Recent reviews by Harold Finch

I've been playing this game since it came out in 2005. I still own the physical disc. I will never forget the memories I have staying up late and playing this game. It's a true gem that hasn't lost it's charm, quality, or the touches of love put into it.

Easily one of the best games I've played in the last year. I'm not typically a fan of Early Access games (*wheeze* DayZ *wheeze*) but what is here in Squad's Alpha state is absolutely great.

A fond memory I have is me, a friend, and a few randoms were instructed with holding the bridge so they can't push to our main bases and win the battle. We held the bridge valiantly, taking casualties all while I'm attempting to keep everyone alive and patched up. (I was a medic.) Our comms were frantic, the battles intense, and the sound design beautiful. It's an experience like no other.

I archived the footage from the bridge defense here if you want to see it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3MH4shaxsI

Rightio. Onto what you probably would like to know about Squad since you're here reading a lowly Steam Review.


Going into the game I wasn't quite sure what to expect. Would the guns sound great even in this early state? Would there be annoying ass music interrupting my gameplay (and my own music when I'm walking across the map) and making it so I can't hear my friendlies call out to me?

I was pleasantly surprised. The guns sound like they should. Powerful. They sound like they could kill a person which is what it *should* sound like. I'll never be able to not hear the sound of bullets whizzing past my head when I close my eyes even during my small seven point one hours of play time as of this review. It's nerve-shattering and scary but phenomenal sound design.

One thing this game does differently then most is directional VOIP for your friendlies. Coming up on a position your friendlies are valiantly defending is amazing as you can hear them calling out to each other and to medics when they get wounded. It sounds terrific. VOIP is something games typically don't nail this early in development but I'm glad this one did.

Music? There is none, soldier. This is war!

Ambient noise is something I haven't noticed as I'm typically on Discord with a friend when I play. It's probably there and done so well that it's something I don't really notice.

Anyway, that sums up the sound part of this review. Onto the graphics.


Graphics in this game are beautiful here thanks to Unreal Engine 4. Textures and lighting help suck you into the harsh reality that is war. The human models look a bit janky at times and not... er... very human if you get up close, but that's probably because we're still in an early stage of this game's development. It's not noticeable enough to throw you out of the experience, but it's a small complaint I have.

Lighting in this game is especially great. Normally when I play games with my right hand broham we don't typically comment on the graphics, but we were walking through the forest in one of the maps and he commented about how the sun's light coming through the small cracks in the trees was beautiful. Once I realized and noticed what he was talking about I was blown away.

All and all, graphics in this game are great. Onto the gameplay.


Have you played ArmA or the Project Reality mod for Battlefield 2? The gunplay in this game is rather similar to that of those. It's fluid but tough to master as you have to position your gun in the right spots. Just like in real life guns are tough to handle. You'll have to handle recoil, distance, and proper aiming to even net a single kill. This ain't no Call of Duty, rushing in and spraying willy nilly won't net you any kills and in turn get yourself killed.

Speaking of Call of Duty, this is a team based game. You need to speak up and communicate with your team to effectively beat the enemy. The team with the best communication and support will in the end win.

When you're first starting out you won't have an idea what's going on. By the end of your second match you should have a general idea. Matches typically take upwards of an hour and are similar to Battlefield depending on the mode you play. The normal default mode has your team taking control of different chunks of the map to drain the enemies tickets to win. It's a fun mode but requires a lot of communicate.

The other mode is Insurgency. If you're on the attackers, you have to locate three enemy weapon caches and destroy them. If you're on the defenders team, you gotta protect those caches, boy! This mode can be rather boring if you're on either side and tends to drag on for over an hour if you've got good teams on both sides. You'll sometimes end up with an endless amount of death where both teams are pushing each other and no one is getting closer to their objective.

If you're first starting out, try to grab a friend who plays this game frequently. It helped me learn the ropes immensely and now I can actually play the game and not sound like a bumbling idiot. If you don't have any friends who play this game, don't worry. The community here is not toxic currently. They're friendly and if you join a random squad, chances are the people there will help you learn the ropes.

I'd also recommend just starting out as a normal rifleman when you first play. It helps you learn the controls and how to fire yer gun. If you come to the conclusion (like I did) you suck at killing the enemy then play medic! Medics are still out there on the frontlines but your main goal is to get yer comrades back up from death and willing to crush those ISIS d00ds. You'll be a valueable asset to your team, even if you aren't killing the most ISIS d00ds in a match.

Animations are a little janky at times, but they're better then most AAA games these days and I'm sure will be ironed out before Squad leaves Early Access.

That's really it for the gameplay. There's not much else to say. Moving onto the final verdict.



Squad is an intense, strategic, and amazingly fun experience. Lucky for me the game had a free weekend and I got a chance to see what I've been missing. Special thanks to my right hand broham for gifting me this amazing game. I would've bought it myself in a heartbeat but he got the gift before I could whip out my wallet. Honestly? It's well worth every single penny. While it has some kinks since it's in Alpha, it's well worth following.

Do I suggest you wait for a sale? Only if you haven't played this type of game before. It was recently down to $20 and I'd imagine it'll be down to that price again come the Winter sale. If you've played a game like this before and are cool with Early Access then I'd suggest you jump on this train and get ready for one helluva ride.

Final Score: 9/10

Review Written By: Harold Finch

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MRCoolmanist

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/MRCoolmanist

Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/mrcoolmanist

Have a great day!

This game fills my crave for blood after I stopped playing Dark Souls for a bit (and waiting for Dark Souls 3.) While the game still has some issues, it's absolutely astounding. Just pick it up, already!

9/10

I really hope the developers don't abandon this game and really expand on it, because even with what is there being great. I can't wait to see what they do as the game continues development.

A great return to form for the Hitman series and while Episode 1 (The Intro Pack) didn't astound me, I see a bright future ahead for this Hitman entry. I absolutely loved it and I can't wait to see what they do with the rest of the season. I might not fully support the whole splitting the game into chunks ordeal but I can faithfully say that while that might suck, the game does not disappoint me. I wasn't a big fan of Absolution, but I absolutely loved Hitman 2: Silent Assassin through Hitman: Blood Money.


-Gameplay: It's better then Absolution, feels like Blood Money to me. They took some of the best things from Absolution and applied them to this game.

-Graphics: They are absolutely fantastic. (even with some of the framerate issues) Everyone and everything looks absolutely amazing and the people look like... actual people. My jaw hit the floor on a few occasions at how beautiful everything looked, and seeing April's content trailer made my jaw hit the floor even harder. I cannot wait to see the map for April on my computer screen.

-Audio: The world feels alive and responsive, I felt like I was in a real place during the Paris Fashion Show. I don't think the audio ever broke my immersion at any point during my playthrough of Paris.

-Music: It might not be Jesper Kyd, but it's there and what is there didn't sound like absolute crap to me. I liked it, but I would like Jesper Kyd back.

-Story: While there isn't much here, it intrigues me and I actually can't wait to see where it will go throughout the rest of the Season.

-Some framerate problems. It will probably be patched eventually but I noticed some issues during my time playing the game.

-Graphics options were greyed out for me, it again, will probably be patched but it's a current issue with the launch state of the game.

-Always online, I understand why it's like this but I don't support it.

-Poorly added in DirectX 12 support, this is my first game that I own that supports DirectX 12, and the way it's added into this game is ♥♥♥♥. I had to switch over to DirectX 11 because 12 kept crashing the tutorial level for me.

-Slightly too easy for my tastes but as I do replays I will probably tinker with the games numerous options to make it harder for myself.


Do I recommend you buy this game in it's current state?: No, if you aren't a die-hard Hitman fan.

Do I recommend you to buy this game down the line?: Yes, I'm sure by 2017 when the physical version releases a lot of these bugs will be addressed and fixed.

Did I enjoy my time with this game?: Yes, and I'm not done playing through all of it yet. I still have yet to touch Contracts Mode, Escelation Mode, and Elusive Targets (When we get one)

This review will remain updated throughout the course of 2016 as my opinions shift and change with the later levels of HITMAN™ and I will of course edit the review when I finally get around to Elusive Targets, Escalation Mode, and Contracts Mode.

Was I given a key for review by the developers?: No, of course not, I bought this game with my own hard-earned cash and so far I'm getting my moneys worth of enjoyment.

Disclaimer: This is my opinion of HITMAN™, if you do not like my opinion I will respect it, but please remember to respect mine.

I loved my first thirty hours of PAYDAY 2, don't get me wrong it's one of my favorite games. I have 128 hours on it. But as the months go on and on, Overkill just constantly releases more and more DLC. The game itself is decent at best but I find myself enjoying it in small bursts. The thing is... The DLC is out of hand, there's DLC almost every month that you have to pay for and with the recent addition of ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ MICROTRANSACTIONS that are just skins for your gun ala CS:GO oh wait not really, they change the weapons stats and ♥♥♥♥ unlike CS:GO and they way we unlocked it? Via the community banding together to complete challenges for their annual event called "Crimefest" where they even said all the rewards were going to be free.

Oh yeah, the rewards are free, bending over is free too but you have to pay to be sodomized by Almir.

There's more! Here's the developers claiming there won't be microtransactions, including words straight from OVERKILL_Almir:

http://ad.gamersky.info/@forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3127521

http://www.gamespot.com/articles/payday-2-wont-have-microtransactions/1100-6410303/

The game underneath the DLC that Overkill has shoveled onto us, along with weapon skins, is decent. The gameplay is fun, Heists are fun, the characters like Hoxton are enjoyable, the story (what there is of it that is) is enjoyable. The RNG is ♥♥♥♥ though, The DLC that adds stuff like Sniper Rifles, LMGs, and ♥♥♥♥ that should be in the main game isn't enjoyable. Stuff like Safehouse Customization isn't in the game yet (coming Spring 2016, probably gonna have to pay $5 for it too, eh Almir?)

So no, I'm not going to support this developer after this ♥♥♥♥. I'm done. Overkill, you ♥♥♥♥♥♥ it up. This is like the disappointment bat but amplified.

OverkillDoesn'tKnowHowToCommunity/10

Oh and here, this is a relevant video to sum it all up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oi19h2I09Eo

Edit: Added my rating and relevant video

Edit 2: So more information has come out about Overkill since this review yesterday, and oh ho ho it's slowly becoming more and more downhill from here folks, PD2Stats.com one of my favorite websites apparently got screwed over by our dearest Overkill. If you go to their site: http://www.pd2stats.com/ you'll find a message from their team talking about how they've been effectively screwed over for months now by Overkill, this just makes me dislike them even more or how about Crimefest Day 2? It's just ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ more masks and no statement from the company.

I haven't finished the game as of the time of this review, But since I noticed it's on sale I might as well get my opinion out there.

I LOVE this game. I felt the first one was a tad bit clunky and boring (I didn't finish it but I'm surely going to before The Witcher 3 comes out) The story and gameplay in The Witcher 2 is top notch, from what I played. The boss battles have so far been a tad bit mediocre but I'm sure it gets harder as the game progresses.

The story is engrossing from what i've play so far, It's constantly getting more and more intriguing as I progress through the game.

The gameplay feels somewhat like a bonafied Dark Souls, It's difficult, but not so difficult that it's gonna make you rage quit. The inventory is a tad bit clunky in my opinion, Maybe I'm just not so good at it but it seems to take me quite a while to switch to a new sword I bought but maybe that's just me. I really enjoy the gameplay though, the sword play makes me feel like a powerful badass when I'm slicing down monsters or bandits, and using my Witcher spells (Aards is what they're called I think, it's been awhile since I've played) is pretty cool too.

oh and there are smexy scenes, pretty good ones too, better than Mass Effects smexy scenes.

If your on the fence about buying this game, please do, I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

and hell, for 3 bucks you can't go wrong.

Rating 10/10

This is my review of the ARMA 2 Mod called DayZ even though the standalone is already out.
I'm gonna start the review off with a story.

I had spawned next to Electro with a Large Backpack and a M4A1 Red Dot (Server Settings) I went into Electro knowing how dangerous it is and saw a helicopter land on the roof. Sure I could go try to rush the guy and take it but I had a better idea. I waited about 10 minutes and he got back in. I kept asking him in Side Chat if he was friendly and he wasn't responding. So as he took off I shot at him. After about a round of firing at him his engine cut out and the chopper fell to the ground and blew up. He had jumped out and parachuted nearby so I ran out of Electro. I found a Black SUV with full fuel and working near the fire station and got my ass outta there. As I was driving on the road this other Black SUV came out of no where and rammed me. The guy got out of his car and started to shoot me. He missed me but shot the vehicle. I could've gotten out of the car and attempted to murder him but I didn't instead I drove away and he kept shooting. He even shot a grenade launcher at me but missed *Thank God* and as I was driving away. My car blew up and I thought I died but apparently I lived. I was bleeding fast and didn't have a lot of blood so I had to risk blood bagging and bandaging myself behind a tree. and thats what I did. He never came to look for me. He probably thought I died. After getting to the nearest town I met a friendly who gave me a lift to a base he was gonna assault where they had some good gear. We got to their stash of guns and took a few but just as we were leaving we got shot and I never met that friendly again.

That my friends is DayZ. A epic, fun, social, and fantastic experience. I've played a lot of this off of Steam for better performance so that's why my hours aren't that high but I gotta say. If you have ARMA 2 and ARMA 2 OA you better download this and try it out because it's a fantastic experience.

Where do I begin? Max Payne 2 The Fall of Max Payne is a fantastic experience from start to end. Especially if you have the Cinema 2.0 Mod which I used in my playthrough of the game. (The Mod really enhances the experience).

Storywise this game is interesting, compelling, and tells a dark tale of Max Payne. Max lost his wife and kid in the previous game and in this one he loses even more (I'm not going to spoil it). The story is told not through cutscenes like in modern games but through something like out of a Graphic Novel. The game is told through 3 Acts all having about 6 to 8 Chapters.

Gameplay wise this game has it perfected. It's an old school shooter. It's fun, fast, and can be difficult at times (Except in the last chapter where there is practically painkillers around every damn corner) and Bullet Time is a fantastic feature which allows you to slow down time and shoot in slow-mo just like in an action movie (You can even dodge and jump forward in Slow-Mo). There is also a lot of guns (Even a Minigun) but you lose them in certian chapters and have to collect them again. You do all of this in Third Person which makes it even cooler seen Max dodge bullets and shoot punks.

Graphics still hold up today. This game looks great and very little loading screens (only when you get to a new chapter) and character models looks great. It's not any Next-Gen Graphics but it's great vanilla and looks even better with Graphical Mods you can download.

Do I recommend this game? Yes. It's a great game.

Should you buy it right now or wait for a sale? Buy it now if you have the cash unless you're really tight on money then wait for a sale.

Heres the Download link to the mod I used in my playthrough: http://www.moddb.com/mods/cinema

Rating: 9.5/10

Grand Theft Auto 3 is the first game in the series to be in 3D. It's a fantastic jump too. Being the first open world 3D GTA it has it's fantastic but not a perfect game. The City is Liberty City (Same City as GTA IV but more more different) and is parody of New York, you play and Claude Speed (Who has no voice) after being betrayed by your now ex girlfriend and being put in prison you escape after your police van is attacked and now you're on a revenge trip. The City is large for being the first 3D GTA game and not as alive as Vice City (Vice City only came out not even a year after GTA 3). The Radio is decent having Push it to the Limit otherwise there is only a few recognizeable songs. The Story isn't too great. Your character doesn't talk all he does is go to a person and get a job and then execute it. Not much more than that just rinse and repeat. The jobs range from Assassinations to picking up hookers and driving them to the local Police Ball. The Combat is something I want to touch on too. Not too great. The camera can be wonky at times and the shooting seems clunky (Much more improved in Vice City). There is side content to do. Like Taxi driving and Vigilante Missions though both aren't too interesting but at least they are there for people who like to do that kind of stuff. The Driving is practally the same throughout all the 3D GTA's so theres not much to say except the driving is good but not like a racer and it feels arcadey but fun (Considering it lasted 3 games each being a little more refinded). All in all GTA 3 is still a fantastic experience. Does it still hold up today? Not really depending on your playstyle and if you can deal with not too refined game mechanics and bugs and werid controls. 7.3/10.

From 3 to Vice City even though this game was made in 8 Months after GTA 3 it is a much better game. The Vibe, Story, Graphics all of it sold this game for me. It is a fantastic experience. I liked the combat even though it wasn't too much improved from GTA 3. The Story is much better than 3 (The Main Character actually talks) and is a lot like the Movie Scarface. (Tommy Vircetti = Tony Montana pretty much) The Radio has much more better tracks in my honest opinion. (Even Michael Jackson is on the radio) The graphics were slightly better than 3 not too much improved but improved. The Missions range from assassinations to flying an RC helicopter or to being chased by a chef. Even if some missions are repetitive and annoying and if you fail it you have to DRIVE all the way back. The map is a 80's spoof of Miami, Flordia and it looks and feels fantastic. a All in all it is a fantastic experience and well worth the 10 dollars I spent on it. 8.5/10