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

Mortal Kombat Komplete Edition – PC Game Review

 

This is the first Mortal Kombat game that I have played since the arkade version of the original Mortal Kombat. I sucked at it then, and I kinda still suck at it now! I guess fighting games have never really been my forte. I never kould figure out all those special moves, or how to do a fatality, and unfortunately I still haven’t figured it out in this version. For me, it’s pretty much just jumping, punching and kicking. Though occasionally I do manage to accidentally manage to throw a fire ball or shoot a harpoon from my wrist.
What I kan say about this though, is that it does feel like a very much improved version of MK. Graphics are obviously much nicer, and I really like the Tag-Team feature, which pits 2 fighters against each other, allowing you to switch between them, and I imagine if you were good with the special moves, you kould pull off some seriously devastating attacks!

The kontrols seem excellent, as I said though: I kan’t pull off any moves, but that has less to do with the the game, and more to do with my lack of Kombatting skills! However, the movement of kharacters on screen is simple, and basic attacks are easy to pull off.

Another thing that I really liked was that this game has a story mode. As I said, I haven’t played an MK game since the original, so I don’t know if this is a kommon feature. I don’t think so, since Johnny Kage(Who was in the original) seems kompletely unaware of the purpose of the tourney. So, either the story is a new feature, or they are rebooting for this release? I honestly don’t know!

Now, the story feature is kool! However the actual story it’s self is kind of bland. It seems very forced, and exists simply to tie the battles together into a reason for fighting. However, despite how lame the story is, it’s STILL more entertaining than the plots for the Mortal Kombat movies.

Pros

• Beautiful Graphics
• Story Mode feature
• Good Replay Value
• Flawless Gamepad Support
• Wide Variety of Arenas

Cons

• Couldn’t get Online play to work well at all
• Maybe a bit TOO hard for inexperienced Kombatants
• Mediocre Story
• Some Storymode Fights are insanely challenging.

 

RATING: 8.5/10

Related articles

• The Fighting Game Resurgence and What it Means for Gaming Culture
• Mortal Kombat X (for PC)
• Street Fighter V smashes Evo registration record 4 days into sign-ups

Man of Steel Movie Review

First, this review will contain spoilers, so if you are the type who absolutely hates spoilers then you might want to just move along. I have however included an adorable video of a guinea pig eating a carrot to serve as both a buffer between this statement and the spoiler review, and also as a consolation for missing out on my spoiler filled review.

I am going to go on record and state, that I am a fan of Superman. In fact, Batman and Supes are really the only two DC comics characters that I enjoy. So, I make it a habit to watch any movie about either of those characters. So, when the new “Man of Steel” movie came out, I decided to watch it despite how bad “Superman Returns” was! So, I watched it, and I was more than a little disappointed. Maybe that’s more my fault than the movies? Maybe because I enjoy Superman comics and movies(Mostly) I expected too much?

Here’s the thing though, the movie just didn’t “Feel right”! It’s hard to explain, but it felt less like the first installment of a reboot franchise, and more like the third chapter of the reboot franchise. That sounds confusing right? So, I will try and explain! To begin with, the plot of the movie centers around an ultimate destruction scenario! The fate of the entire world hangs in the balance and only Superman can save the day! Superman is pushed to his breaking point, and is forced to make moral choices that will test his moral compass (Despite the fact that this reboot franchise has yet to even show us what those morals are).

So, Supes makes these choices, but it doesn’t seem to have much impact to the audience, because it’s not really going against Supermans character because that character type has never been established. It just seems like there should have been a few other movies in place that showed that Superman is a good guy, the ultimate boy scout! Then in a third chapter, him having to make the types of choices he does in the film, would impact the audience more.

Not only that, but Superman saving humanity from total extinction from the ultimate threat to the planets existence seems like a majorly big deal! I mean to be honest, the franchise really has nowhere to go but down! Sure, they can continue the same drivel! Each movie has an ultimate threat that will spell destruction for earth and all life that dwells on it I guess! Wouldn’t that start getting boring though?

If anything, the extinction level event plot of “Man of Steel” would have served better as the plot for a Justice League movie(Which it’s my understanding that one is planned, and that Man of Steel is serving as the first part of a DC cinematic Universe). Because let’s be honest! What in the hell could be so important that all the DC universe characters need to unite in order to beat the odds? They already got Superman, and Superman has already overcome those impossible odds my himself! There’s absolutely no reason for the heroes of the world to unite!

On the upside, Supermans costume looked kind of cool this time around. So, I guess it has that going for it!

Fav show of the season?

One of my favorite TV shows this season is a returning series, and while I have enjoyed past seasons it never ranked as my “Favorite show of the season”. The show is called “Supernatural“, perhaps you have heard of it? It’s a show that can be found on the CW, and its always been a fantastic series. Although this season, has got to be the best season to date. It has twists and turns, you don’t know who’s good or bad..and quite frankly, anything can happen.

Another thing I love about Supernatural this season is the fact that it’s gotten a little more humor this year. Not to the point where it’s redonkulous, but where you get some nice laughs in appropriate places. One of the funniest moments this season was where Dean(Played by Jensen Ackles) lip synched “Eye of the Tiger” after the credits. You can view it here thanks to the power of youtube.