Weird. Very weird. After an hour I don't really know what's going on yet.
It's certainly interesting, challenging and graphically original - but so far I'm struggling.
I think the issue I have with it is that it doesn't give you any feedback at all on how well you're doing.
That's obviously a deliberate design choice and part of the artistic style of the game.
It's laudable that the game is trying to do something different, much like Dear Esther I'm prepared to be more forgiving of a game that tries to do something new - but I have to admit it's not doing much to pull me in and encourage me to play. I'm not even entirely certain I've found any of the "puzzles" yet, much less solved them.
I'm far too stubborn to give up (especially since it was relatively expensive for an indie game), so hopefully I'll get more of a grip on things. In the meantime, I'll probably be playing Max Payne 3...
Update: After a bit more play over lunch, I found a couple of things I'd missed (much like the other reviews say, it's a game that benefits from the occasional break). So I've now {SPOILER} and {SPOILER} and have gone from amused bewilderment to definite recommendation!
Monday, 4 February 2013
Sunday, 3 February 2013
Metro 2033
Metro 2033 is one of those games that feels like more than the sum of its parts.
Really, it's just a fairly basic FPS - the engine is competent but not outstanding, the graphics are decent but nothing particularly special and the script / voice-acting is fairly average (the NPC barks are extremely repetitive and annoying)
But... somehow it all works and is really enjoyable. Perhaps it's the fairly unique setting, the unfamiliar weapons and the creepy atmosphere, but somehow Metro sucked me in in a way that not many FPS style games do. It's not BioShock or Half-Life 2, but it's WAY ahead of CoD and all the various clones/competitors.
Particularly the first half of the game, which involves a lot of creeping around in the dark, was extremely tense and enjoyable - it went down hill a bit for me in the latter part of the game where the weapons power up a bit and all of the ammunition you've been saving starts to blaze, but it was still fun.
I also liked the ending, and bonus points for letting me reload and see the alternative ending without resorting to YouTube!
I got this as part of the Humble THQ Bundle (and another copy free from a Facebook give-away); in terms of marketing these deals served their purpose brilliantly (not that it helped THQ) as I'll certainly be looking out for the sequel if/when it's released...
Really, it's just a fairly basic FPS - the engine is competent but not outstanding, the graphics are decent but nothing particularly special and the script / voice-acting is fairly average (the NPC barks are extremely repetitive and annoying)
But... somehow it all works and is really enjoyable. Perhaps it's the fairly unique setting, the unfamiliar weapons and the creepy atmosphere, but somehow Metro sucked me in in a way that not many FPS style games do. It's not BioShock or Half-Life 2, but it's WAY ahead of CoD and all the various clones/competitors.
Particularly the first half of the game, which involves a lot of creeping around in the dark, was extremely tense and enjoyable - it went down hill a bit for me in the latter part of the game where the weapons power up a bit and all of the ammunition you've been saving starts to blaze, but it was still fun.
I also liked the ending, and bonus points for letting me reload and see the alternative ending without resorting to YouTube!
I got this as part of the Humble THQ Bundle (and another copy free from a Facebook give-away); in terms of marketing these deals served their purpose brilliantly (not that it helped THQ) as I'll certainly be looking out for the sequel if/when it's released...
Tuesday, 29 January 2013
Ooooh - it's still here!
Two years ago I was just starting an exciting new role - I was enthusiastic and gung-ho.
I said at the time I didn't expect to keep the blog up for long, but I thought it would be more than 6 posts.
You can tell from the dates of the posts how quickly I became disillusioned with the job, when the enthusiasm began to feed as I realised exactly what I'd walked into...
Anyway, less than year later I'd left the company to go do something completely different - and since then I've been kinda busy!
Anyway - I've been feeling the need to blog again. Sometimes Twitter and Facebook updates are just too short for what I want to say. On top of that, most of what I want to post is more personal-diary and not really of interest to anyone else :-)
So I've changed the strap-line (a bit) and I doubt I'll be talking much about the Software Development Life-Cycle or Agile processes... At the very least I'm planning to keep track of the video games I play this year... :-)
Update: I've now get a short review of all the games I've finished recently. These are really just for me so don't expect great writing or incisive criticism :-)
I said at the time I didn't expect to keep the blog up for long, but I thought it would be more than 6 posts.
You can tell from the dates of the posts how quickly I became disillusioned with the job, when the enthusiasm began to feed as I realised exactly what I'd walked into...
Anyway, less than year later I'd left the company to go do something completely different - and since then I've been kinda busy!
Anyway - I've been feeling the need to blog again. Sometimes Twitter and Facebook updates are just too short for what I want to say. On top of that, most of what I want to post is more personal-diary and not really of interest to anyone else :-)
So I've changed the strap-line (a bit) and I doubt I'll be talking much about the Software Development Life-Cycle or Agile processes... At the very least I'm planning to keep track of the video games I play this year... :-)
Update: I've now get a short review of all the games I've finished recently. These are really just for me so don't expect great writing or incisive criticism :-)
Tuesday, 22 January 2013
Far Cry 3
I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed every second of Far Cry 3.
Yes, there are issues with the plot, particularly in the second half and the very end.
Yes, most of the characters (including the player character) are obnoxious morons.
But I just found it to be so much fun!
The graphics are outstanding - playing at "Ultra" on my laptop (at around 35 FPS) you could see every blade of grass and every palm frond; Rook Island is a truly beautiful place.
While there are a few too many "fetch the items" quests, I genuinely enjoyed hunting down all the relics and (in particular) lost WWII letters - it's very rare for me to bother 100%-ing a game, but with Far Cry 3 it was a pleasure.
I also enjoyed capturing the enemy bases - whether sniping from the hills, sneaking in with a silenced SMG or storming in guns a-blazing.
There were one or two frustrations:
Yes, there are issues with the plot, particularly in the second half and the very end.
Yes, most of the characters (including the player character) are obnoxious morons.
But I just found it to be so much fun!
The graphics are outstanding - playing at "Ultra" on my laptop (at around 35 FPS) you could see every blade of grass and every palm frond; Rook Island is a truly beautiful place.
While there are a few too many "fetch the items" quests, I genuinely enjoyed hunting down all the relics and (in particular) lost WWII letters - it's very rare for me to bother 100%-ing a game, but with Far Cry 3 it was a pleasure.
I also enjoyed capturing the enemy bases - whether sniping from the hills, sneaking in with a silenced SMG or storming in guns a-blazing.
There were one or two frustrations:
- Limited weapon capacity early on feels a bit forced and frustrating - although it does encourage you to go hunting for upgrades, which I might not have bothered to do otherwise.
- Some of the watch-towers seem unnecessarily frustrating to climb
- It can occasionally be difficult to find the cave entrances when you know a relic is hiding nearby.
Oh and I didn't really like the ending.
Last sentence has to go to Vaas Montenegro, who started off looking very much like he was going to be the annoying standard gangster character, but turned out to be a genuinely entertaining and memorable psycho!
Friday, 11 January 2013
From Dust
I really wanted to like From Dust, I very much wanted it to be a modern Populous.
Sadly, there's just not enough to it; the first couple of levels introduce your divine powers - the ability to shape the land to help your tribe repopulate the ancient islands - thennnnnn, that's it.
A couple of minor variations on the same theme (e.g. building rock from lava) but nothing that really adds any depth or complexity.
In fact, therein lies the biggest problem with From Dust. There isn't really much room for interpretation, style or doing things your own way. As far as I could tell, there's one right way to do each level (certainly the later ones) and if you don't get off to the correct start, you're essentially fighting a doomed rearguard action. There's no scope for valiant recovery with imaginative use of your powers and snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. Which is a shame.
The unlocked "challenge" levels don't add much more, just shorted timed challenges along the same themes - these are more honest in the fact that they're just puzzles.
All in all, it's just too shallow and too short - more of an experimental puzzle game than a true god/strategy.
Sadly, there's just not enough to it; the first couple of levels introduce your divine powers - the ability to shape the land to help your tribe repopulate the ancient islands - thennnnnn, that's it.
A couple of minor variations on the same theme (e.g. building rock from lava) but nothing that really adds any depth or complexity.
In fact, therein lies the biggest problem with From Dust. There isn't really much room for interpretation, style or doing things your own way. As far as I could tell, there's one right way to do each level (certainly the later ones) and if you don't get off to the correct start, you're essentially fighting a doomed rearguard action. There's no scope for valiant recovery with imaginative use of your powers and snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. Which is a shame.
The unlocked "challenge" levels don't add much more, just shorted timed challenges along the same themes - these are more honest in the fact that they're just puzzles.
All in all, it's just too shallow and too short - more of an experimental puzzle game than a true god/strategy.
Tuesday, 8 January 2013
Dear Esther
Dear Esther was a very, very interesting game. If game is the right word, which it probably isn't.
I do like games that try to do something different, something imaginative or unusual - anything leading away from Call of Duty XVII... and Dear Esther certainly does that.
Dear Esther tells the story of someone exploring a Hebridean island while reciting from a letter to the eponymous Esther. As you explore the island (mostly just by walking forwards and looking at the pretty scenery) the back story is gradually revealed through the semi-random snippets of monologue.
So there's no real game-play, as such, and it takes maybe 2 hours to get to the end - in some respects it's not much more than a glorified engine demo.
On those grounds, I couldn't really recommend spending £6.99 on it, but it is intriguing and strangely compelling for the short time it lasts. While I couldn't recommend buying it at full price it's certainly worth spending a couple of hours on someone else's copy!
I do like games that try to do something different, something imaginative or unusual - anything leading away from Call of Duty XVII... and Dear Esther certainly does that.
Dear Esther tells the story of someone exploring a Hebridean island while reciting from a letter to the eponymous Esther. As you explore the island (mostly just by walking forwards and looking at the pretty scenery) the back story is gradually revealed through the semi-random snippets of monologue.
So there's no real game-play, as such, and it takes maybe 2 hours to get to the end - in some respects it's not much more than a glorified engine demo.
On those grounds, I couldn't really recommend spending £6.99 on it, but it is intriguing and strangely compelling for the short time it lasts. While I couldn't recommend buying it at full price it's certainly worth spending a couple of hours on someone else's copy!
Monday, 7 January 2013
Dishonored
One of the best games I've played on a long time, I thought Dishonored was a truly outstanding game.
While the plot was fairly predictable, the fantastic setting and outstanding voice acting made the whole game feel truly big-budget.
Similarly, the open-world approach to the missions and the imaginative range of special powers made for an atmospheric blend of tension and sudden violence that was great fun from start to finish.
One criticism that I've seen levelled at Dishonored is that it's too short. I find that a bit strange - maybe if you blitzed through it with crossbows blazing you could finish pretty quickly, but that would be missing the point.
I played with a mostly-stealth approach, but without going for the extreme pacifist achievements and I clocked around 24 hours over a week - collecting most items without being a completionist.
I guess I'm lucky that I can afford to buy new games fairly regularly - but I would much rather play a short, perfectly formed, game than something padded out just to make it longer (looking at you, Skyrim)
And 24 hours isn't exactly short.
So if you're worried about value for money, don't be. If you're not a fan of stealth games, neither am I - Dishonored is definitely worth playing (although it might be worth waiting for the next Steam sale as it was 50% off at Christmas...)
While the plot was fairly predictable, the fantastic setting and outstanding voice acting made the whole game feel truly big-budget.
Similarly, the open-world approach to the missions and the imaginative range of special powers made for an atmospheric blend of tension and sudden violence that was great fun from start to finish.
One criticism that I've seen levelled at Dishonored is that it's too short. I find that a bit strange - maybe if you blitzed through it with crossbows blazing you could finish pretty quickly, but that would be missing the point.
I played with a mostly-stealth approach, but without going for the extreme pacifist achievements and I clocked around 24 hours over a week - collecting most items without being a completionist.
I guess I'm lucky that I can afford to buy new games fairly regularly - but I would much rather play a short, perfectly formed, game than something padded out just to make it longer (looking at you, Skyrim)
And 24 hours isn't exactly short.
So if you're worried about value for money, don't be. If you're not a fan of stealth games, neither am I - Dishonored is definitely worth playing (although it might be worth waiting for the next Steam sale as it was 50% off at Christmas...)
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