comparison – The Daily SPUF

7 Things I Miss From Just Cause 2

March 5, 2021March 5, 2021 aabicus 0 Comments comparison, criticism, just cause 2

Just Cause 2 is definitely one of my favorite games of all time, at least in the top 3. It’s the perfect mix of mobility, environmental destruction, and cheesy B-grade voice-acting. It makes you feel like you’re starring in a very explosive action movie. I have hundreds of hours in the single-player and multiplayer modes combined. I keep finding myself coming back despite having less and less available to do in my save file. So finally, during the last Steam Winter sale, I finally bought the complete Just Cause 3 collection for only $4 so I could see where the… [Continue Reading]

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Dark Spooky Forest Week: Miasmata and Rake

November 5, 2020November 8, 2020 aabicus 0 Comments comparison, GIFs, miasmata, rake, recommendation, retrospective

On the surface these two games don’t have much in common beyond taking place in dark spooky forests. The main reason they’re sharing an article is that they evoke the same feelings when played; both are satisfying exploration-based games that immersed the player like few of their competitors could. The first title, Miasmata, was one of my earliest gaming loves and I spent hours working through my first playthrough. You control Robert Hughes, a plague-stricken scientist who washes ashore a remote tropical island seeking the cure to his illness. The core gameplay involves charting the island looking for rare plants… [Continue Reading]

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Differentiating Maps Through Gameplay, part 2

September 17, 2020September 17, 2020 aabicus 0 Comments analysis, comparison, design, maps, payday, payday the heist

Previously I used Left 4 Dead 2 to showcase “thematic gameplay“, a development philosophy whereby each map in the game gets a subtle tweak to the core gameplay loop to make it feel different from the rest the game has to offer. Payday the Heist is actually another masterclass in this philosophy, so to reinforce my point I thought I’d discuss how a second title used thematic gameplay to create very memorable and distinguishable heists. 1. First World Bank First World Bank doesn’t really have any gimmicks, as it’s setting the baseline for the rest of the game. One after… [Continue Reading]

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Why Apex Legends is the Best Battle Royale

February 10, 2019February 9, 2019 aabicus 0 Comments apex legends, comparison, design, Fortnite, playerunknown's battlegrounds, pubg, release

I previously covered PUBG and Fortnite on this channel, and you may have noticed neither of them stuck around for very long because I just couldn’t get into them. To be honest, I’ve never been a fan of the Battle Royale genre in general, but Apex Legends is seriously the first Battle Royale game that I’m finding legitimately fun on its own merits and I’m amazed that I can’t wait to start playing it even from the moment I’ve turned it off for the night. The developers have looked at all the things that usually make Battle Royales boring and… [Continue Reading]

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Comparing EDF: Insect Armageddon and EDF 4.1

December 4, 2018December 4, 2018 Medicinal Warlock 0 Comments 4.1, comparison, earth defense force, insect armageddon

When I first got EDF: Insect Armageddon, I quite enjoyed it. I personally find it rather good value for money, and the core gameplay loop satisfying and engaging. I was rather surprised to find out that a large portion of the EDF community are rather dismissive about it. After playing EDF 4.1 for quite a while, I begin to see their point. EDF: IA is rather lacking, even when it is technically a better-made game. It has had a lot of great design decisions that should really be in the latter, as a lot of them made the game much less… [Continue Reading]

Now for Something Completely Different

On the new Destiny 2 expansion – There is actually stuff to do!

November 2, 2018November 1, 2018 Spectre 0 Comments analysis, comparison, destiny, destiny 2, dlc, expansion, forsaken

So it’s been a while since I talked about the Destiny franchise. Almost a half year ago I bashed the new installment pretty hard on the downsides that featured, because there were… many. Truth be told, ever since a shiny refurbished exotic weapon quest was re-introduced on Destiny 2 back in July, the gameplay aspects gradually got better by the time the Forsaken expansion dropped. For this article I’ll be little more biased towards the positive side. Even though the game still has flaws here and there, I’ll save my long angry rant on the topic of duplicate exotics giving… [Continue Reading]

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5 Versatile Perk Decks in Payday 2

July 25, 2018July 24, 2018 aabicus 0 Comments analysis, comparison, guide, payday 2, spuf of legend

João Carriço and MisterCaaaarl have both asked for a video covering the Top 5 perk decks, and while it’s hard to call any the “best” since they all bring their own playstyles to the table, there are certainly several perk decks that are extremely versatile and considered solid choices no matter the difficulty or type of heists you play. When choosing your first perk decks, it’s hard to go wrong with these! Here are 5 Versatile Perk Decks Every Player Should Try: Starting with #1, Yakuza and Burglar share this spot because they’re the only two perk decks that give… [Continue Reading]

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Board Games: Cash ‘N Guns & Bloodbound

July 2, 2018April 8, 2022 aabicus 0 Comments bloodbound, board game, board games, card game, card games, cash n guns, comparison, review

One of the coolest parts about attending the UCSC Games & Playable Media program is the games lounge on the second floor. It’s a large room with a bunch of gaming consoles, board games, and tabletop RPG books, and I’ve been able to play all sorts of different board games in the last year. Two of them really stood out as amazing party games that I’ve purchased my own copies of, and I wanted to pay them some lip service. If you’re the sort who looks for games that large groups can enjoy, I highly recommend these two, especially because… [Continue Reading]

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Comparing Barik and Torbjörn

June 14, 2018June 11, 2018 Medicinal Warlock 1 Comment barik, comparison, overwatch, paladins, torbjorn

Considering how similar Barik and Torbjörn are at first glance, I feel that there is actually a lot of difference in how their kits are designed and implemented. I feel that a comparison between both characters’ kits can give rather valuable insight into the differences between both games, and how the games are designed and built. Firstly, some background on both games are needed. This provides some necessary context as to how the heroes are designed. Overwatch has 4 main game modes. In Assault, the attacking team tries to take down two control points defended by the other team. Control is… [Continue Reading]

Here is Iron Ma... I mean... my Titan on Destiny 1

Featured Now for Something Completely Different

Destiny 2 – The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

May 7, 2018May 1, 2018 Spectre 0 Comments analysis, comparison, criticism, destiny 2, rant

Years after the TF2 blog stopped being constantly updated, I decided to personally consider “The Daily SPUF” as my new official TF2 blog. However, it wasn’t long until the lack of content in TF2 made The Daily SPUF writers to place other games in the spotlight. I personally wouldn’t have gotten myself addicted to Warframe otherwise. Almost half a year ago when I first started writing this article, I was extremely excited about Destiny 2 coming to PC, even though I didn’t have a clue on how exactly should I approach new players. My initial aim was to introduce and… [Continue Reading]

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