Recent reviews by ventcrawler

If you liked the refreshing and challenging ideas teased and attempted in The Last Jedi, but wish they had been more fully-realized, rather than absolutely squandered, then this is the game for you. It questions and critiques age-old tropes of the series like the hypocrisy and fallibility of the Jedi and the very fabric of the Force itself.

Though it may sound counter-intuitive, the secret to this game's genius is the fact that it was written by legendary games writer Chris Avellone (Planescape- Torment, Fallout: New Vegas), who, when tasked with writing KOTOR II, was admittedly not a huge fan of Star Wars. Now, there’s been a lot of this happening lately where Hollywood hires people who clearly have disinterest in or even disdain for the very franchise they've been tapped to helm, with disastrous results. In Avellone's case, however, his outsider perspective, mixed with some very serious research into every piece of Star Wars media under the sun, and (surprise) his writing ability all lent themselves to making this one of the greatest, most simultaneously critical and loving Star Wars stories ever told, which is certainly in the top tier of the EU and wipes the floor with anything released since Lucas sold the property.

If you ever dreamt of there being a successful and mature deconstruction of Star Wars that did so without showing any hatred or mockery for its own audience, but instead a great amount of faith in them to follow along and grasp themes far darker and more complex than any of the films, including thoise by Lucas, well, what are you waiting for? Ignore the fact that this was notoriously released unfinished, which was once a major issue but no longer. Simply grab the Restored Content mod/patch (which doesn't restore everything originally envisioned, but as much as possible) and enjoy one of the best RPGs and definitely the best Star Wars RPG ever made.

I wish you all the luck, and die like a dog.
Then laugh it off.
I'll be waiting for you with a grin as wide as the truth.

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Graffiti is art. However, graffiti as an act of vandalism is a crime. Every state/province has vandalism laws that apply to graffiti, and local entities such as cities have anti-graffiti ordinances.

Violation of these laws can result in a fine, probation, or a jail sentence.

SEGA does not condone the real life act of vandalism in any form.

NORCO is so painfully "of the moment", both stylistically, themtalically and ideologically that its undeniably enigmatic and successfully executed atmosphere is robbed of a lot of gravitas by its cloyingly pandering hip-ness.

It's a game that feels as if it is becoming dated as you play it and one that will never be called "timeless". It's clearly class-obsessed but is trope-filled, meaning such themes are barely given any of the fair, in-depth thought they deserve outside of surface-level mentions. Probably saddest of all, the much-lauded writing amounts to C-tier work, at best, in the pantheon of amazing PC Game writing. It's perhaps even more hindered out of the gate by all of the hyperbole of so many fawning mainstream reviews, which set up fans of great game writing with inaccurate expectations going in.

If you want a game that makes you feel like a train hopping, DIY show-going, roach-filled microwave-owning, salt of the earth "interesting person" who is surrounded by occult magic and mystery in your tragic family, but is under the thumb of big oil and evil industry, buy this game! If you know shallow, mostly gameplay-free poverty porn visual novels when you see them, then you'll see it in NORCO fast and be sorely disappointed in the missed potential of so many possibly interesting ideas that amount to a mish-mash of "vibes and feels".

Finally, I like point and click adventures and games with experimental attributes, but when simply pointing and clicking IS the entirety of said adventure in a story that more or less tells itself, with little player input or choice, I consider the experiment unsuccessful.

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"Blake is...a lot. An edgelord." -NORCO

I believe it was PC Gamer back in the day that called the mouthful, "Star Wars- Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II", the best game ever made. Regardless of which rag said it, at that time it was in no way absurd hyperbole. FPS games were still young and often considered brainless key fetching and enemy blasting. Jedi Knight was all of that too, but its level design, with an odd dedication to verticality and a liberal use of interlocking, Rube Goldberg-esque platforms, steel beams, etc, made the game stand out and made you feel smart for finally reaching the end of its enormous, often ingenious labyrinths. It didn't hurt that it didn't have a sewer level as heinous as the one in the previous game in the series.

Jedi Knight's level design could easily be cited as a pro or con depending on one's taste. It's all still admittedly labyrinthine, a trait often less than desired in an FPS, bringing to mind hours wasted lost in samey mazes. Jedi Knight is not innocent in this regard and occasionally its dated qualities (though not as numerous as you'd think) will have you "thereisnotry"-ing to the next level. There's no shame in that. However, what is truly impressive is that PC Gamer (or whoever)'s claim that this was the greatest game ever wasn't remotely undeserving hype. A single player epic with smart level design, planet hopping adventure, and FMV cutscenes that (Boc the Twi'lek and Jarek's lip licking aside) were genuinely charming and well done (and not in a "so bad it's good" way. Simply good) and on top of all that, multiplayer?! It was definitely a runner up for best PC Game ever.

Even more impressive than that is that graphics aside (people mock their early 3D cringe but I quite like them), this still could arguably be considered a runner up for the all time greatest crown! II'm not kidding! I suppose one could say that about any horrible game they subjectively enjoy or some game viewed through the thickest of nostalgic lenses. But if you have the patience for an occasional and brief annoying maze bit or poorly signposted next step to take (there's more than a few "leaps of faith" and tight rope walking platforming that should NOT work in an FPS but with Quick Save/Load at the ready, it does!), you will find a true classic here.

To me, I always think of this game and "Thief II: the Metal Age" together. The reason is their utterly huge and utterly intelligent maps and overall quality packages as a whole are some of the best of the 90's. True filet mignons amongst other fun, but unremarkable cuts of beef. Even years later, Dishonored 2's exploration of verticality in its equally clockwork and complex levels owe a ton to Jedi Knight. Again, this is a good or bad thing all depending on your tastes.

Before Jedi Knight, Dark Forces 1 was an undeniably entertaining but flawed Doom clone and after Jedi Knight, the excellent Raven Software would take the story of Kyle Katarn in new directions, but for my money Jedi Knight the1st (aka Dark Forces the 2nd) is a landmark game. Great Star Wars games are not rare but ones that are also simply great games in general are rare indeed.

A must play.

Best game of its generation. Actual gameplay!!! In a AAA game!!!

Arkane have created a reputation for themselves as the studio that has mainly developed spiritual successors to the classic "immersive sims" pioneered by Looking Glass Studios. What they may lack in originality regarding initial game premises or in subtlety regarding their influences, they more than make up for in their execution of said ideas. Their dedication to that original school of thought and all of its attention to detail, emergent possibilities, and immersive game worlds that would later be found in their more successful games, Dishonored and Prey, all began here in their would-be "Ultima Underworld 3", a rather atypical and highly enjoyable fantasy RPG called Arx Fatalis.

A unique, strange, and often clearly imperfect gem of a game is what you will find deep within Arx's cobwebbed caves and haunted tombs, but a reason to stop playing you will not find as easily. Its plot convoluted and its voice acting inconsistent to say the least, this dungeon crawling fantasy experience gets by on the pure satisfaction of what it feels like playing it and the ingenuity of many aspects of its design, especially its occasionally unreliable but now legendary spellcasting system in which you actually draw out your runes in mid-air.

If you can look past its age and some flaws you will find a deeply rewarding and criminally underrated RPG experience in Arx Fatalis that genuinely rivals if not bests most modern games of its ilk.

Only Far Cry that matters.

The long awaited Serious Sam 4 is entirely fun and (mostly) quite funny, with the best and most satisfying gunplay in the series as well as the best monsters yet...

No Sam game will ever match TFE/TSE. But Croteam are an (and repeat after me) INDIE dev with a low budget. With past Sam installments, each new entry had quite a leap in graphical power and technology that mirrored the evolving tech of the times. In 2020, an indie game can NOT look AAA. Now, sure Croteam could have gone full stylized and given the graphics a timeless quality. I agree. But they wanted to do it this way. And the graphics, for me personally, barely matter if a game is fun. Now, allow me to address some of the lazy and uninformed claims people who haven't followed Sam 4's development and in many cases haven't even actually played the game have been making online.

-Firstly, there aren't "lazy re-used Talos Principle assets". Talos used SERIOUS SAM 4 assets! It's the other way around. Due to delays we only happened to see them first in Talos. I in no way fault an indie, 40 man Croatian dev team for finding ways to save money and cleverly re-purpose things. In the Zelda series, Majora's Mask re- used countless identical assets from Ocarina of Time and no one complained or cared. Also, play the original Donkey Kong Country again some time. Every other boss is a palette swap. Mortal Kombat is guilty as well. All still fun, celebrated games that get a pass on this.

-Secondly, the game is not a "more realistic and serious direction betraying the series' funny roots". Save for Serious Sam 2, the series has always had zany cartoonish aliens in very realistic environments. The tech back then just made them SEEM like more cartoony environments. This game is still highly comedic and not grimdark or gritty.

-Thirdly, this game has added objectives and a skill tree to the mix, admittedly inspired by the recent success of Doom 2016 etc. I've seen this criticized. Doom 2016 literally and admittedly copped much of Serious Sam's approach to gameplay. Apparently, Doom can be inspired by Serious Sam but Serious Sam cannot be inspired by Doom. Modernize Sam too much and people want the old school style again. Go full old school and people complain (as reviews have about this very game) that it's outdated and stuck in the past. I've seen people say SS4 sucks because it's too much like SS3. Also seen others say it's too much like SS2. My conclusion is that every SS game is so different and everyone has their own favorite. But you can't have it all. Croteam tried with Sam 4, and mostly I'd say they were successful.

Objectively, this game is around a 7.5 in its current state due to lack of polish (which can EASILY improve over time with patches, not to mention the amazing SS mod scene). Subjectively, however, it's the perfect mix of TFE/TSE vibrant colored enemies/SS2 absurdity/SS3 graphics and realism and I'm having a blast so to this longtime Sam fan it's much more like a 9/10.

You be the judge. But whatever you do, do NOT take a FPS YouTube reviewer's snarky, fashionable, dismissal of a pre-launch early build they were given as gospel. Remember how everyone uses a different past SS entry as an example of how they think a Sam game SHOULD be. Croteam heard all of these complaints for nine years and, like it or not, this is the middle ground mix they came up with that they thought would please people.The fact of the matter is, however, given the reviews I've been seeing, that the Serious Sam series (as always) is still the low budget, weirdo, B-movie, campy, bloody, splatter-fest, self aware, postmodern, simultaneously behind the times and ahead of them, arcade-y, SHMUP bullet hell in FPS form, big, dumb, awesome series that is sadly doomed (pun intended) to continue being misunderstood as an underdog....

Well, this underdog may have fleas and an annoying bark at times but it's FUN. And I like fun dogs! Fleas be damned!

And yes, I'm serious.

This game breeds serial killers. It's disgusting. You'll rot your mind playing games like this. Don't you know people who watch violence become violent themselves? Why do you think they started cutting the violence out of those Road Runner cartoons?