Working on a few things in cryengine3.

RSS Reviews  (0 - 10 of 13)
9

Batman: Arkham Asylum

Game review

Very good game. I only just got this last week, along with Arkham City.
Plays well, in combat and overall, along with a good story.
Played it with a controller rather than keyboard and mouse, which was very fluid.
Game is not particularly difficult on normal, yet to play on hard though.

8

Dynamic Zombie Sandbox

Mod review
9

Grand Theft Auto IV

Game review

One of the best GTA's so far.
I was playing the missions more than messing about, as I felt there was not too much do in between them, but exploring the city was fun, evading the police and doing the police jobs etc from time to time after accessing the different parts of the city.
Money, like the previous games, seemed too easy to acquire. I had thousands and nothing to really spend on very early in the game or throughout.
Dislike the dating and constant nagging from people calling to go out, while they do have benefits eventually, be better if they did not call you quite as often, the responsibility would ideally been yours.

The missions were not too difficult, though the finale in the air was somewhat difficult with the mouse control.
The atmosphere is much more immersive, and the physics and interaction of vehicles was very enjoyable, it made crashing not so bad, and even quite enjoyable at times for really big pile ups.

It only leaves little to do after you complete the game, as pretty much you only earn money it does not really offer much drive to do any odd-jobs. Whereas previous GTA games you could earn the best cars or weapon pick-ups at your safe houses.

I will have load it up again and replay through with some major mods.

8

Just Cause 2

Game review

Very enjoyable game from the start.
I initially played the demo but after awhile it felt like that was most of the game. Then playing the full game, it was fun to do half the missions. It later appears to be rather simple as most missions are straightforward and more A to B objectives.
Upgrading everything and trying to clear all locations afterwards does add quite some life to it, though there is not too much do after finishing.

8

Medal of Honor: Airborne

Game review

Really enjoyed much of the game, it is almost close to what Medal of Honour should be like. The controls are much improved with the cover system, making combat more effective when hiding behind things.
Squad members helping out is also a nice addition, though later in the game, they seem to become less frequent or even ineffective, not much more cannon-fodder providing covering fire.

The missions are based as one level, rather than campaigns like the previous games. The lack of story is not so much an issue, as the previous games never had too much of a story from start to finish, and Airborne does place you into the battlefields rather than behind the lines in covert missions.

If the direction Airborne took in terms of controls and realism matched with the previous games, such as multi-level missions over a few campaigns, it'd make for a great Medal of Honour game for today.

9

Crysis 2

Game review

It should have had co-op and early modding support with it. It'd likely have lasted a lot longer in regards to multiplayer.

9

Left 4 Dead 2

Game review

Brought it later, about a few months (not because of a little boycott). Later brought it after l4d got very quiet, and was tempted.

Does give it a different gameplay style with the new enemies, than l4d.
I liked the varied environments and of course finally day time was welcome, and well set in New Orleans. The campaign levels also have much more variation, such as the hotel, the float in The Parish, the Dark Carnival rush into the stadium, and the moments of escape were much more urgent.
Scavenge is a fun game mode, and the mutations are occasionally fun when its a good one.
The bot AI, seemed to act a bit slower and less responsive when the player is in distress. Its all good mimicking real players, but when you play alone, its not so fun when the bots all seem to get taken down, and have no sense of self-preservation when fighting the tank.

The recent expansion was interesting and fun at points though lacked something that the original levels have. Felt a bit lacking in any direction, other than to get to the sacrifice.

9

Left 4 Dead

Game review

I happened to buy this a while after release, I thought it might get a bit boring after a while, but that took some time and was wrong.
Fun for a long time, and re-playable. Most enjoy Blood Harvest.

10

Portal

Game review

Straightforward gameplay, and not too hard or too easy. Once you figure it out, its really fun.

7

Source

Engine review

Now its beginning to get older, and after using tools for engines of the past 3-2 years, it does begin to show up Source.

It is still a great engine, it works on many set-up's, it does not take much at all to get a map started, and with some basic logic, and the modelling/importing process is not at all difficult, however quite lengthy for today.

Writing out QC's and ensuring it is correct is sometimes a pain. Although basic models are quite easy, whereas certain commands and tasks can be a tricky, and touchy, fixing it can sometimes be something very minor, which can be overlooked when you have a complex QC, especially for characters and vehicles.
Compling maps, in the way Source does, is very old and patience is needed if your not used to it. Models not so bad, but for most engines these days its a one click export, and material files are made on the spot with little manual work aftewrwards. Its purely speed and convenience.

Well documented, everything you need to begin with and learn is in the Valve Docs.

Great games can still be produced and mods, but every year it gets older and even despite the updates valve provide it, other areas are still far behind.