Game 38 - Portal Knights - Week 52 - Dec 20

ortal Knights - well what can I say other then this is just good old fun. This is certainly a hidden gem with Minecraft meets Diablo elements. The premise is entirely in the name. Travel through portals to different worlds, gather resources, return to your own world and build your base - all the while your Knight grows in strength and you travel to new portals conquering the known universe. This gameplay loop is at the simple heart of Portal Knight - and the loop is addictive. I played it with a friend well into the night and as time flew by we powered through it and before we knew it the sun was up. I don't remember the last time that happened, maybe in my early teens with friends...

Special mention goes to the biomes and enemy types. They're all novel and just as you get sick of one a new one opens up. The game is perfectly paced and should be on any father-son game list. 

Game 37 - Watch Dogs: Legion - Week 50 - Dec20

hile the original looked bland and was a solid pass, Watch Dogs 2 pleasantly surprised me. I loved the character of the city, the openness of the mission structure and how you could complete entire missions with just hacking. Missions were puzzles that required wit to pull off without letting a bullet leave your barrel. 

Watch Dogs: Legion really showed promise. Having travelled London thoroughly for 2 weeks in 2018 I recognized a lot of the city and it felt pretty darn 1:1. Not only were most of the major landmarks there but they often involved unique missions. Like a drone battle over London Eye, or a platform sequence with a spider-bot through Big Ben, or sleuthing through the catacombs or infiltrating London Tower, a rearmed fortress. But eventually this initial novelty wore off and the story, well... I'd tell you if I could remember. Your cell is destroyed at the start and you need to recruit a new DedSec to fight off the Orwellian private military tech company that the government is bending over for their security tech. That's about it. Zero memorable characters. Except the ones you create yourself. 

Who is this dude? 

Here's where the game shines in some ways. Recruiting characters is the best part of the game as they all come with unique abilities that can be used to approach missions in different ways. Some favourites include the Spy, a middle-aged British woman that can combat roll, use a G36 and knows kung fu. The bee keeper. The graffiti artists with their paint bomb and paint gun. An anarchist with a baseball bat. That's it, a bat. The list goes on. The issue here (when it works and you don't get cheated and lose your characters or progress due to bugs) is characters are all surface level. The upgrade tree is cool but I really wish it catered to individual archetypes more and allowed you to invest in them more instead of a overall legion tech tree. Especially when you end up using the same gadgets on every agent most the time. Character upgrades would have made the instadeath truly shine. Investing precious time and resources into a character only to see them perish... ugh. Imagine seeing your DedSec grow, through the continued sacrifice of it's agents, a legion as you will. While you continually get invested and despair as agents perish. But I don't care. Agents have no investment factor and if they die you can just go find and pull the same type of agent of the street. No consequences. This highlights an issue in Ubisoft games. They just lack depth and appeal to a mainstream audience; but they still try to be hardcore. They're Tom Clancy espionage and action games from an optical perspective, but when you dig your hands in you don't really find much. And that's a HUGE issue. You appeal to an audience that expects one thing and gets another. Assassins Creed has made attempts but mostly relies on bloated RPG mechanics. I've steered clear of Far Cry since 3 (only playing 4 because I bought it on special). The one exception over the last decade was Rainbow Six Siege. Which was likely done by a ragtag team with little faith from the higher ups that it would succeed. I common occurrence in the industry, small teams creativity surprising the money-makers terrified of risk. Hearthstone is one such example. I would really love to see some actual depth added to these games. Maybe even a hardcore mode which they've proven they can do. The Division 2 should have been the survival DLC mode of 1. Far Cry 6 should be a base liberating, rebuilding and management game as you work to build up the resistance through a logistical and tactical metagame (Dragon Age Inquisition did this really well). Enemies can take back bases if poorly defended. Maybe you have named agents and special operatives. A true Guerrilla warfare experience unlike Far Cry 6 that both keeps the great Far Cry formula pure, innovates and adds to it. Watch Dogs Legion could have been no different. 

The punk rebel vibe of London is a welcome fit. But I feel like they could have injected more substance. You need to liberate London district by district and when you do you're rewarded with a strong specialist agent. But London has no visible changes. I wish we'd see riots, rebellion, art, etc coming back to the streets. Taking a page out of the underrated Pandemic's Saboteur (RIP). Set in WW2 occupied France the entire game had a very stylish black and white filter, with Nazi reds. Once you liberate an area colour returned to that part of the city signifying the defeat and Nazi oppression being washed out. The darkness was gone and life had returned. Districts could have had mini-conflicts on the edges and you could have even added a persistent mode that required city management as the antagonist operates to take back districts. After the final resolution of the game and credits roll, in the end-game people are happy as they clean up the aftermath that comes with revolution. 

In the end the game's biggest selling point became it's weakness. Besides the myriad of bugs of course. My character was lost or bugged out several times and at this point I put down the game for good. While it kept the variety of the mission structure from the second game, the lack of depth and focus made it a hollow experience overall. This isn't a game I'm going to pick up again, and now I want to play Saboteur or Watch Dogs 2.... 

Game 36 - Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order - Week 49 - Dec 20

 

edi Fallen Order is one of many Star Wars games I've played over the years. As I write this I think back on all the fond memories, Jedi Knight Academy, The Force Unleashed, Star Wars the Old Republic, Battlefront OG and the DICE version, Star Wars Lego. I realise that there are A LOT more Star Wars games and most have them have gone unplayed. Knights of the Old Republic, X-Wing, Rogue Squadron, Republic Commando, Galaxies, Age of Star.. Uhh I mean Galactic Battleground the nostalgic FPS that I played once briefly. The point I'm taking the long route towards is that there are a wealth of amazing Star Wars games and I only listed the good ones that come to mind - I think Jedi Fallen Order might just be the best Star Wars game I've ever played. 

If you look at the individual parts that make up Fallen Order the game isn't doing anything special. It's Dark Souls combat lite meets Uncharted traversal and set pieces meets Force Unleashed story structure and progression. But I'm okay with that because it cherry picks all the parts of those games, throws them into a pot, turns up the temperature to Stormtrooper laser heat levels and cooks up the best Jedi game I've experienced to date. No other game has captured what it would feel like to wield the force and a lightsabre this well. The game is set between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. Jedi are outlaws. Cal Kestis an escaped apprentice is hiding on a junk world until Vader's foreboding Inquisition arrives on planet, detecting a Jedi. Naturally Cal acts the hero as he was destined to, saves his boss and puts a target on his back. Queue the colourful cast and our crew - Greez Dritus our wise crack shot and loveable dwarvish pilot and Cere Junda a down to business fallen Jedi (she handed in her lightsabre for whatever reason) are working in opposition to the Inquisition to find Jedi and restore the order. 

Bracca the ship breaking planet sets the scene for many beautiful planets you'll visit.

The story and gameplay work hand in hand so well to create a genuine Star Wars experience. Mechanically the sabre and force powers feel great - it has this multidirectional feel when fighting mobs but reduces to light sabre duelling with anyone remotely skilled in melee. The progression of these abilities make sense. Cal is an apprentice, his training was interrupted, and through various adventures and the skulls of many storm troopers his skills are developing through field training. Even Cal forgetting the basics like dash or double-jump is explained well. Each time you learn an ability it's accompanied by a flash back to his Jedi Master Jaro Tapal, teaching Cal about the move. For some reason Cal has repressed his connection to the force and is unsure why. Well these flashbacks inevitably back step his memory all the way to Order 66 - Cal has repressed not only his powers but his memories so that he can hide - a subconscious 'forced' failsafe protocol in a sense. As these abilities progress you can just do more and more cool shit. In itself just the general light and strong attacks feel right - cutting up storm troopers with a flurry of flashing light sabre swings. Deflecting laser blasts back into enemies better and better each time. But add in sabre throws to take out that pesky heavy gunner or Darth Maul style light sabre that can be split in half mid combo as Cal goes ham on anyone around him. Force powers give you good crowd control to level the playing field against lethal enemies and later allow telekinesis. Cal was born with the ability Psychometry or Sense Echo and can acquire memories and flashbacks of people from sight, sounds, emotions etc. Naturally this makes him a great deducer, and is invaulable for tracking down the Holocron (to locate other Jedi).  Enemies remain consistently fresh. Special op troopers, aliens, and Cal is eventually tracked down by bounty hunters with jet packs, sniper rifles and even mechs. Just. Dope. Give me that Boba Fett Star Wars 1313 game back EA!!! Grrr. To top all this off the exploration is awesome, secret areas give you reasons to return with a metroidvania still design as future power unlock areas that contain resources to further improve your abilities. I platinumed this one as it was just an enjoyable to 100% overall. 

So Greez is like that uncle that always cracks wise, BD1 is a shoulder mounted R2D2 who is far cooler than the soccer ball droid, Cere is a dull ex-Jedi who failed to keep her student from the dark side and cut off her connection as penance and eventually the enigmatic Nightsister Merrin joins your crew. An absolute babe and love interest of Cal. She gave me serious Morrigan vibes from Dragon Age in her dark, sinister yet loyal and honest demeanour. A victim but in no way a pushover; initially antagonistic she eventually joins Cal to defeat the rogue Jedi Taron Malicos - cool dude btw; a neo-viking Jedi with no shirt and two red spinning floating sabres - who's been running amok on Dathomir (Maul's home). I totally ship her and Cal. Please makebeautiful  interracial alien force magic wielding babies... I really loved the crew banter and comradery and I always took the chance to talk to crew members in my downtime. It made you feel like you were on the Millennium Flacon getting to know your crew better. I really hope they explore this further in the second game, even delving into RPGs for inspiration. Trilla the fallen apprentice of Cere, does no more than an okay job as the primary villain. I didn't think much of her and felt like they leant too much on Cere and their fractured relationship. A story we've seen too many times in Star Wars. Obi-Wan failed with his first, but the new apprentice is his second chance to learn from his prior mistakes..

The crew of the Stinger Mantis - a terrible name for a ship btw, common Greez....

All this becomes abundantly clear when Trilla fails to defeat Cal in the final boss fight. The fight was ridiculously difficult mind you - with a hugeeee difficulty spike compared to everything else. Failure is followed by a fear that marks her face - but not from you or Cere. She has failed for the last time and before she can have some epiphany about the dark side, Vader appears out of no where and cuts his Inquisitor down. It's at this point you experience one of if not the best fan servicey scenes in a Star Wars game. "You would be wise to flee". "Yeah, probably" Cal responds. Oh boy I cannot describe the joy I felt in this scene, Vader towering above you makes you feel trivial. You make a few swings, but it's clear he's not even trying and after almost choking you out you're forced to flee. Vader is still walking and as you turn to run hundreds of panels ascend of the platforms and fly towards you. Entire sidewalks ripped out as you're forced to dodge. Your channel your inner Drake to escape. No door or escape route can stop Vader. They truly capture him as an absolute unstoppable force of nature, persistent and unrelenting, all you can do is run, hide and prey.  He just keeps coming. All your training and progress and you still feel like an ant by comparison. A good reminder Cal still has a long way to go. Eventually cornered in the under water facility, BD1 stuns him momentarily. But not for long and Vader almost forces Cal's own lightsabre into his gut from across the tunnel. Cere returns to hold Vader off momentarily. In a desperate attempt Cal cracks the glass and the water floods in. We're shown a scene of Vader trying to hold back what I can only assume is so much water pressure that even Poseidon himself would struggle to hold it back. But he does, for a moment then goes to one knee from the pressure. Cut to black as Cal and Cere drift off, saved by Merrin. The Holocron is recovered, Vader no longer has the device to eliminate the compeition, and the ragtag crew can start rebuilding the Order. 

Anakin was only 27-28 in these scene - though his body probably felt a little older...

The Vader set piece was absolutely phenomenal and the megafan in me has no regrets it was in the game. However it does highlight just how much Trilla Suduri pales in comparison as a villain to one of the greatest - the benchmark. Instead she is tossed aside both in the game and from our memories, almost immediately forgotten. The set piece marks the pinnacle of many, whether it be hijacking an AT-AT to destroy the others nearby before Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker) leader of the rebels swings in, thanks you and asks you to park it by their base.  Or even just the beautiful inspiring and faithful backdrops like exploring a graveyard of Star Destroyers, the ship breaking planet Cal hides on, the planet Ilum full of icey caves where Jedi craft their first light sabre as a right of passage, or climbing the world tree to take flight on a giant majestic bird. Jedi Fallen Order captures the magic I felt oh so many years when I first saw Luke, Vader and Han Solo on the big screen. No other Star Wars game has ever done that.

Game 35 - God of War - Week 43 - Oct 20

od of War isn't just a game in my eyes, it's an experience, it's high art. I love mythology. I regularly think about it, read about it, and try to consume it in any way I can. Studying theology and mythology is often on my mind. So don't take it lightly when I say God of War is the most realised depiction of Norse mythology I've ever seen. Of course it takes some creative liberties, it's an original world set in the backdrop of a pre-existing trilogy. But the spirit, the characters and the sagas as we know them are integrated in a way that can only be described as masterful. The Prose Edda is essentially the bible of Norse mythology, and the most accurate source of Norse mythology we have, is an amalgamation of all the sagas told vocally by Skalds and runic writings. In the same vein of Brothers Grimm and the fairy tales. It was written by Snorri Sturluson in the 13th century. A Christian era where writing anything that flies in the face of a monotheistic God would result in a quick trip to the flaming pyre, a funeral fitting of a pagan. The Prose Edda was written prefacing that there is one God, and so the Aesir are not Gods, instead they're ancient refugees from Troy. The origin of their power left intentionally vague. Perhaps they're saints or angels or demons. The point I'm work towards is everything we know is a bastardization of the stories told by the Skald of old. Furthermore to argue the original story in itself is a fruitless endeavour. The stories as all stories have been for the majority of human history, were told by mouth over campfire and hearth for millennia, passed from generation to generation. So of course they would change over time. At the end of the day they're fiction, so it's only fitting that Santa Monica studios tell their own "bastardisation" of the Norse mythos. 

Well with that out of the way it's time to talk about God of War. Game 1 on this blog was the God of War trilogy. I waited 10 years to get around to finishing God of War 3. The fact it took so long to get this off my backlog in no part inspired this challenge/blog. But finishing them first was something I expressed to others whenever they kept insisting I had to play God of War 2018 yesterday - and I was crazy for not having done so. Well I'm glad I waited because playing it both on my new 65" TV and with the context of the Greek Saga was well worth the wait. w

The game still focuses on the same core concepts seen in the original, the dawn and dusk of pantheons, and the cycle of hatred, patricide and revenge passed on from generation to generation. But God of War takes this in a new direction. At the end of the trilogy, Kratos had all but destroyed not only Olympus and its Gods, but all of Greece and much of the Mediterranean. It's not that there was nothing left there for him, it's that there was nothing left. After much journeying he settled in the north lands and found a wife - a great giant who sired a son before passing to the next life. Atreus is the focus of the game and the father son relationship takes centre point. A story of breaking the cycle of hatred, sins of our father, as Kratos knows exactly where that leads... Although I liked angry Kratos, I'm glad they switched actor to Christopher Judge to take him in a difference direction. It's clear that Kratos wants to love and protect his son, but this is still Kratos. Not only is he a deity, he is a Spartan. Raised up by his own strength of will as the weak below him faded to dust. This is exactly how he raises his son and he doesn't understand when to provide warmth. This is seen clearly when that warmth is provided by none of then Freya, a day and night juxtaposition to the cold hard tough love of Kratos. If his son is to survive what his future holds as a divine being, he must learn to stand on his own two feet. But without warmth and nature Kratos will create another warrior, another God of War and the cycle of hatred continues. So it's it's clear he's struggling with learning how to be a good father. All this leads to much tensions and drama, twists and turns, that permeates a father and son journey through Norse mythology. If you've read any tales from the Prose or Poetic Edda you know this is inherently a Norse tale. These tales consisted of either Loki getting the Aesir out of trouble (which he often created) or several Gods venturing from Asgard - usually to Jotenheim the land of the giants. Which is exactly where Kratos and Atreus are destined for to spread his mothers ashes and push through any threats that stand in your way. It's clear this was the mother's last wish full well knowing that the journey would strengthen Atreus as well as his relationship with Kratos. It's through this journey and relationship Kratos is reborn as not a God of War, but a father. 

This father son relationship bleeds seamlessly into the gameplay. He makes call outs when enemies arre in your blind spots, yells for help, staggers enemies for you to finish, and has a dedicated button on your controller just for his magical abilities. As a result he's a part of you. You help Atreus and he helps you through clever puzzles. As you roam your homestead your try to unlock a hidden cave "Still can't unlock that?" - "Quiet boy." It's a clever play on Metroidvania design throughout the game. Much of the commentary is the best parts of the game. You feel that adventurers comradery. Even more so when you're joined by the head of Mimir, known for his wide knowledge and wisdom. 

The game from the offset is much more intimate than prior iterations. Taking a page out of The Last of Us the camera is close up, making you feel closer to the character. In previous games it was zoomed out and made you feel like a detatched killing machine and force of vengeful destruction - a literal revenant. While I doubt this was intention in the original games (it was just a top down hack and slash action game), the change in this soft reboot certainly is and it's nothing less than brilliant. As a result the game maintains much of the spirit but with a fresh coat of paint.  At first you do feel like you're playing a cutscene, the Last of Us as you prepare your wife for the funeral. You're introduced to the absolutely phenomenal gameplay. In it's intimacy the action just feels so much more visceral. Every axe swing has weight and when you throw it, it knocks a Draugr skull and then WOOSH woosh woosh lands back in your hand... ohhhhh........ it's orgasmic. The leviathan axe is one of the most well designed gameplay mechanics in history. The recall. The light and heavy to trip, stagger and interrupt. When you can use one entire weapon an entire game and want more of that weapon, you know it's been masterfully designed and coded. Playing on the hardest difficulty you need to exploit every facet of its capability from Day 1. The old Kratos did not disappear through some sage mediative pilgrimage, he's still here, repressed. And he comes out every so often in the games rage meter, forgoing any weapon in favour of his fists, becoming an unstoppable force pounding anything in his way into the ground. Overall the gameplay is best described as visceral and just oozes depth in every facet. You can tell it's taken inspiration from more deliberate titles like Dark Souls compared to its tired arcadey forebearers. I experienced this with the first boss. He dodged whenever you throw. So instead? I feint throw, recall, to throw again or counter his charge axe in hand. Lastly is the items and runes. These are game changing in that they change how you play like a classic looter ARPG. Armour might might a rune viable. Certain runes are best on certain enemies. The energy beam for example absolutely melts, but did fuck all to some armour enemies like Valkyrie. 

I love the gods. Freya is motherly. Baldur is arrogant. Odin is ominous, absent and working from the shadows. Brok and Sindri the dwarvish brothers who hate each other but are loveable. I treasure every one of Mimir's philosophical moral questions, often at the end of an original Norse story (which was the entire purpose of these stories historically mind you, moral stories of their time). The land and music are characters in themself. The realms are amazing, and full of what makes God of War such an epic of old. 

And the spectacle within them is like no other, not God of War 3, not Uncharted, not anything. It's just God of War. Midgard (or the Norselands of man) is full of beautiful sweeping landscape from frosty mountains to warm and wintery forests. But quite and absent of people. Almost apocalyptic. It's here we start at the homestead and funeral of Atreus mother. The funeral causes a rift in the warded area and as a result a stranger knocks on the door, asking questions, aggravating Kratos (much to his warning) with unfriendly banter. This opening scene dropped my draw, just like he dropped Kratos with a straight punch to the jaw. Flying through his house and shattering trees in a perfectly thematic and smooth transition. In this moment the presentation, the music, the combat, the voice acting, the sound design come together in an oh so perfect way that is often considered an impossibility in games. The fight goes on and on and on, a perfect bossfight in gameplay and tension, until Kratos eventually snaps the strangers neck. Later revealed to be Baldur, one of many Aesir sent by the Allfather to hunt down the infamous God Killer.

But this is just one of many. That moment when Jormungandr the world serpent appears, rising up from the centre of Midgard and shakes the very Earth. Another jaw dropping moment. Or the final fight. Beginning with you travelling into the world serpent to find an artefact, only for Baldur to shoot through the belly of the beast. As you come flooding out onto the shore Baldur emerges from the water, blood, guts, and serpent surrounding you and he's ready to go, once and all. The fight carries forward and ends on top of Jormungandr towering above Midgard. Just, yes. 

The realms are their own character. Asgard and Jotunheim mysteriously absent. Tyr the lawmaker is no where to be seen and the lands fall to disarray. Svartalfheim the home of the dwarves are forbidden to outsides, and Vanaheim the home of the Vanir is inaccessible without their blessing. In other words, God of War part 2 and 3. 

Helheim deep and dark and shadowy, full of dead lost souls and contains once of the best scenes reuniting Kratos and his spectral father aboard a floating ship. Alfheim the fantastical land of the elves. As light elves and dark elves fight over the realm. You defeat the dark elves and take when you need, restoring power to the light elves. But it's not as it seems. The dark elves are not inherently evil, and one gives you a foreboding message that you've made a mistake and undone their resistance against the persecution of the light elves. This sentiment permeates through the story. Kratos cares about himself and his son and wherever he goes, death and destruction follows. He left Greece destroyed in his wake, and everything before him is effected. So are the Aesir really the villains of this story? Are they not simply defending their own lands? It's not as clear cut as it might initially seem. Muspelheim is the land of fire giants and Surtr, wield of the world ending flaming sword. It's here a voice calls out to you, challenging you with rewards for those strong enough to attain them. Niflheim was inhabited by dwarves and Ivaldi's workshop, now full of mazes and contraptions, a cursed fog that poisons you (until Sindri builds armour to protect you). But it's full of treasure. Both serve as end game content and are fun in their own way. In addition to the Valkyrie the end game content was very enjoyable. And aftter finishing it I just wanted more, playing until 100%. \

The story. There's a lot to explore here and that's why I won't. I loved how much depth they delivered from embedded storytelling and references in the environment to Kratos revealing wood carvings or prophecy, to Mimir telling foreboding stories of old. All this is integrated into the existing mythos masterfully. Loki apparently absent is revealed to be Atreus!?!? Shocking right? Well no. Loki had four children and all but one were absent in the game. Hel was not in Helheim, Fenrir the wolf and Thor's bane and Sleipnir the eight-legged horse of Odin were not seen either. Jormungandr is present but this is explained very subtly. When first introduced Mimir reveals what the snake said, that he recognised Atreus. Later he tells a story of how during Ragnarok Thor hit the giant (snake) so hard that it hit the roots of the world tree Yggdrasil and sent it back in time, to sleep around Midgard until the world ends again. Also representative of the infinite loop of Ouroboros, the snake that eats and rebirths itself. Lastly Atreus stabs Baldur with the mistletoe, removing his invulnerability, which Loki did, signalling the coming of Ragnarok and him as a mortal enemy of the Aesir. I believe that Atreus will become known as Loki the shapeshifter. He's already shown a knack for magic, summoning spirits (which he could later change into) and he could yet sire the other monsters. Perhaps his path splits from Kratos in the sequels and we play as Loki. Or maybe even the torch is inevitably passed on to Atreus. And he must choose between revenge or to break the cycle as his father has taught. There are so many other examples of them twisting mythology in such a clever way, but this is chief among them. The plot, the characters, music, art and an addictive gameplay loot have all come together with such perfection that many are calling this game of the generation. I agree. 

Game 32-34 - Wolfenstein: The New Saga - Week 39 - Sep 20

 

olfenstein: The New Saga

Old Blood - Game 32

I've wanted to play the Wolfenstein series for a while now. But as I usually do, I decided to wait for a sequel to release and play them back to back. Starting chronologically Old Blood was first cab of the rank. I'll be honest I was a bit underwhelmed at first. I'd heard so much about the story of New Order, and that's entirely absent in Old Blood. The title was released as a gameplay focused homage to the original game (only game where you go back to Castle Wolfenstein) and nothing more. 

The locale is very cool. Old towns straight out of a stereotypical Bavarian Disney European setting. Castle Wolfenstein is omnipresent and overshadowing, visible everywhere and reminding all of the all seeing all encompassing mega-power. As was the intent with Nazi architecture in real life.... Frankenstein monstrosities stalk the halls of the castles and their Nazi masters follow. 

Lack of story withstanding, the gameplay quickly won my over. It is best described as Nazi killing bloody akimbo fun. From the bottomless pit with a weapon, to dual wielding assault rifles, to medkits and over health. The game feels like an old school romp. At the same time the option to use stealth added a modernized touch and the double barrel farmhouse shotgun was a nice return too. 

The music is amazing. Mick Gordon at it's finest. And the sound effects are brutally satisfying. Every weapon feels unique and impactful. All together creating a symphony of destruction focused into a weapon of singular purpose: Putting bullets in Nazis. The gameplay and everything around it just feels good, it's brutal, impactful, and satisfying to see Nazi heads pop. I'm not sure what else you'd want in a Wolfenstein and at no point in this game or any of the sequels did it feel tired....

New Order - Game 33

...and as a result, I picked up the New Order instantly. Well, the gameplay hasn't really changed much here (Old Blood was an expansion to New Order). So what's different? Old Blood had minimal story, but the ending sets up the next game in the same way that Star Wars: Rogue One sets up A New Hope. After infiltrating Castle Wolfenstein, you have the plans to take down the Frankenstein craftsman. You B-line it to Deathshead complex, home to the greatest scientists and researchers, creators of the Nazi's most powerful weapons. 

The New Order beings here. You assault the complex aboard a plane in a well crafted spectacle. The strength of the Nazi order is unquestionable. Only your wits, courage and luck give you a fighting  chance against the mechanized maws of giant cyber hounds stalking beachhead. Not long after infiltration William J. Blazkowicz is trapped. Deathshead gives him a choice; he must choose between his two brothers in arms; fan favourite Scotsman Fergus or the rookie American soldier Wyatt. Though I liked Fergus more, I chose Wyatt because I felt like BJ would save the younger man, and Fergus would want him to do so. And I'm glad I did (as we'll discuss later). Deathshead extracts Fergus brain in a typical horrifying Nazi fashion and leaves you to die in a furnace.... Nazi's and their furnaces..... You manage to escape with Wyatt, but not before taking some shrapnel to the head and falling out of the fortress and into the ocean.

 

Time passes as you're recovered, brain damaged and nursed in an asylum. 14 years pass.  This highlights just how damn good the cutscenes are. A scene that goes for more than 6 minutes and I enjoyed every second of it. It establishes just how evil the Nazi's of the New Order are, taking asylum patients as fodder for their terrible experiments. When they have no more use for farming their patients they kill the doctors and burn it all to the ground. 

The characters are very well crafted: Like Anya, a nurse you save from Nazi's after they kill her parent. They do a great job of making you invested in their story, it gives you as BJ motivation. Anya helps smuggle you and break out your old buddy Wyatt from a prison and vive la révolution ensues. The cast generally speaking is interesting. From the Jimi Hendrix guitar playing artists who makes love, not war. To Max, the strong dimwit and his adoptive father Kraus. And Irene Engel, a sadistic and loyal leader of the Nazi regime. Deathshead is a fantastic antagonist to match BJ, outwitting the resistance at many turns and when finally backed into a corner uses technology to combat BJ's martial prowess in a fantastic boss fight. In a twist no one saw coming he takes Fergus brain and implant it in a mech. Clear homage to the mech fight with Hitler in the original. It fit the well crafted story and felt like a a good mix between acradey and modern boss fight, just like the rest of the game. The fact that I liked Fergus made that final fight so much more impactful. The final fight felt so.... guerilla. At first the mech overwhelms you. And you can't help but shy from cover as you attempt to crawl to two giant artillery cannons. After firing these at Deathshead personal mech... yup he had his own this entire time as you find out after killing Fergus... you summon lightning to weaken his defences. At this point you fall into an industrial arena of fiery death and fight him the old-school way. Bullet for bullet, blood for blood, dust to dust. 

The setting is certainly a highlight. The New Order is felt everywhere in everyone, as it paves the way in an unfamiliar, alien and technologically advanced occupied America. This is at it's most prominent in the Lunar Base mission. After you infiltrate the Nazi base on the moon - it feels so much more advanced then what we know, while at the same time old. Nazi's wear old school astronaut space suits. This highlights the general concept of New Order. New but old. Laser weapons with charge packs are found here. And eventually you find yourself moon jumping on the surface as you shoot other Zero G assailants. After getting what you need this is culminates in hijacking a shuttle and rocketing back into a bridge on the surface. Emerging from the wreckage, shotgun in each hand, fighting your way through thick waves of Nazis. This is The New Order. 

New Colossus - Game 34

So the gameplay is still great. Dual wielding any weapon is awesome. Upgrading those weapons with unique skill trees is so fun. The Da'at Yichud Power Suit (ancient armour from a secret Hebrew order, of course, the Nazi's eternal enemy) adds an interesting dynamic that was alien at first but I appreciated in how it mixed up a by now, very familiar formula. With 200 armour and 50 health not being able to rely on health regenerating to the nearest 25 was a welcome and challenging change that made me rethink how I approached combat. The world building is enjoyable and is a little more open. You can often walk around areas that are occupied with citizens, with no combat. These feel great for pacing and do a good job immersing you, by giving you a peak into the lives of the citizens living in this world. I loved reading pamphlets which I would otherwise ignore in most shooters. 

Sadly this doesn't hold up as the story becomes overbearing. The overworld while interesting, in the form of a giant flying home base ship, becomes irrelevant as I begin to ignore most the side missions. A lot of which repeat story based missions anyway. There seems to be a push to make things more open in games, with more filler content to pump up that playtime number and the content suffers as a result. Young Blood the most recent release is the perfect example of that, all filler no substance. It's really saddening to see watered down versions of these games release and the more I see it the more I detest open-world checkbox games that don't respect your time. Ingel, replacing Deathshead as the new villain is threatening at first, but just becomes a generic psycho. A rabid dog for you to inevitably put down. The ending becomes resistance for the new world, a world of diversity and all things overtly socialist tying it back to a modern left wing and equal society. A proactive if not melodramatic message. 

Don't get me wrong. There are certainly highlights. The characters performances are very good. The afro chick and her nerdy conspiracist husband leading the American resistance are cool. When this nerd puts a gun to BJs head you think he's nuts and he's about to die - but he breaks character, nah, he's just joking. The characters are real - they have unique personalities. Anya is still great. She has an amazing pregnant scene, akimbo gunning down Nazi's which is just... Wolfenstein. The conversations on the ship are great. And dim-witted Max somehow beating the Jewish expert researcher at chess was a charmingly enjoyable sight. Auditioning for Terror Billy in a movie directed by Hilter is up there for best moments in the game. Seeing Hitler up close in the game and optionally killing him, which results in an instant lose state, was a fantastic easter egg. Our titular protagonist is also fleshed out even more. His abusive father that he ran away from to join the army is introduced. After returning to his old home BJ finds his father waiting for him, he sold him and his Jewish mother out. In self-defence and years of contempt, he kills his father. But Ingrel isn't far behind, alerted by his father, and tears his house from the ground. An amazing scene as you float in the air amongst the wreckage of an old west house. This leads to BJ eventually being captured. He's put in a kangaroo court. And in his utter rage breaks the change, takes a Nazi gun and fights his way out. This was my favourite sequence in the entire game. Pure. Rage. The anger felt at both what you as the character is going through and the difficulty of it all was the best part of the game. You feel like a true ancestor of the Doom Slayer. You escape and find your captured mother and.... oh. It's all a dream sequence. Well that's cool.. oh BJ just had his head cut off. What now? Oh they captured his head and attached him to another body. He's no longer a cripple and has full health. Oh you can augment the body now. The story went a bit off the rails towards the end and this is highlighted by the final boss with Ingel. It's simply Tomahawak rushing her with an axe, followed by a HOO RAH GO AMERICA broadcast to cap it all off. I would have preferred the dream sequence to be real instead as BJ fights his way up the Nazi hierarchy, bullet for bullet, blood for blood, dust for dust. Just as Wolfenstein should be. Gameplay: Phenomenal. World: Phenomenal. Story: Dud. 

Game 31 - Devil May Cry 5 - Week 35 - Aug 20

evil May Cry 5 is a game I've been waiting for what feels like an eternity in hell. One of my favourite game series of all time. I absolutely loved the original and DMC3 to death. DMC4 was the first game I bought on PS3. And the others? Well lets not talk about those... First off the bat, what a return to form. The intro prologue is enjoyable foreshadowing. But that first cutscene with Nero in the van, cutting through demons amongst the opening credits, that's the DMC I love. And straight away, my main gripe with DMC4 is instantly addressed. Nero in DMC4 felt like a $2 Dante wannabe. And the fact that he took up two thirds of the game when I just wanted more Dante, made it all the more worse. Nero is far more fleshed out and a complete redesign makes him feel like his own character in DMC4. I have monumental appreciation for how they've overhauled the character. Not only did they fix OG Nero, they included a lot of punk aspects of the cock-ne-y Britesh Dude from "DMC DMC", fixing that character (dare I call him by his ingame name). For the few non-fans who liked the game in all seriousness, I played the demo and the gameplay was quite good, but that wasn't Dante and thus by extension, not DMC. Doubling down on gameplay and game title doesn't make it a good DMC game. I'm sorry to say, it was just a fun inspired hack and slash. A nice little side-romp or vacation. An appetizer to the main course that has now arrived. 

DMC5 has the same split storyline and missions as DMC4, except now for a fair few of them you're able to choose which you prefer. Dante, Nero or the new character Virg.... uhmm I mean the mysterious V. The game opens with Nero losing his devil arm Yamato to Vir... I mean a enigmatic cloaked powerful figure. As you can tell, the story isn't exactly nuanced. But anyone who plays Devil May Cry for unpredictable twists and turns isn't a true fan and misunderstands what the game is about. What we really come for is campy bombastic cutscenes that get us jacked up for stylish super slashing good fun  demon hacking filthy gameplay, all the while rocking to a badass fucking soundtrack. 

Speaking of, the soundtrack is a standout, each character has their own 'themetrack' with standouts as Devil Trigger for Nero, highlighting the characters absolute badassery in this sequel. While it doesn't quite reach the awesomeness that is Devils NEVER Cry from the ending of DMC3, the OST certainly comes close which I would place second in the series. 

The gameplay is an absolute return to form, even more so than DMC4. I don't remember the last time my fingers and thumbs got combo cramp (honestly, it was probably DMC3). I've always loved this innovative formula dubbed stylish hack and slash. Just pure energy that felt like a mashup of Tony Hawks Pro Skater trick shots and beat-em ups. They should have called the genre Stylish Super Slashers though. Dante has his signature styles Trickster, Swordmaster, Gunslinger and Royalguard. While it's one less than DMC5 and 2 less than DMC3, it still feels no less intense here. Each style has a litany of abilities, each requiring practice and mastery and can be upgraded into something stronger and even harder to pull off. By the end of the game (which I was playing on the hardest difficulty available from the start) I only felt like I was close to mastering Swordmaster and Gunslinger, followed somewhat by Trickster and then Royalguard nigh untouched. Oh and that's not even factoring in that you can swap between eight weapons, each changing the appropriate style.... fuck me. I could dedicate an entire paragraph just to how awesome each move set is. But favourites had to be the demon motorbike that turned into chainsaws. A risk reward cowboy hat that shoots blood orbs for increased style and higher orb return if you maintain your style. And of course the classics. Rebellion, Ebony and Ivory. My babies. There was a nice moment too where Dante completes his father's footsteps and through Rebellion impaling Dante's heart, his father Sparda's will is made manifest into a new blade. The sword is like a combination of Rebellion, Yamato and Sparda. Don't ask. 

Devil Trigger has always been slick. A demon trench coat? Ugh help.

This game is the highest on my list of games to return to, simply because I want to master Dante in the classic Bloody Palace arena. V is the most fascinating and newest, fitting of his character. V fights from afar, using his conjurations to fight fore him. The wise cracking, swooping and lightning firing Griffon. The in your face, spike summoning, blade spinning black panther Shadow. And finally the meteor shattering Nightmare the demolishes enemies. Staying out the action and using V only to finish enemies makes him the safest and easiest to maintain style. I did find his character fascinating as the poetic and pretentious Edgar Allen Poe reading enigma. And how he incants from his tome to increase his devil trigger, is a fun twist overall fitting of the DMC stylish campiness. Nero while not as fun as Dante still holds up in his own right. I loved playing him in DMC5. The challenge of his motorized blade Red Queen. Ramping up the blade in between swings or timing a rev perfectly with a hit for an instant boost is just... so satisfying. Adding to this is his robotic replacement for the stolen devil arm called Devil Bringer. The main function is, surprise surprise, to grapple enemies towards you but the arm is so much more then that. Essentially it acts as arcadey style platform for powerups that you pickup throughout the level or buy with red orbs, and equip from Nico's van. Nico is an interesting side character as Nero's gunsmith and sidekick. But the character can be a little annoying and miss the mark with her outlandish personality. At the same time her character does have it's charm, she's just along for the ride and her demon shaming quips are sometimes fun. Her grandmother made Ebony and Ivory for Dante, and Nico is a stan of the half-man half-devil. Charming.  

As you can probably tell I like DMC3. A lot. All you need to do is watch this scene to see that this game has the youngest, fittest, peak Dante. It still sends shivers down my spine. I'll always believe Dante is Devil May Cry, I just love the character too much. So that makes it the apex DMC game. It sets the standards by which all Devil May Cry games are measured. The stylish slashing. The symphony of the damned. The stylish cutscenes and characters. All criteria by which DMC are set are at there best in this game. 

As for the story... well what can I say, it's just pure fan service. As it should be. Favourites return. Lady. Trish. Etc. But really it's Vergil who makes the game. After splitting himself with Yamato to prevent some demonic influence and corruption from his time trapped and fighting in hell post DMC3, he turns into V (his human half) and Urizen (demon half). Urizen begins to corrupt the town of Redgrave, home to Dante and Vergil. Redgrave is an awesome setting, it comes full circle and reconnects the brothers in their hometown. We're treated to seeing their mother for the first time when they're attacked by demons, and how the brothers are separated as younglings. It was an absolute joy. I really hope they find Sparda.

Returning to the brotherly rivalry is where the game excels in its fanservice. Starting in DMC1 with the Nelo Angelo fight, and truly explored with Vergil in DMC3; Dante's arc has come to an end with closure in all plots. It returns to where it start in his home country town, quarrels settled with Vergil, family avenged, Sparda legacy fulfilled, etc etc. The final fight, more important than any story, between the two brothers is so epic, both in and out of scene. Certain moves of Vergil if you don't telegraph will instant KO you from full health. Insane. Intense. In love... Of course the fight is brought to a grinding halt by Vergil's son, Nero. Now with his very own Devil Trigger. Ah... they grow up so fast. He beats his father down (because this of course is truly Nero's story). The game ends in the best possible way it can. The two brothers seal themselves in the demon world, as Vergil and their father had done before them. Sealing the gate borne of the hell root 'Qliphoth' behind them they queue credit scene fighting back to back demons across the hellscape. PLEASE MAKE THIS DEVIL MAY CRY 6 I WANT TO DESTORY HELL AS SPARDA'S TWIN LEGACY. And of course, Nero and Nico take up the Devil May Cry legacy in the mortal realm. I really do hope we play across hell as the two brothers in 6; perhaps setting up the villain as one or both, corrupted from spending too much time there or finding a new threat or pehaps some kind of twist to sympathise with innocent inhabitants of hell, go nuts! Can't wait! 

Game 30 - South Park: Fractured But Whole - Week 35 - Aug20

The Fractured But Whole

So a quick summary of A Stick of Truth. Even now rewatching that intro scene voiced none other than Cartman brings the biggest smile to my face. Of course Cartman is the grand wizard, leading the mere mortals against the dark pointy dagger ears. Also of course.... Kyle is the leader of the wood elves, Kenny is a princess, Stan is some generic warrior, and Butters is the innocent noble Paladin. 

I absolutely just LOVE how they handled your character as "the kid" or Sir Douchebag as he's known to the common folk. Your parents talk about you like some unaware idiot (which you are) and you moved to South Park to run away from something. Their conversations, like much of the writing done by Matt and Trey is hilarious. Of course I had to choose the jew character class... and together with the Kooper Keep Kastle we'd get anal probed with Randy,  crash land a UFO new taco bell that infects the town and creates mutant Nazi zombie everything (including cats). I LOVE (I'm going to use that word a lot, geeking out here) that the Nazi Zombie voices are Hitler dubbed from historical videos. Just perf. Mwha. 

So you continue to travel the lands and save the people, recruit the Emo Kids, The Federation and god forbid... The Girls.... *shudders* All to stop the forces of darkness from putting a snook in a woman to nuke all of South Park. So of course you have to journey to the local abortion clinic, the spec ops team have entered to neutralise the snook but have been picked up by something sinister.... of course it's Nazi aborted fetuses and  you have to fight them.... wow. The Big Bad Government Guy shows up to tell everyone you're the child of prophecy, Dovahikn, Dragonborn, before you were even 5 you had 3.2 billion followers - unlimited power in today's world. Well, he's meant to abduct you with the swat team but he steals the Stick of Truth and goes crazy with powerm stripping down completely naked. Kenny betrays you, takes a vial and becomes Nazi Kenny and to stop him you must do what you were told by everyone including your Fart Sensei (Randy) to never do. Fart on Nazi Kenny's balls. This purifies everyone of their Nazi Zombiesm. Congratulations, you just saved South park. 

In comparison my overall enthusiasm for Fractured But Whole is much less. The fact that this is started as a DLC feels evident in it's lack of synergy. Part of me has wondered if I only feel this way because The Stick of Truth landed first or perhaps super heroes have become a more tired idea. But ultimately I think no, The Lord of the Rings and DnD just makes for a more epic set piece across South Park - and the first game just had you acting out more depraved humour that South Park is known for. But the alter ego of each character are mostly on point, Catman, Twitch goes fast, Timmy is Xavier, etc. Fight strippers, collect Yaoi, fight Santa Claus and the evil Woodland Critters, Morgan Freeman, Kyle's Mom, defend Mongolian Beef against the Mongols, fight angry high Towely, red necks (in multiple drive-bys) in Medicinal Fried Chicken and drunk Randy - who as usual is absolutely hilarious and keeps keying his own car every night as you walk past. 

The gameplay has had huge improvements. And oh wow off the bat... the difficulty slider is based on the colour of your skin (darker the harder). The grid based combat was a welcome edition, giving another dimension to power and making the combat more fun then Stick of Truth. In addition to this unlike Stick of Truth your initial class isn't permanent, and you can switch up abilities and make your own hero as you progress through the game. I did a lot of experimenting. But still, expect more laughs then depth when it comes to combat. You will do a lot of puzzles with your super powers (these are cool) and collect every single item imaginable - though tedious at times, both have their own injection of South Park humour. I mean that probably sums it up as a South Park game. Fart jokes (albeit creative fart jokes) and poking the more sensitive areas of society. Your super hero origin story... well... as a child you saw your Dad fuck your Mom. dun dun dun. Pretty hilarious on the offset but they already did this better in Stick of Truth. If I recall the gnomes shrunk you and took you through your parents room as they were literally doing it in the background. Instead you get a glimpse of a flashback. I think this encapsulates why the sequel doesn't quite hold up to its predecessor. It feels like they're pulling their punches. It didn't have those absolutely obscene moments like the abortion clinic, traveling through Mr. Slave or visiting 8-Bit Canda with was a Mario style overworld and medieval like fantasy world. The less said about the ending the better. As a friend of mine aptly put it - if Stick of Truth was a staple episode of a South Park season (like Make Love not Warcraft) this was less memorable, but overall solid episode with plenty of chuckles. 

Of course the racist cops have been sacrificing the black residents to Shub-Niggurath...

Other standout moments include, diabetes sugar rages, defeating priests (as a child), Mr. Mackey's Gender Questionnaire and well Jared...

Intermission 1 - Covid-19 & The Setup II

ovid-19 and co. had you thinking I'd forgotten about you right? (Yes I'm speaking to my blog). 

Life as it often does got in the way. You'd think pandemics and lockdowns would mean more time to journal my gaming escapades. But 2020 seem to be the year it all happened. Work changes, big move, bigger breakup - just to name a few. 

In May-July I played multiplayer games up until the move. Deep Rock, Warhammer 40k Inquisitor, Titanfall, etc. Which I often tend do when I want to escape through my closest friends. But from August to December the PC collected dust. 

But now I'm back with a new 65", sound bar, a loungeroom to myself for the first time in my life and a ton of PS4 exclusives to catch up on, I was no less busy for latter half of 2020. 

Pretty dope right future Dan reading this? See that collection of PS2 games you started for a couple months and stopped. Yeah, when you're reading this you should probably finish that before the games are all overpriced and unattainable - looking at you Jade Cocoon, currently the only collector-worthy title I must have. 

Well without anymore delay. Lets do a recap of the games I played in the hiatus. Lets keep it short. Lets fail that (for some special games).

[Edit] this was meant to be a recap post but well.... I just can't 

Game 29 - Euro Truck Simulator 2 - Week 18 - April 20

uro Truck Simulator 2. What is there to say? I can see the appeal to a petrol head and truck enthusiast but that's not me. After 10 minutes all the accoutrements and nuances, the detail put into the dash and GPS, the meta game of developing your character and career as a professional truck driver, all went out the window. The game became Burnout 3: Takedown and I was on the wrong side of the road, going for every near miss I can for bonus points. Working in logistics it reminds me of....work. Not exactly what I look for when I want to escape. Cool game that looks addictive for fans interested in this type of experience. 

Game 28 - Metro Last Light - Week 17 - April 20

etro: Last Light had an interesting transition problem, as a continuation of a story that had two endings. I can understand why they made the 'bad' ending canon, to keep in line with the source material and maintain control of Artyom's journey for a more interesting arc. But on my second playthrough I had the good ending, sparing the Dark Ones. So it was jarring to go from that ending, to Metro Last Light picking up 1 year after the bad ending right away. Luckily on my first play through I witnessed the bad ending. So my I treated my first experience like canon and my second playthrough like a recurring dream from the dark ones, and Artyom reflecting on what could have been. Interestingly, this ending up being very relevant to the redemptive story of Last Light. 

Difficulty was confusing at first. I loved playing through Metro 2033 on ranger. In my post I mentioned it's the most immersive experience I've had in a game and wanted that to transition into LL as seamlessly as possible. I read up on it online and everything I read (including in-game) said "don't play ranger on your first playthrough. There's no UI and you can't see your filters or ammo". So I didn't. I went hardcore instead. As feared the UI was an abrupt change. I instantly turned the cross hair off. But the new hit markers remained, which were unbearable. After 2 hours of playing through I had to try ranger. To my pleasant surprise it was far far superior. Filters were easy, with a timer on your watch. In fact you could see how much you had spare on ranger normal and even your ammo (contrary to everything I read online). But there was a catch, you could only see your ammo in a safehouse or station. Maybe this was a change with the Redux. But in the end I felt this was even superior than the ranger mode in 2033, which was always visible on your journal. It makes sense that Artyom wouldn't be trapped in a tunnel, surrounded by enemies, under pressure from limited air filters and writing down his bullet tally with dwindling supplies. So for him to do that at base and then (me) remember how many bullets he shoots, counting them like a real SAS, Spetsnaz or post-apocalyptic warrior would be required to do.... that's the true ranger experience. In addition to limited UI, no clear indication of all your equipment, and items not glowing makes for an unparalleled scavenger survival experience - and it all just leads to holistic fucking awesomeness. I'm so glad I replayed the first 2 hours (which acted as a pseudo-tutorial in a way) to transition into this experience, as it lead to an even more immersive experience. Instead of a step down it one-upped Metro 2033. Just... just look at this....

Again, I'm unsure what came with Redux and what was the fault of the original, but there are two minor changes I would have made. Allowed an in game journal for writing notes (literally drawing on it with the cursor), so you can keep track of bullets, maintaining immersion by eliminating any need to do so external to the game. And include more immersion animations a kin to Far Cry 2. Such as using pliers to remove bullets when you're shot so you can 'regenerate' to full health. A lot of 'immersive animations' are in the game, but mostly around jump scares or cleaning your gas mask from various wasteland offspring ala sludge, bugs or flies. The latter of which is extremely well done and just ropes you further and further into their world. I only wish there was more to pull you even deeper in the wasteland. 

More animations like this please. 

Characters - I won't dig quite as deep here. As many character remained unchanged from their excellent performance and roles in 2033. This is simply the next chapter. However I have new found appreciation, replacing a big criticism I had for 2033. That's how bland and seamless the wasteland survivor felt, like homogeneous military. This is still somewhat true in the average Metro dweller. However I don't mind that as many would blur into the bleak reality of surviving this world. But for the standout characters, the makeover was well appreciated. The story though, like any great story, is told through its characters. And Metro's are always exceptional. 

Spartans - Now lead by Miller as they flock from Polis to D6, to protect the power within. The man leads with the same fiery passion as he does before. Protect the Spartans, protect the Metro, protect the people, protect Anna. If any of those fall, the next is in line and this is the purpose of a Spartan. Follow your orders and your loved ones live. So of course when rumours of a dark one surviving the D6 blast of their home is delivered by Khan; Miller tasks his best man, and his crack shot daughter with an attitude problem to track it down dead or alive. Khan contests; he feels what Artydom did was a mistake and this is his chance for redemption. Setting fourth the path of Last Light. Sound familiar? It is. Miller is Hunter and Khan is Alex. And yet again, Artyom must make a choice. 

The Big 3 - They're back here but with D6 on the block, any armistice with the Spartan's is soon to be broken as the Nazis and Reds seek to take it to tip the balance of power. Both factions are far more brutal here. Both rule with harsh order. 

Reds - Lesnitsky, Czeslav Korbut, Andrey and Maxim Moskvin. The reds are the main antagonist and pose the biggest threat to Spartan's peace and the Metro way of life. The former, a double agent seeks to viral bomb D6. Korbut is the head of intelligence and through a coup and his agents Pavel and Lesnitsky, seeks direct control of D6. Andrey and Maxim are the leader and right hand man to the Red Line. The former leader is poisoned and manipulated by his envious brother under Korbut's plan to take control of the Metro. 

Anna - Clearly disapproving of  'Rabbits' softness and vying for her father's attention, she has a bone to pick with you and something to prove. This is pushed to its limits on your mission to retrieve the dark one, when the legendary Spartan has so much trouble capturing it, Anna questions your loyalty screaming through the radio as she herself tries and fails to snipe it. Before you can capture it you're apprehended by Reich Stalkers. I love her journey. Naturally, as you go back and fourth saving each other from reds, reich and rogues alike, you bond and her respect grows for you. Because surprise surprise, you remind her of Miller, appealing to her deep seeded daddy issues (probably). This culminates after she's saved from the reds and Lesnitsky. All out war is on the horizon and he's about to leave for war she confides in Artyom the loneliness she feels akin to when her father use to range. They make love. 

Pavel - Not to be confused with the quartermaster from 2033. The friend of Artyom, helps him survive and escape the Reich similar to Bourbon. But is eventually revealed as a Red spy and his loyalty causes him to betray Artyom. He is the Garry to your Ash, the Dante to your Virgil, the Vegeta to your Goku. The endless story of paragon and adversary on the heroes journey. After many confrontations I chose to spare the man, lest he seek redemption as Artyom does for his sins. The visions the game has through the little dark one are just phenomenal, and add so much flair to the typical grey wasteland. Below for example you see Pavel, about to meet his end. This is as everyone sees it, however mirrored by the real world is the reflection of Pavel about to suffocate after the final confrontation and Artyom's choice to spare and send him to the Damned Souls. I saw this as all the souls Pavel tarnished, in his efforts to repeat the same mistakes that caused their suffering in the world ending event. 

The Dark Ones - the visions were vague and roughly explored in Metro 2033. And by the end you're left wondering if you made a mistake or not nuking the Dark Ones. Metro Last Light explores that. The child is the last known survivor of your genocide. And is the proxy for the race. He speaks to you and gets to know you. Even saving your life and those you love at times (such as Anna from Lesnitsky). Here is where the story is anchored and peaks. After you save the child from Reich captivity, it observes you and grows to trust you. You don't choose whether to silo the child or not, but rather your actions influence it and the final outcome. To complete the redemptive arc Artyom follows the path of Khan this time. As a result the child recognized that these humans have good in them and have a place in this world. Previously in a twisted turn of events it's revealed that the Dark Ones saved Artyom as a child. In turn years later he would send many of them to the damned souls, as the little dark one states all dead go. Artyom would redeem himself somewhat by saving a Dark Ones child this time. In the final confrontation you fend of wave and wave of Reds. Like the true Red Army the Spartans are washed over by a sea of blood, as one man dies the man behind him picks up his weapon. Alas, inevitably the swarm overwhelms your final phalanx.

As a last resort, Artyom prepares to denotate all of D6 as ordered by Miller, leaving Anna to raise his son alone. Instead Artyom is saved by the child and his fellow Dark Ones. Korbut and his guard are hypnotised into murdering each other, and their fearless leader is shown fear, torn to shreds by the little one. Unlike his typical pacifist kind, he has clearly taken on board the lessons of balancing enlightened peace, with survival of the fittest, as witnessed in his journey with Artyom. Uhlman and most of the Spartan's have died and Miller is in a wheelchair. The child leaves with his kind, saying it will be better for humans, but they will return one day. Khan follows in pursuit. It's clear the the humans are too fearful to learn from the Dark Ones, and until they are ready to remove fear from their hearts they cannot be helped. 

What can I say. It truly is Metro 2.0. I can see why some prefer 2033, carrying that old school shooter vibe reminiscent of STALKER and FEAR. While I noticed Last Light has made some concessions for console and casual shooters (especially on non-ranger difficulties ala hit markers), I feel this is negated by simply playing on ranger. Which excels even more so then 2033 at providing the apocalyptic ranger experience. Overall it is a better game and a worthy sequel.