BlueDemon's Archive

Homefront is a modern military first-person shooter developed by Kaos Studios and published by THQ (the old one) in March 2011. /// Premise The year is 2027. The world has suffered a decade-long energy crisis, and economies have crumbled. Reduced to a mere shadow of the superpower it once was, the United States became the target of a North Korean takeover. American malls, suburbs, and city streets are now battlegrounds as the civilian resistance fights for freedom. (Side note) THQ 's marketing said the script was written by John Milius (of Apocalypse Now ), a blatant lie. In a report by Gamasutra later corroborated by Kotaku , former Kaos employees confirm Milius never wrote a single word of the script, affirming C.J. Kershner is the true writer, and that Milius's role was nothing more than a consultant. /// Overview Preamble: The COD comparisons. It is inevitable to talk about Homefront without mentioning the Call of Duty games. Regardless of the series current quality,...

State of Mind is a graphic adventure game developed and published by Daedalic Entertainment, released in August 2018 running on Unreal Engine 4. /// Premise Berlin 2048, following a hazy accident, journalist Richard Nolan wakes up in a clinic with selective amnesia. After heading home, he learns that his family is mysteriously absent. Setting off to do what he does best, investigate, Richard gets sucked into a conspiracy larger than he could've imagined. /// Structure and gameplay State of Mind is broken up into five chapters. Playing from a third-person perspective, our main protagonist is Richard Nolan, roaming the rainy, neon-drenched streets of Berlin trying to put the missing pieces of his memory together. The game focuses primarily on storytelling, with no combat system of any kind I guess the most simplified mainstream descriptor for its gameplay would be a "walking simulator," but I dislike using the term as it's too dismissive. Character motivations. Interper...

[This is a Mini Review, shorter and more direct] Penumbra: Requiem is a first-person, adventure puzzler expansion for Black Plague. Developed by Frictional Games, published by Paradox Interactive, and released in August 2008. Six months after Black Plague's release. /// Premise An expansion pack focused on strict puzzle-focused levels, absent of survival horror mechanics, with bits of lore that further explore some underdeveloped side characters. /// Is Requiem is Episode 3? I gotta get this out of the way. People often confuse Requiem as Penumbra 3, or Episode 3, when it is just an expansion DLC for Black Plague. "Requiem won't be the 'third episode', though. It's less the series conclusion, and more the epilogue. I consider the story to have ended with Black Plague" - Tom Jubert, lead writer of Penumbra series. 2008 interview with RPS. /// Structure Penumbra: Requiem is an abrupt switch from the survival horror genre to a horror-themed puzzler. It consis...

[Consider this Part 2 of the Penumbra: Overture review ] Penumbra: Black Plague is a first-person, horror game developed by Frictional Games , published by Paradox Interactive , and released in February 2008. Running on Frictional's in-house HPL Engine . /// Premise Picking up immediately where Penumbra:   Overture left, right after leaving the mines behind and entering the secretive research facility, Philip finds himself knocked out and imprisoned by unknown entities. After a hasty escape and possibly being infected with a Xeno virus, Philip must find a cure, while piecing together the truth of this place and his father. /// Structure and pace As the direct sequel to Penumbra: Overture, the two are intrinsically linked. I will be skipping over the more basic mechanics that have stayed the same, focusing on what has changed or improved instead. For a more detailed overview of the basics, I suggest reading the Overture review, as the bulk of its core mechanics have carried over t...

Penumbra: Overture is a first-person survival horror game, developed by Frictional Games , and published by Lexicon Entertainment in march 2007. Running on in-house HPL Engine . It received a direct sequel a year later called Black Plague . /// Premise Set in the year 2001, it follows the story of thirty years old physicist, Philip Buchanon, after receiving a letter from his supposedly dead father, instead of following the letter's instruction to burn several documents, Philip follows a series of clues that lead him to a mysterious location in uninhabited northern Greenland. There he finds a series of modern underground tunnels below an old World War II bunker. What was his dad doing there? What hides deep below? /// Structure What started as a tech demo for the HPL Engine, would a year later be polished up and shipped as Frictional Games debut title. Overture is a mix of survival horror, first-person gameplay, and puzzle elements. The player is lent some freedom to explore hub-l...