#2k australia

[mvfm-25]

" The veil is lifted on one of the year's most anticipated games! "

Play Magazine n64 - April, 2007.

[demifiendrsa]

The first game in the Bioshock series was first released for the Xbox 360 and PC via Microsoft Windows on August 21, 2007. Happy 15th anniversary!

[profoundreminiscence]

[krausbombit]

[hardcore-gaming-101]

Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel!

The Pre-Sequel is the most divisive game in the Borderlands series, a spin-off assumed to be a big step forward for the franchise that was really only aiming to be a expansion of 2‘s systems and narrative. It’s hard to know who to blame for these overblown expectations (though, of course, Randy Pitchford did have something to do with it), but the game released to mixed responses from fans and solid 7s and 8s from critics. Not hated, but a much lesser package compared to 2. It’s not a game you should pass up on, though, as Pre-Sequel makes a lot of quality of life improvements the series needed and has some mechanical quirks and ideas of its own that help it stand out as its own experience. The amount it adds to the series lore is also impressive, managing to even define Athena as a fan favorite character, give Claptrap some depth, and nailed down the characterization of Moxxi once and for all. 

Read more...

[listoriented]

The Bureau: XCOM Declassified

When & Where: The Bureau: XCOM Declassified came in the Humble 2k Bundle 2 back in 2016, the one that came with Battleborn and a whole buncha other stuff, back in the mostly recognisable near past when this sort of thing is more regularly what Humble Bundle did.

Who: Although it emerged in this form in 2013, it seems to have had a pretty topsy-turvy development process, beginning at Irrational before they were bought out by 2k, and then being tossed back and forth between 2k branches at different times, particularly 2k Marin (RIP) and 2k Australia (RIP). 

What: I played The Bureau: XCOM Declassified for a couple of hours in December, and the residual impression of it is such that even the thought of re-launching it to give myself a refresher before writing a bit on it for this blog is making me grimmace inwardly, let alone facing the idea of having a whole ‘nother go at it, putting in a good stint, seeing if it comes good after a while and so on. We can safely put such ideas aside, for now, I think. The thing is that The Bureau seems perfunctorily fine, so far as these things go – a true 7 out of 10 squad shooter, as I’d read some time in the past. But dear lord, this isn’t what I want right now. If I’m going to be procrastinating at the moment, it isn’t going to be with something this mediocre.

I’d add a bit of adding distaste/resentment at how The Bureau quickly manages to mince what seems to be a pretty promising premise, which is peak cold war suits responding to an alien invasion. I mean, cool! But no. Too much killing of the mystery, too quickly. Too many clichés, too many nothing lines of dialogue, too much forced bombast. How quick the milk sours here.

I might also caveat that the squad shooter gimmick just doesn’t feel like it’s for me, or at least me at this present point in time. Soz, I just don’t have the patience to micro-manage my AI buddies when I’m trying to gun down goopy alien invaders! That part’s prob not the game’s fault, true.

next is Burly Men At Sea  

[tinysamm]

The combat encounters of Bioshock tend to nicely flit between taking on small groups of relatively weak combatants and taking on a single, extremely powerful enemy. The latter of these include many of the boss fights and the encounters with the Big Daddies, but both demand that the player carefully allocate how they’re spending their ammo and Plasmids- because while it’s rare that the player has completely picked a level dry, attempting to refill in the middle of a fight is typically difficult, and especially when taking on the larger enemies, tends to lead to the player losing out. Recognizing and preparing effectively for each kind of fight is critical for advancement throughout the game.

[mvfm-25]

" Bioshock is that rare game in which Brainpower is as valuable as Firepower! You'll need plenty of both to get out alive! " Electronic Gaming Monthly n219 - September, 2007.