Reviews - ElephantsDoingCrack

This mod sucks

This is still one of my favorite FPS games to this day: Youtu.be

I love Halo and I hope to make more videos on the series

Here, this is the greatest video you will ever watch in your life: Youtu.be

I REALLY didn't like this mod. Dead serious. It just keeps going and going and it is repetitive.

It is odd because the last time I heard about, or even played, this mod was back when I was in elementary school. FYI, I am swimming in student debt right now in college. I find it insane how long this mod has been in development, yet it is not fun.

I would love to do a detailed reason and or review as to why I hate this mod. But I didn't finish it, so I'm not even going to try to put effort into this review. Believe me when I say that this mod is worse than Residue Life. After a while, you will get a headache and get bored. It is the same thing over and over, with what seems like no end in sight.

In short: IT IS NOT WORTH IT!

This is the best Source game EVER!

Seriously, Arkane Studios don't get enough credit and I wish they did. This game honest to god impresses me more than most games nowadays. For 2006, even back then to me, this game just seemed TOO good to be true. It has the best kicking mechanic, there is amazing physics and awesome sword play. Just a pure fun experience overall. The game isn't perfect: the story I don't care about at all, Balance is broken, a ton of glitches since it was left behind on Steam and one of things that I wish happened is that Arkane, Ubisort or whoever let this game be modded by modders. That last part goes for any Arkane game, I really wish we could mod Dishonored. SAD! :(

At the moment, it is pretty much the closest thing we have to playing Arkane's two cancelled Source Projects (Ravenholm and The Crossing). I keep saying it, but the fact Arkane almost made a Half-life game I can't get out of my head and really depresses me.

Overall, it may not be a 10/10 game for everyone, but Dark Messiah is really special in it's own way. Hell I think it has WAYYY better gameplay than Half-life 2 (the engine this game was built on).

I made a video about this game not too long ago, hope someone enjoys it: Youtu.be
You can also find my YT channel here: Youtube.com

I remember playing the Demo of Thunder Leaves in, I THINK, 2018 and liking the ideas, but felt like it needed more work and polish. But, I am proud to say that the wait was worth it. I love these types of Half-life mods where they feel more like expansion packs. It may not be for everyone, but I really did enjoy this mod.

There are several new mechanics and weapons to play around with. There are returning weapons, but the “new” weapons do feel pretty great and unique. So there are a ton of new mechanics like, lightning armor that kills everything and a turret that shoots rockets. For me, thanks to Arkane Studios, my game philosophy is: gameplay FIRST, then story last. The gameplay is great, what makes it good is that I feel like a small piece upon a bigger picture and I get to fight alongside allies of mine. One of my favorite things about this mod is that it takes place after the events of Episode 2; seeing the rebels adapt to their environment against the Combine is really cool. This is like The Last of Us meets The War Against the Machines from Terminator meets HomeFront. The art style for the rebels feels very militaristic and gives you a battle sense. Seriously, it's really cool and you see a lot of set pieces that make you feel like you're in a war. There's a lot of cool little details too that win me over. In TL, it has some in-game side quests you can do, the only problem is that there aren't many (by many I mean only ONE) and that was a shame. There are tapes you can listen to, they were neat but I didn't really care about them. You have some player choice for what you can have in your own personal drop pod. I love those type of details that make me wonder what other people decided to do and why they made those choices; which was honestly one of my favorite parts of the whole game.

However, there were a lot of problems with the mod. I feel like the level design needed work, I didn't get lost, but it could have been way better. Although there are open fields, I kept driving around wondering if I was heading in the right direction or not, to the point where I just nocliped across the map so I didn't have to waste the time. Half of the things I did I don't even know if it was what I was supposed to do. Like there was a strider boss, and I didn't even know where I could find rockets so I could kill it. Instead, I just use my AR2 Alts and SMG frags. I'm not even sure if I was supposed to do that because there was only one rocket barely scouted around the map. Also, the opening and dialogue moments are TOO LONG (or at least they felt like it). Seriously, a lot of moments could have just ended but they just keep going and going. It just bored me to tears and parts like that were my least favorite encounters of Half-life 2. Speaking of the story, it wasn't that interesting or good. If you love military talk and war, then the story is for you (me because I am American). But, if you actually want an interesting story, look elsewhere. I don't remember who any of these people were or the names. I recognized one of the voice actors from RTBR, but that was it.For little details: I would have loved for there to be more unique weapons instead of just guns that shoot bullets. Sure, there was the armor lightning mechanic, but it just would have been nice is all. Also, seeing battle-torn and rebel-made versions of the Half-Life 2 weapons was pretty cool. The weapon swapping was weird, I don't know why they changed it, it was just confusing to my brain as a vet of HL2 and HL1. I don't know why the old SMG doesn't have the OG Sound effects (plz fix). I don't know why there's an HEV voice when I am not wearing one.

With all that, I did enjoy my time with Thunder Leaves. I was not disappointed and had a time of my life with the mechanics and gunplay. If you want a Half-life 2 expansion pack like a mod similar to Blue Shift or OpFor, then this is for you. I picked an eight because I feel like the mod was short and would have loved more from it. A GREAT time killer mod!

So this is a mod that tries to link up (pun intended) Uplink with Half-life 1. That is what I originally thought, but it's much more than that.
It's more like a reimagining of Uplink, with Half-Life 1 playable as well. Normally I don't give a mod or game a 10 out of 10 unless it's a really good reason. But f*ck it, I don't care, this was amazing! I've never screamed "Holy sh*t!" Over a Half-life Goldsource mod so much so in my life in LOONNGG time. Dude you drive a robot placing boxes all over and the payoff is that you drive a submarine (a scripted submarine but hey it was still cool). There's even unique failed explosions for the submarine. I failed on purpose just to see what would happen if I dropped the submarine. But, I don't know why this had to be related with Half-life Uplink, honestly this could have just been its own mod, nobody would have complained and still loved it. The gameplay is amazing, the environments are amazing, the new reimagined levels of Uplink are amazing and the set pieces are too amazing! There were some puzzles, two to be specific, where I didn't know what to do and looked it up. The water Gargantua one and the music window one. Like I didn't know I was supposed to put boxes inside of the water, there's a handrail blocking it and no way to push it in without doing some tricks. The music one I didn't know what to do. Maybe try placing the box in front of the window and once you hit the button, then that shows the player that it can break glass and then that box becomes free to move or something.
Really this is just a 9 out of 10 game, but honestly I don't care because that was incredible. The developer needs to pat himself on the back for what he did. No regrets of anything, enjoyed every second of it. A great old skool HL1 map pack!

So recently I've been using a hammer and I've been having problems with it. Instead of actually trying to figure out what the problem is, I just decided to go replay Entropy Zero for the millionth time and write this review. I remember when this mod came out, it was an amazing experience. Entropy Zero is an interesting case for me because every time I play it, my opinion somewhat changes or I find more cons about the mods. I mainly am talking about the steam release here, I don't know if anything is different with the mod DB release or even if it was updated or not.
Most people like to say this is half-life 2's version of opposing Force or that it is opposing Force 2. What do I think? I think the concept is an expansion pack idea made by Valve, not so much the execution though. You can clearly tell that it was made by just one guy, Breadman, which isn't always a bad thing.
The story is interesting, exploring a new city that pretty much predicts covid-19, playing as a cool protagonist that talks way before Alyx did it (except Decay) and many other more plot points within the mod. Overall, the story I like a lot. Though I wish there were voice actors or something so it wouldn’t be limited. But I get it, it was made by only Breadman. The graphics do look beautiful, even if everything is literally just blue or has a blue effect to it. The gameplay is fun as hell, guns are impactful and there are new weapons in it. This is one aspect that I felt was missing from Half-Life 2 and it is what makes Half-Life 1 more Superior imo. The soundtrack is really good and an awesome listen, though I think these tracks were already existing remixes and original tracks (mostly), but it is still a great tone.
However, every time I replay this EZ1, I find more bad things to talk about and more glitches with the game. So much so that it really starts to show that it was made by one guy. Don’t get me wrong, it won’t change my thoughts on the mod because the gunplay is really impactful. It kind of surprises me because Breadman now has a team and they could do a complete overhaul or a massive update for EZ 1. Like that training course idea that Breadman made, I would really enjoy playing that level and seeing his take on it. I mean they could add more levels, retweek the weapons etc. Not to say that they haven't done this with the steam release already, but they are more on the small updates side of things mostly. I am guessing they are putting all of their effort into EZ2.
One thing I cannot get over with this mod is how bad the level design is. I'm not saying that breadman isn't capable of it, but half of the mod I don't know how I was supposed to figure it out on my own for a first time playing. I guarantee you that on your first playthrough, or anyone else's, you probably looked up what to do. Every time I talk to someone who played this mod or watch somebody on stream, they never are able to figure it out on their own. Like there are these laser puzzles that you have to solve, yet I see most people just take an AR2 and block the laser (which is not what you're supposed to do).
I'm a little disappointed with the new weapons. Don't get me wrong I love them and the new tweeks to the old ones, but the new weapons aren't that useful: Manhacks are almost invincible to the point of it being funny (you can't even kill your own and have TOO MUCH health), the stunstick is a weapon I almost never use (thanks to a new update it's not just a reskin crowbar anymore), and the new AR 2 takes the show in a new form of an LMG (which is awesome). I just feel like there aren't any unique weapons here.
Imo, after low, the mod just keeps getting worse and worse. Pointless mechanics, a Doom 3 inspired escort (not as bad as people make it out to be), dark environments for no reason, poorly designed boss fights etc. Seriously though, you get a virus in this mod and it could have just been removed entirely and nothing would change: in my latest playthrough of EZ1, it happened once throughout my WHOLE session (when I was introduced) and it never came back. Also, this mod is really short, for me it took about 50 minutes exactly. Which is fine by me since I like short games.

EZ1 is kind of like Nightmare House 1 to me, the seeds Left behind to make a sequel are where it's really at. Entropy Zero is far from awful even if it has its moments, it is still a fun mod to play and time killer. A 7 feels about right to me, I gave it an 8 a long time ago, but I feel like a high 7 is more fair then being like everyone else and saying "ThIS m0d iS AWESOME! Op4 2z!!!" Again, don't get me wrong, the mod is pretty awesome and I still recommend it without a doubt. What you should be on the lookout for is Entropy Zero 2 because it will be beyond amazing.

Steam review I made: Steamcommunity.com
YouTube video I made (it's kind of cringe to me a little nowadays, my points still stand): Youtu.be

Looking back on this mod like five years later, I don't regret anything. Truly an amazing moment to see before my eyes when it came out!

To be honest, I didn’t even know that this mod existed or what it was until recently. I didn’t hear anyone mention or talk about this one. I looked at some of the screenshots and wasn’t interested at first. I look for mods that have new content to them, I don’t want more of the same. But then, I saw Alyx in a gray HEV suit and was instantly intrigued. So I downloaded the mod and had an experience that I won’t forget. This is a shame because people should check out Half-life 2: What Remains.
The main reason I am here is that Alyx has an HEV suit and let me tell you, the developer actually did new stuff with Alyx’s NPC to fit this. I haven’t been this blown away by an NPC following me since I played Kingpin, a game made back in 1999. “Why?” You may ask. Dude Alyx straight up follows you everywhere and is more reliable here than she was in the Episodes. I am not joking when I say this, she jumps in the water and swims with you, climbs ladders, and crawls in vents with you. It is honestly crazy and awesome to look at. However, although these moments are awesome, it isn’t like Kingpin where the NPCs are using pathfinding. These parts of the mods are just scripted sequences, they are still cool nevertheless. I really got the sense that me and Alyx were a good team together, more than what was made out in the Episodes. If you are playing this mod, it is for these moments like this.
Some other details of What Remains that I enjoyed were the rebel encounters, they were funny and awesome. Though I would have loved to have fought alongside them, I guess that is okay. I also thought the environments invested me in the world, especially in chapter 3 where it is dark and rain starts pouring down. It also gave me the feeling that I was on an adventure. Now, every Half-life game does this, but I truly felt that it was one hell of a ride. Again, like in chapter 3, where the road is blocked and you have to defend a citizen planning charges against incoming zombies. While all that is happening, it is pouring rain. Another cool environment was in the last chapter, it was like a White Forest base taken over by the Combine.
However, as much as I like this mod, it's got some problems here and there. Like I mentioned earlier, this is just more of the same. If you like half-life 2 and its episodes, then this is for you. Now that doesn't make me want to mark off points or anything, it just would have been nice to see new enemies and weapons. Like, I still got the burger, but I would have liked onion rings too.
Okay, now problems I would mark off points for. The level design wasn't always great. Not like where do I go kind of games, but the stuff that makes you say oh I'm an idiot. But, I still think it could have been executed better in some areas. I don't normally die underwater in Half-life games, but here, I sort of accomplished that. Mainly because I didn't know where I was going and didn't have much time to figure it out. Then I found out that you have to go through an elevator ceiling. There was also this one part where I have to throw a grenade through a tube. I tried that, but there was glass there and I didn't know what to do. After looking up a walkthrough, I had to hit it with my gravity gun and then throw the grenade. Level design like that, where at first I had the right idea, but then get confused. You can call me an idiot, but that was me.
Also, I noticed a lot of glitches here and there. Some of these glitches were so bad, that it made me take a day break or two from the mod. Like when I went through a vent, Alyx behind me would jump down into the floor. Meaning I can't progress through the mod. Another example is this wheel that had to be steered. I originally thought I had to do it, but no it was just Alyx's job, her scripting was just broken or something. Things like that made me just not want to play the mod for a little bit, resulting in me surprisingly taking forever to complete it. Which doesn't happen for me that much.
One of my other major issues was the balancing of the mod. Like every encounter, I felt like I was barely getting by in terms of health and ammo. For context, I play every Half-Life game on hard or the hardest difficulty available. I also felt like there were a ton of Combine soldiers everywhere: I would run around a corner and then sprint backward because I would see like five Combine there. It was something out of a Looney Tunes sketch or something. I would be fine if I had the tools to handle this, but I don’t have any new weapons. Also, there was this boss fight with an Antlion Guardian and he just WOULDN’T DIE! Antlions were spawning everywhere and was happening in a small arena too.
Other than those cons, I think this mod is pretty fun and that you should give it a try. I wanted to give it a nine, but after beating the game and experiencing all of my critiques like that, I feel like an 8 is more fitting. Overall, play this mod, it deserves the attention!