Tag: Release year: 2020

Black Mesa: Blue Shift – Impressions

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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Desperados III – I want to like you

Boy, I have tried to like this game, but the more I try, the more it pushes me away. Everything in Desperados III except the gameplay design is fantastic – from the visuals and animations to the sound and music. Those aspects are just chef’s kiss, but the gameplay is the antithesis of what I enjoy when gaming. The water to the oil, so to say. 

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Baldur’s Gate 3 – If Michael Bay made an RPG

It’s time to finally review this mastodon of a game after giving it around 150 hours on one-and-a-half playthroughs. For the most part, Baldur’s Gate 3 is a fine addition to the CRPG genre, and Dungeons & Dragons games overall. However, it’s not without issues, and issues it has aplenty. This rest on more than just gameplay and story, unfortunately, since there is a lot of polarizing content in it that takes the form of the current progressive zeitgeist. Your level of tolerance will affect your enjoyment of Baldur’s Gate 3, unless you are a firm believer, and sees this game as some kind of triumph furthering the cause – like mainstream gaming journalists. More on that later.

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XCOM: Chimera Squad – Prepare for Anarchy

Chimera Squad is both a spin-off series of Xcom, and a continuation of the Firaxis Xcom storyline, and overall, I think it’s a great addition to the series, both from a gameplay and story perspective. It’s not without problems, though. While the setting, background lore, and plot of the game are interesting, the characters you play leave much to desire. You see, it suffers from something most modern writing suffers from nowadays – quirky Marvel humor. Yet, it’s tolerable by presenting the story as something serious, it’s just that the tone gets constantly shattered by the quippy and sarcastic characters you are forced to drag along.

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Spider-Man: Miles Morales – The Harlem Show

Spider-Man: Miles Morales is a third-person superhero action game by Insomniac Games. It’s a spin-off/sequel to Spider-Man from 2018. I’m not much of a superhero fan – you could actually say I kinda hate the genre for the most part, but that is thanks to the movies. However, I do enjoy a few of the more grounded heroes when they are not connected to some greater absurd universe. Batman, Spider-man, and The Punisher are some of the few I can read, watch and play without feeling too much disgust. I decided to play this after enjoying the 2018 release, and what can I say? Well, like much modern-made stuff, the writing is absolutely abysmal, and it’s probably the most on-the-nose game I have ever played when it comes to its divisive politics, virtue signaling, and general “wokeness”.

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