oh, my head...
First off, this game can't even get its own title right. On the game's webpage, it says "Cease Fire 2021," but when you download it, the file is called "CeaseFire2010." Let this set the mood of inconsistency and confusion that characterize this game as a whole.
I wasn't being sarcastic earlier. This game actually gave me a headache (though that may also be from rolling down a hill head-first during a sledding trip earlier today). I had to play without sound, because the gunfire sound effects overlap upon each other, amplifying them to the point of being agonizing.
The real problem, though, is the gameplay. Oh God, the gameplay. You cac pick among a variety of classes, which should make for good team-based combat. The problem is that each class is unbelievably frustrating to use. The control is off the walls! It's hard to explain, but the targeting reticle is always relative to the front of your vehicle, meaning moving the mouse one direction will yield any one of 360 results, depending on where you're facing. Trying to control something this batty while moving at speeds that are either way too fast or way too slow makes for one frustrating experience.
Honestly, though, I like that this game exists. It has much more of a right to be here than games like Cat Nap, which, in my opinion, teaches us nothing about game design. Cease Fire Whenever, on the other hand, is a brilliant example of how to make every single aspect of a team-based shooter frustrating. Think of it as a sort of how-to-not guide on how not to program a game. I think a game developer would do well to play this game in order to learn what makes games frustrating. This knowledge may end up improving the medium as a whole.
Obviously, this game is far from getting my seal of approval. However, I'm glad I experienced it. Give it a shot to see how frustrating a game can truly be.
Links
https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=510
Saturday, February 9, 2013
Catalyst
Alrighty then, let's get this show on the road.
The first thing I'd like to say about Catalyst is that the description gave me high hopes. As I've said before, scrolling shooters are my personal favorite genre of video game. They have a very simple formula that equates to mountains of fun. It seems the perfect kind of game to be handled by the folks at DigiPen, because its simplicity also leaves a lot of room for creativity.
The main gimmick this time around is that before you start the game, you pick 4 out of 16 weapons to use. Those weapons correspond to the E,S,D and F keys, depending on the order in which you chose them. As a gameplay mechanic, this is pure genius in my opinion.
I feel it necessary to mention Starfox 64 again, which, if you'll recall, is my 2nd favorite game of all time. The main reason I love that game so much is that due to the multiple branching paths you can take to reach your objectives not only within the levels but in the game as a whole, every time you pop that game in, you'll be greeted by a new experience that's familiar enough to avoid that nervous feeling you get when trying out a new IP.
That said, the mechanic that lets you pick 4 weapons going into a level would be the icing on the cake for a game like Starfox 64. It would add that much more depth to each of the levels, and each playthrough would leave you thinking "what if I'd used that weapon on that level?" If executed correctly, this mechanic might make a good game amazing. In Catalyst, it makes a playable game amusing.
The main gripe I have with the game is that it's horribly balanced, and I mean horribly balanced. Some weapons are literally useless. The strangest of all turns you into what looks like the skeletal remains of a trout with a gaseous brown field surrounding you. I haven't found a single way to hurt the enemies with this thing, making it a "pick this and the game laughs at you" kind of weapon.
On the other side of the same coin is what I like to call the "doomsday ship." This weapon leaves a trail of anti-matter (or something) wherever you fly. If the trail makes a closed shape (see? 1st grade math terminology pays off), the space that shape occupies becomes a black hole, killing anything caught inside it. Use this, and it's pretty much impossible to die unless you want to.
Other than that, the graphics are nice, the character design makes me smile, the music does a great job of keeping the player engaged, and there are a good enough variety of weapons that actually do something to keep the game fun. This is one of those games that I would really like to see expanded upon. If this mechanic is designed well and implemented into a scrolling shooter with more than one setting and an actual plot, I would be the first one in line to buy it.
Until next time, stay inventive
Links
hopefully a CATALYST for change...heh: https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=524
P.S the people who worked on this game didn't give each other titles, which reminds me of the way Valve makes games. Maybe take a hint, business people, this no-system system works.
The first thing I'd like to say about Catalyst is that the description gave me high hopes. As I've said before, scrolling shooters are my personal favorite genre of video game. They have a very simple formula that equates to mountains of fun. It seems the perfect kind of game to be handled by the folks at DigiPen, because its simplicity also leaves a lot of room for creativity.
The main gimmick this time around is that before you start the game, you pick 4 out of 16 weapons to use. Those weapons correspond to the E,S,D and F keys, depending on the order in which you chose them. As a gameplay mechanic, this is pure genius in my opinion.
I feel it necessary to mention Starfox 64 again, which, if you'll recall, is my 2nd favorite game of all time. The main reason I love that game so much is that due to the multiple branching paths you can take to reach your objectives not only within the levels but in the game as a whole, every time you pop that game in, you'll be greeted by a new experience that's familiar enough to avoid that nervous feeling you get when trying out a new IP.
That said, the mechanic that lets you pick 4 weapons going into a level would be the icing on the cake for a game like Starfox 64. It would add that much more depth to each of the levels, and each playthrough would leave you thinking "what if I'd used that weapon on that level?" If executed correctly, this mechanic might make a good game amazing. In Catalyst, it makes a playable game amusing.
The main gripe I have with the game is that it's horribly balanced, and I mean horribly balanced. Some weapons are literally useless. The strangest of all turns you into what looks like the skeletal remains of a trout with a gaseous brown field surrounding you. I haven't found a single way to hurt the enemies with this thing, making it a "pick this and the game laughs at you" kind of weapon.
On the other side of the same coin is what I like to call the "doomsday ship." This weapon leaves a trail of anti-matter (or something) wherever you fly. If the trail makes a closed shape (see? 1st grade math terminology pays off), the space that shape occupies becomes a black hole, killing anything caught inside it. Use this, and it's pretty much impossible to die unless you want to.
Other than that, the graphics are nice, the character design makes me smile, the music does a great job of keeping the player engaged, and there are a good enough variety of weapons that actually do something to keep the game fun. This is one of those games that I would really like to see expanded upon. If this mechanic is designed well and implemented into a scrolling shooter with more than one setting and an actual plot, I would be the first one in line to buy it.
Until next time, stay inventive
Links
hopefully a CATALYST for change...heh: https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=524
P.S the people who worked on this game didn't give each other titles, which reminds me of the way Valve makes games. Maybe take a hint, business people, this no-system system works.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)