Visceral Games

Em Hardline, o jogador assume o papel de Nicholas Mendoza, um policial cubano, cujo objetivo é capturar os traficantes que coordenam a distribuição de uma nova droga na cidade de Miami.
No decorrer da trama, a lealdade de Mendoza é colocada à prova por policiais corruptos que, após uma tarefa de teste, conseguem afastá-lo do Departamento de Investigações sobre Narcóticos. Em busca de vingança, Nick terá que se unir a velhos inimigos para desestabilizar o submundo dos cartéis e, consequentemente, denunciar seu ex-chefe pelos crimes de corrupção.

A Trama de Hardline é apresentada como uma série de TV sendo que, para intensificar o clima de seriado policial à la Miami Vice, o título expõe diálogos que, apesar de possuírem diversos clichês, conseguem envolver o jogador com frases marcantes e cutscenes cinematográficas memoráveis. “No próximo episódio de Hardine”… Assim como em uma série de televisão, os episódios são conduzidos por breves sinopses, que certamente vão convencê-lo a progredir.… (más)

The biggest con of this game: The gameplay. Don't get me wrong, it was fun, but fighting off necromorphs got tiresome. Concentrating fire on armies of limbs coming at you starts feeling more like a way to simply delay the game's progressing story & dull the gameplay fairly quickly.

That said, I did find myself sucked into the game's world (gasp!) & Isaac's now responsive & character-driven story. The environments were far more varied than they were in the first game's depressing series of hulls & hallways & creaking pipes, w/ nurseries & homes & districts full of stores every which way. The cinematic feel was a lot more developed than the first, & I personally love those touches, where control of the protagonist seemlessly disappears or lessens w/ you hardly noticing as the train ye're on comes to a crash or a Space Helicopter™ springs up out of nowheres poppin' caps in space butts.

Better than the first in every way, & I'm sad I put it off so long. Also, screw EA, &c.… (más)

The USG Ishimura is a massive mining ship, known as a 'planet cracker' for its ability to crack planets wide open and mine them for all their valuable resources. It has recently gone quiet, no contact or radio transmission of any kind, and you, an engineer, have been sent as a part of a 3-person crew to reestablish communications with the ship.

What you find upon crash-landing onto it is...well, absolutely freaking terrifying! The crew is not only dead, but mutated by a necrotizing something-or-other that has turned them into fiendish monsters with spider-like appendages. Your goal? To get the hell off that ship in one piece!

Dead Space is a very rare game that falls into the Survival/Horror genre and manages to not suck. I pretty much define Survival/Horror games by their terrible/stupid/unresponsive control schemes. You see, in order for a game to be scary there has to be danger. If the game is actually well-built and you can effortlessly dispatch your enemies with ease and grace, it no longer feels scary and the game will fall into the Action genre with a horror theme. You are no longer forced to survive the poor game design.

So here it is, one of the few games that manages to give you a solid gaming experience yet still scares your pants off. The enemies are ridiculously creepy, and while the game offers plenty of 'surprise' scares what makes the game great is the dark, forbidding atmosphere. I was afraid to go around every corner, to open every door, and elevators were sheer torture. Every single time I opened a door into a hallway I had to poke my head out and peer in both directions to make sure nothing was waiting for me, and I don't think there was a single enemy encounter that didn't make me jump and think 'OMG IT'S GONNA GET ME!"

The story is also very good. It really impresses upon you a sense of danger and you feel like are doing everything in your power just to get out of that hellhole.

If you want to fully enjoy the game I highly recommend only playing it at night, with all the lights off, the sound up, and the brightness setting in the game options set lower than the recommended level. Bleaching the graphics out really ruins the atmosphere, and being able to hear all the moaning and groaning of the ship settling and falling apart can really set you on edge. I played the game for a solid week this way, and while I admit my heart felt like it was constantly on the threshold of bursting, it ultimately heightened the experience for me. The game seriously stressed me out every time I played it, but it was one of the more satisfying games I've played in a long time. Seeing the credits roll was such a huge relief, and I mean that in the most complimentary way. Dead Space is Survival/Horror at its best, inciting genuine terror and and doing so while delivering a solid, enjoyable gaming experience. I highly recommend it.… (más)