Sunday, May 28, 2017

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…)

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