Hell is Us – Demo Impressions

This is a wild one. I downloaded the Hell is Us demo on a whim, and I’m really glad I did. At the most basic, you can say it’s some kind of Dark Souls-lite, at least regarding the fighting. What makes Hell is Us more than it looks is the very mysterious setting that I can best describe as something between the books Roadside Picnic, and the Southern Reach Trilogy. I found the atmosphere thick and weird, with a dark, foreboding tone that engulfs the whole experience in this strange land.

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Cyber Knights: Flashpoint – Impressions (semi-review)

Now, after spending about 30 hours in the deadly cyberpunk world of Cyber Knights: Flashpoint, I’m ready to write some impressions. I would rather do a full-blooded review, per usual, but the game is not complete, even after being released as 1.0. Call me autistic, but I think this should mean something, especially in this world of gaming when dubious Early Access releases are very common. I’m not calling Cyber Knights: Flashpoint “dubious”, far from it. Yet, it doesn’t change the fact that it was released unfinished, as I will show in screenshots after the jump. Other than that, it’s a good title for anyone who enjoys X-com-like games.

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Crysis 2: Remastered – New York Vacation

I was going to review the normal edition of Crysis 2, but as luck will have it, Humble Bundle had an awesome bundle filled with first-person sci-fi shooters for a really low price. The bundle included Crysis 2 Remastered, so, here we are. The major difference is the visuals, as everything else (at least from what I can remember) is exactly the same. Even the annoying tutorial messages that never let up. Yes, I know I can look around a corner with the left mouse-button, game! However, I have to say now already, with the new graphic rendering, Crysis 2 looks absolutely stunning.

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[Book Tip] Command & Conquer: Tiberium Wars by Keith R.A. DeCandido

Command & Conquer: Tiberium is a weird one. It was released at the same time as the third Command & Conquer game that goes under the same name. It’s a retelling of the GDI campaign, but in book format. However, the approach it takes is perhaps not what you’d expect. It goes into great detail explaining the life and politics of the average GDI citizen, with a small excursion into the minds of a few NOD members. Don’t worry, there are segments of battles too, but in general, the war is taking a backseat to world-building and the development of the main characters.

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Chains of Freedom – Liquid Loyalty

When I tried the demo back in February this year, I was pleasantly surprised. I expected nothing, yet got an interesting experience for my time downloading. Now, the transition from demo to full game does not always go smoothly, but I’m glad to say that the gameplay is exactly the same in the 1.0 release. The story also progresses as expected, and this could be considered good for almost every game, which is it in this case too. However, Chains of Freedom remains the same to its detriment, seeing as what you get in the demo, is what’s on the menu for the whole campaign.

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