• 25Sep 06

  System Shock II............Not THAT GREAT

  I just finished dumping about 8 hours into system shock II.

  I must say, that game is obviously where Deus Ex, and other various games get there ideas.

  It was a real neat treat playing it. It's too bad I had to play Deus Ex first, because some of it seemed like a replay - but not exactly. Not only do you have guns, you can fight with special PsI powers, use hand objects, etc.

  Let me first say that usually, I start games on medium mode when I get the choice. But, after 6 hours of medium gameplay, I just decided to lay it out. It's simply, too hard at medium gameplay for the first time through. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with a challenging game, I just wish that I had set this on "easy" before beginning.

  I thought it was some-what scarey. Your walking...all of a sudden you hear a loud noise, and a robot clunks up behind you and starts blurbbing something, then explodes.

  One thing I didn't like, is that sometimes, it seemed like you can't ever "secure" a room. You'd walk off in another area, complete it, come back...and it's crawling with goodies again. There is nothing wrong about this, there IS when on medium mode, there is a scarcity of resources...so soon, you are fighting with a crowbar...because most of your items are broken....and you dont have the right ammo because your all out to fight certain objects- (Robots take AP projectiles, ETC)

  I played this game using the high-res patch, and the graphics were pretty decent....no complaints here about graphics, sounds, or controls...very highly playable.

  It's innovation is its BEST feature. Everything, including objects, etc seemed pretty new and fun...even to this day. Elevators that are just made of an air current, etc. 

  You walk around, finding PDA's, its just like Doom III in that since.

  During my 6 hours of gamplay, I did not see much that attributed to an "RPG". I would argue against it being an RPG. Yes, you can build up your charactor a certain way, but the story line so far, would be the exact same way everyway through.

  One other complaint is the quick save option. It only works when your playing the game. So, if you shut it down..and start it back up later...you loose everything you have. Which, is actually a big deal, because we are so USE to using quick save. I spent alot of time actually on this game just getting back to where I was...it was alittle irritating. Make sure to push ESC, then actually really save it before quiting, because you WILL forget!

  Sometimes, I'd like to think there was just too much "options" to make yourself into. You could make yourself into this PSI monster, but you can't really use weapons that well....especially repair them because they fall apart too fast. I tried to make my charactor very borderline for PSI, but able to use small arms really good...and I still was having trouble because I didn't have enough points to be able to repair my weapons, and my PSI was lacking for being "borderline". So this means, that there may be too much options to really keep up with the game. It might be good to stick with one thing. Best weapon I found out is the crowbar....it doesnt fail, its just as strong as the firearm..and it works on everyone...why not?

  Conclusion: Overall, this game is a MUST have. It's free, and its the backbone of most of these SCI-FI shooters that we have today. Is it better than Dues Ex? Not a chance. But if you had fun with Deus Ex, you will have fun with this game. This game again, is innovational. Nothing is conventional...which makes this a very unique sci-fi shooter.

  Pros:

  *Highly Innovated..It's the Blade-Runner or 2001 of Sci-Fi movies

  *It's Freeware..you can't complain.

  *Lots of different skills/weapons you can be

  *Scarey in alot of spots

  Cons:

  *Quick Save Option only saves while you are in the game

  *Somewhat a long learning curve

  *Difficulty is too hard for medium settings

  *Storyline is non-changing..

  *Intro seems alittle too drawn out.

  *Weapons become dysfuntional too fast...would be nice to have a few more skill points at first so you can be more "multi-skilled".

  • Posted Sep 25, 2006 7:38 pm GMT
  • Tag
  • Print
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Digg
• 20Sep 06

  Blade-Runner PC

  Welp, I just finished Blade Runner for the PC, and I am decently satisfied of my experience. I make a big deal about this, because its possibly one of the best PC games to ever imitat a movie...and its not just any movie either, its BLADE RUNNER, the #1 rated Sci-Fi of all time.

  You start off as a blade-runner named Ray McCoy. You don't know much about him...and you wont learn too much throughout the entire game besides he obviously likes to drink, has a dog named Maggie.... He pretty much imitates Deckard from the film. You interact with some charactors from the movie, which I thought was neat. Replicants are different.

  You don't really have any sidekicks...you are on your own.

  This is a REAL TIME RPG, which means lots of things can go either way.

  It was fun using the Esper Device to enchance photos. I got to use it plenty of times. It was very easy and enjoyable to use. The creaters got this down on the mark! However, the Vought Kompf test was lacking due to the fact I only got to use it once, and it decided my subject was human. Luckily I saved before the test...and I tried it 6 times...and the test was also a human.

  There is no real layed out gameplan. Much of the gameplay consists of walking from place to place, and back from place to place. There's clues everywhere, but no specific clues. Gameplay was very easy by the way.

  Gameplay was great. It was real simple. Not too much hotkeys, most of everything you is with the mouse only.

  On of the best things about this game was the photos and scenery. They captured everything from the movie EXACTLY. I had to watch the movie again (for the 6th time) after this game, and everything was spot on...almost inch for inch. I really felt like I was in the movie playing the game.

  The music however was lacking. They included Vangelis's "Blade Runner Blues", and thats the only theme I heard besides walking down the marketstreet where I heard Vangelis Egyptian Theme which was cool. The only time you hear the (possbily, the most important theme) Blade Runner Blues theme is when you walk outside on your patio at your apartment. Thats basically it besides the intro. There really is no music during gameplay. Much of it is silent.. The ambient sounds were great...the rainfall, people talking, etc. Vangelis music REALLY sets the Blade Runner Mood, and I was unsatisfied of this.

  Difficulty is pretty easy. I didn't have much trouble with anything. Only thing that requires training is using your firearm. You have to aim carefully, and shot your opponent many times before he drops.

  I didn't kill any Replicants during my entire 12 hours of gameplay. I saw them, and let them die on their own, but I never killed any, because mainly, I didn't have the chance! I killed 2 people, the entire game...and they were criminal suspects (not reps). So I really missed out on that experience.

  Game did not seem buggy at all. My only beef, is I was unable to use the shooting range during my entire gamplay, because the targets would fail to come out...so I was unsure about this.

  I rated this game an overall 78%, which signifies to a Good game..and a must for a Blade Runner Fan. Adventure fans will like it, and overlook some of its flaws.

  Pros:

  *Scenery was Perfect. Couldn't be better.

  *Simplicity of the game made it enjoyable.

  *Voice Acting was good

  *Lots of different options, subjects, and objects to interact with.

  *Imitated Movie Charactors very well. Esper device was fun

  Cons:

  *Lacking Vangelis music.

  *Dont get much Voight Komp test or Replicant Experience

  *Not very objective on "what to do next" or "what you've done"

  *Somewhat short...my time was just shy of 12 hours....and I didn't read or use any faqs...I wasted lots of time too running back and forth.

  • Posted Sep 20, 2006 10:10 am GMT
  • Category: Games
  • Tag
  • Print
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Digg

See Previous Blog Posts »