March Update!

I beat this months ago, so I don't remember my exact thoughts and feelings, but I'll just jot down what I remember.

Overall, I liked it, but I didn’t love it.

I was a huuuge fan of Alan Wake when it came out. I played the dlc's, bought American Nightmare on release. waited on bated breath for the sequel. After all these years the sequel finally released…. and I couldn't run it on my crappy computer. So I finally upgraded my computer and here we are!

The game is definitely bigger and more ambitious than I expected. There is a lot of lore and a lot of unanswered questions. The graphics are great, the soundtrack is fantastic (love Poets) and most of our favorite characters are back. That said, I didn’t love all of the changes.

The story and characters felt convoluted. Alan takes a backseat to Saga. She has more exploration, better plots, and more playtime. She feels like the better protagonist in the game with his name on the title. At least in my opinion. I didn't love his puzzle sections, but thats just personal preference. The game is also muuuuch cheesier then the first one, but I grew to love that. Also, at times the map and objective can be a little confusing. I also had some bugs. Especially the audio desyncing. It could be Epic game store or the game… I dont know.

One thing they absolutely nailed, though, is how they blended FMV with the in game visuals. It felt very natural and the actors killed it in their role. One fantastic example being the Herald of Darkness level. I could replay that section 100 times and be happy. Honestly, Remedy's creativity is where this game shines. For every messy plot line, there is a fun, weird, or nonsensical section that lets the game stand apart from the others.

I'm a bit scatter brained trying to remember the pros and cons, but overall, I am glad Remedy made a game that they wanted to make, and not a game we expected. I do wish I enjoyed it more, but I will still gladly play the third one.

I also beat Dispatch months ago… I am terrible at logging on time. It was great though! I knew it was popular, but I didnt expect the amount of talent that was displayed through this game. I loved the voice acting, especially Aaron Paul as Robert. I went in blind, and didn't expect the main character to have a dry and sarcastic sense of humor, but I loved it. There really isn't a bad character in this game.

The animation is flawless. I can see this being an adult animated show for sure. No shortcuts were taken on the animation or fight scenes. The game just feels incredibly polished. To be honest, I think my least favorite part of the game was the dispatching itself. It was alright, but not nearly as fun or exciting as watching the rest of it play out. I also wish it was longer. It's a good length, but I wanted more from the ending or the overall plot. Maybe I just enjoyed it so much that the time flew by.

Overall, great game. The actual dispatching should be longer or more of a focus… and I wanted more from the ending. Just personal preference really. This felt like a prequel in a lot of ways, so I'd love to see a sequel!

The Wanderer: Frankenstein's Creature is a point and click choice game. You play as the creature. Freshly made and as niave as a child, you wander around, looking for the meaning of the world and your own existence. This game is short and melancholy. It plays like a visual interactive book, or walking simulator with some light puzzle solving. There are also a few choices that effect the ending.

The art is lovely and the writing is simple but hard-hitting. Fans of reading, especially of Mary Shelley will enjoy this short game.

The Darkness 2 is a first person shooter, where you can use the power of the darkness so unlock and use different supernatural abilities. The game was alright! Very simplistic but fun. Definitely a product of its time. The story was fine. I didn't play the first one, but it's fun to play someone who is a little bit of a villain.. but a justified one. Unlocking the different abilities reminded me of prototype, but not nearly as in depth. The game is short, but started to feel repetitive so I'm glad it ended when it did. It's not winning any awards, but it was a fun game, and sometimes thats needed.