Snivius Reviews

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)

Its the best Spiderman movie, its the best Marvel movie and its a fantastic movie alone.

[10/10 · 31 December 2018]

Despite not caring about Marvel movies for the last 4 years, since CA: WS with the only exception being SM: Homecoming in that time, I was excited for this movie if only for its amazing animation style in the trailers and for a strong interest in Spider-Man as a character generally. Yet I didn't expect to be overwhelmed with just how enjoyable, actually funny and heartwarming the film was in the end surpassing what I wanted from the trailers being a good action spectacle film and thatd be it but instead getting a *Fantastic* action spectacle film with great heart and actual character to it which just happened to have phenomenal animation on top of it .

Every single character was wonderful, Miles alone was a fantastic lead character with a great arc throughout his story, with all their chemistry being extremely snappy and well written with each of them bouncing off the other naturally and with great humor, a self aware tone not often captured by the other movies at least not to as effective a degree, between them making every scene a delight just to watch along with the stellar direction of each of them. Which is the same throughout the movie especially with flawless fight scenes with perfect choreography and cinematography with not a single fight less then spectacular all the while the art style making each fight feel unique and distinct from one another.

The ST was extremely different and actually memorable for a Marvel movie actually complementing the film well with many tracks fitting extremely well to make each scene impact feel much more weighty.

Importantly though this film captured everything that I wanted from Spider-Man as a character and concept with flawless execution from the music to the visuals to the characters overall just being a fantastic film being the best Marvel film I've ever seen and just a fantastic and fun film all around.

Doom (2016 Video Game)

Proof that DOOM still has it after all this time.

[9/10 · 12 July 2016]

A incredible return to form for both the DOOM franchise after so long and id software as they prove once again that they are the kings of first person shooters. At its core is the same excellent base that is the original DOOM yet has been updated to fit today's industry perfectly without sacrificing it's identity and compromises every mechanic in place to work in tandem with one another, rather than cluster it together trying to be like everything else that sells, because it knows that its DOOM and it knows exactly what people want from it so it doesn't try to be anything and instead offers a fully realised campaign of pure carnage, mayhem and gore over 10-15 hours with every moment feeling intense and exciting. Well paced as well with simple puzzles that don't break up the action heavily and are spared enough to not become annoying, guns and combat feel incredible with the sound design and control being light and responsive, beautiful environments and monster designs, great OST, Surprisingly strong characterisation with DOOM Guy himself expressed through his actions which are genuinely funny and loads of contents within the single player alone. The only issues within the actual campaign is that there are a few moments where the game does stop you for a cut-scene and while they are far apart and generally quick they can be slow for DOOM and the Glory Kill system in place, while its done extremely well here for what it is as it does also lend itself to a great risk and reward system with the health encouraging players to head on to get health rather than hide away, can break the pace slightly as now you have to land the kill otherwise the monsters are fine and that can be annoying.

However with all that said DOOM isn't amazing in every area as then there's the multiplayer which has potential from a game play standpoint overall as its still the basic control and weapons from the single player, but at this moment is horribly unbalanced and plagued by weapon load outs which just don't work in DOOM and its fast paced nature with picking weapons on the fly as now its restricting you to select weapons so it feels unfair as new players with have terrible weapons in comparison to those with higher levels so the multiplayer needs a lot of work, but like stated the core is fine its the mechanics around it that ruins it.

Finally there's the Snap map feature which is alright for a easy map creator but is NO match for the legacy of Original DOOM Mods. It is very simple to pick it up and design a level from a base standpoint and people have done some interesting levels but its horribly restricted in comparison to the amount of ridiculous fun that people have had modding the original as it was open for anything while DOOM 2016 is more restricted overall with what players can accomplish. Not bad for what it is and has potential like the multiplayer but is still restricted.

But overall despite the Snap Map and multiplayer being weaker, the single player campaign is so solid and em-composes everything that is DOOM so well that i can rate it highly on the campaign alone, as there is so much to do and find with secrets and challenges (id as well have been saying that they would fix the multiplayer soon as well and already adding more content to the Snap Map). A amazing return to form for DOOM and shooters in general.

Doom II: Hell on Earth (1994 Video Game)

More of the same really, but now perfected.

[10/10 · 8 July 2016]

Take the excellent base game of the original DOOM and add more weapons, new levels, new soundtrack, enemies and basically everything a good sequel needs to create an arguably perfect shooter with everything being balanced and improved upon to make a even more fast paced and better experience. Often seen as "Just more of the original", my personal favorite of the two, it shouldn't just be ignored whichever one is your favorite of the two however, they are both equally worth playing for fantastic games with once again incredible mod support and you have a duo-logy of games that have became a staple of video game culture for very good reasons.

Doom (1993 Video Game)

Even after 20+ Years, still one of the best.

[10/10 · 8 July 2016]

A beacon of excellent design philosophy with pinpoint focus and self awareness to the game play that make it still stands out in today's industry among all the other shooters. Just carnage from the excessive gore and great environmental and monster design and style, the satisfying weapons and combat, Atmospheric and metal soundtrack, deep level design with many secrets to find and a story that knows no one is there for it so it takes a back seat so the raw game play can unleash and provide a blast of entertainment and with constant mod support years later its a game that will possibly never age or at least never stop being an icon of the genre and gaming in general.