Tuesday Musings - 14th June 2011

So after posting my musings yesterday, i remembered that i'd actually forgotten about a couple games. I thought about editing them in, but what i think i shall do is just write about them here... on Tuesday. Crazy, i know.


Bionic Commando: Rearmed

So i finished this off. The final level was actually quite annoying, and not in a good way at all. The final area was pretty neat though. You get a rocket launcher, and you control the rockets with the right analogue stick. To begin with you have to aim at some out of the way switches, and then you take an elevator up to the final boss. Avoid missiles, shoot your missile. That's pretty much it. Then you see Hitler's head explode. It's as amusing in the remake as it is in the original. Then like the original, you make your escape, just like Metroid.

I wasn't too interested in the challenge rooms or the hidden passages or any of the other secrets. I may return at some point. Chances are, i will not.


Frozen Synapse

This is the game i'm really sad i forgot to talk about yesterday. I had a multiplayer game and it was pretty damn cool. As i said last week, i really like the idea that you can test out certain moves and see the results before committing to your turn. What i didn't realise is that you can actually test out different scenarios as well. What i mean by this is you can actually give the enemy units orders and see what will happen. So basically you can test out a bunch of different scenarios based on what you think the enemy will do, and try and work out the best moves for your units. Of course the unpredictability of your opponent factors into things, but this level of strategic control, and immediate agency gives this game something unique that i have not seen in a strategy game before (though i hope a lot of future turn based strategy games incorporate it).



Final Thoughts

Huh, really? I gotta do two of these this week? Very well. Let's talk best of show in regards to E3. By leaps and bounds, i gotta give the award to Journey by Thatgamecompany. Flower was my top game of 2009 and i love playing Flow. I was behind this game before i knew anything about it. Now that i know more, i'm excited to play it.

It's a puzzle game. You're a strange character in a desert. It looks beautiful. It's also massively multiplayer. If you're online you can interact with other characters. They look just like you. There's no text, no voice chat, no commands. It's just seeing another person and perhaps you will work together, or perhaps you may go it alone.

To me this creates a rather pure multiplayer experience. Will it be abused by some players? Perhaps? Will many players prefer to ignore others and play alone? Most likely? When you choose to work together with another nameless character, i have the feeling it will create a rather special experience, and i cannot wait to try it.

Till next week, happy gaming all!