Recent reviews by eelman

me likey

Greatest game I have ever played 10/10https://steamproxy.net/steamstore/app/397740/Hylics/#

This game is surreal, full of character, and has a very unique feel to it. It may be just a point-and-click adventure, but it feels good, plays good, provides interesting puzzles and feels involving. Almost every aspect feels alive - quite fitting, seeing as the whole game is set either on a tree or under it. The soundtrack feels warm and alive, and this game will definitely deliver a very cosy experience.

And if you were going to write this off as a cutesy kid's game, there are aspects in this game which may surprise you.

I have been waiting for this game since it was first announced. I was so excited for it to come out. But this game is unplayable.
I know my computer isn't the most reliable in the world, but it has worked pretty well and was able to handle other games such as the Isle, but this game is the bane of my computer. Even on the lowest graphic settings, it's unplayable. Even when I made the resolution as low as possible, it still unplayable. It doesn't even reach 3 fps. The camera sensitivity is absurdly high, the slightest nudge to my mouse and the camera flies into the ground. The camera blur is sickenly high, and even when the game eventually loads, with the gameplay sounds playing in the background, even when your little dinosaur loads and you can play it, the screen takes an extra 10 minutes just to get rid of the loading screen. And when the game crashes, it crashes HARD. It's crashed twice, and both times nearly broke my computer. The screen would go completely blue (not quite the bluescreenofdeath blue, but unsettling nonetheless) and I would have to manually turn it off and on again by holding down the off button until it makes a disturbingly loud click sound. And the delay in the gameplay is atrocious. And I know I can't speak for everyone on these issues, but they have made this game a nightmare to play.
The graphics may be beautiful, but when the issues are that bad, there's not really any defense.
I had such high hopes, but until this game is fixed, I cannot recommend it.

Having played the Half Life franchise, I have to say that it mostly deserves the high praise that it receives. None of the games are perfect, but they are a hell of a lot better than most other games I've played, which is why it has hijacked my account as the only things I play nowadays. And, having played the Half Life franchise and having played Black Mesa, I can say that Black Mesa is easily my favourite Half Life game.

But Black Mesa is just a remake of the original Half Life. Black Mesa isn't even made by Valve, it was made independently, and though it did gain the support of Valve it was developed from a mod made by indie developers to try and bring the first game up to date. How could I enjoy it more than even Half Life 2, which is considered to be one of the (if not the definitive) greatest FPS games of all time?

Black Mesa delivers all my favourite aspects of the original game and Half Life 2. I enjoyed the original Half Life for its level design, its concept, its creature design and its variety of weapons that each provide slightly different strategies, but I didn't like the pacing of the game, I found it a bit slow, and though I thoroughly enjoyed it first time playing it, on replays of the game I found it tedious in places. I also wish it was a little more detailed, and I know that with the technology they had at the time, it wasn't easy to provide strong detailing, but I found some areas boring, with plain walls and simplistic rooms.

I also enjoyed Half Life 2, the pacing was better, it brought interesting new gameplay methods, and of course the graphics were a lot better, which allowed greater detail to be put into the levels. But I was frustrated with how repetitive it got. The Combine were boring enemies, and the weapons were also boring, with little variety. In the original there was a lot more, and each one was different, with a different use. In Half Life 2, there are a lot less, and the weapons seem to be all too similar. The only interesting weapon was the gravity gun. Each chapter was also the same - go to an area, fight Combine, destroy Combine aircraft, move on. The only break we got was with the Ravenholm chapter, and even that ended with a Combine shootout. And the enemies lacked variety - Combine with gun, Combine with a different gun, Combine with another different gun, Combine with a fancy gun, helicopter, alien helicopter, zombie, fast zombie, fat zombie, insect, bigger insect. That's it. Combine Soldiers, aircraft, zombies and antlions. All the variety in the aliens from the original are gone.

With Black Mesa, it delivers the original Half Life with all the pros of Half Life 2. It keeps the variety of enemies, weapons, levels and strategy, but takes the pace and detail of Half Life 2. The graphics are definitely better than in Half Life 2, and even though the game isn't complete, with Xen being absent, it still manages to end the last chapter, Lambda Core, on a cliffhanger.

Another thing that I can't forget is the soundtrack. I know it's a change from the electronic soundtrack of the original franchise but it's absolutely breathtaking, Joel Nielsen did a fantastic job on it, and it makes the whole experience feel more epic.

10/10 would waste life on again.

This game is fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. Despite its simple graphics, the game is visually stunning, with some backdrops looking intensely gorgeous. The dialogue is well written, the game mechanics are fascinating, and the story is simple, yet satisfying.
It's a simple revenge story, but with a hint of mystery thrown in. I won't spoil the ending, as you need to play it to fully understand this, but once it's finally over, it's overwhelmingly satisfying.
The freeroam aspect of this game is also great - you can kill pretty much whoever you want (with very few exceptions), do whatever you want, help whoever you want, fight whoever you want, and you can even play card games in one of the two saloons.
This game is also full of references and easter eggs, as well as another hidden little story about a certain group of bandits that doesn't affect the story, but adds another layer of depth to this game.
There are very few problems, but I guess I should mention them. The combat system can be a little annoying to new players, and it can sometimes seem a little unfair. However, once you've mastered the gunfighting system, it's pretty straightforward - draw weapon, ♥♥♥♥ weapon, shoot weapon, reload - and it does add a little more accuracy to this game (which to be fair isn't very outlandish to begin with).
Do I recommend this game? Yes. This game is absolutely fantastic, and definitely deserves to be played.

It's a good game, but be prepared to die infinitely before you achieve much.

I'm only 2 hours in, but I already love this game. The detailing of Castle Brennenberg is amazing, the voicework is fantastic and the ambience is suitably unsettling. But as well as all that, the interaction with this game is awesome! You can pick up various objects, you can rotate them, drag them, throw them, push them, and use them to break glass cabinets. It's just generally a very nice addition to an already phenomenal game. Do I recommend? Hell yeah!

That ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ (or ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥, I guess) Mangle creeps around, and while I'm distracted, the ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ T-pose machine teleports to me when I least expect it and devours my face.

10/10 Would press esc again.

You can send a divebombing pterosaur to attack your opponents. You can punch a tyrannosaurus rex to death with magic fists of patriotic fury. You can insta-kill by throwing a goat. You can play as a protoceratops with a gun on your back. You can become a suicide-bomber Compy. 10/10 Best dinosaur game I've ever played.