Contrast - Lighting up a Path Through Shadows

I've been following this little gem of a game for a while. Developed by Compulsion Games, in this puzzle platform adventure you follow Didi and Dawn as they uncover silhouettes of Dawn's past.

This was one of the many games I got to demo at PAX East. The graphics are stunning for an indie. The story is reminiscent of something out of the 1920s. Gameplay is simple but during a short chat with one of the developers I was told it handles better with a controller than mouse and keyboard. Also being an adventure game it's pretty linear and would probably only amount to about six hours of gameplay.

The demo I got to try was the part where you had to collect luminaries to turn on lights on a carousel and then shift in and out of shadows to reach the top of a building to dislodge a stuck hot air balloon. The game is pretty straight forward and offers a little challenge but, once you get the hang of shifting it's smooth sailing from there. Check out the trailer and keep a lookout for the game when it drops in May 2013.
Contrast website

PAX East Weekend - The Greatest Show on Earth

      This weekend I had the pleasure of attending the PAX East convention.There was just a shit tons of things to do, see and play. It was a bit overwhelming and for my first videogame convention I probably was a little unprepared. Now for those of you reading this and are unfamiliar with the term, PAX East is the east coast version of the Penny Arcade Expo that happens out in Seattle. The east coast version was started back in 2010 and is held in Boston, Massachusetts. It brings together players from all walks of life. You've got AAA publishers, indie developers, card game and table top enthusiasts all under one roof. And while there isn't much advertising for the event it sells out early every year.

There were demos of everything imaginable. Well almost everything. While Sony and Microsoft did have a presence, showcasing lots of games and apps they didn't have any PS4 or XBOX720. But some of the fancy hardware came from the likes of Nvidia and iRacing, who had a couple of sweet simulation setups.





Nvidia showcased their new handheld platform, Project Shield which had some top notch games like Max Payne 3 and Trapped Dead all in the palm of your hand. With games like Assassin's Creed and Skyrim lined up for their new system, as well as remote PC control they're looking to be a heavy contender with current handhelds out there.

There was also lots of panels, superstar developers and speakers. Gabe and Tycho even did a comic strip of which I'd post the pics but I'd rather tell you about the games. Deep Silver teamed up with Square and had some secret Saint's Row 4 trailers. There were many demos to try as well. Perhaps one of the longest and most anticipated lines was to demo Dead Island Riptide, Metro Last Light and The Elder Scrolls Online. Ubisoft gave us a first look at their awesome new game Watch Dogs.  Marvel Heroes has what looks to be a great looking MMO.

On the indie front Supergiant had Logan Cunningham in their booth selling and no doubt signing shirts while you waited on line to preview their new game Transistor which is shaping up to be another top notch game from the team that brought us Bastion. A few other notable exhibitors was Double Fine with demos for Brutal Legend in addition to some of their other popular games. 11 bit studios had Anomaly 2 which has expanded on their first reverse tower defense hit with better graphics, and added multiplayer.

There were also plenty of new indie gems that you've probably never heard of, some of which was a mixture of iOS/PC games in the PAX Indie showcase. A few of which I'll be giving my own detailed review later on after their release. Just to name a few:

Contrast
Saturday Morning RPG
High Strangness
Little Chomper
Third Eye Crime
Orion's Forge
Organ Trail
McDroid
Divekick
Mutant Mudds

and many, MANY others. Some of which are either out now or coming soon. So keep your eyes open.

Organ Trail - Nostalgia With A Twist

I remember playing Oregon Trail at school on those huge Apple Macintosh computers. The graphics were revolutionary for the time and well I never played long enough to make it to Oregon but I had fun trying. Fast forward some 20 years later and I discover a little gem of a game on Steam's Greenlight.

Just for your information, Steam has a section called Greenlight. Its a place where pretty much anyone can market their game to Steam's user base that can vote on said game to get it released on Steam. Did that explanation make any sense to you ? No? Well just google "Steam greenlight" and use that explanation instead.

Taking it's core gameplay mechanic from the classic Oregon Trail you have a group of people who drive in a car to reach the save haven from a world devastated by a zombie apocalypse. You have to keeps your crew healthy and car in shape else you can be left stranded in the middle of the country waiting to die.

In addition to the regular journey you'll encounter a number of mini-games to while away your time on the road. From hunting in the zombie infested woods for supplies to defending yourself from a biker gang trying to run your car off the road.

You'll also come up against boss battles every now and then but they are avoidable. One of the things you'll find challenging in this game is the shooting. I found setting up the shot for a zombie kill often challenging since it's more of a drawback slingshot system rather than just point and shoot. This makes sense seeing as an average person isn't an expert marksman and when the zombie apocalypse eventually comes very few of us will be prepared with gun training.

Overall I enjoyed this game. Sure it has the nostalgia aspect going for it but it's challenging to beat and you'll die, a lot. The developers even made a mini-game out the ending credits that kept me playing while they thanked every person who supported this game. The version I played still had a bit of awkwardness like not being able to save without being on the road and pausing the game. I've been told by the developer from on Steam Greenlight that issue would be fixed in the next update and with lots of achievements it adds to the replay value.

My hat goes off to the Men Who Wear Many Hats for making this awesome retro game.
Now available on Steam.