So currently Steam is having an event where every day they come up with four objectives. For every objective you complete, you get entered in a raffle to win 100 games of your choosing. Do one, get entered once. Do all four, get entered four times. The objectives often consist of playing certain games and earning certain achievements, meaning if you don't already own these games you've got to buy them if you want the extra chances. Personally I'd just as soon not bother. I'm only completing objectives I can do for free.
Which brings me to the topic of today's post, where one objective is to play the demo (or actual game) of the Undergarden.
I'll be frank. This game is not fun. It uses Aquaria's underwater style of gameplay with a physics engine. But where Aquaria was a decent if repetitive action game, the Undergarden is a puzzle game. And I mean "puzzle" in the loosest sense of the word.
Gameplay revolves around taking your fish-bee-man-thing to collect pollen so you can grow fruit, so you can toss the fruit onto a pressure plate and open a path to the next area, where you can do it all again. It's kinda like Solar Jetman, but without stuff trying to shoot you while you carry crap.
And that's pretty much it. If your fascinated by underwater physics, that's about all this game has going for it. I guess it could be appealing if you're looking for a family friendly game for your kids.... but no. There's family friendly games that are still fun to play out there, so don't bother with this.
In case anyone's wondering, the full game's normal price is $9.99. Presently, it's on sale for $4.99. Don't waste your money.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
FFXI update is out.
So the FFXI update came out yesterday. I'm currently downloading it. Heroes of Abyssea came out too. Which I didn't buy. I don't know if I will.
FFXI has not been much fun recently for me. Abyssea is not that great. The NMs are not that great. 6 hour parties are not that great. The story is terrible.
Unfortunately, Abyssea is all there is now. You don't do other endgame events because Abyssea drops are better than anything, and you don't do normal exp because Abyssea exp is far better.
Then there's my connection, which sometime around February started to disagree heavily with FFXI. I don't really understand why, it works fine normally. It even works fine with FFXIV. But with FFXI I get dc'd frequently.
I've been a consistent player of FFXI since the NA release, but recently I haven't felt like logging in much at all. It's not fun and most of my friends are gone. Once my friends list was maxed at 200 people. Now there's about 10-15 who still play at all, let alone regularly. I don't know how much longer I'll continue. I want to finish WotG at least, but after that.... I guess we'll see.
In the meantime, I'm still on FFXIV because they keep extending the free trial period. I haven't paid a dime yet aside from the initial purchase. The discount for playing FFXI and FFXIV at the same time has been extended too (though if you ask me, this should be permanent....).
Best of all, a few weeks ago there was a massive update to FFXIV that made it so much better. The lag was greatly reduced, the UI was made much better, there's an item sort function (good god, finally)... Just all around improved. This is how the game should have been released, and they'd probably have a lot more customers if they'd waited to release it in the present state.
On the other hand, I don't know if it's THAT good... Like I said, I haven't paid any fees for it yet. I haven't decided if I will continue once they stop giving us free time. And if you've already tried the beta and decided you hated it, it probably hasn't changed enough for you to consider returning.
But for my part I find it enjoyable. I like the ability assignment system, crafting is much better than in FFXI, and battles are way the hell more fast paced. Still some bugs and inconveniences they should work out though. Plus slow paced battles aren't a bad thing, they let me watch movies at the same time. :D Too bad FFXI stopped being fun...
I also downloaded a MMO called Vindictus, a game that runs on Valve's Source engine and plays more like an action game than an MMO. Is it any good? Wellllll.... I dunno. I haven't had time to really play it. I've only done the tutorial. :x But it's a free game, so I don't mind waiting. I hope to get around to it eventually, but no promises.
FFXI has not been much fun recently for me. Abyssea is not that great. The NMs are not that great. 6 hour parties are not that great. The story is terrible.
Unfortunately, Abyssea is all there is now. You don't do other endgame events because Abyssea drops are better than anything, and you don't do normal exp because Abyssea exp is far better.
Then there's my connection, which sometime around February started to disagree heavily with FFXI. I don't really understand why, it works fine normally. It even works fine with FFXIV. But with FFXI I get dc'd frequently.
I've been a consistent player of FFXI since the NA release, but recently I haven't felt like logging in much at all. It's not fun and most of my friends are gone. Once my friends list was maxed at 200 people. Now there's about 10-15 who still play at all, let alone regularly. I don't know how much longer I'll continue. I want to finish WotG at least, but after that.... I guess we'll see.
In the meantime, I'm still on FFXIV because they keep extending the free trial period. I haven't paid a dime yet aside from the initial purchase. The discount for playing FFXI and FFXIV at the same time has been extended too (though if you ask me, this should be permanent....).
Best of all, a few weeks ago there was a massive update to FFXIV that made it so much better. The lag was greatly reduced, the UI was made much better, there's an item sort function (good god, finally)... Just all around improved. This is how the game should have been released, and they'd probably have a lot more customers if they'd waited to release it in the present state.
On the other hand, I don't know if it's THAT good... Like I said, I haven't paid any fees for it yet. I haven't decided if I will continue once they stop giving us free time. And if you've already tried the beta and decided you hated it, it probably hasn't changed enough for you to consider returning.
But for my part I find it enjoyable. I like the ability assignment system, crafting is much better than in FFXI, and battles are way the hell more fast paced. Still some bugs and inconveniences they should work out though. Plus slow paced battles aren't a bad thing, they let me watch movies at the same time. :D Too bad FFXI stopped being fun...
I also downloaded a MMO called Vindictus, a game that runs on Valve's Source engine and plays more like an action game than an MMO. Is it any good? Wellllll.... I dunno. I haven't had time to really play it. I've only done the tutorial. :x But it's a free game, so I don't mind waiting. I hope to get around to it eventually, but no promises.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Bladestorm: the Hundred Years War
A bit of an old title now, Bladestorm is a pretty damn awesome game that I'd recommend to anyone with a PS3 or 360. It's a difficult title to describe, but I'll give it a shot. You play as a mercenary who can take on contracts for England or France. Your goal is to gain fame by defeating enemy commanders and capturing strongholds.
When in battle, you can take command of virtually any unit on your side, aside from those led by commanders and those protecting a base. Each unit has a certain effectiveness rating against those of other types, i.e. swordsmen are good against spearmen and weak against cavalry. There's a HUGE variety of units in this game, with about 20 "types" of unit and 3-6 variations within each unit. For instance, the sword type contains one-handed sword, sword and shield, two-handed sword, two-handed curved sword, dual swords and rapier.
The best part of this game is that at any time you can abandon a unit for another one close by. Up against something that your swordsmen can't hurt? Ditch 'em and commandeer that cavalry. Your spearmen unit only has 3 troops left? Exchange them for a full battalion of axemen. Enemy commander too strong for your daggermen? Let the AI melee him while you take command of archers and pelt him with arrows.
As you use units of various types, you gain levels with them, making you more effective with that unit type in general and giving you bonus points to spend on traits. You can also buy equipment for your units.
The game is only marginally based on history, if all the ninjas and Chinese mercenaries didn't make that clear. But it's hecka fun and I'd highly recommend it.
When in battle, you can take command of virtually any unit on your side, aside from those led by commanders and those protecting a base. Each unit has a certain effectiveness rating against those of other types, i.e. swordsmen are good against spearmen and weak against cavalry. There's a HUGE variety of units in this game, with about 20 "types" of unit and 3-6 variations within each unit. For instance, the sword type contains one-handed sword, sword and shield, two-handed sword, two-handed curved sword, dual swords and rapier.
The best part of this game is that at any time you can abandon a unit for another one close by. Up against something that your swordsmen can't hurt? Ditch 'em and commandeer that cavalry. Your spearmen unit only has 3 troops left? Exchange them for a full battalion of axemen. Enemy commander too strong for your daggermen? Let the AI melee him while you take command of archers and pelt him with arrows.
As you use units of various types, you gain levels with them, making you more effective with that unit type in general and giving you bonus points to spend on traits. You can also buy equipment for your units.
The game is only marginally based on history, if all the ninjas and Chinese mercenaries didn't make that clear. But it's hecka fun and I'd highly recommend it.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Roman legions
Let's talk about ancient battle tactics :D
Rome was one of the largest civilizations on Earth, made so primarily on their military might. Romans were tough, disciplined soldiers with exceptional battle tactics at their disposal. They weren't the only unit, mind: Romans had what they called auxiliaries, consisting of cavalry, archers, scouts, skirmishers, etc.. Nor were they a static unit: as the years passed, the armies developed with better equipment, different organization, etc. So when I say legionaries, mainly I'm talking about the heavy infantry of the Roman Republic, the backbone of the military machine.
The heavy infantry wore an iron helmet and armor: first bronze cuirasses, then later chainmail. They had hobnailed sandals which in themselves could be used as effective weapons, but their real weapons were:
1) The pilum. This was a javelin specially designed to break after being thrown. This way it couldn't be thrown back by the enemy.
2) The shield, which to the Romans was as much a weapon as a piece of defensive gear.
3) The gladius. There's a lot of misconception about this weapon, so let me clear some stuff up. The gladius is most deffinately a sowrd, not a dagger. It's a very short-bladed sword, but long enough so as not to be confused. Looking at mine at a glance, I'd guess it's blade is about 2 - 2.5 ft., but don't quote me.
Some people say the gladius is a thrusting sword, but this is false. It is a double-sided wide-bladed sword that tapers to a point, and so can most definitely be used to slash as well as thrust.
It is not the only sword that the Romans had; they had longer blades for dueling. But the gladius was the principle weapon of the legionaries because it's light weight and could be used easily in tight formation. It's short so that Romans could wear it on the right and still be able to draw it while carrying their shields in their left hand.
And while were at it, the Romans did not believe left-handers were evil, but they harshly disciplined them because in the army, everyone had to fight with their right hand or they'd mess up the formation.
*
Roman battle tactics were flexible, enabling them to handle all types of opponents from pitched battles to guerrillas, but in general the heavy infantry fought like this:
1) Wait for the enemy to attack. They might approach slowly if the enemy showed no sign, but otherwise the Romans let them come first.
2) At about 30 ft., throw pilum. This was far enough so that afterward the legionaries could draw their swords, but close enough so that the javelines would decimate the enemy's front lines.
3) Wait.
4) When the enemy was one step away, the front lines took a step forward and shield bashed them in the face. The momentum alone was usually enough to knock the enemies flat on their backs, but if not a thrust from the gladius would finish them off.
5) Battle in close formation, much like a phalanx, using the gladius to make quick attacks between shields. Romans especially targeted the legs, which are hard to protect even with a shield and contain veins that will bleed an enemy out.
Again, this wasn't always how they fought. Time, terrain and the opponent all had an effect. But in general, it was a highly effective tactic.
***
Incidentally, the gladius was not a Roman invention. In fact, it's Spanish. Well, not actually Spanish, but it was the sword used by the people who lived in Spain when the Romans invaded. The Romans liked the design of the sword so much that they took it for their own.
Rome was one of the largest civilizations on Earth, made so primarily on their military might. Romans were tough, disciplined soldiers with exceptional battle tactics at their disposal. They weren't the only unit, mind: Romans had what they called auxiliaries, consisting of cavalry, archers, scouts, skirmishers, etc.. Nor were they a static unit: as the years passed, the armies developed with better equipment, different organization, etc. So when I say legionaries, mainly I'm talking about the heavy infantry of the Roman Republic, the backbone of the military machine.
The heavy infantry wore an iron helmet and armor: first bronze cuirasses, then later chainmail. They had hobnailed sandals which in themselves could be used as effective weapons, but their real weapons were:
1) The pilum. This was a javelin specially designed to break after being thrown. This way it couldn't be thrown back by the enemy.
2) The shield, which to the Romans was as much a weapon as a piece of defensive gear.
3) The gladius. There's a lot of misconception about this weapon, so let me clear some stuff up. The gladius is most deffinately a sowrd, not a dagger. It's a very short-bladed sword, but long enough so as not to be confused. Looking at mine at a glance, I'd guess it's blade is about 2 - 2.5 ft., but don't quote me.
Some people say the gladius is a thrusting sword, but this is false. It is a double-sided wide-bladed sword that tapers to a point, and so can most definitely be used to slash as well as thrust.
It is not the only sword that the Romans had; they had longer blades for dueling. But the gladius was the principle weapon of the legionaries because it's light weight and could be used easily in tight formation. It's short so that Romans could wear it on the right and still be able to draw it while carrying their shields in their left hand.
And while were at it, the Romans did not believe left-handers were evil, but they harshly disciplined them because in the army, everyone had to fight with their right hand or they'd mess up the formation.
*
Roman battle tactics were flexible, enabling them to handle all types of opponents from pitched battles to guerrillas, but in general the heavy infantry fought like this:
1) Wait for the enemy to attack. They might approach slowly if the enemy showed no sign, but otherwise the Romans let them come first.
2) At about 30 ft., throw pilum. This was far enough so that afterward the legionaries could draw their swords, but close enough so that the javelines would decimate the enemy's front lines.
3) Wait.
4) When the enemy was one step away, the front lines took a step forward and shield bashed them in the face. The momentum alone was usually enough to knock the enemies flat on their backs, but if not a thrust from the gladius would finish them off.
5) Battle in close formation, much like a phalanx, using the gladius to make quick attacks between shields. Romans especially targeted the legs, which are hard to protect even with a shield and contain veins that will bleed an enemy out.
Again, this wasn't always how they fought. Time, terrain and the opponent all had an effect. But in general, it was a highly effective tactic.
***
Incidentally, the gladius was not a Roman invention. In fact, it's Spanish. Well, not actually Spanish, but it was the sword used by the people who lived in Spain when the Romans invaded. The Romans liked the design of the sword so much that they took it for their own.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Bloody Good Time.
Yes, it's 3:30 a.m. :X Insomnia blows.
So, let's talk about Bloody Good Time!
This one just came out a few days ago. And it's gotten very little coverage. It's hard to find any information about it. Because of this, I was wavering about getting it, but it was cheap so I figured, what the hell. Turns out it's pretty damn good.
The game runs on Valve's Source engine, but you wouldn't know it. It feels nothing like Half-life 2 or Team Fortress 2. It's a pretty zany game where the premise is that you're an actor auditioning for a role in a crazy director's slasher movie in which he actually has the actors kill each other.
The gameplay isn't bad. It's a FPS, but actually with not that much S. The characters move slow, making it easy to hit with melee weapons (and there's a lot of them). Ranged weapons have limited uses, melee don't. You can hold 4 weapons and 4 "murder tools" (non-leathal weapons or other devices like the glue gun or lullaby sheep.)
The goal is to get the most stars rather than the most kills. Each round (or in the case of deathmatch, every 5 kills), the point value of the weapons change between 2-5 stars. You also have to be careful about when you make the kill, because if you're caught by a security guard you lose all the points you got since they became alerted and they take your weapon. You can also steal stars and weapons from other players by approaching them from behind, but if you do they can attack you and (in non-deathmatch modes) you can't attack them back (or you can, but you get penalized for killing them), so you have to be careful about how you go about it.
You also have to "maintain" your character. As you move about, your movement speed, attack power and defense power in accordance with your fatigue, hunger and, erm, needing to take a dump. Refilling these is easy enough with various locations on each map to do so, but dangerous. It takes about ten seconds to take care of a need. You can't stop til you're done, and you can be insta-killed during that time. It also makes you an easy target for pickpocketting in the event that the other players don't have the "right" to kill you.
There's a bunch of different game modes besides deathmatch: the hunt (you're assigned 1 target among the players, and one of them is assigned to kill you), revenge (like the hunt only after you're killed your target becomes the person who killed you), elimination (like the hunt only you get a new target after killing yours), kill the person with the highest score, find a trophy and hold onto it for as long as possible, and infected (you either have a disease and try to pass it to the people who don't, or you don't have it and try to stay away from the ones that do). In these modes, if you kill anyone other than your target you lose points (you can defend yourself if attacked first though).
The game modes are what make the game great, and they're all pretty good (aside from Infected, which NOBODY likes).
The weapons... eh... they're good, but it makes you wonder why there's even a life bar when just about everything is a one-hit kill. The katana and axe can kill in one hit with a fully charged swing, the frying pan and bat stun after a hit making it nearly impossible to get away unless someone comes along and attacks your attacker, the knife insta-kills from behind, the assault rifle kills in a few shots, the shotgun insta-kills at close range, the sniper rifle kills in one shot explosives all insta-kill unless you're at the edge of the blast, there's 3 fire weapons that will usually kill you before you can get to water to put them out, the taser keeps you in stunlock until they run out of ammo (and they won't until you're dead unless their strength is VERY low) and the syringe poison usually kill before you can get to a heal point.
Of course, this partially depends on your attack and defense levels, but usually if your enemy's attack is full, you're dead. Only the revolver and rad gun seem to take multiple shots normally. And even then it's only a couple. But it's like that for everyone, so really it works out.
There's also traps that insta-kill and give 5 points to anyone caught in them.
My biggest complaint is the maps: there's only 3 of them. They're fairly big maps, but still it doesn't take long to memorize the layouts. Hopefully they'll release more in the future.
There's also... not that many people playing. There's usually a few full servers (max 8 or 16 people), but most servers beyond the first page will probably be empty.
Finally, there's 8 character skins (or "actors"), which is fine, but people can pick the same one (they sorta have to with larger populations). This means paying attention to people's names and being absolutely sure of who your target is before you open fire, or else you get a penalty. My advice is to use this to your advantage and pick whatever the most popular skin is on the server you play on. If nobody's using a skin, don't pick it or you make yourself an easier target.
Final Verdict: I've been playing it quite a lot recently when I have so many other games I could be playing. It's pretty addicting. With only 3 maps, I can see it getting stale after a while. But for $5.00, I think I've already gotten my money's worth. It's worth a look.
So, let's talk about Bloody Good Time!
This one just came out a few days ago. And it's gotten very little coverage. It's hard to find any information about it. Because of this, I was wavering about getting it, but it was cheap so I figured, what the hell. Turns out it's pretty damn good.
The game runs on Valve's Source engine, but you wouldn't know it. It feels nothing like Half-life 2 or Team Fortress 2. It's a pretty zany game where the premise is that you're an actor auditioning for a role in a crazy director's slasher movie in which he actually has the actors kill each other.
The gameplay isn't bad. It's a FPS, but actually with not that much S. The characters move slow, making it easy to hit with melee weapons (and there's a lot of them). Ranged weapons have limited uses, melee don't. You can hold 4 weapons and 4 "murder tools" (non-leathal weapons or other devices like the glue gun or lullaby sheep.)
The goal is to get the most stars rather than the most kills. Each round (or in the case of deathmatch, every 5 kills), the point value of the weapons change between 2-5 stars. You also have to be careful about when you make the kill, because if you're caught by a security guard you lose all the points you got since they became alerted and they take your weapon. You can also steal stars and weapons from other players by approaching them from behind, but if you do they can attack you and (in non-deathmatch modes) you can't attack them back (or you can, but you get penalized for killing them), so you have to be careful about how you go about it.
You also have to "maintain" your character. As you move about, your movement speed, attack power and defense power in accordance with your fatigue, hunger and, erm, needing to take a dump. Refilling these is easy enough with various locations on each map to do so, but dangerous. It takes about ten seconds to take care of a need. You can't stop til you're done, and you can be insta-killed during that time. It also makes you an easy target for pickpocketting in the event that the other players don't have the "right" to kill you.
There's a bunch of different game modes besides deathmatch: the hunt (you're assigned 1 target among the players, and one of them is assigned to kill you), revenge (like the hunt only after you're killed your target becomes the person who killed you), elimination (like the hunt only you get a new target after killing yours), kill the person with the highest score, find a trophy and hold onto it for as long as possible, and infected (you either have a disease and try to pass it to the people who don't, or you don't have it and try to stay away from the ones that do). In these modes, if you kill anyone other than your target you lose points (you can defend yourself if attacked first though).
The game modes are what make the game great, and they're all pretty good (aside from Infected, which NOBODY likes).
The weapons... eh... they're good, but it makes you wonder why there's even a life bar when just about everything is a one-hit kill. The katana and axe can kill in one hit with a fully charged swing, the frying pan and bat stun after a hit making it nearly impossible to get away unless someone comes along and attacks your attacker, the knife insta-kills from behind, the assault rifle kills in a few shots, the shotgun insta-kills at close range, the sniper rifle kills in one shot explosives all insta-kill unless you're at the edge of the blast, there's 3 fire weapons that will usually kill you before you can get to water to put them out, the taser keeps you in stunlock until they run out of ammo (and they won't until you're dead unless their strength is VERY low) and the syringe poison usually kill before you can get to a heal point.
Of course, this partially depends on your attack and defense levels, but usually if your enemy's attack is full, you're dead. Only the revolver and rad gun seem to take multiple shots normally. And even then it's only a couple. But it's like that for everyone, so really it works out.
There's also traps that insta-kill and give 5 points to anyone caught in them.
My biggest complaint is the maps: there's only 3 of them. They're fairly big maps, but still it doesn't take long to memorize the layouts. Hopefully they'll release more in the future.
There's also... not that many people playing. There's usually a few full servers (max 8 or 16 people), but most servers beyond the first page will probably be empty.
Finally, there's 8 character skins (or "actors"), which is fine, but people can pick the same one (they sorta have to with larger populations). This means paying attention to people's names and being absolutely sure of who your target is before you open fire, or else you get a penalty. My advice is to use this to your advantage and pick whatever the most popular skin is on the server you play on. If nobody's using a skin, don't pick it or you make yourself an easier target.
Final Verdict: I've been playing it quite a lot recently when I have so many other games I could be playing. It's pretty addicting. With only 3 maps, I can see it getting stale after a while. But for $5.00, I think I've already gotten my money's worth. It's worth a look.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Dark Void Zero
Some time ago, Capcom released Dark Void on the PS3/Xbox/PC, a game which I haven't played, but from what I understand is a fairly mediocre third-person shooter which uses a jetpack as its primary gimick. Lesser known is the original game which inspired the third person shooter.
The original arcade Dark Void was never released. It went unfinished and spent time in Capcom's archives until someone went rooting around for ideas for a new IP and rediscovered it. What's also cool is they also decided make an 8-bit version of the game and release it for cheap under the moniker of Dark Void Zero. That's really pretty awesome of them.
Sadly... the game sucks. There are tons of great 8-bit games, but this is not one of them. The graphics are pretty bad even for 8-bit, the music is non-existent save for a few instances of fanfare, and the gameplay's pretty bad.
You play as Rusty, some guy who works with a professor and travels to the maze-like dark dimension fighting dark creatures (which are really just guys with guns and robots). Sometimes you get a jetpack, but it can be lost pretty easily. There's five different guns in the game, but they're all pretty similar. The biggest difference is in the range they go and the damage they do, but they're all pretty much direct-fire weapons, nothing like say, Contra's spread shot.
When you pick up a weapon, it remains where you found it, so you can just go back and get it again if you lose it. Cool, right? Well, it is until you start to realize that the developers deliberately put some weapons in spots you have to pass through. so if you don't want a certain kind of gun, tough. They especially like forcing you to take the default gun. You also need certain types of guns to blast through certain types of barriers.
The enemies are... lame. Why have a different dimension if you're just going to use humanoid gunmen and robots?
Oh, and get used to collecting keycards, because that's pretty much the point every stage: find 3 key cards then get to the boss.. Cool boss fights, though.
In the end... It really doesn't have much going for it. Sure the jetpack is cool, but if you want a similar but much, MUCH better game I'd recommend Taxan's G.I. Joe.
Incidentally, Capcom acquired the rights to Taxan's G.I. Joe game engine after the company went under and made a sequel with the subtitle: The Atlantis Factor. It's not bad but I think the original is better.
The original arcade Dark Void was never released. It went unfinished and spent time in Capcom's archives until someone went rooting around for ideas for a new IP and rediscovered it. What's also cool is they also decided make an 8-bit version of the game and release it for cheap under the moniker of Dark Void Zero. That's really pretty awesome of them.
Sadly... the game sucks. There are tons of great 8-bit games, but this is not one of them. The graphics are pretty bad even for 8-bit, the music is non-existent save for a few instances of fanfare, and the gameplay's pretty bad.
You play as Rusty, some guy who works with a professor and travels to the maze-like dark dimension fighting dark creatures (which are really just guys with guns and robots). Sometimes you get a jetpack, but it can be lost pretty easily. There's five different guns in the game, but they're all pretty similar. The biggest difference is in the range they go and the damage they do, but they're all pretty much direct-fire weapons, nothing like say, Contra's spread shot.
When you pick up a weapon, it remains where you found it, so you can just go back and get it again if you lose it. Cool, right? Well, it is until you start to realize that the developers deliberately put some weapons in spots you have to pass through. so if you don't want a certain kind of gun, tough. They especially like forcing you to take the default gun. You also need certain types of guns to blast through certain types of barriers.
The enemies are... lame. Why have a different dimension if you're just going to use humanoid gunmen and robots?
Oh, and get used to collecting keycards, because that's pretty much the point every stage: find 3 key cards then get to the boss.. Cool boss fights, though.
In the end... It really doesn't have much going for it. Sure the jetpack is cool, but if you want a similar but much, MUCH better game I'd recommend Taxan's G.I. Joe.
Incidentally, Capcom acquired the rights to Taxan's G.I. Joe game engine after the company went under and made a sequel with the subtitle: The Atlantis Factor. It's not bad but I think the original is better.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Blade Kitten
An action platformer apparently based off a webcomic. I haven't read it so all I can tell you about is the game. It's gotten a lot of mixed reviews, and really I couldn't tell you why. It's pretty good.
Not perfect though. Biggest problem is the price: $15 when it first came out for a short, 13 level game. One of the achievements is for beating the game in under 90 minutes, so.
Good things: The gameplay is fun. It controls well, mostly. You can climb most walls, but it can be tricky getting to stick to them. Your weapon is a floating sword that can attack at close or far distance. The art style and setting are great. There's also lot of hidden treasures around, but they don't really do anything besides add money.
Bad things: The aformentioned shortness and price point, for starters. Also, the game's too easy. There's not much variety in enemies and I have yet to run into any bosses, but I'm only through stage 3 so far, so....
Also it's based on a comic, something I didn't know before buying it :P I dunno if reading the comic helps you understand the setting a bit more.
Money is pretty much worthless. You can use it to buy upgrades to your max health or stamina (used for sprinting or ranged attacks), costumes and additional swords. The costumes do nothing but change your appearance, and most of them look pretty dumb. There's only four swords, each with different strengths and weaknesses. Bizarrely, the starting one is probably also the best since it's the most balanced.
The game boasts voice work by professional VAs, none of whom I've heard of. The problem is that the voice work isn't very good :P It's not abysmal, but it's not going to win the first Oscar for video games either.
Overall: Not worth $15. But if the price drops a bit, I'd say it'd be worth a look (it was on sale for $9 on Steam a little while ago). It's also good enough that if there was a sequel, I'd probably get it.
Not perfect though. Biggest problem is the price: $15 when it first came out for a short, 13 level game. One of the achievements is for beating the game in under 90 minutes, so.
Good things: The gameplay is fun. It controls well, mostly. You can climb most walls, but it can be tricky getting to stick to them. Your weapon is a floating sword that can attack at close or far distance. The art style and setting are great. There's also lot of hidden treasures around, but they don't really do anything besides add money.
Bad things: The aformentioned shortness and price point, for starters. Also, the game's too easy. There's not much variety in enemies and I have yet to run into any bosses, but I'm only through stage 3 so far, so....
Also it's based on a comic, something I didn't know before buying it :P I dunno if reading the comic helps you understand the setting a bit more.
Money is pretty much worthless. You can use it to buy upgrades to your max health or stamina (used for sprinting or ranged attacks), costumes and additional swords. The costumes do nothing but change your appearance, and most of them look pretty dumb. There's only four swords, each with different strengths and weaknesses. Bizarrely, the starting one is probably also the best since it's the most balanced.
The game boasts voice work by professional VAs, none of whom I've heard of. The problem is that the voice work isn't very good :P It's not abysmal, but it's not going to win the first Oscar for video games either.
Overall: Not worth $15. But if the price drops a bit, I'd say it'd be worth a look (it was on sale for $9 on Steam a little while ago). It's also good enough that if there was a sequel, I'd probably get it.
#$%^@$%^$ SE
Does SE actually want people to play their online games? I'm inclined to say no, based on how complicated they make their payment processes. I just got a new Credit Card, and registering FFXI and FFXIV for it has been a bitch. F'ing SE.
I swear, there's a goldmine to be had by making a third party payment source that's actually easy to use.
I swear, there's a goldmine to be had by making a third party payment source that's actually easy to use.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Stupid game development decisions
I love Castlevania. The new Castlevania, Lords of Shadow, is actually a pretty good game. Maybe I'll talk about it more in depth when I have more time. But for now, let me just say that not being able to move the camera sucks.
But what really pisses me off? I HATE Quick Time Events. I don't know a single damn person who likes them, so why in the hell developers keep putting them in their games baffles me. Lords of Shadow is especially bad, as often failing just one QTE in a sequence leads to an instant game over. That's so cheap it just pisses me off.
Angry Kauna. D:<
But what really pisses me off? I HATE Quick Time Events. I don't know a single damn person who likes them, so why in the hell developers keep putting them in their games baffles me. Lords of Shadow is especially bad, as often failing just one QTE in a sequence leads to an instant game over. That's so cheap it just pisses me off.
Angry Kauna. D:<
Sunday, October 3, 2010
FFXI, FFXIV and Front Mission Evolved
One thing that surprises me is how few people play both games. You'd think with the discout there would be people who did. But most of my FFXI friends don't want to try FFXIV, and most of the FFXIV people who did play FFXI quit the latter game some time ago. I joined a shell for characters from Odin, but as near as I can tell I'm the only one who actually still plays both games. I've only met 2 other people who play both, also.
Not that I blame them. Keeping up with 2 MMOs costs time and money. Makes sense to focus on one.
Just weird is all.
In other news, Front Mission Evolved is really fun. The story kinda sucks but the gameplay is awesome. Of course, it basically plays like Armored Core... But Armored Core is awesome, so whatev'.
It has more of a story than Armored Core, too. It's not a GOOD story, but at least it's something. And actually it is good, in a way. If you took the tropes from every Mecha anime you've ever seen and put them in a video game, you'd end up with Front Mission Evolved. I guess what I'm trying to say is the story isn't great, but at least it's amusing.
I've been having a blast with the game. Highly recommend it if you like third person shooters or giant robots.
Not that I blame them. Keeping up with 2 MMOs costs time and money. Makes sense to focus on one.
Just weird is all.
In other news, Front Mission Evolved is really fun. The story kinda sucks but the gameplay is awesome. Of course, it basically plays like Armored Core... But Armored Core is awesome, so whatev'.
It has more of a story than Armored Core, too. It's not a GOOD story, but at least it's something. And actually it is good, in a way. If you took the tropes from every Mecha anime you've ever seen and put them in a video game, you'd end up with Front Mission Evolved. I guess what I'm trying to say is the story isn't great, but at least it's amusing.
I've been having a blast with the game. Highly recommend it if you like third person shooters or giant robots.
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