Recent reviews by Lux

My first attempt 4 years ago was a failure. After 20 minutes I thought the game was ridiculous, childish, unintuitive and just plain boring.

I gave it a chance 3 weeks ago and after +100 hours and completing the game 100% I sincerely recommend it to everyone.


https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3504202123

The gameplay reminds me a lot of the old classic - Soldat (available now for free here on Steam). The fights are quite easy, none of the bosses were demanding, but that's okay, because you can raise the difficulty level yourself.



https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3504202210

The item system and their Affixes remind me of another classic - Diablo 1 (unfortunately not available on Steam). Someone remembers King's Sword of Haste or Obsidian Ring Of Zodiac? Fortunately, you don't have to count on luck, because you can reforge items with Goblin.



https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3504201973

I didn't think that discovering the 2D world could be so interesting. Undoubtedly, the greatest excitement was at the beginning, when I was slowly digging Hellevator. Exploring here I can compare to Morrowind.



https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3504202083

The game is not difficult, although some achievements may be demanding. None were hard to achieve. The one with clearing the world I did in pre-hardmode, and the one with fishing is simply tedious. The game is similar to Stardew Valley, but the achievements are less demanding.


The game has an amazing sense of progression. It's well-built and rewarding, but it doesn't rush you. The music is nice, the best imo is Underground Jungle theme.

The game is almost 10 years old, but I just played it for the first time.

Considering how delighted I was discovering GTAIV (details, physics, lightning) I was already sitting down to V with a certain standard in my head. I perfectly remember a similar feeling when I sat down to VC after III.


https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2798013381

I won't elaborate, the game tastes like a really well-cooked, spiced dish, served just the way I wanted it, but damn, I didn't define "it" before.

I remember a scene from the movie "Coffee and Cigarettes" Watch! The lady is sitting in a pub, drinking coffee the way she likes it. The waiter comes up, supposedly asking whether to refill, but without waiting for an answer, he pours more. Annoyed, she points out to him that she already had the perfect color and temperature and it was great (the coffee).

Now:

1. Was the physics in GTA IV better? Yes, it was, I noticed, but was it that much better? :wink: Not until I looked at those videos like "Why GTAIV is better than V?"
   
   
2. Are missions in V absurd and unrealistic? (because that's what I was told) Strangely enough, no, there are some unusual ones, but nowhere near the level of San Andreas!
   
   
3. Is the plot worse, incoherent? No, because this game is one big sandbox in which the creators skillfully entwined a lot of allusions. The plot isn't like one signature Christmas dish (like in VC or IV). It's like a great feast buffet where I leave full and having tasted everything, and at the end, someone next to me asked: "Have you tried this?" Works for me.

In III and IV I missed wild, extra-urban areas, so I liked playing Mafia for instance. However, I will never forget the first time in SA I drove from San Fierro to Las Venturas, through those desert hills in Bone Country. I felt the same when I jumped in Trevor's shoes for the first time.

The difference between the possibilities in VC and SA was huge, in the latter, the latter there was too much of everything, and it was overwhelming. Here, it's fine, lots of mini-games (golf, tennis, yoga, etc.), enough clothes, plus jet ski, planes, car tuning. I am filled, not overfed.


https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2903057273

Interestingly, I've managed to avoid spoilers over the years. I knew that the game bows to movies, among others "Heat" (1995), but I didn't know it was that much! I dressed the characters in the screen above on purpose, because they are Waingro, Donald Breedan, and Neil McCauley respectively.



Michael started out as my favorite character and ended up being the most irritating and a bit grossed out. His attitude and character can be summed up in his final words in the A-final:

Surviving is winning, Franklin, everything else is ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥. Fairy tales spun by people too afraid to look life in the eye. Whatever it takes, kid: survive.

Keyword: Survival.



When Trevor killed John in the beginning, I thought it was an exaggerated attempt to show how dangerous and unpredictable he is. But since then, he's only gotten better. Definitely the most coherent and deep character, despite the apparent madness. His attitude and character can be summed up in his final words in the B-final:

Well, I can't! You're turning on him? I've had enough traitors in my life!

Keyword: Authenticity.



Franklin, Franklin... everything and nothing, fun and boredom. I enjoyed playing it the least but ended up losing the most hours with him. Because he is practical, he has the most useful skill, funny dialogue. A bit like beating the fourth wall, in style, the least interesting character from the "viewer" point of view, but the most necessary from the "player" point of view.

Keyword: I don't know, maybe the Fourth Wall.


I like immersing in the presented world the most, and with the enormity and variety of LS and Blaine Country and the possibility of playing from the FPP view, GTAV is a great pleasure.

https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2796358854

Random encounters are surprising. The biggest WTF I had was when I met two old men on the road trying to rape a girl. I laughed when I picked up a drunk couple and they started banging in the back of the car. Definitely an adult game, I reminded myself when I saw the short film "The Loneliest Robot in Great Britain" at the cinema.

I would love to release a series in which I play without radar, hud, in FPP, and roleplay. The only thing missing is the physics from IV. On the other hand, it's GTA after all, and you can really have fun with V.


I forgot about the muuusic. Countless stations, I didn't have time to listen to everything yet, but the absolute number 1 is the track when we pause the game: Listen!

My gallery on Steam

Classic Review


Without a shadow of doubt Serious Sam refers to the genre’s roots. The game pays homage to classic 90’s shooters such as Doom, Quake or Unreal. Based mainly on the Duke Nukem, designers from Croteam proudly entered the 21st century, because it was one of the first titles offering the players quite an open world. Setting placed in the Ancient Egypt allows us small exploration of the locations.

The first association is the movie “Stargate” from 1994, where, just like in the movie, our hero moved in time through the notorious Time-Lock. The plot is strongly an excuse here, which was the standard in action games then. There is only one hero, but what a badass he is!

Today, some people will ask, why don’t we meet some NPCs in the game?

Serious Sam is a kind of pastiche on “Rambo” type productions . If one guy is able to save the world, then we don’t need to waste time for shallow side-plots. Let him just take the gun and tear these motherfu**ers stupid things in large numbers apart!

The only conversations we encounter in the game are the humorous comments of our protagonist and funny NETRICSA’s descriptions, a built-in female computer that serves as a guide. Anyway, who would like to watch the cut-scenes when hordes of enemy creatures are waiting for us?


The music in the game is great. Silenced, unobtrusive, but at the same time fitted into the climate. The soundtrack encourages us to fight.


Croteam based the graphics on their own Serious Engine. HD Version uses third form of engine. On the visual side game is quite beautiful, colorful and expressive. It is well refreshed remake. Of course younger folks can complain a little, but couple years from premiere it still stands its ground.

Locations in the game could be divided into 3 types:

1. Free areas, in which, more or less linearly, we break through the land of Egypt
   
2. “Corridors of death”, in which we fight our asses off through waves of enemies
   
3. Arenas, where in closed rooms we try to survive the hell-storm

Battles in the latter two are often somehow directed by design, as if the ammunition given us earlier slightly suggests specific game style and tell us what kind of opponent we would face. In the end the whole game could be defined as a casual dynamic rampage .


We get 6 levels of difficulty:

• The first two are a light, pleasant trip.
  
• The next two are classic Run ’n’ Gun for people wanting to relax after work, but also having a light challenge
  
• While the last two require from us optimal tactics for a given chapter and also a lot of experience – like knowledge of the game itself, because it is often necessary to know where secrets are located

More than useful here will be the abilities to manage resources (like ammo), set priorities, adjust techniques to the opponent's configuration, jumping, dodging, strafing etc.

In HD version we can customize difficulty level. Try to add extra enemies, give them extra strength, turn off hp, armor or ammo pick-ups etc. By changing these, game counts your final score multiplier, for example: going on normal level with everything set to default your points will be multiplied by x31. If you set your game on serious mode with disabled hp, armor and ammo pick-ups it will be around x66. In this case players are able to compete with each other and try to set the best possible place on newly added leaderboards.

Objectively the most difficult map is Metropolis, where we have to use kind of guerrilla-tactics when running among buildings. Also Demo Karnak offers a cross-section of all the challenges we encounter in the game.

A few levels earlier, we could encounter boss in the form of hundreds small jumping creatures – Marsh Hoppers.

What deserves praise is the multiplayer, especially when it comes to the co-op mode. For having fun online with friends, the game is just excellent. Achievements that have been given through Steam are expanding a little our experience, we can try to collect all secrets or play in team at 400% enemy strength.


In the era of today's shooters and their Hollywood-style atmosphere and tension, Serious Sam is a gem. The game may not be top-iconic, but certainly a classic, real old school!

It has so far a large group of supporters and sympathizers, although it is slightly underrated. In a hand-wrestling with Duke Nukem it is for sure not a loser, and in my humble opinion “He Is the Man!”

Without a shadow of doubt Serious Sam refers to the genre’s roots. The game pays homage to classic 90’s shooters such as Doom, Quake or Unreal. Based mainly on the Duke Nukem, designers from Croteam proudly entered the 21st century, because it was one of the first titles offering the players quite an open world.

Placed in the Ancient Egypt setting allows us small exploration of the locations. However, it would be a mistake to assume that in the game we will discover the secrets of the Egyptian Pyramids. When in the summer of 2001, as a 12-year-old kid I was reaching for “Sam”, I could learn something about antiquity, but honestly there is nothing to look for educational values here...

The first association is the movie “Stargate” from 1994, where, just like in the movie, our hero moved in time through the notorious Time-Lock. The plot is strongly an excuse here, which was the standard in action games then. There is only one hero, but what a badass he is!

Today, some people will ask, why don’t we meet some NPCs in the game?

Serious Sam is a kind of pastiche on “Rambo” type productions. If one guy is able to save the world, then we don’t need to waste time for shallow side-plots. Let him just take the gun and tear these motherfu**ers stupid things in large numbers apart!

The only conversations we encounter in the game are the humorous comments of our protagonist and funny NETRICSA’s descriptions, a built-in female computer that serves as a guide. Anyway, who would like to watch the cut-scenes when hordes of enemy creatures are waiting for us?


The music in the game is great. Silenced, unobtrusive, but at the same time fitted into the climate. The soundtrack encourages us to fight.


Croteam based the graphics on their own Serious Engine. On the visual side game is quite beautiful, colorful and expressive. Dynamic lightning and shades, then pioneering, now doesn’t hurt the eye too much. Of course younger folks can complain a little, but really for almost full grown game (17 years old) it still stands its ground. Since the beginning we have been given the option of choosing larger resolutions.

Locations in the game could be divided into 3 types:

1. Free areas, in which, more or less linearly, we break through the land of Egypt
   
2. “Corridors of death”, in which we fight our asses off through waves of enemies
   
3. Arenas, where in closed rooms we try to survive the hell-storm

Battles in the latter two are often somehow directed by design, as if the ammunition given us earlier slightly suggests specific game style and tell us what kind of opponent we would face. In the end the whole game could be defined as a casual dynamic rampage.


We get 6 levels of difficulty:

• The first two are a light, pleasant trip.
  
• The next two are classic Run ’n’ Gun for people wanting to relax after work, but also having a light challenge
  
• While the last two require from us optimal tactics for a given chapter and also a lot of experience – like knowledge of the game itself, because it is often necessary to know where secrets are located

More than useful here will be the abilities to manage resources (like ammo), set priorities, adjust techniques to the opponent's configuration, jumping, dodging, strafing etc.

Objectively the most difficult map is Metropolis, where we have to use kind of guerrilla-tactics when running among buildings. Also Demo Karnak offers a cross-section of all the challenges we encounter in the game.

A few levels earlier, we could encounter novelty for those times – boss in the form of hundreds small jumping creatures – Marsh Hoppers.

There is no hitbox[en.wikipedia.org] system, so we will not witness headshots. However, what deserves praise is the multiplayer. Especially when it comes to the rarity of 2001: the co-op mode. You could play on a four split-screen, but when it comes to having fun online with friends, the game is just excellent.


In the era of today's shooters and their Hollywood-style atmosphere and tension, Serious Sam is a gem. The game may not be top-iconic, but certainly a classic, real old school!

It has so far a large group of supporters and sympathizers, although it is slightly underrated. In a hand-wrestling with Duke Nukem it is for sure not a loser, and in my humble opinion “He Is the Man!”