Top 10 Favourite Castlevania games

This list I want to dedicate to one of my most favourite video game series – Castlevania. Developed by Konami, this is one of the oldest game series, starting as far back as 1986 (it’s older than me!), and ever since there have been over a 30 Castlevania titles released. The series mostly centres around a conflict between Dracula and a clan of vampire hunters, the Belmonts. Every 100 years or so Dracula gets resurrected and attempts to enslave humanity with his autocratic rule. This means that one of the Belmonts, or at times even another hero, has to stand up to this and to stop Dracula.

Castlevania games can mostly be divided into 3 main categories, depending on the gameplay style. First of all, there are the old-school ones. Those are the titles released in the late 80s and early 90s for the most part, though a few rare ones came out after that as well. They consist of several stages that a protagonist has to travel through and battle monsters, with a boss at the end of each stage.

From mid to late 90s, the series changed its direction a bit. It sort of split into two paths: the Metroid style and the 3D style. The Metroid style was inspired by the Metroid games, where, instead of linear stages, the games are more open-ended, contain RPG elements, as well as elements of exploration. The 3D style is as the name implies – the Castlevania games which are done in 3D rather than in 2D.

So this is a list that I’ve compiled of my current top 10 favourite Castlevania games. Since there are so many games in the series, I have not yet tried out them all, and hence some good ones might not appear on here, but think of this list simply as 10 great games that you should check out.

10) Portrait of Ruin

Release date: 2006

System: Nintendo DS

 One of the Metroid style Castlevanias, Portrait of Ruin is the second title to come out on DS. Portrait of Ruin introduced a number of things. First of all is the ability to control two protagonists at once. This is achieved by constantly swapping between the two whilst playing. As the player is controlling one of them, the other one simply tags along. This element is exploited pretty well in the game with a number of puzzles and such that cannot be solved with just one hero alone.

 Another thing was that apart from castle areas the player could also explore the places inside of the paintings. The paintings acted as portals and there were 8 such places. I personally loved most of the painting areas a lot, even though half of them were very similar to the other half, e.g. 13^th Street was pretty much a night-time version of City of Haze, and so on. Although the painting areas were stunning, I felt the castle areas were somewhat bleak in comparison and I remember distinctly feeling a need to quickly get past the next castle area just so I could get to the next painting.

 Lastly, the game also had side quests, which is an element Metroid style Castlevanias had not had yet up to that point. I had somewhat of mixed feelings on the side quests. Some of them were fun, but many others I felt were getting in the way of the game and weren’t so interesting.

 Overall, Portrait of Ruin is a very pretty game, both in terms of artistic graphics style and the soundtrack. The only reasons why it’s not any higher on the list is due to what was mentioned above.

9) Rondo of Blood

Release date: 1993

System: PC Engine, PSP (as part of Dracula X Chronicles in 2007)

One of the old-school titles, this game was at first released solely in Japan on a fairly unknown console called PC Engine. It was only 2 years later that it was remade for SNES and distributed all over the world, with the name Dracula X (not to be confused with Dracula X Chronicles, which was released in 2007 for PSP). Despite looking very much alike and revolving around the same plot, Dracula X had most of the levels changed and redesigned. In my opinion Dracula X wasn’t quite as good as Rondo of Blood.

Rondo of Blood is graphically a very beautiful game, especially for its time. The areas are really crisp, detailed, and full of colours, as well as diverse. The soundtrack as usual is fantastic too, and the level of challenge is pretty high.

Perhaps the game’s most notable feature is that it is semi-linear, i.e. most of the levels feature two different paths, what then determines which next stage the player will be heading through. For example, at level 1, if the player went the regular route, the 2^nd level would be the Main Hall, but if they chose an alternate path, then the 2^nd level would be Lake Bridge, and so on. This feature greatly adds replay value to the game and makes the player curious to try out alternate paths. Additionally, apart from playing as Richter Belmont, there is also a chance to unlock Maria and to play as her (something Dracula X did not have), and since her playstyle is different, this once again adds replay value.

Perhaps the only critique I can give Rondo of Blood is that the character control is a step down from Super Castlevania IV (the game that came out before this). In SCvIV we could whip in every direction, but in Rondo of Blood we’re back to only whipping forwards and that’s it. The jumping is also a bit clumsy. Perhaps the control was worsened to add difficulty to the game, but it can be quite frustrating for the player. This is only an issue when playing as Richter, and not with Maria.

8) Order of Ecclesia

Release date: 2008

System: Nintendo DS

The last of the Castlevanias on DS, Order of Ecclesia did something a little different for the Metroidvania style. Whereas all the previous games that went in this direction had you traversing and exploring various castle areas, Order of Ecclesia starts with you simply exploring the surrounding areas, such as mountain passes, forests, and underwater locations. Some of those areas utilise the old-school linear style, whereas the others conform to the Metroid style. And then finally, in the last part of the game, we get to actually explore Dracula’s castle itself.

The game also has you collecting various glyphs, which you use to attack enemies with, but to me this system was just a bit too similar to the soul system of Aria and Dawn of Sorrow, so I didn’t feel as though this was a new feature. Generally this game is very beautiful, both visually and audibly, and it also features some side quests which you can do for the NPCs. Perhaps its only drawback for me was that it forced you to level grind and money grind too often.

7) Lament of Innocence

Release date: 2003

System: Play Station 2

Lament of Innocence is one of the 3D Castlevanias. These are perhaps the most criticised of the games in the series, mostly due to how different they are to all the rest. In my opinion though, Lament of Innocence is a great game. It happens at the very beginning of the Castlevania timeline, telling a story of how the whole conflict between Dracula and the Belmont clan began.

The basic gameplay is an action adventure platformer. It takes place over 6 main stages, 5 of which are accessible from the beginning and can be played in any order of preference. Once the main bosses of all 5 are defeated, then the final stage becomes available. Although 6 stages might seem too little, each one is fairly lengthy. During these stages, the player faces loads of different enemies and learns a number of various combo moves. Having a variety of combos to perform makes the action very fun and stylish, especially during boss fights. Additionally, after completing each stage, the player acquires magical orbs. These orbs alter the main functionality of the sub-weapons. Given the number of the orbs and sub-weapons, a player can have up to 40 different secondary attacks. And finally there are bonus things added, like a hidden secret boss that provides a very nice challenge, as well as a couple of unlockable characters to play as.

The game has a few minor shortcomings, like how at times the fixed camera angles are quite bad, making platforming aspect of the gameplay frustrating. Another thing is that this game is not an RPG, meaning that most of the fighting is kind of redundant as a player does not gain experience points from defeated enemies. Nevertheless, in general this is a solid game. Fighting enemies might be redundant, but it sure as hell is incredibly fun.

6) Super Castlevania IV

Release date: 1991

System: SNES

This was sort of a remake of the original Castlevania (which was for NES) and features Simon Belmont travelling to the castle and through it to eventually confront Dracula.

 There are a good number of stages in the game, each of which is very suspenseful and atmospheric, mostly thanks to the intense ambient music and cool level design. The game is pretty challenging, just as all other old-school Castlevanias. Perhaps one of the very distinct features of this game is an exceptionally good control of the character. Unlike the three titles preceding it, in this Castlevania our character can whip in every direction, as well as utilise flexi-whip (holding the attack button and spinning the whip randomly).

All in all, this is a solid old-school Castlevania that delivers greatly on both: fun and challenge.

5) Bloodlines

Release date: 1994

System: Sega Genesis

This is another old-school Castlevania and the only one ever released on Sega Genesis. Bloodlines takes place over 6 awesome stages, all in various parts of the world, such as Palace of the Versailles and Leaning Tower of Piza.

 The player can choose to play as one of the two characters, each with slightly different form of attack and special ability, meaning that at times you won’t be following the same path through a level with one of them as with the other. Bloodlines also allows the player to set a difficulty level. This is something other old-school Castlevanias don’t have. Being able to adjust a difficulty level is a good way to appeal to both: new players and veterans.

 Bloodlines generally is a nice looking game, with cool enemies and even cooler bosses. It is bound to challenge you. The soundtrack is as usual great too, making this an all round great old-school Castlevania title.

4) Curse of Darkness

Release date: 2005

System: Play Station 2, Xbox

Most would probably find it unusual for me to put this one so high on the list, and this game has gotten very mixed opinions from the Castlevania fans, especially that it’s one of the 3D Castlevanias. However, I personally think Curse of Darkness is a neat game and certainly surpasses its predecessor, Lament of Innocence.

In Curse of Darkness the player gets to control Hector, who is a devil forgemaster, what means that apart from being a great fighter he also can summon familiars to help him during combat. This is not just your typical hack and slash adventure game. Curse of Darkness features great RPG elements. Apart from levelling up with gained experience, the player also collects a variety of materials which he/she can then use to forge various weapons, whether it’s swords, spears, blunts, hand-to-hand, or even exotic weapons.

 As I mentioned the familiars already, I find Curse of Darkness to be quite unique in regard to pet management gameplay. Not only there are different types of familiars, ranging from offensive ones to more supportive ones, but also each one can take a number of different evolutionary paths, depending on your playstyle.

 Also worthy of mention is a brilliant soundtrack in this game. Even though a good soundtrack is a common thing to Castlevania games, I find Curse of Darkness soundtrack to be the best of them all.

 Admittedly, Curse of Darkness is often criticised for its level design, in particular the fact that some areas are too big and require a lot of walking, but I don’t find this aspect to be that gamebreaking to get this game an undeservingly low Metascore of 72.

3) Symphony of the Night

Release date: 1997

System: Play Station, Sega Saturn, XBLA, PSN, PSP (as part of Dracula X Chronicles)

 Symphony of the Night is a direct sequel to Rondo of Blood and takes place a few years after in the Castlevania timeline. After Richter mysteriously disappears, it is now up to Alucard to stop his father, Dracula, from returning to the world.

You probably expected this to be at number 1 on my list, since it seems to be the most popular of the Castlevania games, both among long-time fans of the series and those who are just getting into it. Symphony of the Night was a revolutionary title, since it was the first game to take the series in the Metroidvania direction. The game is incredibly beautiful and well-polished, with great level design, captivating music, awesome enemies and bosses, and a cool protagonist, not to mention its distinct atmospheric feel. It also has a rather cheesy dialogue and voice acting, but that only makes it better.

So why not at number 1? Well, since it was the first of its kind, there were some areas of the gameplay that still did not quite achieve perfection, like the control of the character for example not being as ideal as some of the latter games, and also minor things such as having to equip a potion before you can use it. Nevertheless, if you ever have a friend who is interested in trying out Castlevania series, then Symphony of the Night is perhaps the best game to recommend to them.

2) Dawn of Sorrow

Release date: 2005

System: Nintendo DS

This one is the first Castlevania on Nintendo DS and a direct sequel to Aria of Sorrow. The story continues as Soma now has a cult after him. This cult is attempting to bring back Dracula’s power in a new dark lord candidate. Most of the characters from Aria of Sorrow are back, and we now have some new ones too, making up for a brilliant storyline.

Dawn of Sorrow features some incredibly beautiful castle areas and very amazing level design. To add to the fantastic levels, it has one of the best Castlevania soundtracks ever. Each level features a really awesome boss fight and all in all I felt the difficulty was balanced well too. The game maintains a good challenge, which is just enough so not to force the player to level grind apart from the very end.

Dawn of Sorrow’s only minor drawback for me was the presence of the magic seal system. The idea is not bad and fits the story well. The problem is that if you failed to draw it correctly, then the boss you’re fighting would not die and will continue to pummel you. If not for that, I would’ve probably placed this game on top of this list, as it’s virtually perfect in every way apart from this one experimental feature, which gladly was not included in further DS Castlevanias.

1) Aria of Sorrow

Release date: 2003

System: GBA

Being the fourth Metroid style Castlevania, Aria of Sorrow is hardly revolutionary in that regard. However, what it did manage was to finally perfect the idea. The previous two GBA titles did a lot of hit and miss, but Aria of Sorrow, in my opinion, got everything right.

 Apart from being Metroid style and featuring a variety of different items and weapons, Aria of Sorrow also introduces something new. It introduces a soul system, which was then also used in its sequel. The game’s protagonist, Soma Cruz, once in a while can steal the souls of the monsters that he slays, what then allows him to use that monster’s most defining ability, whether it’s an attack, unique talent, or a passive buff. Given that there are well over a hundred of different monsters in the castle, the player can end up with a massive variety of different skills, meaning that there are multiple ways to overcome the same bosses and obstacles.

 Additionally, the game introduces a lot of great new characters for this story arc in the series, now taking place in the near future, and features fantastic levels, brilliant soundtrack, and overall a very fun gameplay with just the right amount of difficulty. Seeing as that there is nothing to criticise about Aria of Sorrow, it takes the number 1 spot on my Castlevania games list. The only thing that could be improved is if the game was re-released on a more powerful system, so that its already beautiful levels could look even better.

What makes for a good First-Person Shooter (FPS) game

Following on from my earlier list on what I think makes for a good RPG, here is what I think makes for a good First-Person Shooter (FPS) game. FPS games do vary from one another a fair bit, but these points I think are important for every FPS game out there.

Now first of all it is worthy to note something. The points mentioned here I mostly addressed towards the games which are pure FPS or at least put a major focus on the shooter aspect of the game. Games which are RPGs primarily but utilise first-person perspective (like Deus Ex and Fallout 3) do not apply here.

Screenshot from Killing Floor

1. Lock ‘n load - Variety in Content

Perhaps the most important feature that greatly prolongs the lifespan of an FPS game is the variety in content. It doesn’t matter how long the standard campaign mode goes for, whether it’s only 5 hours or 20, what each FPS game needs to have is variety. There are several aspects to it. The 2 most basic ones are:

a) Variety in enemies

b) Variety in weapons

Variety in enemies (point a) means that the challenge is never the same. If the challenge changes, it means the player is required to come up with new ways of overcoming it, and hence repetition is minimized. In addition to providing different levels of challenge, having different enemies is also pleasing to the eyes. It gets boring seeing the same monsters die all the time. In fact, having new enemies makes the player more interested to know that enemy’s ins and outs. For example, in Doom 3, I absolutely loved it every time I came across a scene that introduced a new monster. It sparks curiosity and also makes each new enemy type seem special.

On top of having great diversity in enemies, it is also a good idea to have diversity in means of killing them (point b). In majority FPS games those would be guns. It is not, however, the sheer number of guns that is important, but the functionality of said guns – there need to be different ways to kill. If a game only features bullet firearms for example, it can get tedious, unless these firearms are useful for different situations. Instead of, for example, having 20 different assault rifles, why not have a bit of each weapon type. It makes the game more interesting this way. Now guns are not the only way to dispatch enemies. It is well possible to have other ways. Like in the game BioShock, for example, we get to utilise all sorts of genetic powers, ranging from electric bolts, to freezing blasts, to swarms of bees, and so on.

Screenshot from BioShock

2. So what now? - Variety in Situations/Game styles

Now this is something by far not many FPS games contain. They might have a number of cool weapons and cool enemy types, but the game might still just involve you walking around from corridor to corridor, shooting down monsters or enemy soldiers and moving on. To take the FPS experience even further, we need to have a variety in types of gameplay. This can be accomplished in a number of ways, depending on the game.

One of the ways is to simply make the player face different situations as they go on about their single player campaign. This is one of the main features that makes Half Life 2 so different to most other FPS games. The player gets to attack, defend, and face pretty much every situation in between, including puzzle solving elements. This kind of continuous changing of pace and game style keeps the experience fresh and always keeps the player’s curiosity high as to what they’re going to be doing next.

Now another way to vary the game styles is to simply do them as separate features. A good example of this would be the TimeSplitters series. Apart from having standard story mode, there is also an arcade mode, map maker mode, and a huge plethora of challenges of various sorts, which involve all sorts of random gameplay elements. There is no doubt that had these games only had the story mode, they would not last anywhere near as long as they are in their present state.

Screenshot from Half Life 2

3. Boom! Headshot! - Satisfaction

This is another one of those highly essential features to an FPS game. It’s the satisfaction. Of course this is important for every game type, but to an FPS it is an absolute must. Most people play FPS games as means to de-stress and release anger or simply to improve their reactions and motor skills. No matter what the reason is, instant pleasure from killing an enemy is what each FPS player seeks. The weapons must be enjoyable to use, and enemies must be responsive to being hurt, and so on.

This is why having high levels of gore and good ragdoll physics make FPS games so popular – it gives people inner satisfaction of seeing that big bad monster explode into chunks of flesh and puddles of blood as opposed to falling down in a scripted manner. If this is achieved, then there don’t even need to be any in-game rewards. The instant gratification from a slaughtered enemy is enough of a reward already.

Screenshot from Doom 3

4. How do you move this thing? - Control

Perhaps one of the most frustrating things when playing an FPS is when the game isn’t responding in a manner that a player wants. Many multiplayer FPS gamers often complain about lag, and indeed lag does ruin the experience, but this is a story for another day. What I am going to discuss in this category can be similarly annoying if not executed right. It is the control of the in-game character.

 Every little factor is important here – the sensitivity of the mouse, the walking speed, the height and distance of the jump, as well as easy, intuitive keyboard/joystick controls. Those things are the basics of the game, the basics of the experience, and hence a little flaw in one of them will be with the player for the rest of the game and therefore can easily get annoying, especially during the more difficult parts.

 Of course each person is different, and hence different gamers will react differently to each control scheme. For this reason there has to be both: optimization and flexibility. Optimization is about being able to appeal to as many people as possible. Flexibility is about allowing customization, so that people can adjust the game’s controls to whatever they prefer the most.

Screenshot from Aliens vs Predator (Classic 2000)

5. My senses are tingling - Atmosphere

Perhaps the first thing to note about FPS games is that they are done in first-person perspective. The biggest reason for that is to make it easy to shoot the in-game weapons, but that is not the only reason. The whole idea of playing the game in first person is experiencing the in-game events from the eyes of the protagonist. It makes the player feel that they ARE the protagonist. So now that we are in the protagonist’s shoes, we need to become a part of the game’s world.

This is where the atmosphere comes in. It is important to set it correctly. The climax needs to build up at the right pace and reach its peak at the right time. Only that way the shocking scenes would cause us to gasp, or the scary moments would cause us to jump from our seats. On top of that, all the little details can either make or break the atmosphere, ranging from fitting background music, to the colour scheme, to even the type of enemies you encounter in a certain area.

Screenshot from Prey

6. Have we been here before? - Level Design

I thought I’d put this here too. Although a good level design is beneficial for any game, I think for FPS games it’s one of the most important things. Why? Well, simply because of the gameplay. An RPG, for example, might get away with slightly repetitive levels or occasional boring areas, because that’s not what the focus is on in an RPG. With FPS games, your environment is part of what makes the experience.

 In FPS we want to be in action all the time and progressing forward. Spending too long trying to figure out which way to go can ruin the experience and even turn a player off the game. Levels should be easy to navigate through with some originality and intuitive solutions when it comes to puzzles (for example, making a door switch to look like the background environment is one of the easiest ways to annoy a player). The areas should not be too dull and boring, and any parts which force you to utilise way too much the clumsy jumping system that is native to at least 90% of FPS games should be avoided like a nasty disease.

 Some of the most common annoyances related to environment include but certainly aren’t limited to:

 Levels where each room/area looks almost the same.

 Levels which are too dark to see anything without proper means.

 Levels which are boring, dull, one-coloured, and do not inspire any emotion whatsoever.

 Levels with too much jumping and not enough action.

 Levels which look identical to a level before/earlier in the game.

 And so on.

 Basically, the levels should flow smoothly, they should show a variety of different environments and locations, and they should look different from one another.

Screenshot from Borderlands (Zombie Island of Dr Ned expansion)

Top 10 best areas of Titan Quest

This list I thought I’d base on one of my favourite action RPGs, Titan Quest. The game story takes place over a massive variety of locations, mostly in Ancient Greece, Egypt, Orient, and finally in the Underworld itself (if we include the expansion). Due to such big variety of different areas in the game, I thought I’d make a list of some of my favourite ones, mentioning why I picked them.

*Some mild spoilers ahead*

10) Tsakonian Ruins

This is one of the first places you encounter in the expansion Immortal Throne. The area has a theme and instantly starts to stand out from the previous 3 acts of the game. We find ourselves in a massive city-like area which had been long destroyed and taken over by vegetation, as well as various animal life forms, such as frogmen and walking trees. It is a very big and open location, requiring some time to explore.

9) The Great Wall

Although a very short part of the game, this is one of the memorable moments when you get to travel along the Great Wall, as it twists around the landscape, and destroy all the pengs which have landed on it. You even get to have a little boss battle on the Wall with the biggest of the pengs.

8) Obsidian Halls

This is one of the last areas of the original TQ, when you finally travel beneath the Wusao mountain, to where Typhon himself is being held. This last area of the Wusao caves looks very stunning as it’s entirely made of obsidian rock and features lava pools and fiery vents. The presence of big, dragon-like Sepulchral Wyrms adds to the intense atmosphere of this place.

7) War Camp in Parnassus

During fairly early parts of the game, whilst you are still in Greece, at one point you stumble upon an entire war camp of monsters. You get instantly overwhelmed by lots and lots of satyrs and then make your way to the Upper War Camp, which features semi-destroyed structures and lots of undead and ratmen. I found this location to be very atmospheric, especially when you get to the end of it and notice what appears to be a statue of a Cyclops. Just a bit further you also notice statues of people and probably start to realise that you are about to face the Gorgon sisters.

6) Chang’an city and palace

Apart from monster-infested open areas, we also come across lots of cities and villages. Perhaps my favourite one of those is city of Chang’an. Apart from being incredibly beautiful, it also has a couple of side quests. It had been taken over by the Terra Cotta soldiers, which in turn are controlled by a powerful mage, Bandari. Your job is to free the city and the palace from the threat.

5) Passage of Souls and bank of River Styx

This is simply one of those ‘Wow!’ moments. It is the part I look forward to every single time I reach it. Not because of the gameplay elements, but simply because of its moody atmosphere. Fairly early in Act 4 you locate the entrance to the Underworld. As soon as you proceed, you find yourself in a cave of sort with hundreds of souls flying about. It looks absolutely stunning. Before you know it, you are finally in Hades for the first time ever, not as a dead man, but as one of the living. Creepy music also heavily adds to the eerie ambience of this place. Right after you’ve left the Passage of Souls, you reach the bank of the River Styx and you see Charon’s boat. However, Charon himself is not there, and all the shades are waiting there anxiously and wondering if they will ever see proper afterlife. The first time I reached this part, I was really impressed, because virtually everything in it added to the creepy, melancholy atmosphere. What an awesome way to begin your journey through the Underworld!

4) Hades’ Palace

Hades’ palace is the final location you go to in the entire game (when counting expansion). This is when you’re done helping others and now going to fight the boss himself – you are about to face one of the gods! For a final area, Hades’ palace looks really cool. It has some pretty unique visual designs and looks like an enormous prison, going many levels underground. Apart from looking impressive, this place also has an intense music playing in it and contains monsters of many sorts, in particular the gigantes.

3) Hanging Gardens of Babylon

Now this is a particularly exquisite location in the game. It marks the very beginning of Act 3 and consists of a huge garden that sort of spirals upwards layer by layer. This garden is incredibly colourful, containing exotic plants, and mini-waterfalls which lead into streams with small bridges over them. The choice of enemies really fits this area and the music is great too. Overall, in my opinion, this is one of the most remarkable parts of the game.

2) Knossos Palace and Minoan Labyrinth

Towards the end of Act 1 our character travels to Crete where he/she must get to the Knossos Palace and in there to find an entrance into the Minoan labyrinth. I have to say the first time through I was really impressed with this location. It’s pretty big and looks gorgeous. It also features a new type of enemy at that stage of the game – automatons, as well as a secret boss in epic and legendary difficulties. Minoan Labyrinth I thought was done really well too and managed to keep the anticipation of facing the Minotaur really high.

1) Fields of Elysium

The top spot on this list I decided to give to the fields of Elysium in Act 4. In Greek mythology Elysium is the equivalent of Heaven, where the most heroic souls go after they die, and I think the game developers managed to successfully make this place look heavenly. Your hero gets to travel through picturesque garden-like areas, as well as tranquil fields with statues and overlooking the beautiful waterfalls, not to mention structures that look like Parthenon here and there. The music in this area is divine as well, perfectly fitting the heavenly environments. However, your hero is in Elysium not to rest and retire, but to fight an intense battle against Hades’ army of demons. This is a great part of the game not only for its stunning music and environments, but also simply because it’s epic as you get to help out well known figures such as Agamemnon, Menelaus, Ajax, Nestor, and Odysseus.

Top 10 Best Moments in Half Life 2

I thought I’d make a list of the best moments from the Half Life 2 series. Being an FPS game, Half Life 2 is all about immersing the player and making us feel like we’re experiencing the whole story from the point of view of the leading protagonist, Gordon Freeman. Half Life 2 and both of the episodes that followed have plenty of amazing, mindblowing moments. However, here I’ve chosen my 10 most favourite ones and also explained why I think these are the best parts of the series (which of the HL2 games it’s from is in brackets).

***WARNING! Some mild spoilers ahead!***

10) Battle at City 17 (HL 2)

Right after you step out of the teleporter with Alyx when escaping Nova Prospekt, Dr Kleiner tells you that it’s been an entire week that you’ve been gone and now the citizens of City 17 started an uprising against the Combine. It’s then that you step outside and see what happened to the city. It became a battle zone and you are now right in the middle of it. This is when you realise that you are about to witness some really heavy battles and use a lot of teamwork with the NPCs. Perhaps the part in this chapter that I enjoyed the most was when you, together with Alyx and a handful of citizens, had to defend a plaza from incoming Combine troops.

9) Pursuit in the Rail yard (HL 2: Episode 2)

This is a scene when you are being chased by a Combine helicopter through a rail yard. I thought this scene was really intense and made for a great chase scene in the game. Not only did you have to dodge the bombs dropped by the helicopter whilst driving, but also the zombies on the way as well. The scene ends with you assisting a group of rebels in destroying this helicopter by flinging its bombs back at it using a Gravity Gun.

8) The Long Elevator Wait (HL 2: Episode 1)

Perhaps one of really memorably chapters was ‘Low Life’ from Episode 1, when you along with Alyx had to make your way through the underground garages and fight off zombies and antlions. The finale of that chapter had you restoring power to the elevator that would eventually take you up to the ground level. However, as soon as you restore the power and begin to wait for the elevator to arrive, you had attracted every zombie in the vicinity to your location. I thought it was really epic to fight off a large group of zombies in partial darkness whilst desperately waiting for that elevator to arrive. This certainly can remind us of all those horror movies when the heroes have to prolong their doom as much as possible, except this time we are in their shoes.

7) Escort the Citizens (HL 2: Episode 1)

This happens nearly at the end of Episode 1, when you have to help Barney to escort the remaining citizens of City 17 to the trains so that they can escape the city. Perhaps what’s best about this scene is how it builds up (this is in fact true for most scenes on this list). You have to escort small groups of citizens at a time and you know that at any moment the Combine will appear and will try to stop you. Whilst delivering the first group of people, it’s incredibly silent. The words ‘calm before the storm’ have never been more suitable. Then it starts happening very gradually, with the faint sound of the approaching manhacks, and before you know it, you are fighting off squads of Combine soldiers and attempting to make sure every single citizen survives.

6) Silo Defence (HL 2: Episode 2)

This one was the finale battle of Episode 2, when you must make a stand against an approaching group of Striders, assisted with packs of Hunters. This was quite a tricky fight due to the fact that it was happening over a large area. There were 6 buildings, all with supplies, and Striders were coming from different corners of the map, so you had to quickly drive your vehicle to where they were coming from. Another tricky thing was that you first had to take care of the Hunters before attempting to blow up the Striders with the Magnusson devices. This battle requires some planning and the use of clever combat tactics by the player and is guaranteed to make you sweat for victory.

5) Ambush at the White Forest Inn (HL 2: Episode 2)

Another great scene that had a brilliant build up. Whilst driving through the roads and starting to approach the White Forest base, you and Alyx come across an Inn. However, everything is quiet. There is not a single sign of any life. And then, at one point, BAM, your car hits an invisible force field and within seconds Combine troops start coming out of everywhere. You and Alyx are forced to quickly run inside the Inn and to make a stand from there. Luckily the Inn is full of supplies. This scene is a really decent gunfight as you get Combine troops and Hunters coming from every direction - front doors, back doors, even trying to shoot you through multiple windows, and even attempting an entry through the basement.

4) Highway 17 (HL 2)

That’s right, the whole chapter. I thought this whole part of the game was great, starting from seeing light at the end of the tunnel as you make your way out of Ravenholm caves and ending with a fantastic lighthouse defence scene. For most of this chapter you drive a Buggy through the highway and have to make regular stops to engage in action, whether it’s simply to clean out some Combine troops from a small settlement, or to help some rebels out with a gunship attack, or to outrun packs of antlions, or to climb your way through a semi-broken bridge and switch off some force fields which are blocking your way. This whole chapter basically is a great ride, in particular the lighthouse defence scene at the end of it, during which we get to listen to perhaps the best music track in the game.

3) Meet the Hunters (HL 2: Episode 2)

This is one of those scenes that takes you by surprise. You and Alyx try to restore power to this very small station so that you can send a radio signal. However, as soon as you come out of the basement, you hear a bunch of Hunters just outside the building, peeking through the windows and preparing an attack. As you take your position, probably crouched in the corner somewhere, the Hunters begin to break into the room you’re in, and once they do, all you can do is to fight back. Since they are highly resistant to bullets, your best bet is to use your environment, which is incredibly fun. This is the first time you actually get to engage in a fight with them, making this their entrance scene, and a very cool one at that.

2) Assault on Nova Prospekt… with Antlions (HL 2)

Preparing to attack a high security prison? All right. Assault rifle? Check. Sniper crossbow? Check. Rocket launcher? Check. Bugbait?... O_o? That’s right. We are attacking a high security prison, which is owned by Combine troops, by using a bugbait. Long story short, with this bugbait, the antlions treat you as one of their high guards, so they listen to your every command and follow you everywhere, even into certain death. Now this is an incredibly fun part of the game, because it adds something new to the action as you and your little pet antlions fight the Combine troopers, first on the beach, then in the front yard of the prison facility, and finally inside the prison itself. Controlling all those antlions makes you feel like some kind of twisted sorcerer or evil genius.

1) Vortal Combat (HL 2: Episode 2)

Had to give number 1 spot to this scene, simply because it has the best build up of the atmosphere and a fantastic climax. In the early stages of Episode 2 you start making your way into the mines, where antlions made their nests, and come across sort of a little outpost inside the shack. This outpost is defended by two funny guys, Sheckley and Griggs, and one of the Vortigaunts, who is helping Alyx out. Now as soon as you arrive, Sheckley and Griggs inform you of the incoming waves of antlions and also about their genius defence system. Each of the four tunnels leading out of the ‘base’ has 3 lights next to it which act as warning signals. Now when antlion waves are approaching, the lights come on. Few antlions – only 1 light, moderate amount – 2 lights, and loads – 3 lights. With this in mind, you start facing incoming antlions, at first only smaller waves and then gradually larger ones. For the final wave you are joined by 3 more Vortigaunts who tell you that many many more antlions are still coming. As soon as they say that, 3 lights go off in EVERY tunnel and a really cool music track starts to play. You instantly realise that a serious battle is about to begin, at which point masses of antlions come from every direction, completely swarming the shack and forcing everyone to work as a team to fight them all off.

Deus Ex vs DX: Human Revolution

Back in 2000, ‘Deus Ex’ was one of the most revolutionary games, managing to add its own influence into the gaming world and to successfully fuse the RPG and FPS genres together in a single game. A few years later a sequel came out, ‘Invisible War’, which received very mixed reactions from critics and fans alike, and then for a long time the franchise was pretty much over… or so it seemed. There had been rumours of the 3^rd instalment for a long while, and then finally in 2011 ‘Deus Ex: Human Revolution’ came out. Many consider it to be a much more successful addition to the series than ‘Invisible War’.

In this list I’ve decided to make a detailed comparison of the original ‘Deus Ex’ to the ‘Human Revolution’, tackling numerous aspects of the gaming experience. Has ‘Human Revolution’ managed to surpass the original, live up to it, or is it not even worthy of a rival? Well, let us find out.

***WARNING! SOME SPOILERS AHEAD!***

1)      The Story

The first aspect I’ll tackle here is the story. A great story is pretty much one of the defining characteristics of the Deus Ex franchise. In my opinion both games managed to show a very accurate and at the same time intriguing view on a possible future, about greed and conspiracy, power and corruption.

 There were lots of nice twists and turns in both games, and although Human Revolution did great, I think the original Deus Ex’s story is almost unbeatable. Things such as completely changing sides undoubtedly had a strong emotional impact on many gamers out there. JC was pretty much thrust right into the thick of it. The choices he had to make, being torn between following his brother and quietly following orders without questions was a powerful emotional dilemma. And even after the choice was made, things were never the same. Revisiting UNATCO for example after the escape from MJ12 base, it was so different. You knew you wouldn’t be coming back there again. Some of those people you were working with you’d see for the last time ever. You would be forced to move on, make new allies.

 Human Revolution had its own emotional moments as well, especially when finding out the truth towards latter parts of the game, but I didn’t quite think those emotions were as powerful and acute as what I felt when I played the original for the first time.

Deus Ex +1

Total so far:

Deus Ex (1) : Human Revolution (0)

2)      The Atmosphere

The atmosphere is affected by several aspects, such as the visuals, the soundtrack, good dialogue, intelligent enemies, and so on. However, I thought I’d make it as a separate category just to see how both games did in general in regard to how intense and immersive they’ve been. Needless to say, both Deus Ex and Human Revolution can certainly boast with their intense atmosphere. When I play either of those games, I feel like I am in there, in the game’s world, getting into the role, experiencing the events unfold, and making the decisions on behalf of the leading characters. Since both games have vastly succeeded in this, I’d have to say that in terms of atmosphere it’s a tie.

Deus Ex +1

Human Revolution +1

Total so far:

Deus Ex (2) : Human Revolution (1)

3)      Visuals

First thing to note is that the games are more than 10 years apart. Human Revolution obviously has way better and more realistic graphics. The characters look more lifelike, the environments have more detail, the cinematics are stunning, and so on. However, there is one trump card that the original can pull out. It has way better looking visual aesthetics. The environments and locations are all full of colours and nice colour contrasts, whereas Human Revolution is mostly limited to golden, brown, and black. Of course HR’s style makes it atmospheric, but then the original managed to be atmospheric too but without this sacrifice of the aesthetics. For that reason, in terms of visuals, I pick the original as the winner.

Deus Ex +1

Total so far:

Deus Ex (3) : Human Revolution (1)

4)      The Soundtrack

Another feature that made the original so well-received was its amazing soundtrack, ranging from the main theme, to the various tracks playing during missions. Deus Ex music is simply unforgettable. Now, I think many fans were pleased that Human Revolution too had a fantastic soundtrack. Its main theme, Icarus, especially stands out, delivering masses of emotion just within those 3 and a half minutes. But Icarus is not the only good song on the Human Revolution soundtrack. There are plenty of other good tracks, most being quite atmospheric and perfectly suiting the dystopian feel of the game’s world. Weighing up both ends, I have to make this one a draw as well, since both soundtracks are mindblowing.

Deus Ex +1

Human Revolution +1

Total so far:

Deus Ex (4) : Human Revolution (2)

5)      The Protagonist

Now we’ll take a look at our leading protagonists – JC Denton and Adam Jensen. I think from their choice of attire, as well as witty dialogue lines, and general style, we can conclude they’re both really cool protagonists. They share a lot of similarities and both undergo big, emotional events that shape their outlook on the outside world and the people around them. So which of them has more depth and is more efficient at what they do? Well, even in this regard I think they are pretty evenly matched. Both have travelled the world and battled numerous foes to uncover a conspiracy and to change the course of events.

Deus Ex +1

Human Revolution +1

Total so far:

Deus Ex (5) : Human Revolution (3)

6)      Supporting Characters

So now we know the leading protagonists are pretty strong in both games, we should take a look at other characters. Have they been developed well too? After all, good supporting characters which have recognizable and relatable personality traits are important for the immersion into the game’s world. In the original we had JC’s brother, Paul, as well as other people working in UNATCO, and then we also had all sorts of powerful people, ranging from MJ12 to Illuminati. They all played a role and made an impression on the overall story. What about Human Revolution? Well, here it’s the same thing. We have well-developed co-workers – Sarif as a cool boss who really cares about the augmentation projects, Malik as a female helicopter pilot who is always there to support Jensen, Pritchard as the tech guy and his constant yet funny arguments with Jensen. And then we have other great characters too – the special ops assassins, the politicians, the billionaires. So to conclude, I think both games have fantastic supporting characters, all of which showed depth.

Deus Ex +1

Human Revolution +1

Total so far:

Deus Ex (6) : Human Revolution (4)

7)      General Combat Mechanics

All right, and now for action. On our journeys we’ve come across all sorts of enemies, obstacles, and the like. Well, this is where I definitely think Human Revolution made an improvement over the first game. Now you take cover during gunfights, which is very helpful. And the cover system itself is very well done, because you can easily move from cover to cover without problems, and you can also aim from cover at the enemies in front. This allows gunfights to be smooth and realistic. For this, Human Revolution gets the point.

Human Revolution +1

Total so far:

Deus Ex (6) : Human Revolution (5)

8)      Stealth and Up close

Now then, undoubtedly many players choose to play stealthily through both games, and in fact these games do encourage this sort of gameplay more than all out run and gun. There are always multiple ways to solve problems and alternate strategies that can be taken to avoid an upfront encounter. This also brings us to the up close fighting. In Human Revolution, melee weapons were completely replaced and in their stead we have the takedowns. Now takedowns are really great, because they offer an instant kill or K.O to an enemy, providing they are right next to the protagonist. Most of these takedowns look really cool and stylish and greatly spice up the stealthy aspect of the game. In this regard I think HR had yet again made an improvement. The stealthy gameplay is great in both games, but the inclusion of takedowns earns Human Revolution a point.

Human Revolution +1

Total so far:

Deus Ex (6) : Human Revolution (6)

9)      The Enemies

One of the most important aspects of any game are the enemies. They are the main challenge and therefore they have to be designed properly as well. They have to be interesting, diverse, and to keep the player on the toes. Let us take a look then at the great enemy selection of both games.

 In the original Deus Ex, we’ve had a massive variety of opposition. First of all the people – we had thugs, NSF troopers, UNATCO/MJ12 soldiers, as well as Men and Women in Black, and also Commandoes. Secondly, there were 5 types of bots (small security bot, medium security bot, large security bot, small spider bot, large spider bot), and lastly, we’ve also had the alien beings (greys, greasels, and karkians).

Unfortunately, in Human Revolution the variety was much smaller. In HR we’ve only really faced thugs, military men, and security bots. Sure, not all military men were the same, but they sure felt like they were. There weren’t distinct differences between them. In the original for example, you’d never mistake an MJ12 trooper for an MIB or a Commando, because they looked way differently and they also provided a different level of challenge/danger. In HR, most of these soldiers are just generic military men, the robots only come in 2 types, and there are no alien or other animal beings at all. The final level did provide us with a slightly different enemy type though, and that is why I like that level, but that is still not quite enough, because even then, those enemies were just people. To summarize, I think the enemy selection was better in the original due to the sheer diversity of who you encountered.

Deus Ex +1

Total so far:

Deus Ex (7) : Human Revolution (6)

10)  The Boss Fights

This is perhaps the only area where Deus Ex series in general doesn’t put much emphasis on, and in a way I prefer it that way. Boss fights are more suitable for your typical adventure games and not so much for story-rich FPS RPGs as Deus Ex. In the original you faced a handful of bosses, but those fights could be tackled in another manner, and some of them could even be ignored completely. It wasn’t such a good idea to just go all out in those fights, unless you were loaded with heavy weapons and defensive augmentations.

 In Human Revolution you had to face a few bosses too, but these ones were compulsory. You couldn’t skip them or simply run away. Additionally, there were no alternate ways of dealing with these bosses either, apart from simply fighting them head on. In fact, this aspect of the game received a lot of criticism as it did not allow for stealthy solutions to defeating these bosses.

 Overall, I think boss fights are a weak point of both games and in a way I am glad they were not emphasized so much, so this one is simply a draw, because neither game really prevails over the other in this aspect.

No points

Total so far:

Deus Ex (7) : Human Revolution (6)

11)  The Locations

Now let’s take a look at the stages, or probably more accurate to simply call them locations. Both games have a mixture of locations. Some are cities where you converse with NPCs and do side quests, whilst others simply involve you to be constantly in action. I’ll have a look at both of them.

 Now both games certainly did a terrific job in the action locations. In the original, some of the most memorable action missions were The Airfield, VersaLife labs, The Cathedral, Vandenberg base, and of course the grand finale, Area 51. In Human Revolution there were a few memorable action missions too, although those were mostly in the second half of the game, missions such as Hengsha docks, Singapore facility, and Panchea. However, after looking at everything, I think the original had a lot more diversity in these locations and also the kind of tasks that needed to be done. Some of the places were simply unique, like the Ocean Lab for example, which completely deviated from the rest in its style due to the fact that you were all alone in an underwater facility overrun with alien creatures and rogue turrets. In HR, apart from the above mentioned, all the other action mission locations sort of seemed to be the same to one another.

 But let us look at the city locations as well, the times when we take a break from the intense action missions and do more investigating and such. In the original Deus Ex there were three such locations – Hell’s Kitchen (which you visited 3 times in total), Hong Kong, and Paris. All three of these were fantastic locations, especially Hong Kong, which was especially charming in its style. Human Revolution had only 2 cities, each of which you visited twice. Detroit I thought was done well, but Hengsha was a tad disappointing due to most streets looking the same and the city simply being too big, causing long, unnecessary walks whilst solving side quests. I wished there were more city locations in the game. Instead of visiting Detroit and Hengsha the second time, perhaps we could’ve had an extra city or two. So with both, city locations and action locations, I think the original Deus Ex beats Human Revolution.

Deus Ex +1

Total so far:

Deus Ex (8) : Human Revolution (6)

12)  Hacking

One of the big aspects of gameplay of both games was hacking into security terminals and computers of various sorts, as well as locating codes and passwords. In the original, when infiltrating a base or facility of some kind, it was always fun to hack its security system and at times to even turn it onto your side. In the Human Revolution this aspect has been taken to a whole new level. Now in order to hack, one must play a mini-game and attempt to take over the security node before the system recognizes your presence and boots you out. This mini-game is such a major part of the gameplay that there are even items and augmentations to help you with it. And as for attaining codes and passwords, HR has done wonders here too. You no longer have to memorize the codes that you read in the pocket secretaries or from someone’s email. Now your protagonist remembers it in-game, which makes life a whole lot easier for us. So when it comes to hacking, Human Revolution definitely wins.

Human Revolution +1

Total so far:

Deus Ex (8) : Human Revolution (7)

13)  Weapons and Items

Now this one is pretty tough, because there is a large variety of weapons and items in both games. In terms of variety I think they both did a great job. However, how good are these items? How effective are the weapons? How original and ingenious are these things?

 Let’s first look at the regular firing weapons. Both games have pistols, shotguns, assault rifles, which seem to be about the same in HR as in the first Deus Ex. But they also have a lot of other weapons. Both games have a crossbow. However, the original’s miniature version that fires tranquiliser darts is a lot cooler and more useful. Both games have a rocket launcher. Once again, the original’s GEP gun is much cooler and more intriguing. The original Deus Ex also has a far better sniper rifle. In HR, we have two sniper-like weapons – a regular sniper rifle and a transquiliser rifle. Sniper rifle is loud but deadly. Tranq rifle is non-lethal but silent. However, the original’s sniper rifle is both, or technically speaking it’s just loud and deadly at first, but one can equip a silencer to it. Now in HR, if one wants a silenced sniper rifle, they have to get one with the DLC. Tsk tsk. Sneaky. OK, well both games also feature weapons that another doesn’t. HR has a really cool magnum revolver and a heavy rifle (sort of like a minigun), both of which are nice additions. It also has a laser cannon and a PEPS gun, but let’s not get started on these, as they are kind of subpar. And the original… well that has a Flamethrower, which is a pretty sweet weapon. I am still kind of puzzled as to why this was not included in HR.

Melee weapons. Well, HR kind of replaced these with the option of making takedowns, which is a fair trade in my opinion. Although one cannot deny that the original Deus Ex had some really awesome melee weaponry, such as a retractable baton and the Dragon’s Tooth blade, not to mention the pepper spray.

Grenades. Both games sort of have similar grenade types here, so they are probably more or less even. Although one should take a look at functionality too. In HR there was a cool option to turn grenades into mines. I must say I thought that was a great idea. However, the original already allowed this option but without the need of acquiring mine templates. In the original, one could both - throw a grenade and to plant it on the wall like a mine.

And then we have all the other items, such as food, alcohol, buffs. I think with these both games did all right, though would’ve been nice if HR had those tech armors like the original had, things such as HazMat suit, Ballistic armor, etc.

To conclude, I think it’s a pretty close one, but the original wins out by a fair bit, because its weapons were a little bit more original and more interesting.

Deus Ex +1

Total so far:

Deus Ex (9) : Human Revolution (7)

14)  Skills and Augmentations

Both Deus Ex games contain plenty of RPG elements. Skills and augmentations are pretty much how these elements are represented. A player gains experience points in-game by completing objectives and exploring so then he/she can use them to ‘level up’ so to speak. The idea of augmentations is the same in both games, but it’s executed slightly differently. In the original Deus Ex, we had two separate categories – the skills (natural abilities more or less) and the augmentations (the engineered/inhuman abilities). In Human Revolution, the two categories kind of merged.

Now there are many great skills to learn in both games. The original blew me away, and I was impressed that Human Revolution managed to deliver this feature in all its glory as well. To compare and to decide which one has better augmentations is a bit hard. The original Deus Ex had some really great ones, like the Aggressive Defence, Spy Drones, Synthetic Heart, all of which HR lacks, but on the other hand HR has some of its own new ones, like the Typhoon, Icarus landing, as well as abilities to punch through weakened walls, extend your inventory space, and a few others.

One more thing to note is that in the original the number of experience points and upgrade canisters was very limited and also some of the augmentations were mutually exclusive to each other. This meant that the player could not go for all available options and really had to decide hard on which he/she would need the most. In HR, one can pretty much gain most (if not all) of the available augmentations by the end of the game. Although this is a big difference, I can’t really say that one way is better than the other. The original allows for more replayability, but limits the player, whereas HR allows more freedom but also decreases the replayability.

So, after taking all these factors into account, both games are evenly matched when it comes to skills and augs.

Deus Ex +1

Human Revolution +1

Total so far:

Deus Ex (10) : Human Revolution (8)

15)  The Endings

One of very distinct features that made Deus Ex stand out back in its time was the aspect of multiple endings. Not only was this option given, but it was executed spectacularly. In the final level of the game, the story goes such a way that each of JC’s allies ends up suggesting a different course of action, and so it finally comes down to JC having to make a moral decision, a decision which future of the whole planet would depend on. Each of the three endings carried a strong philosophical meaning behind it.

 Human Revolution certainly wasn’t going to miss out on this feature, and as a result we have multiple endings here too, except this time it’s done slightly differently. First of all, there are 4 endings rather than 3. Secondly, the endings do not require a separate quest path. The decision is actually made right after the final boss fight, literally with the press of a button. And thirdly, the ending cinematics are done differently. The difference was that instead of showing an animated, action-packed cinematic, we actually get to see lots of clips of real life people and places, and on top of it there is Jensen’s voiceover about his decision. The first time I actually was a bit disappointed with this approach, but after having viewed each of the four endings, this style grew on me and I was really touched. I think the combination of clips, Jensen’s strong words, and beautiful music really made the end of the game very powerful. Now which game did it better? This is a very tricky decision, because both games provided endings with strong philosophical concepts and very subjective themes. Because of that, one cannot call any ending a good ending or a bad. They’re all grey area endings, and this is why I loved them so much in both games. They were simply fantastic.

Deus Ex +1

Human Revolution +1

The Final Score:

Deus Ex (11) : Human Revolution (9)

Final Conclusion

So then, the scores tell us that the original Deus Ex slightly prevails (at least by my analysis), but the games have been evenly matched on many levels and Human Revolution certainly lived up to its predecessors and made for a great Deus Ex game. The original set the bar extremely high, reaching perfection of gaming pretty much, and to beat it would’ve been incredibly hard. However, Human Revolution, although didn’t beat it, managed to be a very worthy rival. It might’ve fallen down a bit when it came to variation and diversity of in-game material, but it managed to add some cool new features which greatly spiced up the gameplay.