428: Shibuya Scramble
Fans of the visual novel genre have probably heard of Spike Chunsoft (formerly Chunsoft before the merge), the developers of the acclaimed Zero Escape and Danganronpa series. While Spike Chunsoft’s VNs don’t put a focus on cute girls or romantic drama, over the last decade or so they have gained a strong cult following with their intriguing mystery thriller plot and eccentric characters. What if I told you SC made another game that predates those two series and showcases arguably even better mastery of their strong suits? Enter 428: Shibuya Scramble.
– Real player with 60.5 hrs in game
Read More: Best FMV Choices Matter Games.
To be honest, I already knew what my conclusion on 428 would be when I had gotten about halfway through it. For the sake of total disclosure, though, I decided I’d best complete the game in its entirety before pushing out a review. In short: 428 is a good game. It’s an exceedingly competent visual novel that stands out with its stylization and user interface. Its choice to use live action models as opposed to animesque sprites may have alienated a good portion of its Western audience, but I found it made the game more distinctive and engaging. Overall, I don’t regret playing it, and I can definitely see the average visual novel fan taking a lot of enjoyment from it, if they’re willing to accept the lack of anime stylization.
– Real player with 56.9 hrs in game
General Horse and the Package of Doom
Someone reviewed this earlier and said it was a re-imagining of The Oregon Trail, and as I sit here attempting to write my own review I keep coming back to that comment. Is this game as timeless as that? honestly, probably not. But I can tell you what this game is. A fun, amusing, comical ride through another universe, with a cast of eclectic and weird characters all looking to stop our eponymous hero, or in some cases aid him, in completing his task.
Don’t come into this game with any expectations, and just allow yourself to enjoy this absurd, silly adventure. It might not look like much on the outside, but if you pass this game over, you’re doing yourself a disservice. Friends of mine agree that this game is a hilarious journey of skill, resource management, and wacky encounters. And it never fails to generate a laugh.
– Real player with 8.2 hrs in game
Read More: Best FMV Funny Games.
It’s a really dumb, poorly written game with amateur but earnest acting.
It’s fun.
It absolutely doesn’t take itself seriously and revels in how silly and awkward it is. It has all of the charm you’d expect from a game made by bunch of buddies who were just messing around and having fun. It doesn’t get more silly and more FMV than this. I’d also say the entertainment value isn’t just the humor alone which can be hit or miss, but the fresh and wild nature of it all, the sheer commitment to the absurd ideas that are being presented. There is also this admirable confidence about it, like the game doesn’t care if you’re entertained by what you’re seeing or not. The skip button is always there, you can decide for yourself if you want to keep watching a scene, the game just keeps doing its thing.
– Real player with 5.5 hrs in game
The Bunker
Decent story marred by ultra-linear gameplay and lack of basic features
“The Bunker” is a fairly decent post-apocalyptic thriller movie - turned into a deplorably poor game that repeats all the mistakes of the “interactive movies” of the 90s, a time when these products were expected to sell on the basis of their full-motion video alone, and gameplay was an afterthought.
The premise is fairly interesting. After a nuclear strike hit Great Britain, people try to survive in bunkers, and you are the youngest resident in one of these, having been born just when the attack happened. The game starts with all other residents already dead and you being the last survivor, clinging to your daily routine because you don’t know anything else. When a system failure requires you to break out of that routine and enter long abandoned parts of the facility, disturbing memories of your past resurface.
– Real player with 6.3 hrs in game
Read More: Best FMV Psychological Horror Games.
TLDR
This is an introspective story on a well-explored topic: the Lone Survivor in a dystopic world. It’s done pretty well too, and has a good soundtrack for the presentation, but it’s not a game as the gamer community would define. The Bunker is an interactive story, where choices matter and actions have consequences.
DEETS
First, a few notes about the interactive aspects.
1.) Most of the choices you make will be in regards to finding cookies, as opposed to survival. It’s easy to miss the few minor collectables in the game if you’re not looking for them, and it’s not always intuitive to look where they may appear. Darkened corners, minor minutia of background details, and simple but unannounced puzzles are all a factor in various scenes.
– Real player with 5.5 hrs in game
Command & Conquer 3: Kane’s Wrath
Command & Conquer 3: Kane’s Wrath.
What a game, really. I’ve loved the CNC and Red Alert series since RA1, what a classic. But this is, sadly, the best, most recent game out of both series (in my opinion).
I haven’t played much of the single player, because WHY? The skirmishes are so fun, there are many different strategies to try out, try different challenges like vs one easy AI and two Hard, capture the easy base early game with minimal resources, e.g. engineer and a few troops, get their tech, have yourself TWO ultimate units, MARV and REDEEMER for example. The unit ranking system is basic but great, very rewarding for looking after your units and keeping them alive through battle trades.
– Real player with 202.8 hrs in game
GAMEPLAY:
Kanes Wrath further spices up the C&C3 universe in terms of gameplay by adding a handful of new units as well as multiple sub-factions. These sub-factions also have their own exclusive units and overall play styles; in addition there’s a new game mode known as global conquest to which the player tries to achieve global domination. This game mode includes TBS & RTS gameplay elements .
STORY:
What really sells this game as a MUST PLAY is the story, assuming you’re a Tiberium Universe fanatic.
– Real player with 87.1 hrs in game
Command & Conquer™ Remastered Collection
Great game. Brings back memories.
– Real player with 82.9 hrs in game
It slaps with nostalgia :D
– Real player with 82.5 hrs in game
Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars
With 200+ hours on this account for this game; I’ll make it quicker than I want it to be and I’ll be providing a TL;DR at the bottom.
This game is beautiful. No, not just because of the graphics since that does not make a game great. I’ll admit that being made in 2007: the graphics do hold very well to this very day. I’m talking about how the game feels to play, how much lore that you can unfold in this game and a very important point I will bring up later on.
The game itself is very easy to pick up and learn the basics such as what units do what, what your base does and many other things. As you progress through the story; you’ll meet bonus objectives that you can complete for a different medal at the end (great for you completionists). The campaigns can have some very challenging moments for newer players but it will make you do what you’re supposed to do: Come up with a strategy to win.
– Real player with 1133.0 hrs in game
1995… A game named Command and Conquer appeared… and paved the way for an entire genre. It’s a name that many RTS veterans should be familiar with. The franchise had its ups and downs throughout the years. 2007, the long awaited sequel of Command and Conquer Tiberian Sun appears. Has it passed the test? Let’s see…
Visually, the game is downright gorgeous, even for today’s standards. You can tell at first glance, whether the map is situated in a still pristine Blue zone, a conflict-torn Yellow zone or in an almost unearthly Red zone. The units are also well designed and their appearance alone tells something about the respective faction. Topped off with non-excessive and neat special effects, the visuals give a good impression.
– Real player with 381.6 hrs in game
ECHOPLEX
Like Portal without portals
Gameplay
This is one of those games with a hide meaning that unlocks itself at the end of the gameplay so at the start you are given a short cinematic that sets the universe and part of what is happening and why, but after finishing one level you will be given another flashback identified by the game as a piece of a cube that will be filled with each found piece at the end of every level but this pieces can be also identified as memories that pulled together makes a longer and stable one, waiting you to reveal all the secrets from the main character past.
– Real player with 7.2 hrs in game
Hello! I was able to get an early key for ECHOPLEX and made a First Look video on my channel. ECHOPLEX is primarily a puzzle game but has a story line, is thought provoking and even gets me with some mild jump scares occasionally. I liked the game so much it’s now a Let’s Play series and I intend to play through the entire game. I currently have the first 12 levels completed on my first three videos. I’m really enjoying ECHOPLEX and highly recommend it to anyone who likes puzzle type games. Thank you Output Games for a unique puzzler in ECHOPLEX, I’m digging it.
– Real player with 6.9 hrs in game
Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 - Uprising
Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 - Uprising Review
I’m a fan of the Red Alert series, I still remember playing the very first RA back when I was like a kid, And now there’s this, RA3 Uprising. Whether playing with people through the co-op campaign of Red Alert 3 or the single-player aspects of Uprising, it’s all insanely fun. And that’s mainly what I want from my games: fun. I also think this was the last C&C in terms of having fun. I guess EA really knows how to ruin a franchise.
+ Pros
– Real player with 814.1 hrs in game
Red Alert 3 is a game I keep coming back to. It features all the good things that RA2 brought to the table all those years ago. It has hammy over the top B grade acting, units feel unique and have their own charm. You can tell that the makers did put some love into every unit, and into making them fun to command.
RA3 has greatly expanded on the naval warfare side of things, allowing almost all buildings to be built on the water and having more amphibious units in total. No longer shall your assault destroyer be confined to the waters, just drive it up onto land.
– Real player with 201.0 hrs in game
Killing Time
This is the second FPS I played when I was young (Doom 2 was the first). This game was so scary back then. It took me 12h to complete it. This FPS is different from others as it has only one huge map. It is not a classical get the red/yellow/blue keys to complete the level. There is some short videos that reveal the story peace by peace. The weapon are great.
Only drawback are the controls. But once you get use to it you’ll almost forget about them.
I finally finnished that game I started 23 years ago :)
– Real player with 12.6 hrs in game
This game took me years to get up and running simply because it does not run well on modern systems out of the box; going from garbled graphics one year, no sound the next and then just refuses to boot after that - I had given up hope trying to get it up and running. But thanks to the wonderful work of the Killing Time community and the fan patch they have been updating for years; I can finally play and enjoy the game and I’ll confidently say that this game is a real hidden if very flawed little gem of a classic 90s boomer shooter! Time may have forgotten it but after discovering it for the first time myself, I really hope more people will give this game a try.
– Real player with 10.4 hrs in game
STAR WARS™ Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II
DISCLAIMER: THIS GAME TAKES A BIT OF WORK TO RUN PROPERLY AND THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS
Brief overview:
Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II is the first game in the Jedi Knight series. Taking place several years after the events of Dark Forces I. Albeit being non canon as of now, Dark Forces II chronologically take place one year after the Battle of Endor. I remember having fond memories if this game when I was younger, about five or six years old when I played this game for the first time. The game itself is very enjoyable, but a common complaint is that the level design can be confusing at times, it is easy to pick up the trail again though, usually by taking a second look at certain things in the level. But that’s definitely not anything to take away from the overall experience.
– Real player with 69.3 hrs in game
Star Wars Jedi Knight Dark Forces 2 was a long awaited sequel for me. By that, I mean I bought it last Christmas and couldn’t get it to work properly. Basically, the music wouldn’t play in the levels and me being a Windows 10 user was a bit frustrated.
Thankfully, on August, there was a music patch, but that meant I had to start a new save file to hear it, which I didn’t mind since I just gave up on the second level back then so I didn’t get too far.
And now I finally beat this and it’s an improvement over the first Dark Forces. The familiar weapons like the blaster and the Stomtrooper rifle return. So do the mines and grenaids. Plasma rifle and pulse rifle. They work just as they did in the first game, but the movement feels more fluid than ever.
– Real player with 26.9 hrs in game