Sunday, February 28, 2016

Indie Love


Greetings Hivemind!

It has been a while, as usual, but for good reason. Aside from working, being a soon to be father, trying to keep up with my writing, and taking classes at the same time - I was having trouble finding a game that made me want to blog about it. Don't get me wrong, some titles have launched that I have thoroughly enjoyed...just not enough for me to sit down and write about them.

Let's see what all I've been working on in my spare time. X-COM 2 came out, and I was having a blast playing it  until recently. The X-COM series deserves respect and is in no way a bad game, about 4-5 hours into my first playthrough I just sort of...lost touch with the game. Fights are fun, stressful, and place a great deal of importance on player choice. Building up your flying fortress is entertaining, also requiring you to think about where and when you build things. When it came down to it, I think there were just too many stressors - the entire game is a slow trickle of sand cascading through the glass chamber of an hourglass and when time is up, you lose. Sadly, I don't have the time to restart an entire campaign five or six times until I can figure out a winning combination. In summation, X-COM 2 is awesome - play it.

I am currently waist deep into Farcry Primal and...I mean it's Farcry. This is in no way a bad thing, the formula used in their past titles works just as well in 10,000 BC as it does in a modern setting. I have to say though, having a gigantic scarred sabertooth tiger as a pet brings me a ceaseless amount of joy. Expect your usual Farcry action here - bases to take, characters to do missions for, optional challenges and hunts to undertake, etc. My only complaint so far is that, as with my other experiences in Farcry, it's easy. If things get hairy I just let me sabertooth off the chain and eat popcorn while it rampages through a primitive village treating it like a shrieking buffet table.

I still pop into Destiny now and then, everything about me has wanted to resist this title ever since I picked it up years ago. Yet, everytime I play I have a blast - the aesthetic, combat, and pulse pounding action are always fun. However, being the introvert that I am leaves me lacking in the backup category. Solo play is fun in this title, but wears out eventually - and you're joking if you think I'm going to head to a forum, try to find a group of random people, and then trust them during a raid. I'm an old school MMO player and I can smell a full raid wipe from 10 miles away.

I picked up the latest Naruto title, as I simply must own any title with CyberConnect 2 involved. The love story between myself and CyberConnect 2 runs deep - we'll go into this another time. Sure, I'm a mild Naruto fan, but DIZZZZZAMN does CyberConnect know how to make cinematic fight scenes. *fans self* If you can't get enough of over the top fights, do yourself a favor and look into this studio (ESPECIALLY their title Asura's Wrath).

As you can see, there are things out there to play - Farcry itself is going to eat at least 9 or 10 more hours before I'm anywhere close to finishing it...so much to do, but let's get back to the topic at hand. The real shining stars of my gaming library come in the form of two games you may or may not have heard of. Both hailing from polar opposite genres, opposite art styles, opposite story progression, etc. etc. etc. I present to you an amazing point and click adventure, and an adrenaline pumping first person shooter with a twist.

Let's start with some adventure, waddya say?


Before I begin going into the details of Oxenfree, I find it interesting that the titles I am introducing today were both purchased on a whim. No review hunting or trailer viewing involved.

The point and click adventure has made one hell of a comeback to the gaming scene, and I could not be more pleased. Oxenfree comes to us from Night School Studio, a conglomeration of old Telltale employees and members of Disney interestingly enough. As with most titles of this genre you won't find yourself jumping off walls, dodging bullets, or hacking monsters apart with a giant sword.

What Oxenfree provides is a slice into the life of a group of friends returning to a favorite vacation spot. This is no ordinary trip however, this trip is to mark the recent passing of the main character's brother while also introducing her new step-brother into the mix. The voice acting is amazing, which it has to be as the actors provide most of the action through their reactions. 

The gathering soon edges away from a normal beach party toward the unknown. There is a mysterious signal on the island that can be tuned into with older radios, and when three of the teens do exactly that they are exposed to a danger far beyond the comprehension of human thought. 

This is not a true "horror" title, though I will say that many portions of Oxenfree disturbed me more than 99% of recent horror games. While there are a few jump scares, the over all tone, voice acting, and stellar musical score will have you on the edge of your seat. I don't want to go too far into detail as experiencing Oxenfree is hard to describe without ruining some amazing events. If you're like me, enjoy an engrossing story, have a strange affection for multidimensional horror, and don't have 40 hours to sink into a game - pick up Oxenfree. You won't regret it.

Next up we have a truly rare occurence, a game I purchased with no prior research that after booting it up for the first time I was compelled to complete. Hours marched by at a fever pitch, each met with "one more level, then I'll stop and go eat" - I was very hungry by the time the campaign ended. Allow me to introduce - 


Superhot is proof that a game does not need to be dripping with dazzling graphics to be downright amazing. Envrionmets are spartan at best, there is only one character model (a red dude, though said red dude could be carrying a variety of weapons), and there are no beautifully scripted cinematic events - let me say though - Superhot. Doesn't. Need. That. BS.

 https://killstagram.com/

Don't worry the link isn't a trap. After watching some of the uploaded clips you are probably thinking to yourself, how in the hell does someone react that fast? Enter the amazing gameplay addition Superhot brings to the table - time only moves when you do. Let that sink in.

In one of my favorite scenarios you spawn in a crowded elevator with three enemies all with pistols pointed at your face. Rough spot to be in...unless time is on your side. You throw a punch at the guard to your left and freeze. His gun is floating in mid air as he grabs his shattered nose - the other two guards prepare to fire, you take a half step to the right while snatching the gun out of mid air. Two bullets whiz by your head inches away, you turn and fire once dealing with the second guard - the third takes one final shot as the doors behind you open to reveal two shotgun toting enemies ready to fill the elevator with buckshot. You jump. Buckshot flies underneath you and peppers the final guard in the elevator, you hit the ground noticing that the shotgun guard to the left is closer to firing than his companion. That split second allows you a moment to leap toward your prey as his partner fires at your last position, missing. You deal the guard a flying punch, snatch his shotgun out of the air, land and backpeddle quickly as the second guard fires again - this time blasting his ally in an attempt to hit you. With only one guard left, time to throw some style into the mix - you throw your shotgun at him, it strikes him in the face causing his own gun to careen through the air. You do a sick 360 jump rotation while grabbing the gun out of mid air and blow him away before hitting the ground. Actual time elapsed - 4.56 seconds. After such a secnario the game then plays back your antics in realtime, making you look like a god among men, something I never get tired of.

The campaign is short, very short - though still more entertaining and thought provoking than most shooters. At this point I would normally say save your money for something with more story - but Superhot opens up with challenge modes (such as a story run through with only a katana), speed runs, and endless modes where you fight an infinite wave of red dudes while unlocking new arenas as your kill count rises.

I really could go on, but if you are like me and are still hankering for a game to get that "Matrix" feel right - wait no more, Superhot has arrived.


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