Recent reviews by The Brown Hornet

Initially I did not enjoy this game as much as the first but by the time I hit the middle chapters everything started to click. The dread and terror definitely started to ramp up. If you looking for a game with a similar vibe to Inside, Limbo, and the original Little Nightmares this is it!

Lost Planet 2 has nice graphics and polished look but after two chapters (single player) I can't say that I'm having fun with this title. One issue is the keyboard configuration, yes you can change it, but its cumbersome and doesn't allow rebinding to mouse buttons. Player movement is stiff, sprinting is a toggle that causes you to lose control of the character, and mouse movement/aiming feels weird. Yes you will have to fully tinker with the settings to get this game to feel moderately playable. Lastly good luck getting the game to run, this is a Games for Windows Live title which means jumping through technical hurdles that really no longer exist in modern gaming. I compare getting this game to run to be as frustrating as my memories of the PC version of Fallout 3. This game has long been in my backlog and after a few hours I think I've seen and experienced enough. Haven't played it but my guess is this game is an inspiration for recent titles like Helldivers 2

Played the original years ago and this one is definitely better but not as difficult. But that's not because the puzzles are easier but because you have experience with these type of point and click mysteries. I have one more chapter to go and I'm enjoying making my way through. Here's a Hint.....Don't use hints... You will feel much more accomplished when you figure things out on your own.

Heavy Rain has been in my backlog for years and I finally completed it today, 7/16/2024. I shouldn't be surprised that the game includes old fashioned QTE's but I did not realize the extent of it, The ENTIRE GAME IS QTE , in fact the only other game I have played that even comes close to this level of QTE in this game was Indigo Prophecy and I played that way back on the PS2 when that sort of gameplay was kind of cool and different. The biggest frustration with this game is use of the right stick, it doesn't work unless you make controller edits.....and not just once, every time you boot the game!! It is strange to me that the Devs did not patch this and left it to the gaming community to fix.

The game is 100% story, its dark, depressing, slow paced and feels very much like a movie; one of those kidnapping movies like SeVen, Black Phone, or an older film from Harrison Ford called Frantic. Whether you like love or hate this game really depends on how much of its plot you accept as legit; I was not happy with the twist, which I wont spoil, but the game certainly cheats its revelations and in my opinion does not hold up to scrutiny.

If you opt to play this game be prepared to take your time, consider every decision assuming you have time to do so,, and don't bother going off the beaten track there are no extras or hidden items to find. The game has multiple endings but I don't recommend playing through all of them, just give a good honest run the first time around and move on to the next game in your backlog.

I have beaten the main game and currrently playing the DLC, The Signal. I was hoping the special episodes would bring something new to the table but nope, I'm still running around to wood sheds jumping over logs, playing with flashlights etc... The beginning of the game had me intrigued, I liked the atmosphere, the Pacific Northwest scenery, the diner, meeting townsfolks, acting like a reluctant celebrity etc....and then suddenly all that disappears and I spend the next 4 episodes running to wood sheds, jumping over logs, finding pieces of paper, and playing with flashlights.

The problem is in this one small town Wake is constantly running from one location to another yet you never feel like your going anywhere as the scenery barely changes at all. As a matter fact, all you do in the game is run in circles as you constantly revisit the same locations over and over. I started the game feeling overwhelmingly positive and that feeling constantly drained as I played longer. By the time I got to the end of the game I barely cared what happened to Alice at all......(to me, considering the state of the town and the "threat of darkness unleashed upon the world" the fate of Alice is not even relevant)

So I finish episode 6 and feel no sense of elation or closure at the ambiguous ending. I quickly move to the DLC thinking it would make this story whole but its just even more combat, more running, more playing with flashlights, more jumping over logs, and more cryptic conversations with a certain Bioshock looking NPC saying get to this place or get to that place where you will find more cryptic messages. Maybe the devs ran out of ideas half way through but the game just doesn't feel like its going anywhere, as a matter of fact, in the Signal I am currently back at Wake's apartment......AGAIN!!! Hence my que that its time to stop playing this game.

Never imagined I would be one who plays walking simulators but I've taken to them in recent years. It is nice to sometimes play a game with no combat, minimal puzzle solving, zero platforming, etc... In What Remains of Edith Finch you are given the simple task of returning and exploring the old family home.

The game is similar to previous walking simulators such as Gone Home or Dear Esther, but the difference in graphics, artistic design, voice acting and dialogue are much better developed in Finch. The creativity in this title comes from the inclusion of story-driven and episodic segments commemorating the strange and unusual demise of each family member.

We learn about the unlucky and seemingly cursed Finch family as Edith does, reliving their lives through memories, artifacts, letters, and memorials found in their now abandoned home. Though the various members of the family are interesting in their own right it's the home itself that takes center stage; the artistic design and exploration of each room and floor truly gives the feeling that it's a structure that has been built, rebuilt, and expanded many times throughout the years.

If you enjoy coming of age, reflective, nostalgic and solemn tales this game is sure to appeal to you.....unless of course you're a robot and lack an emotion engine.

Playing in 2022! Singularity is a tight well paced self-contained game. Just completed it and literally watching the end credits as I write this. Even the end credits are uniquely presented and the soundtrack is great. Singularity is a sci-fi meets revisionist history romp through an abandoned research facility in Cold War era Russia.

The game borrows a lot of the feels from Half Life 2, in particular the gravity gun but it adds a time dilation feature which opens up many different unique attacks and effects. The game is not long, you can finish it in two or three sittings but it never fails to be engaging. In fact it is a great example of a game that doesn't overstay it's welcome. I'd also give it a true hidden gem status.

If you looking for an unplayed retro title to sink a few hours into, this is it!

Is Shadow of the Tomb Raider as good as the Tomb Raider (2013)? Not really but it is on par with Rise of the Tomb Raider which many consider the best of the series. I was delighted to learn this game would take place in the Inca civilization, naturally I expected the Andes mountains and ancient cities like Cuzco and Machu Picchu but unfortunately the developers couldn't get past Mayan architecture, artifacts, and typical jungle environments.

With that said the graphics are top notch, easily the best looking game in the series but progression is cumbersome and the pacing is off...some hub areas are too small others too large and the main objectives and side missions don't necessarily play out in chronological order. For example if you choose to wait to complete some missions some characters that are already eliminated might appear again depending on how far you have progressed in the main story. Also considering the large amount of time spent in the hidden city of Patitti real time weather or night and day effects should have been implemented to make the area less repetitive.

To the games credit it's more of an exploration, platformer, puzzler than an all out action adventure. When you do engage in combat Lara is equipped with enough skills to mimic the alien Predator. A.I. is challenging but only if you crank up the difficulty. In that regard the devs have cleverly added independent difficulty sliders for puzzles, combat, and exploration. If the game becomes too easy or hard you can adjust the difficulty separately. Cool feature that should be kept for future releases.

Like all Tomb Raider games my favorite aspects are hunting relics, finding artifacts, reading documents, exploring tombs, and learning lore; Shadow delivers greatly in those categories. You could easily accumulate dozens of in-game hours attempting 100% completion. By the time you collect that last item or complete the last challenge you may very well let out a well earned sigh of relief!

Overall Shadow of the Tomb Raider did hold my attention enough to achieve 100% completion but I am quite happy to be moving on to other games in the library.

I played FFVII in its original form on PSX, probably the most intriguing and memorable game I've ever played. This game introduced me to JRPG's, brilliant soundtracks, extensive customization, and true world building. The Steam version is mostly identical with the exception of added mechanics and enhanced models. I don't care for the extras I simply enjoy the fact you can experience this game as close as possible to its original form.

This game takes itself way seriously then it actually is. You would think there is something secret, mysterious, esoteric, profound taking place in the games world but the truth is there is not a got damn thing happening! An unknown terrorist group bombed a train and your trying to figure out who ir what's behind it, that's it, simple, finito!

All side missions, emails, secret recordings aren't that interesting to seek out, they are really nothing but filler and time extenders. Going off the beaten path is unnecessary because the main story will eventually take you to all locations anyway. With the exception of breaking into apartments everything else is visited in the main story, side missions, or point of interest missions.

This game looks amazing but it is not nearly as immersive or thoughtful as the original game 20+ years ago. You will see the same city streets and buildings over and over again due to most of the game taking place at one location. It's billed as open world but that is a gross overstatement. I much prefer a Deus Ex game that expands different cities and countries, Mankind Divided doesn't. So even though this game is polished, has good voice work and great graphics, etc...I ultimately don't recommend it because it's lacks in too many relevant categories: no humor, lackluster villains, uninteresting environments, no gold tint!