Recent reviews by SamuraiDan

Blake stone is a game that was sadly overlooked in it's time. The swan song of the Wolfenstein 3D engine, it was doomed to obscurity as soon as the game changer known as doom released. fortunately for those of us who choose to go back and judge these games on their own merits instead of technological advancements, it's just so happens to be a wonderful upgrade to ID's maze-like nazi slaughterfest.

In the game you play as the titular Sci-fi secret agent flash-gordon-meets-james-bond extraordinaire Blake Stone, who happens to have some upgrades over his predecessor BJ Blascowitz. the base game has six episodes featuring eleven levels each, two of which are secret, for a grand total of 66 levels. during an episode you can travel back and forth between levels you've previously cleared. I used this feature more than once to go back and resupply on health and ammo and it was a very welcome addition to the formula.

the weapon variety is now slightly enhanced. The first four weapons are merely laser versions of a standard arsenal, though the last two are new additions, one being a super-chaingun and the other being a rocket launcher by any other name. small additions, though welcome ones.

the enemy variety is now off the charts. aliens, soldiers, turrets, mutants, and dozens of variants therein, the visual variety adds a lot to the atmosphere and immersion of the setting. unfortunately gameplay wise it still boils down to either a hitscanner or a projectile enemy, with some melee only enemies thrown in for good measure. it does do better than wolfenstein in that department as well, though, it doesn't save projectile enemies solely for boss fights and uses them freely amongst the roster.

finally, the environments are very detailed and filled out for a game of this style. multiple textures and object decorations are filled to the brim with small details that make wolf3D's brick walls feel amateurish in comparison.

it's a shame that this game released when it did, if it hadn't gotten superseded by doom so fast Blake would probably another in the long like of notable PC protagonists to come fro the 90's. this is truly worthy of it's status as a forgotten classic.

What happens when you put the level design of Half Life, the open interconnected systems of Deus Ex, and the shock humor of South Park into a blender, then sprinkle satisfying gunplay, a dash of inventive weaponry, and enemy variety that spans the gamut from "Regular Guy with Gun" to "Gary Coleman with Gun" to "Zombie Dog"? you get Postal 2, is what happens.

While I admit this game has it's flaws, the sheer charm on display and love for the player emanating from the game is more than enough to help me overlook them. such flaws include: a stretched out third act that should probably have been cut a bit shorter, with one particular three-act level most likely being better off as a two-act. a janky implementation leading to somewhat frequent crashes especially toward the end, some of which happening seemingly at random and others being triggered by nonsense conditions such as using certain weapons in certain levels.

I don't blame the developer for not catching these, though, since the entire world is so interconnected and there's just so many options. an example: if someone catches on fire, they run around. if they touch someone or something, that also catches on fire. if barrels catch on fire, they explode. it's more than possible to cause a chain of explosions using a single flaming human because none of the mechanics are locked away from each other, it *all* interacts. that would be the Deus Ex influence mentioned in the beginning.

The influence of half life isn't apparent at first, what with the game mostly taking place in a semi-open-world town setting, but occasionally you will be railroaded into linear sequences for a half hour or so and these set-pieces, when they're set in industrial or military settings, play out ridiculously similar to valve's seminal classic. there's a bit on sunday especially that feels like it was almost lifted straight from it's inspiration.

and finally, the shock humor of south park. I will freely admit it's more quantity over quality. toy mascots made of human balls, poop in places it really shouldn't be, references to other external media with "funny" renames, it's all very south park-esque. while I don't really find it funny myself (I only laughed during one or two jokes in-game and a handful of the many, many signs) I will be the first to admit that the total cohesion of it all adds to the overall atmosphere of the world. Paradise has a character of it's own, and it sticks to that character with gusto.

overall I can heavily recommend this game to anyone who's not easily offended and can put up with some occasional jank.

Postal Redux is a game that does not rely on shock value, but rather welcomes it as one piece of a much greater whole. Enemy variety, weapon variety, satisfying combat, fun and inventive mechanical interplay such as fire spreading when it touches anything carrying over to when you yourself are on fire, and a core gameplay loop that stays engaging for the entirety of it's hour-long-ish runtime all come together to make a great experience that, were it not for the controversial subject matter, would be fondly remembered as a short but sweet classic by nearly every PC gamer of the 90's.

While the game does have a story, it's in the background and very simplistic. It all just boils down to "The Dude is crazy". it's also very short, clocking in at a little over an hour for a single playthrough, and that's including the extra DLC levels thrown in for free.

as far as being a remake goes, it does everything a good remake should: it leaves everything that isn't broken alone and fixes the stuff that was. the only real controversial change is the new ending, and that's a coin toss as to whether you think that's an improvement. the original postal is thankfully still available with the original ending intact though so I won't hold that against them.

I heavily recommend this game if you can stand playing as an actual psycho who murders innocent people, and you don't mind games with a fairly short runtime.

a lotta people say this game's easy and mindless- I played it on hard, and man, I had to fight for my life. I'm pretty sure my killcount across three attempted playthroughs numbers in well over 2 million.

complaints about this game being repetitive are definitely founded, the combat variety is heavily reliant on recolors and tankier versions of the same enemies and the fact that you never have a reason to use weaker weapons beyond running out of ammo. thankfully it's only ten levels long so it never gets to outstay it's welcome.

nice solid romp through a massive ton of alien carnage. play on medium if you want a fun mindless alien slaying experience and on hard if you want to be reminded that life is the exception and death is the rule.

if you can handle mostly flat levels and crunchy pixel graphics, a difficulty curve that flatlines fairly early on, and some subpar optimization, then everything else about this game is top tier.

beefy weapons, combat variety bleeding out the ears, a variety of maps all themed around different motifs, and even magic spells that come in a ton of different flavors. while none of the enemies are all that standout (most are just your standard melee/hitscan/projectile combination every other retro FPS uses) , there are a few interesting ones and the constant reskinning every five maps helps to keep it feel fresh despite that.

there's even some added replayability with having weapon upgrades that only go one way. one run your double barrel becomes a quad barrel, and the next it's a flak cannon.

also the soundtrack is pretty good, so that's nice.

little bit on the short side, but still definitely worth the asking price.

I wasn't sure what the hype was when I started this game, but I understood by the end. frankly, the biggest criticism I can give is that the campaign feels like it's really starting to understand what makes a good vanquish level- and then it ends.

it certainly doesn't help that the best bits are heavily under-explained. once you do get to grips with the whole package though, the gameplay loop is immensely unique and satisfying. boosting behind an enemy and using slowdown to abuse their otherwise near-impossible to reach weak spot is just fantastic. slowing down time while your enemy is transforming and exposing their weakness for brief seconds feels great.

it's just a shame the game doesn't get more time to expand on these ideas. sure there's challenge mode, but that doesn't add any new enemies or environments. I understand now why so many die-hard fans want a sequel. sometimes a game does everything it can and it's over- this game is not that at all. it's got a lot of life and potential left in the tanks, and a sequel would give it the opportunity it needs to shine.

regardless this is still worth playing as is. not too many other games out there are like it, and it's polished to a mirror sheen. heavily recommended.

how is a free fan game on the same level of quality as most major fighting game releases from the last six years?
the presentation is miles above what the words "free fan game" implies and the combat system takes a lot of obvious inspiration from cross tag battle, which was a good move considering that game was accessible but still had depth.

my only real complaint is that I'm not a big hololive fan, and the few favorites I do have are relegated to being assist characters. I know how much work it is even to make a single fighting game character, so I won't hold it against them much, but I still want playable hoshou, darnit!

since writing this review I spent an hour playing against my friend in thailand, half the world away. the netcode only had hiccups a handful of times, which is basically a modern miracle. go GGPO!

This game is no longer the unity port, and is now on the KEX engine. the new stuff added reaches double digits, including but not limited to: more options, improved UI elements, custom music by andrew hulshult available for the first two dooms, and a brand new level containing new enemies and weapons based on beta sprites. there's even some never before seen beta content in the id vault! plus now you only need to own one doom and you'll have both. an upgrade to the unity port in every way.

this game is basically painkiller and serious sam mixed together, only with half the budget of the original serious sam. the only real problem is how short it is. aside from that, if you like both those games and can handle a bit of jank then this game will entertain you and be worth the price.

this game has become my new favorite game of all time, because it feels like a retro game but plays like a modern one. IGA took everything he's learned making castlevanias over the last couple decades and put all of it into this game. the only flaw I can give is that it relies a bit too much on RNG drops which can make getting 100% completion an absolute chore. that's completely optional though. it's also a bit on the easy side if you're someone who levels up like mad and gets all the best weapon and armor as soon as possible, like me. even the optional challenges aren't really that challenging outside of stuff like boss revenge that you can't just grind and overgear for. that's really all I can think to say that's bad about it, though. everything else is phenomenal.