Shin_Akuma
Reviews
Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth (Windows)
Great idea, bad game.
The Good
The idea of an adventure inside Lovecraft's universe is always appealing especially to those of us who play games loosely based on horror novels like Alone in The Dark, Realms of the Haunting and Clive Barker’s Undying.
Call of Cthulhu was in development for quite some time and the game shows why. The graphics and music are great; you can see there was a lot of detail to create great looking places and effects rarely seen in other games. The story is well written and if you have enough patience to proceed throw the game the cinematics will make an excellent job disclosing the plot.
The Bad
Call of Cthulhu has a lot of problems, the most important is that as an adventure is poor and you almost have no interaction with the environment, apart from pulling levers or switches. As a first person shooter is slow paced and boring the developers had a great idea to mix the different genres but they failed and the result is a bad hybrid.
Other problems in the game are: You can’t run, you either crawl or walk, this is very frustrating since the first levels of the game you don’t have weapons and you need to run for your life (Wait to be avoiding shotgun fire from five different enemies and you’ll know what it means to become a human target). Perhaps that’s why the IA has such poor aiming skills they sometimes miss when you stand still in front of them and sometimes they can hit you from far away. The game has a very innovative system where the player can suffer sanity looses when he is exposed to corpses or terrifying images, that is a great idea but the problem is that you can’t avoid most of them. Finally the player suffers from panic attacks that blur your screen so much you probably be dead by the end of them and also has vertigo which is a terrible thing that forces you to look up when jumping.
The Bottom Line
If you have a lot of patience (and I mean a lot) you might be able to forget the issues the game has and enjoy cthulhu for a while but I regret this is a game you won’t be playing ever again after you complete it, because when you close the story the large amount of problems cthulhu has as a game, will keep you from re-installing it.
By Shin_Akuma on April 4, 2006
Deus Ex: Invisible War (Windows)
A crying shame
The Good
If you forget all about Deus Ex one game (which I consider to be the best FPS I played) and judge Deus Ex 2 for what it is, you might say that it has a good graphics engine. It's not your regular FPS because adds some elements from RPGs and even has a decent story.
The Bad
Where do I start? The GUI is to large and annoying. The universal ammo is a terrible idea that ruins the fun of having different weapons.
The story does a great job burning up everything the previous game strive to set. You pile up missions in one level up to a point you can't decide what to do next. Without the patch I has problems running in most machines. I guess I can go on and on forever.
The Bottom Line
If you Liked Deus Ex then stay the hell away from this abomination I mean it. It is painful to see what a misguided story and destructive set of ideas can make to a classic.
And to think they even wanted to make a film from the franchise. That's one movie that I regret you wont see anytime soon.
By Shin_Akuma on September 7, 2005
Half-Life 2 (Windows)
A great game but a poor sequel.
The Good
Gameplay is great, the graphics and overall atmosphere is consistent with the story and the amazing engine works wonders like allowing you to play the original Half Life game.
The Bad
It is painfully obvious to me that this game is not the best or anything close to that.
I hate to compare games but since HL2 is the sequel to one of the most amazing games of all time I had no other choice.
Enemies in HL2 are repetitive, the levels too linear in a way you can't take any alternative routes and some levels especially the ones you play with vehicles seemed out of place for an FPS. The story is too simple and filled with strange ideas that don't resemble the previous game at all.
HL2 didn't change much from the original in terms of innovation, I had the same problem while playing Doom 3, I don't mean it's the same game with a different engine but in my opinion they need to push something more than the technology.
The Bottom Line
Half life was an incredible game that set a new standard for FPS games everywhere. Half Life 2 is a great game but one that will probably fade away in a few years.
Buy HL2 because it is a good game but don't expect too much from it. I see it this way "At least it's not Deus Ex 2".
By Shin_Akuma on September 7, 2005
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords (Xbox)
A great RPG experience
The Good
I played Knights of the Old Republic so when I heard that a sequel was coming out, I had to buy it.
Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords (KOTOR2 from now on) has a darker and much more polished plot with the same engaging and well thought RPG engine that made its predecessor a classic and game of the year.
The interaction between the characters and you is great due to a outstanding voice acting that makes the game great just for that alone.
The missions are varied and you get to see new planets and places inside the Star Wars universe
The Bad
It has a lot of resemblance to its predecessor, up to a point where you feel like you are replaying the first game.
The game is somehow not that difficult and some force powers make it even more easy - force lightning is a good example of that.
The Bottom Line
Star Wars is by far an endless source of stories and many games made the franchise a classic for gamers, but none caught my attention so much as the KOTOR games.
If you love Star Wars, you are bound to enjoy this game and even if you don't, KOTOR2 offers a great RPG experience that shouldn't be missed.
By Shin_Akuma on September 6, 2005
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (Windows)
As good as it gets
The Good
What more can I say about San Andreas that you didn't read anywhere else?
The Game is as good as it gets, GTA 3 blow me away when it came out and I thought that Rockstar couldn't do much better than that but I was dead wrong first with Vice City and now with San Andreas.
San Andreas is everything it's predecessors were plus more, The level of interaction is equal to none, you get plenty more of side missions, the state of San Andreas is huge and very well designed, the missions are more scripted and there are so many different aspects in this game that probably you'll come back and replay it just to see what you missed.
The voice acting is great to a degree were you believe you are watching a movie more than playing a game, the radio stations are always a plus in GTA games and this time they are interactive to what happens in the game.
The plot is good and with some nice touches that keep you playing to see how things work out.
Unlike most new games it doesn't rely on graphics only to keep you playing.
The Bad
There are (in my humble opinion) a few things that Rockstar should improve for the next game of the series :
The food system is rather useless, I finished the game having only 3 or 5 meals and never because the game told me to.
Some missions seemed weird and forced into the plot, I don't want to put any spoilers here but there are times when you are doing things that don't have any logic or sense and make CJ look more like James Bond than himself.
The Bottom Line
If you liked GTA3 and Vice City you probably own this game already, if you didn't play the other games I suggest you play them in order since the plot in San Andreas has characters from the previous games.
GTA San Andreas is a game you must have at least to be able to cruise around the most amazing virtual city to date.
By Shin_Akuma on September 6, 2005
DoomÂł (Windows)
Doom all over again
The Good
How can you describe Doom 3 and not talk about the engine, the light effects are as realistic as it gets and the overall graphics are incredible.
The dark atmosphere suits the endless hordes of demons that lurk in every corner hiding in the shadows, something that makes the game if not scary at least less predictable.
The PDA is a nice, yet not new, addition to the game since it makes the plot more deep and engaging.
The Bad
I have to admit I was disappointed with the lack of new ideas : You fight the same monsters (imps, demons, hell knights, etc) and you have the same weapons (the only two additions are the machine gun and soul-cube).
I know you are supposed to be in Mars and inside a base, but I really hope you are not claustrophobic because in Doom 3 all rooms are small. For a top 3D engine you would hope they'll make rooms larger. But the base looks like a maze, and when they allow you to see the martian sky you lack oxygen and you have to move back inside.
The Bottom Line
I loved Doom and Doom 2 back in the day, this new game was a remake for a new generation and a tech demo to keep Id as one of the benchmarks in 3D engines.
It's Doom all over again, just for that reason you should get a copy.
By Shin_Akuma on September 6, 2005
Boiling Point: Road to Hell (Windows)
The road to hell is paved with good intentions
The Good
An original concept that mixed two of the most popular genres in gaming. Lots of map to explore, people to meet and weapons to use. Good graphics.
The Bad
BUGS !!! that pretty much covers it, this game is almost unplayable and not even patch 2.0 could fix the endless amount of problems you'll find in this game.
Here are some of the most annoying things you'll encounter :
You can't hear the dialogs even when you drop the music and effects down... I mean what's the point of paying an actor (Arnold Vosloo the guy from "The Mummy") to play the part of the main character if you are not going to be able to hear what he is saying.
The effects are redundant and some like horns from cars that got stuck in traffic are going to drive you mad (I went and killed a driver cause the horn was driving me crazy while I was walking through town)
The cars handling is horrible and you fall through the ground on several trips or get stuck into walls or trees.
Did you ever saw a lightning storm that didn't had any rain? well in boiling point you will... weather effects are buggy as well.
The Bottom Line
I like it when developers try to blend different genres, and Boiling Point wanted to be an FPS/RPG with some driving added into the mix.
The idea of exploring a bogus 3rd world country named "Realia" that (according to the developers) was based on Colombia didn't appeal to me very much and was insulting at best to Colombian people ( FYI : I'm not from Colombia )
Stay away! this was a good idea turned into a nightmare you'll be less frustrated if you try to teach your dog how to read.
By Shin_Akuma on September 6, 2005
Project: Snowblind (Windows)
Great game! (Deus Ex in War)
The Good
**The Bad**
You have to take the bitter with the sweet...
**The Bottom Line**
Go get it if: You Liked Deus Ex 1 and hated the sequel, Snowblind has some elements from the Deus Ex universe and it's a completely new game. You Like Cyber Punks and FPSs with something more than just "shoot everything that moves". You have an "up-to-date" system.
By Shin_Akuma on August 14, 2005