But can it run Crysis? This was the motto that surrounded every single PC build for literal years after the release of the game in 2007. Crytek were not satisfied with what they had achieved with Far Cry in 2004, and decided to push graphical hardware to its absolute limits with their brand new and shiny game. And boy, did they succeed, with a poorly optimised but breathtakingly gorgeous game. Even better, there was an entire video game attached to this graphical showcase, promising open ended tactical engagements over massive levels, far removed from corridor brawling.

You have cool suit powers that switch between modes, on the fly weapon modification, and a wide array of guns (and vehicles) to wreak havoc on those pesky North Koreans. And if there are aliens, well, the United States of kick ass will just have to murder them as well. It seems like an incredible game on paper, even today when we have more open world games than you can shake a stick at.

But for all that Crysis is vaunted for its massive leap forward in graphical technology, just how good a game is it to actually play? Are the suit powers really that interesting in the face of the many RPG systems that tend to overlap FPS games today? And is fighting those aliens all its cracked up to be? Is Crysis worth your time to play today, or is it better remembered?

On this episode, we discuss:

The Suit.

Crysis’s key feature is a powerful exoskeleton that lets you switch between 4 modes - Strength, Armor, Speed and Stealth. Just how well does the game push these suit modes in terms of engaging gameplay? Are they balanced, and more importantly, are they fun to use?

The Guns.

How fun is the gunplay in Crysis? The game features a fairly typical roster of assault rifles, submachine guns and shotguns, but has weapon modification on the fly with a simple menu. Does this do enough to spice up the gunplay and keep things interesting?

The level design.

Crysis features (mostly) semi-open world level design, with bespoke objectives. Does this give you the freedom to approach them in the way you want, and does it maintain this philosophy for the entire run time of the game?

We answer these questions and many more on the 124th episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

Intro Music: KieLoBot - Tanzen K

Outro Music: Rockit Maxx - One point to another

Crysis OST: Inon Zur

The original version of the game, available on GOG, will fail to start on modern operating systems (Windows 10+).

This can be fixed using the below link, which James used for this

https://github.com/ccomrade/c1-launcher

Do you know what the gameplay differences are between Crysis 1 and the remastered version? Do you think that Crysis is better than the Far Cry games that came afterwards? When are we going to play Far Cry 2?

Come let us know what you think on our community discord server!

If you would like to support the show monetarily, you can buy us a coffee here!

After their magnum opus that was Resident Evil 1, Capcom were not going to sit on their heels. Coming out just two years after the first in 1998, Resident Evil 2 sought to have everything the original had and much, much more. It connected its two character’s stories in far more meaningful ways, increased the size of each player's inventory (and their respectives arsenals) and had more cinematic and explosive moments to show the player.

And boy did it do well! It received universal critical acclaim, with everything from its graphical fidelity to its voice acting considered above and beyond the original. Many players consider this to be the best Resident Evil game to this day.

But in the wake of the 2019 remake, and a longform view of what eventually became of the franchise - is Resident Evil 2 really all that its cracked up to be? Do more zombies and more action automatically equal a better game? Does more inventory slots, disappearing corpses and a more linear cinematic progression bode well from a gameplay sense? How does Resident Evil 2 compare to its other offerings, and is it worth playing today?

On this episode we discuss:

Story

Resident Evil 2 presents its story in a very interesting way - two overlapping but distinct perspectives in Leon and Claire. Does this experimental storytelling work, and how invested were we in its fundamentally B grade plot?

Level Design

Resident Evil 2s police station brings back most of what made the mansion so incredible, with its distinct spaces and looping level design. How does it compare to the original, and how enjoyable is it when you move away from the Police Station

Survival

Resident Evil 2 takes away the need to burn corpses, gives you more ammo and gives you more inventory slots. What impact does this have on the tension of survival, and how different is the focus on tactical exploration?

We answer these questions and many more on the 123rd episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

Intro Music: KieLoBot - Tanzen K

Outro Music: Rockit Maxx - One point to another

Resident Evil 2 OST: Masami Ueda, Shusaku Uchiyama, Syun Nishigaki

Which Resident Evil game is truly the best? What were your experiences like playing the original games back in the day? Are there any other survival horror games that come close to this franchise? Come let us know what you think on our community discord server!

You can support the show monetarily on our Buy Me a Coffee Page.

The Legend of Zelda is perhaps the most iconic video game series of all time. Boasting 19 mainline entries, and an endless swathe of critical acclaim and awards, it's hard to find someone who hasn’t at least heard of the action/adventure story of Link and Zelda.

It all began back in 1986 with the release of the first game for the Famicom in Japan. The game begins immediately with an open ended structure, giving the player multiple paths to follow, and an open world to explore. You explore and fight, get stronger and overcome challenges, and discover secrets along the way. It might sound inconsequential, but on release Zelda was breathtakingly audacious in its design, with its non-linearity and enormous world.

But is it still an impressive title today? Non-linearity and open worlds are par for the course now. And while Zelda has been massively influential, that just means there have been thousands of attempts at refining and improving over what the original game offered. Has The Legend of Zelda truly stood the test of time, or is it simply just a historical landmark?

On this episode, we discuss:

Exploration and Secrets

• Zelda, like many games of its era, boasts a huge manual, complete with a partially filled map to get you started on uncovering its many secrets. Is the process of exploring and finding secrets enjoyable, or is its reputation as obtuse and frustrating to figure out justified?

Progress and keys

• Zelda is stunningly non-linear, with most of the gameworld immediately accessible if you know what you’re doing. Does the design of giving the player more utility and power through their progress instead of straight up keys lead to a more engaging open world? Or does the metroidvania formulae do it better?

Combat

• Just how enjoyable is the moment to moment gameplay of Zelda? Enemies can be fast and furious, and the game wil often sling a lot of projectiles at you. Does the game give you the tools to skillfully deal with the obstacles in your way, or is it just about hit trading and tanking through damage?

We answer these questions and many more on the 122nd episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

Intro Music: KieLoBot - Tanzen K

Outro Music: Rockit Maxx - One point to another

Zelda OST: Koji Kondo

The full manual can be found here

What other games have been heavily inspired by Zelda that we completely blanked on? What were your experiences exploring the world for the first time? What Zelda game should we play next? Come let us know what you think on our community discord server!

You can support the show monetarily on our Buy me a Coffee page!