Recent reviews by Myantro

Condemned: Criminal Origins is an old school triple A game developed by the makers of F.E.A.R & published by SEGA. When it was released back in 2005 it was the only horror game to launch with the xbox 360. It was around that time when I first played this game. It is because of this you will be getting a very biased review today, just a little warning.

Gameplay:
Although I cannot say with full certainty that this is the first First-Person Brawler, it surely is among them, as this is the first FPB that I remember playing amongst a long & fruitful history of playing video games. I personally enjoyed the up close combat compared to pointing a gun from afar & shooting. The game does give you a few guns, but the bulk of your weaponry is melee, for which their stats are displayed in the top right corner for you to compare with your current weapon. The game has a few jump scares in the cutscenes, not many though. Most of your scares will come from the more quiet enemies sneaking up behind you & hitting you. Also when you hit enemies in the face their teeth fly out, just thought I'd add that in there as I thought it was a nice little detail the developers put in.

Graphics:
The game does a good job at putting you in scary scenarios such as a crack den, cabin in the woods, sewers, or an abandoned mall with complementary decrepit mannequins. The enemies come at you so quick you'll only notice their imperfections if you take the time to examine their corpses after the kill. The cutscenes are well laid out cinematically, but graphically look a little dated at this point.

Story:
Originally when you start the game you're introduced to Ethan Thomas one the SCU's top investigators. While on your first crime scene in-game your character is immobilized causing you to drop your gun. The killer which you were tracking gets ahold of this weapon & kills two police officers with it framing you for the murders. From this point onward you will spend the remainder of the game searching for this serial killer through various crime scenes using your forensic tools and aided by your companion Rosa, who will speak to you on your phone.

Audio:
The voice acting as well as the environmental & weapon sound effects all sounded like I would expect them to in real life. The game lets itself down with it's background music though. I feel a better soundtrack could have complimented a lot of the in-game environments much better than it's current one did.

Did This Game Make Me Go Poopy Woopy In My Little Panty Wantys:
Personally this game has never really scared me. It's all of the game's other aspects which brought me back. The combat system is still fun, basic, and brutal. The protagonist, enemies, and various environments you visit throughout your playthrough feel authentic. The storyline is dark, gritty, and full of twists like most films of today's standard. I regret replaying some games from my youth, but not with this one though. This game kicks just as much a** now, as when it first came out.

Melissa K. and the Heart of Gold is a hidden object game similar to others of the same genre. The storyline makes a good attempt at being memorable with a decent plot twist thrown in there. Plus the game is packed full of content which will leave you playing it long after your original playthrough. There are also many unique & challenging puzzles contained within it.

Gameplay:
You can choose from novice, adventure, and expert. These will hold your hand in varying degrees from little to not at all, but the help button will always be there if you need it. Choosing not to push it at all will reward you with an achievement, so there is an incentive to challenge yourself. Most of the hidden object games are fairly easy with some of the puzzles proving to be more difficult for myself, only because I chose to go for the highscores though. The game also gives you tools such as a gecko (to get in small spaces) and a flashlight (to see in dark corners). I know it isn't anything too fancy, but it just adds another layer onto the very cut and dry hidden object formula.

Graphics:
The game supports up to 4k resolution. This is nice when looking at it's beautifully drawn well lit environments. However the game lets itself down in the cutscenes with many of the characters wide mouthed arm flailing expressions looking more like a Chuck E. Cheese animatronic.

Story:
Both Melissa and her companion Julian were boring and forgettable. I didn't care about them or the young monk that I was looking for. Perhaps if the game gave me a chance to meet him before he went missing I would have cared a little more about his well being. The loopy old monk and asian guide were the only memorable characters in my opinion. The twist the game threw at me three quarters of the way through the game was nice, but apart from that I'd say the story was mediocre at best.

Audio:
Although I believe the soundtrack was of a perfect fit for the game and of a much higher quality than most hidden object game soundtracks, I wouldn't say that it was anything special. And the voice acting was as stereotypical as they come.

Verdict:
Compared to other hidden object games you get a lot more content than you normally would. The different asian inspired environments are well drawn and pleasing to look at. The character animations could use a bit of work, but the hidden object/puzzle games are all of high quality and that's what really matters. I'd personally say it's worth it's full asking price, but it frequently drops down to 90% off though, so save your money.

A year or so back I purchased the Fatshark Bundle for myself and a friend. At first glance all the games looked entertaining and the reviews were good. Letting the game run for cards it unlocked one achievement and in doing so dropped my overall percentage score, it is because of this that I have played this game a lot sooner than I was planning.

Before I get into the details of why you shouldn't purchase this game let me tell you what's good about it first. The game itself looks good and runs smoothly at 60fps. The gladiators/arena remind me of Borderlands with it's wise cracking commentator and post apocalyptic atmosphere. It shares the same universe as Krater, so if you wish to find out more details about this world you can do so if you please. Your character's upgrade system although improperly balanced is fairly fleshed out, allowing for a wide variety of customisation. It's got achievements, trading cards, a cloud save, and cooperative play, all of which work perfectly.

Now, for it's shortcomings. The arenas are all more or less the same thing only fashioned into different shapes. You have only a small selection of eight heroes to choose from and roughly fourteen different enemies to kill including optional enemies, bosses, and their spawns. The majority of the skill tree will have to be boosted with a friend because there is no one online and the people who are online will have locked their lobbies, so only their friends can play. The leaderboards are riddled with hackers due to the developers abandoning this game for their newer more popular titles. The upper levels of it's hardest difficulty are impossible to complete even for veterans of the game unless they are completed in a group of four or more, yet another example of poor optimisation.

Much like the MMO or current Battle Royale craze Fatshark tried to cash in on the MOBA phase and lost. The atmosphere was nice, the graphics were alright, and the combat was interesting enough, but nothing really stuck out when faced against the other more well developed games such as LoL or Dota 2. In the end Bloodsport.TV is just an egg which the developers cracked before making their omelette which is Vermintide.

In Iron Man 3 when it turned out that the Mandarin was actuallya down & out actor named Trevor SlatteryI was pretty p***ed off to say the least. This is because they ruined this character's first silver screen appearance by making a mockery of him. Dracula though has long since been overused making appearances in books, movies, and HOGs probably somewhere around the thousands at this point, so it was nice to see him in a different role for a change. This combined with the game's cheesy jokes are what tipped this review to the more positive end for me, because lord knows after I encountered a game breaking bug about a third of the way through the game during a cutscene of all places I was ready to hit that dislike button so freaking quick. I didn't though, because this game's unique twist, dad jokes, and poorly dubbed dialogue made this game memorable for me.

Plus with coming in at £0.79 it's the same price as all those sh**ty achievement spam games. Only here you're getting a point & click/hidden object game with a decent enough story played out to you with the help of voice actors. It's an all around good time no thinking required and sometimes that's exactly what you need.

I'd like to think I'm easily entertained. If I can get through a hidden objects game with a few interesting puzzles, a reasonable enough story, and plenty of hidden object games within it I'm happy but just moments before the end of the game while I was playing one of the hidden object mini games I encountered a bug. A game breaking bug that not only stopped me from completing the game, but one that made me search through my computer's files so that I may delete my save file, because an uninstall/reinstall wasn't good enough and there were no other ways of restarting the game without completing it first, which was quite literally an impossible task. Looking through the discussions it became apparent to me that this is not this game's only fault, but one of many as I read complaints tracing back years, all of which are still plaguing this game.

If this game had any redeeming qualities I would go ahead and mention them here, but unfortunately what remains is a very box-standard experience. The still picture cutscenes, storyline, mini games, and art style are all along the same lines of other hidden object games. On this alone I would have given this game a thumbs up, as even though there is nothing special about this game, it's still not bad, but the multiple game breaking bugs which stem back to the game's release which still haven't been fixed leave me saying "There are far better hidden object games out there for you to experience."

I hope this is not the final nail in the coffin for Torn Banner, because we don't have a bad game here. The first-person combat system which is in Chivalry is also in Mirage. You still choose your warrior, weapon, and armour before games, only now smoke and oil pots are replaced with spells. Spells vary from character to character as do their play styles like in Chivalry. You can parkour up walls to a certain extent, so movement has become more fluid. The combat system, as well as the graphics have been improved. The world is set in a arabic fantasyland, as opposed to Chivalry's medieval setting.

So what went wrong? They upgraded the graphics, improved the mechanics, added new features, and wrapped it all in a brand new skin that none of us had ever seen before. One major factor I believe to be was the spells. Yes it might have added another layer to the combat and possibly made things more interesting, but it was that raw medieval warfare which was Chivalry's strongest suit in the first place. Choosing to forget the fantasy aspect which is so commonly linked to medieval lore and focus on the knight on knight battles is where Chivalry excelled, so for them to pull a 180... let's just say it didn't go down all that well with a lot of people to start off. This combined with it's lack off advertising ensured that not only would this game not acquire a new audience, but it's original audience wouldn't be converting over either.

If you expect this to be the best hidden object game that you've ever played you'll probably be disappointed, but if you have purchased this game on sale for under a quid and you have expectations around that same price, the games alright.

To get started the storyline is explained primarily through dialogue and cutscenes, which is how I prefer it, light on the reading. The city of Prague and the characters within it offer you a unique world not all to similar to other games. The sixteen puzzles and nineteen hidden object games crammed within this small map ensure you'll spend less time wondering where that crowbar goes and more time enjoying what you enjoy most, the HO and puzzle games! The story (although I do not believe to be scary) correctly displays the danger you are in within this city. Even with all these pros I still wouldn't purchase this game at full price, but for 86% off with Frankenstein: Master of Death... yea I'll be having that!

It's set in that cliche dark victorian atmosphere, but the artwork and visual effects are next level, so even though it's nothing new in terms of style. The game's polished enough to where you can look at other hidden object games and say these don't look as nice as this one. The storyline can be a little hard to get if you don't follow the names in my opinion, but if you pay close attention the whole /SPOILER/ fact of you being promised to your ex husband from a past lifetime as some sort of plea deal with a demon to let your current husband free and you live is preeeeeeetty out there as far as hidden object games are concerned, as most of them are along the lines of the mystery gang unmasking a creature for it be Mr. Higgins (the only guy you encountered) blaming those meddling kids again. So they get an A+ for effort in that department from me at least. The subtraction of the hidden object mini games making you find objects in the world and then figure out where to place them certainly made the game more challenging, but I still think I like the mini games more so I can relax and not have to think about where this new item goes ten rooms back. All in all I enjoyed it though. I think if Jetdogs were to let go of this cliche atmosphere they are so strongly clinging onto and put their storytelling and graphics/artstyle to another hidden object game not so bound by the rules of remaining in a dark victorian time I think they could be on par with Artifex Mundi.

If you've played a lot of hidden object games Dracula's Legacy will probably bore you at this point, as it contains every cliche in the book. The perpetual search for keys to doors you previously encountered, the dark fantasy creatures, gothic atmosphere, and storyline where you lost your friend, but if you're new to this genre I think it serves as a good introduction. The puzzles aren't too hard, the pictures are well drawn, and the graphics look good for this style of game. I'd suggest to purchase this game as either a starting point for hidden object games or a quick and easy 100%. If you're already a fan of the genre though I'd give it a pass as there's nothing new or original here. Personally I've not played many of these, so Dracula's Legacy has served as a good beginner game for myself, but I can see why many of people would give this game a thumbs down.

In Rust you'll have neighbors that could wipe you of the face of the server, but choose to give ya a pickaxe and hatchet to help you start off and you'll have people who will use more materials to kill you than you have on you, why? Because Rust has given them this post-apocalyptic world and all they have are their life experiences to aid them in it. Your little bads and little goods in the real world turn into big bads and goods in here. Choose to be the people's hero or snake your way into their good graces, then plunge the dagger so deep into their backs they'll think twice about every new friend from that point onwards. You can have it all, in a next to impenetrable water base that lasts you all the way till server wipe or you can have nothing, barely able to find some measly cotton to make a f**kin sleeping bag. Just like life in Rust you learn things the hard way, only this time you'll enjoy yourself a little more ;)