I started watching V last week when the pilot aired on ABC, and so far I’ve been pretty impressed with it. There have been two episodes so far. If you missed then they are up on Hulu and embedded below. I never watched the original V series that aired in 1983. Probably because I was five at the time. So, I don’t have any ideas going into the show about what the story line might be or how it turns out. I think I prefer it this way because it makes things more suspenseful and interesting.
If you’ve just now hearing about V for the first time the idea for the show is that alien space ships show up above all the major cities on Earth and proceed to use the bottom of their ships as a giant tv screen to broadcast a message. Their message, delivered by Anna – played by Morena Baccarin, is that they are excited to find other intelligent life in the universe and they would gladly give us some of their technology in exchange for water and minerals. Anna and the other aliens, who call themselves the visitors, all look like human. I don’t want to get too much more into the story and spoil it for anyone who has not seen it but that is the basics of how the show starts.
There are a couple things I’m really enjoying about the show so far. First, the main characters are all from different backgrounds and handle things very differently. This makes their interactions with each other is really interesting. The way Anna and Jack, a news reporter played by Scott Wolf, go back and forth in mental games with each other trying to get the upper hand is really fun. The interactions between Erica, an FBI agent played by Elizabeth Mitchell, and Jack, a priest played by Joel Gretsch, are heartfelt and often amusing. The way the characters relate to each other is what really pulled me in so quickly.
The other thing I’m enjoying is that even in the first two episodes they are already twisting the plot in ways I did not expect. I’ve seen a lot of science fiction television over the years and V, so far, is not following the common alien first encounter stories. Like I said before, it might be very similar to how the V was in the early 80’s but since I never saw that version it is all new to me.
I’m looking forward to watching the rest of the series and seeing where the story goes.
Pilot
Episode 2: There is No Normal Anymore (on Hulu 1/14/2009)
After hearing seen everyone raving about Torchlight for the last week I decided to give the demo a try when I saw how low the system requirements are. My home PC is about 3 years old, but it has no trouble running the game with everything set to high. Yet, despite the low system requirements the game looks great. Now, I should warn everyone that I don’t play a lot of PC games, and I don’t play any MMO games so a lot of this game play elements in Torchlight are pretty new to me. However, I do play a lot of RPGs on my Xbox 360 so I’m not completely new to the genre. Just this way of playing it.
The game is set in the mining town of Torchlight. The town is directly above a large mine where people are searching for Ember. This ore is rare, but very powerful as it can enchant anything it touches. As the game starts you choose your character and begin to unravel the mystery of Torchlight.
Unlike many role playing games where you create a character and model him, or her, after your preferences Torchlight has three premade characters classes to choose from; the Destroyer, Vanquisher, and Alchemist. The Destroyer is a melee focused and loves some dual wielding swords, maces, axes, spears and the like. He likes to get up close and in the action of battle. The Vanquisher uses primarily ranged weapons including bow, crossbow, pistol, and rifles. She is an expert marksman and can sit back and pick off enemies while staying out of harms way. The Alchemist is the mage class who uses his powers to summon creatures to help and take down enemies with spells. While each character class has a primary attack type they can use any weapon in the game as long as the have the stats handle it. So, your Destroyer can easily handle a gun or your Alchemist can use that great spear you found. It just probably is not the best use of their talents. Each character class has three skill trees you can unlock as you level up. You can mix and match between skill trees as you progress, assuming you have the experience points to unlock what you want. I found the variety of skills and spells available to unlock to be quite impressive.
When you start the game in addition to your character you also choose your pet. You have the option of a Dog or a Cat, but they really server the same purpose. Your pet helps you in battle and can carry extra loot that you find but don’t need. Plus, if you fill your inventory you can send your pet back to the surface to sell everything they are carrying back to a merchant. They will find their way automatically and bring you back the gold. It is a mice option when you don’t need to restock on anything, but your inventory is getting full. It allows you to keep playing without unneeded trips back to town just to clear inventory.
I really like how the levels of the mine are visible below each other as you progress. If you come to an area with a cliff or hole in the ground you can see the next level of the mine below you and get a preview of what you’ll be getting into as you get lower. The levels are all randomly generated so each time you play the game everything is different. I played through the demo three times, once with each character class, and each time the level structure was quite different.
The developers have some nice options that really encourage multiple playthroughs and characters even though it is a single player game. In the town you can leave loot you find in a chest for other your other characters to have access to. Also, you retire highly level characters and pass some of their attributes to a new character. Yet, with all this depth they do an excellent job of making the game easy enough to get into for new players. Despite not knowing what I was doing I had no trouble quickly getting into the action.
Graphically the game has a really nicely done. It has a cartoony element that really works well and keeps things fun and entertaining. The sound and voice acting are also nicely done. I tend to find the voice acting in RPG, especially for non-playable characters, to be really annoying, but in Torchlight that was not the case at all. Each character’s voice seemed to fit them well and fit the overall atmosphere of the game.
The one issue I did have playing the demo might just be because I’m not use to playing games like this on the PC. I was constantly clicking on enemies or items only to just barely miss and walk to that new area without taking an action. For my Destroyer that was not that big a deal because I would just click again and he would attack, but for the other two character classes it would walk me right up next to an enemy and completely defeat using a ranged attack. For picking up loot, and there is a whole lot of loot, it was the same thing. I would click and think I was picking up an item only to walk on and see that it was still lying there on the ground. If the game just has a little more of a grace area in recognizing you’re trying to attack or pick up it would be really nice. As it is your mouse can get near an enemy/item so it highlights that thing, but then when you click it might be just off it even though it was highlighted. Hopefully this is something that can be addressed. It was not a major annoyance but it was frustrating. If they would give an option to auto pickup loot you walk over that would probably take care of the issue as well. You already auto pick up gold you walk over so if weapons, armor, and scrolls were the same it would make it a non-issue.
The demo is quite lengthy. I did not time it exactly, but I think my first character took a couple hours to reach the end of the demo. The other two characters were probably at least 90 minutes each. I have every intention to buy Torchlight, especially since it is just $20 once I finish Borderlands. I try to keep my character leveling to one game at a time. Plus, if I wait a little while there should be some really great mods for Torchlight available. To give you an idea of how much fun I was having in Torchlight’s demo, I intended to write this post a few days ago but instead played through the demo again.
I know Batman: Arkham Asylum released over two months ago, but I just now finally got around to playing through it. The game is awesome and I should have gotten to it sooner but since there is no multiplayer component I just did not feel the rush. However, once I started playing I found it very hard to stop and pull myself away. There were a couple reasons for this looking back. First, the game is an absolute blast to play. Second, there are no missions, checkpoints, or levels in the traditional gaming sense. The game takes place on Arkham Island, and as soon as the game starts you can go anywhere you want, assuming you can figure out how to get there. At the same time though the developers to an incredible job moving you through the story without feeling like the game is linear. You start off with just a couple gadgets which limits the areas you can access, but because the story’s plot was so well written I found myself not caring and just wanting to continue going through the story.
Batman: Arkham Asylum mixes fighting, stealth, puzzle, and platforming elements seamlessly and nearly perfectly. The fighting mechanics are fairly simple because the take into context the environment and enemy’s position it never gets repetitive. In fact, as you progress through the game and unlock a few more fighting moves I found it even more fun because was constantly trying to workout cooler and more involved combos. In some areas you can’t just get into a hand to hand fight with the enemies because they are all armed with guns. In these sections you have to use your stealth and gadgets to take down the enemies without being seen. I really enjoyed these sections of the game because they could be quite tense and strategic. In some areas you’re cut off from a room you need to get to so you’ve got to traverse the rafters and air ducts in a simple platforming fashion to reach the area in question.
The whole time you’re progressing through the main story you’re being present with puzzles from The Riddler who is challenging Batman’s title of “world’s greatest detective.” The riddles are all completely optional but you do get experience for completing them and they unlock additional challenges rooms. There are four different types of riddles; they are little ? trophies hidden across the island to find, there are recorded interview tapes to find, word puzzles where you have to find the object of the riddle, and perspective challenges where you have to find giant question marks painted on objects and line up both halves. I really enjoyed the riddles throughout the game. After clearing a certain area of a building or map section of enemies I would always go back through it looking for the riddles.
For many of the Riddler’s clues and some of the main story line’s puzzles you have to use your cowl’s Detective vision mode. This vision modes scans whatever you’re looking at for trace, structural weaknesses, and enemies. These items are then highlighted. The downside is the Detective mode vision has everything in an all blue color scheme and since you see through some walls it can be hard to tell if an enemy is behind a wall or two.Fortunately, you can switch between normal and detective modes at any time.
Batman faces quite a few of the classic villains including Bane, Scarecrow, Doc Croc, Joker, Harley Quinn, and Poison Ivy. Each one you have to deal with in their own unique way and each one plays an interesting part of the story. Penguin and Tw0-Face are noticeably absent. Also, while the riddle does have stuff for you all over the island you never face him directly. I’m hoping for a sequel with then in it. Most of the general enemies in the game are Joker’s grunts, but this range of bosses keep things interesting. In addition to being fun to fight against the bosses all have really great voice acting. Some of the best I can remember from any game. Actually, all of the voice acting in the game was great. I don’t remember a single character having a voice that did not fit them perfectly.
Graphically the game is gorgeous. There are a lot of darker areas to the game since it occurs at night, but even with the darker sections everything looked really crisp and smooth. Batman’s animations are just like I would expect to see in the Batman movies which is impressive since you can grapple up to any open point a any time. Each time, the move up to the platform is smooth and seamless. I also really impressed with the persistent-ness of everything. If you go into room and a chair gets knocked over it stays that way the rest of the game. If you take a hard punch and your cape or costume gets ripped that tear stays there the rest of the game and is even there in the cut scenes where you see Batman. Once I realized that I tried very hard not take any more damage so that I would not end the game looking all torn and ragged.
After completing the game you can resume your saved game and just explore the whole island looking for the rest of the Riddler’s items. The main reason to do so is to finish unlocking the last of the Challenge Rooms and upgrades. The Challenge Rooms are specific enclosed sections of the main game’s buildings where you have a specific goal to complete. For the Combat Challenges it is to take out all of the enemies with the biggest and best scoring combo. The scoring is based on how large and diverse your combos are and if you can complete the room without taking damage. For the Predator Challenges your goal is to take out a room of armed enemies as quickly as you can without being spotted. Additionally, the Predator Challenges have goals for taking down enemies using a specific move. I would recommend not really putting a lot of time into the challenges rooms until you have unlocked all of Batman’s gadget and combat upgrades. True to their name the rooms are challenging and you will need all of the tools available.
If you have to played Batman: Arkham Asylum I would recommend at least renting it and playing through the story once. It has the potential of being game of the year for the Action-Adventure genre.
This last week I’ve played a chunks of a lot of different games. I’ve been working through the campaign in Sol Survivor. I played some more Arkedo Series: 02 SWAP. I finished the main campaign of Batman: Arkham Asylum and have started working through the challenge rooms (review coming soon). I started playing Borderlands with three friends.
Yet, with all that fun I’ve had across a wide range of games the one thing I’m most happy about today was getting the last multiplayer and Wrecking Crew achievements in Red Faction: Guerrilla. Sure, I still have to go back and finish the most of the collection related achievements in the single player campaign and the Demons of the Badlands DLC. But, today I got my 250th win in a ranked multiplayer match and I reached over $25,000,000 damage in Wrecking Crew. Both of those took a long time and it is nice to have earned them after enjoying the game for so many months. I still have my Ostrich Hammer to unlock and the final rank bar, but the achievements are mine.
Wrecking Ball
Scored 25 million points worth of destruction in Wrecking Crew.
A Winner is You!
Won 250 matchmaking games.
Here’s a few links to stuff I’ve written about the other stuff I was playing the last few days in case you missed them.
I’ve been playing the single player campaign for Sol Survivor for over a week now and this weekend I got to spend some time playing the verses and co-op modes. I have seen a lot of people comparing Sol Survivor to Defense Grid (which I loved), but really I do not think it is fair to compare them because they are very different types of tower defense games. It would be like comparing Gears of War to Call of Duty. Sure, they are both shooters but beyond that they have very little in common. Defense Grid is all about setting your towers up so they can do the most damage at the last possible moment to conserve your resources. Sol Survivor is a much more action oriented tower defense game where you are using your resources as soon as you can to build more towers and where actively using your support abilities can be the deciding factor in if you win a round or not.
The single player campaign is similar to most tower defense games in that you start with your basic towers and as you progress a few levels you unlock more advanced towers. As you unlock new worlds to defend you also have new Commanders to use. These commanders have different sets of towers and support abilities available to use. Each commander’s options leads to a specific play style so learning how to use each one effectively is a big part of each new commander. I really like how the story progresses and you can find the Commanders who fit your play style. It is important to become familiar with a few of them if you’re going to play multiplayer and co-op matches because pairing commanders who can compliment each other makes for some sweet advanced tactics. I’m not sure how long the full campaign is because I’ve not gotten to the end yet, but it seem pretty lengthy as I’ve been playing for quite a while now and it shows no signs of letting up.
In addition to the single player campaign there are also co-op levels you can play with four people. I got a chance to play some co-op this weekend with a couple of the developers of Sol Survivor. They level layout in co-op is a little different than single player. Each player in the co-op match gets a section of the map that only they can build on and then there is a communal section where anyone can build. The cooperative mode really requires a lot of teamwork to be able to survive. By coordinating you tower building you can setup great gauntlets with towers from multiple commanders that really compliment each other. Additionally, using complimentary support abilities can really take out enemies fast. For instance, in one match one of my teammates has an EMP support ability that takes off shields and I had a Nuke. We put these together and took out three huge bosses in one massive attack. Another great combination we found was to put some of my anti-air towers that slow their movement while doing a little damage next to my team’s missile towers. This would slow down the flying enemies so that the missile turrets had even more time to fire on the enemies. These are just a few of the examples of the combos that are available and finding cool new strategies is going to keep me coming back for more co-op for a long time to come.
I also got to play some of the verses multiplayer matches this weekend as well. I did not get around to trying the War mode where you send the waves at the opposing team but I’m really looking forward to playing that as soon as I can. I did however play some of the other verses mode where each team tries to survive the longest while getting the highest score. I was really digging this mode because you have your whole section of the map available for your team to build on. In one match my teammate built 9 mortars and then just kept leveling them up. I then focused on on flame throwers and anti-air flack guns. Our strategy of focusing on specific attack types worked well. The key was communicating when enemies were getting close to slipping through our defense so we could coordinate our support abilities on them.
Sol Survivor is extremely polished in every area. The graphics and animations look great, and the sound is spot on. The towers all look and feel different in how they work and they are easy to tell which are working effectively against different enemy types. Additionally, the guys over at Cadenza Interactive who created Sol Survivor have been very proactive in supporting the community. They have already release additional maps and a game update. One of the big bonuses about the game update is a dedicate trial mode that really helps you get into the game without out too steep of a learning curve. The also have hosted multiple gaming sessions where their whole team gets on for an afternoon or evening and plays with anyone who is interested. Having participated in the last community gaming session I really appreciate all their work and support. It was an absolute blast and I was sad to see it drawl to an end. They also host and actively participate in the forums on their site. It is really nice to see a developer getting so involved with the gaming community.
If you like tower defense games and you have not tried Sol Survivor yet you really should. It is one of the best tower defense games I’ve ever played, and the co-op and verses modes are some of the most unique and entertaining in the genre. I don’t know what Cadenza Interactive has planned next but I’m confident that I’ll enjoy whatever it is.
With Dragon Age: Origins releasing this week I was reading up on the game’s features and details when I came across Dragon Age Journeys: The Deep Road. To quote the site, “Dragon Age Journeys, a free to play browser based game set in the Dragon Age world, will be available Oct 22nd. Dragon Age Journeys puts players in the role of a hero exploring the underground dwarven kingdom of Orzammar. Players will uncover a dastardly plot that threatens to unleash a great evil that wont stop until it destroys all living things. Based on BioWares upcoming dark fantasy epic Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age Journeys sets a new standard of quality for browser-based games with addictive combat mechanics and fluid gameplay. Players of Dragon Age Journeys will have the chance to earn exclusive in game content for Dragon Age: Origins on the day of its release.”
The part that got my attention in there was the ability to earn in game content for Dragon Age Origins. So, I logged in with my EA Account created a knight type fighter. I started playing and after about 90 minutes I had two of the three items unlocked for when I play Dragon Age Origins. The three pieces you get are an amulet, a belt, and a helmet. From the looks of their stats they are not that great, but they probably are a bit better than your starting equipment.If you’re playing just for the unlocks be sure to read the details of how to get each one because one of them has multiple components and you can miss parts of it if you are not careful.
After I unlocked the first two items I actually wanted to keep playing. My knight/soldier was just starting to get some good weapons, attacks, and squad mates. The Deep Roads is just the first portion of the Dragon Age Journeys story and it was about 3 and a half hours before I made it to the end. I’m sure I could do it much faster if I were to play again or play on an easier difficulty but where is the fun in that. I found the story pretty interesting and I’m looking forward to when they release the next portion of Dragon Age Journeys so I can pick up where things left off.
For a flash game it is surprisingly deep. They have almost all of the normal RPG elements you would expect from a a full game and a couple nice little extra they could add because it is web based. Like the quick travel option, which came in handy more than once when I wanted to go back to town to get more potions sell unwanted equipment. I would just quick travel to town, do my shopping, and then quick travel back to the area I was at before. It takes you to the entrance of the area and not to the exact spot you left but the areas are not so big that it was an issue. The side bar is also a useful addition. You can use it to pull up statistics in the left frame of the screen without interrupting the game. They have that portion set aside for achievement details, slain statistics, and quest info. Overall the interface is nicely down and it is laid out just like the screen shots I’ve seen for Dragon Age Origins.
The one thing I found annoying about the Dragon Age Journeys was the movement. You click the mouse where you want to move on the screen and your characters move there automatically. Hold down the mouse and it keeps moving. Pretty standard stuff, but because of how the levels are laid out there are not a lot of strait paths. Combine this with the speed of the movement and I seemed to always be running my characters into walls if I tried to move by holding down the mouse. Part of that could be because I was playing on a laptop screen so it is possible if I had been playing on my normal desktop monitor I would not have had this issue since I would have more screen real estate to work with.
If you’re into RPGs and bored one day, or if you’re planning to play Dragon Age Origins I’d recommend checking out Dragon Age Journeys. It was a fun little diversion and unlocking in game items is a nice bonus.
I remember really enjoying Marvel Ultimate Alliance (MUA) when it released a few years back so when the sequel came out I knew I wanted to check it out. If you played MUA then you are pretty familiar with what to expect in MUA2. The game play is pretty much the same as the original with a new story line and slightly better graphics. One change that I really like in MUA2 is that the story line branches 1/3 of the way through the story to coincide with the Marvel Civil War story arc. Having read the Marvel Civil War series and really enjoying it I liked how the the game followed the same story line. The branching story line is cool because it gives me a reason to play through the game again with different characters. With the original MAU there was not much of a reason to play through the same story again.
That said other than a new story and a few new characters there is not much new here. It is pretty similar in terms of game play to the original. A few little tweaks but still it is really a beat-em-up with 4 player co-op support. However, as a 4 player co-op game it is really quite fun. If you enjoyed the first MUA this one is more of the same fun, but if you’re looking for something new or innovative you’ll have to look elsewhere.
Personally, I enjoyed the sequel and I’m glad I played it but I’m also glad I rented it and did not pay full price for it because I don’t see playing through it enough to be worth that cost.
I’ve had a lot of people asking me about Dark last week. So, Saturday I sat down to check it out. I came away from playing through Dark very impressed with it.Dark is a platformer where you control a small diamond shaped character who is completely black except for his eyes. The whole game only took about 25 minutes to complete but at $1 I don’t mind. The atmosphere and design of the game are sweet. Graphically the game is dark, as you would expect, but not harsh. The light and colors are smooth and gently used. The music playing in the background is pleasant and fits very well. The game has no narrative or dialog. It just starts and you are on your own to figure out how to get to the end. Yet, I never felt like I was really lost or needed any help. There were parts that took me some time to solve but they were never so taxing or frustrating that I thought of giving up.
The game is not perfect though. Besides moving the only other control is jumping, but the jump mechanic is very finicky. You are a diamond shape, but unless the very bottom point of your body is touching the ground you can’t jump. It took me a few times times to figure this out but once I did it was not a big deal. It just is something you have to take into consideration and if the developer had given a little more leeway would probably have been much better.
Overall I’m really impressed with Dark and I would recommend checking it out. The level in the trial is form the middle of the game so if it seems a little hard at first keep in mind that it does not start off that hard. After you try it let me know what you think or leave a rating for it on XBLIG Ratings.
When I saw that Arkedo has released another Xbox Live Indie Game I was pretty excited because their first game, JUMP!, is a lot of fun. Their second game is titled Arkedo Series – 02 SWAP! Where JUMP! was a take on the classic platformer SWAP! is a version of the classic connect 4 style puzzle game. Colored blocks slowly rise up the screen and you have to match them to keep them from getting to the top. Like many matching and connect 4 style games SWAP! starts out slowly with a few colors and as you progress adds bonus coins, chests, and power ups all while getting faster and faster. The controls are very simple. The left thumb stick moves your cursor, the right thumb stick moves the currently selected block, and any of the bumpers or triggers advance the blocks one line. The graphical style is a little similar to JUMP in that it has a lot of bright colors but with less of a retro feel. The music is pretty mellow but upbeat enough to keep you from getting too relax and loosing.
The full game, which is $3 (240 Microsoft Points) has three game modes. Castle Mode is a five level story mode where you play as King Kat and try to get him back to his Castle after a long night of Milk on the Beach. Arcade mode picks up the pave and lets you go for a high score. Challenge mode unlocks after you complete the Castle mode. In it you have specific goals to complete in addition to staying alive.
I just started playing SWAP! this afternoon and I’m a little over half way through the Castle mode. I’ve been really impressed with the polish and design of the game. It is very nicely made and I’m looking forward to completing the story and going on to try the challenges. I don’t know what Arkedo has planned for game #3 in their series of Xbox Live Indie Games but I’m looking forward to trying it out. If you like puzzle style arcade games you should give SWAP! a try. If you do let me know what you think of it here in the comments or leave a rating for it on XBLIG Ratings.
Wrecking Ball
A Winner is You!
I'm an tech fan and avid gamer. Looking to have some fun and try new gadgets.