If you're desensitized to extreme violence and gore... or if you just get a kick out of it, you'll probably be able to appreciate what this game has to offer.

This game is about murdering a bunch of people because someone on the phone is vaguely telling you to. The story evolves beyond that, but it still seems like a mess and doesn't make you feel any better about what you're doing. And if you don't find all the secrets, you won't get the "true" ending. Instead you'll get an ending where two completely bogus sounding characters spout dialog that only makes you want to shoot them. The story pieces you along with atmosphere, but I didn't get a good sense of what the writer was trying to tell. Maybe that's not the point.

For people just looking for a very good action gameplay experience, this is the game. It's gritty, fast, doesn't hold your hand and doesn't forgive. There is no quicksave in between levels, and when you get shot, you go down. Same with the enemies. I can't tell you how much of a blessing that is. So many games these days give everything a ton of hitpoints, which I think breaks the immersion and flow of the game.

As unforgiving as it is, this game doesn't punish you for failing (like all those NES games did back in the day). The levels are floors in buildings, and once you clear a floor, you can go onto the next level with a fresh checkpoint at the start of that. When you die, just hit R and you IMMEDIATELY respawn at the start of that floor. This makes it so you can't do save/load cheating, but you don't really want to either. It promotes using different strategies and experimenting with weapons, timing, etc.

This is a fantastic GAME, even if I wasn't as fond of the story. When I want story, I'll watch a movie.

Also, the music is perfect.

If you're desensitized to extreme violence and gore... or if you just get a kick out of it, you'll probably be able to appreciate what this game has to offer. This game is about murdering a bunch of people because someone on the phone is vaguely telling you to. The story evolves beyond that, but it still seems like a mess and doesn't make you feel any better about what you're doing. And if you don't find all the secrets, you won't get the "true" ending. Instead you'll get an ending where two completely bogus sounding characters spout dialog that only makes you want to shoot them. The story pieces you along with atmosphere, but I didn't get a good sense of what the writer was trying to tell. Maybe that's not the point. For people just looking for a very good action gameplay experience, this is the game. It's gritty, fast, doesn't hold your hand and doesn't forgive. There is no quicksave in between levels, and when you get shot, you go down. Same with the enemies. I can't tell you how much of a blessing that is. So many games these days give everything a ton of hitpoints, which I think breaks the immersion and flow of the game. As unforgiving as it is, this game doesn't punish you for failing (like all those NES games did back in the day). The levels are floors in buildings, and once you clear a floor, you can go onto the next level with a fresh checkpoint at the start of that. When you die, just hit R and you IMMEDIATELY respawn at the start of that floor. This makes it so you can't do save/load cheating, but you don't really want to either. It promotes using different strategies and experimenting with weapons, timing, etc. This is a fantastic GAME, even if I wasn't as fond of the story. When I want story, I'll watch a movie. Also, the music is perfect.