Lord of the Rings: War in the North (PC, X360, PS3)
As insane as it sounds, I think this is the first LOTR game I've ever played. And it was good. It wasn't without some major flaws though. I didn't actually beat the game because of one of those. We'll get to that later.
Story: The story, from what I could tell, takes place parallel to the three books/movies. You play as one of three characters who travel together. Throughout the story, you hear about a fellowship of 9 traveling with the Ring of Power, but don't encounter them. At least not up to chapter 3. This review is going to be somewhat incomplete because I've only played until about half way through the third chapter. The story hasn't been as enganging to me as it has been to Neuntoter, simply because I'm not as big of a LOTR fan as he is. There's a lot of dialog filling in the story, but, in truth, I didn't really go through a lot of it. It's just not that interesting to me. This isn't really an issue with the game itself as it is with me not being a LOTR fan, which is definitely who this game is aimed at.
Gameplay: This is definitely where I had more fun with the game. The gameplay is solid and interesting. There are three characters to play as. They definitely mirror the “big 3” being an obvious Warrior, Rogue, and Mage although they don't specifically go by these names. They are referred to as the Champion, Ranger, and Lore-Master, but easily fit the classic roles. I'm not saying this is a negative thing though. Games like WoW and to an extent, Guild Wars have shown me that breaking these 3 into more specialized classes don't always make a game better. The game is more or less a hack-n-slash kind of game with some RPG elements. You learn skills that get better with levels and earn stat points as you level. There are also plenty of options for equipment. There are also special sets of gear you get for pre-orders and for purchasing the game at select retailers. This equipment seems way too powerful however. I got this game at Best Buy and got the Lore-Master set. I was able to equip it all at the end of chapter 1 and have yet to replace any of it up until chapter 3. That may not seem like a long time, but these chapters are LONG. This added on top of the fact that I haven't even seen any gear that I would even consider wearing over my OP'ed pre-order stuff. I don't see any of it getting replaced soon. There's two major complaints I have about the gameplay. First, the characters, while fitting their archtypes for an RPG, all play kinda same-y. As I said, I've been using the Mage-type character and still find myself using melee a lot and doing decent damage with it. Likewise, the Warrior-type character, who is clearly designed for melee, still does big damage at long range. It's not a big deal, but after switching between the three, I'm just not seeing huge differences in playstyles. Second, cheap enemies. There has been more than one occasion where an enemy has an uninteruptable combo that is capable of killing any party member and seems to be an AOE attack that can hit multiple players. The first instance of this occurred in chapter 2 I think. An enemy had some kind of spinning slash attack that was able to kill me as a dwarf (highest hp char) in a single hit from full hp as well as catching my Ranger at the same time who ran at him from the side. This was followed up by the same combo aimed at our Lore-Master who also died instantly. This has happened many more times than it should and I'm not even half way through this game yet.
Lastly. The reason I have not completed this game. I have the PC version of this game and for some reason, on some multicore CPU's, the game takes up ridiculous amounts of processing power. Starting in chapter 3, all maps force my CPU to stay at a consistent 99%. I have a Phenom I, but the most powerful AM2+ Phenom I that existed. This isn't an isolated issue either. There are several Phenom II machines as well as i5/i7 machines that suffer from this as well. 99% is not an acceptable CPU usage rate to be at constantly and as such, I am done with this game until a fix comes out. I can't say I don't recommend this game, but if possible I'd say go with a console version.
Partial playthrough scores:
Console: 7/10
PC: 5/10 (until a fix is released)
UPDATE: I'm fixing the PC score of this since the CPU issue has been corrected, but there's another issue now with levels not being passable due to a bug. It doesn't always happen, but as far as I can tell, it only affects the PC version. So the score still stays lower than the console version.
Showing posts with label PC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label PC. Show all posts
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Review: Left 4 Dead (both games)
Left 4 Dead – A single review for both games
100% True zombie games. That pretty much sums up this entire review, but let me elaborate on that a bit more. I'll admit, I love the Left 4 Dead games. I've met a bunch of cool people and had a lot of fun shooting stuff. It's not without its flaws though. Probably the biggest complaint I hear about it is the lack of maps. I would have to agree with this, but completely understand why there aren't that many. They're huge. It takes time to develop maps of this size. Even in the linear gameplay that L4D uses, a full campaign can take over an hour to finish. On top of that, the versus maps have to be even more expansive to allow for the player zombies to spawn in strategic, but not completely unfair spots. Of course this all needs to be done while not allowing any players to see the edges of the maps and also preventing at least the survivor team from seeing the regular zombie spawning areas. Speaking of spawn areas, this is one of L4D's strongest points. The AI Director. With this system, the game can literally use any part of the map to spawn any character. The regular little zombies can be spawned anywhere on the ground and are dynamically dropped in and out to allow for a challenging, but not impossible (usually) experience for the survivors. Obviously this doesn't always work perfectly, but the mess ups are very rare. Now then, why do I love these games? They're co-op. Not only that, they are exactly what co-op FPS games should be. There are other co-op games out there, but the problem is that the whole co-op aspect isn't really needed. Even when they do the “co-op moves” that require 2 people, it often times just feels forced. Almost like there's no reason they couldn't have just given the player something to allow them to pass these gimmicky obstacles. L4D, however, doesn't really do this. Sure the Hunter and Smoker's attacks need a co-op partner to free you, but the real benefit to having a 4 player team is the regular zombies. When they attack in a horde, you need 4 guns going off to survive that. This is true co-op gameplay. To this day, the only other co-op experience that even comes close to these games would be the co-op section of Portal 2. Those levels were brilliant. Sure they had those “co-op moves” I said were worthless, but in a puzzle game, it's forgivable since the way you use those moves isn't blatantly obvious. The downfall of Portal 2's co-op was the complete lack of replayability. I already beat the levels. I don't want to do it again. I already know the solutions. L4D, by contrast is almost endlessly replayable. Sure there's only a few maps, but with the AI director making the spawns and, in the second game, paths dynamic, no two runs of the same level will be identical. Storywise there's not a lot going on. There has been some backstory given through comics posted by Valve and some of the in-game visuals and voice-overs show a little story, but that's not why you play L4D. L4D is about gameplay. Specifically Co-op Gameplay. With actual people. If you're playing with bots only, you're doing it wrong. Now might actually be the prime of L4D's online play. It's been around for a while, so most the retards and griefers have moved on to other games, leaving mostly decent and friendly people. As I said before, I've met quite a few cool people I never would have known if I hadn't played L4D and L4D2. I know I haven't really differentiated the two games much in this review. Mostly for the same reasons I made a single review for both games. They're too similar to really get their own reviews. L4D2 has superior weapon choice and, of course, different maps. I still play both interchangeably. They're both equally fun. Both Left 4 Dead games combined: 9/10
Each game is available for PC for $20 each on Steam or in a combo pack together for $30.
Check them out:
Combo Pack
Left 4 Dead
Left 4 Dead 2
A side note worth mentioning: DLC for both games is available. If you're on the fence of whether to get the PC or 360 versions, PC gets free DLC. 360's DLC is almost all paid for. Just saying.
100% True zombie games. That pretty much sums up this entire review, but let me elaborate on that a bit more. I'll admit, I love the Left 4 Dead games. I've met a bunch of cool people and had a lot of fun shooting stuff. It's not without its flaws though. Probably the biggest complaint I hear about it is the lack of maps. I would have to agree with this, but completely understand why there aren't that many. They're huge. It takes time to develop maps of this size. Even in the linear gameplay that L4D uses, a full campaign can take over an hour to finish. On top of that, the versus maps have to be even more expansive to allow for the player zombies to spawn in strategic, but not completely unfair spots. Of course this all needs to be done while not allowing any players to see the edges of the maps and also preventing at least the survivor team from seeing the regular zombie spawning areas. Speaking of spawn areas, this is one of L4D's strongest points. The AI Director. With this system, the game can literally use any part of the map to spawn any character. The regular little zombies can be spawned anywhere on the ground and are dynamically dropped in and out to allow for a challenging, but not impossible (usually) experience for the survivors. Obviously this doesn't always work perfectly, but the mess ups are very rare. Now then, why do I love these games? They're co-op. Not only that, they are exactly what co-op FPS games should be. There are other co-op games out there, but the problem is that the whole co-op aspect isn't really needed. Even when they do the “co-op moves” that require 2 people, it often times just feels forced. Almost like there's no reason they couldn't have just given the player something to allow them to pass these gimmicky obstacles. L4D, however, doesn't really do this. Sure the Hunter and Smoker's attacks need a co-op partner to free you, but the real benefit to having a 4 player team is the regular zombies. When they attack in a horde, you need 4 guns going off to survive that. This is true co-op gameplay. To this day, the only other co-op experience that even comes close to these games would be the co-op section of Portal 2. Those levels were brilliant. Sure they had those “co-op moves” I said were worthless, but in a puzzle game, it's forgivable since the way you use those moves isn't blatantly obvious. The downfall of Portal 2's co-op was the complete lack of replayability. I already beat the levels. I don't want to do it again. I already know the solutions. L4D, by contrast is almost endlessly replayable. Sure there's only a few maps, but with the AI director making the spawns and, in the second game, paths dynamic, no two runs of the same level will be identical. Storywise there's not a lot going on. There has been some backstory given through comics posted by Valve and some of the in-game visuals and voice-overs show a little story, but that's not why you play L4D. L4D is about gameplay. Specifically Co-op Gameplay. With actual people. If you're playing with bots only, you're doing it wrong. Now might actually be the prime of L4D's online play. It's been around for a while, so most the retards and griefers have moved on to other games, leaving mostly decent and friendly people. As I said before, I've met quite a few cool people I never would have known if I hadn't played L4D and L4D2. I know I haven't really differentiated the two games much in this review. Mostly for the same reasons I made a single review for both games. They're too similar to really get their own reviews. L4D2 has superior weapon choice and, of course, different maps. I still play both interchangeably. They're both equally fun. Both Left 4 Dead games combined: 9/10
Each game is available for PC for $20 each on Steam or in a combo pack together for $30.
Check them out:
Combo Pack
Left 4 Dead
Left 4 Dead 2
A side note worth mentioning: DLC for both games is available. If you're on the fence of whether to get the PC or 360 versions, PC gets free DLC. 360's DLC is almost all paid for. Just saying.
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Review: Portal 2
Portal 2 (PC, PS3, X360)
Do I really need an introduction for this one? It's Portal 2, sequel to the stupidly popular Portal that was included in the Orange Box. I'm writing this assuming you have played Portal, so if you haven't and are worried about spoilers, get out now. And go play Portal. It's incredible. Portal 2 at its core is a puzzle game with a truly immersive story over top it. You play as Chell, returning from the first game after being put into some kind of stasis by the bots serving GLADoS, the first game's antagonist. You are awoken several hundred years after the first game and are immediately dropped back into the test chambers with your trusty Portal Gun. This game is atmospherically very different from the first game. The chambers return, but are overrun by plant life in the beginning and show an obvious advancement in technology deeper inside from what was previously seen before this game. GLADoS also returns with her trademark dark humor centering mostly around killing Chell. That's about as far as I'll go with plot, so I don't ruin anything.
This game takes the gameplay from the first game and adds several new additions. The cubes return, but have a redesigned look to reflect the hundreds of years worth of technological advancement. Those big red buttons are back, too. Some new additions are laser beams that need redirected into a certain receptacle to unlock or open something. These seem to be based around those energy orbs from the first game, but instead of bouncing around, this game has steady beams that can be redirected with a new type of block.
As far as music goes, I have no real complaints. Everything fits, but doesn't really stand out. Aside from the ending song, of course. Not quite as epic as Still Alive, but still good. Voice acting is almost perfect. The two main voices you hear in this game are GLADoS and a new character, Wheatley. Both voices are perfect fits for the characters.
Last, but DEFINITELY not least, co-op. Portal 2 features several cooperative levels that require a second player to play through. These levels are where the real challenge of the game lies. Each player controls one of two little bots that each has a portal gun. With double the portal guns comes double the portals. Each player has 2 matching portals, making a combined total of 4 usable portals to solve puzzles with. As epic as the single player campaign is, you simply HAVE to play the co-op levels.
Portal 2 can be found on the Steam store Here.
This game is a definite candidate for my GotY. 10/10
Wow, two perfect scores in a row. This will probably never happen again...
Do I really need an introduction for this one? It's Portal 2, sequel to the stupidly popular Portal that was included in the Orange Box. I'm writing this assuming you have played Portal, so if you haven't and are worried about spoilers, get out now. And go play Portal. It's incredible. Portal 2 at its core is a puzzle game with a truly immersive story over top it. You play as Chell, returning from the first game after being put into some kind of stasis by the bots serving GLADoS, the first game's antagonist. You are awoken several hundred years after the first game and are immediately dropped back into the test chambers with your trusty Portal Gun. This game is atmospherically very different from the first game. The chambers return, but are overrun by plant life in the beginning and show an obvious advancement in technology deeper inside from what was previously seen before this game. GLADoS also returns with her trademark dark humor centering mostly around killing Chell. That's about as far as I'll go with plot, so I don't ruin anything.
This game takes the gameplay from the first game and adds several new additions. The cubes return, but have a redesigned look to reflect the hundreds of years worth of technological advancement. Those big red buttons are back, too. Some new additions are laser beams that need redirected into a certain receptacle to unlock or open something. These seem to be based around those energy orbs from the first game, but instead of bouncing around, this game has steady beams that can be redirected with a new type of block.
As far as music goes, I have no real complaints. Everything fits, but doesn't really stand out. Aside from the ending song, of course. Not quite as epic as Still Alive, but still good. Voice acting is almost perfect. The two main voices you hear in this game are GLADoS and a new character, Wheatley. Both voices are perfect fits for the characters.
Last, but DEFINITELY not least, co-op. Portal 2 features several cooperative levels that require a second player to play through. These levels are where the real challenge of the game lies. Each player controls one of two little bots that each has a portal gun. With double the portal guns comes double the portals. Each player has 2 matching portals, making a combined total of 4 usable portals to solve puzzles with. As epic as the single player campaign is, you simply HAVE to play the co-op levels.
Portal 2 can be found on the Steam store Here.
This game is a definite candidate for my GotY. 10/10
Wow, two perfect scores in a row. This will probably never happen again...
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Review: Infectonator: World Dominator
Infectonator: World Dominator (PC Flash game)
ZOMBEHZ! This was a little flash game I found when I was in college. I had about a 40 minute break between 2 classes everyday, so I would go to the library to leech some wireless on my laptop. After surfing NewGrounds for a while, I found this game. It's incredibly addictive and very fun. You play the role of....someone who's spreading the zombie infection through....something. It's not that well explained. The story is almost completely irrelevant though. You play as some kind of sky god who can umm, well, click and shoot these little balls of...zombieness I guess, that instantly infect any human they touch. Once this click is done, it's up to the zombies you created to spread the virus further. There are various upgrades you can purchase such as more clicks, more zombie ball things per click, and upgrades for your zombies. You can also unlock other types of zombies that can be manually placed by infecting them when they appear as heroes in certain levels. The game starts you in some unprotected African villages and as you upgrade, you move onto heavily guarded cities and towns until the world has been completely taken over. That's about all there is to it. It's a simple game that got me through almost a full semester of these poorly planned breaks in my schedule.
Go play it. It can be found Here.
It's simple and fun. Exactly what a free flash game should be. 10/10
ZOMBEHZ! This was a little flash game I found when I was in college. I had about a 40 minute break between 2 classes everyday, so I would go to the library to leech some wireless on my laptop. After surfing NewGrounds for a while, I found this game. It's incredibly addictive and very fun. You play the role of....someone who's spreading the zombie infection through....something. It's not that well explained. The story is almost completely irrelevant though. You play as some kind of sky god who can umm, well, click and shoot these little balls of...zombieness I guess, that instantly infect any human they touch. Once this click is done, it's up to the zombies you created to spread the virus further. There are various upgrades you can purchase such as more clicks, more zombie ball things per click, and upgrades for your zombies. You can also unlock other types of zombies that can be manually placed by infecting them when they appear as heroes in certain levels. The game starts you in some unprotected African villages and as you upgrade, you move onto heavily guarded cities and towns until the world has been completely taken over. That's about all there is to it. It's a simple game that got me through almost a full semester of these poorly planned breaks in my schedule.
Go play it. It can be found Here.
It's simple and fun. Exactly what a free flash game should be. 10/10
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Review: Terraria
Terraria (PC Steam game)
Terraria is an indie game released not that long ago on Steam. It initially got some flak for its similarities to Minecraft, but these claims were based on only a very small portion of the game. Minecraft is about mining minerals and materials to build stuff. Terraria is more about exploration. Sure, you build stuff in Terraria and there have been some pretty incredible things built in it, but that's not the main portion of the game. Terraria is much more combat oriented than Minecraft. As you dig, you will be assulted by several different monsters of varying difficulty. The slimes you find on the surface and just underground are a complete joke while the fire imps you find in the underworld will destroy you if you don't have high tier gear. Although I do appreciate that Terraria is so combat oriented, there are some problems with it. The hit detection for some of the weapons and enemies can get a bit inaccurate. This usually results in taking hits despite blocking or dodging or having your attacks clearly make contact, but have no effect. These problems aren't so severe as to ruin gameplay, though.
Terraria does somewhat have an economy as well. As you build more rooms into your house/cabin/cave/castle/whatever more NPCs will move in. Some will offer to sell you stuff for coins made of copper, silver, or gold. These coins can be harvested from the raw mineral, picked up from killing enemies, and obtained from merchants from selling them unneeded items.
Check out Terraria's Steam page Here.
Terraria is an excellent game with few flaws. Between myself and Neuntoter, we have probably put a few hundred hours into this game. For $10 you can't go wrong. I'd give this one a definite buy. 9/10
Terraria is an indie game released not that long ago on Steam. It initially got some flak for its similarities to Minecraft, but these claims were based on only a very small portion of the game. Minecraft is about mining minerals and materials to build stuff. Terraria is more about exploration. Sure, you build stuff in Terraria and there have been some pretty incredible things built in it, but that's not the main portion of the game. Terraria is much more combat oriented than Minecraft. As you dig, you will be assulted by several different monsters of varying difficulty. The slimes you find on the surface and just underground are a complete joke while the fire imps you find in the underworld will destroy you if you don't have high tier gear. Although I do appreciate that Terraria is so combat oriented, there are some problems with it. The hit detection for some of the weapons and enemies can get a bit inaccurate. This usually results in taking hits despite blocking or dodging or having your attacks clearly make contact, but have no effect. These problems aren't so severe as to ruin gameplay, though.
Terraria does somewhat have an economy as well. As you build more rooms into your house/cabin/cave/castle/whatever more NPCs will move in. Some will offer to sell you stuff for coins made of copper, silver, or gold. These coins can be harvested from the raw mineral, picked up from killing enemies, and obtained from merchants from selling them unneeded items.
Check out Terraria's Steam page Here.
Terraria is an excellent game with few flaws. Between myself and Neuntoter, we have probably put a few hundred hours into this game. For $10 you can't go wrong. I'd give this one a definite buy. 9/10
Review: Level Up!
Level Up! (PC Flash game)
Level Up! is a free flash game I found on Newgrounds a while back. It involves 2 main characters known only as “The Boy” and “The Girl” who have both lost their memories. You play as The Girl who awakes one day to find that The Boy has somehow crashed through her fence, breaking it. The two argue and we learn that this world is based around people being certain levels in skills. The Boy claims he has been brought to level 0 jumping, so he is unable to jump at all. The plot gets a little deeper than that, but if I go any further I'll be into spoiler territory. Gameplay time. Gameplay in this game is a basic platforming style, but with a major twist. Everything you do has a level attached to it. Yes, Everything. Running, jumping, healing, taking damage, collecting gems, talking to people, even idling. As you do more of each action, you level up and are able to do more with that skill. For example, level 1 running means you walk everywhere. Once you have walked enough to reach level 2, you will be able to move at a slow run. Your skills max out at level 5. The world the game takes place in features several areas with some NPCs around. These NPCs will say various things, some giving or selling skills. When you run out of time in the day, The Girl goes home and sleeps. Every night she has a nightmare where a shadow is trying to kill her. This part is essentially the boss fight of the game. You don't have to win this fight, but if you lose, the next day you will be dropped to level 1 for all skills and have to fight the boss the next night as well. Any skills you buy or earn, however, are kept. The boss is tough. Chances are, it will take you a few tries to win. Leveling isn't required to win it, but any extra levels or skills you have will make it that much easier on you.
Overall, it's a very fun little game. It's short, but what do you expect for free? The only major complaint I would have is that winning the boss fight in the dream world isn't required. If you manage to level yourself up enough in any one day, you can reach the game ending sequence. I won't spoil that, but it does take place outside of the dream world. There's not a ton of game here, but it's free and short, so check it out Here.
Final Score: 8/10
There's also a sequel in the works. There's a link to the dev's page on the Newgrounds page.
Level Up! is a free flash game I found on Newgrounds a while back. It involves 2 main characters known only as “The Boy” and “The Girl” who have both lost their memories. You play as The Girl who awakes one day to find that The Boy has somehow crashed through her fence, breaking it. The two argue and we learn that this world is based around people being certain levels in skills. The Boy claims he has been brought to level 0 jumping, so he is unable to jump at all. The plot gets a little deeper than that, but if I go any further I'll be into spoiler territory. Gameplay time. Gameplay in this game is a basic platforming style, but with a major twist. Everything you do has a level attached to it. Yes, Everything. Running, jumping, healing, taking damage, collecting gems, talking to people, even idling. As you do more of each action, you level up and are able to do more with that skill. For example, level 1 running means you walk everywhere. Once you have walked enough to reach level 2, you will be able to move at a slow run. Your skills max out at level 5. The world the game takes place in features several areas with some NPCs around. These NPCs will say various things, some giving or selling skills. When you run out of time in the day, The Girl goes home and sleeps. Every night she has a nightmare where a shadow is trying to kill her. This part is essentially the boss fight of the game. You don't have to win this fight, but if you lose, the next day you will be dropped to level 1 for all skills and have to fight the boss the next night as well. Any skills you buy or earn, however, are kept. The boss is tough. Chances are, it will take you a few tries to win. Leveling isn't required to win it, but any extra levels or skills you have will make it that much easier on you.
Overall, it's a very fun little game. It's short, but what do you expect for free? The only major complaint I would have is that winning the boss fight in the dream world isn't required. If you manage to level yourself up enough in any one day, you can reach the game ending sequence. I won't spoil that, but it does take place outside of the dream world. There's not a ton of game here, but it's free and short, so check it out Here.
Final Score: 8/10
There's also a sequel in the works. There's a link to the dev's page on the Newgrounds page.
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