Game: Dear Esther
Year (s): 2012 (finished commercial product)
Company: dev. thechineseroom and Robert Briscoe
pub. Steam
Engine: Source
Type: First-Person... Story
Metacritic Score: 77
My Score: Fantastic, surreal, and unique, but requires a certain mindset.
Price (as of July 4, 2012)
Regular price on Steam: $9.99
Lowest Buy-It-Now on eBay (new, with shipping): Not Available
Game Time: 2 hours
Obligatory Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7VJ4lP-05A
Plot, Gameplay, and Atmosphere
This game is entirely plot-based. The player explores a deserted island, interacting with nothing. Certain spots trigger the narrator to speak. The scenery is beautiful, and the soundtrack is perfect. The narration isn't the same with each play, and some of it is quite obtuse. Sometimes narration is contradictory. In the end, it's a beautiful, trippy game that you have to be in the mood for. While each play adds details, they don't make any clearer what is going on, so it is left to the player to make their own conclusions.
Development
From Wikipedia: "The original rendition of Dear Esther was one of several mods developed by thechineseroom while the studio was still a research project at the University of Portsmouth.[9] The project was funded by a grant from the Arts and Humanities Research Council and led by Dan Pinchbeck, a professor and lecturer at the university."
In 2009 former DICE employee Robert Briscoe led thechineseroom in remaking the original mod, making the environment lusher and remastering the soundtrack. When the original funds ran out, The Indie Fund stepped in.
Final Thoughts
The Good: It's achingly well-developed, and astonishingly unique. The end result is haunting, drawing more plays and more interest. Cheap, and two hours are more gripping than many games achieve in twelve hours.
The Bad: There is no final verdict as to the plot, and the lack of gameplay interaction may discourage some players. You absolutely have to be in the mood for this, and it's best played without break. It's short.
The Verdict: I love this game, but I can understand if someone else hates it. It's brilliant, but everyone won't enjoy it. It is the best of times, and so on. I highly recommend it with a grain of salt.
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Quake 4 Review
Game: Quake 4
Year (s): 2005
Company: dev. Raven Software, under supervision of id Software
pub. Activision
Engine: id Tech 4
Type: First-Person Shooter
Metacritic Score: 81
My Score: Average, with a side of graphic violence.
Price (as of June 28, 2012)
Regular price on Steam: $19.99
Lowest Buy-It-Now on eBay (unopened, with shipping): $29.99
Game Time: the expected 10-14 hours
Obligatory Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXQFK35CAbU
Lineage
Quake 4 is a direct sequel to Quake II. Some events of the previous protagonist are mentioned as your squad of space marines jets to the Strogg homeworld. As before, humanity is in a desperate war to survive against the cybernetic Strogg forces. Many weapons and enemies return from Quake II, as well as some of the look and sound.
Quake 4 is built using the id Tech 4 engine, and showcases some improvements over Doom 3. There are outdoor areas, and the flashlight is attached to two of your weapons. Vehicles have been added, and some degree of cinematic flair. Stop motion technology was utilized.
Combat/Gameplay
Shoot stuff, don't get shot, and push a button occassionally. At a few points combat is frustratingly hard, but the pace of the game hits pretty solid. The only downer: no running. The player is helped by other marines along the way; some expendable, some invincible. Partway into the game, the player becomes partially Stroggified, increasing max health and armor by 25% and slightly increasing movement speed.
Quake 4 generally substitutes the jump scares and brooding darkness of Doom 3 for straight-up action. There are still horror elements, and the engine showcases intense gore, violence, and a more realistic-looking (and therefore more disturbing) vision of the Strogg.
Multiplayer is arena style like Quake 3, but regresses by having no bots.
Expansions / DLC / Sequels
No news on further Quake to date, but id's convention is still titled QuakeCon. I am going to blindly guess that after Doom 4 and Rage 2 are done, Quake may be revisited.
I have the Special DVD Edition, which includes promotional material, Quake II, and both Quake II expansions.
Final Thoughts
The Good: Quake 4 gives a serious facelift to the franchise, while also addressing complaints about Doom 3.
The Bad: Shorter than Doom 3, and didn't age as well.
The Verdict: When it was released, Quake 4 was good but not stellar. Nowadays, there isn't any reason to buy it unless you loved Quake II.
Year (s): 2005
Company: dev. Raven Software, under supervision of id Software
pub. Activision
Engine: id Tech 4
Type: First-Person Shooter
Metacritic Score: 81
My Score: Average, with a side of graphic violence.
Price (as of June 28, 2012)
Regular price on Steam: $19.99
Lowest Buy-It-Now on eBay (unopened, with shipping): $29.99
Game Time: the expected 10-14 hours
Obligatory Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXQFK35CAbU
Lineage
Quake 4 is a direct sequel to Quake II. Some events of the previous protagonist are mentioned as your squad of space marines jets to the Strogg homeworld. As before, humanity is in a desperate war to survive against the cybernetic Strogg forces. Many weapons and enemies return from Quake II, as well as some of the look and sound.
Quake 4 is built using the id Tech 4 engine, and showcases some improvements over Doom 3. There are outdoor areas, and the flashlight is attached to two of your weapons. Vehicles have been added, and some degree of cinematic flair. Stop motion technology was utilized.
Combat/Gameplay
Shoot stuff, don't get shot, and push a button occassionally. At a few points combat is frustratingly hard, but the pace of the game hits pretty solid. The only downer: no running. The player is helped by other marines along the way; some expendable, some invincible. Partway into the game, the player becomes partially Stroggified, increasing max health and armor by 25% and slightly increasing movement speed.
Quake 4 generally substitutes the jump scares and brooding darkness of Doom 3 for straight-up action. There are still horror elements, and the engine showcases intense gore, violence, and a more realistic-looking (and therefore more disturbing) vision of the Strogg.
Multiplayer is arena style like Quake 3, but regresses by having no bots.
Expansions / DLC / Sequels
No news on further Quake to date, but id's convention is still titled QuakeCon. I am going to blindly guess that after Doom 4 and Rage 2 are done, Quake may be revisited.
I have the Special DVD Edition, which includes promotional material, Quake II, and both Quake II expansions.
Final Thoughts
The Good: Quake 4 gives a serious facelift to the franchise, while also addressing complaints about Doom 3.
The Bad: Shorter than Doom 3, and didn't age as well.
The Verdict: When it was released, Quake 4 was good but not stellar. Nowadays, there isn't any reason to buy it unless you loved Quake II.
Monday, June 25, 2012
Sanctum Review
Game: Sanctum
Year (s): 2011
Company: dev. Coffee Stain Studios
pub. Valve Corp (Steam)
Engine: Unreal Engine 3
Type: First-Person Shooter Tower Defense
Metacritic Score: 71
My Score: *yawn*
Price (as of June 21, 2012)
Regular price on Steam: $9.99
Lowest Buy-It-Now on eBay (new, with shipping): Not Available
Game Time: from ten hours to eternity
Obligatory Trailer: http://www.gametrailers.com/video/rex-launcher-sanctum/723617
Plot
Kill aliens before they reach the core!
Unreal!
Sanctum won two fourth-place awards in the 2009 Make Something Unreal contest. If I think of it purely as a game mod, it's innovative. If I actually look at it, it's ugly. Simple textures, cartoonish characters, and polygonal structures look like Unreal Engine 2, not Unreal Engine 3.
Combat/Gameplay
Tower defense is a small genre that I first saw in Warcraft 3 (mostly in custom maps), and more recently in Plants vs. Zombies and Defense Grid. The premise is simple: waves of enemies are after your core (or other central location), which they will damage. They typically won't attack anything else. The player builds towers to attack the enemies and block a straight path to the core.
Sanctum happily satisfies that, providing various grids to arrange your mazes of towers by. Each tower has a use. Sanctum adds a first-person shooter aspect to the mix, with a handful of basic weapons. Both weapons and towers can be upgraded.
Soundtrack
The music in the game is a highlight, and is most easily compared to This Will Destroy You. The music isn't good for all occasions, but has it's moments. Most game soundtracks aren't even worth mentioning.
Expansions / DLC / Sequels
There are a handful of DLC, most of which cost money. These includes new levels, new weapons, and the official soundtrack in both MP3 and .wav formats. Including the DLC, there are ten levels.
Final Thoughts
The Bad: This game looks like crap, and fails to teach the player basic controls and scenarios in which the various towers and weapons excel. The game also has no plot, and only features a handful of levels without spending more for DLC.
The Good: Sometimes I like to play something mindless, and there's some achievements for people that are interested. The game has an alright soundtrack and is pretty cheap.
Verdict: This feels like there were no objective play testers as part of the development process. I wouldn't strongly recommend this one.
Year (s): 2011
Company: dev. Coffee Stain Studios
pub. Valve Corp (Steam)
Engine: Unreal Engine 3
Type: First-Person Shooter Tower Defense
Metacritic Score: 71
My Score: *yawn*
Price (as of June 21, 2012)
Regular price on Steam: $9.99
Lowest Buy-It-Now on eBay (new, with shipping): Not Available
Game Time: from ten hours to eternity
Obligatory Trailer: http://www.gametrailers.com/video/rex-launcher-sanctum/723617
Plot
Kill aliens before they reach the core!
Unreal!
Sanctum won two fourth-place awards in the 2009 Make Something Unreal contest. If I think of it purely as a game mod, it's innovative. If I actually look at it, it's ugly. Simple textures, cartoonish characters, and polygonal structures look like Unreal Engine 2, not Unreal Engine 3.
Combat/Gameplay
Tower defense is a small genre that I first saw in Warcraft 3 (mostly in custom maps), and more recently in Plants vs. Zombies and Defense Grid. The premise is simple: waves of enemies are after your core (or other central location), which they will damage. They typically won't attack anything else. The player builds towers to attack the enemies and block a straight path to the core.
Sanctum happily satisfies that, providing various grids to arrange your mazes of towers by. Each tower has a use. Sanctum adds a first-person shooter aspect to the mix, with a handful of basic weapons. Both weapons and towers can be upgraded.
Soundtrack
The music in the game is a highlight, and is most easily compared to This Will Destroy You. The music isn't good for all occasions, but has it's moments. Most game soundtracks aren't even worth mentioning.
Expansions / DLC / Sequels
There are a handful of DLC, most of which cost money. These includes new levels, new weapons, and the official soundtrack in both MP3 and .wav formats. Including the DLC, there are ten levels.
Final Thoughts
The Bad: This game looks like crap, and fails to teach the player basic controls and scenarios in which the various towers and weapons excel. The game also has no plot, and only features a handful of levels without spending more for DLC.
The Good: Sometimes I like to play something mindless, and there's some achievements for people that are interested. The game has an alright soundtrack and is pretty cheap.
Verdict: This feels like there were no objective play testers as part of the development process. I wouldn't strongly recommend this one.
Monday, June 11, 2012
Bulletstorm Review
Game: Bulletstorm
Year (s): 2011
Company: dev. People Can Fly, a division of Epic Games
pub. Electronic Arts
Engine: Unreal Engine 3.5
Type: First-Person Shooter
Metacritic Score: 82
My Score: So fucking awesome it will fucking murder your dick-tits, you douche-dildo.
Price (as of June 8, 2012)
Regular price on Steam: $19.99
Lowest Buy-It-Now on eBay (new, with shipping): $8.50
Game Time: ~10 hours for the campaign, first time on default
Obligatory Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmKWbOIk1M0
Plot
Grayson "Gray" Hunt and his team were the premier death squad of General Serrano. On one mission, they find out their targets were civilians. Gray then leads his team, over a course of years and alcoholism, in a crusade against Serrano. This crusade leaves Gray, Serrano, and a few others stranded on what was a tourist planet,now turned savage from radiation.
People Can Fly, and Profanity
People Can Fly was on my shitlist. Painkiller (by the time I played it) was buggy and dated. They were bought by Epic afterwards, and have redeemed themselves. The language in this game is extremely profane. So profane that it is laughable, and at times, nonsensical. Part of this is due to the fact that People Can Fly are Polish, and didn't fully understand the impact of the language used.
Performance
I'm getting tired of seeing Unreal Engine 3.X, but it's still viable and solid. I hit only one minor glitch.
Bulletstorm uses Games For Windows Live (GFWL). I have had problems with this before, but on launch I was logged-in automatically and everything ran fine. There are GFWL trophies that can be earned, but no achievements on Steam.
Combat/Gameplay
Most of the weapons are standard, with a few creative ones thrown in. They are all fun to use. Weapons have primary ammo and super-powerful charge shot ammo. Additionally you can kick enemies or draw them closer with a lasso-like tool.
Points are rewarded by merit. Standard shots are worth little, but creative death methods are worth more. Impale a man on a cactus. Kill someone that's on fire while you're intoxicated. Go on, earn it.
In the campaign, points are used to buy weapon upgrades and ammo. In the Echo game type, points are a way to measure skill against other players on the leaderboards.
Voice Actors
Steve Blum is the main character. He's a busy man, and you'll recognize him from Rage, Half-Life 2, or any number of other projects. Jennifer Hale plays Trishka (her voice sounds familiar; she's done a lot of different things).
Expansions / DLC / Sequels
Two DLC have been released, neither of which add much. For PC, these are only available through GFWL Marketplace.
A sequel was planned, but unfortunately cancelled. Epic stated piracy and a poorer review for the PC version as reasons. Epic further said that it sold well (over one millions copies) but not amazing, and that People Can Fly has been assigned to a project that is a better fit.
Final Thoughts
The Good: It's rare that a shooter is this much pure fun, or will make you laugh out loud.
The Bad: It is what is now the standard length for the genre, with no legacy. Multiplayer is co-op only.
The Verdict: This game is hilarious, fast-paced, and chock-full of sheer badassery. I recommend it.
Year (s): 2011
Company: dev. People Can Fly, a division of Epic Games
pub. Electronic Arts
Engine: Unreal Engine 3.5
Type: First-Person Shooter
Metacritic Score: 82
My Score: So fucking awesome it will fucking murder your dick-tits, you douche-dildo.
Price (as of June 8, 2012)
Regular price on Steam: $19.99
Lowest Buy-It-Now on eBay (new, with shipping): $8.50
Game Time: ~10 hours for the campaign, first time on default
Obligatory Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmKWbOIk1M0
Plot
Grayson "Gray" Hunt and his team were the premier death squad of General Serrano. On one mission, they find out their targets were civilians. Gray then leads his team, over a course of years and alcoholism, in a crusade against Serrano. This crusade leaves Gray, Serrano, and a few others stranded on what was a tourist planet,now turned savage from radiation.
People Can Fly, and Profanity
People Can Fly was on my shitlist. Painkiller (by the time I played it) was buggy and dated. They were bought by Epic afterwards, and have redeemed themselves. The language in this game is extremely profane. So profane that it is laughable, and at times, nonsensical. Part of this is due to the fact that People Can Fly are Polish, and didn't fully understand the impact of the language used.
Performance
I'm getting tired of seeing Unreal Engine 3.X, but it's still viable and solid. I hit only one minor glitch.
Bulletstorm uses Games For Windows Live (GFWL). I have had problems with this before, but on launch I was logged-in automatically and everything ran fine. There are GFWL trophies that can be earned, but no achievements on Steam.
Combat/Gameplay
Most of the weapons are standard, with a few creative ones thrown in. They are all fun to use. Weapons have primary ammo and super-powerful charge shot ammo. Additionally you can kick enemies or draw them closer with a lasso-like tool.
Points are rewarded by merit. Standard shots are worth little, but creative death methods are worth more. Impale a man on a cactus. Kill someone that's on fire while you're intoxicated. Go on, earn it.
In the campaign, points are used to buy weapon upgrades and ammo. In the Echo game type, points are a way to measure skill against other players on the leaderboards.
Voice Actors
Steve Blum is the main character. He's a busy man, and you'll recognize him from Rage, Half-Life 2, or any number of other projects. Jennifer Hale plays Trishka (her voice sounds familiar; she's done a lot of different things).
Expansions / DLC / Sequels
Two DLC have been released, neither of which add much. For PC, these are only available through GFWL Marketplace.
A sequel was planned, but unfortunately cancelled. Epic stated piracy and a poorer review for the PC version as reasons. Epic further said that it sold well (over one millions copies) but not amazing, and that People Can Fly has been assigned to a project that is a better fit.
Final Thoughts
The Good: It's rare that a shooter is this much pure fun, or will make you laugh out loud.
The Bad: It is what is now the standard length for the genre, with no legacy. Multiplayer is co-op only.
The Verdict: This game is hilarious, fast-paced, and chock-full of sheer badassery. I recommend it.
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Medal of Honor Review
Game: Medal of Honor
Year (s): 2010
Company: dev. Danger Close, DICE (multiplayer only)
pub. Electronic Arts
Engine: Unreal Engine 3 (singleplayer), Frostbite 1.5 (multiplayer)
Type: First-Person Shooter
Metacritic Score: 72
My Score: I just took a shit that leveled a house
Price (as of May 27, 2012)
Regular price on Steam: $19.99
Lowest Buy-It-Now on eBay (new, with shipping): $9.99
Game Time: 5 hours, first time, on default.
Obligatory Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1njQT9kJaM
See Also
Call of Duty 4 Review: http://fpsandmtg.blogspot.com/2012/03/call-of-duty-4-modern-warfare.html
Plot
You play the role of a handful of different US soldiers, fighting Al Qaeda forces in Afghanistan. Things go boom. Bullets go zoom. The Colonel and the General will argue again soon. Welcome to this half-assed cartoon.
Engines
There's nothing new to say about an Unreal engine.
Frostbite has been used exclusively for Medal of Honor and Battlefield titles, and in one Need for Speed game. I can't comment further because it was confined to the multiplayer. Due to what I call a bonehead decision, the multiplayer not only has a different developer and engine, but also requires a separate download and a (non-Steam) player registration.
Combat/Gameplay
You may have noticed the See Also was for a different game; it's because they're twins in gameplay. They even share most of the weapons.
Your teammates are invincible, and with Wolverine-like healing powers, you are too. Your teammates yell out enemy positions, so you could be amazing at the game while stoned. Vehicles segments are poorly presented, and probably the only time you might get killed. AI is insipid. With no challenge, there isn't anything for the adults in the room to appreciate.
Expansions / DLC / Sequels
I had the Wikipedia page open. I could have been professional and added that information here, but I didn't. Medal of Honor is such a Candyland shooter that I choose to believe any of its bastard offspring, and all the developers, were killed in one of the many, many, in-game airstrikes.
Final Thoughts
The Good: My favorite part of the game was, by far, the logo for Danger Close during the game initialization load. The credits were satisfactory.
The Bad: Everything else. This game is insultingly short; with no immersion, no challenge, and nothing done particularly well. If you get this as a gift, donate it to Good Will.
Year (s): 2010
Company: dev. Danger Close, DICE (multiplayer only)
pub. Electronic Arts
Engine: Unreal Engine 3 (singleplayer), Frostbite 1.5 (multiplayer)
Type: First-Person Shooter
Metacritic Score: 72
My Score: I just took a shit that leveled a house
Price (as of May 27, 2012)
Regular price on Steam: $19.99
Lowest Buy-It-Now on eBay (new, with shipping): $9.99
Game Time: 5 hours, first time, on default.
Obligatory Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1njQT9kJaM
See Also
Call of Duty 4 Review: http://fpsandmtg.blogspot.com/2012/03/call-of-duty-4-modern-warfare.html
Plot
You play the role of a handful of different US soldiers, fighting Al Qaeda forces in Afghanistan. Things go boom. Bullets go zoom. The Colonel and the General will argue again soon. Welcome to this half-assed cartoon.
Engines
There's nothing new to say about an Unreal engine.
Frostbite has been used exclusively for Medal of Honor and Battlefield titles, and in one Need for Speed game. I can't comment further because it was confined to the multiplayer. Due to what I call a bonehead decision, the multiplayer not only has a different developer and engine, but also requires a separate download and a (non-Steam) player registration.
Combat/Gameplay
You may have noticed the See Also was for a different game; it's because they're twins in gameplay. They even share most of the weapons.
Your teammates are invincible, and with Wolverine-like healing powers, you are too. Your teammates yell out enemy positions, so you could be amazing at the game while stoned. Vehicles segments are poorly presented, and probably the only time you might get killed. AI is insipid. With no challenge, there isn't anything for the adults in the room to appreciate.
Expansions / DLC / Sequels
I had the Wikipedia page open. I could have been professional and added that information here, but I didn't. Medal of Honor is such a Candyland shooter that I choose to believe any of its bastard offspring, and all the developers, were killed in one of the many, many, in-game airstrikes.
Final Thoughts
The Good: My favorite part of the game was, by far, the logo for Danger Close during the game initialization load. The credits were satisfactory.
The Bad: Everything else. This game is insultingly short; with no immersion, no challenge, and nothing done particularly well. If you get this as a gift, donate it to Good Will.
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Serious Sam: The Second Encounter Review
This blog has been sparse lately. I've been busy playing Darksiders (it's like a Zelda game) and some old Nintendo stuff. Also, it's nice out. Anyway.
Game: Serious Sam: The Second Encounter
Year (s): 2002 (original), 2010 (HD)
Company: dev. Crpteam
pub. Devolver Digital
Engine: Serious Engine (original), Serious Engine 3 (HD)
Type: First-Person Shooter
Price (as of May 24, 2012)
Regular price on Steam: $19.99
Lowest Buy-It-Now on eBay (new, with shipping): $4.75
Game Time: 9 hours, first time on easy
Obligatory Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Udq8Bhswiyc
See Also
The First Encounter Review: http://fpsandmtg.blogspot.com/2011/06/serious-sam-first-encounter-review.html
Plot
Second Encounter starts off with Sam's ship crashing to Earth. He must travel through time to activate a backup ship, fighting Mental's minions the whole way.
Combat/Gameplay
This continues the style of old-school corridor battles interspersed with huge open areas and an onslaught of enemies. The environments are more varied for a couple of reasons. First, the game isn't confined to desert, as parts take place in medieval Europe and the Mayan jungle. Second, Croteam experimented quite a bit with active area features. Ice, jump pads, wind, traps... there's even a room that is, basically, a rotating clothes dryer full of death.
The Second Encounter also featured a few other adjustments. The game is broken in to three episodes, and a handful of new weapons spice things up (there are new enemies too).
I played this game one notch lower than default. It was quick and easy, but some of that may result from the hours spent playing The First Encounter and BFE, or from the better arsenal of weapons.
Final Thoughts
I prefer this game over the first, but they are both essentially the same Quake 2/Unreal Gold style of gameplay (with more enemies and a touch of humor). If you're looking to shoot stuff, find keys, hunt for secrets, and not have to think, this one is amusing.
That being said, the gameplay isn't for everyone, and can border on mindless. I recommend Serious Sam 3: BFE for anyone new to Serious Sam.
Game: Serious Sam: The Second Encounter
Year (s): 2002 (original), 2010 (HD)
Company: dev. Crpteam
pub. Devolver Digital
Engine: Serious Engine (original), Serious Engine 3 (HD)
Type: First-Person Shooter
Price (as of May 24, 2012)
Regular price on Steam: $19.99
Lowest Buy-It-Now on eBay (new, with shipping): $4.75
Game Time: 9 hours, first time on easy
Obligatory Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Udq8Bhswiyc
See Also
The First Encounter Review: http://fpsandmtg.blogspot.com/2011/06/serious-sam-first-encounter-review.html
Plot
Second Encounter starts off with Sam's ship crashing to Earth. He must travel through time to activate a backup ship, fighting Mental's minions the whole way.
Combat/Gameplay
This continues the style of old-school corridor battles interspersed with huge open areas and an onslaught of enemies. The environments are more varied for a couple of reasons. First, the game isn't confined to desert, as parts take place in medieval Europe and the Mayan jungle. Second, Croteam experimented quite a bit with active area features. Ice, jump pads, wind, traps... there's even a room that is, basically, a rotating clothes dryer full of death.
The Second Encounter also featured a few other adjustments. The game is broken in to three episodes, and a handful of new weapons spice things up (there are new enemies too).
I played this game one notch lower than default. It was quick and easy, but some of that may result from the hours spent playing The First Encounter and BFE, or from the better arsenal of weapons.
Final Thoughts
I prefer this game over the first, but they are both essentially the same Quake 2/Unreal Gold style of gameplay (with more enemies and a touch of humor). If you're looking to shoot stuff, find keys, hunt for secrets, and not have to think, this one is amusing.
That being said, the gameplay isn't for everyone, and can border on mindless. I recommend Serious Sam 3: BFE for anyone new to Serious Sam.
Monday, May 14, 2012
Year In Review: 2004
Year in Review: 2004
Doom 3, Half-Life 2, and Unreal Tournament 2004 were all great, so I thought It'd see what else happened in '04. It turns out I've never heard of most of the games. I'm going to mention titles I'm familiar with, or at least heard of, and ignore the rest.
I used this list http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_first-person_shooters as a reference. Dates are the initial release, and may apply to PC, consoles, or both. Alphabetically:
Doom 3
This paired a brand-new graphics engine with horror elements to reboot the Doom series in a fast-paced, visceral bloodbath. A masterpiece.
Far Cry
Far Cry is best known for enourmousenvironments allowing for one of the first open-world experiences. Slick AI and realistic jungle cat-and-mouse gameplay begat one of the most difficult shooters I've ever played. This is the first game from Crytek.
Half-Life 2
The award-winning Half-Life was followed by the award-wining Half-Life 2. The new Source engine had the best graphics of the time, and still looks good eight years later. This game excelled at pacing and level design, and was quite engaging.
Painkiller
Painkiller is one of the few contenders in the sparse old-school shooter market. This first game in the series had some of the largest bosses I've ever seen, along with hordes of monsters. A cult following continues to play and develop Painkiller titles (the most recent from February 2012) using the same engine and gameplay as this. The developer, People Can Fly, was purchased by Epic in 2007.
Star Wars: Battlefront
This game is noteworthy for supporting an unprecedented number of players and/or bots on team assault maps.
Unreal Tournament 2004
UT 2k4 was easy to LAN and had tons of game types and maps (further bolstered by fan-made content) . Balanced level design and solid bot support helped balance teams and allow a single player to rock out. Unreal Engines 2.0/2.5 were ubiquitously licensed by gaming and simulation developers.
Other Games
Here's a short list of '04 titles that I haven't played but sounded familiar: Halo 2, a Call of Duty title, Counter Strike: Source, a Goldeneye 007 game, a Medal of Honor game, Thief: Deadly Shadows (the final release from Ion Storm), and a Tribes game.
The odds and ends aren't all blockbusters, but I still think 2004 was a great year for the genre. There have been few decisions in my life as difficult as, “Should I get Doom 3, or Half-Life 2?”
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