No Parking

I know that last time I said I was reviewing a "Different" campaign, and that was true. It's atmosphere and mystery was unlike any other I've played. Well, now I'm saying it again, and this time it's even more true.

Author: Lou Saffire

No Parking

Now, for those of you who didn't think that One 4 Nine was quite different enough, well, this one is. You see, the campaign is one map long. Yeah, one. At its bare bones, it's just one, massive, extended finale where you go toe to toe with a pissed off, cola addicted redneck.

Yeah. A redneck.

Doesn't sound scary? Well, wait until you get a look at him before you make your judgement...

"HONK HONK MOTHERFUCKERS."

You see, this is Whitaker. You remember him, don't you? Oh, you don't? Well, he's the crazy guy with the cola addiction who owned the gun store in Dead Center.

Yeah. He's back.

Playing as the original group of survivors once more, you stumble into a parking garage in search of weapons just before The Sacrifice takes place. Yes, another mod about them before The Sacrifice. If you're keeping track then this one would be not long after Redemption.

Anywho, because the survivors always throw their guns away at the end of each campaign, they need to find another pile of guns to use for half an hour before discarding them as well. Which is when they stumble upon Whitaker and his stash of guns.

After peaceful negotiations by Ambassador Francis go south you are tasked with killing Whitaker before he kills you. And, as is subtly implied by the two ton death machine he can be seen riding around in, it isn't quite what you would call easy. To defeat Whitaker you have to complete a series of objectives around the parking garage while he shoots at you, attempts to run you down in his van, and honks the horn to attract the horde. Yes, there are zombies in the mix too. Even specials. Remember when I said it was basically one huge finale?

The steps to defeating him, considering the circumstances of the fight, aren't easy to complete. What is easy however is getting shot, or sliced up, or run down by his van or beaten to death after having all of the above happen to you. This is very much a map designed around actual HUMAN players, not bots.

Eventually you defeat him, and guess what? Now he says he's sorry. All he wants is some cola and he's willing to call things even between you guys. He'll even forgive you for the guns you stole.

"You dick, you tried to kill us."
"Shut up, Francis."

You actually have a choice here. Give him the cola and let bygones be bygones, water under the bridge, mirror in the past and all that? Go ahead. Or... leave him to die without his precious cola. Your call.

But apparently his cola addiction has turned into a full fledged fetish since Savannah, because that cola will determine your fate. Deny him his favorite of beverages and he summons the will to stave off death itself for the sole purpose of ending your miserable existence. Show mercy and provide him with his one true love in his time of need? He'll flip death the bird and join you in battle, all out of gratitude for providing him with what he lusts after most.

Either way, the second half of the map involves your standard "Hold the Line" finale, but your choice with Whitaker dictates whether he helps or hinders you during your escape. And as much as you might want to leave him to die after that first fight with him... damn does it feel good to have his wheeled death machine on YOUR side for once.

The choice even affects the ending of the mod and Whitaker's fate. He can go out in a heroic blaze of glory or succumb to his hatred and expire, before succumbing to the infection and becoming one of them. This map is short and sweet but for the unique experience it gives it's worth checking out. Boss fights in Left 4 Dead, oh man...

Go ahead and get this if you're looking for something new after your hundreds of hours in Left 4 Dead. Just put the difficulty on Easy if you can't find any friends, because Whitaker takes no prisoners.

One 4 Nine

I'd say that it's finally time for another Left 4 Dead campaign but, you know, it's always time for Left 4 Dead on this blog. And this time I've got something a bit more... mysterious for all of you...

Author: keved

One 4 Nine (As always, download all parts for the campaign to run).

Another campaign that kinda/sorta/maybe tries to explain the origin of the virus, huh? Man, how many of those are there? Well I can guarantee you that there aren't any quite like this campaign.

Deep in the Nevada desert the survivors from the second game have tried, and failed, to escape the infection. With nowhere else to go, they resort to following the rumors of a nearby military base that is offering shelter but end up finding more than they could ever comprehend.

The entire campaign takes place at night and, as with the previous campaigns I've reviewed, there is custom graffiti that tells a story through questions rather than answers. All across this base are strange equations and numbers scrawled over the walls, and warnings telling of something that the United States Military found in the desert. The messages implore the survivors to go no further, but at the same time promise answers to be found at the heart of this military installation.

You'd much rather forget what you see on the other side of this door. Trust me.

The entire campaign has this strange air of apprehension about it, like you don't know exactly where you're heading, but you just know that it won't be very good. And I like that. It's like a horror movie during the times that it's quiet, as opposed to the usual Left 4 Dead mod of an action-survival flick with zombies. As you go deeper and deeper things get more unsettling until, at more than one point, you're literally crawling over mountains of carcasses and picking your way through checkpoints where the guards all died of self inflicted wounds rather than any zombie attack.

For most of the campaign everything is shrouded in darkness, literally too. A lot of it takes place on the interior of the base so for the most part you'll be going through corridors and offices though it does open up at several points, even offering you the chance to have a more vertical battle trying to climb some catwalks later on. There are also plenty of mounted guns sprinkled about, and for the most part they are placed in much better places than they are in the vanilla campaigns, finally letting players vent their frustrations out in .50 caliber doses on the swarming hordes the AI Director sends after your souls.

And, as you draw nearer to the climax of the mod, things get downright foreboding.

What are the odds of finding a happy ending at the bottom of this?

Here is where it's all been leading, after pulling you and your group over mountains of dead bodies, slaughtering your way through hundreds of zombies, and witnessing the utter disaster that took place throughout the facility. You finally discover what they army unearthed...

"Wut." - Coach, greatest philosopher of our age.

...The Monolith?

Yeah. And, as eagle eyed fans of Half Life would have noticed in the screenshot above that, the symbol of The Combine (Primary antagonists of the Half Life series for those who don't recognize it) is scrawled on the wall there, not too far from the 'Lith, as we like to call it.

Dayum.

What even... is happening?

Like I said, it's all more questions than answers. BUT, if you're looking for answers about the story in this mod and it's ending, you can go here to find out all about. And I think that it's compelling, in that unexpected sort of way. I enjoy sometimes being left wondering, still asking questions. It's not for everyone, sure, which is why that link is there.

But I need to make a note here of the finale. It WOULD be the standard "Hold the line" against waves of zombies, but once it begins your screen will begin flashing brightly with different colors and you'll be looking through a colored filter for pretty much the entire finale. It's very unexpected and the sudden shock of it can hurt the eyes, so brace yourselves for that if you do decide to give this mod a go.

So, if you want to play through something that is atmospheric, strange, and filled with uncertainty, go ahead and book this vacation to Nevada. And escape the zombies once and for all...

Back to School

After that last smashing review in Left 4 Dead 2, I figure that's it time that we, together went back... Back to School, that is.

Authors: 100_o/o_f@ke and romasm

Back to School (Make sure to download all parts!)

Back to School is another large campaign for Left 4 Dead 2, once again starring the original cast of survivors as they fight their way through Borden City to the evacuation point at the local High School. Unlike Redemption II, this campaign isn't related to the main story of the series at all, instead doing what most campaigns do and just being created to play. Which is far from a bad thing, mind you, since Left 4 Dead has always prioritized gameplay over narrative which is just fine.

And also over cheerful interior design, apparently.

Fun fact though, a list in one of the original campaigns DID list "Borden City High School" as a main evacuation point and I refuse to believe that is entirely a coincidence (As much as I refuse to do something better with my time than learning random facts about Left 4 Dead).

This campaign is long. Very long. With six levels to its name it's practically an endurance test and the AI Director will not go easy on you. Because he never does. The randomness of this campaign is fantastic though. On some playthroughs you'll see a car whiz down the street and crash, summoning the horde. Other times it won't happen, sparing you the ammo and the stress. And, on the subject of randomness, this campaign actually has two, yes two different endings. I don't really know if there is anything the player can do to influence the outcome, and I suspect not, but the addition of multiple endings is much appreciated.

But there is a downside I need to mention. This campaign includes its own custom skins for the Tank. This skins are really well done, being of a police officer and soldier respectively, but if you're using any different skins for the Tank in your game then the Tanks in Back to School will become invisible.

Believe it or not, this picture is actually me getting punched by a Tank. Seriously.

Now, deactivating your current skin mod for the Tank and enabling Back to School's skin for it should resolve the problem, but I'm a gamer. I sit in front of a screen and press buttons to live vicariously through fictional characters. I don't want to take those extra steps. If I had that kind of energy I'd probably be doing something outside. On higher difficulties this issue will obviously be a problem, so plan accordingly.

Some of the objectives here are interesting twists on old ones from different campaigns. For instance, a guy offers to give you a lift to the evacuation center in his truck in exchange for helping him scavenge some supplies. He drives you to the stores (There are three different ones with their own type of supplies that he wants) and you have to go get them all before he'll take you any further. The stores, however, are alarmed, so the minute somebody makes a move for the objective you'll have the horde breathing down your neck.

The sign below me says "Shoplifters."

It creates an interesting situation where you have to decide between speed or safety. Split up and get everything at once? Everyone is vulnerable to attacks from special infected. Stay together and go one at a time? The horde can bog you down and keep you from reaching the other objectives. There are more unique crescendo events like this, including the military bombing a car lot and a supermarket shootout, which is always a good thing to see.

As in the last review, I noted survivor dialogue and custom graffiti as positive points to that campaign. While Back to School lacks a large amount of meaningful dialogue between the survivors all of the saferooms have custom accounts from other survivors detailing the fall of Borden City and how they met their grisly ends. And on the subject of safehouses, there are some interesting ones later on, including a bank vault with somebody still in it. Yeah, enjoy that one.

And much like Redemption, the props placed around this campaign help to make it a memorable experience. You'll see the place where two crazy rednecks made a last stand, military checkpoints overrun by vast swarms of the infected, and later on you'll even hear frantic radio chatter from soldiers being torn apart before your very ears, all while the Air Force is attempting to level the city one bomb at a time.

This campaign is altogether more intense than Redemption, making it a good choice to subject your friends to if you're feeling like being cruel to them with style. It's as fun as it can at times be merciless and anyone looking for a quality campaign should look no farther.

Redemption II

Some of the most famously modded games are ones produced by Valve, the creators of Half Life, Portal, Team Fortress 2, and other well known games. Valve's games are easy to mod and with the addition of the Steam Workshop some time ago it was made even easier for modders to create something they enjoyed and get it out there for everyone to see.

I have to admit, Left 4 Dead 2 is snugly fitted into my Top 5 favorite games of all time. Playing it back on the Xbox 360 I met friends who I still talk to today so this series has a special place in my heart. I've been looking forward to reviewing some of the wonderful mods for this wonderful game, so I think it's time I did exactly that.

Author: Morloc

Redemption II

This campaign was inspired by the comic that was put out in four parts leading up to the release of The Sacrifice for both Left 4 Dead 1 and 2 (Which you can read here, if you haven't already, and I recommend you do). This campaign ties in with the comic and is meant to be some sort of interquel between the penultimate part of that comic and The Sacrifice itself. Basically, in the comic, Bill does something bad. Really bad. And the group becomes more wary of him as a result.

This campaign, as implied by the title, is his Redemption for that act. 

Set in a remote research lab somewhere along the East Coast the group of four finds themselves stranded when a military bombing run previously destroyed the bridge their train was going to cross. Out of options they decide to head into the lab itself in search of another form of transportation, but, as with all horror movies, they inevitably find something more sinister...

"No, YOU go first..."

A clever use of old material to tell a new story.

The great thing about this campaign is the work that went into it. Not only are things happening directly in front of you but you can see things happening in the distance every now and then, too, like a military plane flying overhead or a helicopter crashing into the building somewhere ahead of you. The environment is also well constructed, with props placed in locations where they can tell a story about what happened before without it being in your face (As is the goal of Left 4 Dead, though usually more through safehouse graffiti).

Speaking of graffiti, the primary method of exposition in the Left 4 Dead universe, this campaign has quite a bit of new writing on the walls. It isn't a big touche but it's nice, and helps to give the facility a distinction from many other campaigns as the environment around you tells a new story.

The trance you go into when slaughtering the undead is a truly wonderful thing.

There are also a few new melee weapons included, the most memorable of which being, and I am not in any way joking here... a human foot. Or an arm? Maybe it was an arm. I can't remember entirely, as the novelty of bashing skulls in with a human limb was too much for me to overcome at the time.

There is a noticeable and welcome atmosphere that reminds one of Half Life, specifically Black Mesa, when trudging deeper into the facility. 

The finale throws a curveball that you might not be prepared for.

But, something I have a problem with... is that there's really no Redemption to be found here. Yeah, the group shoots its way through a lab heavily implied to be the source of the virus, but that's it. There's no cure to be found (Obviously) and no culprit to bring to justice. You just shoot zombies in the labs (Though these labs are well constructed and it's very fun) then escape on the train. If something happened that was supposed to redeem Bill, I didn't catch it.

Speaking of the escape, the author tries out a new form of finale that can catch new players off guard the first time through. The first wave is the same as usual, hold off the zombies until the rescue is ready, but then it makes a turn. You need to retrieve three oxygen tanks thrown down to you by an NPC, fight your way to the bay under the train, and hook them up to power the tracks. The change from the normal finale formula was interesting and keeps one on their toes, but it can become easy to lose the canisters after they've been thrown down to you, especially with the horde closing in from all sides.

And yes, NPCs. This campaign has them, all fully voice acted and able to be interacted with. The few surviving members of the research team help you along your way as you fight through the facility, another welcome change to let the player know that they aren't entirely alone in this apocalypse. And, on the subject of dialogue and characters, the banter between the survivors themselves is excellent. At points during the campaign the four will launch into drawn out conversations about what they see or think leading to more than a few hilarious conversations. It's all scripted of course but the survivors here are a lot chattier than they are in the vanilla game so I can't complain.

As far as campaigns go, this is one you should definitely check out. Gather up some friends, fire up your copies of the game, shoot your way through White Helix together. While the story is a little lacking none of you will regret it.

Willow

That's right, after a spate of Star Wars reviews we're going back to the game that this blog started in: New Vegas. Oh, but don't worry, I won't be droning on about someguy2000 or his excellent mods again. No, I've decided to branch out. So here, I present to you, is Willow.

Author: llamaRCA

Willow - A Better Companion Experience

One of the things modders like to do, besides making bleak and depressing quest mods that will make you forsake everything good and happy to be found in life, is to do the exact opposite because the internet is a strange place that is filled with contradictions, overused memes, and cats.

This is Willow. Say hello.

So, Willow. As is stated in the title the aim of this mod is to create a companion better than the vanilla ones, with more functionality and things that she can do. Whereas the vanilla companions have backstories, quests, and an ability they can grant you (as well as a boost to their stats or something similar upon completing their personal quests) they don't offer much else. After that they just wander the Wasteland at your side in silence, occasionally helping you duct tape your shotgun back together or letting you drink what would normally be the suicide note for any normal human liver and only have positive side effects, but Willow does just a little bit more than that.

You will first meet her south of Primm on the road to Mojave Outpost and Nipton, so she's acquired fairly early in the game. She asks for your help getting her things back from a group of raiders and agrees to travel with you if you succeed. The place her items are at is right on the way to Vegas, just a bit south of Novac at the bandit camp there, so simply following the main quest will, for the most part, fulfill her quest requirements.

After that she becomes an official follower with her own companion wheel and everything. Now here is where this better experience comes into play. With Willow, the mod tracks how much she likes you and your relationship changes depending on that value. You can just toss her aside and ignore her, ensuring the two of you never get too close, or talk to her and help her with what she wants done. The more you do the more points with her you get, and eventually you can turn your friendship into... something more. 

More.

You know what I mean.

Bow chikka bow wow.

In case my previous hints were too subtle.

But anyway, once you reach that point, you have the option of remaining friends or going all the way. Willow swings both ways so female characters don't miss out on anything if they don't want to. Either way that choice is final once it has been made, so know what you want before you pick an option.

Willow also isn't indifferent to the political climate of the Mojave (Though thankfully she describes it in less comically large words than I just did). She's a citizen of the New California Republic and would prefer you siding with them. She has no strong opinions on a House or Independent playthrough, but she understandably has a few reservations about throwing in with Caesar's Legion (As all sane people would). But in the end, whichever faction you pick, she'll stay with you all the way. She cares about the player more than the conflict, even if she has her own opinions about it. Which is nice.

You can also train her to be better at combat skills she isn't versed in. She prefers guns, but with the right amount of training she becomes a decent Unarmed fighter, and will also let you borrow her rifle since she doesn't depend on it as much. She'll also do some cooking, helps lower prices during trading, and has a spiffy hat.

She feels a lot more natural than the other companions thanks to these features. She doesn't have the most tragic backstory or the deepest dialogue, but she does exactly what the mod sets out to do: Create a more in depth, better companion experience. If you're going to be wandering through the Mojave any time soon, Willow is a prime candidate to consider having by your side. 

The Sith Lords Restored Content Mod

Continuing in the vein of all these mod reviews for Star Wars games (Can you tell that I'm excited for The Force Awakens?) we're moving on to a mod for the sequel to KOTOR... the appropriately named KOTOR 2. And this mod... well, it's a must have.

Author: TSLRCM Team (Specifically mentioned are Hassat Hunter, VaristyPuppet, and zbyl2 on the Steam Workshop. Yes, this is also on the Steam Workshop).

The Sith Lords Restored Content Mod (Again, also available on the Steam Workshop if you have this on Steam).

So, in advance, I'm going to apologize. I have to admit that I love this game. KOTOR 2 is easily my favorite Star Wars game (More so than even the Dark Forces series or the original KOTOR) so there is a very real possibility that I may just be gushing out my fanboyism for like half this review but I can't help it because this game is just so fucking GREAT. Or, I should clarify, it WOULD have been great had Obsidian not been screwed by the executives. To understand this mod and what it does, a little history is in order for the uninitiated.

You see, back in 2004 KOTOR 1, made by Bioware (Who would go on to be most famous/infamous for the Mass Effect series), had been out for a little while, and a sequel was in the works by Obsidian Entertainment (You may also recognize them as the developers of Fallout: New Vegas and, essentially, the first two Fallout games as well, though under different studio names). Unfortunately, eager to release the hopefully hit sequel to a hit game in time for the Christmas rush, LucasArts moved Obsidian's deadline for the game up by quite a bit. The game was barely half done when this happened and, being forced to choose between meeting their deadline with an unfinished product or insisting they needed more time, they decided to meet the deadline (Their reasoning, not wanting to alienate LucasArts on one of the company's first games, was sound). To meet this deadline they had to make cuts.

A lot of cuts.

They cut whole characters, plotlines, and even an entire planet out of the game so they could make the release date. Story arcs went unfinished, left hanging in the wind, party members vanished late in the game never to be heard from again, and the entire experience upon completion just felt so empty and unfinished. But, from files recovered over the years, from what we know would have been implemented in the final product, this game would have been legendary.

And that's where this mod comes in. As the title implies the creators of this mod have either located or reconstructed everything cut from the original game and put it back in, bringing this game as close as they can possibly get it to Obsidian's original vision.

And you know what? They did it.

KOTOR 2, back when I played it on the original Xbox, blew me away. I was only 10 at the time but I loved that game, loved the characters, and everything about it (So yes, I'm aware that I'm looking back on it through some of the rosiest tinted glasses in existence, so bear that in mind). I discovered about this cut content over the years and lamented that the game I loved so much would never be truly completed, until I discovered this mod.

You see, KOTOR 2 has not only some of the deepest story and characters in Star Wars, it has in my own humble opinion, some of the deepest, most fascinating and captivating, story and characters in any video game ever. Even the characters I dislike or outright hate still manage to hold my interest. The entire game has some of the best writing I've ever seen, though some would disagree with that, and this Restoration Mod brings almost everything back to the level it was intended to be. Questions are answered, character arcs resolved (One of which actually left me in tears), and while the ending itself is still pretty empty (It was intended to set up for the KOTOR 3 that never came, which also would have been developed by Obsidian and is a tragedy to be lamented another time) the entire game has a much greater sense of completion about it.

But what makes this game great is that it makes you look at the Force in a different way. To some it's done very bluntly and with a heavy hand, but this game, that it makes you actually think about the Force beyond it being, well, the Force, was something I'm glad they went heavily into. It makes you consider consequences before taking action and highlights just how damaging the Jedi view of the Force can be as well as the Sith view. It's all Grey and Gray morality here, which is something the Star Wars universe needs more of, and this game delivers. This mod elevates it to the glory it should have had upon release. And while it pains me to know that a true KOTOR 3 will probably never arise, leaving this game's ending essentially hanging in the wind (Unless you play Bioware's MMO, but I've had problems with those in the past so I try to avoid it), well, you shouldn't miss out on this game if you're a Star Wars fan. And this Restoration Mod is absolutely necessary to enjoy that experience.

So go out, buy this game and download this mod, and lose yourself in that galaxy far, far away.

Solomon's Revenge

Time to pick up where we left off last time and get into the sequel to Brotherhood of Shadow and review Solomon's Revenge. Again, like BoS, the mod's main attraction is the story in lieu of interesting or new gameplay, so we'll be taking a hard look at the narrative and characters. Besides, it's a Bioware game. The story is always the main attraction. As much as I detest it, there will be SOME spoilers here

Author: silveredge9

Mod Link: In the previous review (Both mods come from the same source).

So after the player's last rousing adventure aboard the Orion, where the majority of the crew was essentially turned into Force-smoothies for the ancient abominations pacing around their cargo hold, they return to the Ebon Hawk with their new companion Shadow at their side. Soon after she has a mysterious nightmare filled with darkness and dead bodies that bids her to seek out someone from her past on Korriban, the planet of the Sith (For those unfamiliar with Star Wars, the Sith are the bad guys. Red lightsabers, like the color black, hereditary leather fetish).

Upon arriving there she meets a different person from her past, an Arkanian named Kobayashi that used to serve on the Orion before everyone became mulch, and the three of you set off to find this person that seems to be drawing Shadow into some sort of trap.

Like the previous mod, Solomon's Revenge features several new areas where your quest will take you, from Czerka mining facilities to rundown caves to the desolate and cursed Korriban Wastes and more. Some are merely reskins of old areas, but others are built from the ground up new, which is much appreciated.

As you grow closer and closer to this mystery man, he is revealed to be... Solomon. And he... is seeking Revenge. A twist worthy of Shyamalan himself. But for real, he's a former Jedi thought to be dead, an Echani who focuses his entire life on combat, and he hates Shadow. Detests her. You'll find out why through flashbacks and Shadow's stories, some of which are actually playable.

Yes, you get to look back in time and see what it was like to fight the Mandalorians. It's actually pretty cool, for a time. And, again, for those who like the lore of the Old Republic these are a real treat. You get to see Revan and Malak fall closer and closer to the Dark Side and witness the end of the War before they began their own. But speaking of the lore, there's a small section early on that requires you to answer questions to open the way and continue your journey. The questions are, as you may have guessed, about the history of the Old Republic. I was able to get through them without much fuss, but for those without an intimate knowledge of Star Wars history this part will definitely cause some hardship, so be aware of that.

And the characters this time are actually voiced. Thank the Force are they voiced. Shadow still has that problem with her unending loop of alien speech, but most of the other characters (Solomon, Kobayashi) are all voiced so the problem of hearing so much of that alien speech is significantly lessened this time around. The voice acting itself, however... well, it isn't the best. But I feel that it's important to keep in mind that these aren't professional actors, simply fans who decided to lend their voices and breathe a bit of life into this project. And, for the most part, it works.

But now it's time to talk about the biggest problem with this mod. It's length. Yes, it's too long.

I know I know, "But that just means more free content to enjoy!" I was enjoying it, until about two thirds of the way through when it looked like it was about to end... and then it just kept going. And going. And going. And goooooiiiiiinnnnggggg. Seriously. There is a lot of walking to be done, traveling to the mod's faraway end point over the course of a few hours, and a lot of talking that stretches is out even more. And as you go on those flashbacks with Shadow? They begin piling up. You see her back in her Jedi days, her soldier days, Sith days, Orion days and they just keep coming and coming. At first it was enjoyable but eventually there were just so many of them I started to forget that they were just flashbacks. I stopped caring about what was happening in the past when the mod wanted so desperately to show me when there was crap happening right now in the present to my character that I wanted to see resolved.

The mod outstays its welcome, to put it plain and simple. There is just so much going on that it seems to have been impossible to cram into a reasonable time frame, but maybe that's a sign that some things should have been cut. The work done to bring all of this about is astounding, I want to make that clear, but an important part of games, movies, or really any form of entertainment is that it needs to know when its time has come and it needs to end. Solomon's Revenge doesn't recognize that and keeps going far beyond where it should, to the point that by the end you'll breathe a sigh of relief once the credits roll. It's more akin to a test of endurance than anything else.

Toward the end the atmosphere begins to echo that of KOTOR's infamous sequel, which is actually a very good thing. It makes you feel like you're surrounded by ancient darkness that has been waiting for a thousand years, and just stopping to take it in for a bit is really nice, but that isn't enough justification for the unwieldy size of this mod.

In the end, if you really love Star Wars and KOTOR, then download this. Anything less than that and you should pass it by. There are some really great things in it, but an equal number of items that need some serious tweaking. Silveredge9 does an astounding amount of work for being just a simple modder, and that needs to be known, but sometimes you just need to know when enough is enough.

Brotherhood of Shadow

Ah, Knights of the Old Republic (Or KOTOR, for short). I don't think this is a game that needs any introduction. This is most likely the widest known Star Wars game to ever exist, and is considered by many to be one of Bioware's finest games. So it's only fitting that with such a well known game, we review one of its most well known mods...

Author: Silveredge9

Brotherhood of Shadow: Solomon's Revenge (I had to bend over backward to find a working link strangely enough, it was always readily available on FileFront in the past).

This mod is, in reality, two mods released together. And, since each is so big, I'll be reviewing them separately. This is for the first one, Brotherhood of Shadow (Which must be completed in order to move on to the next one) and its sequel, Solomon's Revenge which will be the subject of my next review. The mods become playable only after a certain part of the story is completed (Which I won't spoil in the event of anyone reading this review never having played KOTOR. Earlier this year I introduced two friends to it who had never played it before and they were blown away). This part is, oh, a bit over halfway through the game and you end up having an open slot in your party that, normally, would go unfilled for the rest of the game.

Instead with this mod, after having a spot open up, the player is tasked to go to Korriban to find a smuggler with a job for them. After a bit of sidequesting that takes you to Tatooine you have the option of throwing in with the crew of the ship called Orion to help keep them safe during a long journey through pirate controlled space. Accepting this offer, though, precludes you from continuing on with the main quest until you complete it so beware. And half of the mod can take several hours. It may seem even longer though, since there are no new gameplay mechanics to pique interest (In fact, it could be said that the gameplay is simplified since, for whatever reason, you leave all your party members on the Ebon Hawk and go through this completely alone, robbing you of party play). So this mod intends to stand tall on its story.

Anywho, you're whisked off to the run down vessel and spend a few minutes meeting with the crew and getting to know them before the ronto scrag (That's Star Wars speak for "Horse shit") hits the fan. My personal favorite is the put-upon and overworked Duros mechanic whose favorite hobbies are drinking and cursing.

But, as is inevitable, trouble finds you and things go south pretty quickly. The antagonist, the head of this mysterious "Brotherhood of Shadow" has seemingly appeared from nowhere and overtaken the ship with his mysterious cadre of Lightsaber wielding goons, and there's something not quite right about him. It's up to you, being the protagonist, to put a stop to whatever he's planning and save the ship.

I'll end the plot summary there for those interested in discovering it for themselves and just give my thoughts on it. Once it gets going it gets interesting, and while it carries on for just a little longer than it should it's overall satisfying. Plus you get some pretty swank loot from the whole ordeal, which we all know is the true goal of any half-decent RPG.

Now for the companion, the reason this mod was made. She's a Twi'lek Dark Jedi named Shadow, and former servant of Revan, the Sith Lord who kicked off the current war raging through the galaxy. Since his betrayal by his apprentice Malak she's been wandering the stars in search of a purpose since she no longer has a master to serve and decides to throw her lot in with you after the crew of the Orion gets their life-force juiced out of them by the Brotherhood.

She has quite a lot to say about her former master and the previous war fought against the Mandalorians, giving insight on how she, Revan, and Malak all fell to the Dark Side at the end of that conflict. For people who enjoy the lore of the Old Republic there is plenty to dig through, from her accounts of being a Jedi, fighting the Mandalorians, and serving Revan before Malak bumped his master off. And, like all Twi'leks, she dresses like a stripper. Hell of a culture, am I right?

Here's the downside: She has no voice actor.

Now let me specify. She's voiced, alright, and after a while you'll be wishing she was silent. But here's the thing: The mod author didn't bring in someone to actually voice her lines, and instead recycled the alien language that most of the Twi'leks in the main game speak. And Shadow has a lot to say. So you'll be hearing those same three or four lines of alien dialogue lopped continuously, over and over and over again until Jabba the friggin' Hutt dies of starvation. And then still more after that.

In fact, every character in this mod suffers the same problem. That looped alien dialogue can only be heard so many times before you'll beg for the option to stick a Lightsaber through your eardrums to make it finally stop, and in this mod that is all you will be listening to. It's maddening. Even the human character speaks it, making him the only human in the entire game not to speak in English, and it is jarring. Perhaps it would be easier to swallow if Shadow herself had actual voicing instead of this, since she's more or else the main character of this mod and especially the next, but by the Force this alien speech is enough to drive even the most patient of players to the Dark Side.

That's the only real downside of Shadow and the mod, but it's kind of a big one. And it's a problem that persists through the sequel as well, though thankfully to a lesser extent. My recommendation? If you go for this mod for the loot/lore/companion, just mute the dialogue and read the subtitles. Doing away with that damnable alien speech goes a long way to making the mod much easier to play.

Movie Duels II

Remember when I said I'd do a Star Wars game?

Yeah, I'm doing a Star Wars game.

Author: WectorX

Movie Duels II

Alright, so here's some background since this is an old game. Jedi Academy was the last entry in the Dark Forces series of games, the series that first allowed gamers to wield a Lightsaber of their own. It started off as just DOOM in space, but in the second game graduated to Lightsaber combat as well as blasting Stormtroopers with a variety of fun weapons, until the third installment finally realized that people couldn't care much less about guns when they have a glowing amputation stick at their side and created the best Lightsaber combat system ever known in video games, even to this day. Jedi Academy, being the fourth installation of the series, added onto that by letting your character wield two sabers at once, or a double-bladed one like Darth Maul. The game was designed to let every fan live out their Lightsaber dueling fantasies.

And Movie Duels II expands on that. Released in 2009 it does exactly what the title implies: It lets you play all of the battles from the prequel movies in Jedi Academy.

Yes, I said the prequels. Because if there's one thing the prequels did at least okay with it was the Lightsaber duels. And what better way to relive them than in the greatest Lightsaber combat game of all time?

The game let's you play basically every battle from the prequel trilogy, as well as a couple more from the now-defunct Expanded Universe that take place between Episodes III and IV. You can fight Darth Maul, you can slice off Count Dooku's head, and you can storm the Jedi Temple as Anakin Skywalker. But, and here's one of the draws of the game, you can usually play as either side. For instance, the Darth Maul fight? You can play as him and kill both Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon. You can play as Count Dooku at the beginning of Episode 3 and kick Anakin's ass all the way back to Tatooine if you want. Or, hell, if you don't want to play as anyone from the movies there are one or two dozen other characters from all throughout the Star Wars universe you can play as, like Quinlan Vos or Kyle Katarn.

The only right option, of course, being Kyle Katarn.

You can even play as Starkiller, the Secret Apprentice from The Force Unleashed. And the makers even managed to put in his unique Lightsaber style with the backward grip.

Not that it can save him from Kyle Katarn.

And you can play as these characters anywhere with no trouble. Just select them from the character menu on the pause screen and bam. But, and this is important to note, most characters have differences in how they approach combat, similar to how they were portrayed in the movies. Palpatine has the most Force points, so he can generate enough electricity to power a third world country if he weren't being so evil all the time. Darth Vader can only use the Strong Lightsaber style because he's a quadruple amputee with an asthma problem, and Kyle Katarn, for being the Chuck Norris of Star Wars, can use pretty much any saber style.

Each character has their own dialogue too, ripped straight out of the movies or games they appeared in. And you know what? It's pretty much the best part of the mod. I had the following conversation take place during my first time playing as Darth Maul:

Darth Maul: "THE FEAR ATTRACTS- THE FEAR ATTRACTS- THE FEAR ATTRACTS- THE FEAR ATTRACTS- THE FEAR ATTRACTS- THE FEAR ATTRACTS THE- THE FEAR ATTRACTS-"

Liam Neeson: "I sense an unusual amount of fear."

And it only gets better. Imagine Anakin getting the lightest of scratches from an opponent and screaming "I HATE YOU!" like he's being burned alive. Or even better, as you decapitate the freaking GHOST of Mace Windu, his incorporeal head just yells "We will NOT be hostages to be bartered!" as it sails across the room like a finely tossed brick.

And in challenge mode you can play as any character through 15  increasingly challenging battles if you couldn't care less about the movies and just want to get some action. I think it also important to note that the mod creators even crafted each main character's unique Lightsaber hilt from the movies. So good on them for attention to detail.

All in all, if you're a Star Wars fan who enjoys whacking people with Lightsabers, give this mod a download. If you're interested but don't have Jedi Academy it's available on Steam with the rest of the Dark Forces series (Which are great games themselves, as well). I recommend this mod to pretty much everyone, the only downside being that there isn't a level where you can flash fry Jar Jar Binks and a hundred of his Gungan pals with Palpatine's Force Lightning.

False Dawn

Ah, a new game for a new review. Isn't it nice? We're leaving behind that stuff, radioactive wasteland for... stuffy, dark corridors. Filled with cybernetic killing machines. That want to turn you into one of them.

Huh. Games are kind of dark these days, huh?

Well, that's the style, I guess, especially when it comes to games from id software, who you may or may not know as the creators of the infamous DOOM and Quake series. Well, the mod up for review today is for Quake 4 (alas, the only Quake I own) by the name of False Dawn, which instead of being a simple addition to the main product takes the game's forumla, flips it the bird, and does its own thing like any self-respecting rebel would. But first, the important stuff:

Author: Little Gears (A 3 man development studio)

False Dawn link

Here's a quick rundown of Quake for those not in the know (This is a little bit of "Need to know" stuff for the story, so some spoilers for Quake 4 here): Humanity is fighting a brutal war across the stars against a race called the Strogg. Imagine the Borg, except instead of just grafting the cybernetics into you they cut away pieces of your body and replace them, and what they can't cut away they tear open and fill with sharp metal bits, all while you're awake and aware. The protagonist of Quake 4 undergoes this "Stroggification" process midway through the game, but fights back and ultimately defeats the Strogg leader and the weird brain thing that controls them all.

Set 20 years later, False Dawn reveales that that wasn't the end of the war. The Strogg have been pushed back by humanity. And, after seeing how well the last guy did after undergoing Full Body Pizza Cutter surgery, humanity collectively stroked it beard and said "You know, I think that could work."

So after going into the military barbershop for what you presumably thought was a haircut, you walk out more machine than man and get sent on a mission in enemy territory to destroy a super-weapon they have under development. Lucky you. You can now make toast with your- uh, well, I really shouldn't say.

Anywho, upon arriving at the facility in question you need to gain access to the weapon by acquiring three different doo-hickeys that do space stuff to open the metal door in your way instead of, I don't know, bringing some explosives. But here is where one of the features of the mod comes into play: The ability to choose your objective.

Now, you need all three gadgets to get through the door, but you can retrieve them in any order. From a central hub in the base you select the path you want to take to get whichever doo-dad you like the sound of most, and each path leads to a different area of the base. Pick any of the directions in any order: How you assemble the items is entirely up to you.

Now onto the next one: Enemies. This is a mod based on an id software game. That means you'll be mowing down hordes of enemies every time you turn the corner, making the base just one huge orgy of blood, gore, and poor life choices (Just like the old days of gaming). But there's a catch: Now, unlike the vanilla game, your enemies have armor. That doesn't mean Mook A has a lot more health than B because he eats his spinach every day, this is actual armor. The tougher enemies covered in metal plating won't even be mildly inconvenienced by your standard machine gun or pistol. To take these behemoths down you need to utilize your special weapons, like the rocket launcher and nailgun, if you want to make any progress. But, as it goes without saying (Which is why I'm saying it... what?) the ammo for those harder hitting guns is much rarer to find. Sure, it's enjoyable to vaporize a squad of grunts with the lightning gun, but a few seconds later when their best friend comes around the corner with two arm cannons and tank treads where his legs should be, you'll realize that your fleeting moments as a Zeus impersonator would have been better spent picking them off with your assault rifle instead.

This creates a tense atmosphere where, unlike the base game, become aware of every shot you take, carefully rationing out each bullet to ensure you have enough come time for the inevitable final battle. You'll be at the edge of your seat as you poke through every dark corner in search of more ammunition because at the rate this mod throws enemies at you you'll never stay topped off for long. But this wouldn't be Quake any other way.

And, finally, the health system. Much like vanilla Quake you have a meter for health (You. If it's gone, you die) and for armor (The parts of you that now come with a two-year Stroggification warranty. Protects your health). But, again, the catch: The Strogg don't believe in health packs, so you won't find any lying in random places around the base. No, instead you restore your health with Stroyent.

Stroyent is that strange substance found in those beating hearts affixed tot he walls that have the helpful green meter stapled to their surface. You get the Stroyent from them and store it, the amount you have being denoted by a third meter underneath your health and armor. When you get hurt it automatically spends itself to restore your health and armor, health taking more Stroyent to restore than armor.

But you can't store as much as you like and the Stroyent dispensers are uncomfortably far apart in certain sections, meaning you have to watch your health as much as your ammo. And your enemies pack a punch. Every action you take, because of these tweaks, needs to be measured and thought through, making for a slightly more tactical shooter than the base game itself, which is just fire and guts and guns and explosions (Even though by all rights that should be more than enough).

My only small complaints are the brightness and the strange filter placed over your vision. The recommended brightness seemed, to me, far too dark which was only compounded by the grainy static that never left my vision. Perhaps it was some attempt on their part to make it more apparent that you are now a walking blender with guns (Or maybe I'm just dumb and missed an option in the menu) but whatever novelty it has quickly wears off when you can barely see anything more than five feet in front of you.

That said though, this mod is well made. The story isn't very engrossing and at times the voice acting makes you want to mute the game (Only at certain times, though, most of it is at least decent) but the new gameplay mechanics for an old game are more than welcome in the way they force you to switch up your playstyle if you want to survive.

The Better Angels

Alright, I promise, this is the last mod from someguy2000 on this blog. For now. Probably. I swear. Next time I'll move on to a Star Wars game or something, just bear with me for now.

Author: someguy2000

The Better Angels

NOTE: Like with Bounties III, this mod shouldn't be activated until you are ready to play it. That means AFTER completion of Bounties III.

The Better Angels is, in effect, the Epilogue to the Bounties Trilogy. As a result of that, and the rushed development and release, it's quite a bit smaller than the rest of someguy's mods. Essentially, in the aftermath of the scarring events in Frosthill and the dark note that Bounties III ended on, the Courier is contacted by an old friend in NCR Intelligence asking them to travel south to a small outpost on the shore of the Colorado River where a large group of slaves is crossing into NCR territory. In the company of two...uh, "Distinguishable" NCR Rangers, the player heads for FOB Omega to help the small garrison defend against the inevitable Legion assault.

"Camp Shithole"

The tone of the mod is noticeably lighter than that of Bounties III, conveyed through someguy's excellently written profanity spewing characters. A couple of foul mouths from Bounties III even make a welcome appearance, their rambling arguments and barbed insults making for wonderful entertainment. As always, someguy's dialogue is up to snuff, for the most part.

Now, as you know by now if you've been playing his mods, and why shouldn't you know, unless you hate true art like this, which is created in a whiskey-fueled haze of self-depreciation and increasing mental instability, and dammit I'm rambling let me start over.

Ok, as I was saying, all of his mods are fully voiced and lip-synced. This mod is no exception. However, and this can be a little jarring, someguy himself voices all of the characters here. The tight release schedule (About a month, maybe even less) is the reason why, and the acting isn't necessarily bad, it just becomes noticeable. Especially after binge playing the rest of his mods because that's the best way you can spend your lonely Friday nights even though you wish for so much more and-

Crap, I started rambling again. Ignore that last sentence. Anyway, most of the dialogue is well voiced enough, though one or two lines sound a bit stilted and lifeless, it isn't a big deal. After arriving at the base the player is given jobs to do to help shore up the garrison against the attack. You repair the robots laying around that have different effects during the battle and train the troops to make them more skilled at shooting, stabbing, or bombing. You do a few sidequests relating to supplies and the massive amount of slaves pouring across the river, in effect doing all you can to prepare yourself for the massive Legion attack.

And yes, it is massive. It holds true to the Legion's in-game stated strategy (Send in the new guys to die, the slightly less new guys to die a little less, and then the old guys to kill everyone who is still alive) and they come at you in swarms. The Battle of FOB Omega is easily the largest battle to take place in New Vegas, period. Even bigger than the end game at Hoover Dam. You will easily kill at least 200, yes, two-hundred Legionaries during the course of the battle. Which is a conservative estimate, by the way. There is no way to adequately relate how many fo them there are through words. The battle itself can take up to 20 minutes from start to finish, with men in skirts running over the river to hack you apart with lawn-mower blades the entire time.

These are the people you will be defending from Cazadors (aka "Satan's Butterflies") and groups of men who scream in Latin and wear skirts.

Oh, and there's the mortar bombardment. Yeah, mortars. The Legion has themselves some serious artillery that will rain down on the camp at certain intervals during the battle, blowing the troops of your garrison to pieces with one unlucky blast. When you hear the air raid siren start going off, for the love of God find cover or you'll eat a mortar shell.

The battle itself is very intensive, and if your system isn't up to snuff and keeps crashing, someguy has included an option to skip the battle and go right to the end so you don't need to be afraid of being unable to complete the mod. The battle is, however, the main attraction here, since it's so impressive and bold.

Each of the voiced characters you meet has their own endings for the battle dependent on if they live or die, and what you told them before the battle began. And yes, one of the characters you love so much and want to survive can be vaporized by a mortar at the very beginning of the attack. That's just war, I guess. But to help prevent that you can bring companions along. Seriously. It's not a trap this time, like in Bounties III. And you will need them. And you will need the heaviest firepower you can get your hands on if you don't want to be the sole survivor.

And, as said before, this is a lighter mod, intended to give a less depressing ending to the someguy series. The dark note Bounties III gave players is somewhat lessened by the ending of this one, making the series as a whole bittersweet in nature instead of just straight up depressing. As an ending it's decent, if a bit empty, and a much better way to end things than with the alcoholism-inducing end of Bounties III. So if you've ridden this ride for this long, one more mod won't hurt. Hell, it's probably just what you need. So even if you can't make it through the battle without your computer flipping you the bird, go ahead and get this. It's a much better end note than you'd get otherwise.

New Vegas Bounties III

I'm finally back (And apologies for the extended absence) and ready to finish finish this trilogy. Yes, we've reached the final mile of the Bounties series where it all comes to a head in the snowy mountains of Utah, but can the conclusion of this epic series live up to its predecessors?

Author: someguy2000

Links:

New Vegas Bounties III

This mod also requires both of the Honest Hearts and Lonesome Road DLCs for the main game. ALSO, important note: Due to the quick release of this mod it does not require the Someguy Series esm. That means that once you activate Bounties III it will be immediately available to play even if you haven't completed the previous two. It's recommended that you leave the Bounties III file deactivated until you are ready to play it.

Now that we've got the links out of the way, let's get into the mod itself. It is, as the title implies, the third piece of the Bounties series which had more than a little bit of trouble during development. After missing its release date by several months, with the mod author practically disappearing from the face of the earth entirely. Fortunately though, the impending release of Fallout 4 pushed him to return and complete it, pushing it out in a mostly finished state in the Fall.

This time around it's much simpler, harking back to the days of Bounties I. You talk to a guy, he tells you to kill another guy, you do it, you get paid. No wanted posters and none of that "Taking them in alive" nonsense. Although, you can let some of your targets go if you feel they don't deserve a .44 slug to the brain, but you give up the bounty you would have collected on them if you do. Most of the mod takes place in a brand new worldspace that, other than the central town of Frosthill, feels pretty barren and empty. There are a few sidequests, mostly secondary bounties provided to you by your NCR handler named Brookshire that fall toward the dark end of the morality spectrum, and you can bash a bunch of rats for an old man in town, but the real attraction here is the main quest.

The mod begins with meeting one of Marko's cronies, a gunslinger named Virgil, outside of the old Randall and Associates building. From there he takes you on a 30 minute or so romp throughout the Mojave doing Marko's dirty work in exchange for him leading you to the notorious outlaw himself. You aren't doing anything particularly evil though, so good-aligned Couriers can do it as well without fear. 

Virgil, Marko's trusted gunfighter.

The work he has you do is actually a thinly veiled excuse to crap all over you, though. As is described by one of the characters in the mod, it's essentially a "Bunch of 'Ghost of Christmas Past' bullshit" but I found it to be intriguing. Virgil takes you and shows you how people around the wasteland were affected by your bounty hunting from the previous mods. A family is massacred after you killed the Fiend keeping their followers controlled in the ruins of Vegas, and they promptly began killing everyone they saw. One of your targets used the money from his robberies to support his family on their failing farm, and his death resulted in them falling in to poverty and one of the children being enslaved by the Legion.

Now, the way he goes on about it is more than a little reminiscent of Ulysses from Lonesome Road, but unlike that dread-locked windbag who can only communicate three words at a time, Virgil finds more success in his guilt trip because he relates the characters and consequences directly to things that you, as the player, have done. Instead of it being some offscreen incident that wasn't even hinted at beforehand you actually carried these actions out yourself. Whether you care or not is up to you, but Virgil's accusations carry more weight than Ulysses' ever did.

Virgil himself is an interesting character, and after doing his work you can speak to him to find out why he became a killer for Marko. It's an interesting backstory, and he has some thoughtful things to say about the nature of good and evil, and how without bad men the Courier themselves, even if they're good aligned, would be essentially nothing.

As you've probably gathered this mod is much more heavily oriented toward narrative than the others. The gameplay has been simplified from Bounties II but the narrative has only grown. I'd say more about the story but, as this is a conclusion, I'm afraid I might spoil something. Needless to say that, eventually, the player will get their long-awaited face-to-face with Marko and he manages to live up to his reputation, though I don't want to say more than that. The story takes a much darker, more personal turn toward the end that just ends up hanging there after the mod is complete. It's unorthodox, but it fits the style of Bounties well enough that I can give it a pass.

In conclusion, if you enjoyed the story of the previous mods, then download this one immediately. The story is the best part of a someguy2000 mod and Bounties III delivers.