AntonioLenciano Reviews

Call of Duty: Ghosts (2013 Video Game)

Call of Duty®: Ghosts

[9/10 · 25 February 2024]

The story of Call of Duty: Ghosts takes place from the perspective of two brothers: Logan Walker and David Walker, who take part in the armed conflict between the United States and the Federation of South American Countries, commanded by a terrorist calling himself Rorke.

It is a mature and strong story with many themes of revenge, blood ties and plain meanness. Moreover, the title is characterized by a scale that only the Call of Duty series can afford.

From destroyed California, through the Amazon jungle, to a flooded city or a space station. The product is a stock bomb filled with special effects. From the very beginning it was gripping with special effects worthy of the second half. 21st century Special effects and action are undoubtedly the game's greatest advantages. Infinity Ward took care to properly balance the gameplay between hands-on driving, helicopter and tank attacks, and being abandoned to fate with a knife to his soul. Great mix. Each mission is varied with a different approach to the mission using new techniques, and breaking through a city flooded with water is a masterpiece. Our four-legged companion - the German Shepherd Riley, revolutionizes the approach to both the entire Call of Duty series and the FPS genre in general. I have never seen such a system of eliminating opponents using a dog controlled in real time. A very satisfying solution that enriches the gameplay in a pleasant way.

It is worth giving credit to the companions that they are not just a background for Logan Walker's actions, but take an active part in the activities, eliminating opponents or even taking command. The entire campaign is one long action movie that a Mission Impossible movie would be proud of.

And the song Survival from Eminem himself, crowning the intense campaign, is the icing on the cake.

Rating: 9/10.

Alien: Isolation (2014 Video Game)

The perfect horror

[10/10 · 30 November 2023]

Alien: Isolation is an exemplary sci-fi horror film that tells the story of Amanda Ripley, the daughter of Ellen Ripley, known from R. Scott's film universe, who comes to Sevastopol Station in search of a black box from the tugboat "Nostromo".

One would like to say "like mother, like mother" because both the mother and the daughter will have to fight a murderous battle with a bloodthirsty creature from outer space.

Alien: Isolation starts slowly, slowly drawing the player into the dark corners of the Sevastopol station descending into chaos. Those looking for a well-known brawl straight from the Alien vs. Series are here. Predator may be disappointed. It's a zero-sum battle between Ripley and the unnamed evil lurking in the depths of the station.

The atmosphere created in the game is extraordinary, absolutely unforgettable. The feeling of being isolated in a closed station somewhere on the outskirts with a predatory beast hunting you, mixed with mounting tension and a desperate, even hopeless fight for survival is the most unique experience I have experienced in video games.

I completed the title twice - the first time on high difficulty level, the second time on 'nightmare' mode. The first contact with the game and coming face to face with humanity's greatest nightmare is an unforgettable experience.

If we add to all this amazing music, which intricately builds the tension and atmosphere of horror, and a really well-rendered voice of the protagonist, we get an (almost) perfect horror movie. There are minor technical errors, but the entire title is crushing and jaw-dropping.

The game has been perfectly designed, providing the user with a real emotional cocktail in waves, attacking from the stages of tension through the dramatic fight for survival to the subsidence of emotions and a short moment to collect troubled thoughts - a revelation!

And the experience of how the titular Alien functions is... indescribable in written words. You just have to experience it. When you are walking around one of the seemingly abandoned wings of the station, a black, slimy, hissing alien organism suddenly emerges from the air vent, whose sole purpose from now on is to find you... and kill you.

Rating: 10/10.

Scorn (2022 Video Game)

Strange experience

[3/10 · 20 June 2023]

The first association with contact with Scorn: the game strongly resembles the environment associated with the Alien universe. In the initial phase, it is not at all disturbing or however scary, it is ... strange.

Scorn leaves the player alone in an alien, strange place resembling a research facility - certainly not built by humankind.

At the same time, the game is not particularly engaging. After dealing with the title for a long time, my thoughts drifted far away from the game.

The title is crude - it's very easy to get lost in the maze of alleys and wander around for long minutes in search of another device with which you can interact.

At the first logical puzzle, I was quite puzzled, and each subsequent one became more and more discouraging to me.

It was supposed to be creative, but it turned out boring and complicated.

The trailers of the game did not reflect what this game really is.

And most importantly, who can you recommend the game to?

Enthusiasts of adventure games with puzzles in which you don't know where to go or what to do.

I advise everyone else to let go of the title, and spend the saved money in any better way.

Rating: 3/10.

Dead Space 3 (2013 Video Game)

Ice Nightmare

[8/10 · 9 June 2022]

The third installment of the wildly popular series of Dead Space games crowns the story of ship systems engineer Isaac Clarke, who, after arriving with the crew of the USM Eudora cruiser on the ice planet Tau Volantis, deals with the very source of a cosmic infection that threatens the stability of the entire galaxy.

Visceral Games studio, like experts in survival-horror, once again take the player on a chilling (literally) journey through the frontiers of outer space, among which, as an experienced engineer, he will face a horde of grim monsters known as necromorphs.

For 1/3 of the game, the atmosphere of the game does not differ in any way from the previous two parts. Once again we are on the destroyed ships where the catastrophe took place, as a result of which most of the crew were brutally murdered, and what was left on the ships in no way resembles people. So there is an evil lurking behind every corridor, ready to stick its claws and a lonely protagonist who desperately tries to save himself, and at the same time the entire human species.

Then it only gets better.

After crashing on the ice-bound planet Tau Volantis, Isaac Clarke wanders in a snowstorm, dramatically trying to warm his dreaming body and discovering in horror that frost does not affect monsters that, coming out of the ice, are hungry for human flesh.

The well-known workshop with which you can upgrade weapons and create new ones has returned to the third part. The collected raw materials were expanded with new elements and the possibility of independent configuration of the weapon was given. Unfortunately, Isaac can only carry two types of weapons, which significantly limits the ability to annihilate different types of necromorphs.

The artwork is ghastly rich and looks good even 9 years after its release. The whole thing is complemented by music that slowly seeps into the ear, anxiety.

The game is perfectly optimized and with excellent sound.

Dead Space 3 is a very good continuation in no way deviating from its predecessors, and the progress that has been made in the development of the game from the first part is amazing. The entire trilogy is held at the same, even level, which is quite an advantage in the gaming industry.

Freaks crawling out from all sides of the ventilation ducts, ready to shred you to pieces, are still very dreadful. If you are accompanied by waves of shivers down your back during the game, it means that it is a very good horror movie.

The game has one nasty feature - and that is the save system, which was poorly constructed. It is not possible to manually save the game, and the system saves in such a way that when restarting the game, you often have to catch up for several dozen minutes and go through the entire stages of the game again, which is very irritating after a few times.

To sum up the Dead Space trilogy - all three parts maintain the same level, none of them differs from the predecessor, differing in a slight way from each other. The third part in a truly spectacular cinematic way crowns this amazing trilogy so important for the survival-horror games segment.

Rating: 8/10.

Crysis 3 (2013 Video Game)

Graphic Pearl

[8/10 · 20 May 2022]

Crysis 3 tells the fate of the final clash between an intelligent race of aliens - the Cepids, and the Earthlings, led by Major Laurence "The Prophet" Barnes, known from the previous two parts.

When you first contact a Crytek production, a graphic bomb hits. At that time, the game was ahead of all other productions by whole graphic eons, pushing its possibilities to almost unattainable levels. Nine years after the premiere, Crysis 3 looks like it came out two years ago. Meticulousness, graphic richness, particle effects, graphic momentum make an electrifying impression. The game is supposed to please the eye with a cascade of graphic colors and details and it does it perfectly.

The second, after the graphic design, element that brings the most satisfaction is eliminating enemies. The creators took care of a diverse arsenal of weapons, and with the help of a nanosuit, enemies can be exterminated both silently and as a full-fledged killing machine.

The gameplay, its momentum, possibilities and operability beat all CoDs, Battlefields and Far Cry. If you are looking for a juicy, full-fledged FPS, Crysis 3 is filled to the brim with action and combat product.

The only drawback that can be noticed is the random drops in frames per second in this powerful world and a bit wooden cutscenes. Plus, it's the best part of the entire trilogy, crowning the epic finale from the Lingsham Islands to the depths of New York City.

Rating: 8/10.

Dishonored (2012 Video Game)

Vendetta in Dunwall

[8/10 · 24 March 2022]

Dishonored tells the story of the vendetta of the Lord Protector of the Isles Empire, Corvo Attano, who, betrayed by the imperial entourage, sets out to restore order to the empire.

The game has a distinctive steampunk atmosphere and is based on the stealth-action genre. Arkane Studios carefully made sure that the player could immerse himself in the modernized Victorian era by carefully designing the locations of Dunwall city and creating extremely time-resistant graphics.

The gameplay is linear from the first-person view and consists in completing the missions entrusted to us in various locations throughout Dunwall. Corvo can use melee weapons, throwing weapons, and use supernatural powers. The stealthy approach to completing missions is especially rewarded, but it is not obligatory, although it is worth mentioning that it brings a solid dose of satisfaction.

Dishonored is a very good product. Very nice. Very interesting. Very innovative. Very addictive ... But to give him such an honorable title as Game of the Year is definitely exaggerated.

Rating: 8/10.

Red Dead Redemption II (2018 Video Game)

Rockstar's Magnum Opus

[10/10 · 12 January 2022]

You can write an essay or even a thesis about Red Dead Redemption 2 and how great this game is.

I am not going to take on such a breakneck challenge. It seems to me that the mere attempt to review is beyond my abilities. The game is so variedly rich, so incredibly detailed, so meticulously meticulous that it is impossible to cover all its elements in one text. Suffice it to say that after 250 hours (!) The game can still surprise you.

So I will only write that awarding Red Dead Redemption 2 with the title of Game of the Year is a treat for it.

This is the Game of the Age.

The era in which we now divide games into those created before Red Dead Redemption 2 and games created after Red Dead Redemption 2.

This is the best game ever made. It completely changes the approach to games and looking at them.

Without emphasis, it can be said that Red Dead Redemption 2 ushered in a completely New Era of games in the electronics industry.

Red Dead Redemption 2 is a game for real players. For video game connoisseurs. For players who can appreciate even the smallest element, taste and experience the title with their whole being. The plot of the game crushes everything that has come out so far, and the range of emotions we experience during the game was unheard of in any other game.

The crown of video games.

Rating: 10/10.

Serious Sam 4 (2020 Video Game)

Time for Europe

[8/10 · 2 December 2021]

This is the best part of Serious Sam.

The first thing that stands out in comparison to the previous parts is the openness of the game world. The Croatian studio Croteam breaks the linear leading of the player from one location to another, and gives the possibility of a relatively free traverse the world, even introducing a completely innovative element such as side objectives.

So far, Sam has followed nothing but Netrisc's guidelines. In the fourth part, from time to time, we have the opportunity to leave the main storyline and perform optional additional tasks for which you can get various gadgets that are a complete novelty in the series. This is a fantastic solution.

The great advantage of the game is the modernized graphics, especially the construction and presentation of picturesque locations in Europe. Lush, charming, colorful, antique places wonderfully contrast with the massacre of hordes of aliens interspersed with the cassander music of Damjan Mravunac in the background. The change from the sepia sands of Egypt to lush, green European scenery has benefited the entire series.

The shooting mechanics are fine, and the distinctive system of dismantling enemies is very satisfying.

The game has been enriched with completely new enemies, new weapons and skill points unprecedented in the series, thanks to which we can equip Sam with two weapons, which further increases the fun of annihilating new hordes of monsters.

The vehicle system was introduced among other novelties, incl. Motorbikes, combines or combat mechs.

The creators made sure that boredom did not creep into the game. Monstrous bosses and the sowing of doom with a battle mech in the very center of the Vatican have a huge impact on the gameplay of the title.

The storyline of the production has also been taken care of, and the missions are no longer just about moving from one location to another and collecting items. During them, Sam can work together with comrades who are actively involved in the fight against Mental.

Fabulous graphics, beautiful locations, upbuilding music are the great advantages of the game, but it is not devoid of (simple) mistakes.

Graphical bugs happen. It happens that opponents get stuck on a straight obstacle. It can be different with the destruction of the environment. Some objects can be destroyed in a spectacular way, while others seem to be made of titanium. On the other hand, Sam is free to penetrate objects such as trees or other people. Another drawback is the character models, which behave very artificially and unnaturally in cutscenes. It does not look any better during the game.

Overall, Serious Sam 4 is a very good shooter. It will appeal not only to fans of Sam Stone's adventures, but it will appeal to all lovers of "old style" shooters - you + giver and hundreds, thousands of opponents.

Rating: 8/10.

Resident Evil: Revelations 2 (2015 Video Game)

The Return of the Nightmare

[9/10 · 4 July 2021]

Resident Evil: Revelations 2 tells the story of the kidnapping and forced to fight for the survival of the sister of the legend of the Resident Evil universe - Chris Redfield - Claire Redfield and the daughter of the known from the first part - Barry Burton - who also got his own piece of a separate story.

The game begins with a movie, and the first episode taking place in the prison facility is reminiscent of the structure of the "Saw" film series with its structure.

Along with the twentieth part of the Resident Evil series, the production theme known from the first part returns, emphasized even more than before.

It is worth noting that Resident Evil: Revelations 2 starts in many ways better than its predecessor.

The site models look really dingy - but the dingy, given the nature of the production, is "beautiful". Carefully designed locations in such a way as to perfectly reflect the atmosphere of horror and the spirit of the roots of the series by designing a spooky dark mansion.

Finally, the survival model that was so lacking in the two previous installments of the cycle also returns. You should manage your resources wisely and carefully look for new ones by browsing through the nooks and crannies.

The production perfectly keeps the player in suspense, in nervous anticipation of what he will find behind the next door.

Worth mentioning is the excellently constructed sound.

The ubiquitous snoring of opponents, the creaking and shuffling of the surroundings or powerful gunshots give the game an unmistakable atmosphere, which is complemented by music that creates an aura of tension.

The opponents, as always in the series of the Resident Evil universe - are perfectly (monstrously) designed. Their attacks towards the player are often accompanied by a course of chills mixed with a sense of disgust and fear.

The cooperation system between the characters also differs from its predecessor, which was constructed very nicely. Depending on the choice of character, the entire character of the game changes, so that boredom and repetition do not creep in.

Companions deal with opponents much better than their predecessors from the "number one". Including they can focus the enemy's attention and take an active part in the fight.

The (mini) boss fights are very well designed.

Interesting, boring, challenging but achievable.

And the final itself is a masterpiece of production.

If something casts a shadow on this sensational production, it is the implementation of "invisible walls", occasional blocking of enemies or problems with graphic textures.

With a good feeling, the game is quite a challenge for our nerves and mental resilience.

Last time my nerves were put to the test by Dead Space 2.

Everything is terribly correlated with each other - so are the locations, appearing opponents, psychedelic music and a dense atmosphere.

What more could you want from survival-horror?

Rating: 9/10.

Resident Evil: Revelations (2012 Video Game)

The storm is gone

[5/10 · 4 July 2021]

Resident Evil: Revelations tells the further adventures of Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance agents: Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine, who do not think about taking a well-deserved retirement, but continue to fight global bio-terrorism.

In the latest installment, they had to deal with the effects of a terrorist attack using a new type of virus: t-Abyss, by a group known as II Veltro.

The lion's share of the action takes place on a luxurious cruise ship with the graceful name - Queen Zenobia, on which gruesome events took place.

The entire game follows the convention of the show. Divided into episodes, dramatic cliffhangers, and even reminders of what happened in the previous "episodes" of the game.

An interesting, innovative treatment; I have to admit that I have not come across such a serial construction of the game yet.

How did she get out?

Pretty average.

Despite the horror visuals, the game is more like an adventure game with horror elements, mainly in the form of disgusting opponents.

The graphics themselves also look average. The textures are bad, and the typical horror atmosphere is like medicine.

There is an incredible amount of walking around in the game. It is worth mentioning that the locations and the map are constructed in such a way that on Queen Zenobia you can simply get lost in the world and not without problems looking for the next target.

The element that is particularly irritating is the fact that the opponents focus only on our protagonist with the completely absurd omission of our companions. As if the monsters were only programmed to kill only us.

The game is short. The campaign is about 10 hours of gameplay, so you can go to the stubborn title with two longer sessions.

In order to slightly extend the post-game, the players have the Rush Mode, which consists in passing stages with a time limit.

Resident Evil: Revelations is a must-have item on the shelf of every enthusiast of the universe created by Capcom, while people who want to play a good adventure game, and in no way related to this universe can easily let go of the title and go to the latest adventures of Lara Croft.

Rating: 5/10.

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine (2011 Video Game)

SMASH ORCS SKULLS!

[6/10 · 4 July 2021]

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine tells the spectacular story of the captain of the Temple Guardian Legion, Titus, who and his brothers came to defend the planet Graii from the invasion of the Emperor's enemies.

And this is basically the entire background of the game, in which it is in vain to look for the depth of the story, and which comes down to pushing forward and tearing through thousands of opponents, after all, the Crown of Wonders is at risk!

Graia itself makes an impression with its steel power, while the whole taste is spoiled by ugly and poor graphics. The special effects look very average, and the structure of individual locations is boring and repetitive.

Although the game does not leave the player alone, it seems that he is standing alone against the entire Horde. Our brothers are more extras than full-fledged Space Warriors.

The title did not avoid graphic errors - with poor quality graphics.

The only thing that really impresses are the executions of enemies.

For a split second you can feel the real power of an ultra-soldier and crush the enemy to a pulp in a spectacular way.

The title includes a multiplayer mode with many game models, upgrading your character and equipment.

Rating: 6/10.

Resident Evil 6 (2012 Video Game)

Fearless Evil

[3/10 · 19 May 2021]

The sixth part of Resident Evil gives a completely different course of the series, reminding more of a horror-action-shooter than the traditionally understood survival-horror.

Elements related to strictly survival are practically non-existent. From the very beginning it was supposed to be loud, spectacular and pompous. It came out - poorly.

Resident Evil was much better at stifling, claustrophobic locations filled with fear and living dead bodies. The transition from this model to the action-shooter model did not turn out well for the game.

The title is poorly optimized. It works very badly.

The graphic model is some 5 years behind schedule. While overall it is quite tolerable, the textures look terrible. The graphic designer put it completely. Only the character models are well made.

Another element that weighs on the game is gameplay.

It comes down to tearing through a herd of annoying creatures from one location to another, trying to focus on spectacularity, which in practice comes down to disgust.

The game is uneven, the farther into the forest, defeating enemies ceases to give any satisfaction. At some point, I changed the difficulty level to the easiest one to make the game as easy as possible. The gameplay is a nightmare enough, you don't have to make it difficult.

The plot, even for games of this type, does not add up and it is in vain to look for a deeper meaning in it.

The whole atmosphere of horror was pumped out and replaced with "effective" action.

There are few elements connecting the sixth part with the previous ones. At one point, I even felt like I was on the set of a new game about the adventures of Lara Croft among ancient ruins.

Resident Evil 6 is totally not my cup of tea.

The game is full of technical flaws, graphical bugs and errors. She was even deprived of her soul by taking her lore. The creators in an inept way decided to replace everything by giving us a gun with the command to sow chaos in the world. And I am not sure if this format suits me for sure.

Rating: 3/10.

Battlefield 3 (2011 Video Game)

Compensation Battlefield 3

[8/10 · 19 May 2021]

The campaign gameplay of Battlefield 3 is amazing. The problems start in the details.

Starting with the advantages, it is really necessary to distinguish the specificity of the game during the campaign, which is determined by high dynamics, spontaneity, interestingly selected missions that are very diverse. In this respect, Dice made sure that each mission was different from each other and presented a different element of the game.

The campaign can be really addictive, individual missions are swallowed up like successive episodes of your favorite series, ending with hunger.

As far as this element is concerned, the game exudes freshness, a sense of bond and brotherhood with your team - practically the entire campaign is carried out in the company, there are no missions performed alone.

One of my favorite moments in the campaign is the fragment in which we have to hide from the jet fire, conquered by intense music.

Basically, there are quite a few fragments to remember, as well as, unfortunately, there are many bugs and glich.

Graphically, the title is also not at a high level, although the graphics are not ugly.

The play of lights, the dirt of war and the devastation of the locations we are in are presented in a very good way.

They are limping character models that do not look very good, textures could be much better, or even cut scenes that look artificial.

While the behavior of our team members is definitely a plus - the characters move dynamically, lively, cooperate with the player, the enemy's artificial intelligence leaves much to be desired. Apart from advancing and attacking everything that moves, it does not show much initiative in this field.

The multiplayer system has been designed much better. Some maps are really big, the damage model has been done decently, and our virtual "battlefield three" has been given an extensive arsenal of various toys - from weapons to armored vehicles and jets.

The final rating, considering the weak single player mode and the great multiplayer model, is - 8/10.

Batman: Arkham City (2011 Video Game)

Shadowhunter of Gotham

[10/10 · 14 March 2021]

Batman: Arkham City is a great continuation of the Arkham series. Compared to the previous part, "Two" is bigger, more interesting, richer, more extensive, more extensive and in many ways simply better. The most satisfying element is the combat system, which is quite fun. Generally speaking - beating the mouths of various types of thugs and thugs in an effective way is really satisfying. Batman's combat abilities, a multitude of blows and finishes make a great impression. If you add 12 Batman gadgets that are perfect to diversify the battles, we get a recipe for a truly delicious combat system. Arkham City is a packed, living, dark, mysterious sandbox waiting to discover its secrets. Speaking of secrets, it's Edward aka. Riddler Nigma has prepared over 400 of them. In addition, there are concept art, challenges and extensive side missions. In general, the world of Arkham City under the main plot, which lasts for about 10-15 hours, has a second bottom, which takes another time to discover. It won't be an exaggeration to say that Batman: Arkham City is a game with a soul. Because the creators do not only present the gameplay, but add depth to the story through numerous references to the entire Batman lore. You can really get into the title long after the main part is finished, and free flying around Arkham City, discovering individual stories of heroes and places, collecting trophies, washing the mouths of thugs or skimming the walls of the hellishly agile Catwoman is very pleasant. Thanks to the high graphic standards, the game has not aged too much, and its original dark character has been preserved. Batman: Arkham City is a flawless arcade fight with frequent elements of stealth. Great optimization, panache, a story about a superhero beating from the game, enriched with pleasant musical themes make Rocksteady Studios really perfect its product. Rating: 10/10