Game Reviews

[caraig]

So, thought I would distract myself and give you some good old fashioned shorty game reviews. There aren't many spoilers here, I think.

First up, Portal. This is probably one of the most enjoyable first-person games I've played in a while. No combat (well, not really), no guns whipped here and there, just good old fashioned puzzle solving. And one of the most fun and best-written mad computers I've ever seen. Plus, the gun turrets are absolutely adorable. Yes, the turrets are. They have this sweet little innocent voice even when they're trying to kill you.

Next, F.E.A.R. - Extraction Point. A sequel/expansion pack to F.E.A.R. from about a year ago, Extraction Point is you getting out of the mess left behind in the first game. It still has creepy twitchy moments, but it's actually much better than the first. Plus, it has a really very nice climax, if a bit cryptic. It's unfortunately very linear.

Then, in contrast, we have Clive Barker's Jericho. Where F.E.A.R. is terror, Jericho is horror, and it makes no bones about it. There's a lot of blood and gore, there's pretty horrific creatures and beasts. At the same time, it's not scary, so I can play it at night. It also has an intriguing storyline, based off of oddball interpretations of Gnostic and Kabbalistic beliefs. (So yeah, it caught my attention.) Still, this is an extremely mature game in that there's a lot of cussing, a lot of crappy humor, and a lot of blood and gore. But that's Clive Barker for you. It reminds me a bit of Prey. It is extremely linear, though, which is a downside.

Half Life 2: Episode 2. Continued excellent writing, characters with depth, and an intriguing storyline, it nevertheless left me kind of cold. It was more of the same. Maybe Episode 3 will be different -- at least, it should be, considering what's happening in it. The Source engine, while excellent, is starting to show some signs of age, though.

So, what games have you been playing lately?

Comments

[yotogi.livejournal.com]

I didn't care for Extraction Point at all, really. Super short, no plot to speak of, eliminating supporting characters for absolutely no reason, and the extraction premise was like self-parody: that guy must have a crippling fear of helicopters at this point.

[caraig.livejournal.com]

That's true, it was pretty short. I guess I overlooked that. Once I got the minigun, my lack of fear for the baddies kind of evaporated, for some reason....

But yes, it was very short. And I really have no inclination to play Perseus Mandate.