Official Site: http://diemore.teleglitch.com/buy
Steam Page: http://store.steampowered.com/app/234390/
Source: Youtube Channel gamespot
I mentioned "Teleglitch Die More Edition" two months ago and pointed out that one of the problems people had with the game was the lack of music. I guess it's okay to play your own music while playing a game, but it'd be nice to have original music for a game that's set appropriately to the game's theme. Well, the developers decided to come out with a DLC which adds the option for weapon randomization from the get go, 8 new weapons and items, and "5 standalone music tracks that will enhance your Teleglitch experience". That one line threw a lot of people off, including me. At first glance, it seems like there will be music in the game now. In reality, 5 MP3 tracks are downloaded to the game's folder for the player to play and loop in the background while they're playing the game. I guess that's fine since people were doing that with their own music anyways? With the 5 tracks, the player gets 23 minutes of...sounds...running on 2-3 tracks (think of them as layers). They're not very interesting, they're mostly looped sounds from freesound.org, and they don't feel very appropriate to the game's atmosphere. The best thing about the DLC is essentially the weapon randomization at the beginning of the game; however, mechanics like these should have been in the game in the first place. If you had pre-purchased the game before it came out, you get the DLC automatically. But if you didn't, it's $1.99. Whether the DLC was worth the purchase isn't the issue as I'm not certain if the game itself is exactly worth it. It's mildly entertaining and I got it for a very low discount price, but I think I have to play it a bit longer or at least try to clear through it once before I can give any recommendations or not. Teleglitch: Die More Edition is 75% off from its usual $12.99 for $3.25 until October 14th and the Guns and Tunes DLC is $1.99 on steam right now.
Showing posts with label Indie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Indie. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Thursday, August 29, 2013
NewNews - Steam Greenlight Games Everywhere!
Steam: 100 Greenlit Games
Steam: Greenlight Game Sale
Valve Greenlit 100 games yesterday and has released a sale of over 50+ games of previously greenlit games to celebrate its first year since Steam Greenlight launched. The idea of anyone being able to submit a game entry and having the community vote which game was going to be put up on the Steam client sounded like a bad move for Valve, and it was when it first started. But conditions were made, factors were accounted for, and now Steam Greenlight has allowed a much faster and efficient way for games to get put up for sale. Small batches have always been let out of which games would get put up on Steam and get equal exposure, but Valve is experimenting a little and letting through 100 games this time. And with a successful year of the community getting 260 titles Greenlit, Valve is offering 50+ games for 10%-75% off on those previously greenlit. A lot of those games on sale came out recently too! This is nice and sad at the same time. It's awesome so many games are being put up on Steam, but how the heck are we supposed to keep up with so many games?
Steam: Greenlight Game Sale
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| Steam Greenlight |
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
GameLight - Teleglitch: Die More Edition
Official Site: http://diemore.teleglitch.com/buy
Steam Page: http://store.steampowered.com/app/234390/ Source: Youtube Channel gamespot
I've seen this game on the front page of GreenManGaming for the longest time and I just never had interest in looking into it after looking at a few screenshots. When it was officially launched and showed up on Steam, I read the description and realized that it was a top-down shooter with Rogue-like elements. These were two genres I enjoy playing that I don't see too many of in the current day market. So I decided to do more research about it and find out if it's a game worth buy/playing. The first two things I immediately take note of is that the graphics are minimalistic, but not pixel-based which has this blotchy ugly look to it and the fact that there's no music throughout the game. I suppose I can look past the graphics style and I guess I can play my own music while playing this game. There are times where the screen has this crazy color blur effect such as when the player is shooting. It's a cool aesthetic in coordination to feedback within the game, but I can also see it being annoying when fighting a whole horde of enemies. What does interest me is the amount of weapons there are and the randomization of levels, as most rogue-like games utilize, to deliver a new experience every time you play. The game doesn't seem too complicated: survive, kill enemies and progress to the next level. The game, as a whole, does seem to be lacking depth; however, it does have an interesting concept and one that I'd definitely be willing to try out. You can grab Teleglitch: Die More Edition on Steam for $12.99 or from one of the many distributors listed on their official site.
Steam Page: http://store.steampowered.com/app/234390/ Source: Youtube Channel gamespot
I've seen this game on the front page of GreenManGaming for the longest time and I just never had interest in looking into it after looking at a few screenshots. When it was officially launched and showed up on Steam, I read the description and realized that it was a top-down shooter with Rogue-like elements. These were two genres I enjoy playing that I don't see too many of in the current day market. So I decided to do more research about it and find out if it's a game worth buy/playing. The first two things I immediately take note of is that the graphics are minimalistic, but not pixel-based which has this blotchy ugly look to it and the fact that there's no music throughout the game. I suppose I can look past the graphics style and I guess I can play my own music while playing this game. There are times where the screen has this crazy color blur effect such as when the player is shooting. It's a cool aesthetic in coordination to feedback within the game, but I can also see it being annoying when fighting a whole horde of enemies. What does interest me is the amount of weapons there are and the randomization of levels, as most rogue-like games utilize, to deliver a new experience every time you play. The game doesn't seem too complicated: survive, kill enemies and progress to the next level. The game, as a whole, does seem to be lacking depth; however, it does have an interesting concept and one that I'd definitely be willing to try out. You can grab Teleglitch: Die More Edition on Steam for $12.99 or from one of the many distributors listed on their official site.
Monday, August 12, 2013
GameLight - Hammerwatch
Steam Page: http://store.steampowered.com/app/239070/
Source: Youtube Channel theTransflash
How this game escaped my attention on Steam Greenlight is beyond me. Hammerwatch is described to be a cooperative Action-Adventure, Hack-n-Slash with RPG elements. It reminds me of classic Gauntlet with puzzle solving from The Legend of Zelda series. The frantic nature of the game and its insane amounts of enemies are among some of the aspects that has gotten me really interested in the game. The game will also support mods and so perhaps it'll utilize Steam workshop. The game also features local, online, and LAN cooperative multiplayer. I am lacking in multiplayer games and so it's nice to see games such as these still being made. As far as the video shows, there will be lots of killing, lots of looting, lots of upgrading, lots of puzzles, and lots of dying. It looks like it's going to be a lot of fun.
How this game escaped my attention on Steam Greenlight is beyond me. Hammerwatch is described to be a cooperative Action-Adventure, Hack-n-Slash with RPG elements. It reminds me of classic Gauntlet with puzzle solving from The Legend of Zelda series. The frantic nature of the game and its insane amounts of enemies are among some of the aspects that has gotten me really interested in the game. The game will also support mods and so perhaps it'll utilize Steam workshop. The game also features local, online, and LAN cooperative multiplayer. I am lacking in multiplayer games and so it's nice to see games such as these still being made. As far as the video shows, there will be lots of killing, lots of looting, lots of upgrading, lots of puzzles, and lots of dying. It looks like it's going to be a lot of fun.
Monday, July 22, 2013
Retroview - Star Miner Special Edition
Official Site: http://www.positech.co.uk/index.html
Source: Youtube Channel LorenzoTheComic
Yesterday was the last day of Summer Steam Sales 2013 and I decided to pick up a game I had my eye on for the longest time: Starscape. It's a top-down, space-shooter where you mine for resources to improve your ships and weapons. It was released all the way back in 2003, but I didn't mind as long as it provided the type of game I wanted to play. It reminded me of another Space-shooter game where you had to mine for materials, purchase items, and fight off enemy air-ships: Star Miner SE. I had played this game off a CD called Galaxy of Arcade Classics from eGames back in 2000. The developer of the game was a one man company called Positech Computing ltd. and was released in 1999, 2 years after the guy founded the company. The company is now called Positech Games which many know the company through games like Democracy 2 and Gratuitous Space/Tank Battles. It's amazing how he started all those years ago and is still making games now.
I never did get to try multiplayer on the game, but single-player was a lot of fun. It was confusing at first since it didn't have any real goals or set paths for the player to go, and so the player had to figure out what to do. Blasting asteroids would drop materials for the player to collect and use to improve their ship when landing on a planet. It was open-ended and gave the freedom for the player to explore and survive. For a whole decade, I never really played anything quite similar up until just a few months ago when I tried out Space Pirates and Zombies (S.P.A.Z.) which was fun, but not quite the same. Playing through the tutorial of Starscape last night, it really did feel similar to Star Miner with similar controls and goals with a much more complex story and building mechanics to improve the ships and weapons. Then again, Starscape is also an old game that released about 4 years after Star Miner. Still, there was something about Star Miner that I really enjoyed that I don't quite remember. I actually still have the CD I played it on, so I think I might pop it in and try it out once more.
If you want my opinions on the 3 games:
Star Miner - It's old, but very straight-forward so you'll get the experience right away without learning complicated mechanics.
Star Scape - It only goes up to 800 x 600 resolution, so you can imagine what it looks like. There's a lot of building and resource managing involved, so those who like management in their games will like it.
Space Pirates and Zombies (SPAZ) - It has a LOT of reading, so those looking for a stronger narrative should check this out. And since it's the newest game out of the 3 (released in 2011), it also has the most comprehensible controls and most advanced graphics.
As far as which one is the best? They're all different and provide a unique experience, even if the core concept is the same.
Source: Youtube Channel LorenzoTheComic
Yesterday was the last day of Summer Steam Sales 2013 and I decided to pick up a game I had my eye on for the longest time: Starscape. It's a top-down, space-shooter where you mine for resources to improve your ships and weapons. It was released all the way back in 2003, but I didn't mind as long as it provided the type of game I wanted to play. It reminded me of another Space-shooter game where you had to mine for materials, purchase items, and fight off enemy air-ships: Star Miner SE. I had played this game off a CD called Galaxy of Arcade Classics from eGames back in 2000. The developer of the game was a one man company called Positech Computing ltd. and was released in 1999, 2 years after the guy founded the company. The company is now called Positech Games which many know the company through games like Democracy 2 and Gratuitous Space/Tank Battles. It's amazing how he started all those years ago and is still making games now.
I never did get to try multiplayer on the game, but single-player was a lot of fun. It was confusing at first since it didn't have any real goals or set paths for the player to go, and so the player had to figure out what to do. Blasting asteroids would drop materials for the player to collect and use to improve their ship when landing on a planet. It was open-ended and gave the freedom for the player to explore and survive. For a whole decade, I never really played anything quite similar up until just a few months ago when I tried out Space Pirates and Zombies (S.P.A.Z.) which was fun, but not quite the same. Playing through the tutorial of Starscape last night, it really did feel similar to Star Miner with similar controls and goals with a much more complex story and building mechanics to improve the ships and weapons. Then again, Starscape is also an old game that released about 4 years after Star Miner. Still, there was something about Star Miner that I really enjoyed that I don't quite remember. I actually still have the CD I played it on, so I think I might pop it in and try it out once more.
If you want my opinions on the 3 games:
Star Miner - It's old, but very straight-forward so you'll get the experience right away without learning complicated mechanics.
Star Scape - It only goes up to 800 x 600 resolution, so you can imagine what it looks like. There's a lot of building and resource managing involved, so those who like management in their games will like it.
Space Pirates and Zombies (SPAZ) - It has a LOT of reading, so those looking for a stronger narrative should check this out. And since it's the newest game out of the 3 (released in 2011), it also has the most comprehensible controls and most advanced graphics.
As far as which one is the best? They're all different and provide a unique experience, even if the core concept is the same.
Friday, July 5, 2013
GameLight - Edge of Space
Steam Page: http://store.steampowered.com/app/238240/
Source: Youtube Channel gamezplay
There are plenty of things to wait for this month: Steam Summer Sales, Terraria Update, the release of "Dynasty Warriors 8" and "Time and Eternity". For the Sandbox game players, Terraria is the big thing everyone's waiting for until Starbound is released. Unknown to me, another game similar to Starbound was being developed call "Edge of Space" and has passed Steam Greenlight and is undergoing Early Access Beta phase. At a reduced price of $11.99 from it final price of $14.99, I felt tempted to try it out. Even if I didn't particularly like it, I thought my contribution would help the developers out a little for those who will enjoy it.
Edge of Space is a Sandbox, Action-Adventure RPG experience where gameplay is non-linear and has no set goals in mind for the player. It is much like Terraria in that it's a 2D exploration game that allows players to gather materials, build structures, and craft items to further explore more dangerous parts of the world. Worlds are randomly generated and so will have a different experience with each world created. The game simply provides the tools for the player to use with no real goals in mind and lets the player set their own objectives.
I was aware of having to be logged in to their servers and not having multiplayer when I bought the game, so I didn't think too much of it when I started up the game. After an hour of playing, I was able to build a wall around me with no backwall and doors for a house. Other than that, I created two weapons to help me fight enemies. In other words, I was completely lost and confused. The user-interface isn't as simple compared to Terraria, but I do have to say that it's more organized with a window menu system rather than having one long list. The exploration is a lot more massive with huge elevations and long drops throughout the world. The player gets a jet pack at the start of the game, but easily runs out of energy when making contact with space jellyfishes or when using it up. Overall, I think I can eventually enjoy the game to an extent and I believe the developers will continually improve the game, but I think Starbound will provide a better affordance in terms of user-interface and tools for playing the game.
Edge of Space has a confusing crafting system despite having a better organization in the menu system and the graphics of the tiles blend in too well together and make it look muddled. The graphics do look more realistic, but they don't work well with the rest of the game's mechanics. But the game is still in its beta and one that can continue to improve even after an official release much like Terraria did. If you would like to help the developers make Edge of Space a better experience and one step closer to an official release, you can purchase access to the beta and get the full release with it on Steam at the link on top. By playing the game and giving feedback to the developers, bugs can be fixed and aspects of the game can be added and improved. At the moment, multiplayer has been disabled and will be available again in the future. The early access beta phase is requiring players to be online and logged into their servers in order to play. So keep these in mind before you purchase the game.
There are plenty of things to wait for this month: Steam Summer Sales, Terraria Update, the release of "Dynasty Warriors 8" and "Time and Eternity". For the Sandbox game players, Terraria is the big thing everyone's waiting for until Starbound is released. Unknown to me, another game similar to Starbound was being developed call "Edge of Space" and has passed Steam Greenlight and is undergoing Early Access Beta phase. At a reduced price of $11.99 from it final price of $14.99, I felt tempted to try it out. Even if I didn't particularly like it, I thought my contribution would help the developers out a little for those who will enjoy it.
Edge of Space is a Sandbox, Action-Adventure RPG experience where gameplay is non-linear and has no set goals in mind for the player. It is much like Terraria in that it's a 2D exploration game that allows players to gather materials, build structures, and craft items to further explore more dangerous parts of the world. Worlds are randomly generated and so will have a different experience with each world created. The game simply provides the tools for the player to use with no real goals in mind and lets the player set their own objectives.
I was aware of having to be logged in to their servers and not having multiplayer when I bought the game, so I didn't think too much of it when I started up the game. After an hour of playing, I was able to build a wall around me with no backwall and doors for a house. Other than that, I created two weapons to help me fight enemies. In other words, I was completely lost and confused. The user-interface isn't as simple compared to Terraria, but I do have to say that it's more organized with a window menu system rather than having one long list. The exploration is a lot more massive with huge elevations and long drops throughout the world. The player gets a jet pack at the start of the game, but easily runs out of energy when making contact with space jellyfishes or when using it up. Overall, I think I can eventually enjoy the game to an extent and I believe the developers will continually improve the game, but I think Starbound will provide a better affordance in terms of user-interface and tools for playing the game.
Edge of Space has a confusing crafting system despite having a better organization in the menu system and the graphics of the tiles blend in too well together and make it look muddled. The graphics do look more realistic, but they don't work well with the rest of the game's mechanics. But the game is still in its beta and one that can continue to improve even after an official release much like Terraria did. If you would like to help the developers make Edge of Space a better experience and one step closer to an official release, you can purchase access to the beta and get the full release with it on Steam at the link on top. By playing the game and giving feedback to the developers, bugs can be fixed and aspects of the game can be added and improved. At the moment, multiplayer has been disabled and will be available again in the future. The early access beta phase is requiring players to be online and logged into their servers in order to play. So keep these in mind before you purchase the game.
Thursday, June 27, 2013
GameLight - Yatagarasu Attack on Cataclysm
IndieGoGo Campaign: Yatagarasu Attack on Cataclysm
Source: Youtube Channel NyuMedia
Yatagarasu is an indie fighting game developed by 3 former SNK / King of Fighter Staff members and has launched a funding campaign to continue working on expanding the game. The original was set to launch on the 3DS eShop and PC, but it seems the team wants to go one step further and add new characters, update the game with new commentary, improve the graphics, and localize it in English for the rest of the world to enjoy on PC by Nyu Media. I'm still not very convinced by the game's trailer just yet, but I do like the character designs and I would like more fighting games on PC. The problem I have with Nyu Media right now is that the games they localize take a very long time to get onto Steam. The game is available in Japanese Arcades only as far as I know, but is set to launch on PC for $15 when Attack on Cataclysm is done. Their goal date is February 2014, but projects like these may take more time than that. They are currently asking for $68,000 in funding and have made $2800+ so far with 45 days left. I wish them the best of luck and look forward to seeing what they have in store for us.
Source: Youtube Channel NyuMedia
Yatagarasu is an indie fighting game developed by 3 former SNK / King of Fighter Staff members and has launched a funding campaign to continue working on expanding the game. The original was set to launch on the 3DS eShop and PC, but it seems the team wants to go one step further and add new characters, update the game with new commentary, improve the graphics, and localize it in English for the rest of the world to enjoy on PC by Nyu Media. I'm still not very convinced by the game's trailer just yet, but I do like the character designs and I would like more fighting games on PC. The problem I have with Nyu Media right now is that the games they localize take a very long time to get onto Steam. The game is available in Japanese Arcades only as far as I know, but is set to launch on PC for $15 when Attack on Cataclysm is done. Their goal date is February 2014, but projects like these may take more time than that. They are currently asking for $68,000 in funding and have made $2800+ so far with 45 days left. I wish them the best of luck and look forward to seeing what they have in store for us.
Monday, April 22, 2013
GameLight Review - Torchlight 2
Official Site: http://www.torchlight2game.com/
Steam Page: http://store.steampowered.com/app/200710/
Source: Youtube Channel runicgames
Developer: Runic Games
Publisher: Runic Games
Platforms: PC
Release Date: Sep 20, 2012
Genre: Action-RPG
Pros:
+ Faster-paced gameplay with a steady progression
+ Visceral combat with great visuals, audio, and effect feedback
+ Bright, colorful and vibrant environments
+ A challenging, but gratifying experience
+ More open-world than ever before
+ Lots of skills and build customization
+ Tons of end-game content (New game+ and lots of bonus dungeons)
+ Mod tools provide an infinite amount of possibilities
+ Capable of 6 Player cooperative play Local or via Internet
Cons:
- Internet play has problems connecting to other players sometimes
- Game occasionally has trouble starting up
- Incidents of the game crashing has occurred (save often!)
- Some class skills can be incredibly useless
Recommended: Absolutely! Point-n-Click Action-RPG fans are sure to love this game for its vast amount of content, multiplayer, and mod capabilities.
Torchlight 2 was quite a surprise for me. I was originally reluctant to purchase the game when it had released "after" Diablo 3, but I really enjoyed the first one and decided to give the game a chance. The first one was fun, but dragged on and became tedious and boring near the end. The 2nd game was delayed for nearly a year and the wait had initially lost my interest as I was suspecting that it'd be similar to the first one. Torchlight 2 took everything that was great about the first one and multiplied it several times over. The developers found everything that was wrong about the first one and noted them in the 2nd game as its solution. The transition to only dungeons in the first one to an open world is similar to the transition Diablo 1 had in Diablo 2. Traversing the world and combat started to feel slow after a while in Torchlight 2, so everything in Torchlight 2 is slightly faster. A lot of the skills in Torchlight 1 felt similar and boring, and so skills in Torchlight 2 are more diverse, unique, and dynamic (though some are still useless). Just everything about Torchlight 2 is so much better than the first one and made for a really enjoyable experience. Combat is satisfying, looting is addictive, exploration made me want to play more, and boss battles are really creative. If you're asking for a comparison to Diablo 3, I'd have to say that they're different experiences and that it's still worth playing one if you've played the other.
Aesthetics
Art-Style: 3D Cel-Shaded, Cartoon-ish style
+ Vibrant environments
+ Lots of different enemies with unique models/look
+ All weapons and equipment are reflected upon the character
+ Skill effects are flashy and beautiful
+ User-Interface is clean
+ Atmospheric and easy-listening music
- Can be difficult to see certain enemies sometimes
- Can be confusing when player, items, or enemies are behind a wall
Aesthetics: 9/10
Buttons
Controller: Keyboard/Mouse
+ Hotkeys are customizable to any layout comfortable for the player
+ Quick and tight responses to key presses
+ Menu system allows quick access to attributes, items, and skill while in combat
+ Mini-map can be place in a corner or sides with a press of the button
+ Quick and simple pause menu to access options, save, and quit the game
- There can still be more skills than hotkey bars leaving some skills unused
Buttons: 9/10
Concept & Content
Core Concept: Explore, Kill, Loot, Equip, and level-up
+ Big open world maps is a great change from constant dungeon crawling
+ Combat is a lot more engaging and dynamic with new classes and skills
+ Lots of new items, enemies, and content
+ Boss battles are varied, creative, challenging, and satisfying when beat
+ The pet system favors my desire to loot everything
+ Each class has numerous ways to build them, making lots of unique characters
+ Bonus maps at the end of the game provides more to play past the last boss
+ New Game+ is provided rather than inheritance system from the first game
+ Mod capabilities open an infinite amount of possibilities
- Connecting to friend's games have been problematic or futile
- There are still skills and even entire paths that are useless for a character
- Equipment upgrades can be rare (used some gear for over 10 levels)
- Story was forgettable and rather anti-climatic at the end
Concept and Content: 10/10
Duration
+ A full playthrough is pretty lengthy (by my standards) which is good
+ The flow of the game progressed steadily and always stayed challenging
+ Bonus maps provides a good amount of end-game content
+ New Game+, multiplayer, and other classes provide lots of replay-value
+ Modding opens up all sorts of possibilities
Durations: 10/10
Fun
+ I really liked the multi-tiered boss battles, they were difficult, but fun
+ Playing with friends was a lot of fun, but I also didn't mind playing solo
+ I liked the varied possibilities of equipment usage for my outlander
+ Each class is really unique and provides a different experience (I made all 4)
+ I was so happy to be able to pick up absolutely everything to sell with my pet
+ I think I want to try making my own class using the mod tools, sounds fun
+ The bonus maps will probably bring me back to play the game some more
- I was disappointed with the story, it could've been just as good as the gameplay
- Internet play had a lot of problems and finally deterred my friends from playing
- Some skills were useless; not enough hotkey bar space to fit all the skills
Fun: 9/10
Overall
Torchlight 2 was a pleasant surprise for me and I'm really glad I got it. It left a really good impression on me well after completing the game. I had so much fun with it that I stopped caring about my disappointment with the story. There always seemed more to explore, more to loot, more to level, and more to experience within the game. I would definitely recommend this to any point-n-click Action-RPG fans. Overall: 9.4/10
Steam Page: http://store.steampowered.com/app/200710/
Source: Youtube Channel runicgames
Developer: Runic Games
Publisher: Runic Games
Platforms: PC
Release Date: Sep 20, 2012
Genre: Action-RPG
Pros:
+ Faster-paced gameplay with a steady progression
+ Visceral combat with great visuals, audio, and effect feedback
+ Bright, colorful and vibrant environments
+ A challenging, but gratifying experience
+ More open-world than ever before
+ Lots of skills and build customization
+ Tons of end-game content (New game+ and lots of bonus dungeons)
+ Mod tools provide an infinite amount of possibilities
+ Capable of 6 Player cooperative play Local or via Internet
Cons:
- Internet play has problems connecting to other players sometimes
- Game occasionally has trouble starting up
- Incidents of the game crashing has occurred (save often!)
- Some class skills can be incredibly useless
Recommended: Absolutely! Point-n-Click Action-RPG fans are sure to love this game for its vast amount of content, multiplayer, and mod capabilities.
Torchlight 2 was quite a surprise for me. I was originally reluctant to purchase the game when it had released "after" Diablo 3, but I really enjoyed the first one and decided to give the game a chance. The first one was fun, but dragged on and became tedious and boring near the end. The 2nd game was delayed for nearly a year and the wait had initially lost my interest as I was suspecting that it'd be similar to the first one. Torchlight 2 took everything that was great about the first one and multiplied it several times over. The developers found everything that was wrong about the first one and noted them in the 2nd game as its solution. The transition to only dungeons in the first one to an open world is similar to the transition Diablo 1 had in Diablo 2. Traversing the world and combat started to feel slow after a while in Torchlight 2, so everything in Torchlight 2 is slightly faster. A lot of the skills in Torchlight 1 felt similar and boring, and so skills in Torchlight 2 are more diverse, unique, and dynamic (though some are still useless). Just everything about Torchlight 2 is so much better than the first one and made for a really enjoyable experience. Combat is satisfying, looting is addictive, exploration made me want to play more, and boss battles are really creative. If you're asking for a comparison to Diablo 3, I'd have to say that they're different experiences and that it's still worth playing one if you've played the other.
Aesthetics
Art-Style: 3D Cel-Shaded, Cartoon-ish style
+ Vibrant environments
+ Lots of different enemies with unique models/look
+ All weapons and equipment are reflected upon the character
+ Skill effects are flashy and beautiful
+ User-Interface is clean
+ Atmospheric and easy-listening music
- Can be difficult to see certain enemies sometimes
- Can be confusing when player, items, or enemies are behind a wall
Aesthetics: 9/10
Buttons
Controller: Keyboard/Mouse
+ Hotkeys are customizable to any layout comfortable for the player
+ Quick and tight responses to key presses
+ Menu system allows quick access to attributes, items, and skill while in combat
+ Mini-map can be place in a corner or sides with a press of the button
+ Quick and simple pause menu to access options, save, and quit the game
- There can still be more skills than hotkey bars leaving some skills unused
Buttons: 9/10
Concept & Content
Core Concept: Explore, Kill, Loot, Equip, and level-up
+ Big open world maps is a great change from constant dungeon crawling
+ Combat is a lot more engaging and dynamic with new classes and skills
+ Lots of new items, enemies, and content
+ Boss battles are varied, creative, challenging, and satisfying when beat
+ The pet system favors my desire to loot everything
+ Each class has numerous ways to build them, making lots of unique characters
+ Bonus maps at the end of the game provides more to play past the last boss
+ New Game+ is provided rather than inheritance system from the first game
+ Mod capabilities open an infinite amount of possibilities
- Connecting to friend's games have been problematic or futile
- There are still skills and even entire paths that are useless for a character
- Equipment upgrades can be rare (used some gear for over 10 levels)
- Story was forgettable and rather anti-climatic at the end
Concept and Content: 10/10
Duration
+ A full playthrough is pretty lengthy (by my standards) which is good
+ The flow of the game progressed steadily and always stayed challenging
+ Bonus maps provides a good amount of end-game content
+ New Game+, multiplayer, and other classes provide lots of replay-value
+ Modding opens up all sorts of possibilities
Durations: 10/10
Fun
+ I really liked the multi-tiered boss battles, they were difficult, but fun
+ Playing with friends was a lot of fun, but I also didn't mind playing solo
+ I liked the varied possibilities of equipment usage for my outlander
+ Each class is really unique and provides a different experience (I made all 4)
+ I was so happy to be able to pick up absolutely everything to sell with my pet
+ I think I want to try making my own class using the mod tools, sounds fun
+ The bonus maps will probably bring me back to play the game some more
- I was disappointed with the story, it could've been just as good as the gameplay
- Internet play had a lot of problems and finally deterred my friends from playing
- Some skills were useless; not enough hotkey bar space to fit all the skills
Fun: 9/10
Overall
Torchlight 2 was a pleasant surprise for me and I'm really glad I got it. It left a really good impression on me well after completing the game. I had so much fun with it that I stopped caring about my disappointment with the story. There always seemed more to explore, more to loot, more to level, and more to experience within the game. I would definitely recommend this to any point-n-click Action-RPG fans. Overall: 9.4/10
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
GameLight - Strike Suit Zero
Steam Page: http://store.steampowered.com/app/209540/
Source: Youtube Channel BornReadyVideos
I've been hearing about a space flying shooter called Strike Suit Zero for a while and from the footages it reminds me of Zone of the Enders. As nice looking as the game may be, the game is surprisingly an indie game that was made possible by the community contributing to the kickstarter. Supposedly released on January 24th, 2013, the game is out now on Steam and GreenManGaming today a day earlier. Aside from space fighting as a jet, you can transform into a gundam-like mobile suit which I suspect has more flexibility in movement and different attacks. If you buy it now on Steam between now and January 30th, you can get it for 20% off at $15.99 from its base price of $19.99.
Source: Youtube Channel BornReadyVideos
I've been hearing about a space flying shooter called Strike Suit Zero for a while and from the footages it reminds me of Zone of the Enders. As nice looking as the game may be, the game is surprisingly an indie game that was made possible by the community contributing to the kickstarter. Supposedly released on January 24th, 2013, the game is out now on Steam and GreenManGaming today a day earlier. Aside from space fighting as a jet, you can transform into a gundam-like mobile suit which I suspect has more flexibility in movement and different attacks. If you buy it now on Steam between now and January 30th, you can get it for 20% off at $15.99 from its base price of $19.99.
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
GameLight - 10,000,000
Steam Page: http://store.steampowered.com/app/227580/
Just released today on steam is an odd game with an odder name. 10,000,000 is a puzzle game with Action/RPG elements similar to games like Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords and Legend of Fae where the player matches icons on the board to cause action in the character to fight, find loot, collect materials so that he can build stronger items and find freedom at 10,000,000 points. It looks straightforward enough and I enjoy these sort of puzzle games. 10,000,000 is being sold for $3.99 now until January 22nd and will return to a retail price of $4.99 thereafter. Seeing how it might be a short but entertaining game for $3.99, I'm compelled to get it right now.
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
GameLight - Don't Starve
Steam Page: http://store.steampowered.com/app/219740/
Source: Youtube Channel GameRiotArmy
There's a little indie game called Don't Starve that I just completely overlooked because I didn't like the art style. A few days ago, a friend of mine was talking about it and said he'd bought it already and described it as a survival game having to collect resources, research new items, and fighting off hostile creatures. Through his description I had become more interested in the game, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to buy it. Then he said that those who bought the game gets an extra copy and he graciously gave it to me. The game isn't officially completed yet, but players can buy it now and go through the process of playing the beta as it gradually updates much like other indie games (Minecraft is an excellent example).
Before I started the game, I asked my friend what I should focus on the first time playing. "Collect as much grass, wood, and flint as possible". I wasn't sure what to expect, but I had enough materials to create a fire. I did when it said I should, but it just so happens that it ran out before the night ended and I died. It reminded me of the first time I played Terraria and I was mobbed by zombies. In Don't Starve, it implements permadeath. So once you die, you start over. But from what I understand, anything you research is saved. So it's a game of seeing how long you can survive. My 2nd playthrough, I got through 4 nights and ended up making a machine that can research more items to create. I was running out of food and I couldn't move my machine, so I decided to research as much as possible before my character died. Ironically, my character starved to death in a game called "Don't Starve". I still don't really like the art style, but the game mechanics have piqued my interest and I'll probably continue playing the game as it continually evolves. If hardcore games or survival simulations is your thing, check out the steam page on top.
Source: Youtube Channel GameRiotArmy
There's a little indie game called Don't Starve that I just completely overlooked because I didn't like the art style. A few days ago, a friend of mine was talking about it and said he'd bought it already and described it as a survival game having to collect resources, research new items, and fighting off hostile creatures. Through his description I had become more interested in the game, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to buy it. Then he said that those who bought the game gets an extra copy and he graciously gave it to me. The game isn't officially completed yet, but players can buy it now and go through the process of playing the beta as it gradually updates much like other indie games (Minecraft is an excellent example).
Before I started the game, I asked my friend what I should focus on the first time playing. "Collect as much grass, wood, and flint as possible". I wasn't sure what to expect, but I had enough materials to create a fire. I did when it said I should, but it just so happens that it ran out before the night ended and I died. It reminded me of the first time I played Terraria and I was mobbed by zombies. In Don't Starve, it implements permadeath. So once you die, you start over. But from what I understand, anything you research is saved. So it's a game of seeing how long you can survive. My 2nd playthrough, I got through 4 nights and ended up making a machine that can research more items to create. I was running out of food and I couldn't move my machine, so I decided to research as much as possible before my character died. Ironically, my character starved to death in a game called "Don't Starve". I still don't really like the art style, but the game mechanics have piqued my interest and I'll probably continue playing the game as it continually evolves. If hardcore games or survival simulations is your thing, check out the steam page on top.
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
GameLight Review - Home
Steam Page: http://store.steampowered.com/app/215670/
Source: Youtube Channel Benjamin Rivers
Developer: Benjamin Rivers
Publisher: Benjamin Rivers
Platforms: PC
Release Date: Jun 1, 2012
Genre: Adventure
Pros:
+ Atmospheric and eerie
+ Different decisions affect the outcome of the story
Cons:
- Granted that it's an adventure game, the gameplay mechanics were boring
- Contradicting events happen throughout the game
- The writing is so typical of mystery stories that it's almost cliché
- Text runs slowly and freezes up when trying to skip through it
- Saving work oddly where checkpoints are far apart from each other
- It doesn't matter which ending is given, they're all unsatisfying
Recommended: Maybe, it was $1.01 when I got it and a lot of other players enjoyed the game. I personally didn't like it.
Home is a mystery-Adventure and has been called a horror game but isn't one. The game is all Adventure, meaning there's not killing, dying, enemies, or complicated game mechanics. There's investigating objects and making decisions. How the game works is that the decisions that the player makes will affect the ending of the game. Home is able to create an eerie and dark environment, even with all its pixel-like graphics with the help of environmental audio. But beyond that, I was mostly bored with the game and was mainly concerned about having all the questions in the game answered. When I did get some answers at the end, they were ambiguous and unsatisfying. There can be many conclusions drawn at the end depending on what the player did throughout the playthrough. I didn't feel compelled to play the game over again as I knew the other endings would make me feel any better about the game (I looked up the other possible endings).
Aesthetics
Art Style: Classic 8-bit Pixel based graphics
+ Atmospheric and eerie
+ Effective soundscapes that really sets the mood
+ Though not truly a horror game, the game can be quite spooky
+ Nice looking backdrops
- Some rooms look too similar making it easier to get lost
- Lots of lost opportunity to be a bit more dramatic and surprising
- The retro-style look is interesting, but it loses its novelty very quickly
Aesthetics: 6/10
Buttons
Controller: Keyboard only
+ Though somewhat slow, Simple and straight-forward controls
- Reading through texts are a pain: slow and freezes up when skipping
- Why wasn't the game a point-n-click like most adventure games?
Buttons: 4/10
Concept & Content
Core Concept: Keep moving forward through the story and make decisions
+ It's interesting that the ending changes depending on what decisions you've made
+ The story can be interpreted in many different ways
- There are contradicting events that causes the story to make no sense
- The story isn't too far off from your typical mystery novel
- Erratic text boxes breaks the flow of the game quite often
- Throughout the game, it's one question after another without a good climax
- Puzzles are more tedious than stimulating
Concept & Content: 2/10
Duration
+ The game is fairly short, any long and I'd have given up
+ The game felt slow, but at least it was consistent
- The whole mystery was intriguing, but the ending ruined it all
- Trekking through all the rooms, buildings, and field was long and boring
- Text boxes scrolled too slowly and skipping them made the screen freeze
Duration: 4/10
Fun
+ It was pretty exciting in the beginning not knowing what to expect
+ Interesting that little decisions changed the outcome of the story
- The story just got more and more boring until it got to a very dissatisfying ending
- Puzzles sent me back and forth places quite often with no real challenge
- Texts boxes drove me nuts as I tried to speed it up only to have it freeze up
- I can see this game being a lot more effective in a 3D environment
Fun: 3/10
Overall
I didn't like the game. It got me really excited in the beginning, but the story quickly reveals itself from the very beginning to be very shallow if not ambiguous. The game mechanics weren't fun, the story was weak, but at the very least the atmosphere was interesting. Still, I think the game would be a lot better as a First-Person 3D adventure, or 3rd-Person 3D adventure with much better direction in story telling. There were so many times throughout the game where events could've been so much more emphasized and made memorable. I wouldn't recommend any of my friends to play it, but it seems that this game was enjoyed by many. I don't plan on playing it again any time soon. Overall: 3.8/10
Source: Youtube Channel Benjamin Rivers
Developer: Benjamin Rivers
Publisher: Benjamin Rivers
Platforms: PC
Release Date: Jun 1, 2012
Genre: Adventure
Pros:
+ Atmospheric and eerie
+ Different decisions affect the outcome of the story
Cons:
- Granted that it's an adventure game, the gameplay mechanics were boring
- Contradicting events happen throughout the game
- The writing is so typical of mystery stories that it's almost cliché
- Text runs slowly and freezes up when trying to skip through it
- Saving work oddly where checkpoints are far apart from each other
- It doesn't matter which ending is given, they're all unsatisfying
Recommended: Maybe, it was $1.01 when I got it and a lot of other players enjoyed the game. I personally didn't like it.
Home is a mystery-Adventure and has been called a horror game but isn't one. The game is all Adventure, meaning there's not killing, dying, enemies, or complicated game mechanics. There's investigating objects and making decisions. How the game works is that the decisions that the player makes will affect the ending of the game. Home is able to create an eerie and dark environment, even with all its pixel-like graphics with the help of environmental audio. But beyond that, I was mostly bored with the game and was mainly concerned about having all the questions in the game answered. When I did get some answers at the end, they were ambiguous and unsatisfying. There can be many conclusions drawn at the end depending on what the player did throughout the playthrough. I didn't feel compelled to play the game over again as I knew the other endings would make me feel any better about the game (I looked up the other possible endings).
Aesthetics
Art Style: Classic 8-bit Pixel based graphics
+ Atmospheric and eerie
+ Effective soundscapes that really sets the mood
+ Though not truly a horror game, the game can be quite spooky
+ Nice looking backdrops
- Some rooms look too similar making it easier to get lost
- Lots of lost opportunity to be a bit more dramatic and surprising
- The retro-style look is interesting, but it loses its novelty very quickly
Aesthetics: 6/10
Buttons
Controller: Keyboard only
+ Though somewhat slow, Simple and straight-forward controls
- Reading through texts are a pain: slow and freezes up when skipping
- Why wasn't the game a point-n-click like most adventure games?
Buttons: 4/10
Concept & Content
Core Concept: Keep moving forward through the story and make decisions
+ It's interesting that the ending changes depending on what decisions you've made
+ The story can be interpreted in many different ways
- There are contradicting events that causes the story to make no sense
- The story isn't too far off from your typical mystery novel
- Erratic text boxes breaks the flow of the game quite often
- Throughout the game, it's one question after another without a good climax
- Puzzles are more tedious than stimulating
Concept & Content: 2/10
Duration
+ The game is fairly short, any long and I'd have given up
+ The game felt slow, but at least it was consistent
- The whole mystery was intriguing, but the ending ruined it all
- Trekking through all the rooms, buildings, and field was long and boring
- Text boxes scrolled too slowly and skipping them made the screen freeze
Duration: 4/10
Fun
+ It was pretty exciting in the beginning not knowing what to expect
+ Interesting that little decisions changed the outcome of the story
- The story just got more and more boring until it got to a very dissatisfying ending
- Puzzles sent me back and forth places quite often with no real challenge
- Texts boxes drove me nuts as I tried to speed it up only to have it freeze up
- I can see this game being a lot more effective in a 3D environment
Fun: 3/10
Overall
I didn't like the game. It got me really excited in the beginning, but the story quickly reveals itself from the very beginning to be very shallow if not ambiguous. The game mechanics weren't fun, the story was weak, but at the very least the atmosphere was interesting. Still, I think the game would be a lot better as a First-Person 3D adventure, or 3rd-Person 3D adventure with much better direction in story telling. There were so many times throughout the game where events could've been so much more emphasized and made memorable. I wouldn't recommend any of my friends to play it, but it seems that this game was enjoyed by many. I don't plan on playing it again any time soon. Overall: 3.8/10
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