Re: Games Beaten 2019
Posted: Mon May 06, 2019 2:57 pm
1. Dusk (PC)(FPS)
2. Project: Snowblind (PC)(FPS)
3. Soldier of Fortune: Platinum Edition (PC)(FPS)
4. Ziggurat (PC)(FPS)
5. Wolfenstein 3D: Ultimate Challenge (PC)(FPS)
6. Destiny 2 (PC)(FPS/RPG)
7. Destiny 2: Curse of Osiris (PC)(FPS/RPG)
8. Destiny 2: Warmind (PC)(FPS/RPG)
9. Destiny 2: Forsaken (PC)(FPS/RPG)
10. Star Wars: Rebel Assault (PC)(Rail Shooter)
11. Castle Werewolf (PC)(FPS)
12. Project Warlock (PC)(FPS)
13. Castle Crashers (PC)(Hack and Slash)
14. This Strange Realm of Mine (PC)(FPS)
15. BioShock Remastered (PC)(FPS)
16. BioShock 2 (PC)(FPS)
17. BioShock 2: Minerva's Den (PC)(FPS)
I probably should have posted this earlier, but I've been working my way through the BioShock series for the last few weeks and decided it was time I actually post something about what I have beaten.
BioShock Remastered
I don't really have a lot to say about this. I've played BioShock before, and it didn't impress me much then. Technically, it's a beautiful game; when it came out, the use of water was absolutely phenomenal. The Remastered version does make some visual improvements to help things run with modern visual updates, though a lot of the world now looks considerably more cartoonish. That said, I'm happy to say I still think it's a beautiful world. That's all that was changed for the Remastered edition (well, that and Steam achievements being incorporated), so if you had any other issues with the game the first time, you'll still have them.
Which means I still have them. The gunplay felt lackluster on my initial playthrough, and it still does here, though you can choose instead to focus on melee with great success. Since I'm familiar with the game already, I was able to rush through areas I'd encountered problems with before, but sometimes the game is happy to put a turret in a nasty spot to mess you up, so try to stay on your toes. As for the plot, I've complained about it previously. Yes, I get the showcasing of the failure of absolute Randian philosophy, but the most fascinating part was more about video games and how they control the player's actions, and the game went on to long to completely ruin what would have been a fantastic shock ending for me.
Then I went and played the sequel, and now I see certain things about the original in a much more positive light.
BioShock 2
I go from being just some guy stuck in the show to a full on early series Big Daddy...with nearly none of the benefits. The world is still incredible, because it's the same world. If anything, I have to detract because the ability to backtrack was removed from the second game, and that makes me realize how much I enjoyed it in the first. But basic concepts of the first game were improved upon, such as viewing the progress and benefits of research and how you perform it, a tool with the ability to hack from afar, thus changing my tactics, a dual-wielding of plasmids and weapons, and the upgrade system now featuring a third, special upgrade for each weapon.
Those are the positives. Now for the negatives. First and foremost, the controls between the first and second game change considerably. Some of these choices are understandable, even if I'm not a fan. For example, scrolling through weapons and plasmids had to change to adapt to the new dual-wielding system. But other choices are full on weird. Why is Left Ctrl now being used for health kits? I tend to bind Left Ctrl to crouch, and more than once I wasted a health kit when reacting. The special menu button also changed from H to M for some reason, which was unnecessary. Controller prompts also abound, despite my not using a controller. As someone who prefers his FPS games on a console, I always found this a subtle dig about the influence of consoles on the genre. That, and the colors clash, so it becomes a visual distraction. As someone who played twitch FPS back in the 90s, trust me, you do not want any sort of distraction. Distraction will get you fragged.
The biggest problem though is that you feel weak. I get it, you have to build up in the game, but I'm now a Big Daddy. I should be stomping fools, not nearly getting wasted by one splicer with halfway decent aim. This is countered by the power upgrades you enjoy over time, and by the end of the game you're ridiculously overpowered, but it definitely felt like a harsh awakening going from a game where I had to plan to take these guys on to another where a Joe Schmoe I'd take down with one bullet is now almost effortlessly putting the hurt on me.
As for the plot, I appreciate the juxtaposition this game has with the first. The original BioShock refutes Randian idealism, but BioShock 2 critiques unchecked collectivism and what is very much a socialist approach with an almost religious zeal. We've gone from one side of the spectrum to the other, and not only do both suck, both use similar tactics, such as fostering a cult of personality to an extreme end. The first game was about Andrew Ryan and his Great Chain, but in the sequel, it's Sophia Lamb and her urging to sacrifice yourself for the Family and Utopia. The end result? Both extremes are dehumanizing suckfests, be it individualism above all else or collectivism above all else.
And then we get to...
Minerva's Den
Which is where I fell in love with the story. Minerva's Den is easily my favorite part of BioShock 2. It not only takes all the positives (and admittedly negatives such as controls, though by now I was used to them), but it also adds in large levels that let me explore in a way that feels more natural to me. Sure, there were some restrictions, but I was basically given the keys to the kingdom in each level and told to go have fun, exploring how I like and upgrading myself through my exploration.
The story was also considerably more interesting, because instead of giving me lofty statements on some great ethical debate, I was instead exploring the humanity of a single individual dealing with loss and grief while under a tyrannical regime. It didn't matter which regime, the loss was the true focus. Basically, Minerva's Den is about a person living in a crazy world but experiencing things that are wholly relatable. Give me this one any time.
I believe Minerva's Den is also where the Protector Trials come into play in BioShock 2. The Protector Trials are a series of mini battles where you must protect a little sister gathering Adam from a corpse while splicers try to stop her. The key thing here is that your weapon loadouts are predetermined, so you have to figure out creative ways to use them. Since the enemies you encounter are generally the same, it comes down to understanding how different weapons and plasmid loadouts affect your tactics. I found new uses for tools I hadn't previously used because they weren't my usual playstyle, but now I have a much greater appreciation for them. Conversely, some weapons and plasmids I realize just don't gel. At this point, I've gotten an A or A+ rating in all trials, but it was a fun challenge while it lasted.
All in all, Minerva's Den has been my favorite part of the whole BioShock experience. I still have more to do before I completely wrap up BioShock 2, but that's my achievement hunting habit kicking in. I don't think I'll go into the third BioShock game yet since it's a radical departure from Rapture, but I will get to it some day.
2. Project: Snowblind (PC)(FPS)
3. Soldier of Fortune: Platinum Edition (PC)(FPS)
4. Ziggurat (PC)(FPS)
5. Wolfenstein 3D: Ultimate Challenge (PC)(FPS)
6. Destiny 2 (PC)(FPS/RPG)
7. Destiny 2: Curse of Osiris (PC)(FPS/RPG)
8. Destiny 2: Warmind (PC)(FPS/RPG)
9. Destiny 2: Forsaken (PC)(FPS/RPG)
10. Star Wars: Rebel Assault (PC)(Rail Shooter)
11. Castle Werewolf (PC)(FPS)
12. Project Warlock (PC)(FPS)
13. Castle Crashers (PC)(Hack and Slash)
14. This Strange Realm of Mine (PC)(FPS)
15. BioShock Remastered (PC)(FPS)
16. BioShock 2 (PC)(FPS)
17. BioShock 2: Minerva's Den (PC)(FPS)
I probably should have posted this earlier, but I've been working my way through the BioShock series for the last few weeks and decided it was time I actually post something about what I have beaten.
BioShock Remastered
I don't really have a lot to say about this. I've played BioShock before, and it didn't impress me much then. Technically, it's a beautiful game; when it came out, the use of water was absolutely phenomenal. The Remastered version does make some visual improvements to help things run with modern visual updates, though a lot of the world now looks considerably more cartoonish. That said, I'm happy to say I still think it's a beautiful world. That's all that was changed for the Remastered edition (well, that and Steam achievements being incorporated), so if you had any other issues with the game the first time, you'll still have them.
Which means I still have them. The gunplay felt lackluster on my initial playthrough, and it still does here, though you can choose instead to focus on melee with great success. Since I'm familiar with the game already, I was able to rush through areas I'd encountered problems with before, but sometimes the game is happy to put a turret in a nasty spot to mess you up, so try to stay on your toes. As for the plot, I've complained about it previously. Yes, I get the showcasing of the failure of absolute Randian philosophy, but the most fascinating part was more about video games and how they control the player's actions, and the game went on to long to completely ruin what would have been a fantastic shock ending for me.
Then I went and played the sequel, and now I see certain things about the original in a much more positive light.
BioShock 2
I go from being just some guy stuck in the show to a full on early series Big Daddy...with nearly none of the benefits. The world is still incredible, because it's the same world. If anything, I have to detract because the ability to backtrack was removed from the second game, and that makes me realize how much I enjoyed it in the first. But basic concepts of the first game were improved upon, such as viewing the progress and benefits of research and how you perform it, a tool with the ability to hack from afar, thus changing my tactics, a dual-wielding of plasmids and weapons, and the upgrade system now featuring a third, special upgrade for each weapon.
Those are the positives. Now for the negatives. First and foremost, the controls between the first and second game change considerably. Some of these choices are understandable, even if I'm not a fan. For example, scrolling through weapons and plasmids had to change to adapt to the new dual-wielding system. But other choices are full on weird. Why is Left Ctrl now being used for health kits? I tend to bind Left Ctrl to crouch, and more than once I wasted a health kit when reacting. The special menu button also changed from H to M for some reason, which was unnecessary. Controller prompts also abound, despite my not using a controller. As someone who prefers his FPS games on a console, I always found this a subtle dig about the influence of consoles on the genre. That, and the colors clash, so it becomes a visual distraction. As someone who played twitch FPS back in the 90s, trust me, you do not want any sort of distraction. Distraction will get you fragged.
The biggest problem though is that you feel weak. I get it, you have to build up in the game, but I'm now a Big Daddy. I should be stomping fools, not nearly getting wasted by one splicer with halfway decent aim. This is countered by the power upgrades you enjoy over time, and by the end of the game you're ridiculously overpowered, but it definitely felt like a harsh awakening going from a game where I had to plan to take these guys on to another where a Joe Schmoe I'd take down with one bullet is now almost effortlessly putting the hurt on me.
As for the plot, I appreciate the juxtaposition this game has with the first. The original BioShock refutes Randian idealism, but BioShock 2 critiques unchecked collectivism and what is very much a socialist approach with an almost religious zeal. We've gone from one side of the spectrum to the other, and not only do both suck, both use similar tactics, such as fostering a cult of personality to an extreme end. The first game was about Andrew Ryan and his Great Chain, but in the sequel, it's Sophia Lamb and her urging to sacrifice yourself for the Family and Utopia. The end result? Both extremes are dehumanizing suckfests, be it individualism above all else or collectivism above all else.
And then we get to...
Minerva's Den
Which is where I fell in love with the story. Minerva's Den is easily my favorite part of BioShock 2. It not only takes all the positives (and admittedly negatives such as controls, though by now I was used to them), but it also adds in large levels that let me explore in a way that feels more natural to me. Sure, there were some restrictions, but I was basically given the keys to the kingdom in each level and told to go have fun, exploring how I like and upgrading myself through my exploration.
The story was also considerably more interesting, because instead of giving me lofty statements on some great ethical debate, I was instead exploring the humanity of a single individual dealing with loss and grief while under a tyrannical regime. It didn't matter which regime, the loss was the true focus. Basically, Minerva's Den is about a person living in a crazy world but experiencing things that are wholly relatable. Give me this one any time.
I believe Minerva's Den is also where the Protector Trials come into play in BioShock 2. The Protector Trials are a series of mini battles where you must protect a little sister gathering Adam from a corpse while splicers try to stop her. The key thing here is that your weapon loadouts are predetermined, so you have to figure out creative ways to use them. Since the enemies you encounter are generally the same, it comes down to understanding how different weapons and plasmid loadouts affect your tactics. I found new uses for tools I hadn't previously used because they weren't my usual playstyle, but now I have a much greater appreciation for them. Conversely, some weapons and plasmids I realize just don't gel. At this point, I've gotten an A or A+ rating in all trials, but it was a fun challenge while it lasted.
All in all, Minerva's Den has been my favorite part of the whole BioShock experience. I still have more to do before I completely wrap up BioShock 2, but that's my achievement hunting habit kicking in. I don't think I'll go into the third BioShock game yet since it's a radical departure from Rapture, but I will get to it some day.