I had an hour long blast of Gears of War 2 horde mode yesterday morning, with one of my brothers, before cracking into some OU work, and it got me thinking about how developers can often get over excited about popular/good ideas and take them too far. I'm not saying that horde mode 2.0, in Gears 3, is worse than horde mode in Gears 2, but what I mean to say is there is a purity in the original horde mode, as bought out in Gears 2.
My brother and I spent our hour long stint moving from room to room, defensive position to next defensive position, naturally working our way around the map to defeat the waves of on coming enemies in the best way possible. At no point did we have to worry about leaving our established defences or have to repair damaged wire; we just moved away from our enemies and found the best bottle-necks we could, when we needed them.
In Gears 2 you don't have any currency, the ammo crates re-spawn after a set amount of time, so you just have to make do with what you have and take opportunities as they arise. We often had to change weapons as our old weapons ran out of ammo, with no immediate ammo refills, and according to our position sometimes flamers worked best, sometimes a sniper rifle was the gun of the moment. I really enjoyed the freedom to explore and move around.
The horde mode in Gears 3 is better though. There is more depth, more to think about, more different enemies and the boss battles bring a whole lot of pain and require good team work to defeat. But it is generally more static, just because of the fact that it makes sense to focus your investment in making one place as strongly defended as possible.
I really enjoy the Gears of War mythology and appearance. They've managed to make a graphically stunning game using various shades of grey! It's so grim and all the small details in every map, like falling leaves or rubbish, make it so immersive.
It's brilliant.
Sunday, 24 March 2013
Saturday, 23 March 2013
I found some artists for Wastelands!
Yes, it is true.
A couple of the guys I work with and I like to chat with every now and then turned out to be keen artists. They are big into computer gaming, but are open to trying other games and after a play test of the current version of Wastelands, they were quite taken by it and agreed to try and put pen to paper and help get some art into the game!
Really looking forward to seeing what they come up with! They had some ideas for the game as well, which is a big help and will help improve version 2.2, which I'm hoping to get out in a couple of weeks. Doubt that version will have any pictures, but I'm hoping there might be a few drafts I can put on them in black and white.
A couple of the guys I work with and I like to chat with every now and then turned out to be keen artists. They are big into computer gaming, but are open to trying other games and after a play test of the current version of Wastelands, they were quite taken by it and agreed to try and put pen to paper and help get some art into the game!
Really looking forward to seeing what they come up with! They had some ideas for the game as well, which is a big help and will help improve version 2.2, which I'm hoping to get out in a couple of weeks. Doubt that version will have any pictures, but I'm hoping there might be a few drafts I can put on them in black and white.
Dungeon Roll - Kickstarter project
I had really intended to put this up a few weeks back when I made my pledge, but I've been caught up in uni work and Wastelands, so it kept slipping my mind.
Dungeon Roll is a dice based, "push your luck" game, where players compete to get the most points by surviving as many levels dungeon crawling and finding as many treasures as possible. Each player gets 3 goes at going into the dungeon and the whole game is supposed to take no longer than 30 minutes, but typically about 15-20.
I was drawn to it as I like dungeon crawlers, I like dice games, and I don't have a short "filler" game yet, which I can pull out between games or for a quick go before or after doing something else.
For $29 (~£20) I get the game, shipping to the UK, extra free dice, character cards and some other stuff. Should get it in August/September time.
Dungeon Roll is a dice based, "push your luck" game, where players compete to get the most points by surviving as many levels dungeon crawling and finding as many treasures as possible. Each player gets 3 goes at going into the dungeon and the whole game is supposed to take no longer than 30 minutes, but typically about 15-20.
I was drawn to it as I like dungeon crawlers, I like dice games, and I don't have a short "filler" game yet, which I can pull out between games or for a quick go before or after doing something else.
For $29 (~£20) I get the game, shipping to the UK, extra free dice, character cards and some other stuff. Should get it in August/September time.
Board games wishlist
Relic, a dark future version of Talisman, set in the Warhammer 40k universe, was released a week or so ago. I've known about it for a while now, but hadn't seriously considered it, but now it is out I've had a look at reviews and gameplay videos and it actually looks like a good game. Talisman is one of my favourite board games, if not my favourite... maybe. So having an alternate setting with a few different rules mechanics would actually be really nice. I can't see it being better than Talisman, in my eyes, or being as epically expandable and adaptable, but as a one off, stand alone game, I am very tempted.
Gears of War: The Board Game. This is a couple/few years old now and a pretty negative review from the Dice Tower has diverted my attention from it. But recently I looked at other reviews and again at Tom Vasel's analysis and it does seem like a game I would enjoy. Firstly, it's co-op, and I love co-op! But it also seems like a good, hard game which you is a real challenge for a group of people to battle through for a few hours. I also love the setting, which really helps to get that feeling of suspended belief. I would like to have a go at it once before buying, I guess.
Zpocalypse is a zombie survival game where each player (2-4 players) takes control of their own gang of survivors and competes to be the most successful over the first few days of the apocalypse. The game is a pseudo co-operative game, in that you need to work together to actually survive at all, but in the process of working together, you need to be the most successful and get the best kit and recruit the best survivors.
Zpocalypse was a very successful Kickstarter project last year and I looked at it then, but held off. A year later and I'm quite keen to at least get the core game. There are several expansions already, which look very good and are highly recommended, but if I ever get the game I'll think about it then.
Gears of War: The Board Game. This is a couple/few years old now and a pretty negative review from the Dice Tower has diverted my attention from it. But recently I looked at other reviews and again at Tom Vasel's analysis and it does seem like a game I would enjoy. Firstly, it's co-op, and I love co-op! But it also seems like a good, hard game which you is a real challenge for a group of people to battle through for a few hours. I also love the setting, which really helps to get that feeling of suspended belief. I would like to have a go at it once before buying, I guess.
Zpocalypse is a zombie survival game where each player (2-4 players) takes control of their own gang of survivors and competes to be the most successful over the first few days of the apocalypse. The game is a pseudo co-operative game, in that you need to work together to actually survive at all, but in the process of working together, you need to be the most successful and get the best kit and recruit the best survivors.
Zpocalypse was a very successful Kickstarter project last year and I looked at it then, but held off. A year later and I'm quite keen to at least get the core game. There are several expansions already, which look very good and are highly recommended, but if I ever get the game I'll think about it then.
Wednesday, 6 March 2013
FTL
I can't believe I've not taken the time to write about this before on here, but for the last couple of weeks much of my "between doing things" time, and post-work free time has been taken up by this game.
FTL: faster than light is an independently published game, which was funded through Kickstarter. Two guys designed and created the entire game, with the exception of the music, for which they enlisted another guy, and anyone can download the game directly from their website for $10 (about £6).
It's an old school style, 2D space adventure game, in which you take your ship and a small crew through various randomly generated systems, to the "last stand" where you meet up with your home fleet and must destroy the rebel's mother ship.
Lets get one thing down straight away, you WILL lose this game 9 times out of 10. If not more. To survive you need to micro-manage your crew and ship systems, and make hard choices to maximise from the constant risks you need to take to progress. A game generally takes about an hour, but sometimes you'll be destroyed within 10 minutes and sometimes it'll string out to almost 2 hours. It's this short game time, mixed with the randomly generated nature that makes it so addictive.
This morning I completed the game for the first time on normal difficulty and had a look at my overall game stats afterwards. I've had 37 play throughs of the game, most of which have been on easy, and I have completed the game twice. Once on easy, once of normal. There is no hard difficulty. I can only think that they didn't think it was necessary.
If you like strategic adventure games, where the odds are stacked against you, there is no save/load function and you're mostly flying by the seat of your pants, this is the game for you.
FTL: faster than light is an independently published game, which was funded through Kickstarter. Two guys designed and created the entire game, with the exception of the music, for which they enlisted another guy, and anyone can download the game directly from their website for $10 (about £6).
It's an old school style, 2D space adventure game, in which you take your ship and a small crew through various randomly generated systems, to the "last stand" where you meet up with your home fleet and must destroy the rebel's mother ship.
Lets get one thing down straight away, you WILL lose this game 9 times out of 10. If not more. To survive you need to micro-manage your crew and ship systems, and make hard choices to maximise from the constant risks you need to take to progress. A game generally takes about an hour, but sometimes you'll be destroyed within 10 minutes and sometimes it'll string out to almost 2 hours. It's this short game time, mixed with the randomly generated nature that makes it so addictive.
This morning I completed the game for the first time on normal difficulty and had a look at my overall game stats afterwards. I've had 37 play throughs of the game, most of which have been on easy, and I have completed the game twice. Once on easy, once of normal. There is no hard difficulty. I can only think that they didn't think it was necessary.
If you like strategic adventure games, where the odds are stacked against you, there is no save/load function and you're mostly flying by the seat of your pants, this is the game for you.
Tuesday, 5 March 2013
Forza Horizon and other xbox games
I bought Forza Horizon the other week, which I might have mentioned on here before... can't remember. Anyway, it's a bit different to what I thought it'd be, but I am enjoying it.
I had expected it to be more akin to the previous Forza titles, with damage to the cars having an effect on your cars performance, but it seems they've gone for a more arcady style, which I'm slightly disappointed at.
I also find the requirement to HAVE to use lots of different types of cars a bit annoying. I did know to expect it though, so you just live with it, and in some ways, it has opened my eyes to the joys of some cars, which I really didn't think I'd enjoy driving.
My latest fad is to build 1970s stock cars, styling them with the little rear spoiler and front splitter and finding a paint scheme in the in-game store with the most sponsors and garrish colours. They're actually proving to be quite capable racers though. With some really fat, slick tires and a beefed up, naturally aspirated engine, I've been doing well in the mid-level races. I wish there was a Nascar style track in the game and I'm a little surprised there isn't anything even close to it...
I'd like to get the rally expansion at some point, but it's 1600 microsoft points, and I'm in no rush, so I'll probably wait until the end of the year when it'll no doubt drop in price.
Other games of note that I've been enjoying in small bursts are Borderlands 2. I've almost got my first character to level 50, but it's hard work! On true vault hunter mode the game become much more challenging!
Brutal Legend. I love this game. I love it in a similar way to Rage! It's only a short campaign and in the grand scheme of things I have probably played games I don't like anywhere near as much a lot more. But I love the setting, the feel, the characters and the mechanics. I have a lot of respect for Double Fine and this is a game that shows their willingness to try something out of the ordinary. They could have made just another action adventure hack'n'slash, but they brought a whole strategy game element into it! It's crazy! And very cool.
I had expected it to be more akin to the previous Forza titles, with damage to the cars having an effect on your cars performance, but it seems they've gone for a more arcady style, which I'm slightly disappointed at.
I also find the requirement to HAVE to use lots of different types of cars a bit annoying. I did know to expect it though, so you just live with it, and in some ways, it has opened my eyes to the joys of some cars, which I really didn't think I'd enjoy driving.
My latest fad is to build 1970s stock cars, styling them with the little rear spoiler and front splitter and finding a paint scheme in the in-game store with the most sponsors and garrish colours. They're actually proving to be quite capable racers though. With some really fat, slick tires and a beefed up, naturally aspirated engine, I've been doing well in the mid-level races. I wish there was a Nascar style track in the game and I'm a little surprised there isn't anything even close to it...
I'd like to get the rally expansion at some point, but it's 1600 microsoft points, and I'm in no rush, so I'll probably wait until the end of the year when it'll no doubt drop in price.
Other games of note that I've been enjoying in small bursts are Borderlands 2. I've almost got my first character to level 50, but it's hard work! On true vault hunter mode the game become much more challenging!
Brutal Legend. I love this game. I love it in a similar way to Rage! It's only a short campaign and in the grand scheme of things I have probably played games I don't like anywhere near as much a lot more. But I love the setting, the feel, the characters and the mechanics. I have a lot of respect for Double Fine and this is a game that shows their willingness to try something out of the ordinary. They could have made just another action adventure hack'n'slash, but they brought a whole strategy game element into it! It's crazy! And very cool.
Wastelands v2.1
It's been a few months since I last did any proper work on Wastelands. During that time I've thought of many different ways to fix version 2, which I now admit was sort of broken and a bit rubbish.
v2.1 is now almost ready. Just a few cards to figure out and I can give it a proper test.
Biggest changes have been:
- reduced the number of decks, so it's just Encounter cards and Wasteland cards.
- all speed checks are now fundamentally the same.
- revised combat to be a mix of v1, which was too lengthy and annoying, and v2, which was too easy and too many dice.
Almost every card in the game has been re-written. But, I really hope that this, or the next iteration will be satisfactory enough to print off a few copies and give to people to test.
I hope to test it this thursday, but still the quite lengthy process of actually printing and cutting the cards to get through, so fingers crossed!
v2.1 is now almost ready. Just a few cards to figure out and I can give it a proper test.
Biggest changes have been:
- reduced the number of decks, so it's just Encounter cards and Wasteland cards.
- all speed checks are now fundamentally the same.
- revised combat to be a mix of v1, which was too lengthy and annoying, and v2, which was too easy and too many dice.
Almost every card in the game has been re-written. But, I really hope that this, or the next iteration will be satisfactory enough to print off a few copies and give to people to test.
I hope to test it this thursday, but still the quite lengthy process of actually printing and cutting the cards to get through, so fingers crossed!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)