Luitenant Gruber

Absurdly good Disney game, mind blowing. When thinking about Disney themed video games, I mostly think about cheap adaptations of the Disney story with some quick and lame puzzles to solve and some rushed levels to cash in on the success of the movie. With Toy Story 2: Buzz Lightyear to the Rescue, my mind was blown and it is still the best Disney based game I’ve played so far. In the basics, it is just what I described earlier. An adaptation of the movie that follows it one on one. The only difference is that the levels in this game are surprisingly well done. They are full of stuff to do and give an open world feeling. Your objective in every level is to collect five tokens of the Pizza Planet by completing a mini game, beating a unique mini boss, collecting fifty coins, collecting five small NPC characters like sheep’s, army men, duckies or green aliens and by winning a timed race. The ways to do this change in every level and no level looks the same. When collected enough tokens, you can progress to the levels ahead, which increase in difficulty. You visit every famous scene from the movie and unlock more story video clips when progressing. In the end, you save your old pal Woody, just like in the movies. The level design is so good in this game that I sometimes forgot that I was playing a simple Disney movie adaptation. Your enemies are all evil toys, deployed by your arch nemesis Emperor Zorg. What sets Toy Story 2 apart for me, is the excellent music. It is amazing to hear such perfect tracks in a simple game like this. The battle with the plane on level 3: Bombs Away blew my mind in terms of the fight track behind it. The end bosses are also really dark and grim and the overall feeling of this fight is, yet again, more epic and glorious than it has the right to be. I think it is the music again in this stage. Overall, Toy Story 2: Buzz Lightyear to the Rescue is an excellent game and by far the best Disney adaptation video game of them all.

Great game with excellent multiplayer. The long awaited follow up of Wolfenstein 3D did not disappoint. Return to Castle Wolfenstein was a great game with some amazing visuals at the time. It is fast paced, hard as ever, and a worthy installment. The introduction of Stealth in this game was a little unnecessary in my opinion. Especially since there are some missions that require it to even progress. I did not think that it added much to the game and it sometimes slowed the game to a halt. The visuals are stunning in Return to Castle Wolfenstein. This game is from 2001/2002, but can be considered next gen for its time. Explosions, animations and gun impact look really good and I can only praise it. In terms of sound, Return to Castle Wolfenstein is also a fine piece of work. Gunfire sounds excellent and the sounds and rattles that enemies make, really enhance the experience. Nothing to complain here. Movement and controls are fluent, and like I said, make the game fast paced. In the multiplayer mode, this showed even better, making for a good online experience. The only thing I found a little annoying about this game, is the sudden difficulty spike with the introduction of those weird UFO human hybrid abominations. These things shoot lightning, almost insta killing you and have a ton of health. Maybe I just need to git gut, but these *******s killed some of the fun I had with the game. Nevertheless, I enjoyed Return to Castle Wolfenstein and I am amazed how well this game holds up today in terms of graphics and gameplay. Definitely recommend this beauty.

Amazing game and one of the best First Person Shooters I have played. Painkiller is just Epic. In the core it is just a First-Person Shooter in which you shoot monsters and progress to the next stage, classic stuff that Doom, Serious Sam and Duke Nukem did before, but this game feels different somehow. It has a unique style of playing and some mechanics that are different in a way that it offers a fresh new concept. Some unique mechanics in this game is the soul collecting when killing enemies, which increases your health by one for each soul collected and let you enter demon rage mode, killing everything you point at. You can also earn Tarot cards that give you a bonus in each level if you selected that specific card for the level. You first earn those cards by completing a challenge in a level, for example, kill fifty monsters with explosions, or kill all enemies on the stage. What sets this game apart for me is the sound and music. I think I can say, without a doubt, that this game has the best music that I have experienced so far, even better than Serious Sam. Every level has a unique Heavy Metal fight track that really gets you pumped up. Combine this with the excellent sound effects of your weapons and the enemy grunts and it makes for one epic experience. It is just a masterpiece. Painkiller: Battle Out of Hell offers a new campaign with, once again, ten completely unique levels, enemies and weapons. Although it is still the same principle of the first game, the new levels were amazing. I loved Painkiller: Battle Out of Hell and I thought it was even better than the main game. It was long ago that I could enjoy a game as much as I did this one. In the end, Painkiller and its expansion is a masterpiece in every way and one of the games that I can play any time of the year. It is a real classic and that is why it has multiple sequels and a remake, rightfully so. I would surely recommend it to everyone.

Amazing little puzzle game with gorgeous artwork. Nihilumbra is a great puzzle and platform game with a really original and fun way of playing. In this game, instead of killing enemies and beating bosses, you need to avoid your enemies at all costs and use your magic colors, with different effects to make your way through to safety. You can paint the environments with the different colors in order to block, avoid or mislead your enemies and the way this mechanic is implemented is done excellent. The different magic colors all have their on special ability. You got a blue color that makes surfaces slippery, green color that makes stuff bounce off the surface, brown color to make the environment sticky and slows objects and enemies, a red color that burns enemies when walked over and a yellow color to conduct electricity to objects and enemies. The way that you use the different colors, and where to use them, requires some good thinking on your part. You know soon enough of your plan worked, but if it didn’t, then you try again with a different approach. The artwork in this game is stunning. It is simple in a way, but looks really beautiful. The atmosphere this game creates with this artwork works really well and enhances your feeling of vulnerability. You are dependent on the perfect outcome of your magic painting of the environment with nothing else to defend yourself if it goes wrong. The ambient sound and music of this game is glorious. It makes this game even stronger, and although it gives a vibe of sadness, this is perfectly fitting for this specific game. Nihilumbra is hard, really hard. The normal stages are doable and with some practice, you will beat them. But then there is Void Mode. This is basically the same stages in order, but with some “added challenge”. This mode is one of the hardest things I ever completed in a video game and the feeling of satisfaction when I finally did it, was overwhelming. Definitely recommend it.

Could have been a fun game for me, was it not for the noob-hating community. League of Legends could have been a fun game for me, but unfortunately, it is another example in which for me personally, it never came around the way I hoped. League of Legends is a fast paced, adrenaline pumping MMO Tower Defense /Battle Arena game, in which two teams fight it out on a map, trying to destroy each other’s Nexus. You control one of the many unique champions, in which you set forth towards the other players base. The base is defended by turrets and other structures and a hero can buy upgrades for their base when they are present in it. NPC “minions” are constantly summoned and go straight for the enemy base. Killing this monsters/minions, earns gold and XP for the champion to level up, increase their skills and buy more stuff. When LoL first came out, it already looked interesting to me, but at the time, I did not get around to it yet. Then, some years later, I wanted to give it a try. I still did not know the mechanics or the way it must be played, so I played the tutorial and was ready for some matches. But for me, here is where it did go wrong. I connected to a lobby, and immediately got kicked out. This process repeated itself multiple times, until I finally connected to another lobby, stayed in this time and got playing. I was still a noob at the game and in this match, I got constantly reminded of this. I did not play fast enough, got called names, got noob shamed, and overall, the experience was terrible. The moral of this sad story is, that there is no room for plebs and noobs like me. You need to play God tier, like the professionals. Make one mistake, react too slow or make one wrong move, and you will regret it. Even though I basically “gave” a victory to the opponent, I just got criticized and demolished for playing “too bad”. For this reason, I played for exactly ten hours, got tired of the hate, and quit. Such a shame.

Masterpiece of a game. After dodging the hype train for a long time, I thought it was finally time to try the original Half-Life in 2015. I was immediately hooked up and impressed how good the game was and, more importantly, how fantastic it held up today. This is one of the few games that kept me playing without ever boring me or forcing me through it, like some games. Every level was unique and featured a new mechanic of enemy. The mechanics in Half-Life are unique. In the first place, it is your standard FPS, you collect different weapons, find ammo, kill enemies and move forward. But then you got the puzzle mechanics in which you need to stack boxes to reach a higher platform, navigating mazes, or figuring out what the best path will be to reach a certain area, without falling to your death. You also use the terrain a lot more than other games. When facing a strong enemy, you can use the environment for cover while fighting, something that is impossible in games like Doom and Duke Nukem. Lastly, you got a badass HEV suit that grants you more protection and offers a ton of neat tools like a build in flashlight, oxygen for swimming sections, a compass, and your HUD. The suit absorbs a lot of damage and runs on a energy meter. When the suit is depleted, functions like the flashlight do not work anymore. You can recharge your health and suit energy at special stations scattered throughout the game. The combat mechanics are fluent and feel very responsive and satisfying. It is fast paced, accurate and a ton of fun. You can use various weapons and choosing which weapon works best for each fight is a must. And of course, your most iconic weapon is your good old crowbar. Overall, Half-Life lives up to its title of one of the best games ever made and, even today, it still holds up and is truly a masterpiece. Definitely recommend it to everyone.

One of the best games I have ever played in my life. Divinity: Original Sin II is a masterpiece in every way. It has been a long time that I played a game so unbelievably beautiful, well made and fun as this one. Divinity: Original Sin II is the ultimate definition of an RPG. The combat is turn based, you earn XP and gold, can invest in many different skills that help you on your adventure and you can have a party of four characters. Combining different tactics and skills is essential and you are free to fill this in however you want. Each character is not bound to be a fighter or mage, and with the right skills and attributes, you can create whatever party you like. You are free to roam the current island/map in every way you like. However, multiple quests, enemies and scenarios on different skill levels are present and there might be a situation in which your level 7 sorry *** is trying to take on a level 10 boss for a side quest, that outright destroys you. But complete some other quests first, level up and try again afterwards, and you will note that it becomes much easier this time around. What you do and how you approach it, is all up to you. I like the fact that you can interact with everything in the world. You can pick up everything, drop barrels and crates on your enemies, use the terrain, and talk to animals. You want to fill your inventory with buckets or dirty dishes? No problem, you can do that. The only limit is your creativity. Divinity: Orignal Sin II is hard, really hard. The difficulty is legendary. It is kind of unforgiving to new players and requires some serious strategy and planning. If you made some all-round characters and just “go with the flow”, you are going to have a bad time later on in the game. Divinity: Original Sin II is just perfection in every way and only Baldur's Gate III matches it. Absolutely recommend this work of art to everyone.

The true origins of the series, before becoming a cashflow. The first Call of Duty is where it all began and what inspired a series of good sequels, along with the cashflow milking cow that it has become today. The original game shined with excellent AI, a solid story and fluent mechanics. Call of Duty revolves around the events of the second world war. Although this concept is nothing new and used many times before, it is one of the more stable, balanced and straightforward ones that was around at the time. The main difference with other WWII franchises is that you play as multiple countries that fought in the war like Russia, Great Brittan and the United States. The first Call of Duty is the only game in the series that implements the health bar. Although opinions differ about what system is better, I preferred the search for health kits and keeping track of your current vitality. It is what makes an FPS interesting and challenging in my opinion. Medal of Honor is another franchise that shined in this mechanic, by finding soldier canteens. Call of Duty looked beautiful back then and, even to today, still does. Surely it aged and the graphics can be considered ancient, but the detail remains fair enough. The expansion pack, United Offensive, I did not play. This was only because my PC back then, would not read the disc properly. This is something that I want to complete at least once in the future. Call of Duty will always remain a true classic and, even today, it is still played widely, although many servers are now fun and hack servers with some crazy sh!t going on. There are custom made maps in toy block landscapes, obstacle courses, you name it. It is a shame that the series nowadays is a business model in which the same crap is released every year and kids today do not know how great the series was back then, but before I turn into a complete grandpa again, that is all I will say about it. I definitely still recommend this true original classic.

Best Looter Shooter I have played. Borderlands is a fantastic game. It combines high paced action with good mechanics, a fun story, upbeat dub step music, humour, filthy jokes and does not take itself seriously. The story is a little cliché in my opinion but works well for the concept of a looter shooter like Borderlands. Just hunt for a lost treasure which is exceedingly difficult to find. Borderlands is a massive game with many, huge, open world maps. There are tons and tons of side quests you can complete for a nice new weapon, some cold hard cash, or a new skin (colour for your outfit actually). Each side quest is more ridiculous than the previous one and the use of every inch of the map makes this game worth every penny you spend on it. The cell shading animations are nicely done, and this is the first game that I saw that used this unique technique. It gives a cartoon feeling, while still playing a fully rendered 3D game. The progression feels rewarding and the game is well balanced. Enemies get stronger with you but are still beatable. If you stray to far from the main story line and enter certain areas beyond your level, enemies will wipe the floor with you, so you know what to avoid and come back to later. The main concept of this game are the guns, finding legendary shields, weapons and relics for your character and develop yourself into a well-rounded killer. It is really fun to play with friends and makes for a good evening of fun. The different elemental weapons you can find is a good concept and makes you think, and plan which gun is best for what situation. I enjoyed every minute of the game, it is story and the collecting of loot, cash and special items. And then I played the DLC’s. My god, they were even better. The DLC’s are all over the place and add a fresh new mini campaign in each one of them with a completely different idea and style.

Amazing game but a little too hard for me. The Soulcalibur games are on par with the Tekken series. They feature great combat mechanics, beautiful graphics and some fluent character animations. Soulcalibur IV is the only game in the series that I ever played personally. With that said, I do not know much of the lore, the characters and their backgrounds and the mechanics of each character. Nevertheless, I thought this was a pretty epic game. Unlike Tekken, Soulcalibur does not have that strong of a story. I do not know any story or lore from the previous games, but in this instalment, you apparently have to reach Algol in his special tower and them whoop the floor with him. Every character is connected to the same cause via “The Chain of Souls” but none of the characters do have any canon endings or story endings as far as I can tell. It does not matter that much, but being a Tekken veteran, it is just remarkable how different and basic the lore is in this game as far as I experienced it. Soulcalibur IV featured some crossover characters from other games and media. It was so weird, but epic at the same time, to see Yoda all of a sudden appearing in the arena. I also really liked the fact that I could choose Yoshimitsu, a character from Tekken that is all familiar to me. In this game, he looked even more badass. This game is hard, really hard. It almost played like Dark Souls to me, but then in a Tournament Fighter. This is, of course, mainly because of my lack of experience with the series, but the mechanics, moves and combos just feel very unnatural to me and really hard to pull off. Then you got the Critical Finish system. You build up a gauge by fighting, and when full, you can unleash a massive powerful series of brutal attacks, always instantly finishing off your opponent. Like I said, I am not a diehard fan of the series and not that familiar with the game. Nevertheless, the one game I played, namely Soulcalibur IV, was an epic experience.

Very good example of a great action-adventure game. I really like adventure games in which you collect stuff, find hidden collectibles and buy upgrades. Combine this with some decent combat mechanics and some platforming and I am hooked up for hours. Ratchet and Clank is a game that does just that. I was always fan of the Ratchet and Clank series, so when this remaster for the PS4 came out, I immediately bought it. The story of the game is a little blend and cliché but not terrible. It gives clear directions on where to go next and you can backtrack and go on sideway paths whenever you like. The open world levels, that you can visit in every order you want, makes the game fun to play. You are not bound to a specific path and if you are like me, you complete all the side quests first and then continue with the main story. The ton of collectible items like bolts, gold nuts and trading cards made me search every inch of the game. Combine this with some PlayStation trophies you can earn for collecting everything and there is nothing in the game that I haven’t seen or experienced. The upgrade mechanics are really cool and although Ratchet and Clank is not an RPG, it feels this way when you upgrade your weapons with specific upgrades that let you earn more bolts, cards or Raritanium. The combat mechanics and weapon selection are well done and switching to one of your other ridiculous weapons is made easy to understand. Combat feels fluent and fair, except for some homing attacks some enemies have, but this adds to the challenge. The New Game + feature let’s you collect and upgrade everything you didn’t get around to the first time so you can complete the game anytime. There are some minor complaints from my end about the game like the unskippable cutscenes when interacting with some NPC’s and the Clank levels which I found really boring, but this is my personal experience. Overall, I really liked this game and would complete it again anytime.

Great game with full freedom and creativity. I loved Mount & Blade. It is a RPG game in which you are in full control of the direction you want to go in. Create a character, drop somewhere on the map, and start your journey. There is no story or plot in Mount & Blade. It is completely up to you what you want to do next. Recruit men for your army, visit castles and cities to receive quests, gain favor for one of the five factions on the map, join their ranks, become your own lord with land and tax income, the possibilities are endless. The mechanics in Mount & Blade are very simple and easy to learn. On the world map, you can travel in any direction and you encounter various activities, caravans, bandits and Lords from different factions. You can enter cities to join tournaments, buy stuff, sell stuff and gather some gossip about ongoing wars and events around the world map. Although the game has no official ending or goal, the way to play is to gather as much renown as possible by killing bandits, winning glorious battles against other factions and do good to the people and peasants. This way, other factions notice you and grant you land, titles and positions. The most fun with this game is just exploring, helping people, earn gold, expand your army and get renown throughout the map. You are constantly managing your supplies, keeping your soldiers happy and overall, just be a Lord, mercenary or free roaming scoundrel that is control of their own destiny. I can play the first Mount & Blade for hours, without it ever boring me. The graphics in Mount & Blade are crude and a little ugly. However, this is one of those games in which I don’t care one bit. The framerate and animations are smooth, and that is what counts for me. The music is a little generic on the world map and in cities, but the battle tracks are great. When you hear those trumpets at the start of a huge battle, you know it is going to be epic. Mount & Blade is a great game, recommend it.

Fun little zombie game with a lot of challenge. Nation Red is a very simple, but fun game. In the core, it is a wave shooter in which you hold out against waves and waves of zombies, increasing in difficulty each round. You got your simple standard zombies and big and fat ones that are though to kill. The variation is simple and blend, but it works. There are several modes you can play. Survival, Endless and Barricade. All of the modes play almost the same, with some minor differences. The graphics are nothing special. The framerate and animations however, run very smooth, making the game look fine enough. The sound is a little generic, but for this type of game, that’s all right. The controls are fluent and is the games strongest point. Movement and combat is spot on and you are in full control. No cheap deaths by unresponsive controls, just you, who makes the mistake and pay for it. There is a perk system in which you can improve your stats and skills, giving you a better chance of surviving in the rounds that follow. You find weapons and powerups throughout the maps and try to stay alive as long as possible. Choose one of the several maps the game offers, and rinse and repeat. The game is repetitive and it is most of the same, but the many challenges and maps keep it interesting enough. Normally, I would get a little bored after the tenth time I started a new wave, but the best thing Nation Red offers, is the amount of challenges and achievements you can unlock, keeping the game interesting. For me, this is a great way to keep me playing, and reflect on your hard work and skill. Other than this, there is not that much to say about Nation Red actually. So in the end, I would surely recommend this game.