Hammerfall? Hammerfell? Hammertime? Hammerwatch! Okay, I'm just going to level with you here. I don't feel like I played this game to really make a good judgement. It's a multiplayer Diablo-style game except that all gear and leveling has been reduced down to coin gathering and spending. I was enjoying it for the most part, and then I realized that it was time to end the show after what felt like five minutes. One of THOSE kinds of games.
It's definitely worth checking out. And it's super cheap. Win-win!
Orcs Must Die! 2 appears to be one-third to one-quarter as fun as it looks on paper. It's a tower defense game. You play as a War Mage guy or a Sorceress lady (and more that unlock over time) that runs around summoning towers and shooting orcs in the face when you get the chance. The music is pretty catchy and the traps are very diverse. A good time, right? Eh, not really.
It's hard to explain, but I was just bored for most of the game. All progression comes in the form of unlocking levels and collecting gold during those levels. That's fine enough for towers, but I'm playing a character! Why doesn't he level up? Why can't he get collect gear? Why aren't there character-specific traps and abilities? Sure, the little soundbites and the victory dances at the end of the level are great (especially the dances, that was an awesome surprise), but that doesn't actually motivate me to keep playing. This game came out after Dungeon Defenders which has all of those things and more, why isn't there any innovation?
Everything else is fine enough, but I wouldn't recommend that someone go out and grab this game. I'm sure the game is a bit more exciting once multiplayer kicks in, but what, really, is the point? They'll be just like you! Just more of the same. I'll have to check out the original Orcs Must Die sometime, but that may be a while.
Finally. Finally, finally, finally getting to write a blog post for this game.
Jamestown is a historical fiction bullet hell flight sim that combines the legendary adventure of the American frontier in the 1600's with steam-punk flying ships, trains, and cyborgs. Unfortunately the Spanish have allied with the malevolent Martians, causing only more problems for the English settlers. I know what you're asking yourself: How could this NOT be amazing?
The answer is that it IS amazing! Fast paced. Scary bosses. Awesome music. There's just so much to love. There aren't very many levels, but there are many difficulties, ships, as well as challenges to keep you busy. Also there's a DLC that I do no own, so I guess I can't vouch for it. But I do know that this was one of the games that really sold the indie game movement for me. The premise is just so weird. It's short. It's inexpensive. It would never have been made by a major company. Yet here it is, and I love it.
Bit.Trip Presents: Runner 2: Legend of Future Rhythm Alien might be the game with the longest title that I've played for Humble Bundle Acquisitions. I wish I could say that it could win more awards than that, but overall I thought it was fairly boring.
You play as Commander Video, or one of his compatriots, as you run, dash, jump, kick, cannon, and bounce across long stretches of platforms for the purpose of...gold bricks? Is that it? I'm not sure if that's the real reason or not. The only thing that I got out of the story is that we had been teleported to another dimension!!! Therefore we must run. A lot. Whatever.
It's a fun enough game. The visuals are very pretty but not distracting (except for a giant purple dome thing that looks a little pervy). The running and jumping were...fine. Maybe if endless runners are YOUR thing this is a great catch, but overall I was just kind of bored after the first 15 minutes. I enjoyed games like Ski Safari and the classic Jetpack Joyride much more. Granted, this game is not an "endless" runner, but a runner of stages. Which didn't really do it for me. Maybe it was seeing Meat Boy in the intro video, but I just felt like nothing about this game was very exciting. I never felt like it drew me in at any time. I think that more meaningful short-term goals would have helped (like in endless runners) to give the player more of a sense of why we run so constantly.
Maybe running should be its own reward, but in this case running felt like how it always feels now that I've gotten fat: Work.
If you're not already super burnt out on WoW, or maybe just looking for a little free MMO time, Lord of the Rings Online, or "Lotro", is a solid game that is worth your attention.
Trying to play some catchup with a new schedule. Monaco wasn't very fun at all for me. It looks like it's best played with a group of 4 that are either in the same room or on Skype. That would have been way more fun. Also, the game doesn't even bother teaching you how to play. Boo.
I screwed up a show. I knew it would happen eventually, but it sill hurt my little heart very much. I'm sorry about the audio issues.
Beatbuddy, unfortunately, is pretty much the same game as Aquaria but instead of having to learn songs, everyone is obsessed with music and rhythm. This leads to some really cool design--lots of movement in game and even lights on my computer box bouncing with the beat--but the puzzles themselves were just kind of boring.
I may have enjoyed the game more if I hadn't just barely done Aquaria, which seemed more complex and interesting, but there is a certain humor and excitement in the game that is very enjoyable. I'm not going to play it again, but you may still like it.
So I played Aquaria, which I got probably a couple years ago. Turns out it's really good! I shouldn't have waited so long!
You play as a mermaid named Naija. Yup, you read that right, and you have an epic quest/destiny/thing to go on. Using the power of your voice and mystical songs, you can solve puzzles, defeat enemies, and cook food. Yes, that does not sound very good, but I felt that it was definitely worth the time I played. It has great underwatery visuals and music (as you would hope...being that singing is a primary mechanic) I plan on playing more. Also, I was going to put down money that the narrator was the same person as in the new Tomb Raider game. I was super wrong. Sorry everyone.
It's pretty cheap on Steam, but it's also available on the iPad, which sounds like would fit it well.
A Virus Named TOM was created by indie studio Misfits Attic, a husband and wife duo, which is completely adorable and awesome. However, I still think this game stunk.
Let me elaborate. It's your standard action puzzler. There's a cute story and swell, futuristic, art, but those things aside, I just felt really bored after about 10 minutes of playing it. Each level is constrained to such a small board where the solution is either blatantly obvious or (as more mechanics are introduced) so obscured that it comes down more to trial and error than anything else. It was very infrequent that I really felt like I was really solving a puzzle or having an "Ah ha!" moment.
Maybe it's just not my kind of game, but I think this title would be better suited to a mobile format for easy pick-up and put-down-ness. Playing straight through on my PC got old really quick. Video of play through below.
Imagine a bold artsyle, luchadores, and countless jokes about tequila.If this sounds at all interesting to you, go play this game right right now. It's hilarious and I thought it was a whole lot of fun! The game focuses on Juan, who, after an untimely death, is chosen by a mythical lacha mask to be resurrected and restore balance to a Day of the Dead festival as the ultimate luchador. Seriously. That's a perfect premise. I wanted to play a bit more before writing a post about it, but I didn't have time for it over the weekend. My 30 minutes of HBA: Live is right here and as you will be able to tell, I had a great time!
I went into this game expecting one thing and getting something a lot weirder.
Firstly, there was a lot less blood than I expected. Actually, for the most part, this game is more or less bloodless which is especially surprising when you consider that "Blood Loss" is a key losing mechanic in this game. Sure, you get little blood spots on your hands and arms during a procedure, but as far as drops, puddles, pools, squirts, or sprays of blood, I was surprised by their complete absence. It was a good surprise.
The surprise that I didn't like was just how obscene the entire game felt at all times. Ripping out a person's lungs with my bare hands does not feel good, even when I know it's fake. It just felt very wrong, like I was desecrating something sacred. I've been a gamer all my life, so I've done some terrible things in the name of high scores and victory screens, but this was one of the actions I have felt least comfortable with. The somewhat cartoony visuals made it feel even more bizarre, and I can't decide if more realism would have been an improvement or not.
And the controls! My heavens the controls!!! They were simply terrible, and more or less seemed to be so intentionally. For me, that does not add a layer of complexity or mystery or anything else; it's just irritating. It made the game feel like you were playing Operation (which I imagine was point), except there's someone sitting behind and purposely constricting your movement the entire time. Eventually, you would want to punch that person in the face. While playing Surgeon Simulator 2013, there is no face you can punch, it's your own face, constantly slamming into a wall of terrible controls until you either win or lose, occasionally at random.
All in all, I'd put this game at a solid "Try it." I have no intention of ever playing it again, but it was a pretty fun time for a little while. Even better, I'd say to play it with a couple of friends, so there's someone to enjoy the antics with (just like the original Operation! :O).
Whew! It was an exciting week. I loved streaming these first two episodes and I wish I had been able to do it sooner! And now that I have even a little experience, I'm going to make some changes .
Firstly, these shows need to be shorter. Two hours is just too long, both for myself and for anyone who might just sit down and want to watch from start to finish. I'm going to scale the shows back to 75 to 90 minutes, tops. If I'm really liking a game and I have more time, I may end to show and continue to stream a little after that, but I'm only going to hold myself to an hour or so.
Secondly, my critical analysis after the fact is going to be of a lower priority should life events cause me to be short on time. I have some stuff going on with work this week and that I need to do, so the Antichamber writeup suffered hard. There were no overt characters, but there was a lot of room for analysis of themes. In short, it would have been difficult and time consuming so I'm skipping it. Sorry, Antichamber. And I'm sorry to future games that may fall to the same fate. I love writing and writing critically, but between the writing and the streaming and the real life things, writing comes out third.
Finally, and this isn't a change so much as just a PSA, I've got a long way to go before I understand all the technical and logistical aspects of streaming. I'm still not sure what my computer and my internet is capable of producing, or even how to coax it to do so. So I'll be continuing to adjust settings here and there to get things to an optimum viewing experience.
Thanks to everyone for the support so far, especially Aubrey and, awesomely, my Mom.
Antichamber. It's minimalist, confusing, and fantastic. The easiest way to describe it is to imagine that the labyrinth in the movie Labyrinth swallowed the Portal games but left all the muppets and David Bowie behind. The design is sharp and physical laws of matter are completely disregarded for the player's benefit. I would definitely recommend it as both a puzzler and an exploration game.
Hammerfall? Hammerfell? Hammertime? Hammerwatch! Okay, I'm just going to level with you here. I don't feel like I played this game to really make a good judgement. It's a multiplayer Diablo-style game except that all gear and leveling has been reduced down to coin gathering and spending. I was enjoying it for the most part, and then I realized that it was time to end the show after what felt like five minutes. One of THOSE kinds of games.
