One of my favorite hobbies/pastimes is playing video games. And I play a lot of 'em. Some of the reviews here are old favorites of mine while others are titles I'm currently playing. So if you're interested in my opinions on games, read on.
I'm cheating a little bit here by labeling Zombies Ate My Neighbors as a horror game. I don't think it's truly a horror game, but it is horror themed if you can make a distinction between those two things. So remember when LucasArts was a thing? Well back in the 90s before all they were doing was milking the Star Wars license, LucasArts used to be known for quality point-and-click adventure games like Monkey Island, Day of the Tentacle, Full Throttle, and Grim Fandango. It was around this time that the creative talent at LucasArts broke away from their traditional fare of PC adventure games to produce Zombies Ate My Neighbors, a co-op shoot-em-up game for the SNES and Genesis. Yes, the game can also be played single player - but find a buddy if you can. The real fun is had in multiplayer.
So you, and hopefully a friend, will play as Zeke and Julie - two teenage neighborhood kids who witness an attack on their suburb by just about every horror movie monster you can think of. There's zombies, mummies, werewolves, aliens, vampires, you name it. Zeke and Julie arm themselves with all sorts of unconventional weaponry like squirt guns, soda cans, dinner plates and fire extinguishers to combat the threat. Each weapon's effectiveness varies depending on which enemy it's used on. For instance, mummies are weak vs. soda cans. Because, you know, reasons.
The game features 55 levels, but I'm not sure I've ever even made it past the twenty something range levels in this game. It gets pretty hard pretty quick, even with co-op help. The main objective in each level is not to kill all of the enemies, but to save all of the neighbors in each level. Each level's map is a non-linear, giant block of terrain and you must rescue each and every one of the neighbors hidden in the level. You don't have a hard time limit, but the longer you take, the more likely it is that neighbors will start being killed by the infinitely respawning monsters in each level. Once neighbors die, they won't come back - even in subsequent levels - so rescuing them as quickly as possible is paramount. The game is over when all of the neighbors die or if you lose all of your lives. Ammo management is also a key mechanic as each weapon has a finite amount of ammo. You can find more ammo, different weapons, health packs and other helpful items in each level, but you'll have to look carefully as these upgrades are often well hidden.
Summary:
There's not much else that can be said about this game. It's a classic co-op shooter that still holds up very well today. It's difficult, but it's still a great game to share with a friend. Discovering the game's secrets, fighting huge mutant babies and frantically running away from chainsaw killers in a giant hedge maze is still just as fun as it was 20+ years ago.
Wooo 50 reviews! Wooo!! When selecting which games I'll write about each week, I give priority to the more obscure games that people may not have heard of. I think it's important to shine a spotlight on the smaller indie titles that may have slipped through the cracks. Games like To the Moon, The Swapper and The Stanley Parable all offer amazing unique experiences and are deserving of attention and discussion, but tend to run under the radar because they're not behind big publishers. I was thinking for my 50th review maybe I would review one of my all-time favorite video games. A game that I really love, like Ocarina of Time or Final Fantasy VII. But nah, people already know about those games. So I'm here this week to shine a spotlight on a game you may not have heard of. It's a little indie game I discovered called Minecraft.
If you didn't pick up on the heavy sarcasm at the end of that last paragraph and/or are otherwise oblivious to the video game world, Minecraft is hugely popular. Like HUGE. To date, it's sold nearly 50 million copies across all platforms making it one of the best selling video games of all time, according to Wikipedia. That's more than the original Super Mario Bros. A public beta of Minecraft was released in 2009 and it spread like wildfire across the internet, solely through word of mouth. It was officially released in 2011 and has now made it's creator, Markus Persson (a.ka. Notch), like 97 trillion dollars from sales and merchandise. Don't look that last number up, but it's probably true.
So what makes Minecraft so popular? First of all, it's mind blowing. The first time I played Pokemon Red/Blue? Mind blown. First time I played Ocarina of Time? Mind blown. If you've never had your mind blown by a video game, I don't really know how to quantify that for you. The first week I owned Minecraft, I played it obsessively. And when I wasn't playing it, I was thinking about playing it. It's a completely absorbing experience. The other reason I think Minecraft is so popular is that there are just so many ways you can play the game. You can play it like a survival game where you forage for resources and see how long you can stay alive. You can play it like an exploration game, just traversing the vast landscapes and seeing what you'll discover. You can play it like a traditional single player game where you upgrade your weapons and equipment and eventually get strong enough to take down the final boss. You can play it like a creative game because the game engine literally allows you to construct whatever you can dream up, as long as you have the materials. Or you can play with friends and blow each other's stuff up. And the best part is that none of these playstyles are mutually exclusive.
I was a huge fan of LEGOs as a kid. And I guess I still am as an adult. So the creative building block element of Minecraft is really appealing to me. The entire world of Minecraft is randomly and procedurally generated each time you start a new game or explore a new area. The terrain that is generated is essentially just made up of little blocks that the game engine will allow you to remove and replace however you see fit. There's quite a bit possible with just that game mechanic alone. But then you add in the fact that there are rare blocks that are generated like the gold ore block or the diamond ore block that can be used to make more complex objects or tools in the game... this really makes the exploration aspect of the game addicting and satisfying. Then there's the redstone ore. Oh man the redstone. Minecraft's redstone actually allows the player to create complex circuitry with logic gates in the game of Minecraft. People have made calculators and functioning CPUs in the game of Minecraft. That's CRAZY. I hope that helps you understand what a powerful creative tool the engine of Minecraft is. Then there's the people that have recreated famous structures or landmarks in Minecraft. There's the Minecraft Enterprise, the world of Game of Thrones in Minecraft, and Pharrell Williams' "Happy" recreated in game through the engine of Minecraft. That's just awesome.
Summary:
If you want to learn more about Minecraft, its developers, and the impact it's had on the games industry, check out this pretty cool documentary on youtube. If you somehow haven't played this game, you really should give it a try. If you know me personally and want to play on my server, give me a shout. And if you're one of those people who've stayed clear of this game because "eww the graphics are bad", I'm gonna come smack you. You're missing out on one of the most important and unique video game experiences ever created.
This game can be summed up pretty quickly: 2D Silent Hill. Lone Survivor is an indie survival horror game and if you've ever played a Silent Hill game before, this game will feel very familiar. The developer, Jasper Byrne, is a self-proclaimed Silent Hill fan and the influences are very apparent throughout the game. Everything including the gameplay, the narrative themes, and even the audio cues are very Silent Hill-esque. And Byrne, who also composed the game's soundtrack, does a great job channeling Silent Hill's Akira Yamaoka with his musical style. But even if you've never played a Silent Hill game, you may still want to give Lone Survivor a look.
Lone Survivor is short, and I think that's to its credit. It's about 5 hours long, and I think that's a perfect length for a game like this. Turning off all of the lights in your house and subjecting yourself to the twisted imagery and pulse pounding terrors of a good horror game now and again is fun, but it's also kind of nerve wracking and draining. Not something to do every single night. I've played a lot of games that do a good thing effectively, but wear out their welcome by doing it over and over again for too long. I felt Lone Survivor had a very appropriate length, and I'd like to see more shorter experience games like this. I think it can work if the games are appropriately priced, but that's a whole different discussion.
You play as a nameless survivor of some disease outbreak that has seemingly turned all of the world's population into mindless zombie-like monsters. The main character has holed up in his apartment to survive the disease outbreak, but is now running out of food and is curious if there are any other survivors other than himself. So you'll start to venture outside your apartment and see the horrors of the monster infested world, but you'll still return to the apartment often to rest and save. You can combat the monsters with your handgun if you have enough ammo, or you can lay piles of meat around to attract the monsters to a certain location to try and sneak past. Like any good horror game, ammo management is key. You'll want to sneak past enemies when possible rather than shooting them to conserve your ammo. You'll also want to keep an eye on how many batteries you have left. Without batteries, your flashlight won't operate and you won't be able to see many important clues and objects in your environment.
While Lone Survivor probably isn't quite as complete of a game as some of the games it's influenced by, this game is still my favorite type of horror game. There are very few, if any, jump scares. Less means that the few jump scares that are in the game are more powerful and memorable. Rather than relying on jump scares, games like Silent Hill and Lone Survivor create the feeling of horror by constructing a creepy atmosphere through good music, sound and art design. Games like these understand that the most horrific things your imagination can cook up are more intense than anything the game can actually show you. So they simply focus on creating good atmosphere and let your imagination do the rest. I especially love the strange hallucinations and bizarre scenery present in Lone Survivor. Good stuff. I think the minimalist pixelated art style works to the game's favor here too. When you see a monster, you just kind of get a general impression of what it looks like, and again, your imagination fills in the details. Lone Survivor perfectly follows the prototype for my favorite kind of horror game.
Summary:
I didn't find the story quite as satisfying or the game design as nuanced as Silent Hill 2, but Lone Survivor is still worth a look if you like these kinds of games. Its length is appropriate, and it does a great job creating a dark and creepy atmosphere. I wish it had the narrative depth of SH2, but does do a great job replicating nearly everything else from that game.
Risk of Rain is a 2D side scrolling roguelike shooter. Imagine if Spelunky had a bigger emphasis on combat. The object of Risk of Rain is to complete all six of its levels without dying. All of the levels in Risk or Rain are pseudo randomly generated and the monsters and powerups in the level are also randomly generated. In order to advance to the next level, you must find and activate the teleporter hidden in each level. Activating the teleporter summons the level's boss monster, which is also random, and many hordes of enemies. You'll want to be sure you've found enough powerups in the level so you're adequately prepared to fight the boss when you activate the teleporter. But don't spend too much time wandering around looking for powerups because every five minutes or so, the game's difficulty level automatically increases, spawning more tougher and stronger monsters. It creates a nice little time management risk/reward metagame similar to the one that's present in Spelunky. There's also light RPG elements in the game where killing monsters gives you EXP and money. EXP is used to level up your character and get stronger while money can be used to unlock containers scattered around the level to obtain new powerups and items.
Risk of rain can be tackled solo or cooperatively and co-op mode can be played over the internet or couch co-op style. I played the game all three ways, and I must say I enjoyed playing the game co-op more than single player, but the co-op exposes some of the game's flaws. First off, the game doesn't seem to adequately balance the difficulty to account for the extra player(s). It seemed noticeably easier to me co-op as opposed to single player. The other problem is that when one player dies, the other player is left to fend for themselves which isn't really that fun for either player. When one of us died, we usually just restarted the game.
I usually prefer playing games like this couch co-op style, because it's easier to share the experience with another person when they're actually physically present in the room. But the couch co-op mode here has a few problems. The game in general can become a bit hectic with bullets and powerups and enemies flying all over the screen. But when 2 or 3 players all share the same screen, it can become a bit hard to follow and tell what's going on. Also because there's only one camera in the couch co-op mode, all the players have to make an effort to stick together which can be hard to coordinate. The preferable way to play this game seems to be the over the internet multiplayer so that each player has their own camera and is free to explore as they please. Although even the internet multiplayer was a bit tricky to set up initially. You have to figure out your IP and share it with your friends and all that. I had to change some firewall settings and forward some ports as well. The actual implementation of the internet multiplayer here seems a little bare and clunky. It kind of reminded me of how internet gaming was in the late 90s. Maybe I've become spoiled by all these games that handle internet matchmaking with friends very gracefully and smoothly
The controls for Risk of Rain are pretty simple. The default character can jump, shoot, dodge and has two special shooting abilities which are on a cooldown. There are other characters in the game that are unlockable and a slightly different moveset, abilities and statistics.
Summary:
Boiled down to its simplest mechanics, the game is just shooting enemies, looking for powerups and waiting for your cooldowns to recharge. But Risk of Rain is a game that really does feel like it's greater than the sum of its parts. Always competing against the clock gives a constant sense of urgency. Leveling up and unlocking new powerups and items lends a real sense of power and progression throughout the game. Somehow surviving against an impossible number of enemies on screen gives a great sense of accomplishment. Risk of Rain is a mechanically and graphically simple game, but you may end up spending more time than you would think playing it once it gets its hooks into you. Check it out
Spelunky is an extremely difficult indie Roguelike platformer. It’s Roguelike in that all of the levels, terrain and enemies in the game are randomly generated, which helps keep the game fresh and interesting. It reminded me quite a bit of Rogue Legacy with its excellent design and brutal difficulty.
The object of each level in Spelunky is to get to the exit, but you’ll have to navigate through lots of traps and other enemies in a randomly generated level. Your character will start with a limited supply of bombs and ropes to help you navigate the level. Bombs can be used to destroy terrain and dig deeper while ropes can be used to help you climb back up. You don’t always want to just race to the exit when you find it either, you’ll want to explore the level and gather as much gold and upgrades as you can find before leaving. But if you spend too long in any given level, a giant ghost that can kill you instantly appears to chase you out of the level. There’s also a maiden hidden in each level. If you bring her to the exit, she will restore one point of your health, so you’ll want to try to find and rescue her in each level. You’ll find shops hidden in each level where you can spend your gold to replenish your bombs/ropes, and buy weapons and upgrades. Spelunky also features local co-op which is pretty fun, but still just as hard.
Summary:
It’s a very difficult game, but if you don’t get frustrated it’s a very addictive game as well. I've actually yet to make it past the third level in this game, but I've gotten close a few times. Check it out if you enjoy difficult platformers
I think FTL is probably my favorite new game I played this year, I absolutely loved this game. FTL is pretty much Star Trek: The videogame, but without the license. You manage the crew and systems of a starship while exploring the galaxy and fighting aliens. The gameplay sessions of FTL are typically short, you play until you die. So depending on your luck, skill, and familiarity with the game, a session can last between 15 minutes to maybe 2 hours.
What kept me playing this game again and again is that everything in a play session is randomized: The layout of the galaxy is different each time, the encounters you’ll experience are different each time, and the weapons and upgrades you’ll get are different each time. Each upgrade you get will likely change your battle strategy and tactics too, so it never feels like you’re doing the same thing over again. Plus completing certain achievements or sidequests in the game can unlock other starships you can use on your next playthrough that have totally different weapons and playstyles, so it kept me coming back for more. It really has some pretty brilliant game design.
FTL is also a fairly difficult game overall. There are currently only two difficulty settings: “easy” and “normal”. I probably would have labeled them “normal” and “hard”, but whatever. My only real knock on this game is that success in FTL can be dependent on which encounters you get, which is somewhat luck based. A few unlucky encounters in a row can be crippling, especially on normal(hard) difficulty. It’s also not that pretty of a game to look at either, but for an indie game made by a team of only two people, that’s to be expected. If you go and watch gameplay footage of FTL on YouTube, you’ll see what I mean.
Summary:
Don’t let its looks scare you off, I found FTL to be an excellent game. I think most gamers can enjoy this game, but I’d highly recommend it to fans of challenging strategy games or fans of Star Trek who’d like to see an actual good Star Trek game. I also hear the creators are releasing a free expansion pack with new weapons, ships and scenarios in the near future, so I’m pumped to play more FTL when that comes out.
