Clive Barker's Undying (PC) Review

If you know me, you also likely know I take the archival side of this hobby seriously... seriously enough in fact I have begun making disc copies of games in my collection that I have previously finished and are DRM free so the discs just work. It makes for a nice looking shelf collection to boot. However, when I was showing a very good friend what I was working on, she recognized this game in particular. We pretty much decided on the spot that it would have to be one of the titles I stream for First Person Friday (one of my weekly Extra Life streams). And having absolutely loved it back in the day, I was more then on board and made it the very next one I played. Now as I finish it, I think this might have been one of those games where the glasses were a little bit rose tinted... not much, as the game was still fantastic, but, I could definitely see a few cracks in it I did not before.

Now before we begin I have to also be fair to this game. This was a return visit, even if from a MUCH earlier time in my life, so I chose to use a mod called Undying Renewal when playing this time which promised some QoL updates such as wide-screen support and control updates that would make the game more in-line interface-wise with what we have today... but it may have done a little more then I expected. As such, your experience may vary from mine this time around. But regardless, come inside. There is still a lot of great stuff in the Covenant family manor.

Descent II (PC) Review

While I have incredibly fond memories of playing the first Descent game, it would not enter my home alone, When I picked it up, it was in a boxed set of both Descent, Descent II, an expansion pack for each, a level editor, and a few teaser pictures for the up coming and much anticipated Descent 3. Sadly we would wait several more years before we would hear about this third game again, and the expansions are a lot harder to get today then back then, but I was still excited to continue my revisit on this franchise. And it did NOT disappoint! Come on in!

Boltgun: Forges of Corruption (PC) Review

While our first run with BoltGun was overall satisfying, we did not complete the story just yet. For when Max Powers picked this one up for me, it was the deluxe edition, which included the DLC expansion pack and I knew I was coming back for it. And for better and for worse, it was everything I expected from more of this boomer shooter. Step inside.

Desecrators (PC) Review

On First Person Fridays for Extra-Life, I am trying to alternate between more action based and more puzzle based games. With the last game being more point and click then action and a craving for more games like Descent, I found myself picking up and playing a game I had never heard of, but a certain prominent youtuber pointed out during his review of my personal favorite Boomer Shooter. And while he was right about the game being straight up sadistic from time to time, I always walked away happy with my night and somehow wanting more.

Realms of the Haunting (PC) Review

Fresh of the joy of playing Descent as a First Person Friday game for Extra Life, I found myself wanting to continue with another MS-DOS title and immediately thought of this gem. While I was taking on my fellow gamers every week in the PTMC mines, I was playing this one on my own and loving everything about it. I don't think Im giving anything away telling you that, yes, I still loved this game. But at the same time, it wasn't quite what I remembered. Let's talk about it.

Descent (PC) Review

Now THIS is a game I have some history with. Way back in my high-school days, I found this game like most did: by the shareware version. I loved playing it immediately, getting very good at those first seven levels on my own. I even got together with kids in my class once a week to take over the school library and have 8-player matches against each other. It was a blast! And when I finally got a the official collection with this game and it's sequel late in the life of that 486 machine, I found myself loving everything that followed. But the game would ultimately fall to the side as I found my all-time favorite games on my next PC during the Windows 98 era, including the legendary Deus Ex.

So now as I play First Person games for Extra Life every week, I had planned to open up a much forgotten title I played long ago, only to have it have some serious technical issues I am still aging the fix to as we speak. So I needed a substitute. Looking back far further into my gaming past, my eyes fell on this gem. Does it still hold up? Well.. ABSO-FUCKING-LUTELY!

But as a side note, I did not play the base game this time. Like so many FPS titles of the day, the game's code has since gone open source and as such there are several source ports you can use to make it run with some modern quality of life updates. I played this one using Dxx-Rebirth so my exact experiences may be different from yours. But I did include a link to get the port yourself if you wish. Just be aware I hold no responsibility for the software. Use it at your own risk and scan ANYTHING you download! Now with that out of the way, step inside.

Warhammer 40K: Boltgun (PC) Review

Originally this was not the game I had planned on playing next for First Person Fridays (one of my streams I do weekly for Extra Life), but things both good and bad changed those plans. On the downside, the publishers who sell the game I was originally goning play are now on my shit list for their behavior around a very public murder and for the foreseeable future you will not see anything by them being added to my work: stream or review. But on the upward swing, my buddy Max Powers sent this my way, and how could I say no to a buddy? Having put the game down, yeah it was a great time for the most part, if not a perfect one.

Wolfenstein 3D (PC) Review

For many guys my age, this is where it all began. With these titles, they had their first taste of the new and exciting world of first person shooters, and we fell in love with it! Still that was over 30 years ago now (the first Wolfenstein game came out in the year of 1992) and the genre of similar games inspired here would grow and expand what they could do exponentially since. Hell even this team blew the tech side of this out of the water the very next year! Which begs the question to many today: Why go back and play such an old game? Well if you are like me, the memory of a truly legendary franchise alone is worth revisiting, but for anyone else is it worth it? Enthusiastically I have to say "YES! It ABSOLUTELY IS!" but... maybe with some tweaks.

What are those tweaks you ask? Well in the past 3 decades we have seen even the very key combinations we use to play games change dramatically from these ancient times. And to that end with iD having long ago released the code for these games as open source, gamers have taken the time to build new versions of the engine you can use to give the old games some quality of life updates without changing the core game. I put a link to the one I used in the system requirements below, but you are welcome to use any that suit you better.

And finally this is a dual review because if you buy this game today, you get both Wolfenstein 3D and Spear of Destiny as a bundle, complete with a menu to select which one to launch at startup. They are no longer separate. The links below will take you directly to the one you want to read.

• Wolfenstein 3D
• Spear of Destiny

The Outer Worlds: Spacer's Choice Edition (PC) Review

For all the times a game comes up where I have some history, for once we have a blank slate. I knew the game is supposed to be good, so when Epic offered it for free, I decided "yeah, I'll take it." It was that simple with that little thought necessary. But as I finish the game, I'm kinda glad I didn't give it any more thought. I would not call it a must play, but I had a lot of fun with it.

Severed Steel (PC) Review

This is not a game I would have normally picked up, and if Epic wasn't giving it away I probably would never have played it. It just never showed me a hint of a direction or reason that would draw me in. But as a free game to deviate a bit? I've followed that path before and even found some fun on the way. This time though? Well I can't deny quality when I see it, but this one just isn't for me.

The Shore (PC) Review

This is not a game that waited very long to play. Having picked it up on the Steam Summer sale, I had expected to put it aside for a lot longer. But instead thanks to another weekend game to show off for Extra Life, it jumped the line and I finished it in a single sitting. It's not a long game, but it was a long stream... I just couldn't let it go as I absolutely had a blast the entire time.

System Shock 2023 (PC) Review

I waited a LONG time for this moment. Back in my high school days, I played the original title and loved every second... enough so that I was biting at the bit for the sequel and was given it as a b-day gift just before my first days of college. Yeah, my time with this franchise has been amazing, but even I had to recognize the original game did not age well. Releasing before we had a standard of how to use a mouse and keyboard together and trying to be as much a simulation as a game, the controls were clunky as hell, even for their day. Today, the original release would be nigh unplayable. So when Nightdive announced a kickstarter to remake the game, I was was excited! Don't get me wrong, Nightdive was as of yet untried and I was already watching people get nothing for their investments on this site, so I stayed on the sidelines, but I wanted to see this make it and bring the classic game to the modern gamers.

That was in 2016... seven years ago. Many years after it was expected, Nightdive delivered on their promise, and let me tell you right now, it was worth waiting for.

In Sound Mind (PC) Review

I walked into this game with mixed feelings. On the one hand, I had attempted to play the demo way back before it came out during one of Steam's Indie-fests and found a lot to complain about, particularly around he controls. But on the other, I was trying to play it on my media center with a controller, an interface I am not particularly happy playing first person games on in the first place and a PC that was woe-fully underpowered for it. Add to this that it was an early build being shown off and I knew I wasn't being fair to it. So when Epic gave the game away as a freebie a little ways ago, I decided to give it a second shot and pick it up. And then the dice picked it, so I shrugged, put my concerns aside and downloaded it. I'm glad I did.

Ziggurat (PC) Review

This game faked me out. When I bought the game, I expected a short boomer-shooter made by a small team. A fun little division to be sure. What I got was a bit more then that, and something a bit out of my wheelhouse, but something I had a lot of fun playing.

Serious Same 3: BFE (PC) Review

I remember being excited for this game when I saw it coming out. And my brother actually bought it for me when it came out as a b-day gift with the promise that I would play it. Well it would wait a bit before he would get there first with the 360 version and warn me this game was bad. Today, the dice fulfilled that promise, and I have to agree. Still I can say at least this for it. At least its better then Serious Sam 2.

Back 4 Blood (PC) Review

I hate to admit it, but I was excited for this game. It had been a decade since we last saw this studio make a Left4Dead game, and I remember loving both of them... and I mean before the first one launched. Not many demos/alpha runs get my time, much less repeated plays, putting the first game pretty high up there with me. So to see these guys doing it again, I was absolutely hyped. But as I walk away, I can't help but feel my interest was misplaced... this just doesn't stand as more then a cheap imitation

Black Mesa (PC) Review

 

 

In 2004, Valve would release one of the biggest hits they every made: Half-Life 2. Not only was it the sequel to their first breakthrough title, but the engine behind it named "Source" was already doing things most modern games of the time could only dream of with muscle skeletons and light sources. But they also listened to a request of their fans to port the then 6 year old original game to this amazing new tech.... maybe just a bit too literally.

Valve's way to grant this wish was to take the maps, models, and graphics from the original game and just push them through the new engine with little effort to take advantage of what could be done, and the results were about as underwhelming as you would expect. But if you can count on the PC gaming community for one thing, it's to take what is and create what they wish out of it and to force a merge between Half-Life and Source to live up to the potential they saw would be no exception. Over the years, this game would be developed, releasing initially as an ever-developing mod for Half-Life 2. But eventually it would evolve into it's own complete remake. And now, after a decade and a half of the kind of love and passion only a fandom can produce, Black Mesa has been finished. And while some complain the game isn't true enough to the original level designs, it definitely hit the nostalgia mark as I played, nailing a lot of the set pieces I remembered playing through myself... maybe even some that would have been better left behind in the past. Step on inside.

Wolfenstien II: The New Colossus

This has been a few years coming. Originally when this one was coming out, I played the demo on my previous gaming rig, partly to confirm it would run well enough to play... and it wowed me to the point of buying it on the spot. But sadly, I had not reached a point of realizing if Im getting a game like that, I should just play and not let the dice decide what was next. I shouldn't have waited so long, as even now this one was an amazing ride. Step on inside.

Syndicate (2012) PC Review

When this title came out, it showed me a few things. First the trailers were my introduction to something called "dub-step." This turned out to be not my thing, but a new style of music is a new style of music. Nor was it the worst thing as it also brought up memories of the old game of the same name. I was never great at the game, but I loved it's take on a dystopian corporate run cyberpunk world where your place is as much about the hardware installed under your skin as who signs your paychecks. Suffice it to say, I was curious about this new iteration, but between reviews and price, I decided to wait on it.

A few years down the line the game proved very unpopular, but my curiosity was unsated... so when I found it for $5, I picked it up. Glad it was that cheap, because believe me, it probably wasn't even worth that.

Rise of the Triad 2013 (PC) Review

A lot of games sell themselves as a nostalgic experience these days. It's big business to go find something adults who grew up in the 80s and 90s loved as children and sell it to them again. And many of those adults will smile fondly at their memories and buy that small token to remind them of those days. Video games are no exception as over the past few years we have seen remakes, remasters, and special anniversary editions of games that used to run on pre-Pentium PCs and pre-CD-ROM consoles all over the place. The results can be varied from really cool to blatant cash-grab. And that's perhaps the biggest tragedy of this game. While it was clearly made by people who love the original and wanted to share that experience with modern tech, that love of the old and the nostalgia that comes with it is simply not enough to make a game great... or in this case good.