Hello all this is my second blog and everyone knows that sequels are meant to be darker and grittier. So to kick things off...
But anyway, this week I've been playing quite a few old games like The Witcher, Half Life 2 and Oblivion. Oblivion and Half Life are great and all but I wanted to talk about was The Witcher.
The Witcher
For those who don't know The Witcher is an RPG that was released on PC in late 2007. It is based on a series of books by Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski. As I understand the books are quite popular in Poland but at the time of the game's release, the books had not even been translated into English. Despite this, the game was a success for first time developer, CD Projekt RED. The books and the game focus on Geralt of Rivia who is a Witcher (basically a genetically mutated bad ass bounty hunter).
Since the sequel is almost upon us I thought I'd playthrough the game again. The first time I played through was when the game first came out and as anyone who played it during that time knows, the voice acting was pretty bad. The actors would say lines that were meant to be humorous in a monotone voices and a lot of the dialogue just didn't make sense. However, the developers released an enhanced edition of the game in September 2008 which featured re-recorded and expanded dialogue for the translated versions of the game, added new animations, increased the speed of the load time and many other improvements. Best of all, this was all included in a free patch for those who already had the game. After playing the game again I can say it is definitely improved but the game is starting to look dated. The graphics are pretty poor and the animation is really stiff. It especially looks bad when compared to the stunning sequel due out in a couple of weeks.
Despite the dated look the the game, it is still a great traditional RPG and is worth seeking out for those hardcore RPG fans out there.
Red Faction Demo
Finally I wanted to talk about the demo for Red Faction Armageddon. I was a huge fan of Guerilla when it came out in 2009, being able to destroy all the building in a variety of ways was so much fan (personally, I liked to get a big truck and just ram it through the entrance). The amazing destruction engine seemed to go hand in hand with the open world, even though the world itself was qutie boring.
After playing the demo for the new game I'm a little disappointed. It seems the developers have completely misunderstood why people liked Guerilla so much. The open world is gone replaced by smaller, linear enviroments and most of the game is set underground. The destruction is still there but it's not as fun when I can't go anywhere I want and fuck up everything in site. Also, seeing as the game is linear, it is easy to accidently destroy the path ahead, forcing you to repair bridges and walkways. Whats the point of having amazing destruction tech when all I can destroy is some crappy shacks and grated floors? And then I just have to repair most of it to proceed anyway. MEH. To top it all off, I hear that they have replaced the great multiplayer with a horde more. A HORDE MODE. How original.
Despite my disappointment I'll wait to see what the rest of the game is like before I judge it completely. Heltom92 OUT.
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