Flight is one of those "give me an A- and get out of my face" kinds of games. At least it was for me. If might not be that way for everybody, and I'll explain why later.
First off, though, let me do a quick overview. There are 2 game modes, "survive" and "destroy the targets" "Survive" is a bit broken because the only shots that have a chance of hitting you are the green homing ones and even those stand no chance against a simple circle-straffe maneuver. Yes, you will die eventually, but the process of getting there is just a bit lackluster. A bit more variety would have helped.
"Destroy the Targets" is a bit more fun in my opinion. The targeting reticule is a bit wonky but very helpful once you get used to it. I like the fact that the only challenge is personal alone, meaning there's no way to be beaten. This, of course, is not something to strive for in all games, but it certainly makes games a lot less stressful.
After that, my experience with the game was over. Some would call it anemic, some would call it neatly wrapped. Personally, I think it's both.
I feel like I'm being a bit too harsh with this game because I'm bitter about one minor design choice. Maybe it was required given the materials DigiPen students can work with, but why is the only way for me to play multiplayer to own an Xbox 360 controller? It's hard to explain, but I get the feeling that multiplayer is the crux of the game. After all, the levels that you create in the level editor aren't accessible in single player. Why, then, does my choice to buy a Logitech Dual Action controller somehow make me unworthy to play the game in its entirety?
Oh well. If the game doesn't let me play it, then I don't review it. This game is no exception, so it only gets half a review.
That's all I got for now. Until next time, stay complete
Links
Squawk: https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=18593
Friday, March 29, 2013
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Firestorm
For a lot of reasons, time actually not being one of them for a change, this is going to be my only post today, and it's going to be a short one.
I try very hard not to swear in these blogs in part as a personal challenge to myself. I must say no game has made that harder yet than Firestorm.
Anyone who's heard me talk about video games probably knows how valuable I think customization can be in a game. Just like any game mechanic, though, when executed poorly, it has the ability to completely destroy the gameplay experience. Such is the case in Firestorm.
You're given a crapload of credits and an overly confusing series of shop screens to customize the ship that you will throw into battle. Suffice it to say that it's simply much more efficient to use one of the premade (however terrible) ships for a deathmatch that lasts a maximum of maybe 2 minutes.
this game is roughly 90% customization and 10% battle. Unintuitive design and poor conveyance ruin the customization. Sticky, frustrating controls and direct interference from the customization aspects ruin the battle. All-in-all, not a very good game in my opinion.
Links
it hurts my brain: https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=427
I try very hard not to swear in these blogs in part as a personal challenge to myself. I must say no game has made that harder yet than Firestorm.
Anyone who's heard me talk about video games probably knows how valuable I think customization can be in a game. Just like any game mechanic, though, when executed poorly, it has the ability to completely destroy the gameplay experience. Such is the case in Firestorm.
You're given a crapload of credits and an overly confusing series of shop screens to customize the ship that you will throw into battle. Suffice it to say that it's simply much more efficient to use one of the premade (however terrible) ships for a deathmatch that lasts a maximum of maybe 2 minutes.
this game is roughly 90% customization and 10% battle. Unintuitive design and poor conveyance ruin the customization. Sticky, frustrating controls and direct interference from the customization aspects ruin the battle. All-in-all, not a very good game in my opinion.
Links
it hurts my brain: https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=427
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Fight Zone
It's late...I'm tired...time for a short review
Fight Zone is the first *competent* FPS game on this list. It's an arcadey free-for all deal similar to Unreal Tournament. Of course, the major emphasis is on customization, which makes this feel more like Eliminate Pro, but I digress.
If you've played any FPS against bots, you've played Fight Zone. There's just one thing slightly different: the customization. Before the round and every time you die, you get to choose which of your weapons will be most effective, how much ammo you have, how high you can jump, etc. Everyone has 100 points to divy up among these attributes as they please.
This mechanic is really what makes this game engaging. There are enough different strategies to keep this game from getting stale for quite a while. I think the thing that makes the mechanic most engaging is that leveling up one particular attribute could serve a variety of strategies. For example, leveling up jump height not only works for sniping because it allows you to get to high places, but also can be employed much differently for a rocket-jumping strategy. There's a lot of overlap between the strategies. Lots of room for tweaking. It's a very basic mechanic, but it works very well. I may be misusing this game design term, but it allows for a lot of depth with very little complexity (don't worry, I'll link the Extra Credits on it so you know what I'm talking about).
Over all else, though, I think the thing I like most about this game is that it's just fun. Look, I hate the new Call of Duty games as much as the next pretentious game analyst, but there's a reason FPS games are generally considered the most fun in the medium. There's just something about them that plays so well to the innate desire to conquer. That said, Fight Zone is the most fun I've had with a DigiPen game yet.
The game is fun, the mechanics are solid, and it's a potentially useful teaching tool for game design students. These three qualities give me no trouble at all in giving this game my seal of approval.
Links
bang pew kaboom: https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=532
Extra Crediiit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVL4st0blGU
Fight Zone is the first *competent* FPS game on this list. It's an arcadey free-for all deal similar to Unreal Tournament. Of course, the major emphasis is on customization, which makes this feel more like Eliminate Pro, but I digress.
If you've played any FPS against bots, you've played Fight Zone. There's just one thing slightly different: the customization. Before the round and every time you die, you get to choose which of your weapons will be most effective, how much ammo you have, how high you can jump, etc. Everyone has 100 points to divy up among these attributes as they please.
This mechanic is really what makes this game engaging. There are enough different strategies to keep this game from getting stale for quite a while. I think the thing that makes the mechanic most engaging is that leveling up one particular attribute could serve a variety of strategies. For example, leveling up jump height not only works for sniping because it allows you to get to high places, but also can be employed much differently for a rocket-jumping strategy. There's a lot of overlap between the strategies. Lots of room for tweaking. It's a very basic mechanic, but it works very well. I may be misusing this game design term, but it allows for a lot of depth with very little complexity (don't worry, I'll link the Extra Credits on it so you know what I'm talking about).
Over all else, though, I think the thing I like most about this game is that it's just fun. Look, I hate the new Call of Duty games as much as the next pretentious game analyst, but there's a reason FPS games are generally considered the most fun in the medium. There's just something about them that plays so well to the innate desire to conquer. That said, Fight Zone is the most fun I've had with a DigiPen game yet.
The game is fun, the mechanics are solid, and it's a potentially useful teaching tool for game design students. These three qualities give me no trouble at all in giving this game my seal of approval.
Links
bang pew kaboom: https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=532
Extra Crediiit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVL4st0blGU
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Fate
The first thing that struck me about this game is that it was made by Andrew Nack. The very same Andrew Nack who made Ethereal, a game that I found enjoyable but unfortunately had to compare to bLight, which had a bigger team behind it (meaning more than one person), due to the massive similarities in the playstyles of the two games. I'm not sure what else Mr. Nack did in his sophomore year, but creating two fully functional games all my yourself in the span of one schoolyear is definitely enough to earn my respect. That said, let's see what Fate can do.
This game is about bunnies. You must save the bunnies from drowning by getting rid of the coral obstructing their paths. Be careful, though, as the journey to the surface is a treacherous one. You are ranked by how many bunnies you manage to save, though if you get tired of trying to figure out a level and have already saved enough bunnies to move on, you can murder the rest of the fluffy little guys with the click of a button. Uh, hey...Watership Down called...
From a gameplay perspective, this is a solid puzzle game. It's not too long, has a reasonable difficulty curve, intuitive mechanics, etc etc. It's clear this Nack guy knows what he's doing. It Fate an incredibly engaging experience? no. Does it show potential to revolutionize the gaming medium any time soon? no. I don't think that's what this game was about. This game seems like an opportunity for a lone developer-in-training to show off his skills in programming and art direction, and in that case, it succeeds.
I did a bit of research and it turns out Andrew Nack has a grand total of 6 projects under his belt. You can bet I'm going to review them in sort of their own separate category, because my theory is that they are all attempts to push the skills of the individual rather than attempts to further the medium as a whole. And you know what? I respect that. Something hits close to home about a guy who deliberately chooses to engage himself with difficult and time consuming projects as a test of his own will before he can think about moving into really big projects (did I mention this is a blog?)
Well, if my theory is correct and all 6 of Mr. Nack's games show off this level of mastery in different sectors of game design and art direction, as Fate and Ethereal differed, then I'll be really excited to witness Mr. Nack's work in the future.
That's all I got for now. Until next time, stay inspired.
Links
Glub: https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=26416
This game is about bunnies. You must save the bunnies from drowning by getting rid of the coral obstructing their paths. Be careful, though, as the journey to the surface is a treacherous one. You are ranked by how many bunnies you manage to save, though if you get tired of trying to figure out a level and have already saved enough bunnies to move on, you can murder the rest of the fluffy little guys with the click of a button. Uh, hey...Watership Down called...
From a gameplay perspective, this is a solid puzzle game. It's not too long, has a reasonable difficulty curve, intuitive mechanics, etc etc. It's clear this Nack guy knows what he's doing. It Fate an incredibly engaging experience? no. Does it show potential to revolutionize the gaming medium any time soon? no. I don't think that's what this game was about. This game seems like an opportunity for a lone developer-in-training to show off his skills in programming and art direction, and in that case, it succeeds.
I did a bit of research and it turns out Andrew Nack has a grand total of 6 projects under his belt. You can bet I'm going to review them in sort of their own separate category, because my theory is that they are all attempts to push the skills of the individual rather than attempts to further the medium as a whole. And you know what? I respect that. Something hits close to home about a guy who deliberately chooses to engage himself with difficult and time consuming projects as a test of his own will before he can think about moving into really big projects (did I mention this is a blog?)
Well, if my theory is correct and all 6 of Mr. Nack's games show off this level of mastery in different sectors of game design and art direction, as Fate and Ethereal differed, then I'll be really excited to witness Mr. Nack's work in the future.
That's all I got for now. Until next time, stay inspired.
Links
Glub: https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=26416
Monday, March 25, 2013
Fat Boy Mint
These past few days, I've put on a little weight. My girlfriend is a girl scout, so needless to say, I've been stocking up on tagalongs lately. Plus, my mother is Italian, so she's under the impression that she needs to fatten me up. Even in my chubby splendor, however, not even I can hold a candle to the protagonist of this game.
Alright, time to cut the cutesy introduction. Let's get into the review.
I love this game. I would go so far as to call it one of the most fun 2D platformers I've ever played. It's not #1, mind you. Super Castlevania IV takes that place in my book, but still, I'd say it's top 10.
The visual style is comical and pleasant. The characters are lovable, the world is colorful, and it's just an all-around joy to look at.
The level design is nigh flawless (except for the last level), and the designers really seemed to have a firm grasp on what the mechanics of the game entail. Speaking of which...
The principle mechanic is what really sells the game for me. You can create mini black holes with the mouse button in order to get to point A to point B as efficiently as possible. This mechanic is fun, engaging, and intuitive. This is the kind of idea that people should build games off. Think of the mechanics first, then create a story and universe around them.
For all my praise, there are two things about this game that I don't like. The first is the sound direction. I have no problem with the music, but there are these little mushroom guys that charge at you and yell "jeronimo" in a really high pitched voice. Only think is, your black holes upset their paths, and every time this happens, they yell again. Trust me, this gets really annoying really fast. The second problem I have is the design of the final level. What happened? Up until then there were no cheap deaths whatsoever, but the last level is just a glorified game of Simon Says with a lot of bells and whistles.
Oh well. I still love this game and have no problem giving it my seal of approval.
That's all I got for now. Until next time, stay chubby
Links
Big Boned Breath-freshener: https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=25998
Alright, time to cut the cutesy introduction. Let's get into the review.
I love this game. I would go so far as to call it one of the most fun 2D platformers I've ever played. It's not #1, mind you. Super Castlevania IV takes that place in my book, but still, I'd say it's top 10.
The visual style is comical and pleasant. The characters are lovable, the world is colorful, and it's just an all-around joy to look at.
The level design is nigh flawless (except for the last level), and the designers really seemed to have a firm grasp on what the mechanics of the game entail. Speaking of which...
The principle mechanic is what really sells the game for me. You can create mini black holes with the mouse button in order to get to point A to point B as efficiently as possible. This mechanic is fun, engaging, and intuitive. This is the kind of idea that people should build games off. Think of the mechanics first, then create a story and universe around them.
For all my praise, there are two things about this game that I don't like. The first is the sound direction. I have no problem with the music, but there are these little mushroom guys that charge at you and yell "jeronimo" in a really high pitched voice. Only think is, your black holes upset their paths, and every time this happens, they yell again. Trust me, this gets really annoying really fast. The second problem I have is the design of the final level. What happened? Up until then there were no cheap deaths whatsoever, but the last level is just a glorified game of Simon Says with a lot of bells and whistles.
Oh well. I still love this game and have no problem giving it my seal of approval.
That's all I got for now. Until next time, stay chubby
Links
Big Boned Breath-freshener: https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=25998
Fast Racer
This "not real exe" business is starting to intrigue me. Why would DigiPen even host a completely dead link, let alone this many?
Links
https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=595
Links
https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=595
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