Doom and Doom 2 recently landed on PS4. I picked them both up for under a fiver. I couldn't resist. So far, I've played these games on PS1, PS3 and now PS4. Why? Well they're just fucking great fun and glorious in their simplicity. If it moves... kill it!!!
How do we kill? With an array of satisfying weapons like the Shotgun, Super Shotgun, Chain Gun, Chainsaw, Rocket Launcher, Plasma Gun and BFG. Puzzles aren't particularly tough, it's usually find the red, blue and yellow keys to open doors and kill more monsters. Look, Doom doesn't need any more plaudits from me. It was a marvel in its day and it's still shark week level of fun now... 7/10. Doom trophy count: 56% Doom 2 trophy count: 47%Let's move this on to some state of the art games...
Red Dead Redemption 2:
This isn't so much a game as much as it is a fucking project! Thankfully is a hugely enjoyable project and a game that genuinely packs an emotional punch. If you don't know already, RDR2 is a prequel to the also quite brilliant Red Dead Redemption. That game featured John Marston as its protagonist and a likable old goat he was too. This time around John is part of your gang and while he is still the same John, he's very green around the ears. That's where you come in. You play Arthur Morgan, a much more experienced gun hand. He's seen it all, done it all and while he is as tough as a bag of nails, he has grown wiser in his old age. He just wants to live in relative peace... with his gang. And that's the problem. No matter what way you cut this, you're in a gang. You can play all the Robin Hood card bollocks you want, you're a murderer and a thief...The gang leader Dutch Van Der Linde, has managed to keep the gang together for a long time but you get the impression from a very early stage in this game that he's losing his grip. Arthur as his number two tries desperately to keep him on some kind of decent path but Dutch has taken Micah Bell under his wing and he is a pure psychopath. Dutch is trying to stay alive, Arthur is trying to atone. This is the heart of the game and John Marston is caught right in the middle.
I won't go much further into the story... it's an absolute doozie. There are all manner of weird and wonderful characters to enjoy, to kill and to save. The missions are also incredibly varied. You can choose to stick to the main plot but side quests are an absolute joy.
It is accurate to say RDR2 is GTA5 in the Wild West. Both games boast incredible attention to detail but while GTA5 looks great, RDR2 looks absolutely stunning. My poor PS4 was having a heart attack running this game. I've never seen any game quite so visually jaw dropping. The dramatic backdrop of the Wild West is an obvious eye catcher but the game also shines in the grittiness of the time. Dutch and his gang live in hard times. They sleep in camps and you can nearly smell them as you play. I occasionally took Arthur to a nearby town to have a meal and a bath... just to make him feel better...
Another advantage over GTA5 are the gun fights, they are infinitely more satisfying in this game than GTA5 and the mechanics work much better too. Shootouts in a Wild West game are kind of important. They need to be enjoyable. RDR2 goes above and beyond to make them memorable.
Red Dead 2 is a near perfect game. I guess if I had any qualms with it, it's probably that having played Red Dead 1, I could tell early on where this was going to go... but that doesn't mean I didn't thoroughly enjoy getting there. I truly did. The game has a coda that goes on a bit too long but that's a small gripe. I'm not ashamed to say I shed a tear a couple of times while playing. The reason being that this is a damn fine piece of entertainment with a top notch script and quality voice acting. I wonder what my Dad would have made of it had he lived to see it. He wasn't a gaming fan but he loved westerns... Anyway, if you haven't played this by now, please do so before the PS4 is replaced by PS5. It will drop your jaw.. a lot. Score: 9/10. Trophy Count: 40%
I want to talk about PSVR in general for a second. If you have the means, you absolutely should get this for your PS4. It is INCREDIBLE. And I don't mean in a gimmicky kind of way. This has legs. How do I know? Well I played Resident Evil 7 the regular way, more on that in a while and I'm currently playing it for a second time in PSVR. I thoroughly enjoyed it on my couch playing it the traditional way but playing it on PSVR is a huge step up in terms of terror. It's actually so scary that I can't really play it by myself at night time... it's just too much. I'll come back to that...
Niggles? Well, there's a good few wires that come with it. This is basically old technology cobbled together to bring you a brand new experience. There's the Playstation camera that sits atop your television. There's a small black box that links into your PS4 and television with hdmi cables and the headset which looks slick enough but is also wired into the black box... Still all of this is immediately forgotten when you start playing... Let's get to the good stuff.
Astro Bot: Rescue Mission.
I had been told this was the definitive PSVR game and I'd find it hard to go back to regular platform games... this is 100% true. Astro Bot is just a wonderful, immersive adventure full of cute humor and incredibly immersive gameplay.
Astro Bot is flying around space with over 200 of his astro buddies in their ship when they are attacked by a giant green monster... an asshole. All the bots are scattered across 5 worlds and your job is to rescue them and get them back on their ship. Many of them are hidden quite well... you don't have to find them all but I found it impossible to abandon them...
Now, when you start the game a see through playstation controller appears in front of your face and you place your controller inside it. Into your controller jumps the only Astro Bot to escape the attack and off you go together on your rescue mission.
The first level will absolutely blow your mind. It's a nice intro to the game and while you control the bot it takes about 5 seconds to get used to the fact that you're sort of following him into the game... Turn around, you're in the game. As mind blowing as the first level is, the game is only warming up. There's a beach/sea level that left my jaw agape for the majority. Lava levels feature, the first is a doozie and it plays like the mine cart scene from Temple of Doom. Absolute adrenaline!! After every 5 levels you face a boss. They're all huge but their size is matched by the sense of humour the game revels in. I mentioned in my previous blog that I may or may not play Crash Bandicoot 2 and 3. Astro Bot is why. It's just really hard to imagine going back to regular platforming regardless of quality.I haven't quite platinumed Astro Bot yet but I will. Score: 9/10. Trophy Count: 78%
Resident Evil 7.
After the absolute dreck that was RE6, the pressure was on to deliver something special. Such was the damage done by the previous installment that I wasn't in any way arsed by the release of this game. Didn't even watch a clip. I waited, as I always do, for a huge price drop. When it came, I picked it up for €20 only after checking reviews which were universally enthusiastic.You play Ethan. You receive an email from your girlfriend Mia, who's been missing for three years. You drive to where she leads you. Ever seen The Texas Chainsaw Massacre? Well that's basically the setting for a lot of this game. A shitty run down horrible mansion and the family inside are all fucking repugnant, hillbilly vermin. They've been abducting people for a while now but you do get a sense that they're probably victims in all this too.
It's worth saying that the game looks incredible! No expense spared in the development. Bravo!
Anyway, after quickly being captured by the psychotic family and tortured at their dinner table you manage to escape. As you search the house for Mia, you're stalked by the man of the house, Jack Baker. Like Tyrant in RE2 you're better off running and conserving ammo. This isn't always possible though so be ready to shoot.
As the game progresses you will unravel the mystery of the mansion and there's a couple of fun plot swerves.
So is it scary? Yes! A thousand times yes. This without a doubt the most disturbing game of the series. As stated, the creepy Deliverance/TCM vibe is relentlessly awful. The creatures are pretty good too. A bit of a departure from the usual resi fare but that's fine. It was time for a change and they are effective.
I'm currently on my second playthrough and I'm doing it PSVR style. This game was creepy enough on my couch. However, put that headset on and enter this world and shit. Gets. REAL! While being attacked by a creature within the game I took too many steps back and was up against my wall gun pointing in sheer terror. Beads of sweat falling from my forehead. I still can't play it alone in the house 😂
The game loses a touch of its graphical flair in psvr mode but honestly, I'm too fucking terrified to worry about slight downscaling when I'm trying not to scream. It also gains points with the wonderful aiming system. You use your visor to aim. In other words, you look left you shoot left, you look right you shoot right. You'll see the gun target move where you look. Look at Jack Baker's face... That's where you'll shoot him.
Ultimately, this is a triumph. The opening hour or so is chock full of incredible jump scares and the sense of fear is almost overwhelming. However, like all the best resi games you improve as you progress. The story is interesting. And your weapons make things easier. I'd say play it as normal first and when you clear it use the reward gun you got from your first playthrough in the psvr run. You'll appreciate it... believe me.
Score 9.5/10 Trophy Count: 45%
That's enough for now. I'll come back with a few more PSVR gems a bit of sport and even more Doom... though God knows when.
Stay Safe y'all and as I always say: Always wait for sale price when buying games!
Thanks for reading,
G.
