Silent Hill 2 - Director's Cut

Computer game ain't what they were in the past, right? :)

Today I bring forth yet another jewel of the Survival Horror genre.

Silent Hill 2: Director's Cut   - Developer: Konami


It's been almost 10 years of its release. Yet few games of the genre have managed to capture the eearieness found here.

....Mary? Is that you?

You are James Sunderland, a twenty-something fella who drives to Silent Hill with a single purpose in mind: Finding his dead wife Mary. She's been in that state for 10 years, which is why he finds receiving a letter from her rather strange.

This sets the tone for a series of rather disturbing events which unfold in a marvelous way.. hooking you up for hours.
Without giving out too much of the plot, which would honestly be a crime, you can expect to find all those things that make Silent Hill great. Sounds and an ambience that will make you shriek every time you hear a noise; Enemies both beautiful and disgusting to look at, and a fog so thick you'll never see them coming.

Your flashlight will become your new best friend

Something that in my opinion is needed to be emphazised, is just how much you can explore given the hardware limitations. While you will most definitely find 'decoy' doors and the infamous 'broken lock' ones, there's just a whole lot to see and explore. You can sidetrack quite a bit and add a good hour or two of gameplay just by paying attention to all the detail given to the city and going around town looking for ammo lying on the ground.

Cutscenes are to be highlighted too, due to the considerable amount of them available, and the surprisingly good voice acting in general.

The 4 different endings available, and the 'sidestory' event, which tells a story from the perspective of a different character, allows for great replay value and extended gameplay.

One of the only things I found lacking is the camera. It somehow finds a way to lag in certain key moments, or to have you see in the exact opposite direction where you're going; something that will lead to quite a bit of frustration.


Nonetheless, despite these minor issues stated, SH2:DC is a very solid game. One that ought to be experienced by all those who enjoy Survival Horror.

...Scratch that, if you like games, you'll love this.


Rating 9/10

Gearbox wants to.. retribute?

Joystiq blogged recently about this. I find this a nice gesture.. although I can't think of a way they could possibly display it in game... unless they wanted their credits to last for 3 hours.

Stay tuned for more reviews. By the way, feel free to suggest a game. Leave a comment and I'll see if I can play it, or if I already did, I'll make a review of it!

King's Bounty: Armored Princess

Welcome back to Paul's Game Reviews.

Todays' review is about King's Bounty: Armored Princess

Developer:  Katauri Interactive

Few ''clones'' are worthy of recognition. Most of the time it's because they don't add anything new. They just take a formula that works, make it look and feel slightly different, and then hope that some of the original game's success will spill out to this ''new'' game.

KB:AP is the kind of clone that manages to surpass the original. (It being the Heroes of Might and Magic series)

In fact, It's in a time like this (when the HoMM franchise is struggling due to lack of innovation) where creative clones shine. And so the apprentice beats the master.


The game sets us in the fantasy realm of Endoria, where you (the princess) have to travel to the paralel world of Teana in order to save yours from a demon invasion. Fortunately for her, she has a special device which allows her to take her sweet time to gain experience, and then magically go back to the exact moment and place where the demon invasion occurs.

Amelie, the Protagonist

In this new world, you are tasked to gather several Magical Stones, and to find your mentor Sir Gilbert.
Along the way, of course, you'll be riddled with sidequests so that dozens of hours will be spent before even remotely approaching the end.
Gameplay is where KB:AP shines. It's in essence the same Strategy RPG formula that worked wonders for the HoMM of old, yet several key improvements brought a much neccesary lifting to the franchise.
To name but a few.. you'll have a Pet Dragon accompanying you on your journey, who will gain experience just like the Princess does, and learn many important abilities like Find Treasure and Dragon Dive.
The fact that there are several different dragons available with different starting skills makes up for vary interesting, diverse strategies; and also allows for some replayability, although in my opinion there should be more ''unique'' skills or ''ultimate'' abilities for each Dragon to encourage replays even more.

Even Dwarves can take on Dragons

Also, every time you gain ''runes'' (a.k.a talent points like WoW), you can spend them in three different talent trees, each with a different focus. This is a major replay factor due to the fact that several ''builds'' are available. You could choose to become a more ''Offensive melee'' princess, with armies focused on close combat, like Orcs; or perhaps become some sort of pseudo-necromancer and have an invincible army of the undead. Or any combination imaginable.
Items add to this variability as well, given the sheer amount of them available (in the hundreds), and many who provide unique powers (like upgrading magic abilities or raising some of your ''dead'' undead forces at the end of battle).

Graphicwise, I have to say that It looks a bit dated for its time. Even so, the artistic direction taken is very good, so it all evens out in the end.

The Music is quite memorable, with several cool soundtracks that will float about in your brain for hours after playing.

It would be unfair to ignore this title as a mere clone. There is much to be found in KB:AP that you won't find anywhere else, and while much in it has been done already, It's done so wonderfully and well-paced that you just don't care.

Be sure to check your watch every once in a while.. you may find yourself playing for 8 hours straight.

Rating: 9/10