MagicSnake

Absolute fiasco; and I fell for it! Alpha, pre-alpha, pre-beta, whatever; doesn't change the fact the game is a complete, terrible mess. I'm appalled anyone would ask money for that; I'm even more appalled that I paid.

It's a decent game. At its best, it feels really good; At it' worst it's a gamer's worst nightmare. I'm still fighting the controls despite many hours of gameplay. Notable issues are line of sight (you'll die from enemies you can't even see more times than you'd like, awkward character rotation (especially noticeable with a melee weapon) means you'll miss your swings like you're some kind of drunk brawler (missing a swing = death 99% of the time). I keep dying because I don't feel comfortable with the controls. I long for a gamepad, and that's really not a good thing when I'm playing on my computer. It really feels like one of those twin-stick shooters on XBLA. It could certainly work great with a mouse, but in this case it's barely functional, never mind reliable or enjoyable in the midst of the action (also, your cross-hair isn't visible enough, which adds insult to injury). The game is also quite full of other really weird oversights (or were they design decisions? I honestly can't tell). For instance: if you occupy the same space as an enemy, that enemy can't hit you (melee or gun), neither can you hit him. That alone could be fine, but when combined with the awkward controls and the lack of enemy friendly fire it's quite a **** pain. Also, the doors keep getting in the way, opening and closing wildly when touched with anything (bullets included), sending enemies in a concussion (i.e. not killing them), but blocking your precious bullets. Also, it's quite a shock when an enemy rises from a pool of blood because he was knocked unconscious by the door and not killed by your bullets, and then he kills you (of course). There's also the most horrible boss in recent history [*spoiler?*] : the one with the motorcycle helmet. He's fully invincible (of course you don't know that until he kills you 3 times as you're standing in disgust) until he trows his **** knife, at which point you can bash him; also, he rotates around you, sort of not attacking you outright even though's he's faster than you and he's **** invincible. It feels so wrong with how the rest of the game plays, I felt cheated. [*/spoiler*] Oh and then there's that "stealth" section, which I don't even feel like describing. However, the game does build up quite an atmosphere. The story is engaging, the music is pretty damn awesome and the graphics work fine, despite inducing confusion in pitched battles (the screen kind of moves about, scorepoints clutter the screen, blood everywhere, flashes of light -oh, you're dead aren't you, I bet you didn't even notice. I sure haven't.) So in the end, pros: cool atmosphere, aesthetics are poignant and engaging. cons: the controls don't do the game justice, some horrible bosses and a god-awful stealth sequence. Still a decent game, though I'm confused by the incredibly high scores.

This game is a gem! Not a raw gem, but a sculpted one, polished with care and attention to detail. An incredibly enjoyable experience, definitely worth the 15$ price of admission. You feel in control of your character at all times and the wonderful aesthetics cement that feeling. Feedback is instantaneous and clear: there's no confusion as to what's happening on screen. You can play this game slow-paced, taking your sweet time avoiding every guard, or you can try and play at a somewhat more frantic and chaotic pace, using your quick reflexes to jump over guards while avoiding their cone of sight and flashlights, distracting them when need be and killing them when necessary. The controls lend themselves excellently to both play styles! The world needs more games as brilliantly executed as this one.

PROS: I only paid 3.74$ for this game (-75% on steam). CONS: Abyssal production values. If this were a (free) flash-based browser game, it'd still be incredibly bland and boring. I played for 5 minutes and I did not have fun; not even for a second. If this was a free game, I'd give it a 2/10 only because it's functional and it shouldn't harm your computer. But since this game isn't free, I'm flabbergasted at how shallow it is. Sincerely not worth a single penny (this game's full price is 15$: unbelievable). I'd rather play Pong for 5 hours straight than 5 other minutes of this empty shell ****.

Hmm... giving this game a score between 0 and 3 is an inexcusable insult to the developers who made this incredible game. Think it through before posting such venomous reviews guys and gals . At his point, the game isn't perfect, it has bugs, but the gameplay simply can't compare to anything else on the market (except the original Red Orchestra, which was awesome :D). If anything, it's more approachable than the first game, despite being more complex (an achievement!), but the core gameplay remains the same: stay low, be keenly aware of your surroundings, and know when to rush and when to bunker up being solid cover. This game is not easy, but the raw satisfaction of knowing that every weapon in the game can kill you with a well placed shot makes it "fair" for everyone: yes, a semi-auto rifle is "superior" to a bolt-action rifle, but if you learn how to shoot straight, you won't feel outgunned. There's enormous potential for self-improvement in this game, and it's multidimensional: it doesn't only involve getting kills. A solid 9/10, despite some unavoidable bugs. (NOTE: During the two weeks beta, the game was patched 3-5 times, and -a lot- of bugs were squashed. Plus, TWI has an excellent reputation of supporting their games (with free DLCs to boot!). so yeah, if you're hesitant you could wait... or since there's a practically limitless potential for self-improvement, you just might as well get it now ;) It's -very- playable, and loads of gritty fun. I'll be playing this for a long time to come).