Recent reviews by Colonel Orange

This games been out for awhile, lived a couple different lives starting out as just an hour long title then eventually getting sold on Steam and reworked as a commercial title but if you're just finding it in the store either from a recommendation, a video, or stumbled upon it...I implore you to pick it up and play. Not just for it's story but for the main character Niko, if you're looking for something unique, short but sweet and a game that leaves you just as heartfelt and happy playing it and interacting with the world, characters, and Niko themselves as it will leave you wanting more, wishing you could reach out and interact with these characters, maybe leave you with tears in your eyes. Than please get this, the world within is worth exploring, the characters worth saving and Niko worth...loving....even if you can't stay with them forever. I highly recommend Oneshot and it'd be foolish to pass it up if RPG makers aren't you're thing you will not regret playing it.

Arkham Origins is a tough entry to discuss when you consider the overall stance the public has taken since it's entry way back in 2013. Following up to the critically acclaimed Arkham City, Rocksteady's sequel to Arkham Asylum, those at Warner Bros. Montreal had big shoes to fill when they were tasked with creating a third entry whilst Rocksteady finished completion on Arkham Knight. So as to not interfere with Rocksteady's title, WB:M decided to focus on a prequel to the events of Arkham Asylum with a showcase of Bruce Wayne 2 years into his career as Batman. WB:M also focused on Batmans overwhelming need to do things his way filled with raw emotion and anger, amazingly captured by Roger C. Smith. Arkham Origins tells the tale of a Christmas Eve filled with chaos as crime lord Black Mask puts a bounty on Batmans head for 50 million dollars, and hires 8 deadly assassins who you fight as the night goes on, all competing for the prize. the setup alone makes for some compelling game play and narrative decisions, and in my opinion the boss fights of Arkham origins are the best the franchise has to offer with a diverse set of game play ranging from focused hand to hand combat, reliance on solely your equipment, to fighting you own inner thoughts. Narratively, Arkham Origins may seem like a bit of a downgrade compared to that of Arkham City, it has to carefully juggle introducing a series of events that don't conflict with events meant to happen later on. For me, WB:M managed to execute this notion almost perfectly. I say "almost" because I too have conflicts with some story decisions (that by no means subtract for the overall quality) but to avoid spoilers I'll say an interesting reveal probably could've been avoided had Black Mask been more realized as a villain. With that said, the story and themes hit the nail on the head with Batman realizing he can't do everything on his own and needs allies on his side to help against crime. Not to mention the awesome Christmas feeling you can get traversing Gotham during a blizzard with dark Christmas bells playing in the background, perfectly capturing Gotham during the holidays. Characters such as Bane were better realized in this game as well, instead of just a mindless brute he's a calculating tactician this time around and poses a much more serious threat. Troy Baker standing in for a young Joker was great to see and hear and it's nice to know his work as the clown prince of crime has landed him some other Joker roles. The premise of the GCPD being enemies was also an excellent touch as they're both corrupt and against vigilantism at this point. Overall, Arkham Origins is certainly the black sheep of the Arkham series but it does deserve a spot amongst it's brethren entries. With the fanbase dividng some after the release of Arkham Knight it too was good to see others coming back to origins to give it a second chance and hope the game will receive either a remaster or remake to be up to par with current gen systems. If you're looking to play more Arkham games and were thinking of skipping this one....DON'T!

Sven Co-op is a unique team based cooperative experience. With maps ranging from well thought out, intriguing experience with interesting story beats. To absolute non-stop massacres of soldiers and aliens. Some maps have careful detailing of new monster designs using pre-exisiting monsters, with original composed music. To maps with no thought and quite frankly suck. With that said those experiences are far and few between cause you can have an excellent time with friends when you find the right map(s). You can make key callouts to warn allies. Heal teammates in the heat of battle whilst they cover you with gun fire. Play out unique sub plots and storylines. Overall just experiment and have a blast. I recommend playing Sven if you haven't already!

Black mesa takes Half Life and adds a new coat of paint to polish it. Everything Earthbound remains the same as the original half Life with updated art to enhance visual fidelity not seen in Source 1. from the new outdoor mesa and flora to the dynamic lighting for maps like Power Up and On A Rail. Xen on the other hand has been pain stakingly remade from scratch while following key notes such as the Gonarch fight, the Alien grunt factory, and the various flora seen in the original Xen. Nihilanth has been reinvented to be a dynamic, challenging boss fight rather than just a large bullet sponge. All AI throughout Black Mesa has been revamped from Vortigaunts dodging your firearms, HECU suppressing fire on your position, to the Alien grunts in Interloper being highly mobile tanks capable of unleashing hurricanes of thornets. Black Mesa is an amazing game and I recommend buying it when possible.

I come back to my recommendation simply because I feel I can elaborate on my feelings regarding this game. With nearly 3300 hours at the time of writing this I can safely say this is a game ABSOLUTELY worth buying. Its player bashin, infected slashin, safe house dashin fun. With a variety of infected to kill ranging from the maniacal jockeys, pouncing hunters, vomit spewing boomers, to the brute tanks. Working together as a team is key to ensure you and your mates make it to the rescue set at the end of the campaign whilst these foes impede your attempt of escape. Choose the weapon you deem fit for you or your play-style, from machine guns, to shotguns you can choose from the Uzi, the MAC-10, MP5, Hunting rifle, Sniper rifle, M-16 AK-47, Scar, SPAS-12, and Benelli to the M79 break action grenade launcher if you wish to make a bigger bang amongst your gang. With future updates looking promising and a thriving community workshop to create your personalized pandemic. The content is abundant! A STRONG recommendation to buy this game for you and your friends to have fun together. And who knows, maybe you'll make friends in some public matches as well...Have fun!