Review Category: Games

Review: Broken Age – Part 1 / Developer: Double Fine / Publisher: Digital Distribution / Platform: Android, iOD, Linux, OS X, PC / Release Date: Out Now

Just a couple of months shy of two years since being funded on Kickstarter, Broken Age has finally arrived. The masterwork of Tim Schafer of Psychonauts fame and Double Fine Productions, this is to be their glorious return to the point-and-click genre. Thankfully, Part 1 lives up to the hype.

The story follows two characters, Vella and Shay, living very different lives but each seeking in their own way to break with tradition. Vella is living on a world ravaged by a monstrous creature which can only be tamed through human sacrifice and is considering how to end the cycle of human offerings once and for all. Shay meanwhile is told he is the last of his kind and his life is dictated by his spacecraft’s overbearing computer. Neither situation is quite as simple as it first seems.

The most striking aspect of the title from the very start is the stylishness with which the fame is brought to life. There is something extremely story book-esque about each location’s visual appearance, from the dull azure tones of Shay’s home to the golden colour which dominates Vella’s world. It’s a unique kind of charm rarely seen these days and the imagery here carries over into the tale itself. From the voice acting to the humour, everything has a well-developed quality to it you would expect to find if LucasArts were to come back and create a point-and-click adventure for this day and age.

On a thematic level, issues of responsibility and choice give the title a notable coherence, but at the same time there is plenty of variety of gameplay. While Shay’s story involves more interactive gameplay elements, Vella’s tends more towards riddle-solving and analysing certain details. It’s a subtle element you won’t realise is there at first and it’s well hidden behind the game’s beauty and sense of humour.

If there is one thing to criticise, it’s that the game shares the usual problems of point-and-click titles. With only a bare minimum of hand-holding you’ll quite often feel rudderless, endlessly backtracking and trying to figure out what on earth you’re supposed to do next, or being blindsided by the seamless transitions between gameplay and cutscenes. Honestly though, these are failings which just come with the territory, and they help make your every victory that much more satisfying.

If you’ve been at all curious to see what the hype is about or desperate for a truly great point-and-click title, go after this one without hesitation. Just keep in mind that this is only Part 1 of the tale.

Broken Age: Part 1 can be downloaded on Steam.

Review: Metal Gear Rising – Revengeance / Developer: Platinum Games / Publisher: Konami / Platform: Playstation 3, Xbox 360, PC / Release Date: Out Now

Ever since witnessing Cyborg Ninja painting hallways crimson with the blood of guards back in 1998, a good number of Metal Gear Solid fans have dreamed, “I wish we could be doing that!” Well, Kojima has answered that dream and it’s every bit as grossly entertaining as you’d think.

Several years following the events of Guns of the Patriots and the collapse of the war economy, Raiden is working as part of a security detail. When he and his comrades are attacked by remnants of old PMCs engaging in terrorism activities, Raiden goes after them and realises there are far more than just renegades at work here. Mostly though, this is an excuse to cut things up.

Utilising an extremely fast moving and very fluid combat system, Revengeance leaves other spectacle fighters like the Devil May Cry reboot in the dust. From being able to sprint up rockets fired from a helicopter so as to attack the pilot to going solo against a Metal Gear RAY, the game pulls off every over the top anime scene imaginable. It delivers on that entirely and pulls off some of the most entertaining boss battles of the last generation.

The gimmick here is the sword gameplay which has you entering bullet time and delivering precise cuts on any foes nearby. Everything from the health system to targeting weak points makes full use of this, and unlike other titles there’s a great degree of immersion to be found with it. It’s less relentlessly button bashing than it is making careful, rapid strikes which allow you to cut through enemies and scenery alike. Enemies react more to your strikes than other titles and you can see the damage rather than just watching a health bar dropping with each hit.

The game is hardly without its blemishes. The PC port is solid but is unable to make better use of the greater power available and has issues which are still being worked out, including one especially nasty one for Steam. Beyond PC specific problems, Revengeance embraces its power fantasy elements making it hard for you to die on the easier difficulty settings, but the higher settings are made near impossible thanks to one particular boss, and the story is tripe in comparison to other Metal Gear titles. Yes, you read that correctly. The nonsense present here almost achieves Neon Genesis Evangelion levels of poor storytelling and simplistic ideas dressed up as complex navel gazing. Though at least there’s the occasional sign of self-awareness.

Really, if you want to suplex attack mecha and slice up cyborgs into chunky salsa, Revengeance is highly recommended. If you want something with substance which isn’t skin deep, look elsewhere.

Review: Darkout / Developer: Allgraf / Platform: PC / Release Date: Out Now

Darkout is the latest in the line of sandbox construction games, bringing a science fiction touch to a genre that is dominated by fantasy themes. Similar to the 2D Minecraft clone Terraria, this particular take on a digitized construction toy sees the player trapped on alien world following a space-ship crash. Surrounded by hostile aliens with very few resources, you have survive long enough to get help, making everything you need along the way.

Sandbox games are always a little bit tricky to pin down. On the one hand, a lack of coherent structure means that the player can find themselves at a loss as to what to do, and swiftly bored. On the other hand, an open world allows for exploration and the most rewarding fun of all – that which you achieve yourself. Darkout attempts to find a middle ground by generating goals and having a plot of sorts. These goals can be easily ignored if you wish, and the plot (such as it is) fails to be that engaging. In an attempt to be both a scripted story and an open world, Darkout does not manage to be either.

There is, however, enough here to provide plenty of entertainment. Unlike Terraria, with its steep learning curve and seemingly random problems, Darkout introduces new technologies for the player to research and develop, meaning that perseverance wins out in the end. The more worthwhile the item, the more of a mission it becomes to gather all the ingredients required. A lot of the content is still being added, which means that they are some gaps in potential research, and this can be annoying.

The monsters are fun and scary enough at the start, especially when your light source runs out. This lends some welcome urgency to the earlier levels. Though it lacks the aesthetic charm of both Minecraft and Terraria, it does look good if a little clinical, and the interface is much more logical than those of the games it bares the closest resemblance too. Overall, a good effort, though perhaps it needed a bit longer in development.

Review: Island of the Lizard King / Author: Ian Livingstone / Publisher: Tin Man Games / Release Date: Out Now

Tin Man Games have been steadily going through the Fighting Fantasy catalogue of adventure game books, picking out the ones that are most fondly regarded or remembered. It’s quite a long list and it’s no small feat converting paper and ink adventure games into handy apps for smartphones. Though books that require the reader to choose the next paragraph to read are still around, they hit the height of their popular market appeal in the ’80s, and it’s nice to see that they’re getting a new lease of life through new technology. The latest conversion is Island of the Lizard King.

The plot sees the player on a quest to free some slaves from the tyranny of an evil lizard man, who is building up an army of darkness on the backs of dwarves and men. Mostly, you run about the island, trying to avoid the deadly flora and beating up the murderous fauna. Challenge wise, it gets the balance between action adventure and problem solving about right, relying mostly on the player’s wits rather than demanding that the reader re-do one passage or another.

Of all of the conversions done so far, Island of the Lizard King is one of those games that players of the original will want to go back to, because they’re likely to have a lot of fond memories of playing it back in the day. The paragraph that follows the final battle in this adventure has become a shibboleth of sorts for fans of adventure game books. Without spoiling it, there is a line that sums up everything that is good about the incredibly engaging geeky fun that these books evoke, and seeing this passage on an iPhone (or Android device) is just as pleasing as it is on the page. Seeing it also means you’re about to win the game, or not as the case may be.

The usual features that we’ve come to expect from Tin Man are present. You can set the game to role virtual dice (which you can knock and fudge like real dice, but only so much), play the adventure in easy mode (by pretty much ignoring the rules and turning to pages you have not earned the right to go to) and set various bookmarks so you can start the game again from previous points. This means you can play the game anyway you fancy and Tin Man have wisely not changed a thing about it. The ‘achievements’ function (which rewards you for various actions) is still as superfluous as ever, though there is a guilty pleasure to be had from seeing an award pop up when you do certain things. (This writer’s favourite has to be The Burninator, an award you get for being a horrible person.) All in all, fun for old gamers and a great introduction for gamers-yet-to-be.

 

Review: Skulls and Roses / Designer: Hervé Marly / Publisher: Asmodee / Release Date: Out Now

Skulls and Roses is an incredibly simple bluffing-based card game. Players pick a set of cards, each one apparently representing a biker gang. Each card is double sided: on one side is the symbol of the gang, on the other is either a skull or a rose. Players then lay out their cards face down, working out when and where to hide their skull cards. Bidding then begins, each player betting on how many cards they reckon they can turn over without revealing a skull. If the player turns over a skull, they lose a card from their deck. Play continues until someone wins two bids without penalty.

The game itself is a lot of fun; a straightforward game that involves a touch of fibbing and a poker face. Laughs are fast and frequent, usually at the expense of a fellow player who has miscounted and it’s all gone terribly wrong for them.

Theme can often be everything when it comes to a good board game. For example, the enduring (and slightly bizarre) appeal of Monopoly comes from the notion that it’s a game of becoming very rich very quickly; who doesn’t want to be a wealthy land-owning millionaire? This touch of fantasy can often make up for poor mechanics or something that’s maybe a bit dull (such as the gameplay of Monopoly). Sadly, the reverse is also true. Skulls and Roses suffers from a poor theme; despite rather nice gang style art on the cards, it doesn’t feel very ‘biker gang’. The accompanying rule book desperately tries to add a touch of spice to the affair, giving silly (but macho) sounding names to various aspects of game play and implying a level of danger and violence. This just makes the whole affair feel even less convincing and takes away from the fun.

Skulls and Roses is a fun little game for up to six players that can easily kill some time, perhaps whilst waiting for others to turn up to game session. It’s just a pity that it’s spoilt by a theme that doesn’t suit the game.

Review: Mascarade / Designer: Bruno Faidutti / Publisher: Asmodee / Release Date: Out Now

Bluffing games are currently the big thing when it comes to table top gaming. Board and card games positively encourage you to fib to your friends and family in the name of fun. Mascarade is a game of courtly deceit. Each of you takes on the role of someone who happens to be at a masked ball in a fantastic (yet undefined) place, and the first person to collect 13 coins, wins. At the start of the game you’re dealt a card face up, which you then turn face down.

Each role has a specific ability. For example, the King can claim three coins every turn, the thief can take coins, etc. Each turn, you can do one of three things. You can swap your card with someone else’s , but you can do this under the table so no one except you knows if you’ve really swapped or not. Alternatively, you can look at your card, or you can activate the card’s power. When you activate the card, other players can call you on it; if they catch you in a lie, you lose coin, but if you’re telling the truth, they lose coin.

Those familiar with the game Coup may notice some similarities here, but whereas Coup is focused on fast-paced bluffing, Mascarade is more about showmanship; how wicked a lie can you tell, how much of a show can you make of swapping the cards and so on. It evokes the vibe of those strange and ethereal masked balls much loved by fantasy and horror writers.

Components wise, it’s quite pretty. Each card is intricately illustrated, but clear and distinctive enough as to not confuse the player, and the counters and rules sheets are of a good quality and are unlikely to wear out quickly, even with heavy play. The rule book is a little unclear in places, though thankfully this is just with the set-up phase; the core game rules are clearly presented, so once you’ve played it once, the muddy language in the set-up becomes irrelevant.

Mascarade can deal with up to twelve players, but works best with half that number; it’s the intimacy of the bluff and the keeping track of who has control of what that makes this game fun. With larger groups it bogs down and becomes sidetracked, becoming more an exercise in bookkeeping than anything that’s actually fun. Mascarade is a great game for small groups of friends, and takes about 30 minutes to play, making it a good addition to a gaming evening where you intend to play lots of different games.

Review: Star Trek Attack Wing – IKS Kronos One / Designer: Christopher Guild / Publisher: WizKid Games / Release Date: Out Now

It would be hard to imagine a game about Star Trek starships shooting each other without plenty of Klingons to bother the Federation, and the Star Trek Attack Wing game has been steadily releasing various classes of Klingon warship (is there any other type?) into their range for commanders keen to field a full Klingon fleet. The IKS Kronos One expansion follows Wizkid Games’ usual strategy of putting the flagship option for this model on the front of the box; Klingon lovers will recognise this as Chancellor Gorkon’s ship from Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. Special rules are provided with the set to make this model the centrepiece of your fleet, on the off chance that you want to spend most of your gaming time saying things like “You have not experienced Shakespeare until you have read him in the original Klingon.”

Despite this nifty association, the IKS Kronos One expansion mostly serves as a solid mid-tier option for would be commanders. The Kronos One is a K’t’inga class ship, and without the special rules to make it a flagship, it functions extremely well as a solid support craft. As tempting as the flagship options are, you will swiftly discover that this is not the best idea; the rules for it make it a little bit too frail to stand the sort of fire those sorts of craft attract. They can certainly go toe to toe with any standard Federation ship, and in large games, a trio of these could easily knock out the Enterprise-D, sending Captain Picard and chums tumbling into space. This is really down to a wealth of crew and weapons options available with the set; in addition to all the flagship twiddles we’ve got some neat variations such as concussive charges, which handily foil cloaking devices. Very useful if your regular opponents tend to be Romulans.

The model itself is pretty enough; it’s pre-painted and plastic so it’s unlikely to sit pride of place in a display cabinet but it is pretty tough and should survive careful transport to the gaming table. Overall a solid addition to the game.

Review: Star Trek Attack Wing – I.R.W. Praetus / Designer: Christopher Guild / Publisher: WizKid Games / Release Date: Out Now

In the world of Star Trek, the Federation is brave and highly adaptable, the Klingons are bold and strong, and the Romulans are cunning and sneaky. So it may come as little surprise to those who play the Star Trek Attack Wing game to learn that the latest Romulan expansion, the I.R.W. Praetus is a piece that requires intelligence and forethought in order to be effective. The entire Romulan fleet in Attack Wing are designed to be fast and sneaky, relying on subtle tactics that allow the player to herd their opponents into their line of fire as well as mine-fields.

I.R.W. Praetus is perhaps the most obvious example of this. When fully kitted out with its cloaking device and mines, it’s a little devil; popping in and around the battlefield, herding heavier (and more powerful) ships into carefully laid traps and generally causing utter delight for its commander, especially as one of the potential abilities of the model is the power to hit your opponent from an unexpected angle. Both the mine and nuclear missile options give it enough offensive capability to do some real damage. Like all models in this series, the rules allow you to play as a named or a generic ship; the named ship has a nifty variation on the cloaking rules, making it even stealthier, though this option is not without risks. Both versions of the ship are very fragile; without its hull plating or cloak most enemies will be able to blow it up early on in the game, but then if you’re simply shoving models onto the table in order to make up the numbers, then you’ve missed the point of a Romulan fleet.

The model itself is nice enough; purists will probably want to repaint the pre-painted plastic, but the actual ship design fits in nicely with other ships from the same fleet. The other components are of the good quality we’ve come to expect from WizKids, though some sets have been shipped with a missing mine counter (which can be downloaded and printed out). Overall, this is a nice little addition to a commander’s fleet, but not one for the impatient or unsubtle.

Review: Knack / Developer: SCE Japan Studio / Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment Japan / Platform: Playstation 4 / Release Date: Out Now

Another of the Playstation 4’s launch titles, Knack offers what promised to be a crowd-pleasing combination of platforming, colourful cartoony graphics and punching things. In the surface of things, it would appear to have a simple enough story to follow, a strong visual appeal despite not taxing the new engine and what looked to be a good gimmick. Unfortunately, this was not the Super Mario 64 of the Playstation 4.

In a near future setting, you play the titular Knack, a golem built from ancient relics. When humanity finds the goblin race has gained advanced technology, Knack might be their only means to victory.

Despite Sony’s claims of accessibility, the title combines every cheap game-lengthening tactic you can think of. It features just slightly less hidden, unfair insta-kill traps than the average fan-made Kaizo title. This isn’t helped by the game’s linearity, as it means when the developers throw in a completely hidden, borderline unjumpable spike pit, you will die. These are not the sorts of challenges which can be overcome by skill or learning from previous levels. Nearly all of them will only be learned through repeatedly dying and remembering to avoid whatever killed you the last eight times.

The combat proves to be little better than the platforming, perhaps even worse. Every enemy featured will hit you like a truck, either killing you outright or ripping off a huge chunk of your lifebar. Even at Knack’s maximum size, you will be relentlessly hammered by even the most basic of foes. Often displaying very basic AI and challenges, the enemies are only augmented by the fact they can rip you to bits in seconds. Even the much touted size-changing abilities do little, as the game goes out of its way to rob you of that at every turn, either forcing you into a small corridor where you are obliged to ditch your mass, or removing it in some arbitrary manner.

The game is ultimately extremely hard, but it’s far from challenging. The combat and platforming are both very basic and it’s only the fact the damage is tilted in your enemies’ favour that gives the game any punch. Its length is only the result of you having to fight a veritable horde of foes who can kill you in a single attack which you have barely any ability to dodge.

As a fan of the Jak games, this writer wanted to love this game, he really did. However it plays like a cheap, poorly designed PS1 platformer, camera issues and all, and there is little by way of redeeming features beyond the nice aesthetic. Save your money for something better.

Review: Killzone – Shadow Fall / Developer: Guerrilla Games / Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment / Platform: Playstation 4 / Release Date: Out Now

The latest in the Killzone franchise, Shadow Fall takes place years following the events of the previous title. A fragile peace has emerged between Vekta and the Helghan survivors following the destruction of their planet, with the latter colonising one half of the world, separated from the human populace. Aggression has led to a covert war with both sides striking at one another, with emotions over the past decades boiling over.

Unfortunately, for anyone wanting anything slightly nuanced or interesting, it still boils down to mowing down space Nazis en masse. You’re going around like you’re in a Michael Bay action film and the plot itself barely makes sense. Jumping forwards at high speed, the opening cut scene depicts the Helghast gunning down multiple human civilians on the half of the planet they were given! Even as it’s trying to invoke some feelings of an uneasy peace, it’s as if the developers felt they needed to remind people, “Yep, they’re the bad guys!”

For all the talk of the next-gen quality of the game, so much of it feels derivative and uninspired. The campaign has a decent length but recycles many elements continually, with only a handful of set-pieces standing out, and never feels as if it builds towards something. Combined with elements which seem designed to get you killed enough times to stretch out the campaign length and poor checkpointing, it all adds up to a frustrating trial to reach the end. Even when the game offers up a great variety of locations and weapon designs, it doesn’t disguise how bland the campaign feels.

The multiplayer does make up for this to some degree; it’s certainly much more coherent and better designed than the campaign, but it still feels lacking. Just containing the usual mix of Scout, Assault and Support classes, it lacks any kind of experienced-based progression system.

If there is one thing to truly praise, it’s that Shadow Fall is a visual triumph, displaying what the next generation is capable of graphically. Facial animations, lip-synching, draw distances, lighting, all of these feel as if the technology has leapt forwards, even in comparison to the likes of Beyond: Two Souls. That said, combined with the occasionally used touchpad and lack of loading screens, the game feels like a glorified tech demo at the end of the day. Something to show off the technical marvels of the platform rather than offering great gameplay.

Ultimately while Shadow Fall is a step up from Call of Duty: Ghosts, it’s not enough to warrant buying a brand new console over.