Dear Esther Landmark Edition - Review

Dear Esther was originally released back in 2008, it was a game that passed by me but had some curiosity about it. It was later re-released in 2012, with an upgrade to the visuals, and now with an added commentary mode while playing the game by the creators. After just finishing the Vanishing of Ethan Carter and having enjoyed the Chinese Room's Everybody's Gone to the Rapture I thought Dear Esther would a perfect next game.


I like Jacob's Cream Crackers - to be fair I like most crackers, add a little cheese, a little meat, maybe even some chives or salad. It's a great snack and goes perfectly with wine and some grapes. If you can envision all of this then image a cracker without cheese, or meat or anything, would it still be enjoyable or just really dry and relatively tasteless?  Playing Dear Esther I found myself asking was this a brave and bold endeavor to risk and try something different?  Did it hit the mark or was it just dry and underwhelming?

Story


The story has you follow a faceless, nameless man who is talking about his wife, Esther. It is clear within the opening few minutes that she has passed away. He wanders around a Hebridean island, that seems uninhabited but over the years has had some visitors. The story is all about Esther, the man's feelings towards her, what happened to her, and as a consequence what has happened to him. It could almost be interpreted as a love letter of sorts.


The English language is incredible, it helps us create sentences and stories by lining up words together, and the combinations of those words are almost infinite. There is a reason I specifically mentioned that is throughout the game, the words and sentences used are never simple.  Each piece of dialogue sounds overly poetic to the point where it feels that is more important than telling the actual story. Flowery language, Nolls describes it as when she reads it in novels.


Overall the game is design to be interruptive, which can be a good thing or simply away to avoid good storytelling. If you play the game multiple times more story is told. Unlike the story and stories in Everyones Gone to the Rapture, I was left feeling disconnected and never felt a real pull towards the narrator and his woes.

Visuals


While Dear Esther has many shortcomings the visuals are not one of them. The island you wander is beautiful, everything from the overgrown grass and wildflowers to the long-forgotten ships that beached on the island, to the skies above. They all look so real and it is easy to truly imagine the island is real.


Overall the visuals are beautiful and can feel how much work was put into them and by far is the strongest part of the game.



Music


The music provides a constant feeling of melancholy, which considering the narrator is talking about his deceased wife and how that has affected him suits it perfectly. The composer is English composer Jessica Curry who not only was the co-head of the Chinese Room but also created the music for Everybody's Gone to the Rapture and Amenisa A Machine for Warpigs.


The soundtrack is just under an hour and while short is certainly memorable and haunting. The music style used in Everybody's Gone to the Rapture can certainly be felt in Dear Esther.


Overall like the visuals the music is one of the most standout parts of the game.

Gameplay


When I first heard about Telltale Games The Walking Dead I wasn't really interested. I want a game to be interactive, to pull me, to be part of it all.  Of course, I was wrong about it, when I sat down to play it I was hooked and it is up there as one of my favorite video game series. The reason I note this is that I had misgivings about Dear Esther, but after playing Everybody's Gone to the Rapture I thought it can't be that bad.


Unfortunately, it is bad.  The game, and I am using that term lightly, is a walking simulator from a first-person perspective. There is no interaction with objects and is a linear experience traversing an island until you reach its summit. The game is like certain people, they can be attractive looking but if that is all they have going for them I am going to get bored real quick.


Overall the gameplay is lacking and felt more like a dull indie movie than a game.





Final Thoughts

So, after just under two hours how did I feel. Underwhelmed and disappointed.  The story didn't really pull me and the overly convoluted way of writing everything seemed like a way to make something mundane sound more interesting and sadly failing. The visuals and soundtrack are amazing and to me is the only saving grace for Dear Esther. The gameplay did not exist and was purely a walking simulator.  This one manages to just about scrape a 3 out of 5

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter - Review

About two Christmases ago I purchased The Vanishing of Ethan Carther along with Dear Esther. This weekend I was scrolling through my PlayStation Store purchases and noticed them both. I decided not to hold off playing it any longer.


Hotdogs, almost indefinable meat put into the shape of a sausage, load it up with some onions, ketchup, or whatever condiments you prefer and stuff into a soft bread roll.  Despite its perhaps sounding unappealing once you have tried one it's hard to stop eating them. The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is a combination of many different ideas put together, but does it work?

Story


The game is set in 1973 and you take on the role of Paul Prospero, a paranormal investigator. He has been sent a letter by Ethan Carter, a fan of his, but this in itself is not unusual. The unusual part is that things Ethan talks about no child should be aware of them, and this is what prompts Prospero to go to Red Creek Valley and find Ethan.


The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is all about the story so I won't spoil too much, basically if you like things like X-Files, Millenium, and general paranormal sleuthing you will enjoy this game.


Overall the story is put together pretty well, the only downside for me was the ending. It felt almost unfinished making the ending not hugely satisfying. 

Visuals


The visual spectacle created by Polish game developer The Astronauts is amazing.  Exploring the beautiful countryside, the lush woods, and the old visual history of Red Creek Valley was a lot of fun. There was many a time when I just had to stop and take in the full visual glory around me.


Overall The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is a beautiful and visually impressive game, that offers varied environments and kept my focus throughout my journey.



Music


The music creates an eerie atmosphere that intensifies both the story and gameplay. The creator of this sound is Polish Composer Mikolai Stroinski. He helped add his talents to Witcher 3 Wild Hunt and The Witcher Thronebreaker.


The soundtrack is just shy of being an hour and features some memorable tracks including; 'What do the ghosts say?', 'Lonely Planet', 'Carter's House' and 'Ethan's Theme'.


Overall an interesting soundtrack and while present it often is done subtly to not disturb or break the overall experience of the player.

Gameplay


The game is played from the first-person perspective, which works well and allows you to fully take in everything around you.  The games let you know as you start that it is not looking to hold your hand, and they mean it, kind of. The game features a number of small puzzles that help in explaining what has happened in the world recently. It easy to miss them so exploring the world is a must. When you do come across a puzzle or their pieces they are generally easy to spot, and while this may come across as being slightly linear the most important part of the game is the story.  That all being said I did enjoy working them out and liked that they had added to the story rather than being a roadblock.


Overall the game mechanics are simple, but as I have noted in previous reviews that is not necessarily a bad thing. The game allows you to enjoy the world you are in and fully engage with the story with only a few distractions that add more to it.





Final Thoughts


So, after almost five hours how did I feel. Pretty good. The story was engaging throughout my journey and while the ending left me feeling a little unsatisfied I still enjoyed it as a whole. The visuals are amazing and easy to see how passions the developers had when creating it.  The music manages to be subtle and important and helps add to the environment and overall feel of the game. The game mechanics are simples, not out of laziness but you can stay constantly focused on the story. This one slides in with a 4 out of 5

Observer - Review

I have played in excess of eight-hundred games in my life, that's not be bragging (it sort of is). I have tried all genres and played more than a few horror games, so believe me when I tell you that Observer is once of the most intense psychological horror games I have ever played.  In was released in 2017 and for many people (myself included), it flew under the radar. That being said it got an overwhelmingly positive score by most reviewers. I was curious and recently saw it on sale so I thought why not?


Bolognese looks kind of messy at first glance,  meat, sauce, vegetables slopped on top of pasta.  Despite this, the individual ingredients help pull it together and make it a tasty dish, even if it does look a little crude.  Playing Observer I found myself asking was this a tasty mess or just a mess?

Story


The story is set in the future in a world where the East and West have destroyed each other and out of the ashes one corporation has taken over everything, Chiron.  The game is set in Poland and follows Daniel Lararksi (played by Rutger Hauer), a member of the KPD, and an Observer.  His body is augmented, and one of these augmentations allows him to hack into people's minds.   He gets a call from his estranged son Adam, desperate to reconnect with him he tracks down his son to an apartment complex in the slums of Krakow.


The story all plays out in the apartment complex and while this seemed restrictive to me at first my mind was quickly changed.  There are side cases to deal with which you can investigate or ignore but personally, I would recommend looking into them all.


Overall the story intense and like nothing I have quite played before, not only that but the world you move through is far removed from our own and is often quite horrific, not only visually but psychologically.

Visuals


Like every part of the game, the visuals are intense.  The apartment complex you are in is a slum, sometimes the room is laid beside each other times you will have to get through sections of broken walls to find the next few.  There are a number of floors and the basement itself is extremely claustrophobic and made me fight between my desire to explore and my desire to get out of there as quickly as possible.


Daniel is able to use a bio-scanner and an electro-scanner which changes the look of the world and can feel harsh on the eyes at times. This does not feel down to a low budget, or oversight but part of the design to keep you feeling uncomfortable. Even when you are not using one of the scanners or night vision it all feels a little jarring.


Overall the visuals are intense, jarring and the only point I felt even mildly comfortable is when I was communicating with the other tenants through closed doors.



Music


I was asked today what the music in the game like and I noted that it did not feel very present and was in the background. Listening to the soundtrack again I realized how wrong I was. The music is
palpable and permeates every inch of my experience and did so without me fully registering it, which for someone like me who really enjoys video games soundtracks is a feat.  The composer for the interesting and psychological experience is Arkadiusz Reikowski.  He is credited for a lot of video game music; Layers of Fear, Husk, and Kholat to name but a few.


The soundtrack clocks in at around forty minutes, while exceptionally short for a game of around ten hours it never felt like any of it was repeated over and over again.  All of the tracks help to create discomfort in the world you are in and each track is as potent and as important as the next.

Gameplay


The game has you play from a first-person perspective which helps you really take in the world around you.  There are no weapons, only tools. There is bio-scanner that allows you to find blood trails and other nastiness. Then there is the electro-scanner that allows you to find electronic devices including those in people. While this may seem like very little it is actually more than enough to get everything you need.


There is a user interface in the form of a wrist band that you can use to track cases and take pills when needed.  The pills in way help you keep connected to reality, and even then there was rarely a time I wasn't asking is this real?


Being a Detective you can ask questions to the tenants in the building, all of which you have very distinct personalities. Some want to help, others are scared, some are insane and others you would cross the street to avoid.


The game was clearly created for PC, the reason I say this is that there is a little dot you use to interact with objects which can be a little awkward with a controller but would be more straightforward with a mouse.  Outside of this, there were one or two small glitches and sometimes I would get stuck on objects.


Overall though the gameplay was really solid with very little room for improvement. Nolls also played Observer, and her only qualm with it was the aforementioned glitches, which had her frustratedly resorting to walkthroughs to figure out was she being stupid (her words, not mine), or had the game actually glitched. There are times in the game when you can die, and she also found these parts of the gameplay to be a bit contrived compared with the rest of the gameplay, rather than actually effective or scary. Especially because she kept dying when she just wanted to get on with the game, which otherwise flowed naturally as an interactive story should.





Final Thoughts


So, after around ten hours how did I feel?  Glad to be out of the nightmare that was the Observer. Don't construe that as me saying the game was bad, far from it, but was an intense psychological experience that few horror movies could match. The story felt like falling down a rabbit hole that when in directions I could not have foreseen.  The visuals offered insight into the dark world controlled by the mega-corporation Chiron. The music crept out of everywhere being both subtle and loud.  The gameplay intensified an already intense experience and I am not sure I could take living in a world like that. This one gets a solid 4 out of 5 and make excited and nervous to play Bloober Teams other game Layers of Fear. (Nolls reckons 4.5 as it's a superb game that could only be improved with slightly revised gameplay, and more/more-developed stories/cases/endings. But she loved it anyway.)

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered - Review

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 was originally released back in 2009, and the weeks leading up to its release I was pumped.  The first installment of Modern Warfare had an engaging story, the campaign did not feel like an afterthought, unlike some first-person shooters whose focus is purely on the multiplayer experience but fear backlash for having no single-player campaign and tack it on. When it was released I played the hell out of it and once that Modern Warfare arc came to close I dreamed of a day when Modern Warfare 2 would be remastered. The day finally came earlier this month.


I like peanut butter, I like chocolate, so naturally putting them together for me is like heaven. Enter Reese's Chocolate Eggs, they are the best example of this and right now I am already thinking how I will be devouring a few at the weekend. This combination of peanut butter and chocolate works well but not all combinations do.  Playing Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered (henceforth will be shortened to CODMW2CR (even the abbreviation is long)) I wondered did it combine things I love into something heavenly or was is reaching to be something it could never be?

Story


What makes the Modern Warfare series so interesting is that you don't just follow one character but a number of them, each is doing their own missions but they all tie together. The story sees Russia go to war with the US after an incident that occurred in Russia.


When starting the game I was asked did I want to remove myself from playing this mission? Why? Well at the time and now even it is seen as controversial.  The mission is called 'No Russian', your character is a US soldier who is undercover working for a very bad guy (understatement).  The mission has you walk into an airport with the very bad guy and his team and watch every person you lays eyes on be slaughtered. There are two options; engage in helping them kill everyone or simply watch the horror unfold.  Right at the end of the mission you are shot by the villain and left to die when it is discovered who you are it leads to Russia to invade the US. With a tense history between the two nations, it is not unfathomable that this would be the straw that finally broke the camels back and gave them the reason they needed to go to war with the US.


When I watch a horror movie I don't get the option to opt-out of the blood, gore, or possible violence, because I know going in this is likely to be part of the movie.  So why would it be done with a game, a first-person shooter that involves you killing people throughout it?  Sometimes scenes are put into movies just to cause outrage, it does not add or drive the plot and is just there for the sake of gratuity. Playing the mission 'No Russia' it adds to and drives the overall plot.  It establishes how bad this person, how if you were a Russian (or anyone with a heart) how it would hurt you to know this had happened to your people, and even how it might be conceivable that they would be justified in wanting revenge.  So with that all being said why should there be a choice to opt-out of the mission? If people are aware of it and don't like it, don't play the game, if they are aware of it they should have the knowledge and sense that there will be a lot of violence in the game.


When you break it down my point or rather my question is why censor or attempt to censor something that was already in the game from day one?  Killing hundreds of people in a game no one bats an eye, kill a load of civilians and everyone loses their mind. I guess what I am saying is if I go into a bar and have a drink and then see people drunk out of the mind getting angry, shouting, falling about the place, or throwing up should I accept it?  Maybe not. Should I be aware this might happen if I go into a bar? Yes.


Overall the story still holds up and is the best modern warfare story to date.

Visuals


The visuals are fantastic! Everything has been upgraded, the character models are more detailed, giving a more realistic look. The levels themselves are more defined, in some cases extra parts added to provide a more organic look. It is one of the best visual remasters I have seen as it is not just a simple 1080p to 4K upscale but a complete redesign of the entire game. It is clear that real-time and effort was put into the visuals and the results speak for themselves.  The game deserved a fresh coat of paint but ended up getting a lot more than that and really shows how come visuals in games have come.


Overall the visuals are all they could be and only hope they round it by remastering Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3.



Music


The soundtrack has stayed the same with the exception of a small fine-tuning to give a clearer sound.
The score for Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 is simply epic, it has the feel of an excellent pulse-pounding action movie, and it really creates an intense atmosphere.  The two people responsible for this are:


Hans Zimmer created the Main Themes in Modern Warfare 2.  The man needs no introduction and has worked on and created musical masterpieces for many films, TV series, and games.  Some of his works include; Gladiator, Inception,  Black Hawk Down, The Rock,  Lion King, and The Darknight Returns.

Lorne Balfe is a Scottish born composer and created the main score for Modern Warfare 2.  He has a varied background, some of his works include: Terminator Genisys, Assassins Creed 3, Crysis 2
and Ghost in The Shell (2017)


The soundtrack runs at just under at over three hours which I found to be a great length considering how long the campaign is.  There were many great pieces, my favorites were; 'Ordinance', 'Extraction Point', 'Guerrilla Tactics', 'Onwards', and 'Safeguard'.


Overall the music still hits hard and works well and helps add more depth to the game as a whole.

Gameplay 


Similar to the visuals the gameplay has had quite the overhaul. One of the first things I noted was how you could examine your weapons, it's a small thing but looks really cool.  The weapons feel more balanced helping to provide a more immersive experience.


The enemies seem tougher and smarter, while I did play the game on hardened difficulty this far from my first rodeo and I only played the original Modern Warfare 2 last year and it did not feel anywhere near as hard.  This was welcomed though and added a new level of challenge to the game.


Something I always enjoyed about the game was the diversity of areas, some of which see you fighting through a gulag, on a snowmobile doing all you can to make a speedy escape while not being killed, traveling through different areas of Afghanistan, through caves and traveling down rapids. The game likes to keep you on your toes and does it well.


Often with first-person shooters, one of the biggest complaints from players and critics is how short the campaign is, this is not the case with CODMW2CR. The campaign is a good length and never feels too short or like it is dragging on too long.


Overall the gameplay is a lot of fun, it has revamped and adds a new challenge while still keeping its original charm.





Final Thoughts


So, after ten hours (yeah I got that long out of it) how did I feel? I feel a renewed love for the game. The story holds up well, the visuals are something else, the music is the same but if it ain't broke why fix it, and the gameplay is polished and more well balanced as a whole. This one did not leave me having to decide for long, this one gets a solid 5 out of 5, roll on CODMW3CR!

Gears of War Judgement - Review

Fresh off the back of completing Gears of War 3 myself and Nolls decided to play Gears of War Judgement, the fourth installment in the Gears of War series. I had only played it once before when it was first released so was excited to see how I felt about it the second time around, especially after playing Gears 5.


There are certain combinations of food in my opinion that go really well together. A classic for me is lasagna, chips and garlic bread.  It's a heavy meal and a lot to eat through, but I'm always up for the challenge. As I sit here with my slightly swollen stomach (okay it's very swollen) I find myself asking was it worth it? The answer is yes, every time.  Playing Gears of War Judgement I found myself asking was it the right combination of things and would I be left swollen or feeling sick?

Story


Gears of War Judgement is split into two campaigns; Judgement and Aftermath.  Judgment focuses on Kilo Squad, made up of a young Lieutenant Baird, Private Cole, and introducing Cadet Hendrik, and Private Paduk. Cadet Hendrik who is in training to be an Onyx Guard, Private Paduk who is from the Republic of Gorasnaya who doesn't like taking orders and has more than a few bones to pick with the COG.


The start of Judgment sees all members of Kilo Squad in handcuffs and each giving their testimonies.  Each character provides another piece of the story and the pieces combined show their journey to take down General Karn. Aftermath takes place during the latter half of Gears of War 3 when Baird and Cole are sent to find reinforcements.  They meet a not so happy Paduk and try to convince him for help.


Overall the story works really and it was interesting to see a younger Baird and Cole and the introduction of new characters Hendrik and Paduk.

Visuals


The visuals are a lot more vibrant and sharper than in the previous installments of Gears of War. Don't get me wrong the game still looks dark, but fire and the overall lighting effects stand out much more than before.


There are a number of missions that are outside during the day and these look really good especially in the Judgement campaign where there were still some buildings intact, and for a moment give the illusion of an abandoned world rather than a desolate one. The world feels more real than it has previously and can really see the impact war has had on it.


It's clear the visuals are starting the move towards a more vibrant look and not quite as dark and moody. Who said darkness had to look dark anyway?



Music


Part of what makes up the Gears Of War Universe is the music, dark, moody and very often intense. This sound is created by Steve Jablonsky, who along with creating the music of Gears of War has also created the sound for Prince of Persia Forgotten Sands and Command and Conquer Tiberium Wars.


The soundtrack is just under an hour but Jablonsky makes every minute count.  It is hands down the best Gears of War soundtrack to date. He managed to create both a new and familiar sound which really adds to the overall experience of the game.


This is one of these few times where I give top marks to the soundtrack.  Every track was perfect and worked so well. If a Lancer was pointed at my head and I had to pick one track that stood above the others I would have to say 'Jacked'.

Gameplay


While the core gameplay in Gears of War Judgement is similar to the others in the Gears of War series this one makes a few tweaks and changes along with throwing in an interesting curveball.


The weapons are reliable, sawed-off shotguns and retro Lancers feel a little inaccurate but they are supposed to be. Not since Gears of War 2 have I used my chainsaw so much, it makes me smile every time I revved it up.  I used the Retro Lancer a lot as well because even though it does not offer the best accuracy I really got into using the bayonet, and while awkward to use it is quite satisfying killing a locust with one.


The cover system continues to be solid for the most part but can glitch on occasion, this means you don't always slide into cover as smoothly as you may like. The cover feels a lot more temporary in many cases as similar to Gears of War 3 it is more destructible.


Gears of War 3 made you feel you were fighting for your very life, Gears of War Judgement does that same thing which creates an intense and satisfying experience.  In the Judgement campaign, there is a Star System for each section with a maximum of three stars to be gained.  It certainly pushes you not to be lazy and give it your all.  However, if you find this too easy you also have the option of adding a declassified mission to the mix, it can be anything from stronger enemies, little ammo, or there is a time limit.  While it is jarring to start with we got into the groove pretty quickly. The only downside is that they did not continue this with the Aftermath campaign.


Overall the gameplay is varied, offering more challenges, new enemies and a few new weapons too!






Final Thoughts


So, after ten hours how did we feel?  Pretty good.  The story was really good and fleshed out some of the characters. The visuals were a lot more vibrant and sharper and it will be interesting replaying Gears of War 4 to see how they compare.  The soundtrack is easily the best to date and certainly adds to the tension.  The gameplay is fairly solid with only a few minor hiccups.  This one gets a solid 4 out of 5

Catherine Full Body - Review

Ten years ago now I heard about Catherine. I saw a teaser trailer and some mild details about it, my first thoughts were 'this looks crazy, I must play it'.  I have played Catherine quite a number of times over the years and seen all the endings, it is an awesome game and is like no other I have played.  Naturally, when Atlus announced they would be releasing a new edition of the game with a new story, characters, dialogue, animations, and music I was pumped.


I love yum-yums! What the hell is a yum-yum I hear you asking? They are like a doughnut only softer, full of sugar and frosting and make you go yum-yum.  It's a stupidly good name and even while I type these words I am thinking how much I want one or four.  Playing Catherine Fully Body I found myself asking was it is tasty and sweet as I remember or was there a chance it was better?

Story 


The story of Catherine follows Vincent Brooks, a guy who loves drinking with his friends and is trying to figure out what he is doing with his life.  His long time girlfriend Catherine is getting tired of his antics and wants him to commit more to their relationship. He is happy where he is, but the time has come for Vincent to figure things out. That might seem tough enough already but add in a girl he has woken up beside who is also called Katherine. Then there is Rin a mysterious girl with amnesia who Vincent is trying to help out, but who is she really? And that is just his waking hours, at night he is plagued by nightmares.


The added dialogue and characters are awesome, there are new challenges and new endings to the game recorded by the original voice actors. I loved playing Catherine Fully Body and look forward to seeing all the new endings in time.  Overall the story is fantastic and really adds something new to the game.

Graphics


The visuals in the original release of Catherine in 2011 were awesome. They mixed great in-game visuals and character designs with anime sequences. This time Atlus has given the visuals a bit of an overall upgrade along with adding in some new stuff as well.  The game features some new characters that all add their own flair to the world of Catherine.  There is now a new story puzzle mode where the deadly blocks look very different and offer a lot more of a challenge. Additionally, there is a whole slew of new cut sequences that look amazing.


Overall the visuals look amazing, the upgrades and the addition of new story sequences help make Catherine Fully Body even more impressive than the original release.



Music


The music style used in Catherine Fully Body is varied, including jazz, rock, and anime. Shoji Meguro is the Japanese composer for the Persona and Shin Megami Tensei series. This time he adds his talent to the soundtrack of Catherine Full Body (as he did with the original release). Japanese composer Takeshi Kuramochi also adds his talents to the soundtrack and is best known for his work on the Magical Halloween Series.  The soundtrack also features Japanese hip-hop and rapper L-VOKAL.


The soundtrack runs slightly over two hours and features nothing but great tracks! The soundtrack adds a load of new tracks, including those featured in the Persona series that can now be played on the Juke Box at the Stray Sheep while Vincent is killing time. Overall a great soundtrack that goes way beyond the original.

Gameplay
The gameplay is quite different from any other game I have played before.  It manages to feel like an anime, crossed with an RPG and something else too.  The combination works well and there is time to enjoy all elements of the game.  For example, when Vincent is in the Stray Sheep Bar talking to his friends and speaking with its patrons it seems like the most important thing.  I loved going around talking to people, drinking, sending texts, listening to music, and sometimes if I was in the mood I would play Rapunzel.


Each night when Vincent falls to sleep he must navigate a wall of blocks, build paths to get to the top and try to avoid traps, or falling, or killer sheep.  The puzzle mechanics have been improved quite a lot from the original.  In the original release, the camera angles could be a bit of pain making it awkward to plan your path.  There is now a blue light that indicates when blocks are touching each other and show the potential route you can take while hanging.  The game did not feel as tough as the original and made me wonder if this was due to how many times I had played it before or had Atlus removed some of the difficulty?


In between the puzzles of certain death, a voice asks you certain questions to get a better idea of who you are.  The scale will either tip closer to the red or into the blue depending on how you answer.  More questions have been added this time, and like last time you get to see how other players answered.


Finding the game to easy? Put up the difficulty! Want more of a challenge? Take on the Tower of Babel or take on people online.


Overall the gameplay has enjoyed some tweaks and improvements which really helped provide a smoother experience.





Final Thoughts

So, after twelve hours how did I feel?  Amazing.  The story was awesome and the addition of Rin, along with other characters and the new endings provide a lot of excuses to replay it in the future. The visuals have gone from great to amazing and love the new anime sequences.  The music is awesome and manages to make something old new and then some.  The gameplay improvements are welcome and make the overall experience that much better.  This one gets a solid 5 out of 5

Warcraft III Reforged - Review

Many, many moons ago I remember purchasing Warcraft III Reign of Chaos, and the add on Frozen Throne. It was one of the best Real-Time Strategy games I have ever played and I have put so many hours into it over the years.  The first time I set up a LAN party was while playing Warcraft III.  We had three laptops connected up together in a small cold room on TV dinner size tables and it was awesome. Nearly twenty years after it was released Blizzard announced they would be remastering both the Reign of Chaos and Frozen Throne, along with The Founding of Durotar campaign.  Naturally, when it was released earlier this year I snagged myself a copy.


I love M&M's, there are so many different types and flavors, so no matter what mood you are in there is something for you. I have gone through bouts of eating bags and bags of them and made myself feel quite sick but loved consuming them all the same.  Playing Warcraft III Reforged made me wonder whether eating so many M&M's was a good thing?

Story


The Warcraft Universe is huge and highly detailed and that was way before World of Warcraft was released. Warcraft III Reforged has sixty missions!  It is hard to sum up everything that the story covers in Warcraft III Reforged but I will give it a try. There are multiple campaigns and races you get to play with; Humans, Orcs, The Undead, Night Elves, Blood Elves, and a Mok'nathal. A demonic race known as the Burning Legion is trying to take over the world, this is essentially the base story. Within that, each race has its own story, the Humans are trying to stop the Burning Legion's army known as The Scourge. The Orcs are trying to deal with being part of the Burning Legion for a long time and now being free to be their own people. The Night Elves are trying to stop the forests and essentially mother nature from being destroyed by not only the Burning Legion but also all of the races taking resources to build their armies. The Undead wants to claim the world for themselves but there are a lot of different ideas on how this is to be done and who should be in charge. The Blood Elves are dealing with no longer having a pure source of magic and are essentially a dying race being bullied by the humans. Finally, there is Rexxar, a Mok'nathal who is a lonely wanderer trying to find his place in the world.


There is so much happening in the story, what makes it interesting is that there are a lot of grey areas. The heroes are not always as pure as they seem and willing to go to extreme lengths to get what they want. The villains are not just simple one-dimensional characters but complex characters who often made me wondering who the real villains were.


Overall a fantastic story that still holds up exceptionally well especially for a game that is almost twenty years old!

Visuals


When it comes to RTS's visuals have never been that important to me. I grew up playing series like Command and Conquer and The Settlers. Over the years RTS's visuals have improved massively, great examples of these for me personally would be Halo Wars and Frostpunk.  The visuals have definitely been enhanced, remastered and upgraded since the release of Warcraft III in 2002. Each of the units looks a lot sharper and more defined, and when zooming in characters don't look pixelated. The levels themselves look really good (but being honest I always thought they looked good). I really love the visuals in the Night Elves campaign, the forests look lush and alive.  One thing Blizzard has always been synonymous with is their cinematics. They look so good in fact that it makes me excited for a day that games have the same visuals for the gameplay itself.


Overall the new visuals help make a good looking game even better and I never tired of looking at them.



Music


The music for Warcraft III Reforged is the same as the original Warcraft III Reign of Chaos and Frozen Throne.  It has a distinctly old school sound, it's not quite retro, perhaps the best way to describe it would be to say it is a more civilized music, from a more civilized time (yeah, I have kind of taken that from a New Hope and repurposed it). That isn't a knock on it but is definitely very different from modern-day video game soundtracks.

The soundtrack is composed by Glenn Stafford, Tracy W. Bush and Derek Duke, who between them have provided the sounds of Warcraft II, III, and World of Warcraft along with Starcraft, Starcraft II and Overwatch.

The soundtrack is just shy of two hours and my favorites tracks include; 'Comrade Ship', 'Doom', 'Human #1', 'Human Defeat', 'Main Screen', 'Night Elf #2', 'Orc #2', 'Orc #3', 'Orc x1', 'Undead #2' and 'Undead #3'.

Gameplay


Warcraft III Reforged is like many RTS games, build a base, manage resources, build an army, destroy the enemy.  Outside of the normal missions, you have ones where you have to defend an area or destroy one in a limited time. Then there is Defence of the Ancient (DOTA) style missions where you control one or two heroes and a limited amount of units, not hugely dissimilar to the mechanics of Diablo III.


Each race has its own strengths and weakness and you will get to explore all of them as you journey through each of the campaigns. The human race (ROFL) has well designed and strong buildings, mages and great siege units, the downside is that many of them are quite weak and can easily be killed. The Orcs have less refined and more tribal looking structure (which I really like), they don't tend to be very strong but make up for it in the strength of their units. The Undead have a big effect wherever they take up residence, a lush green area can be transformed into a deadly poisonous one. The base defenses are quite strong, while some units can be killed easily they are often cheap to produce and the stronger ones can easily take on multiple units with ease. Night Elves use nature to their advantage and rather than cutting down trees they kind of absorb the wood without destroying them?  Don't ask me, do I  look like an arborist?  Their biggest strength is that at night they appear or don't appear visible to enemies making it easier to sneak around.  The base structures are all living and can be moved around if needed which is really cool. The Blood Elves are quite similar to Night Elves, at least base structure-wise but I found their units to be a lot more battle-hardened and magic rich.


Separate to all the races you have the Mok'nathal, well one of them, named Rexxar. A traveler who is always accompanied by his pet companion Misha. There is no base-building involved with him and he can be controlled solo. His role starts as the new Orc empire is being established, he helps complete small missions which when combined together offer many hours of gameplay.


The game features many heroes and villains, there are around twenty of them in total. The standout ones for me were; Thrall, Lich Kel'Thuzard, Illidan, Prince Kael'Thas, Lady Vash and Rexxar. Each of them can be leveled up and gain four abilities that can then be further upgraded.


Some missions will seem quite quick, there are some really tricky ones along the way that I had to replay a number of times before beating them but it was all part of the fun.  Overall the game holds up pretty well after all these years and the gameplay very solid.




Final Thoughts


So, after almost seventy hours (yeah, you read that right) how did I feel?  Pretty damn good. It was great to revisit a familiar world with a fresh coat of paint and some tweaks.  The main story and side stories are really interesting and are easy to see why there is so much literature on it.  The visuals went from good to great, the more refined, polished look really helps bring it closer to modern-day RTS visuals.  The music remained the same, I can't knock that but certainly feels a little aged or maybe I have just gotten too used to modern-day video game music.  The gameplay is good but is often not for the faint of heart or those not willing to dedicate some serious hours to it.  Overall this one gets a solid 4 out of 5