The Backlog: Zombie Shooter 2

It’s been a while since a Backlog update – largely because a few Alpha titles have grabbed my attention (FTL, Towns and NEO Scavenger), but without further ado…

Zombie Shooter 2

So, what is ZS2? It’s billed as an action RPG – WASD moves your character and the mouse cursor controls where they point their gun. Killing zombies earns you XP and leveling-up gives you points to distribute amongst a handful of skills. You find and earn cash which you can use to buy armour, weapons and various gadgets. All standard fare here.

The good:

- The devs are obviously fans of the original Fallout games. The perspective and background art style seem heavily influenced by the RPG classics, and there’s even a death animation that must be a direct homage to the burst-fire critical strike death animation. You can also pick a trait during character creation – another much-used RPG staple that derived from Fallout (according to Tim Cain at least).

- The gameplay, whilst fairly basic, is kept interesting by the introduction of new elements as the game progresses. Personally I wouldn’t have made a zombie game featuring flying demonic succubi straight out of Diablo, or nigh-unkillable cyborg menaces, but hey, that’s what they wanted to do, and it least it spices things up.

The bad:

- The completely unnecessary and totally awful voice acting.

- The story is as basic, boring and hackneyed as is possible.

- Whilst I appreciate what they’re trying to do with the art, in the end the graphics are simply dull, grey and grainy.

- Accuracy and range aren’t handled very well at all, meaning that at the start of the game before you level them up you can be standing two feet away from a zombie and miss it with 4 or 5 consecutive shots. And I’m not supposed to be some mild mannered reporter here, I’m a mercenary.

- Tech issues like graphical anomalies, your character getting stuck on scenery, various other minor bugs and load times that can be measured in actual minutes rather than seconds. And then there’s the level where they put you in a tank and make you face more zombies on that one stage than you had faced in all previous levels combined, leading to extreme lag and subsequent boredom.
Sure, this computer is slightly under spec*, but it seems as though the system requirements are such a massive change from ZS1 because they tried to make a bigger and more complex game but did absolutely no optimisation.

The verdict:

It seems to me that Sigma Team could make a fun, arcade-RPG if they had a robust and stable engine to work with, but that’s not what happened here. Here we have a boring, design-by-numbers zombie shooter… Yep, you can see how much imagination and creativity went into the game just by looking at the homebrand title. But still, they must have done something right – the game is fun, and honestly I’d go back and finish it if it wasn’t for the horrendous load times.

If it’s in your backlog then give it a bash, or if you’re interested grab it on sale, but I really doubt it’ll feel like money well spent if you buy it at full price. Referral link here, but feel free to shop around.

*Actually, it’s over spec according to GamersGate, but under compared to the Sigma Team website. If anyone wants to comment and let me know how they go with the load times and 1000+ zombie extreme lag on a more powerful system, I’d be interested to know.

Half Price Demon Battles – Part 4

Turn 14

Zholmakan brings a demand against Sarigs, but I’m too busy plotting moves to pay much attention… I maneuver my newly hired legion, The Illuminatus, to support my Chosen legion, and I make a bold move – a move that could either ruin me in the short term, or secure me a spot at the top of the proverbial pile… I move against the Palace of the Lake of Fire, but my warlords are sleeping off their Christmas suppers, so I’m not entirely sure if I will be successful. I will find out soon enough.

Turn 15

Success! I secure the palace, gaining myself prestige and the ability to make an extra order each day. This is grand news indeed.

I see that Tarubus is bringing a second legion into the area – presumably he was planning his own siege against the Palace – so I make a demand of him and begin to move my troops…

Turn 16

Goddamn it! Or Luciferdamn it, or whoever, I don’t even care. Tarubus made a demand of me also, and for some infernal reason the Conclave heard his demands before they heard mine… There’s not much I can do currently except for pay the bastard – I could easily stomp his two legions (if my battle mathematics is up to snuff), but the Palace of the Lake of Fire is still weakened after my own assault and my renovators will be slow to get all the holes patched up.

Turn 17

Things are heating up in Hell. Two Legions were destroyed for no particular reason, thankfully neither was mine, A Praetor received an Order of the Crimson Skull for no particular reason (or it was for a battle that happened last round that I wasn’t paying attention to), Yriel failed in his Vendetta against Gorom, and many purchases were made from the bazaar.

I’m hoping that I’ll be able to take some more land, make a demand  of Tarabus myself this time, and bid on a second praetor, but with so much happening this past turn I wouldn’t be surprised if something got in my way…

Turn 18

Zholmakan brings a demand against Gorom, I bring one against Tarubus, and I gain a new Praetor, but otherwise things are fairly quiet… At least on the facade.

The Backlog: Cthulhu Saves the World

The backlog strikes again! No wait, I’ve struck the Backlog again… Who copped it this time?

Cthulhu Saves the World is an old-school, SNES-style RPG that is dripping with humour, satire and pop-culture references… I fell in love with the game during the opening moments – Cthulhu breaking the fourth wall to poke fun at the narrator, the cute girl with a crush on our be-tentacled hero; there’s more character in these opening moments than you’ll find in the your average FPS military manshoot.

It’s just a shame about the combat, because, well, it isn’t good and there is a lot of it.

CSTW functions much like the original Final Fantasy games, in that as you’re wandering around the game map you can and will come across random encounters. On any given section of map there is apparently a limit to the number of random encounters you can come across – but at 25 this number is far too high.

Combat itself is the usual turn-based, menu-based affair that you’ll be familiar with if you’ve ever played any JRPG ever. You have a party of 4 characters, these characters can choose between a number of different attacks and spells, can heal, defend or even team up with another character for a special attack. Between all the different characters and all their different abilities there’s a lot of variety, but you’ll quickly find the attacks that work best for your playstyle and you’ll stick with them.

And then there’s the enemies. These too are interesting and full of character and pop-culture references, but battling them is an unbalanced chore. You can only see the enemy’s health by choosing the basic attack and then hovering the cursor over them, and whilst you have access to Fire, Ice, Electrical, Physical and Magical attacks there doesn’t seem to be any indication as to which might work better on which enemies.

It basically comes down to spamming attacks on enemies and hoping that you take them down in the first couple of rounds so you can get some precious MP back, but it seems impossible to predict how a fight might go. You might find yourself stomping over enemies like some sort of Elder God, only to come up against an encounter that doesn’t appear too different from any of the others, but for some reason manages to decimate your entire party.

So, it’s a hard game to recommend. On the one hand you’ve got fantastic and genuinely funny writing, on the other hand you have, well, everything else.

I’m not a fan of JRPGs, either new or old-school, and as such I have no love of the genre and no nostalgia associated with it, but if you do you’ll probably like Cthulhu Saves the World.

Personally I’m interested to see what Zeboyd do next, because if it isn’t so mechanically frustrating it will probably be brilliant.

If you’re curious, it’s cheap even when it’s not on special and you can buy it here. That’s a referral link, but feel free to shop around.

The Backlog: VVVVVV

I’m not entirely comfortable writing this up and crossing VVVVVV off the list because I have to admit that I’ve only played it for about half an hour. Can a person make a valid judgement of a game after thirty minutes?

Lets see, shall we?

VVVVVV

VVVVVV is an 8-bit-inspired puzzle-platformer that is as punishing as it is retro-looking. I guess “punishing” might not be the best term to use because there are probably lots of gamers out there who find the difficulty of the game to be perfect, and jump at every brutal platformer that gets released – if this sounds like you, then don’t bother reading on because you won’t agree with anything I say.

The gameplay of VVVVVV is succinctly explained within its name – it’s a platformer in which you don’t jump, instead you flip gravity, swapping from floor to ceiling as the environment demands it. There’s more to it than that obviously, like:

• a sci-fi storyline involving a spaceship crew who get separated when their ship gets brokened (ok, I obviously wasn’t paying attention during the opening cinematic) and as the Captain you must find them all,
• a map layout that is frankly kind of annoying, but allows you to tackle the levels in a non-linear,
• a killer soundtrack, and,
• puzzles involving many different ways that you can die.

Believe me, you will die. A lot. This is made less frustrating by the instant-respawn, but is also made more frustrating by occasionally sparse checkpoints, and movement that feels like it could be tighter.

And really, I think that’s about it. If you aren’t old enough to feel a pang of nostalgia at the deliberately retro graphics, and aren’t masochistic enough to want to play such a difficult game then there’s not much for you here. If you are a masochist I think Super Meat Boy does the punishing platformer thing better and is wrapped up in a better art-style with prettier graphics, an even better soundtrack and a few other bells and whistles like instant replays, scoreboards, etc. If you like puzzle platformers then I think that’s been done better too recently – Limbo has an incredible ambience, Braid is as amazing and brain-hurting as Portal, Nightsky is a joy to play and as meditative as it is frustrating… And there are probably many, many more – we have no shortage of indie platformers to play these days.

So yeah, VVVVVV isn’t for me, but I’m still going to include a link to a demo so I don’t feel too bad for only giving it thirty minutes and then crossing it off my list.

Buy it here. That’s a referral link, but feel free to shop around.

Next up: One of the games I said I’d do last time? Or maybe Cthulhu Saves the World, ’cause I’ve actually been playing a bit of that.

The Backlog: Gemini Rue

Geminie Rue, for those not familiar with the title, is a point-and-click adventure game – a genre which hasn’t been particularly popular since the 90s. Many argue that LA Noire is a modernised take on the P&CA genre, but personally I think there are more things wrong with that assessment than their are right.

So, Gemini Rue, released in 2011, but with a deliberately retro look and feel. Graphically and stylistically it’s apparently inspired by both the Blade Runner game (and possibly the film, and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?) and Beneath a Steel Sky.

It follows the twin stories of Azriel Odin, an ex-assassin turned cop who is on the search for his brother, and Delta-Six, a patient whose memory has been wiped at a mysterious Rehabilitation Centre.

Spoilers between the two images, non-spoilerific thoughts after the second one.

blah If you’re reading this bit then you aren’t afraid of spoilers, so either you’ve already played the game, or you have no intention of doing it. If it’s the latter and you’re a fan of either P&CA or Dickian science fiction then I urge you to reconsider, because Gemini Rue is a genuinely great game. It’s not perfect, and I certainly had my fair share of frustration with both the puzzles and some of the design decisions, but apart from that it does everything it set out to do, and it does it very well.

If the general visual aesthetic doesn’t immediately put you in mind of Blade Runner, then the Vangelis-esque music will, but where many times a piece of media will be forever stuck in the shadow of the art that inspires it, Gemini Rue’s setting is original and compelling enough to give it it’s own identity.

Sure, much of the philosophising about identity at the end of the game will seem ham-fisted to anyone who’s read as much Dick as I have (insert juvenile joke here), it works because it relates directly to the game, the gameplay and the characters.

Early in the game we’re lead to believe that Subject Delta-Six is the brother that Azriel Odin is searching for, but the revelation as to Epsilon-Five’s identity turns things on their heads, and the twist where we discover that Azriel and Delta-Six are actually the same person was genuinely surprising and was done superbly well… It should have seemed obvious as we controlled both characters, and games normally only allow us to control the one character (though this point of view is diluted by the fact that we can control Sayuri later on).

I liked the way that you can control both characters, and even swap between them at will – such as if you’re stuck with one character’s puzzle – but I think it probably works better from a narrative perspective if one follows each character through to the end of their ‘chapter’ and only swapping when the game itself does it.

The puzzles are generally logical, though that doesn’t stop some design decisions from making the game frustrating at times. I won’t bother going into details because it would be difficult to explain, and really, they’re probably par for the course with this genre, so it’s hardly a dealbreaker (ladies).

The voice acting was generally good, but I almost feel like the writing would have seemed stronger with no VA. Or perhaps the writing was ham-fisted at times and the actors were just doing the best they could. Honestly it could have been a bit of both, but neither the writing nor the voice acting were ever bad, and indeed as Gemini Rue is an indie title the quality on display is commendable.

The world (both in terms of the planet much of the game is set on, and the game world) is well-realised, but I’m torn between thinking that the background wasn’t fleshed out well enough, and that it was perfect example of subtle storytelling… So yeah, jury’s out on that one. But I enjoyed it enough that I can see a re-play with the Creator Commentary on in my future, so that should give me some more insight.

Verdict: As someone who hasn’t played P&CA since the 90s and doesn’t particularly enjoy them, I still found plenty to like in Gemini Rue. If you’re not a sci-fi and/or Dick buff though YMMV.

Next on the Backlog list… Icewind Dale? Maybe Nightsky? Check back soon.

The Backlog: It Begins

If the discussions around the RPS forums are anything to go by, thanks to Steam sales and various indie bundles, PC gamers are buying more games than they have time to play. Over at RPS a few people have decided to do something about this, either by vowing to buy No New Games for a Year, or just by making a conscious effort to get stuck into their Backlogs of games.

This is where I draw my line in the sand. This is where I do my best King Canute impersonation and try and stop the tide of games from overwhelming me. It’s me against this ocean…

The Backlog:

• Amnesia: The Dark Descent
• And Yet It Moves
  
• Anomaly: Warzone Earth
• Atom Zombie Smasher
• Avadon: The Black Fortress
• The Ball
• Beep
• Ben There, Dan That! & Time Gentlemen, Please!
• The Binding of Isaac
• BIT.TRIP RUNNER
• Borderlands
• Botanicula
• Cave Story+
• Cogs
• Company of Heroes Complete
• Crusader: No Remorse
• Cthulhu Saves the World
• Darksiders
• Darwinia
• Dawn of War Complete
• Dawn of War 2 Complete
• Deus Ex
• Deus Ex: Human Revolution
• DEFCON
• Defense Grid: The Awakening
• Dungeons of Dredmor
• Eufloria
• Fallout: New Vegas
• Fallout: Tactics
• Frozen Synapse
• Gemini Rue
• Geneforge 1 – 5
• Gratuitous Space Battles
• Hoard
• Icewind Dale Complete
  
• Jagged Alliance
• Jagged Alliance 2
• Jamestown
  
• Killing Floor
• King Arthur
• Machinarium
  
• Magicka
  
• MDK
• MDK 2
• Minecraft
• Multiwinia
• Neverwinter Nights Diamond
• Neverwinter Nights 2 Platinum
• Nightsky
• Nikopol: Secrets of the Immortals
• Nimbus
• Planescape: Torment
• Post-Apocalyptic Mayhem
  
• Project Zomboid
• Psychonauts
• Really Big Sky
• Revenge of the Titans
• Rochard
• Runespell: Overture
  
• Samorost 2
• Scorgasm
• Shadowgrounds
• Shadowgrounds: Survivor
• Shank
• Shattered Steel
• Sideway
• Starcraft
• Starcraft 2
• Super Meat Boy
• Sword of the Stars Complete Collection
• System Shock 2
• Terraria
• Thief: Deadly Shadows
  
• Torchlight
  
• Trine
• Uplink
• Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines
• VVVVVV
• Wasteland Angel
• Windosill
  
• The Witcher
• Xotic
• Zeno Clash
• Zombie Shooter 2

Total: 84 (though there’s actually some more I can’t be bothered to add right now).

The list:

- Italicised games are the ones that I can’t play (or probably can’t play) on my traveling netbook. These games will have to wait until October most likely. But that still leaves a lot of game.

- I’ll come back and strikethrough games as I complete them.

The rules:

- Games don’t have to be played through to completion. If I’m not enjoying a game then I’m not going to force myself through it. A lot of the above titles were picked up in Bundles, so as long as I enjoy one of the games from the bundle I consider it a win overall. I’ll still give them all a decent shot though.

- In regards to Multiplayer and Fractal (procedurally generated) games, all I can really do is play it until I feel I got enough value out of it/have grown tired of it.

- Some of the games listed above are there for replays (like Planescape: Torment) or for 100%ing (like Starcraft 2, whose hard mode challenges are actually worth the effort). These aren’t really as high a priority as the games that are entirely untouched.

- Many of these games are huge. Haven’t yet decided if I’m going to try and play one game through to “completion” before starting a new one, or keep a couple going at once. This isn’t really a rule, is it.

First up is Gemini Rue.

Half Price Demon Battles – Part 3

Turn 7

Things are starting to heat up with the first demand being made. Zholmakan makes a demand of Sarigs… Unfortunately neither of these two are vying for a position near the Altar of Abomination that I was eyeing off, so that won’t serve as a distraction for me.

Worse still, the Infernal Conclave will only allow me to move my legions after everyone else has, which means making a land grab would likely see me wasting a turn as one of those pretenders moves in to take the place before me.

I make a bid on Raum, who seems a good fit to lead my Chosen Legion into battle… And I bid high so I don’t waste a turn on a lost bid. Only time will tell if the squandering of resources pays off. Resources which I will only be able to claw from my minions as slowly as the fires of hell singe away the flesh of sinners. But even if it does take eternity this place will be mine.

I desperately want to be able to give a third order, but none of the others can yet either, and as long as I can keep the Blood of Tarubus from taking the Palace then I should be well on my way.

This is what the map looks like now:

Turn 8

Little movement across the map, no places of power captured, which bodes well for my chances now that Raum is at my side. Glorious Raum, my Biceratops. Sarigs has refused Zholmakan’s demand from the previous round, which means things will start to get interesting very soon. Neither of them is at the top of my To Stomp list, but they’re practically neighbours with their captured temples, so I gather that Zholmakan is hoping to extend his backyard. Sarigs has now given Zholmakan permission to do so. Holding both only their loyal legions, and with access to support from their Temples it’s difficult to tell whose side the dice might fall on if it come to battle.

Some interesting purchases to be made in the bazaar, but I can ill afford them at this time. Still, with Raum on board there I shall definitely be able to take the Face in the Sand and will have at least a shot at the Palace of the Lake of Fire… Though I feel some retail therapy is in order first.

Turn 9

Zholmakan claims vendetta! This pleases me… Perhaps it shouldn’t, me being so recently fallen, but I suppose I should embrace this feeling if I am to claim Hell. I hope the battle distracts the rest of the Lords of Hell for long enough for me to take a Place of Power or two. In fact, I tell me Chosen, now led by Raum, to do this very thing. It feels good to go to battle.

Turn 10

Indeed, going into battle felt good, but victory feels even better. I know control the face in the sand, which is probably some sort of playground for demon children.

Gorom makes a demand of Yriel, leaving only me and Tarubus without any current diplomatic entanglements, and presently I would like to keep it that way… At least until I’ve taken the Palace of the Lake of Fire and feel safe in my superiority. Or if he takes it I will certainly strike as soon as is possible.

I still can’t be certain that I will take it in a battle – a demon child’s playground it isn’t – so I think I need to look into some ancient manuscripts to better learn how the battle might unfold… Or simply get an Artifact that would allow me to use my Infernal attack first, as my Chosen legion and Raum are currently masters of the Infernal arts. There are some interesting items in the bazaar, but nothing that would seem to guarantee my victory.

Turn 11

Yriel concedes to Gorom’s demands, proving himself a worm before all of Hell. Either that, or he can see that one of his legions is currently close to death and would make extremely easy pickings for Gorom.

I move my pieces around the board, scheming and checking the bazaar for anything useful. There is much to peruse, but all of the really exciting prospects are beyond my current budget. But still, things are shaping up… Slowly, very slowly.

Turn 12

Zholmakan takes possession of the Temple of the Damned, and in doing so fulfills his vendetta against Sarigs. Not only that, but Gorom hurls an insult at poor put-upon Yriel. Only Tarabus and I are left out of the diplomatic squabbling, and I almost feel like I should make some sort of demand of him as it’s en vogue, but decide against it. Slow plotting. Tortoising while they all hare themselves into great troubles… I hope.

Turn 13

Shopping for a legion… 2 just isn’t enough…