles!

    But enough about that. Have a great Weekend everybody!

    • Posted Aug 21, 2009 11:49 am PT
    • Category: N/A
    • 3 Comments
  • 7Aug 09

    Last night (or was it morning) I finally set down in front of my computer and wrote a short (just one page) review for Fallout 3: Mothership Zeta, which you can read here!

    There isn't a lot of other progress to report, apart from the usual new videos I've recently posted,but I would like to notify you all I'm buying a new PC soon (already got the list of parts I'm getting), so I will be able to play all these cool new games my current 2 year old (!) heap of junk can't run properly. It is sad that just after 2 years I already need to buy a new one, but thats what you get for going to the cheaper parts... the only good piece of hardware I've got in this machine is the nVidia 8800 GTS 320, and these days it is pretty obsolete. My new graphic card will be the X275 (again, nVidia) so I'm hoping for a longer life span...

    That's is all for now! don't forget to check out my review and videos!

    • Posted Aug 7, 2009 11:05 am PT
    • Category: Games
    • 3 Comments
  • 26Jul 09

    GuyTheMighty

    Look me up.

    • Posted Jul 26, 2009 5:20 am PT
    • Category: General
    • 4 Comments
  • 14Jul 09

    Don't know why, but after finishing my Damnation review I sat down to write my next review, Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood, and I just didn't feel like doing it. I usually love writing down my thoughts and impressions on various games, but lately it all seem like a chore. I have nothing new or interesting to say about any of the games I've played recently, and it really bugs me. Don't know if it just these particular games or if it's something bigger than that, but I hope it passes soon.

    Don't get me wrong, Call of Juarez:BIB was an awesome game, and I even gave it an 8.0, I just can't find anything to say about it (nothing that can fill 2 pages). My review of this game can go something like this:
    Fun, if headache-inducing, gameplay. Amazing graphics with beautiful scenery and a decent,predictable story.
    That's all I've got, seriously... There is nothing else that caught my eye in my 6+ hours of playing.

    What do you do when you don't feel like sitting down and writing your ideas and thoughts? Do you have any tips (or good games) for a disgruntled PC gamer?

    • Posted Jul 14, 2009 6:10 pm PT
    • Category: Rant
    • 5 Comments
  • 10Jul 09

    So I've finished playing through Fallout 3 for the second time, including all of the available add-on and downloadable content. I figured I should post some pictures of Brutos, my character, as he waits for the immanent alien invasion in the "Mothership Zeta" dlc.

    Here you can see him relaxing outside of his suite in Tenpenny Tower. He is wearing his fancy suit, taken (by force) from the previous owner Tenpenny. The hostile take-over went without a hitch, and now Brutos Tower is a safe haven for everyone who can afford it. Those who resisted this transition of power were dealt with.

    Here he is, ready for battle: Enclave Hellfire Armor and Winterized T-51b Power Helmet. The weapon on his back is the Gauss Rifle.

    A glimpse into Brutos' pip-boy (the Devil himself).

    A close up on the most feared man in the wasteland (just so you'd now to stay clear). I think the beard makes him look dignified.

    *************************SPOILERS ALERT FROM THIS POINT ON*************************************

    Where did the Citadel go? Over-looking the smoldering remains of the Citadel, wearing Ashur's Power armor and the Filtration Helmet. The weapon is the Man Opener from The Pitt.

    Wearing Vence's coat and the Boogyman Helmet, firing the Backwater Rifle, a unique Lever-Action Rifle.

    That's what a Nuka-grenade will do to you. Sporting the Ranger Combat armor and the Oasis Hood.

    Some D.C. ruins site-seeing. Infront of you, you can see the remain of the White House. Just don't forget to wear your Advenced Radiation Suit, and carry a very special weapon -A3-21's Plasma Rifle.

    Getting ready for a little vaction in Point-lookout? The impressive "Duches Gambit" will get you there saftly and quickly. Remember to pack lightly.

    That's all for now, next time I'll try and post some on-loaction screenshots from the swamps of Maryland. If there anything you'd like to see on my next blog post, leave a comment.

    And now a word from our sponsor:
    A new review is up on my page: Damnation of the PC. Next on the list is Fallout 3's recent update - Point Lookout.
    And don't forget to check out some of my latest "Game Endings" uploads (unless you plan on playing these games).

    And as a side note, Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood is really fun!

    • Posted Jul 10, 2009 8:49 am PT
    • Category: Games
    • 4 Comments
  • 27Jun 09

    Another stubby post, but here goes:

    I finished all the quests (main and side) in the new DLC for Fallout 3 "Point Lookout", and although I had a great time doing so, I feel a little cheated... no, not cheated, more like unfulfilled.

    The new DLC does add a few new weapons and apparel items, most of them are even useful, and there is a really neat side quest involving Chinese spies and submarines, but other than that it fails to use the awesome environment to its advantage.The bog is spooky enough at night to be a great setting to some great horror quests or at least some grotesque monsters, but neither can be found anywhere in this new content. There are some gory locations and some nice attempts at the disturbing (the hanged dolls that can be find near Swampfolk's territory is a cool touch) but the DLC just can't live up to it's original premise.

    I'd still recommend it to all Fallout 3 fans, since it is the best DLC to date. I guess my expectations were a little bit too high. Oh, and try taking it easy with the Punga fruits; those things go straight to your hips...

    • Posted Jun 27, 2009 5:39 am PT
    • Category: Games
    • 3 Comments
  • 24Jun 09

    'nuff said...

    • Posted Jun 24, 2009 3:53 pm PT
    • Category: Games
    • 2 Comments
  • 17Jun 09

    I don't know if many of you were waiting for this game or how many of you read the Gamespot review, but Damnation was one of these games I was a little bit excited about when it was first announced. I guess it was probably because of its Steampunk settings and the whole vertical combat thing (still have high hopes for Dark Void to make it work), and as time went by I got ever so slightly less excited every time I read a preview or watched an interview. It seemed to me like the developers are taking good ideas, and implement then in a totally stupid way. For example, when I heard about the types of weapons in Damnation, I was completely disgusted by the enthusiastic manner the interviewee described a four barreled shotgun (a completely useless weapon) and the lack of any attention to the air-powered machine gun, which I think is an amazing concept and a superior weapon in the game. I know it is just a little thing, but it seems to me that the developers got overly excited about the wrong things, and instead of use this imaginative settings to create something truly unique, they just tried and be accepted at the cool kids table.

    So as you probably figured out from my incisive rambling, I picked up a copy of Damnation a short while after its release, and I am disappointed, so say the least. At first, when I just started playing, I dismissed the bad reviews, and found myself having fun, jumping and climbing about the vast (if linear) environments. But after easily dispatched of a courtyard full of generic enemies for the third time and after I seen through every twist in the paper-thin plot, I realized the reviews were right; Damnation is a one-trick, brain-dead pony.
    Expect my full review once I bring myself to finish this damned game.
    Oh, and just because it was the single awesome thing in the game so far, I give you...
    The Steampunk Zombie (like-thing)!

    • Posted Jun 17, 2009 3:25 am PT
    • Category: Games
    • 5 Comments
  • 20May 09

    Just letting you all know I've posted a new review on my page - Resident Evil 5.

    If I'm not mistaken, this is the first time I review an X360 game, so I guess it is some sort of milestone (hooray!).

    Nothing else to report, apart from some new videos (go check 'em out), so this is kind of a short post... but don't you worry, you'll be hearing from me soon enough!

    Thanks for your interest!

    • Posted May 20, 2009 2:27 pm PT
    • Category: N/A
    • 3 Comments
  • 15May 09

    For the last few days I've been playing, among other titles, a game called "The Path". Some of you might have heard about it, but for those who haven't: "The Path" is a small indie game that tells the story of little red riding hood, but from the perspective of six young girls, representing all sorts of adolescence vices. The game starts with a simple objective: Go to grandmother's house, and stay on the path. Of course, if you do that the game ends with a failure.

    I say game, but this unique experience is more like an interactive story than an actual video game. You mostly just wander around the forest, looking for various items to interact with and collect. The most interesting part of this exploration is encountering the wolves; each girl has her own type of wolf that corresponds to her so called sin. The goal of the game is finding that wolf, after interacting with everything you can find (some objects can only be used by certain girls). I have not yet discovered if the amount of objects collected effects the game somehow, put I do know that in order to finish a level you must find and interact with the wolf; only than will you be able to go to granny's house.

    The main reason I'm enjoying "The Path" is because of its refreshing art style and story telling elements. To tell you the truth, it took me a few tries to get used to the game, but once I did, I can hardly stop. Walking between the trees, interacting with all sorts of creepy items (and a weird little girl dressed in white), trying to understand what this specific character is all about feels like a waking dream, and once you see a girl to her journey's end, reality comes crushing down and the ugly truth is finally revealed.

    While lacking any real gameplay experience, and focusing mainly on exploring, "The Path" joins such great indie games such as "World of Goo" and "Penumbra" in proving games don't have to have cutting-edge graphics and physics engines to be immersive and fun. Any adventurer who likes to talk a stroll in someone else's mind can do so in "The Path", and he might even enjoy taking in the sights of the beautiful forest, disturbing music and enchantingly twisted take on this classic tale about the dangers of growing up.

    Support indie developers - play the game!

    Rose

    Carmen and her wolf

    Scarlet's wolf

    Robi and the weird little girl

    Granny's house

    • Posted May 15, 2009 1:47 am PT
    • Category: Games
    • 8 Comments
  • 6May 09

    I'll start with some progress report:

    First, I've posted 2 new (very contrasting) reviews last month: one for the superb Eternal Darkness (GC) and one for the awful Wheelman (PC). Feel free to read them, rate them and comment about them.
    Secondly, I uploaded several new Game Ending videos, one of which is for Silent Hill: Homecoming and it includes all of the available endings and costumes, directly from my PC. So go check it out.

    And now, on to the main event: Resident Evil 5 (among other games).
    I recently played this overly hyped game on the X360 (with the friend who owns it) and I find it to be two things: fun to play in Co-op mode (and only in Co-op mode), and not scary in the least. While RE4 (or 4RE) had it's moments of horror (mostly because you were all along in a big spooky castle, surrounded by "not-zombies"), R5E is about as scary as a box of kittens (very manly kittens that is).

    There only two things I'm going to say about the gameplay:
    1. If you are going to play this game, find a friend to play it with. Trust me, it's the only way the game can be fun.
    2. The one behind the idea of not using a split-screen in co-op mode (but rather two separate, very small, windows) should be shot in both knees.

    Back on topic: R5E is probably one of the least scary games I've played in a while. There is absolutely NOTHING scary about it; not the monster design, not the combat, not the atmosphere or story - NOTHING! R5E is an action game from start to finish, and its attempts at been scary only made me laugh. It is probably the best example to the future of survival horror if game designers wont snap out of their Capcom-induced coma and realize that blowing up heads with laser cannons of is not horror. I have no idea why the RE series continues to get so much attention and glory for betraying its core fan base, and playing R5E only proved to me that the series should have been shot through the brain a long time ago.

    If it wasn't for Cryostasis: The Sleep of Reason, I would have probably given up on the genre and go back to playing horror-adventure games. Seriously, Cryostasis is the only 2008-2009 game I can call a true survival horror experience. Sure, Dead Space and Homecoming are both scary, and are considered to be survival horror, but they are both "modern survival horror" which means they put as much emphasis on the action as they do on the horror (and they are both great games). Cryostasis is designed to intrigue and draw the player in, and not to keep him constantly treading in alien guts; and that is what survival horror is all about.

    • Posted May 6, 2009 2:35 am PT
    • Category: Games
    • 5 Comments
  • 21Mar 09

    I posted my review of Shellshock 2: Blood Trails a few days ago (click to read). I would appreciate some feedback because it wasn't a simple review to write (it is never easy reviewing obscure games no one actually played). In a nutshell(shock) I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who is looking for an intense action game.


    I'm already working on my next review (Eternal Darkness) and in the meantime have a lot of fun playing F.E.A.R 2. Just like the first one, it is a great shooter with lots of great action and firefights. Not so scary, but I still like it a lot. Those you followed my recent ratings know I haven't really enjoyed a good game in a while (I think fallout 3 and dead space are the last two games I really liked), so I'm excited to play one that isn't a chore to play through. I haven't finished it yet, but I think everybody with an itchy trigger finger should give F.E.A.R 2 a shot.

    In other news: I find it harder and harder to keep referring to myself as a PC gamer. What with all the PS2 and X360 games I've been playing lately, I'm considering buying a my very own console (the PS2 doesn't count, it is old and used). Can't decide yet between the PS3 and the X360, and everyone who ever spoke to me knows I wont be getting a Wii (unless my Gamecube owning girlfriend decides I'm getting HER one). I still do most of my gaming on the PC but I'm having so much fun playing console games with my friends, and it is really nice not to worry about the latest GPUs and motherboards (I bought a new case for my new PC a few weeks ago, and I still haven't bought any other parts for it since I'm afraid to). I've been playing on the PC since my first 286, and I still think nothing can compere to handling a mouse and keyboard, but alas... one must get with times if one wants to play Condemned 2 or RE5.

    Next time: Wii games I DO want to play, and maybe an updated list of PS2 games.

    Don't forget to enjoy my review (or don't, as long as you comment why not).

    • Posted Mar 21, 2009 2:53 pm PT
    • Category: Games
    • 11 Comments
  • 9Mar 09

    In my previous post about reviews, I said I was going to review at least 3 games in January. Since than I only reviewed Prince of Persia for the PC, so I've decided so keep my word this time, and actually review the game I say I'm going to review.

    I have a pretty big pile of games to play, and although I'm not going to review each one, I am going to review the following games for sure:

    Eternal Darkness for the GameCube: I know I said I'm going to review this one a couple of months ago, but I still haven't finished it...

    Cryostasis: Sleep of Reason for the PC: I've been waiting for this game for a long long time and I can't wait to enjoy it.

    ShellShock 2 for the PC: A shooter I now nothing about, and I doubt many people will play.

    F.E.A.R 2: Project Origin for the PC: This one is just a "maybe".

    Silent Hill: Homecoming for the PC: If I can secure myself a working copy...

    Again, I'm posting this on my blog as a sort of a promise to myself to actually review these games, but I would like to hear some opinions about the games I mentioned.
    I know for sure that my next review would be either "Shellshock" or "Eternal Darkness", whichever I finish first.

    On a related subject:

    I am looking for some new games to play for the PC, X360, GameCube or PS2, so feel free to drop me a recommendation about a game that isn't already in my Collection or Wish list.

    • Posted Mar 9, 2009 6:30 am PT
    • Category: News
    • 6 Comments
  • 25Feb 09

    Today I played through the demo for the game NecroVision by 1C and Farm 51. For those who have no idea what I'm talking about, NecroVision is a first person shooter set in the time of World War I (for a change) and has the player fighting his (or hers) way through hordes of germans, zombies, vampires and other things that go bump in the night.

    first thing first: I wont be playing the full game. I was going to since I was really excited about the settings and the gameplay, but after the bitter experience I had playing this demo, I decided not to bother with the game.
    I ran NecroVision on high settings (not ultra high) and I was surprised to see how ugly it was, especially the character models. Zombies looked like puppets, and the live germans all looked the same and were really unconvincing. Some of the non-human enemies were better designed, but still nothing special. Environments were slighty better, with smoother textures, but again, the blend colours of grey and black were not inspiring.

    The demo takes place on the second level of the game, leading the hero through a ruined german castle filled with zombies. I must admit the taking down the zombies was pretty fun at first, and when I got the "Trench Gun" (WWI version of the shotgun) it got even better. I guess it shouldn't come as a surprise since zombies are my favorite targets. The problem is that apart from shooting, stubbing and burning zombies, there wasn't a lot to do. Sure, there were quite a few levers to pull and buttons to push, but it lacked a real challange. the human enemies can be taken down with one accurate shot to the head or two shots to the chest and it is pretty easy to find ammo and health items just lying around. Even the two-parts "boss fight" was a joke. I died once during the demo, and only because I ran out of time in a certain section.
    one other thing: the game took forever to load, and I do mean for ever. I actually got up from the computer and went to eat lunch and watch some T.V. during the initial loading, and it took about 15-20 minutes to finish. If the demo was any good I would have forgiven such insanity, but after 30-45 minutes, when I pressed the "quit" button, it felt like a complete waste of time.

    If you've been reading carefully, you must have noticed I used the word "but" a lot, and with good reason. The word "but" pretty much sums up my impressions of this demo: it has some nice moments, but it is too generic and boring. It is hard to imagine it being a small part out of a much longer game. I can't imagine myself playing more than an hour of NecroVision, and it is a shame, since I hoped for a good shooter with lots of dark elements and even a slight horror touch.

    • Posted Feb 25, 2009 2:43 pm PT
    • Category: Games
    • 3 Comments
  • 2Feb 09

    Since I've been uploading so many "Game ending" videos, a friend of mine suggested I start taking requests for video uploads.

    So basically, if there's a game you would like me to post it's ending (and it is not already in my vast collection), go ahead and leave a comment here. I promise I'll consider all of them, and even upload some .

    Oh, and be sure to check out my lastest additions: Saints Row 2, Prince of Persia and World of Goo.

    • Posted Feb 2, 2009 1:50 pm PT
    • Category: N/A
    • 7 Comments
  • 8Jan 09

    This more of a remainder for myself than an announcement, but here are the games I'm most likely to review this January:

    Prince of Persia (PC)

    Dead Space (PC) - I've decided not to review this game. It's a good game but I have nothing new to say about it.

    Eternal Darkness (GC)

    I know that Eternal Darkness is quite old, and that nobody cares about the Cube anymore, but since I only started playing it a couple of weeks ago (and it being a horror game) I feel compelled to review it.
    If any another game will find it's way to my PC this month, I'll update the list.

    On a related subject:

    *Tomb Raider Underworld isn't worth your time and money if you are not a Tomb Raider fan

    *Red Alert 3 is a nice game, even for someone how does not enjoy most RTSs (like myself).

    • Posted Jan 8, 2009 3:51 am PT
    • Category: Games
    • 4 Comments
advertisement