04/09/2024 - Middle Earth: Shadow of War



Following the last post, here is another review of an open-world third-person action adventure game where the world it is based on comes from famous literature. While I haven't played the game previous to this, Shadow of Mondor, I still heard good things about the franchise so I was willing to give this one a go.

The prologue, naturally, sets up the story and the game itself. The first thing shown is a recap which is certainly handy for newcomers like me. After this recap, the first taste of combat is given and can be done either with stealth or with force. I opt for the stealth when I can, especially when given upgrades later in the game that allows hoping between areas at a fast speed. The actual sword-fighting is good, it's quick with plenty of chances to provide special moves and points to counter-attack. Weapons and equipment can be replaced when taking down stronger enemies later in the game which tends to be useful but can lead to a messy inventory rather quickly.

Since the prologue is fairly short, Act 1 arrives quite quickly. It offers the first glimpse of the world itself which certainly embodies Middle-Earth quite well. Sure not every location within the canon is there but the five locations that do exist provide lots of tasks and tend to be well-detailed. At this point, the plot is getting a bit more gripping with its characters and story, with the introduction of the nazgûl being the highlight of the game. Some side missions also start opening up but this is nothing that hasn't been seen in open-world games before. There are the towers that can be climbed to enable fast travel and locate items (both very useful as always). Artefacts are scattered across the map that need to be collected which can be dull but isn't pointless as it provides some lore about the world as well as xp and a skill upgrade towards the end. Talking about XP and skill upgrades, levelling up does exist to enable perks. They are quite easy to get and getting them unlocks quests that act as tutorials for these moves. So far, Act 1 seems pretty solid stuff.

Moving onto Act 2, the story starts to slow down. This is the biggest act of the game and one that drags out the most story-wise. To make progress, all the fortresses throughout each of the regions need to be taking down. Now that I don't mind as much as it can be satifying and challenging to take each of them down, but the main quests so to speak can feel very repetitive. Luckily three other side quests, Carnán, Gondor, and Brûz, have their own stories which keeps things engaging and provide further detail to the world about. This act also introduces the rest of the Nemesis System, a patented random enemy generator that can be used to throw different enemies for each playthrough. I see why they didn't want others taking it, it's a clever idea and the idea of enemies levelling up after killing the player is so cruel, I love it. Ideally, the best strategy to defeating those forts is to dominate (i.e., mind-control) powerful orcs to attacking alongside Talion (the protagonist). It can make fights absolutely chaotic but the chances of winning increase significantly in doing so.

Act 3 concludes the main campaign and left me with some mixed feelings. On the one hand, Saurons forces are at their strongest and it does feel very threatening to face the army. Seeing Talions arc going to his conclusion along with two of the other characters does make up for the waiting involved, especially with the surprisnig direction it took. However, none of the characters here get any real closure. I talk about Talion in a bit but the other characters tend to be locked behind DLC (which is a big shame) or have their story continue within LOTR. The final two bosses, while cool, are over relatively quickly as it's nothing too different from all the other boss fights before.

Act four, better known as "The Shadow Wars", is just a bunch of siege fights on after the other. To do that to get the true ending is just dull to me, surely the final missions ought to be more thrilling and memorable rathern than repeating the same mission five times in a row. Is it something to do with the online aspect of the game? I'm not too sure but there is certainly a grind aspect to it. Also if you happen to lose the mission, that can take from 20 minutes to 2 hour to try again, depending on the strength of the army. A shame as the final cutscene does give Talion a good send-off and links the events of Shadow of War to Lord of the Rings quite well. Might be best to just watch the three-minute cutscene on YouTube if you don't want to kill any more orcs.

Summary: A fun action-adventure game set in Middle Earth with a well-adapted world and characters that feel that they belong in the game. Combat is fun to do and the nemesis system remains a clever idea for villian generation. The story does have its ups and downs and the repetitive nature of the game can get a bit dull towards the second half of the game. Regardless, I still think any LOTR fan will enjoy their time with this.
Rating: 7/10

I also want to add a little bit at the end about Amazon Luna, the cloud-service platform for gaming. Normally my PC couldn't handle this sort of game but since I have a free trial of Amazon Prime, I decided to give Luna a go to play some games I couldn't normally play. Performance-wise, it's decent. Load times are quick and the graphics are generally alright although nothing mind-blowing. I played using a wireless keyboard and mouse which may have results in the game having an input delay but considering I don't have the issue with anything else on my PC and that sometimes the delay can be up to five seconds, I think that issue lies on their side. Another issue is the lack of games, it's understandable of course but it's still not worth paying $8 a month to use. Overall, it's a fine enough alternative when the hardware isn't available but if given the choice, I'd rather play on hardware. I'll play some of the games on this service until the trial as ended as it'd be a waste of it otherwise, plus there are still some games on there if not many.

Cat Quest
System: PS4
Developer: The Gentlebros
Publisher: Kepler Interactive
Genre: Open World, Action RPG, 2.5D



During the downward period of the year for me, I was recommended this by a couple people. Siver and Not_Connor both thought I should give this one a shot and it took me a while to get into it. But when the game really started to pick up, it became super great. Cat Quest is a rarity nowadays. Despite a third game releasing recently, the Action RPG genre has been dominated by Soulslike Clones far and wide. This mass production of this subgenre I find to be extremely harmful to the gaming market. Mainly because people who want something on the easier/more simple side are having a hard time finding games such as Kingdoms of Amalur, Kingdom Hearts, Biomutant and Borderlands, games that are 3D Action RPGs with easy to learn gameplay and controls that are filled with depth. Even if you take out tags such as Roguelike and Soulslike on Steam, you're left with a pretty barren selection of games to choose from. This is very sad to me as I love these kinds of Action Adventure/RPG Games that I'm now getting into and eventually, sooner or later that bubble is going to burst like it did with COD/Halo/Battlefield Clones of the Late 2000's to Mid 2010's.

With Cat Quest III being released recently, there's still some glimmer of hope for this genre to go back to it's roots. But that's a story for another day. And besides, this is more 2.5D than 3D. But the game itself is still pretty great regardless of my thoughts on the state of the Action RPG Market. It starts off as a parody of the RPG Genre. You have a seemingly generic bad guy you must defeat, wacky side quests that make you do redundant or idiotic things and even weapons and armor that are given to you that are completely useless (the Crappy Weapon is a good example of this). The game becomes repetitive in it's hacking and slashing in it's first 20 or so Levels you gain, but once the game hits that sweet spot of actually giving more depth to the hack and slash and spellcasting gameplay, it becomes a more intriguing game thanks to fights being more exciting in higher levels and the quests becoming more interesting as you level up. Such quests involve Santa Claws attempting to ruin Kitmas which leads to you attempting to save the holiday and his brother Santa Paws, a bush who becomes a resurrected dragon who lost his memory, angry at the loss of his kind in the dragon war and wanting to fight you, the character of Kit Cat the Blacksmith having you being an apprentice to her while bandits destroy packages of Prestige TV Shows of hers and the really cool King of the Catpital sending you on missions around the kingdom (his dialogue is really fun).

The side quests give the game so much depth to the world, but the main story also gets great with two major twists at the end I certainly wasn't expecting. But, it made the game more memorable because of that. I'm desperate for games with great stories nowadays and unlike many RPGs today like Pathfinder, Baldur's Gate III, Warhammer 40K Rogue Trader, Final Fantasy XVI and many series like Legend of Heroes, Mana, Tales Of and the like, you don't need 50-200+ Hours to get a pay off to a great story, this takes literally 4-5 Hours to complete which is so nice. Sometimes, I don't have the time or patience to play a BIG long game, so I want to have a quick and clean game that has a great story and nowadays that's rare to find when I'm searching for games. So obviously, the writing is a high point and so is the humor. The humor is very punny in an innocent, sincere and cutesy way but sometimes you'll have something edgy like our main companion Spirry, a Guardian Spirit telling someone who's hiding not to be a "Pussy" which made my jaw drop that a game that's probably rated E/E10 even has someone calling someone that. I would have preferred if he just said "Don't be a pussy... cat!" but whatever. The humor is still pretty fun and there's lots to enjoy with the side characters and content.

Gameplay wise, I feel the game gets better during the 90 Minute/2 Hour mark mainly because things like dodging, spellcasting, melee hack and slashing and all that becomes more intense and in depth. Picking four slots for one of the seven spells you unlock is hard and you never know which is going to lead you to victory. But it's so worth it because you can dominate enemies on the battlefield easily. Dungeons are pretty good and you get a nice loot high when you unlock treasure, especially if you go out of your way to get the key that unlocks gold chests. The graphics are acceptable for the most part. Some enemies do look a bit soulless and generic and the NPCs leave much to be desired, but the important characters are certainly nice looking and have distinct features to them. The overworld you explore is bright and vibrant with greens and blues everywhere you go as well and the controls for moving in a 2.5D space is smooth and doesn't have many problems.

Now, my issues stem from a couple things. First there's no blocking at all in this game. You can't block attacks with magic or a shield (since you don't have any) and it would have made combat situations a bit better if you just managed to block someone's attacks instead of dodging it all the time. But what really is annoying is attempting to get the Platinum for this game. It might look easy, but it requires tons of XP Farming to reach Level 99 which is one of the main things you have to do and some requirements for clearing monster filled dungeons are just irritating as well, like needing to level up lightning all the way in order for it to reach enemies you can't get to. Not to mention it just becomes tedious for 2+ hours just to get the remaining trophies. The requirements are easy, but they feel so tedious to even attempt. I did end up getting the Platinum (My 5th on Playstation) but I'm probably not going to attempt another Platinum for this series unless I'm playing with my sister in local coop.

Anyways, it's well worth picking up Cat Quest and the game is pretty cheap to begin with. It's a very enjoyable Action RPG with a small but substantial open world. great combat and spellcasting, easy controls to learn, solid worldbuilding and side quests and I forgot to mention, even the soundtrack kicks ass in this game. So I would very much recommend it if you're desperate for a non Soulslike/Roguelike Action RPG. Also, Thanks to Siver and Not_Conner for recommending me this game! I really got into it and now am going to play the entire series.

PROS:

-Acceptable Overworld and Main Cast graphics and character designs
-Humor is strong and very punny in a fun, innocent and sincere way
-Gameplay becomes more exciting once you reach higher levels
-Interesting Side Quests that are memorable and stick out
-Main story has some great twists and is just as engaging as the side quests
-Worldbuilding is intriguing and gives the world tons of life
-Kick ass soundtrack that is adventurous and lighthearted
-I fell in love with some of the characters as well

CONS:

-No Blocking mechanics/Shields making combat a bit less intuitive than it should be
-Getting the Platinum Trophy is very tedious
-Have to Farm XP just to get to the higher level quests once you've beaten the main game
-NPCs and many Enemies leave lots to be desired design wise

-TheAutisticGamer

Oops, I was a bit late in seeing this as I've been busy! I'm happy you enjoyed the game, even if you had to push a bit to get to the more fun stuff. Also I agree with the story aspect, I do love being involved in a very deep story with lots of world building but sometimes I just want something short and sweet. It's a bit like books, there are some iconic stories that take many books to get through but there also classics that have the same rich storytelling that take place in just one. I'm sure some exist out there, it's just a matter of trying to find them...

Hope you continue to enjoy the rest of the series! I'm curious to hear where it comes from here

16/08/2024 - Batman: Arkham Knight



The most recent game I finished is Arkham Knight, the final game in Rocksteady's trilogy of Arkham games which involve Batman fighting against the criminals of Gotham. I picked this as I started this in 2017 but stopped right before the end. This week, I decided to correct that and finish it off once and for all. Was it worth it? Mostly yes but with some no throw in too.

Arkham Knight starts off strong with the first five minutes of this game really shows some of the strengths of this game. Amazing graphics that still hold up almost 10 years from today, an intriguing plot involving Scarecrow, the scale of Gotham (the open-world city that can be explored) and some strong voice acting all around. It truly shows how far the game has come from the previous entries in terms of ambition and scope, I just wished it continued like that throughout.

Lets start with the main plot involving Scarecrow and the Arkham Knight. It's ok. The latter character acts as a mystery throughout the whole game but if you have some understanding of Batman's history, it won't very long to figure out who it is. Even if you don't know anything about Batman and this is your first time with any Batman-related content, the game does spell it out for you. I don't think this character is a bad choice, in fact it's a very good pick but it should have been handled better. Scarecrow is alright too but he is overshadowed by other characters returning (real or in a dream) as well as some of the bloating the Arkham stories tend to have. Fortunately, the character designs are fairly good and again the voice acting is solid so it was engaging throughout even though I was glad to have it done by the end.

Each game in the Arkham franchise introduces something new, in Arkham Knights case this is the batmobile, a high-tech car that can travel fast distances along with wrenching onto things and change into battle mode to take out enemy tanks. On the surface, it's a cool addition! The controls are quite smooth and easy to use, each obstacle or enemy is easily identifiable by either sight or radar, and its fun to travel around Gotham in and (non-lethally) running over criminals! My big problem with it is that the Batmobile is used too much. I'd reckon at least half the game is in the vehicle as it becomes too dependable. That can easily be seen with the usage of Batman's gadgets with some items like the Freeze Blast and the Line Launcher barely being used besides some very situational uses. Additionally, there isn't as much variety in terms of enemies in tanks as that with physical combat which adds to the repetitive nature of the fights. If another open-world Batman game was to be made, I would like to see the Batmobile return but not used as often as it was here. Maybe just removing the battle mode could work so it just focuses on chase scenes.

I mentioned hand combat so it's a good idea to focus on that next. As with Asylum, City, and Origins, the combat is tight and fun. Like the Batmobile, there are no issues with the controls with each combo and takedown being easy to execute. A fight never feels dull but can be intense especially if new enemy types like medics appear to revive or electrify enemies. Gadgets continue to be beneficial during these fights, even being necessary in some of them if you want to avoid being hit. Predator rooms, the areas in which Batman takes out enemies without being detected, remains the best part of the Arkham series due to how it combines physical combat, multiple gadgets, and utilising the environment to the players advantage. Sentry weapons, fear multi-takedowns (allowing Batman to take out three enemies in less than two seconds), mercenaries with mini guns, and messing with detective mode ensures that the rooms remain dangerous whilst highlighting what makes Batman a dangerous threat as opposed to other superheroes.

There are many side missions (known as most wanted missions) in this game so let's go through those quickly.
- The Line of Duty: This involves having to find members of a fire crew that have been captured throughout Gotham. It's ok but it went on for a bit too long and wasn't really that interesting.

- Gotham on Fire: Firefly is back from Arkham Origins and is setting fire to the fire stations. This one is more entertaining, having to use the Batmobile to follow firefly so that he would get tired, allowing Batman to eject out of the seat and beat him up. It's about the right length too, although it would have been cool to see this mission and the previous mission combined as one. It would give The Line of Duty more excitement, especially if it wasn't known when Firefly would strike next.

- The Perfect Crime: A very creepy one, making use of Batman's detective skills which slowly unravels and leading to an eerie confrontation. I'd say this is my favourite side mission.

- Riddler's Revenge: I like Riddler's different riddle rooms that continue to surprise the player. I like Catwoman being present to annoy The Riddler or chat with Batman, even if I do wish she was playable more often. I am not a fan of having to collect 243 trophies that are needed to properly finish not only the side mission but the main campaigns true ending! I know City had a lot more (440) but the map wasn't as big and it wasn't compulsory. A shame really but at least there it unlocks some concept art and tapes with the characters.

- Occupy Gotham: Involves taking down watchtowers through Gotham. It's just combat with not much of a story going on.

- Own the Roads: Similar to Occupy Gotham, only this is on the ground rather than on the buildings. This is a bit more intense due to more weaponry being used but it's essentially the same thing. If all the militia are cleared in the city, an underwhelming tank boss fight is unlocked (if you know who it is and have played Arkham Origins, you'll understand why it's so disappointing).

- Armoured and Dangerous: Making use of the Batmobiles tracking system, this mission aims at taking down armoured personnel carriers that are equipped with weapons. Again, no story going on here but this is a bit better than the previous two as the batmobile's tracking system is rarely used outside this side mission.

- Campaign for Disarmament: These are tank battles. Fairly straight-forward with again no plot happening besides clearing out the map.

- Creature of the Night: Although Man-Bat is taken out a bit too easily, this is another creepy and tragic antagonist that works really well in this game. It definitely makes for the best entrance of all the side-missions.

- Gunrunner: Tagging a car, following it to base, and then taking out all the enemies in that base is essentially Batman in a nutshell. Not the most exciting side mission but an entertaining one that doesn't outstay its welcome. Plus you can play as Nightwing so you can expect some fun dialogue between them two.

- Heir to the Cowl: Azrael returns from Arkham City, this time wanting to prove he is worthy of being Batmans successor. This turns into a challenge of taking out a bunch of militia without being hit. There is some story to this but it's done fairly quickly. Overall, fine but could have done a bit more with it

- Two-Faced Bandit: This is essentially the predator room side mission. Stopping two-face was done fairly quickly and there isn't much to say about the combat itself. Although there were 3 predator rooms, this was a short mission which is a bit of a shame for the Two-Face fans, particular since he was in the trailer for this game a bit.

- Friend in Need: This is ridiculously short and the most underwhelming part of the game. Setting up an iconic villain in the last game only for him to be beaten as a quick time event is just embarrassing.

- Lamb to the Slaughter: This is also very short but has a bit more going for it. This could have been as good as The Perfect Crime but just ended up as "this thing is happening, go stop it".

The game does still have more content but I did not focus my time on it. The VR challenges just test out your skill in several areas, but I didn't find it necessary to do since I did a lot of that in the main game. There are also DLC stories focusing on several characters in the game, I've heard those are short so I may not be missing out on much. There are even more side missions that can be unlocked but like the DLC stories, it may be best to watch some of them on YouTube to save some money. New Game Plus also exists, maybe I'll play if I ever want to play Arkham Knight again but the amount of tanks destroyed and Riddler trophies collected makes me think it'll be a while before that happens.

Summary: Arkham Knight is the weakest entry in the Arkham series due to its weak plot, repetitive nature, and too much dependence on the Batmobile. Despite this, the game can still be fun with its world-building, combat, characters, and some enjoyable side missions. I recommend playing the other Arkham games (or at the very least City) before playing this one so you can get the best experience.
Rating: 7/10

02/08/2024 - Runbow



Sometimes I just want a quick and simple game to play, and I found Runbow to be the ideal game for me.

Runbow is a platform racing game published and developed by 13AM Games. Usually, the gameplay revolves racing towards the end of a level to collect a trophy although sometimes it can alternate to collecting several coins throughout the level or taking out a specific number of enemies. There is a multiplayer aspect to this game but I'm going to focus on the "Adventure" mode as I prefer to play single-player games when I can.

The game is split into four different zones, each containing 36 levels apiece with the last one being a boss fight. Each level is quite short, each being a minute or less so it's ideal for those who like bite-sized gameplay. A zone tends to only have one track being played in it so if you're playing the game in one sitting, it can feel repetitive. The art style doesn't help either, it's kept quite basic and while it's clear where each obstacle lies, it does leave a lot to be improved.

Gameplay itself is fine. Every zone presents a unique challenge to the player, requiring fast reflexes and precise movement. If you've played your fair share of platformers, then don't expect anything new here as it's standard stuff with a time limit set. Despite this fact, the levels are designed quite well with some of them allowing a player to take different routes to get to the end of the level. I also like how colour is being used with certain platforms and obstacles activating if the colour of the level changes. The controls for the most part are just ok although it can be a bit of a gamble if a dash can be executed in the air in the right direction as sometimes it seemed like it failed. Nothing drastic as the levels are short-sized but it does stop the flow of the game.

Some features are designed with the multiplayer aspect in mind. A character can be customised before each level, with some characters coming from other indie games like Shovel Knight from Shovel Knight, CommanderVideo from Bit.Trip and A.R.I.D from The Fall. Each character also has their own unique taunt so while you can't speak to the other players, you can annoy them to your hearts content. From what I've heard, the multiplayer aspect is this games strongest aspect so if you want a fun hour with friends, then I'm confident that Runbow won't let you down.

Summary: A solid platform game that utilises speed well whilst also providing fun bite-sized levels. The art style can be a bit bland and the controls aren't perfect, but this can be a fun little game with friends.
Rating: 7/10

01/07/24 - Portal 2: Co-Op Campaign



Recently, me and a great friend of mine have been playing random co-op games just for some fun.In the past few weeks, we landed on probably the most well-known and acclaimed co-op game: Portal 2. Whilst I have played both games and dabbled in the co-op campaign, my friend hasn't had any experience with this Valve game despite an odd reference here and there. Despite this contrast, we were both willing to give it a go since it promised a bunch of fun! Here is the overall experience and review of that.

So first off, it may be best to explain what the game is for those who may have not played before. By placing two portals, it is possible to travel from portal A to portal B by walkthrough into A instead of walking from A to B. Using this technique, the aim of the game is to get both players to the end of the level. There is no time limit or live system here, just the two of you and a range of items. This can be items such as boxes to hold pressure pads down, red gel to increase speed, blue gel to jump higher, and lazers that can take out turrets or activate switches. If you've played the single-player campaign then these should not be anything new to you, but the extra player adds another layer to the game by doubling the number of portals from two to four. The story here also takes more of a backseat than the single-player campaign, serving as only a way to keep the players laughing and the game rolling. Nothing out of the park, but good for any type of player to jump into.

The game starts off simple enough, separating the players by getting them to test their tagging and portal skills. Soon enough, both players come together and begin to tackle rooms that get larger and introduce new gimmicks across five courses and a bonus course upon completion of the main campaign. Each gimmick/item is introduced smoothly, done using either a little icon on the wall or by just letting us mess about with it. None of them felt awkward to use and the use of colour ensured we know what was portable, what we can use, and where we had to go. A vast majority of the puzzles are completely different to those in the single-player campaign, mostly due to the fact another player is here and that's not just because of more portals, sometimes it can be the player themselves! For example, a level requires both players to jump in the air at the same time so that they may collide with each other and fall onto the platform below so that they can leave together. A very clever idea! The later levels were big but not overwhelming. Me and my friend got stuck in some of them for 10-30 minutes trying to solve a certain puzzle until one of us managed to figure it out which was always a satisfying and joyful moment.

The game ran smoothly for the most part. There was an issue with an echo in the mics, but that was resolved by simply muting the voices in the game and going into a Discord call. There were also two parts where the game got laggy, the first time only my friend was experiencing it but a simple restart solved it and the second one wasn't a big issue by any means. Besides those incidents, the game was fast and responsive with no worrying about timing certain jumps. Tagging worked quite well and prevented us from being confused on what the other person was saying. Although we barely used this, the chat function worked perfectly and the gestures were a cute little addition to these robots. Another neat function is by pressing tab, you can view your partners screen which was handy when we wanted to guide each other if we were separated.

That's about it really. I enjoyed my time with the game and so did my friend which I am very happy to hear (if you're reading this, thanks for playing with me ^^). Will we play the co-op mods out there? No idea but we both enjoyed putting about 10 hours into this iconic game.

Summary: One of the best co-op puzzle games out there, something that lives up to its fame. It's clever, responsive, and just a lot of fun. If you enjoyed the base game and have a friend who is willingly to play then why not give it a go
Rating: 9/10

20/06/24 - The Bridge



Yet another puzzle game, they sure like handing them out (certainly not complaining about that! the more the merrier).

The Bridge entails a protagonist (no name given as far am I'm aware) who is trying to find out what happen to his mentor? It's another game that doesn't reveal too much as it prefers to maintain a mystery throughout. I think it could have done with some more but it's not a thing that absorbed me anyway. If I saw a text, I'd read it and move on without thinking about much else.

The game holds 24 levels (48 if you include the "mirror levels"), each making the player either rotate the level or change the gravity of certain objects. The controls are quite simple so it doesn't take too long to get used to moving around on a stage and the reverse function is handy for messing up . Each gimmick, usually one per chapter, is introduced quite smoothly so I didn't get confused as to what each thing is on the screen. It was all going great until the second half of chapter 4 where a sudden and sharp difficulty spike occurred. Considering the developers are called "Quantum Astrophysicists Guild", I should have seen this coming but the amount of thinking and precision needed in the hard levels are high. I did use a guide to get through a few of the levels otherwise I would have been on this game for ages. A shame since I was enjoying myself more with the levels of intermediate difficulty.

There isn't much else to talk about on this game, it's only 24/48 levels as I mentioned but it is certainly an amazing looking game. The black and white hand-drawn art style is what caught my eye in the first place. I hope I see more of it in the future, it really suits the atmosphere this game is going for. The music was fine but nothing really popped out as memorable or noteworthy.

Summary: A unique puzzle game with a gorgeous art style, slightly let down by the harsh difficulty spike requiring players to be very precise. If a sequel were to be released, I'd consider playing it.
Rating: 6/10

I find it interesting that you guys have Frog Detective 2 and 3 on here, but not 1? All of them are on Steam, I have perfect games on all of them. :3

First of all, I've noticed you are a new user on the website so welcome! Hope you have a nice time here :)

Frog Detective 1 is on the website, the link to it is here. I think the reason for this is that the game goes under two titles "The Haunted Island, a Frog Detective Game" and "Frog Detective 1: The Haunted Island". My guess is that Frog Detective became a franchise so they started numbering them after they announced a sequel to avoid confusing players as to what they play first. I've submitted a little edit so hopefully so if you search "Frog Detective 1" it will come up in the search bar (as long as it's approved of course so give it some time for it to be accepted).


Hope this helps and welcome to the website!

31/05/2024 - Tomb Raider: The Lost Artifact



It hasn't been long since my last post (less than a day!) and considering this is an expansion pack for Tomb Raider III, this will be kept brief.

Why wasn't Tomb Raider III like this? This is a really fun expansion pack, better than the levels in the original game. Why? The levels are a little shorter but it's so much easier to know where you need to go. Each of the six levels also offer something completely different visually, with the level of detail still being present. The traps, besides one or two , are completely doable first time without relying on memorisation or trial-and-error. Some levels were a bit tricky to navigate and were a bit dark, but nothing that was nearly as frustrating as those found in Tomb Raider III levels. There wasn't much combat in this, it can be easily done with just using the default pistols but the other weapons are scattered across the expansion pack if a player wants more firepower. I do wish there were cutscenes to see how the plot goes from the ending of the base game to the first level, but there's enough to go off by the loading screens.

Summary: I found this a lot more enjoyable than Tomb Raider III as it did what the base game failed to do: create large non-linear levels that are not confusing. If you've finished Tomb Raider III, I highly suggest playing this as it's the best expansion pack of the original classic trilogy.
Rating: 8/10

30/05/2024 - Tomb Raider III: Adventures of Lara Croft



It's time to get back to the Tomb Raider franchise! There's still a lot to get through but one game at a time.

Tomb Raider III is, unsurprisingly, the third entry in the mainline games with it only being released one year after its predecessor Tomb Raider II. You can blame the producers and a strong public demand for that, with a new team being brought in to help make the game. A shame they didn't have more time since they wanted to build a whole new engine with a new animation system but instead we have the same engine that was used in the past two games. Ah well, time to actually get into what is considered the final game of the classic Tomb Raider trilogy.

The game begins in India, where Lara Croft is attempting to uncover an artefact known as the Infada Stone. During the four levels it takes for Lara to uncover it, Tomb Raider III shows itself to be a blend between Tomb Raider 1s explorative nature and Tomb Raider 2s level of detail. I think that on paper that's a good idea, I do prefer these games work well when a player is discovering a detailed world around them rather than spending it shooting every enemy in sight. However, in practice what we have here are large non-linear levels with hard to see items and a lack of a prompt to what you are doing. For instance, if you hit a switch then there is a 50/50 chance that you may see or hear what that did. If not, then time to look around the level. The second level Temple Ruins had this the worst, that took me about an hour and a half to complete (about the average length of each level) although the fourth level Caves of Kaliya was the weakest level since that was just a maze with a straight-forward boss fight at the end. The other two levels, Jungle and River Ganges, were fun enough and made for good introduction levels.

From here, Lara learns from scientist Dr Willard that the Infada Stone and three other artefacts were made from a meteorite that crashed into Antarctica millions of years ago. For the sake of history and curiosity, Lara needs to travel to three other locations to obtain the remaining three artefacts: the South Pacific, Nevada, and London. It was a pleasant surprise that the game gives the player the option to go to each location in any order they want, but if you want to play this game go for Nevada first since you will lose all your stuff after finishing one of the levels (quite cruel).

As I didn't have much of a preference, I went for the option that was given to me first: the South Pacific. In my opinion, these levels are the prettiest of the game, really making use of the new graphical features added. There's a short list of these but the ones that stood out the most to me were the improved water graphics and the particle effects, it really works well in levels like this that have waterfalls and caverns. The enemies are quite varied here too and, besides the fact enemies can now poison Lara requiring a medikit or a healing crystal to stop it from killing her, made for a fun challenge. Glad these fights are more fair now rather than attacking in a small area, although this can still happen. Besides the giant and confusing level layout (something present in all the levels), I didn't like the kayak section since that had awkward controls with plenty of traps to (try and) avoid. Also not a big fan of placing a swamp map in my inventory without telling me, it took me a good ten minutes to find out it was in there. And don't get me started on how Lara is going around shooting the tribesmen of Oceania, who are portrayed very horribly.

After a bit of annoying boss fight with poisonous enemies and instantly-killing lightning, Lara arrives at Nevada. The first level had a good start, with Lara trying to break into a military compound. I wish that energy was kept into the second level but no Lara is caught and loses everything, resulting in a level that relies on stealth. I think it's ok? It's refined that well but it does work as a different style of puzzle the franchise hasn't done before. Also why did Lara let out several (potentially high-class) criminals to take out the guards? Lara's gone a bit mad in this game. Just like Lara, these levels are also too dark. I found myself falling into spikes and various traps multiple times, with no flares in sight to help me out of that. Luckily, these levels are the easiest to navigate and is the shortest section of the game. I wish the other levels didn't outstay their welcome and kept to the same length as these ones.

Time for the London levels, I knew I was in England instantly as it was raining and very dark. While not the prettiest to look at, these levels offer more of a side-story than the other two locations. It involves Sophia Leigh, the head of a cosmetics company that performs experiments on the homeless so that Sophia can become eternally youthful. Regardless of how characters were portrayed in the game, it's always nice to see a little cutscene at the end of a level, I just wish there was more. As for the levels, nothing much to say that hasn't already been mentioned. It's a good place to mention the secrets, they are well-placed as always and tend to have the best goodies for what the level has to offer. Unlike the last two games, collecting all the secrets grants access to a hidden level. I didn't get it but maybe if I replay this game one day I'll do out my way and give it a go, but it's nice to give an incentive for exploring all the game has to offer.

Now that Lara has obtained all four relics, the last stop of this journey is Antarctica. There is a plot twist here but it's quite obvious and there isn't much else to talk about. These levels are the biggest ones yet, with the penultimate one taking over 2 hours to navigate (although that level is a blast to play and generally acts as a fair challenge). I haven't mentioned this yet but the game doesn't offer new music or weapons which I don't mind considering the development time but it can be a bit underwhelming. Another funny drawback with the combat, the end-game villains (which I won't spoil) sometimes decide that they cannot climb a step. So to save ammo, I could sometimes go up the smallest step and shoot them whilst they go running around in circles (I guess they are also confused with how to navigate these confusing maps). The final boss, as with most of the game, is more of a trial-and-error puzzle than an actual fight but I didn't mind it besides the camera being in an awkward position.

Summary: Tomb Raider III attempts to go back to the exploration aspects of the first game whilst trying to make large ambitious levels for players to explore. Whilst the game seems ideal for replayability with levels containing many hidden secrets and colourful locations, Tomb Raider III suffers from confusing levels that never end, hard-to-find objects, and not portraying characters in a faithful manner. I'd only play this if you've played the first two games because making this your first Tomb Raider game will be a test of patience.
Rating: 5/10

21/05/24: Machinika Museum



I wasn't expecting to jump into another physical puzzler that involves unlocking mysterious items by completing puzzles so soon. I mean I only played Doors: Paradox two games ago! However, this game is currently on offer for free (many thanks to ThyReen for pointing this out) and it seemed to be a short game so I figured to give it a shot.

So this game is developed by a small French company called Littlefield Studio. It's fairly new, seems to have only released this game, the soon to be released follow up Machinika Atlas, and a golf game known as Mosaic Mini Golf (although this is currently unlisted). It's always cool to not only shine a light on smaller developers but for them to release the game for free is a very generous thing to do. Let's see what their currently most popular release has in store.

The game has you act as a person working at a museum who is investigating alien artefacts that are sent from the government (?) so that they can be displayed on the museum. What these artefacts are is unknown and the government don't provide anything besides a small paragraph of redacted information. I'm not sure who this protagonist is but they most have a former scientist since they see alien anti-gravity technology and they just say "oh, cool". I would like to know at least a bit more about this person or at the very least have them as clueless as we are since having them be underwhelmed by everything can be a bit dull, especially given how well-constructed and strange this technology becomes.

The game is divided into 8 chapters, each containing an artefact that needs to be investigated. There is no hint system in this game but I don't think the puzzles really need it, although one or two may make you think of what to do for a few good minutes. There are three pieces of equipment at the museum to help solve each puzzle. The first one is the 3D copier which is a neat and creative little thing, letting you duplicate a certain item to help unlock or fix a certain part of the puzzle. We also have a spectroscope which is fine but it's hard to know when you need to use it and adjusting the camera angle can be a pain in the ass to do due to how slow it is. Finally there is a magnetic screwdriver (it's a nod to the sonic screwdriver, very sneaky), which takes a bit of getting used to as you need to make a specific shape to unlock a part of the artefact. Personally I like the 3D copier the best, it's a simple thing which I haven't seen used much and adds another layer of thinking to solving each puzzle.

People tend to compare Machinika Museum tend to compare this to The Room trilogy and it's easy to see why. Each artefact expand out in surprising ways with each bit of progress made. The puzzles are also fairly similar, going for a more shape and pattern approach to solving the problems as opposed to Doors: Paradox which gave each player a small puzzle board to solve to get a key. Of course, this game still has a mix of all of these puzzles but it's more fun with the latter in my opinion since it blends better into the artefact. One thing that I think the game underused was the zoom-in on each item collected. As far I remember, I only needed to look at the letters at the start of each level so that I can, occasionally, get a code from the back. I wish it used this a bit more with other objects because I feel like they could have been a bit more sneaky with it.

Presentation-wise, Machinika Museum does an alright job. Each object felt un-natural and there weren't any graphical issues despite my PC not being amazing. Using the camera was a bit of a problem as sometimes it just can't reach the right angle or you click on an area only to go somewhere else. The lighting was also a bit too dark in places with one puzzle almost being a complete guessing game as half of it was in the dark. I do think this game lends itself well to a dark environment but it shouldn't come at the price of making the gameplay. Luckily, the sound effects of the game and the lighting that does show up makes it clear on what has been solved and what still needs some work so I can't knock the game for one or two dark spots.

Summary: A nice little Room-inspired game with eight fascinating artefacts, with the last one really showing the creativity of the game. If you can handle some iffy camera controls then this can be a relaxing way of spending an evening. Curious to see where Littlefield Studio goes from here.
Rating: 7/10

Oh man, I haven't updated in a long while. Sorry about that! But... things have not been great on my end. It's a long story, but to sum everything up neatly, I will describe what happened in bullet points.

-First, someone attempted to attack me when I was going out recently. Some crazy drunk drug addicted person threw a pilon at me and started swearing like crazy and I bolted from the scene to get help, unfortunately security was extremely inept and did nothing to report the incident when I kept on telling them to. This was obviously traumatic, I had never had anything like this happen in my life and this has continued to effect me in the last month.

-Second, a couple weeks ago I had symptoms of a panic attack, but I didn't feel stressed. I didn't feel very good physically and even when I attempted to go to work a couple days ago I ended up feeling short of breath and like I was going to faint. I had to leave work that day and with my inconsistent track record of being there, I feel like I'm screwing up badly despite the staff completing understanding what I'm going through. I just want to work.

-Third, I went to the doctors and apparently the reason I'm not feeling well is that I'm extremely anxious, so I got a boost in dosage for my medication and have been taking it every day. The tight chest pains, tingling feeling in my heart has started to lessen finally, but I don't think I'm totally happy right now.

Now, that's the basics of it. But unfortunately, this anxiety has started to affect playing games as well. I've become WAY more frustrated with some of the games I'm playing recently. I keep yelling at the screen and feel like I'm not having fun. I was thinking about taking a break altogether from gaming but I don't know if I can truly do that. Now, maybe I just need something that is very much stress free but I'm not sure what games will do the trick. The only games that get me calm are GMod and Teardown because there's no objectives, but if you can recommend me anything of note that will be good for me, I would love to hear these recommendations for stress free games. Thanks!

Anyways, I haven't done much else recently as I've not been physically feeling well. However, I am planning to play a new game that just came to Game Pass recently.



I'm going to be starting this one probably tonight, so I'm really looking forward to seeing what this offers. This has been on my list for a while and now that it's out I'm really looking forward to playing it. For some reason, I was never interested in that Stray game that came out and felt it wasn't something I would like, but with this game I feel it fits what I feel I need right now. I'm really looking forward to playing as a nice cat who is the best boi. Lets hope this meets my expectations.

On the other hand, I've decided to take a break from Yakuza Kiwami 2. While I am enjoying it more than Kiwami 1, my problem I have is that I jumped into it right after finishing Kiwami 1 and I don't want to get burnt out on it and with my mental health being in a crisis right now, I'm hoping that this Little Kitty game will be the thing I need. I will obviously return to Kiwami 2 later probably next month (or after I move) so I hope to talk about it later this year. But don't get me wrong, I'm enjoying Kiwami 2. To give my current thoughts, the story is much better so far than Kiwami 1, the new characters rule, the substories are MUCH better and more varied than Kiwami 1, I love the Dragon Engine and I've gotten used to how combat works and the cities feel more alive and bustling with the Dragon Engine. I'm having a really great time and I've put about 18 Hours into the game so far and I'm on Chapter 9.

Well, I don't know what else I can say. I wanted to give an update of why I haven't been posting recently. As you can tell from what I went through, I'm not doing well right now. I hope I can finally get back to work and just be normal again, but I don't know if the latter part is going to happen anytime soon. However, I am really looking forward to starting Little Kitty, Big City tonight. Now, just a heads up, I'm moving at the end of June so from probably about June 23rd-July 4th I will be on hiatus and won't be posting anything. If I have any completions for June, I'll end up putting them in the monthly thread late.

I also want to point out that it's Mental Health Awareness month! I can't stress enough how important it is to express how you are feeling to others so you can get the help you need to be happy. I hope for anyone that if you're going through some bad times, please talk to the people you trust. Even if you're not seeing a counselor I can almost guarantee that expressing yourself will help you be on the road to recovery. At least that's what I hope. I suffer from anxiety and telling people how I've felt has made situations better.

Okay, I've babbled on enough. I'm going to go play the Funni Kitten Game and hopefully it will cheer me up. Thanks for reading and hearing me out.

-TheAutisticGamer

So sorry to hear you've being going through such a rough time. Like you mentioned, mental health is important so don't worry if you need to take long breaks! We'll be ready for your gaming and/or life updates whenever you are ready.

I can't think of any relaxing games at the top of my head but I would agree with Siver that Cat Quest seems like a good pick for a chill game. From what I'm reading, it seems like a cute and relaxing game which sounds ideal for your situation. Maybe you could also replay a game you've finished since you know what to expect from those games and it could be a way of unwinding after a long day.

15/05/24 - Pandemonium



This is one of those games I would have never played if it was never in a bundle. Not that it looked off-putting or had some sort of controversy around it, it just seemed like a by-the-numbers platformer for the PS1. However, curiosity got to me so I installed it and gave it a go.

What we have here is indeed a platformer, developed by Toys for Bob who would later go onto to develop games for Skylanders, the new Crash Bandicoot games, and Call of Duty (quite a random line up). The story involves our protagonists Fargus the jester and Nikki the acrobat who accidentally summon a large monster that starts wrecking their village. These two decide to travel through 18 levels across the world to get to the Wishing Engine so that they can wish the creature away. Certainly not a game that focuses on the story but the small bits we get establishes the premise of the game well.

By looking at the game cover and the few snapshots you see of the game, it looks like its going to be a bit of a goofy game and I can assure you it has its goofiness. Whether its the mix of creatures being found in each level the creature you may turn into in a random level or two, or the music playing in the background the game oozes with fun energy. It makes use of showing off 2.5D and, besides the start of one level, doesn't make it confusing but adds to the scenery. Not only does each level try to incorporate something new, whether that is an enemy or a gimmick, it also encourages exploration to find additional lives or health. I don't think the latter should require the player to search levels thoroughly to find but it is possible to finish the game with only two hearts. There is also treasure scattered around for extra lives and bonus levels, something that I didn't go out of my way to do but it's nice to have the option.

The biggest thing going against this game for me is the difficulty which comes from a few different things. Firstly the controls are, as can be expected, a bit clunky and unresponsive. This really comes into effective in the later stages where one missed jump can kill you and send you all the way back to the started. I switched from playing as Fargus to playing as Nikki for that reason since she can perform a double jump which saved me many times. There's also the classic level design trap of placing enemies offscreen so that you either run into them or they shoot at you. This really shows its ugly side in Level 17: The Ice Caverns where you need to blindly float up and avoid five mines and three shark torpedoes. If that was worked on, I might have died a lot less.

After every six levels, a new boss is revealed. The first one, The Shroom Lord, is my least favourite just because of how hard it is to see where the attacks are coming from. Goon Honcho was a fun challenge, although double jumping on the jump pad has a good chance of getting you hurt (I think it's a bug since Goon Honcho repeats the cycle twice but you tend to land in the middle of the two cycles when he's looking horizontally instead of up). The Eyeball, while not really final-boss material, was the most creative and fun but really suffers from the camera issue in the second phase. Not many bosses but it doesn't take long to get to them so I'm happy with the number.

Although Pandemonium is a fairly unknown game, I think it deserves a little remaster in some way or another. The current version on Steam doesn't have a proper pause button and still relies on passwords for saving. Plus I do think that this game would look well in HD as we have seen with other 90s games. At least with the current version the keyboard bindings are available and I encountered no bugs or crashes during the playthrough. Still I think it deserves at least a more playable and modern one than one is available, even if it's more of a fixing issue than a complete remaster.

Summary: Pandemonium is an entertaining platformer that suffers from two classic platforming issues: clunky controls and enemies out of frame in awkward places. If these problems didn't exist, I'm sure this would have a bit more of a following since it really seems like it would be a blast to play.
Rating: 6/10

05/05/2024 - Fire Emblem: Awakening & Doors: Paradox

Two games: a long one and a short one.

Fire Emblem: Awakening


I have played these games out of order. I started with Three Houses, moved onto both Fates games (not counting the DLC), and now this one.

Awakening is considered one of the most iconic entries in the series, bringing in features such as Casual mode so that it is more welcome for newcomers. It's also brought in better visuals and many call backs to the previous games (more on this later).

The story is good! I wouldn't say amazing, it does drag out a bit towards the end and I wasn't attracted to a particular character throughout the campaign (although I can certainly tell who is who with good character design). However it was certainly a plot with plenty of plot twists and mystery. They didn't hold back on killing important characters, always something that takes guts to do. There was also a sense of progress and exploration, helped with the overworld map. If the plot says they are moving back to the north then the next level appears north of the map. The little details are always nice to see.

The overworld map also contains some useful aspects. Obviously you can move from level to level, although you can never replay a level unless there is a challenge. Challenges are good ways of earning xp, gold and other goodies so I do recommend playing them, even if it can get repetitive towards the end. There are also shops which are good ways for buying weapons and abilities for characters since weapons can break in this game. I played on the hard difficulty (it's actually normal but the games says hard haha) but by the end of the game I had lots of money to spend in the shops, including those with special offers. The final element in the maps are the paralogues, unlocked by completing the story or by getting two characters to marry. These are fun bonus levels, nice for character development and generally fun to play albeit challenging.

What about the gameplay? Well it works well as it normally does. There are a lot of characters to chose from but I stuck with the original characters since I've been grinding with them since the start. Besides one or two levels, these fights are generally fair and aren't too difficult, they are varied in terms of location, enemy type, and enemy positions. I'm not sure if this is based on my strategy, but my the end I had two extremely strong characters (the main characters Robin and Chrom) and the others not being as strong, only handling two or three enemies before dying. When I mean strong, I mean Robin could one shot most bosses in the later chapters. It was broken for sure but it got me results. Maybe if I spent more time on 100% the game I would have a strong crew overall but then it would add 20-30 hours onto my playtime and I was already getting a bit burnt out.

What about those call backs? While there is a lot of references to past games with the plot and the mechanics, this is where the DLC comes in. Admittedly I didn't spend much time on there but I played a few levels. Here you can fight and collect characters from previous games such as Marth. Adding these characters alongside sound tracks from these games adds for some fun gameplay, especially for fans who've actually experienced these. I would have enjoyed going through this but some of the levels are very hard and I was getting a bit burnt out from it at this point. Maybe in the future I'll go back to it.

Summary: Fire Emblem Awakening is a fun RPG that offers a gentle introduction to the franchise for newcomers and references and a challenges for veterans. Although the plot can drag and be predictable in places, the presentation and world-building makes it a classic in both the franchise and the 3DS line-up.

Rating: 8/10

Doors: Paradox


This is a game I want to like more but cannot.

So what we have here is a puzzle escape game. The premise for these is simple: there's a door that you have to unlock and to do so you must solve puzzles and find hidden objects. It's a tried and tested formula, one which I enjoy when trying to unwind. How does this stack up?

Doors: Paradox has a story...somewhat. Essentially you started messing with hidden forces which ultimately leads to a decision. If that sounds vague, that's because it is. The game tries to make it mysterious by placing a little note in each level, giving you more context to what's going on as the game progresses. I think more could have been done to flesh it out. More cutscenes or more on notes could have really made the story a bit more meaning. At least a conclusion could have been given rather than just abruptly ending.

The puzzles themselves are alright. I like how each of them are presented, especially in the third chapter where each setup is unique and has a theme going on like a pirate level or a mafia level. The controls, besides one or two levels, work quite well. There is some repetition but the short playtime makes up for it. The main issue with these puzzles are that they are mostly quite easy. If like me you've played some puzzle escape games before then this game won't take long at all with each level taking 5 to 10 minutes to complete. This is ideal for new players but i feel like there needs to be something more challenging for veteran players. Not a big issue by any means but something worth considering.

There are also collectibles in the game to unlock bonus levels. These collectibles are very obvious to find, mostly just lying on the floor with a light glowing from it. If you want to finish the game properly then you'll want to make sure to get those.

Summary: Doors Paradox offers a good experience for newcomers and has a wonderful presentation for it, however the plot is fairly lacking and people who have experienced puzzle escaping games will find nothing new here.

Rating: 6/10

30/4/2024 - Assassins Creed: Altair Chronicles

Ok I think a year off from reviewing games should be enough time. Since I'm less busy and more in the mood, I can get back to playing through my backlog and sharing these small(ish) reviews. Without further ado, let's get into it.



Assassin's Creed on the Nintendo DS. Something I wasn't expect but should have done considering how many of these games are out there.

From my understanding, this game is set before the original game (Assassin's Creed) and doesn't really connect in any way besides with a few characters and locations. In this story, Altair needs to take back a sacred object known as The Chalice from The Templars. He has to travel across numerous cities and encounter numerous enemies to uncover the chalices secret. While this plot did keep me hooked for the 5 hours, it's nothing to special. The characters presented were a bit plain with nothing going for them and it doesn't really have a satisfying conclusion. It just stops. Considering how plot-focused the early AC games were, this is a bit disappointing as I do think much more could have been done with what we had.

As you can imagine, this is a platformer. The level design is basic. The parkour is fun, especially when you've got used to the controls for some fast movement which is ideal for an assassin. All the obstacles encountered, from the snakes to the annoying instant-death spikes, are stuff you'd see in any standard platformer. These obstacles aren't hard to avoid but the camera can hide them sometimes and I think it breaks the immersion of being set in the Third Crusade, unless multiple boulders swinging on top of peoples homes was a thing back then. An occassional puzzle does pop up to keep each level refreshing but it's not really a puzzle as such, more of moving a block to the right place. You can expect each level to contain many checkpoints too so even if you die, it won't take more than a minute to back to where you were before.

Some combat controls and techniques from the original game can be found here. Obviously, the sword is the most-used weapon, allowing for several combos to be used to take down each enemy. The hidden blade can be used but it's more for show half the time when taking out targets. There are other weapons such as knives and a grappling hook but I never found them too useful during combat as the sword can handle the enemies well enough. The controls are fast and responive here so you can be assured there's nothing unfair combat wise. Additionally, a couple of upgrades are available for health and sword damage through collecting orbs scattered across the level although you won't need to hunt them down since you'll likely be maxed out by the end.

The enemy variety for this game is a bit on the weak side. The enemies you fight don't really change throughout the game besides getting a bit more health and damage so expect to use that sword for the same fights again and again. There are also boss fights in the game but they can be a bit of a joke. As far as I am aware, there are three. The first one is just letting him hit the ground which isn't hard to do. The second can be cheesed by standing in the corner and taking enemies out one by one. The last one is just hitting buttons at the right time, and you need to do that 3-4 times throughout the campaign.

Not too much going on in the sound department. A few tracks do play which I think come from the original game. For the most part, however, you are playing with no music and just some background of a crowd talking. It's ok but it can make the adventure a little more dull, especially when focusing on the parkour sections. Maybe this is a limitation of the hardware, a reduction in tracks for an increase in levels. I don't mind either way. The sound effects are mostly taken from the original game too, nothing wrong with that since it compliments this portable game well.

Summary: An OK portable version of the Assassins Creed franchise. It offers its fun moments and translates parts of the original game well, but the level design and enemy roster hold it back from it being a memorable game.
Rating: 6/10

21/1/23 - Final Doom



Final Doom is made of two episodes: The Plutonia Experiment and TNT: Evilution. I got this before the Doom and Quake games got shuffled around on Steam. You can still get it via other means and the Doom games on Steam have both episodes as add-ons. I won't go into much detail as much as I did with Tomb Raider 2: The Golden Mask as 64 levels can be quite a lot to write about. I'll keep each episode to a short paragraph.

The Plutonia Experiment is known for its short but tough levels. Some of the levels aren't too bad in terms of difficulty but others can be a real test of skill and patience. Levels like "go 2 it" and "Hunted" like up to their infamy. There isn't anything new in terms of enemies but everything was used very well to create one tough challenge. The new tracks and texture choices are small but certainly welcomed. On the whole, quite a good but brutal episode.

TNT: Evilution was fine. It had new textures and some new music but it wasn't really that memorable. Some of the levels were massive although I didn't get lost too often in them and I always like to explore the maps. TNT is also known for an infamous bug where you can't access a key in one of the final levels. Luckily it's not hard to fix but it's a bit sad that the bug is probably the most famous thing about the episode. It's alright, especially for its time. However, there are alternatives you should play before this one.

Summary: A fun and intense two-episode package. It's not the most exciting or best Doom content out there but it's still exciting to play and worth the challenge for those who finished Doom II.

Rating: 7/10

6/1/23: Tomb Raider II: The Golden Mask



I love that the box art for this expansion pack has just flipped Lara so she's facing left rather than right.

So has there are only five levels within this expansion pack, I decided to change my format up. Essentially, I did a little review of each level and wrote some overall thoughts on the expansion pack when they occurred to me.

Level 1: Cold War
A decent opening level. The map is fairly big and quite linear so not much on the puzzle front. There also isn’t much variety in the available weapons or the enemies. However, there is a new enemy that is barely invisible and there is a bit of snowmobile action. It’s challenging but not unfair due to the quantity of medikits about (bar one nasty trap). The ambient music also stands out on this level, making you just feel cold going around the level.

Level 2: Fool’s Gold
Level 2 continues the big, fairly linear of the expansion pack. There aren’t any invisible enemies but the henchmen with flamethrowers make their return from the first game. Again, there is a heavy emphasis on combat and practically no puzzles to solve. It’s essentially a cycle of finding a switch, defeating some enemies and moving on. It’s a bit of a bummer since I do think that puzzle solving is an essential part of the Tomb Raider franchise but it’s an expansion pack so I’m not too bothered.

About a couple minutes into this level and I’m reminded that sometimes this game is just not fair. Sometimes when you climb something, there is an enemy on top who will shoot you before you finish climbing. I cannot see any way to avoid taking damage as you have to get onto the ground before shooting back.

Level 3: Furnace of the God’s
My favourite level. Some traps, extra weapons, and the return of the invisible enemies really highlight the advantages of playing the Golden Mask. Having a good mix of all of it with a few surprises sprinkled in really highlights what makes Tomb Raiser so good.

I think this is a good time to mention that the level textures are different from the base game, a nice change from the first games expansion pack Unfinished Business. It gives The Golden Mask a reason to exist and essentially provides a little adventure for Lara.

Level 4: Kingdom
This is a fairly odd level. I would call this the puzzle level of the expansion pack as it mostly consists of trying to find the right object to make progress whether that’s a switch or moving a block. It’s a weird move to make the last (official) level of the expansion pack puzzle-oriented. I would have swapped level 3 and 4 around to give it a more intense ending.

Well to say it’s all puzzles would be an understatement for two reasons. Firstly, there are some new enemies in the game called the sasquatch so basically bigfoot. It was quite hilarious when I found out who the were but they are pretty much the yeti found in the first game. There’s also a boss called Guardian of the Kingdom which, while looking and sounding menacing, isn’t a hard boss to deal with because once he knocks you to a lower level, you can shoot him without him reaching you. And then suddenly, the level just ends which is strange and a bit of a let-down. I get that the start of the game was just as abrupt but it didn't really feel like a well thought out ending.

Level 5: Nightmare in Vegas
So this is weird.

This is a bonus level if you collected all the secrets in the past four levels (or if you used a save file because you realised it towards the end of the game). I’m glad that the secrets actually have a useful meaning to them unlike the base game. A bit of a shame they don’t give a clue or reason to collect them but it’s nice to see the thought.

The level itself is strange since it borrows textures and enemies from the past two games and merges them into one setting. It works in a trippy sort of way which makes sense considering this is a nightmare. This works well as a bonus level and provides a fair challenge to the player. Hope to see more bonus levels in the later games.


Summary: Overall, this is a solid expansion pack. The first two levels are a bit combative but the other three make up with some great, if a bit flawed in some places, levels. I do suggest giving this expansion pack a go if you finished the base game because I find this expansion an improvement over Unfinished Business.

Rating: 7/10

3/1/23 - The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD



During Christmas, one of the gifts I got was the HD remake of the Wii Game The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. It's one of those games in the franchise I don't hear much about. I've heard lots about Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, Breath of the Wild, etc., but I barely knew anything about Skyward Sword. Still I have played several Zelda games in the past so I had some idea of what to expect.

One of the first things I noticed about the game were the controls which felt weird. I mean I was playing a Wii game on a handheld so obviously it was to be expected. It's not a perfect experience, the camera takes a bit of getting used to and every now and then the sword didn't swing in the right direction. All other activity involving motion was fine and worked without any problems. Therefore if you are planning to go on this game on handheld, then expect to get used to the controls after a little bit.

The plot was exactly what a Zelda plot normally is. There isn't too much to talk about but there are a few points to note. Firstly, Link and Zelda actually have a good relationship with each other compared to other games. They feel more attached to each other than most Zelda games which is quite heart-warming to see. Ghirahim is also a great villain and makes a welcome change from seeing Ganondorf. His cunning, cruel, and at points funny moments makes me want to see similar antagonists in later Zelda games. Fi was basically a character that pops up and gives "assistance". Sometimes it's useful when getting stuck on a puzzle but other times she would make observations like "this ship is under attack" when massive tentacles burst through the wood with the ship at an angle. I did not Fi to analyse the situation to tell me that. While she is important to the plot, I don't really care about her that much.

Since it's a Zelda game, you can expect dungeons all over the place and to be the majority of the playtime. These are some top-tier dungeons for the most part. Challenging fights, puzzles and some gimmick to the dungeon are all expected and are delightful to play through. The save points are somewhat generous and the map was clear to see where I was and what to expect. The themes are fairly similar to other Zelda games with a few expectations but they are still worth the time to complete.

The boss fights are fairly good, relying on a mix of both combat and problem solving in order to take down. The difficulty is about right and they all bring something new to the table. Koloktos and the final boss were the highlights for me. They were intense, involved experimenting to find the best way to take them down, and were decently designed. However I should mention that some boss fights were tedious. Just because there is a little change in how the fight works doesn't mean I'll enjoy the same boss fight the 3rd time as much as the first. Luckily this only happens with two (possibly three) bosses but it's a bit of a unnecessary padding of the game.

Talking about time, that's a big issue with this game. The over 30 hour adventure feels like a drag in some places. Besides the already mentioned duplicate boss fights, there is also the problem of backtracking between different parts of the world that occurs so often. I'm all for exploring and I don't think backtracking is necessary a bad thing but there comes a point where it just gets tiresome. The last part just went on for far too long and I didn't appreciate getting somewhere just to go on another collect-a-thon. Sometimes you have to go to another part of the world to collect one little thing and return to where you originally were.

Rupees are a thing in the game... honestly I don't know what to say about them. Throughout the entire game, I don't think I used the shop even once. Health I could get from destroying vases and grass around me. I had no reason to use a shield since dodging out of the way worked most of the time. As for everything else, they weren't essential so I didn't see much of a point in using it. It's a bit disappointing since it made finding those rare rupees a bit underwhelming. Maybe people who want an easier experience with the game or want to fully complete the game will find this more useful.

There are also other side quests in the game and things you can do in Skyloft (basically the hub to access different parts of the world). I didn't pay too much attention to this either since the game was going on for too long already but I did enjoy the interactions with the characters and resolving the problems they have. With the HD version giving the game some lovely colours and a less blurry image, it's pleasant to explore and interact with the world

Summary: It's a good Zelda game. There are some great dungeons and the HD version really makes the world fun to explore. However, just be aware that the game is too long for it's own good and the controls can be a bit dodgy.
Rating: 7/10

Now that I've finished that game off, I should return to getting through the Tomb Raider franchise. Before moving onto TRIII, I want to play through the TRII expansion pack The Golden Mask first so I'll make a start on that next. Also, I'll continue to play some random games in between time to keep things refreshing.

23/12/22: Hollow Knight



Hollow Knight has been a game I've been meaning to play for ages. It's always been on my shelf, ready to be played and since I now have some free time, I finally decided to give it a shot.

Hollow Knight is a 2D metroidvania, being the first (and currently only) game released from Team Cherry. I played the Switch version which came with the DLC already bundled in although I mostly played the main campaign so I won't be talking about those.

It depicts a nameless character, the knight, as he delves into Hallownest and uncovers the background behind the fallen kingdom. The lore and plot are mostly given through brief interactions with characters and exploring the world itself. The characters are good, some funny with others serious and miserable. The world itself is very well crafted, with it feels both unwelcoming but yet making you want to see what's in the next room. Additionally, having a not so direct approach to the story and world is such a nice touch since it encourages exploration and doesn't overwhelm players who would rather just get into the action.

Whilst I'm on the subject of action, let's talk about action. If you want a large variety of enemies with some tough bosses then Hollow Knight is for you. You will need quick reflexes, study enemy patterns and using several abilities in order to beat this game. Some bosses won't take too long but some will kick your ass a lot. Your main weapon is a needle (a short sword) and some spells so you don't have too much to work with. I actually like this since it has a heavier emphasis on skill rather than having relying on very strong weapons to cheese bosses. The quick responsiveness of the controls along with fast attacks of the enemies can lead to a lot of intense fights.

Another thing that is included in the game is charms. These are little perks that can improve your health, your soul (the mana used for some spells), or your attack. Some are easy to get whilst others are harder to find or require a lot of geo (the currency of the game) to get. There is a lot of them and it's always satisfying to collect one of them. They will add an extra little boost to the game which may be the difference between a win or a loss. Don't expect to use all of them since you are limited to the amount you can equip. After all, you wouldn't want to become too overpowered.

One thing I tried out was the arena where you fight in gauntlets to win prizes. Admittedly I only did the first gauntlet, Trial of the Warrior. It was fun and it was well rewarded but I rather spend my time exploring than arena fighting. Not saying it's bad, I just wanted to delve more into the world than be stuck fighting in an arena.

As mentioned earlier, the world is dangerous but it is also very big. You will get lost without a map and you have to find the location to buy a map first! If it's your first time playing the game then expect yourself to get lost a lot. Your best bet is to find a bench at quick as you can, a spot where you can save and respawn if you happen to die. There are about 2 to 3 benches in each section with one usually near a boss (although not always which can be a pain in the ass). You can also find one near stag stations which allow you to fast travel. I recommend finding and unlocking these as fast as possible since you will have to travel between sections a lot. If you don't like backtracking much then this may not be the game for you. However, once unlocking the map then navigation will be a lot simpler to do.

The presentation in this game is so good. The hand drawn animation with its use of dark colours and fairly straight-forward design really make Hallownest feel slightly eerie and dangerous. The little details that show that a secret is being hidden are well done. The music enhances the presentation by keeping it mysterious and adventurous. It fit into the game really well.

Summary: An amazing metroidvania that deserves its reputation. If you like the genre and haven't played this yet, then I encourage you to give this a go when you can!
Rating: 9/10


Edit: I almost forgot to mention, I hope everyone has a great holiday! It's been an eventful year to say the least so I hope you get to spend sometime relaxing with family and friends.

I'm actually planning to replay Serious Sam 2 since it's been a couple years since I've really played it. I think the last time was when I was binging the series when Serious Sam 4 was coming out. I think this is actually my least favorite of the series and I've never really come back to it often. I agree about the majority of the bosses that they're not up to par with some of the other ones in the series, especially once you realize how improved they are in later games. Also, another thing is that save files can get corrupted easily and you'll lose all progress so I always have a backup save just in case things like this happen. Damjan Mravunac's music also doesn't stand out in this one.

However, I think it's one of the funnier games in the series. There's tons of hilarious moments (Sam crashing into the camera by accident gets one of the biggest laughs from me) and the humor fits perfectly for my tastes. I know a lot of people have criticized Serious Sam's humor over the years but to me it's great because it makes him really likeable in general and if you like that type of humor the series is perfect for people like that. I don't think it's a bad game it's just compared to the other games it's the one I go back to the least. This will also be my first time playing with the new update from a couple years back.

With Mental Institution, one of the easiest ways to beat him is to leave the Serious Damage alone until the boss battle begins (I did this on easier difficulties) and use the Serious Damage and vehicle you get and shoot him up and his health drops fast. An easy way to fight a tough boss! Interested to see what you think of Serious Sam 3: BFE and the Jewel of the Nile expansion once you get to it. I feel there's some big improvements in terms of the gameplay (It was the first Sam game to add sprinting before SS2's update) but it does reuse a lot of old Sam One Liners and Puns from TFE and TSE and Sam swears WAY more. Besides 2, it's probably the most divisive game of the series for many reasons from what I've been researching. It also is WAY too expensive for an 11 Year old game despite finally getting a slight price drop (CDN $38.99) but the good news is it goes on sale a lot for like 4 Dollars. I do hope you enjoy it though! It's one of the Sam games I go back to more and more as time goes by.

I did have an issue with the save system during the level Deadwood. I had to restart the entire level since the door wouldn't open despite the fact that all the enemies were killed. Luckily, it was an easy level and I only had the issue once. From then on, I had an extra save file just in case.

The humour is hit and miss for me. Sometimes it was nice and even got a little laugh from me every now and then. Other times it felt like a drag and I wanted it over quickly. I'm not too bothered about the humour since it is subjective and you can skip the cutscenes if you find it that bad. Overall, I'm fine with it but I would prefer the TFE/TSE in terms of humour.

I didn't think of using that technique for that boss. A nice idea!

I am tempted to play Serious Sam 3: BFE and Jewel of the Nile. I've heard that some of the enemies are similar to Doom enemies so I'm interested in seeing how similar they are. The reused one liners may be a bit meh but I don't mind the swearing too much. I should be able to find a cheap copy about somewhere.

Best of luck playing SS2. I'm sure you'll have a blast playing it!

14/12/2022 - Serious Sam 2

Well it's certainly been a while since I've added anything to this post. I didn't expect university to be so busy this year and having to juggle some other things around that has given me little time to play games. Luckily it all seems to be calming down (for now) so I can get back to doing this!



Serious Sam 2 takes place after Serious Sam: The Second Encounter. You need to collect five pieces of a Sirian medallion so that Mental can be weakened allowing you to destroy him. Just like the last game, Serious Sam 2 is a first-person arena shooter where it's Sam against dozens sometimes hundreds of enemies at the same time. Naturally, it's a chaotic franchise and this game is no exception. While the levels are mostly reduced in length, there is still intense fights that require quick thinking in order to combat the large quantities of enemies swarming you at a fast rate.

Almost the weapons from Serious Sam: The Second Encounter make a return with most of them behaving how they did before. Off the top of my head, the flame thrower is missing which I'm not too disappointed about since it's was an ok weapon for the most part. There was an introduction of the zap gun which seemed pretty useless since the dual pistols tend to be my go-to when I'm out of ammo and even then that's a rare occasion. The shotgun had a bit of a change and it's a bit more satisfying to use thanks for its design. The beam gun, originally cut from the game, was fun even if it didn't appear to much in the game.

In addition to the weapons, there was also the inclusion of vehicles and weapons. They were a nice inclusion and I enjoyed using them. Why not make the fights madder by giving us more space, armour and firepower? That is the heart of the franchise after all. I also appreciated how they weren't used too much but weren't too rare. It was the perfect balance.

The majority of the enemies from the previous game also make their return. There is also plenty of new enemies being introduced, adding to the variety. Some of them are just the same enemy with a different texture and some stat changes such as the beheaded kamikaze and marcel the clown. However some of them like the infantry attack helicopter are great additions. Also one nice change about these enemies is that they don't spawn in a cheap place anymore which is always a plus!

The bosses are a bit hit and miss, let me briefly go through them all. Note I'm going to add these as spoilers in case you want to experience the game blind :)

Cecil: Ok, can be a bit frustrating having to collect the ammo for the cannon and slightly repetitive but wasn't unfair
Count Kleerofski: Probably my favourite in the game. Fast, dangerous but with a decent amount of ammo and health about.
Hugo: While I did enjoy running away from him at the start, he wasn't a fun boss. It took about a minute to destroy him with the helicopter and his attacks were easy to avoid. For a late-game boss, I expected a bit better
Kwongo: Another fairly simple one since you're fighting the lower enemies more than Kwongo himself. I don't mind this one as much since he is the first boss of the game.
Mental Institution: What a difficult and unexpected boss. I did struggle fighting this one but it was certainty a good closing fight for the game.
Prince Chan: Another meh boss. Nothing wrong with him as such, it just doesn't do much to stand out. However for being in the middle of the game, he is appropriately placed.
ZumZum: Going to be honest, I completely forgot about this boss until I was going over my notes. ZumZum is fairly forgettable and doesn't offer anything interesting.

If you have heard anything about Serious Sam 2 it's the controversial decision to make the design more cartoony and colourful. This can be seen everywhere: the cutscenes, the levels, the weapons, and the enemies. While I do prefer the classic style, I think Serious Sam 2 pulls off the theme quite well. It's easy to see what things are and it highlights how creative and wacky Croteam can be.

One thing I do agree with many being a weakness is the length of the game. As mentioned, the levels are reduced in length but the number of levels have dramatically increased. This game has 42 levels which is quite a lot of content and if the fights tend to get similar towards the end, it can feel a bit repetitive a points.

As for the music, it was fine. Again lot's of variety and works well with the madness the game brings but nothing really stuck out to me like the previous installment(s). The sound effects are more memorable and you will be able to identify which enemy is about to come around the corner. Overall, it stands out in the game but I don't think I'll remember it in say a week.

Summary: While the art style might divide people and the length if a bit too long, it's still a fun Serious Sam game. This is ideal if you just want a 20-25 minutes of Serious Sam goodness in a wacky environment.
Rating: 8/10

26/8/22 - Quake: Rubicon 2 and Doom: Revolution!

Did I really wait a few days on a feeling that Bethesda would release new add-ons for Doom and Quake because of QuakeCon. Absolutely and my hunch was correct! We got two on the same day so naturally I downloaded them and gave them a go.

Quake: Rubicon 2



I knew this was going to be a short one so I played through this first. Here we have three big(ish) levels, each taking about 20 minutes to complete. No, they aren't connected to each other, they are stand-alone entries so you can go through them in any order. The difficulty is about medium for all of them so you won't need to feel intimidated in trying them out.

One other key difference is that almost all of the Lovecraftian enemies are gone in this add-on. This is because Rubicon 2 has a sci-fi setting rather than a horror one. Think of it like a hybrid between Quake 1 and 2. You have new enemies such as the Automatons that are massive walking robots that explode when you kill them that combine elements of sci-fi and Quake really well. Centurions are flying enforcers that wield nail guns. Out of all the new enemies, these have the best design and look awesome in dark areas. Finally we have Dreadnaughts that are enforcers with flame throwers. They look good but don't pose too much of a threat as long as you keep a good distance away from them.

Whilst the levels are short, they do tend to offer a variety of new traps and gimmicks such as ladders and lasers to keep it unique from other Quake campaigns. I do wish there was some more content in here but I rather have it quick and brilliant levels that make good use of colour and level-design than long and mediocre levels.

Summary: This is one of those add-ons where you get quality but not quantity. If you want to play a sci-fi Quake for about half an hour, Rubicon 2 has you covered.

Rating: 8/10

Doom: Revolution!



Oh look, another sci-fi themed add-on. I didn't noticed this until writing this review but I do like some good sci-fi. Unlike Rubicon 2, this is a full 32-level campaign and is fairly old for a Doom add-on, with it being released in 2001. Therefore don't expect any massive maps or beautiful structures. That's not to say they look bad, they are just standard Doom-looking maps with a few interesting things here and there. I can say a similar thing about the MIDI, it rocks but there's nothing that really stands out from other add-ons.

Compared to other Doom add-ons, this isn't too difficult with most levels taking about 10 minutes to finish. There are only a handful of nasty traps and finding ammo and health is fairly easy. I would say map 28, Exodus, is the best level due to the intense fights it provides and the general look of the map itself. The final level, The Forgotten God, felt underwhelming due to how straight-forward the boss was. At least in Doom II, the Icon of Sin was challenging since you had to fight past a lot of enemies to hit a switch. Here, you can easily run past the enemies and the boss is simple to hit.

Summary: For an old WAD, this is a fun sci-fi campaign. Level design wise, it's engaging and does offer a nasty surprise every now and then. If you just want some doom-slaying action, you cannot go wrong with Revolution!

Rating: 7/10

Now I have also noticed that Bethesda have also made some other changes regarding Doom and Quake on Steam. Firstly they have merged Quake II and its expansion packs: Ground Zero and The Reckoning have all been put together. While I have no intention on returning to this, I am glad they have put it all in one place at last. The same thing has happened with Quake III Arena and Team Arena and Doom II with the Master Levels and Final Doom although you could technically do the latter already. However the last change that I am interested in is with Doom 3! Now originally I just had the base game but it turns out that I now have all the DLC for it too and the content from the BFG edition. So you can expect me to go through that some time in the near future. For now, I shall finish off the Tomb Raider II expansion, the golden mask.

11/8/22 - Tomb Raider II



After a few games and a short holiday, I have finally finished Tomb Raider II. Despite there only being a 10 month difference between this game and its predecessor (Tomb Raider I), there are several changes to both games that make it stand out in its own right.

For me, the biggest change was the tone and setting of the game. The original TR focused on raiding tombs with a sense of mystery about it. You don't know what you are in for or what is around the next corner. In TR II, the mystery aspect is stripped away and is instead replaced for recognisable places such as Venice and a ship. The areas still look amazing and are more colourful than before. It's also got the classic traps and platforming you would expect although it isn't as accurate as the first game. I mean, I don't expect there to be a boulder and spike traps in an opera house but I understand that realism isn't what the game is aiming for.

Weirdly, the music hasn't changed too much from its roots. In fact, it uses some tracks from the first game in some of the early levels and again it works. Even though this is a lot more action focused and there isn't as much isolation in this game, there are still those moments where you feel uncomfortable due to the whole world trying to kill you. The last part of the game executes the ambient music very well with my favourite level, Temple of Xian, making me feel disturbed the entire time.

The combat will be something you can deal with well or hate a lot. The reason being is that a lot of the enemies in this game are gun-wielding and can drain your health fast. In some levels, I would sigh seeing yet another gun man shooting at me. I didn't want to use my other guns because ammo was tight and health kits are also a lot rarer now. The saving grace is when you do kill them, there is a chance you can get some ammo or a health kit from them, which can be a big relief. Another fortunate thing is that you still have melee weapons and of course the pathfinding is still broken. However you need to be careful because some of them can climb up and attack you now, making it more intense to deal with them.

The pistols, the shotgun, the uzis and the automatic pistols make a return and I still have the same opinions about them as before. However, Lara has three new weapons in her arsenal. The M16 is a tommy gun that can mow down enemies. I didn't use this much since it can slow Lara down and the ammo was rare. The grenade launcher I didn't use but can be handy for dealing with tough enemies. The new gun I did use was the harpoon gun which can allow Lara to shoot enemies underwater. This is very helpful and makes the underwater sections of the game a lot more comfortable to get through.

Another new feature in the game are the vehicles. There are only two. The first is the motorboat and is was alright to control. For some odd reason, you can't fight back against the gun men and therefore you are an open target if you don't drive fast enough. The snowmobile is harder to platform with but you can actually fight back with it and it was entertaining to play through the level with it. I'm curious to see if the later games will contain any other vehicles.

Let's head back to the platforming and traps again. Similar to the combat, this is a lot more difficult than the first game and require you to be quicker and more accurate. Again, they are varied, interesting, and challenging which is exactly what I want in a Tomb Raider game. The tank controls are still present but they have been fine tuned to make the platforming a bit easier. If you are up for a challenge, you can test your skills by collecting secret dragons with each level (bar two) containing three of them. By collecting them you get....nothing. Hopefully they will be more meaningful next time but I like the idea of making the player want to explore every part of the level.

So is this an improvement from the last game or now? It's hard to tell really but it's likely done to your style. Do you prefer an adventure filled with mystery or a action-packed thriller? Personally, I prefer the first game over this one but I cannot deny that this was a good game too. I'm interested in seeing what direction they take the franchise next but from what I've heard, TR III is a hard game so let's see if the quality is still there.

Summary: TR2 is a bigger adventure than the first game. You may not like it due the high amount of gun-wielding men and its nasty difficulty curve, but it will be a fun challenge!
Rating: 7/10

Weekly Update 23/7/22 - Speed Brawl and New Super Mario Bros

Before I continue with Tomb Raider 2, I decided to play two random games just to relax with. It's also been a while since I've played some 2D platformers so it's nice to go back and play them.

Speed brawl



Speed brawl is one of those games where you look at the store page and know exactly what the game has to offer. Even looking at the title you can tell it involves beating enemies up fast. You could also make a good guess by saying it's a 2D beat 'em up with a cartoon sort of style.

The plot is very straight forward and full of a couple obvious twists. While it does do a decent job at building its world, the dialogue is very cheesy and cliché. It's the usual "you cannot defeat us, our friendship will destroy you all". I'm also a bit confused with who this aimed for. The art style and plot says it's kids, but the casual swearing every now and then says otherwise. I feel like I'm being a bit too harsh here but I feel like they just rushed through the plot at the last minute, something very telling towards the final cutscene. Fortunately, the characters do bring energy into the plot and each "cutscene" doesn't last too long so this can be overlooked. The interaction between these characters are charming and I do think a kid playing this might find them funny.

OK so obviously no one plays this for the story. You play it to fight! Think of each level as a gauntlet where you go from arena to arena, destroying every enemy as fast as possible to get to the end in the fastest time. Each character has their own style of fighting and you can bring two of them into each fight. Generally I stuck to Casey has she has a light but quick attack and can chain up the attacks. The combat works really well and it is very energetic and speedy. You can use special abilities, counter attacks, and dash attacks to assist you in fighting and they don't take long to learn or master. For a game aimed for a younger audience, this has a lot more than I thought it would. The short levels are great for a pick up and go playstyle with each being about 10 minutes at the most. It only took about 8 and a half hours for me to finish off all the levels and for this sort of game, that is a great duration. Again, the story could have been fleshed out more and some creativity could have kept things interesting (I will get into this a little later) but has the right amount of content to keep it fun.

You may think you can play things nice and slow since it is completely possible to finish a race in any time you want. However, you will find that the game will be a bit harder if you do that. You see, each race gives you a trophy based on the time taken to finish the level. With that you get three main rewards with the rewards being better based on the trophy. You get a crowd score which is basically xp, allowing you to level up and unlock new skills for your characters. You get some equipment such as amour and items to make fighting easier and you get some coins for the shop. I found out that I didn't really need to use the shop but I cannot deny it would be useful for people who struggle with this sort of game since there is a nasty difficulty spike around the 3rd zone. Also, there is a surprising amount of items available and it does appeal to every fighting type so good job with the creativity there.

Not every level is like this. The game also offers three main challenge types: pole racing, damage, and rage. Pole racing is just touching every pole and getting to the end as fast as possible. Damage is just attacking a really strong enemy and achieving a certain score before the time runs out. Rage is reaching a certain chain of attacks before moving to the next room. The first two types are fun but the latter can be a real pain since one wrong move and you have to start the whole There are a few levels that are unique and only appear once such as a poison round or a round where every hit hurts you. Personally, I would have preferred more of these and less of the rage-attack challenges. It would have kept things a little bit more refreshing rather than having the same thought of "Is this a pole race challenge or a rage challenge".

I think now would be a good time to address my main complaint of the game which is probably the only thing a kid may not like about the game. While you do move from world to world, the enemy types doesn't really change. I would say it's the classic recolour and make a big stronger in most cases. Some have different attack patterns but couldn't a new design hurt? It's a nit-pick sure but this problem gets noticeable the further you progress through the game. This problem also occurs on 50% of the bosses which is disappointing since the rest are all unique and can actually be an entertaining and intense fight. However, the enemy designs we do have work well with the arenas and are always visible so don't expect any cheap deaths from Speed Brawl. I can also forgive it for being a somewhat short game, has I was able to get through every stage in about 8 hours and 20 mins. Whether you think this will annoy will likely depend on how you like the look of the game. If you like it's art style and what something to relax with, then you can easily overlook this.

Summary: For a kid, this is a fun and energetic game which will be great for a tough challenge. For an adult, this will be somewhat fun but you might get tired from the generic story and repetitive arenas. I would stick to the main campaign for that reason.

Rating: 6/10

New Super Mario Bros Wii



I will be the first to admit that I am going to be biased in this review. New Super Mario Bros DS was one of the first games I owned, played, and beat to completetion. I still have with it (manual included) and play on it every now and then for nostalgia purposes. Therefore I will likely praise this a bit too much but I shall try and remain honest in this review of sorts.

Let's start with the similarities between NSMB DS and NSMB Wii. The first main thing you will see is the art style being exactly the same. Obviously the Wii has the better graphics since A) it was released later and B) the Wii is a lot more powerful than the DS. Both do maintain it's colourful world whether it's the vibrant tropical levels or the dark volcano levels. While the themes are shared in both games, the Wii version does a better job at making more fun to explore. It's more colourful and still looks good for the most part despite it being over 12 years old. Now I don't know if this was because I was playing on a large screen or if its the game itself, but in some levels you could see Mario was a bit blurry and some of the horizontal lines in the background. These seem to be the most obvious in the green overworld levels but luckily there aren't too many of these and you only know notice it if you aren't running around the course.

So what about the levels themselves? These are pretty creative with each level feeling unique. Some enemies or gimmicks only appear in one level which is surprising but at the same time interesting has it makes the game a bit less predictable. The difficulty ramped up quite well and the star coins where a nice challenge to get. Sadly, the haunted houses weren't as strange as they usually were. A bit too short and easy for my liking. It might be good for playing the first Mario game but as someone who has played several of them, it's a bit of a let down for me. But every other level was great fun and should be for every sort of a player. I mean Yoshi is in the game...do I need to say more.

Alright I probably should explain the power ups. We have the usual super mushroom, fire flower and invincibility star. But we have 3 other power ups to talk about. The first is the mini mushroom that was from DS game and I'm not really a fan of it. It's too situational and serves as a quick way of getting killed. A penguin suit is a new addition in the Super Mario series. By running and pressing the down button, you can slide across the level. While this is better than the mini mushroom, it's still used in specific areas and may get you killed on some levels. However, the propeller suit is an amazing powerup. You can fly up in the air and slowly glide down allowing you to cover lots of terrain. This is a lot of fun to use so I have no doubt in saying its one of my favourite power ups in the franchise. You can easily go through levels very fast so if you get one from a toad house, save it for when you are struggling.

You may have noticed that there are several things that have been taken from Super Mario Bros 3 and Super Mario World such as the toad houses, the world maps and Yoshi. Well the Koopalings make a return as the bosses of each world. As usual, they aren't too hard but they do have a little twist with the fight which keeps it refreshing. Most of the time its the terrain and it does make you think about what you should do rather than the usual "attack them fast" strategy used in SMB3. I would have preferred to see some new bosses as well but the Koopalings are fine here and the final boss is a lot better than NSMB DS. It's a lot more cinematic and tense.

I'll quickly mention the local multiplayer aspect of the game. It's fine. It is fun but it can be annoying if one of the players run too far and get the other one killed. That's more of a flaw with local play than online play but it still sucks that it happens. I recommend playing it by yourself first before playing it with another player, just so you get the best experience.


Summary: While the NSMB series has become stale, this is still a great platformer which I can appreciate since it was only the 2nd entry in the series. If you have a Wii and want some simple Mario fun, NSMB Wii has you covered.
Rating: 8/10

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