Dark Souls: Daughters of Ash Review

OK, so this post will be a review of a slightly different sort as it will cover a PC game mod for one of my favourite games, which is Dark Souls and the mod in question is Daughters of Ash, which is available for free download from Nexusmods.com. Daughters of Ash itself is a re-imagined version of the original game with many different changes throughout.

So, for this review I will simply take a look at some of the differences to the original game but I won't go into massive detail on this because I haven't played all the way through the mod itself but I have done a fair amount of it and enough to post my thoughts on it.

BACKGROUND STORY

Warning this may contain some spoilers relating to the original game!

So, the background of the game is no different to the original with your character, a chosen undead, who is linked to the curse of flame who is set upon a quest to break the curse and succeed Lord Gwyn to keep the age of fire going. And the chosen undead will encounter a number of dangerous and tough enemies along the way including many bosses and in particularly four that possess great souls of power needed to gain access to the kiln of the first flame where Lord Gwyn awaits...

THOUGHTS

Well, I have to say I had high hopes for this mod myself as I am big fan of the original game and was keen to see what changes were made. And overall its a decent re-imagining of the original game but its not perfect and does have some issues. 

In fact its clear that the gamer that made this mod (simply named Grimrukh) wanted to challenge players by making these changes such as removing bonfires, making humanity next to impossible to farm for and of course making some of the bosses WAY tougher in an attempt to test the mettle of any gamer. However, I fear that these changes really do hinder your progress and actually serve to demotivate you in a way that the original game and the Souls series actually never did. However at the same time, the mod in itself isn't all bad and does have some good changes here and there.

GAMEPLAY DIFFERENCES   

Regardless however of my thoughts on the game, I will still mention some of the differences to the original game.

AREA NAMES

Starting with the area names, this is one of the main changes to feature in this mod as you wander around familiar sites you continually get different names popping up, e.g. lower Blighttown is now called "Fetid Slagmire" and the Catacombs is rather stupidly called the "Bome Chimney". There are plenty of others I could mention as well such as Sen's Forge, which replaces Sen's Fortress but I guess these give you an idea of the change.

CONSUMABLE SOUL CHANGES

Another change is to do with the consumable souls that you pick up in the game as they also have different names such as Soul of a Lost Cleric and Soul of a Pyromancer etc. The main change however with these souls is acutally quite a neat one in a way though because they each have a different effect, such as the Souls of a Lost Cleric partly restores your health or Soul of a Lost Soldier, which provides a temporary damage boost to your weapons. Other souls bring elemental effects such as the souls of a pyromancer or wizard that both cast spells as you use them although I'm not sure if you can lock to enemies when you use them however. Regardless of that however, this is still one of the more interesting and unique changes to the mod.

BONFIRE PLACEMENT

Another thing that has changed quite a bit are the placement of the bonfires throughout the game, as some bonfires have actually been relocated to more convenient locations whereas other bonfires have actually been removed altogether! One such example of a good bonfire placement in the mod is the one at Sen's Forge where the bonfire positioned just below the tower out in the open as opposed to having drop over a ledge below to activate it. There are however some pointless bonfire relocations such as one in Anor Londo where they have literally swapped rooms around and it can be found on the other side of the hallway. So, it is certainly a change but I'd certainly say one of the less necessary ones.

CHANGES TO NEW LONDO RUINS

One of the major area changes to the mod is actually an interesting one, which is to New Londo Ruins, which is now known as The Dead City of New Londo and no longer appears as being dark but is more illuminated and is filled with hollows (common undead) most of them who mind their own business (or remain in their personal torment with head in hands or head against a wall). The area changes here are actually quite a welcome one in a way as its the main location that sticks as being different. However this all changes I believe once you drain the water in the New Londo and this will bring around the wraith ghosts and the dark wraiths that appear in the original game for this area.

NPC PLACEMENT

Another change worth of note is to do with the placement of the NPC's in the game as they can be found in different locations to the original game and some of which might even take quite a bit of finding before you spot them! One such example of this is the pyromancer NPC, who was originally located in the Depths but has now been relocated to lower Blighttown or rather, the Fetid Slagmire! Another NPC that has moved is the undead female merchant, who was originally up in the tunnel above Firelink Shrine but is now situated in the original Capra Demon boss room. Again these changes don't really add much to the mod other than give you a bit of a runaround to locate them but I guess its a change for changes sake.

NEW BOSSES

The game also features some new bosses although since I haven't played through the entire mod, I don't know all of them but I did encounter a few along the way. As an example there is the boss next to the Undead Parish (now known as the Abandoned Church) which is the Titanite Demon and is now called Haunting Semblance, who has a counterpart that appears half way into the fight called Profane Image, which is a ghostly version of the same demon. Another example is the fight with Gravelord Nito, which has now added a second enemy into the encounter called Gravedaughter Ciaran and uses two dex weapons (gold and silver tracers I think) and this adds to make the fight alot more challenging and not necessarily in a good way but I will get to that later!

SIDE QUESTS

There are also a few different side quests in the mod as well that include Havel's quest and if you are not aware, Havel is a big guy wearing bulky armour and carries a big hammer like weapon shaped like a banana called dragon tooth! In the original game you basically kill Havel and take his ring, which allows to maximise your equipment load and carry more weight and still move freely. Another side quest that is new to the game is Velka's Pact quest that is quite detailed and must be followed quite strictly or else it won't work but it does end with you fighting a different and more powerful version of Gwyn.

EMBER NAMES

And lastly I will mention changes to the ember names that are available in the game which of course have also been tinkered with! ;-) As for a couple of examples, the divine ember is now called the Blessed Ember and does the same thing as it can allow you to kill skeletons without them respawning in the Catacombs area (or Bone Chimney as it is known here!). And another ember name change is the Faded Ember, which was the Large Ember in the original game and can upgrade your weapons to +10 with Sen's Ember being the renamed version of the Very Large Ember that upgrades them to +15.

GRAPHICS

As for the changes to graphics there hasn't been that many other than the relocation of areas and changes to New Londo Ruins, its all much the same with no changes to character models, boss or enemy models at all. The mod is available for both the PC - Prepare To Die Edition and Dark Souls Remastered version, so the graphical upgrade still applies to the remaster, so no real changes basically.


FLAWS (Warning: this section may contain spoiler info for the game!)

As for flaws...yep Daughters of Ash has its share!

For starters I think one of the most frustrating changes in the game is the lack of farmable humanity as humanity has become a rare item and bit like finding gold dust as it sprinkled throughout the game and can no longer be farmed from the rats like you could in the original game. So, as a result of this, you need to try and be more econimcal in your use of the humanity that you get but if you want summon for a tough boss and keep getting killed then the lack of humanity available will suck big time! Not only that but it means you will need to keep going back to other bonfires to restock your estus if you have no humanity left and want more than 5 at one time. So the lack of humanity in the mod was a big problem for me.

UPDATE ON ESTUS: Regarding the Estus, on replaying the mod, I found it wasn't too bad getting humanity as a pick up and you usually get at least one after defeating most bosses and there are some to be found lying around the game. However you still cannot appear to farm it from the rats like you could in the orignal game, which is a bit annoying. 

Another issue is to do with the general upgrade in difficulty, especially relating to some of the bosses and such an example is the Gravelord Nito boss, who now has the Gravedaughter Ciaran in the fight and she can use your dex weapons to slice you up real quick as well as through Lloyd's talismans at you to prevent you healing! Add onto this, Nito's attacks such as his AoE dark attack and his sword springing up from the ground, it makes the fight that bit more annoying and tricky. However to be fair I was eventually able to get past this fight and there are of course much tougher ones in the Souls games alone.

This also relates to adding extra enemies in certain places that increases the difficulty of said areas such as the Demon Ruins where you get more giant worm guys aswell as the inclusion of more Capra Demons and also a knight that can do lethal fire damage! The same is also true of other places such as the Tomb of Giants (now called The Undercrypt) which has more annoying enemies and I found that area to be REALLY frustrating I mean there really are times where the difficulty in this mod is overkill! 

UPDATE ON DEMON RUINS AND CATACOMBS (OR BONE CHIMNEY)

As for the Demons Ruins, I found the knight wasn't too bad to kill on replaying the game with a strength based character, so I guess my mage character was a bit unprepared for him! Also I would say that the renamed Catacombs, now known as the Bone Chimney is WAY more frustrating as they have added ALOT more necromancers (i.e. the guys who can ressurect skeletons after you kill them and they also can throw fireballs at you!) who DO respawn, which is really annoying! So, I would have to say the Bone Chimney is my least favourite place in this mod.

This also brings me to another issue, which is to do with the removal of certain bonfires, which can make your life very inconvenient. Now, there are instances where bonfires are relocated, which help to make your life actually a bit easier but at times, the removal of such bonfires can be a total pain in the ass! One such example is the trek back up to the top of upper Blighttown as there is no bonfire once you reach the upper area like there was before in the original game and this allows you to mess up more easily and start from the bottom all over again!

Another thing I found quite annoying is that not all of the DLC bonfires will be warpable, which they were all warpable in the original game. And as an example for this, I had to do a big run back to the dark cloud in Darkroot Garden where you access the DLC every time I wanted to restore my estus back to 10 or 15 after failing to defeat the deeply annoying boss that is the Sanctuary Gaurdian! Now, if this bonfire WAS warpable then it would make life ALOT easier but unfortunately it isn't, so if you haven't got enough humanity to kindle that bonfire in the DLC then you are shit out of luck and you need to do that big run back to the garden to access the DLC again. And this for me is a huge flaw and drawback in the mod, which is very frustrating.

I also felt that overall the whole name changing of areas was a bit unecessary as was the relocating of NPCs as it was all designed just to make you do a bit more running around. I especially felt that swapping round for example, the bonfire keeper at Anor Londo from one side of the room to the other was totally pointless and added nothing to the game itself. So, at this point its a case of asking...why??? Why???? What's the point???

And last of all, I felt that some of the new boss encounters were pretty disappointing and at times even pointless, such as when you fight the Capra Demon outside the original cramped area (which to be fair is one of the better changes!) when you beat him, he appears again under a new name and kills you and then vanishes! And when he would later reappear at Sen's Forge, renamed as a Capracious Thrall, my character (which was a sorcerer) literally spammed spells at him as he stood still and did nothing and eventually died! I mean that was completely pointless wasn't it?!

Anyway, so that's it for the flaws.

SUM UP

So, to sum up, Daughters of Ash is not a bad mod but it does miss the mark on a few fronts at the end of the day.

I did find some of the ideas were not bad and the relocation of certain items, areas and NPCs at times were neat touches but other changes were simply annoying and/or pointless. I also felt that the new boss difficulty was at times mixed and other issues such as the lack of bonfires and even missing some warpable bonfires was a big problem too that lead to many a tedious runback, which was totally unecessary. I also felt that the lack of farmable humanity in the game was one the mod's biggest omissions and was obviously done to make your life a bit more difficult.

So, in the end for me, Daughters of Ash is a decent re-imagining of Dark Souls and it does add in some good changes but I still definitely prefer the original version of the game and for the most part, I felt I was enjoying the game here more than the modifications made via the mod itself. However as it is a free mod, I certainly would say its worth having a look at even if its not perfect.

Right, so that's it for now and I will be back with maybe one more post before the end of April but if not I will be back on here in May.

Till then take care and bye for now!

Doctor Who - The Time Warrior (Revisited) "You're still living in the Middle Ages!"

Right, well its been a while since I did a post on here, so I figured I would get another one or two done before the end of the month. So, this post will be yet another reivist of a previous one, which is on the Doctor Who story, The Time Warrior from the Jon Pertwee era.

So, after 46 years how does this story fair? Well, let's take a look and find out...

And the usual warning is coming up...

PLOT SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

STORY
 
So the story begins with the Doctor (Pertwee) who investigates the disappearance of several scientists along with the Brigadier (Nicholas Courtney) from a top secret scientific research centre.  The missing scientists in question as it turns out are in fact being stolen by an alien named Linx (Kevin Lindsay) a Sontaran warrior, who was forced to land his ship in the Middle ages on Earth.  Linx used a device called an Osmic projector to project himself forward into the 20th century to steal the scientists.

The Doctor meanwhile he is at the centre meets an eccentric scientist, Professor Ruebish (Donald Pelmear) and also a young jouranlist, Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen) who is posing as her aunt Lavinia in order to infiltrate the complex and get a story.  When Linx uses the projector again, the Doctor discovers that Ruebish has gone missing and he uses the data recorded from one of his own devices to track down the source of the projector.  The Doctor then programs the data into the TARDIS and travels back in time to the Middle ages, unbeknownst to him though Sarah Jane has sneaked onboard the TARDIS as a stowaway.

And in the middle ages Linx is found to be working with a bandit named Irongron (David Daker) who Linx has promised many great weapons in return for using his castle to store his ship and give him shelter.  It turns out that Irongron has also stolen the castle he occupies from an absent nobleman and he also faces resistance from his neighbours.  And one of his neighbours, Lord Edward of Wessex (Alan Rowe) is provoked into forming an alliance against Irongron and sends one of his archers, Hal (Jeremy Bulloch) to kill Irongron but he is unsuccessful who is captured.

The Doctor soon discovers that Linx has kidnapped the scientists and confronts him for his actions as he has created futurisitic weapons for Irongron (rifles) as well as built a robotic knight for him.  And it is up to the Doctor to try and stop Linx from his amoral activities and from interfering with human evolution.....

THOUGHTS

The Time Warrior is a very enjoyable opener to what was Jon Pertwee's last season in the role which saw the introduction also of one of the show's most memorable companions, the headstrong and plucky Sarah Jane Smith.  The story is also notable because it is the first one that introduced the name of the Doctor's home planet: Gallifrey, which the Doctor tells Linx who asks where he was originally from.  And another first introduced into the story was the inclusion of the new title credits for the show (created by Bernard Lodge who did all the series previous titles) which included the famous diamond "Doctor Who" logo, which would go on to be used throughout most of the Tom Baker era.

PERFORMANCES 

Performance wise The Time Warrior is pretty good overall.

Starting with Jon Pertwee who once again is great in his part as the Doctor and he plays him with the usual mix of seriousness and fun.

And Jon has some good scenes that include the scene where the Doctor first meets with Sarah Jane Smith and as he rumbles her for not being her Aunt he tells her he won't give her away and say "You can make yourself useful.  We need someone around here to make the coffee!".  And as Sarah, who is a real bolshy feminist protests the Doctor then goes into his TARDIS and Sarah angrily says "What are you going to do in there?!" and the Doctor says "Make MYSELF a cup of coffee.  Good day!".

Another good scene comes where the Doctor is about to follow Linx's trail in the first episode and the Brigadier warns him how the Doctor had gotten lost in the TARDIS before.  And the Doctor says to the Brig "Brigadier a straight line maybe the shortest distance between two points, but it is by no means the most interesting!  Goodbye old chap!".  And last of all there is the moment where the Doctor faces Linx for the first time and he tells him the name of his home planet "Gallifrey!  I am a Time Lord!".    

Then there is the scene where Linx holds the Doctor captive at the castle and the Doctor warns him "You are interfering with human evolution, Linx.  Don't you realise the damage you will do to them?!".  And as the Doctor sees Linx has breech loading rifles for Irongron he says to him "You give them breech loading guns now, they'll have atomic weapons by the seventeenth century!  They'll have the capability to destroy their own planet before they're civilised enough to handle it!".

Another scene where the Doctor tells Sarah a little about the Time Lords while helping to make a mix of potions to fend off Irongron's oncoming assault. So, the Doctor says to Sarah "My people are very keen to stamp out unlicenced time travel.  You can look upon them as galactic ticket inspectors if you like!". Sarah then astonished says "I could murder a cup of tea! You're serious, aren't you?" and the Doctor says "About what I do, yes. Not necessarily the way I do it. For example you know what this is?" and he holds up a sack containing a yellow mixture and Sarah says "I have no idea". So, the Doctor tells Sarah "This is my own special smoking fixture, consisting of saltpere, sulphur and fat. With a few little extras thrown in!". Then in the background a trumpet sounds and the Doctor smiles and says "Ah, that is Irongron! Battle is about to commence!".

Then there is the scene where the Doctor dresses in the robot armour leftover from one of Linx's robots to trick Irongron and stall for time to allow the scientists to be sent back home.

So, the Doctor enters Irongron's hall dressed in the armour and tells Irongron "I am a gift to Captain Irongron from the one who made me, Commander Linx". So, Irongron asks the Doctor "Can you fight, iron man?" and the Doctor says to him "That is my purpose" and Irongron says "Then fight me" and the Doctor tries backpedal his way out of a fight by saying "I was programmed to fight for you, not against you". Irongron however insists "Fight me, iron man, or I'll return to you to Linx in as many pieces as did your brother!" and the two of them engage in combat.

And after the Doctor manages to fend off Irongron and a couple of his men in swordplay and Irongron, a little wary says to the others "Hold, I say! We must slow this iron man's speed a little! Stick me some cross-bolts in the creature and if that fails then we'll lop its head off and try again!". By this time however the Doctor finally interjects and in his own voice asks Irongron "Isn't that a little unsporting, old man?! I mean sitting ducks and all that!". Irongron the demands "Lift up your visor!" and the Doctor says "I cannot reveal my face, Irongron" and Irongron asks "Why?" and the Doctor says "Because if I did it, it might give you a seizure!". So, Irongron lifts the Doctor's visor and gasps and the Doctor says to him "Well, I did warn you, didn't I?!".

Elisabeth Sladen is also great in her debut as Sarah Jane Smith and already she has a good understanding of her character and how to play her and was the first effectively headstrong companion in the show (although you could argue Lis Shaw was also and even Jo in her later stories did too).

Lis has some good moments in the story also such as the scene where after having stowed away in the TARDIS and Sarah finds herself in the Middle Ages and she is captured by Irongron's men who take her to him.  And Sarah who clearly has no idea she has travelled through time insults Irongron and his men by saying "Why don't you take off that ridiculous gear and go home to your butcher's shop!  I warn you, anymore of this and I'm going straight to the police!".

Sarah then is a little shaken up by all the events and says to Irongron "Look, please. Now you've had your laugh, now, you know, just let's stop it and let's talk sensibly. I mean, if it's any consolation to you, you're scaring me out of my wits!". Irongron's second in command, Bloodaxe then says to Irongron "Perhaps the wench is crazed, Captain" and Sarah asks "Come on, what is this place?" and Irongron tells her "You are in the castle of Irongron, my lady. Few uninvited guests come here and few that do leave here alive!".

Sarah however is not convinced and says to herself as she paces around "All right, if you insist on playing guessing games. Now, it's not a village pageant, it's too elaborate for that. A film set. No. No, no lights, no cameras. I've got it! It's one of those tourist places. A medieval castle all restored to its original condition, with jolly banquets and buxom serving wenches. That's it, isn't it? Mind you, I think you've overdoing the sordid realism a bit. I mean, I know things were a bit grotty in the Middle Ages, but, really, you might leave the tourists a bit of glamorous illusion. I've never seen such a scurvy, smelly...". Irongron however impatiently shouts "For pity's sake, cease this babbling, girl!".

Another good moment comes when Sarah and Hal come for the Doctor who evades Irongron's men and he says to her "Thank you very much, Miss Smith.  A most timely rescue" and Sarah says "This isn't a rescue, Doctor, its a capture!".

Then there is the scene where Sarah infiltrates Irongron's castle again later in the story disguised as a kitchen servant and she is caught by the head servant, Meg who forces her to work. So, in the scene Sarah stirs a stew for Irongron's men and she talks defiantly of Irongron and his men "I'm not afraid of men. They don't own the world. Why should women always have to cook and carry for them?!". Meg asks warily "What should we do?" and Sarah insists "Stand up to the men. Tell them you're tired of working from them as slaves!". Meg however tells Sarah "Women will never be free while we have men in the world. We know our place" but Sarah annoyed says "What subservient poppycock! You're still living in the middle ages!" and Meg asks "Eh?!" and Sarah realising what she has said responds "Nothing". So, Meg puts Sarah in her place and leaves the kitchen after which Sarah distracts one of the servants who stirs another pot and she points and shouts "Look at that great spider!" and the servant scampers away and Sarah pours the potion into the pot.

And at the end of the story as Hal calls the Doctor "a great magician and the Doctor says "To tell you truth, Hal, I'm not a magician at all" Sarah quietly says to herself "I'm not so sure about that!" just before they depart in the TARDIS.

Then we have Kevin Linsday who threatens to steal the show here he is great in his part as the Sontaran warrior, Linx, who uses Irongron and the captured scientists to repair his ship so he escape back to his war.

Lindsay also has some highlights in the story such as the scene where Linx first meets Irongron and asks for his help and for things to repair his ship.  And as Irongron says "We have no such things of which you speak" Linx says "Then I must take them from those who have!".

Then there is the scene where Sarah is captured and taken to Irongron's castle where Linx arrives and interrogates her to find out where she came from. So, Linx looks Sarah and says "This girl is not of your kind, Irongron. The hair finer, the thorax is of a different construction" and Irongron sighs and says "Do you not have any girls beyond the stars?!" and Linx says "Ah, I understand. You have a primary and secondary reproductive cycle. It is an inefficient system, you should change it!". Irongron puzzled asks "You what?" and Linx says "At the Sontaran Military Academy, we have hatchings of a million cadets at each muster parade. Thus we can sustain enormous casualties on all battle fronts". However Linx then feels Sarah's jacket and says "This cloth is machine woven. This girl is not of your time, Irongron!".

Another good scene comes when Linx has removed his helmet as he toils in his workshop within Irongron's castle and Irongron and angrily barges in and sees Linx's wide alien potato head for the first time.  And Linx says to him "Did I not warn you, you might not find my features pleasing!" and Irongron says "Not a truer word spoken.  Are they all so fair a face beyond the stars?" and Linx angrily says "The variety of sentient lifeforms is infinite.  Do you think your primitive features are pleasing to me?!".

Then there is the scene where the Doctor first meets Linx and Linx fires his ray gun to stun the Doctor but allows him to get up. So, Linx tells the Doctor "I'm commander Linx - Fifth Sontaran Army Space Fleet!". So, the Doctor slowly get's up and says "Ah, yes. Yes, as I thought. A Sontaran warrior. So, the perpetual war between the Sontarans and the Rutans has spread to this tiny planet, has it?!". So, Linx tells the Doctor "Emergency landing. I was on a reconnaissance mission when I was attacked by a squadron of Rutan fighters. You have encountered my race before, Doctor?" and the Doctor tells him bluntly "Unfortunately" and Linx angered, raises his gun but thinks better of firing it and says menacingly "I'll overlook that insult for the moment!".

Linx asks where the Doctor originates and the Doctor tells him "Gallifrey!" and Linx says "Ah yes.  A race of great technological achievement, but lacking the morale to withstand a determined assault!".

And last of all there is the scene where Linx argues with Irongron and Linx warns him "Threaten me once more and I will destroy you!" and as Irongron goes to hit him, Linx easily knocks him aside and shouts "Primitives!  Childish, squabbling primitives!  It is well I do not need to spend much more time among you!".  Lindsay's mask for Linx is also very worthy of note as its excellent and was once again the work of the ever creative and brilliant visual effects designer, John Friedlander. 

David Daker is also excellent in his role as the hotheaded Irongron who shelters Linx in his castle but squabbles often with him while other times tries to extend his friendship to him. 

Daker also has some good moments such as the scene where Linx travels with Irongron as he attempts to assault Edwards' castle.  And as Linx advises Irongron to use the rivals to shoot the guards, Irongron laughs and says "On my oath, Linx, when I am king, you shall be my champion!" and he pats a bemused Linx firmly on the back!. 

And lastly there is the scene where Irongron argues with Linx after his men are forced to retreat after the Doctor's thwarts Irongron's attack on Edward's castle.  And in the scene Irongron berates his men as they return and he shouts "MICE! A few loud noises, a few bad smells and you all scatter like sheep!!".  Irongron then shouts at his men "We attack again in the morning! I will take Sir Edward's castle or I will see every man of you perish in the attempt! CHICKEN HEARTED KNAVES! BEGONE FROM MY SIGHT!". At this point Linx enters the room and looks disgusted with Irongron and asks him "Did I not see you lead the retreat yourself, Captain?!" and Irongron threatens him and says "Taunt me not, little toadface, or by the stars I'll see if the colour of your blood is red like mortal man's!".

Then later there is the scene not long after Linx rows with Irongron and overpowers him and Irongron sits rufeully with Bloodaxe in his halls as the two of them drink wine together. So, in the scene Irongron bitterly says to Bloodaxe "Oh, I should have slain the filthy little toad there and then. I should have carved him up into collops on the spot!". Bloodaxe then says to Irongron "Aye, master, it puzzles me as to why you did not" and Irongron changes his tone a little and says "Aye, well, 'tis a matter of high policy, d'you see? Above your understanding. As yet, we still need Linx's aid. Weapons he has promised me, and by the stars, weapons I shall have. Wonderful, magical weapons, that will crumble the castles of those that oppose me into dust. And then, and only then, shall Linx die by my hand!". 

Another good scene is when the Doctor stalls for time and dresses up in Linx's robot armour and pretends to be the armoured robotic knight Linx promised him.

So, in the scene the Doctor enters and Irongron suspiciously asks "Who are you?" and the Doctor says that he is a gift to him from Linx and Irongron says to Bloodaxe "It is indeed the robot, Bloodaxe, though somewhat different in shape. And I remember, Linx promised to make me a second iron man, one that would obey my voice. But why has Linx sent you? Why has he not he himself obeyed my summons?". The Doctor then says in his robotic voice that Linx toils in his workshop to make more robots and then tries to about turn to leave but Irongron stops him and asks "Hold! I would see something of the mettle of this gift. Can you fight, iron man?" and the Doctor says "That is my purpose" and Irongron says "Then fight me!" and the Doctor tries to get out of it by saying "I was programmed to fight for you, not against you" which prompts Irongron to become impatient and says "Cease thy gabble and fight!". 

And lastly Donald Pelmear it has to be said while he is quite good in his role as Professor Ruebish his character is the weak link in the chain as he is morely just a rather annoying eccentric boffin.

However that said Donald still has his good moments such as the scene where the Doctor finds Ruebish captive in Irongron's dungeon as he has been captured by Linx along with a number of scientists. So, the Doctor asks Ruebish of the scientists who are all in a daze "What's wrong with all these people?" and Ruebish says "Hypnotised. Can't get a word out of then. Rotten company!" and the Doctor says "You seem to be all right" and Ruebish smiles and says "Didn't work with me. Strong minded you see!".

The Doctor then asks Ruebish "Look, Professor, do you have any idea where you are?" and Ruebish says "Some medieval English castle I suspect" and the Doctor asks him "Yes, you are in a castle but do you know the time?" and Ruebish missing the Doctor's meaning says "About four in the afternoon.We hadn't' breakfast yet, you know. Doesn't feed us much. Once a day if we're lucky". The Doctor then informs Ruebish "Now Professor, listen to me. This may come as a shock to you, so steel yourself. You have been brought back to the early years of the Middle Ages!" and this promps a little but of surprise from Ruebish who says "That's interesting. I've always maintained that the loop theory of time shouldn't have been so arrogantly dismissed by Crabshaw and his cronies!". 

And lastly there is the scene where Ruebish having been captured and sent to the Middle ages soon catches up with the Doctor who asks him "Do you want to get back to the twentieth century?" and Ruebish sighs "Steak and mushrooms, lobster, chocolate truffles.  Oh dear me, yes!". 

Pelmear as Ruebish also get's the pleasure of knocking out Linx in the scene where the Doctor tellingly reveals Linx's only weakness "That probic vent in the back of your neck!" which Ruebish along with the help of a small magnifying class and a piece of wood knocks Linx out by striking him in the back of the neck! 

Jeremy Bulloch is not too bad in his role as Hal, the archer who serves Edward of Wessex.  And Bulloch has a good line near the end of the story where he grabs one of Irongron's men who has been drugged by the Doctor just before Linx's ship is about to take off and he says "Listen dog! In minutes now this castle will be destroyed by sorcery!  If you'd save your miserable skins, then you get you gone!".   

Nicholas Courtney also makes a welcome brief appearance in the first episode of the story as good ol Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart who brings the Doctor to the scientific research centre to help investigate the missing scientists.

So, I will mention just his first scene where the Brigadier brings in the Doctor to the research centre and he tells the Doctor how secure it is.

So, the Brig tells the Doctor "This is one of the best guarded places in the country" and the Doctor says "I gathered that when we arrived. I almost thought they weren't going to let you in!" and the Brig says "Yes, its almost too secure! And that's what makes it all the more puzzling". So, the Doctor coaxes the Brigadier to explain what is puzzling and the Brig says "People vanishing. They've lost half a dozen leading scientists and several millions of pounds of secret equipment". So, the Doctor asks the Brigadier "So, what action have you taken so far?" and the Brigadier responds by saying "Well, I'd rather a bright idea. It's rather hard to keep an eye on all these scientist chaps at home, so I had these cubicles put up on several floors. Confined the whole lot to barracks. All my eggs in one basket, so to speak!" and the Doctor smiles and says "That's fine, so as long as no one tries to steal the basket!".
 
And last of all there is June Brown and Alan Rowe who are both good in their respective roles as Lady Eleanor and Edward of Wessex but to save on time and typing even more dialogue out I will just leave it there rather than quotes (sorry June and Alan). Of course I will quickly mention that June Brown would later go on to gather her fame as the hapless Dot Cotton in the BBC soap, Eastenders.   

DIRECTOR AND MUSIC 

As for the story's director, Alan Bromly, he does a fine job in keeping a solid mix of drama and fun and the overall tone of the story is quite light and pleasant for the most part and he keeps the pacing quite tight throughout as its a four episoder it never lags at any time. Bromly himself would later to go on and direct one more serial during the Tom Baker era, which was Nightmare of Eden.

And finally I will get to the show's regular composer back then Dudley Simpson, who provides another pleasant score for the story. The score itself is also thankfully more orchestral than his previous seasons of the show and does still feature some electronic music here and there but its still a very suitable score for the story itelf. 

FLAWS (Warning: this section may contain spoilers!) 

So onto the flaws section of the review..... has The Time Warrior got any? Well, yep it does.  

For starters one thing that troubled me was if Linx had the ability to project himself forward into the future then why didn't he just stay in the 20th century and set a base of operations there and then?  Not unless of course his Osmic projector is only effective for short periods of time in that case well that makes sense.  Ultimately Linx's ship is trapped back in the Middle ages so he couldn't move that forward in time with himself I guess (so perhaps ignore this paragraph as a flaw!).

But this does bring one thing to mind and that is just how did Linx actually end up IN the Middle ages in the first place????  It seems funny how if he is fighting a futuristic space battle against the Rutans (the sworn enemy of the Sontaran race) then how could he find himself on a historical period in Earth???  This obviously means that Linx's craft must have had time travel capability but again this is not clearly explained in the story if this is so, so you just have to take it on faith.

Another thing is that the Middle ages characters such as Edward of Wessex and Lady Eleanor (played by June Brown who later would become Dot Cotton on Eastenders!) are pretty poorly written and not very interestingly presented. So, I felt they were treated morely as bystanders for the story and didn't contribute a great deal to the proceedings.  

The story is also a bit guilty of sexism which is pretty typical of the period in the 1970s and has such lines from the Doctor saying "you could make us all some coffee" to Sarah who takes offence who is very much a feminist character.  But then perhaps that was the whole point of Sarah being added to the series, as she is a lot more plucky than quite a few of the previous companions in the show and times were set to change.

And lastly I thought the inclusion of Ruebish is a but superflous to the story as he is a pretty annoying character and there for just a bit of comic relief.  But these are niggles which don't really prevent you from enjoying the story.  

Anyway that's it for the flaws.

SUM UP

So, to sum up, The Time Warrior is a very entertaining story that added a couple of important details to the show with the inclusion of the name of the Doctor's home planet, Gallifrey and of course the new slit-scan title sequence with the famous diamond logo that would feature also in the Tom Baker era.  It also introduces one of the show's most memorable villains in the form of the Sontarans, who are strange weird looking potato head like aliens that are dedicated to a life of war. The story is also very well written by Robert Holmes and features some excellent performances by the main cast and particularly Kevin Lindsay and David Daker provide great efforts as Linx and Irongron.

And despite one or two niggles, I would say this is definitely a very solid story and well worth checking out.

Right, so thats it for now and I will be back hopefully with another post before the end of the month.

Till then its bye for now!

Doom 3 BFG Edition Review

Right, so I've just recently finished playing Doom 3 again on the PS4 and I thought I would do an update of a very old review I did of it on this blog quite a few years back. This is the BFG edition so the review will be based on that (as was the previous version).

So, after 16 years how does this first person shooter classic hold up? Let's find out!

And I will mention a bit about the plot below so the usual warning is coming...

PLOT SPOILERS ARE AHEAD!!

STORY

So the game is set in the year 2145 and it takes place on Mars, which starts with an un-named marine, who arrives at the Union Aerospace Corporation (UAC) base on the planet.  Meanwhile a councilman from Earth, Elliott Swann arrives at the base to meet with Dr Malcolm Bertruger, as there have been complaints about incidents that have taken place on the base.  Bertruger's research has involved unnatural experiments with teleportation. 

Meanwhile the marine meets with Sergeant Kelly, who sends the marine to find a scientist on the base who has gone missing.  The marine soon finds the scientist, who tells him about Bertruger's experiments and the dangers involved and that he is trying to send out a message to the UAC base on Earth to warn them about this.  However as a result of another teleportation, a shockwave hits the base, and transforms the scientist into a zombie, who the marine kills.  The marine is then forced to deal with the rest of the base staff and soldiers, who have mostly been turned into zombies as well.

As the marine makes his way through the base, he also encounters demons of different kinds, coming through portals, which he fends off with his weapons.  The marine manages to make his way to a comm system where he receives a message from Kelly telling him to try and send out a distress call to the UAC on Earth.  However Swann has other ideas as he tries to prevent anyone from sending out messages to Earth as he believes the situation should be contained on Mars.  Based on the player's decision the marine will face the choice of either listening to Kelly, and sending the message or to Swann and not sending the message, which is where the game will go in two slightly different directions. 

As the marine progresses through the delta labs of the base, he receives a message from Bertruger, who tells him that he is co-operating with the forces from Hell, in order to prepare for the invasion of Earth.  From here the marine is forced to continue his battle against the hordes of demons and against Bertruger in his attempts to destroy the Earth, as the fate of humanity lies in his hands...

THOUGHTS

As a long awaited sequel to Doom II, Doom 3 certainly delivered the goods, as its complete graphical revamp of the series brought it brilliantly up to date. 

The gameplay of course remains fairly faithful to the original as the marine you simply run around, shooting anything that moves, and picking up key cards to access new rooms, and to access vents and lockers containing ammo and equipment. And one of the main differences to the original games lies in its use of dark shadow and it utilises enhanced lighting techniques to increase the intense atmosphere of the game, as alot of the game is pretty darky lit, it allows for the player to be immersed in its creepy world, as baddies can be all around you and wouldn't even know it, or you don't know it until you hear the groans or screeches. And with that all in mind it adds upt to a very intense and unsettling experience (but in a good way!).

GAMEPLAY

Gameplay wise the game isn't too different from the original games as its a case of run round and shoot anything that moves with some very cool weaponry. However there are still some additions to the gameplay, which mainly comprise of finding key cards to open doors that require security access, or opening vents to crawl through or talking to NPC's to access door codes and key cards or to carry out other objectives.

The game also features the use of a PDA (personal data assistant) system where the marine will pick up key cards with personnel's names on them and attached with that there will be audio logs that give background details to the story aswell as codes for doors and storage lockers that store health and ammo. So there are numerous key cards that can be used by the PDA throughout the game, which he will need to pick up to progress.

The games arsenal is also quite impressive as you have pretty much the same array of weapons from the first two games, but they look great graphically and are easy to use.  The weapons feature a hand gun, shotgun, machine gun, minigun, plasma rifle, rocket launcher and of course the BFG (and we all know what that stands for!).  There is also plenty of ammo strewn throughout the game so you will never normally run out of ammo in a hurry, although the baddies can come thick and fast so there will be times will you might run a bit low on ammo so you need to be careful at times.

The game also features a new weapon of sorts in the form of the Soul Cube, which the marine can access later on in the game once they have travelled to Hell, which is easily the best level of game and is refreshingly very different looking from the other levels. The Soul Cube is acutally quite an OP (overpowered) device in that it can demolish any single enemy in one foul swoop, which makes it very handy indeed! It also kind of helps that the cube has a pretty sexy female voice in a way even if it does sound a little creepy too!   

The marine also has access to a flashlight that will let him see in the dark as there are plenty of dark and dimly lit areas for sure in Doom 3! However in the BFG edition of the game, the flashlight is now mounted onto the marine's shoulder as before you had to swap between your light and weapon to use it, which was a bit annoying, so its a welcome change to use the light and both your weapon simultaneously. The only drawback is that the flashlight in the BFG edition has limited charge and does drain quickly before you let it recharge again. 

ENEMIES 
 
Then of course we have the enemies that feature many of the original foes in Doom I and II and the have been brought back really well starting with the imps, who hurl fireballs at you like they are throwing a baseball, who have a high pitched whine.  There are also the Cacodemons (who still give me the creeps from the original!) who also fire big fireballs at you (a popular weapon in hell I'd say!) and float around. And then we got much stronger enemies such as the Hell Knights, who are massive and probably the toughest of the enemies in the game and they can seriously chunk your health! 

Other enemies also feature the Revenants, who are walking armoured skeletons with rocket launchers attached and the Mancubus who are large blobs with attached flame throwers who featured in Doom II.  Some of the new enemies feature mutated soldiers, who have a long retractable arm that can attack you, large head spiders who can lash out and attack you and freaked me out more than any other enemy in the game. Then of course there are the babies with attached wings that jump out at you, who are without a doubt one of the most horrible baddies in any game! I'm sure John Carmack, the creator of the Doom series is a decent guy but I don't know what he was thinking when he made THIS enemy!

However it definitely has to be said that Doom 3 has no shortage of enemies and there is plenty of variety too.   

GRAPHICS

As for the game's visuals well even 16 years on, Doom 3 still looks pretty awesome for the most part with nicely textured environments and great looking (or creepy) enemies and its use of lighting is very effective also.

The only real drawbacks to the graphics are some dated looking gory details such as bloodied body parts lying about that look naff and of course the character models for the humans look a bit daft and very unrealistic! In fact you could argue that humans in the game look far weirder than the enemies as they have somewhat flattened heads and weird eyes!  So while certain aspects of the graphics look a bit dated, Doom 3 still looks great for its day and holds up quite well today.

MUSIC

As for the music, Doom 3 has a pretty good score, which is largely very creepy and atmospheric sounding by Clint Walsh and ex-Nine Inch Nails drummer, Chris Vrenna, who composed the excellent theme tune for the game. Walsh wrote the soundtrack along with Vrenna as the two of them together were members of the band, Tweaker although it was originaly planned for Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails to write the soundtrack, which never came to fruition. Despite this though, it is still a very good score that nails (non pun intended!) the tone of the game perfectly.

VOICE ACTING

And lastly there is of course the voice acting of Doom 3, which is very good overall as the voice cast all do a fine job. Of course it has to be said that the marine you play does not have any dialogue whatsoever, so it comes down to the other NPCs in the game to deliver the game's dialogue.

Starting with Neil Ross who does very well in his role as Sgt Kelly, who is the marine's commanding officer, who the marine keeps in constant contact with throughout most of the game. Philip L. Clarke also delivers an excellent performance as the sinister Dr Bertruger, who is the mastermind behind the demon invasions on Mars and main antagonist of the game. And lastly Charles Dennis is also excellent in his role as Counsellor Elliot Swan, who is opposed to Bertruger's evil plans and tries to put a stop to them.

FLAWS 

So, flaws...does Doom 3 have any?  Well, yes it does.

And for starters I would say that the gameplay can tend to get a bit monotonous after a while, and the level design is at times a bit samey too with so many levels having the same dark corridors, ladders and stairs.  And the gameplay mainly consists of the marine just following the formulaic pattern of just running about shooting anything in his way, grabbing key cards, pdf files, and CDs to gather information, and not much beyond that.  However the intense thick and fast action in the game does help to overcome that for the most part and doesn't spoil the overall experience.

There was also an issue with the controls in the original PC version, where you couldn't hold a weapon and the flashlight at the same time, as you had to access one at a time. However this was fixed for the BFG edition, as I mentioned earlier that the player now has the flashlight attached to his shoulder of the marine's outfit, which he can turn on and off and still use his gun at the same time but the only drawback is the light's charge only lasts for so long before it needs to recharge. 

Another criticism that can be levelled at the game is that most of the enemies can be killed with fair ease, especially some of the ones such as the demon dogs with the robotic legs, which are pretty big in size, yet an imp can still take a few more shots to kill!  Naturally the bigger baddies such as the hell knights, and the mancubus are pretty tough to eliminate but quite a few of them can be dispatched with just one or two shots from your shotgun. However this will all change of course when you increase the game's difficulty but for most part I would say that Doom 3 isn't too difficult, which some fans might find a negative. 

And finally another flaw that can be levelled at the game is the lack of a map in the inventory screen, as it would be good if it gave you a map of each level, as there are times where you can get lost wandering around the corridors at times, trying to feel your way through the level, which means you are running blind, you can eventually get through the level fine but it can take a while based on what level you are doing.  In fact even Doom II had maps for each level, so its bizarre they don't have that in Doom 3 so it kind of feels like a backward step here but maybe its the game makers way of not wanting to hold your hand in working your ways through the levels.

Another issue relates specifically to the BFG edition of the game, which is the inclusion of forced autosaves at key points in the game, which are pretty annoying as there are times they can actually hinder your progress rather than help. And the reason being is because you might get to an autosave at a point where you are low on health or ammo and this might force you to load back in a previous save in order to compensate. So, for this reason I think the autosaves were a bad idea and should have been taken out of the BFG edition of the game.

And last of all I felt that the inclusion of the soul cube device was a bit of a cheat in a way as it actually trivialised the later boss fights in the game as you can use it to attack the bosses and before you know it, they would be destroyed as a result! However I can't deny that the soul cube is a very useful tool in the game as it allows you to kill single enemies and it restores your lost health as a result, so its not all bad but in some ways it definitely feels like a cheating device that weakens the challenge of the game. 

Anyway that's it for the flaws.

SUM UP 
 
So, to sum up after 16 years, Doom 3 still remains a thoroughly entertaining, intense and creepy experience and I still think its far superior to the reboot Doom game that came in 2016 and maybe also Doom Eternal (although admittedly I haven't played Eternal). And even though the game is a bit repetitve in terms of its gameplay and level design, on replaying it again I didn't mind and still had a blast with it and felt I wanted to play it all the way through, which I always think is a mark of a great game.

So, combine the game's great action, weapons, creepy enemies and chilling atmosphere, you have a real classic on your hands, which after all this time still stands up for me years on.

Right, that's it for now and I will be back sometime soon with another post.

Till then take care and bye the now!

Resident Evil 3 Remake Review

Well, sorry as its been quite a while since I've done a post on here but I figured it was high time I did another as I have recently just finished playing the remake of Resident Evil 3, which was released on Friday just there and I thought I would do a review on it.

So, with that all said let's take a look at the remake of this classic horror game...

And I will say a little about the plot below so the usual warning is coming...

PLOT SPOILERS ARE AHEAD!!

STORY

So, the story follows Jill Valentine, a former STARS (Special Tactics and Rescue Service) member, who is attacked in her apartment by a bio-weapon named Nemesis, who has been created to destroy the remaining STARS members. Jill narrowly avoids being killed by Nemesis who ruthlessly pursues her until she is rescued by Carlos Olivera, a member of the Umbrella Biohazard Countermeasure Service (UBCS) who takes to an underground subway where they meet with other UBCS operatives Mikhail Viktor and Nicholai Ginovaef. Mikhail tells Jill that they intend to use the subway train to evacuate survivors but they need someone to help them restore power to the subway system to which Jill agrees to help them.

However its from here Jill's problems really begin as she has to find a way to both get the subway working and also being terminated at the hands of the unstoppable menace that is Nemesis...

THOUGHTS

Following on the from highly acclaimed Resident Evil 2 remake, Resident Evil 3 is a pretty solid update of the original game although I do have to admit it isn't quite as successful as its predecessor  in this regard as it feels like a pretty rushed game as it has come out just over a year after RE2 remake. So, as a result of this we seem to have gotten a pretty compressed version of the original although I have to admit I have not played the original since it came out back in 1999! And as a result we are left with what is a game that last just a mere six hours in gameplay which isn't much!

The game however still has plenty going for it as they manage to still keep the suspense going just as well in RE3 as they did in RE2 and you still get the same chilling atmosphere as before too. So, basically in that regard the game does feel like more of the same, which in itself isn't a bad thing and I will go more into the games other pluses below aswell as its negatives.

GAMEPLAY

Gameplay wise RE3 is pretty much the same as RE2 in terms of the movement and action there is not much in the way of change with the exception of a new quick step move, which Jill can perform to dodge enemies. What has changed though is this time around there is significantly less emphasis on puzzle solving unlike in the previous games and even in the original RE3 where there were more puzzles to be found but here they are largely absent and this places more emphasis on the action.

The inventory also pretty much remains the same too as well as the usage of items such as healing items, herbs, keys or other items of use. Jill's inventory allows her to start off by holding 8 items at one time but this increases as she can find various pouches throughout the game to increase her inventory equipment again similar to RE2. Jill can also use a lock pick (especially as she is the master of unlocking!) which is a new feature to the game that will allow her access to cases or certain locked doors.

As for the enemies we get the usual slew of zombies but there are also some new foes to be found here too such as the hunters, poisonous beasts, sewer monsters (yuk!) to name a few. As for the zombies, Jill can perform a quick step move to avoid them or if she get's bitten she will fight them off but with other enemies its a case of just shooting or stabbing them to finish them. Another new aspect of the game here is that Jill can shoot electric generators to temporarily electrocute enemies to stun them so she can get away or it allows her to buy some time to escape Nemesis at key points in the game.

Weapons wise, Jill has access to the usual kind of weaponry seen in RE games starting with her pistol then after she will gain access to other weapons such as a shotgun, grenade launcher, magnum and of course an assault rifle. The weapons can also be upgraded via the use of items littered throughout the game that are stored in cases or safes and this can also include ammo upgrades that increase ammo capacity.

And lastly the puzzles in the game have largely been scaled back but there are still the odd one or two be found here but they are vastly simplified in comparison to puzzles found in the previous games. I was never a big fan of the Rezzie puzzles but at the same time I do appreciate there were one of key aspects of the series, so if you are a puzzle fan then you will be disappointed.

GRAPHICS

As for the graphics, the game looks absolutely stunning just like RE2 remake did as both games use the same graphics engine, which is the RE engine. So, here we get some almost life-like character model as Jill looks great (and pretty foxy too!) and yeah OK Carlos has a ridiculous looking fuzzy hairdo (although he does have an optional clean-cut look too) but his character model looks no less lifelike and the same goes for the other characters too such as Mikhail and Nicholai.  The zombies also look pretty scary and creepy and the other enemies are well detailed especially Nemesis, whose HD upgrade is a very impressive one. 

The game's environments also look superb with plenty of great detail (and quite a bit of blood and gore to be found too!) and there is also plenty of variety to the environments and the weather effects are great too. So, in short Res Evil 3 is a mighty fine looking game with superb graphics all round and as such there is little to complain about here.

MUSIC 

Music wise we have a very similar score to the previous RE2 remake and was scored by Kota Suzuki and Azusa Kato and its actually quite subtle and sparse at times but it also has its bursts of loudness at times. The score however isn't quite as memorable as the original RE3 one, which was a very distinctive soundtrack and unfortunately there is no way to access the original score here like you could in the RE2 remake.  

VOICE ACTING

As for the voice acting once again its excellent as the cast all do a fine job with their respective roles and it helps that the main characters are all well drawn out even if there isn't much room for development with them due to it been an action orientated game.   

As for the cast members starting with Nicole Timpkins, she does an excellent job as Jill Valentine and she plays here with a lot of attitude and heroism but is intrisicly a good person, who does her best to cope with an impossible situation. Jeff Schine also does well with his role as Carlos, the UBCS mercenary, who helps out Jill during the crisis and the two of them together shared some good amusing dialogue even if Carlos comes across as a bit of a dick first, he proves his worth as he goes on.

Neil Newbon also does very well with his role as one of the primary antagonists in the game, Nicholai and he certainly does his best to make you hate Nicky, who's character is for sure a real scumbag. And last of all is William Hope, who does a fine job playing two roles, Mikhail the UBSC mercenary, who helps Jill and Dr Bard, who proves to be a key character later on. William Hope was also notable for his performance in Aliens as the inexperienced Lt Gorman, who leads a squad of marines to investigate the alien planet.

FLAWS

As for flaws...yes RE3 remake isn't perfect.

For starters I think the main problem with the game is that it is simply too short at a mere six hours of gameplay, you actually feel a bit robbed once you have finished it and it would have been great if they could added in just a bit more content here. I can't remember much of the original game but apparently there is a lot that they left out and it would have been good if they added that in here. However I guess CAPCOM wanted to keep the game pretty taut rather than add in what they might have seen as excess moments that could otherwise have been cut. Perhaps they might make up for this with a DLC in future covering the cut content but we'll see.

There were also one or two inventory issues too such as the inability to change or reload ammo from the inventory screen as you simply had to do it while in action, which kind of sucks yet you could do this in RE2 remake. So, I felt this was poor oversight in the game that should have been addressed to be honest but wasn't.

I also thought that the new quick step move wasn't that great or of much use here because there were times I just couldn't time it right as often ended up in the path of a zombie, which ended up with Jill getting bitten more times than not! I think there is a visual cue for when to do it but I was never able to do it properly and the cues seem to come more when Nemesis is in pursuit of Jill.

And this brings me onto the issue of Nemesis himself as his persistent encounters with Jill become tiresome after a while as they are obviously scripted so that there isn't much room for unpredictably unlike in the original game where Nemesis could apparently appear at random. So, toward the end its like "achh not ANOTHER encounter!" which to be honest was kind of the case with Mr X in the RE2 remake also.

I was also a bit disappointed to see the game go as far as to recycle the same zombie character models that featured in RE2, which kind of smacked of laziness for me that they couldn't have changed them up a bit more. Further to this, they also had to include the police station from RE2 again, which was yet another graphical rehash from the RE2 remake that felt a bit lazy. Now to be fair perhaps the police station did feature in the original RE3 but to be honest I don't really know but if so it is at least justifiable in its reappearance.   

And last of all, I was a bit disappointed to find that I could not access Jill's original outfit from the game menu (i.e. her blue top and skirt) or at least I couldn't see an option to select it and don't know why. Perhaps it is accessible but I was unable to locate an option for it and wondered if you have to actually buy it online and if so this sucks as its something they should have included. I might be wrong about this but I certainly couldn't get an option for Jill to wear although I did manage to get her original STARS outfit from Resident Evil 1 after I completed the game.

Anyway that's it for the flaws.

SUM UP

So, to sum up, RE3 remake is a pretty good one and a pretty solid update of the classic original which features some tense, gripping moments of action, great graphics, fine voice acting and reasonably good main enemy in Nemesis. However the game is of course a bit too short with just six hours worth of gameplay it is bound to leave gamers feeling a bit short-changed (especially as it costs £50 online!) and it just isn't quite as good as the RE2 remake overall.

However despite this, its still a pretty solid game and despite its shortcomings and worth having a look at.

Right, that's it for and until the next one, take care folks and I might return with a revisit of my review of Doom 3 as I am currently replaying that too and having a blast with it (quite literally!).

So till then its bye for now.