Black Mesa: Blue Shift – Impressions

Prepare that flashlight, since there will be dark corridors ahead

I decided to try the Black Mesa: Blue Shift mod for Black Mesa to sate my current Half-life addiction. While it’s more of the fantastic Half-life universe and does satisfy some of the cravings, it has a couple of issues. Blue Shift is a remake of the expansion Blue Shift made by Gearbox for Half-life. I never played the expansion back in the day, so I don’t know much about it, but from what I have read, the mod is supposed to be a pretty faithful recreation. Otherwise, you might think; what would be the point? Anyway, much like Black Mesa, which itself is a remake of Half-life, the quality of the work here is substantial, and matches the same level of dedication. However, while the work by itself is impressive, I can’t say I enjoyed the gameplay all the way through. I should also mention that the mod is not finished. Only the four first chapters are complete, while missing the final four.

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Crysis – Living Nomad

After 17 years, I can finally run Crysis on the highest setting. Rejoice! Jokes aside, it’s actually still a fairly demanding game, as I got a few dips and crashes near the end when a billion things tried to kill me and each other at the same time. However, it’s a game that still impresses, considering its age, with how modern it feels – filled with tech that is not so common nowadays. For example, the incredible physics and the AI for the enemy. Another big plus is that it was made for PC, which comes through with its easy and smooth controls (remember using Q & E for leaning?). A few things are missing, like the option of making crouching a toggle. It would have made life a little easier, seeing how much crab-walking you will do to avoid detection. Then we have the story.

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Abathor – Demo Impressions

As typically when it comes to demos, I stumbled over Abathor by pure chance, and once again, I’m glad that I did. Abathor is a cooperative action side-scroller, where you must slaughter strange foes in the masses. It has the typical tropes of these kinds of games that they are expected to contain, and overall, executes them well. Everything from the combat, finding secrets, big bosses, to the platforming.

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Hollowbody – Demo Impressions

Hollowbody is a futuristic dystopian take on the survival horror genre that takes place in England (I think). While the atmosphere sure is there with everything being gray and decayed, it hit me that some parts of the poorer areas of the British Isles already look like that. If it wasn’t for the shambling undead, it could have been set in our times! Jokes aside, the atmosphere is tight, and can probably be best compared to Silent Hill 4: The Room. It has the same kind of depressive aesthetics of a rotting urban sprawl of concrete and crushed dreams. A similar area that I myself have lived in once, so certain stuff hits close to home and makes things just a little more unsettling. I like.

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Star Wars: Republic Commando – Are you clone enough?

Welcome to the Republic soldier! It seems your clone is a step above the rest. Don’t ask me to explain it, considering you are all clones of the same guy, but anyway. You will be part of Delta Squad. A super heavy commando unit, equipped for anything, both mentally, and equipment-wise. So, suit up and join the rest of your team! If you always wanted to terminate droids and Trandoshans with extreme prejudice, install Star Wars: Republic Commando now, because this is what you will be doing for the next ten hours – in fairly entertaining ways, must be added.

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