Crysis: Warhead – Going Psycho

More tropical island fun in Crysis: Warhead can’t be a bad thing, right? Well, probably not, but it can be somewhat of a disappointing experience if the fundamentals of the game change too much. See, Crysis: Warhead is more of the same, but they dropped the more simulated and highly immersive feel of Crysis, for a more “high-octane” action adventure with guns. The problem with this is that there are just too many scripted moments and an overload of on-rails vehicle chases. Hope you like turret segments! They also ditched the immersive aspect of keeping you in first-person all the time, even for the cutscenes. Now, the game constantly jumps in and out of your body and displays the scenes in very awkward third-person acting.

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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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AFTER WAR & PATIENT ZERO (more Half-life videos)

After going through a few more videos, here are two more short films (and one bonus) made by fans set in the excellent Half-Life universe. Both are excellent, but very different in execution. I would even argue that one of them is more on the artistic spectrum, while the other is direct in what it set out to depict – a brutal combat scenario between the resistance and the Combine foot soldiers. Enough of me babble, let’s get into it.

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LZ – Sparrow

Got into the mood for some Half-Life action, since the universe Valve created is cool and fascinating – especially from a military sci-fi viewpoint. It also has clear horror elements sprinkled on top, when you consider the zombies, mind sucking aliens and general despair of humanity being on the brink of extermination. Everything to make it as fun as possible in what I would call a good time all around. Well, unless you are one of the characters stuck in this world, like the soldiers in LZ – Sparrow.

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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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