CAT Interstellar – Steam Quickie Review

This “game” is one gorgeous looking title! It’s developed and published by a company called Ionized Games, which as far as I know hasn’t released any other games in the past. One important thing about CI however, is that it is an Early Access title. I have explained Early Access before in case anyone is unfamiliar with the concept. Although this title is MUCH more Early Access than most titles I have played, or reviewed. In fact, it’s so early access that referring to it as a “Game” is being very generous. Right now, there’s not much to it. It’s basically a tech demo, but it is still fun to explore and look around. For 4 bucks, you will probably get your money worth. Just don’t go in expecting a game, story, ending or much of anything really. In fact, the only parts of the title that has any gamelike feel are a couple times when you are asked to go get something.

Like I said at the start, the graphics are gorgeous, and while I normally hate filters, the filters in the “game” make it look really nice. It does a good job of making you feel like a robot or at the very least at the controls of a robot. The graphics remind me somewhat of Alien Isolation. Not that it’s dark or creepy, but the filters and texturing job are very similar.

As far as the voice acting goes? To be honest, I wasn’t a fan of the voice acting at all! Actually, that’s a bit of a lie. The voice acting was tolerable, it was the script that I had an issue with. hearing an android use words and slang like “Awesome” just didn’t feel right to me. Though the actors themselves could pass as androids I suppose.

My main concern is, like I said: The game is nowhere near completion, and in fact probably shouldn’t even be released into early access yet. It has a long way to go before it’s considered anything more than a tech demo. Anything can happen between now and then. so, the game could go downhill fast as production advances on it, or even just bottom out all together(Worst case scenario of course).

However, I do love what I see so far. If the game continues on the same track, this will most likely become one of my favorite games. However it still has a long way to go!

PROS

• Beautiful Graphics!
• Original Concept.
• You control a Robot.
• Detailed Game World.
• Only 4 bucks!

CONS

• Too early to be sold.
• Horrible dialog.
• Not frequently updated
• Clunky Controls

Overall score: 6/10

F.E.A.R. Gold – PC Retro Review

 

Anyone remember the Survival horror / FPS hybrid “F.E.A.R.” that came out way back in 2005? It was incredibly popular, and was released on not just the PC, but also Xbox 360 and PS3. From what I understand, the console games were inferior, but I can’t say with any certainty because I never played the game on the console. In fact, I had never played the game on the PC either!

I know, I am a horrible gamer! The reason though, was that during those years, I wasn’t doing much gaming at all. My wife had passed away a few years before that, and I was in a major slump and gaming was the last thing on my mind. So, a good many  of the later PS2/Xbox games, and early Xbox 360/PS3 games were completely ignored…I’m still catching up!

Anyway, this is one of the games that I had to catch up on, and I finally got around to playing it on the PC and I have to admit that this is a good cinematic FPS! Easily one of the better games I have played! My only real regret is that it took me this long to pick it up and begin playing it! I wish I started playing it when I first started catching up on old games that I skipped over! Better late than never I guess though right?

The game is also incredibly LONG! Which is a huge plus in my book, and should be in yours too. You definitely get your moneys worth with this purchase, especially since you can pick it up on steam for a mere 10 bucks. Less if you wait for a sale. I got mine, for just 2 bucks. So, unless you are someone who doesn’t have much time to invest into a game, and just want a quick bang-bang, pew-pew experience, then you owe it to yourself to get this now, otherwise stick with the single player CoD campaigns for your pew-pew thrills. This one will take several hours unless you just rush through without exploring. It took me 15 hours to complete the game(That’s including the two expansion packs that are included with the gold edition)

The game is also challenging, so if you want a game that’s a breeze and practically plays it’s self, then might not be for you, and again: Stick to the single player CoD campaigns! However if you want a challenge then this game should be in your library.

Now, the game lists it’s self as a horror game, and I just do not agree with that assessment. Sure there are a few “gasp moments”, but only because the game relies heavily on jump scare tactics, and I don’t consider loud noises or quick rushing objects appearing out of nowhere to be horror. To be fair, I believe jump scare tactics might be the only way to cause a fright in a FPS, as real horror comes from escaping and fearing for your life, not gunning down everything in your way in a blazing hail of gunfire.

So, while I don’t consider it a “Horror” game, I do consider it an excellent FPS that should be in everyone’s library!

–Pros–
Good graphics for it’s age.
Fantastic Story line!
Challenging game play
Bullet time!
Impressive AI
Many hours of game play
Includes two expansion packs!

–Cons–
Clumsy default controls(Can be reconfigured to your liking)
Game maybe TOO challenging for some novice gamers even on easier settings.
Some maps get boring and slightly repetitive.

Overall Score: 7/10

Grand Theft Auto 4 – PC Review

 

Well, I have finally gotten burned out on GTA5, and GTA Online, so decided to plunge into my Steam Library and play another GTA game. I decided to go with Grand Theft Auto 4, mainly because it and it’s DLC are the only games which take place in the same universe as GTA4. I know it’s older, but I have never played it on PC, so figured I would give it a shot!

Let me just say that Grand Theft Auto 4 is a excellent game, with an enjoyable storyline. Granted, The main character isn’t my favorite in the GTA universe, nor is this the best story. It however is a fun and enjoyable game with good graphics for its time, even if they are slightly dated nowadays.

This game takes you back to a larger and grittier Liberty City than you might remember from previous games. The city feels like a living and breathing city, with so much to do. You can visit amusement parks, go bowling or any number of other activities. Then of course there’s the shadier activities.

Despite the game being very good, it is also pain in the ass when it comes to the installation. The game requires GFWL, which also in turn requires you to sign up for an xbox live account. I’m sorry, if I wanted to play GTA4 on Xbox, I would have played the damn thing on Xbox! On top of that, there’s also the achievements! See the game does technically have Achievements, but again: Those are only posted to your xbox live account, they aren’t displayed on your steam account or anywhere else but your Xbox Live account. It’s just stupid. This is the only game I own that requires GFWL, and the very fact that it forces me to sign up for 2 other services(Rockstar Social and Xbox Live) is insane. I’m fine with the rockstar social club, but the other is just overkill.

Another thing that irked me, was the controls just felt clunky. They didn’t seem as fluid as the console version. I assumed the xbox control would be flawless since the game SEEMS to want to be an xbox game(Even on Steam), however these controls left me disappointed.

Still, it’s an OK game, and fans of Openworld crime sagas should definitely check this game out, despite the hassles.

Pros

• Incredible storyline
• Online open world gameplay
• Plenty of side activites
• Large Open world to explore
• Side missions as entertaining as main story.
• Incredible sountrack

Cons

• Requires GFWL
• Dated Graphics
• Clunky Controls
• Resource hog

 

RATING: 7/10

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Saints Row: The Third – PC Game Quickie Review

Let me start by saying that I was a huge fan of the Saints row games from the beginning! I first played the original game(Saints Row) on the xbox 360, and the second(Saints row 2) on the PS3. So when I saw that the third game(Saints Row the Third) was on sale at the Steam store, I had to have it!

The graphics in this one was so much better than the in the second game that it blew me away! The customization was vastly improved as well, at least in terms of character creation. True, the game lacked any good hairstyles, but other than that? Aces! In fact, I spent a good 40 mins just creating my character!

Once you get in the game though, you see right away how different the it is. It just doesn’t FEEL like the past 2 chapters. It’s moved away from urban street gangs, and seems more like organised crime. As such, most of the clothes are flashy and suit like. In fact, your homies wear silk suits, and shaundi looks more like a model instead of the stoner she was in the second.

SR3 basically leaves the street gang behind, but keeps the slightly over the top feeling of the second and takes it to a whole new level! The game has absolutely NO shred of realism to it, in fact at one point you battle zombies! True, Zombies were present in the first and second game, but they weren’t major plot points, and unless you did certain things to bring dead people to life, you never even knew about it!

So, I am not exactly sure how to review this game. If I view the game as a sequel, it’s bad, REALLY bad! It veers too far away from past games and it loses what little realism existed in the game, and turns the whole franchise into a joke.

However, if I review it on its own merits, and force myself to forget that it’s part of the Saints Row franchise, then it’s actually quite good! The over the top tone is fun, and makes it difficult to know what’s going to happen next!

Basically, if you are expecting something similar to the previous games, then don’t bother with Saints Row: The Third. If you just want to have fun, doing some insane crazy stuff, then this is the game for you!

Interestingly enough, this is the first game that I would give an overall rating of both 1 Star(Poor) and 5 stars(Best) to.

Silver Creek Falls: Chapter 1 – PC Game Review

Silver Creek Falls Chapter 1 is an RPGmaker title that serves as the first chapter/teaser for an ongoing game. It is available on Steam and is a free chapter. One thing to keep in mind, is this is an RPGMaker game, so expect your standard birds eye view, cutesy 16 bit style anime graphics and over sized headed characters. If you enjoy those aspects then yer set! Otherwise beware!

The game so far has been getting rave user reviews, however I am mildly disappointed..and I will tell you why!

First, the game has no guidance. While playing the game I first investigated 1 of the 3 crime scenes. After looking around a bit, it didn’t tell me what else to do. The car wasn’t allowing me to enter it. So, I remembered a sentence used by the deputy that neighbors had called the police the night of the murder. So, I assumed I would check in with the neighbors!

None of the neighbor doors were interactive so i tried the ones across the street. One let me enter, and inside was a tape, that essentially ended day one, and assumed I had visited crime scenes 2 and 3…which I obviously hadn’t! At first I thought “Well, maybe there wasn’t a crime scene 2/3 even though the NPCs were talking about evidence that I hadn’t encountered or seen.” However, when checking the Steam store front page for the game, in the screenshots area are screen captures of 2 crime scenes that I didn’t see. so, it’s a safe assumption that I accidentally skipped them.

The story seems disjointed, however that COULD be because it let’s you skip through a big chunk of the game(Seriously developer, you REALLY need to patch that and change the police station to a separate instance that doesn’t phase in until after certain objectives have been met, or at least add some guidance like “Ok, well….crime scene 2 is north of here, let’s check that out next”.

There is no combat in the game, at least in the chunks that I played, however the type of game isn’t really a combat game. It’s less RPG and more story driven adventure/interactive fiction.

Will I buy any future chapters? Not if this is any indication of what the future chapters will be like. The story seemed interesting, but the skipping two crime scenes thing? That’s a major flaw in my opinion, and is something that SHOULD have been prevented, and could have been with a little extra elbow grease.

Yes, I know it’s free…and for a free game it’s ok(Though annoying), however future chapters will cost $$$ and like I said, if this is the amount of effort the developers are going to put into them as well? I’ll pass.

Pros

• Interesting Story
• At least one scene with voice acting.
• Cute 16-bit graphics
• It’s free! DUH!
• Decent controls for a KeyBoard game.

Cons

• Bugged! Can skip half the game.
• Bad BAD voice acting. Not sure if sheriff is southern or from new orleans..or somewhere else.
• No controller support.
• No way to go full screen(That I saw?)

 

RATING: 3.5/10

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Firewatch – PS4 Review

 

Firewatch is a new game that was recently released on PS4, Windows, OS X and Linux. It’s brought by the developer Campo Santo, which has developed…well, just firewatch.

As I mentioned, the game is available on a few platforms, but the one I am reviewing is the PS4 version.

The game is a first person exploration/mystery/horror adventure game, that centers on the games main hero Henry, a volunteer fire lookout stationed in Shoshone National Forest in 1989(So yes, technically this is an ’80s game). His only companion is Delilah, Henrys supervisor who communicates with you via walkie-Talkie.

As the game advances forward you start to build a relationship with your supervisor, explore the wilderness and eventually discover strange things afoot.

Overall the game sounds interesting, and fairly original! Does it live up to expectations though?

Graphics: 8.5/10 – The graphics are beautiful and artistic. If you are looking for realism in your games graphics though, look elsewhere! The graphics are very cartoony, and appear slightly cel-shading. In fact, the graphics remind me a little of the cartoony nature of World of Warcraft. So, I can’t stress this enough! It’s not realistic looking, and it isn’t intended to be.

The textures are gorgeous, and to be honest, the game its self is a delight to explore. I enjoyed just roaming around the wilderness and looking at all the work that the devs put into this game, more than I enjoyed actually playing the game. So, the graphics are absolutely top knotch.

Voice Acting: 9/10 – The two main characters were voiced rather well! Sure, the sounds of henrys voice didn’t match up with your actions, but that’s because the game has no way to know if you are climbing a mountain, or jumping across a river when you are talking. So, you don’t get the vocal distrubances from movement. However the acting is well done! Rich Sommer and Cissy Jones did a very good job acting out their characters emotions and fears. I was completely impressed!

Controls: 6/10 – The controls, are a pain at first. Mainly during conversations and dialog options. It takes awhile to get used to, and the first several conversations I ended up coming across like an ass and just not responding to her because the time limit would run out before I remembered which button combinations allowed me to reply. Also, when you are out exploring the wilderness, and you have your map up, trying to get your bearings and a call comes in. You can’t reply without first putting your map away. The game doesn’t inform you of this, but your response timer still ticks down, so I lost out on responding to a few other early on calls due to this as well.

Other than dialog, the controls are pretty straight forward, but unfortunately..at least for me, the conversation controls really hit the enjoyment factor hard.

Final thoughts: The game is short as hell. For 20 bucks, I expected more gameplay. Instead what I got 5 hours of gaming, and a good portion of that was spent exploring the area. While most of the game was enjoyable, it ended on a sour note, with what could be the worst and most boring game ending that I have ever experienced.

Is there a reason to replay it? Well, the store description says your choices can impact the game, however I don’t see how anything you say or do, could impact the game enough to warrant a second playthrough. Normally I would say that if you are a completionist you could go back and try to gain missed trophies, however all trophies are earned just by advancing the game…so If you finish the story, you have 100% completion.

Overall, I would suggest getting the game, but only if it’s on a 50% or more sale. 10 bucks seems fair for this game. 20 is just a ripoff.

Overall rating: 5/10

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Retro Review: Dark Forces – Steam Edition

Tomorrow is the release of the new Star Wars movie! “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”! Actually, so is today I guess if you live in one of the areas doing an early showing..But tomorrow is the official opening day! So, in honor of the films release, I decided to do a review of a classic Star Wars game! So, I dove into my Steam library and picked out Star Wars: Dark Forces!

This title is a classic FPS(or as they were called back in the day, a Doom Clone) set in the Star Wars Universe. I played this game first on the original Playstation, and it was my first encounter with the expanded universe. I quickly fell in love with the idea and started buying other EU games, the books(And Comic books) and it all started with this title.

While this game may no longer be canon, it’s still an extremely fun experience. If you are familiar with DOOM, then you know what this is. You run around, blast your enemies and press switches and gather colored keys to open doors. Typical 90’s FPS gameplay mechanics.

The game has held out really well over the years. The graphics obviously are dated, but not so much as to leave you scratching your head trying to figure out what that batch of pixels is supposed to be. Difficulty is fairly challenging. Not so much in combat, but some of the levels get downright confusing and might leave you lost.

The only major downside to this classic titles is the control system! It uses your standard arrow key controls, but looking up and down is a bit of a pain. In order to look up and down, you need to use page up and page down keys. Since you are having to move around with the arrow keys, take your hand off the movement keys in order to aim at an attacking enemy on the ledge above you can be a tad annoying.

Thankfully the game does have Auto-Aim. So, if you fire your weapon in the general direction of your enemy, it will start shooting at him, even if he is a level above you. Yes, it would be nice to aim at your foe easier, but you technically never even have to look up or down to finish the game thanks in no small part to auto-aim.

Pros

• Star Wars!
• Good graphics for the time
• Runs well on modern systems
• Auto-Aim!
• Classic look and feel adds to the Nostalgia.
• Most levels are fun
• Good UI
• Great story

Cons

• No longer Canon 😦
• Dumb AI
• Levels can get boring and repetitious. Mainly the sewer level.
• Clumsy controls.

 

RATING: 7/10

 

 

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The Vanishing of Ethan Carter PC Game Review

Are you are looking for a first person horror/mystery game that feels like a cross between Alan Wake, and Murdered: Soul Suspect with a dash of H.P. Lovecraft thrown in for good measure? Then this might be what you are looking for!

First, let me talk about the graphics! The graphics are gorgeous! Right from the start when you find yourself standing on the train tracks at the end of a tunnel, surrounded by a dense woodland area. It’s probably one of the most beautiful games I have played. In fact you might spend more time wandering around the game world, looking at the scenery than you do solving mysteries. In my 8+ hours of playtime I spent 2 hours of it just looking out over oceans and frolicking around in the woods.

(Actual gameplay screenshot)

In terms of gameplay, the game starts off telling you that it’s not going to hold your hand, which it doesn’t. this is a double edged sword in my opinion. On one hand, you don’t have some clumsy UI detracting from the immersion of the game. On the other hand, the games definition of “Hand holding” apparently includes: Explaining controls, explaining your abilities, explaining why you are wherever it is you are, letting you manually save and letting you view an inventory(or notebook system….or map). So, in the end it’s kind of cool that you have a nice clean screen to enjoy the visuals of the game, but that also means that if you quit playing for a few days and forget what you have collected, or what you were trying to do, yer pretty much up a creek without a paddle.

-Pros-
Beautiful graphics.
Challenging yet logical puzzles(mostly)
H.P. Lovecraft vibe
Good voice acting
Excellent controls
Clear UI
Flawless gamepad support

-Cons-
No tutorial explaining controls
No manual save
No inventory/journal system
Insanely short(I beat the game in 6 hours with 100% achievment completion)

Zombie blastin’ goodness

Valve is releasing what i believe to be one spiffy game! The game is called Left 4 Dead and it does involve zombies. As an added bonus, these aren’t your slow moving zombies…heck no! These are the Super-fast-moving-zombies-that-travel-in-giant groups kinda zombies…….but with a twist! See? The zombies are changing. Some are getting abilities…Everything from sploding goop onto people and attracting masses of zombies..To throwing out a long grabber thing and wrapping around the prey and dragging you to it….and if you’re the unfortunate survivor that falls prey to one of these “Super-Zombies” then you are going to need the help of your fellow survivors t get free…Did I mention this was an on-line Co-op game?

Yep! You go online, and help your fellow survivors escape the city. You play one of 4 characters, and blast a trail through brain-eating zombies until you get to a safe spot…then, you rest up, gear up and move on. your survivor buddies will rely on your bullets, and your aid in patching them up, just as you will rely on them. After all, its a “Help or be eatin'” world out there now!

Not a fan of playing with others? Dont like going online? No worries, yo can alway play offline in solo mode with computer controlled allies. This in some ways is more efficient yet in other ways its more hassle..Solo mode you don’t have your allies running off ahead leaving you to get pulled to your death by a zombie group, and if something goes screwy…well, you only have yourself to blame….on the down side, the NPCs aren’t very bright, and in many cases you will be doing most of the intelligent stuff. Sometimes its easier haing quick thinking pawns…errr..people doing the hard stuff while you stand back and…erm…guard the back position.

The demo was released both on PC [STEAM] as well as XBOX Live, since it’s going to be released for BOTH the Xbox360 and the PC as well, so whichever is your gaming platform of choice, you can get it. I personally have yet to decide which gaming platform im going to go with. On the Xbox 360 its obviously going to run just as smooth on your system, as it does someone elses…HOWEVER on the PC, there likely going to be MODs and expansions. (Kinda like the zombie mod that was released for halflife 2…god, i wish that was available as down loadable content on the Xbox live service!)….The choices, the choices….