so I'm not posting a review today cuz I just got home and I'm not feeling up to writing, but the game for today has been played, and I'll try and get as much done tomorrow as I can, since Sunday is pretty much shot (comic con, biznatches! woohooo!).
Also, I realize my posting has been a little spastic lately. I don't know why, but I've been forgetting to click the little "publish" button a lot lately...I hope I didn't confuse anyone.
Welp, see ya tomorra
Friday, October 11, 2013
Tag
As I said yesterday, my day isn't exactly conducive to writing a video game review today, but I'll try.
Tag is everything I look for in a game. It's fun, creative, interesting and unique. The long and short of it is, you must navigate your way around a city using nothing but a spray paint gun. Standing on different colors of paint yields different effects: red makes you go faster, green springs you into the air, etc.
A man more cynical than I might criticize this game for trying too hard to be Portal. After all, creating a fun and functional 3D platformer wherein your primary method of locomotion is a handheld device that you point at the walls to propel yourself to and from platforms is a very powerful bolt of lightning that might not seem like it can strike twice. When all is said and done, though, Tag, with a bit more professional polish, a narrative, and some decent jokes strewn about here and there might actually give Portal a run for its money. Now, I was never quite as big a Portal fan as some of the other more famous video game critics out there (*cough* Yahtzee *cough*), but still, if your game can be compared to Portal, you're on the right track.
Tag, of course, isn't perfect, though. The biggest problem I faced was that any errant tap of a WASD key might send you flying off an edge you didn't know was there and down to your doom. Portal was kind enough to take place in a relatively closed and cramped laboratory, meaning launching yourself a tad too far or backpedaling a bit too much, more often than not, only sent you flying into a wall. In other words, when you died in Portal, it always felt like it was your fault. Tag is just a bit too comfortable snuggling up to cheap deaths.
Other than that, though, it's a fantastic game that I wish I had more time to play, and it definitely gets my seal of approval. As it stands, though, I've got to write an Art History essay and study for a Psychology test, so that's all I got for now. Until next time, stay vandalous.
Links
Teg, yur eet: https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=1506
Tag is everything I look for in a game. It's fun, creative, interesting and unique. The long and short of it is, you must navigate your way around a city using nothing but a spray paint gun. Standing on different colors of paint yields different effects: red makes you go faster, green springs you into the air, etc.
A man more cynical than I might criticize this game for trying too hard to be Portal. After all, creating a fun and functional 3D platformer wherein your primary method of locomotion is a handheld device that you point at the walls to propel yourself to and from platforms is a very powerful bolt of lightning that might not seem like it can strike twice. When all is said and done, though, Tag, with a bit more professional polish, a narrative, and some decent jokes strewn about here and there might actually give Portal a run for its money. Now, I was never quite as big a Portal fan as some of the other more famous video game critics out there (*cough* Yahtzee *cough*), but still, if your game can be compared to Portal, you're on the right track.
Tag, of course, isn't perfect, though. The biggest problem I faced was that any errant tap of a WASD key might send you flying off an edge you didn't know was there and down to your doom. Portal was kind enough to take place in a relatively closed and cramped laboratory, meaning launching yourself a tad too far or backpedaling a bit too much, more often than not, only sent you flying into a wall. In other words, when you died in Portal, it always felt like it was your fault. Tag is just a bit too comfortable snuggling up to cheap deaths.
Other than that, though, it's a fantastic game that I wish I had more time to play, and it definitely gets my seal of approval. As it stands, though, I've got to write an Art History essay and study for a Psychology test, so that's all I got for now. Until next time, stay vandalous.
Links
Teg, yur eet: https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=1506
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
T.O.D.A.Y
Well, if there's ever been a description that's gotten my psyched to play a game, it's this one. It must have taken a really long time to create a game that exists in dimensions human beings can't even perceive! Yes, that's right, this game markets itself as "four-dimensional," which of course is game jargon for some kind of gimmick that I'm not familiar with. Regardless, I was stoked to boot this one up, but then...
dun dun...dun dun...
NOT_REAL.exe
dun dun...dun dun...
NOT_REAL.exe
Why is it that all of the most interesting sounding games are completely unobtainable? Hot damn, I tried everything to find a working copy of this game, but I'm convinced that such a thing does not exist. I even googled Logan Starkenburg, one of the creators of this game, to find a personal webpage that he may have hosted a mirror on, like what happened with Crazy Cross, but all I found was the IMDB page for an extra from Terminator: Salvation. Could they be the same person? Who knows...regardless, I'm getting real sick of this false advertising, Digipen!
nope
So I was going to blog today, but then I got gang raped by school work. It happens.
I might not be able to blog tomorrow either. The weekend's not looking too bright, either, but I'll get content out.
And then there's next week...
help.
I might not be able to blog tomorrow either. The weekend's not looking too bright, either, but I'll get content out.
And then there's next week...
help.
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
Tad Studbody
Tad Studbody and the Robot Rampage is a game wherein you beat the crap out of robots.
G'night everybody!
...
Alright, fine, I'll do a real review. Upon starting the game up, I was impressed by how responsive the menu screen was. I use this phrase a lot, but it looks like it could have been professionally made. Do keep in mind, though, I'm not talking about Atlus professional...more like THQ and Nickelodeon Games professional...
What I mean by that is that Tad Studbody's quality as a game, in my opinion, is not very high. Its quality as a toy, however, is incredibly high. I encourage you all to look up what others have said on the "games vs toys" issue, it's actually a very interesting subject, but for now, I'll give you the abridged version in the context of Tad Studbody.
Like toys tend to do, Tad Studbody dispenses fun like Spiderman's neck dispenses candy. What it doesn't deliver, however, is engagement. Usually, when I stop playing a game after 15 minutes, it's because the game frustrated me in some way and I want to get back to playing [insert late-90s classic title or later iteration thereof here]. I stopped playing Tad Studbody, however, because it got repetitive and boring really fast.
A true "game" would never leave me mindlessly approaching enemy robots and bashing them over the head a couple times to progress to the next area where I bash robots over the head a couple times. It would constantly challenge me to think about what I've learned so far and apply the lessons to the situation at hand.
"Oh," but you may say, "that's just the nature of the beast. Beat 'em ups are fun but repetitive. They offer a chance for you to zone out and kill stuff for a while; sweet catharsis." Well, that may be true, but what about a game like Starfox 64? That game epitomizes catharsis better than any other game I know, but it's not just a conga line of Androssian ships waiting to be kersploded. The enemy placement and level design force me to implement strategies. That classic phrase "do a barrel roll" wasn't just in the game because it sounded funny. It was there to remind you that you had a means to deal with a specific challenge and now was the time to implement that means.
Tad Studbody doesn't do that. It just throws a bunch of robots at you and watches contently as you break them. The controls aren't designed around strategy, they're designed around repetition. But hey, if that's all you want, then go nuts.
That's all I got for now. Until next time, stay theoretical
Links
you get a punch, you get a punch, everyone here gets punchessssss: https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=8729
Sunday, October 6, 2013
Synchro
Synchro is a turn based, top-down thingymabobber where you play as a scientist on the run from homicidal autonomous robots. As you progress through the levels, you will find various "augments," which ostensibly do things, and weapons, which all achieve the same end of "kill the thing you point at" but with different visual effects.
Apparently, this game is paying homage to Rogue, which I've never played, but I guess that game had pretty crappy visuals, because that's the only excuse this game has. I mean come on, you didn't have to animate anything, you could at least make the sprites look decent; this isn't some super early game, either, it was made in the 2011-2012 academic year. But oh well, a homage is a homage, I suppose. What really matters is the gameplay.
And the gameplay is booooorrrriiinnngggggg.
Look, maybe I shouldn't be too harsh to a project I couldn't emulate if I tried, but nothing happens! Occasionally you'll run into a robot and think "ooh, now I get to point at it and hear a sound effect of metal being crushed. Yay me!" That's the extent of the excitement this game can dole out.
And honestly, I wouldn't be so bitter if the game were at least straightforward, but there are so many dead ends and intertwining paths that navigating the world is just plain tedious.
But hey, if you played Rogue and liked it, then go nuts. You'll be able to critique this game it better than I was. That's all I got for now. Until next time, stay robotic
Links
walking, walking, still walking, robot, walking: https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=26147
Apparently, this game is paying homage to Rogue, which I've never played, but I guess that game had pretty crappy visuals, because that's the only excuse this game has. I mean come on, you didn't have to animate anything, you could at least make the sprites look decent; this isn't some super early game, either, it was made in the 2011-2012 academic year. But oh well, a homage is a homage, I suppose. What really matters is the gameplay.
And the gameplay is booooorrrriiinnngggggg.
Look, maybe I shouldn't be too harsh to a project I couldn't emulate if I tried, but nothing happens! Occasionally you'll run into a robot and think "ooh, now I get to point at it and hear a sound effect of metal being crushed. Yay me!" That's the extent of the excitement this game can dole out.
And honestly, I wouldn't be so bitter if the game were at least straightforward, but there are so many dead ends and intertwining paths that navigating the world is just plain tedious.
But hey, if you played Rogue and liked it, then go nuts. You'll be able to critique this game it better than I was. That's all I got for now. Until next time, stay robotic
Links
walking, walking, still walking, robot, walking: https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=26147
Saturday, October 5, 2013
Swarm and Synaesthete
Father forgive me for I have sinned; I didn't post yesterday and I only started writing at 10:49pm today. Blah blah blah, you guys know the spiel by now. My schedule is unpredictable. To make it up for you, I played 2 games today.
First up is Swarm, a game wherein you are the Hivelord, a badass looking albeit very vulnerable fishlike creature who has the ability to transform plankton into soldiers of war. There are (I'm assuming), three different kinds of soldiers you can transform the plankton into, but I only played far enough to unlock two before I got frustrated.
Swarm isn't a bad game, it's just not quite my cup of tea. See, I like games that give you freedom to choose your own strategy. I like a game to challenge both my mind and my reflexes. That's why I'm such a Deus Ex nerd; to me, anything that deviates from that formula is a mistake (I know how closed off that sounds, but it's my mind and it does what it wants).
what bothers me about Swarm isn't so much the fact that it doesn't let you choose your strategy, more so the potential it exhibits, yet forgoes, to do so. Why not let me solely utilize the heavy-hitting ravagers to dispatch enemies quickly at the expense of forgoing the slowing effect of the stingers (yeah, I know, I'm using game-specific jargon. Play it for yourself if you're confused)? Instead, the game tells you straight up that the only way to go is to make an equal number of ravagers and stingers. Indeed, that is, statistically, the best strategy. There's no reason to experiment: the game tells you how to win.
Though, I probably wouldn't have ragequit if the game weren't challenging. I couldn't get passed one level in particular, which ended with a boss fight that looked cool, but to me was laughable because all I was doing was holding my mouse over it while I swam around trying to avoid taking hits. It's a rather unengaging mechanic, to say the least, to simply mouse over your enemies and wait for your minions to take care of them, and it makes for an even less engaging boss fight. Still, though, if you're an adrenaline junkie and you like a game that tests your skill without making you think too hard, there's a lot of fun waiting for you in this one.
Right, then, let's talk Synaesthete. It loses points right off the bat for being friggin impossible to spell without referring back to the gallery, but I digress. After all, it's an IGF finalist. ooooohh, fancy.
The first thing I noticed about Synaesthete was its uncanny similarity to Resonance. My first criticism of the latter was that it got repetitive after only a few minutes of play, but that didn't happen with Synaesthete. I attribute that to its being a lot less cluttered than Resonance. In the latter, you had to balance regular attacks with musical attacks and special attacks all while keeping an eye on the enemies and the other eye on the rhythm bar and the whole thing was such a convoluted mess that you ended up just staying in one place and playing the riffs in time to the best of your ability and ignoring half of the stuff that was going on at any given time. Synaesthete knows that there's a limit to how much the human brain can take in, and has you attack solely by keeping in time with the music(and, occasionally, using a super OP spell move that is quite satisfying and easy to execute).In addition, getting hit by an enemy does more than just make you lose a femtometer of health. You will be stunned and the music will be interrupted. This added punishment gives you an incentive to keep moving and avoid enemies while you play, giving the whole game a hectic yet manageable and very fun feeling.
And that's Synaesthete in a nutshell. The only other thing to mention is that the tutorial is a load of ass on toast. It commits pretty much every tutorial sin there is: unskippable text, context-sensitive controls, slow voice overs (also unskippable), it's just the worst. The rest of the game, though, is a-ok. More than that, even. Not that many games have me deliberately pull myself away from them, even though I want to keep playing, just so I can write up a damn review, but this game is one of the few and proud. Amazing music, fun gameplay, charming graphics (your character looks like one of those incongruous disasters I'd throw together in Blender one night when I'm bored, and I love it), and satisfying feel all combine to deliver a heck of an experience. Give this one a shot. It earns its IGF Finalist title.
That's all I got for now. Until next time, stay focused.
Links
Free Will? Wazzat?: https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=25990
Musical Murder: https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=383
First up is Swarm, a game wherein you are the Hivelord, a badass looking albeit very vulnerable fishlike creature who has the ability to transform plankton into soldiers of war. There are (I'm assuming), three different kinds of soldiers you can transform the plankton into, but I only played far enough to unlock two before I got frustrated.
Swarm isn't a bad game, it's just not quite my cup of tea. See, I like games that give you freedom to choose your own strategy. I like a game to challenge both my mind and my reflexes. That's why I'm such a Deus Ex nerd; to me, anything that deviates from that formula is a mistake (I know how closed off that sounds, but it's my mind and it does what it wants).
what bothers me about Swarm isn't so much the fact that it doesn't let you choose your strategy, more so the potential it exhibits, yet forgoes, to do so. Why not let me solely utilize the heavy-hitting ravagers to dispatch enemies quickly at the expense of forgoing the slowing effect of the stingers (yeah, I know, I'm using game-specific jargon. Play it for yourself if you're confused)? Instead, the game tells you straight up that the only way to go is to make an equal number of ravagers and stingers. Indeed, that is, statistically, the best strategy. There's no reason to experiment: the game tells you how to win.
Though, I probably wouldn't have ragequit if the game weren't challenging. I couldn't get passed one level in particular, which ended with a boss fight that looked cool, but to me was laughable because all I was doing was holding my mouse over it while I swam around trying to avoid taking hits. It's a rather unengaging mechanic, to say the least, to simply mouse over your enemies and wait for your minions to take care of them, and it makes for an even less engaging boss fight. Still, though, if you're an adrenaline junkie and you like a game that tests your skill without making you think too hard, there's a lot of fun waiting for you in this one.
Right, then, let's talk Synaesthete. It loses points right off the bat for being friggin impossible to spell without referring back to the gallery, but I digress. After all, it's an IGF finalist. ooooohh, fancy.
The first thing I noticed about Synaesthete was its uncanny similarity to Resonance. My first criticism of the latter was that it got repetitive after only a few minutes of play, but that didn't happen with Synaesthete. I attribute that to its being a lot less cluttered than Resonance. In the latter, you had to balance regular attacks with musical attacks and special attacks all while keeping an eye on the enemies and the other eye on the rhythm bar and the whole thing was such a convoluted mess that you ended up just staying in one place and playing the riffs in time to the best of your ability and ignoring half of the stuff that was going on at any given time. Synaesthete knows that there's a limit to how much the human brain can take in, and has you attack solely by keeping in time with the music(and, occasionally, using a super OP spell move that is quite satisfying and easy to execute).In addition, getting hit by an enemy does more than just make you lose a femtometer of health. You will be stunned and the music will be interrupted. This added punishment gives you an incentive to keep moving and avoid enemies while you play, giving the whole game a hectic yet manageable and very fun feeling.
And that's Synaesthete in a nutshell. The only other thing to mention is that the tutorial is a load of ass on toast. It commits pretty much every tutorial sin there is: unskippable text, context-sensitive controls, slow voice overs (also unskippable), it's just the worst. The rest of the game, though, is a-ok. More than that, even. Not that many games have me deliberately pull myself away from them, even though I want to keep playing, just so I can write up a damn review, but this game is one of the few and proud. Amazing music, fun gameplay, charming graphics (your character looks like one of those incongruous disasters I'd throw together in Blender one night when I'm bored, and I love it), and satisfying feel all combine to deliver a heck of an experience. Give this one a shot. It earns its IGF Finalist title.
That's all I got for now. Until next time, stay focused.
Links
Free Will? Wazzat?: https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=25990
Musical Murder: https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=383
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