Game #874: The Evil Within(Playstation 4)

 Slightly buggier than I remember... 

 The Evil Within is one of my favorite survival horror games of all time. Back when I played it, it felt like Resident Evil 4's real sequel, and I loved how it merged Resident Evil's gameplay with a more Silent Hill-ish brand of horror. On this second playthrough I'm willing to admit that they didn't quite nail SH's horror, but it's still really good.

 Since I was replaying this game, I opted for the easiest difficulty setting, and I think it was quite alright. Ammo is still a bit scarce, which will force you to juggle your weapons, but the game isn't overly hard. That said, I think that the game is a bit too nasty with bosses and their one-hit kills. Pretty much every big boss has at least one way of killing you if they touch you, which feels a bit unfair. The environment too is filled with traps, some that could kill you if they touch you, but they weren't too bad. The issue with one-hit kills is that the game must load again after you die, and sitting through loading screens is the worst punishment out there. Luckily, the game loads much, much faster on PS4 than on PS3, which made dying so much bit more palatable.

 The PS4 version looks pretty similar to the PS3 port, but it has an entirely different lightning system. Your mileage may vary on this, I saw some comparisons in Youtube, and I think I liked the more artificial lightning on the previous-gen ports, rather than the one in this game. On the other hand, I had the weirdest glitches. The game would return me to the Start Screen midway through loading Chapter 9. This happened like NINE times until I close the game and booted it up again.... and then it happened again on Chapter 10. Absolutely ridiculous, particularly because I don't remember the PS3 version having these bugs.

 My biggest pet peeve is that the overall performance of the game isn't such a big step up on this version. It plays well enough, but since this was one videogame-console generation above I expected at least a fixed 30 FPS performance, but it can still get jumpy at times, mostly on the latter city chapters. I must insist, the game is very playable, and so it was on PS3, but I expected something better out of more powerful hardware.

 As per usual, I always want to play my games as they are out of the box, without patches, because a game should work without needing a patch. Four years ago, on one poorly written entry, I mentioned how these big, black bars didn't bother me.... and they still didn't. To be fair, unlike the last time, I did notice them plenty of times, and I'm sure the game would've looked even better without them, but they weren't bothersome.

 What really matters is... that this game really is one of my favorites. I love how it plays. I love how it looks. I love the setting and how its premise allows for such varied locales. Heck, I love how long this game in and how many different set pieces it has. I love how Sebastian looks, vests are cool, and even if he has little personality... he looks really cool, and what matters in a HORROR game is the horror itself, and the game really excels there too. Man, the upgrade system is glorious, I love collecting green gel which I can then use to enhance my survivability with more health, more stamina, higher ammo caps, or maybe spend that currency to enhance my proficiency with my weapons. In short, I pretty much love everything about this game, except maybe how much it loves to one-hit kill you. Playing this again really proves how, despite Evil Within 2 being a much better game on a technical level, it really failed to capture what made this one so special. Shinji Mikami should've returned to direct the sequel, and what's more, people didn't really understand what a gem they had in their hands when they played this game.

 9.0

Game #873: Dante's Inferno

  Talk about edgy reimaginings....

 Remember that book, y'know, the one which nobody ever read past the first part, and whoever says otherwise is lying, the Divine Comedy? Well, what about making a God of War clone out of it? Lo and behold, Dante's Inferno, specifically designed to make Dante Alighieri turn in his grave. Plus, the game is demonic as sin, which made it a prime candidate for this year's Halloween Season.

 Yeah.... I don't think using the Divine Comedy license was a good idea. I mean, they could've used the same characters with other names, while keeping the script intact, and just call it a homage, because this has jack all to do with the original book. What's more, they turned Dante into a righteous prick, which is a bit awkward considering he was a real person.

 What I really appreciated about the game is that it was a God of War clone through and through, and a really good one at that, not only proving even further how versatile Visceral Games were, but also being an enticing alternative for Xbox fans curious about God of War.

 Controls and gameplay is very simple, and executing your moves is fairly easy. The right analog stick dodges, Square and Triangle are your basic Scythe attacks and Circle is your 'I win Button', the Holy attacks. You can purchase new moves, most of them executed by holding L2(block) and pressing any of the face buttons, and sometimes, holding L2 and pressing another face button as soon as your last L2 attack finished. You've got aerial combos, a launcher by holding down triangle, unnecessary and obnoxious QTEs and even parrying, everything that makes GoW good is here and it works well. If anything, it's a bit disappointing that Dante doesn't get any new weapons....

 ....but you do get a few nifty ways to customize your Dante. For instance, you can equip up to four different Spells, which are obtained through your skill trees or just by progressing through the game, and you can also equip Relics(2 at first, but the skill trees hold 2 more optional slots) to get some passive bonuses. From garbage such as bonus Holy/Unholy XP to more interesting abilities such as some super armored-attack frames or even undodgeable scythe attacks.

 The game revels in its edginess. Dante wears a torn cloth in the shape of a cross he sew himself to his chest to remind him of his sins. Beatrice showcases her beasts proudly, and pretty much every female in the game bare their breasts. Oh, and a few fat, rotten, nasty guys too! Oh, and Dante's main weapon, his scythe? It used to be Death's, but Dante murdered Death itself with its own scythe. Oh, and Lucifer's penis is a thing. Words can't explain just how edgy this game is... for good or bad.

 Back when the game first released I went out of my way to avoid it. Every review, every bit of footage, heck, even when I played a bit at a friend's house.... I thought the game lacked environmental variety. It takes places inside Hell after all. But thinking like that was a disservice to the game, for the developers managed to make each circle of hell look different enough.

 The circle button produces Dante's ranged Cross combo attack. It starts off as a single projectile, but you can upgrade it into a 3-hit combo or a 5-hit combo. This thing, at least on the Normal difficulty setting, makes mincemeat out of pretty much 90% of your enemies. It's a bit less useful during boss fights, but it's a bit silly how useful this weapon is. Particularly because enemies are supposed to have different weakness, either to Holy(Circle) or UnHoly(Scythe) attacks, but while you may come across enemies that can power through your scythe, your cross is good every time, all the time.

 The difficulty is a bit uneven. The game itself is pretty easy, but a few bosses may prove tough roadblocks, even when you've learned their gimmicks. On the other hand, while battling basic enemies isn't hard, I feel like too many enemies have too much super armor and can all too easily interrupt your combos with their shields. Or just, y'know, spam your circle attack and watch everyone go down in a shower of souls(XP). There were a few puzzles that didn't involve combat that really got my noggin' joggin'.

 85% of the game is super enjoyable, but the 8th circle was a very lame cop-out. Basically, it's a collection of about 8 challenge rooms. No interesting vistas, and very basic, to the point of boring, platforming to get onto each challenge platform. The 9th, and final, circle, starts off with a battle on top of an icy platform from which you can slide off, and alongside your enemies you also have to deal with a giant who'll periodically try to blow you away. I died SO many times on this part, because it's so unfairly tough. You can fall off by sliding after pulling off a parry, you can slide off because you initiated a finished and the giant decided to blow, and you can simply slide off because you're getting frustrated, making you clumsier which means enemies could land a lucky hit in and throw you off the platform. Ridiculous.

 Despite having a few boring and, in my opinion, poorly designed segments near the end of the game, the game is really good, and very enjoyable too. I think there was potential in the engine, and this could've been a really good starting point... of only EA didn't have to be EA and shut them down. As simple as giving Dante at least one alternate weapon, adding more combos, the potential for something amazing was there.

 7.5

Game #872: Until Dawn

 No celebrities were harmed in the making of this video game. But I'm sure they tried!

 It's no secret that I hated it when videogames started to turn into movies, when they started sacrificing gameplay for cinematics. Until Dawn is a QTE paradise that tries to be a Hollywood slasher flick and even got a few famous actors(Hayden Panettiere, Rami Malek), and their likenesses, to play some characters. It's one of those games that goes against everything I like in a game, yet managed keep me invested.

 Throughout the game you'll play as 8 different teenagers, 4 boys and 4 girls, who find themselves harrassed by a mysterious psycho while trying to party on a secluded mansion on top of a mountain... during a snowstorm. It has some slasher elements, some supernatural elements, jumpscares and all the cheesy dialogue you could hope for. The story itself is alright and the dialogue is pretty bad, usually in a good way, although a few of the quips and one liners felt TOO out of place, even if they were going for pure cheese.

 The fun part about the game is how many decisions you can make. Some will affect how characters treat each other, and some choices will have a bigger impact on the story than others. Most characters have quite a few scenarios that could lead to their deaths if you're not careful. It is entirely possible to have all 8 characters die, although, on the flip side, all 8 characters could survive if you make the right choices and don't mess up the QTEs. While they claimed that the game has about 100 endings, that's not entirely true, what they mean is that there are a ton of variations to the ending depending on some of your choices and which characters survived, factors that change what the survivors, if any, have to say at the end.

 My biggest issue with the story itself is how not every character gets equal screen time. Mike, who seems like a side character, gets the longest segments, and in my opinion, some of the most important ones. Sam, played by Hayden, seemed like the protagonist, but she is behind Mike and shares as much screen time and importance to the plot as Chris. I can't even remember the name of the fourth guy, the one that isn't played by Rami Malek, because he gets so little screen time. And sure, some characters' limelight could get turned off early if they died, but still, there's no reason as to why it's so uneven even in the best case scenario in which everyone survived.

 So, here is how the game works:

5% of the time you'll have to stay still in order to 'hide'.

10% of the time you'll be picking between two choices(Although, sometimes, doing nothing is a choice).

10% of the time you'll be pressing QTEs to survive.

75% percent of the time you'll be slowly walking from A to B

 That's the game in a nutshell, a lot of very sloppy walking around. You can hold L1 to walk faster, but it's still pretty slow. To be fair, you can explore around, if you wish, in order to find hints as to what is going on, and, in some cases, discovering some evidence may alter the way the story proceeds. You can also find Guidance Totems that will 'hint' of events to come. They are too vague to be of any help, and some of them might even work against you(Turns out not keeping the flare gun was a mistake), so just collect them for completion's sake, but don't worry about them.

 The game was made with Playstation's Move(Remember that Wii-mote knock-off?) in mind, so there are quite a few motion inputs. Thankfully, you can turn most motion controls off, pretty much anything that isn't 'keep joystick still to survive'. Using button prompts means you'll be using the R2 trigger a whole lot in order to grab objects you may come around, and then using the right analog stick to turn it around.

 Truth: The gameplay is an absolute bore. But, on the flip side, I think the game offers an interesting premise. There's this whole Butterfly-Effect motif going on, and so the game will warn you every time you made a choice(Or sometimes the consequence of failing a QTE) that will make a significant change in the future. This also makes it easier in future playthroughs to know a few variables you can play with. Mind you, the brunt of the story never changes, how characters get divided never changes(except if someone is missing because they died) but there are some fun variations in how things play out, heck, some characters could even end up as a couple if you play things right, to make your choices interesting. Oh, and the auto-save is pretty nasty, so if you mess up there's no going back.

 Until Dawn is like a decent slasher movie, not very memorable, not something to write home about, but a fun time nonetheless, and it can be fun even on repeat watches, or in this case, playthroughs. And in this case, you've got the incentive to, since things might not even play exactly like they did before!

 7.0

Game #871: The Sinking City

 More Cthulhu, more problems.

 A detective with a mysterious past and an ominous part to play in the fate of the world? A focus on a fishing city? A sanity meter? Decisions that slightly change how you go through a chapter? If the game wasn't titled The Sinking City I'd might very well think it's The Call of Cthulhu. But there's a major difference between games, while CoC was a very linear affair, TSK went for an open world design, to mixed results.

 Most of the game is a very basic third-person affair. Combat is an absolute clunkfest, you have little ammo(Even when fully levelled up) and Charles Reed, the hero, is as nimble as a rock. I'm not ashamed to admit that I had to lower down the difficulty, sue me, at least the game became a bit more tolerable. On the flipside, I didn't realize that I was making it hard for myself, as I kept revisiting a house with a giant enemy just because I didn't realize I had completed the quest, so I kept returning with very limited ammo. Plus, took me a while to realize that enemies don't take damage when they are in their hitstun animation, so conserve your ammo! Still, the game becomes easier when you realize that your melee attack is very reliable on everything but the largest monsters. Plus, there are pretty much no bosses, the only ones I can think of where  a giant watery-mouth thing you just shoot at until it dies, and the other is an optional witch-thing you can melee to death. 

 The game received a lot of praise for how they worked the detective angle, but I don't really agree with it. Whenever you reach a 'crime scene' or a 'mystery scene', you have to go around the house, through every floor looking for every bit of evidence to interact with it. Finding the necessary evidence isn't too bad, usually, but if you want the bonus experience you need to find every single piece. And that can almost turn into a pixel hunt. It's so annoying when you missed that single poster that didn't bring up the interact prompt and you go up and down through the house over and over again.

 People also liked having no automatic map prompts. Instead, you have to read the clues and make your own markers. Honestly? It's just a waste of time. Maybe it's because I was playing on the Easy investigator difficulty, but every clue laid the exact streets pretty clearly, so it was a matter of remembering the name of the two-three streets when the map appeared on the screen. And if I didn't remember? Screw me, back to the clue and hope my short-term memory doesn't fail me. The Archive clues are the worst. Sometimes the clue will mention 'news', 'interviews' or stuff like that. In those cases you have to decide to either visit The Police records, the Hospital Records, the local news records or the University Library records. Once you get there, you have to pick the three correct criteria for the next clue to appear. Not gonna lie, I searched online for an Archive guide and never looked back. I think I can almost understand why some people find it immersive, but I found it annoying. Heck, the final chapter's clues are pretty much impossible to figure out the criteria for on your own. Or maybe I'm just dumb.

 That said, I liked the Mind Palace element of the Detective features, basically, you can mix clues to turn them into deductions, which felt pretty neat.

 There's a crafting element to the game, you collect scavenge and you can turn into bullets and healing items. Nothing to write home about, and adds nothing to the game, but hey, it's there. Surprisingly, you can also level up. You obtain experience points by killing monsters or solving cases, which you can then use to upgrade Charles' abilities. These abilities are pretty lackluster, such as extra health, stronger attacks, higher ammo capacity or a chance not to use resources when crafting items.

 The open world design was a mistake. They didn't have the budget for something so ambitious. The city, on the outside, is quite good looking, I'll give it that, the partly sunken city looks damp and desolate, and the meandering Innsmouther immigrants as well as the locals make for an interesting atmosphere. Heck, having to use a boat to traverse the sunken parts of the city was an engaging idea, even though it controlled a bit poorly. In more than a few ways, it reminded me of Silent Hill Downpour, which I really liked(Sue me). However, they didn't have the budget, so there are about 5-6 house interiors that get recycled entirely, and sometimes partly, over and over again. It's almost ridiculous. Don't even let me get started on the technical issues, it's not unusual to run into parts of the environment that haven't loaded yet, so the game will abruptly cut to a black loading screen. Heck, every time you are going to enter a house the game will have to enter a black loading screen. Every time I brought up the map it felt like the game was about to crash. I can respect ambition, but in this case it pretty much sunk the game.

 Besides the technical issues, this large scope makes the game feel bloated. This is how every single part of the game plays, be it the main story cases or the side cases you can find: 

Step 1) Read the clue, if it mentions the streets place it on the map, otherwise go to right archive and get the clue so that you pinpoint the location through the map.

Step 2) Get to the right location and find the house you can go in(Turn in your magical Detective Eye and spot the door with an H on it).

Step 3) Kill the monsters if they spawn, otherwise...

Step 4) If it's one of the simple sidequests, just find and collect the right item. If it's a main story case or one of the better side-missions, just find all the clues, trigger the 'past visions' if necessary, and use the new clue you found to go back to step 1.

Step 5) Repeat until the mission ends.

That's the ENTIRE game.

 While I've been quite negative about the game, it does have a few things going for it. For instance, I must stress just how much I liked the game's atmosphere. The sunken city lives up to its name, and makes for a very attractive, in a creepy way, location. While most decisions you can take in the game are pretty superfluous, I liked having different outcomes to each chapter, and I liked how pretty much every single time there was no clear 'better' route. I insist, in the grand scheme of things they amount to nothing, but it's a very sweet nothing.

 The story, while nothing special, was pretty interesting too, it was an interesting romp, with interesting characters and even more interesting situations. A few of the horror elements, like pretty most monsters, didn't feel very Lovecraftian, but when they nailed a monster design, they nailed it.

 If you have time to spare and enjoy the Cthulhu mythos, The Sinking City might be worth a look, but I feel like most horror games you can find on the system are better than this one. I do feel like a more simple, and less ambitious approach would've worked much better under their budget constraints.  But, y'know, I don't really regret having spent my time with this game, as I think it's better moments made up for its shortcomings.

5.0

Game #870: Remothered - Tormented Fathers

  Clock Tower, made in Italy.

 It seems humble budgets is this Halloween season's theme, now with Remothered: Tormented Fathers. This one is a bit interesting, because it takes after the Clock Tower brand of horror, in which you assume control of a helpless women as she contends with Stalkers that want to murder her.

 The original game was Italian, which explains why sometimes the dialogue can feel weird. The story had a few bits that were hard to understand, but nothing in the game is as bad as the ending cutscene, in which our protagonist and the final Stalker decide to talk. It was so bad. It didn't make sense, and it was a very lame way to end an otherwise fine game.  Still, while the story is nothing to write home about, the game makes up for that with a fantastic horror atmosphere.

 The entire game takes place inside the Felton Mansion, it's creepy, it's dark and the sound design makes it even creepier. It really evoked the feelings of unease that Haunting Ground and Clock Tower 3(Sometimes...) pulled off so well. You get a flashlight, but you don't really need it, and if a Stalker is nearby he or she will instantly notice you, so I had it turned off throughout 95% of the game.

 Rosemary, our heroine, can carry up to three distraction items, which she can throw at an stalker to stun them or place them on the ground to distract them as well as carry a single Defense item, a one-time use item that can be used to prevent a killing blow from murdering you. However, that can only aid you in getting away from a Stalker, ideally, you'll be playing very stealthily in order to avoid detection as you gather key items in order to open up the secrets of the Mansion.

 The game is all about patience. While Rosemary can run, it will pretty much alert the current Stalker of your position, no matter where they are. This really threw me off at first, because it was beginning to annoy me just how frequently the first Stalker would be roaming close by. So... I willed myself to temper my impatience and spent the rest of the game walking or walking while crouching and then it became much more tolerable, only breaking into a run if I got spotted or if I wanted to make it to a save spot I knew was around the corner. 

 As a lower budget game, it does have a few technical issues. The game crashed one time, and I was victim to at least two black cutscenes. Apparently the latter one also happens on the PC version and can be avoided by not running out of breath before triggering the cutscene.

 Getting used to having to walk slowly throughout the game took a bit of getting used to, but it was not as annoying as I thought it'd be, and as soon as I did learned to love the game. Heck, I beat it in one seating, not only because it's a bit short, but because I was enjoying it so much. On the whole, this is the scariest game I've played so far this year, and I can't wait to play the sequel.

7.0

Game #869: Resident Evil 3(2020)

  Did anybody order STARS for breakfast?

 The original Resident Evil 3 was the first survival horror game I ever played, and it alongside Martian Gothic were enough for me to decide that... yeah, as much as I loved horror, this genre wasn't for me. If this blog can attest to anything it's that I was quite wrong and deprived myself from games I'd end up loving later in life.

 Resident Evil 2 Remake was all sorts of amazing, so I wasn't gonna miss out on this remake, no way Jose. After playing this game, well... it's a much looser reinterpretation than Remake 2, and I think I can guess why... Capcom wanted to push for their new online multiplayer game, so they used a lower budget REmake to push it onto consumers. So, getting down to brass tacks, this game recycles a ton of assets from REmake 2, makes a ton of changes to the source material and is quite short to boot, my blind playthrough took me 5 hours to complete. And there are no bonus modes here, remember mercenaries? Gone. Remember REmake 2's bonus mode? Gone. All you get is the online component.

 I'll say it now, as much as I enjoyed the game, I understand why longtime fans could potentially hate it. The thing that made Resident Evil 3 Resident Evil 3 is gone, for Nemesis is now 100% scripted and you've no say in how to deal with it. You'll either have to run because the game decided that your guns won't work, or you'll have to fight him because he is a boss.

 I really liked Jill and Nemesis' new designs, the older Nemesis is a bit more iconic but in the new one's defense, the older one had more time to seep into people's memories. Carlos... I didn't like as much, I don't like scruffy characters, but it was probably done in an effort to make him stand out from the other pretty boy, Leon.

 The game has a live-action opening, say whaaaaaaaaaat? And all the talk about the biggest pandemic in the world just got a lot more topical considering current real life events. The game has a hidden install, at least on PS4. After the game installed, and I started playing it, I met up with Carlos and... 'The game hasn't finished installing, returning to the main menu'. Wait, what? There's no progress bar, there's nothing, I only realized the hidden install finished because the disc drive stopped making noises. Hidden Installs are not cool, yo!

 REmake 2 was a blast to play, and this this game uses the same engine you can bet it's just as fun. This game is a bit more linear, and 'puzzle zones' are a bit smaller, remember, lower budget. Unlike Claire and Leon, Jill can't use grenades or knives defensively, but she gets a R1 dodge. If you learn the timing right, you'll be able to dodge zombies and thus conserve both ammo and health. I liked this new mechanic, having more options is always nice.

 While a lot of enemy zombies got recycle from the first game, there are new enemies here. Pale Heads, fast zombies that can take a lot of punishment before going down, big sewer-creeps with a zombie mouth inside their mouths, insects that love to shove tendrils down peoples' mouths, Japanese-style, to infect them with bugs as well as Hunters, lizard-like beasts that hit hard, so it's not like they recycled everything.

 Carlos is playable in two sections of the game. He gets his own inventory and his own chests, but you don't really need to use the chests as him, as he is supposed to be a bit more action-based. He even gets an Assault Rifle with lots of ammo to spare, as you are supposed to gun down everything in his path. Remember how Chris punched boulders? Well, Carlos' dodge is actually a punch that shoves enemies away. Still, I think his bits are well integrated into the Jill's campaign.

 Two boss fights were a bit hard to predict, since there wasn't any build-up or clear indication that they'd come up. You could say that that adds to the Survival Horror elements of the game, but I tend to run around with the minimum amount of weapons, ammo and healing items necessary in order to grab as many items I can find lying around, so I had to fight the first boss with just my handgund, and I had to restart the second boss fight because there was no way I was taking him out with the handgun and what little ammo I had on the grenade launcher.

 I think REmake 2 is better than REmake 3 in every single way. Better story, better characters, more and larger environments which lend themselves to more exploration, and thus better puzzles and set pieces. Heck, even better extra content. That said, Resident Evil 3 Remake is really darn good, because it uses the same fantastic engine REmake 2 did, and while you can tell that the budget wasn't as high, they still came up with a few new environments, enemies and puzzles to play way, maintaining the same level of quality as before, only smaller in scope. Still, it'd be a mistake to approach this game expecting as faithful a remake as REmake 2 was.

 8.0

Game #868: Deadpool

  It's the clone saga, Deadpool style.

 A big part about Halloween is dressing up, and people dress up as Marvel characters, so this Halloween season I also played Deadpool. Y'know, this guy used to be my favorite Marvel character before he became so mainstream and overexposed, to the point I couldn't even stand the guy anymore.

 Back in the day the game released at a budget price, and it shows... it's very clunky. And yet, it shows that the people that worked in the game really liked the character. Mind you, just as Deadpool himself tells you after looking at himself in the mirror in his house... this game leaves all of Deadpool's depth and more tragic themes aside, this is a wacky and zany game, featuring a very crazy and random Deadpool without his more serious and understanding traits. If you're cool with a flanderized version of Deadpool, then you'll most definitely enjoy the story.... even if Deadpool behaves a bit rapey at times. Still, the overall plot feels like one crazy acid-trip, and it has some honestly funny moments... although the self-referential, fourth-wall breaking references to the developer itself got a bit old after a while.

 The game is an action game through-and-through, with Deadpool having access to both melee and ranged weapons. The emphasis is clearly in the latter, as projectile shooting enemies will shred Deadpool in seconds flat if you try to get in close and ignore your guns. While you start off with his classic Katanas and Pistols, you can use DP(Deadpool Points) to purchase double Sai, Hammers, Machineguns, Shotguns and/or Pulse Rifles, as well as four types of grenades. You can use the directional pad to swap between your available equipment. Close-range weapons and guns can be enhanced by purchasing upgrades, upgrades that must be unlocked by killing enemies with the weapon itself. It's a cool system, you've loads of upgrades to get, and it's not just passive upgrades like more damage or damage-over-time effects, but also new combos and even combos that involve your guns.

 You've got a weak and a strong attack, a teleport/counter button and a double jump. The shoulder triggers are used to aim and shoot your guns and grenades. There are also super moves that you charge by landing attacks in quick succession,     shots count toward them! It's a serviceable moveset, but it kinda sucks how you get no melee lock-on, and the long-range lock-on is kinda spotty, and how most enemies have an ungodly amount of super-armor on their movest. This means that fighting big enemies turn into an unsatisfying attack-attack-teleport loop... unless you use guns. The teleport-as-a-dodge mechanic isn't so fun, since it teleports you too far away from the enemy. A more straightforward dodge or roll would've been much better and would've fit Deadpool just as well. The ranged combat, ignoring how the lock-on is a bit wonky, is a bit more fun since enemies do flinch when getting shot.

 Most of the time there are no penalties to failing the platforming sections, and that's for the best, because movement and platforming feel very clunky. As to why, well, running feels almost as if Deadpool is gliding instead of taking proper steps on the ground. It doesn't get in the way of the gameplay, but it feels as is something is off.

 Deadpool is alright, y'know? It's not very good at a technical level, but boy, does it have a lot of heart behind it. With more money and time behind it, it could've been quite good.

 5.5

Game #867: Dead Space 3

 Also known as how EA closed down one of their best, most versatile studios.

 Picture this: You're the lowest of the low, meaning, you are EA, and you've got this amazing, very versatile studio that has been doing a fantastic job at producing licensed golf games, well received James Bond games, the well received Simpsons game, the highly original LAPD Future cop and also the guys that proved Survival Horror sold through their Dead Space series, heck, they even made a well-received God of War clone with Dante's Inferno! This studio knew what they were doing, they had the chops and the experience. So, for the third iteration of their beloved survival horror series, Dead Space 3, you'll cut their budget, expect them to make over 5 million sales(More than DS 1 and DS 2 combined!) and force them to shoe-in microtransactions while also make them go in less scary direction. Of course, the game tanked, but instead of accepting their responsibility they just shut down this fantastic development team.

 So, Dead Space 3... First things first, this game isn't bad by any means. It's the weakest game in the series, probably even below the spin-off, Extraction, but it's still the good. The core gameplay elements are more or less as solid as they were before, even if the game got tweaked in less than desirable ways. It's a fun game, and it's easily the beefiest entry yet, there are plenty of side missions, and there are also exclusive co-op cutscenes that might make a second playthrough enticing... if only the game had offline co-op.

 EA wanted to nickel and dime its players, so the entire weapon system got overhauled for a disappointing crafting system. While in previous games you could carry up to four very different and fun weapons, each one with their own alternate fire, now you can only carry two. Each weapon must be built by combining a frame with two main pieces, which are your two modes of fire. You can create the previous games' weapons, yes, if you find the blue prints and the required parts to build them. I'll admit, you can create some interesting guns, but they lack the personality that the series' weaponry used to have. What's worse, Visceral Games were forced to justify this system by claiming that this was put in the game to combat players relying on a single weapon. Which is hilarious, because building an over-powered weapon isn't hard, and ammo is UNIVERSAL in this game. In DS 1 and 2 I had to use my entire weaponry since I'd run out of ammo for my favorites, or sometimes, I wanted to hoard my favorite's ammo. In this game I only switched guns if I felt like I wanted variety since I got bored of the one I was using.

 RIGs are just cosmetics in this game, your armor, health and Stasis upgrades are obtained by using the same parts you use to craft guns. The game isn't particularly stingy with parts, I think, but the overall system left a sour taste in my mouth. Besides parts you get from fallen enemies or crates, you can also send bots to scavenge for parts through a dumb and time-consuming radar-mini-game thing. Basically, you hold out the radar and follow a signal, once the radar screen turns green it means you'll maximize the amount of parts your bot will have gathered once it finally returns to the work bench. Here's the thing, through microtransactions you can get any part that you need right then and there or purchase more bots. It's idiotic. You don't really need to purchase these microtransactions, but it's hard not to wonder if the pace in which you upgrade your equipment is alright or if it's been made slower due to EA's want for money.

 Another way to earn parts is to go through side-missions. These optional missions are usually a bit tougher than the main game, but I liked a few of them... even if a few of them recycle entire layouts. What really sucks, however, is that a few optional missions are exclusive for co-op. If only it had had split-screen....

 While the horror elements took a step back, although it seems they are more prevalent in the co-op exclusive cutscenes, that said, enemies are tougher than before. They don't flinch as much, so until you get the parts you need to build one of the overpowered weapons, you'll have to rely on this pathetic short roll by double tapping the run button. There's this recurring, four legged boss, that tackles you every now and then. You'd think that the roll would be perfect.... but it's not, if you're lucky you'll dodge 1 out of every 4 tackles. The only way to reliably avoid its attacks... is by running around rocks or stacks of boxes which will interrupt its charge. It's as dumb as it sounds, it almost feels like you are doing and exploit, since the roll should've been the expected way to dodge out of it way.

 While Dead Space 2 went out of its way to prevent you from fighting humans... That's not the case in this one. You can crouch with the R3 button, or take cover by pressing L1, the button you use to AIM, near short barrier-like objects. The cover mechanics are mediocre, and the bits in which you fight humans add nothing to the game.

 Chapter 13 has some awful, AWFUL, ice-wall climbing sections. The wall climbing mechanic gets used a few times afterwards, but it's not as bad.

 There are a few tougher puzzles than the ones in the previous games, and... I didn't really like them too much. Some aren't even hard, you see three symbols on the screen and you have to match them on a machine, there's no time limit and no punishment if you get it wrong.

 As fun as Dead Space 3 can be, one can't help but feel disappointed. Dead Space 1 and 2 are classics, thanks to their timeless, fun gameplay, as well as their settings, environments and the whole horror atmosphere they crafted so well. This game is the gameplay without the rest of the elements that made it so great, and even so, the gameplay isn't as good, for you see, the crafting system was a huge step backward, and I really think it soured the rest of the experience, since many poor design choices were made around it. For instance, finding a new Power Node felt so rewarding in previous games, here I'm just hoarding resources until I can purchase the next armor upgrade. Universal ammo was a really bad idea. And, y'know, I don't blame Visceral games for what happened, I'm sure they did the best they could under EA's horrible orders.

 7.0

Game #866: Call of Cthulhu(Switch)

  Please stop doing the Switch dirty!

 It's a first person adventure game, it's all about talking with NPCs and investigating objects. The more you investigate the more dialogue options you can open up with NPCs. You also have different stats(Investigation, Strength, Deduction, Medicine, Occultism) that you can spend points in to open up different dialogue choices. Some dialogue choices may open up different routes towards your objectives.

 At the beginning of the game I decided to spend all my point in Eloquence and proceeded to fail every single Eloquence check chapter 2 threw at me. Turns out that anything below the maximum level is just a percentage, meaning, there's always chance involved, which is... interesting. It's interesting because this is a bit annoying, but in a weird way it also adds a certain spice to the game, since you can't really be sure if you're gonna succeed and get a conversation to go your way or even gain access to the routes you wanted. If this was an Action game I think I'd be pretty pissed about this, but since it's an Adventure game I kinda, sorta welcome it.

 Loading times are a bit excessive, but the game loads an entire chapter every time it loads, so it's one big loading screen instead of various loading instances throughout a chapter.

 That said, the game has a HUGE issue on Switch... Chapter 5 is broken. How the game shipped like this is baffling, but I saw other people complaining about the same thing, Chapter 5 can't be completed for some of us. In my case, I wasn't sure about what I was doing, so I triggered both the Gas Leak and Electric sub-objectives, so it got to the point that if I tried to finish either objective the game would crash. Other people managed to get through that part, but the game would crash come the next cutscene. This is absolutely inexcusable. They released a patch, so I did manage to finish the game, but the fact that this game released in with this GLARING game-breaking bug is nothing short of a disgrace.

 The game is pretty much a walking simulator through and through. What's more, its attempts at real gameplay fall short of their mark. The stealth segments are boring, the Shambler boss is boring and annoying, the two-lamps-and-fog segment is dull.... Honestly, the game is at its best when you are talking and investigating. The story is pretty good, and it feels fairly in-line with Lovecraft's works, even if it's probably a bit less subtle.

 I liked the game, I liked the story and I liked delving into its world. While the gamey parts of the game were pretty lackluster, the overall game is very engaging, particularly if you enjoy Lovecraft. That said, EVEN if they did patch it, I can't in good faith recommend a game that has a game breaking bug right in the middle of the game.

 4.5

Game #865: Dead Space 2 Limited Edition

 Isaac speaks! 

 I purchased Dead Space 2 used, so while it claimed to include Dead Space Extraction I thought I'd miss out since it'd be a DLC code. Nope, it's right here IN the disc! That's amazing, so I'll get this little enhanced port of the Wii original first.

 Dead Space Extraction

 This light-gun on-rails shooter was made for the Wii in mind, and it shows. You can play this game with Playstation Move, which would probably work fine, but the joystick gets the job done, for the most part. You'll be missing out on a few goodies since the camera will move too fast for you to catch up with the analog stick, and the game uses a surprisingly large amount of buttons, but you can have an OK experience with the joystick.

 The story is AMAZING. The game does have a few small contradictions with the first game, like the fact that the crew of the Ishimura go insane almost immediately while the original made it seem like it was a slow process, but for the most part it gels pretty well. As a matter of fact, you'll visit a lot of areas from the original game, and you'll get to see why the Ishimura was as it was during Dead Space 1, since you'll be directly responsible for a few obstacles Isaac will encounter!

 The game follows an ensemble cast of four main characters, and you'll play as four different characters(Not necessarily the ones from the main cast!) throughout all 10 chapters. The characters are pretty interesting, although I wasn't a fan of Lexine and her... peculiarities, I think it felt a bit too far fetched.

 The first chapter is incredible. You start off in the final area of Dead Space, and get to experience first-hand how everyone goes crazy. And this first chapter is but a taste of things to come. I'd say this game is way scarier than the original game, in no small part due to the fact that your playable characters will struggle against the effects of the Marker.

 You get alternate guns, and can carry up to four different guns. Only the basic weapon has infinite ammo which is why I stuck with it for most of the game. I experimented with a few others, but the basic weapon is just fine. You can also uses Stasis and Kinetic modules to aid you in combat as well as solve some very easy puzzles.

 There are a few annoying minigames in which you must "hack" stuff by tracing lines with the analog stick. I'm sure they weren't too bad in the Wii original, but having to use my old PS3 analog stick proved less than ideal. The few instances in which you must fend off enemies WHILE hacking are just cruel if you aren't using PS Move/WiiMote.

 Overall? I can tell that this game was fantastic on the Wii, and it's probably just as great on the PS3 if you have the Move controllers. I didn't, but even then I couldn't help but admire the game's high production values and top-notch quality.

7.0

Dead Space 2

 As stated on the opening headliner, Isaac speaks now, which is a welcome change that makes for a better protagonist. Screw silent protagonists.

 The game is exactly like Dead Space 1 but more polished. Moving around feels better, the framerate feels more stable(Even if it has a few drops every now and then), the graphics are better... It's like a highly polished version of the already highly polished original game.

 Zero-G areas were re-designed, now you get free movement when you float, just tap L3 to take off the ground, and L3 again when there's a floor beneath you to land. You can even shoot while floating!

 While the Ishimura was fun to explore, this new game has more environments and more variety, since you are not contained to a single ship, but rather, you start off in a civilian space-station, so you'll get to explore an apartment complex, a store and even a Unification Church. It's not better nor is it worse, it's just different, which is a good thing since it makes both games have their own identity while sharing the same gameplay.

 Enemies are deadlier and require different strategies. In DS 1 you could pretty much shoot your way through the game, but in this one enemies seem to have more varied patterns and ways of approaching you, so it's not as simple as it used to be. For instance, the brutes were fairly simple to take out in the original, but now Stasis is pretty much required to defeat them, heck, Stasis is now a vital part of your armament. The game feels tougher as a whole, which isn't a bad thing considering how easy the original was.

 The original game was a Resident Evil kind of Survival Horror, y'know, one in which the focus is more on the action rather than the actual survival. While ammo and healing supplies felt a tiny bit more sparse and the combat was tougher... It can't be denied that there's a lot of combat in this, and the game pretty much expects you to clear every area of enemies. Heck, there are a ton of very action-packed set pieces, such as having to dive into a falling train and a few others, this game is quite bombastic in that regard. And Isaac? He gets a few witty and not-so-witty remarks, as well as a few one-liners worthy of any action hero.

 The story is sorta there, I think the set-up is more interesting than the plot itself, but it's not as endearing as the first game's trope extravaganza, nor is it as interesting as the one in Extraction. At least the game has some great environments.

 I think Dead Space and Dead Space 2 are equally good, but in different areas. There's a certain charm and magic that the first game had that this one just can't repeat, however, from a technical stand point this game is much better, the controls, the combat and even the explorations feel much tighter and polished. So, yeah, I don't think it's necessarily 'better', but it's just as good and yet another must-play Survival Horror classic. 

9.0

Game #864: Dead Space

 Cut'em 'n' chop'em

 The plot has Isaac enter the USG Ishimura, a ship that requested aid, only to find it infested by zombie like creatures. Oh, and his girlfriend was part of the crew. The game follows every trope and cliche from Horror/Sci-fi movies and games, sharing more than a few plot points with RLK: Run Like Hell. Still, I liked it, Cliche pastiches are not necessarily bad if they are well executed. This plot is simple and doesn't try to be more than what it is, thus ending up being quite solid.

 It's amazing. Just a few minutes of gameplay were enough to realize how great the game was, from the ambiance to the gameplay. I'd put it alongside Bioshock, Batman: Arkham City, Uncharted 2 and Assassin's Creed 2 as one of those mainstream must-play games of its generation.

 It's pretty much an evolution of the Resident Evil 4 formula, like Evil Within and Resident Evil 6. It has an over-the-shoulder camera that puts you right into the action, but you can aim and shoot while moving. While it is survival horror, you are pretty much expected to kill and murder everything and anything that comes your way, at least on the Medium difficulty Setting. When it comes to Survival Horror I'm usually a big hoarder, but I had healing and ammo to spare... so much so that I actually started selling my healing supplies for money.

 Money is one of the best thing about the game, alongside Power Nodes. Power Nodes are rare items that can be used to enhance your armor and/or your weapons. The game rewards you constantly for exploring and defeating enemies, either with ammo, healing supplies, money and said Power Nodes, and then you can invest the latter two into getting even stronger. In order to open up most valuable items in the store you need to find Schematics, which will then allow you buy the really good stuff. That said, I spent all my money on Armor Upgrades(Different upgrades than the ones you get with Nodes) and extra Power Nodes. I also purchased a few weapons, the only way to get other weapons besides your basic gun, but I preferred carrying a few but enhanced weapons over getting everything.

 Combat is built around severing limbs, that's the ticket if you want to make short work of your enemies. Also, it seems they are more wont to dropping goodies if you kill them quickly through severance of limbs. Stomping on dead bodies with R2 is sinfully fun.

 You get a few bonus powers, which consume a separate energy gauge, Stasis and Kinetic Pull/Push. Both are used, mostly, to solve some very simple puzzles, buuut they can be used in combat too. I didn't use them too much, didn't need them and the gunplay was good enough.

 The game has two gimmicky areas: Zero-G and Vacuums. Sometimes, they come together. When you exit the ship, or if there's a hole in the room, that creates a vacuum. In a vacuum you must move quickly lest your oxygen runs out. These areas are fairly simple, and if they expect you to explore there are usually unlimited free oxygen refills around. There were a few tense moments where enemies would try to get in my way as I dashed as my oxygen ran out, but nothing to write home about. Zero Gravity areas lets Isaac walk on ceilings and walls, you aim with your gun and press triangle to zip towards the wall you are aiming at. They are a bit clunky, but are decent reprieves from the basic gameplay.

 I love how most chapters end and begin on a tram. On each chapter you are sent to a different section of the ship, with various sub-objectives to complete. Once you are done you return to the tram in order to go into another section. It's very repetitive, but I found it charming.

 The worst part about the game are two turret sections, the first one is surprisingly tough, the other one is just annoying.

 Once I picked up the game I couldn't stop playing it, it's REALLY good and a lot of fun. Beneath its gory and gruesome exterior lies a very elegant game with very polished gameplay and ideas that work well together. I do feel like this is a true classic and a must play of the PS3/X360 generation.

9.0