Recent reviews by Ajax

Great game, one of the best I've played this year. Didn't think too much of it when I began playing but the story, premise and characters began to grow on me the more I played. I suppose my first misgivings were due to the fact that I had extremely high and rather misguided conceptions of what the game was going to be, considering it was billed as Skyrim meets Ancient Rome. I really enjoy Skyrim and I'm very interested in Roman history, so I had stratospheric expectations considering the game's reputation - something that was bound to be flattened when I played it.

When I decided to take that game on its own premise (a Groundhog Day style time-travel mystery adventure) and take it on its own merits it really grew on me. I have completed one storyline, but I feel that in the future I'll play it again to try and unlock the alternative routes too.

The game has excellent attention to detail regarding Roman culture. The architecture, clothing and art all reflect Rome of the mid first century. It's great getting to explore in what feels like an authentic representation of ancient Rome. Even the character attitudes are like those of ancient Romans to some extent. The music is evocative, the dialogue is interesting and sometimes funny, the graphics are also good especially for the buildings.

All in all, a game that's really worth playing.

One of the greatest (arguably the greatest) single-player FPS games of all time - and one that deserves to be listed among the all-time greatest games in any genre and on any platform.

I played it to completion several years ago, as well as the excellent Episode One and Two (as well as on the PS3's Orange Box version) and they still stand up very well decades after release. Half-Life 2 was revolutionary for its time and helped define many aspects of video-games to this very day. Happy 20th Birthday to Half-Life 2!

Don't know how this passed me by in 2009, but I'm glad I eventually got round to playing it.

Probably one of the most unique and original game concepts ever made, and one that still manages to feel fresh 15 years on, even with the dated PS3 era graphics. Even if you ignore the wonky graphical glitches such as poor hair-clipping you'll still be rewarded with fantastic art & world design, something that leaves it feeling far less dated than other games from its era that tried to go the 'realistic' route. Riding around in 'The Deuce' as a tempest rages on still manages to be atmospheric and awe-inspiring even now.

How to describe this unique beast though? It's an open-world action adventure game with driving sections and a focus on RTS style battles, all set within a fantasy world inspired by 70's and 80's era Rock Album covers, as well as lore inspired by the groups and musicians of that era. It has one of the best, if not the best soundtracks for a videogame of all time, containing a mix of every sub-genre of Metal spanning decades of music history.

With voice work from legends such as Jack Black (who plays the main character Eddie Riggs) to Rock royalty like Lemmy Kilmister (RIP) and Ozzy Osbourne it has a sharp and well-written script for a funny gag-laden adventure that never outstays it welcome. The main story is rather short but very, very fun, and there's plenty of side-quests to keep you entertained between those main missions. Sadly though, some of the side-quests can feel lacklustre and repetitive- which isn't helped by the same cutscenes with the exact same dialogue playing (those 'Ambush' missions!) when you select them. Other mission types include hunting, racing, guiding cannon fire, and turret battles, as well as some one-off 'story' missions like Bat-Dad.

Brutal Legend is one of the best games I've played in years, and one that sadly never got the wide audience that it deserved. Definitely recommended!

This game holds a special place for me because it was the first real full-priced game I bought for the PC. A quarter of a century on from its release, is it still worth playing?

Unless you're a die-hard Star Wars fan then there's probably not much point. The story has been declared non-canon since about 2016, and that's not getting into the dated visuals or game mechanics. All Force powers have to be manually selected, which can be cumbersome and frustrating during combat, while the lightsaber combat pales in in comparison to the heights it reaches in the game's sequels, Jedi Outcast and Jedi Academy.

With all this in mind though, I'd be lying if I said I didn't thoroughly enjoy my return to this game. Dated it may be, but there's still lots of fun to be had with it, even if it crashed way too frequently. The level design is original and unlike anything you see in modern games. There's no waypointer, no easy to discern path to the objective. Even your journal can be extremely vague at times. 'Head to the Main Reactor Core to divert power from the fuelling units' is typical of the type of cryptic objective you tend to be given (this particular one isn't in the game, it's just my own play on the type of thing you typically would see).

This is a game that encourages you to explore. The more 'secret areas' you discover, the more 'stars' you are awarded at the end of the mission, which can then be used to unlock or increase your force powers. Often you can take a wrong turn and wind up in a dead-end with no means of escape. In one level you can even come face to face with a mini-boss fight by encountering a Kell Dragon. It's entirely avoidable if you take an alternate route. I can't imagine something like this being included in modern FPS games, and it feels oddly refreshing.

Some of the level design does get at bit samey, especially the confusing maze like levels at the Valley of the Jedi towards the end of the game. The same could also be said with the variety of enemies. Great by the standards of 1997, but at the end of the day you'll spend 80% of your game mowing down Stormtroopers and Imperial troops. Rodians, Grans, Gamorreans and the like are thrown in to spice it up.

There's a great variety of weapons too, but there's very little incentive to use them once you unlock your lightsaber on Sulon. Thermal Detonators are often a must to clear mines, but the mines themselves have very little use. Using the repeater rifle is a lot of fun though.

I enjoyed the story, complete with FMV live-action cutscenes. They're typically very short and don't go into much detail, but it was cutting edge for 1997 - this was before Half-Life revolutionised 'narratives' in FPS games in 1998.

I played this for the sake of nostalgia, fully expecting to find it too dated to continue beyond a level or two. I was therefore surprised how much I enjoyed it, and I didn't expect to play it all the way to completion. Defeating the Dark Jedi and liberating the Valley as a 'paragon' of the lightside felt cathartic after such a long time.

If you played this eons ago, then you might enjoy it more than you originally anticipated. I know I did.

It's been a few years since AOE IV released, and I had held off from getting it due to the exorbitantly high price of the game back in 2021. I can say that it was worth the wait, but it certainly isn't worth the original asking price of about $60 USD/£50 GBP. It's an absolute must if you see it one of the Steam sales though! Please note that this review refers only to the Single Player Campaign, as I have yet to try multiplayer.

I think the game has been unfairly maligned because it's too different in terms of gameplay compared to AOE 2. On the other hand it's too similar in terms of subject matter, as once again you'll be treading the same ground as you did in AOE 2: the Battle of Hastings, Joan of Arc, Genghis Khan - it's all here once again, although approached in slightly different way.

There is less focus in the campaign on historical narrative, like the individual campaigns of important historical figures like Attila, Montezuma, Barbarossa etc. Instead the campaign structure is reminiscent of the missions for the original Age of Empires back in 1997. Each mission is narrated in a 'history documentary' sort of way, with introductory videos with on location footage, featuring re-enactments or demonstrations of Medieval society or technology. All Missions are narrated in a detached way by a British female narrator, who speaks in past tense. In many ways this makes the game less immersive than the first person narratives of AOE 2, but I did enjoy all the videos.

Each Civilisation now feels distinct in a way that they didn't in AOE 2. The Mongols are my favourite faction, as they are nomads, able to move their production buildings from one site to the next. Their economy also functions differently as they are unable to build farms or granaries. I also love their emphasis on raiding and launching lightning fast strikes, where they gain resources from looting buildings. Their Mangudai and Heavy cavalry are a force to be reckoned with, making the Mongol campaign the best and most fun in my view. Others are great too - but the English/Norman isn't as enjoyable but still good.

The music and production values are great, each campaign has distinctive cultural music, from the throat singing of the Mongols, to the hurdy-gurdy of the French. The graphics are hit and miss, I prefer AOE 2's but they are still good if you have a graphics card that can handle it (my potato PC struggles with it).

If you haven't played Age of Empires before, I'd still recommend AOE 2: Definitive Edition over AOE IV as that game has mounds of content that is severely lacking in AOE IV. Hopefully future content will pad the game out a bit. In all, if you see it on sale then it's worth purchasing.

This game has probably impacted and influenced my life more than any other. It helped fuel my fascination with ancient history and civilisations, which I am still passionate about all these years later. Don't be fooled by the time I've spent on this modern remake (which is excellent despite some minor problems here and there). I've poured countless hours into the original.

So, is this version actually the Definitive Edition? Not really, but it does an admirable job. if anything it does a far too faithful recreation of the original from 1997 at times, as it imports some of the bugs, poor pathfinding and weak creative design decisions of the original into this newer edition. Hopefully Microsoft will foray back into this period in the future with a new edition, like they did with AOE IV regarding the Middle Ages. Fans of the original will enjoy jumping back into this game for nostalgic reasons, but newer players, or those that started with AOE II will find this game rather lacklustre and unpolished in comparison to Age of Kings or Age of Mythology.

The new HD graphics are a faithful rendition of the original, and the new reworked soundtrack is a joy to listen to as well. Luckily the old soundtrack and graphics are included too. The missions have been given something of reworking as some scenarios play out a little bit different from the originals, which can cause some problems as the a.i struggles at points (The Holy Man mission from the voices of Babylon campaign comes to mind). They're still enormous fun to play, and I raced through the Egyptian and Greek campaigns. The only new content is the Hittites campaign, which is basically a re-imagining of scenarios included on the demo version of the game from 1997.

I can't express how much I enjoy this game, and all the fun it has brought me over the years. It's one of my absolute favourite games of all time, and certainly the most influential. Even though I don't play it as often as I did when I was younger, it still lives on in my thoughts. Even the sound effects are utterly iconic (Wolololo, Rogan? Zookontah!) and the music is evocative. A very big thumbs up from me.

Happy 25th Birthday to Age of Empires!

This year marks the 20th anniversary of Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast. Twenty years on, is it still worth playing? It depends on what you want out of it.

The game is hard to rate as it has its share of positives as well as negatives. The story and characters are rather weak, especially the villains. Desann, the main antagonist, is nothing but an edgy Barney the Dinosaur in a suit of armour; while Galak Fyaar, the Imperial officer turned would be future emperor has virtually no character at all. To call him two-dimensional would be to compliment him. The game's story is now considered non-canon, part of the 'Legends' universe, so if you're a fan of the original series, you may enjoy it.

In terms of gameplay, it's far more mixed. Lightsaber combat is still fun, even decades later, and in many ways it hasn't been surpassed. The force powers are also great fun, especially as you progress and your powers improve. Being able to pull off a force power at the exact right moment is very satisfying, and it's fun to experiment with all of your different abilities.

Unfortunately, the first few hours of the game involve you working as a mercenary for the New Republic so you'll have to wait a while before getting your hands on a lightsaber. That means you'll have to drudge your way through hours of wonky, terrible FPS combat against Stormtroopers who seem to dance around on ice, considering their erratic movement. When you finally do get your saber, you then get thrown into several levels that have you facing Rodian snipers who are able to one shot you from across the map the second the tip of Kyle Katarn's nose peaks out round a corner.

By far the worst aspect of the game is the abysmal level design. You can easily spend a large amount of your time trying to figure out where you're supposed to go next. From the foggy maze like Yavin-4 levels, to terrible 'jumpy' platforming sections on Nar Shadaa, to having pathways hidden in a dark corner of a store-room behind a bunch of crates, right through to grated panels hidden in the ceiling. This game seems to be designed to confuse and frustrate the player at times.

Despite my rather negative sounding review, I did enjoy this game though. The graphics, although terrible by today's standards were pretty cutting edge for 2002, and I think they still kind of have their charm. The voice-acting is great as is the music by John Williams, although hearing the same themes over and over again gets rather repetitive.

So, should you get it? If you're a die-hard Star Wars completionist then it's likely you'll get this eventually anyway. If you played this game when you were younger (like me) you may or may not enjoy it again, it all depends on whether you can stomach the dated aspects of the game. New fans who feel intrigued by the lightsaber combat would be better suited to seeking out this game's arguably superior sequel, Jedi Academy. That game has far more options, replay value, variety of weapons and environments, story etc.

Considering that the Total War series seems to have an aversion to this fascinating era in history, It's worth your time getting stuck in to Pike & Shot if you love the Early Modern/Renaissance period. Just wait for its price to drop in sale, as although it's a good game, I don't think it's worth the asking price when you consider the visuals and lack of content (one menu screen, two music tracks, barely any sound effects or battle effects for that matter). If you can overlook the spartan UI & art direction though, you'll find a deep, addictive, challenging game.

At its heart it's a tactical turn based battle simulator. There's an emphasis on historically accurate formations and army divisions (for instance a Swedish mixed arms formation with artillery from 1632 will function differently from an Imperial Tercio block from 1621) so, although some of the skills you may have learned from other strategy games may prove useful, a lot of the time it'll just lead to your defeat if you don't consider the subtle differences between unit types. There's plenty of real life historical scenarios and campaigns to keep you busy, from the Thirty Years' War (which is the main focus of the game), to the English Civil War; and from Breitenfeld and White Mountain to Marston Moor.

It can be really hard and unforgiving, especially when your prized Cuirassiers chase a fleeing enemy off the field of battle, or an enemy unit you thought routed returns to the field and hits your army in the flank. For a low polygon game with no "bells & whistles" it is surprisingly, nail bitingly intense at times - far more so than in Total War games with all of their real-time action and flashy effects and graphics. So I recommend it if you can overlook the bare bones production values.

Here's to a happy fifth birthday to Immortal John, may his triptych be finished soon!

Essentially you need to sin to win. So get to eating pies, swindling a blind artist, thieving and drinking beer. You might also learn a little about Renaissance paintings (and Goya) too, I suppose.

Overall a silly, fun little point & click adventure. Some of the puzzles are amazingly easy while others are Monkey Island level bizarre. An interesting little diversion that won't take up too much time to finish. If there is one fault, it's very hard at times to pick out in-game usable objects from the background paintings (Yes, that beer keg). Worth your time, especially when on sale and if you're a fan of those old Lucasarts games like Monkey Island, Sam & Max, Grim Fandango etc.

The original Max Payne is a classic, and Max Payne 2 follows in its predecessor's footsteps by being a (slightly) different classic all on its own. In many ways I prefer the sequel over the original, but both games rank highly on my list of the best action games ever made.

First of all, it still holds up brilliantly even today. Sure, you might consider the graphics a bit outdated - but they do their job well enough. Back in 2003 though the graphics were absolutely mind-blowing, just compare it to those of its contemporaries like Morrowind or Red Faction.
In terms of gameplay it's still massively enjoyable to this day. The controls are fluid and easy to use, and there have been several improvements over the original, such as the ability to continue firing your weapons for a longer time after hitting the ground while performing a bullet time leap.
The story is short and (bitter) sweet, and the plot moves along at a brisk pace with a twist here and there. A word of warning though, you need to have played the first game in the series as a lot of characters and plot points from that game will be making a return in this one. On another less important note, the soundtrack is excellent - the main theme played on a cello is simply wonderful, and the sound design for a 2003 game is great.

I honestly didn't expect to enjoy this in 2021 as much as I did many years ago, but it still is enormous fun. Booting the game up I kind of expected I'd play through a few levels for old times sake but I enjoyed it so much I played the game to completion, even taking time to listen in on all the TV shows and side-character dialogue. Max Payne 2 is, in summary, fantastic and is well worth getting if you're a fan of the series. Now I have that Poets of the Fall song stuck in my head "And we keep driving into the night..such a late goodbye..."