The lack of Stealth in a Vampire game…

I have been trying out the newly released RPG The Blood of Dawnwalker, and the lack of any kind of stealth in this game is an incredibly missed opportunity that would have added an excellent thematic gameplay mechanic. Instead, if it’s scripted not to do so, you will have to fight your way in or out of a situation every time.

While this is clearly a skill issue from my part, I find the combat incredibly awkward. This is mostly due to a spastic camera and the brutal action‑based combat, where you are supposed to block, dodge, and kill multiple opponents on a regular basis. And well, it’s just too hard for an old fella like me, yet I can play Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord without trouble using manual blocks. I’m not sure what is going on here, outside of having a difficult time focusing on what’s happening in a skirmish, visually. Anyhow…

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Mourning the Loss of An Era

I wasn’t too invested at the time, as I essentially skipped the sixth generation of consoles when those were the state of the art in gaming. I did know about them, of course, and I did play on them occasionally, over at friends or perhaps borrowing a console. But when the seventh and eighth generation came around, I was intrigued, and eventually got an Xbox 360 and a PlayStation 4—to once again join the console community with my own machine.

Now, consoles have been part of me since earlier on too, but I feel those generations are more abstract, even if one knew about the eternal battle between Sega and Nintendo. The seventh and partly eighth generation made it feel more like a real thing, as suddenly keeping the games around even when completed had value in itself. The point I want to make: from being a magical backdrop when I was a kid, to something more tangible, purchased with my own money—consoles have always been there, regardless of where I was in life. But all that is coming to an end…

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007 First Light – An Update of Despair

I’m actually taken aback a little by how I feel about 007 First Light, and usually I’m pretty lenient towards these movie‑type games. Let’s just say if the story and the presentation dazzle me (jingle keys!) with a semi-competent gameplay loop, I’m essentially sold. So, while 007 First Light sure has the presentation down, and most of the moment-to-moment action gameplay—I’m having a serious issue motivating myself to continue Bond’s adventure.

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Grey Goo – I Got Gooed

I was playing Grey Goo, thinking that this game is pretty good—not great but very entertaining. Casually planning out my review, perhaps as a forgotten RTS gem… but then it happened. I reached part three of the campaign, when the game jumps from one group to another—to the actual Grey Goo faction. And oh boy. The game is separated by three factions, with two of the factions being fairly grounded in some kind of abstract sci-fi terms—the Grey Goo group, however. It’s like a meme coming alive, as you literally play as an undefined, boring gelatinous mass of sludge with horrible gameplay mechanics.

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