Requiem review *dont read if not completed*

[simosimo]

I got the 3rd installment and was ready to play, apparently this new helping of penumbra was puzzle based, which I was kind of looking foward to, I always felt the hostile environment, while a good tension builder, was kind of annoying, I always felt 'urrrgh' something is there. So I was happy to plod along through each level without silly zombies beatin on me.

Puzzle-wise I thought it was pretty good, some I really blitzed through, some took me AGES (The level with the fire boiler with the valves and acid), and some I went through gentle pace , which was quite enjoyable. I can't help but think I cheated some of the puzzles. On the level with the gravity pads and the forcefield (and exploding ketchup!) I managed to get all the way to the top where the portal exit was, before figuring out I had to use the delivery ports and such. Yes...I dragged them black boxes all the way up to just to climb stuff I couldn't reach.

I couldn't help feel that this game felt like Portal : "Industrial mindfuck" expansion pack. I knew it was penumbra but it felt like it was in another disjointed universe, which was a shame because I was

hoping for some simple continuity. Much like Overture to Black Plague, it went straight off.

Toward the end of the game on the final level where the boulders were, where you had to blow it up with the explosive can, I thought it could of been the turning point. I knew the game kept hinting at escaping (the outside level). I originally thought the boulders were in the cave of the first game ( I remember a blockade of boulders right at the beginning somewhere). I got real hyped up expecting the mine to be behind them rocks and to have a really satisfying trek back through the caves of the first game and to escape out, that would of rounded off the penumbra experience excellently. But instead we got returned to the Shelter entrance...and then burned (With red?). Not cool, but not bad...just another penumbra cliff hanger. I feel if you did the escape route I mentioned a minute ago, I would feel happy that there would be no more games. But the real ending is STILL open, and even though there wont be a 4th game...I want there to be because the ending didn't feel final.

Performance really irritated me, lots of stuttering, I fell to my death lots of times just from freezing. Some levels were really laggy, for no reason too.

So yeah, While the puzzles were good, it felt like a different game. I was hoping for some continuous level crawling, but the portal system at the end of each level (ala Portal or Doom 1 even) was kinda poo.

It didn't feel like the main guy gave a shit too. I remember in the first game he was like 'ooh shit' at everything and there was always something to read (Dropped journals and Phils own personal notes), but in this game he's just ploddin along like he don't give a shit. He should of commented more.

The other guy talking to you felt like a pointless addon, who the hell was he? I'm glad red returned too, always nice to see a familiar face in this dump.


Overall...Nice to play penumbra again.

-Glad there wasn't hostiles about, but INTENDED hostiles could of been used (walls shaking, roars). The first game did that alot and it was hella scary. Not seeing is far more scarier than seeing.

-Nice puzzles, each have their own range of difficulty

- Crap performance for some reason

- More psychological input (personal notes, comments, 'what the hell is that!' moments, intended enemies but not actually visible (Wall bangs, shakes, door bangs etc) I felt like I was 'Player one' instead of Philip the shit scared guy who stupidly went to a hatch.

- Ending could of been so much better / deeper

-Portal?

7/10 : Fair....lost some of it's 'penumbraness', could of been much better, but grateful for there being a 3rd game!