1. Velocity 2x is a speedrunner's fever dream. Other people will like it too.
2. This is the second game in the series but I am hoping the 2x in the title refers to the fact that there are two genres in one game here: a vertical scrolling shmup and a 2D platformer.
3. Both playstyles have similar mechanics in spite of being much different genres. You can always hold a button to move faster. You always have the option to shoot in the direction of the second analog stick. You can always eleport to avoid enemies or get to new areas. It feels natural and seamless to switch between the different ways to play.
4. The thing that ties these together is speed... errr, velocity (2x). No matter which type of section you are in, movement feels fluid and fast in much the same way. It very quickly reaches the point where most actions are second nature and flow freely in spite of quite a few mechanics being at play. In short, the double genre mashup works because the controls for both are excellent.
5. Volocity 2x doesn't try to knock you on your butt w/ its technical fidelity but its graphics are nevertheless stylish and effective. Bright, bold colors not only set the futuristic tone in this deep space setting but help enemies and collectables stand out from the background.
6. There are nevertheless some sections where one tiny collectable is easy to miss and this does wind up having a negative effect on gameplay esp. as you reach your way toward the end game.
7. The plot is delivered through still frame images w/ text. It is simple but it works. The art really shines here and after several dozen sets of just a few images a piece, the tale of a repressed race overthrowing their oppressors w/ the help of a lone human woman feels full and real in spite of only serving the gameplay purpose of breaking up the pace.
8. So, as stated, this game plays fast. It encourages you to play fast by outside means like scoring you on completion time and internet leader boards but, more so than that, it just feels right to try to scurry through. I wish they would have stuck more w/ the latter method.
9. The scoring on each level relates to how many collectables you get, how many enemies you kill and how fast you go. You unlock additional levels by scoring enough on previous levels. This is easy enough for about the first three hours. After that, it's pretty easy to pick up some extra points to keep things going for a while but eventually most players are going to hit a wall. Then you've got to grind.
10. And I don't mean idly grind away like you do in an RPG. This is white knuckle, no mistakes, try after try grinding like speedrunners do. It's satisfying as hell to but it seems kinda cheap they wall off end game content w/ this stuff.
11. The issue is this expectation for near perfection isn't given to you at the outset. You have to more or less memorize most of these levels but you can get so far ahead in the game before you realize this that you've forgotten anything about the first bunch of levels and so have to go back and start relearning from scratch. It would be much better just to set the bar higher initially if that is what you are going to do.
12. This is made worse by the fact that the levels get fairly long by midway through the game. To have to repeat a five minute level yet again because you missed one or two tiny collectables (see number 6) is incredibly frustrating.
13. So, yeah, I complained a lot about the progress wall but the reason it sticks out so much is that Velocity 2x is otherwise just so much fun. I actively like and enjoy grinding these levels for fast times and high scores, it just sticks in my craw that I have to. Maybe I am just acting like a spoiled teenager, I dunno... Go start your own blog about how I act like a spoiled teenager if that is the case. Otherwise, go play Velocity 2x. It's a blast and half. Plus it's two games in one, making for a total of three blasts. I can do math. You should play this game.
Wednesday, February 27, 2019
Wednesday, February 20, 2019
13 Points on Old Man's Journey - Broken Rules - 2017 [PC]
1. Old Man's Journey is one of those games you'll probably start and finish in the same sitting. Or at least over the course of a weekend. Or maybe it will take you a month to play through a game that's under two hours long. I don't know. Maybe you're dumb. Maybe you have almost no free time. There's a lot of factors at play here.
2. The setup is you are an old man and you go on a journey. It's not just a clever title. You are sitting on your stoop and a courier comes up on a bicycle and gives you a letter. You read it, pop inside to grab your things--suspiciously already packed--and get going.
3. The mechanics of Old Man's Journey are simple enough but never explained at all. You click on various parts of the the landscape and can stretch it about into different shapes. You click on a spot to have the old man to journey to it. You can also click on sheep to make them move to another patch of grass. That's it.
4. Controls on this for PC are mouse only which is kind of bummer.
5. This could be considered a really slow platformer where you contort the ground rather than jump. The piece of land you are standing on cannot be moved so you are forced to puzzle your way through what order you need to visit the platforms.
6. Eventually, there are waterfalls you can slide down, sheep that must be clicked on and wheels you need to roll around to knock over barriers. It adds a satisfying bit of progression.
7. Even w/ these additions, at no point does Old Man's Journey ever get hard. This shit is casual. Deal w/ it.
8. Given gameplay is not much of a challenge, exploration has to be a reward unto itself for Old Man's Journey to work. We are not talking a massive chunk of gaming here so this is more than enough to pull you through the whole thing.
9. It works because it's just so pretty. The hand painted look builds a sentimental feeling which jibes well w/ the whole idea of an old man going on a journey.
10. The wonderful scntfc composed soundtrack does much the same. It has the strummed acoustic instrument sounds you'd likely expect from such an endeavor but adds unexpected electronic elements that nevertheless blend in seamlessly. Like all of his scores, it's well worth checking out even if you don't play the game.
11. The story here is really more backstory. All that happens in game is you walk around. As you do, you run into sights that remind you of your past after each major section. You are rewarded w/ a mostly still image from your past. You are left to your own devices to piece the specifics of your history together.
12. Some of the turns in this history surprised me. Your journeying old man is not entirely w/o flaws and his lonely situation at the outset is not something that simply happened to him. This old man is, frankly, pretty much a dickhead. It makes everything a lot more interesting in the end.
13. It may sound like faint praise but Old Man's Journey is sparing in its use of your time and energy but delivers handsomely on what effort you do put into it. It may I also be faint praise to say that if you look at this game, realize it's a light puzzle game w/ great art assets and think you'll like it, you almost certainly will. Go ahead and give this a whirl if you run across a free evening sometime. I is pretty straightforward in what it promises and it delivers.
2. The setup is you are an old man and you go on a journey. It's not just a clever title. You are sitting on your stoop and a courier comes up on a bicycle and gives you a letter. You read it, pop inside to grab your things--suspiciously already packed--and get going.
3. The mechanics of Old Man's Journey are simple enough but never explained at all. You click on various parts of the the landscape and can stretch it about into different shapes. You click on a spot to have the old man to journey to it. You can also click on sheep to make them move to another patch of grass. That's it.
4. Controls on this for PC are mouse only which is kind of bummer.
5. This could be considered a really slow platformer where you contort the ground rather than jump. The piece of land you are standing on cannot be moved so you are forced to puzzle your way through what order you need to visit the platforms.
6. Eventually, there are waterfalls you can slide down, sheep that must be clicked on and wheels you need to roll around to knock over barriers. It adds a satisfying bit of progression.
7. Even w/ these additions, at no point does Old Man's Journey ever get hard. This shit is casual. Deal w/ it.
8. Given gameplay is not much of a challenge, exploration has to be a reward unto itself for Old Man's Journey to work. We are not talking a massive chunk of gaming here so this is more than enough to pull you through the whole thing.
9. It works because it's just so pretty. The hand painted look builds a sentimental feeling which jibes well w/ the whole idea of an old man going on a journey.
10. The wonderful scntfc composed soundtrack does much the same. It has the strummed acoustic instrument sounds you'd likely expect from such an endeavor but adds unexpected electronic elements that nevertheless blend in seamlessly. Like all of his scores, it's well worth checking out even if you don't play the game.
11. The story here is really more backstory. All that happens in game is you walk around. As you do, you run into sights that remind you of your past after each major section. You are rewarded w/ a mostly still image from your past. You are left to your own devices to piece the specifics of your history together.
12. Some of the turns in this history surprised me. Your journeying old man is not entirely w/o flaws and his lonely situation at the outset is not something that simply happened to him. This old man is, frankly, pretty much a dickhead. It makes everything a lot more interesting in the end.
13. It may sound like faint praise but Old Man's Journey is sparing in its use of your time and energy but delivers handsomely on what effort you do put into it. It may I also be faint praise to say that if you look at this game, realize it's a light puzzle game w/ great art assets and think you'll like it, you almost certainly will. Go ahead and give this a whirl if you run across a free evening sometime. I is pretty straightforward in what it promises and it delivers.
Wednesday, February 13, 2019
13 Points on Metroid: Zero Mission - Nintendo - 2004 [GBA]
1. This is supposedly a remake of the original NES Metroid game but playing it feels so different that you wonder why they didn't just make an all new game as sequel to 2002's Metroid Fusion. Regardless, Zero Mission stands on its own and as a bonus it makes old Metroid nerds mad because it's less obtuse and more fun to play.
2. The biggest difference between the two version is Zero Mission has considerably less aimless exploration. This is not necessarily good. Keeping the player a bit in the dark is how the original game builds tension. It is an essential part of how Metroid works. It is also frequently frustrating and occasionally tedious. Partly removing that element in Zero Mission is a compromise and you can take it or leave it.
3. The one change that is unequivocally for the worse is when the main title screen pops up, the theme music heard does not start w/ that throbbing single note bass line pounding ominously away. It is the same theme but they just start at a prettier part later in the song. I will assume whoever made this decision has already been executed.
4. The music otherwise is excellent. The Game Boy Advance, for however much I love it, has a miserable sound chip but the developers did well w/ what they have to work w/.
5. Similarly, the graphics do everything they can do right w/ the GBA's hardware. 2004 was well before the indie-driven re-birth of 2D platformers and pixel art so at the time this just looked like some shitty old Super Nintendo game. W/ the benefit of hindsight, the artwork looks great, each area is distinctive and all the information you want to get through your eyeballs, you can get through your eyeballs. Zero Mission has a very effective presentation overall.
6. The controls are also updated to take advantage of the new hardware. The GBA still doesn't quite have enough buttons to map your more powerful but limited missiles to a separate button from your regular gun though. As a compromise, you switch to missiles by holding the R shoulder button. This will give you some cramps fighting bosses.
7. And Zero Mission does feature some epic boss battles--or, rather they are boss battles that look epic. You fight huge bosses w/ lots of animations that look great and are interminably easy. Of four main bosses, I beat three on the first try--and I am not good at anything.
8. Really, death is not much of a threat throughout most of the game. There's a few tricky bits here and there but mostly you will not be in too much danger. Save points are copious so even if you do meet an untimely end, you will not lose too much progress.
9. Before playing Zero Mission, I'd have said Nerfing the difficulty of exploration in a Metroid game would ruin it but that is not actually the case. Again, we are looking at a compromise. You lose that thrilling tension where you are pushing into previously unexplored territory low on health far from a save point. You also don't have to retread the same areas before that moment over and over when you fail.
10. Overall, I'd say Zero Mission is less tense than the original but more exciting moment to moment. You get that thrill of finding something brand new more frequently but w/ less effort. It is less of a roller coaster and more of a high speed chase.
11. You also get a whole new area to explore that subverts series norms and has you squaring off against some of the games toughest enemies w/o the powerups you'd earned up to that point. This one of the more challenging sections of the game and one more thing that has me wishing Zero Mission had been a whole new game rather than a remake so they could have expanded on this idea more.
12. If nothing else, if you just cannot stand they did anything but a tile by tile remake of the original, you get the NES version as a bonus after beating Zero Mission. If you like, you can start your own game review blog and compare the two.
13. I could never completely shake the feeling Zero Mission was training wheels Metroid but neither could I put it down once I started playing it. As a fan of the series, I found it interesting just to see what they chose to do differently. As a random internet dipshit who plays at being a game critic, I enjoyed analyzing how the new design choices affected gameplay. As a gamer, I just had a good time playing it. To me, this seems like a little something for everyone so go ahead and play this. If you don't like it, you'll at least find it interesting.
2. The biggest difference between the two version is Zero Mission has considerably less aimless exploration. This is not necessarily good. Keeping the player a bit in the dark is how the original game builds tension. It is an essential part of how Metroid works. It is also frequently frustrating and occasionally tedious. Partly removing that element in Zero Mission is a compromise and you can take it or leave it.
3. The one change that is unequivocally for the worse is when the main title screen pops up, the theme music heard does not start w/ that throbbing single note bass line pounding ominously away. It is the same theme but they just start at a prettier part later in the song. I will assume whoever made this decision has already been executed.
4. The music otherwise is excellent. The Game Boy Advance, for however much I love it, has a miserable sound chip but the developers did well w/ what they have to work w/.
5. Similarly, the graphics do everything they can do right w/ the GBA's hardware. 2004 was well before the indie-driven re-birth of 2D platformers and pixel art so at the time this just looked like some shitty old Super Nintendo game. W/ the benefit of hindsight, the artwork looks great, each area is distinctive and all the information you want to get through your eyeballs, you can get through your eyeballs. Zero Mission has a very effective presentation overall.
6. The controls are also updated to take advantage of the new hardware. The GBA still doesn't quite have enough buttons to map your more powerful but limited missiles to a separate button from your regular gun though. As a compromise, you switch to missiles by holding the R shoulder button. This will give you some cramps fighting bosses.
7. And Zero Mission does feature some epic boss battles--or, rather they are boss battles that look epic. You fight huge bosses w/ lots of animations that look great and are interminably easy. Of four main bosses, I beat three on the first try--and I am not good at anything.
8. Really, death is not much of a threat throughout most of the game. There's a few tricky bits here and there but mostly you will not be in too much danger. Save points are copious so even if you do meet an untimely end, you will not lose too much progress.
9. Before playing Zero Mission, I'd have said Nerfing the difficulty of exploration in a Metroid game would ruin it but that is not actually the case. Again, we are looking at a compromise. You lose that thrilling tension where you are pushing into previously unexplored territory low on health far from a save point. You also don't have to retread the same areas before that moment over and over when you fail.
10. Overall, I'd say Zero Mission is less tense than the original but more exciting moment to moment. You get that thrill of finding something brand new more frequently but w/ less effort. It is less of a roller coaster and more of a high speed chase.
11. You also get a whole new area to explore that subverts series norms and has you squaring off against some of the games toughest enemies w/o the powerups you'd earned up to that point. This one of the more challenging sections of the game and one more thing that has me wishing Zero Mission had been a whole new game rather than a remake so they could have expanded on this idea more.
12. If nothing else, if you just cannot stand they did anything but a tile by tile remake of the original, you get the NES version as a bonus after beating Zero Mission. If you like, you can start your own game review blog and compare the two.
13. I could never completely shake the feeling Zero Mission was training wheels Metroid but neither could I put it down once I started playing it. As a fan of the series, I found it interesting just to see what they chose to do differently. As a random internet dipshit who plays at being a game critic, I enjoyed analyzing how the new design choices affected gameplay. As a gamer, I just had a good time playing it. To me, this seems like a little something for everyone so go ahead and play this. If you don't like it, you'll at least find it interesting.
Wednesday, February 6, 2019
13 Points on Defy Gravity Extended - Fish Factory Games - 2016 [PC]
1. This is one of those games that was just made by some random person. It's a small and simple package and that's not a bad thing.
2. It probably could have used another random person to iron out some technical issues. This shit entirely crashed my computer the first time I ran it; it doesn't go into full screen on my high resolution monitor; makes you dive into a menu to manually switch between controller and keyboard and mouse; and it really hates when you alt-tab out if it to impulsively check your Skinner box of social media like the rat you are. I kinda hate to harp on this stuff straight out of the gate but it's the first thing I noticed playing it and makes it feel more like a proof-of-concept than a finished game.
3. That said, consider this concept proven. Defy Gravity twists the standard platforming formula by giving you no means to defeat enemies, only a gun that shoots gravity wells that manipulate the game's physics. This is primarily used to alter your jumping ability but also moves certain enemies and platforms. It is not perfectly polished here but it clearly works.
4. And it's good it has the gameplay mechanic going for it because it does not offer much else to reel you in. Defy Gravity's graphics are plain and never change throughout the game and its narrative content is sub Super Mario Brothers level.
5. The soundtrack of catchy electronic tunes is a high point. Worth having a listen even if you don't play the game. It is an impressively diverse collection of tunes and the variation helps keep things feeling fresh as you play through despite the graphics looking exactly the same throughout.
6. Platformers normally feel best w/ controller for me but I liked the mouse and keyboard controls here. It is just easier to aim. Unfortunately, since the game doesn't go full screen, it is also easy to get the cursor off the field of play. Also, the aiming reticle is small and easy to lose track of. It frustrated me more than a few times but I got through it.
7. The first half of the game is an extended tutorial and after that it gets really hard extremely fast. It you warns you of this so I suppose it was intentional.
8. It's not really tough because you get new situations you have to wrap your head around. The gameplay just gets more twitchy and difficult. It's got a way of making you get buttons switched up in your brains that makes it feel really good when you can execute a series of touchy moves w/o slipping up.
9. I do wish the puzzle solving elements in this were better fleshed out though. Tough platforming is satisfying but I kind of prefer when this sort of thing becomes easy once you've figured out the right way to go.
10. Or, better yet, allow both methods. Let people use their twitchy platforming skills to sequence break and find secrets but always allow for a thoughtful approach that lets people work their way through w/o having too much of a challenge on the reflexes.
11. Or don't, whatever.
12. It struck me that there were tons of opportunities for speed running this that could be really fun. For starters, it'd just be extremely challenging to get through w/o dying. There's also lots of potential for using really risky strategies to save time. You could also limit the number of gravity wells or just try for the lowest number possible. I am not saying I really tried any of this stuff, I'm just saying there's potential.
13. Defy Gravity mainlines a simple gameplay idea right to your game nerd veins in the most direct way possible and doesn't make any pretenses of being anything else. It is bare bones to the point of being rudimentary and makes that a strength rather than a weakness. This is probably not going to go down as some historical landmark in gaming but people w/ interest in game design and specifically 2D platformers would do well to take a few hours to check this out.
2. It probably could have used another random person to iron out some technical issues. This shit entirely crashed my computer the first time I ran it; it doesn't go into full screen on my high resolution monitor; makes you dive into a menu to manually switch between controller and keyboard and mouse; and it really hates when you alt-tab out if it to impulsively check your Skinner box of social media like the rat you are. I kinda hate to harp on this stuff straight out of the gate but it's the first thing I noticed playing it and makes it feel more like a proof-of-concept than a finished game.
3. That said, consider this concept proven. Defy Gravity twists the standard platforming formula by giving you no means to defeat enemies, only a gun that shoots gravity wells that manipulate the game's physics. This is primarily used to alter your jumping ability but also moves certain enemies and platforms. It is not perfectly polished here but it clearly works.
4. And it's good it has the gameplay mechanic going for it because it does not offer much else to reel you in. Defy Gravity's graphics are plain and never change throughout the game and its narrative content is sub Super Mario Brothers level.
5. The soundtrack of catchy electronic tunes is a high point. Worth having a listen even if you don't play the game. It is an impressively diverse collection of tunes and the variation helps keep things feeling fresh as you play through despite the graphics looking exactly the same throughout.
6. Platformers normally feel best w/ controller for me but I liked the mouse and keyboard controls here. It is just easier to aim. Unfortunately, since the game doesn't go full screen, it is also easy to get the cursor off the field of play. Also, the aiming reticle is small and easy to lose track of. It frustrated me more than a few times but I got through it.
7. The first half of the game is an extended tutorial and after that it gets really hard extremely fast. It you warns you of this so I suppose it was intentional.
8. It's not really tough because you get new situations you have to wrap your head around. The gameplay just gets more twitchy and difficult. It's got a way of making you get buttons switched up in your brains that makes it feel really good when you can execute a series of touchy moves w/o slipping up.
9. I do wish the puzzle solving elements in this were better fleshed out though. Tough platforming is satisfying but I kind of prefer when this sort of thing becomes easy once you've figured out the right way to go.
10. Or, better yet, allow both methods. Let people use their twitchy platforming skills to sequence break and find secrets but always allow for a thoughtful approach that lets people work their way through w/o having too much of a challenge on the reflexes.
11. Or don't, whatever.
12. It struck me that there were tons of opportunities for speed running this that could be really fun. For starters, it'd just be extremely challenging to get through w/o dying. There's also lots of potential for using really risky strategies to save time. You could also limit the number of gravity wells or just try for the lowest number possible. I am not saying I really tried any of this stuff, I'm just saying there's potential.
13. Defy Gravity mainlines a simple gameplay idea right to your game nerd veins in the most direct way possible and doesn't make any pretenses of being anything else. It is bare bones to the point of being rudimentary and makes that a strength rather than a weakness. This is probably not going to go down as some historical landmark in gaming but people w/ interest in game design and specifically 2D platformers would do well to take a few hours to check this out.
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