This segment of the show is called "RearView". TA DAAA! Why is it called rearview? Because I usually review really old stuff that nobody cares about.
Q: Why review old things that nobody gives shit about?
A: Because I have a mission! To the mankind! I promised that I would review these useless crap and post about them, so the world can be a better place. Future is coming. Are you ready?
Anyways, let's talk about the past for now.
Underhell is a Half Life 2 mod, released back in 2011.
So let's bring this down into parts:
-Graphics
-Sound
-Gameplay
-Story
-Overall
Graphics:
As a Half Life 2 mod, it's graphics are very good. What I'm looking for graphics in a game is immersion and not the technical bazillion settings on your GPU.
If you are one of those graphic-whores, you would not like it. But I still think that Source Engine is very good for atmospheric stuff and overall quality.
If you are one of those graphic-whores, you would not like it. But I still think that Source Engine is very good for atmospheric stuff and overall quality.
On top of Source Engine, this game has atmospheric filters. I don't know if they coded it or extensively worked on the modding tools but the game looks more atmospheric than an average Source Engine mod.
Graphics feels really worked on and that was a good sign from the start.
Graphics feels really worked on and that was a good sign from the start.
Here are some caps to illustrate my points.
The lighting and general depth of places is really well done. Not in a, "top of the line" graphics quality as graphic-whore's of 2016 would expect, but more in an immersive way.
Most of the game takes place in closed spaces and it looks awesome. It maintains a level of quality on the outside too.
Graphics Score: 10/10
Sound:
Voice acting in this game is better than what most mods get. In Long War voiceacting sounds like they used their relatives as voiceactors and recorded the lines into a webcam mic.
Compared to that, Underhell's voiceacting was better. Clear, audable lines, probably recorded with better care.
I still love the crappy make-do voiceacting of Long War. It sounds awful but it enriches the game in a compelling way.
Music was good where it was present but I don't remember a really strong score for this one. Generally it was metalic/orchestral. It worked in certain scenes but overall there wasn't more of it. It needed more of stronger voice in the duration of the game.
I think this begs a different question.
What happened to game musics?
I don't ask it, "Game music today sucks." kind of way, there are lots of great OSTs out there. But generally what happened is this.
In the 90's a game would usually loop a track and start over. Each level would have it's own tracks so you would hear it again and again while you play the game.
Hitman 1, Red Alert 2, Commandos are good examples of this.
Then making games got easier, hence programming got easier and it was less work to program a changing music track. Thus born the duology. Games were given two types of tracks. Action and General.
Action music started when you got into a fight while General track played during peaceful times.
Morrowind, Planescape and Hitman Blood Money are examples of this.
Then several companies went further and started to break down music into more segments so they would sync with the gameplay.
For example: In Fallout 3 there are three types of tracks. Action, General and Endings. It's the same thing with duology but this time the Action would loop and when the fighting is done it ends with an Ending track, which is usually short(similar to a stinger track).
Up to this everything is okay. You can have complex tracks to home in the action or give an impression of the scene.
But then some companies jumped in on the "cinematic experience" bullshit-train and only made music to suit certain scenes because the game itself is just one animation after another.
Hitman:Absolution for instance. It sucks. I hate it.
This is not the case with Underhell, there is scene-related tracks playing within certain scenes but overall there is no score that hits the immersion home. It felt a little lazy on that part.
Sound Score: 6/10 Voiceacting, 5/10 Musical Score
Gameplay:
Overall the gameplay is good.
-There is no regenerating health, you need health pack to stay alive. Although your health regens a little when it drops below 10 or something. But I'm not 100% sure about that. You can be sure that there is no hand-holding COD regen system.
-There is Iron Sights. This has become a standart thing with modern shooters but with this mod the iron sights feels more realistic. COD iron sights are meaningless because you are able to just spray and kill enemies, while in Underhell spraying is useless, which makes iron sights an amazingly fun thing to use.
Shooting in this game is super fun.
-Melee combat is fun, you can kick zombies in the head and get results. That was amazingly fun but I found the melee weapons to be a hassle. Just kick em.
-Game is a challenge. There is no hand-holding system that auto-finishes the game for you. Overall the game isn't amazingly hard but it is challenging.
-Survival system is fun. There is a kind-of-survival system. You have an energy bar and you have to eat. I have no idea what this does or what happens when your energy goes zero. I think it drops when you fight for prolonged durations, sprint, kick and some such. In hard difficulty you get less items so the scavenging part of the game loses focus since there is not much to scavenge. Eventually you don't need much scavenging after your first playthrough.
-Lore is somewhat okay. So you are in this underground prison complex and there is a sickness. The way they explained it, if I remember correctly, is that people die from sickness, their flesh rots immediately. Then they rise as zombies. I appreciated that they didn't tried to shove this simple concept as something "Amazing" or "Revolutionary". Because most zombie games are usually filled with that kind a preconception, that if you don't come up with a new zombie type then it's shit. Simple zombies can be more scary if used corretly than those overblown Resident Evil crap, where everyone has a giant zombie worm inside their mouths or something. And I believe Underhell used what they have sparringly.
-Anime & Eastern influences were worrysome. When you finish the prolog you chase after a guy that looks like a guy wearing an anime-robot-suit. He crashes through walls and I immediately thought "I hope this doesn't turn into anime.". Because everyone knows I hate anime. Then there are japanese characters that talk in japanese that even I can understand. And I don't know japanese. So for the duration of the gameplay you encounter Japanesy or eastern influenced things. For instance the one butcher boss has an oversized anime-blade. Similar to Resident Evil or Final Fagtasy. Luckily Devs did not overplayed on the Anime aspects and they were only minor things in the overall game.
-Cutscenes are skippable: This was something I greatly appreciated. On your second playthrough you really get bored from the cutscenes and just skip them. Thank you devs for including this.
-Helmet scavenging is clever. You can rip helmets from heads and get 5 armour per helmet.
-Ending segment in the village is very well done.
-Niggers die at the end. I hate niggers. I hate em. Fucking rap talking trash people. If you ever talk like that "Yo Yo" version of sub-human culture than you deserve to die. European black people don't have that problem, they speak like proper people. Only American niggers have it. I hate rap and I hate those kind of speech. So anyone who talks like a rapper is a nigger and is subject to execution. I like African-accent for instance. But I can't stand that "Yo ma nigs." kind of speech. Damn Gangsta trash. There are even white people who speak like that who needed to be burned. I blame Tarantino for that shit. Fucking Liberantino.
So anyways.
There are two specifically American-nigger talking black dudes. You suffer these assholes for the entire duration of the game. And they have somesort of lore involving the younger brother nigger getting protected by older nigger. They talk and talk in that Gangsta-nigger speech.
And after all the white guys die, you are left alone with these niggers and have to save their asses.
Gameplay: 10/10 for a horror-shooter.
Story:
There really isn't much to say about the story. First off you start at the house, which puts you in the mood but eventually turns out to be pointless. While in the house you think it's going to be a survival horror but eventually it wasn't. Then you get to the SWAT levels and you forget about the horror entirely. It turns into a shooter game. Then you are sent to prison and get the first shock when the lights go out. That starting scene was awesome. Everything is dark and only the zombie security guard has a flashlight. Horror score at that point was also awesome. At first the game is real scary but you get over it initially when you arm yourself. Then it becomes a survival game and sometimes shooter. Overall this game ranges from General Horror to Military Shooter to Survival Horror to Stealth. Generally the story within the prison complex is okay but I didn't like the weaker stuff outside the prison complex.
Game's theme and mood is perfect as a survival but after the whole story is revealed to you, you lose some respect for it. If there ever will be an Episode 2 then I hope it is completely real shit and not "it was just a dream".
I don't blame the writer for that. I blame the times. Today everything has to be realistic and dark. So if you have a silly premise like a zombie-prison, they think people would laugh at it. But it's how it is done, premise isn't even that important.
Here are two quick examples of movies where execution is bigger than the premise:
Drive
Mad Max: Road Fury
Both these movies have stupid premises but they are executed so well that they work.
If this game was just the house, dream and prison sequences, I would love it. SWAT part was a good prologue but the ending was a not so satisfying epilogue. Keep things real. You don't have to explain everything or make everything 100% realistic. Just put in amazing dream sequences and it would be like "the protag is mad.".
Overall:
Overall it was fun. It was well done and worked on. It wasn't stupid. It wasn't insulting. It had ups and downs but overall it is a good mod. I recommend it and I hope they eventually will make an Episode 2. With less niggers hopefully.
Graphics Score: 10/10
Sound:
Voice acting in this game is better than what most mods get. In Long War voiceacting sounds like they used their relatives as voiceactors and recorded the lines into a webcam mic.
Compared to that, Underhell's voiceacting was better. Clear, audable lines, probably recorded with better care.
I still love the crappy make-do voiceacting of Long War. It sounds awful but it enriches the game in a compelling way.
Music was good where it was present but I don't remember a really strong score for this one. Generally it was metalic/orchestral. It worked in certain scenes but overall there wasn't more of it. It needed more of stronger voice in the duration of the game.
I think this begs a different question.
What happened to game musics?
I don't ask it, "Game music today sucks." kind of way, there are lots of great OSTs out there. But generally what happened is this.
In the 90's a game would usually loop a track and start over. Each level would have it's own tracks so you would hear it again and again while you play the game.
Hitman 1, Red Alert 2, Commandos are good examples of this.
Then making games got easier, hence programming got easier and it was less work to program a changing music track. Thus born the duology. Games were given two types of tracks. Action and General.
Action music started when you got into a fight while General track played during peaceful times.
Morrowind, Planescape and Hitman Blood Money are examples of this.
Then several companies went further and started to break down music into more segments so they would sync with the gameplay.
For example: In Fallout 3 there are three types of tracks. Action, General and Endings. It's the same thing with duology but this time the Action would loop and when the fighting is done it ends with an Ending track, which is usually short(similar to a stinger track).
Up to this everything is okay. You can have complex tracks to home in the action or give an impression of the scene.
But then some companies jumped in on the "cinematic experience" bullshit-train and only made music to suit certain scenes because the game itself is just one animation after another.
Hitman:Absolution for instance. It sucks. I hate it.
This is not the case with Underhell, there is scene-related tracks playing within certain scenes but overall there is no score that hits the immersion home. It felt a little lazy on that part.
Sound Score: 6/10 Voiceacting, 5/10 Musical Score
Gameplay:
Overall the gameplay is good.
-There is no regenerating health, you need health pack to stay alive. Although your health regens a little when it drops below 10 or something. But I'm not 100% sure about that. You can be sure that there is no hand-holding COD regen system.
-There is Iron Sights. This has become a standart thing with modern shooters but with this mod the iron sights feels more realistic. COD iron sights are meaningless because you are able to just spray and kill enemies, while in Underhell spraying is useless, which makes iron sights an amazingly fun thing to use.
Shooting in this game is super fun.
 |
| Shooting this gun was fun, but you can't spray and pray. Take aim. |
-Melee combat is fun, you can kick zombies in the head and get results. That was amazingly fun but I found the melee weapons to be a hassle. Just kick em.
-Game is a challenge. There is no hand-holding system that auto-finishes the game for you. Overall the game isn't amazingly hard but it is challenging.
-Survival system is fun. There is a kind-of-survival system. You have an energy bar and you have to eat. I have no idea what this does or what happens when your energy goes zero. I think it drops when you fight for prolonged durations, sprint, kick and some such. In hard difficulty you get less items so the scavenging part of the game loses focus since there is not much to scavenge. Eventually you don't need much scavenging after your first playthrough.
-Lore is somewhat okay. So you are in this underground prison complex and there is a sickness. The way they explained it, if I remember correctly, is that people die from sickness, their flesh rots immediately. Then they rise as zombies. I appreciated that they didn't tried to shove this simple concept as something "Amazing" or "Revolutionary". Because most zombie games are usually filled with that kind a preconception, that if you don't come up with a new zombie type then it's shit. Simple zombies can be more scary if used corretly than those overblown Resident Evil crap, where everyone has a giant zombie worm inside their mouths or something. And I believe Underhell used what they have sparringly.
-Anime & Eastern influences were worrysome. When you finish the prolog you chase after a guy that looks like a guy wearing an anime-robot-suit. He crashes through walls and I immediately thought "I hope this doesn't turn into anime.". Because everyone knows I hate anime. Then there are japanese characters that talk in japanese that even I can understand. And I don't know japanese. So for the duration of the gameplay you encounter Japanesy or eastern influenced things. For instance the one butcher boss has an oversized anime-blade. Similar to Resident Evil or Final Fagtasy. Luckily Devs did not overplayed on the Anime aspects and they were only minor things in the overall game.
 |
| Kawaii-san appeares near the end. |
 |
| Kawaii-san ready for rape. Press X to rape. |
 |
| Resident Evil Anime guy with giant sword |
 |
| Japanese Evil Anime Guy wants Kawaii-san as his sex-doll. |
-Helmet scavenging is clever. You can rip helmets from heads and get 5 armour per helmet.
 |
| This reveal was clever and well done. |
-Niggers die at the end. I hate niggers. I hate em. Fucking rap talking trash people. If you ever talk like that "Yo Yo" version of sub-human culture than you deserve to die. European black people don't have that problem, they speak like proper people. Only American niggers have it. I hate rap and I hate those kind of speech. So anyone who talks like a rapper is a nigger and is subject to execution. I like African-accent for instance. But I can't stand that "Yo ma nigs." kind of speech. Damn Gangsta trash. There are even white people who speak like that who needed to be burned. I blame Tarantino for that shit. Fucking Liberantino.
So anyways.
There are two specifically American-nigger talking black dudes. You suffer these assholes for the entire duration of the game. And they have somesort of lore involving the younger brother nigger getting protected by older nigger. They talk and talk in that Gangsta-nigger speech.
 |
| Niggers |
 |
| Here you can see me kicking the nigger in the face. |
 |
| At this point you have to make a decision. Would you choose the niggers or would you choose the whites? I interpreted this scene as a metaphor for modern day europe. |
 |
| Obviously whites. I hate niggers. |
 |
| First white person sacrifices himself. |
 |
| Second white person sacrifices himself. |
And after all the white guys die, you are left alone with these niggers and have to save their asses.
 |
| Proof that American education system is a failure |
 |
| Then the young nigger gots cruxified or something. |
 |
| This part was the one I enjoyed the most. |
 |
| Learn to speak properly in your next life, asshole. |
 |
| Then nigger dies and I think this was supposed to be a sad moment but I was relieved beyond description. |
 |
| Then you stand there uncaring to the nigger's demise. Damned niggers. |
Story:
There really isn't much to say about the story. First off you start at the house, which puts you in the mood but eventually turns out to be pointless. While in the house you think it's going to be a survival horror but eventually it wasn't. Then you get to the SWAT levels and you forget about the horror entirely. It turns into a shooter game. Then you are sent to prison and get the first shock when the lights go out. That starting scene was awesome. Everything is dark and only the zombie security guard has a flashlight. Horror score at that point was also awesome. At first the game is real scary but you get over it initially when you arm yourself. Then it becomes a survival game and sometimes shooter. Overall this game ranges from General Horror to Military Shooter to Survival Horror to Stealth. Generally the story within the prison complex is okay but I didn't like the weaker stuff outside the prison complex.
Game's theme and mood is perfect as a survival but after the whole story is revealed to you, you lose some respect for it. If there ever will be an Episode 2 then I hope it is completely real shit and not "it was just a dream".
I don't blame the writer for that. I blame the times. Today everything has to be realistic and dark. So if you have a silly premise like a zombie-prison, they think people would laugh at it. But it's how it is done, premise isn't even that important.
Here are two quick examples of movies where execution is bigger than the premise:
Drive
Mad Max: Road Fury
Both these movies have stupid premises but they are executed so well that they work.
If this game was just the house, dream and prison sequences, I would love it. SWAT part was a good prologue but the ending was a not so satisfying epilogue. Keep things real. You don't have to explain everything or make everything 100% realistic. Just put in amazing dream sequences and it would be like "the protag is mad.".
Overall:
Overall it was fun. It was well done and worked on. It wasn't stupid. It wasn't insulting. It had ups and downs but overall it is a good mod. I recommend it and I hope they eventually will make an Episode 2. With less niggers hopefully.
 |
| Oh hi. |
