tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84703257716964628812024-03-14T04:31:44.146-05:00Digital QuartersShin Hogoshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02255736347773576091noreply@blogger.comBlogger138125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470325771696462881.post-25733231241644374532011-02-07T20:45:00.004-06:002011-02-07T22:09:17.726-06:00Weekly XBLIG Picks - 1/31-2/6<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TVDBURizPTI/AAAAAAAAAYo/tJzPahduFXg/s1600/title.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TVDBURizPTI/AAAAAAAAAYo/tJzPahduFXg/s320/title.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5571165293108215090" /></a><br />In this week's installment of Weekly XBLIG Picks (just imagine I stretched that out and used a deep, booming voice), there really weren't too many games that evoked the jump up and scream response. Well, some did, but not in the way that will make you rush to enter your 16 digits and buy more Microsoft points. When the week ended, I really only found three games that I felt comfortable recommending. And here they are, in no particular order:<br /><a name='more'></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TVDBUBRfk3I/AAAAAAAAAYg/ti4v2E430bo/s1600/baby.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TVDBUBRfk3I/AAAAAAAAAYg/ti4v2E430bo/s320/baby.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5571165288740655986" /></a><br /><a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/Product/Baby-Maker-Extreme-2/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d802585507a3">Baby Maker Extreme 2</a> - Yeah, you know it's a slow week when I'm starting off with this. To be honest, though, games like this, its predecessor, or Avatar Cannon are really worth the asking price of a buck. Willing that you only buy one or two, of course. Baby Maker Extreme 2, much like the first one of its namesake, is XBLIG's version of <a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&sqi=2&ved=0CBsQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmegami.starcreator.com%2Fnanaca-crash%2F&ei=jbBQTYCRGsm2tgeViYHuCQ&usg=AFQjCNE_xbsBHRC-3mLtrPTbX0PlqlYSMw">Nanaca*Crash</a> with a bit more of an, er, interesting theme. Mash the A button and cause a soon-to-be mom to shoot her newborn out of the business end of her lady parts, trying to get said baby far as possible through using and earning boosts and dives, avoiding obstacles, and hitting certain people and objects. The trial ended with your newborn leaving the hospital (and hitting Upsell Bear, who is now my personal hero), so I imagine you'll be smacking food vendors and nuns while you're flying through the air. Each game lasts an incredibly short amount of time, but considering you'll probably launch a few <em>thousand</em> babies while trying to unlock alternate children, outfits and modes, you'll get your dollar's worth. Scrubbing the shame off every time you hear the woman breathing through labor, however...that gets a bit awkward, so try before you shamelessly buy.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TVDBUL0oUqI/AAAAAAAAAYY/wNANMfi77Tw/s1600/timeslip.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TVDBUL0oUqI/AAAAAAAAAYY/wNANMfi77Tw/s320/timeslip.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5571165291572384418" /></a><br /><a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/Product/Timeslip/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d802585507a4">Timeslip</a> - I won't tell you the presentation of this game is anything amazing, though it is better than most XBLIG titles. I also won't tell you that the controls don't feel just a little off. Because those would both be lies. What I will tell you is that the idea for this game is both frustrating and awesome at the same time. You guide your time-echoing snail along your normal set of platforms, collecting your normal set of coins and hitting your normal set of switches. Everything we've seen before. Until the little clock runs out, and in addition to the snail you're controlling there's also an echo of what you just did. And then another one. And another. And so on and so forth. Essentially, you'll be using these echoes to open doors, activate switches, and pretty much turn the platformer into a puzzle/platformer. Did I mention that you create a time paradox if you hit one of your echoes, thus killing you and starting the level over? It's challenging but definitely worth a look.<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TVDBTipwDpI/AAAAAAAAAYQ/gbiLrs_2Iu0/s1600/nyantech.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TVDBTipwDpI/AAAAAAAAAYQ/gbiLrs_2Iu0/s320/nyantech.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5571165280520900242" /></a><br /><a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/Product/NYAN-TECH/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d802585507ac">NYAN-TECH</a> - From Dot Zo Games, same makers of Ninja Bros, comes a game that...looks nearly exactly like Ninja Bros. Thankfully, though, it isn't. Nyan-Tech is a platformer that has you struggling with the controls as a legitimate part of the game itself. The premise is simple: grab key, reach door, ???, profit. To do this, however, you'll have to activate switches and platforms by pressing or holding one, some, or <em>all</em> of the face and shoulder buttons, which may or may not include the A button, also known as the button you'll be using to jump. It's like playing N+ while your fingers play Twister, and though many games have required some complex button presses and holds I can't think of another platformer that's straight-up more physically demanding of the player. At 80 MS Points, it's something most any platformer fan should try out and easily something I'll be reviewing soon.<br /><br />Well, that's it for this week's recommendations. There were more than a few games that just had way too many problems or screamed "I WANT MONEY TOO" for me to say that they're worth the time or money, but I'll go over a couple anyway. <a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/Product/Run/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d802585507a2">"Run!"</a> is decent, but you're better off playing either of the Blazin' Balls XBLIG titles as they're the same thing with more intelligent level design and less avatars. <a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/Product/Phibian/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d8025855079f">Phibian</a> is a vertical scrolling shmup involving a frog and a lot of spears, but controls feel too loose and jumping over the terrain ends up being an obstacle in the way of having fun rather than enhancing it. <a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/Product/Avatar-Ragdolls/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d802585507ad">Avatar Ragdolls</a> is worth a look for fans of Avatar Drop and kid-friendly gaming, but I was bored before the trial ended. And, finally, <a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/Product/All-Out-of-Bubblegum/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d802585507a0">All Out Of Bubblegum</a> had a good idea mixing the Rampart-style defense construction mixed with twin-stick survival, but the game itself wasn't fun at all and didn't hold a candle to most any other zombie twin-sticker on the market.<br /><br />That said, reviewers like myself only say things as useful guidelines. Free demos are free, so don't hesitate to try out everything that catches your eye or even throw a few MS Points out there to support your local starving indie developer. The More You Play. *ding*Shin Hogoshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02255736347773576091noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470325771696462881.post-15416968772376064692011-02-02T22:32:00.002-06:002011-02-02T23:11:51.695-06:00Random - Indie Board Games<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TUo4zzd3OmI/AAAAAAAAAYI/9VotpGnYUnk/s1600/innovation.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 200px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TUo4zzd3OmI/AAAAAAAAAYI/9VotpGnYUnk/s320/innovation.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569326351836985954" /></a><br />A quick note before I go to bed. If I could turn everything into some sort of card-based game, I would. Fighters, RPGs, street racing, heck I almost joined Weight Watchers because of that awesome card system they had for keeping track of your points (I'm 5'8" and weigh 130, so this would probably kill me). Needless to say, few things capture my attention like shuffling and drawing. Earlier tonight, as my girlfriend and a good friend of mine were playing a three-player game of <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/63888/innovation">Innovation</a>, I was reminded of my love for all games indie and how that spills over to my hobbies that don't involve electricity.<br /><br />So, would you believe there's the board game equivalent of XBLIG?<br /><a name='more'></a><br />That's right. Based out of Madison, WI, <a href="http://www.thegamecrafter.com/">The Game Crafter</a> really can be best described as you just read. It's a print-on-demand site for card and board games. Aspiring developers can design their own awesomely awesome game, upload the designs to TGC's site, and either order copies for themselves at cost or have others buy the game from TGC itself, setting the price and splitting the profit with said site. It's an amazing idea, and one I've been looking into myself, but much like XBLIG there's little to no control over what ends up available. As true as it is that you'll find some absolutely amazing card games <a href="http://www.thegamecrafter.com/games/evolution-earth-cataclysm">like this one here</a>, you'll also end up knee-deep in shameless copycats and cash-grabs. You can look at what games sell the best, and with prices between $10 and $30 that's usually a good indicator of non-suckitude. In addition to this, the site has <a href="http://www.thegamecrafter.com/forums">its own forum</a> complete with reviews and such but, as with anything on the internet, talk is cheap.<br /><br />The main thing about The Game Crafter, though, is that it gives developers both a creative outlet <em>and</em> a way for them to see how their game does on a larger market than their friends and family. I won't say that everything in that store is gold, nor will I say that the site handles the flood of games the best. But anything that gives the indie developer a chance is a win in my book.Shin Hogoshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02255736347773576091noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470325771696462881.post-27449485610184428542011-02-01T21:21:00.005-06:002011-02-01T22:54:22.160-06:00Thoughts - Why XBLIG's Online Requirement Kills Certain GenresThere's a requirement for certain Ubisoft games that you MUST be online while playing said game. The punishment for trying to play offline is the obvious: you don't get to play. If you're a gamer, there's a pretty good chance you already knew about this and have made your long, angry, anti-Ubisoft blog or forum entry. But Ubisoft is a giant Splinter Cell-cranking corporation. Surely it's an isolated incident that wouldn't reach the world of indie gaming, right? As unfair as it is to word it like that, we all know it's been like that for XBLIG since the beginning.<br /><br />And until this changes, competitive gaming will never be seen on XBLIG.<br /><a name='more'></a><br />The reason is simple, but it deserves to be said. Competitive gaming usually takes place in one of two environments. One, like with many competitive shooters, is at a LAN Center, auditorium, or some other local space with the ability to have a large amount of monitors and 1-4 people sitting in front of each. LAN Centers will, many times, have systems networked and connected to the internet, so the problem can be sidestepped. When you're taking things to a high school lunchroom or the basement of a local church, however, you're lucky to have enough tables, let alone a viable internet connection for a dozen or more systems. And because of this, there's no way to actually play any XBLIG titles regardless of how great they'd be as a competitive game.<br /><br />The second environment is on a larger scale, such as an MLG event or Evolution. The same problem applies, but could you imagine the headache tournament organizers would go through having 50-100 of their own XBox Live accounts, each requiring personal information? That people can possibly access or change on these systems? And then having each connected online? I'll concede that a LAN Center owner deals with that situation daily, but they also have a much smaller operation and a usually loyal customer base. In addition, having a system online opens up the opportunity for some sort of interference, such as people sending messages to certain 360s to distract competitors or just for a hiccup with the connection to cause play to cease.<br /><br />Obviously the advantage of being able to take your 360 with you anywhere and play XBLIG titles isn't limited to competitive or tournament situations, and earlier this week I wanted to bring mine to a local gathering to play some Protect Me Knight and Score Rush, but that second scenario doesn't actually discourage sales and development like the first one does. With the online requirement, I could see many developers simply deciding not to make a game with a local multiplayer competitive aspect to it, as they may just consider it a waste of time and resources. I mean, what's the point of making a balanced fighting game or a carefully-designed team-based FPS if all that's going to happen is someone plays it at home alone or, if they're lucky, with one other person on the couch or online? What's the point of sticking months into beta feedback if the system <em>itself</em> won't allow a competitive scene?<br /><br />On the plus side of all this, some developers still go ahead with the idea that people will play and enjoy the finer points of their games. Tribetoy, the developers of XBLIG fighter <a href="http://www.chusdynasty.com/">Chu's Dynasty</a>, not only spent years developing a deep and aesthetically pleasing 4-player fighter but also hang out on competitive fighting game forum shoryuken.com to get input from the players there. I can't help but find it a bit tragic that their game will probably never see a tournament outside of one's living room thanks to Microsoft's online requirement, and it's sadly this reason that has prevented me (and I imagine others) from buying the game due to a lack of reason to play if it'll only be by my lonesome. Even still, it's a great effort, and one I know has won them the respect of said community.<br /><br />In the end, this odd and <a href="http://forums.create.msdn.com/forums/t/65717.aspx?PageIndex=3">admitted to be outdated</a> online requirement does hurt sales, and most people wouldn't even dream of disagreeing with that for a second. But overall sales isn't the only thing hurt by XBLIG's need to be connected to XBox Live, and considering the indie titles are made for gamers by gamers I have no doubt in my mind it stifles creativity and forward movement for XNA's indie developers. And that is something that deserves attention.Shin Hogoshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02255736347773576091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470325771696462881.post-67915648624561107022011-01-31T18:14:00.005-06:002011-01-31T19:54:58.024-06:00Weekly XBLIG Picks - 1/24-1/30Every week, I'll slave over a hot 360 to bring you a list of what I consider worthwhile downloads, picked from the deluge of games that hit the XBLIG Marketplace during the previous seven days. On this first edition, we've got a platformer, a brawler, a physics puzzler, an RPG, and a twin-stick shooter; a decent variety and all worth at least a demo.<br /><a name='more'></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TUdmrq8W2ZI/AAAAAAAAAXs/dkzBkG2joc8/s1600/bonded.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TUdmrq8W2ZI/AAAAAAAAAXs/dkzBkG2joc8/s320/bonded.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5568532364714760594" /></a><br /><a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/Product/Bonded-Realities/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d80258550791"><strong>Bonded Realities</strong></a><br /><br />RPGs are a bit difficult to judge from an eight-minute demonstration. Some start with promise but run out of steam long before its conclusion while others, sadly, fail to grab your attention before your time is up regardless of if the rest of the game is more than worth your time. In the case of Bonded Realities, it was somewhat difficult to gauge how deep and enjoyable the game is beyond the obvious charm and humor of its presentation, both of which will get at least a smile out of you. The demo had you in control of a child at day care, walking into a sandbox to play with his three friends before all four of them get transported to some world where they are transformed into warriors. The visuals are cute, the jokes are alright, but you'll only fight about five one-on-one turn-based battles that involve hitting "Attack" a lot. I assume the combat gets deeper than that, and the game looks worth its asking price, but I can't help myself from wishing for more of a representation of the actual gameplay. Regardless, Bonded Realities is 80 MS Points, and fans of the old-school RPGs would do well to give it a try.<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TUdmsPHUHEI/AAAAAAAAAX8/esXCYpBDwms/s1600/maidsan.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TUdmsPHUHEI/AAAAAAAAAX8/esXCYpBDwms/s320/maidsan.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5568532374424394818" /></a><br /><a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/Product/Maid-sans-Caving-Adventure/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d8025855078f"><strong>Maid-San's Caving Adventure</strong></a><br /><br />I took one look at the cover for this game and nearly dismissed the thing for being a shameless "sex sells" cash-grab. For which I owe the developer an apology. Maid-San's Caving Adventure is a sort of, oddly enough, puzzle/platformer in which you guide your housekeeping protagonist to the stage's exit while collecting stars and avoiding goblin-looking things. The catch? You can't do anything but run, jump, and cower. While cowering (did you think I wasn't serious?), enemies won't notice you and will walk right by, but your vision becomes so horrible that all you'll be able to do is see your maid quivering in fear. It's the sort of game I think would have fit better in the survival-horror genre but, regardless of the cutesy presentation and obvious pandering to anime-loving males, Maid-San is easily the most interesting game of this week and will probably see a review here sometime soon.<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TUdmrF-c43I/AAAAAAAAAXc/Bh70oja8I7w/s1600/ballistic.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TUdmrF-c43I/AAAAAAAAAXc/Bh70oja8I7w/s320/ballistic.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5568532354791433074" /></a><br /><a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/Product/radiangames-Ballistic/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d80258550796"><strong>radiangames Ballistic</strong></a><br /><br />A no-brainer inclusion for this week is radiangames' twin-stick shooter Ballistic. Sadly, it's also Luke's final game from his monthly series of excellent titles, and because of that he seemed to take a little bit of everything from his previous titles and thrown it all into one last game. It's got the twin-stick arena style of JoyJoy, the upgrades we first saw in Inferno, the limited bursts of extra firepower from Crossfire, the bombs from Fireball, and the movement/attack trade-off of Fluid. (Alright, that last one was a stretch, but I really wanted to include each game.) A campaign of infinite (!!!) waves, five extra modes, balanced upgrades, and leaderboards for each different mode, Ballistic is a game for fans of pretty much anything twin-stick and is priced at 80 MS Points for your consideration. Expect a full review later this week as well as a giveaway for a free copy of the game, courtesy of radiangames.<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TUdmrcXr7gI/AAAAAAAAAXk/WeuWbautvQw/s1600/blocks.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TUdmrcXr7gI/AAAAAAAAAXk/WeuWbautvQw/s320/blocks.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5568532360802856450" /></a><br /><a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/Product/Blocks-Indie/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d80258550799"><strong>Blocks Indie</strong></a><br /><br />Blocks was almost the first game this year to earn an impulse buy once the trial expired. The game idea is simple enough. You transport a crate onto a floating island using a rocket-propelled platform. And the controls are simple enough as well, with your left trigger raising the left side of the platform and the right trigger handling the other side. Pulling this off, however, is another story, and will probably start with you just flipping the platform over and dumping the box onto the ground or in a hole. Eventually, through trial and error, you'll learn how to carefully navigate up and down passageways and beyond obstacles all while trying to keep your profanity down to a minimum when you fail. It's frustrating, it's awkward, and you'll love every second of it. Fans of anything physics-related such as Gerbil Physics, Angry Birds, or even Marble Madness will probably find a fair amount of fun in this 240 MS Point title. Just don't play it around the kids if you have a potty mouth...we don't want them repeating what you say to their parents.<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TUdmr5r7jJI/AAAAAAAAAX0/KDuo6GOYgfc/s1600/incident.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TUdmr5r7jJI/AAAAAAAAAX0/KDuo6GOYgfc/s320/incident.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5568532368672394386" /></a><br /><a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/Product/Incident-of-Dreamy-Vale-Church/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d8025855079e"><strong>Incident of Dreamy Vale Church</strong></a><br /><br />Much like Maid-San above, Incident of Dreamy Vale Church has some presentation issues. Namely, the two main characters look like fan-service personified, and that can immediately turn some away (or bring others in, of course). If I didn't notice the game was a Final Fight-style brawler, I would have passed it up as well, but it ended up delivering a surprisingly solid beat-'em-up experience. Single player felt a little too unfair so, if you plan on picking this up, bring a friend with you, but as far as mashing buttons and smacking things around this is a good value for the 80 MS Points. On the downside...I really don't know what to tell you about playing this around your girlfriend. Honestly, it's like this week was <em>meant</em> for awkward gaming.<br /><br />And there you have it. Five games, each worth a glance, all available on your friendly neighborhood XBox Live Indie Games Marketplace. As always, feel free to check out other games on the Indie Marketplace, rate the games you like, and support the developers that make that scene great. Tune in next Sunday for another helping of Weekly XBLIG Picks.Shin Hogoshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02255736347773576091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470325771696462881.post-61286804207781829142011-01-29T23:44:00.003-06:002011-01-30T00:09:12.088-06:00Late New Year's ResolutionLooking back at last year, I realized that even though the vast majority of the games I reviewed were bought and paid for out of my own pocket, I probably still spent less on video gaming than any other year in the last decade. How much is uncertain, and I don't feel like going back and doing some seriously unnecessary guessing, but with only four or even fewer games bought on disc and a handful of XBLA/WiiWare titles I doubt it was over $300. That seems like a large number when you just throw it out there, but considering that counts GameFly for the first few months of the year as well as the fact that many gamers can spend that much in two trips to GameStop it starts to look like a pretty small number for someone who lists video gaming as his main hobby.<br /><br />And I think I can cut that number down even further. Would you believe...in half?<br /><br />So here's my late resolution: by year's end, I'll only spend $150 on video games. And each Saturday I'll document every last cent I threw into gaming. That's $12.50 a month on gaming And consider that snagging a new game at retail kills 40% of my budget <em>for a year</em>.<br /><br />Think I can do it? I'm willing to wager that, for every dollar I go over, I'll put that much into a charity of someone's choice (dunno who yet, I'll decide on that part later). If I don't, I'll still put the remainder into that charity with a minimum of $25. The only allowance I have is that I can use the remainder of my MS Points (roughly 950 MSP or $12) without it counting, since they were part of a Christmas gift. After that, $150 for the rest of the year.<br /><br />And yes, I think I can do it.Shin Hogoshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02255736347773576091noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470325771696462881.post-72611589608027181872011-01-28T21:39:00.005-06:002011-01-28T23:01:57.114-06:00Four Quarter Friday - Vorpal<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TUOdo4y1GQI/AAAAAAAAAXM/4tBJvdkcISM/s1600/vorpal1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TUOdo4y1GQI/AAAAAAAAAXM/4tBJvdkcISM/s320/vorpal1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5567466890125973762" /></a><br />At about 2 in the morning on New Year's Day, after a buddy of mine and I spent eight hours with Raskulls, Hydro Thunder Hurricane, and BBC's Top Gear, I decided to hop on over to the Indie Games Marketplace to see if anything from the Indie Games Winter Uprising had hit XBox Live. There wasn't, but I was greeted with a box art that reminded me of the simple Japanese Final Fantasy boxes. White background, one-color title, and a drawing using nothing but black ink yet being detailed enough to catch my eye. I didn't find a 16-bit RPG underneath the classy digital case, but after an hour or two with Vorpal I'm pretty glad I didn't.<br /><a name='more'></a><br />Vorpal is a bullet-hell shmup that gets rid of all that pesky filler where you do nothing but blow hundreds of mindless drones to kingdom come and back. Instead of boring you with all the details, it just throws you into battle against screen-filling patterns and the bosses that cause them. You'll choose one of six ships, each with somewhat different shot patterns and special weapons, and fight against the other five in an effort to deplete their shields little by little before your ship gets ruled or your eyes become too bloodshot to function, whatever happens first.<br /><br />The art style to Vorpal is very much like its box art; it's has a simple yet stylish look and is pleasing to the eye. Let's get one thing out of the way first, though: there isn't a shred of "animation" to be found. Everything in the game is just a picture sliding across the screen. Your tattoo-esque ships never animate, the bullets don't flash or pulse, and the only things that change on screen are the numbers and meters on the sides. That said, it's absolute genius. The black/white/red color scheme and lack of sprite-changing animation not only has a certain style and charm to it, it also allows for a fast-paced game without a shred of slowdown. The dark bullets on white background does, however, strain the eyes a little bit, but aside from that it's a great design choice. The character design is somewhat odd, though, as all the characters seem to be part human, part machine. Like part person, part vacuum, part moped or something. The Eurobeat/Techno soundtrack might also hit or miss with some people, but I personally found it to complement the action perfectly, and those that do enjoy it can listen to each tune in the game's Gallery mode without worrying about an dodging a nigh endless supply of bullets.<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TUOfEmmsAtI/AAAAAAAAAXU/wjgejY7WetA/s1600/vorpal3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TUOfEmmsAtI/AAAAAAAAAXU/wjgejY7WetA/s320/vorpal3.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5567468465791173330" /></a><br />No shooter is worth anything without solid controls, and here Vorpal shines with simplicity. There are only two attack buttons. Your normal shoot is accompanied by the panic mode Break button, which gets rid of all the bullets on the screen at that moment and empowers your ship with a character-specific power-up. Some track the enemy boss while others involve a very focused and powerful beam. The best addition, however, is the Slow button, which causes you to move at a snail's pace to better navigate the incoming patterns of death. Between all this, an indicator at the bottom of the screen telling you where the enemy is (so you're not constantly looking away from your ship), and rock-solid hitboxes, it'll be very difficult to blame anyone but yourself for each death suffered.<br /><br />Vorpal is one of those games that sets out to do one thing and do it well. And here it both shines and shows some limitation. The boss rush style gameplay, ridiculous character designs, and throwaway story is so arcade-like in its style that you'll wonder why the game doesn't charge you a quarter each time you play. That said, the game is also over in roughly the same amount of time you'd spend with said quarter at a local arcade, lasting about fifteen to twenty minutes if you're not constantly dying. Having the option to beat your high score is nice, and the Gallery mode is a welcome touch, but I couldn't help but feel like the lack of online leaderboards or, even worse, multiplayer killed a lot of the replay value of the game. I'd easily pay five times as much if there was a well-balanced two-player competitive mode in this game, rather than the "versus" mode present that involves you fighting a one-off against a computer opponent of your choice.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TUOdoXKIydI/AAAAAAAAAXE/hSVTcWHOocQ/s1600/vorpal2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TUOdoXKIydI/AAAAAAAAAXE/hSVTcWHOocQ/s320/vorpal2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5567466881096927698" /></a><br />As much as I did complain about the short game length, Vorpal really is a worthwhile experience for the core gamer. One that deserves your four quarters? It depends on how much you actually enjoy dodging bullets. If you like Ikaruga or XBLIG's own Score Rush, there's little reason for you to not check out Vorpal as it's right in your niche. At worst, it's a familiar yet somewhat fresh diversion for close to an hour at the cost of a candy bar. If you're someone who doesn't necessarily enjoy the arcade experience, however, or just doesn't like bullet-hell shmups, then simply try the demo and see what happens. Might not be exactly made for you, but at least you tried something new today.<br /><br /><em><a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/Product/Vorpal/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d80258550758?cid=search">Vorpal</a> from <a href="http://www.kobochan.org/">Red Wolf</a> is available on XBox Live for 80 MS Points. Played game to completion with two characters, lamented the lack of multiplayer, and saw red dots whenever I closed my eyes for about two hours after playing.</em>Shin Hogoshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02255736347773576091noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470325771696462881.post-10779098638707222442011-01-27T18:56:00.004-06:002011-01-27T19:39:03.965-06:00Blog Resurrection - Return of Gano--er, Hogosha.<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TUIU3LqBH6I/AAAAAAAAAW8/aIZhCnCAKaE/s1600/returnofganon.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TUIU3LqBH6I/AAAAAAAAAW8/aIZhCnCAKaE/s320/returnofganon.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5567035027637739426" /></a><br />Over the last few months, I've struggled with my writing. And I mean that in the most all inclusive way I can outside of literally printing my blog entries and having no holds barred cage matches with them. Everything from subject matter to sentence structure to just the overall flow of how I write has become more than a little elusive. Even these few simple paragraphs letting you know that I'm not only alive but also ready to come back and write the good write don't produce themselves as naturally as they did last year.<br /><br />So let's do something about that.<br /><br />Starting tomorrow with the return of Four Quarter Friday, I'm writing something every day about either the world of XBox Live Indie Games or, at the very least, gaming in general. It could be a review, a summary of all the games out over the last week, an opinion on a certain genre and how it's being handled in this age of gaming, how awesome a soundtrack is, or just a general rant about how much I hate nearly every game with the word "Avatar" in it. And if it isn't one of these things, it'll be a link to anything I've jotted down on other sites like indienerds.com or xblaratings.com.<br /><br />And if I don't do this, I demand that someone kick me in the bum.<br /><br />So there. My butt is on the line. Either I get it in gear and start writing or I get it beaten.<br /><br />See you folks tomorrow evening with a review of either XBLIG bullet-hell shmup Vorpal or radiangames' final monthly title, twin-stick shooter Ballistic.Shin Hogoshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02255736347773576091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470325771696462881.post-31317023177887281802010-09-20T10:45:00.006-05:002010-09-20T12:49:23.137-05:00XBLIG Review - Vexis<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TJeboP16FxI/AAAAAAAAAWs/5zyJb_zDE_o/s1600/vexistitle"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TJeboP16FxI/AAAAAAAAAWs/5zyJb_zDE_o/s320/vexistitle" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519050984115541778" /></a><br />It's been at least a couple months since I've reviewed something that doesn't require a large amount of manual dexterity. It's true, I do like a lot of my games to have that quarter-stealing hitbox-avoiding arcade feel, but I also enjoy the softer and more intellectual side of gaming. The type of game to require more brain activity than reflexes and button mashing. This one from Buckshot Games, Vexis, required so much of that squishy stuff inside my head that I ended up staring at the last puzzle for <em>at least an hour</em> without doing much of anything. And it was totally worth it.<br /><a name='more'></a><br />Vexis is a rotating screen puzzle game, much like XBLIG Rotor'scope or XBLA Lazy Raiders, where the objective is to get a white block to a stationary black goal. To do this, you'll be moving the screen around 90 degrees at a time and letting gravity move the block for you. Incredibly simple idea that requires all of two buttons (rotate left and rotate right), so the rest of the game revolves around the level design and <em>your rusty hat-rack of a brain</em>.<br /><br />When I booted the game up, I half expected the opening music from Nintendo's original NES sports classics like Baseball and Tennis. The game looks like it was made in 1985, but in a sort of classy way like Clu Clu Land rather than like, say, the E.T. Atari game. Whether it was to appeal to a retro-loving crowd or for ease of design, I'll may never know, but it does two things. One, the simplicity makes it incredibly easy to know where blocks will go once you rotate the screen and, two, it doesn't distract. Two very important features when your mind and the puzzle at hand are the only things that matter. The single song featured in the game is kind of catchy at first and forgettable later on when your eyes are melting from looking at the same puzzle extended periods of time. All in all, the presentation is simple, effective, and professional. I approved.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TJebngvfhAI/AAAAAAAAAWk/2Xv2XgbAdOA/s1600/vexismiddle"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TJebngvfhAI/AAAAAAAAAWk/2Xv2XgbAdOA/s320/vexismiddle" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519050971472167938" /></a><br />I won't bother you too much with the controls, but it is good to note that the bumpers, triggers, AND face buttons all rotate the field. Good if you want specific options, but bad if you're like me and just start angrily gnawing on your controller when you can't figure things out.<br /><br />Obviously, in a game like this, the level design and amount of puzzles are the two key ingredients that decide whether or not this is a worthwhile game. First, the level design. The first set of puzzles are your most basic and straightforward ones in the game. Nothing moving, nothing disappearing, and nothing that's too far beyond a little trial and error. That is, until we get to the second set. Many of the blocks in this set appear and then disappear in a set rhythm, forcing you to not only think ahead but also have decent timing with your movements. I'm usually not a huge fan of needing timing in games like these, but I found myself enjoying the extra challenge. Speaking of challenge, there's the third and final set of puzzles. These puzzles have blocks that repeatedly count down from three. When they get to zero, they fall whatever direction gravity takes them or stay put if they're already resting on something. This mechanic causes the blocks to be used as both road blocks and as stepping (or stopping) stones to reach places you normally couldn't. It's in these puzzles where I found the challenge, the design, and the fun to all come together perfectly. Even that last puzzle, which ended up taking two <em>hours</em> for something that can be completed in 30 seconds, filled me with a sense of joy that only a difficult yet brilliant puzzle can.<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TJebnC3uGgI/AAAAAAAAAWc/UkVhmR5dePE/s1600/vexisend"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TJebnC3uGgI/AAAAAAAAAWc/UkVhmR5dePE/s320/vexisend" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519050963453614594" /></a><br />If you don't end up spending that much time on the last puzzle, the game's two dozen puzzles are over within 90 minutes or less with next to no replay value. I actually wouldn't consider this to be any sort of negative if it wasn't for the fact that I <em>really</em> wanted more of the last set of puzzles. They really were great pieces of design that I wish filled the game rather than signaled its end. But for a buck, I enjoyed my time with Vexis and can easily recommend it to any fan of puzzle games.<br /><br /><em><a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/games/media/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d80258550640/?bt=0&sb=1&mt=32&gu=66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d80258550640&p=1&of=0">Vexis</a> from <a href="http://buckshotgames.squarespace.com/">Buckshot Games</a> is available on XBox Live for 80 MSP. Played game to completion, felt like a huge idiot on the last puzzle. Especially since I went back to it a couple days later with a fresh mind and solved it within three minutes. Seriously, I looked like this guy:</em><br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TJebmrGjCXI/AAAAAAAAAWU/UkgfN5VK7l8/s1600/mallrats.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 236px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TJebmrGjCXI/AAAAAAAAAWU/UkgfN5VK7l8/s320/mallrats.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519050957073353074" /></a><br /><strong><em>THERE IS NO EASTER BUNNY!</em></strong>Shin Hogoshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02255736347773576091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470325771696462881.post-42808252397733183152010-09-17T22:22:00.004-05:002010-09-17T23:33:30.274-05:00Four Quarter Friday - Hypership Out Of Control<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TJRAFfC5HOI/AAAAAAAAAWM/5peI20PUQcY/s1600/hypershiptitle"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TJRAFfC5HOI/AAAAAAAAAWM/5peI20PUQcY/s320/hypershiptitle" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518105906412854498" /></a><br />Before we dive feet-first into this, I'd like to direct your attention to Hypership's description on the XBox Live Marketplace.<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TJQxcAQin7I/AAAAAAAAAV0/eBWG_tXzzTk/s1600/hypershipdescription.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 72px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TJQxcAQin7I/AAAAAAAAAV0/eBWG_tXzzTk/s320/hypershipdescription.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518089800611176370" /></a><br />That last line is undeniable proof that Kris Steele of Fun Infused Games is a dirty, filthy liar. I had fun with your game, Kris, and just to spite you I'm going to tell EVERYONE ON THE INTERNET just HOW much fun I had. SO THERE.<br /><a name='more'></a><br />Hypership Out Of Control is a sort of vertical scrolling shmup but with an odd twist: there really aren't any enemies. Instead, you're just flying through space, dodging your usual retro shoot-em-up obstacles like asteroids and colored blocks. Oh, and you have no brakes and your accelerator is stuck. I forget to mention that? Whoops. So yeah, you go fast with your thumb planted on the fire button to desperately shoot everything out of the way that you can and dodge whatever you can't at breakneck speeds. Along the way you'll grab coins to raise your score multiplier and power ups to help keep you alive a little longer. Because you will die. And then you'll hit "Try Again". Because, despite what that lying jerk Steele said, you just had fun.<br /><br />Also, I said "retro" earlier. And I meant it. The game probably has a better color palette than the NES (and better sound as well) but otherwise Hypership looks like something that belongs on an upright next to Galaga and Bosconian. It's my favorite kind of retro: authentic without the slowdown and sprite flicker. On a less technical point, the game has a bunch of little humorous bits plugged into the game designed to make you smile just a little bit more than you already are from the <em>sheer amount of glee you feel when playing.</em> Coins and blocks start spelling "woot" and "die die die" in some levels, and the load screen gives you fun facts like "no chicken has ever crossed a hypership". It's got charm, and though this game is fun enough we always appreciate that extra mile good developers go to make us happy.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TJRAE5QNsOI/AAAAAAAAAWE/Ti5v4dFzLRg/s1600/hypershipmid"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TJRAE5QNsOI/AAAAAAAAAWE/Ti5v4dFzLRg/s320/hypershipmid" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518105896268181730" /></a><br />So it's goofy for a shmup and it looks and plays like a lost Namco cabinet. But does it have that same addictive arcade feel? You bet it does. Even though your eyes are red and dry from not blinking for the duration of each life, it feels like a crime whenever you don't hit "Try Again". Unless, of course, you're going to try one of the game's four modes that you <em>weren't</em> just playing. There's your normal mode with your three lives, a hardcore mode with one, a training mode to try each wave out individually, a hyper mode with no speed limit, and finally a coin mode where you have "infinite" lives but are constantly hemmorhageing coins and the game is over once you run out. In addition, there are leaderboards for each mode (local and online), extra "awardment" goals to go after, and local multiplayer for you and up to three buddies.<br /><br />Considering there's enough "one more game" addiction here to keep you occupied in single-player for hours on end and even more when you add some friends to the couch, that alone should justify the one-dollar purchase. Which it does. But let's all remember one more important fact that the developer INSISTS isn't there: the game is fun. Eye-melting, curse-yelling, holy-crap-it's-four-in-the-morning fast-paced fun. Which is what video games are about. So, Kris Steele of Fun Infused Games, if your intention was to create a game that's no fun at all, you failed. Because Hypership Out Of Control is one of the funnest games I've played all year, and if it wasn't for a need to let you know that tidbit of information or a desire to let everyone else know that the game is worth their time and money, I'd still be playing it right this minute.<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TJRAEWLtOnI/AAAAAAAAAV8/8zwQtwRHFak/s1600/hypershipend"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TJRAEWLtOnI/AAAAAAAAAV8/8zwQtwRHFak/s320/hypershipend" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518105886854036082" /></a><br /><em><a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/games/offers/00000001-0000-4000-8000-000058550659">Hypership Out Of Control</a> from <a href="http://www.funinfused.com/">Fun Infused Games</a> is available on XBox Live for 80 MSP. Played and died multiple times on each mode, forced my girlfriend to play once with me, and felt a GIGANTIC sense of accomplishment getting through all ten waves...only to lose my last ships on Wave 2 like a total failure. Also, I apparently twitch so badly when I lose ships that the cats run away in fear.</em>Shin Hogoshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02255736347773576091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470325771696462881.post-36112936774645752562010-09-05T14:57:00.002-05:002010-09-05T17:39:03.618-05:00Thoughts - A More Specific FocusAs much as I've enjoyed talking about the most random of random things on here - from my retro gaming favorites to how awesome Iron Maiden is - I think the scope of my blog posts and my reviews are a bit too wide. So, unless I start to see that it's a bad idea, this blog is going to focus only on XBox Live Indie titles and news. And, since I feel the need to justify everything I do, here's a list of reasons why (we all like lists, don't deny it).<br /><a name='more'></a><br />1. Passion. I'm an old-school competitive gamer at heart. This is <span style="font-style:italic;">beyond</span> evident in what I play, from games with a retro feel to titles with large amounts of replay value and/or score attacking. In addition, I've run tourneys for lots of different games (Tekken to Mario Kart to Dr. Mario to WarioWare) and attended my fair share over the years. Even my non-video gaming is very competitive, with years upon years of Magic: The Gathering and other CCG competitive play under my belt and a love for strategic yet fast-paced board and card games. Many of the well-made XBLIG titles fit that theme. They're simple yet incredibly deep and skill-based, such as radiangames' Crossfire or Mommy's Best Games' Shoot 1UP, or do things that you won't see on a disc or even XBLA/WiiWare/PSN, such as with MagicalTimeBean's tower defense/dungeon crawler mashup Soulcaster or FourKidsGames tactical board game Ancient Trader. These things ignite that fiery passion that once-a-week XBLA releases, lackluster WiiWare titles, and horribly infrequent Virtual Console support does not.<br /><br />2. Time. I just don't have as much of it as I wish. With most XBLIG titles taking an hour or less to completely explore, with a few exceptions like Zeboyd's RPGs, I can complete and review a game in a very small amount of time. In comparison, I'll be putting in five to ten hours on nearly any XBLA or WiiWare title I pick up with some going longer or requiring extensive multiplayer time that just can't happen with the small community it reaches. Add in a lengthy review and that could be a good fifteen hours for one game. I just don't have that much extra time or...<br /><br />3. Money. This is a non-paying hobby, not a job. Being able to put an hour or two in every couple days with an investment of eight to twenty dollars for a month's worth of games. Even less if developers are nice and give me a review copy, which has happened, uh, twice now. Or I could review one XBox Live Arcade game for that price, maybe two.<br /><br />4. Attachment. It hit me last week while playing the Scott Pilgrim game that I have no attachment to AAA titles anymore. Even a game that was relevant to every single one of my interests (I heart Scott Pilgrim and River City Ransom) couldn't make me feel like I invested any part of myself in it like, say, Kaleidoscope. Or Gerbil Physics. Or Urban Space Squirrels. Or even Along Came A Spider, a story-less platformer that became one of my favorite I've played in the last year. Some XBLA titles still pull this off, but not surprisingly they're the ones that you'll see wearing its heart on its sleeve. Like Braid or 'Splosion Man. I think one of the reasons is that the developers seem a lot more likely to talk to you like you're both normal people rather than like they own your house. Most developers will also only pimp their own games, while most XBLIG devs on Twitter are spending lots of time mentioning other developers or even reviewers and willingly giving out review copies of their games.<br /><br />5. Variety. This seems incredibly odd, but having such a wide variety of things to write about actually makes me want to write less. If I don't like or have something one week, such as not having time to find and play something on the PC or getting in touch with a developer, I tend to get hung up on that and feel defeated enough not to write for the rest of the week. With such a large XBLIG library, if nothing comes out in a week that I want to write about I can easily go back and find something released previously I haven't touched on yet.<br /><br />So, with all that said, I'll probably be updating two to four times a week. Every Friday for sure, as I love writing about inexpensive entertainment, and then a couple other reviews or other blog posts as my schedule sees fit.<br /><br />See you later this week!Shin Hogoshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02255736347773576091noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470325771696462881.post-47292879966484049672010-09-03T19:59:00.004-05:002010-09-03T21:54:28.012-05:00Four Quarter Friday - radiangames Inferno<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TIG0MYBO5II/AAAAAAAAAVc/yUMK3uGrpNg/s1600/inferno_ss05.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TIG0MYBO5II/AAAAAAAAAVc/yUMK3uGrpNg/s320/inferno_ss05.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512885543577248898" /></a><br />Indie developer radiangames, though a very recent addition to the XBLIG scene, has become known for producing top notch games for the Indie Game Marketplace. So top notch, in fact, that each of the three games from radiangames (JoyJoy, Crossfire, and the new Inferno) is on the Indie Games Top 20 Rated list on XBox Live; a feat that, to my knowledge, has only been accomplished with the Arkedo Series of Jump, Swap, and Pixel. So we know the latest in the series, Inferno, is both loved and awesome. But what's it like?<br /><a name='more'></a><br />Inferno is best described as a combination of their first game, JoyJoy, and a Gauntlet-style dungeon crawler. And I'm not kidding about that first part, as a lot of the look and style will instantly remind you of radiangames' previous twin-stick shooter. You'll take your ship through Inferno's thirty levels of dungeon exploring, with each level requiring you to shoot tons of enemies and their spawn points, acquire keys, and maybe even find a hidden passage to get to the exit. Along the way you'll also find shops that allow you to upgrade various aspects of your ship, such as your health meter or shield recharge, or just go right for the firepower of homing shots and rapid fire. Giving you even more firepower are small drones that hover around your ship. These little guys shoot enemies right along with you. To make this not quite as game-breaking, they also die after one hit. Which isn't so bad, as you'll find roughly a hundred of them over the course of the game, but I'm pretty sure my drone death count was higher than <em>Saving Private Ryan</em>'s body count.<br /><br />Inferno, as stated before, really DOES look a lot like JoyJoy. The screen is filled with simple curved shapes and a small yet bright color scheme, just as in the developer's first twin-stick shooter. Also just like it is the fact that this seemingly simple idea is so fluid and well-executed that it never feels lazy, much like how Bizarre managed to keep neon wireframe from ever feeling derivative in Geometry Wars. The one drawback of Inferno's visuals is that, with all the vibrant colors and bursts, it can get easy to lose track of what's going on or not see a few bullets coming at you due to an overload of bright. The music on the game mimics JoyJoy's energetic synth with appropriately distinct sounds for getting hit, destroying an enemy's spawn point, or losing one of your Gradius Option-like drones. In fact, many times I relied on sound to verify what just happened amid the chaos of bright happy explosions.<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TIG0NZuBGMI/AAAAAAAAAVs/_e2O8xnZuVM/s1600/inferno_ss01.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TIG0NZuBGMI/AAAAAAAAAVs/_e2O8xnZuVM/s320/inferno_ss01.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512885561213393090" /></a><br />If you've played a twin-stick shooter before, you know what you're in store for with the controls. Left stick moves, right stick rains death onto your foes. Thankfully the controls are super tight as later levels will have you dodging a lot of enemies and firepower at once. One interesting addition to the formula is a shield that you use with RT/RB. While active, the shield prevents you from getting hit (and with an upgrade Force pushes the enemies away), but also prevents you from shooting and has a limited, though slowly charging, meter. That little addition not only keeps you from dying a lot but also makes the game a little more involved. Something that helps me out since even some of the best dungeon crawlers tend to make me drowsy after a while.<br /><br />Speaking of which, if you have the option to do so I highly recommend playing through Inferno with a friend or three. Even though I enjoyed the game in single player, there were some times where I just felt like I was just moving forward and shooting. Adding some couch buddies into the mix made the game not only fly by faster but the additional chaos made the experience feel more fun and fresh, even after just completing the game on my own. If you're worried that all you'll get out of the game is a once through by yourself, don't worry. Three different difficulties and a New Game+ option help extend the life of the game, and since your upgrades can be toggled on and off even after purchasing them, you can customize or handicap yourself however you wish to make your time in Inferno's labyrinths feel more to your liking.<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TIG0M3_i_OI/AAAAAAAAAVk/WQNs-G47zPc/s1600/inferno_ss02.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TIG0M3_i_OI/AAAAAAAAAVk/WQNs-G47zPc/s320/inferno_ss02.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512885552160111842" /></a><br />There aren't really any secrets or high scores to go for, unfortunately, which make me more likely to go back and play Crossfire or JoyJoy if I have to pick one of the developer's games to play after the umpteenth time running through each. It's difficult to list that as a valid complaint, though, as this is probably after a few hours of fun for the low price of a buck. It's like getting picky over which Bond girl you'd go on a date with. There's a reason Inferno quickly jumped to the Top 20 Rated list on XBLIG, and it's the same reason radiangames has two other games on that list: it's an exceptionally great title that deserves your dollar.<br /><br /><em><a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/games/offers/00000001-0000-4000-8000-000058550638">radiangames Inferno</a> from, ahem, <a href="http://radiangames.com/">radiangames</a> is available on XBox Live for 80 MSP. Received a review copy from radiangames, played game to completion by my lonesome and played through half the game with my girlfriend, had a blast both times. Also, this game got me out of my writing slump, and for that alone I could promote the game for ages.</em>Shin Hogoshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02255736347773576091noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470325771696462881.post-32235222966661640582010-08-25T20:59:00.005-05:002010-08-25T22:37:02.613-05:00Retro Monday-ish - Bad Dudes vs DragonNinja<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/THXfbZRZpkI/AAAAAAAAAVM/WdCJilZwWRA/s1600/baddudes.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/THXfbZRZpkI/AAAAAAAAAVM/WdCJilZwWRA/s320/baddudes.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509555380891002434" /></a><br />Because of the two great beat-'em-ups hitting XBLA this week, Shank and Scott Pilgrim, I decided that if I do any posts this week they'll be themed around punching and kicking hordes of bad guys. This week's retro game, though decent, is one of the most memorable 80's arcade games for one reason and one reason only: "I'M BAD!" Yes, Bad Dudes vs DragonNinja, the game where you have to be a bad enough dude to save the president.<br /><a name='more'></a><br />Bad Dudes was a side-scrolling brawler in an age where arcades and home consoles were flooded with games revolving around smacking everyone and everything in sight. When I look back on the game, I really wonder why it stuck out so much. Sure as heck wasn't your main characters, a duo of generic guys in black tank tops that looked like reject Van Damme stand-ins. Or the plot, which involved saving the president (and being a bad enough dude to do so). Maybe Karnov? Doubtful. I think it was just the fact that nearly every arcade and bowling alley in the country had the game, forcing it into the fond parts of your memory like Thundercats or hot babysitters.<br /><br />Like Thundercats and hot babysitters, however, these things shouldn't be revisited. Thundercats really wasn't good, I guarantee you the babysitters aren't looking all that great 22 years later when you're nearly 30 yourself, and Bad Dudes plays like a generic quarter-suck from yesterdecade. For some odd reason, however, when I look back on this game I can't keep a smile away from my lips, and I'm pretty sure I wouldn't think twice about popping a quarter or two into a machine if I passed one in some random bowling alley or gas station.<br /><br />These days, playing the game involves either your usual PC witchcraft or, if you have a Wii, picking up the Data East Arcade Classics, which also has Magical Drop III, Heavy Barrel, Burgertime, Lock 'n' Chase, and then a bunch of other games that sadly weren't all that great. But for Bad Dudes and those named four, it might be worth the 20 or so you would spend to pick it up.Shin Hogoshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02255736347773576091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470325771696462881.post-36715226105678364092010-08-22T15:19:00.005-05:002010-08-22T20:46:35.670-05:00Four Quarter (Late) Friday - Platformance: Castle Pain<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/THHShAYLXeI/AAAAAAAAAVE/zKbKkdG8HU8/s1600/platformancetitle.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/THHShAYLXeI/AAAAAAAAAVE/zKbKkdG8HU8/s320/platformancetitle.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508415283729751522" /></a><br />Ever look at a game's instruction manual and think to yourself, "THERE'S TOO MUCH HERE!" Ever long for the days of left, right, and jump while still having a game that remains fun? Well, as long as you're alright with a short game that makes you cuss like a sailor, XBLIG Platformance: Castle Pain from Magiko Gaming just might be the profanity-inducing game for your simple needs.<br /><a name='more'></a><br />Platformance is, as the name implies, a platformer where you guide a knight on a short-but-sweet quest to save a lovely pixelated princess. All of this takes place inside and around a castle that, like all 2D castles, throws conventional logic and design out the window. Instead, you're greeted by a sea of traps, spikes, lava, and other things known to cause slight cases of death. Which you'll catch a lot, either until you reach the end of the castle and rescue the princess or until a giant ghost catches up to you and kills you permanently.<br /><br />My favorite thing about this game, aside from the play-on-words title, is its presentation. First off, I lied about the buttons. There's one more button, which cycles through three degrees of zoom. Zoom all the way out and you can see the entire castle which happens to be glorious pixel art. In a frame. On a wall. Somehow, this made me giddy to no end. Up close, the game looks a little blocky but in such a charming and intentional way that it adds to the experience instead of detracting from it. The music switches back and forth between a calm ren-faire tune and an energetic 8-bit track that sounds like it's ripped from every exciting moment in Wizards and Warriors combined. Since, however, these are the only two things you'll hear the entire game outside of your character dying a lot, you can turn the music off if you get annoyed.<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/THHSg_KTORI/AAAAAAAAAU8/Z5HeX-wmpOQ/s1600/platformancemid.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/THHSg_KTORI/AAAAAAAAAU8/Z5HeX-wmpOQ/s320/platformancemid.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508415283403110674" /></a><br />As stated, the controls are pretty simple. Left and right do the obvious while A jumps, swims, and climbs when relevant. There's only one jump height (my worst platforming pet peeve), but considering the game is designed to be more of a test than a two-hour journey it makes sense here. The only part I had some issues with was the one time in the level you had to climb. The vine (of sorts) you climb is incredibly wide looking but I was never sure if I was actually going to hit it to get to the cloud I needed to jump into and many times this would cost me a little bit of time. Luckily, it won't really cost you any lives as there's nothing there to immediately kill you. Speaking of which, even if you do die (which you will), you have infinite lives and very frequent respawn points.<br /><br />The one fault you can find with this game is that there's only one level, and it'll probably take you about eight minutes to beat the level your very first time on Easy mode. Once you finish, however, you'll want to dive right back in and try it again, either on Easy to see if you can die less or on Normal (or Hardcore) to try and pass the same castle with more difficult traps and a faster moving ghost. I beat Easy about four times trying to not die at all (down to 3 deaths), Normal a couple times, and I still haven't finished Hardcore mode on the count of a very mean ghost. In short, the game stresses its replayability, <a href="http://digitalquarters.blogspot.com/2010/08/thursday-thoughts-game-length.html">and that's something we all know I value highly</a>. The downside is that there's a lack of leaderboards, so you're stuck with "pics or it didn't happen" as far as your bragging rights.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/THHSgh79baI/AAAAAAAAAU0/vbFcpZ_QV8c/s1600/platformanceend.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/THHSgh79baI/AAAAAAAAAU0/vbFcpZ_QV8c/s320/platformanceend.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508415275558333858" /></a><br />If you're the type of gamer that likes to one-and-done all of your games, you might not appreciate Platformance: Castle Pain. If, however, you like going back through your old-school games and perfecting what you've done time and time again (cough like me cough), then this is a game made for you and hopefully the start of a great series of sadistic platformers from Magiko.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://go2.wordpress.com/?id=725X1342&site=magikogaming.wordpress.com&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmarketplace.xbox.com%2Fen-US%2Fgames%2Fmedia%2F66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d802585505cd%2F&sref=http%3A%2F%2Fmagikogaming.wordpress.com%2Fdownload%2F">Platformance: Castle Pain</a> from <a href="http://magikogaming.wordpress.com/">Magiko Gaming</a> is available on XBox Live for 80 MSP. Played through Easy and Normal modes half a dozen times, failed Hardcore mode three times, is looking forward to dying about 500 more times to try and pass it, and yes, mom, I probably taught the neighbor kids some very foul language in the process.</span>Shin Hogoshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02255736347773576091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470325771696462881.post-31589574678066162232010-08-19T10:49:00.007-05:002010-08-20T18:06:40.272-05:00Thursday Thoughts - Game Length<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TG8KO0T4AnI/AAAAAAAAAUs/PuJ4TPC7x8k/s1600/moses.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TG8KO0T4AnI/AAAAAAAAAUs/PuJ4TPC7x8k/s320/moses.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5507632118973858418" /></a><br />Wednesday I had the pleasure of <a href="http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2010/08/18/size-doesnt-matter-day/">reading through opinions from indie developers</a> about why how long a game is really shouldn't matter when making a decision on whether or not you should purchase a game. Today I tell you that the reviewers and customers not only have a point but also should be listened to.<br /><a name='more'></a><br />First off, any of you who know me know that I don't buy many AAA retail titles or, heck, many titles on a disc at all. I had a GameFly subscription for the few disc games I'd play (now cancelled), pick up a game on the cheap here and there if I can find it, and still most of my gaming comes from the digital distribution of XBox Live, WiiWare, and various PC means. A lot of this has to do with how attached I get to the fun, easy, pick-up-and-play arcade feeling that many downloadable games have. And then some of it has to do with the fact that I don't have a crudload of money to throw at what I play. Heck, my gaming budget for the month usually doesn't exceed 40 bucks, and that's on a good month. So finding amazing games for ten bucks or five bucks or even less is something I enjoy doing both as a reviewer and as a gamer with very little disposable income.<br /><br />Now that I have that out of the way, let's get to the point: game length matters, but not in how "long" a playthrough of a game is. Let me clarify with one easy example: Super Mario Brothers. The world record for that game stands at five minutes flat (last I checked, anyway). I can get there in eight minutes, but let's just clock the average run using warps at ten minutes. Ten minutes for an entire game? Surely that's got to be the worst game of all time! Except for the fact that most people that do such a thing have invested hours upon hours of time into the age old classic and still can't help but enjoy each time they see that first Goomba on 1-1 or snag the extra life before the first chasm. Another such example is Portal, though this one is a bit more arguable than others. Many people say that Portal was "too short", yet the amount of time my girlfriend has put into multiple playthroughs of the game takes that theory and throws it out the window. It's a classic example of how a "short" game can still be a game people play over and over, and even though it's not my cup of tea it's probably the best example of such a game since Super Mario 1.<br /><br />There are a ton of examples of this on the XBLIG Marketplace. Soulcaster, one of my favorite games on the 360, clocks in at roughly 90 minutes for its three dollar asking price. That is, if you only play it once. Which you won't. What about radiangames' JoyJoy or Crossfire? Both games are over long before an hour is up and yet I hold it's impossible for someone to only "complete" those games once. Even parody RPG Breath of Death VII, my favorite RPG out of ANY on the 360, has multiple modes that remain fun after the game is over. The point is that these games have replay value that goes above and beyond simply playing through a game once.<br /><br />Which brings me to the problem with the length of many indie games: most are designed to be played through precisely once. Coming from a long history of putting a quarter up to signify that I "got next", it pains me a bit to play games that have little to no replay value and/or multiplayer. Now, I have no problem with paying five bucks for every two to three hours of gameplay. It's not something I normally do; if you look at my shelf you'll see roughly a dozen 360 games and each of them are designed for either multiple journeys (Dragon Age) or have a lot of multiplayer/online capability (Soul Calibur IV, Blur). Others end up being fun enough that I WANT to go through more than once (Bayonetta). But when the once-through experience is worth it I will bite, such as with the Professor Layton games or with Braid (we'll get back to that one). Trouble is, some just get ridiculous. VVVVVV wants fifteen bucks for roughly two hours of gameplay, Machinarium wants 20 for a little more than that (well, before that amnesty sale thing), and though the former has a little bit of replay value that little bit gets taken away by slippery keyboard controls.<br /><br />One can argue that a few other high profile indie games have this problem. Braid and Limbo, among others, do have a narrative and lose some charm after the initial quest. So if you're out to one-and-done these games, then you might walk away slightly disappointed. On the other hand, when I play these games I can't help but want to play them again. Braid in particular saw at least three complete runs from me, each one feeling just as fun as the last even without the awesome kick-you-in-the-stomach surprise of an ending. And I think that's why I don't feel like there's justification in the negative remarks about Braid's pricing: the game invites you to come back, something that the 20 dollar RPGs (using RPG Maker, no less) and adventure games simply don't do and don't even try to do.<br /><br />I'm not here to tell indie developers how to price their games. The phenomenal artwork in Machinarium and the absolutely SICK soundtrack in VVVVVV probably involved some time, effort, and, because of that, money. I'm also not here to tell them to stop making RPGs and adventure games, considering I LIKE those games. I'm not even here to tell them that I'm right, as I'm sure many will disagree with me. But I am here to tell them that there's a reason people wince at paying 20 bucks for a two hour distraction when gamers like myself have bought brand new games for 30 (Street Fighter III: Third Strike), 15 (Castle Crashers), or even 10 dollars (N+) and have put hundreds of fun-filled hours into them. In the case of Third Strike, I'm pretty sure I'm poking around two thousand hours over the last six years. When you make your games, you may not be competing directly with every AAA title out there. But when someone's got to make a choice on what they buy with a finite income, you may as well be.<br /><br />So please take that into consideration before you tell reviewers and gamers that we're whiny and then complain when those same people don't buy your game.Shin Hogoshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02255736347773576091noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470325771696462881.post-74185684569299660422010-08-18T11:31:00.003-05:002010-08-18T11:53:07.010-05:00Webnesday - Kung Fu 2<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TGwP1OScUhI/AAAAAAAAAUk/5TPMUM_XlIM/s1600/kungfu2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TGwP1OScUhI/AAAAAAAAAUk/5TPMUM_XlIM/s320/kungfu2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506793851410207250" /></a><br />So this week I went ahead and tried a few games out to see if anything would catch my attention enough to write about it. Sure enough, someone out there knew that the fastest way to my heart is with old-school punches and kicks. Oh, and Mr. X, of course.<br /><a name='more'></a><br />Kung Fu 2 is essentially an update/remake of the NES/Arcade classic, Kung Fu (Master). The goal and gameplay hasn't really changed much. Sylvia's gotten herself kidnapped by Mr. X and you get to mash punch and kick a lot to fend off goons, Tom-Toms (the annoying little guys), knife throwers, and the like. Once you get to the first boss, however, you realize that things aren't EXACTLY the same, as instead of the guy with a stick you face some ninja girl with a huge sword. Oh, and then you earn a hadoken. Seriously, after that first stage you can throw fireballs by hitting down+right+punch. And then you earn a hurricane kick and a shoryuken, all of which use a new energy meter beneath your lifebar.<br /><br />The game looks and feels like a lost SNES game (well, with a lot of blood, that is). Not surprising, considering it was a first place entry in a contest at retroremakes.com and was made to capture the feel of the good ol' days. The game also comes with controller options for those of you who can't stand the keyboard (i.e. me). Anyone who enjoyed the original Kung Fu on the NES should check this one out. The balance isn't the same as the NES classic, as stages feel a little short and some attacks don't exactly seem avoidable at all, but the fun is still there and that's what matters.<br /><br />You can <a href="http://www.thegamespage.com/downloads/games/kungfu2.zip">download Kung Fu 2 here</a>, but don't blame me if you don't get anything else done today.Shin Hogoshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02255736347773576091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470325771696462881.post-15973903839384011892010-08-17T21:55:00.005-05:002010-08-17T23:55:34.661-05:00Recent Developments - Zeboyd Games<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TGtcs2yqjJI/AAAAAAAAAUc/xZt5CZUChmQ/s1600/Town1b.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TGtcs2yqjJI/AAAAAAAAAUc/xZt5CZUChmQ/s320/Town1b.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506596895082581138" /></a><br />This week's Recent Developments gets devoted to a developer responsible for a game that not only knocked G4ME W1TH Z0MBI35 IN1T off the number one spot for a short amount of time but also solidified itself as my favorite RPG on the 360. And it was a dollar. On the XBLIG Marketplace. I'm talking about none other than Zeboyd Games, creator of Breath of Death VII: The Beginning and the upcoming Cthulhu Saves The World.<br /><a name='more'></a><br />Zeboyd Games debuted on XBLIG with Robert Boyd's interactive novels "Epiphany In Spaaaace" and "Molly the Were-Zompire." After those were released, Robert joined up with William Stiernberg and, through the combination of Robert's code and William's art, RPG parody Breath of Death VII was born. Since its April release, it's sold over 20,000 copies of the game and has a staggering conversion rate of over 66%. That means that two out of every three people that try the demo end up buying the game, and considering the normal conversion rate of a game is less than TEN percent, this is phenomenal.<br /><br />After Breath of Death VII released, Zeboyd Games got hard at work on a second RPG, Cthulhu Saves The World, due out at the beginning of Autumn. For any of you that wondered if a story about undead heroes in a post-apocalyptic world with a ton of goofy humor is the weirdest they'll go, then you'll be pleasantly surprised. Cthulhu Saves The World has everyone's favorite insanity-inducing tentacle monster joining a band of heroes trying to, as the title goes, save the world. Why would Cthulhu, destroyer of worlds, do that? So he can regain his powers and then ultimately plunge everything into insanity and chaos, of course. So yeah, keeping with the weirdness trend, and I can't wait. In addition to that, the game looks like it's taken a huge leap forward in the visual department, and everything seems to be shaping up nicely.<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TGtcsrkN0yI/AAAAAAAAAUU/16goJtJlyT0/s1600/Shoggoth-Approaches.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TGtcsrkN0yI/AAAAAAAAAUU/16goJtJlyT0/s320/Shoggoth-Approaches.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506596892069188386" /></a><br />I did have a chance to ask Robert Boyd a couple questions recently. First I asked him how the release date and development was looking for CSTW.<br /><br /><em>"We both were fairly busy in August with real life responsibilities, but now, we're focused on getting Cthulhu Saves the World ready for playtesting by the end of the month, with a release sometime in September. My partner, William Stiernberg, just ordered a nice video capture device which should arrive later this week, so our Cthulhu trailer ought to be of noticeably better quality than our Breath of Death VII trailers. I'm hoping to finish up inserting the dialogue this week as well as get all of the player abilities programmed in along with some other additions (like the code to support targeting groups of enemies & some equipment code touch-ups), while Bill is working on getting all of the dungeons finished up and polished. On the music side of things, most of the songs are done, although a few of them need to be touched up a bit before they go into the game."</em><br /><br />And then to wrap it up I asked my favorite question that I always ask developers, "whaddya playin'?"<br /><br /><em>"Most of my gaming of late has been on the PSP on my lunch break since when I'm home, I'm usually working on Cthulhu Saves the World or doing family stuff. I finished replaying Castlevania: Symphony of the Night a few days ago and have started playing Hexyz Force (which I picked up several weeks ago, but didn't get far into due to being distracted by a replay of FF9). Last weekend, I had a rare chance to go see a movie with my wife (babies usually preventing us from going out) and we went and saw Scott Pilgrim which I thought was highly amusing (can't wait to try out the game when it hits XBLA). Oh and when I get a chance, I mess around with my current Titan Quest character - a Fire/Earth warrior/mage hybrid that's based on the heroes from the anime, Full Metal Alchemist (the core dweller filling in quite well for the possessed suit of armor brother). I'm looking forward to catching up on some games I've missed in the near future like DQ9, Deathsmiles, BlazBlue, Sin & Punishment 2, Ys 7, and some of the Summer of Arcade titles, but I'm holding off until we get Cthulhu finished."</em><br /><br />And so, there you have it. Hard working, a family man, <em>and</em> likes good games. Be sure to keep an eye out for Cthulhu Saves The World in September. If you want to know more about how Robert and William are doing with the game's development or just want to read what Robert thinks about a lot of XBLIG titles, hit up Zeboyd Games' blog at <a href="http://zeboyd.com">zeboyd.com</a>.Shin Hogoshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02255736347773576091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470325771696462881.post-63197538083102709522010-08-16T17:27:00.004-05:002010-08-16T18:32:30.628-05:00Retro Monday - Robotrek<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TGnKIUftE5I/AAAAAAAAAUM/F3obbMoLcJ4/s1600/robotrek.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 256px; height: 223px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TGnKIUftE5I/AAAAAAAAAUM/F3obbMoLcJ4/s320/robotrek.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506154263726592914" /></a><br />I played a lot of 16-bit RPGs back in the mid-90's. Of course this meant a lot of Final Fantasy IV and VI, Secret of Mana, Chrono Trigger, and every other Square title that came out during the time period, but it also meant games like Lufia, Illusion of Gaia, Lunar, Phantasy Star, Vay, and a few others. Of course, these are also well known titles that most anyone who enjoyed RPGs either knew about or played the heck out of back then. One title, Enix's Robotrek, flew under the radar amid the release of Illusion of Gaia and Final Fantasy VI but ended up being one of my favorite RPGs on the SNES and a game I not only fondly remember but also one of the few I'm willing to fire up these days. And considering most RPGs put me to sleep anymore, that's saying something.<br /><a name='more'></a><br />Robotrek is a bit of a departure from most normal RPGs. For starters, you aren't some badass swordsman with spiky hair or a random chick with a mysterious past. You're a little kid. Yeah, I know, blah blah Earthbound blah, except you don't even get to be THAT cool. No powers, no psychic abilities, hell you don't even get any friends or are even allowed to fight. Instead, you're an inventor that makes robots (up to three) and sends them out one at a time to let THEM do the fighting. Novel idea, I know, but before you start saying "Pokemon lol wut" you should probably know that this came out a couple years before the Game Boy saw Squirtle and the gang. As I was saying, each battle turns into a very light turn-based strategy game where your robot can only move so far and your attacks all have different amounts of recharge. It takes longer for your robot to recharge, for example, after firing a missile than it does after firing a simple handgun or just punching an enemy, and during this recharge time your enemies are doing things to you that you probably won't like.<br /><br />In addition to the basic combat, you'll find spare parts along the way to create and improve robots and their weapons, and your robots allowed for some pretty deep customizations. Ones heavy for melee, ones that just liked range, ones that recharged fast, etc. It was a nerdy little kid's dream come true back when I was younger, and something that still captures my attention these days. The storyline wasn't anything to write home about (admittedly, the game was made to be very light-hearted) and most little kids are only mildly interesting at best (YES I KNOW EARTHBOUND IS DIFFERENT), but with such a fun and surprisingly deep combat and leveling system it's difficult to knock the game because of a silly story. At least it didn't have you trying to empathize with terrorists (cough FF7 cough).<br /><br />One other thing, which was something I didn't know until today, is that the game was co-created by Ancient Corp., the same company behind XBLIG favorite <a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/games/OfferRedirect.ashx?Id=66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d802585504f8">Protect Me Knight</a>. This really does make me want to go back and check out some of the other games from them I've missed over the years, as creating one of my favorite RPGs from my childhood AND my favorite multiplayer game on the XBLIG Marketplace gives them some serious respect from me. You know, in addition to that whole Streets of Rage 2 soundtrack thing.<br /><br />Sadly, if you're looking to play Robotrek these days, you're either hunting on eBay for a copy of the game (usually paying 20-30 bucks) or doing things I don't like to mention on here. Which is sad, as it's another game I'd gladly shell out money for if it were on the Wii's unloved Virtual Console. If you're listening, Squeenix, you know where to find my money.Shin Hogoshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02255736347773576091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470325771696462881.post-33961949734436824342010-08-15T12:31:00.005-05:002010-08-15T21:33:36.682-05:00Do It Yourself - Chapter 1: Planning<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TGihjeo7DHI/AAAAAAAAAUE/rvBJZHKbkFk/s1600/DSC00442.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TGihjeo7DHI/AAAAAAAAAUE/rvBJZHKbkFk/s320/DSC00442.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5505828175352630386" /></a><br /><br />So HERE'S something of a departure from what I normally do. "Do It Yourself" is going to be a weekly blog entry detailing my attempt at making a game for the XBLIG Marketplace. Will I complete this? Will I give up halfway through? Will I even put the thing on the Marketplace once I'm done or will I die of shame? We'll find out eventually, but first let's start our tale with Do It Yourself, Chapter 1: Planning.<br /><a name='more'></a><br />Something I like to do in my little bit of spare time is develop card games. It's probably the 15 years of playing Magic: The Gathering and about that long dabbling in other card games talking when I say that, if I could, I would decide everything in every game I play with some sort of card-based system. Many of my ideas never make it past a few scribbles in my notebook, but a couple of them have fully developed and playable prototypes sitting in my computer room. And by "fully developed" I, of course, mean "pieces of paper on top of crappy Magic cards in card sleeves." (The picture up top is a box of cards for a card game I developed based around a one-on-one street fight.)<br /><br />It's probably no surprise that my enjoyment of card (and board) games spreads over to my passion for video games. Or that I bought both MTG Online for the PC and MTG Duels of the Planeswalkers on XBLA. Or that I spent a couple hundred hours playing Culdcept on the PS2 and a few dozen hours with the XBox 360 version. Or...well, you get the point. I heart myself some card games and equally heart myself some video games, and <span style="font-style:italic;">definitely</span> throw myself into card-based video games when I get the chance. And so, with the introduction of XBLIG along with the sheer lack of nearly any card games on the service outside of freecell and hold 'em, I feel a certain duty to put my own personal brand of nerdiness out there.<br /><br />The hurdles of going from no programming experience, outside of messing around on my old TI-83 back in high school and a semester of C++, to making a game for XBLIG are two-fold. One, and the most obvious, is that I need to learn C#. Two, and possibly more difficult than learning and typing pages upon pages of code, is that I need to invent a card game that is both playable on one console AND fun to play. As I said, I have two card games completely done and a couple others with mechanics finished but in need of more substance, but these are all multiplayer card games that don't work well when the opponent knows what's in your hand. I'd prefer my first entry into the fray to not depend on networked play for its main method of fun.<br /><br />This left two options. One, making a game that is still fun and playable for multiple people while knowing what everyone else has in hand. The other option, and the one I decided to go with, was creating a single-player card game. And in this there are a ton of inherent problems. Single-player card games tend to, well, play themselves. Games like Freecell and Klondike have only a few times over the course of many games to make actual decisions other than "should I move the 2 of Hearts onto the Ace of Hearts?" Without at least two viable options at a time a game isn't really a game. It's more of a mindless time suck, and I'm pretty sure we can all agree that there are enough of those out there that I don't need to add to it.<br /><br />So, for my first game, I want to create a sort of card-based RPG. I don't mean where you run around and your combat involves cards. I mean a game you could actually sit down at a table and play if you had the cards from the game and a couple six-sided dice. In fact, that's how I'll do some of my initial balance testing. Your heroes will be cards, as will their equipment, their abilities/spells, the monsters they face, and the random events that happen. I want a series of quests that take 15-20 minutes a piece and a game that's over in roughly two hours. And once it's over I want people to play it again with a different set of heroes. With different strategies. Or on a different difficulty level.<br /><br />To sum it up, I want to make a short RPG with a fixed amount of battles so it doesn't have the grind that you'll see in most RPGs, forcing a focus on strategy and resource management instead of on leveling up and becoming too powerful for anything to stop you.<br /><br />So for the rest of this week I'll be going through some tutorials for C# while also thinking about what will go into this card game. Hopefully, by next weekend, I'll have a few rough drafts for the cards.Shin Hogoshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02255736347773576091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470325771696462881.post-91659912547548341872010-08-11T23:17:00.002-05:002010-08-11T23:48:34.694-05:00Webnesday - Canabalt<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TGN9AdqUhSI/AAAAAAAAAT8/Hwq4bfmEQhk/s1600/canabalt.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 114px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TGN9AdqUhSI/AAAAAAAAAT8/Hwq4bfmEQhk/s320/canabalt.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5504380616492483874" /></a><br />In my usual "last one to the party" fashion, I decided to take on a game I hadn't played before but is so well-known that it's what the genre is usually <em>named after</em>. In this case, it's a game simple enough that one button is all you need but difficult enough that you'll be trying and cussing over and over again until you're no longer invited to the neighbor's place for dinner. That game is Canabalt from <a href="http://semisecretsoftware.com/">Semi Secret Software</a>.<br /><a name='more'></a><br />Canabalt is a pretty simple browser game that has your nameless runner jumping from building to building as fast as he can, trying to avoid falling to his death or running into the occasional missile. To do this, all you need to do is hit the X or C key of your keyboard (both do the same thing). Simple, right? Well, yes actually. For the first couple buildings. Then you're relying on fast reflexes to make sure your jumps don't fling you into the sides of buildings but do get you over a stray missile that landed in front of your always-running character. Other obstacles include random furniture that slows you down but doesn't kill you directly and the occasional collapsing building that might require you to jump a little earlier than planned.<br /><br />For a game that looks a bit like a NES game in black and white when still, Canabalt is gorgeous in motion. Your little dude is animated with quite a lot of detail, from the rolls he does when he lands after a long drop to the way he swings his arms and legs mid-jump. The background and buildings all have a decent amount of detail as well, helping to give the simple idea of the game more life and personality. Even better than all this, however, is the background music. It's amazing. If I ever need to run from something or am in the middle of a high-speed pursuit, I would want this song playing more than any other tune in the history of good music.<br /><br />I could probably play Canabalt over and over just to hear the song, but the quick pace of the game along with the short span of each run has you retrying over and over until you either need to sleep sometime that week or a freak storm cuts your power. It's a great browser game, and I'm glad I don't have a decent phone or else I'd probably just play it while I'm out and not pay attention to where I'm driving. Er, who I'm talking to. Yeah, that's it. Anyway, if you haven't already, go try out this incredibly addicting one-button platformer <a href="http://adamatomic.com/canabalt/">by clicking here</a>. Unless you're at work. I'd feel bad if I got you fired...and if they canned you right there, you'd probably have to stop playing anyway.Shin Hogoshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02255736347773576091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470325771696462881.post-42601588934853313242010-08-10T22:22:00.002-05:002010-08-10T22:59:41.385-05:00Recent Developments - Fun Infused Games<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TGIf_YclmtI/AAAAAAAAAT0/F_lZWuvHRNA/s1600/hypership.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TGIf_YclmtI/AAAAAAAAAT0/F_lZWuvHRNA/s320/hypership.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503996868354742994" /></a><br />Since I'm no longer writing anywhere else right now, I've been fumbling a few ideas around for a Tuesday column. This such idea, Recent Developments, is merely me talking about what a developer is up to. Are they working on a specific game? Polishing and patching what's been released? Or maybe they decided to shoot the breeze with me and answer some of my nagging questions, like what they've been playing, how the newest game is coming along, and why Iron Maiden is arguably the greatest band ever. Time will tell. For this installment of (a possibly ill-fated) Recent Developments, I decided to go check out what Fun Infused Games is up to.<br /><a name='more'></a><br />A little about them first. Fun Infused Games is the maker of two great titles on the XBLIG Marketplace: shooter/platformer <a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/games/media/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d802585502c2/">Nasty</a> and my personal favorite among every alien game ever <a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/games/media/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d802585504b9/">Abduction Action</a>. If you haven't checked either of these two games out on XBox Live, do so. Both games deserve your love and give back in good old-fashioned arcade fun.<br /><br />Their upcoming game, <a href="http://www.funinfused.com/hypership/Default.aspx">Hypership Out of Control</a>, looks like it's going to follow that idea with a pretty big emphasis on "old-fashioned arcade". It's a shmup of sorts that focuses on going fast and dodging or shooting every obstacle in sight instead of fighting some sort of enemy. To add to the arcade feel, the game has a huge retro look to it, and aside from the colors and framerate it looks like an early NES title back when everything was made of huge blocky pixels. The game has come along a lot since its early days (check the videos part of Hypership's page) and has turned what was a slight interest from me into eager anticipation.<br /><br />Word from Twitter says that Hypership is in its (hopefully) final stage of playtesting and should see XBox Live by the end of August. Until then, check out some <a href="http://www.funinfused.com/hypership/Videos.aspx">videos of it</a> over on Fun Infused's page or give the demos for Nasty and Abduction Action a whirl.Shin Hogoshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02255736347773576091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470325771696462881.post-79399879735455089232010-08-09T22:16:00.003-05:002010-08-09T23:28:35.404-05:00Retro Monday - Chip 'n' Dale's Rescue Rangers<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TGDVNWdktxI/AAAAAAAAATk/g6fP2NA1Vok/s1600/rescuetitle.bmp"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TGDVNWdktxI/AAAAAAAAATk/g6fP2NA1Vok/s320/rescuetitle.bmp" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503633169991382802" /></a><br />Earlier today while wondering what memories I'd write dealing with Chip 'n' Dale's Rescue Rangers, I thought to myself, "Had I beaten any game before I'd beaten Rescue Rangers?" True that, by 1990, I'd played a hundred or so games across the 2600 and the NES we had in the household. But had I actually finished any title before I foiled Fat Cat and rescued every boy's first furry crush, Gadget?<br /><a name='more'></a><br />We'll get back to that. First a little bit about Rescue Rangers. Released in 1990 on the NES, Rescue Rangers was part of Capcom's continued devotion to taking memorable Disney licenses and turning them into very impressive platformers on the Nintendo systems. You went through the game as Chip, or both Chip and Dale if you had a second player, with a basic cartoon storyline of defeating evil crime boss Fat Cat and saving your hot mouse friend Gadget. The gameplay was, for the most part, pretty basic platforming with a few simple puzzle elements thrown in like flipping switches on/off or stacking and jumping off of metal boxes. The extra bit that made the game fun, aside from the co-op of course, was throwing items. You didn't have any way to kill enemies other than throwing crates and balls at them or hiding in a crate and watching them run into you (classic), and though that really WAS all the offensive options you had it still remained fun the entire way through. And yes, the game was littered with stuff to throw. Including your partner, if you wanted, which was hella fun.<br /><br />Much like Little Nemo or Ducktales, Rescue Rangers looks and sounds amazing for a NES title. From the opening MIDI rendition of the theme song to the faithfully cartoony looks of the heroes and villains, Capcom showed that they weren't just carrying the name to the bank. They wanted to make a game that both drew you in with the license and kept you in with great gameplay and presentation. Also, the levels were creative and appropriate to the size of the characters. Hitting a switch to stop water, not too original. Jumping on a faucet to stop water? Awesome. Running across frayed power lines and avoiding electricity? Good stuff.<br /><br />To get back to what I mentioned at the beginning, I truly believe the game was the first non-Mario title I'd beaten, and a rental no less. This was out of the hundred or so games I'd tried by then, and I'm not even sure I finished SMB1 at that time. Now, I won't offer the excuse that I was 9 for such a crappy completion percentage. I will, however, say that many of the game I played were either competitive games (Double Dribble, Blades of Steel, Tecmo Bowl, Track and Field) or games without any actual or reasonable ending (Megamania, Space Invaders, Breakout). After that game, though, the sky was the freaking limit, and I felt a sense of accomplishment I hadn't felt before. So thank you, Chip 'n' Dale's Rescue Rangers. You helped make me the dork I am today.<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TGDVNlilv3I/AAAAAAAAATs/Cel6cF5O_x0/s1600/rescuemid.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 299px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TGDVNlilv3I/AAAAAAAAATs/Cel6cF5O_x0/s320/rescuemid.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503633174038953842" /></a><br />These days, playing the game the nice way requires some digging through shops or eBay, and like with Little Nemo I can't imagine Capcom would even want to make the effort to port CnDRR to the Wii VC. I doubt re-licensing old games like that is easy, especially when Disney is concerned, but also like with Little Nemo they'll have a guaranteed five bucks from me if that thing sees the light of day on the Wii Shop Channel. If anything, it'll let me hum that theme song along with the game one more time.Shin Hogoshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02255736347773576091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470325771696462881.post-57518172815363971482010-08-06T23:37:00.004-05:002010-08-07T00:26:42.798-05:00Four Quarter Friday - AvaGlide<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TFzuUCc3ZrI/AAAAAAAAATc/fFn0RVQeIMo/s1600/avaglide.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TFzuUCc3ZrI/AAAAAAAAATc/fFn0RVQeIMo/s320/avaglide.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502534872762640050" /></a><br />Before my 360 decided to hotbox itself to death, I was able to try out a game by the name of AvaGlide (no lube jokes, please). Normally I'm weary of any avatar games on the indie marketplace simply because...well, they usually suck. However, the demo gave me just enough of a taste of the game that I felt compelled to plunk down my 80 MSP and give the full version a whirl. And, despite a few shortcomings, AvaGlide turned out to be the best avatar game yet this year.<br /><a name='more'></a><br />AvaGlide feels like Haiku Interactive's version of the hang gliding levels from everyone's favorite Nintendo aviation series, Pilotwings, but without the landing. That seems like it's a little too specific and narrow, and to be honest that common comparison doesn't do the game complete justice. In AvaGlide you use the left analog stick to fly your glider around and do specific things depending on what mode you pick. Ring Rush has you flying through rings and collecting stars for extra time and points to get to the end of the course, Delivery Dash involves dropping crates onto targets within a time limit, and Star Smash just has you flying around trying to hit as many rings as possible without putting your glider into the ground or on the side of a cliff.<br /><br />The presentation in AvaGlide has a very inviting Wii Sports feel to it. The visuals are simple yet clear and defined, and you won't have a problem seeing what's coming up or knowing what it is. There aren't any frame rate issues, and the only problem I had was that the sense of speed seemed a little slow, and that's getting more into personal issues than actual problems. The music adds to the relaxed feel of the game, and all together AvaGlide does come off like a lost Wii Sports title.<br /><br />Controlling your hang glider is pretty simple. Up on the analog dives, down lifts, and left and right lean their appropriate ways. Your right analog comes in handy during the Delivery mode, allowing you to look down and get a better shot at the target below. At first I didn't think the glider moved or turned quick enough, but then I thought to myself, "Hey speed freak. This is a glider, not a jet," and everything felt normal and responsive. Sometimes I think I just need to do some yoga or something and calm down.<br /><br />Each mode has three different courses in addition to the game's free flight mode that allows you to just fly around without worry of points or a time limit. In addition to having a large amount of area to fly in, you'll quickly learn that the Ring Rush mode gets difficult and requires some practice. I went in thinking I'd just rush through each course and instead found myself smacking against the side of a cliff trying to get to a checkpoint ring. This, of course, means there's a lot of frustrating fun in store for me once I get my 360 back. Less frustrating but I'd say a lot more fun is the Delivery Dash mode. You feel a lot less stress doing this mode than you do the others with an ample supply of thermal lifts to keep you in the air and an idea casual enough for anyone to do yet deep and competitive enough to last for hours on end. Star Smash didn't feel quite as fun as the other two modes, but there's more to do in this one mode than in most other entire avatar games out so there you go. Each mode and area has its own online leaderboard and target times/scores, adding to the already large amount of replayability. The multiplayer is also a nice touch, but the problem with it is that it's hot seat (you take turns) and not split-screen. This wouldn't be quite as much of an issue if the average turn wasn't 3 minutes. Still, it's good to have around and fills out an already decent package.<br /><br />If you just go through each area in each mode once, you would be done within half an hour. But that's like saying "go through each track on Mario Kart once and you'll be done within a couple hours" when you know you'll be back to it for weeks or even months to come. Between the multiplayer and the leaderboards, there's a lot to keep you playing. Most important, however, is that the game is fun from the moment you pick it up until the minute your controller runs out of batteries and you're forced to stop, and that's the definition of a game that's worth your time and purchase.<br /><br /><em><a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/games/media/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d802585505b9">AvaGlide</a> from Haiku Interactive is available on XBox Live for 80 MSP. Played each mode and area, tried multiplayer for a while, and then proceeded to just play a lot of Delivery Dash. I really miss Super Monkey Ball 2's Monkey Target 2.</em>Shin Hogoshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02255736347773576091noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470325771696462881.post-55811434987979783922010-08-06T15:56:00.006-05:002010-08-06T19:00:46.457-05:00Thursday Thoughts - The Red Ring and Board/Card Games<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TFyhpw_cdiI/AAAAAAAAATU/ectJY8uDNOk/s1600/royal_22.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 138px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TFyhpw_cdiI/AAAAAAAAATU/ectJY8uDNOk/s320/royal_22.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502450583637620258" /></a><br />The morning after my <a href="http://digitalquarters.blogspot.com/2010/07/thoughts-thoughts.html">late night emo post last week</a>, I found out that the Super SF4 connection issues weren't connection issues at all; rather, they were death knells. My XBox 360 of nearly three years had seen its first Red Ring of Death. Considering how much I rely on the 360 for both my gaming and my movie entertainment, I wasn't entirely sure what I'd be doing for the next three weeks (let alone what I'd type on here). Thankfully, the geek is strong in this one, and I turned from the world of downloadable games to a much older past-time: board games.<br /><a name='more'></a><br />When I say board games, I'm not talking about Monopoly or even everyone's favorite monkeys-with-dice-can-play-this-game Risk, though admittedly a few of mine are just as simple. I'm speaking more of Carcassonne, Alhambra, Dominion (<em>yes it's a card game but the box is huge SO THERE</em>), Formula De, and others. This of course includes my newest and nerdiest addition to the family, the "D&D Lite" Descent. The other night saw five hours devoted to one quest of epic proportions with said game, and the week prior lost a total of six hours to Dominion and Alhambra.<br /><br />The sad part is, when I look at a lot of these games, I can't help but think how great card and board games can translate over to a console or PC setting. True, many board games already have a home on XBox Live, with classics like Catan, Carcassonne, Lost Cities, and Ticket to Ride all finding their way onto the Arcade, and quite a few sites on the internet have licensed or knock-off versions (many free and multiplayer) of many other board games. But what about original board games? The XBLIG Marketplace has seen a few over the last couple years. One of which, <a href="http://www.ancienttrader.com/">Ancient Trader</a>, greatly impressed me, while another, <a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/games/media/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d802585503d1/">Total Monarchy</a>, showed promise. The bad thing about board games on XBLIG is the 8 minute trial, which makes it quite difficult to learn a game properly let alone play and get a feel for it. Oh, and the lack of any online community on XBLIG.<br /><br />The negative point in general about digitally produced board games is the lack of touch. This sounds weird, but think of it this way: you give a pair of six-sided dice to your grandmother and say to her, "roll two dice," which she does with ease. Now hand her a controller or a mouse and keyboard and say the same thing. She has to relearn the simple act of rolling dice, learn the rules of the board game, AND learn how to do everything in said board game on the console or computer. One can argue "well, there's a tutorial", but that's really only good for people who have their own console or have access to someone else's along with some free time. Card games have a little less of this restriction, depending on the value of timing. For example, the Magic the Gathering card game on XBox Live plays smoothly, but simple three second acts such as "draw, play a land, pass turn" take a full minute with the console due to allowing a response from the opposing player(s).<br /><br />Even with those things against it, I hope a lot of developers start porting or even creating their own board games for digital sale, simply because I believe there are few things greater than a group of people and a well-produced board or card game. If digital versions of these games extend how far that experience can reach, then I'm all for it. But I still won't stop buying expensive bundles of cardboard and dice for a night full of old fashioned living room nerd-outs.Shin Hogoshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02255736347773576091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470325771696462881.post-29993608352290488192010-08-06T14:35:00.004-05:002010-08-06T15:45:59.660-05:00Webnesday - Super Laser Racer<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TFx0JvZ_a0I/AAAAAAAAATM/arYHosOvF7g/s1600/superlaserracer.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TFx0JvZ_a0I/AAAAAAAAATM/arYHosOvF7g/s320/superlaserracer.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502400555433028418" /></a><br />About a month or so ago, Steam had easily one of the best digital sales I've seen this year with over two hundred items getting slashed anywhere from 25% to, in the case of a couple games, 90%. One game, Super Laser Racer, saw a 75% price cut and, considering it was originally $4.99 and had an interesting demo, I saw no reason not to spend a whopping buck and a quarter on it. In doing so I've found the best top-down single-player Mario Kart style racer in the history of PC gaming. And I'm not just saying that.<br /><a name='more'></a><br />Super Laser Racer looks like what happens nine months after Geometry Wars tells Mario Kart that pulling out is a foolproof method of birth control. You control one of twelve neon wire vehicles and race against the other eleven Super Sprint-style around a track filled with items, boosts, and (most of all) walls. The main thing that causes this to be different than Mario Kart is that, when you get hit with a weapon, you don't come to a complete stop. Instead, your ship/car/window sign/whatever slows down a small amount and can't steer much. Like, barely at all. If you get hit by something on a corner you'll probably find yourself humping the wall like a drunken Broseph. Also, you have a F-Zero style damage system where going off road or getting hit kills a bit of your health and the only way to replenish it is to ride over repair panels. Usually they're at the beginning of a lap but some tracks move them to spots where the paths branch out.<br /><br />One of the things I find immensely interesting about Super Laser Racer is that, unlike a lot of weapon-based racing games, there's no "leader beater", no "kill everyone" item, and not even a true "red shell" or homing missile. And those exclusions show the difficulty in balancing skill and fun in racers like these. Whoever is in first place has a HUGE advantage with no sure way to bring them back to the remainder of the pack, and the lead gets larger when everyone in 2nd on back is smacking each other around. It definitely rewards skill when you break away from everyone else, but at the expense of a lot of the fun. I never thought I'd say this, but this game makes me miss the Blue Shell.<br /><br />This game also makes me miss multiplayer. For such a small price from a one-man developer, I can understand that the lack of time and money is a valid reason for not including it in the game. Even still, as I play through the tournaments against the AI racers I can't help but think of how much fun online or even just local multiplayer would be for this game. A game like this can and does get stale after a few hours of just playing against the computer, unfortunately. Thankfully, the game DOES include a track editor, so creating and sharing tracks with others can extend the lifespan of Super Laser Racer a lot if you want it to.<br /><br />Overall, I did have a lot of fun with the game, and even the medium difficulty setting is ball-kickingly difficult, but the lack of multiplayer really does hurt its chances of getting any attention from me later on. Anyone interested in Super Laser Racer can check out the <a href="http://www.newstargames.com/slr.html">New Star Games website</a> or just hop on Steam and <a href="http://store.steampowered.com/app/44100/">download it from there</a>, with both methods costing you $4.99.Shin Hogoshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02255736347773576091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470325771696462881.post-26328180192385999412010-08-02T22:23:00.003-05:002010-08-02T23:42:12.557-05:00Retro Monday - Chrono Trigger<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TFeeAUO2FiI/AAAAAAAAATE/O3qVx1hzbg0/s1600/chrono_trigger.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_c-QcXnm-6O8/TFeeAUO2FiI/AAAAAAAAATE/O3qVx1hzbg0/s320/chrono_trigger.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501039198124512802" /></a><br />Most gamers out there have played at least one JRPG at some point in time. Usually mentioning an RPG gets an immediate "OMG FINAL FANTASY VII IS TEH BESTEST" response and that usually results in my ears bleeding while I have a knee-jerk reaction of imbedding my foot in someone's rectum. These things happen. Regardless of which older JRPGs you've played, most of the time it's the same thing in every playthrough no matter what you do outside of getting a character's ultimate weapon or finding a picture of the main characters in swimsuits (oops, I spoiled Lunar 2's ONLY side-quest). One retro RPG, however, dared to give you nearly a dozen different endings, lots of extra quests, mess with time, and even go on to complete the game without your main character. That game, of course, is none other than the legendary Chrono Trigger.<br /><a name='more'></a><br />Chrono Trigger came out on the SNES in 1995. Back then was a good time for JRPGs on the 16 bit systems. Final Fantasy IV and VI were on the SNES during that era, of course, and Working Designs was bringing over the Lunar series among other Sega CD gems, but even the lesser-known RPGs were filled to the brim with quality ideas. This was also a time when Squaresoft and Enix were two different and competing companies, with Enix putting out a couple of my favorite games at that time, Robotrek and Illusion of Gaia. Back to Chrono Trigger, though. Chrono was a story of a young boy that, like most RPG characters, got sucked into events way over his head. It started off with a chance meeting with disguised royalty while visiting his geeky friend's fair exhibit and ended up with a journey through time and space to save the world from destruction at the hands of a parasitic alien. When I look back at the synopsis, yeah, it does sound that corny. But it's also a story of development and probably my favorite JRPG storyline of all time.<br /><br />A few days ago I decided to start playing through the game again and, even though it's definitely got that boring JRPG feel that I've slightly grown out of, the game remains one of the more consistantly fun titles I've played from that genre. It's one of those RPGs that doesn't take itself TOO seriously (though more seriously than, say, Breath of Death VII on XBLIG) with its over the top sci-fi/fantasy plotline. Where it does tug a bit on the heartstrings, though, is the development of the non-Crono characters (silent heroes annoy me) and relationships. Frog's dilemma of revenge or forgiveness with Magus, the temporarily secret identity of Merle, and the way that the main three characters (Crono, Merle, Lucca) develop a strong friendship to name a few things are the moments that people carry with them long after they finish this game. Few other RPGs out there develop the cast as well as Chrono, due to either having such a shallow cast and quest or, with many games, having too many characters. Final Fantasy VI, for example, had 14 characters, and really you didn't care about anyone that wasn't Terra, Locke, or Celes. The mere cast of 7 in Chrono (and one of those being completely optional) forces you to pay close attention to and, in the end, love each of them.<br /><br />When I play the game now I know I can't help but look at it through the eyes of that 13 year old I was when I first rented it. Even still, there's something about Chrono Trigger that keeps it as my favorite RPG of all time. Maybe it's the amazing soundtrack by Yasunori Mitsuda. Maybe it's the multiple endings. Heck, it could very well be the simple idea that I, like everyone, wish I could travel through time. I could have told you any of those answers a week ago and any would have been right. Now, I really do think it's the attachment to everyone in that game; something that makes me sad knowing events from Chrono Cross.<br /><br />These days your only, er, legitimate hope of playing Chrono Trigger is with the DS remake or by hunting down the SNES and/or PS1 versions of the game. I recommend the former as the PS1's loading times were horrible and the SNES memory battery is possibly long dead. All this could be fixed if SquareEnix simply released the game on the Virtual Console (I'd gladly pay $10 bucks), but we all know Nintendo doesn't care about that anymore.Shin Hogoshahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02255736347773576091noreply@blogger.com0