Spobbles 最近的评测

Halo 4 (H4) was the first entry in the series to be created by 343 Industries, and oh boy, did they mess it up. Prior to H4, Halo as a series had evolved and expanded while retaining the distinctive feel that sets it apart from similar titles. H4 retains many elements from its predecessors, but makes several questionable changes and seems to forget what it's supposed to be, making it feel bland, generic and simply not Halo.

🖱🎮Halo 4 works well with both keyboard/mouse and controller, abut was designed for the latter.🎮🖱

As with the rest of the series, H4's first-person shooter gameplay may seem dated to some, with several hip-fire-only weapons, floaty gravity and lack of cover mechanics. This is part of the core Halo gameplay experience, and it's a pleasure to play – or, at least, it would be if the rest of the game complemented it. H4 modernises the experience slightly with the addition of a sprint function and minor HUD elements such as a grenade proximity indicator.

https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2294593232
Players are armed with a variety of weapons, grenades and equipment from three very different factions. This includes rifles, machine guns, rocket launchers and more, as well nifty devices like deployable shields. Many vehicles such as scout cars and tanks return from previous games, too. Most of this equipment feels decent on “normal” difficulty, but on “legendary” and above, the balance feels way off. In previous titles, it was a pleasure to turn the difficulty up and tweak various challenge elements to create a difficult but highly enjoyable and rewarding experience, but H4 just feels bad. Enemies are tanky, vehicles get destroyed too quickly, ammo is very scarce and used quickly, and the aforementioned challenge elements synergise poorly, adding difficulty but little enjoyment.

In keeping with the theme of changing everything, H4 introduces a whole new enemy faction, the Prometheans; sentient robots with highly advanced technology. This faction follows the basic rules of enemy composition: trash mobs and tough, leader units, plus a couple of specialised units thrown in. While relatively well balanced, these enemies are utterly boring to fight and be around as they are devoid of any personality; a problem that extends to much of the game.

The Covenant, the alien faction present in all past entries, returns for reasons that aren't entirely clear (or it wasn't interesting enough for me to remember after finishing the story), and have also lost all semblance of the character and personality they once had, making them as boring to fight as the Prometheans. Individual enemies were once characters who would occasionally pipe out a somewhat comical line of dialogue, making them feel much more like real, living things. Now, they might as well be robots too.
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2294594715
H4 uses the old Halo recipe: vast, outdoor areas featuring vehicle sections in which the protagonist is backed by a large allied force, and otherworldly alien interiors in which one must forge a path alone. Said outdoor areas go some way to capturing the essence of previous titles, though it feels like an imitation at best. Interior levels are seemingly designed to be reminiscent of those featured in the first two Halo titles, but the overall visual theme is very different, which itself wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing, but for two issues: firstly, it's entirely different to previously seen consistent themes belonging to the same faction, and secondly, it just doesn't look all that interesting. Pretty, yes, but rather generic. Give the levels enough hard angles, glowy lights and bottomless pits and it'll be cool, right? Right?

H4's story explores what is, in theory, an interesting concept; the Master Chief's relationship with his A.I. Cortana, though it will have little significance to those who haven't experienced the previous trilogy. Unfortunately, in practice this also means exploring the personality of the Master Chief himself. Chief is a strong, quiet hero. In previous entries, he speaks only enough for players to get a grasp of his overall temperament and traits, with other strong characters always being around him to carry the narrative. By focusing directly on Chief's interactions with Cortana, H4 gives him more personality than he ever needed, and the execution is questionable.

The tangible aspect of the plot - the where, what and why - explores the lore of the Forerunners; an ancient, highly advanced civilisation whose presence has been felt since the moment the franchise began, with Halo itself being named after one of their colossal space installations. The Forerunners have been an enigma throughout the series, and much has always been left to imagination. This should be reason enough to leave them alone, but H4 delves directly into the subject, answering questions that shouldn't have been, with questionable results.

The end result of all of this is a pretty generic plot with a generic villain. Some interesting moments are had along the way, but this is due more to their implications to the lore and characters established by previous titles, rather than by any action of H4 itself.

This game was played with the following PC specs:
Intel i5-4440 3.10 GHz
16GB DDR3 RAM
GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER 4GB
1680x1050 resolution
Windows 10
Game installed on HDD

Released in 2012, H4 looks pretty nice, with decent lighting and textures. Outdoor environments are a little flat, but the alien interior spaces are lit beautifully, and some cutscenes really nail the sense of scale. As mentioned previously, though, the Promethean/Forerunner interior level design is a bit generic, and what I imagine you would get if you simply told some level designers “Make me a sci-fi place!”.
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2294580896
There's nothing objectively wrong with the new looks, though when viewing the overall picture, one could argue that too much was changed, contributing to H4's lack of character.

Using the above specs, the game ran at a consistent 60fps without issue.

H4 features an entirely new sound design which contributes largely to its lack of “Halo feel”, with the new design being of high quality, but rather tinny and unsatisfying. Even enemy dialogue sounds weird and robotic, which kills a lot of their personality, as mentioned previously.

Music and voice acting are also of high quality, though the former also suffers from becoming more generic.

Update: The bug I originally described here has since been fixed.

H4 is a disappointment. It features many of Halo's elements, but lacks its soul, and isn't nearly as enjoyable as the older games. If you're new to the franchise and looking for a game to start with, please, do not start with this one. All that said, it's cheap, and probably worth the money if you consider it as simply a generic shooter and come in without expectations.

This review comes courtesy of the R³ curator.

Xuan-Yuan Sword VII is a mostly linear, story-driven action RPG with heaps of charm and solid, satisfying gameplay. While it is rough around the edges, with the occasional dodgy animation or minor continuity issue, it's a stable and enjoyable experience, overall. Players fill the shoes of Taishi Zhao on a quest to save his sister.

🖱🎮Xuan-Yuan works with both keyboard/mouse and controller. I used the latter.🎮🖱

Presented as a series of open-world areas with fast-travel points and side-quests, Xuan-Yuan features largely linear progression, with players advancing to new areas throughout the story, meeting new characters and more powerful foes. Saving is limited to specific locations and auto-saves, but actions between deaths are not saved, meaning any loadout changes, items purchased, crafted, found, skills unlocked, etc., will be reverted upon death. This can be very annoying when at a boss, as one has to reapply changes for every attempt.

Players are presented with a few relatively basic puzzles during their journey. These typically involve moving blocks around to form a picture or complete a code. Unfortunately, these can be somewhat time consuming to solve – not because of their complexity, but because it takes so long to actually move the blocks around. Thankfully, these puzzles are few in number, so not to become wearisome.

I found a nice surprise in the mini-game “Zhuolu chess”; a genuinely enjoyable little game played by a few characters in the game. There's a side-quest in which the protagonist must become the Zhuolo chess master of the land, and I found it a surprisingly enjoyable experience. Other side-quests generally comprise of small story snippets or fetch quests.
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2272561496
Xuan-Yuan employs the dodge, parry, heavy attack, light attack combat mechanics featured in Dark Souls, and adds its own flavour of stances, abilities and companions. I played on the hardest of the three difficulty settings, and found the vast majority of combat rather easy, while bosses could be extremely punishing.

Character movement is smooth and precise, and allows one to position themselves exactly where they want to be, though this is less useful than in the aforementioned title due to the lack of a backstab function. Similarly, though parrying an enemy attack still provides a small advantage in the form of a free hit, there's no punishing critical blow to deliver, diminishing the reward of pulling off a successful parry; a potentially very risky move.

Several stances are available that affect your combat style; some focus on concussive damage capable of stunning enemies, while others focus on direct damage or crowd control. I found all but one of the stances to be useful and well balanced, leaving the choice down to personal preference. Complementing these are Taishi Zhao's two abilities that allow him to slow time and restrict enemy movement, synergizing well with companion abilities and stance moves to group enemies for mass destruction.

Said companions accompany the protagonist throughout the game, and are reasonably useful in combat against common enemies, though are next to useless in boss fights due to their low damage and them seemingly not drawing aggro.

Enemy variety is decent, with both humans and monsters to deal with. A few new units are added here and there, to keep things interesting. With ranged types, heavy melee, light melee and more, their composition is good, too.
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2272562289
On the subject of bosses, every one in Xuan-Yuan is different from the last, and some have unique, interesting mechanics, while others are more or less just sponges. A trait they all seem to share, though, is their total resistance to flinching, stumbling and being stunned. Parrying a boss will do damage, but don't expect it to produce an opening.

Undoubtedly the most punishing aspect, however, is that some bosses deal deadly status effects to the player. Even the most minor of hits can do this, and will rapidly reduce the player's health bar to almost nothing. This won't kill you, but you cannot out-heal the damage, so it's time to just run around, avoiding being hit. There are trinkets you can craft to increase elemental resistance, but there's little indication you need them (or that they exist) before arriving at the relevant boss. At this point, you must either deal with it and push through, or load a previous save, if you have one, to do some crafting, assuming you have the materials.

Xuan-Yuan mixes things up by having players move between the open-world areas and linear dungeons throughout the story, as well as by having a nice variety of outdoor themes including lush forest, snowy mountains and other, more foreboding locales.

A story of family, monsters and war, Xuan-Yuan's narrative is a pleasant one, with likeable characters and an interesting setting. Following Taishi Zhao and his sister, the plot doesn't do anything radical, but instead spends its time forging connections between its characters and the player, through the ordeals we see them put through, and the conversation between them. There was the occasional “wait, what?” moment when characters seemed to gain knowledge from nowhere, or, conversely, learned about something they previously displayed knowledge of, but these were rare enough not to sour the experience.
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2272563715

This game was played with the following PC specs:
Intel i5-4440 3.10 GHz
16GB DDR3 RAM
GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER 4GB
1680x1050 resolution
Windows 10
Game installed on HDD

Xuan-Yuan is a pretty game, overall, though some smaller details are somewhat lacking. Facial animations, barring lip sync, are fine for main characters but less detailed on some NPCs; their lips and eyes move, but the rest of the face is very rigid. Walking animations, while fine during gameplay, are very dodgy in cutscenes; characters' leg animations don't match their actual speed of movement. It's very noticeable. The English translation of the dialogue is also somewhat poor in places, with the occasional subtle meaning lost in translation. On the plus side, the game's views and atmosphere are stunning.


Update: The game has received several patches since I played, and runs pretty smoothly now.

Using the specs listed above, the game runs at a pretty steady 60fps on a mix of medium/high settings.

Xuan-Yuan's soundtrack is fantastic, with a lot of beautiful tracks playing at appropriate moments to create a great atmosphere. Sound effects are good, and voice acting seems decent too, though as the spoken language is not one I understand, I would likely miss some flaws.

Aside from the aforementioned freezes, I did not encounter any issues of note. The game did not crash or present any progression-stopping bugs.

Xuan-Yuan is a enjoyable experience, with a nice story and solid gameplay, but it suffers from a few rough edges that will hopefully be addressed in future.

If you're looking for more quality reviews like this, follow our curator page, Devils in the Detail.

Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon is the best kind of standalone DLC: the kind that builds on the strengths of a solid base game to create a whole new experience, polished and shiny. Filled to the brim with satire and 80's action movie tropes, and covered in the glow of Tron, Blood Dragon is a witty, action packed and fast-paced take on the open-world adventure genre. Vastly different in theme from “normal” Far Cry titles, the game is definitely worth a second look from those who avoid the main series.

🖱🎮Blood Dragon works well with both keyboard/mouse and controller.🎮🖱

Blood Dragon features smooth and precise movement and gunplay, solid first-person cover mechanics, and a high level of mobility. Though Blood Dragon retains the collectables, hunting and side-quests of the base game, they're streamlined significantly, and, more often than not, the subject of satirical comments from the protagonist. Side-quests, for example, are conveniently located, quickly completed and give significant rewards, and there's no crafting system to worry about. Unlock stuff, buy stuff, kill stuff.

In my 8 hour playtime, I not only found every collectable, hunted every animal and completed every side-quest, but actually enjoyed doing so. As someone who normally doesn't bother with all that optional stuff, that's really saying something.

Blood Dragon also carries over several vehicles from the base game, including cars, boats and hang gliders, but I found them to be largely unnecessary due to the relatively small world and the player's high movement speed; it's often faster and easier to simply sprint or swim to your destination.
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2264346274
This is where Blood Dragon is at its best; with a small but excellent variety of weapons and Far Cry 3's melee takedown and first-person cover mechanics, combat is fluid and satisfying. Particularly impressive is how the well the game handles the blending of different playstyles; one can go from a silent, stealthy approach to a tactical firefight from cover to a high-speed rampage in a single encounter. I took issue with only one aspect, which was that recovering from a melee swing and readying your weapon can take quite a while, so fluidity may be compromised when combining melee and a gun at close range.

I chose the highest difficulty when starting the game, and while fine at first, it soon grew to be rather easy as I got accustomed and better equipped. With a bow, shotgun, minigun, sniper rifle and more, plus grenades and other explosives, I never ran out of ammunition or options. Though I'd have liked a more challenging setting, I do appreciate that no playstyle or equipment becomes obsolete when upping the difficulty.

Enemy variety and composition is good, with a typical enemy force containing mostly grunts and a number of specialised units with heavier armour and more dangerous weapons. Besides the cyber-soldier forces, there are a number of potentially hostile animals, including cyber-sharks. Yep. Far more dangerous, though, are the “blood dragons” after which the game is named. Large, glowing, dinosaur-like creatures with a taste for human and cyborg, they can be baited into enemy forces to create quite the spectacle.

Blood Dragon's open-world is a fairly small and dense one, with objectives always being a convenient distance away, and random encounters frequent. You can't go anywhere without bumping into enemies, allies or wildlife, and collectables are easy to find; one can easily run around collecting them at a rapid pace, cutting much of the monotony that may otherwise have been involved. Enemy bases feature good cover, lots of corners and some verticality, making them a lot of fun to fight in.
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2264350016
Blood Dragon's story embodies every 80's action movie trope the writers could squeeze in, and it's a ridiculous yet entertaining experience. Though clearly designed to be very cliché, the characters really aren't that bad, and the game manages to incorporate all of this in its narrative without it becoming too much, and bordering on cringey. The protagonist embodies this; he is a non-stop source of bad puns, one-liners and rude jokes, but doesn't come across as crude or unlikable.

All that said, however, going into Blood Dragon without an existing appreciation of the tacky material it celebrates may well provide a different experience. The game makes no attempt to apologise for what it is.

In addition to all the above, the game frequently pokes fun at video game tropes such as tutorials, collectables and loading screen hints. Expect to be greeted with “Hints on the loading screen will give you hints.” and similar, between the protagonist complaining about the pointlessness of gathering collectable VHS tapes. His comments do not, however, break the fourth wall, and are a lot less crudely delivered than, for example, those by the protagonist of Duke Nukem Forever.

This game was played with the following PC specs:
Intel i5-4440 3.10 GHz
16GB DDR3 RAM
GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER 4GB
1680x1050 resolution
Windows 10
Game installed on HDD

The graphics of Far Cry 3 are somewhat dated now, but Blood Dragon masks much of the aging with its style-related visual effects. The filter placed over the camera, for example, is designed to make game look like it's being viewed on 80's TV, but simultaneously masks the finer details of the game's textures. The situation is similar with the lighting; as Blood Dragon's outside world is always fairly dark, the quality of the foliage is less apparent.

The only area in which the game's age really stood out to me was the reflections; there aren't many to speak of, and it's fairly noticeable when there are a lot of bright light sources around.

Regardless of the aging, Blood Dragon's visual style is fantastic, with much of it, including elements of the UI, resembling 80's movie visual effects. With Tron-style lighting abundant and laser beams flying, it's a wonderful aesthetic. The exaggerated and flashy animations of weapons and vibrant cyan blood of enemies make combat a visual treat, as well.
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2264348426
Using the specs listed above, the game ran at a consistent 90+ FPS on max settings.

Blood Dragon's soundtrack features a selection of very nice synthwave tracks that perfectly accompany the visual themes and action, and the sound effects and voice acting are of high quality. During combat, enemies, allies and the protagonist frequently utter humorous dialogue, which fits the satirical nature of the game, and adds to the overall experience.

I encountered no technical issues with the game itself, though Uplay's handling of achievements and sync is pretty spotty with this game.

Blood Dragon is an excellent game that revels in satire and excess, while being very self-aware and not straying over the boundaries. Condensing an open-world experience down into something that can be completed in less than 8 hours makes for a rather unique experience, and one that works quite well.

I recommend Blood Dragon to anyone who enjoys the themes it embodies, as well as a solid gameplay experience.

This review comes courtesy of the R³ curator.

Obsolete is a simple platformer with a really nice atmosphere and enjoyable gameplay, but it's very short. The first game of its lone developer, it offers a nice, casual experience.

🖱Obsolete only supports keyboard/mouse. Controls cannot be re-bound.🖱

Obsolete is a traditional platformer; players move through linear levels, scaling and avoiding a decent variety of obstacles and hazards such as spikes and mobile enemies. A single hit will send players back to the start of the level or to a checkpoint, so a lot of trial and error may be required to progress.
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2263172476
Controls are very simple, and feel smooth and precise, but mechanics are few in number; players can morph into a small, blobby form to get through small gaps, but otherwise it's just standard movement. There's little combat to speak of; players must simply avoid all danger, barring a single boss fight, and as the game does not feature generated levels or different difficulty settings, there's little replay value. Regardless, the gameplay experience is an enjoyable one overall.

A landscape of twisted creatures and run-down vestiges of past civilisation, Obsolete's story is told through the observable world, and a few short lore snippets that expand on the places they reside in. Said lore is, overall, very brief and conveys only the general themes of the game, but it and the overall story arc are enough to provide food for thought, and that's more than enough for a short, simple game.
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2263171433

This game was played with the following PC specs:
Intel i5-4440 3.10 GHz
16GB DDR3 RAM
GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER 4GB
1680x1050 resolution
Windows 10
Game installed on HDD

Obsolete's monochrome art style works very well with the atmosphere created by the soundtrack and narrative themes. Effects and animations are simple but perfectly adequate, as is the overall visual design.
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2263165119
The game ran at a steady 60fps with no issues, it could run on a toaster. There are no graphics options whatsoever, but the game adapted to my setup without issue.

Obsolete has a very nice soundtrack that does well to encapsulate the narrative themes and make the overall experience far more enjoyable. Somber yet peaceful, it's really adds to the experience. Sound effects are decent, and are very simple to match the art style, though I did find the one representing speech to be a little odd.

The game has no audio sliders, so Windows' Volume Mixer or equivalent must be used to lower the volume.

I encountered no technical issues whatsoever, the game is well polished.

Obsolete is short and sweet, and a decent casual game for price, though it lacks replay value.

I recommend to those who like short, simple games with nice atmosphere.

If you're looking for more quality reviews like this, follow our curator page, Devils in the Detail.

Relicta is a linear, first-person puzzle game similar to Portal and The Turing Test. Both its puzzles and its story are decent, though there is a sense of disconnect between the two. The puzzles are numerous and grow to be quite difficult, which dramatically slows the feeling of progression, and the existence of the puzzles themselves holds a somewhat flimsy connection to the story, making the gameplay feel disconnected from the narrative.

Taking AFK time out of the equation, completion took me 15-16 hours — 6-8 hours longer than I would expect from this type of game.

🎮Relicta can be played with both keyboard/mouse and controller. Both can be re-bound.🎮

Relicta's gameplay will likely feel familiar to those who have played the aforementioned similar titles; it features a first-person perspective, device for manipulating the environment and objects, and an ever-present A.I. to talk to between puzzles. Players cannot die or suffer ill effects.

Aiming and moving feel smooth and precise, if a little restricted. On occasion, a puzzle segment could be solved or bypassed if the player character were able to simply crouch or climb, which is potentially a bit immersion-breaking.

The core mechanics are the ability to change the polarity of certain objects to repel or attract each other, and to remove the affect of gravity on cubes, allowing them to fly through the air — sometimes with you riding them. It's a system that often requires players to think several steps in advance, in order to get the cubes and themselves past the myriad of obstacles present. Various new environmental mechanics such as barriers and mobile platforms continue to be introduced right up to the end of the game.
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2239193239
In the latter half of the game, puzzles quickly grow more complex, to the point of being a convoluted mess at first glance. On occasion I found it easiest to find the end goal and work backwards to discover just where I was supposed to start. These puzzles take some time to complete, and often the reward for doing so is a three second walk to another, equally complex cluster of cables, buttons and barriers. This is where my biggest issue with the game begins.

Though I don't mind a challenging puzzle, doing several complex yet very similar ones in a row with little in between begins to feel repetitive and tiring, and made me want to play the game in short burts. Now, that's fine when the game is just a casual puzzle game, but Relicta is a linear story game, and I feel the density of gameplay content halts story progression significantly, as the puzzles contain little relevance to the narrative. For this reason, as well as the complexity of many of the later puzzles, I think the game's pacing and accessibility would be improved greatly by relegating many of the levels (harder ones, especially) to optional content, making the story experience smoother and less repetitive.

Set in a near-future sci-fi moon base featuring several distinct biomes, Relicta offers great visual variety. Working in various craters near the base, scientists have created small natural biomes on the moon, including lush jungle, tropical beach, arid desert and more. Though these areas are beautiful and distinct, their differences don't really translate to gameplay. The base itself, which players travel though between puzzle sections, is a great piece of design, with extensive decorative objects and equipment, beautiful natural features blended with the architecture, and a very high level of detail overall. I wish I'd got to spend more time there, interacting with the environment.

Relicta's story is told through the eyes of Doctor Angelica Patel, one of a small team of scientists occupying a base on Earth's moon. The base was established by a previous group, and contains a strange alien artefact known as the Relicta. Using scientific knowledge gleaned from this artefact, the past and present scientists have created technology far beyond humanity's current level. An example of this is the gloves that allow Patel to manipulate her environment in the ways described above.
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2239203086
The existence of the gloves and puzzle tracks designed to test them is briefly explained, but has rather an odd fit with the rest of the story. Every one of the biomes connected to the base features a puzzle track, which is apparently the only way to navigate them, even when there's a vital piece of base infrastructure — such as a generator — at the other end. Invisible barriers also prevent any deviation from the path. Things go very wrong for the protagonist throughout the story, and she constantly needs to be at the other end of a puzzle track. Conveniently, the tracks are all unable to be switched off for some reason or other, forcing her to complete every one in its entirety.

Besides Doctor Patel, Relicta features a few other voiced characters, and I found the voice acting, story telling and characters to be of pretty high quality, barring the protagonist having some dumb moments occasionally. The humour is good, and I enjoyed many of the exchanges later in the game. Relicta manages its time well by focusing its efforts on a small number of characters and relationships. Unfortunately, dialogue would sometimes be cut off by moving into the next area too soon, causing me to stand still and wait to make sure I heard everything, rather than getting started on the next puzzle.

Some of the biomes feature decorative structures or features that cannot be reached due to the invisible walls, but would be ideal places to find collectables. This would also offer a short break and some variety between large puzzles. A missed opportunity, I feel.

This game was played with the following PC specs:
Intel i5-4440 3.10 GHz
16GB DDR3 RAM
GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER 4GB
1680x1050 resolution
HDD
Windows 10

https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2239178011
As pretty as the natural environments are, it's the interior of the base I loved the most. The combination of clean, neutral surfaces, vibrant lighting and themed displays such as planters and animated equipment sets a great scene. The game's loading screens feature nice art, too.

Using the specs listed above, the game ran at a steady 60fps on max settings. It would occasionally hang for a brief moment, but this was rare enough that it didn't bother me.

Relicta features a nice, high quality soundtrack, with quite peaceful, if slightly sombre music. Sound effects are crisp and of high quality, though the lack of footsteps is a little odd. My only real complaint is that the intro movies when starting the game are not affected by the volume sliders, and cannot be skipped to avoid the problem.

I did not encounter any issues worth mentioning; the game is well polished.

Relicta is a game with a good story and challenging puzzles, but the two don't interact very well, and it can get quite repetitive. Those who typically have trouble with puzzle games will want to think carefully about this one, or use a guide.

I recommend this game to those who like challenging puzzle gameplay, but warn of its issues and difficulty.

If you're looking for more quality reviews like this, follow our curator page, Devils in the Detail.

Halo 3: ODST represents a deviation from the main Halo entries, with a new line-up of characters, and a distinctly different, yet still Halo, atmosphere.

🎮ODST can be played with both keyboard/mouse and controller, but was designed for the latter.🎮

As ODST is essentially a standalone expansion to Halo 3, it features more or less the same gameplay, which is to say, it feels great. As well as featuring the weapons, vehicles and enemies of Halo 3, ODST introduces some new items and foes, including unique suppressed variants of the existing SMG and pistol, and an intriguing new enemy unit with accompanying lore. The new protagonsists are not super soldiers like those of previous games, and as such, are weaker, yet feel more human.

Like all prior FPS Halo entries, ODST features a unique, but somewhat old-fashioned gameplay feel, with no sprint function and many hip-fired weapons. This distinct gameplay feel is key to the Halo experience, and is smooth, refined and very satisfying once you're used to it.

ODST also introduces the Firefight game mode; a PvE wave-defense multiplayer mode that offers quite a lot of enjoyment, and that was subsequently featured in future titles. Unlike previous entires, there is no competitive multiplayer mode. Like Halo 3, however, it does feature the Theatre mode; a feature that lets you rewatch previous gameplay, with full free camera control.

https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2235983810

ODST equips players with four different types of grenades, a melee function and whatever weapons they can scavenge from enemies. Ammunition can be scarce on higher difficulties, so one must make use of enemy equipment to survive. Though ODST's protagonist is not a super-soldier like that of previous games, he has very similar, albiet weaker, equipment and abilities, making gameplay feel very familiar.

Gunplay is relatively basic, but solid and intuitive. The motion-tracker has been removed, as has the ability to dual-wield weapons, likely to fit the idea that one is no longer playing as the unstoppable Master Chief; the super-soldier protagonist of previous entries. Weapons feel effective, and the variety available serves to keep things interesting throughout the game. Such variety includes rifles, shotguns, rocket launchers and much more of both human and alien origin.

A number of armed and unarmed vehicles are also available for players to find and hijack from enemies, including scout vehicles, heavy tanks, and aircraft.

Enemy A.I. is decent, and can be tweaked with specific difficulty settings in order to alter their behaviour, making them more challenging or entertaining. Enemies are fun to fight, and provide a good overall balance in foe composition, with large numbers of fodder units, tougher leader units and other, more specialized types present.

ODST sees players spend their time in the Earth city of New Mombasa, as it comes under attack from hostile alien forces. Much of the campaign is spent passing through the city's streets during both night and day, and the environment has a very distinct theme and atmosphere, as well as being relatively easy to navigate. More time is spent in civilian areas than in previous Halo entries, which helps to portray the human element in the ongoing war. Graffiti on the walls and ruined interiors hammer the point home.

Unlike previous titles which are very linear in nature, ODST features a more open world that allows players to make their own way to objectives, and explore a little in the process.

https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2235988993

The story of ODST is set in the African city of New Mombasa, immediately after the events that take place there during Halo 2. The Covenant, an alien religious hegemony, have invaded the city. Players fill the shoes of an Orbital Drop Shock Trooper (ODST) known only as “Rookie”, and his squad. Upon being deployed to New Mombasa, they are separated, and Rookie is left alone to make his way through the dark and dangerous streets of the invaded city and find out what happened to his team. Not much time is available for character development, but none are irritating, and the game doesn't dump exposition on players.

ODST is a Halo side-story. Free from the super-soldier protagonists and grand events of previous entries, it tells a more grounded, somber tale. While encounters with allied forces are still common and enjoyable, players spend a lot of time alone in the dark, hostile streets. The main Halo games see the Master Chief saving humanity by taking the fight directly to the enemy leadership and spearheading their most critical efforts, while ODST shows the struggle of the brave souls left behind to defend Earth, and there's no guarantee of a happy ending for them.

Besides the main plot, ODST features collectable lore fragments though terminals scattered around the world, which together form a genuinely interesting and relevant story that links with the main plot towards the end.

While still very much feeling like a Halo title, ODST has a distinct vibe that sets it apart, thanks as well to the highly atmospheric visuals and audio.

This game was played with the following PC specs:
Intel i5-4440 3.10 GHz
16GB DDR3 RAM
GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER 4GB
1680x1050 resolution
HDD
Windows 10

https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2236070771

As a 2009 game based on a 2007 one, ODST's graphics suffer in some areas, such as close-up textures. Despite this, the game is still quite pretty overall, and holds up well for its age, with lighting in particular being very nice in places. Much of the campaign takes place in the dark, so players have access to a new night-vision system, which is quite effective; I did not have to strain to see what was going on.

Using the specs listed above, the game ran at a consistent 60fps with no drops, on the “enchanced” graphics setting.

Distinct and beautiful music is a core part of the Halo experience, and ODST is no exception. Highlighting the game's at times solitary nature, there are beautiful tracks that accompany players through the dark, empty streets, and high-energy tracks that play during intense combat moments. Some encounters are left without music, however, adding significance to the moments it does play.

Sound effects are crisp and of high quality, though some of the weapons sounded a little more beefy in previous titles.

I have encountered no technical issues whatsoever.

ODST sets itself apart from the main Halo entries with its shift in atmosphere and smaller scale, which may be off-putting to some fans, but offers a fresh experience to others. Personally, I love the game and the world-building it offers. It's a great little spin-off.

Given the extremely low price of this game, and that, despite what Steam says, it doesn't require purchase of the Master Chief Collection to play (it's included), it's fantastic value for an enjoyable experience. I recommend to fans of the genre, but reiterate that one should not expect modern FPS gameplay.

This review comes courtesy of the R³ curator.

Thousand Threads (TT) is an open-world exploration game that sees players simply talk to people they encounter, hear their story, and help them out, while also delivering mail. Unfortunately, its large scale is offset by a lack of content and gameplay variety. The first area/hour of gameplay offers a promising experience, but the game fails to build on this in any meaningful way, and content becomes more and more sparse and repetitive as one continues. Though I do appreciate the visual variety, I can't help but feel the experience would have been better if the game were smaller in scale.

🎮TT can be played with both keyboard/mouse and controller. The former can be re-bound.🎮

TT features the basic mechanics familiar to anyone who likes open-world exploration games; real-time combat with hostile entities, a crafting and inventory system, and the ability to go off and explore freely. The game is focused almost entirely on NPC interaction, with all objectives being jobs for people whom you encounter in the world. Expect to do a lot of walking in this game.
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2231369163
Combat situations occur when encountering hostile wildlife (wolves and bears), and in encounters with NPCs, including attacks by thieves, the angry relatives of someone you've wronged, or random events between two characters. A small variety of melee and ranged weapons are available, some lethal, others less so. One can choose whether to kill or simply knock out a foe; something that has a profound effect on your relationships with other characters (if you're witnessed doing it). There is a peaceful mode that disables all combat events.

Combat feels decent, with controls being tight and easy to use. Melee combat is largely about timing your strikes so as not to get hit in the process, and ranged weapons have optional tracking, making it pretty easy to hit your targets. Overall, the combat feels adequate for the game.

TT's crafting system is used mainly to create healing consumables and ammunition, and is a fairly simple and intuitive system. Various resources such as plants and stone can be harvested all throughout the world, which does help a little in making travel less monotonous.

The world of TT is a vast one, with several visually distinct biomes to explore. The first area is well populated with NPCs, but the further you go, the more sparse they get, until eventually you reach an area seemingly devoid of human life. The population that is present, however, consists of the same people doing the same things as in the first area.

The sheer size of the world means players must do a lot of walking, often through quite pretty, yet very dull areas in which little happens. Fast travel points in the form of sign posts are present, and they do help somewhat, but just getting to one of those can itself be a long walk. Being able to fast travel to the sign post would be a great help.

NPCs are occasionally found wandering, but are typically situated in front of a small house or tent, and rarely do much beyond chatting to whomever is next to them. They can occasionally be found in combat with other characters or animals, though they do not interact with the world, otherwise. They do, however, appear in different locations, which is nice. There are no built-up areas such as towns, with the largest concentrations of NPCs being the rare small camp. This means no particular area has any real significance over any other, which feels like a missed opportunity to create a hub with associated lore.
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2232234781
Objectives in TT are essentially fetch quests; almost every job is just taking something to someone else, gathering something, or attacking someone for whatever vague reason. Often, the exact same quest will be seen several times, which only adds to their repetitive nature. An attempt is made to feature more intricate quests, e.g., investigations that require one to find out who attacked/stole from an NPC and take revenge. Unfortunately, these boil to down to simply asking every single person you meet who did it, and eventually one will say “Oh, it was [person].”

A problem that extends to much of the interaction is that there's no complex dialogue system, and no depth to the characters. When you're given a target to knock out, you can't talk to them to hear their side of the story, for example.

Far more interesting than the quests themselves, however, is the relationship system; NPCs all have their own personal connections, in friends and family. If you wrong someone, their closest will not be pleased with you, and you'll feel the effects of your actions as you meet new people throughout the world. Unfortunately, I also found it to be a little confusing at times; as I explored, I came across several people who apparently hated my guts, but I couldn't quite work out what caused it.

I encountered a couple of quirks in the system during my time playing, e.g., when I came across an NPC who gave me a job, and then proceeded to attack me. Being the kind, forgiving sort I am, I healed them after I knocked them out, which then led to them asking ”Why did you attack me?”. I did end up dropping a few bodies. Don't mess with the mail man.

I would happily have less characters, in exchange for deeper ones with more complex relationships and quest objectives.

All lore on TT's world comes from a man who will tell you stories in return for artefacts you find around ruins. The stories are quite interesting, but aside from this single source of lore, there's nothing. It'd be nice if some quests related to world-lore in some way.

This game was played with the following PC specs:
Intel i5-4440 3.10 GHz
16GB DDR3 RAM
GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER 4GB
1680x1050 resolution
HDD
Windows 10

https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2232232695
TT is a pretty game, with a nice selection of visually distinct biomes. Transition between areas is done with a smooth effect that gradually changes the colour of the environment; something I really liked. Character and animal models look fine, and suit the game's style well.

The UI is smooth and intuitive, and the only real issue I have with it is that it cannot be navigated via mouse cursor, which is really quite bothersome. The menus and UI as a whole seem better suited to controller.

The game has a nice, peaceful soundtrack to accompany the relaxing gameplay, and decent sound effects. The ambient audio in the forest in especially nice, with a lot of birdsong.

Using the specs listed above, the game ran at or above 60fps on max settings, with no issue.

I encountered no significant issues during my time playing; the game is quite polished.

Thousand Threads is a relatively enjoyable game for those who like a slow, chill experience, but despite starting well, it fails to develop on its strengths, and spreads its content far too thin. I don't enjoy giving this game a negative review, as from what I've seen, the lone developer genuinely cares about TT, but the game does not justify its relatively high price tag.

Unfortunately, I cannot recommend purchasing the game at full price.

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Robowork is an open-world survival game based around crafting and resource management. The game is in a very early stage of development, and players must contend with deadly environmental hazards, and a limited energy supply that limits how far they can travel from their starting location. Unfortunately, Robowork is lacking all but the most basic elements of a survival game, and is bland, repetitive and generally unpleasant to play, especially at the start.

🎮Robowork can be played with both keyboard/mouse and controller, but there are no control/camera options.🎮

Robowork features the basics of a survival game; resources to harvest and items to craft. This is essentially all players will be doing, as the world is tiny and devoid of anything to find or do besides harvesting the same resources over and over until one can build the rocket to escape the planet. The recharge point and crafting station are in a fixed location, so players will be spending the entire time in the same spot, and only need venture further out when nearby resources have been depleted.

Also, coming into contact with a drop of water instantly kills you. This is explained by the robot character being damaged and therefore not waterproof, but seriously, even think about going near moisture and you'll drop dead.
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2223780717
Player progression is limited to items one crafts; there is no level or stat system present. Said items include a single harvesting tool, a single weapon and some passive upgrades that allow one to venture further from the starting location. Players will be harvesting the exact same materials from the same places from start to finish, which limits any feeling of progress.

Robowork's crafting system is functional, but relatively unpleasant to use due to the clunky user interface. Resources don't stack, and take up a lot of space in the menus, meaning one has to spend a lot of time scrolling up and down. Storage is an issue throughout the game, due to the player's small inventory space, and the fact the game only lets you build a single basic storage box. I cannot fathom why this is; the only thing to do in the game is collect and craft, why limit storage space? This becomes an even bigger problem later in the game, as you obtain the means to get resources in larger quantities. Resources do have nice physics; they roll around on the ground when they're freed from deposits.

As time goes on, players must craft more advanced crafting stations and components for the purpose of … crafting more advanced crafting stations and components. The end goal is to build the rocket platform and rocket to escape the planet, something that is currently non-functional (or at least, I couldn't get it to work), which robs one of the satisfaction of actually achieving something. Other, presumably functional items can be constructed, such as a hover bike, but given that everything you need is in the immediate vicinity, I cannot see why one would need such a thing, and I was so sick of doing nothing but harvesting the same crap over and over, that I didn't want to waste more resources that could go toward building the rocket.
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2223779629
There are no structures to build, only crafting stations you plonk on the ground, two of which feature RNG mechanics. This means you craft batteries to power them, and have a chance of getting what you actually need. This translates to more time spent harvesting the same stuff you've been harvesting the entire time, and more storage space needed for the stuff you didn't need but don't want to throw away.

Combat is limited to shooting an immobile plant that shoots back if you get too close. That's about it, really.

Robowork's world is a fairly pretty one, set in a small area fenced by sea and mountains. Two biomes are present; forest and desert. The latter requires special equipment to traverse without overheating, though there's nothing of interest there, so one could just avoid it entirely. The world is brought to life with some proficiency; the foliage sways in the wind, and there's nice ambient sound such as birdsong, though there is currently no weather system or day/night cycle.

As one would expect for an early-access survival game, story is pretty sparse in Robowork. The brief exposition there is declares you have been sent to a planet to conduct research, only for your ship to crash, severely damaging your robotic body. In practice, you do no research whatsoever, and spend your entire time trying to escape the planet.

This game was played with the following PC specs:
Intel i5-4440 3.10 GHz
16GB DDR3 RAM
GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER 4GB
1680x1050 resolution
HDD
Windows 10

https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2224728168
Robocraft has fairly nice visuals, with vibrant colour and lush foliage, but I found that the screenshots can be deceiving; the game may look nice in a still picture, but when moving around in it, there's a lot of flickering light from the sun glare and reflective surfaces (edit: this seems to happen only on certain settings). As well as this, there seems to be a lot of blur applied, especially when moving quickly, something I could not seem to remedy by changing graphics settings. Speaking of graphics settings, the game only supports 16:9 resolutions, and some settings, such as framerate cap, don't save.

The user interface is somewhat inconsistent, with some crafting menus having a different design to others. As mentioned previously, items also take up too much space in menus, meaning one has to scroll far too much to access what they need.

English translation, as should be evident from the store page, is pretty poor in some places. It's understandable, but pretty bad.

Using the specs listed above, I typically got just over 50fps on “High” settings, with very high GPU usage (95%+). Turning all settings to their lowest had a negligible effect on the framerate, but a significant one on the visual fidelity.

Robowork has a nice soundtrack, with some pleasant, high quality music. Sound effects, however, are limited. Ambient effects such as birdsong in the forest are very nice, but effects from actions, such hitting things, are sparse. I counted five, in total. Also, there are no volume controls.

The game is stable, and did not crash or freeze during my time playing. The only bugs I encountered were the aforementioned issue with settings not saving, and the crosshair turning into a white square when close to hostile flora.

Robowork is, frankly, boring. The absolute basics are in place, but they're not pleasant to use, and the game as whole does nothing to set itself apart from others of the genre. The start was so dull that I really had to push myself to keep playing past the first 20 minutes, and though things did pick up a little, it wasn't enough to make it enjoyable. The game is clearly very early in development, and is not even close to being worth its price tag.

The game has potential, but is far too basic to even consider buying at full price. Avoid for now.

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This is a pre-release review.

Stone Rage is a needs-based survival game set in prehistory, when Neanderthals and mammoths roamed the earth. Currently, players must contend with hunger and thirst, and, once implemented, health-affecting conditions such as temperature extremes. The game has a fairly robust crafting and building system, but lacks in things to do once established, with minimal PvE content. For this reason, I expect PvP to be the primary driver for advancement and long-term play. There is no singleplayer mode.

Something that could potentially set Stone Rage apart from other survival titles is the feature that allows players to play as not only ♥♥♥♥ sapiens and Neanderthals, but as animals as well. Unfortunately, the feature is not yet implemented. This means the game has to rely on its more basic aspects, which are somewhat lacking, overall.

🖱Stone Rage currently only fully supports keyboard/mouse.🖱

Stone Rage is presented in both first and third-person perspectives, and features a number of gameplay aspects that will be very familiar to fans of the genre, such as tool crafting, structure building and food gathering. Available tools include basic items such as axes and picks, while weapons include swords, bows, spears and more.

The game does not feature a weather system at this time, with the only significant environmental change being a day/night cycle. Days and nights are very long, and on the one occasion I found myself playing at night, I found it was difficult to get anything done, due to how dark it was. One can craft a torch, but it only lights the immediate vicinity, making it difficult to navigate or locate resources. This does add realism to the game, but such a long night can really bring a halt to progression.
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2211566996
There is no character progression system present; players will not level up, increase their stats, or unlock recipes. Progression is strictly limited to the items players possess; tools and weapons, specifically. Getting started in the game can be a bit of a drag, depending where you spawn, due to an apparent lack of resource nodes in some areas, e.g. required plants not spawning much in some areas of forest.

Once established, the goal becomes gathering and creating more advanced resources such as ivory, obsidian and fired clay in order to construct higher quality tools and building materials. Advanced tools are simply more efficient versions of those players craft in the beginning of the game, and PvP content seems to be the main incentive to go the extra mile.

Stone Rage employs a traditional gathering and crafting system; players harvest resources from the environment with both tools and their bare hands. Said resources are then crafted into items and structures in the player's inventory. Once settled, one can construct crafting stations such as a furnace for more advanced resource crafting.

The crafting system is robust and relatively easy to use, though I feel resource costs of some recipes could use a little balancing. Progression of tools is clearly laid out and easy to understand, though the building process of some items, such as huts, could use more explanation.

Various functional and decorative miscellaneous items can also be crafted, including storage containers, benches and musical instruments.

Structure building is done by crafting various segments such as foundations, walls and ceilings, and placing them in the world, where they snap together. The system will feel very familiar to those who have played ARK: Survival Evolved. It's a robust system that allows players to employ their creativity when building a home, and it's enjoyable to use.
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2211567879
Stone Rage's PvE combat consists of hunting the small variety of animals the inhabit the world, including mammoths and deer. Said deer typically just stand still like a statue until attacked, at which point they will run a short distance and stop, becoming a statue again. Mammoths, on the other hand, move around on their own, which may be why I kept finding them stuck on things and unable to move. In short, PvE combat is entirely underwhelming.

As I've implied previously, PvP is likely to be the main player activity and incentive to build, and has potential to be interesting due to the variety of weapons and possible base constructions. Unfortunately, I did not get an opportunity to try it, as other players were very scarce during my time playing, pre-release.

The world of Stone Rage features several biomes including lush, tropical forest, barren desert, ocean and grassy plains. Unfortunately, the biggest impression the world made on me was one of emptiness. Animals are spread out, there's no weather system, and there are very few ambient sounds. As far as I could tell, there was nothing interesting to find while exploring, either, with the exception of bases built by other players. The world just feels … lifeless. Pretty, but lifeless.

There is no story or lore, yet.

This game was played with the following PC specs:
Intel i5-4440 3.10 GHz
16GB DDR3 RAM
GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER 4GB
1680x1050 resolution
HDD
Windows 10

https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2211569129
Stone Rage's graphical quality varies somewhat, with nice lighting and a very well drawn U.I., but a terrible character model and very stiff, lifeless animations. Overall, I would call the game's visuals adequate, with strong and weak points in equal amounts.

Using the specs listed above, I got a relatively consistent 60fps on “epic” settings, though it would dip to the high 40's when looking at a light source such as a campfire. Turning the corresponding setting down would fix it, but would also prevent any light being cast, which isn't desirable.

Playing on “epic” settings also led to consistently high GPU usage (96%+); higher than I get playing Assassin's Creed Odyssey, or even the highly demanding ARK: Survival Evolved.

The game's sound effects are of decent quality, though are relatively small in number. Few ambient sound effects exist, and the same is true of animal sounds. At one point, a mammoth walked past me (the only one I found that wasn't stuck), and the sound of its footsteps stuck out to me, as noise that didn't come from my own character felt like such a rarity.

Being so early in development, Stone Rage suffers from a few issues, including water disappearing when shadows are turned down, animal ragdolls being hilariously broken, and various visual quirks such as trees occasionally popping out of existence when cut down.

Stone Rage has the basics of a good survival game, but currently lacks the content to make it a worthwhile PvE experience. A lot of interesting features are planned, but I cannot base a recommendation solely on promises, which leaves Stone Rage as an okay title, but the features it currently has have been done better by other games.

Stone Rage has potential, but it's up to the individual to decide whether they want to trust the promises of the developer. My recommendation is to wait for updates before purchase.

If you're looking for more quality reviews like this, follow our curator page, Devils in the Detail.

Halo 3 represents the peak of the franchise's popularity, and stands as an example of how to do Halo right. The 2007 graphics look a little dated in places, but the excellent gameplay is just as enjoyable as it always was.

🎮Halo 3 can be played with both keyboard/mouse and controller, but was designed for the latter.🎮

Halo 3 refines the enjoyable FPS gameplay of its predecessors, while introducing useful features such as deployable equipment (shields, mines, etc.), as well as a variety of new weapons, vehicles and enemies.

Halo 3, like almost all of the games in the series, features a unique gameplay feel that may seem a little old-fashioned to those who are used to modern FPS titles, due to its floaty gravity, lack of a sprint function, and (mostly) hip-fired weapons. This gameplay is key to the Halo experience, and is very smooth, refined and satisfying once you're used to it.

The game features a number of great competitive multiplayer modes for team and free-for-all play, as well as the addition of a level editor and theatre mode. Halo 3's multiplayer was immensely popular upon its original release, and for good reason. Sadly, I do not have nearly the space required in this review to go into detail, and will be focusing on the singleplayer/co-op aspect.
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2188830313
The game equips players with four different types of grenades, a melee function, and whatever weapons they can scavenge on the battlefield. Ammunition restocks aren't too common in some levels, so making use of enemy equipment can be vital, especially on higher difficulties.

Gunplay is fairly basic, but very intuitive and precise. Some of the weapons don't feel quite as beefy as they did in other entries, largely due to the sound effects, but are still very satisfying to use. The variety of weapons and grenades available serves to keep things interesting throughout the game. Such variety includes rifles, shotguns, rocket launchers and much, much more.

A variety of armed and unarmed vehicles are available for players to use and hijack, including scout vehicles, heavy tanks and air vehicles of both human and alien origin.

Enemy A.I. is decent, and can be tweaked with specific difficulty settings to make enemies more prone to dodging incoming danger, throwing grenades at opportune moments, and more. Enemies are generally fun to fight, and feature plenty of variety with two distinct factions comprising of several different units.

The Covenant, an advanced alien faction, serve as the primary antagonistic force of the game, and have a variety of advanced vehicles, weapons and soldiers. These forces strike an excellent balance in enemy composition, as they feature large numbers of fodder units, tougher and rarer leader units, and others requiring more precision to defeat. As well as the Covenant, players will have to face off against the Flood; Halo's zombie faction. Flood forces include a lot of tough, melee units, as well as reanimated corpses capable of using firearms.

Personally, I don't enjoy fighting the Flood as much as other foes, as they have less character, but the variety is nice.

Halo 3 sees players travel across a variety of settings, including Earth's jungles and plains, Flood infested spacecraft, and ancient alien structures. While some levels are not as enjoyable as others, all offer variety and a well-established atmosphere, as well a distinct visual theme.
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2188839895
Halo 3 continues and concludes the story of the previous two entries in spectacular fashion.
The dual-protagonist system of Halo 2 is gone; players now exclusively follow the journey of the Master Chief.

The plot does not do anything revolutionary, but is an enjoyable action-adventure with likeable characters; both heroes and villains. The story that began in Halo CE is given a satisfying conclusion, while leaving the door open to further adventures. The narrative blends well with the themes and goals of the various levels, effectively tying the story to the gameplay.

A first for the series, co-op play is made more lore-friendly in Halo 3 by having the second player appear as the Arbiter; a significant character from the previous game.

This game was played with the following PC specs:
Intel i5-4440 3.10 GHz
16GB DDR3 RAM
GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER 4GB
1680x1050 resolution
HDD
Windows 10

Halo 3's 2007 graphics are showing their age in foliage and characters' faces, but hold up pretty well, overall. There are still some very nice views to be had, and certain items like weapon models and Master Chief's armour still look nice. Levels are visually distinct, and the sense of scale can still impress at times.
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2188831367
Halo 3 is the perfect candidate for a remaster of the same calibre as received by Halo 2, back in 2014.

Using the specs listed above, the game ran at a consistent 60fps. It runs very smoothly.

Like all great Halo titles, Halo 3 has an excellent soundtrack, with a variety of beautiful and atmospheric tracks that fans still love today. For the most part, sounds effects are crisp and satisfying, though some weapons sound a little wimpy compared to their previous incarnations.

I played through the game in co-op with a friend, and we did not encounter any technical issues, with the exception of occasionally not being able to hear nearby grenades until they exploded.

Halo 3 is a superb game, and a must-play for fans of the genre or series. The graphics are a little dated in places, but hold up pretty well. The game feels just as good to play as it did back in 2007, and I'm continuing to have a great time with it.

Considering the low price, and that, despite what Steam says, it doesn't require purchase of the Master Chief Collection to play (it's included), this is extremely good value for a great game, and I happily recommend it to fans of the genre, but reiterate that one should not expect modern FPS gameplay.

This review comes courtesy of the R³ curator.