Welp, I knew this would happen eventually.
I've told you guys before about my preposterous schedule, yet somehow I've always managed to gather enough material in a day for a review for each game I play. This is not the case with Arc Angle. This game is going to take me a few days, if not weeks, to substantially rip through. I'll see if I can update this post unti lit's done, but for now you'll have to deal with a first impressions sort of thing.
First impressions = fantastic. Unique gameplay does honor to the name "project fun." What blows me away even more is that this game only had 3 people working on it. Add onto the fun, frantic gameplay a very wel executed aesthetic and competent sound direction and you've got yourself a winner. This game gets a preliminary gold star.
Unfortunately that's all I have for now. Stay pretty.
Links
this: https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=25985
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Aporkalypse
This review is going to be the antithesis of Aporkalypse in that you will hopefully be able to read through it quickly and without distraction. If you would like an experience more similar to that of Aporkalypse, please copy this blog into a word document, make the font size 72 and the line spacing 3, and every time you read one line, close your eyes and breathe for 5 seconds.
Yes, the main criticism for Aporkalypse is that it's sluggish. Very sluggish. I'd like to say it's just poor optimization and that playing it on a futuristic space computer would fix this problem, but the framerate actually isnt that piss poor and some enemies move quite swiftly. I know the sobriquets "big" and "bad" don't exactly inspire images of zipping around forests at the speed of sound, but I'm supposed to be playing as a wolf, not a snail.
The gameplay mechanics work decently enough. There's not much challenge to the game since every enemy you kill spawns unreasonably generous health pickups, but the dual use of the huff and puff as an attack and platforming aid is interesting enough to hold the player's attention. At least it would be if the game operated at any speed greater than that achieved by using your breath to boil a pot of water.
I've got nothing more to say about this game. As one of the first 3D installments I've played and pretty much the only one to function properly, I suppose it should earn a medal of some sort. The only problem is this: Aporkalypse just wasn't an enjoyable experience for me. One of the reasons I decided to play through the Digipen catalog is that i thought a college for game design would be a hotbed of new ideas and mechanics that the AAA wold has yet to see. Oh well.
Links
Aporkalypse: https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=24652
Oh yeah, there's no save feature either, but honestly after the disappointment of Apoch I don't even care anymore. insert sadface here.
Oh yeah, there's no save feature either, but honestly after the disappointment of Apoch I don't even care anymore. insert sadface here.
Monday, January 7, 2013
Apoch
January 7th, 2013...it is half past the 18th hour as I write this. The physics midyear rises in the distance like the sun behind a mountain range. To gaze upon it now...to see it in its monstrous, omnipotent splendor...to think it was here the whole time...and only now am I beginning to acknowledge its presence...
Earlier today, I stumbled upon a game called Apoch. A simple top down 2D shooter. as the grey, hopeless menu screen enveloped my visage...my very soul...I knew what I had to do. I had limited time and willpower...I have even less now...but still, my path was clear. I had to play this game, and I had to review it for the world to see.
My heart filled with resentful joy, I set out on my journey. The first thing that caught my eye illuminated my soul with such a bright pleasure, I felt like I might survive the night after all. Could it be? After all these games...one after another committing the cardinal sin of game design...I finally saw it. So simplistic in its rectangular shape but so heartwarming in its message. A button...written in it the words "Load Game."
This is it, I thought. I've finally found it. I've finally found a true, honest-to-God save feature in a Digipen game. I fought back the pristine and salty river overflowing in my eyes. The tears would blur my vision, and I wanted to gaze upon the beauty in front of me without obstruction.
Reluctantly I pulled my cursor away from the "Load Game" button. This was the first time I had played this game, so there was nowhere to start but "New Game."
Once I clicked the mouse button I began my journey through the maze-like level, mowing down the undead sprites that stood in my way. I couldn't tell what the .png monsters represented...it looked to all the world like one of them was pissing crystalized shards of urine at me, but I didn't care. I had the freedom to quit the game and come back to it...that was all I could ask for. How naive of me...
I didn't even care that the movement speed was something akin to a turtle in a tar pit and that since the goal of the game is to exterminate all the monsters in a level, missing one early on would have me slowly trekking back to the beginning of the stage to pop some lead in my targets.
I didn't care that the game has some kind of deep-seated phobia that the player will run out of ammo such that bullet cases are haphazardly strewn about the labyrinths so frequently that any strategy other than emitting a stream of hot metal from both barrels is inefficient, negating any challenge the game might have had as well as rendering the tertiary bullet system obsolete.
I enjoyed the terribly designed game for a while before hitting the quicksave button and exiting. It was nary half an hour later that I decided to boot it up again, once more gazing upon the glory of the save feature. I clicked the "Load Game" button...then it happened.
A white box appeared before me, delivering a message that drilled into my very being, making me sick to my stomach. "Apoch.exe has stopped working" it read. Before my very eyes, the window that held the game retreated into the unreachable depths of my start menu. It was gone...the hope I had in the future of game design...in humanity...escaped me.
It is now approaching the 19th hour...my future looks dim.
Links
https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=26136
Earlier today, I stumbled upon a game called Apoch. A simple top down 2D shooter. as the grey, hopeless menu screen enveloped my visage...my very soul...I knew what I had to do. I had limited time and willpower...I have even less now...but still, my path was clear. I had to play this game, and I had to review it for the world to see.
My heart filled with resentful joy, I set out on my journey. The first thing that caught my eye illuminated my soul with such a bright pleasure, I felt like I might survive the night after all. Could it be? After all these games...one after another committing the cardinal sin of game design...I finally saw it. So simplistic in its rectangular shape but so heartwarming in its message. A button...written in it the words "Load Game."
This is it, I thought. I've finally found it. I've finally found a true, honest-to-God save feature in a Digipen game. I fought back the pristine and salty river overflowing in my eyes. The tears would blur my vision, and I wanted to gaze upon the beauty in front of me without obstruction.
Reluctantly I pulled my cursor away from the "Load Game" button. This was the first time I had played this game, so there was nowhere to start but "New Game."
Once I clicked the mouse button I began my journey through the maze-like level, mowing down the undead sprites that stood in my way. I couldn't tell what the .png monsters represented...it looked to all the world like one of them was pissing crystalized shards of urine at me, but I didn't care. I had the freedom to quit the game and come back to it...that was all I could ask for. How naive of me...
I didn't even care that the movement speed was something akin to a turtle in a tar pit and that since the goal of the game is to exterminate all the monsters in a level, missing one early on would have me slowly trekking back to the beginning of the stage to pop some lead in my targets.
I didn't care that the game has some kind of deep-seated phobia that the player will run out of ammo such that bullet cases are haphazardly strewn about the labyrinths so frequently that any strategy other than emitting a stream of hot metal from both barrels is inefficient, negating any challenge the game might have had as well as rendering the tertiary bullet system obsolete.
I enjoyed the terribly designed game for a while before hitting the quicksave button and exiting. It was nary half an hour later that I decided to boot it up again, once more gazing upon the glory of the save feature. I clicked the "Load Game" button...then it happened.
A white box appeared before me, delivering a message that drilled into my very being, making me sick to my stomach. "Apoch.exe has stopped working" it read. Before my very eyes, the window that held the game retreated into the unreachable depths of my start menu. It was gone...the hope I had in the future of game design...in humanity...escaped me.
It is now approaching the 19th hour...my future looks dim.
Links
https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=26136
Aphotic Ascent
Well, I suppose can thank this game's title for making me think for a fleeting moment that 9th Grade Ecology actually wasn't pointless.
Unfortunately, that's about all I can thank this game for. It's not a fundamentally broken game like A Series of Tubes or AEther, but rather it's a functional string of design flaws, one after another.
The most obvious of which is that this game literally requires a mouse to play. See, I play all my games on a laptop, so if I didn't happen to have a mouse on me, I'd be SOL. Wouldn't one of the primary purposes of having a free Game Library be to make your projects accessible to all who wish to experience them?
The controls are floaty as root beer on the Fourth of July. Sometimes the jump carries the character no higher than a few feet and other times he rockets into orbit at the slightest touch of the "space" key. The inertia is way too high, making you feel like this dark, ostensibly rocky terrain is actually an ice rink that's been covered in oil.
The graphical style is fine. In fact it looks like something you'd by in the indie section of Steam or the XBLA (which might not sound like a compliment but when its competition is Animalien it's like a gold medal).
The music is very atmospheric and immersive but quickly becomes annoying, probably because it's accompanied by what I'm about to mention next.
And of course, we get to the biggest design flaw of all. I wonder if I'm boring people at this point (if I had an audience to bore, that is...har har). Yes, it's that old game design favorite of mine...everyone sing along...
There's no. Damn. Save. Feature.
You know what? I can accept that in a game like Animalien because that game is more about the challenge and mastery of the controls, so you can use the argument that it's supposed to be a gauntlet to be conquered in one go...kinda like Contra or any of those other old arcadey titles. Aphotic Ascent on the other hand seems to build itself around the story with it's Limbo-esque graphical style and "slow revelation" narrative format. It is simply impossible to be immersed in a story if you have to start from the beginning every time you put it down. Anyone remember that one scene in The Catcher in the Rye where Holden has to keep reading the same sentence over and over because his douchenugget friend keeps distracting him? Well, the lack of a save feature is basically the equivalent of that friend.
Maybe this game is short enough to justify the whole "one go" mentality but the length of a game has to take back seat to the overall feel. Even if the game is only 15 minutes long, the irresponsible level design makes it frustrating; and nobody wants to put up with a frustrating game. When I fall down 500 stories, watching helplessly as my progress unfolds around me, I want the security of knowing I can ragequit and return to it later.
Alright, I think I'm all out of rage for now. Tune in next time and keep your hands off my cookies.
Links
not Limbo: https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=25899
Unfortunately, that's about all I can thank this game for. It's not a fundamentally broken game like A Series of Tubes or AEther, but rather it's a functional string of design flaws, one after another.
The most obvious of which is that this game literally requires a mouse to play. See, I play all my games on a laptop, so if I didn't happen to have a mouse on me, I'd be SOL. Wouldn't one of the primary purposes of having a free Game Library be to make your projects accessible to all who wish to experience them?
The controls are floaty as root beer on the Fourth of July. Sometimes the jump carries the character no higher than a few feet and other times he rockets into orbit at the slightest touch of the "space" key. The inertia is way too high, making you feel like this dark, ostensibly rocky terrain is actually an ice rink that's been covered in oil.
The graphical style is fine. In fact it looks like something you'd by in the indie section of Steam or the XBLA (which might not sound like a compliment but when its competition is Animalien it's like a gold medal).
The music is very atmospheric and immersive but quickly becomes annoying, probably because it's accompanied by what I'm about to mention next.
And of course, we get to the biggest design flaw of all. I wonder if I'm boring people at this point (if I had an audience to bore, that is...har har). Yes, it's that old game design favorite of mine...everyone sing along...
There's no. Damn. Save. Feature.
You know what? I can accept that in a game like Animalien because that game is more about the challenge and mastery of the controls, so you can use the argument that it's supposed to be a gauntlet to be conquered in one go...kinda like Contra or any of those other old arcadey titles. Aphotic Ascent on the other hand seems to build itself around the story with it's Limbo-esque graphical style and "slow revelation" narrative format. It is simply impossible to be immersed in a story if you have to start from the beginning every time you put it down. Anyone remember that one scene in The Catcher in the Rye where Holden has to keep reading the same sentence over and over because his douchenugget friend keeps distracting him? Well, the lack of a save feature is basically the equivalent of that friend.
Maybe this game is short enough to justify the whole "one go" mentality but the length of a game has to take back seat to the overall feel. Even if the game is only 15 minutes long, the irresponsible level design makes it frustrating; and nobody wants to put up with a frustrating game. When I fall down 500 stories, watching helplessly as my progress unfolds around me, I want the security of knowing I can ragequit and return to it later.
Alright, I think I'm all out of rage for now. Tune in next time and keep your hands off my cookies.
Links
not Limbo: https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=25899
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Animalien
Ooh, look! Wordplay! I like this game already. The installer was also kind enough to remind me that I am in fact playing the GOLD version of this game. Fancy shmancy.
This 2D platformer was made back in the 2004-2005 academic year, which may explain some rather egregious technical issues such as the game closing every time I alt+tab out to write something about it.
The Sophomores who made this game were clearly paying attention during their classes on conveyance, because once again this game pulls off the ol' difficulty curve quite nicely. The game starts simple enough by plopping you into a simplistic world of animals and aliens with the simple objective of going right. Finally, a game didn't feel the need to explain anything to me with anything other than its mechanics. I was on my own to figure out the controls and you know what? I like it that way. I didn't figure out how to shoot until I was halfway through the first level and that's a good thing because not knowing how to shoot forced me to explore alternate methods of dispatching my enemies. Before long you're merrily gliding through the game pressing buttons you didn't even know existed. Keep in mind that nary a tutorial was ever given to achieve this sense of flow, and the game is better off for it. And yes, I know there's an options screen that displays the functions of all the buttons on the menu screen, but nobody forces you to click on that and it's nice to have the option to remap your controls.
The graphics are as good as one can expect from sprites drawn in what I assume to be a primitive version of MS Paint. Once again, they are hardly a selling point.
The sound is fine, but heaven have mercy on the poor soul who doesn't immediately go to the options menu and turn the SFX volume down.
I assume the multiplayer works well. I say assume because I'm a bit of a shut-in this weekend and didn't get a chance to check it out. Let's just call this section of the review an I.O.U.
and now for the bad bits...
Once again, this game has no save feature. I'm just as angry about it as I was with previous titles, but I'm kind of growing to accept it. What makes matters even worse is that this game closes the second you alt+tab away from it, as I mentioned earlier. I didn't get the chance to complete the whole game because of this, so for all I know, something could happen later in the game that completely negates everything I've said so far.
In addition, the game can get very monotonous at times, especially during the first boss segment and the parts immediately thereafter.
Oh well, it's still an amusing little sidescroller despite its many design flaws and I'm glad to have it on my hard drive. It will be a useful tool during a debate tournament or something when a buddy and I will have nothing to do for half an hour.
That's all for now, folks. Insert witty sign off here. (damn, I was saving that one for a rainy day.)
Links
meh: https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=478
This 2D platformer was made back in the 2004-2005 academic year, which may explain some rather egregious technical issues such as the game closing every time I alt+tab out to write something about it.
The Sophomores who made this game were clearly paying attention during their classes on conveyance, because once again this game pulls off the ol' difficulty curve quite nicely. The game starts simple enough by plopping you into a simplistic world of animals and aliens with the simple objective of going right. Finally, a game didn't feel the need to explain anything to me with anything other than its mechanics. I was on my own to figure out the controls and you know what? I like it that way. I didn't figure out how to shoot until I was halfway through the first level and that's a good thing because not knowing how to shoot forced me to explore alternate methods of dispatching my enemies. Before long you're merrily gliding through the game pressing buttons you didn't even know existed. Keep in mind that nary a tutorial was ever given to achieve this sense of flow, and the game is better off for it. And yes, I know there's an options screen that displays the functions of all the buttons on the menu screen, but nobody forces you to click on that and it's nice to have the option to remap your controls.
The graphics are as good as one can expect from sprites drawn in what I assume to be a primitive version of MS Paint. Once again, they are hardly a selling point.
The sound is fine, but heaven have mercy on the poor soul who doesn't immediately go to the options menu and turn the SFX volume down.
I assume the multiplayer works well. I say assume because I'm a bit of a shut-in this weekend and didn't get a chance to check it out. Let's just call this section of the review an I.O.U.
and now for the bad bits...
Once again, this game has no save feature. I'm just as angry about it as I was with previous titles, but I'm kind of growing to accept it. What makes matters even worse is that this game closes the second you alt+tab away from it, as I mentioned earlier. I didn't get the chance to complete the whole game because of this, so for all I know, something could happen later in the game that completely negates everything I've said so far.
In addition, the game can get very monotonous at times, especially during the first boss segment and the parts immediately thereafter.
Oh well, it's still an amusing little sidescroller despite its many design flaws and I'm glad to have it on my hard drive. It will be a useful tool during a debate tournament or something when a buddy and I will have nothing to do for half an hour.
That's all for now, folks. Insert witty sign off here. (damn, I was saving that one for a rainy day.)
Links
meh: https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=478
Ancient Forest and Grumpy Monsters
*sigh* I knew this day would come. The day where I have to sacrifice my already minimal credibility as a reviewer and admit that there are just certain genres that I don't care for. One of those genres is strategy, in particular, tower defense.
My prejudices aside, Ancient Forest and Grumpy Monsters is a very functional tower defense game. The first level is very simple, allowing the player to figure out the functions of the game (although I would have preferred if I wasn't told exactly what to do by giant text screens that aren't even grammatically sound interrupting the flow of the game every five minutes). Each of the 19 levels introduces something new, creating a nice difficulty curve. I feel like I'd really like this game if it wasn't a genre that I didn't particularly like. Oh well.
Alright, that's all I got for this one. Sorry for the anemic post today but hey, that means less reading for you internet trolls and more time looking up videos of cats jumping from high places.
Until next time. Stay beautiful.
links
this: https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=25873
My prejudices aside, Ancient Forest and Grumpy Monsters is a very functional tower defense game. The first level is very simple, allowing the player to figure out the functions of the game (although I would have preferred if I wasn't told exactly what to do by giant text screens that aren't even grammatically sound interrupting the flow of the game every five minutes). Each of the 19 levels introduces something new, creating a nice difficulty curve. I feel like I'd really like this game if it wasn't a genre that I didn't particularly like. Oh well.
Alright, that's all I got for this one. Sorry for the anemic post today but hey, that means less reading for you internet trolls and more time looking up videos of cats jumping from high places.
Until next time. Stay beautiful.
links
this: https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=25873
Saturday, January 5, 2013
Amoeba Evolution
Unfortunately it's going to be a short review today. Like really short. It's been a long (but fun) day, and I've got many other things to attend to. There's not much to say about Amoeba Evolution anyway. It's a top-down 2D shooter where you shoot things that aren't like you.
You are a red circle being shot at by triangles and other shapes of varying hues. The controls are solid and the game feel is wonderful, providing a fun, challenging and somewhat hectic experience for all involved.
All involved...interesting choice of words, you may say, because it implies that more than one person can be involved at this game. Wait...can it be...it can! This game has multiplayer support! *angelic chorus sings*
In fact, one of the only reasons this review is coming out so late is because I wanted to test that multiplayer support with a friend, but unfortunately my schedule didn't allow for that today. Oh well. If I find the time and willpower to edit this document in the future, I'll fill you all in as to how the multiplayer works.
Alright, since I'm quickly running out of motivation to keep writing this review, it's time for a lightning round.
graphics - appealing but nothing even close to a selling point. Nothing to see here
sound - no music, which is fine, and the sound effects are all generated by some dude's mouth, which is funny to listen to and has a kind of organic charm to it.
gameplay/feel - fast-paced, hectic (in a good way) and most importantly, fun. This game probably stimulated my fun gland more than any other on this list so far. Caveat: that does not make it the best game in my opinion. Amaia still takes that prize for now.
mechanics - the powerups are the icing on the cake, only in this case the cake is made out of unflavored bread and the icing is made from rainbows and the laughter of children. Without them, the game would be a monotonous shoot-em up. With them, however, the player is forced to calculate several variables at once, making for a very stimulating experience. It probably has the best powerup system I've ever seen in any game I've played. Ever. I know that's a bold statement, but being able to use powerups as bombs while trying to make a perfect combination of 3 powerups, which is all your inventory can hold, is a simple detail which makes the game exponentially more fun to play. And that's really the best way to describe this game. Straight up fun.
Hmm, guess this review turned out longer than I thought. *shrugs* I might have to take a break tomorrow and/or the next day due to my physics midyear which is coming up, leaving me with very little game time. Don't fret, though. There are still 360 days left in the year. I have every intention of finishing this project.
That's all for now, folks. Until next time, stay shiny and hey, I like the way you did your hair today. It frames your face really well.
links
the smiles device: https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=1419
You are a red circle being shot at by triangles and other shapes of varying hues. The controls are solid and the game feel is wonderful, providing a fun, challenging and somewhat hectic experience for all involved.
All involved...interesting choice of words, you may say, because it implies that more than one person can be involved at this game. Wait...can it be...it can! This game has multiplayer support! *angelic chorus sings*
In fact, one of the only reasons this review is coming out so late is because I wanted to test that multiplayer support with a friend, but unfortunately my schedule didn't allow for that today. Oh well. If I find the time and willpower to edit this document in the future, I'll fill you all in as to how the multiplayer works.
Alright, since I'm quickly running out of motivation to keep writing this review, it's time for a lightning round.
graphics - appealing but nothing even close to a selling point. Nothing to see here
sound - no music, which is fine, and the sound effects are all generated by some dude's mouth, which is funny to listen to and has a kind of organic charm to it.
gameplay/feel - fast-paced, hectic (in a good way) and most importantly, fun. This game probably stimulated my fun gland more than any other on this list so far. Caveat: that does not make it the best game in my opinion. Amaia still takes that prize for now.
mechanics - the powerups are the icing on the cake, only in this case the cake is made out of unflavored bread and the icing is made from rainbows and the laughter of children. Without them, the game would be a monotonous shoot-em up. With them, however, the player is forced to calculate several variables at once, making for a very stimulating experience. It probably has the best powerup system I've ever seen in any game I've played. Ever. I know that's a bold statement, but being able to use powerups as bombs while trying to make a perfect combination of 3 powerups, which is all your inventory can hold, is a simple detail which makes the game exponentially more fun to play. And that's really the best way to describe this game. Straight up fun.
Hmm, guess this review turned out longer than I thought. *shrugs* I might have to take a break tomorrow and/or the next day due to my physics midyear which is coming up, leaving me with very little game time. Don't fret, though. There are still 360 days left in the year. I have every intention of finishing this project.
That's all for now, folks. Until next time, stay shiny and hey, I like the way you did your hair today. It frames your face really well.
links
the smiles device: https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=1419
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)