Prey review, etc.

My Prey review is up at GameLuster. I liked it!

Now on to the massive backlog of 2017 titles I've missed, including Zelda. I will not be reviewing it for GameLuster as it's a bit past the time and someone else already has. But, I may review it here...

Then there are gameplay videos, like my Quake speedruns. My latest I haven't posted here, but they are up on YouTube. I will post them here too, though.

I'm excited for summer and am excited to be a gamer. This year I'm even somewhat looking forward to the Call of Duty title ("World War II"). How could 2017 offer more?

Currently Playing, 5-21-17

This prior week I have been enjoying one old game, Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, and one new game, Prey, that take me back to the “good old days.”

Soul Reaver is a game I had purchased in a Good Old Games sale some time ago and have finally gotten to. It is serving as my gateway into the greater Legacy of Kain series – I have Blood Omen for the PlayStation ordered and on its way. I wish I had played these games back in their day.

Soul Reaver reminds me of Super Metroid for its open-world which you progress through as you gain new powers. The combat, like in Metroid, is there, but not deep or central. The material / spectral world dichotomy adds flare. The soundtrack is great. So once again I’ve discovered a gaming treasure I’ve, so far, missed out on.

As I referenced, Soul Reaver takes me back to the early days of 3D third-person games like Ocarina of Time. That Zelda title was one of the first 3D console games I played, so it’s a point of reference for me, personally.

I love that Prey, as I noted in the last post, takes me back to System Shock 2. The further I progress in the game, the more the flashbacks keep coming. I also get many original Shock vibes due to the space station, rather than space ship, setting. I love rationing ammo and neuromod upgrades, always feeling vulnerable – like the good old days!

I have also played Strafe, but have been let down by it. I’m tired of games that advertise themselves as a throwback FPS but are not that. You can as much call Strafe a throwback shooter as you can call Spelunky a throwback platformer. It’s a rogue-like. Elements of old-school shooters are there, but the core of the game is not 90s FPS. I’ve had some fun with it, but it’s not anywhere near the experience I thought it’d be. I let myself get too hyped about this one, buying into false advertising. Should’ve known.

So I’ll be focusing on Prey and Soul Reaver. (Oh, and there’s Zelda: Breath of the Wild that I need to get back to…and Yooka-Laylee…)

Update, 5-6-17

Yooka-Laylee, so far, is good.

I was hyped for Yooka-Laylee, Banjo fan that I am. I’ve been playing it since it launched, and it’s fun, smooth, and nostalgically-pleasing. The world design and difficulty vary from just-right to underwhelming, but I’ve only unlocked and have explored three worlds (two of them just barely). Once I have completed the game, I can give a fully-formed “Thoughts On.” My feelings now are “Good.”

I am currently playing through Prey, for fun and to review for GameLuster. I had not followed the coverage for this game, so knew little about it going in. As such, I was pleasantly surprised when I discovered that it’s a spiritual successor to System Shock 2.

Prey is my kind of game.

System Shock 2 is one of my favorite games ever (if I ever got back to my favorite games list, it would be one of my top ten favorite PC titles). The atmosphere of isolation, the compromised space station with bodies everywhere, the communicant sending you messages, the Neuromod upgrades, the open-ended design, the very fun GLOO Cannon, the ability to sneak, and the sense of horror are each game design elements that I love – this style of game is perhaps my favorite (or second favorite to Thief’s design). Again, I had not read about any of this – I only knew Prey was a sci-fi themed shooter-with-powers, so I have been in heaven playing it.

Strafe looks great.

I am looking forward to Strafe, the throwback shooter from Pixel Titans and Devolver Digital. I love all the “bleeding edge 1996!” humor in the game’s promotional material (check out strafe1996.com). It’s even priced at $19.96 (on PC and Mac)!            

Otherwise, I’ve got my eyes on Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy and need to get back to Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Games I’ve skipped, but will check out later, are Resident Evil 7, Persona 5, and Horizon Zero Dawn. I will also get around to Torment: Tides of Numenera, but I need to play Planescape: Torment first (which I’ve started). 

I’d rank 2017 better than 2014, ’15, or ’16, so far.