June 2009 Archives
Looking at my Steam Account, I've spent $80 so far this year on games. I saw a 50% sale on all Meridian4 products, which just so happens to include Shadowgrounds Survivor, which I was interested in buying just two days ago, but didn't want to spend $15 on. Hahah, ok. Those $80 have gotten me:
Trine
Shadowgrounds Survivor
Shadowgrounds
Soldiers: Heroes of WW2
Killing Floor
Tomb Raider: Anniversary
Unreal Tournament 3
Not bad. =) Ironically, those games are roughly in order of how much fun I got (or expect to get) out of them. XD
I recently saw an indie game on Steam called Trine. The banner didn't really draw me, but I clicked it anyway since it was on the front page (advertisement space works, guys) and read: platformer, co-op, physics. I checked out the demo that was available, and based on my impressions... pre-ordered that shiat.
Pre-ordering comes with Shadowgrounds, a game I had peg-leg-'n-eye-patched several years back, but never got to work. Yesterday, I played the demos of Trine, Shadowgrounds and Shadowgrounds Survivor. Shadowgrounds was alright- it didn't captivate me so much, but when I played the game co-op with Josh (support of up to 4), it became a pretty fun co-op experience. The game itself isn't complicated at all- it's like Smash TV or Shocktroopers of olde, but the co-op and leveling aspects of it made it great fun.
I look forward to playing Shadowgrounds Survivor co-op too, but I'm going to have to find it somewhere for cheaper, since I just bought Trine. It can wait, though. =] Thanks to digital distribution. All these games are made by Frozenbyte... and really throws back to the SNES/PSX era of console games, but improved with a dose of modern technology (in the form of physics and lighting).
Their games feature multiplayer co-op on a single computer. It's something that I've really wanted in a PC game, as they can focus on making good game play without drastically complicating the development process with netcode. On this topic of game design, they've also done a great job (with Trine) of making three different characters that interact with the world in their unique ways, and control differently yet smoothly via keyboard + mouse or game pad. They've gone the extra mile and individually tweaked the control scheme for each, rather than focusing on either keyboard or gamepad and forcing the other control scheme to emulate the first.
I feel a bit... "old". There are a bunch of kids outside playing firefighters, and I'm actually annoyed that they're making a lot of noise, shouting and banging on the rails. It's kind of funny though...
"FIRE!"
"Get out the house! Get out the house!!"
"AAAAHHH!!!"
Fail-firefighters.
k. Now I'm grinning.
"Time for schoool! Time for schoool!" *banging on rail to simulate bell*
"I... I can't write. My right arm's burnt."
"I can't write either!"
I recently took a personality test. It's some interesting stuff! I'm an ISFJ, Protector, says the outcome - and after reading the description, I feel like most of it sits well with me. =)
So, what are you?
Looks like America's Army 3 just released right now.
I'm listening to a Focus on the Family 3-part broadcast about singer Steven Curtis Chapman, and his reflections on his daughter, Maria Sue Chunxi Chapman, killed in an accident in the garage at the age of 5.
This is the Game Watch posted 7/7/08. Let's see how they turned out in retrospect. =)
Tomb Raider: Underworld - Christmas 2008
- This title was released November 18, 2008. I bought it a couple of months later in 2009, though. It was good fun, though it seems like the engine couldn't quite keep up with the new concepts they wanted Lara to be able to do. It expanded on what was available, but ultimately didn't deliver the new freedom that the developers aimed for.
Dragon Age - 2008
- Dragon Age is now rebranded Dragon Age: Origins, and is still on the Game Watch for 2009. It's currently looking at an Oct. 20, '09 release.
Left 4 Dead - ???
- This came out on November 18th. It didn't live up to my personal hype (as I was starved for co-op when this game came out), but it's still selling well, and has a solid fan base. Consistently sells at top-five on Steam! Its sequel is slated for November 17th, and is on my B-List for 2009. Looks great, but once burned, twice shy.
Guild Wars 2 - ???
- This still has no release date, and no new info has come since last year.
Starcraft 2 - ???
- A lot of media for this has shown up as it's ramping up to release. Could be 2009 if it doesn't get delayed, but Blizzard has no qualms delaying it, wanting to ensure a perfect release.
Diablo III - ???
- A lot of media for this also showed up in the past year. Its release date is still vague, though, but it's showing good progress.
Street Fighter 4 - July 2008, Q4 2008
- The game was everything it set out to be. It was released in February of 2009 and I saw it everywhere for a while. I was mainly hoping for a revival of Street Fighter, but now, 4 months after release, it seems like the industry has moved on and the hype for this game has died down. The PC release is coming July 2009, and will be available on Steam, which is why it's still on the Game Watch, but my interest has died significantly.
So there it is. Also, at the time of writing, I wouldn't have imagined to be writing on a MacBook instead of a PC. Three of the games on the list had been released in the past year, while the remaining four are yet to come. Of those four, Guild Wars 2 is the only one that has shown absolutely no change and is completely vague (though, Deus Ex 3 might have been announced by the time the original post was written -- and is almost still just as vague).
A bit of a sad turn out, especially for Dragon Age which had a target release date, but good things take time. None of the games on this list that were released fully delivered on what I really wanted out of them, though Tomb Raider did okay because I probably would have loved it anyway.
This year seems to be seeing a real dominance in co-op games (finally!) ... These are a few games that I'm looking forward to in the coming months.
A-List
- Resident Evil 5
- Borderlands
- Lost Planet 2
- Starcraft II
- Dragon Age: Origins
- Mass Effect 2
B-List
- ArmA II - Released. I'm not too thrilled. Good graphics. Chunky interface.
- Global Agenda
- Max Payne 3
- Street Fighter IV - Released. I'm still love/hating it, and restraining myself from impulse-buying.
- King of Fighters XII
- Left 4 Dead 2
Distant Future Games
- APB
- Jumpgate Evolution
- Diablo III
- Deus Ex 3
- Tomb Raider
- Gran Turismo 5 (PC) - Not sure why this is here. I'm sure it was never announced.
- The Agency
I just checked OCR today at Sam's behest, and the Neverwinter Nights remix has been posted! =] It's on the front page, and I'm really ecstatic! Check it out here: http://www.ocremix.org/remix/OCR01848/
This is inspirational! >.<
Also, I recently got back into Soldiers: Heroes of World War II. I thought, "Man, it'd be great if this game was available through digital distribution." ... I checked on Steam, and- hey it's been there all along! Bought.
I forget, but Heroes of World War II is also one of the greats. =)
WARNING: Actual, interesting news ends here. Gaming rant begins!
List of Greats (note: actually subject to change, heh):
- Infantry
- Street Fighter III: Third Strike
- Soldiers: Heroes of World War II
- Mass Effect
I feel like I'm missing some, but -- these are games that stand out in my memory as offering something fresh, and deep that thoroughly engaged me, giving an experience that I relish and wished I could see more of.
Infantry is an online 2D top-down shooter that descended from Subspace. It's a massive (64-128 player) team Action-RPG where the combat actually reminds me of a blend of shooting and fighting (1v1 battles are called duels in-game) with a huge focus on predicting your opponent, or even using tactical mind-games to outsmart them. There is a large choice of classes, and in each class, equipment loadout can add more diversity to the specific roles you can play. It is an Action-RPG that is deep in both aspects, rather than relying on the marriage of the two for its depth. Not to mention, there are various Servers, each running different mods that not only change the game mode, but how the game itself behaves. CTF is what I've described above, while Skirmish (or Mech Skirmish) offers a much more gritty war-game like simulation, allowing multiple soldiers to jump into a tank and man their respective positions.
Street Fighter III: Third Strike is a fighting game that I hated at first. It was completely different from what I liked -- SF3 was slow paced and the system was very frustrating to me. I liked KOF and Marvel vs. Street Fighter, where I could pull off cool-looking combos over and over. However, SF3 is a very methodical game. I've heard a comparison that it's like chess. If you can stay a step or two ahead of your opponent, you're in a great advantage. If you know what they're going to do before they do, the game gives you the tools to capitalize on it -- and yet, there is a counter for everything. If your opponent can predict you, then they can turn the tables on you in an instant. The fight has a flow, and rhythm. Speaking of rhythm, the jungle D&B tracks are groovy and chill, while also providing an upbeat drive. Totally cool.
Soldiers: Heroes of World War II is a real-time-tactics game. I used to hate this genre when I was young-- I had no idea what was going on in Syndicate (C:\SYND>) and all-too-often sent my agents to their DEATHS thinking that it was an action game where I could shoot up my opponents face to face. Heroes of WW2 presents an extremely interactive world, where each soldier on the battlefield is given a name. You can take equipment off of soldiers or vehicles, and destroy houses and trees to mold the battlefield to your tactics. I'm not a big fan of RTS, but RTT seems like a genre that's growing on me. Heroes of WW2 sets itself apart in the Direct Control, mode though. It lets you control your unit like a top-down action game, and does an amazing job... it is Action, Real-Time-Tactics, Sandbox, RPG and CO-OP. The game is prohibitively difficult for me in single player, but with a good friend (or friends), it is... Mmm- so good. =)
Mass Effect has cinematic production values I have never seen in my life in a video game. Amazing score, too. I want to play ME2.
wtf. I'm pretty pissed at this announcement. Thankfully, there are tons of other people who express the same feeling as I do, so I know I'm not alone.
I bought L4D pre-ordered because it was touted to be a premiere co-op experience with Valve-quality polish. They were going to combine the social aspects of Counter-Strike with the story-telling capabilities of Half-Life. It was going to be crazy.
L4D as it shipped was an incomplete game. The demo for L4D was a great demo, and promised amazing things to come- however, L4D turns out to basically be the same thing as the demo, except extended over the course of 16 maps. There is nothing deeper; no depth hidden beneath the surface.
Still, I was happy with the purchase because I know Valve for supporting their games, patching and adding content way after launch (TF2). With this in mind, I happily played and waited. Patches came and went, mostly dealing with game play. Recently, they added Survival Mode, and fans went crazy. Other people saw it, and realized it really added nothing new to the game. That's right- Survival Mode adds almost nothing to L4D. It's a different way to play L4D, but it really doesn't bring anything new to the table.
Left 4 Dead 2 has been announced. It features a new cast of characters, new enemies in addition to the old ones, larger settings and maps, more weapons (along with the introduction of melee weapons, like a frying pan and a chain saw), and aims to reward players for exploring a new non-linear path... improvements to the AI Director adds options for new types of events and pathing abilities.
L4D2 looks like a worthy expansion to L4D, and in fact- appears like a game that is L4D realized. It will be worth the price of a full game at launch (if Valve actually delivers on these things). However, it's also a sequel to L4D.
This is where my problem is. As one poster responded, L4D is like the Tech Demo for L4D2 that I paid $50 for. The amount of content being added in L4D2 would be what we used to call an "expansion pack," 10 years ago. Unlike my eager pre-order snapping up of L4D, I'm not buying this until it's like, $20. This is how trust is lost.
