Recent reviews by WiseKind

8 hours at review time? That was perfect timing. You're about to find out why, but not so fast.

This was the other game I picked up for two reasons: it was a Source game, and I'm kind of a collector for Source games. Their components can even show up in other Source games, such as Garry's Mod!

The second reason was that I wanted yet again to try my hand at going into a new game completely blind. This was by far the best choice for that, because I will never forget how deeply this game touched my heart.

The music of this game is insanely good, and I do like some good music in a video game. In fact, it's one of my favorite aspects of any game I play, and this title surely delivers.

But it's not just a game. It's actually not a game at all. It's an experience. It's a parable. It's a story about a man named Stanley. And it's not at all what I expected.

The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe had me in awe again and again, and I never before saw the storytelling style of a narrator that is omni-present, but not necessarily omnipotent.

I have to stop typing now, or I'm going to spoil it. What a shame would that be? You're about to find out.

Basically Counter-Strike 1.6 for singleplayer hermits.

Honestly, this is my favorite Counter-Strike game, even compared to the newer ones. I don't know what it is, but I much prefer the shooting/moving mechanics of the Goldsource engine than the newer engines that have come out in that family. I'm personally more of a fan of the run-and-gun types of FPS games, such as Xonotic (not on Steam). I'm aware that this was not the design goal of Counter-Strike, but even so, I just seem to have more fun playing these older games, and the community is better, too (well... at least as I've heard).

I also like the progression aspect. The bots get more helpful as you progress through the singleplayer campaign, and you have to play through all of the maps in sequence. Normally, when I start a new campaign in any game with multiple map choices, I will choose the map randomly, just because I enjoy the act of being dropped into a new world with no information and needing to get my bearings completely from scratch despite knowing the fundamental game mechanics already. This game rewards that style of play especailly well.

I don't know what it is, but I actually prefer the shooting mechanics of the original, compared to the more recent editions. It's just smoother and more rewarding than anything that has come after it, even despite the limitations of the engine. I'm personally more of a fan of the run-and-gun types of shooters, such as Xonotic (not on Steam). I'm aware that this type of gameplay was not the design goal of Counter-Strike, but even so, I seem to enjoy playing the Goldsource games more than their newer counterparts. They're just more fun.

This game runs terribly on Linux. I have to disable all of the graphics improvements and even choose the lowest possible resolution just to get 30 FPS. It's also a live-service game that requires a separate account just to play. It's hard on my hard drive, and it's just overall the embodiment of everything wrong with modern game design.

The graphics are solid, though. And the tutorial level felt like a story in and of itself, with a fun voice teaching you how to play in very "Gen-Z" terminology. It does have that going for it. But even if this game is free to play, the minimum specs for this game may cost you a small fortune, especially if you plan on using Steam Proton.

I wasn't even expecting to buy a new game at this time. But I don't regret it the slightest bit.

I just noticed that this game was available as part of a bundle including the Stanley Parable, which I was only interested in because the game assets could be used inside of Garry's Mod. What I got was a style of game design that I didn't even know existed!

There's no failed state. Well, I did get stuck in a wall one time. That's such an annoying bug in many Source and Goldsource games. It wasn't a 'game', it was an interactive bedtime story. And a fun one, at that.

Mind the bugs, but otherwise, this is a solid campaign. I have to increase my DPI on my mouse because I can't change the mouse sensitivity in-game, but once you figure that out, you'll find yourself plundering the space pirates... or something... in no time!

Now I wanna see how to pop open the hood and tinker around with the game mechanics. That's always my final step in any game.

I heard about this game from someone livestreaming the game on Twitch. That was possibly the worst possible way to hear about a game like this. There is absolutely no replay value, but if you can handle that, you get probably one of the most wholesome moments you'll ever experience in a video game.

I blew it. I ruined any opportunity I could have to enjoy this game to the fullest. Please don't make the same mistake that I did.

My mistake was starting the game and never finishing. I remember playing this game a while back, but then I got stuck on one of the levels, got bored, and then moved on for what turned out to be a year. Now I will never be able to play this game the way the developers intended, truly unspoiled and majestic. I would say this was my million dollar gaming mistake, but I did the same thing in Half-Life too... a million times over.

Portal 2 features a truly epic experience, but you have to be careful not to blow it by acting stupid. It has no replayability value. But it does have good extras...

Now THIS Is a gamer moment to remember. I remember playing the original portal, and while I still didn't do a NoDeath% speedrun (I just wasn't that good), it still felt like a truly epic finish. Just wait for what I did in Portal 2.

I would say this is the canonical 'counterpart' to Half-Life. It canonically exists in the same universe, and the reason why you don't see Vortigaunts surrounding the surface is unclear, but some theories exist.

I would say that the Valve series of games is a spectrum. On the far left (the side with an emphasis on firefights and invasions and stuff), there's Left 4 Dead, then there's Counter-Strike, then Half-Life, and then Portal on the far-right (the emphasis on problem solving and 'thinking on your feet'). Do with that information what you will.

I would like to clarify that you don't need to know Left 4 Dead 1 to enjoy this game. This is basically the same game but with added mechanics and slightly more advanced graphics. This game even has all of the same campaigns as the original, but with new ones added as well. I would say L4D1 is to L4D2 what Half-Life is to Half-Life: Source, but it's not an exact comparison, because Half-Life: Source is literally just a graphics upgrade and not much else (other than the ability to start a new game from any chapter without the console ;).