This post is going to be fairly… spoiler-heavy. Or, at the very least, revealing — about a game that’s better played while it’s still mysterious and strange. If you haven’t played Betrayer, I urge you to check it out before reading any further. Or if a more general overview would help, I’ve got you covered over here. Today, we’re going to get into the meat of Betrayer. We’re going to talk about things that I couldn’t (or didn’t want to) bring up in my more surface-level review. I’ve finished a second playthrough, mulled over the experience for almost a month, and now I’m
Tag: first-person shooters
RAGE-worthy (Part II)
Where was I? Right — Rage. I started off my… what I think is now long and self-indulgent enough to call an “essay”… about Rage by pointing out how confused it is as a whole. Of course, like a dope, I racked up a thousand and a half words talking pretty exclusively about the story, and that’s not where Rage is really confused. Dumb, maybe, but I think it embraces its dumbness. And who cares — I mean, really cares — about the story in an id game? You could say the only mistake that was made there was in having
RAGE-worthy (Part I)
What are you, Rage? What do you want to be when you grow up? What do you want to do with your life? Really, that’s the question, and I can’t answer it for you. Truth is — I’m not sure anyone at id agreed on what Rage was supposed to be either. If there’s anyone who’s more confused about what it’s getting into than the people who played this game in its first few months — it’s Rage itself. I suspect a lot gamers were looking forward to a typical id shooter. Those who weren’t familiar with id were probably
RAGE-worthy (Screenshots)
I just finished Rage a couple hours ago. For the second time. Since I’m still in the process of digesting the experience and figuring out what I want to say about it (there’s a lot to say), I figured I’d tide you over with some screenshots. If there’s one thing you can’t deny, it’s that Rage is a really pretty game, so while I sort the mess of notes I took into something comprehensible and hopefully worth reading, enjoy some (really pretty) virtual carnage. (Don’t look at me like that! …it’s not like I’m just trying to offload some of
Return of the Triad
At this point, it’s probably pretty obvious that I am an unabashed lover of trashy first-person shooters. (If not, just wait until my review of Rage!) With that in mind, here’s the rather unexpected sequence of events that leads me to this post: 1. I finally give into the digital distribution model after much resistance. My first purchase on GoG is the original Rise of the Triad. 2. Shockingly, I don’t like it. 3. Several years later, I purchase the new Rise of the Triad without a second thought.
Far Cry 2: A Photo Diary
Here I am, knees caked in dirt, creeping between blades of grass as long as my arms. At one with nature, you could say — except for the silenced pistol in hand, or the arsenal packed on my back… or the GPS that led me here. Diamonds this’a way, it said. I was expecting some gruesome sight, of course: a deal gone bad, a transporter dead from heatstroke. Something like that. Instead, I ended up on the perimeter of a camp — the kind with actual, live people in it, and most people are pretty protective of their diamonds. There’s
How ’bout That New Wolfenstein?
Who were the fictional heroes of your childhood? I had an odd assortment of characters I looked up to myself, from the cool and current to the way-before-my-time. From Captain Picard to Captain Hawkeye Pierce. From The New Jonny Quest to the 1977 cartoon version of Bilbo Baggins. Dexter of Dexter’s Lab. Luke Skywalker. Super Mario. Link (who I may have called Zelda, depending on how early in my childhood you talked to me). But also, weirdly, this guy…