Mashing buttons since 1984
There is usually one day a year I go nuts. Ape crazy. Today wasn’t that day. However, I did score a lot of games today. All of them but two are Christmas gifts to my son (read: me) and myself. I’ll only get to touch two of them till after December 25th.
How can a game that has absolutely zero conflict compete in today’s hyperviolent market?
Welcome to the most relaxing game of 2008.
DO: Take a scrubby patch of land and transform it into a thriving kingdom.
TYPE: Building/Resource Management
PLATFORM: XBLA
PRICE: 800 MS Points
MEAT: You are a giant in the land of the Keflings, strange little people who want nothing more than to do your bidding. The entire game consists of you ordering the Keflings to harvest resources which can be used to construct a staggering variety buildings. The ultimate goal of the game is to build a castle but getting there can take anywhere from 8-12 hours. It’s one of those games where you can pop in for a few minutes to build one building or spend hours just chilling while you watch your kingdom flourish. This game was so addictive that I’d find myself pulled away from AAA titles like Mirror’s Edge or Left 4 Dead to get back to my kingdom. It is a perfect tonic for those times when you get frustrated and need a break from the more hectic gameplay of straight-up action games.
PERKS: An amazing guitar soundtrack; using your avatar; being able to kick the Keflings around the map (and get an achievement for it).
SCREAMS: For a camera that can be rotated 360 degrees; for a camera that will stay where you put it instead of snapping back into the default isometric view; for a better way to keep track of what building components have been used in a given blueprint so that you don’t make 30 reading rooms by accident.
VERDICT: Buy. This game may be a little TOO relaxing for every gamer, but take the demo for a spin to see if it is for you. In this day of hyperviolence and gore dripping from every corner of the screen, it is nice to see a game pride itself on its lack of conflict. Just make sure you aren’t tired when you play the game as the soundtrack will lull you to sleep.
Wednesday was a glorious day. Why?
Chrono Trigger DS just landed in my hands today and I’ve already sunk far too much time into it. For a 13 year old game, it still holds up amazingly well and the new tweaks are kind of nice.
There’s also the added bonus that I finally have a legitimate portable copy of what is probably my all-time favourite videogame, period. I have a top 10 list of favourite games and it’s often in flux, though many games tend to stay in it for a long time. Chrono Trigger is on a whole other level of adoration though. It’s the Mona Lisa of JRPGs as far as I’m concerned.
What am I doing typing this? I’m off to go romp through time with my band of merry adventurers!
I just scored The Last Guy, PixelJunk Eden, and echochrome for $15 total on the PSN store. Prices are good for about a week. There’s more, but I’m being lazy. Here’s other things that may make other people happy.
Freaking awesome!!!
That about sums up my first impression.
I played through the DC story line and started up the MK side tonight. The story really works and the way it’s layed out is great too. The fighting mechanics are fun fun fun. The new klose kombat and free-fall kombat are a new and fresh addition. I’ll write up a more in depth review of the game after I’ve put enough time into it. For now I’m just enjoying it to the fullest.
Was doing my daily browsing of kotaku and found out that Sony is making trophies mandatory for PS3 games come January.
Finally.
I know of many people who choose 360 games over their PS3 counterparts just for achievements alone. I’ve had more fun with my PS3 in the last two months than any other system. Competition is good. I want to see it survive.
Michael Bay, eat your heart out. This is the game you wish you had made.
Gears of War 2 does everything the first one did, only bigger, louder and better.
DO: Shoot, run, drive, fly and chainsaw your way through hundreds of the Locust Horde across a variety of awesome set piece battles.
TYPE: 3rd Person Cover-Based Shooter
PLATFORM: Xbox 360
MEAT: Gears of War 2 is the leaner, sleeker version of Gears of War. The cover system that defined the original game has been tweaked so that Marcus will stick to things he should stick to and jump/run/dive when the situation calls for it. The story has also been beefed up significantly in this installment. It won’t win any awards but it has enough meat to give a somewhat plausible justification as to why Marcus and his crew of thick-necked soldiers keep getting into the crazy situations they find themselves in. Gears 2 is the epitome of a summer action movie distilled into a game. Explosions abound, the stakes are high and only the hero and his giant chainsaw/gun can save the day. It works great as a way to relax your brain if you’re playing headier fare like Valkyria Chronicles or Fallout 3. Just point and shoot and wait for something to go BOOM.
PERKS: Chainsaw duels; riding a variety of ‘vehicles’; giant boss fights; a variety of multiplayer modes, including the awesome 5-man Horde co-op mode.
SCREAMS: For more chainsaw duels in the story campaign; a few less underground segments.
Verdict: Buy (esp. if you want the 5 classic Gears maps). As someone who got bored of Gears 1 about 2/3rds of the way through the singleplayer campaign, I went into Gears 2 with some trepidation. Suffice it to say, Gears 2 had me hooked from start to finish and wishing it wouldn’t end. The fantastic Horde mode helps to extend the life of the game significantly and the classic multiplayer modes are all fairly fun, at least for this gamer who doesn’t play a tonne of multiplayer things. Now hurry up and get Gears 3 out so we can see where the story goes from here!
After 8 months away, Azeroth once again has me in her clutches. I should have known I’d be jumping back in as fast as possible once the new expansion hit. I love exploring new areas and about the only reason I stopped playing WoW back in March was the fact that I’d run out of new things to see.
Of course, I also needed something to play on my laptop when I can’t use the TV besides Peggle.
One of the hidden gems I came across this year was Codemaster’s Overlord.
The fine folks behind Steam are selling it this weekend for $9.99. I deem this price to be GoodTM.
…or if you prefer, get every game released (and soon to be) by Valve for $100.
Note: with this review, we’ve moved from the “+” and “-” format in our VERDICT to Buy, Rent, or Pass.
Mix a little Diablo II, a little Dwarf Fortress, and a little Sim City and what do you get?
Hinterland—a surprisingly fun game, even without the professional polish.
DO: Build a little village all the while terrorizing the “hinterlands” with your villagers cum warriors at your side. Essentially make your tyrant of a king happy.
TYPE: clickfest hack and slash with a dose of micromanagement on top
PLATFORM: PC (Steam version reviewed here)
PRICE: $20 (via many different digital download vendors)
MEAT: You play a character (one of many typical fantasy classes with a few tongue in cheek classes as well) that’s been called by the king to establish a village and conquer the region for your liege. Travelers come to your village and you get them to stay and perform their special skill while possibly using and training them to raid the countryside with you. One caveat: when they are with you they don’t perform their skills in the village. Your village is raided as well and you can minimally defend it. The game session ends once you’ve conquered all the regions. The replay-ability comes from all the character classes and villager skill classes. Essentially, you play for high scores—and a dragon or two.
PERKS: easy to learn, lifetime to master; humorous; variable game sessions; excellent developer support; dragons; huge replay-ability; casual or hardcore; cheap;
SCREAMS: to be less ambiguous in some parts; online leaderboards; to have specific quests (the king’s requests can go to…); to have random map encounters; to have major weapons and characters (ie dragons) not be always so close to the endgame; to be able to reuse your characters; to have a little more polish; to have a screen zoom function; to be a little more reliable on some machines
VERDICT: Buy. The next game by TiltedMill—with a little more money put into by you owning this one—will be stellar. This is an excellent independent developer effort.