u/ImprobableCastration

So today I bought NAM (AKA NAPALM, from Walmart), and WWII GI for like 17 bucks on Steam. I knew it had a "reputation" as something much-maligned by both general consumers and classic fps fans alike, but I went in with no real expectations one way or the other.

I will not delude myself and say it's NOT jank. It 100% is, but I don't mind that - Hell, I fucking love Witchaven, do with that what you will. But its a sort of jank you CAN get used to, if you're willing to give it the time of day.

What I appreciate NAM for, in terms of presentation and artistic merit, is how utterly different it is from other Build Engine titles. It is nothing like any other game I've played on the platform.

It is NOT by any metric a "standard romp of run-and-gun action". It has rampagey moments yes, but by and large, it is a game defined by the paranoia of it's setting. Carnage is everywhere. The VC go down quick, but so do you. It instills terror without being a horror game, and it pulls it off very well. It is stressful to play, in a way that I don't find frustrating like some games out there.

I'm not going to try and claim it's "secretly a gem" or anything like that, but it does achieve something appropriate for the subject matter, and I have to give it it's flowers for that, if nothing else.

I've heard others say that the hard-to-detect mines are bullshit, but in a game where you can save anywhere at any time, it's more of a slap to the wrist than a thorough sodomizing.

NAM is 'Nam, and I think that's the best praise I can give it.
War is Hell, and I am but a lowly sinner, forced to trudge the lake of fire.

I enjoy Molag Bal's for just how absolutely twisted it is, but in terms of just playing, I do enjoy Meridia's. Some nice beer-and-nachos casual "go here, murk some necromancers" fun.