Staff Blog: Under-Appreciate Awesomeness Vol. 5

Under-Appreciate Awesomeness Vol. 5

On 08/03/2016 at 11:45 PM by Blake Turner

Well, uh, this was supposed to be a weekly blog huh. Guess that didn’t happen. And I guess I’m not going to promise regularity from now on either. Anyway, I have new games for you to try!

Powerslave EX

Try if you like: Serious Sam, Doom, Hexen, Metroid

Powerslave isn’t just the Iron Maiden album with the best opening song, it’s also a pretty average doom clone that does nothing unique apart from having an Egyptian theme, and Serious Sam totally did that better anyway.

Well, I mean that’s if you played the pc version. If you played the PS1 version, you got a similar game that also had metroidvania elements, better level design and punchier weaponry. You got items that made you double jump, glide, and run faster, and they don’t just open up secrets, but entire groups of new levels.

Fortunately for everyone who thinks that sounds awesome, the guys at Night Drive Studios - AKA the same guys who made Turok and Doom 64 playable on pc and are also remaking System Shock – have ported this forgotten title to PC, and the port is glorious.

If you miss old school shooter, like metroidvania style exploration, or just think there should be more Egyptian themed video games, this ones for you!

Bird Story

Try if you like: To the Moon, Wordless Storytelling, Short games

This is a game with no dialogue that managed to utterly captivate me. This is a game that made me smile so damn hard my cheeks ached for an hour. This is a game that made me tear up more than just a little. This is a game that's less of a game than other games I criticise for not being games, and I don't even care in the slightest. This is a game that is 2 hours long. Again, I don't care.

This is a game that is reminiscent of the kinds of stories Pixar has told a million times over, and despite its lack of narrative originality, it's told close to flawlessly. It evokes the same feelings as those masters, and for that, it should absolutely be commended.

A Bird Story is utterly beautiful, and you won't find many other experiences that are quite like it.

Rainbow Six: Siege

Try if you like: Counter Strike, Rainbow Six, Battlefield Bad Company 2

I know what you’re thinking: “Blake, this is a Ubisoft backed Triple A video game with adverts on the gosh darn telly. Are you out of your blooming mind? How in the blazes is this Under-Appeciated Awesomeness material?”

Well, you weirdly adorable 1950’s rapscallion, allow me to tell you. This is one of those titles that got overlooked because it was released as a multiplayer only title for full price, and apparently a game I’ve so far got 20 hours of and plan on continuing is worth far less than a game I can play for 8 hours and never want to touch again.

Despite your objectively wrong beliefs about not buying full priced multi-vitamins and thus everything else you believe being a lie, I feel like you should still give this Rainbow Six: Siege a chance. It’s one of the most fun, exhilarating, and intense experiences I’ve ever had in a video game. It’s everything I wish Counter Strike was – i.e. actually fun.

Walls are destructible, rounds are short, and finally a game has captured that one scene I love in movies: when everything is quiet, and the tension slowly escalates. You know violence is coming, but you don’t know when or how. When it does come, it’s over almost as quick as it started in a frenzied ballet of death.

This game is fucking awesome. Just play it.

Casey Curran Staff Writer

08/04/2016 at 12:53 AM

I tried Rainbow Six and while I felt it was a really well designed game, the whole angle where you could pay to unlock the weapon classes really rubbed me the wrong way. I get that you could theoretically get through just by earning credits, but stuff like that in PvP drives me nuts since Halo 5. Understand it won't bother everyone, but like I said, it drove me nuts.

Blake Turner Staff Writer

08/04/2016 at 01:17 AM

I mean sure, but if you play the single player missions and watch the tutorial videos you unlock over half of them, and you get enough to unlock a new one every 4-5 matches. It's actually getting to the point where I'm running out of things to unlock, so I don't even know why it has micro-transactions.

08/04/2016 at 01:21 AM

See, that's where I differed. Found its SP lacking and have better things to do with my time than watch tutorial videos. If I really want to get better with videos, it's when I'm in pretty deep and want some better strategies, I want to learn by playing the game.

08/04/2016 at 01:24 AM

So you're one of those dicks who doesn't play tutorial missions and is a complete menace to their team? Okay, this game isn't for you then.

The single player missions are there to teach you how to play this game, since it's not a typical shooter. It's a long tutorial for a complex game, but it's also fun. It reminds me of old Rainbow Six, and tactical fps is something we've been missing.

Finally, you don't even have to watch the videos. You get 600 cp for pressing play and quitting out of them immediately.

08/04/2016 at 12:35 PM

I actually figured it out well in three matches. Not my fault Ubisoft didn't give a real SP mode for that game. Why play the portion of the game that isn't fun if you don't need to? Also how was I supposed to know you don't need to watch the videos? Maybe I just saw it was there and didn't know I'd get XP, just that I had better things to do with my time than watch a video on how to play a game.

I hardly see that as me being a dick when I'm playing UNRANKED matches in the beginning. If the only thing fun is the MP, that's all I'm playing.

08/04/2016 at 01:11 PM

Honestly, I find the SP to be quite fun. It takes you to all 10 maps, allows you to learn them, teaches you how the scenarios work, teaches you how the operators work so you aren't wasting your time, and teaches you how a decent variety of your gadgets and traps work. They also don't take long at all, and I'd rather these scenarios than a fucking COD campaign.

And you are still playing with people in a heavily team-based game. People will get angry if you get your entire team killed because you stormed in without bothering to learn how to play. It is quite a complex game, and the better your team does, the more xp you get, so you are actively hurting other people's enjoyment of the game.

08/04/2016 at 01:50 PM

1. I didn't find it fun. Therefore I didn't play that.

2. Learn what something called THE MIDDLE GROUND is. Just because I didn't do that part doesn't mean I stormed in. I played super conservative while figuring out the games mechanics and won all three of my first games, just didn't contribute as much as my teammates. It's complex but it's not like there's a huge barrier to learning it. Just a lot of options once you do.

KnightDriver

Ooo Powerslave. I missed that one. On the list. Thanks.

08/04/2016 at 01:59 AM

Its free too.

08/05/2016 at 02:20 AM

Wah?!

08/05/2016 at 03:19 AM

The game has been forced offline by asshole lawyers, so you have to get it here: http://www.mediafire.com/download/z8pba9xnxzjjv2s/Powerslave+EX+v.1.0.0+%2B+patch+v.1.0.1.7z

08/08/2016 at 01:48 AM

Oh thanks.

Matt Snee Staff Writer

08/05/2016 at 06:05 PM

I saw you playing Rainbow Six. I want to try it just... busy. :(

PixlBit