Super slav Sv. Prolivije’s profile

I’m a gamer,
Not because I don’t have a wife,
But because I’ve never smelled one.

I like to write reviews about games, mentioning stuff I like, stuff I don’t like, a meme here and there, a couple of GIFs, and jokes, lots of (un)funny jokes. And I know a lot of questions will be asked about my Steam profile picture, so I’ll go ahead and answer it here — yes, the mustache is very much real, and extra thicc. I also love to screenshot stuff in-game and play with the photo mode if there is one, so you should expect some goodies each Sunday, hopefully.

So, feel free to check out my Steam curator Gospel of Sv. Prolivije if you want to keep up with my cool reviewing escapades.
Or add me as a friend — I don’t bite, until the second date.

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As, promised, here’s my Halo: The Master Chief Collection review. I’ll port the review for each individual entry here in the coming days, but I thought why not start with the whole thing, kinda give you an idea of what you’ll be getting into when you buy this amazing series. Hope you guys enjoy the read, and stay after the credits, there’s a surprise waiting for you.


Permission to leave Xbox, Phil.

For what purpose Master Chief?

To bring Halo back to the PC community!

...

Permission granted.

Finally, the highly praised Halo franchise has released some of its best entries on PC, neatly assembled in one juicy collection. As someone who grew up only listening to how Halo is great and Master Chief is a super-chad, after playing it, I can say, without a doubt, both statements are correct.

While the title does say The Master Chief Collection, we also get two spin-offs: ODST and Reach, with the latter being my personal favourite in terms of story. Many seem to dislike it because of how bland Noble Team is. Personally, that never bothered me. They never were the focal point of the story. It was always the planet itself, Reach. Noble Team is nothing more than a surrogate pair of eyes for us to witness humanities struggle against overwhelming odds first-hand and the horrors enacted by the Covenant upon the inhabitants of Reach. As for ODST, it was ok. It takes place during Halo 2, but nothing from its story was particularly memorable. Some quirky moments and funny dialogue, but nothing more than that.

Still, the title clearly says—The Master Chief Collection, so let's get back to his escapades. I may get some flak for this, but Halo: Combat Evolved has the worst story, if you can even call it that. There was barely anything. It felt more like a concept. Don't get me wrong, Halo 4 is right next to it, but I still consider Halo: Combat Evolved worse. But then...BAM! Halo 2. We get more lore about this universe, more epic cutscenes, more chad one-liners, and characters actually have some personality. And it is here that Master Chief actually became a chad, with subsequent entries continuing to expand the legend that is Sierra-117. So, even with a few blemishes, I immensely enjoyed this sci-fi space epic; From witnessing the glassing of Reach, helping a friend go out with a bang, to detonating a nuke above Earth like a true chad, there was never a lack of memorable moments.

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Halo is jam-packed with epic set pieces and memorable moments throughout its sometimes cheesy, but overall fun campaign


But what about the gameplay?

Well, it's simply fantastic, and this much is true for every Halo game. Each entry improves upon its predecessor, refining the gameplay, but at the same time, staying true to that familiar gameplay loop set in stone by Halo: Combat Evolved. Personally, I have Halo 3 as my top pick. It's the culmination of Bungie's trilogy, and its greatness and epicness during gameplay are still unrivalled by any previous or subsequent Halo games.

But, where are my manners; I have yet to speak about the gunplay itself. So let's fix that, shall we—it's an FPS game where you shoot, throw grenades and drive vehicles. But the driving controls are unusual. Rather than driving, I dunno, like in 99.9% of games, with movement keys, Bungie said: "We don't do that here", and instead, your mouse is the steering wheel. Tricky at first, but once you get the hang of it, you'll be drifting on the surface of halo rings like the great Colin McRae.

Each new entry does try to up the ante, spicing up the gameplay, just ever so slightly. Halo 2 has Chief dual wield smaller weapons, which he seemingly forgot how to do in Halo 4 after his cryo-sleep. With Halo 3 came one-time use equipment; Useless overall, but they do look neat in the promotional CGI trailer. However, soon after, an unfathomable evil shook the very heavens, as long and fierce wars were waged over its place in the Halo-verse, with many brave souls lost in the process. Just speaking its name aloud invokes thousand years of bad luck upon your no scope 360 trick shots. I am, of course, talking about sprinting. This putrid thing first reared its ugly head in Halo: Reach, but only as an armour ability. It wasn't until Halo 4 that it finally infected Master Chief, becoming his innate ability. Truly a sad day for Halo fans all over the galaxy. But then again, he was often seen sprinting in cutscenes...

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Halo has a wide variety of boys on offer


Sprinting polemics aside, I love how Halo effortlessly creates a heterogeneous battlefield. Encounters pit you against a group comprised of unique enemy units, each with different strengths, weaknesses and mannerisms. We have bird boys, smol boys, wort boys, bug boys, hairy boys, chunky boys, etc. And while headshots mean instant death, some enemy units must be first stripped bare; hairy boys have armour, wort boys have shields, etc. Do note—each protection is weaker against different ammo. For example, wort boy shields are strong against human bullets but weak to plasma-based weapons. But, I will let you in on a little secret—all enemies and shields are weak to rockets to the face.

While massacring half of the known universe is fun, sometimes we need to stop, take a breath and admire the scenery. And this is where Halo got me. Halo isn't like that hot chick who doesn't know she's hot. Halo knows and wants your gaze. So, while Halo: Combat Evolved has inner beauty and Halo 4 is entirely flat, the others were a succulent journey for the senses; From the Covenant and its many species, the mysterious biomes of the halo rings and the burning cities of Reach, all the way to Johnson and his clean-shaven chin that accentuates his magnificent moustache, the Halo universe is beaming with beauty to behold.

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After an arduous year, LASO has been conquered and the fight finished...for now


Yet, visual beauty can't work solo. Its age-old accomplice—music, plays a vital role in immersing the player within the games universe. Sadly, this is where a crucial issue occurred, as how does one rate perfection?

Also, Keith David...Mmmm, you can be my Arbiter any day ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°).

But, besides Keith David making my knees weak with his stern, thick and firm voice, sound effects in Halo play a crucial role in perceiving one's surroundings. Being informed about various things during the chaotic fights is paramount for success—possible grenade explosion, what weapons the enemy is firing, etc. All produce distinct sound effects, which in turn help you avoid and instead inflict death upon the enemy.

And with that said, I think it's pretty clear how I feel about Halo. Thus, I'll finish by answering three quintessential questions any buyer may ponder about:

Where is Halo? -On Steam.

Who is Halo? -The big green dude.

Why is Halo? -Yes.

To all who made it this far, if you seek even more divine knowledge, then follow the faith preached in the Gospel of Sv. Prolivije. All members receive free dental care and 2 weeks of paid vacation.

Post-Credits Delight

Since it’s Sunday, you know what that means—Screenshot Sunday! We’ve reached #47, and since I already blasted you with some Halo goodness today (and a few weeks ago), I’ll go a different route this time. What do you say to a nice evening of laughs and drink on the outskirts of Roma in Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood. I’m sure you guys will enjoy the wine I brought!
wine

'Tis a fine day for a bottle of wine, or two, with your 𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘤𝘪 in the outskirts of Roma

Hmmm, I promised to “port” my Halo reviews here last week…

excuse

I’ll try to do it this week, pinky promise. I was a bit busy last week. Even managed to complete two games, wooo. The games in question are Emily is Away <3 and Heal. One I was disappointed in, feeling as if I wasted my time, and Heal was actually a pretty fun game, albeit a step down in terms of narrative from the devs previous games (The Distraint series).

Anyway, for Screenshot Sunday #46 I shall once again, post a cute shot from Halo, building that non-existent hype for my upcoming review ports. It’s from Halo: Reach probably my favorite story-wise. I just love the tone and feelings it left me with. It did help that it was my first game in the series, and that I knew nothing about the planet, the universe or the first game. The ending hit 10x harder, but I am glad it did.

Emile is chad

Please, Emile, close the door, you're letting all the plasma bullets in



Until next week (probably sooner, as I gotta pump out those Halo reviews of mine, and there’s 7 in total).

Ok, so
I'm not fucking leaving

I will try to freshen up the event a bit soon but will stay committed to the weekly schedule. It’s hard to give up on a pet project like this, so I will instead try to fix what is bothering me instead of scrapping the whole thing.

So, for Screenshot Sunday #45 I leave you with a fine shot from Halo 3.

It's not gay if your cheeks touch, but it is geh

It's not gay if your cheeks touch—but it is geh(and that's ok)

I played the franchise for the first time in 2020. It was an amazing experience even if Combat Evolved felt dated (mainly the level design). Also, bc I am crazy I played it in story order, which meant I played Halo: Reach first, which was the pinnacle of Bungie’s game design, and then went backward basically. I also stopped playing Halo 2 mid-way as Halo 3: ODST takes place in between 2 and 3.

Anyway, back to 3 specifically, it held the best moments for me, epicness-wise. It was a great conclusion to the trilogy, with the last mission really being special. I even left this one as my last LASO to beat to get the achievement for completing all Halo games on LASO difficulty. That ending sequence was the perfect way to wrap up my amazing journey with the whole Master Chief Collection.

And I should post more of my (awesome) game reviews here, not just the cool shots I take. So, I’m gonna try to post all my reviews for the series here soon, as it was quite an undertaking (and will only be surpassed by the current secret pet project I am working on).

Cheers until next week. Hopefully, I have some new goodies for all of you who enjoy what I do (no matter how small the number may be).

So, I’m thinking of sunsetting Screenshot Sunday, after posting this one (or maybe the next), #44. I like this little project of mine, but I guess it can get hard trying to pick one screenshot out of 1000+ shots I took (usually this happens with big open world games) and trying to write something in the post itself. The second part specifically limits me when it comes to posting more shots from the same game, as, what would I say about it, again, haha. So, I’m now trying to think of a way that would fix that and satisfy my need to post all of my shots in one compact format, while also not clogging the activity feed. I think maybe a monthly edition could be done, as I believe it would let me accumulate a lot more screenshots, and since I use Imgur for posting my shots, I can then also create game specific albums with my shots, instead of posting them one-by-one.

Gonna test some html code to see how this weird thing I imagined will look in the next week (or two), and then try to debut the new version as soon as possible. I do think I’ll be “archiving” my previous posts when I debut this new format, and thus anyone who commented on them, I believe those comments will sadly be lost, and I’m sorry for that. I wish you could just hide the posts from your page and others, since what I have in mind conflicts with this design of the BLAEO website.

So, for the (possibly) final Screenshot Sunday, #44 I’ll opt to go with a cool shot I took during my time last year with Assassin’s Creed Valhalla when I got a 1 month for 1$ offer from Ubisoft to use their Uplay Subscription Service. The game is really something else when it comes to visuals, as the world is quite stunning to look at and fun to explore as a result of so many unique places to see.

England

The Stones That Stand The Test of Time

While this week I’ve not played much of anything (most just idling Poker Night at the Inventory until I hit a Straight Flush for the last achievement), I did get more into Tekken 8 PvP, despite being a bit hesitant due to my noob status. But, I managed to climb some ranks, get to almost 100k Tekken Power (whatever that is), and reached a pretty decent rank, Assailant (2nd tier of the yellow rank). I chose Lee for my main, despite him being quite a tough character to learn. I wasn’t aware of that going in, since I just liked his positive vibes (which we can all use more of) and him saying “C’mon” sounds like MJ’s “Shamon!”.

Thus, for my Screenshot Sunday #43 pick, here is my custom skin for Lee, given his default in-game skin is quite bland. This is a slight edit on his alter-ego, Violet, that was present in one of the previous games. Instead of my sexy mask, he is supposed to have aviator glasses. But I like the mask (with the Batman skin charcoal paint around the eyes) more, it just gives me more mysterious (and sexy) vibes.

Violet

It's time for the bride and groom's traditional dance of death

Another week, another Screenshot Sunday; this time it’s #42. I’m finally finished Assassin’s Creed III and just completed playing the first DLC episode. I was a bit underwhelmed by the whole thing, if I’m honest. It just feels a bit mid. The wolf stealth powers are super OP, but I didn’t really enjoy the mission design as it didn’t experiment with this new power at all. It felt like a typical AC 3 mission. I hope that Episode 2 improves the mission design. Anyway, the shot is a very touching moment in the game (the epilogue), and I really feel like Ubisoft needs to actually finish the stories of these great characters, like they did with Ezio, instead of ending it just as things get good.

Legacy

Legacy

This week has been quite fun for me. I managed to play two new games, Poker Night at the Inventory 1 and Samorost 1. I’m by no means a poker-head, but Poker Night at the Inventory 1 is so fun to just play a few hands and test my e-poker face. But the screenshot for Screenshot Sunday #41 will be one from INSIDE, a game I replayed this week too. I just love Playdead’s approach to storytelling and world building. No words spoken, and everything you need to know is told to you by what is happening on screen, with some parts left for interpretation, which is something I adore. Plus, the motion of the gameplay here is simply amazing, making platforming and puzzle solving oh-so satisfying.

The Upside Down

The Upside Down

I’m currently playing (and almost done) The Henry Stickmin Collection, and it’s a blast! I didn’t expect this game to make me laugh so hard and so much. I’ll be posting more from it next Friday, so expect a ton of funny references to other media (games, movies, tv shows, etc.). The game is simply a blast to play, and I know we’re only starting February, so it may be a bit premature, but I gotta say this is my GOTY so far. Not a single moment was wasted. Tekken 8 is a close second, but I gotta give it to The Henry Stickmin Collection. This simple choose-your-own-advenure style game is just something else.

And to grace your eyes for this week’s Screenshot Sunday, #40, here’s the best man, with the best plan, Charles!
you just don't get it, do you?

'Tis the best of plans, Charles. The best.

I also installed 100 unplayed games (on top of 33 others I played already and also installed cuz why not). If you can’t pick what to play, install lots of stuff, and then you’ll surely pick something… right? So far it has a 100% success rate. Yes, I only picked and played one game (The Henry Stickmin Collection), but it worked, didn’t it?

Slightly late on this one (damn you internet problems!), but Screenshot (not) Sunday #39 is here. I’m currently split between Tekken 8 and Assassin’s Creed III. But I will go with a Tekken 8 shot this week, as it’s the game responsible for reigniting my passion for gaming after I was oh-so-close to ending my gaming journey this year due to burnout and other factors. But why Tekken 8? I don’t know. A game from a genre I don’t really like (fighting) and a franchise I don’t even care for managed to do what no other game could. So, to honor it, here’s Daddy Kazuya for all of you to enjoy!

Daddy Kazuya

I’ll also be doing more shots posting, but it’s gonna be on a Friday dubbed-Flashback Friday. The goal is to use that to post more screenshots (since one a week isn’t enough, considering I have around 10.000+ screenshots already while not yet finishing Assassin’s Creed III) from games I don’t play anymore. I’ll then use Screenshot Sunday only to post one (maybe two) main screenshot from the game(s) I’m currently playing. I gotta dump my all screenshots on you guys somehow.

After countless hours of labor spent over the past 6 months, this passion project of mine is finally done. Now all of you lovely people can experience it (hopefully it will be a pleasant one). Three things served as inspiration for this little undertaking of mine: a Reddit post I saw some years ago, ShillUp’s reviews in PDF format exclusive to his Patreon (dunno if he still does this), and my time with SGM (SteamGifts Magazine) last year. They all shared one thing—delivering to users that old-school gaming magazine feel. But mine isn’t really a gaming magazine (like the Reddit and SGM things) it’s closer to ShillUp; it’s a fun way I found to commemorate my Game of the Year list for 2023.

And I chose to do this for the top five games I played last year, diving into completely new territory to accomplish that goal—graphic design. It offered me a completely new and fun creative outlet compared to the simplistic and limited nature of Steam’s review system. I had tons of fun testing the limits of what is and isn’t possible here. As this is my first undertaking in this field, any feedback is welcome. Hopefully, I didn’t let any silly mistakes get past me. I edited this for the past day or so, like a madman, making sure it’s perfect for the public eye.

Enjoy!

A Sv. Prolivije Game of the Year List 2023

Note: If you’re gonna use your phone to view this, I would ask you to view it in landscape mode. Certain parts were made with that view in mind (two pages together) and will not look good (may even look broken) if you view it in portrait mode (one page only). Also, if you see the page taking time to load, give the website some room to breathe and load all my crazy things in, as the PDF alone was 770 MB, and I added some extra stuff via Heyzine’s own editor.