Recent reviews by Deathsythe

Mike Mignola meets Ghost Rider, meets the Weird West, meets Ron Perlman. Very fun little slice of the game. The randomized weapons, items, and map lay out keep things fresh and generally make exploration worthwhile even after the player has already discovered the exit. Mechanically, fighting is excellent. Any familiarity with a twin stick shooter will mostly cover what to expect in terms of controls. It will be interesting to see how the full game builds upon combat encounters.

An interesting experiment in the XCOM series. While it represents a stylistic departure and more streamlined take on the main games, there is a lot to enjoy. The simplified mechanics in certain areas in addition to the surprising length of the campaign may be a bit repetitive by the end, but new abilities and the breach mechanic make up for it. While it is not something I would like XCOM 3 to become, outside of little bits and pieces here and there (breaches and playing with alien squad mates is fantastic), I overall enjoyed my time with the title. Well worth the introductory price of $9.99.

The Park is a pyschological horror game set in the same universe as Funcom's MMO The Secret World. As has been well need pointed out - the game is a brief one and not particular on player agency. The tale on Lorraine and her missing son, Callum, is what is front and center here. Thankfully the story, while not immensely surprsing, is very well told. The use of the tale of Hansel and Gretel as a metaphor to the events in the game is a nice touch that is impressively woven into the imagery of the game.

What little interactivty the game offers comes in the form of Lorraine's voice. By right clicking Lorraine calls out to Callum. This call and response mechanic not only reveals objects to be examined and functions as a guide to the next location, but also gives a window into Lorraine's mental state. The voice acting in this game deserves special mention. What is on offer is very well done.

The Park doesn't offer much. The experience can be had in roughly an hour and there isn't much reason to play again other collecting the two missable achievements or a desire to catch any symbolism that may have been missed the first time around. In honesty, there isn't even much to "play" in the traditional sense. This is an interactive tale the user moves forward - not much more, not much less. That said, The Park is a worthwhile bit of interactive horror and well worth a spin for players looking for something a bit more experimental.

With any luck Funcom churns out more game connected to The Secret World, expermental narrative jaunts like The Park, as well as perhaps some more traditional single player experiences.

There isn’t much to be said about Resident Evil 4 that hasn’t already been beaten into the ground. All these years later it is still one of the most lovingly detailed, polished, and meticulously put together games of all time. Easily Mikami’s best work and undeniably the game that shifted the paradigm of horror games for years following its release (for better or worse). What is lacking in horror is made up for in tense encounters that encourage quick take downs and efficient use of supplies.

The story is pure ham - even by Resident Evil standards. The series may be known for jumping the shark, but Resident Evil 4 takes it to new lengths. A Napoleonic little person, bizarre cults, a giant automaton, and cringe worthy one-liners are just part of what awaits the player. It is all good fun, however, and the game seems as if would be far less without its off kilter humor as well as personality.

Resident Evil 4 itself is a lengthy game, the main story alone shames most anything that comes to mind in terms of variety and content. In addition two scenarios featuring series regular, Ada, as well as the much loved Mercenaries mode round out the offerings, if that was not enough the game offers a slew of unlockables. Even at full price the value proposition is excellent.

The PC version itself feels a bit perfunctory. That said it runs at just any resolution one would expect at a rock solid 60 FPS. In addition the game supports the Xbox 360/One controller without issue. This version of the game is easily a far cry from the original PC port. This reviewer personally experienced no issues with the game. A must have for any fan of the genre or even third person action games in general. Highly recommended.

Halo: Spartan Assault is a fairly entertaining twin-stick shooter. Rather short and not much depth, but given the price point the value proposition certainly isn't bad. An experience system that allows the user to buy uses of weapons and equipment once per mission adds a little wrinkle to the game. Going for gold medals, in game medals, and Spartan Ops adds a little more longevity to the main campaign. The game, while certainly not spectacular, offers an enjoyable bit of diversion.

The Evil Within is perhaps one of the best third person survival horror games in years. The game feels very much like a natural extension of Mikami’s Resident Evil 4, mainly focusing on tense encounters while managing a limited set of resources. Not content to be a simple retread, The Evil Within also goes some way into subverting and challenging many of the conventions set up by Resident Evil 4.

Most strikingly, The Evil Within rarely lets the player feel “safe”. Many of the moves in the game offer little to no invincible frames; the player may be hit out of a stealth kill or trying to burn a downed enemy at almost any time. Gone is the relatively safe pattern of shooting an enemy in the kneecap then running up and suplexing him into his buddies found in Resident Evil 4. Instead the player must use caution in just about every part of a combat situation. This also applies to hit animations; at least once this reviewer was caught in a stun animation from a trap explosion only to fall into a boss’ instant kill move.

The feeling of vulnerability extends to the player’s movement. Whereas Resident Evil 6 may have perfected movement mechanics in terms of player empowerment (perhaps too much so), the Evil Within keeps the player purposefully limited. Sebastian can only sprint in a limited duration, before upgrades, and exhausting his endurance meter leaves him winded and vulnerable. Similarly, there is no dodge mechanic. In addition, melee (before acquiring an unlockable item) is largely unsuitable for kills. This further forces the player to manage encounters in a more thoughtful manner than rolling around and chaining melee combos.

Items tend to be scarce within in the game. Even if the player finds themselves with a surplus through stealth killing their way through a chapter, a particularly rough, or botched, encounter may find them strapped for resources. The Evil Within manages to make missed shots feel painful in a way very few recent games have. This is reinforced by the fact that Sebastian is no crack shot; even fully upgraded his aim has a sway that demands the player slow themselves a bit to ensure each bullet hits its mark. Sebastian also tends to be fragile; making each syringe count. Medkits are also available, in limited supply (the first play through provided perhaps only five or six), but the use of one puts Sebastian in a delirious, defenseless, state.

The Evil Within also delivers atmosphere in spades. The entire game has the feel of an ever shifting nightmare. Horrific traps, a village reminiscent of Resident Evil 4, a homage to the mansion in the original Resident Evil, and bizzarely twisted cityscapes are some of the vistas awaiting the player. Given the constantly changing landscape the player is always given a different set of challenges. The positive side being that if one happened to dislike something in a chapter the chances of seeing it again are slim to none; The Evil Within is rarely in the habit of repeating itself.

The Agony Crossbow is a weapon that deserves special mention. While each weapon in the game looks, sounds, and handles superbly with satisfying gore effects the crossbow brings something special to the equation. Each weapon has a place and fits a roll, the Agony Crossbow, with its selection of bolts, gives the player a multitude of options. If unsure of a situation the crossbow is often the way to go, from setting traps, stunning enemies or simple raw firepower the weapon has an answer even if bolts are painfully limited.

The story may feel a bit disjointed and vague. That said it does feel very intentional. The model viewer, available after beating the game, in particular offers some insight into just what all the creatures happen to be. The player is never spoon-fed anything (no information dumps, bright glowing arrows, or so on). Rather, the feeling of bewilderment seems completely intended. The game mechanics also put quite a bit of faith in the player’s intelligence which is satisfying given the current trend in games. What may have seen like trial and error deaths were likely completely avoidable if one were paying attention; the clues simply weren’t painted in neon.

The game isn’t without issues. It is susceptible to crashes (the ones this reviewer ran into where exclusive to chapters three and four and seemingly random). In addition, pre-patch, the game was limited to thirty frames per second and black bars. During this play through I favored sixty frames per second with the black bars, to play as closely to Mikami’s vision as possible (I also rather liked them after a time). The Evil Within features some rough spots as it clearly did not enjoy the budget or time Mikami had with Resident Evil 4. That said, it is still an excellent survival horror game; perhaps one of the best examples of third person horror in years. Well worth the time and money.

Betrayer amounts to a slow burn ghost story. Any expectation of a high suspense thriller, big set pieces, or even many jump scares should be set aside. Instead, the game focuses on a very deliberate theme of exploration and investigation.

In terms of presentation Betrayer uses a black and white palette with slashes of red and shimmering effects to call attention to objects of interest. An alternate reality may be accessed early on that changes the scenery to an even more bizarre inky version of itself. While there may be complaints about the high contrast or crushed blacks, it is likely a good idea to give the default setting a chance before tinkering with colors or levels. The intended graphical style is an impressive companion for the tale being told.

Similarly, the audio design deserves special credit. The player often hears an enemy or object before they see it. In addition a certain item allows for areas of interest to be "heard" from a distance and zoned in on. This helps to substantially reduce the potential of the game becoming simple meandering.

It quickly becomes apparent that combat itself is not particularly the point of Betrayer. It is often fast and brutal. Stealth tends to lend the greatest rewards and is quite satisfying. Death is only lightly punished (there is an option to make it more severe) making mistakes mostly a nonissue. The enemies, while limited, offer certain unique behaviors though all seem to resort to running straight at the player eventually.

As for the meat of the game - the investigations - they serve mostly as a vehicle to relate the story to the player. The writing paints a rather bleak picture that was compelling to see through to the end. That said, on a mechanical level, investigations left something to be desired. It mostly boils down to finding an object, then taking the item to a npc who tells you about it or an event involving it. There is no ability to make inferences or mistakes. The player is simply lead to an object (via sound) then lead to whom they should speak to about said item (again, via sound).

Another small annoyance is the map. While perfectly serviceable, a game with so much ground to cover would have greatly benefited from an ability to mark points of interest (chests and the like) to return to later. Another weak point is enemy designs. As a whole the creatures in the game simply come off as a bit flat and uninspired.

Overall, Betrayer is a worthwhile experience. If given patience, as well as a proper understanding of just how to play the game, it offers an interesting tale to slowly unravel. It is not without its flaws, but none of them are severe enough to drag the entire experience down.

Painkiller: Hell and Damnation represents a bit of a mixed bag. On one hand this is easily the best entry in the series since the original, on the other it is mired in some bizarre choices. Notably HD is something of a retelling of the first game. Not that anyone should be playing Painkiller for the story, but somehow HD's narrative manages to be even more nonsensically bad than the threadbare excuse found in the first. Utterly listless voice acting doesn’t help the matter. The second, more glaring issue is the omission of some of the best classic levels such a The Town. While available as DLC, to hack the original apart and hide bits of it behind a pay wall is idiotic.

HD features the addition of the Soul Catcher weapon. Despite being shoehorned into the plot, the weapon simply isn’t very fun to use. The primary fire is decent, while the secondary’s soul drain function is tedious at best. The weapon’s big draw, the ability to possess enemies once enough souls have been absorbed, is redundant when you can wipe out entire swaths of demons with a single rocket.

Still, there is plenty of free DLC and the game retains the same classic Painkiller feel and is every bit as fun as it used to be. Co-op modes and multiplayer helps to stretch the experience out despite the truncated campaign's best attempts. This game is only worth the money if one happens to be a fan of the first game, wants to give the new content a go, and manages to catch it on sale.

Tellingly all the best parts featured in this update are the ones left more or less intact from the original version. The new additions, almost uniformly, simply fail to measure up to bar of quality set by the first game. Hopefully the heavily implied sequel this remake sets up does much better. Newcomers to the series would be far better off simply buying the Painkiller Black Edition and simply pretending all the other titles in the series didn't exist.

With an excellent sense of atmosphere and immersion Amnesia manages to be one of the few games that I would consider to be "true" horror. Rather than a shooter with spooky elements or a terror flavored action game Amnesia strips the player of any weapons and forces them to evade or sneak past threats. Throw in that the darkness that would help hide the player is also an enemy in itself and what remains is a unique as well as genuinely scary game. A must buy for any horror fan.