Some New Demos

Hey, so it has been quite a while since my last blog post. I guess I'll just get right into it:

The first demo I tried out was for Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, the upcoming action RPG from developer Big Huge Games (fun fact, this developer is managed by former MLB player Curt Schilling). From the previews, the game appeared refreshing, offering fun and precise hack n' slash gameplay in third person with all of the depth of your average western RPG (eg. Elder Scrolls, Dragon Age). The game also has an impressive loot system, allowing the player to stick his or her items in a trash bin to be sold in bulk to a merchant. However, I do have a few complaints about this one. First, locking on is automatic, and is frustrating at times especially when dealing with multiple enemies. The camera has a rubber band effect, and shifts uneasily around the player, making me feel queasy more than a few times. The controls are also questionable (I'm playing on PS3), giving the player a confusing layout that makes me miss the precise and thoughtful layout of the Souls games. Lastly, my PS3 froze close to the end of the demo, as the demo more than bugged out. However, Kingdoms still does some things well. Combat feels tight and responsive, mixing God of War hacking with RPG statistics. The art style is also cartoony and generally appealing, and a nice refresher from the more realistic and gritty styles plaguing games today. 

The other demo released was for the sci-fi horror shooter, The Darkness II. This demo was far more enjoyable, introducing some of the game's characters and offering the player plenty of action. The demo contained dual weilding sections, and showcased the player's ability to use Jackie's inner demon in melee combat and for health restoration. Overall, The Darkness II's demo was quite enjoyable, and a nice introduction to the upcoming sequel. I especially liked the cell-shaded looking art style; it reminds me most of a more modern and realistic version of Killer 7's (one of my personal favorite games from last generation) visuals. 

Why Its (Semi) OK Now to Game on a Mac - The Steam Sale

This past weekend was the fall steam sale, and also the point where I noticed the absurd amount of new mac ports on steam. To celebrate the occasion, I bought 5 new games, 2 of which were just made mac combatible. Those two are Super Meat Boy and Psychonauts, and the others are Torchlight, Cave Story+, and The Binding of Isaac.

While I have already played Cave Story and Psychonauts, I'm happy to pay for the former again for the new visual and sound mods, and the latter because it is simply an amazing game. This is also the first time I have owned Psychonauts, and thankfully the game makes it easy for me to map the controls to my Dualshock 3. So far, I have spent the most time with Torchlight, an isometric dungeon crawler developed by some of the guys who made the first two Diablo games. I must say, this action RPG is quite impressive on both the visual and gameplay fronts, and I highly reccomend it for those who want their dungeon crawling fill before Diablo 3 is released. Everyone should know about Super Meat Boy and The Binding of Isaac by now, both ridiculously hard and extremely creative in style and level design. The latter is an awesome new rougelike that is currently my downloadable title over the year.

With the abundance of new mac ports on Steam, I think its becoming more acceptable to game on a mac, especially for indie titles. The steamplay feature is extremely useful, and all of valve's first party games already incorporate it. The mac library is growing, now those of us who were previously shut out from PC gaming can (somewhat) rejoice.

Why Hard Games? Because They're Worth It

So, I recently beat Demon's Souls, as mentioned on a previous podcast, and am now playing through Bloodrayne: Betrayal, a downloadable title I picked up from PSN. Both of these games boast extraordinary difficulty, the former in the player's attempt to learn from death, and the latter to overcome hectic enemies and bosses, and hopefully score above F-Worm Chow for the level (which i was only able to accomplish once). This brings me to the topic of the day. How do you feel about really difficult games, at least the ones you or others consider to be good?

As for me, I love them. I think the more difficult a game, as long as it is enjoyable enough to keep the player interested, the better for the most part. It gives the player a greater sense of accomplishment that easier games simply do not. For example, I was left with a rush of adrenaline and a feeling of greatness after coming out of the multi-part Dr. Wily battle at the end of the absurdly hard Mega Man 10. I felt the same way after finally conquering Flamelurker, a boss in Demon's Souls, after the 7 to 10 deaths that were the result of my own failure and miscalculation.

However, despite the best efforts of the previously mentioned titles in this paragraph, most modern games do not attempt to challenge the player on their average difficulty level. Finishing a level in Uncharted or Super Mario Galaxy, although these fantastic games, just do not give me that same satisfaction of overcoming a seemingly impossible task. What really bothers me is that modern games simply expect the player to win and explore all of the content, so developers simply lay out a streamlined experience to allow all players to get through a game to completion with relative ease.

Why should you just be expected to win with no effort put in? This added effort is what causes the triumphant feeling of conquering an overwhelmingly difficult game. Most modern games can't recreate the feeling of getting through the Valley of Bowser in Super Mario World, or even simply completing a level in the notoriously difficult Ninja Gaiden for NES. Modern games such as Demon's Souls and Bloodrayne: Betrayal have shown that this formula of extreme difficulty can work successfully on both the 2D and 3D planes. I just wish there were more modern games out there that offered a similar level of challenge and reward.

What do you think? Comment or e-mail me at andy@averageplayerradio.com

-Andy

First Contact

So, its been a while since my last blog, but I've got something informal to talk about here again (finally). I just went cheap ds game hunting with Zac and Steve, and have happened upon a very interesting title. I picked up Contact, an RPG developed by grasshopper and published by Atlus here in the United States. While the combat can be repetitive and boring alot of the time, as you simply walk up to an enemy to attack it, the narrative more than makes up for it.

A professor from outer space crash lands on earth while being chased by aliens who deem him as a threat. With him is his white space dog (?) Mochi. When he lands, he meets the player (you) and addresses that you are communicating through a mysterious device called a DS, breaking the 4th wall in such a fun way. As the player, you guide a young boy whose mission it is to collect ship energy shards. The goofy dialogue and characters make Contact really interesting, and I can only hope it will get better the farther i get through it.

Other than that, I've really just been playing Demon's Souls, and that has also been a blast. Both incredibly challenging and rewarding, the more I play the more I want Dark Souls to just come out already. I'd suggest preordering a copy like I did for the extra goodies for no added fee.

I guess that's all for now.

-Andy

Bulletstorm Demo!

So, as we've seen so far from trailers and released gameplay, Bulletstorm is a first person sci-fi shooter for the PS3 and 360 that boasts tons of different skill shots as well as a boatload of general badassery. The demo was just released on PSN and the Live Marketplace, and i took the chance to download and play it. The demo puts the player in a destroyed futuristic city atmosphere, where your character and his 2 companions must run through, killing humanoid monsters with guns along the way. The premise of the game is fairly vague so far, being that your helping a revenge plot against a leader who "pissed off" one of your accomplices. The good thing is that this game is not about story. Its about pure action and thrills, and has fluid gameplay with many interesting new mechanics.

The guns that the demo allows the player to use are 1/2 standard and 1/2 pretty extreme. The first gun i used was an automatic assault rifle, standard issue for any fps and very effective for killing enemies. Next was a revolver, which shot in 8 rounds but generally had more power per bullet than the rifle, and was also automatic. Here's where it gets interesting: the next gun was a larger grenade launcher, however it shoots 2 grenades attached by a laster rope which sticks to enemies and walls which can be manually detonated, or will explode after a few seconds. Next is the leash, a bulletstorm exclusive, which acts as a sort of whip where players, within a certain range, can hook enemies on a laster wire and flail them around until the enemy is completely pulverized. Kicking has the same effect, as a melee kick to an enemy will send them into the air in slow motion from an electrical charge so the player can finish off the enemy with their gun while their adversary is in midair.

The game also provides an aforementioned array special skill points. Each standard kill awards the player 10 points, while headshots award 50, and so on for standard special skills such as blowing up multiple enemies at once. However, the game gives the player high amounts of points for killing a slo-mo enemy in midair, and even extra points for firing up and killing the enemy through their rear end. This point system adds to the game and will probably give the player a reason to replay campaign levels  to gain higher and higher scores.

Overall, the Bulletstorm to demo gave me a good view of what the game is like, and it looks like a great new kind of fps full of great new mechanics and one which is just generally very enjoyable. This is a definitely a game to watch and possibly pick up late next month.