Recent reviews by Arwindan

An open world FPS game with survival horror and RPG elements. The story takes place in the "Zone" the area around the nuclear power plant of Chernobyl, where a second disaster has taken place. The place is filled with mutants and diferrent factions which fight for control of the Zone. The atmosphere of the game is great which helps a lot with the immersion. It's not really scary but it can make you feel uneasy and anxious sometimes. The shooting mechanism is pretty good as is the trading one. You can buy items with money or trade stuff you don't need for them.

The graphics are good enough for a game of 2007, but the game is suffering from a lot of bugs. If you inted to play it you should download the Complete Mod which fixes the game's problems and improves the graphics, A.I. and more.

90%

Eidos Montreal had all the experience they needed for developing Thief through the making of Deus Ex: Human Revolution. Although the new Thief was a bit harder to create since the last game of the series was released in 2004 and they had to keep the new game's atmosphere as close to the older ones as possible.

Starting with the story it's not what you will remember after you have finished Thief. You will be expecting most of the plot twists and towards the end the story seems a bit far fetched. The City is divided in different areas or districts. The problem is that those districts are divided into smaller areas as well so there are frequent loading screens. Also the city offers an illusion of an open-world environment but the truth is that you can't go everywhere you want to. But even in a smaller area there are many paths you can follow to your destination whether it is on the rooftops or the roads.

The biggest problem of the game is it's AI. It may be easy for enemies to spot you but it is really easy to escape and hide. Just hiding in some shadows or climbing on a roof does the trick. Also their reactions to noises, torches of fires going off or when finding bodies are really bad. They may look around for a while and then go on with their patrols as if nothing happened.

Leaving the games problems behind, the stealth mechanisms are really great. Garrett has a lot of tools and his trusted bow at his disposal which he can use to avoid his enemies or dispose of them. The City is filled with loot to steal and a lot of them (especially unique loot and collectibles) are really hard to find so that offers a good challenge. You will have to find safe combinations, secret passages behind bookcases and items hidden behind paintings. Sneaking around the city and searching every corner and every house for loot is really fun.

If it's hard for you to find loot you can use the Focus ability which highlights objects you can take or use and enemies. The thing is that Focus makes the game a lot easier so try to avoid using it as much as you can. Garret's abilities can be upgraded by buying (or findind) Focus points and you can also buy new tools or equipment upgrades from merchants around the city.

The game's graphics are great. Especially the character's faces which are really epxressive. The animations are smooth. As for the music, it gets a little annoying at times. For example when you are trying to sneak around somewhere and you hear music pounding in your ears. The voice-acting is good as well with Garrett's voice standing out.

If the bad AI is not a really big problem for you then Thief can give you a really great time. There are a lot of secrets to discover and finding them using Thief's stealth mechanincs is a real pleasure.

75%

DLC Quest is a satire to the video games industry and it's practices. Especially off course the constant DLC releases. Starting the game you can only move to the right and you have to buy DLCs for everything including jumping, weapons, horse armor (Oblivion anyone?) etc. Keep in mind that you buy those with in game money.
The game includes two campaigns but don't expect them to last too long. Both of them are pretty small but still you can have a good time playing them. There are many fanny moments and playing through the game you will recognize a lot of references to other games.

Being an indie game don't expect great graphics or sound effects. On the other hand the controls are pretty simple which is something that suits the game a lot. DLC Quest is mainly a platformer and you will spend the whole time jumping to platforms and avoiding traps, but there aren't any enemies at all.

So in conclusion DLC quest is a game that will give you a few hours of fun and laughts and that's it.

80%

After playing Drakesang for 57 hours i can pretty much say that it reminded me of old-school RPG legends such a Baldur's Gate.
You play the game with a party of four characters and the Real Time with Pause system is the one used during battles. This system allows for more strategic battles and lets you organize your team and the skills to use.
The storyline is quite interesting but i felt that it could be presented in a better way. But what the main story may fail to deliver all the other things of the Drakesang universe you can find out make up for. The world has a history and it's really interesting to discover bits and pieces of it all over. Also there's really not any character progression regarding their personalities. At the end of your adventure you and your companions will be exactly the same persons as you were at the beginning.
The game is hard but that makes the battles really interesting and fun. You have to use diferrent skills, spells and items if you want to make it. What i really liked is the leveling system because it allows you to use your experience points in order to improve your skills whenever you want to. So if you feel like it you can wait until later to use them when you will be more certain about what type of characters you want to build.
Keeping in mind that the game was released in 2009 the graphics are pretty good. As for the soundtrack i can't say i really noticed it.
I strongly recommend Drakesang to all the old-school party based RPG lovers. I'm sure you will have a good time playing it.
85%