The Beast from the East struck the UK last week, So we’ve been snowed in with nothing to do but play games? How unfortunate. Here’s what we’ve been up to.
Resident Evil 4
So a week after picking it and replaying it for the first time in some years, I completed game number 8 of 2018, Resident Evil 4. This game is so different to what I remember it. I can recall it taking around 10 hours to complete, but my final time of completion was 12 1/2 hours. Not too bad, but still considering how much came back to me while I was replaying it, I had figured It’d be a quicker run through. The ‘bosses’ weren’t all that tricky, remembering a few hints to take care of some of them. I did mess up and forget to collect the infrared scope for the rifle, so encountering Iron Maiden and Regenerador were not fun, but again there is a simple tip to take care of the Regenerador with a knife, so running past Maidens and taking out the Regenerador with the knife tip was my go to tactic.
I’ll do a proper return to the party style write up to express all thoughts upon replaying this master piece, I can say for one thing, replaying this all these years later has made me wonder do we often hold the ‘classics’ in a higher regard than we really should? We’ve had some incredible games in the past that we list as untouchable and the best you’ll ever play, but equally we’ve had some incredible games this gen alone that might and probably could be held in as high regards as Resident Evil 4. Do we look at those older games with tinted glasses as we aren’t prepared to let go of those experiences purely due to the nostalgia?
I can say that yes I absolutely loved replaying this game again all these years later, but there were some things that did frustrate me a tad. As touched up on last week, the visual output of this game in the remaster is brilliant, it’s genuinely incredible to think this was a Gamecube generation title. The pacing of the game is pretty spot on, there never appears to be a dull moment. As I said above, the major shock to me was realising how big the game actually was. After completion of the castle, I remember the move to the Island, but I genuinely forgot how big that part was too. I forgot about certain enemies, and I sure as hell damn forgot the fight with 2 Gigante at one time.
A brilliant 12 hours that did put a smile on my face for most of the time, but made me think should we start to consider newer incredible games as masterpieces and should they start to take higher rankings in overall top game and should these classics like Resident Evil 4 start to find there way gracefully dropping down the order of things?
Call of Duty: WW2
Much like Stardew Valley has a power over me to pull me back in, Call of Duty WW2 has done this. I once again have subbed to PSN and have been enjoying the multiplayer mode of COD. Annoyingly I didn’t get back in time to try prop hunt, but happy to see that Carentan is still available to play without purchasing any DLC. Not much else to say really, other than despite an absence since January… I still got it.
Wolfenstein: The Old Blood
Seeing as I’m half back to trying to complete games again, now Resident Evil 4 is gone, I’ve moved onto another game I got for Christmas 2 years ago but yet to play. The Old Blood. From what I’m aware this game is much shorter as it’s essentially an expansion to New Order. Well I’m about to start chapter 3 and it’s pretty much same as. Very fast paced, very entertaining and another great looking Bethesda game. I admit I’m perhaps playing through it too fast as I try to add numbers to my completed list this year. But It’s certainly not like I’m playing it as a chore.
Despite how frantic and fast these games are, the first 2 levels were very stealth orientated. I did stick to the stealth approach for the most part, cause let’s face it, you don’t want to be mauled by numerous guard dogs fitted with armour. But there are some instances where you just have to duel wield and go for it. Especially if you get spotted by a general who raises the alarm…*Doh*.
I did come across a rather cool little Easter Egg reference to Skyrim too.
– Murr
Deep Rock Galactic
Last week saw the release of Deep Rock Galactic a game I’ve been wanting for quite some time. I was able to play in a few of the closed alphas and was hooked from then on. The game has released to early access and I have to say that I’ve been very impressed with it so far. Whilst it’s not perfect there is a good amount of polish and content at the moment, but we know that there is still a lot more planned and I’m really looking forward to the future of the game.
Deep Rock Galactic is a co-op shooter that sees you taking on missions where you’ll need to mine for resources through procedurally generated cave systems filled with alien bugs. You can pick from one of 4 classes each with their own weapons and gadgets.
I’ve managed to play for a few hours with random people, on my own and with one other friend and each time I’ve had a lot of fun playing it. Like Left 4 Dead and Vermintide this game is going to shine when you have a group to play with, it’s a lot of fun getting seeing what sticky situations you can end up in. Probably the best part of the game is once you’ve collected enough resources – or whatever it is for your mission goal, you then trigger extraction which gives you 5 minutes to reach the extraction point and everything becomes a bit manic. It becomes a real race against time as you track down your exit location, digging new tunnels, fighting off aliens and making mad dashes when your ammo gets low. It’s really good fun and feels very satisfying.
-Will
