A Note to My (Few) Readers: Here's What's Up

Here's the Scoop:

     You may have noticed a couple things, both of which I will address now:  Chiefly, that I haven't done a review in ages.  There are a multitude of reasons for this, most significantly laziness.  However, I also was playing an RPG that got a little tedious, so I couldn't play it in a week.  That led to a downward spiral of reviewlessness, and the state we are at now.  But to remedy that, I will post another review by the week's end.

     Secondly, you may be wondering why I've only reviewed first person shooters.  I've noticed this, so I have been looking for a lot more free games for you to play (as I am wont to play games while being lazy).  I have downloaded a variety of new games, all non-FPSes.  I look forward to sharing them with you.

                                                                                                                                   -sincerely, darkcrusader

Bepfhor there was Halo, there was Marathon

System Requirements:
Not available, but this game can be played on a Windows 95 computer, so I'm sure you all will be fine.
It is available for every operating system (All versions of Windows, Mac OS, and Linux).
Download Here


Marathon, The "Doom Clone"

     In the early 90s, the famous first-person shooter, "Doom" was formed and dawned a new era of gaming.  There rose from this beginning a multitude of what is called, "Doom Clones." Among these Clones was Marathon, from the little known Mac-game developing company called Bungie, the same people who made Halo.  This game made first-person gaming what it is today.  Marathon innovated with mouse control, dual wield-able weapons, weapons with alternate attacks, a motion sensor, and a bunch of other features no other game had in that day.

The Story

     I really wanted to review this game because it actually has a story.  The two previous games do not have stories and are just online first-person shooters that get boring fast.  This game actually has a plot, missions, characters, the whole nine yards. For those of you who wanted a FPS campaign, you've stumbled upon a link.
     You, the hero, are a cyborg security guard on board the colony ship, Marathon.  Something has gone horribly wrong.  An army of aliens, the Pfhor, has boarded the ship, and it's up to you to save the day, with the help of an AI called Leela.  But things get complicated when another AI on board the ship goes rampant, and tries to destroy Leela.  Soon you become merely a pawn in a greater scenario.
     Things get more complicated than that, but I don't want to spoil anything.  One cool thing about the story is that is displayed entirely through text.  That way you actually have to read things at terminals if you want to know what's going on.  This way the game doesn't just rot your brain, and you actually can build your vocabulary a bi (if you aren't good with words you might want to keep a dictionary handy).  It's a refreshing way to relay a story, and it's a lot better than long cut-scenes.  The good story mixed with some well-written text makes for an interesting and fun story relay.

Gameplay
 
     The game, although old, is fun.  Unlike other FPSes, this game doesn't have a lot of room for you to get lost.  The reason?  The map ability.  You can walk around while the map is open to get your way around a level logically.  The only problem with this is that you can't see enemies in the map mode, so you're liable to get killed if you navigate through an entire level.
     That isn't to say you won't get stuck sometimes.  Some of the puzzles in the game are a little tricky, but they usually don't amount to too much of a nuisance.  Once you find out what to do you should be fine. Sometimes finding out what to do is a little difficult though (as it is with most game puzzles).  Even then, finding where you need to go is a little troublesome, but if you remember to use your map, you should do fine.
    The weapons are pretty neat. The assault rifle, for example, has an alternate fire that shoots impact grenades, which (when used skillfully) can take out a good number of hostiles, grenade jump, and even turn on switches.  It's one of the few guns in video games that you start out with and use till the end of the game.  When you find a second pistol later in the game, you can dual-wield them, which is good, because the pistol is your precision weapon.  There is also a rocket launcher, a flamethrower, a fusion pistol, an alien gun, and even your fists (they are dual wield-able as well)!
     The shield system is neat, because you have to find shield stations which recharge your shields (to different levels depending on which terminal you use).   This shield system allows you to go back and heal up as often as you like, without having to keep looking for one-use health pickups. However, it's annoying when you just cleared with full shield left but it takes you forever to find the next shield terminal and you're barely surviving for half the level and you finally find it, but in your eagerness you forget the hordes of Pfhor lurking in the corner, and before you know it you're cursing your face off because of that one frickin' health point you wish you had. Save points can also be equally hard to find, so when you can't find a save point or a shield terminal, you're screwed.
     That's another thing: you can only save at save points.  I like the fact that it adds some difficulty, because otherwise you could save whenever you killed an enemy, and go on that way.  It would ruin the fun of it. Not being able to have checkpoints in the game is made up for the save points.  I like that.  What I don't like is dying half-way through a level having not found a save point.  That's grade-A suckery right there.  You don't even concentrate on having fun, you're just annoyed that in each room you enter, there isn't a save point.  In one level, they show you a room with a save point in it, but you have to activate a switch several rooms away to reach it.  Stupid frickin' Bungie.
     Besides those two major setbacks, the game itself is still fun, thanks to the weapons, story, and the positive side of shielding and saving terminals.

Graphics


     The graphics of this game are very poor, and very dark.  You can, however, download graphics enhancement patches from the download site, which make the environment more aesthetically pleasing, and make the weapons and enemies tolerable.  The enhancement are a little annoying to install, but they're totally worth it, and bring the game up to date.  The graphics are (with updates) very beautiful, especially considering the time in which this game was made.  It's nice to see that this game was preserved for so long and brought into the modern world for budget gaming enjoyment.

Sound


     The pistol noises aren't very realistic, and nor are the punching noises.  Everything else is fine, and considering this game was made in 1994 and free, that's a minor inconvenience.  The music is pretty good, and gives you a variety of mood-setting tracks to immerse you in the adventure.  Of course, it's all MIDI, but again, it's free and from the early 90s.

User Interface

     Unfortunately, Marathon did not innovate a reticle.  Learning how to aim without one is a little tricky, but you eventually get the hang of it.  If you don't though, that's fine.  The Aleph One emulator allows you to use a reticle by pressing F8.  Stuff like that you would have to know by reading the readme file that comes with the emulator, which no one does.  However, other things can easily be changed through the use of logical menus.  For instance, the mouse control is really sensitive, but you can easily go into the controls settings without much looking around and reduce the sensitivity to your liking.  If the controls aren't to your desires, you can easily remap them.  Remapping takes less than a minute, and then you're ready to play.  Doing anything with the menus is a breeze.  The Aleph One emulator is a big help in keeping this game up to modern standards in user interface.

Verdict


     Bungie's Mac shooter has an engaging story that is disguised in a seemingly generic one, brings you to exciting environments enhanced with graphics updates, immerses you with its music and sound, and soothes you with its easy to use menus and interface.  The game's Achilles Heel is the shielding and saving terminal placement that annoys the crap out of you and ruins the fun. All things considered, this game is well worth the download, and a must have for Bungie fans.

RATING: 8.9/10
(not quite a nine, but still it's darn good.)

Alien Arena 2010 - What the heck was I thinking?

System Requirements:
Video: 3D Accelerator.  That's all you  need to know.

     Well, it had to happen sooner or later, but I didn't want it to be so soon.  Alien Arena 2010 is a sucky online first person shooter not even worth hard drive space on your computer; but before you decide not to download it, I'll give you some reasons why.

User Interface:


     The menus in this game are very poorly designed, and navigation and option selection is a pain.  How hard is it to make a menu?  Well, with some random clicking I figured out how to navigate through the menu, and realized there were a couple good features.  You can select a character model, change your color, change the handedness of your character (as a left-handed person I've always complained how all first-person shooter characters are right-handed), and you can change the reticle shape.  But figuring out how to access these features is harder than it has to be, and they don't make up for the overall suckiness of the game.
    Joining games is a pain.  It's hard to tell what game mode a certain lobby is, and it's not easy to know how to join one. Sometimes when you double click on a game it does nothing, and there's no 'join' button.
    Exiting the program is just nonsensical.  Every time you go to exit, the game stops responding and windows closes it down.  What heck was that?  They couldn't program something into this game to close it down automatically?  They had to get Windows to do it for them? Lame douche bags.

Gameplay:
 
     This game sucks even more than the menus do.  First of all, you have a 50% chance of the game closing down on you if you try and start a new game, and a 25% chance of having the game freeze up and do nothing, which can only be remedied by and Alt-F4.  So right off the bat your chances of being able to play a game are slim.  When you manage to join a game that isn't faulty, you realize how bad of a decision it was to start playing.  The lag is inconceivably inconvenient.  It's impossible to shoot at enemies with a normal blaster, and your only hope is with the chain gun.  The controls are normal, and the fact that weapons have more than one ability is great, but who cares if you can't navigate?  It's not that my connection was bad.  Crossfire plays just fine, and I'm on a hard line instead of a wireless connection.  So why in the name of all that is unholy do I fail to receive information from the server?  Maybe it's the other peoples' connections. If so, that means everyone else's connections are bad, and there's no reason to play if that's the case.
     And speaking of 'everyone else,' I'm surprised people still play this piece of s**t game.  I mean, there's even a forum for it, as if the designers thought this globulation of cow feces would be considered riveting enough for people to join a community.  I logged on to the IRC, and to my expectation no one was on.  I'm sure anyone on the forums, if there is anyone, is probably a basement-dwelling urine-bather and isn't worth the time.
     Tangent aside, this game is not worth playing offline.  There is offline practice with bots, but that grows boring very quickly.  They're not too hard to beat. There were other game modes that I was surprised existed, but for fear of my eyeballs burning from their sockets, I decided not to delve into the cess pool of Alien Arena 2010.

Graphics:


     The graphic quality of this game is gut wrenching.  All I need is a 3D accelerator card?  There got to be something wrong with that.  But that doesn't mean bad graphics.  Lego Racers (my first 3D accelerator game) had pretty good visuals, unlike this game.  Maybe I'm giving Lego Racers too much credit, but this game is an eyesore.  Character models are okay, but weapons, objects, and scenery look pretty terrible.  and you have to take this into context: this is Alien Arena 2010.  Maybe you're thinking they made this in the 90's when we thought we'd see aliens by 2010, and they were trying to make the game more futuristic-sounding. Nope.  This game was actually made in 2009.  They should have been able to make a better-looking game, even if it is free. I usually say that I get what I paid for, so I shouldn't complain about a free game.  But the hard drive space is not worth the loss.  And the time you spend to download, install, play, and realize the waste of time is not worth it when you could spend time playing games like Crossfire or the Halo Free Trial.

Sound:


     The sound in this game wasn't that bad.  It is arguably the most flawless aspect of this game.  The alien gun noises are very alien gun-ish.  But they get annoying.  Fast.

Verdict:


     My verdict is this: what the heck was I thinking when I downloaded this?  Did I think I found a hidden gem?  I don't know.  I just wasn't prepared to its suckiness.  But I will give this game props for having a left-handed character ability.  Being a lefty, I like knowing someone out there cares; I just wish that someone could make a game right.  I'll give this one a 3/10.  I'm not putting a link for this game.  If you're the kind of person who would like to find out what I'm talking about, then just go to cnet and search it.  But it's on your head.  If you find it's better than I said, let me know.  Otherwise, don't say I didn't tell you so. As a friendly warning, don't play this.  Good night, young people, and heed my words.

My first review: Cross Fire

System Requirements  (always minimum):
OS:  Windows XP/Vista/7
CPU: 1.5 GHz or better
RAM: 512 MB
Video: GeForce 5600 equivalent or better
Hard Drive Space: 1.2 GB
Internet Connection: Better than dial-up
Download link: http://download.cnet.com/Cross-Fire/3000-7441_4-10907539.html?part=dl-6282928&subj=dl&tag=button

           The first game review on the list is of a Modern Warfare rip-off called Cross Fire.  Cross Fire is an online first-person shooter with a distinct "poor man's Call of Duty" flavor.

Gameplay:
           Cross Fire is an obvious Modern Warfare clone, and you'd imagine the game is a poor facsimile of the game it is modeled after.  The game screams Modern Warfare clone with everything starting with its leveling up system which allows the purchase of new weapons at higher levels, "prestige-ability", and allows extra 'bags' (or Custom Classes).  The weapon purchasing system is unique, and you gain GPs by playing the game, or you can purchase ZPs to buy content in the game.
           Aside from the game's interface and various systems, the game still looks a lot like Modern Warfare. The font used in the game is pretty close to Modern Warfare's, and medals appear on the bottom of the screen for headshots and killstreaks. However, there are no killstreak awards like chopper gunners or nukes, which is a let down for such an obvious clone.
           Another differences from Modern Warfare is the inability to aim down the sights of your weapon, or even go prone.  These abilities would be helpful in the game, but because they're not in it, it accounted for many of my deaths.  All the accuracy you gain from aiming is impossible to achieve, so if you're using an assault rifle your aim will be far off.  Of course, some guns have scopes which you can aim through, but aiming through the scope is more of a Halo-style set up where you have to click the zoom button once to aim, another to zoom further, and once more to exit.  This makes it difficult to aim in a fast-pace modern deathmatch.  Accuracy in the game is limited, so people who are used to Modern Warfare would not like getting used to this game.
            All those things aside, Cross Fire has a few game modes that differ greatly from Modern Warfare's usual game modes.  There's normal team deathmatch, free for all, elimination, and other such goodies, but two main points in these game modes are the Mutation and Ghost game modes.  Mutation is similar to Halo 3's infection, in that it has one player who becomes the mutant, and runs around infecting people with the mutant virus until all people are infected or the time runs out.  The difference is that mutants, by gaining points, can evolve to a higher state of mutation.  With each stage comes new abilities, and they come in handy when picking off the last few soldiers.
          Ghost mode is a game mode where one team has invisibility (which fades with movement) and knives, and they try to plant a bomb in one of the locations on the map.  The other team is visible but can use all types of weapons, and they try to disarm the bomb, or kill the opposite team before the bomb is planted.  The adrenaline flows as you shoot at a corner you think your assassin is hiding in, or you hear a knife slice the air behind you.  Thrill greets you as you assassinate an unsuspecting member of the bomb squad.  This game mode keeps me coming for more.
          The normal game modes have good replay value, and keep the adrenaline coursing as bullets fly and you bring your team to victory (or in my case, defeat).  Even though it is very unlike Modern Warfare, it is still a fun game and is worth playing for an hour or two.

Sound:
         The sound of the game is pretty average.  The gun sounds are pretty similar to each other.  The sound falls below average notably with the Desert Eagle, whose blasts are so phonetically pleasing in Modern Warfare.  Cross Fire is another story, and the Desert Eagle sounds like a generic pistol.  This is also true for assault and sniper rifles; the gun sounds don't vary much.

Visuals:
         For a free online game, the visuals pleased me.  They were clear, and teams were easily differentiable by color.  The maps used in the game were good-looking.  Sometimes a bit boxy, but you get what you pay for.

Server Quality:
        As long as you have a good connection, this game runs fine.  Hackers can be kicked shortly after they're found out, and pose a very minimal problem, unlike in the Halo Free Trial (my former online FPS).  You shouldn't have very many problems with this game.

Verdict:
         This game does not measure up to the Modern Warfare that it copies, but it still is a good game.  Sound could be improved, as could the visuals, but it is a free game, so it's to be expected.  Assuming you don't have Modern Warfare, I suggest you download this game.  For it's faults and strong points mentioned in the review, I give this game an 8/10.  Have fun budget gaming on this one!

DC's Reviews: Reviews for the Budget Gamer

                  Not to be confused with the comics or shoes.  DC is an abbreviation of my usual name, darkcrusader.  I'm going to be doing reviews of free PC games.  Most of the reviews will be for downloadable games, but I will probably bring you virus-phobes some reviews of play-in-your-browser games from sites like addictinggames.com.  My first review is going to be of a game I am currently playing, called "Cross Fire," a free Modern Warfare knockoff.  Expect a review at least every week, and subscribe if you want info on good free games.