Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Jazzpunk (PC) - Screenshots (Spoilers)

I put the "spoilers" warning up there because I think that seeing Jazzpunk's madness is half the fun, but I also had to share them because I think most of the gamers I know wont play this game...

I finished Jazzpunk; not an amazing feat, it is quite short. If you have been following these posts you will know that I prefer shorter games at the moment. It's a comedy trippy adventure game; like crashing your car, while listening to acid jazz, after taking LSD, eating bad sushi and reading a crime novel... to be clear : Jazzpunk is insane and it's great. Jazz is freestyle, punk is not caring...Jazzpunk is plain bonkers.

It's also got a filled with meta games and references to other games, movies, tv and music. It makes The Stanley Parable look tame and logical and don't forget Jazzpunk has Teledildonics by Sandra Bullock.

Once again Adult Swim has found something and now has some really good games in their catalog - they are definitely a proper and solid indie games developer in my opinion and I have enjoyed a bunch of their releases.*

I don't know how to review Jazzpunk - nor would I want to. Read this instead.

Or just let your eyeballs enjoy this madhouse :
























I will also just tag these trailers on here for your enjoyment : 










Monday, September 29, 2014

Destiny [beta] (Xbox 360)


[Notes made after the BETA and first put together on the 8th of September 2014] Since Destiny is coming out tomorrow I thought I should try to compile the notes that I took during the Beta into something of an opinion. 

I loved all the Halo games by Bungie and so now that Bungie is making something new I am all ears and eyes.

It seems though with Destiny, Bungie is declaring war on a lot of other games : Crysis, Titanfall, Call of Duty, Rage - but also Borderlands, Diablo and even Halo and although in the Beta the story wasn't really that prevalent it seems that they are also hoping to bring in elements from Knights of the Old Republic, Mass Effect and Elder Scrolls Online....

Let's just say it ambitious. 

I was under the impression that the open Beta was to showcase these elements and wow players so they would go off on the social media and hype the game even more as well as to test the server capacity so they hopefully avoid the problems that other MMORPGS had on release. 

I am sure there is a lot in the main game that wasn't in the Beta but I was really hoping to be convinced and sold on the idea of Destiny because until now I haven't really been interested in it. I have played my share of RPGs and Shooters and another one just doesn't really grip me.

There was less exploration than I had hoped. Far less than Borderlands. There are 'levels' that you can enter, challenges that you can complete but then you are sent back to the main base. It's as if you go on a run with your friends in Diablo and come back straight away to the village once that mission is finished. It felt strange and restrictive.

The guns felt as tight as anything I have used in Battlefield, Halo or Call of Duty but they were a little lackluster (at least in the levels we saw in the Beta) - being just of the very military and bullet-based variety. The guns can level up but this 'forced' gun customization felt a little like awkward.

There is loads of vanity in the game - my brother bought a "slightly" different coloured scooter ship for an astronomical amount of money - but at the same time I would like to see what Torchlight had: equipment you have because of stats and then vanity equipment that you wear just because it looks cool - I don't know why more games aren't adopting that.

The combos were a little bland as well, you have certain "powers" but they didn't seem to have a huge effect or even have skill tree customization. Again, this is based on our 3 days with the Beta.

There were a few memorable moments but we spent the most of our time just hammering away at a "boss enemy" from afar. It took soooo long. If someone died it wasn't that big of a deal, either they could be revived or the game just loaded them further back - it seemed to really hold your hand and the punishment of death wasn't really apparent. 

It's a pretty good looking game - but didn't blow me away like the Halo games from Bungie did when they were first released (still some of the best looking games on the 360). The music is stellar and really recalls Halo - sometimes it feels like it belongs to a better game.... (urg, I am so negative)




I wasn't actually the one with the Beta key. that belonged to my brother, TaoBrightblade, who invited me to play with him during the Beta. He's already preordered the game and is completely sold on it. He's a Halo & Battlefield veteran, a 22 year-old student with Xbox-blood and our opinion on games differs recently - so I wrote him some questions, a little interview, to find out how he feels about Destiny : 


Destiny Interview - TaoBrightblade - 08th September 2014

What did you pay for your preorder of destiny?
I paid (or will have paid $69.25(CAD) for Destiny.

Is this the first game you preordered?
Destiny is the first game I preordered.

What are you hoping to get out of the game? what gaming niche does it fulfill for you? What did you think of the beta? What games is it most like? Do you think you will play those games again after having Destiny? 
I am hoping to get hours of alien slaying and character building out of the game. The game as is fills a wide variety of niches from single player/co-op story to MMO. from PvE to PvP.

The Beta ran surprisingly smoothly compared to other online games (looking at you Battlefield 4) and the only issues I encountered were my internet and the level cap. Destiny is most like Halo (from gameplay, artwork, and PvP) Borderlands (multiplayer story mode) Rage as the world (earth/old Russia is a barren waste land.

I will most definitely play those games even after I have Destiny as each game has a unique aspect which the others lack.

What did you least like about the game?
My least favorite aspect of the game were the load times. Not because of the load times but because of how I understood the first information release. I was expecting to be able to fly to the moon and such things. A little disappointing

Do you think that it should have been an Xbox Exclusive`?
I do not think that destiny should have been Xbox exclusive. For one Xbox is not doing so well, and second why? Halo carried Xbox so why not branch out and have the full market available? I do think though that the benefits that the PlayStation has received should have been for the Xbox, however that may simply be my bias.

What do you think about readied expansions? What would you think if there was first day DLC?
Expansions are a good thing as long as they are not what makes the base game playable. 
First day DLC is not of concern to me I have rarely bought DLC's and when I have it was most definitely not on the first day. 

What are your expectations as far as longevity and success of Destiny?
Based upon the success of the BETA, I would say that destiny will be a massively successful game and that it's longevity may even rival those of games like Halo.

What is the best feature of the game?
The best feature of the game is the speed at which you can invite fellow players (guardians) to join you on your quests.

How much time a week to do plan to invest in Destiny?
Probably around 5-10 hours a week will be invested.


So that's the voice of someone convinced by Destiny and who already preordered. I have some reservations (having been burned too many times) to preorder a game like this add the (again in my opinion) lackluster competitive multiplayer mode and the disappointing exploration and lack of coherent interesting storyline - the amount of time needed to invest properly in a MMO-like game (which I just am not willing to and cannot do as a 31 year-old self-employed father of two) and the fact that I don't trust Activision at all - I believe it will be hampered by IAP's and incomplete due to planned first-day DLC's and I do not want to support that type of business model. I don't think that the game is breaking much new ground, from what I gathered from the Beta - I guess only time will tell.








Sunday, September 28, 2014

Tengami (iOS)


Tengami is a relaxing game of exploration, as you play through a world and solve puzzles using a paper-folding pop-up book technique. It's made by a small team and it's just beautiful - I am playing though it rather slowly because it's something that I can play while my kids are watching, so let me share some of these screenshots with you in the meantime.



The folding mechanic allows you to enter buildings and solve puzzles opening new paths...




Find the petals to bring the tree back to life - to restore your memories? or finally be granted forgiveness? I am not sure, but I sure do like to look at it....



Official Nyamyam page : here.

Friday, September 26, 2014

Haunt the House : Terrortown (PC)


Haunt the House : Terrortown is a excellent looking little spook-em-up; you fly around as a little ghost and posess different objects inside different venues to scare the people inside. The more "scared" the occupants of those venues are the more ways that are unlocked to scare them.


You can haunt every bit of furniture  - time it right to create the most fear. Soon you'll have people running for their lives! Come to think of it maybe the game should have ended with the Ghostbusters coming in and putting an end to your spooking - it does kinda lack a real ending.


Finding and going though all the different actions is a real treat some of them are really creative. Just check out these colours! I love it.


This is another game that I have been playing while my kids were watching. I figure there isn't really anything that bad - except for the few "ghosts" that you need to collect by....erm, making people into ghosts, but that's all done in a very cute way and not at all scary.


I'd really like to see an iPad version of this game, I think it would fit really well.


It fit us perfectly, but I dont really know if I will play it again, it doesn't seem to have a lot of replay value.


It's a great looking game, though a little short and if you are looking for something to explore - or something to give to a younger gamer - this is it.

Official Webpage here.

Check out SFB Games and the other visually awesome games they make here.

Thursday, September 25, 2014

Cook, Serve, Delicious (PC)

'Cook, Serve, Delicious' is more of a typing game then a restaurant simulator - it's a fairly good looking game and it's got a sense of humor.


Ah, if it was only that easy all the time...


There are some really nice details, like the daytime changes in the window and it's vibrant and colourful.


Thank goodness a simple customer without some frilly order - "S" "O" "Enter" ....


You're not just cooking though you have to take care of other chores as well otherwise the health inspectors are going to shut you down.


You purchase new recipes and manage your menu based on a few stats. You need to be careful not to put too many fatty foods on your menu, decide what recipes you can handle (some need constant attention, others are difficult to prepare, some can sit in an oven to give you time to pour those drinks) and watch out for 'menu rot' meaning that your customers are getting bored of your choices.


You can upgrade your recipes and your appliances and eventually get a better restaurant. I did thing that the game progressed a little slow for my liking and after quite a few hours I decided that I had had enough of the work simulator and maybe I should just learn to actually cook....

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Where Is My Heart (PC)


"We are a family of monsters."



Where Is My Heart is something I have been wanting to play for a long time; it was originally only a PSP, so I just had to wait and hope that it would finally come to PC.


The game is from "Die Gute Fabrik" and I'd rather just quote their description of the game than try to do so myself : "In Where is my Heart? you play the story of a family of forest spirits. Their world gets broken up into fragments which you have to piece back together in your mind. Each of the three characters can transform into a magical creature along the way. The Rainbow Spirit allows you to rotate the world around and jump across space; the Bat King can see hidden platforms which only exist for him; the Antler Ancestor can jump on the stars. Help the three spirits find their home tree again!"

"We are lost and it is getting dark"


The art style and the music are both so cute and at first it's fun and calming.


But things soon get tricky....

"I am the Rainbow Spirit of True Sorrow."


View of the same level at night - using the Antler Ancestor.

"One day I will be living the life I want to live."


Everything is fragmented, broken, it's up to you to navigate these levels and learn how each of the pieces work together.


Things can get pretty confusing - but there are clever hints along the way - rainbows here show you their relation to the other blocks, sometimes the hearts help or bats.

I also love the little poetic titles for each level :

"My antlers are strong like the stars"


The Bat King shows you hidden objects and platforms so help you solve the puzzles.

The short playtime and cuteness means that I can play this while my kids are around - or sit down to beat a few levels in the evening. The only thing disappointing about this game so far would have to be the lack of controller support on PC (Steam) - it would be much more fun if I didn't have to huddle over my laptop keyboard to play.

Just a thought : some of the soundeffects remind me or Eliss Infinity.... I am still trying to find out if there is a real connection.