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Head Lander review

August 23, 2016 by GreenTeaGamer Leave a Comment

This summer the PSN is hosting their annual PLAY event.  Every year they hand pick four indie titles, usually from untried developers, and offer them with an incentive to pre order more than one.  This year developer Double Fine is up to bat first with Head Lander.

Headlander’s gameplay is the weakest part of an otherwise mediocre game.  The crux of the gameplay is ripping heads off of enemies, don’t worry they are robots,  and “headlanding” on their bodies.  Body switching is a cool idea but it doesn’t translate into engaging gameplay.   Once in control of a body Head Lander becomes a rather average side scrolling shooter.  I found no real strategy to combat.  Since the player can detach from a body when it becomes too damaged there is little to no risk in fire-fights.  Holding L2 allows the player to see the path their shot will take.  But I found the best strategy to be shoot like a madman.  Most of the robotic bodies are carbon-copies of each other, destroying most of the combat variety.   Head Lander gives the player a large upgrade tree with many different abilities.  But since dispatching enemies is already really easy I forgot to use most of them.  Head Lander’s combat has many good ideas that are too underdeveloped.  

Head Lander Screen Shot 8:23:16, 4.43 PM 2

When I started Head Lander I thought it was a metroidvania with branching paths to explore.   But in fact the game is very linear.  The door unlocking system would seem to facilitate backtracking and branching paths, but like so many other things in Head Lander it is criminally underused   Every door is assigned a color: red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple.  A colored door can only be traversed with a body of the same color.  These colors are also used as a sort of hierarchy.  A yellow body is not only more powerful than a red body but it can also open yellow, orange and red doors.  This is a cool idea but once again Head Lander fails to do anything interesting with it.  Making high ranking enemies more rare seems like a simple idea, but it could have added an entirely different spin to combat.  Forcing the player to be protective of high ranking bodies would have added some much needed risk.  Instead areas with green doors are patrolled by green enemies and so on.  Head Lander doesn’t encourage the player to explore.  Finding collectables and upgrades should make the player feel smart without being frustrating.  Instead Head Lander’s upgrades are stowed away in areas whose entrances are clearly marked on the map.  Play any classic platformer and the game will routinely show the player a collectable but not how to acquire it.  These act as puzzles that don’t block progression but instead offer little ah ha moments throughout the game. Whenever I saw one of Head Lander’s secret entrances there was no mystery.  I never did anything remotely challenging to be rewarded by an upgrade.  I simply flew through the door and grabbed the collectable, no puzzle, no challenge and no fun.    

Head Lander Screen Shot 8:23:16, 4.43 PM 1

Being a Double Fine game one can expect Head Lander to be genuinely charming.  The art direction is spot on.  I love games that use color and as mentioned previously the primary colors are baked into the gameplay itself.  This plays out on a retro futuristic almost Blade Runner esque background.  Unfortunately the personality of this world leaves much to be desired.  The writing, usually a notable highlight in Double Fine games, has no energy.  The voice that guides the player through most of the game falls flat.  Most of the dialogue feels like a joke with no punchline.  The only humor I found in the game are the doors.  Non security doors will say “This door opens for anyone . . . even you.”  and most of the other doors have some pun that corresponds with their color, “Orange you glad I opened for you?”.  Since this is the only humor in the game they seem almost out of place.  Beyond that it feels at odds with the rest of the game which tries to tell a pretty serious Sci-Fi story.

Head Lander disappointed me.  Nothing stands out as a reason to play this game.  It was competent enough for me to finish, but all the way through I was only mildly interested.  There are so many better games out there.  Head Lander is the pinnacle of the “it’s fine” game, and it doesn’t do anything that makes it worth your time.    

 

      

 

Filed Under: Video Games Tagged With: 2016, PS4, review

Alienation review

June 17, 2016 by GreenTeaGamer Leave a Comment

Developer Housemarque has always nailed one thing, moment to moment gameplay.  Alienation captures the feeling of their previous titles like Resogun and Super Stardust but stumbles when it attempts to merge with a loot driven RPG.

You’ll feel right at home in Alienation if you have played any of Housemarque previous titles.  It’s a twin stick shooter although more in line with Dead Nation than Super Star Dust.  There is nothing wrong with Alienation’s gameplay, each of the three classes plays well and is unique enough to keep things interesting.  Being a spiritual successor to Dead Nation most of Alienation’s gameplay revolves around managing ammo and knowing what weapons to use when.  Alienation adds to this formula with abilities.  Each class has four and they do everything from leaving a trail of poison gas to calling down airstrikes.  Unlike regular RPG mechanics these abilities aren’t on a timed cooldown.  These skills are recharged with orbs dropped by enemies, this forces the player to constantly engage the enemy and not hang back waiting for their abilities to recharge.  Combat is fluid and responsive, all of the weapons are satisfying to use and the Aliens you are shooting them with are fun to kill.  One of Alienation’s greatest strengths is the enemy design.  Far from being cannon fodder many different enemy types demand a change in strategy.  The game can throw huge amount of enemies at you and it is easy to feel overwhelmed.  I do get the sense that Alienation is designed primarily for multiplayer.  Up to 3 friends can join your game in drop-in drop-out co-op.  I don’t prefer to play these type of games that way but the little I did play was fun and the difficulty goes down considerably.  If you have some friends to play with online then I would recommend that.  It’s too bad a game that plays this well is bogged down by the other half of its systems.       Alienation part 7 Screen Shot 6:17:16, 10.26 AM 2

I was puzzled by the lack of a score or any type of leaderboards for that matter.  So much of the enjoyment and replayability in Housemarque games come from chasing highscores.  I am quite proud of my Resogun highscore and I feel the urge to try and beat it to this day.  It started making sense the deeper I played Alienation.  Far from being a compliment to Housemarque’s classic gameplay loop, the loot driven RPG mechanics aim to replace the highscore.

Alienation chases the king of the genre Diablo 3.  I don’t dislike these types of games, I’ve put well over 100 hours into Diablo 3 myself.  But Alienation doesn’t do enough to stand out.  I blasted through the initial campaign in about five hours.  Those five hours were very enjoyable and felt comparable to a classic Housemarque game.  But suddenly the end game grind came out of nowhere and the pacing slowed to a crawl.  Once you finish the campaign it immediately starts again on a harder difficulty.  The only reason to play the missions again is to find keys to unlock the true endgame content, UFO missions.  These are Alienation’s version of procedurally generated dungeons.  They are also very difficult.  If you can complete it without dying you get another key that unlocks a higher level endgame dungeon.  If this endgame loop sounds familiar to you it’s because it is nearly identical to Diablo 3.  The problem is none of this endgame content is particularly user friendly.  First you need to play a story mission again to find the correct side mission.  These mini-dungeons are where you find the UFO keys.  But if you die in these you lose your chance and are kicked back to the story mission.  If you manage to get a key the same rule applies in the UFO dungeon, die and  you lose your chance for the higher level key.  Dying in a UFO feels like a waste knowing you must go play another story mission and find a key to get another shot.  A far cry from the “just one more try” feeling Resogun and the like imbued in me.

Alienation part 11 Screen Shot 6:17:16, 10.27 AM

After about ten hours I don’t have any plans on returning to Alienation.  I enjoyed those ten hours but I am disappointed at the lack of reasons to return.  I am hoping Housemarque will change that with post launch support but right now I can only recommend it as a fun but fleeting distraction.          

 

Filed Under: Video Games Tagged With: PS4, review

Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End review

June 17, 2016 by GreenTeaGamer Leave a Comment

Naughty Dog’s rise to become one of the world’s best developers has been incredible to watch.  The Uncharted franchise defined the PS3 experience and The Last of Us is considered by many to be one of the best games ever made.  It seemed impossible that Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End could live up to those expectations.  After its seemingly troubled development, most notably the loss of long time Uncharted creative director Amy Hennig, I had a couple reservations myself.  But after finishing Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End I don’t hesitate to say it is the best game currently on the PS4.

At its core Uncharted has always been a 3rd person shooter and admittedly there are mechanically better 3rd person shooters on the market.  I’ve never had a problem with Uncharted’s combat, however Uncharted 4 adds some much needed variety to firefights.  The biggest change is the stealth system.  

Uncharted has played around with stealth mechanics before but never to their full extent.  If you broke stealth in previous Uncharted games there was no way to get it back.  Uncharted 4 adds new enemy AI, if the player is spotted it is now possible to regain stealth and attack from the shadows again.  This mechanic is complimented greatly by the design of the combat areas which have more than doubled in size from previous games.  These areas offer much more player mobility and allows for a variety of playstyles.  Gameplay feels smooth, all the different aspects flow together: climbing, shooting and stealth feel like different parts of a whole rather than separate gameplay mechanics.  This gameplay flow not only gives Uncharted 4 better moment to moment gameplay but it also lets the player feel more like an action hero than previous installments.

Uncharted 4 combat Screen Shot 6:17:16, 10.21 AM 3

The other half of Uncharted 4’s gameplay is something Uncharted fans know well: climbing.  Much like combat, platforming is more open ended.  Drake is sometimes given multiple paths and while they all take you to the same place this lets the player feel like they are actually exploring.  Mechanically the biggest addition is what I am calling the rope hook swing.  It accomplishes much the same task climbing would have in previous games but is much more fun to use.  Visually it adds speed to what is otherwise the slowest parts of Uncharted.  Having Drake reach his hand out when you are close enough to jump is a great way for it to not be frustrating.  

Climbing wouldn’t be half as fun if the areas you were given to explore weren’t visually stunning.  From dilapidated buildings, to underground catacombs and far reaching vistas Uncharted 4 has some truly breathtaking visual moments.

I am calling it right now.  Uncharted 4 is the best looking game I have ever seen.  I could talk forever about Uncharted 4’s graphics.  But for me, the standout is character design.  Drake and friends have never looked so real.  It is very easy to forget these are digitally animated characters.  Everything from how water affects the characters clothing to the way light disperses through hair in a realistic way with hundreds of other tiny details add to the feeling that these characters are real. Amazing facial animations combined with top notch voice acting made me feel connected to Drake, Elena and Sully more than ever.  Naughty Dog’s graphical fidelity can only be fully appreciated when you play it for yourself.  This level of detail allows Uncharted 4 to tell the best Uncharted story in the series.

Uncharted 4 Cutscene Screen Shot 6:17:16, 10.17 AM 2

I don’t want to talk about many story details for fear of spoilers.  This is the type of game where the less you know the better.  Uncharted 4 has taken many clues from The Last of Us in terms of environmental storytelling. The player can engage in optional conversations with characters adding little bits of context that greatly compliment the story at large.  Much like The Last of Us you are given small stories by notes hidden throughout the environment.  Uncharted 4 tells a very ambitious story on many levels.  The Uncharted franchise has always told a story that involves some historical mystery but rarely does that act as anything more than just a reason for Drake’s adventures.  This time the historical aspect plays a much larger role not only as a story in itself but as commentary on Drake’s character arc.  Overall it is a more mature story, we see our characters coming to terms with and realizing their crazy adventure lifestyle can’t last forever.  This mirrors the same feeling we the player have accepting this will be our last adventure with Drake as Naughty Dog has made it very clear they are done with the Uncharted franchise.  Uncharted 4 is very conscious of the fact it is the final game in the series.  It features many callbacks to previous games and gives a sense that those adventures have been building up to this one.  This adventure is more grounded by Uncharted standards allowing it to focus more on the characters than the adventure itself.  

I haven’t said anything negative about Uncharted 4 because I have nothing negative to say.  The only caveat is I would highly recommend playing the previous games before this one.  Uncharted 4 can stand on its own as an amazing game but it only realizes its full potential if you have seen the series all the way through.    

The final piece to Uncharted 4 is multiplayer.  In the past I have never been able to get into Uncharted’s multiplayer.  It’s not that I think the multiplayer is bad it has just never done enough different to hook me.  When you strip away the amazing story, characters and crazy action of the campaign what you are left with is simply a good 3rd person shooter.  I won’t be returning to it but if you’re into Uncharted multiplayer I think there is plenty to love here.   

Uncharted 4 multiplayer Screen Shot 6:17:16, 10.18 AM

Uncharted 4 consistently surprised me throughout my twelve hour playthrough.  I was expecting great things from Naughty Dog but in my mind Uncharted was a known quantity.  Uncharted has built a formula over the 4 previous games, counting Golden Abyss.  Uncharted 4 plays with this formula by turning it on its head and adding to it at the same time.  Naughty Dog is a developer at the top of their game and I can’t wait to see what’s next for them.

 

Filed Under: Video Games Tagged With: PS4, review

The Duke

January 25, 2015 by Caleb Short Leave a Comment

Hailed by critics as a delightful abstract strategy game, The Duke, is a modern take on classic Chess.

IMG_0998.JPG

Like Chess, a player’s objective in The Duke is to capture their opponent’s Duke tile.  No dice rolling, card playing or other meddlesome crap interferes with your game here – oh no!  The Duke is a battle of wits, your tiles vs my tiles.  Plain and simple.

Players take turns moving their tiles around the board and onto enemy tiles which “captures” said target, removing it from play.

I mean look at the board, It’s not exactly A Game of Thrones or 7 Wonders. The fairly disappointing artwork and lack of extraneous cardboard fiddly-bits saddened me until the gameplay blew me away with it’s depth.  The game is fun with a ridiculous capacity for replayability.

  IMG_0981.JPG

The Duke deviates from the medieval classic in two ways.  Firstly, after every tile is used, it is turned over to expose a secondary movement pattern.  Secondly, instead of moving a unit players may randomly draw a tile from the bag and place it on the field adjacent to their own duke tile.  These tile additions keep the game fresh and unpredictable as you are forced to adjust and scrap strategies to deal with new units that enter the field.

The game relies on the movement mechanics established in Chess with a few new movement types.  Moving (pawns and king), Sliding (rooks, bishops and queen), Jumping (knights), and Jump Sliding are carefully combined on tiles to create the 19 unique units.  Ranged attacks, “Strike”, is just what it sounds like, and “Command” allows other tiles of the same color to be flung about anywhere in the command zone.

Two out of the 19 tiles have special abilities that are (thickly) explained in the rules.  However, the  the four movement types and the two special abilities do not greatly complicate the game.  Each mechanic is easy to understand and remember.  The hard part is still skilfully out maneuvering and pressuring your opponent into checkmate.

IMG_0993

The high volume of distinct double sided tiles means each match will be unique enough to be fresh, but similar enough to use some fairly constant strategies.

Reading the rules is fairly daunting.  Some good editing or less confusing diagrams could really help with the exposition.  Push through them.  The rules are not as confusing as the booklet wants you to think they are.

In each box you get:IMG_0995

  • 1 Board
  • 2 Bags
  • 19 Basic tiles
  • 2 Flags
  • 1 Dragon!!! (That’s right, THIS GAME HAS PEOPLE-FLAMBAYING DRAGONS!!!)
  • 1 Mountain
  • 2 Blank customizable tiles
  • Rules and quick-reference cards.

These extra tiles look really cool.  Yes that is a monster strike zone on the Dragon 😀  Scenarios like Capture The Flag, Hostage, a 300-esk fight-to-the-death and Black Night are included in the manual.  Unfortunately, these are not as fun as the basic game.  The Dragon tile is a neutral force that alternates being controlled by both players.

The blank tile you see there is actually pretty cool.  Each team has one.  It is a totally customizable piece!  The mad scientists over at Catalyst Game Labs really support moding of the game.  Full print outs of all the units (even the expansions!) are available for free on the website.

Two expansions exist for The Duke, however, both appear to be overpriced ($20+) for the minimal amount of tiles you receive, (roughly eight or less).  In my 2 month play time with the game, I find the basic game to be the most exciting.  The scenarios just slow gameplay down.

Learning curve: Shallow

Skill level: High.

Strategy vs Luck scale: (X/10)

Strategy=8.  Luck=2.

Time: Short (30- minutes)

Age: 6th grade+

Party-ability: -Zero-  It’s an engrossing 2 player, quiet, game.

Awards:

The Verdict:

Visually boring but more than makes up for it in fun, skill and originality.  I would recommend for anyone who is comfortable with playing chess.

The Duke is Produced by Catalyst Game Labs and designed by Jeremy Holcomb, Joe Huber and Stephen McLaughlin.

This review and those pictures are made by me!

Filed Under: Board Games Tagged With: board, board game, board games, chess, entertainment, fun, funny, game, review, viedo game

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