Gauntlet's one of them and I can't stop myself from dipping back into it. I love it's pleasing game mechanics, the challenge of getting as far as I can in endless mode and, when I get a chance, playing with other people. It has a classic dungeon crawler feel to it, with the classic stereotypes.
Now, the real reason I'm writing this brief post is because I only just noticed that a couple of other games, one of which I keenly have my eyes on, are also by Arrowhead. The big one is Helldivers. I have been hooked on Matt Lee's YouTube videos of him and a friend bumbling through the game - titled Hellduffers, amongst their many other videos. Sadly, they've said they've just done their last video, but hopefully loud and persistent protesting will peer pressure him into doing more.
Helldiver's is similar to Gauntlet in that it's a top down, 1 to 4 player, co-op game. But Helldiver's is more of a hardcore co-op. It looks so hard! There's also character progression and unlocks. Sadly, it's a PlayStation exclusive and that's really not healthy for me as it's making me want a PlayStation 4 so hard! Urg (and with Street Fighter 5 being PS4 exclusive, that's not helping...).
The last game is Magicka. I'll only mention this one quickly. Again, similar style of 1 to 4 player co-op, but it looks so fun! Each player is a mage and the magic system, I believe, shares a similarity to the wizard in Gauntlet.
So basically, all their games share a similar style, but have distinct flavours. I have to say, I really like the style and I look forward to playing Helldivers at some point in the future and maybe Magicka sooner.
Thursday, 24 September 2015
Wednesday, 23 September 2015
Mad Max, Bedlam and other things
I completed the main story in Mad Max and I was very pleasantly surprised. I won't spoil it, but I'll just say that I was expecting something a little cheesy but got a classic Mad Max conclusion. Also, in true open world game style, after the story has been finished you get to continue exploring and finish any outstanding things.
The car customisation is very well done in Mad Max. I know I mentioned it before, but I just had to say it again. It has a very pleasing simplicity to it; you can't just slap everything on that's bigger and better, nearly all the components have a time and place on different types of ride.
I strongly recommend Mad Max to any driving enthusiasts who like blood and guts action games as well.
Since last Thursday I've been playing Skyshine's Bedlam, on and off. My thoughts have been up and down about the game. To be honest I think I had thought it was going to be more of an FTL clone. They share many aspects; they are both designed to have each play through played as a single session of about an hour (2 at most), and both games use dialogue choice style encounters, but that's where the similarities end.
After playing about 10 hours on Bedlam I've decided it's not a good idea to compare it to FTL. Bedlam's art style, setting and sound is fantastic and engrossing. The combat uses an interesting 2 action point, turn-based system, which has a very arcade-like style, with voices overs like announcing headshots and brutal kills. This is really the central aspect to the game, it took me a little while to get my head round it.
The travelling part of the game is less about survival and more about collecting weapons and new crew. What confused me for a while was that there's really nothing to weigh up when considering options during the encounters, the worst that'll happen is another battle. The vast majority of times you either acquire something or nothing. I often found myself saying to myself, "why wouldn't I take this?!", or, "what's the point of not going inside?!", because really, nothing bad ever happened.
Anyway, I works in it's way and when you accept that it's a fast paced, arcade style, post-apocalyptic battle against Lord Viscera, then you can really get engrossed in the challenge.
I'm yet to win. I've come so close a couple of times now! Each time I've felt a little gutted, but equally, I've felt like I learnt something and feel a compulsion to have another go.
Other things I've been up to:
The car customisation is very well done in Mad Max. I know I mentioned it before, but I just had to say it again. It has a very pleasing simplicity to it; you can't just slap everything on that's bigger and better, nearly all the components have a time and place on different types of ride.
I strongly recommend Mad Max to any driving enthusiasts who like blood and guts action games as well.
--------------------------
Since last Thursday I've been playing Skyshine's Bedlam, on and off. My thoughts have been up and down about the game. To be honest I think I had thought it was going to be more of an FTL clone. They share many aspects; they are both designed to have each play through played as a single session of about an hour (2 at most), and both games use dialogue choice style encounters, but that's where the similarities end.
After playing about 10 hours on Bedlam I've decided it's not a good idea to compare it to FTL. Bedlam's art style, setting and sound is fantastic and engrossing. The combat uses an interesting 2 action point, turn-based system, which has a very arcade-like style, with voices overs like announcing headshots and brutal kills. This is really the central aspect to the game, it took me a little while to get my head round it.
The travelling part of the game is less about survival and more about collecting weapons and new crew. What confused me for a while was that there's really nothing to weigh up when considering options during the encounters, the worst that'll happen is another battle. The vast majority of times you either acquire something or nothing. I often found myself saying to myself, "why wouldn't I take this?!", or, "what's the point of not going inside?!", because really, nothing bad ever happened.
Anyway, I works in it's way and when you accept that it's a fast paced, arcade style, post-apocalyptic battle against Lord Viscera, then you can really get engrossed in the challenge.
I'm yet to win. I've come so close a couple of times now! Each time I've felt a little gutted, but equally, I've felt like I learnt something and feel a compulsion to have another go.
--------------------------
Other things I've been up to:
- I've set my guitar up in my new place. Plan to get some practice in again and maybe start writing some new stuff to play with my mate from my old band.
- I got a painting station all put together. Still haven't really got a proper space to paint at, but soon I should have finally cleared my gaming area and have a semi-permanent space to have it setup in.
- The beer is almost ready to be tried. I'm quite excited, but I need to start working on getting some recipes together for our next batch, as that will be brewed properly and not some pre-made, just-add-water, kit brew.
Wednesday, 16 September 2015
Quick beer update
On Saturday I popped up to Edinburgh to bottle the beer. All looks good. I've brought home 4 bottles of the 35 we got from the batch. I would have brought more back if I'd had the car by then, but I didn't pick my new car up until Monday, sadly.
My friend and I plan to brew 4 small, 4.5 litre batches with different recipes, as our next endeavour. This will probably occur today November time, maybe late October.
In a few weeks the beer will be ready to drink!
My friend and I plan to brew 4 small, 4.5 litre batches with different recipes, as our next endeavour. This will probably occur today November time, maybe late October.
In a few weeks the beer will be ready to drink!
Skyshine's Bedlam out today! (not thursday)
You hear me right! It's coming out today, just not yet. For annoying American reasons it's coming out 9am PST, which is 5pm in the civilised world. I've been itching to get onto it all day! Although, I've had various things to do, so maybe it's a good thing.
Mad Max - the game, not the film
I've been playing Mad Max since release, which is very strange for me! A friend of mine told me, on the day of release, of a website where I bought a steam code for about £17. Otherwise, I was going to wait as I had been a little sceptical about the game.
One of the first things I should point out is that I haven't watched the film yet. I did really want to watch it when it went into the cinema, but I was busy with work, my girlfriend wasn't keen on watching it and I was being stingy. I will definitely be watching it as soon as I can though, pending dvd/bluray release or lovefilm rental release or something.
Anyway, back to the game! In short, I was impressed instantly and it just got better. It reminded me a lot of Red Dead Redemption; you're basically a loner, on your ride, going round a massive open world doing stuff, with everything being loosely tied together with a functional story. You're not totally a loner in Mad Max though, you very quickly gain a companion, Chum Bucket, who is a skilled mechanic and offers to build you a new car. MINOR SPOILER ALERT! I should explain, the game involves you making a good enough car to venture out into the desolate wilderness, as you lose your car in the opening sequence of the game.
The story is almost non-existence, there's a sort of token love interest, and the various favours you need from people mean that you end up having to do various things for them, but the basic need for a good enough car drags you around quite nicely. To be honest, I am so glad there is not more story! The reason I was originally sceptical about the game was because I thought it would be a horrible film license game with rubbish gameplay and too many cinematics. So, having it the other way round was fantastic and might even allow for re-playability for big fans of the settings and gameplay; unlike Red Dead Redemption, which was a legendarily brilliant story, but due to the story being quite heavy, didn't give itself over to being replayed.
Travelling and fighting in your car is the bread and butter of the game and it's wonderfully satisfying. The engine noises and the handling are very well designed and I have never tired of it, ramming enemy cars and tweaking my car loadout. The melee combat is functional and works very well, it's the classic batman-esque brawling combat system. Not something that really interested me, but was satisfying enough to keep me going into those situations, when needed.
So, to sum up, you'll spend most of the game driving around an intensely atmospheric wasteland, filled with interesting places to loot, blow-up, discover and people to do favours for, who then help you out, while your car gets better and better. If you like post-apocalyptic themed games and you like driving a hand built car where the size of the V8 engine is the most important factor, you'll love this game.
One of the first things I should point out is that I haven't watched the film yet. I did really want to watch it when it went into the cinema, but I was busy with work, my girlfriend wasn't keen on watching it and I was being stingy. I will definitely be watching it as soon as I can though, pending dvd/bluray release or lovefilm rental release or something.
Anyway, back to the game! In short, I was impressed instantly and it just got better. It reminded me a lot of Red Dead Redemption; you're basically a loner, on your ride, going round a massive open world doing stuff, with everything being loosely tied together with a functional story. You're not totally a loner in Mad Max though, you very quickly gain a companion, Chum Bucket, who is a skilled mechanic and offers to build you a new car. MINOR SPOILER ALERT! I should explain, the game involves you making a good enough car to venture out into the desolate wilderness, as you lose your car in the opening sequence of the game.
The story is almost non-existence, there's a sort of token love interest, and the various favours you need from people mean that you end up having to do various things for them, but the basic need for a good enough car drags you around quite nicely. To be honest, I am so glad there is not more story! The reason I was originally sceptical about the game was because I thought it would be a horrible film license game with rubbish gameplay and too many cinematics. So, having it the other way round was fantastic and might even allow for re-playability for big fans of the settings and gameplay; unlike Red Dead Redemption, which was a legendarily brilliant story, but due to the story being quite heavy, didn't give itself over to being replayed.
Travelling and fighting in your car is the bread and butter of the game and it's wonderfully satisfying. The engine noises and the handling are very well designed and I have never tired of it, ramming enemy cars and tweaking my car loadout. The melee combat is functional and works very well, it's the classic batman-esque brawling combat system. Not something that really interested me, but was satisfying enough to keep me going into those situations, when needed.
So, to sum up, you'll spend most of the game driving around an intensely atmospheric wasteland, filled with interesting places to loot, blow-up, discover and people to do favours for, who then help you out, while your car gets better and better. If you like post-apocalyptic themed games and you like driving a hand built car where the size of the V8 engine is the most important factor, you'll love this game.
Monday, 14 September 2015
Skyshine's Bedlam - coming out this thursday!
I pre-ordered this game a while back, after seeing some preview game footage. It struck me straight away and being an interesting FTL-esque turn based rogue-like.
Check it out here:
http://www.gobedlam.com/
There are other exciting things happening at the moment too, I'll post about them soon!
Check it out here:
http://www.gobedlam.com/
There are other exciting things happening at the moment too, I'll post about them soon!
Friday, 4 September 2015
Earth two thousand, one hundred and sixty zero
Earth 2160 is a classic old RTS. I remember playing it a decade ago with a mate, who introduced me to the game. When I saw it for £3.99 on steam I couldn't really say no - although I am mega stingy when it comes to buying games normally.
The most striking thing about the game is how it doesn't feel too dated. Obviously, the graphics are, but when you get into the game it doesn't feel frustratingly old fashioned or clunky. The interfaces are perfectly function and the gameplay is solid, and the graphics work. After 10 minutes of my first game I'd forgotten about the pixelated edges and poor textures. The designers have clearly made the game within their limits and made it work.
The most compelling part of the game, it's ISP, if you like, is the unit customisation. It's genius! I was daunted when going back into the quite large tech tree and when I first opened the unit customisation window, but it's wonderfully visual and functional and gives you all the information you need. This is the best bit of the game! Customising your vehicles to your preference, to take advantage of an opponents weakness or just to throw some variety into an armoured column, is engaging, kind of necessary and slickly done.
Other great aspects of the game are the 3 completely different, but reasonably well balanced factions and the pace of gameplay. If you want to take it easy and play a casual game, Earth 2160 has all the tools to let you build a great looking base in slow time, research and customise your units, before giving your opponents the coup-de-grace. But equally, you can play fast and blitz them early, like you should be able to do in any good RTS.
Playing it again, so many years later, has made me think; what is it that makes a game feel dated? Because this one just doesn't.
The most striking thing about the game is how it doesn't feel too dated. Obviously, the graphics are, but when you get into the game it doesn't feel frustratingly old fashioned or clunky. The interfaces are perfectly function and the gameplay is solid, and the graphics work. After 10 minutes of my first game I'd forgotten about the pixelated edges and poor textures. The designers have clearly made the game within their limits and made it work.
The most compelling part of the game, it's ISP, if you like, is the unit customisation. It's genius! I was daunted when going back into the quite large tech tree and when I first opened the unit customisation window, but it's wonderfully visual and functional and gives you all the information you need. This is the best bit of the game! Customising your vehicles to your preference, to take advantage of an opponents weakness or just to throw some variety into an armoured column, is engaging, kind of necessary and slickly done.
Other great aspects of the game are the 3 completely different, but reasonably well balanced factions and the pace of gameplay. If you want to take it easy and play a casual game, Earth 2160 has all the tools to let you build a great looking base in slow time, research and customise your units, before giving your opponents the coup-de-grace. But equally, you can play fast and blitz them early, like you should be able to do in any good RTS.
Playing it again, so many years later, has made me think; what is it that makes a game feel dated? Because this one just doesn't.
Thursday, 3 September 2015
I am an Gauntlet addict.
The update to the Slayer Edition has transformed Gauntlet, for me. On the forums many people are giving it a lot of flak and I can understand because it is significantly different to how it was. But I've never enjoyed it so much!
Gauntlet is not a game about achievement and upgrading characters, it's about the thrill of every game, playing with other people and seeing how far you can go. The daily challenges are ok for me to get my fix. It probably doesn't take me longer than 30 minutes to do it with the 3 characters I enjoy playing as, but it's the endless mode that is so good.
Gauntlet is not a game about achievement and upgrading characters, it's about the thrill of every game, playing with other people and seeing how far you can go. The daily challenges are ok for me to get my fix. It probably doesn't take me longer than 30 minutes to do it with the 3 characters I enjoy playing as, but it's the endless mode that is so good.
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