I've said it before; I love tower defense games. They may be one of my favorite types of games on the flash platform. I suppose that may help to explain why I endeavored to play Defense Grid: The Awakening. I would advise you, dear readers, not to attempt the same folly.
When I was wandering the tubez, looking for something to hold my attention for a few minutes, I saw Defense Grid on greenhouse and was confused; "why would one have to pay money for a tower defense game? This one must be AWESOME!" So I promptly downloaded the demo. What lay within was what I can only describe as a minor avatar of disappointment. I suppose the main contributor to this disappointment was the unspoken implication that the game would be above average made by the fact that one must purchase the game in order to play it. I suppose, with that being said, I can only review the demo, but in being a demo, it utterly failed. The purpose of a demo is to make one want to buy a game. At the end of this par-level attempt, I was not so inclined.
The units, play style and graphic quality were in no way exceeding the standards of its free flash counterparts, and in some cases, even failed to meet these expectations. The graphics are pixelated and messy, yet the screen is so cluttered in mid-90s era 3D rendering, it still requires a huge portion of your processing power, so it feels jerky and disjointed as units freeze in place for a second, and then rush down the path at incredible speeds. It feels like 1996 has returned with a chip on its shoulder. There are better looking, better running games on a flash platform, and I don't have to pay 10 bucks for them. The towers, enemies and tactics are the exact model of the standard TD online. The only gameplay difference is a zoom function on the mouse wheel I never used. The story could be a selling point, but it's startlingly detached from the the actual game, and the plot is just silly. Many assumptions have to be made just to suspend disbelief. The premise is that an alien race has returned to exact revenge on the human race after a thousand years, and humanity's only hope of survival lies in the successful reactivation of an ancient defense grid. Let's set aside the major problem I always have with defense games with that premise, which is the civilization's unexplained lack of offensive capability (I'll just assume that we've achieved a peaceful Utopian society and have no more need for weapons or something like that). There is no explanation as to why the aliens are attacking, why we took so long to reactivate this ancient thing, or why the thing even still works after these thousand years. Was there some covert maintenance service going on? It's just ridiculous. Usually, when I don't like the gameplay or graphics, I can rely on a good plot or vice-versa to keep me interested. There was no such escape in this game.
I would like to stress that this is not a bad game. It's average. I've seen better. I've seen worse. What really gets me here is that they are charging money for this thing. When all of it's comparable peers are free and require no download or installation, I wonder why Hidden Path Entertainment thought this game would make them money. If the plot couldn't be used to strain pasta or if there were more elements to the actual play of the game, I could understand why people would buy it, but as it is, I would much rather go to towerdefence.net and enjoy a better game than sit around, bored and pissed off that I wasted ten bucks.
Do the right thing, people. Play Indie games. Save your money and buy Torchlight instead.
Friday, November 27, 2009
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Cyclomaniacs
I like wacky games. They make me feel good. Sure, there's a limit to how much wacky I can handle, but having grown up on Looney Tunes and the like, that tolerance is pretty high. Cyclomaniacs certainly falls under the "wacky" category.It's a 2D bicycle racing game. The animation is silly and lighthearted, the gameplay is addictive and the extras, though somewhat trivial, fit the theme well. The object of the game is to collect achievements, unlock new riders and upgrade your bike. There's no real story outside of the individual riders' backstories, which are entertaining enough to make up for it. This sort of game doesn't really need a story so much anyhow. It simply is. There's no need to worry over taking the game seriously enough to think about character motivations.
At the beginning, there is a button that appears at the top of the game screen for the "complete game movie" which I quickly came to realize wouldn't be unlocked until all 70 achievements had been unlocked. Flash forward a few days to me groaning in amused consternation at the fruit of my labor. Many of the riders are inspired by celebrities or fictional characters (laurel and hardy on a tandem bike made me giggle), but discounting some minor changes in performance behavior, there isn't much to set them apart from each other. They're goofy and fun to look at though, so there isn't much to complain about there. I would say this is a game for those wanting mindless, cheerful fun. I wouldn't recommend playing it for more than an hour, as I can feel the carpal tunnel setting in from button mashing. Very satisfying finishing the game. I feel a little ashamed to admit that, seeing as how it's a very silly and very pointless endeavor, but it is a big game, if a little grindy. I became intimately familiar with the level restart button. There are many more important things you could be doing, like cleaning your ears or balancing your checkbook, maybe trimming your toenails, but if you want to waste some time instead, you could make many worse choices than Cyclomaniacs.
If you haven't done so yet, add yourself as a fan on facebook! There's a design contest going on exclusively for facebook fans, in which you give me a logo design, and I give you a free copy of "And Yet It Moves" from Broken Rules (assuming you win)! So go take a look. It'll be fun. It may even change your life. I think dolphins might be in on it. How can you say no to dolphins?
Do the right thing, people. Play indie games. Make dolphins smile.
At the beginning, there is a button that appears at the top of the game screen for the "complete game movie" which I quickly came to realize wouldn't be unlocked until all 70 achievements had been unlocked. Flash forward a few days to me groaning in amused consternation at the fruit of my labor. Many of the riders are inspired by celebrities or fictional characters (laurel and hardy on a tandem bike made me giggle), but discounting some minor changes in performance behavior, there isn't much to set them apart from each other. They're goofy and fun to look at though, so there isn't much to complain about there. I would say this is a game for those wanting mindless, cheerful fun. I wouldn't recommend playing it for more than an hour, as I can feel the carpal tunnel setting in from button mashing. Very satisfying finishing the game. I feel a little ashamed to admit that, seeing as how it's a very silly and very pointless endeavor, but it is a big game, if a little grindy. I became intimately familiar with the level restart button. There are many more important things you could be doing, like cleaning your ears or balancing your checkbook, maybe trimming your toenails, but if you want to waste some time instead, you could make many worse choices than Cyclomaniacs.
If you haven't done so yet, add yourself as a fan on facebook! There's a design contest going on exclusively for facebook fans, in which you give me a logo design, and I give you a free copy of "And Yet It Moves" from Broken Rules (assuming you win)! So go take a look. It'll be fun. It may even change your life. I think dolphins might be in on it. How can you say no to dolphins?
Do the right thing, people. Play indie games. Make dolphins smile.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Sonny & Sonny 2
There's a new fan page on Facebook. I hear it's pretty cool. You can see the feed for it just to the right on the sidebar there. -> You should hop on and become a fan of my little operation here. There's a fan exclusive contest running now in which you design me a logo, and I give you (assuming of course you win) a free copy of "And Yet It Moves" by Austrian studio Broken Rules!
The business of running this site can get strenuous at times, and from time to time I forget that the games I play for fun should also be the ones I review. That why I started this thing in the first place! So today's post is dedicated to the Sonny series on Kongregate. If you don't have an account there, you should get one. With the waning of the PC era, sites like Kongregate and Newgrounds put up a fair bit of competition for XBLA and PSN. I'm a fan of consoles, don't get me wrong, but I came up as a PC gamer, and recently with the propagation of the next-gen consoles, it's feeling like the final days of Rome for us PC gamers. Best of all, these sites are free, which benefits poor folk like myself.
Sonny and Sonny 2 are turn-based action-RPGs. They take a new twist on the zombie story. Based in the near future, zombies have of course, taken over the distopia you, the protagonist, wake to find yourself approaching. It turns out you yourself are a zombie, and the story (which is actually pretty well written) takes you from a research boat with no memory through this broken world to figure out what's happened to you and what's going on in the world. The story punctuates the turn-based combat, and everything outside of the combat mode is for party management and flavor. The soundtrack consists of two songs, and the combat track is a thinly veiled clone of the title track for the Pirates of the Caribbean films, which, while neat at first, quickly became dull, and then abrasive. Combat itself is dynamic, intricate and well thought out. Kongregate places it in the strategy section for a reason. There are five classes to choose from in the first game, and they are all straightforward and have relevant and easy-to-understand ability trees. I will say, I've never seen such massive ability trees in a flash game before, and character customization and optimization are brilliantly realized in this series. The second game, however boils it down almost to a fault. There are only three rather nebulous classes with much more expansive ability trees. This increases character customization by quite a bit, but optimization can get rather tedious, and I was thanking the devs for the re-spec button by the end.
Overall, I like this game, and I spent quite a bit of time in the post-story challenge mode playing around with the options. Still, the number of possible power combinations and class specs is very impressive. The loading screen takes a while, but with that many toys, I call that fair. The achievements are lame and kind of unnecessary, but they earn you points for your Kongregate account, so I understand why they're there. I'd say play them. They're worth the time investment.
Do the right thing, people. Play indie games. Get the show on; get payed.
The business of running this site can get strenuous at times, and from time to time I forget that the games I play for fun should also be the ones I review. That why I started this thing in the first place! So today's post is dedicated to the Sonny series on Kongregate. If you don't have an account there, you should get one. With the waning of the PC era, sites like Kongregate and Newgrounds put up a fair bit of competition for XBLA and PSN. I'm a fan of consoles, don't get me wrong, but I came up as a PC gamer, and recently with the propagation of the next-gen consoles, it's feeling like the final days of Rome for us PC gamers. Best of all, these sites are free, which benefits poor folk like myself.
Sonny and Sonny 2 are turn-based action-RPGs. They take a new twist on the zombie story. Based in the near future, zombies have of course, taken over the distopia you, the protagonist, wake to find yourself approaching. It turns out you yourself are a zombie, and the story (which is actually pretty well written) takes you from a research boat with no memory through this broken world to figure out what's happened to you and what's going on in the world. The story punctuates the turn-based combat, and everything outside of the combat mode is for party management and flavor. The soundtrack consists of two songs, and the combat track is a thinly veiled clone of the title track for the Pirates of the Caribbean films, which, while neat at first, quickly became dull, and then abrasive. Combat itself is dynamic, intricate and well thought out. Kongregate places it in the strategy section for a reason. There are five classes to choose from in the first game, and they are all straightforward and have relevant and easy-to-understand ability trees. I will say, I've never seen such massive ability trees in a flash game before, and character customization and optimization are brilliantly realized in this series. The second game, however boils it down almost to a fault. There are only three rather nebulous classes with much more expansive ability trees. This increases character customization by quite a bit, but optimization can get rather tedious, and I was thanking the devs for the re-spec button by the end.
Overall, I like this game, and I spent quite a bit of time in the post-story challenge mode playing around with the options. Still, the number of possible power combinations and class specs is very impressive. The loading screen takes a while, but with that many toys, I call that fair. The achievements are lame and kind of unnecessary, but they earn you points for your Kongregate account, so I understand why they're there. I'd say play them. They're worth the time investment.
Do the right thing, people. Play indie games. Get the show on; get payed.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Games for Children/Child's Play
Before I begin this week's reviews, I would like to make you all aware of something. As the holidays approach, it's about time for Child's Play to start up again in their mission to make the holidays better for children in the hospital. The guys at Penny Arcade have teamed up with over 60 children's hospitals worldwide to give toys and games to the children interned in them. It's an excellent opportunity for we gamers, as a community, to give back and spread the joy of the holidays to those who need it most. Last year, Child's Play raised over $1.4 MILLION in cash, toys and games, and they're looking to beat that this year. With the economy in the toilet, and these families having to deal with medical expenses, the contributions you make could be the only Christmas these kids get this year.
I'm not trying to guilt you into giving. I'm simply saying that we all know someone whose life has been touched by a children's hospital. Wouldn't it make sense that the gaming community give back? It's an expensive hobby we have. On top of that, wouldn't it be nice to know that the game you bought would be helping some kid across the country stay alive and happy? You don't have to give much. There are so many of us. If you don't want to give cash, you can even make a donation toward the purchase of a toy, game or gaming system. Just think about it; that copy of MW2 you've been wanting could wait 'till next paycheck, and it could be a DS for a kid with leukemia. Just think about it.
I'll get off my soapbox now. In honor of Child's Play, today I've got four games for children lined up.
What's Bothering Carl? There are those who would say that interactive storybooks like this one aren't really games, and to them I say, "You are a poop-head" or somesuch silliness. However, they are right. If taken in the context of being a game, it wouldn't really be all that impressive. If viewed as a storybook, however, it does some really neat stuff. Think modern pop-up book without the papercuts or eventual worn out tabs and cutouts. What's Bothering Carl is a story about young Carl, a giant cyclops who isn't bothered by much. Normally, he's a pretty laid-back guy, but something has been tormenting him recently, and it's up to you to find out what it is. Colorful and imaginative with neat little secrets and fun songs, What's Bothering Carl won't just keep your kid quiet for a while, it might improve their reading skills too. Available for purchase ($9.99) on Mac and PC.
Magic Pen I reviewed this last month, but I believe it bears repeating. Magic Pen is a physics puzzle game with very playful graphics and animation, designed to engage the player's creative mind. What you draw becomes a real object in the world, and reacts to the laws of physics in realistic ways. Great for building critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
Red Remover Another for building critical think and problem solving, this color based puzzle game sends you on a mission of mercy. The red shapes are sad to be on the screen. To make them happy, you must remove them. The green shapes, however, are quite content to stay on the screen, and the blue shapes don't care either way. Very bright and colorful with a very happy and positive attitude. Children must be getting smarter, because the difficulty curve gets pretty steep after level 20.
Wake Up the Box Finally, Wake Up the Box was my favorite. Critical thinking and building skills come into play as you use the pieces you are given to wake up the very sleepy Mr. Box. The art in this game is very well done, and the aesthetic is entirely endearing. Poor Mr. Box gets beaten up a lot in this game, as most of the ways I found to wake him up involved bonking him on the head or knocking him off the screen. One thing did rather trouble me about the game. It takes place at night. It's entirely natural for Mr. Box to be asleep, and they never mention why he must be awake. If it was the middle of the day, I'd understand waking him up, but with the current time setting, it just made me feel like a jerk.
As you've probably noticed, three of the four I mentioned are on a flash platform. See? the internet isn't as scary for kids as we thought. Unless it is. Let's not stress the point.
Do the right thing, People. Play indie games. Give to Child's Play (what, I can't do a serious one every now and again?).
Subscribe in a reader
I'm not trying to guilt you into giving. I'm simply saying that we all know someone whose life has been touched by a children's hospital. Wouldn't it make sense that the gaming community give back? It's an expensive hobby we have. On top of that, wouldn't it be nice to know that the game you bought would be helping some kid across the country stay alive and happy? You don't have to give much. There are so many of us. If you don't want to give cash, you can even make a donation toward the purchase of a toy, game or gaming system. Just think about it; that copy of MW2 you've been wanting could wait 'till next paycheck, and it could be a DS for a kid with leukemia. Just think about it.
I'll get off my soapbox now. In honor of Child's Play, today I've got four games for children lined up.
What's Bothering Carl? There are those who would say that interactive storybooks like this one aren't really games, and to them I say, "You are a poop-head" or somesuch silliness. However, they are right. If taken in the context of being a game, it wouldn't really be all that impressive. If viewed as a storybook, however, it does some really neat stuff. Think modern pop-up book without the papercuts or eventual worn out tabs and cutouts. What's Bothering Carl is a story about young Carl, a giant cyclops who isn't bothered by much. Normally, he's a pretty laid-back guy, but something has been tormenting him recently, and it's up to you to find out what it is. Colorful and imaginative with neat little secrets and fun songs, What's Bothering Carl won't just keep your kid quiet for a while, it might improve their reading skills too. Available for purchase ($9.99) on Mac and PC.
Magic Pen I reviewed this last month, but I believe it bears repeating. Magic Pen is a physics puzzle game with very playful graphics and animation, designed to engage the player's creative mind. What you draw becomes a real object in the world, and reacts to the laws of physics in realistic ways. Great for building critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
Red Remover Another for building critical think and problem solving, this color based puzzle game sends you on a mission of mercy. The red shapes are sad to be on the screen. To make them happy, you must remove them. The green shapes, however, are quite content to stay on the screen, and the blue shapes don't care either way. Very bright and colorful with a very happy and positive attitude. Children must be getting smarter, because the difficulty curve gets pretty steep after level 20.
Wake Up the Box Finally, Wake Up the Box was my favorite. Critical thinking and building skills come into play as you use the pieces you are given to wake up the very sleepy Mr. Box. The art in this game is very well done, and the aesthetic is entirely endearing. Poor Mr. Box gets beaten up a lot in this game, as most of the ways I found to wake him up involved bonking him on the head or knocking him off the screen. One thing did rather trouble me about the game. It takes place at night. It's entirely natural for Mr. Box to be asleep, and they never mention why he must be awake. If it was the middle of the day, I'd understand waking him up, but with the current time setting, it just made me feel like a jerk.
As you've probably noticed, three of the four I mentioned are on a flash platform. See? the internet isn't as scary for kids as we thought. Unless it is. Let's not stress the point.
Do the right thing, People. Play indie games. Give to Child's Play (what, I can't do a serious one every now and again?).
Subscribe in a readerFriday, November 13, 2009
Torchlight
When my wife suggested I start this blog a month ago, this was the kind of game I was looking forward to reviewing. Torchlight is exactly the kind of game I wanted to spend my time playing. If I was going to buy a game this month, it would be Torchlight.
This game is beautiful. Even on the lowest resolution setting, the visuals were wonderfully clear. Artistically, it looks like a wonderful mix between Diablo II and D&D Temple of Elemental Evil, with TF2 character styling. There's a lot in common between Torchlight, Diablo and, in some ways, WoW. Some people criticize the game for this reason, but I don't see it as a bad thing. Runic took what works and polished it, and the user interface is at and almost mirror shine. You may wear out the left-click button on your mouse, but that almost comes standard with the action-RPG subgenre. The inventory problem that runs rampant in this sort of game has been solved in a very interesting way with the introduction of a pet/familiar system that is actually good! The variety in pet choices is very, very limited. You can have a dog or a cat. That's it. When I saw the cat option, I was a little skeptical, because the pets are advertised as co-combatants and beasts of burden, and I wondered how much use a housecat would be in either of those roles, but it turned out to be a rather intimidating lynx/bobcat thing.
The coolest part about these pets is not only their separate inventory and subsequent ability to carry items for you, but the option to send them to the surface to sell the things in their inventory. This comes in extraordinarily handy when you find yourself mid-quest and out of town portal scrolls. True, you lose the pet and their added firepower while they barter with the townsfolk for you, but you may continue questing uninterrupted. That factor alone increases the flow exponentially and makes the game seem much less grindy than the games it is often compared to. One of the strange things about the pet system is their reaction to fish. You may feed fish to your pet, which transforms them into a different animal entirely. I was almost reluctant to feed my pet for fear of the ethical ramifications. Does poor Spot really have a choice in this? What am I doing to him? Who am I do play god with my beloved Spot? But the fish make Spot more powerful, so I decided that it was better for his overall welfare to increase his survivability than worry over his genetic stability. Another nifty thing about the pets is the amazing AI. Your pet fills the role you need it to fill automatically. If you are a tank, the pet runs crowd control for you so you don't get swamped. If you're a dex monkey, the pet tanks the strongest enemy while you take out the minions. And it does this automatically!
High fantasy with an almost spaghetti-western soundtrack make a great game I would recommend and even require for anyone claiming to be a gamer. Even the casual gamer can enjoy it in half-hour spurts or through the sleepless nights. At $9.95, this game is well worth the money. Go pick it up. This is not a request.
Do the right thing, people. Play indie games. There are kittens.
This game is beautiful. Even on the lowest resolution setting, the visuals were wonderfully clear. Artistically, it looks like a wonderful mix between Diablo II and D&D Temple of Elemental Evil, with TF2 character styling. There's a lot in common between Torchlight, Diablo and, in some ways, WoW. Some people criticize the game for this reason, but I don't see it as a bad thing. Runic took what works and polished it, and the user interface is at and almost mirror shine. You may wear out the left-click button on your mouse, but that almost comes standard with the action-RPG subgenre. The inventory problem that runs rampant in this sort of game has been solved in a very interesting way with the introduction of a pet/familiar system that is actually good! The variety in pet choices is very, very limited. You can have a dog or a cat. That's it. When I saw the cat option, I was a little skeptical, because the pets are advertised as co-combatants and beasts of burden, and I wondered how much use a housecat would be in either of those roles, but it turned out to be a rather intimidating lynx/bobcat thing.
The coolest part about these pets is not only their separate inventory and subsequent ability to carry items for you, but the option to send them to the surface to sell the things in their inventory. This comes in extraordinarily handy when you find yourself mid-quest and out of town portal scrolls. True, you lose the pet and their added firepower while they barter with the townsfolk for you, but you may continue questing uninterrupted. That factor alone increases the flow exponentially and makes the game seem much less grindy than the games it is often compared to. One of the strange things about the pet system is their reaction to fish. You may feed fish to your pet, which transforms them into a different animal entirely. I was almost reluctant to feed my pet for fear of the ethical ramifications. Does poor Spot really have a choice in this? What am I doing to him? Who am I do play god with my beloved Spot? But the fish make Spot more powerful, so I decided that it was better for his overall welfare to increase his survivability than worry over his genetic stability. Another nifty thing about the pets is the amazing AI. Your pet fills the role you need it to fill automatically. If you are a tank, the pet runs crowd control for you so you don't get swamped. If you're a dex monkey, the pet tanks the strongest enemy while you take out the minions. And it does this automatically!
High fantasy with an almost spaghetti-western soundtrack make a great game I would recommend and even require for anyone claiming to be a gamer. Even the casual gamer can enjoy it in half-hour spurts or through the sleepless nights. At $9.95, this game is well worth the money. Go pick it up. This is not a request.
Do the right thing, people. Play indie games. There are kittens.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
An Amusing Aside
Before my amusing commentary concerning children and gaming, I must fervently apologize for my lack of post yesterday. To explain without great detail, I was a soldier in Iraq, and having been in such a hazardous condition, I am from time to time, beset by hardships of a, shall we say, unique nature. When encountered by stress (money problems, crappy living situation, the holidays coming up, etc.), my brain takes it upon itself to perform a complete memory wipe and hard reset. One of those came upon me yesterday, and I was left completely devoid of memory concerning which game I was playing or what I thought about it, so I decided to continue on and post Friday's review and cut my losses on Tuesday's.
On to the story. I live in a house with children. They are not my children, but I am charged with them while their parents are out working or whatever it is that they do when they leave the house, since I obviously work from home. One conversation with Sydney (who is seven), struck me as particularly wonderful.
I was working earlier today, and Sydney walked into my room. The conversation went as such:
SYDNEY: What'cha doin'?
ME: Working.
SYDNEY: (looks at computer screen) No you're not. You're playing computer games!
ME: Yes. That's what I do for a living.
SYDNEY: (shocked and amazed) YOU PLAY COMPUTER GAMES FOR WORK?!?
ME: Well, I also write about them online so people can see if they are good games or bad games before they buy them. I save people money.
SYDNEY: (incredulous) So, there are BAD video games?
ME: You wouldn't believe.
SYDNEY: So what makes a game bad?
ME: *sigh* That's a big question. You have to take into account depth of characters, plot complexity and flow, there's physics engines and control setups...
SYDNEY: *blank stare*
ME: I lost you, didn't I?
SYDNEY: *nods*
ME: OK, a bad game is any game that makes you bored, or one that you don't have fun playing.
SYDNEY: So your job is to have fun?
ME: ...well, I guess so. Yeah.
And then she left. She's a very abrupt girl.
*cut to a half-hour later*
Sydney is playing on another roommate's computer and her father, Nate walks in.
NATE: What'cha doin' kiddo?
SYDNEY: Working.
NATE: No you're not. You're playing on the computer.
SYDNEY: Yep. Seth gets to play on the computer for work.
NATE: Yes, but Seth is a grown man. You are a little girl.
SYDNEY: Then what am I gonna do for work?
NATE: You get to go to school. You don't have to work.
SYDNEY: MAAAN! How come Seth gets to play games for work and I have to go to stupid school?
Nate: Just how the world works, kid.
I thought I would share that with you all. Look forward to "Torchlight" on Friday.
On to the story. I live in a house with children. They are not my children, but I am charged with them while their parents are out working or whatever it is that they do when they leave the house, since I obviously work from home. One conversation with Sydney (who is seven), struck me as particularly wonderful.
I was working earlier today, and Sydney walked into my room. The conversation went as such:
SYDNEY: What'cha doin'?
ME: Working.
SYDNEY: (looks at computer screen) No you're not. You're playing computer games!
ME: Yes. That's what I do for a living.
SYDNEY: (shocked and amazed) YOU PLAY COMPUTER GAMES FOR WORK?!?
ME: Well, I also write about them online so people can see if they are good games or bad games before they buy them. I save people money.
SYDNEY: (incredulous) So, there are BAD video games?
ME: You wouldn't believe.
SYDNEY: So what makes a game bad?
ME: *sigh* That's a big question. You have to take into account depth of characters, plot complexity and flow, there's physics engines and control setups...
SYDNEY: *blank stare*
ME: I lost you, didn't I?
SYDNEY: *nods*
ME: OK, a bad game is any game that makes you bored, or one that you don't have fun playing.
SYDNEY: So your job is to have fun?
ME: ...well, I guess so. Yeah.
And then she left. She's a very abrupt girl.
*cut to a half-hour later*
Sydney is playing on another roommate's computer and her father, Nate walks in.
NATE: What'cha doin' kiddo?
SYDNEY: Working.
NATE: No you're not. You're playing on the computer.
SYDNEY: Yep. Seth gets to play on the computer for work.
NATE: Yes, but Seth is a grown man. You are a little girl.
SYDNEY: Then what am I gonna do for work?
NATE: You get to go to school. You don't have to work.
SYDNEY: MAAAN! How come Seth gets to play games for work and I have to go to stupid school?
Nate: Just how the world works, kid.
I thought I would share that with you all. Look forward to "Torchlight" on Friday.
Friday, November 6, 2009
Strange Attractors 2
I will admit, I’ve been pretty self gratifying recently. Tuesday I reviewed an RTS, and today is yet another of my beloved physics games. I promise, an FPS is in the future, but I need your recommendations. Combat Arms seems a tantalizing morsel, but MMOs don’t lend themselves well to reviewing. Imagine I am the unblinking eye of Sauron, searching the lands for the precious thing; a decent FPS. Even Sauron needs a little help from his friends sometimes. Go forth, my orcs. Find me a shooter worthy of Mordor. If you happen to find some hobbits and a gold ring in your search, those are mine too.
Strange Attractors 2 is, to be brief, refreshing and infuriating all in one. I’ve never seen such a simple game use it’s simplicity as a factor in its difficulty. In that, Ominous Development has created one of the most original and creative downloadables I’ve played in a long while. The game controls are comprised of two buttons. That’s it. The point is to navigate your spacecraft through a series of rooms, collecting stars as you go. It’s always stars. They never explain why you’re collecting stars, but they are necessary to your advancement. There are no engines in this craft. You control gravity. The problem, of course, is that there is no leveled use of said gravity. Gravity is either on or off, and the speed you attain is directly related to how close you are to an object and how large said object is. You may also toggle “anti-gravity” which drives you away from objects at the same relative velocity as the normal gravity pulls you toward them.
The reason I chalk the simplicity of the controls toward the games difficulty is how limiting and out-of-control gameplay is. Having no directional influence on your craft’s travel can get frustrating, but it forces you to think with gravity, as it were (to steal a Portal tagline). Manipulation of gravitational forces as a propulsion mechanism is very difficult to predict, but because of that, success is thoroughly gratifying. Using chains of pushes and pulls to orbit larger obstacles or send smaller objects crashing into you to create momentum creates the closest feeling to vertigo I’ve ever experienced in a game. You should also monitor your speed very closely. Faster is not always better in this game. When timing and positioning are crucial, it becomes very easy to inadvertently send yourself hurtling across the map.
The demo is very short. I only got about ten minutes of play-time out of my first run through, and that was with a complete lack of aptitude for the game. I chalk this up to the very reasonable price of the full version. Later on in the main game, however, you are introduced to Ominous’ warped sense of humor. Astronauts are unfortunate, doomed creatures in this world. Fodder for cheap giggles at their grisly ends, they accept their role in the game with near gleeful willingness.
Strange Attractors 2 is worth a look. At $10 over Greenhouse, it’s a low-risk game with a decent payoff. Mind-bending puzzles and decent graphics, merged with a spectacular concept and some cathartic chuckles add up to a game well worth the price. If you have a mind to buy a game, and only want to spend around 10 bucks, snap this one up before Ominous figures out their mistake and raises the price.
I know this was another short one, but I’m on vacation, and my wife is bugging me to let the work be. Forgive me for not visiting, San Francisco friends! Do the right thing, people. Play indie games. Revitalize the California state economy.
Strange Attractors 2 is, to be brief, refreshing and infuriating all in one. I’ve never seen such a simple game use it’s simplicity as a factor in its difficulty. In that, Ominous Development has created one of the most original and creative downloadables I’ve played in a long while. The game controls are comprised of two buttons. That’s it. The point is to navigate your spacecraft through a series of rooms, collecting stars as you go. It’s always stars. They never explain why you’re collecting stars, but they are necessary to your advancement. There are no engines in this craft. You control gravity. The problem, of course, is that there is no leveled use of said gravity. Gravity is either on or off, and the speed you attain is directly related to how close you are to an object and how large said object is. You may also toggle “anti-gravity” which drives you away from objects at the same relative velocity as the normal gravity pulls you toward them.
The reason I chalk the simplicity of the controls toward the games difficulty is how limiting and out-of-control gameplay is. Having no directional influence on your craft’s travel can get frustrating, but it forces you to think with gravity, as it were (to steal a Portal tagline). Manipulation of gravitational forces as a propulsion mechanism is very difficult to predict, but because of that, success is thoroughly gratifying. Using chains of pushes and pulls to orbit larger obstacles or send smaller objects crashing into you to create momentum creates the closest feeling to vertigo I’ve ever experienced in a game. You should also monitor your speed very closely. Faster is not always better in this game. When timing and positioning are crucial, it becomes very easy to inadvertently send yourself hurtling across the map.
The demo is very short. I only got about ten minutes of play-time out of my first run through, and that was with a complete lack of aptitude for the game. I chalk this up to the very reasonable price of the full version. Later on in the main game, however, you are introduced to Ominous’ warped sense of humor. Astronauts are unfortunate, doomed creatures in this world. Fodder for cheap giggles at their grisly ends, they accept their role in the game with near gleeful willingness.
Strange Attractors 2 is worth a look. At $10 over Greenhouse, it’s a low-risk game with a decent payoff. Mind-bending puzzles and decent graphics, merged with a spectacular concept and some cathartic chuckles add up to a game well worth the price. If you have a mind to buy a game, and only want to spend around 10 bucks, snap this one up before Ominous figures out their mistake and raises the price.
I know this was another short one, but I’m on vacation, and my wife is bugging me to let the work be. Forgive me for not visiting, San Francisco friends! Do the right thing, people. Play indie games. Revitalize the California state economy.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Multiwinia
So I will be on vacation in Sacramento through the weekend. For those of you out there wondering, I plan my vacations around family events; that's why I'm going to "vacation" in Sacramento. Friday's post will still be up, but that one, as this one, will be posted in the evenings. I get better traffic in the late evening anyway.
In 1995 this game would be FANTASTIC! That was what I kept thinking as I played through the demo for Multiwinia, an inventive RTS from Introversion Software. The trailer there explains the game basics, and it stays fairly true to the concept. Their tagline "Survival of the flattest" doesn't seem to apply, but then again, maybe that becomes more of a factor in the full version. Two of the three game styles available on the demo are the most commonly played types of games in the whole genre; King of the Hill and Capture the flag. The third, Rocket Riot, was a unique take on the defense aspect of the strategy genre. Capture resource points to fuel the rocket, then fill your rocket with guys, but don't let the enemy attack your rocket, because it could catch fire and you lose fuel. This game mode, along with the challenging enemy AI made for a refreshing, if utilitarian take on my favorite aspect of gaming.
Units are spawned periodically from spawn points, which vomit them out like bad Thai food. The units are two-dimensional stick figures, which do your basic bidding, but aren't afraid to run away from battle if there isn't an officer around or they don't have the clear advantage. The lack of an attack function is pretty nice after a bit of play. It's free of the normal nearly stressful micro-management synonymous with the genre.
In order to get to the packing I've been neglecting (procrastination, GO!), I will simply leave it at a recommendation. If you can't afford the $14.95, the demo at least is worth a playthrough.
Try it here
Do the right thing and all that. I'M A LIBERAL! (Cue maniacal laughter) "tax and spend, tax and spend..."
In 1995 this game would be FANTASTIC! That was what I kept thinking as I played through the demo for Multiwinia, an inventive RTS from Introversion Software. The trailer there explains the game basics, and it stays fairly true to the concept. Their tagline "Survival of the flattest" doesn't seem to apply, but then again, maybe that becomes more of a factor in the full version. Two of the three game styles available on the demo are the most commonly played types of games in the whole genre; King of the Hill and Capture the flag. The third, Rocket Riot, was a unique take on the defense aspect of the strategy genre. Capture resource points to fuel the rocket, then fill your rocket with guys, but don't let the enemy attack your rocket, because it could catch fire and you lose fuel. This game mode, along with the challenging enemy AI made for a refreshing, if utilitarian take on my favorite aspect of gaming.
Units are spawned periodically from spawn points, which vomit them out like bad Thai food. The units are two-dimensional stick figures, which do your basic bidding, but aren't afraid to run away from battle if there isn't an officer around or they don't have the clear advantage. The lack of an attack function is pretty nice after a bit of play. It's free of the normal nearly stressful micro-management synonymous with the genre.
In order to get to the packing I've been neglecting (procrastination, GO!), I will simply leave it at a recommendation. If you can't afford the $14.95, the demo at least is worth a playthrough.
Try it here
Do the right thing and all that. I'M A LIBERAL! (Cue maniacal laughter) "tax and spend, tax and spend..."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
