Recent reviews by Cynical Spektre

As a longtime Call of Duty fanboy, this game just isn't worth your time, and ESPECIALLY not worth your money. The TLDR of this review pretty much boils down to it having a mediocre Campaign, almost no Spec Ops content, and the Multiplayer having almost no maps, and the maps the game does have are generally pretty bad, or are recycled content. There's also some very poor design choices for the Multiplayer as well. Outside of my sectioned parts of the review, the game has a TERRIBLE UI, and it still at the time of this review has crashing problems that are inconsistent across various users. My PC exceeds the recommended specs, and I will get crashing if I run the game above Medium Settings.

Campaign Review: Campaign has some interesting and fun gameplay variety with its missions, although the final mission is very underwhelming, and reuses a gameplay mechanic that was from a previous mission, but is completely pointless in this one. I'd say the best missions are the ones involving the Cartel in Mexico. The characters are very well acted and memorable. The main problem comes from the actual story itself. It is essentially a poorly written re-script of the original 2009 MW2, with the Iran Villain plot being written even worse. Trust me when I say that the characters and the actors playing them carry this game's ♥♥♥♥♥♥ story. MW2019's story is better than this game's, and that game wasn't exactly a narrative masterpiece either.

Spec Ops Review: It's 1 step forward and 2 steps back from MW2019's Spec Ops, and just like MW2019, it has almost no post launch support. So what it does right with what little content there is, is mainly the mission structure itself. They're very Ghost Recon-esque (you can even play in 3rd Person if you're trying to go full Ghost Recon with them), in the sense that you infil into a large-ish map, complete objectives, and exfil. The gameplay with what's provided is actually fun, but the devs/publishers just don't care about the mode. The other problems are that the mode is only 2 players, while MW2019 had 4, and your stuck with issued Loadouts with weapon tables like the classic MW2/MW3 Spec Ops, but I really liked how MW2019 let you make your own Loadouts for the missions. I could also mention the 3-player Raid, but it's got Infinite Spawning Enemy BS, that has always been unfun in any shooter it's in.

Multiplayer Review: It's ultimately just meant to funnel people into the Warzone Cash Cow, let's be honest, but I'll at least start with its few positives. The Camo Challenges/Progression is more streamlined and easier to do overall. Battle Rifles are differentiated from the ARs now, and that makes it good from both a realism and gameplay standpoint, because now you can switch the Battle Rifles to full-auto, and they ACTUALLY RECOIL LIKE A BATTLE RIFLE ON FULL-AUTO. They also added a Drill Charge, which is a decent counter to TDM Campers. Now on to the negatives. The maps are overall pretty bad, and there's not many of them. The movement is something I was mixed on for a while, and I've come to the conclusion that MW2019's is so much better and smoother. This game actually kind of feels like a classic CoD game movement-wise, but the problem is that you can't really counter campers that well. There's an accuracy penalty to jump shotting, and slide-cancelling is practically gone. I used to praise this change as someone who enjoys Tactical Shooters, but it's actually bad for an Arcade Shooter like CoD. The movement feeling sluggish like the older games with a more grounded feel, just makes the game feel bad to play. It feels like Tactical Shooter movement shoehorned in with Arcade Shooter movement, and it results in the game having more camping, and a mediocre feeling for more aggressive players. The devs won't commit to rebranding the Modern Warfare titles into Tactical Shooters, so it leaves this game especially feeling bad for Arcade Shooter fans and Tactical Shooter fans alike. Plus the game has an AWFUL Timed Perk System that literally no one with a brain likes, and the Gunsmith has a lot of attachments that seem like cosmetic variants of other ones, but they also have some minute difference in performance that isn't detailed properly. And from more of a nitpicky side, the weapon models just look crappy because they've been changed to not fully look like the real life guns they're based on because they didn't want to license any of the firearms in this game for one reason or another. The audio design is also a step down from MW2019 imo.

In conclusion, if you want to buy a Modern Warfare game, I'd suggest just getting on of the classics and playing one of the Mod Clients for them. Repopulate those clients instead of these awful Cash Cow games.

F.E.A.R. is another one of those shooters I've heard good things about for years, and ended up being way late to the party, but it lived up to the things people told me about it.

To start, the AI is actually impressive for a 2005 game. It reminds me of what Valve kinda tried to do with Half-Life 2's Combine AI. They use Squad Tactics, try to flank you, and they don't just rush your position when you have the advantage most of the time. Firefights felt engaging, because I sort of had to unlearn the exploitative habits of other FPS AI like in CoD Campaigns/Spec Ops, Ubisoft's piss poor AI, and even Half-Life 2's Combine, because even they make stupid choices sometimes. The soldiers, or "Replicas" as they're called, will hold position and wait for you if there's only one entrance into the area they're in, so you actually have to play somewhat tactically. In the beginning of the game, it might seem like there's not much to the AI, but not too far into the game the level design really starts to complement the AI, and let what I've described really show. Also, the enemy Battle Chatter is really well done, and this game now is my favorite for generic radio filtered voices. The Replicas sound very intimidating, and they'll occasionally swear at you as well, so I hope you don't get your feelings hurt. XD

Next, I want to talk about the weapons. Although the weapon animations are very lackluster, and not really well done, the weapons themselves do pack a punch, and you really feel it. The weapons have some visual kick to them, and despite there not being an Aim Down Sight animation, you still have to compensate for recoil, and there is a Zoom function. The USP feels like a handcannon and not just some crappy generic starting pistol, plus you can dual wield them. The SPAS-12 is God Tier, and you should ALWAYS keep that in your inventory. There's a few more weapons, but I'll let you figure those out yourself.

This ties in with the weapons a bit, but Gunplay and Visuals go hand in hand. Bullets and shells will blow small chunks off of the concrete and the environment, and explosions will send physics props flying, and kick dust up. The shockwave is also visible. The particle effects really help to make firefights feel like firefights. Even if the game is a bit arcady, the visuals help to make gunfights feel visceral and realistic. Dust can float in the air for a few seconds when walls are shot, so you can actually get suppressed behind cover, because you won't have much visibility if you try to lean out and return fire. There's also very good hit feedback for shooting enemies. You'll often see blood splatters, and enemies can get stumbled by your shots, and you can even make them limp instead of running, which is a feature I wish was in more shooters. The game also has a "Bullet Time" Slow Motion Mechanic, which is meant to make combat against multiple targets easier, but it's best used just to see explosive shockwave and particle effects in action, so you can really bask in the Visuals. It's impressive how good the game looks for a 2005 game. The Engine used is called "LithTech," it's not just another mid-2000s Unreal Engine 3 game.

Lastly I want to talk about the "Horror." The Story has an interesting premise that the horror is meant to complement, but the horror is ultimately negligible. It predominantly relies on cheap jumpscares, hallucination sequences, and literally ghosts. I will give credit to the game's fantastic atmosphere and environments, they do help to sell the horror at least a little bit. The game's story is interesting for sure, plus the game has 2 Expansion Packs and 2 sequels, but don't expect the horror to be anything special. The main reason to play the game is for the visuals and AI anyway.

In conclusion, F.E.A.R. is a fantastic Bullet Time FPS, that has outstanding Visuals, amazing AI, and satisfying Gunplay. Although the horror isn't much to write home about, It's still passable, and I'm sure it was good for 2005. The game's general layout and level design is reminiscent of Half-Life, and just like Half-Life, it's a must play Shooter for anyone who's big fan of Shooters, Arcade, Arena, OR Milsim.

Fantastic game to use as both an introduction to games using the first person perspective, and puzzle games in general. Valve does an excellent job slowly easing you into the game's mechanics, and doesn't throw too much at you at once to where you feel overwhelmed. The game is also connected to the Half-Life lore, though it doesn't really blatantly say it. Although the game is a bit short (3-5 hours), it remains a timeless classic, and the perfect game for people new to games, and still very enjoyable for experienced Gamers.

This is one of the games I wanted a PC for. It's a fantastic shooter that really takes its setting, gameplay, and theme seriously. It perfectly bridges the gap between a Tactical Shooter and Arcade Shooter. Gameplay is tense and immersive, time to kill is quick, and any shot can be fatal, and the game has Steam Workshop Mod Support. The best thing of all is that it runs on Source Engine, so lower end PCs can run it well. I can't recommend this game enough, and although the sequel, Insurgency: Sandstorm does a few of the niche game mechanics better than this game, I'd still recommend this.