September 2023 Update

"Monthly Update" Thumbnail.

Another month, another silly Update post where I'm trying to think of what I can actually write down. It's still slow and quiet period. While I certainly appreciate it, I could definitely put more work into making routine more exciting overall. Just need to stop stagnating and get myself together in order to be more productive. However, this is easier said than done for whatever reason. So yeah, I'm still being weird for better or worse... Probably both.

What I'm trying to say here? I guess that this "article" will be even shorter than the previous Update. Part of me realizes that I shouldn't feel bad over the length of these texts, but at the same time I want to make it worthwhile your... Well, my time to actually write since I'm pretty sure that these posts are opened up only by bots. Perhaps I need to look back into my idea of not having these Updates be a monthly thing anymore.

Questions of the Machine

A Vision(?) of Castle of the Damned.

It's no secret that the re-release of Quake 2 was a pleasant surprise to everyone. While I previously struggled to revisit that game, Nightdive Studios' offering was able to pull me back in not just with the achievements. The game felt more fun and engaging than it did before. Not that Quake 2 is terrible game, but it just wasn't able to grab my attention again as is. Part of that is typical sense of novelty accompanying this re-release (as it does with announcements and other things like that), but some changes like the removal of Machine Gun's recoil go a long way to mix things up. However, that's not exactly what I want to talk about.

Going through both Quake 2 64 and Call of the Machine were definitely the highlights in my good old achievement hunting. While the first offers some neat gameplay experience, new expansion created by Machine Games provides some interesting food for thought in case you're a silly lore dork like me. Similarly to Quake Champions, I think there're some small fragments that could be utilized in the future whenever the franchise get its grand return. To be specific, contents of this post is just me making things up based on my impressions on Call of the Machine.

Hidden Re-Release Race

SiN: Reloaded Screenshot. Taken from Steam.

Recent announcements from Nightdive Studios provided some interesting food for thoughts, which I think is enough to a reason to write down about the things it led me to. While others were eager to nag 3D Realms over the announced status of SiN: Reloaded, the reveals that followed have reminded me about some of my prior observations from this old school side of gaming industry that I think is worth to mumble about for a bit. You know, to free my mind as usual. It's been kind of a while since I've done this here.

Basically, I think it's another showcase of a big thing happening under everyone's noses. While re-releases, remasters and remakes/reboots were a stable part of video games for many years now, some events here and there point out towards an increase in competition among various parties within this somewhat limited field. In other words, some companies are currently running a marathon when it comes to revisiting and bringing back older titles.