Recent reviews by Night Hawk

This is an odd one.

It may seem ironic to recommend a game about wiping out humanity with deadly diseases in the middle of a pandemic, but beneath the surface and the stress-inducing concept, lies a simple game, a simple premise that is not overly complicated nor does it go out of its way to simulate pandemics.

At its core, it's a clicker game with a steep learning curve and randomness thrown in the mix. It's a race against time; a strenuous exercise in patience. The premise of the game, your purpose, is to create a disease that wipes out humanity. Pick a spot in the world, each with their own climates, population, economic strength, optimal means of transmission, etc, and start from there. The world will try to stop you so you must beat it to the punch. That is basically what the game revolves around.

The real appeal of the game, however, is in the progression system. A variety of unlocks that can make each game feel different, easier or even harder. Different pathogen types will impact how you approach your game as both unlocks and pathogen type will have their strengths and weaknesses which add to the tactical depth but also making the game highly replayable and improving the overall experience.

Yes, it can be stressful as you are always up against the time. At higher difficulties you will really feel the tension. You planned meticulously, making the right choices, picking the right upgrades, or so you thought. Then you lose, those pesky humans finding a way to stop you, and more often that not, you end up being the master of your own demise, your choices having backfired yet it's too late to react. Losing is a rather essential part of the game; it's part of the progression.

You may go in with the expectation that you'll create your disease the way you want to, but you find yourself often focusing on survival. It is perfectly possible to 'simulate' the virtual Spanish flu, but your goal is to win. Unforeseen circumstances will have you changing tactics as you go, so you may find it difficult to play the role you wanted, per se. While it can be slightly frustrating, it does add to the realism factor. A double edged knife.

There is multiplayer and co-op modes. I haven't played PvP yet, but I am assuming it is not that much different to co-op, which is rather simplistic, with limited unlocks and no scenarios but it is an enjoyable, on-the-side experience. Destroy the world along with a friend, work together or sabotage each other.

Speaking of scenarios, there's a lot of fun and unique ones. Plenty more in the workshop. It's not all about wiping out the world either. Instead of a literal disease, you can play a scenario in which you spread figurative ones, such as weebism, where the world is transformed into anime-obsessed, manga-consuming, waifu-adoring, brainless weebs.

I shudder at the thought.

At any rate, it is also worth recommending this game at the present time due to an upcoming update which will bring a feature I'd always hoped existed. The one missing thing: Saving the world from the clutches of a pandemic, allowing you save the world not just destroy it. A fitting addition that perfectly reflects the current situation of the world.

Give it a shot.

A charming, light management game based on the many fantastic myths of ancient Greece.

Despite how simple and straightforward the game is, the management aspects have a degree of depth to them. There are various scenarios that present different challenges, with some light story elements. There are also sandbox maps to play to heart's content.

If I had describe the city building in this game with a single word, it would have to be *tranquil*. It's quite enjoyable designing, building and managing your ancient Greek city adorned with pillars, gardens, statues and magnificent temples dedicated to the various Gods of Greece. The game is quite eye-catching despite its age; a testament to the power of the cartoon-ish and light-hearted themes used to create it. That said, the game isn't completely stress-free, as expected of any management game. It can get challanging and even frustrating at times. The Gods of Greece can be a real pain in the face sometimes... which is actually in-line with the myths of old (I'm looking at you Poseidon).

The main negative thing to point out is the repetitive nature of the game. But I suppose that's true of all management games; both a positive and a negative, a double-edged knife of sorts. Also on that point, the voice lines and sound effects are repetitive and annoying. It's alright for the first 20 minutes or so, but you're probably better off muting the game entirely.

Overall it's a very solid game that's hard not to recommend if you're into management games, or themes of ancient Greece and wanted something that's a bit on the lighter side. Something that doesn't take itself too seriously.

P.S. could someone please find that guy's spear? How can he be a spear carrier without a spear? He's still looking for it.

73 hours in and I still can't beat the AI on easy difficulty.

Edit: 173 hrs later: I can now defeat easy AI.

Wow, this game blew me out the ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ airlock.

Why is Isolation so good, you ask? An answer, I have. Read on…

I don’t like doing technical reviews. If you are looking for a technical one, there’s more in-depth and professional reviews on the web and here on Steam. Consider this a recommendation or a “personal evaluation”, if you'd like.

Also, I’m a big fan of Alien and Aliens, possibly one of the first films I ever watched as a child (bad parenting, I guess). Therefore, I maybe a little biased in my views. I pre-ordered the god-awful Aliens: Derp Marines on a whim just because I love the classic so much. Same story for Alien: Isolation, except this time I literally had no expectations. I had no expectations because Derp Marines was so bad it made me delete the “expectation” process from my brain. Yes, I had no expectations for Isolation, but I knew I wasn’t going to be disappointed.

With that being said, here’s why I think Isolation is so good and disappoint-proof:

Authenticity… (Did I spell that right?). Isolation is authentic. I repeated that word a 100 times over by now to everyone who’s ever asked me what I think of Alien: Isolation. The devs have put a lot of visible effort into this game to make it feel, look and sound just like the brilliant 1979 sci-fi film. Hell, they even brought the old crew to do some VA for Isolation, including Sigourney Weaver. Damn it was good hearing her do Ripley again…

drools…
drools some more.
Done.

Everything is so lovingly crafted to maintain that authenticity throughout the entire game. So much so that at times you will get nostalgic, as if you’ve “been there, done that”. Nothing has been left out, no corners were cut. The Alien, environments, lighting, effects, ultra-realistic futuristic DOS and CRT monitors – all of it. A fantastic recreation of the classic that captures the very essence of Ridley Scots gem to the point where you’d think he directed it.

It’s picture-perfect.

Why did they bother, you ask? Good question. Here’s a cookie.

Devs know their audience. They’re not making CoD or Battlefield. They’re not making another Slenderman clone. They’re making the game many of us have wanted for decades. What we all knew could be done but no one was brave enough to do. CA took up the challenge, and boy, did they do a bang up job. By doing so they managed to keep the game terrifying, engaging, immersive, and what I would like to call “personal”. You are hunted by a nigh indestructible enemy, and you will die. Many times.

It’s about survival. It’s about instinct.

Yea, but like why?

Already answered that question. Pay attention.

IGNorant rated this 5.9 so it must suck! Right?

No, it’s just one opinion. Those who have negative views on Isolation make some good points. However, it’s nothing that I personally see as a major flaw or anything that could distract you from what the game does very well.

Sigh… some technicality follows: There’s a good level of suspense early on in the game. You will meet your demise, but it will take time. It might feel sluggish a bit -you’re left wondering when the Alien’s showing up? I found myself lost quite a few times looking for that switch yada yada. Game doesn’t really hold your hand and tell you everything you need to know. And you aren’t really exactly always totally alone. Honestly, I can understand why some wouldn’t like how the game starts off. To top it off, the A.I does some pretty dumb and idiotic things. Gives me the creeps. All of this can lead to frustration, unfortunately.

Finally, the devs added a really nice twist to saving your game. Needless to say I’ve never been this afraid of having to save my game (damn you CA. Damn you!!!).

Important Q: Can you make babies with the Alien?

No, you cannot. Why would you want to anyway, you freak.

Tl;dr

I think Alein is a pretty cool guy. Eh kills people and doesn’t afraid of anything.

Doesn't afraid of anything indeed.

The epitome of artistic game design. The combination of visuals, graphics, artistic feel and look of the game is just astonishing. The first game to do parkour and freerunning any real justice, ME shows you what it's like to be that guy/or girl without having to leave your damn seat. DICE really nailed it but while as an idea it seems to work great, in practice a parkour game would be quite lacking in terms of content. And that is the main issue with the game: not enough content. Yes, there are speedruns to keep you playing and compete against other players worldwide but that does not really add any realistic level of playtime to the game. Most people won’t even bother.

If DICE had more time to tinker with the game, other notable examples to get ideas from (absolutely none at the time) or maybe more resources to work with, we could have possibly seen a much bigger game with a larger player base (that’s not to say that it was an experimental game, not at all). That perhaps explains why ME was not a major financial success, but still the most loved underrated game of all time.

Everyone wanted a sequel, even those that logged like no more than 10 minutes into the game thought it’s cool and deserves a sequel. We are getting the sequel and it looks very promising so far. In my opinion, all that DICE needs to do to make sure that ME2 is a huge financial success is add more content, keep the feel and look of the game and improve it further.

DICE’s work has always been inspiring and Mirror’s Edge is no different. The addition of combat and the constant feeling of “I have to keep running to evade the highly trained ninja monkey special forces that are after me for no apparent reason (IHKREHTNMSFAMNAR)“ adds a sense of danger and foreboding to the game. It’s parkour as it should be.

Parkour is cool and everyone knows it. If you haven’t yet played the game, you owe it to yourself to do so.

Just don’t go and play it with the Oculus Rift, especially not if you’re afraid of heights.

You have been warned….

This little gem is heavily inspired by James Cameron's 1986 cult-classic 'Aliens'. So if you grew up in the 80s or 90s and you're feeling a little nostalgic.... you should definitely give it a try. It's free so you've got nothing to lose.

"We'd better get back, 'cause it'll be dark soon, and they mostly come at night... mostly."