September - December 2019 Update

Finished: Dying Light

For the first 10 hours or so, this game was a real drag because of how weak you and your weapons are. However, when you finally get stronger weapons, the game really shines and actually becomes a lot of fun - aside from the ending, which is complete garbage. Enjoyed this one a lot more than Dead Island.

Finished: Quantum Break

What a trip this was one was. It’s worth it just for the story, and the “TV show” between episodes was a really interesting concept (which I thought added to the game quite a bit). The gameplay wasn’t anything new, but was still enjoyable all the way through. The only downside was its poor performance.

Finished: We Were Here Together

This one was alright - I’m sort of sick of the setting after having played the 2 previous games in the series, and I wasn’t super fond of some of the puzzles in this one. Still fun to co-op through regardless though.

Finished: Tomb Raider

Beat this way back in 2013, but since I’m playing through the entire series, I figured I’d have another go at it. Still as awesome as it was back then.

Finished: Rise of the Tomb Raider

This was an improvement of the first game in every way. I really enjoyed it. The story was interesting too, even though it rode really hard on your stereotypical villain trope which was kind of lame (and the plot armour…but then again, it’s Tomb Raider!).

Playing Next: Shadow of the Tomb Raider and Project Warlock.

June/July/August 2019 Update

Finished: Quake IV

Not much to say about this one - just felt like your generic FPS from that time. It doesn’t really help that it ran on the same engine Doom 3 did and felt…pretty much the same in most respects (not to mention the fact that you could drop a Doom 3 player into most of the levels and they wouldn’t be able to tell it’s a different game). Glad I played it to complete the series, but that’s about it.

Finished: Prey (2006)

This was a game I’ve been meaning to play for awhile. It has really interesting mechanics (especially for its time), and is an enjoyable shooter overall with an intriguing storyline. I also liked the Cherokee theme - not many games include or reference indigenous peoples.

Finished: Fallout: New Vegas and all DLCs

What a game. That’s really all I can say. Aside from your typical Fallout jank, New Vegas is an amazingly written game with compelling storylines and exciting worlds to explore, and the DLCs are no different. Some are weaker than others, but they all offer a great change of pace and are a blast to play (except maybe Dead Money wasn’t the…most fun to play :P).

Finished: BioShock Infinite: Burial At Sea 1 and 2

It was nice to wrap up the Infinite story line (and BioShock in general, I suppose). The stealth mechanics, while barebones, were fun and changed things up a bit, which was much needed IMO. I’m not the biggest fan of the BioShock series, so it was good to breakaway from the normal formula.

Finished: Wolfenstein: The New Order

I beat this ages ago, and had an absolute blast. Felt the same playing through it again. Outstanding game and awesome story.

Finished: Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

I don’t think I enjoyed this one as much as The New Order, but I still had a ton of fun with it. The game mechanics felt a lot more tight and responsive, which was a bonus, but it felt like the game dragged on a little longer than it should have, but that might’ve been just because I tried to complete as much as I could’ve (i.e. eliminate all Uberkommandos, etc.). I definitely preferred The New Order’s level design (no reason in particular, just my preference). Still had a blast regardless - more Wolfenstein is always good!

Finished: Prey (2017)

This game was simply fantastic, and along the lines of what I’d expect a new System Shock to be like. With mechanics that are reminiscent of Deus Ex.

I also began playing the DLC, Mooncrash, but I strongly detest roguelikes, so I’m begrudgingly going through it. Or was, because the game didn’t save my progress properly when I quit so I no longer care to finish it. Maybe I’ll pick it up sometime in the future and finish it off, but I doubt it.

Playing Next: Dying Light. Currently 20 hours in an and am enjoying myself much more than I was during the first ~12 hours. Also, I need to stop whacking Bombers.

May 2019 Update

Finished: RAGE

I enjoyed this one, but it could have been so much more…so much untapped potential (which apparently hasn’t even been realized in RAGE 2, but I haven’t played it so I couldn’t say myself). Overall, a very average game, but if you dig post-apocalyptic stories and environments, you might as well give this game a go when it goes on sale. Just be prepared for one of the worst endings in a game - the final cutscene will play and you’ll be asking, “Wait, is the game over? What the…”.

Finished: Deus Ex: Mankind Divided DLCs

More Deus Ex is always good! I thoroughly enjoyed all the DLCs. A Criminal Past was a huge change up, especially because I went through it the no augs, non-lethal route, which made for quite the challenge! Anyway, nothing in particular to say about these aside from the fact that they were tons of fun and if you’re a Deus Ex fan, they are a must play. I really need to get around to playing the original Deus Ex sometime soon…

Finished: Quake, Quake II, Quake II: The Reckoning, Quake II: Ground Zero

I played all of these games ages ago, but I don’t think I finished any of them. Well, I did now! Didn’t really enjoy Quake all that much (more of a Doom guy myself), but I did have fun with Quake II and its mission packs. Hopefully Quake IV improves on the formula some more!

Playing Next: Quake IV, to wrap up my Quake-spree. Then, I should probably get around to The Walking Dead. I’ll also try to take care of some smaller games in my backlog, too.

January - April 2019 Update

Finished: Singularity

I don’t have much to say about this one - the story and the switching between past/future game mechanic were interesting, but everything else I felt was rather bland. Feels pretty much like your generic FPS otherwise.

Finished: Alpha Protocol

I also don’t have much to say about this one either, I’m afraid. The combat is absolutely atrocious, but if you can get past that it’s not a half bad spy game. I guess I’m on a streak of playing games that don’t really grab me…gotta get through them at some point though!

Playing Next: RAGE. I finally got this bad boy to run at 144 fps properly, although sometimes the audio dies when I’m in a vehicle. Aside from that, it’s running well and I am enjoying it. I was also going to get going on Fallout: New Vegas again (I’ve logged quite a few hours in the past and I’ve still got a save from then) but it keeps crashing after awhile and I don’t have the patience to figure out which mod is responsible yet. If I do, I’ll be committing to finally finishing that damn (wonderful!) game. Same goes for Fallout 3, and then Skyrim and Oblivion (although I did beat Oblivion, just 1 of the DLCs remains).

I also have some SG games to get through - I started Risen but I’m struggling to get through it after being blessed by the great RPGs that came after it. I’ll get through it, and the other Risens, sometime though.

July/August/September/October/November/December 2018 Update

It’s been awhile since I last posted, and in all that time you’d think I’d’ve beaten at least half my catalog! Unfortunately, school got in the way…

Finished: Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

I beat Mankind Divided way back in August and forgot to make a post…so I’ll keep it brief: a wonderful game that is spoiled by an abrupt and disappointing ending. If only they let the devs finish the game…

Finished: Transistor

Transistor is a beautiful game in every respect - the art, the soundtrack, the story - everything was breathtaking. I wasn’t huge on the game mechanics (just not my cup of tea personally) but I still thoroughly enjoyed the game and would recommend anyone give it a go. If not, at least check out the soundtrack! (my favourite song is Paper Boats)

Playing Next: I’m not sure yet. I’ve been itching to play Subnautica, so I’ll probably dive into that one. I’ll also need to get around to finishing DUSK, now that it’s out of Early Access.

I wish everyone happy holidays and a wonderful new year :).

May/June 2018 Update

Finished: Saints Row 3 and 4.
I got bored with Saints Row 3 pretty quickly, but it’s mostly because these types of games can be hit or miss for me, and that’s why it took I believe 3 years to beat! I really hate not being able to fast travel after I’ve seen most of the world already, and I prefer games with a strong focus on narrative. Saints Row 4, on the other hand, was much more fun. The super powers definitely added a lot to the game (for me) and I always appreciate being able to travel to where I need to be super quickly. And my god do I ever hate the Insurance Fraud activities.

Playing Next: Deus Ex: Mankind Divided (27 hours in and absolutely loving it! Happy to return to the series once again.)

March/April 2018 Update

Finished: Max Payne 1 and 2
Wonderful games, albeit a bit difficult (hooray for saves!). And my god do I ever hate the parkour bits they put in, as the game’s movement isn’t the greatest. But overall I enjoyed them both very much (with a preference towards the second due to its gun diversity), and I absolutely loved the storytelling. It took a significant amount of toying with 2’s files to get it running on my system, but I got it going eventually.

Playing Next: Saints Row: The Third (and after that, Saints Row IV). I’ve had SR3 for ages and played a couple of hours but quit for some reason. Having a blast so far!

February 2018 Update

Finished: Victor Vran
Awesome game. I played this after The Adventures of Van Helsing and Victor Vran was leaps and bounds better (although I do miss Lady Katarina). It has tons of variety (lots of different builds, etc.) and high replayability. The story and characters were amusing and the level design and environments were gorgeous. Highly recommend if you’re an ARPG fan.

Playing Next: Max Payne (then Max Payne 2!)

November/December/January 2017/2018 Update

Unfortunately, I’m back at university so updates will be few and far between, but I’ll still try to crack away at my backlog when I get the chance!

Finished: The Adventures of Van Helsing
This game was really fun at the start, but for some reason I lost interest towards the end. The characters were excellent (the banter between Van Helsing and Lady Katarina was always entertaining and humorous) and the gameplay was what you’d expect from an ARPG, albeit rather dull. Definitely worth a go if you fancy ARPGs and I’m certainly glad I played it.

Playing Next: Victor Vran (I believe I’m about halfway through it)

September/October 2017 Update

Finished: The First Templar
Felt like this game would never end, but thank god it did. It started off as a very mediocre game with glaring problems (poor story, awful writing, uninspired and shallow mechanics, mediocre level design, and the list goes on…) and went quickly downhill due to little innovation throughout. The best part of this game were the cutscenes - take a look at some of them on youtube, like this one.

Playing Next: Something from my SG wins. Probably Victor Vran or Van Helsing.