WOLFENSTEIN 2 THE NEW COLOSSUS (PS4)

Ah, Wolfenstein. In the early 90s the predominant genre was graphic adventures, and the original game stood out as a real adrenaline-driven experience

Actually I think I played Spear of destiny first, then Wolfenstein 3D. They were released in the US as shareware, and arrived to Spain in the usual way those days: Some friend would get a copy from another friend, you will copy it via floppy disks, and later on another of your friends will copy it from you

Actually, this pirate activity is one of the reasons why I bought the first reboot (2014) and also this one: I felt I owed Bethesda something for the time I spent playing without paying back in the day. Anyway, talking about Wolfenstein 2, it has been re-interpreted as a linear game (the original was maze-like) with a big focus on story and lots of scripted events. But the core remains more or less the same: Angry guy killing nazis

With so many open world and multiplayer games going on, its refreshing to play a good old single player experience. The great thing about these games is that you know where the player is going to be at any given time, and that it's not going to be a group of them. That means you can plan encounters, videos, animations, scripted events and world reactions accordingly. I would say the level of eye-candyness you can achieve is way superior on single player games. You lack freedom and team work, sure, but it's somehow closer to play a movie

The New Colossus is a good sequel to the previous title. The story is interesting, it has some surprises and to some extent a bit of a parody of the USA. The game systems generally work smoothly and there are some very interesting locations to visit. A professional work in all senses

On the minus side it´s mostly evolutionary over the previous title. No big changes or major risks taken. Also, I was close to lose all my game progress - thanks online storage - due to a confusing profile/saving system. On top of that the menus are a bit basic, I could have used some more options and flashier UI design

All in all a highly recommendable game. Killing nazis is always satisfying!

DOOM 2 (PS4)

Since I went through was Doom meant for me at the time of its release in the previous review (here), I will focus on this one on the actual gameplay of these games. Doom 1 and 2 are similar enough as to not consider them completely different products, but they have a number of substantial changes: Not only a bunch of new enemies and the double-barreled shotgun, but also a different level design approach: Apparently the ID team tried to take advantage of hardware progress to create bigger and more open scenarios. That´s probably the case, but in my opinion Doom 2 is simply more fun. In the first game they might have tried to be somehow “realistic” in the scenarios – trying to make players feel in a space lab or a moon base – whereas in Doom 2 scenarios make little sense in regards to authenticity, but are definitively more interesting to play. They spawn enemies in strange locations, the architecture is completely bonkers... but precisely that allows to create many challenging and surprising combat situations the first game only hinted

On the other hand, I think both games suffer from a certain indecisiveness in terms of what game experience they wanted in the end. Not unusual considering game design was at its infancy in 1994: Some of the game mechanics call for slow pace progression (keys, labyrinthic layouts, secret walls) and others call for fastness (par times at the post-level screen, quick resolution of combat encounters, most weapons don´t need reloading, sprinting). In terms of design, Romero explained they just followed their instincts, and added whatever felt cool to have fun. Nowadays I believe designers need to be more vigilant on what is the target experience you´re going for

Sometimes you can even get stuck. However, I guess is fair to say back in the 90s you didn´t have access to so many leisure options. There was no internet, no free to play games, less TV channels, movies were almost exclusive to theatres… you could expect your players to not only try the game but also be unable to make progress for months, and give it second/third chances if you didn´t find the solution to a puzzle or find your way to the exit. Funny enough, there was a way to know if you were getting closer to an unexplored area: Back in those days, your hard drive would purr when loading new data, meaning you were approaching uncharted territory. Also could it be Doom the one that created that stereotype that when you find a room full of health, ammo and armor... that meant you were about to face a boss? Ah, I miss those little things from the early days...

DOOM 1993 (PS4)

 After reading Masters of Doom, I thought it´d be nice to re-try those games. After all, last time I played them was… 1994? 95? Can´t remember. Their original distribution system was shareware, and that didn´t get to Spain easy. It probably took some months or even years for a copy to get to me. Plus, I´m not sure if I ever paid for them. Maybe I just got the free first episode. Or a pirated copy. I somehow remember paying for a pirated copy of Ultimate Doom, but it was so long ago…

Anyway, I guess it was time to pay back for sure, and relive those times. That´s something most will never get to experience, because when Doom was out it made you feel things. Feel BIG. Graphically speaking it was a leap forward in time so hard you thought you were playing a game five years into the future. The gap was just so huge

You need to remember, the early nineties were dominated by graphic adventures, cartoony style mostly, and the vast majority aiming for kid´s taste. Then Doom came along, with its satanic environments, horrifying sound effects and gory violence. It was a whole new experience, something that caught you by surprise

Apparently it created a lot of controversy in the USA. I didn´t get to see that, but there were congress hearings and everything. I also remember journalists talking about the insane amount of hours American workers have wasted playing Doom while pretending to work. It was a phenomenon, one that I believe set a before/after moment in Videogames: Before Doom, games had limited sales and were kind of niche entertainment. They couldn´t dream to rival movies or even TV. But Doom proved games could be the talk of the town, and make a lot of money on the way

After finishing the game, I was nicely surprised to see it still holds great. The game is just fun: Weapons are satisfying to use, enemy patterns are simple enough to develop strategies, and the different group combinations keep you invested. I also got as many trophies as I could get, and found some additional content (i.e. secret maps) I hadn´t seen before

All in all, still a game you would recommend to others. If Return to castle Wolfenstein (also from the twisted minds of Romero & Carmack) was the grandfather of modern First person shooters, Doom is imho undoubtedly the father. Its offspring continues to thrive to this day, and also pioneered online gaming, speedrunning, modding and the creation of fanbases. I would consider it a must for anyone who wants to be a developer, there are interesting level design lessons everywhere, and more importantly there is a simplicity forced by the tech of the time, that with the time become somehow a virtue

LUMBEARJACK (PC)

Alright, this seems to be the first new game I finish this year. I´m obviously behind, compared to last. Anyway, it´s time to talk about Lumbearjack

In this videogame eco-system where all games need to deliver more than 12 hours of gameplay to justify its purchase no matter the price, Lumbearjack stands out because of the opposite. It´s 2-2,5h long, and proud to be

Also, it´s not challenge-based. The gameplay is simple and easy to grab by any player. If you´re an Elden Ring fan, this won´t be for you. It´s clear the creators wanted to make something simple, cute and short. And they delivered

The older I get, the more I appreciate time and more I like short games. There is no need to stretch gameplay adding repetitive chores or template-based missions to reach a higher numbers of playtime hours. I think we should all praise and buy games that try to offer honest 4-5h and make that content as high quality as possible, even if that means playing a little less

On the other side, Lumbearjack can become a bit repetitive after the first 30-40 min. There aren´t many new features added beyond that point. But still, for playing with kids it´s probably perfect

MINIT (PS4)

 

One of those indie darlings I tend to like a lot, the rule also applies in this case. The game concept is simple: Every 60 sec you die, but you keep everything you found during that time. That combines with metroidvaina elements, allowing you to find certain objects and unlocking new areas on each try

Failure/death is a certainty, but you don´t find it frustrating. At the beginning of each round you feel motivated to try something different, or see what you can do with that new object you just collected. It´s also packed with secrets and mysterious interactions dedicated players will be eager to try. Not me though. I fear losing too much time of my life trying something that eventually has no reward, so the way I approach secrets in games is to give them one first honest try, but move on if I don´t see a clear solution ahead. Only once I´ve finished my first playthrough I allow myself a second attempt, but generally using an internet walkthrough to minimize time losses

Visually speaking is simple but effective. Pixel art has some flavor beyond players - like me - who first played in the 80s, and it´s certainly cheaper to accomplish than 3D graphics. The only problem I had with the game is the ending: I finished it without really wanting. The story is sketchy at best, and you are not completely sure what is the final challenge you´re supposed to accomplish. It turned out when you throw your sword to the toilet - which you are forced to do at some point - the game is over. Really

Anyway, I strongly recommend it if you´re looking for something different, you like games with many secrets to uncover or simply want to have a good time without next-gen visuals

ANGRY BIRDS STAR WARS (iPad2)

 

I´ve always liked to have a portable gaming device in my life. Since my Gamewatch times as a kid (and not so kid actually, since in the last years I´ve purchased a bunch of those vintage mini-consoles on Ebay) there is a number of everyday situations where I enjoyed playing with my PsP, Nintendo DS or lately my iPad2

As a consequence, I tend to keep my latest device of choice more or less filled with apps - and particularly games. Unless I´m hooked somehow on one of them, I don´t play regularly. Only when the situation arises. So, sometimes they can stay untouched for years

That was the case for the last game I finished, Angry Birds Star Wars. I think it was on sale so I said to myself “why not?” and played it on idle times here and there. Last week I found out I was only 10 levels away from completion and decided to finish it once and for all. As the matter a fact it´s not truly done. There are bonus levels I should pay for, and unlockable others that require to achieve X amount of stars. I guess I´m changing my definition of completion on mobile games to “finished all available levels from the initial purchase”

Anyway, it´s basically Angry birds with a Star Wars skin. It does have some new units – modelled after the IP characters – but feel more iterative than innovative. Still, it works and definitively fills up those 10 min you don´t know what to do with while riding the bus or waiting for your next meeting

LEISURE SUIT LARRY - WET DREAMS DRY TWICE (PS4)

 

Sequel to LSL Wet dreams don´t dry - which in turn is a sequel of many other Larry games - It´s another graphic adventure of pretty much the same quality than the former. Maybe less

It´s basically the same game with a new story and setting, plus a couple of UI improvements that don´t completely work. To make things worse, I had to restart save games several times because you could fall in infinite loops preventing progress. Not totally sure if because I play very disorganized - which shouldn´t be a problem - or the saving system can mess up things totally

Why am I playing this series, then? Well, two reasons: First is that it´s one of the few videogames which takes pride on not being politically correct, and has mild sexual references (no nudity). You don´t find that often these days. Second, Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of Loung Lizards was one of the first PC games I ever played, and not supporting the series makes me feel like abandoning an old friend from my teen days

Anyway, you might be lucky and not have tech problems. If so, it´s a fairly standard adventure. If you like the character, then it´s probably a must