Скорошни рецензии на CthuluIsSpy

Blood Rayne : Betrayal is the latest installment in the BloodRayne Franchise.

Mechanically, it is a competant side scroller, with fairly responsive controls and a complex and satifisying moves list.
There are some hickups with the Dashes and the Backflips, which can be difficult to pulloff, but they are mostly manageable.
Whilst it is true that the game demands a high skill cap, that is only if one wishes to get the perfect score on each level, and it ultimately comes down to simple pattern recognition. Other wise its not actually all that difficult, with the exception of some of the later levels.

The art direction and music is fairly well done; the soundtrack is fast paced with gothic and orchestral undertones, and the animation quality and level design is for the most part good.

Time wise the game should take about 7-9 hours to complete, depending on how often you die. There is a considerable amount of replayability though, as there is a level rating system and collectibles.

As a Bloodrayne game there are noticible differances from the previous entries; for starters the Rayne in Betrayal has a considerably different design; she looks younger, possesses much smaller armblades and does not wear her iconic black and red leather outfit, instead wearing a predominately black gothic-inspired outfit.
In addition, she is missing most of her powers and equipment - She no longer has her rage move, her harpoon, her carpathian dragons, nor her signature feeding method.
However, despite this Rayne still feels like Rayne; though minimal, she does have her sense of wit, she is still a tough character, and she still fights with acrobat ferocity, just like in the previous games.

Story wise Betrayal has no relation to the previous games; Kagan is still alive, the Shroud never happened, there is no mention of the GGG. So if you were hoping to a resolution to BloodRayne 2's cliff hanger, you are not getting it.
It does introduce a new character, however he's only really there to give Rayne a new gimmicky power.

For the most part Betrayal does feel like a Bloodrayne game; there's that familiar over the top level of violence and humor and the story is gloriously ludicrous.

Overall it is a well crafted 2d platformer and an adequate, albeit unorthodox entry into the BloodRayne series.

However, I still cannot draw myself to recommend this, as Rayne's original outfit, which was featured on the very cover art of the game, is not in the game itself. I found that to the extremely misleading, and a clear attempt to pander to the franchise's fanbase.

XCOM : Enemy Uknown is a re-imagining of the 1993 turnbased strategy game, XCOM : UFO defense.

Whilst it shares its predecessor's name and much of the alien roster, it is not at all a “modernized” 1:1 conversion of the old game.

For starters, Time Units are gone, and replaced with a two action system. Cover is now a thing and is vital to keep your soldiers alive, and the geoscape isn't as open as it was in the previous games.

So if you were expecting the 1993 game but with prettier graphics, you are probably going to be disappointed.

If you weren't expecting that, then you'll find a tough tactical turnbased strategy that will test your tactical skills and try to beat you on the field.

In fact, I personally preferred nuXCOM's tactical battles more than the old game's, as it was less tedious and less gamey; in the 1993 game you had silly stuff like grenade relays, sacrificial rookies for mind control (which had unlimited range and did not require Line of Sight), and cheap stuff like nigh-unkillable Chrysalids and aliens that can shoot you with pin point accuracy in the dark whilst your units can't see anything. NuXCOM removed the annoying and unfair stuff like that and tried to make it tough, but fair, and for the most part suceeded. Instead of mobbing up and throwing 14 rookies into a meat grinder with the odd smoke grenade to give them cover, you now had to make the most of 4-6 soldiers and use tactics to win battles.

Its not all perfect though; the abilities your soldiers can get makes the game too easy late game, as it just becomes less about tactics and more about special powers. In fact, the early to mid game is where nuXCOM shines, as you don't have that many powers available, and that makes for a more tactical and engaging game.

The geoscape is also lacklustre; in the 1993 game you had to intercept UFOs to stop alien activity, and alien missions were linked to missions, so if you destroyed a terror ship you can stop terror missions. It's also randomized; you don't know whern the aliens are coming, and you needed to build outposts with radars and a couple of interceptors to catch them all.

In nuXCOM this is no longer the case; its all scripted at the beginning of the month. Destroying UFOs will not stop terror missions, and there will always be a certain number of UFO / abduction mission spawns. This makes the geoscape overall tedious and uninteresting.

Overall, its a good Turn based strategy game, and I would recommend it.

It's a surprisingly good horror game, with an atmosphere of dread that chills you to the bone.

Now if only it were stable, and didn't crash all the damned time....