This is Vic.

[2004.12.27] I play a lot of games. Well, not that many, but as many as spare time and extra money allow. Some games are just fad-of-the-months while others make it to my humble "all-time best game" list. You might notice I tend to mainly play first-person shooters and real-time strategy games with a sprinkle of select fighting games. At the moment I have a few "2 The Point" reviews. I intend them just to be small exercises to pinpoint exactly what I like about certain games. I will probably add some classics in when I have nothing better to do.

ShootOut!

What? Duck Hunt but less? Huh? Check it out.

Reaction Quake 3

A Quake 3 Modification I worked on. Check it out.

Now Playing: So many games, so little time...

Half-Life 2: Great game overall. Lots of minor issues, but nothing that really detracts from the experience. Very vivid, some creative gameplay and good polish. Truly a sequel that one-ups its predecessor.

Counter-Strike: Source: Mainly with co-workers. I find that if you treat CS as a purely arcade-like FPS and leave behind any sort of expectations that it is realistic, you can enjoy the game much more. Plus this looks a lot better than the original.

Need For Speed Underground 2: With GT4 delayed until Q1 2005, NFSU2 will have to satisfy my driving fix. So far, it's not bad. It's definitely ruined a few of my weekend schedules!

Final Fantasy X: Starting to catch up on RPGs. Let's see where this one takes me.

MVP Baseball 2005: ;)

What's In My Game Queue?

Burnout 3 (almost finished too!), Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, The Sims 2, GTA: San Andreas

"2 The Point" (2TP) Reviews:

Coming soon: Burnout 3, Street Fighter Anniversary Collection, Half-Life 2
Splinter Cell
Unreal Tournament 2004
Doom 3
One Must Fall: Battlegrounds
Beyond Good & Evil
Halo: Combat Evolved
Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne
MechWarrior 4 Mercenaries
MechWarrior 4 Vengeance
Wolfenstein - Enemy Territory
System Shock 2
Command & Conquer Generals
No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy in H.A.R.M.'s Way
Unreal Tournament 2003
Starfleet Command 3
Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon
Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix
Command & Conquer Renegade

Splinter Cell 2TP Review:

Release Date: February 2003
Review Date: December 2004
With Ghost Recon representing the tactical military shooter and Rainbow Six taking care of the tactical counter-terrorism aspect, it was almost inevitable that a tactical espionage game would unfold under the Tom Clancy line of games. Splinter Cell has you play Sam Fisher, as you sneak through shadows, evade enemies, and enter/exit premises without detection. Sounds good, but it doesn't quite play out that way. The AI is sub-par, the levels often too linear, and the controls, while sufficient, are far from refined. Nevertheless, Splinter Cell manages to provide interesting action and puzzles all wrapped in a decent global plot. It is definitely a worthwhile competitor to the established Metal Gear Solid series from Konami.

The Good
Excellent use of lighting to promote stealth gameplay
NV, IR goggles more than eye-candy; game-essential
Fairly intriguing plot to advance game
Sound effects fidelity is excellent
Dynamic music enhances player atmosphere
Voice-acting is full of personality
Variety of vivid, interesting environments
Sam Fisher is as sly as Solid Snake ;)
Excellent use of mouse wheel to control speed

The Bad
Shadow maps are extremely prone to aliasing
Enemy AI is often stupid
Aiming and firing is a tedious, inaccurate process
Many puzzles just require killing all room enemies
Many cases of surprise death, memorize trap, reload
Vertical movement control is not very responsive

The Ugly
Game-ism: goggles are easily seen in pitch black

Overall grade: A-

Unreal Tournament 2004 2TP Review:

Release Date: March 2004
Review Date: November 2004
Unreal Tournament 2004 is a remarkably polished multiplayer FPS. It is arguable that this is what Unreal Tournament 2003 should have shipped as, and what Halo multiplayer should have been like. Up front, UT2004 contains EVERYTHING that was in UT2003. However, this is only half of the game's contents! With the addition of vehicles, more useful weapon balancing, the return of objective-based "Assault" maps and the introduction of the "Onslaught" game mode, Epic has really created a great game that is extremely stable and fast without compromising great graphics and sound.
While there is a robust singleplayer game that mimics a sport and tourney feel, this 2TP review concentrates mostly on the multiplayer aspect of the game.

The Good
Excellent intense, fast-paced multiplayer action
All weapons are useful and quite balanced
Graphics engine is crisp, fast and scalable
Sound production quality is excellent
Vehicle control is very intuitive and fluid
Return of the Assault game mode!
Onslaught game mode is simple yet well-balanced
Software renderer for those lacking good video cards

The Bad
Lacking a variety of multiplayer servers
In-game voice chat mutes most sound
Lack of internet assault servers
Six CD installation - over 5GB required!

The Ugly
Nothing - very polished game!

Overall grade: A+

Doom 3 2TP Review:

Release Date: August 5, 2004
Review Date: August 2004
A lot of hype was generated prior to the release of Doom 3. It was supposed to have impressive graphics, full surround sound, abd an intriguing retelling of the original Doom story that would actually provide a story (something traditionally lacking from id games). While it delivered on most accounts, it was arguably very a simplistic game with a cheap story that was not really developed. Additionally, the multiplayer was barebones at best, suppporting an out-of-box default of merely four players. Regardless, the game is a marvel to see and hear and definitely supplies a large dose of sci-fi horror action.

The Good
Intense and horrific overall atmosphere and mood
Great dynamic lighting and shadows
Excellent 5.1 surround sound implementation
Excellent integration of embedded GUI system
Action is very raw and frantic
Decent background story and premise
Very detailed and grotesque enemy models
The flashlight dilemma creates a lot of insecurity

The Bad
Overly-simplistic gameplay - a straight shooter
Enemy AI is very basic
Game objectives are dull and uncreative
Visual palette is pale and dystopic like most id games
Some game design rationale is absurd (the flashlight dilemma)

The Ugly
Multiplayer is barebones and poorly executed
Very few people playing multiplayer

Overall grade: A-

One Must Fall: Battlegrounds 2TP Review:

Release Date: December 8, 2003
Review Date: June 2004
One Must Fall (OMF) 2097 was arguably the best fighting game on the PC. It had simple but sufficient graphics, great mechanical sounds, an upbeat techno soundtrack, and some great gameplay. That was about ten years ago. Today, OMF:BG seemed like a valiant but lackluster attempt to bring the fighting game into today's gaming world. It lacks a lot of overall polish that could have made this game provide more than just momentary nostalgia and everlasting frustration. This 2TP concentrates primarily on the single-player because I was too frustrated to try the multiplayer. :(

The Good
Huge nostalgia factor for PC fighting gamers
Some interesting combo fluidity
Some decent in-game graphics
Single-player has a nice continuation of the original storyline

The Bad
Controls are sluggish and delayed
Very difficult to aim projectile attacks
No analog stick support
Overall, very frustrating controls
No speech - all dialogue is in a textbox
Game lacks overall polish and merit
Poor, mindless AI
Extremely cheesy menus

The Ugly
Nostalgia turns to frustration very quickly
Post-Match report is extremely dull and repetitive

Overall grade: D+

Beyond Good & Evil 2TP Review:

Release Date: December 2, 2003
Review Date: March 2004
In recent years, the number of original titles has seemingly (and perhaps statistically) decreased. More publishers seem to rely on old, established franchises and "tried-and-true" formulatic gameplay. While that's not necessarily all bad, it can get very, very boring. Enter something different: Beyond Good & Evil. Original characters set in an interesting universe; it's an adventure game with story and heart. Often you'll actually care about Jade (Beyond Good & Evil's heroine) and her friends as they struggle to discover the truth about a government conspiracy on their planet Hillys. Plus, it has great graphics that don't attempt to be ultra-realistic, an amazing ambient and melodic orchestral soundtrack and an eclectic mix of gameplay to boot. Available on all current major gaming platforms (PC, XBOX, GCN, PS2), the only severe downside is the lackluster marketing effort by Ubi Soft.

The Good
Rich, colourful graphics and special effects
Moving, emotional orchestral soundtrack
Superb voice-acting
Fresh original characters, plot and backstory
Simple, intuitive player controls
Difficulty level is very balanced, enjoyable
Many side-quests, mini-games, puzzles
Great mix of action, stealth, adventure
An interactive cinematic experience

The Bad
Third-person camera occasionally glitchy
Game menus a bit unwieldy with PC controls
Some stealth sequences extremely tedious
Characters lack lip-synch with in-game speech
Abrupt ending with loose ends

The Ugly
Poor marketing under-exposed this great game

Overall grade: A+

Halo: Combat Evolved 2TP Review:

Release Date: September 30, 2003
Review Date: February 2004
Halo is a straight, "no-brains," sci-fi first person shooter. Ported from the hit X-BOX version that was released two years ago, the game features a horde of action in its single-player campaign while keeping replay value high with full 16-player multiplayer (something sorely missing from the X-BOX version). The graphics are good but not outstanding, the music is ambient but synthetic, and the gameplay is engaging but crude. Generally well-executed but too much hype. Halo's underlying simplicity is both its greatest strength and weakness.

The Good
Simple, intuitive overall gameplay and controls
Driving (warthog, ghost) very intuitive, simple
Deceptively rich backstory and atmosphere
Vivid world palette and graphics
Great sound effects, enemy chatter, voice acting
Fast (almost instantaneous) level load times
Excellent use of in-game cutscenes
Some decently reactive enemy AI
Very populated online multiplayer servers

The Bad
Performance is disappointing for graphics quality
Boring, parasitic single player storyline
Musical score feels synthetic and under-produced
Character models are poorly constructed
Some vehicles (re: banshee) are very unwieldy
Single player is esssentially shooting lots of aliens
Multiplayer pace can be detrimentally slow
Multiplayer maps extremely bland
Multiplayer co-op (present on the X-BOX) is missing!

The Ugly
Extremely poor, repetitive single player level design
Seemingly over-hyped by many gamers

Overall grade: B+

Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne 2TP Review:

Release Date: October 15, 2003
Review Date: November 2003
Max Payne 2 is the sequel to the hit game that introduced Matrix-style "bullet-time" as a key element to action gameplay. The game is basically the original Max Payne with some much-improved graphics, a stronger story, and some control tweaks that make the game extremely simple, fun and enjoyable to play -- even if it only lasts for less than ten hours. Indeed, the only prominent lacking aspects are replayability and length of the title.

The Good
Very smooth and impressive graphics engine
Atmosphere is appropriately gloomy and dystopic
Strong implementation of bullet-time
Amusing physics system (ragdoll and rigid body)
Sensible storyline compared to most games
Extremely stable, bug-free experience
Adaptive difficulty well-executed
Simple, easy-to-learn gameplay controls
Humourous dialogue between unalert enemies

The Bad
Too many guns are useless towards game end
Extremely linear, directed gameplay
Assistant AI is sometimes sub-par and moronic
Game can be finished in less than ten hours
Extra gameplay modes are somewhat uninspired

The Ugly
Horrendously short, with little replay value

Overall grade: A-

MechWarrior 4 Mercenaries 2TP Review:

Release Date: November 10, 2002
Review Date: November 2003
The "next" game in the Mechwarrior series (besides the venerable Mech Assault on the X-Box), Mercenaries is a great refinement of Mechwarrior 4: Vengeance. The basic gameplay remains the same, but weapons have been tweaked, the cheesy acting has been removed, and a stronger emphasis on economy and lance (squad) building is put in place. The game is also not as story-driven, but still seemingly remains authentic to the Battletech universe. More mechs have been added, and a free community-based project dubbed MekPak One adds even more mechs, weapons, and refinements to the game. Excellent mech title despite aging graphics.

The Good
Barebone but thought-out single-player experience
Extremely customizable loadouts return
A thriving community rarely seen in most games
Low system requirements like its predecessor
Improved system stability over predecessor
Good number of multiplayer servers and opponents
Great "colliseum"-style matches
Economy system makes "surviving" more involved

The Bad
Graphics are not much improved over Vengeance
Only a few new stock weapons
Basic gameplay is essentially identical to Vengeance
Cockpit-display fidelity is still poor
Colliseum commentator can repeat too often

The Ugly
Cinematics are reduced to in-game captures

Overall grade: A-

MechWarrior 4 Vengeance 2TP Review:

Release Date: November 30, 2000
Review Date: Summer 2003
Vengeance is the fourth official installment of the mech-piloting game set in the Battletech Universe. Overall a fun albeit slightly dated game experience but the learning curve can be a bit steep (despite supposed simplifications from its predecessors) and slightly intimidating. Add some cheesy cinematic acting (though the intro video is great), lots of 100-ton customizable robots, plenty of explosions and you can't really go wrong!

The Good
Solid mech model construction and details
Mech animations and motions are very convincing
Highly customizable loadouts-- half the fun!
Good variety of mission objectives and challenges
Low system requirements
Netcode is fairly robust
Good use of audio queues for weapon systems
Set in an interesting, well-threshed universe

The Bad
Lancemate (teammate) AI can be very idiotic
Non-mech graphics are subpar
User interface can be very sluggish
Cockpit-display fidelity is very poor
Not many non-vacant multiplayer servers online
After-mission salvage can get really excessive
Unusually long start-up time

The Ugly
Between-level cinematics are mostly horrible
CD protection causes issues with some CD-ROM drives

Overall grade: B+

Wolfenstein - Enemy Territory 2TP Review:

Release Date: May 29, 2003
Review Date: June 2003
This is a free, standalone multiplayer game made by the team responsible for the technologically-impressive Q3F mod for Quake 3. Enemy Territory plays like the multiplayer component of its inspiration, Return to Castle Wolfenstein -- fast team-oriented action with unique map objectives set in a World War II atmosphere. It takes some time to understand all the game mechanics but otherwise, it's great fun. The price is also unbeatable. Download links are available at the official Wolfenstein website.

The Good
Graphics are respectable given age of game engine
Gameplay is fast and unforgiving - very addictive
Well-designed, unique maps and objectives
Relatively low system requirements
Netcode works well even with large player counts
Teamwork is enforced by gameplay and obejctives
The price is outstanding: it's free

The Bad
Many weapon sound effects are extremely weak
Gameplay can be very intimidating to newcomers
Takes quite some time to memorize maps
Potentially low replayability; only six maps
Radio interface is structured but too large

The Ugly
Easy for ignorant players to frustrate team
Free key generation causes many initial disconnects

Overall grade: A-

System Shock 2 2TP Review:

Release Date: July 31, 1999
Review Date: Spring 2003
I actually bought this a couple years ago and even then it was already a bargain bin title. Now, I finally have the time to go through it playing co-op with my brother. System Shock 2 is a "sleeper hit" -- critically acclaimed, but totally slagged by poor marketing and sales or what-not. A shame. It features an excellent sci-fi horror FPS/RPG experience with many hours of interesting gameplay and background story. Best ten dollars I ever spent on a game.
Update: A fan-created "high definition" model pack is available to enhance the in-game visuals. It's still in-progress as of July 2003, but it looks great! Check out System Shock Rebirth!

The Good
Persistent, dark atmosphere is well-executed
Graphics, though sub-par today, retain mood
Excellent detail to sound supports the paranoia
Highly flexible player statistic development model
Hacking, weapon mods, resarch abilities done well
Very low system requirements
Story is revealed well via personnel logs
AI can often home in on where you hide
Multiplayer co-op works effectively
Some really freaky moments in the game

The Bad
Network code is not robust; players pop randomly
Player clipping and movement is inconsistent
Weapon degradation can be annoying
Mission objectives can sometimes be vague
Melee weapon fighting very sluggish and unnatural

The Ugly
Again: netcode-induced player disappearances bad
Occasionally some really frustrating player clipping

Overall grade: A

Command & Conquer Generals 2TP Review:

Release Date: January 16, 2003
Review Date: Winter 2003
The first true 3D RTS from EA Pacific (formerly Westwood Pacific), the team responsible for the insanely fun Red Alert 2 and its expansion, Yuri's Revenge. Generals stacks up by upping the gameplay to be more fast-paced and intense like the Blizzard varieties but also sacrifices most of the C&C trademarks many have grown to expect and enjoy. A lack of real story and serious online issues are also hampering the game. I will update this review when I get Generals online. Update: Played some LAN and internet games; added my thoughts.

The Good
Excellent, vivid graphics that utilize latest hardware
Good attention to unit detail and animations
Many subtle special effects make great eye-candy
Excellent, majestic military-esque musical score
Excellent, dynamic sound effects
Hard-balanced units result in intense gameplay
Three diverse factions yield different playing styles
Single-player missions well-designed and varied
Interesting extrapolation of current political standings
Multiplayer is very fun despite technical flaws

The Bad
Very steep system requirements due to graphics
Only 10-15 hours of SP campaign gameplay
Superweapons can reach ridiculous numbers
Very little background story
Unit AI can be very passive and "dumb"
Network code is very fragile and not robust

The Ugly
Almost all the C&C trademarks are lost
The endings per campaign are utterly disappointing
Apparently some serious issues with NAT routers
Booby-trapped with lots of copy protection
Requires an administrator account for Win2K/XP
Worth noting twice: network code is horrible, period

Overall grade: B+

No One Lives Forever 2 2TP Review:

Release Date: October 1, 2002
Review Date: Winter 2002
A spy-action FPS between the slick/fun Bond series and the ridiculous/parody Austin Powers series, NOLF2 builds on a successful hit. Excellent gameplay, great graphics and audio, good story, interesting characters and a plethora of other great aspects overshadow any minor nuisances that crop up in this AAA game.

The Good
Good, scalable graphics
Relatively low system requirements for a 2002 game
Great sound effects, level ambience
Excellent voice acting and cutscenes
Excellent character design, detail and animation
Appropriate soundtrack that adds to atmosphere
Single player gameplay is fun and well-executed
Single player dialogue is very humourous
Single player level design is mostly well-done
Single player stealth is effective and practical
Multiplayer co-op that is sensible and stable
Multiplayer co-op story mixes in with single-player

The Bad
Limited number of character models
Multiplayer co-op objectives difficult to interpret without playing through single player first
Clipping issues with dead bodies
Default keybindings occasionally persist
Some levels (SP and MP) are exceedingly long
Some levels have very obscure "puzzle" elements

The Ugly
Nothing! Cate Archer is gorgeous!

Overall grade: A+

Unreal Tournament 2003 2TP Review:

Release Date: October 2, 2002
Review Date: Winter 2002
It's a refined Unreal Tournament that looks a lot prettier and plays a lot cleaner. In essence, it's a benchmark FPS by which others will be compared to (similar to its predecessor and Quake 3). Those that have yet to get a good taste of an up-to-date FPS (i.e. perhaps those still living the Counter-Strike dream) should check this one out. Newbies and veterans alike will notice that Digital Extremes/Epic have tried to model this incarnation as a sports game.

The Good
Impressive, vast, detailed graphics
Great soundtrack, sound effects implementation
Balanced gameplay aside from "super weapons"
Extremely scalable to low and high-end systems
Single-player a good primer for multiplayer
Large number of stock maps, models, skins
Mutator system facilitates compact gameplay mods
Lots of configuration from the in-game option menus

The Bad
Few new gameplay elements
Few stock game modes
"Super weapons" still exist
"Movement sequences" for adrenaline are cheesy

The Ugly
The most disgusting installation size ever: 2.5GB
Where are the players? Lots of servers with bots
Annoying CD-check on startup required
Annoying NVIDIA logo on startup

Overall grade: B+

Starfleet Command 3 2TP Review:

Release Date: November 6, 2002
Review Date: Fall 2002
A tactical starship strategy game set in the Star Trek: TNG universe. Predecessors have always been intimidating and ultimately satisfying only for a niche group. This incarnation is slightly simpler with a streamlined interface, updated to The Next Generation setting (as opposed to the Original Series), and consequently easier for many people to play and enjoy.

The Good
Very authentic to the Star Trek universe
Good use of tutorials to ease learning curve
Single-player campaigns, conquests and online play
Extremely tactical as a starship battle should be
Always fun to "customize" your personal starship

The Bad
Several recurring bugs that hamper experience
Cinematics only use starships (no characters)
Overall art quality is not very impressive
Gameplay can initially feel sluggish
Despite simplifications, game can still be intimidating

The Ugly
Some bugs are terrible (randomly exploding ships)
Pulse phasers... don't sound like that
Four video clips always play at the beginning of the game (esc esc esc esc)

Overall grade: B+

Warcraft III 2TP Review:

Release Date: July 2, 2002
Review Date: Summer 2002
Warcraft III is nothing new. It is an absolute refinement to an anti-newbie game that relies on fast, aggressive tactics strict build-orders, advanced scouting, and knowing exactly what to do at the right time. Yet through all this, it's extremely fun once you get the hang of it, and the rule sets are extremely flexible thanks to an amazingly robust asset system.

The Good
Great gameplay, good strategy, excellent balance
High artistic merit; impressive voice-acting
Multiplayer is smooth via battle.net
Extremely modular map system
Great, long-term game like most Blizzard products
Dual-platform Mac and PC CD

The Bad
In-game graphics pale compared to pre-rendered art
Single player missions not a great challenge
Limited cinematics that don't match in-game decor

The Ugly
Annoying SecuROM service required to run in non-admin Win2K accounts
Obsessed, hardcore nuts that create new battle.net accounts in their attempt to gain better win/loss ratios

Overall grade: A

Ghost Recon 2TP Review:

Release Date: November 14, 2001
Review Date: Summer 2002
Ghost Recon plays as an "action-oriented" tactical shooter. Compared to the original Rainbow Six-style games, this one is faster, more intense (IMO :), and obviously a lot nicer. Unfortunately, I've spent most of my time in multiplayer-dom on this one with several great LAN skirmishes. Single player details will be slim.

The Good
Nice, vivid graphics
Maps provide great ambience and atmosphere
Multiplayer is extremely suspenseful
Multiplayer co-op is a very nice addition
Controls are comprehensive yet sufficient

The Bad
Missing HUD "gun model"
Games can turn into "whoever sees the other wins"
Style is not for everyone
AI is sometimes extremely blind or eagle-eyed
Squad control in real-time can be discomforting

The Ugly
Large 900MB installation

Overall grade: A-

Soldier of Fortune II 2TP Review:

Release Date: May 22, 2002
Review Date: Spring 2002
I was impressed with the original Soldier of Fortune and what it did with the then-old Quake 2 engine. Too bad it had a crappy ending and didn't last very long on the multiplayer front. I've noticed a lot of Raven games tend to be "fad games" and although they do well and have great technical and gameplay achievements, they don't seem to have the staying power of many other AAA games including their older, parent engine games.

The Good
Single player action is more than "kill-and-keys"
Single player is low-frustration challenge
Single player AI not perfect; but still impressive
Multiplayer action is great with high replay-value
Multiplayer is smooth graphically and network-wise
Multiplayer SDK release simultaneous with game
Very immersive sound atmosphere
Excellent hit-detection, impact feedback

The Bad
Single player scripting can be "wonky"
Single player missions too linear overall
Single player stealth missions too restrictive
Multiplayer maps are few; no small maps
Multiplayer bots not included

The Ugly
Single player has too many specialized keys
Single player FPS doesn't reflect visual quality
Some really cheesy sprite special effects
MP5 on box, but not in game (added in 1.01- yay!)
Gore as a selling point
Over 1GB installation size

Overall grade: A

Command & Conquer Renegade 2TP Review:

Release Date: February 26, 2002
Review Date: Spring 2002
Renegade's big selling point was its atmosphere - dive right into the original Command & Conquer's world in the first-person perspective. While it achieved this goal (and marked the first FPS made by Westwood), the game itself was essentially mediocre in the grand scale.

The Good
Single player intro mission sets large-scale feel
Multiplayer gameplay is solid team-oriented action
Good atmosphere that duplicates the C&C world
Low overall system requirements
Nice addition of vehicles
Impressive installer like most Westwood games
SDK integrated with gMax for complete mod solution

The Bad
Single player AI is incredibly dumb
Single player missions can be long and tiresome
Multiplayer netcode curtails to medium latency
Vehicle control does not feel "natural"
Absence of mulitplayer bots
Low-quality cinematic models

The Ugly
No option to disable vsync (must use driver)
Only runs as an administrator-class in Win2K
Not graphically-impressive for a 2002 game
Confusing disc labels on installation

Overall grade: B-