It's been a busy week, and I haven't been posting to Usenet as much as
I should (or would like). But I'm not going to miss out on /this/
weekly tradition. Because FREE GAMES is what makes Usenet great! Okay,
maybe the discussions are cool too. Maybe. ;-)

This week we get:

* Eternal Threads
https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/eternal-threads-197169
Another first-person adventure/puzzle game, this time more focused on
time-manipulation than physics. Not quite as forced as most narrative
(walking-sim) games, it's also doesn't feature quite as rich gameplay
as, say, "Portal". It's still fun, and short enough that you don't
feel as if the game is wasting your time.

* The Evil Within
https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/the-evil-within
An appropriate game for the spooky-month also known as October, "Evil
Within" is a survival-horror action/adventure game. It's got a bit of
Japanese-weird to it, but not so much as to ruin the effect (a problem
I often find ruins the immersion in games like "Metal Gear" or
"Bayonetta"). The game does feel a bit clunky at time but that seems
par for the course with this genre of game. And it is ten years old,
so don't expect cutting edge visuals (also, some reports of Windows11
incompatibility? I haven't tested). But, really, if you like horror
games, you should give this one a try.

Hey Epic, you're actually giving away good games again. Are you
feeling okay?

Seven days to claim. You know what to do.

On Thu, 19 Oct 2023 12:25:40 -0400, in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,
Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

>Seven days to claim. You know what to do.

All hail The Number!

--
Zag

No one ever said on their deathbed, 'Gee, I wish I had
spent more time alone with my computer.' ~Dan(i) Bunten

I reviewed The Evil Within some time ago (btw TEW2 is excellent):

The Evil Within
This is a third-person action/survival title (if that's a valid sub-genre)
similar to dead space or resident evil 4, with a fully modern
over-the-shoulder camera that made using a mouse+keyboard a great choice for
controller, and that's how I played the whole game. With some .ini tweaks to
texture settings, the game looked great and I had no performance issues.
There are psychological horror elements and monstars as much of the action
takes place -- minor spoiler -- inside a hive mind controlled by a twisted
subject and shadowy corporation.

Something about Evil Within just did not click with me. I played the entire
game; made a good faith effort to find secrets; and played the first 2 of
the 3 available DLC. The one word that comes to mind is Competent. It's a
well-made game, and much effort was put into the graphics, weapons, level
architecture, and gameplay mechanics. But I always felt somewhat detached
from the action, and somewhat relieved to finish it. Perhaps it was the
basic conceit of the game, that it took place inside the protagonist's mind,
and therefore wasn't to be believed; perhaps it was the constant gore and
persistent downbeat feel to the plot. Similar in genre to dead space or
resident evil 4, but lacking the sense of wonder, dread, and emotional
involvement of dead space, and the magnificent gameplay mechanics of RE4
that made killing zombies *fun*. Many of the same elements are there:
Unkillable monsters that had to be delayed and ran from over multiple
levels, torch & dynamite-wielding zombies for a little variety; but too
often they just seemed like character-less impediments to reaching the end
of the level, rather than genuine threats (which in the gameworld they
were -- placed there by the controlling intelligence). Well-made, but the
tone was so depressing. The 3rd DLC has no story elements -- unlike the
first two, which provide additional plot from the perspective of another
character, along with different abilities to change up the gameplay
somewhat; definitely worth playing -- so I gave it a pass.

rms