steam – Page 3 – Adam's Blog

September 3, 2014September 3, 2014

Adam plays Sonic 4 Episode II

I‘m on fire; after completing episode I, I started and completed Episode II in one go and boy, was I surprised. This game is what episode I should have been. Everything is improved, definitely a better episode.

Graphics

The graphics are improved with better textures and colors. The options now allow for higher resolution as well. Not to say this is running on another engine but things has improved.

More 3D objects in the backgrounds, jumping back and fourth inside the picture makes the game feel more 3D while keeping the 2D game play intact. Once again, not a game changer but a welcome addition to an already improved game.

Score 5/5

Gameplay

The picture above is something I wanted ever since Sonic the Hedgehog 2, finally introduced in Episode II. You can now tag along with Tails “controlled by the game or player 2” and preform combined moves like flaying and destroying enemies.

The stages look better and smother as well as the whole game. Each stage looks unique and well designed and unlikely episode I, interesting. Sonic now runs in a much believable way unlike the first episode. New type of enemies and stage obstacles were one of the welcomed additions as well. There is one annoying part however, just like episode I; some parts of the stage are very hard. Don’t get me wrong, I love challenging games but these parts feel over powered and annoying. Rest assure, they are in small number and rare.

Apart from that, the game looks good and plays good.

Score 5/5

Sound

The game sounds did not change, however the music is better and have Sega feel to it like the nights into dreams alike stage above. Nothing significant to report here.

Score 4/5

Conclusion

A much better Episode than the first. A must play for any Sega Sonic fan. Unlikely Episode I, this game looks and feels like a new chapter and not a mega drive Sonic remake. Get it dirt cheap on any platform including the IOS which I will review sometime in the feature.

September 2, 2014September 2, 2014

Preorder The Evil Within now on Steam

The preorder on Steam is live; secure your digital special edition for $59.99 as well as the season pass for $19.99 and get the Fighting Chance pack for free.

The game should be out on 14 Oct 2014. Personally, I will preorder mine but not sure about the season pack yet.

September 1, 2014September 1, 2014

Adam Plays Sonic 4 Episode I

I will not try to hide that I was and still am the biggest Sega fanboy although I slowed down by the time Xbox 360 and PS3 hit the market. Truth be told, Sega of today is no longer the Sega of Saturn/Dreamcast era. Never the less, great games do come out from time to time and Sonic 4 was a great attempt on bringing old school fans back home. I admit, I bought the game when it came out but never played it seriously until last night before going to bed. I will do my best to summarize everything in unbiased natural review.

Graphics

The graphics look beautiful although some aliasing is visible. I am running the game on mixed resolution and settings and everything looks great. The new cartoonish style is a nice addition to the series. Some of the objects in the background are done in 3D and will have nice effects. The stages look detailed and sonic alike. Apart from the little aliasing I have no complain.

4/5

Gameplay

Well, what can I say.. The gameplay is good but not on the same level as sonic and knuckles. Sonic starts moving in a wired way and feels slow to start. He kinda walks faster without moving his hands which results in a strange movement. The gameplay itself is not glitched or anything but feels slower due to this problem. Everything else including enemies attack looks ok. Sonic’s homing attack feels out of place at first but you will get used to it with time, not as smoth as I hoped it would be. The 3 act per zone returns much like the first Sonic game with a fourth being a boss fight.

The game works with Xbox 360 controller right out the box.

3/5

Sound

The game’s music is ok but not great. Personally, I’m not a fan although the game sounds are Sonic type. The music feels repetitive and uninteresting, at least to me.

3/5

Conclusion

Overall, the game is good. Could have been better but its a good start for episode I. There things to do like leader boards, completing the zones faster and emeralds. Some new eliminates and puzzles were added as well as old school not so great stuff like the Night Casino zone which is full of annoying paths. There are some puzzles which are easy once figure out what to do. Basically, its Sonic 1 remake. Most of the stages resamble the first Sonic game remade in 3D. Not necessary a good thing but cant really complain. The game is very cheap and die hard Sega/Sonic fans will definitely need to pick this up be it on PS3, Xbox 360 or Steam.

August 23, 2014

One day left for 2K Steam sale

Steam is 2K sale for up to 80% on the entire catalog. Most notable is Bioshock bundle for only $10.19 along with the season pass for $9.99.

Check out the whole sale on Steam.

August 23, 2014

Ultra Street Fighter IV reaction

Capcom is one of my all time favorite developer with amazing games over the years, the problem is; they don’t know when to stop. This is like the 4th street fighter 4 and with the latest rumors it wont be the last. I am all up for updating games and good DLC but this is stupid. Releasing boxed version for the 4th time with only a minor change will make you look desperate and just want to milk the game to death.

screen 1

Now this edition actually has a few extra characters instead of skins so its worth mentioning all the changes:

Ultra Combo Double allows players to choose both of their character’s Ultra Combos at the cost of doing less damage. This gives players more options in their tactics and play styles.
Red Focus Attack is a Focus Attack that absorbs multiple hits. By holding the usual Medium Punch and Medium Kick buttons, plus the Light Punch button, the player’s character will flash red as they charge their Focus Attack. It is still subject to the same weaknesses as the former with Armor Breaking moves and throws.
Delayed Standing (similar to “Tactical Recovery” from Capcom vs. SNK 2) allows players to alter the timing of their character’s wake-up, when they are getting back on their feet. By pressing any two buttons when the character is slammed down in a hard knockdown (similar in the fashion of performing a Quick Stand), the character will take a few extra frames to get back on their feet, disrupting the wake-up game of the attacking opponent.
five new characters: Rolento, Elena, Hugo and Poison.

screen 2

My take on the whole thing is, this should have been the first upgrade/DLC for street fighter 4. Like I said, releasing that many with more to come make you look desperate and I’m not even sure if the upgrades can sell that much considering you know that the next upgrade will be released in the near future.

Let me know what you thing, thanks for reading.

August 22, 2014August 22, 2014

My first GTA expirance

So as promised earlier on twitter, I will be starting my GTA experience from 3 and onward. Last night, I managed to install and play GTA 3 on PC of which I bought earlier on steam. To start off I set everything to high and maxed out the resolution for the best possible outcome. Setting up Xbox 360 controller with this game takes allot of work and downloading so I used mouse and keyboard.

I noticed that something funny is going on with the screen with broken edges (aliasing) but the frame rate was stable. I got used to the sensitivity of the camera movement and hijacked my first car. As I progressed and learned the game I realized that was missing on great games. Now my brother kept on saying that this is arguably the worst GTA and that the later titles are way better I insisted on finishing this game as I like the character and the settings.

I am yet to use a skin but I like the way they set it up, just like every PC game should be; customizable.

Doing missions is kinda repetitive but that’s GTA 3 for ya. So far I hijacked a few cars and enjoyed the physics. Im still working on my aim but I guess you cant get used to everything within 30 minutes. I am looking forward to continue playing and trying San Andreas as I already own it on the original Xbox.

The graphics look kinda old but playable and to be honest, I am very late to the party so cant complain. All in all, the game is enjoyable and I am sure things will get interesting along the way. I recommend it as its very cheap and fun.

PS: The comments are still broken, I receive and see them but for some reason they do not appear on the blog for everyone else. Never the less, thank you very much for the support guys. I am working to resolve this issue as soon as possible.

August 18, 2014August 18, 2014

Sega is updating Dreamcast ports on Steam

Great to see a company support and update post sale games for free. Sega announced that it will start updating Steam ports soon with enhancements such as achievements and more. Great news as most of the old school Dreamcast ports can use HD update to bring them up to date. Now I am hoping for more re releases as Sega Dreamcast old school fan. Ports of Saturn would be nice as well but Im not crossing my fingers as Saturn ports tend to be hard to reprogram as far as Sega claims.

Podcast:

Lets see how things develops.

July 20, 2014July 20, 2014

Killing Floor is surprisingly fun

Now hold on, before you rage let me make it clear: I bought the game shortly after release but did not understand the idea of it so I left it alone. Years later my brother was playing the call of duty zombie mode and I immediately realized how fun would killing floor be.

Wasting no time I downloaded the game again and bought all the DLCs pack as they were on sale and sent a gift version to my brother. Hours after I came to conclusion that I missed a great game and was glad I give it a second chance.

The problem is, I am new to such type of games so I started learning and practicing. Of curse all of my sessions were offline as my internet is not stable enough. The game is very hard, even on beginner as I’m struggling to defeat the first boss but I kept on playing and will continue to do so. I may pick KF2 when its released but for now I’m enjoying this great game.

Waiting for my brother to fix his PC so he can join me in killing the freaks. Recommended to all.

Buying and upgrading weapons as you collect cash and glory. The game offers allot of different weapons even without the DLC. Everything is simple when you have a rocket launcher.

June 26, 2014

Batman Arkham Origins Complete Edition on Amazon

As anticipated and expected, Batman Arkham Origins Complete Edition show up on Amazon.de. This version is supposed to be out on 21. August 2014. The game of the year like version will have all the DLCs as well as skins, in short everything that came out in one package. I will pick it up for 36o as I already did on my PC the day it was out and completed it 99%.

The box art looks amazing well.