Análises recentes de -3xA'Lu©κy the disappearing act

To not give this game a review would simply be an injustice, considering how deeply this game affected me and how genuinely thought-provoking it was.


I've played many episodic games but I don't think I can say there was one that made me pause the game several times, process what just happened, and then come back to it after a few hours. To say this game's perfect would be a lie, it's got faults like any other game, but where its strengths lie are in its ability to create a universe the player is incredibly invested in. I could rattle on and on like my usual Steam reviews but for this game only, and to avoid spoiling the story in any way, I've decided just to make a simple pros and cons list.

PROS
- $20 price for the season pass
- Performance was good and there was very few bugs for me
- I really dug the unique art style (simple yet visually appealing)
- The UI is intuitive and very simple
- A solid story from start to finish (there might've been a few plot holes but I didn't notice any really)
- Likeable female protagonist and a well-written relationship between her and the deuteragonist
- Amazing atmosphere
- Great voice talent (I think a few voices didn't feel "right" but everyone else was golden)
- The song selection was fitting and appropriate
- Different endings which were logical and nicely executed, to me, for a story that involves time travel (one ending could've been longer though and I suspect many fans might've preferred something less predictable)
- Real choices that matter early on
- The rewind mechanic wasn't gimmicky for the most part and I rather enjoyed all of the puzzles
- The player doesn't take a backseat to the action like a lot of story games I felt (you feel like you're playing a game)
- A lot of extra content in the episodes (various diary entires, optional photos to take, SMS messages, etc.)
- Explores a number of controversial issues and/or themes (that few games touch on) with tact

CONS
- The pacing could've been slightly better in episodes 3 and 4
- Past choices don't matter as much in episodes 4 and 5 (I won't describe anything more to avoid spoiling the story)
- Some characters are more or less stereotypes but each player will feel differently about this
- The rare corny/cheesy phrase that would stick out (I can't think of an example right now)

I was initially going to include another con but yesterday's update addressed what was the biggest issue for many: the at-times horrible lip-syncing that barely matched the characters' words in the first 3 episodes. I'm glad to say that this has been addressed and I have to give the devs kudos for that. Now fans and newcomers alike will be able to enjoy this game even more.


This game will obviously not be for everyone but I do think it appeals to a lot of people (as seen by the Steam user reviews). It's quite simply a high school drama with a bit of mystery and the supernatural thrown in. If you had thought it was some feministic sort of game like I had initially - I urge you to give this game another look. I have tried to be as honest as I can about a game which I have thoroughly enjoyed and I hope this review has helped you, the reader, in some way. For $20 I highly recommend grabbing Life Is Strange and if you don't happen to enjoy it in the first hour or so: refund it. I don't think you will though :) It honestly deserves a 8.5/10 in my book.



http://steamproxy.com/groups/rblc#curation

(This is a rereview and I got this game as well as its dlc for free as a beta tester)

A little bit about the game: Fable Anniversary is a remastering of the 2005 remake of the original 2004 title "Fable". This 2005 remake is simply known as Fable: The Lost Chapters and was quite a sizeable overhaul in that it added new items, weapons, spells, monsters, quests, locations, abilities and more. In addition to minor tweaks, the remake also featured a slightly extended story as well as small subplots and relatively unimportant characters being made far more prominent in the game. Apart from this, Fable's still very much the same game at its core. It's an action/role-playing/semi open-world game and it has you playing as the Hero of Oakvale. I use "open-world" loosely as some areas are not unlocked until certain missions are completed (think Grand Theft Auto). Anyway, you start the game as a young boy who is to journey across the fictional land of Albion and make a name for himself.


Right from the start the game's unique sense of humour, somewhat dark story and moral alignment system are all put on display. It's totally up to the player as to how you interact with everyone else and what kind of Albion you envision. Gameplay and controls are solid and very typical of a third-person game, so they're not hard to get used to. Satisfying combat, the variety of enemies and the 3 distinct fighting styles (melee, ranged, spells) all keep the player engaged. While the main story takes around 10-15 hours: character customization, numerous sidequests and the various activities will massively inflate your playtime. There's also the memorable soundtrack to look forward to, however, the overall voice acting is something I struggle with - its serviceable but it's not amazing either. All this being said, Fable's still a fun RPG and a game anyone can pick up and be entertained with.

PROS
- runs on the Unreal Engine 3 and well optimized when compared to the original game (as of the latest patch)
- true widescreen (unrestricted resolution with appropriate field-of-view; V-Sync caps the game at 60 FPS but disabling it will allow your PC to run the game at whatever FPS it can manage)
- textures and “character updates” mostly look decent (although some will prefer the old look)
- the new lighting system + particle effects, better facial animations and improved lip-sync are all great
- audio quality has noticeably improved and surround sound is now supported
- controllers are supposedly fully supported (I used a keyboard for all my playthroughs though)
- new control schemes (one control scheme is inspired by Fable II and III which is neat)
- new Heroic difficulty mode is fun and surprisingly challenging
- most bugs, exploits, balancing issues and major complaints from the original game have been addressed (e.g. you now age 50% slower and scar less from combat unlike the original game)
- Steamworks integration (cloud, achievements and workshop) and Steam trading cards
- a few new outfits and weapons that weren't in the original game (these are free DLC from the Xbox 360 version)
- free modding DLC (this didn't take off though and you only have clothes and animations to work with)

NEUTRAL
- severe lack of Steam workshop mods
- 2 pricey DLC packs that bundle together DLC from the Xbox 360 version (both are optional and give you additional weapons and outfits that weren't in the original game)

CONS
- the $35 price tag (for new players it's okay but I can understand why owners of the original game would feel it's a bit too much when the original game is great and still holds up well)
- the near-perfect UI from the original game has been swapped in exchange for one that feels more orientated for controller users (it’s clunky but still serviceable and feels less cluttered)
- the Hero of Oakvale’s face for all ages was changed (this visual update might frustrate some people as some of the faces in the original game looked better)
- some minor bugs still remain unfixed
- a few old animations that stand out nowadays
- no mouse sensitivity option (mouse-related options can be tweaked externally though)


It's always hard to recommend a remaster because of the new-game price tag but if you really enjoyed the original Fable or are new to Fable altogether: I can recommend this title. For those who own the game already... there may or may not be enough to justify purchasing this game. Some who liked the original game may even prefer Fable: The Lost Chapters over this and that's fine. Indeed, Anniversary contains a lot of changes that can be noted as both good and bad but if you expected a remaster and just a remaster - it should deliver for the most part. I think that's why it deserves a 8/10.

Reason for rereview (optional read): I was never really happy with my original review so I deleted it and started a new one somewhat from scratch. When Fable: Anniversary first released I thought it was great but I somehow managed to avoid almost of all the technical issues that were reported. As soon as I found out about them though, I became more active on the game's community hub and incorporated potential solutions I found into that old review. Other issues that I did experience - such as the mouse cursor not being used in menus and the inability to rebind most keys - I carelessly failed to mention in that same review because they personally didn't bother me much. While all of these issues shouldn't have been in the game to begin with, I'm happy they got patched out in the end and relatively quickly too. So that, along with my original review looking admittedly a bit nostalgic (which I was told by a few Steam users), were the reasons I decided to rereview this game. With this rereview I also decided to add a pros and cons list which hopefully get my points across better.



http://steamproxy.com/groups/rblc#curation

A little bit about the game: Resident Evil HD Remaster is a remastering of the 2002 remake of the original 1996 classic "Resident Evil". Resident Evil: Remake (sometimes known as Resident Evil: Rebirth) is a true survival horror game that ultimately gave Resident Evil a more serious tone and much needed-polish. Despite signficant changes to the title itself (70% according to a developer) much of the overall plot remains the same. The story starts with a particular police team locating a downed helicopter (Bravo team's last known location) that was similarly sent to investigate reports of cannibalism outside Racoon City. At the crash site they discover just a severed hand and the pilot's body amongst the wreckage. Suddenly vicious dogs ambush them and they are then forced to seek refuge in a nearby mansion. From this point you assume control of your chosen character: Chris Redfield or Jill Valentine. Both characters have differences between them and interestingly enough - your character choice will determine who gets to be your partner and what endings you can get.


This game's got it all: creepy mansion oozing with atmosphere, tense music and great scares. Like every Resident Evil game it's very "B movie-like". The game will still make you nervous and scare you a few times at least however. As for the gameplay: it's not that of your typical third-person shooter due to 2 old Resident Evil staples - tank controls and a fixed camera - which players will either hate or love. I'll say it again, Resident Evil is a true survival horror game through-and-through, despite its adventure style gameplay that often involves you backtracking and looking for items as well as solving puzzles in the one big mansion. Survival horror presents itself through scarce ammo, the total lack of respawning items, limited typewriter ink ribbons (used to save) as well as zombie enemies resurrecting into a more powerful zombie if you don't choose to burn them early on. In a nutshell: item management is key to success in Resident Evil.

PROS
- a 60 FPS mode exclusively for this PC release offers incredibly smooth movement and animations (there's also the Variable FPS mode, in addition to the regular 30 FPS mode, which allows your PC to run the game at whatever framerate it can handle)
- almost every resolution is supported and the game makes special use of widescreen resolutions by introducing a "panning mode" (the screen scrolls to show the cut parts of the screen) but you can always go back to the game's original 4:3 display
- character models are nicely enhanced
- some environments are re-created using animated 3D models
- new post-processing effects (mainly bloom filters which the store page identifies)
- audio is fully resampled and everything expectedly sounds decent
- full controller support (I never got to test this admittedly)
- an alternate control scheme to the tank controls allows for modern gamers to enjoy this title equally (directional buttons you press simply make your character walk in that particular direction)
- new difficulty mode that makes the game incredibly easy (weak enemies and tons of ammo)
- new BSAA outfits for Chris and Jill that were taken from the games they were in afterwards
- Steam cloud, Steam achievements and Steam leaderboard (it doesn't filter by difficulty sadly)

NEUTRAL
- the same voice acting from Resident Evil: Remake (for most fans it's entertaining but for others it may be the opposite)

CONS
- the game renders at 1440p regardless of resolution (WHY?!)
- a lot of textures look like they have a filter slapped on (much like the recent remastering of Resident Evil 4)
- performance issues on some PCs haven't been addressed to this day
- the audio desyncs even if you're a couple of frames short (again, like the Resident Evil 4 remaster)
- the OST sounds too quiet compared to the rest of the game and is noticeably sped up (this somewhat impacts the game's atmosphere)
- some static backgrounds look downright awful
- it's incredibly hard to maintain a constant 60 FPS on some rigs it seems
- the camera bobbing up and down in panning mode may make some people sick
- door-opening animations can't be skipped like previous iterations (the modding community has already fixed this with a Steam guide detailing a "Door Skip mod")
- too many errors remain in the game's subtitles
- the mouse cursor is visible on your screen at all times (it's a huge immersion-breaker but you can always just hide it in the corner of your screen; several unofficial fixes exist as well)


$20 is the perfect price tag for a game of this sort. There's a serviceable amount of work here to satisfy any fan yet again and newcomers will most likely enjoy what is undoubtedly the definitive edition of Resident Evil 1. It should be known, however, that there a few users still experiencing framerate issues - mainly laptop users. All this being said, the game does run well for the majority of users and if you're lucky enough to be able to run the game at 60 FPS flawlessly: it's a real treat. If you own this game in some form already, you may want to consider some of the things written here prior to purchasing. This remaster gets a 7/10 from me.



http://steamproxy.com/groups/rblc#curation

Before you ask "Why is a movie on Steam?!", allow for me to give you an explanation:


Indie Game The Movie is so much more than your average movie/documentary as it allows ANYONE remotely interested in the gaming industry to gain some powerful insight into the world of programming and creativeness as well as the obstacles that often come with it. What makes this so much more special is that it's all coming from indie developers (indie = independent).

Video games today are becoming arguably less interesting, unique or fun. A prominent example would be the Call of Duty series. This is often due to corporations or big companies pressuring developers to not take risks, to follow a formula or to indulge in what has been termed "shady game practices". I'm talking about controversial DLC or downloadable content (now associated with small content cut from the main game and sold for a large price afterwards), lack of support after a title's release, paid reviews, and more. Go back roughly 2 decades and there was a time when: developers were always seeking to create unique experiences for all platforms, there was never any hesitation to release free additional expansion packs and the consumer base weren't treated like buffoons and were engaged with directly.

Indie games or indie developers are essentially a revival of that golden age of gaming. It's true, the indie scene have been around even in the early 1990s but due to advancing technology, growing expectations and an increasingly competitive market (consoles, PCs and other gaming platforms) - small teams have become big teams and these teams have since sought companies that will fund their large projects. Viewed initially by many as a good thing, it's attributed to what the majority now term a "gradual decline in game ingenuity". Indie is the response to that.

So that's what Indie Game The Movie is all about. It showcases what it means to be indie and some of the big names behind the indie rebirth in the late 2000s. Braid; Super Meat Boy; Fez. Video games which are now extremely recognizable but only because of how different they were to what else was being offered to gamers at the time. "Different" comes at a cost though. Risk. The teams behind these 3 video games contained groups as big as 5 people or as small as just 2. Not only was their life sacrificed but money, wellbeing and in most cases, time, that could have been spent looking for a job elsewhere (that wasn't dominated by well-known series and developers).

You will personally see the payoff in making something that's your own and that you can share; despite how impossible it may seem at first or the light at the end of the tunnel appearing dimmer than ever. This is especially true with Fez. Fez took 5 long years and a large chunk is spent on Phil Fish. Sympathy, disappointment and joy is what I felt when I saw the development journey or rather, development hell, of Fez. At the same time, Fish is also tackling the ongoing stigma against video games and hoping to prove it wrong. For example: video games are often viewed as a lower form of entertainment and that they can't express ideas and concepts as well as any other medium.

Incredibly, all 3 indie games later go on to be some of the most critically-acclaimed video games of all time. You may never have heard of them before or never realized that something like Minecraft or Amnesia was made with very little manpower but after this experience: you will hopefully begin to respect and appreciate this great twist in the gaming industry. I've always supported indie games and my expectations are time and time again blown away due to the chances taken by the amazing people behind these typically ambitious projects. Being indie was something that was initially laughed at or not taken as seriously as it should've been, and Indie Game The Movie goes to great lengths to make you believe and feel like you're a part of the indie scene.

That's why Indie Game The Movie is so good. I've never witnessed anything like it before, let alone for something video game-related. It's professionally made, has a great soundtrack and if you buy the Steam version: has tons of extras, additional commentary (from the developers themselves) and a hidden video game! If you do like Indie Game The Movie: buy the DLC "Special Edition DLC". It focuses on more lesser known indies and also follows up the 3 main indie game teams after Indie Game The Movie was finished in production.


If you're even remotely interested in the gaming industry and want to know what it's like to be indie - get this now. The $10 price tag is perfect and shouldn't be a barrier for anyone. I'm giving this documentary a score of 8.5/10.



http://steamproxy.com/groups/rblc#curation

With Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 finally seeing the light of day, I thought a review for my all-time favourite game was more than appropriate.

Where do I start? As you probably know: this game had a rocky development cycle. It was buried under the hype of Half Life 2 which released on the exact same day, pushed out clearly too early on an inferior/buggy version of the Source engine, and didn't get the marketing it needed. Subsequently the developer company Troika went bankrupt but not before they made one last effort to fix some of the critical bugs this game was plagued with, along with typos and other more minor issues.

If this sounds eerily familiar... it should. It's something quite common in the gaming industry and something Obsidian - the developers behind classics such as Fallout: New Vegas, Alpha Protocol and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II - have experienced all too often.

But the good news is this game has always had a small but dedicated following. So dedicated that an individual by the name of Wesp5 has spent more than 10 years uploading builds of his unofficial patch for the game and showing what it could've been in many respects. It initially started out as something akin to Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II's restored content mod which, as the name suggests, restores cut content that wasn't finished in time or allowed to be part of the original release. But as time went on the Unofficial Patch ultimately ended up being a behemoth of a project, and the author then decided to split up his work into the Basic Unofficial Patch and the Unofficial Patch Plus (the latter of which is bug fixes + restored content).

https://steamproxy.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=201151659

Patch aside; the game still has many many issues but if you're willing to overlook them, and even do a bit of fixing yourself to get the game working on modern systems, you have perhaps one of the best damn vampire games ever made. Good solid lore that comes from the World of Darkness tabletop games and books, top-level writing courtesy of lead writer Brian Mitsoda, a chilling and unforgettable soundtrack created by Rik Schaffer, a game that just oozes atmosphere out of every pore and incredible facial animations and lip-syncing for a game that came out in 2004.

It's all just brilliant and that's what makes it even more painful. Because of this game's rudimentary state - most people will never get to experience it. And it's a game that many will enjoy. It's often described as "Deus Ex with vampires" and you wouldn't be wrong. There's several big hubs to play around in and explore, side quests to complete which allow you to upgrade your character's abilities and stats, and plenty of choices to make. You're even rewarded for your playstyle in certain missions and at the beginning of the game there's 7 different clans you can choose from which influence the game in major ways and practically beg for you to give the game another playthrough or two.

Everything you could want in a game, let alone a vampire game, is here and it continues to impress even to this day. There are so many set pieces in this game that just stick in your mind and make you want to revisit the game at the mere mention or sight of someone referencing them to you. The Ocean House Hotel quest was given the Level of the Year award and the game itself was dubbed 2004's RPG of the year by Computer Gaming World.

Honestly do yourself a favour and at least check it out. See where it all began and why there's so much hype surrounding Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines. And make sure to grab the Unofficial Patch so you have the best experience possible with it. It's well worth your time.

Rating: 9/10.


P.S. If you do have any trouble or issues with this game: there's a Steam hub filled with many people like myself who will try their best to get the game working for you along with a large number of resources to look at including Steam guides:
https://steamproxy.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=113161476
https://steamproxy.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=257404945
So what are you still waiting for? GRAB THE GAME!!