Intensive Gaming Diary

The blog about videogames.

Category: Reviews

Resident Evil Requiem

Posted on by Viljami

It has been only some weeks since Resident Evil Requiem was released. The game has sold already millions of copies worldwide. I decided to pick up the generation bundle which included also Resident Evil 7 and 8. It did cost some 20 euros more but I am glad that I got my copy as soon as the game was released. This time I didn’t have any problems with the delivery. I don’t know if I am going and when I am going to play the other RE games included. I did decide to install Final Fantasy VII Remake Integrade after I finished this game. I soon noticed that it takes 90 GB of space on my Switch 2. That is a bit much since I only have a memory card that holds 256 GB at the moment. So, I might have to buy a larger one soon. I don’t know what I will have to do with all the data and if I am able to setup the larger memory but I guess I’ll figure it out one way or another.

FFVII Remake Integrade is right now installing. This game is getting installed as a “game key card”. This format is something that has become more and more familiar for the users of Switch 2. The format is a bit boring. It does require the card for the installation but holds only so little data in it that you are going to need to rely on your internet connection to actually download the game and finally install it. This is done this way because the card can only hold a limited amount of data. So, it is a physical copy while actually not being a fully physical copy at all.

But now lets get back to Resident Evil Requiem. It is the ninth game in the main series. We did saw some remakes of classic RE games just a while ago. Resident Evil Requiem is a great game. I did spend eleven hours playing it and I finally finished it just today. There are parts of the game that you play with Leon that are kind of action type of part of the game and then you play some survival type of parts with another character called Grace. I think the game is something that fans of the series will definitely like. Also, if you are new to the series I think you will like this game and you might want to check out some earlier stuff in the series. I can recommend playing some PS1 titles as they still hold up even today.

The action and survival parts of Resident Evil Requiem differ in that that you get more ammo and there are more monsters attacking you in the action part while playing with Grace in survival parts requires some stealth skills and tactics since there is not so much ammunition and you will have to think about when you are actually saving your progress. I only played the game on an easy level of difficulty but I think there is more value in this game that can inspire you to play the game through again with maybe a bit more difficult degree.

What more there is to say about Resident Evil Requiem? The graphics look very beautiful on Switch 2. There is a bit of an alteration of the camera mode. It gets switched from 3rd person to first person as you change your character that you play with in the game. There’s lots of weapons. There are some puzzles but nothing overwhelming. I think there is a nice balance with action and survival in this game. I would recommend Resident Evil Requiem for almost everyone. This game is very violent and can be upsetting at times. So, beware that this game has been recommended to be played only by persons that are 18 years old or older than that. This is a recommendation. I think the game can be oppressive at times.

A Book About Rovio and Angry Birds

Posted on by Viljami

The blog post right here is about a book about Angry Birds. The name of the book is The Slingshot Formula and it has been written by Pascal Clarysse. One reason for me to start reading this book was the matter that Rovio, the developer of Angry Birds, is a Finnish gaming company which is very much my dear home country. Read along as I briefly describe how the story of Angry Birds was told in this book that I finished reading just a while ago,

The book tells us readers a story of three young men, later formed to Rovio Entertainment, that take part in a mobile game development contest back in 2003. They all study then in Helsinki University of Technology (that later in 2010 became Aalto University as many big universities were combined). They actually come up with several games. Angry Birds is actually their 52nd game when it gets released back in December of the year 2009.

Angry Birds is a game that anyone can play. It might be a casual game. The developers wanted to make the game as easy to get into as possible. Then they achieved something with the game-play that had the players hooked. Angry Birds is a very popular game. It made into a worldwide pop culture icon. This was seen when there were huge collaborations with NASA and Lucasfilms Star Wars. There was eventually a movie and many other products that featured Angry Birds bird character. One popular product was a red pillow that featured the bird character of the game. Finally, in 2023, Sega acquired Rovio with a deal of 1 billion dollars.

I read the book. I liked it. With all this about a great Finnish game I have to be honest and tell you that I have never played any of Angry Birds games. I am not a huge fan. That goes to all mobile games for me. But if considered that there is a book written about a Finnish mobile game development company I might pick a book like that and just read it. I did like the book. I can recommend it to you if you are into startup companies and if you maybe want to try something like this by yourself also.

I found this book from this huge book store in Helsinki. I don’t want to advertise the place but it is my favorite book store since it has such a large selection of books to choose from. As I bought this book I also picked a book about this food delivery company Wolt and another book that was about artificial intelligence. The Slingshot Formula does cost 25 euros. It is written in English and that is the language that my copy also has been written in. It’s nice to have some language skills, isn’t it? You could probably seek it from a library if you are into borrowing books. There might also be a possibility to read this book as an electric copy.

The book is somewhat lengthy. It has a bit over 300 pages. Pascal Clarysse describes the main characters in the book with a nice detail and shares soem knowledge about different roles that these people had with Rovio and Angry Birds. There were many professionals involved from graphics design and programming all the way to musicians and also some financial specialists that made this phenomenon of the icon of Angry Birds as successful as could have been possible. Angry Birds are today known in all corners of the planet Earth and even beyond it. They actually did send an Angry Birds themed pillow into a NASA space station. Today Angry Birds is a very well-known brand and an icon.

Mafia: The Old Country

Posted on by Viljami

I just finished Mafia – The Old Country. I played it for about 12 hours which is also the length of this game on “How Long To Beat” website. This time it was natural to follow the plot and i is actually a huge part of the whole experience that Mafia – The Old Country offers. I am not going to spoil the plot but it builds on romance and personal story of the main character of this game. I liked this game. It is also the only Mafia game in this series that I have played through.

The gameplay offers fighting (with knives and guns), conversations and a bit of driving around on horses and cars. A car means here something very old since the game takes place in the beginning of 1900s. Knife battles are challenging and you have to time your moves, swinging the knife and trying to dodge your enemy’s attempts to hit you, very well. When it comes to guns I found out that shotgun, preferably the pump-action one, that can have more ammo loaded, was my favorite weapon. You can actually hit your target from a very long distance. It is also a bit easier to hit if compared to the basic rifle that is also available, at least at times. You can also use the rifle if you want to hit even targets that are a bit more far away from you.

The graphics in Mafia – The Old Country are beautiful. The catchy accent of the characters feels just right. I found myself, as awkward it may seem, babbling the dialogue to myself in this italic accent. So, I have to say that the voice acting is in a good form in this game. It is a big budget game after all. I bought the digital copy of this game and played it on my Xbox Series X. I didn’t even have to think about any performance issues which in my opinion is a good thing. The digital copy had a price of about 50 euros.

I really don’t have the option here to compare this game to some earlier games in the Mafia series. This was the first game of this series that I ever have played. I think we can talk a while about other games in this series. The first game was released already in 2002. The series has also games Mafia II and III. The second  game was released in 2010 for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360. The third game in this series was released in 2016 for PC, PS4 and Xbox One. There has also been a game called Mafia – Definitive Edition that was released in 2020. It was a remake. There is also a collection named Mafia – Trilogy. It was released in the same year that the remake was.

What did Mafia – The Old Country have to offer for me as a gamer? The story was immersive. You start as a young mine worker and advance to a mafioso. There is also the love story involved between Isabella and the main character, Enzo. I am not going to reveal the ending. The plot is important in this game. If you enjoy the plot I think you should choose a lower difficulty setting. If you prefer fighting, with knives and guns, you should pick a more challenging difficulty level. You might also want to first finish the game and then increase the difficulty level and play it once more. There are also lots of collectible items that you can try to find as you progress in the game. I found Mafia – The Old Country to be a comfortably enjoyable game that is well worth its 50 euros price. The game is of course available as a physical copy. Its just a matter of which format you prefer. The choice is yours to make.