Game: Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter
Developer: Croteam
Release Date: 1/13/10
Multiplayer: Online Co-op, 2
Distribution Method: XBLA (Download)
Price: 1,200 MSP ($15.00 USD)
First, I must apologize for not updating my reviews as consistently as I should. I realize that you are all terribly disappointed in me and I likely no longer have any loyal readers. But, for those of you who have trudged through the days of nothingness, hoping against the goddess that I would update once again, I bring you: A review of Serious Sam HD: The First Enconter.
I must be frank with my readers that still remain; I have never played Serious Sam before. Heard of its near-infinite greatness, sure, but seen it for myself? No. With these expectations of grandeur, I began playing.
Turns out, Serious Sam is really effin' hard! It's also preposterously fun. The latter observation came first however, and this is what sucks you into the game. Within a few levels, however, it becomes clear that Croteam is comprised of experts in giving you just barely enough ammo to get by.
Serious Sam is a game of huge proportions, with some levels including massive open areas that feel like they must be able to contain entire levels from other games. Bosses are massive, filling these gargantuan areas and making them suddenly seem not so large.
While the game's bosses are irritating to be sure, they are often not as difficult as the rest of the level they are in. Enemies are often hidden around corners, spawned in odd areas, or spawn as you become trapped in a secret.
Each level is riddled with secrets, with most of them blessing you with hidden ammo, armor, or health. Sadly, most of these secrets turn into deadly traps that cripple you for the rest of the level. This makes secrets something to avoid rather than hunt for.
Gameplay is often a mix between tearing through week foes while running from bomb-laden suicide troops and desperately trying to gun stronger enemies down from afar. While this sounds incredibly entertaining - and very well can be - it often becomes trying and irritating. Croteam spawns hundreds of enemies at you, often all at once, and gives you barely enough ammo to kill them.
Given this difficulty, I ended up restarting the game and lowering the difficulty twice, giving myself infinite ammo the second time. While this didn't make the game the insanity-fuled run-and-gun game I was hoping for, it made the game playable.
_________________________
Bottom Line:
A pretty arcade game with very solid core gameplay, but numerous issues that lead to a difficult and often irritating experience.
1.18.2010
F.E.A.R. First Encounter Assault Recon
Game: F.E.A.R. First Encounter Assault Recon
Developer: Monolith
Release Date: 10/31/06
Multiplayer: Online, 2-16
Distribution Method: Disc (Retail)
Price: $14.99 USD (Used, good condition)
For the most part, I review new games to let you know if you should buy them or not, but every so often, I have to pick up an old game that people keep telling me about. Whilst browsing the shelves of my local game store, I happened upon FEAR and purchased it.
Starting out, the game feels very outdated in gameplay design, but as the game progresses, situations become more varied and help the game feel much newer. Enemies are split into groups defined by the various rooms, but this changes as the story ramps up, adding extra energy to the gameplay.
The main gameplay twist is the introduction of reflex time, which is essentially bullet time. This mode allows the player to run from cover to cover, dodging enemy bullets and firing your own with deadly accuracy. The mode is limited in use, and recharges over time, further emphasizing cover and adding a layer of strategy.
Finding good cover is especially important, as the AI will try to flank you restlessly. The AI is highly mobile, able to leap over objects and generally keep you guessing as to their next move. While not very effective while you're charging them in reflex mode, they are also able to pull tables out from walls to create cover for themselves.
Playing FEAR, several things become very readily apparent. Monolith is incredibly good at lighting engines, level design, scripted events, and sound design. Starting with the lighting engine, the game is very pretty. While some graphical flourishes are absent, the exaggerated lighting and particles make the game feel very high-energy.
Sound plays a key role in the world of FEAR, and is best experienced with a good sound system. Enemies are highly vocal, cluing you in to their locations and status, and almost everything in the game world make some kind of noise. Scare noises aren't overdone, and enhance rather than create the jump.
Level design and scripted events go hand in hand in the case of FEAR, and are done so well that I almost wish they would make a game that didn't have any gameplay beyond walking through a series of such events. Without any blatant clues like arrows or nav points, Monolith skillfully leads you through each level, pointing you in the right direction. Though it is highly rewarding to explore and find each of the health and reflex extenders.
While FEAR's level design is superb in most areas, the lack of any on-screen navigation or objective assistant can also be the game's downfall. Each level has one objective, rather than holding your hand the entire way. It is a welcome change from the 'follow the nav point' system most games have adopted, but it would be nice if the game had some system for detecting when you were lost and helping you out. To help any players stuck where I was, if you see barrels on a conveyor system, ride them.
The use of sound and audio cues is another grating error in very few instances. Some phones can be interacted with to learn more about the game's story, and there are a few phones that make a dial tone, but don't seem to actually exist in the level. I have spent a good amount of time trying to hunt these down to no avail.
_________________________
Bottom Line:
FEAR is a finely crafted experience that is a fun ride that holds up to this day. Worth a playthrough and fairly priced.
Developer: Monolith
Release Date: 10/31/06
Multiplayer: Online, 2-16
Distribution Method: Disc (Retail)
Price: $14.99 USD (Used, good condition)
For the most part, I review new games to let you know if you should buy them or not, but every so often, I have to pick up an old game that people keep telling me about. Whilst browsing the shelves of my local game store, I happened upon FEAR and purchased it.
Starting out, the game feels very outdated in gameplay design, but as the game progresses, situations become more varied and help the game feel much newer. Enemies are split into groups defined by the various rooms, but this changes as the story ramps up, adding extra energy to the gameplay.
The main gameplay twist is the introduction of reflex time, which is essentially bullet time. This mode allows the player to run from cover to cover, dodging enemy bullets and firing your own with deadly accuracy. The mode is limited in use, and recharges over time, further emphasizing cover and adding a layer of strategy.
Finding good cover is especially important, as the AI will try to flank you restlessly. The AI is highly mobile, able to leap over objects and generally keep you guessing as to their next move. While not very effective while you're charging them in reflex mode, they are also able to pull tables out from walls to create cover for themselves.
Playing FEAR, several things become very readily apparent. Monolith is incredibly good at lighting engines, level design, scripted events, and sound design. Starting with the lighting engine, the game is very pretty. While some graphical flourishes are absent, the exaggerated lighting and particles make the game feel very high-energy.
Sound plays a key role in the world of FEAR, and is best experienced with a good sound system. Enemies are highly vocal, cluing you in to their locations and status, and almost everything in the game world make some kind of noise. Scare noises aren't overdone, and enhance rather than create the jump.
Level design and scripted events go hand in hand in the case of FEAR, and are done so well that I almost wish they would make a game that didn't have any gameplay beyond walking through a series of such events. Without any blatant clues like arrows or nav points, Monolith skillfully leads you through each level, pointing you in the right direction. Though it is highly rewarding to explore and find each of the health and reflex extenders.
While FEAR's level design is superb in most areas, the lack of any on-screen navigation or objective assistant can also be the game's downfall. Each level has one objective, rather than holding your hand the entire way. It is a welcome change from the 'follow the nav point' system most games have adopted, but it would be nice if the game had some system for detecting when you were lost and helping you out. To help any players stuck where I was, if you see barrels on a conveyor system, ride them.
The use of sound and audio cues is another grating error in very few instances. Some phones can be interacted with to learn more about the game's story, and there are a few phones that make a dial tone, but don't seem to actually exist in the level. I have spent a good amount of time trying to hunt these down to no avail.
_________________________
Bottom Line:
FEAR is a finely crafted experience that is a fun ride that holds up to this day. Worth a playthrough and fairly priced.
1.12.2010
Slide Colors
Game: Slide Colors
Developer: Taykron Games
Release Date: 1/12/10
Multiplayer: None
Distribution Method: XBLIG (Download)
Price: 80 MSP ($1.00 USD)
Going through Indie Games is always an interesting task, and is very hit-or-miss. Sometimes, you stumble into a game that hardly has its controls figured out, and sometimes you find your way to a fine example of polished design at work. Slide Colors is considerably closer to the latter.
Though puzzle games are not generally my favorite genre, a well thought-out puzzle game can suck many hours of my free time into its square-shaped hell. Slide Colors does a damn good job of trapping my soul - in a good way - in an interesting twist on the tried-and-true gameplay of matching three colored blocks in a row.
Controls are simple, intuitive, and effective, and the menus are acceptably simple, intuitive, effective, and easy on the eyes. The playing field is a 7x7 grid of colored squares. Each color is also identified by a distinct symbol, making the game colorblind friendly. This is a nice feature, and unlike other games with colorblind modes that are hidden in the options, is not distracting to those that are not colorblind.
Slide Colors' simple gameplay is matched by being extremely easy to pick up on, but the game still manages to be an entertaining challenge. The real difference here is how you make matches, by 'sliding' entire rows and columns. This make the game seem a lot faster than Bejeweled, since you can make more than one match at a time, filling large sections of the screen with particles.
The three modes are surprisingly varied, with Time attack being your standard 'go as long as you can' mode. Puzzle mode eliminates your need to make matches, and instead challenges you to place blocks in marked positions. (It's actually more challenging than it at first appears.) Clear Blocks mode is perhaps the most interesting, as it tasks the player with having to remove all of the blocks you start the game with. Power ups and lots of quick thinking are your best friends here.
While a very good game, there are a few problems, mostly in sound design. The music is decent, though not perfect, but is far from the problem. The real problem is the sound for making a match, which Mac users will know very well as the sound you hear whenever a task is completed. It sounds nice at first, but gets irritating fast.
At only 80 MSP, Slide Colors is a well polished and thought-out puzzle game for your 360. While the sound design might be a bit lacking, it still stands as one of the most playable and entertaining Indie Games available. It is also among the few Indie Game puzzle games that I have enjoyed.
_________________________
Bottom Line:
Simple and interesting puzzle game that's a steal for only 80 MSP.
Developer: Taykron Games
Release Date: 1/12/10
Multiplayer: None
Distribution Method: XBLIG (Download)
Price: 80 MSP ($1.00 USD)
Going through Indie Games is always an interesting task, and is very hit-or-miss. Sometimes, you stumble into a game that hardly has its controls figured out, and sometimes you find your way to a fine example of polished design at work. Slide Colors is considerably closer to the latter.
Though puzzle games are not generally my favorite genre, a well thought-out puzzle game can suck many hours of my free time into its square-shaped hell. Slide Colors does a damn good job of trapping my soul - in a good way - in an interesting twist on the tried-and-true gameplay of matching three colored blocks in a row.
Controls are simple, intuitive, and effective, and the menus are acceptably simple, intuitive, effective, and easy on the eyes. The playing field is a 7x7 grid of colored squares. Each color is also identified by a distinct symbol, making the game colorblind friendly. This is a nice feature, and unlike other games with colorblind modes that are hidden in the options, is not distracting to those that are not colorblind.
Slide Colors' simple gameplay is matched by being extremely easy to pick up on, but the game still manages to be an entertaining challenge. The real difference here is how you make matches, by 'sliding' entire rows and columns. This make the game seem a lot faster than Bejeweled, since you can make more than one match at a time, filling large sections of the screen with particles.
The three modes are surprisingly varied, with Time attack being your standard 'go as long as you can' mode. Puzzle mode eliminates your need to make matches, and instead challenges you to place blocks in marked positions. (It's actually more challenging than it at first appears.) Clear Blocks mode is perhaps the most interesting, as it tasks the player with having to remove all of the blocks you start the game with. Power ups and lots of quick thinking are your best friends here.
While a very good game, there are a few problems, mostly in sound design. The music is decent, though not perfect, but is far from the problem. The real problem is the sound for making a match, which Mac users will know very well as the sound you hear whenever a task is completed. It sounds nice at first, but gets irritating fast.
At only 80 MSP, Slide Colors is a well polished and thought-out puzzle game for your 360. While the sound design might be a bit lacking, it still stands as one of the most playable and entertaining Indie Games available. It is also among the few Indie Game puzzle games that I have enjoyed.
_________________________
Bottom Line:
Simple and interesting puzzle game that's a steal for only 80 MSP.
Explaining the New System
Since this review blog is very much still in the works, things are changing. Hopefully for the better. To facilitate these changes, this post is here to explain just what I've done here.
I would like to announce that I have a new opening for each review that should make quick info easy to see. While most of the new system should be easy to understand, the following is a short example and explanation of the new system.
Game: Slide Colors
Developer: Taykron Games
Release Date: 1/12/10
Multiplayer: None
Distribution Method: XBLIG (Download)
Price: 80 MSP ($1.00 USD)
The Game listing is the title of the game.
The Developer listing tells you who the good people who made the game are.
Release date tells you when the game was officially made available to the public, as far as America is concerned, anyway.
Multiplayer tells you if the game supports multiplayer, and if so, what kind and how many.
Distribution Method tells you if it's an Arcade, Indie, or regular retail/disc game.
Price is the price that I paid for it. In the case of special editions, this is the price of the base edition. For downloaded titles, I list both the MSP and USD conversion for your convenience.
As you may have noticed, I have also started including a "Bottom Line" section in my reviews. This is a distilled review, taking my general opinion and putting it into only a few sentences. This is to replace the score, basically.
I would like to announce that I have a new opening for each review that should make quick info easy to see. While most of the new system should be easy to understand, the following is a short example and explanation of the new system.
Game: Slide Colors
Developer: Taykron Games
Release Date: 1/12/10
Multiplayer: None
Distribution Method: XBLIG (Download)
Price: 80 MSP ($1.00 USD)
The Game listing is the title of the game.
The Developer listing tells you who the good people who made the game are.
Release date tells you when the game was officially made available to the public, as far as America is concerned, anyway.
Multiplayer tells you if the game supports multiplayer, and if so, what kind and how many.
Distribution Method tells you if it's an Arcade, Indie, or regular retail/disc game.
Price is the price that I paid for it. In the case of special editions, this is the price of the base edition. For downloaded titles, I list both the MSP and USD conversion for your convenience.
As you may have noticed, I have also started including a "Bottom Line" section in my reviews. This is a distilled review, taking my general opinion and putting it into only a few sentences. This is to replace the score, basically.
1.04.2010
Borderlands: Mad Moxxi's Underdome Riot
Welcome to the first review I am writing about something that is not a full game, but some DLC for a game. The game in question is Borderlands, and the matching DLC is the brand-new Mad Moxxi's Underdome Riot. Before I can continue with the review, I feel it is necessary for me to explain exactly what this DLC is, for those who don't know.
Mad Moxxi's Underdome Riot - often called just 'Underdome' - is essentially Borderlands entry into the ever-growing field of survival modes. Similar to L4D's Survival and Gears of War 2's Horde mode, Underdome is three arenas where increasingly difficult waves of enemies assault the player.
Each of the three arenas are both surprisingly well-built, and very concentrated on a specific range of engagement. Hell-Burbia is exceedingly close quarters, resulting in faster - and more brutal - rounds. The Angelic Ruins are medium to long range, resulting in more standoffs and emphasizing cover, which is an element that isn't used much in the normal game. The Gully is a stronghold-style arena, with relatively easily held high ground that has one point of entry. Surprisingly, the Gully - though seeming sniper-oriented at first - is perhaps the arena where all ranges are equally important.
In Underdome, there are two tournaments, a short one consisting of 5 rounds, and a long one consisting of 20 rounds. Each round is made of 5 waves, with each wave made up of different enemies. A short list of these waves in the order they are spawned follows:
Starter Wave - General mix of enemies.
Gun Wave - All enemies have ranged weapons.
Horde Wave - All enemies have melee. (Psychos and Lunatics, mostly.)
Badass Wave - All enemies are of the Badass variety.
Boss Wave - A seemingly random boss spawns.
The Underdome also adds a bank system, allowing you to store all of those weapons that you can't quite bring yourself to part with. This storage is not shared between characters, but is still a welcome addition to the game. Best of all, you access it through a top hat, mustache, and monocle wielding Clap Trap in a tux.
Moving into the DLC's gameplay, rounds hit you fast and hard, with only a few seconds in between to grab ammo, health, and loot the occasional gun drop. That's right; not only do you not get experience, but ammo, health, money, and guns do NOT drop from your fallen foes. This stresses teamwork to the max, as class mods are in full effect, and any boosts to team heal or ammo regen are very welcome.
This emphasis on teamwork really stresses - and puts on full display - the roles that each character is meant to play. Some of the Hunter's skills in particular are extremely helpful to the team, as the bloodwing is still able to create health and ammo, allowing players to heal when they need to. The Soldier's turret can give much-needed support or cover around a turret, and his healing abilities are certainly not unwelcome. The Siren's team cooldown reduction and high DPS make her valuable as well. And the Berserker's ability to distract enemies and take massive amounts of damage can save other members, if not the entire team.
As might be obvious, Underdome is not for those who play alone. It's designed for cooperative, and was designed to be a challenge, so charging headlong into it without some backup is going to get you killed. Running into it with three friends, however, can be a fun challenge.
To vary the combat, each wave has up to 4 rules that change how the wave is played, adding a sort of sick lottery of death to the DLC. These rules can increase the damage of one weapon type - and decrease the damage of another, remove your shields, add recharging health for your enemies, or any number of other cruel torments.
The short tournaments take about an hour to complete with a competent team, and the long one take about 4 hours, with no breaks, so make sure your team has nothing to do anytime soon, is well-rested, and has gone to the bathroom. The long tournament is long and hard, so those who don't have that long of an attention span, or don't actually want to have a challenge, should probably stay far from Underdome, but those who like non-stop action and a painful level of difficulty should be adding this to their download cue right now.
_________________________
Bottom Line:
Hard and long. Get it if you like action and a challenge. Don't get it if you like to coast through games.
Mad Moxxi's Underdome Riot - often called just 'Underdome' - is essentially Borderlands entry into the ever-growing field of survival modes. Similar to L4D's Survival and Gears of War 2's Horde mode, Underdome is three arenas where increasingly difficult waves of enemies assault the player.
Each of the three arenas are both surprisingly well-built, and very concentrated on a specific range of engagement. Hell-Burbia is exceedingly close quarters, resulting in faster - and more brutal - rounds. The Angelic Ruins are medium to long range, resulting in more standoffs and emphasizing cover, which is an element that isn't used much in the normal game. The Gully is a stronghold-style arena, with relatively easily held high ground that has one point of entry. Surprisingly, the Gully - though seeming sniper-oriented at first - is perhaps the arena where all ranges are equally important.
In Underdome, there are two tournaments, a short one consisting of 5 rounds, and a long one consisting of 20 rounds. Each round is made of 5 waves, with each wave made up of different enemies. A short list of these waves in the order they are spawned follows:
Starter Wave - General mix of enemies.
Gun Wave - All enemies have ranged weapons.
Horde Wave - All enemies have melee. (Psychos and Lunatics, mostly.)
Badass Wave - All enemies are of the Badass variety.
Boss Wave - A seemingly random boss spawns.
The Underdome also adds a bank system, allowing you to store all of those weapons that you can't quite bring yourself to part with. This storage is not shared between characters, but is still a welcome addition to the game. Best of all, you access it through a top hat, mustache, and monocle wielding Clap Trap in a tux.
Moving into the DLC's gameplay, rounds hit you fast and hard, with only a few seconds in between to grab ammo, health, and loot the occasional gun drop. That's right; not only do you not get experience, but ammo, health, money, and guns do NOT drop from your fallen foes. This stresses teamwork to the max, as class mods are in full effect, and any boosts to team heal or ammo regen are very welcome.
This emphasis on teamwork really stresses - and puts on full display - the roles that each character is meant to play. Some of the Hunter's skills in particular are extremely helpful to the team, as the bloodwing is still able to create health and ammo, allowing players to heal when they need to. The Soldier's turret can give much-needed support or cover around a turret, and his healing abilities are certainly not unwelcome. The Siren's team cooldown reduction and high DPS make her valuable as well. And the Berserker's ability to distract enemies and take massive amounts of damage can save other members, if not the entire team.
As might be obvious, Underdome is not for those who play alone. It's designed for cooperative, and was designed to be a challenge, so charging headlong into it without some backup is going to get you killed. Running into it with three friends, however, can be a fun challenge.
To vary the combat, each wave has up to 4 rules that change how the wave is played, adding a sort of sick lottery of death to the DLC. These rules can increase the damage of one weapon type - and decrease the damage of another, remove your shields, add recharging health for your enemies, or any number of other cruel torments.
The short tournaments take about an hour to complete with a competent team, and the long one take about 4 hours, with no breaks, so make sure your team has nothing to do anytime soon, is well-rested, and has gone to the bathroom. The long tournament is long and hard, so those who don't have that long of an attention span, or don't actually want to have a challenge, should probably stay far from Underdome, but those who like non-stop action and a painful level of difficulty should be adding this to their download cue right now.
_________________________
Bottom Line:
Hard and long. Get it if you like action and a challenge. Don't get it if you like to coast through games.
1.01.2010
Creed Arena
First review of 2010 is going to an Indie Game, one that was released just today and barely makes the new year. Deciding to take the safe approach for their core gameplay, Safari Studios has fashioned a tried-and-true dual stick shooter, (a la Geometry Wars) but have given it a few unique and significant twists.
Upon first starting the game, I was greeted by an entertainingly old skool-style demo reel of the game being played. Moving past this screen, I find that the user interface is acceptably minimalist, looking well thought out and presenting everything it needs to without looking busy. Thanks to this, I was easily able to jump right into a tutorial level.
Creed Arena is a minimalist game to its core, and the controls are exceedingly simple. RT fires, LT is jump, left stick controls your aiming and right stick your movement. Melee is also on your right trigger, and triggers automatically if you are within melee range. The only surprising thing that the tutorial introduces you to is mapped to the right bumper, and it brings your camera down behind your gladiator into a traditional 3rd person shooter perspective. Turning speed in this mode is severely limited, and there's no speed adjustment in the options, so this mode is strictly for long range attacks, which give a nice bonus and lets me segue smoothly to the next paragraph.
Creed Arena's big selling point is that your actions affect the crowd, and the crowd affects you. This occurs through fans, which you gain for doing any number of moves. Killing is the most basic method of acquiring fans, but melee hits, heavy hits, narrowly avoiding death, gettig rapid kills, and killing from long range all gain more fans. Getting fans not only increases your rank in the arena standings (think Rock Band's fan leaderboard,) but it also increases your crowd rage meter. When this bar fills, you enter Crowd Rage for a limited time, increasing your health, speed, jump height, and melee damage.
Supporting multiple modes, including one that is a race to get the most fans, the game has plenty of variety, especially considering its considerable library of arenas to play in. It supports split screen, 8-player online matches, and guests for online play.
While the animations are a little stiff, the game is a pretty little thing, easily one of the best looking Indie Games on XBL. The gameplay holds up once you get used to its little quirks, and the trial saves your progress, so ou might as well go and try it. At 400 MSP ($5.00 USD) it might not be the cheepest Indie Game, but the cost was obviously chosen based on the time put into this game.
_________________________
Bottom Line:
Worth a look. Creed Arena is a little rough around the edges, but is a solid - and very playable - game nonetheless.
Upon first starting the game, I was greeted by an entertainingly old skool-style demo reel of the game being played. Moving past this screen, I find that the user interface is acceptably minimalist, looking well thought out and presenting everything it needs to without looking busy. Thanks to this, I was easily able to jump right into a tutorial level.
Creed Arena is a minimalist game to its core, and the controls are exceedingly simple. RT fires, LT is jump, left stick controls your aiming and right stick your movement. Melee is also on your right trigger, and triggers automatically if you are within melee range. The only surprising thing that the tutorial introduces you to is mapped to the right bumper, and it brings your camera down behind your gladiator into a traditional 3rd person shooter perspective. Turning speed in this mode is severely limited, and there's no speed adjustment in the options, so this mode is strictly for long range attacks, which give a nice bonus and lets me segue smoothly to the next paragraph.
Creed Arena's big selling point is that your actions affect the crowd, and the crowd affects you. This occurs through fans, which you gain for doing any number of moves. Killing is the most basic method of acquiring fans, but melee hits, heavy hits, narrowly avoiding death, gettig rapid kills, and killing from long range all gain more fans. Getting fans not only increases your rank in the arena standings (think Rock Band's fan leaderboard,) but it also increases your crowd rage meter. When this bar fills, you enter Crowd Rage for a limited time, increasing your health, speed, jump height, and melee damage.
Supporting multiple modes, including one that is a race to get the most fans, the game has plenty of variety, especially considering its considerable library of arenas to play in. It supports split screen, 8-player online matches, and guests for online play.
While the animations are a little stiff, the game is a pretty little thing, easily one of the best looking Indie Games on XBL. The gameplay holds up once you get used to its little quirks, and the trial saves your progress, so ou might as well go and try it. At 400 MSP ($5.00 USD) it might not be the cheepest Indie Game, but the cost was obviously chosen based on the time put into this game.
_________________________
Bottom Line:
Worth a look. Creed Arena is a little rough around the edges, but is a solid - and very playable - game nonetheless.
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