Recent reviews by high2k

Hunted: The Demon's Forge
Release Date: 31 May 2011

Strengths:
-Good Graphics and Character Design
-Nice Level Design
-Nice Atmosphere
-Great Voice Acting
-Well-knit and Believable Story
-Good Combat Animations

Limitations:
-Dead Multiplayer.
-Only two characters to play


Conclusion:
This is a surprisingly good and very well made role playing game. You can play either as male fighter or a female archer and can also switch between them in certain stages. Gameplay is fighting your way through different stages with some of them having puzzles to solve. Both of your characters have a skill tree on which you can upgrade and purchase new skills for your character like powerful blows, magical spells etc. The best part of the game is the great voice acting by either character and reasonably realistic combat. The game's medieval atmosphere is superb and graphics are very nice (especially for its time and stand up in today's time as well). The story is well made and executed in an interesting manner. It's an action-packed game and you are likely never to get bored while playing it and the game will almost all times keep you on your toes. Your characters are mercenaries who take up a seemingly impossible quest to rescue a wealthy aristocrat's daughter. There are demonic enemies also as the name suggests along with orc-like characters, dragons, skeletons, witches, human soldiers etc. You find a variety of powerful weapons as well that makes combat even more fun and diverse. If you are into fantasy RPGs then 100% you should not miss it.


Graphics: 7/10
Gameplay: 8/10
Replayability: 8/10
Story: 7/10
Sound: 7/10
Level Design: 8/10

Overall rating is 7.5/10

-High2k

Devil May Cry 5
Release Date: 8 March 2019

Strengths:
-Excellent graphics and char models
-Large number of combos
-Can play as 3 main characters

Limitations:
-Only Single Player Game and no online multiplayer.
-Combat can get repetitive pretty fast
-Linear Stages and most of them are pretty much similar
-Flat story nothing special :p

Conclusion:
Although I would've loved to recommend Devil May Cry-5, I just couldn't after finishing the game. The game has pretty good graphics but severely lacks in innovation and a hooking story. It's more of an add-on to the Devil May Cry Series with improved graphics. Although there are many new fighting combos as well as a new playable character (the sorcerer), the game play is very repetitive and gets kind-of boring later in the game. I've also played DMC-4, and DMC-5 is just the same more or less as far as game play is concerned. It would've been more acceptable if it had a gripping story but unfortunately the game failed to deliver on that also. Most things are pretty obvious and there is no interesting plot. The stages are flat too. Most of the time you spend fighting inside demonic tunnels and very linear stages. If you are a "die hard" DMC fan or someone who's never played any of DMC games you may like it. For veteran players I think it's nothing more than another average addition to the collection. Not recommended.


Graphics: 9/10
Gameplay: 7/10
Replayability: 2/10
Story: 3/10
Sound: 5/10
Level Design: 5/10

Overall rating is 5.2/10

-High2k

Painkiller : Black Edition
Release Date: April 12, 2004

Strengths:
-Interesting campaign and story
-Excellent music and level design
-Excellent graphics for its time and still hold up
-Challenging fights with large hordes of demons especially in the nightmare mode
-Large number of weapons with dual fire option for every weapon
-Great diversity in enemies and bosses

Limitations:
-Gameplay is just shoot, shoot, shoot...reload...shoot, shoot, shoot..., and is highly repetitive.
-Dead Multiplayer

Conclusion:
Painkiller was launched in 2004 and probably had the best graphics at the time for a FPS game. I completed this game’s non-steam version. The gameplay is simple and fast. You confront large hordes of enemies (demons or zombies) and have to survive each wave to proceed to next stage. The most distinguishable aspect of the game is its superb graphics (that still hold up), background rock music and weapons. Each level is beautiful and carefully designed keeping the story and atmosphere in view. There are a large roster of weapons, with each weapon having two fire modes and even more weapons added with the expansion pack “Battle out of Hell” which is included in the “Black” edition of the game. You can play both the original “Painkiller” and “Battle out of Hell” campaigns in the Black Edition. You also have access to tarot cards that provide you bonuses to improve your survivability in difficult game modes. This game is one of the few games that reached FPS excellence with immersive gameplay, legendary boss fights and well-knit story. The game is all about your reflexes and reaction time. You have to kill lots of monsters and kill them fast. This gets very challenging if you set the game at top difficulty mode. It’s repetitive, yes, but different level design, good graphics, different enemies and large number of weapons make it interesting to play. It’s one of those games that entertain you when you are bored and just want to shoot the heck out of something . It’s online multiplayer is dead now, but you can probably play it over LAN if you want to. But it’s still worth purchasing because of its great single player campaign. Just take the pill !

Graphics: 8/10 , 10/10 for 2004
Gameplay: 9/10
Replayability: 9/10
Story: 8/10
Sound: 8/10
Level Design: 8/10

Overall rating is 8.3/10, 8.7/10 for 2004

-High2k

Dead Space 2
Release Date: 25 January 2011
Strengths:
-Good looking graphics and models
-Great direction to the story
-Great atmosphere
-Survival Horror at its best
-Great variety of weapons and upgrades
-Horrific scenes, gory, sudden shocks
-Multiplayer still works!
-Best part is when you finish the game you get to keep all your weapons and inventory for the next ‘hard mode’’ that is unlocked ! This adds to the replay value and urges you to play the game again!

Limitations:
-Levels and enemies are generally repetitive although there is decent level of randomization added to the game. But inspite of this, the game is nearly perfect in all aspects !
-Some levels can be tough and you die a lot and have to play back from the last checkpoint which can be far far away from your progress!

Conclusion:
I like EA games. Most of them are well made, have great direction and are very detailed. Dead Space 2 is no exception and the first game of the series that I played. It is a survival horror game in which you play the role of an engineer named ‘Issac Clark’ who wakes up on a space station in the middle of a chaotic situation (necromorphs killing people everywhere lol !) sort of like Gorden Freeman’s situation after he ***** up his experiment at Black Mesa in Half-Life game. Soon you pick up your weapons and find some assistance to understand your situation and what to do by some unknown friend over the radio (Sounds familiar? Gotta live with it, it happens in so many games XD). But don’t get side tracked. This game is very well made and you are likely to enjoy every bit of it inspite of some similarities with other games here and there. Some unique aspects – you fight in space station and also sometimes in space itself! Enemies can generate randomly a bit and can attack you from front and even behind that makes the game really scary. Level design is great- you got dark corners, creepy rooms, engineering sections, strange sounds everything that you’d want to have in a horror game. Best part is you can also smash the dead enemies with your feet to obtain ammos and credits and additional satisfaction to take out your anger for that monstor scaring the **** out of you and lowering your HP lol. Also when you finish the game you get to keep all your weapons and upgrades for the next unlocked hard mode. Every weapon in the game can be made even more powerful by adding upgrades to it. You got to choose what weapons to keep in your roster as there is a limit and each weapons has its advantages and shortcomings. For example the pulse rifle helps you take out swarms of weak enemies but may not be effective in dealing with a strong enemy and you’d waste a lot of ammo. Sniper rifles and my favourite “Javelin Gun” can deal high damage but have low rate of fire and low ammo capacity. You also wear a protective armour that can also be upgraded. You can also buy and sell items on a store that is located at various places within every level. The game has good physics and combat is fun as well as realistic. Also each weapon has two firing modes and some weapons have special ability that is unlocked as an upgrade later in the game that makes the combat more detailed and enjoyable by trying out new ways to kill the enemies. The game has fair diversity of enemies. You got fast moving zombies or necromorphs as they are called in the game that come at you from anywhere to impale you with their sharp spear-like mutated arms. You have some that vomit acid over you that slows you down and also causes damage. Some monsters fire projectiles, some run at you at blinding speeds etc. There are bosses as well. What keeps you hooked is the nice story, direction, great combat, upgrades, the horror aspect of the game. There are other aspects also of the game woth mentioning like you get to take certain snap judgements without any help and just by using common sense or you are dead in a few seconds. E.g. If you shoot a glass window of the space station room the air evacuates along with everything in that room (including yourself!) and if you don’t shoot the emergency shutter button then you’d be thrown out in space and will die. You get only a couple of seconds to do this action. Similarly there are other aspects but I wouldn’t discuss it as it’ll create spoilers. The game is long with 15 Chapters to play and has good replay value as you can use all the upgrades of your previous game again. Adding to this, the game inspite of being released in 2011 still has many players playing the multiplayer so you can have tons of fun with it. It’s one of those games which give you the worth for your money and you feel glad and satisfied that you bought something having quality and art.


Graphics:9/10
Gameplay: 10/10
Replayability: 8/10
Story: 8/10
Sound: 9/10
Level Design:9/10

Overall rating is 8.8/10

-High2k

Remember Me
Release Date: 3 June 2013
Strengths:
-Fairly good story and concept
-Unique design of “memory modification” levels

Limitations:
-Repetitive combat and very limited combos
-Mediocre graphics and closed box level design
-Can be hard if you don’t practice and remember certain game functions and combos
-Linear gameplay and unlocked combos reset after the game ends
-No multiplayer and alternate game modes other than one single player campaign

Conclusion:
The biggest strength of this game is its game concept. In the futuristic setting of the game, people can store their memories on servers and their memories could be modified or transferred to one another. You play as “Nilin” a memory hunter who has lost her memory and now assisted by an unknown entity called “Edge” to find the truth about herself and the struggle of some rebels against evil corporation who controls it all (Sounds familiar? Yeah, every game does need a complex plot and 1 vs all story!). The most interesting aspect of the game is the memory alteration levels in which you can dig into other person’s memory and change some aspects of it to suit your motives or in other words, let the person think in a particular way which is not true in reality. This brings out a dangerous aspect of this “Memory Business”. You can make a person shoot another person by altering his/her memory, or make someone guilty of something by changing his/her memory, or can even delete everything because it is now an accessible system thanks to the technology developed as showcased in the game (Remember “Total Recall” movie?). After going through its gameplay and story I’d say that this game is not entirely unique but has fragments taken from movies and other games. For example, for combat and combos it is similar to games like devil may cry, and jumping around ledges and camera angles exactly like “Prince of Persia: Warrior Within”, jumping over rooftops while being chased by authorities like in “Mirror’s Edge” etc. Levels are very linear, repetitive and flat. In each level you do a bit of fighting, a bit of jumping around, a bit of climbing over ledges and pipes, and very later in the game a couple of puzzles to solve, and occasional boss fights. Story is flat and I didn’t find it interesting and pretty much anticipated what would happen in the end (but I loved the robot toy called “Jax” lol). But the “memory alteration” part of of the game I’d give it 10/10 for its uniqueness as I have not seen any game having that. So for what I would recommend this game? Only for playing “memory alteration” levels and if you want to experience the story of the game. Combat is also fairly enjoyable once you get hold of the combos. But if you are not into the games that feature combo-based combat, zero help- if you forget certain game mechanics then stay away from it.


Graphics:7/10
Gameplay: 7/10
Replayability: 4/10
Story: 7/10
Sound: 7/10
Level Design:6/10

Overall rating is 6.3/10

-High2k

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War-3
Release Date: 27 April 2017

Strengths:
-Good campaign and story
-Good graphics (Most polished of all DoW games)
-Large population capacity, good battle animations
-Gorgeous cinematics
-Great sound and voice acting
-Added war doctrines somewhat similar to CoH

Limitations:
-Less number of players for online multiplayer (but some people do play it regularly)
-Less number of unit-types
-Only 3 races to play : Orcs, Eldar and Space Marines
-Short single-player campaign

Conclusion:
In spite of the large number of recent negative reviews about DoW-3 it’s only fair to say that this game is highly underrated. It is not a bad game but it has different gameplay mechanics and strategic elements. Once you understand both of the latter the game is an interesting and a rewarding experience. You can build units but there aren’t a lot of them only 3-4 infantry types, 2-3 tanks, 8-10 heroes to choose from per race but only 3 can be deployed in one game session, 4-6 building types, several defence points on the map, resource points and that’s it ! Now this being said it is important to understand before judging this game that the focus has been how to keep things simple have less unnecessary things to focus on but rather how coordination and strategic warfare can be implemented in a game. For example if you choose wrong time or wrong units to strike at a target you could lose all your units and may not be in a position to recover soon enough against an enemy counterattack. This game is not for kids. It is difficult, and you have to be smart and precise in order to win. It is like a new age chess where you can command pawns (infantry), bishop (heavy infantry), knight (Tanks), rook (Supporting Heroes), king (Main Hero) and queen (Your Titan Hero). If you give up easily and don’t like planned strategic gameplay then this game is not for you especially in the multiplayer arena. Inspite of this, there is an immersive single player campaign which is worth playing. Whether to buy this game or not is entirely dependent on a player’s expectations. You’re likely to get disappointed if you think of this as a DoW-2 expansion. No. It’s a new game altogether. DoW fans were expecting an expansion and improvement on DoW-2 but they didn’t get it, so the game flopped and under pressure its developers have stopped working further on it which is a shame as it is a superb game in my opinion and deserved to be improved and more content added for it. If you are a collector or a DoW fan then it’s definitely worth buying, but buy it on sale. If you have never played DoW games before then it’s better to first play DoW: Soulstorm which is a classic, then DoW-2: Retribution and then DoW-3. Not only will you get an idea about the evolution of this great game series but will be in better position to appreciate the differences and uniqueness of each game.

Graphics: 9/10
Gameplay: 8/10
Replayability: 8/10
Story: 8/10
Sound: 9/10
Level Design: 8/10

Overall rating is 8.3/10

-High2k

Resident Evil 2 / Biohazard 2 (Remake 2019)

Release Date: January 25, 2019

Strengths:
-Survival Horror (Yes, many instances when fear and adrenaline rush will be experienced)
-Superb graphics (State of the art special effects and rendering)
-Great story and direction (Movie like story progression, good acting by voice artists)
-Realism (Realistic Ballistics, Characters, Models, Environment)
-Clearly one of the most improved RE games till date in terms of graphics, gameplay and composition.


Limitations:
-No dodging ability in characters to dodge attacks (which is a big let down)
-High violence (Blood, Gore, Intense Violence. Not suitable for all players)
-Acceptable but not long enough playtime (10-20 hours of main campaign at average play speed)
-Limited enemy types and guns (enemies in main campaign are zombies, lickers, tyrant, sewer monsters, plant-zombies, zombie-dogs and that's it!)
-Non-Destructible Environment (Even the lamps don't go off if you shoot them! Destructible environment like in Rainbow 6 Seige should have been added that would make the game perfect.)
-No Multiplayer Mode


Conclusion:

Capcom's remake of its 1998 hit Resident Evil-2 is back in 2019 with latest graphics and recreation of one of the legendary survival horror games of all time. Capcom has taken a right turn in trying to improve what made resident evil games popular in the first place rather than becoming something entirely new. Resident Evil-7 was a fairly successful experiment but what comes with Resident Evil-2 Remake is exactly what most of the fans of the series want and the reason it is an immediate hit. I am glad to say that they have done the best possible job in remaking the original title and preserving the scenes, environment and also adding new dimensions so that the player has something new to experience too. The game is built on the new RE game engine which is superbly realistic and combat is awesome. The game has inherited all great and unique features from other RE games like defensive items like knives, grenades from RE-1 Remake, gunpowder combinations from RE-3 to create different type of ammo, with some new options like bolting the windows shut with wooden boards (like in Rainbow 6 Siege) etc. and removed the unnecessary and obsolete features like ink ribbon to save the game (well in hardcore mode it is still there but for players who want an easier game mode to play, the saves are infinite and don't require ink ribbon items). The only let down is that the game doesn't include the attack dodging ability of the characters as present in many new RE games. Including this feature would've made the game almost perfect. Anyway the gameplay is very good to say the least. The main story is same to the original and you can play as Leon or Claire as in the original game. However, there are a few side stories as well, additional game content that increases the overall play time and make the original story, a bit more detailed and content rich. It's not as long as RE-4 but has a decent play time of 10-20 hours on average and even more if you intend to play it slow or choose the challenging hardcore mode. The best part of the gameplay that I found is the chasing down by the Tyrant. Tyrant (for newbies) is an unstoppable juggernaut of the Umbrella Corporation that is unleashed at the Police Station Site to hunt down any survivors (including the protagonists). He can't be killed but can be slowed down by firing. He will continue to chase you and since the ammo is limited (in normal game modes) you have to make a run for it in order to survive. He reminds me of 'Nemesis' from RE-3 although Nemesis is more deadlier and faster. Maybe we'll see him in RE-3 remake which is likely to be developed by Capcom. The game has good replayability due to new unlockable costumes and items, alternate endings, different game modes etc. So, overall, RE-2 Remake is a genuine RE experience and probably one of the best RE games till date in terms of action, gameplay, survival horror and story. Although strictly speaking, I feel, it is overpriced if weighted with the amount of game content and play time given, but it's definitely a good game in all aspects that are included.

Graphics: 10/10
Gameplay: 10/10
Replayability: 9/10
Story: 10/10
Sound: 10/10
Level Design: 10/10

Overall rating is 9.8/10.

-High2k

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine
Release Date: 5 September 2011

Strengths:
-Good story and atmosphere like all Warhammer 40k games
-Shoot! Shoot! Shoot!.....Reload! Shoot! Shoot! Shoot!...... (lots and lots of shooting!)
-Intense action, violence and gore. Massive hordes of Enemy to kill or be killed!
-Great voice acting and story driven gameplay
-Good Multiplayer Mode with reasonably good customization and level system

Limitations:
-Doesn't have other DoW heroes and factions- only Space Marines, Orks and Chaos. Only 1 hero.
-Limited players online for the multiplayer

Conclusion:
Space Marine is a third person shooter version of the popular Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War Series Games which already made a name for themselves with great realistic graphics and pioneering gameplay that set a new benchmark in the RTS gaming world. But unlike other titles in the series which are RTS games this version lets you play as a 'Space Marine' Commander and experience the on-ground and upclose epic battles with the enemy faction i.e. the Orks and Chaos while preserving the tense atmosphere and story of the DoW games. The best thing about this game is the intense fights against the hordes of Orks with a great roster of firearms, melee weapons and special abilities experienced combined with excellent sound and graphics that makes it stand out from any other similar game. Gameplay is story driven with great voice acting which is what I like about Warhammer games. The only limitation of the game is that there is only one single campaign and one hero and only two enemy factions. It's like going through a movie but is better than that because you actually get to fight and perform as the story unfolds. Every single battle is intense and brutal with blood, explosions and bullets flying almost everywhere. Multiplayer is awesome and you can choose from a number of characters and your character's level and abilities increase after every battle! If you like action and shooting then this game is a definite buy. If you like story driven gameplay then this game is for you. You will not regret it.


Gameplay: 10/10
Replayability: 8/10
Story: 8/10
Sound: 8/10
Level Design: 8/10

Overall rating is 8.4/10

-High2k

Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak
Release Date: 20 January 2016

Strengths:
-Good campaign, unique story and interesting atmosphere
-Nice clubbed Indian Instrumental background music (clarinets, tabla)
-Excellent graphics and fight animations
-Good voice acting and story driven gameplay
-Challenging campaign in the expert mode (potential to make you sweat!)

Limitations:
-Short Campaign for an RTS
-Very few players actually playing online multiplayer mode

Conclusion:

I remember this game's predecessor Homeworld-2 from 2003 which has a space setting and is undoubtedly one of the best space RTS games out there. After 13 years, a predecessor of the story was launched in form of "Deserts of Kharak" which primarily features ground based combat in real time and gladly is not a disappointment. Best part I liked about this game is that it is story driven and keeps the player hooked till the end to find out what "the secret" is with nice soothing Indian Instrumental music remix in the background. Graphics and fighting animations are superb and realistic. There are plenty of unit options to build aircraft, artillery, armoured vehicles, light attack vehicles etc. with upgrades possible. Your mobile base carrier can also launch cruise missiles which is pretty cool. Now this being said the game lacks enough detail and the combat can become repetitive pretty fast. The game has given all basic options for an RTS (units, research, resource gathering, turrets etc.) but does not have any significant feature to distinguish combat or its units. Gameplay is fun though but it’s not diverse and detailed enough for repetitive play which is a necessity of an ideal RTS game. This also explains why the game has negligible online multiplayer presence. But it is a good basic form of RTS with a nice campaign and you can have tons of fun with it if you can find some friends to play along with. For RTS collector, it’s a must have along with the original Homeworld-2. Beautifully made games.

Graphics: 10/10
Gameplay: 9/10
Replayability: 7/10
Story: 8/10
Sound: 8/10
Level Design: 7/10

Overall rating is 8.2/10

-High2k

Unreal Tournament/ UT-1 or UT99
Release Date: 30 November 1999

Strengths:
-Fast FPS Action (no delays)
-Tons of weapons and all weapons have at least 2 firing modes
-Excellent Music
-Great Voices and Voice Acting
-Challenging near perfect AI
-Large number of Maps and Mods (Almost infinite gameplay!)

Limitations:
-Dated graphics


Conclusion:

Unreal Tournament is undoubtedly one of the best FPS games ever developed and was an immediate hit when it was first launched in 1999. It was a pioneering game that actually defined deathmatch and team-based FPS combat. It was also the first game to have headshot scoring functionality at the time with mind blowing roster of weapons with every weapon having two firing modes and some even more! E.g. the rocket launcher can fire single or burst of rockets or can alternately launch the rocket like an impact based grenade giving flexibility to the player under different situations. The Ripper can fire rotating blades that bounce off walls or detonate on impact. The Flak cannon can rip a player into shreds in a single shot at close range or can fire a motar-like shell for long distance engagement. Similarly, other interesting weapons like Sniper Rifle, Bio Rifle, Pulse Gun, Mini Gun, Pistols. The gameplay is fast with excellent background music, voice acting, brilliant thoughtfully designed maps, and multiple game modes like deathmatch, last man standing, capture the flag and assault. The game has a very well balanced gameplay with skill being more important than merely having a big gun in hand. For example a player with an enforcer (pistol) can kill another player with superior weapon in a few accurate shots. Now this being said, the game does provide options or boosts like armour, invisibility, damage multiplier to the players to gain advantage over opponents. It also has a nuke (called Redeemer on some maps) that can blow all players in single shot if they come within the blast radius. So, everyone has a chance to win or score in a match. For single players, the game has a pretty long roster of maps to conquer not to mention customizations at character level and mods that give it the potential for infinite gameplay. You can also configure individual bot appearances and skill level to great detail. The game engine is bug free and fast and the reason why unreal engines are used by many games since then. The game is very well made and like many other players I am in opinion that it still is the best Unreal Tournament game ever released and one of the best team based FPS ever developed (hell lot better than the quake series!).

Graphics: 7/10 , 10/10 (for 1999)
Gameplay: 10/10
Replayability: 8/10, 10/10 (for 1999)
Story: 8/10
Sound: 10/10
Level Design: 10/10

Overall rating is 8.8/10 , 9.7/10 (for 1999)

-High2k