Greak: Memories of Azur vs Silent Hill 2
Greak: Memories of Azur
Greak: Memories of Azur is a gorgeous action-adventure game featuring a young boy in search of his sister in a world engulfed in turmoil, no thanks to the bloodthirsty Uglars. Playing as the boy Greak, you’ll venture across various regions in Azur, exploring every inch of it for hidden stashes, completing quests, and battling enemies along the way.The game starts off like a relatively regular action platformer, where you’ll get to jump, swing your sword around, and solve relatively simple puzzles by switching characters once you manage to reunite him with his sister. This part is actually pretty similar to the gameplay in Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, a favorite of mine.
In fact, you’ll get to control both characters at the same time, which is interesting, though it does complicate things a bit during combat especially considering that the sister is a magic user and deals damage from afar while the brother is a sword-wielder and does best dealing damage from a much closer range.
In a way, Greak: Memories of Azur also feels a bit like a Metroidvania in the sense that the game hides secret chests and rare flowers in places that you, if you don’t pay too much attention, might miss. Even if you spotted the items, you will still need to figure out a way to get to them, which usually involves some creative and sometimes very precise jumping. Expect to get frustrated… a lot!
The gorgeous hand-drawn art in Greak is definitely one of the highlights of the game as well. The out-of-focus background in the distance matches well with the stuff at the front too.
In a nutshell, not only is Greak: Memories of Azur a gorgeous action-adventure game with a heartwarming story about a brother trying to reunite with his sister in a world embroiled in war and infested with dangerous creatures, it also comes with a fun gameplay that's perfectly "midcore". So, if you're into story-driven platformers, you'll want to check out this one!
Silent Hill 2
Silent Hill 2 is the highly anticipated sequel to Silent Hill, but instead of trying to continue its predecessor's storyline, the game thrusts you into a whole new adventure as you join James Sunderland whose young wife, Mary, had just passed away due to a tragic event. With his life shattered before it had even begun, he hadn't been able to move on... and three years later, he received a mysterious letter that's apparently from his deceased wife asking him to return to the dark realm of Silent Hill where he will eventually find out the true nature of her death.Silent Hill 2 provides players with a much larger environment to explore in, including many of the previous closed off areas. The game even added special effects, such as real-time weather, fog, morphing and shadows, that is guaranteed to make you jump right off your seat. If you're interested in this game, you might want to check out the Silent Hill Re-Mastered Collection which combines Silent Hill 2 and 3 together in one neat package.