Recent reviews by W Livi

My friends and I have enjoyed EDF since 4.1 came to Steam, and we're having a blast with EDF6.
Is it a perfect, flawless experience? No.
Is it an enjoyable co-op horde shooter with the charm of a B-movie? Absolutely.

The action is fun and challenging, the four player classes mean there's several different ways to play, the diverse enemy types demand you constantly assess and address the situation.

the Epic integration isn't ideal, but it's also not a huge problem. The worst part of it is that, whenever you earn an achievement, Epic's notification eats your mouse inputs until it goes away - bad, but it doesn't happen often and doesn't last long. The game itself steals your camera controls more often, unless you disable the 'camera effects' option.

If you've enjoyed prior EDF games - especially EDF5 - I do recommend this one.

It's not the best port TimeSplitters 2 could have gotten, but it's better than nothing

The changes Payday 3 makes to stealth gameplay seem geared toward eliminating Payday 2's hard-divide between sneaky-sneaks and guns blazing. In the hands of a knowledgeable player, even the loudest of loud builds in Payday 3 still has a fair shake of getting through a heist without triggering an alarm, putting you in a good position to pivot in case something does go awry.

The new skill system offers a good deal more flexibility in how to mix and match things compared to Payday 2's skill trees. Paired with the three main buffs which many skills provide or care about, there's lots of room for assembling synergies.

Do be aware that this game is online only. Even when trying to play alone, you're still at the mercy of the matchmaking server, which has been kinda flaky at launch. Hopefully we'll see Starbreeze shore that up a bit in the coming days and weeks.

I'm enjoying this new entry in the franchise. It's a little light on content at launch, but if Payday 2 is anything to go by, we should be seeing new material for this game for quite some time to come.

A solid series of comedic point-and-click shorts, chronicling the misadventures of a dog in a suit, and his weird little rabbity-thing of a partner; both armed, dangerous, and short on scruples. A remake of Telltale's first six Sam & Max episodes, the updates present herein all contribute positively to the games, improving the technology, presentation, and representation.

If you've enjoyed other outings of Sam & Max, I do recommend giving this a shot. But, if your main point of reference is Sam & Max Hit the Road, just bear in mind that this is not one contiguous adventure, as the Lucas Arts title was. There are recurring characters, locations, and a narrative through-line, but each episode is mechanically separated. (like chicken nuggets!) If you find you're missing an important puzzle piece, you're not going to be scouring the prior episodes for it; it's gotta be somewhere in the current episode.

The engine's showing its age, but this is still a fun four-player coop game.
Highly recommended, and I look forward to seeing what they do for Payday 3

When you first launch the game, there's a content-warning regarding mental-health stuff, and they are not kidding: the game gets seriously dark. While there is an option to disable the most... overtly troubling aspect of the game, the rest of the story still rings far too true with the state of our world. On some level I worry if even I shouldn't be playing this thing.

Don't get me wrong, though: I am enjoying the game.

A lot more care, attention and detail has been poured into everything, compared to the previous Receiver. Rooms are much less abstract, and can have random variations beyond merely item and enemy placement. The weapon handling is more involved, requiring stoppages to be cleared and care to be taken when drawing and holstering. And rather than saddling you with the task of collecting 11 tapes up-front, it breaks things up into discrete Ranks, each requiring a number of tapes to progress.

Moving up through the ranks increases the game's difficulty. Failure generally drops you down a rank, decreasing the difficulty. In this way, the game strives to present a challenge that is ever interesting for you - pushing you to improve, while keeping the game playable; keeping it fun.

Even when you do find yourself playing in the same two ranks over and over, the story still pushes onward. Beyond the tapes you collect and the narration they contain, there's also a number of 5¼" floppy disks strewn about the world. Each disk holds a note - a personal log, or a message for whomever's out there - from another receiver, giving some sense that they're out there, fighting their own fight in the post-mindkill landscape. As you collect more disks from a given receiver, you learn more about what they've gone through; what they are going through.

If you enjoyed the original Receiver, or have an interest in detailed firearms simulation, I would definitely recommend you give this one a look. Just... be careful about your mental state, okay?

Llamasoft has been producing fantastic video games and abstract visuals for decades, and Tempest 4000 clearly shows its legacy.
If you enjoy fast-paced arcade action, I heartily recommend this game.


A note to keyboard players: A to shoot, S to jump, F to bomb. It's in the readme. You're welcome.

It's the most innovative shooter I've played in years.

Play this game.
Don't read any reviews, don't view any screenshots, don't spoil anything.
Just play this game.

Snippets of experiences, and a fascinating narrative.