What's this? Another 3-game review? And none of the games had those stupid NOT_REAL_EXE things? Has Christmas come early for you guys or what?
Well, actually, for once, I should be celebrating along with you, because the first game on the list is a refreshing reaffirmation that people know what they're doing over there at DigiPen (a breath of fresh air that I desperately needed after the massacre that was yesterday's batch of games).
The Fourth Wall has it all. I'm going to cut all the fluff and just tell you what especially caught my eye: it conveys its mechanics stellarly. I can almost see Egoraptor with his little notepad checking off each thing the player learns as they play. The player isn't pandered to nor is he (or she) ever left completely clueless. This is the hallmark of successful game design. Now, how about those mechanics? Well conveyed mechanics mean nothing if they're not fun to use. Well, fear not, fellow interwebbers, because the gameplay in The Fourth Wall is fun and unique. It's kind of like Perspective in that it forces you to thing around the typical conventions of platforming and manipulate the (well designed) levels rather than just jump on platforms.
This is definitely one of those games that I stopped playing because I didn't have time, not because I genuinely wanted to stop. There's really not much more to say about it, so if you like to appreciate good game design where you see it, this game is definitely for you. I'll be honest, though, while it is a fun game, don't mistake my praise for an affirmation that you will be at the edge of your seat for the duration of play. It's not that kind of game. It's the kind of game you roll around your palate for a bit before swallowing, if you catch my drift. I, being the seasoned afficionado that I am, have no problem giving this one my seal of approval.
Moving on, The Last Helper was...well, it was interesting, but not in the Braid sense of interesting where you're left pondering the symbolism of the mechanics and the significance of the design. Rather, it's interesting in the "what were they going for here, anyway?" sense of the word. As the game starts up, you're greeted by a (rather oppressively long) loading screen that spits a whole bunch of facts about HIV/AIDS at you. "Huh," I thought. "This probably means either of two things: the game wants to prove that video gaming is a legitimate medium for tackling serious issues, like HIV/AIDS, or that video games can be powerful educational tools." Both of those statements are true, but honestly, The Last Helper isn't exactly the best way to prove them. First off, I may only have an elementary knowledge of Biology, but I'm pretty sure this isn't how helper T cells work. It's totally possible to deliver an educational experience that engages the player and teaches them at the same time using the mechanics, but creating a shooter out of a white blood cell isn't how to do it. Secondly, you can't expect the player to take your message seriously if you juxtapose sobering facts about the tragedies of the modern world with pew pew whoosh kapowey laser madness.
But maybe that's not what they were going for. Maybe they just wanted to create a fun horizontal shoot-em-up in a new and interesting locale. It's possible, although the very in-your-face Missile Command-esque ending makes it seem far less plausible. Regardless, let's play devil's advocate and say the overall goal was fun. The Last Helper, well...just doesn't do anything different. It's ground that's been well trodden a million times before. You fly to the left and shoot everything in your path. Is it constructed well? Yeah, kinda. I mean there are a lot of rookie mistakes, like the shooting sound being way too loud and annoying, but it's nothing you can't get past. The problem is that I had no motivation to actually get past them because the actual gameplay is repetitive and uninteresting. It's not terrible, but I'd say this one has a long way to go.
Finally, Legend of the Steam Yard is a very short but very smooth experience, like a perfectly crafted yet dishearteningly insubstantial chocolate truffle. It's a fast-paced, 3D third person shooter. It foregoes Brute Hardcastle's interesting mechanics in favor of more typical ones, but it completely eradicates the former game's other problems. Your character moves lightning fast and there are enough enemies to keep you on your toes. The biggest problem I had was that the particle effects, while kind of cool looking in a charming "baby's first Blender project" kind of way, make it difficult to tell whether or not you're hitting an enemy at a far distance. Not that it matters, though, considering you're just going to be plowing through and spamming bullets wherever you go regardless of who's dying in front of you. This game stays as long as it takes to explore its mechanics, which is only about 3 minutes. It doesn't overstay its welcome and it doesn't offend, so this game would seem to make a pretty good house guest, but at least the other, rowdier guests had the courtesy to bring some quiche. Steam Yard showed up empty handed, told one amusing anecdote, looked at its watch, said "good lord, this metaphor is tortured" and ran off.
So yeah, we had a pretty good mix today. One great game, one decent game and one "meh." That's all I got for now. Until next time, stay steamy
Links
Hello Audience, Good Bye Tradition: https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=24623
Magic School Bus Gone Wrong: https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=26707
Robot Zappy Funtime: https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=18589
