Sunday, September 29, 2013

Cognition: An Erica Reed Thriller - Final Episode and Overall Thoughts



The final chapter of the Cain Killer has finally been released. This comes in conjunction with Cognition finally being released on Steam. So I thought I'd do another run through the series again and replay the entire story as a whole. Episode 4 starts out with a bit of back story. I understand the idea of the prologue, it's to understand the background around the main case of the story. If you forgot what this series was about it does a good job of catching you up to speed. Considering the episodic nature of the game and how it took a year to get the entire story out its pretty integral to where we are now.



As I'm playing the forth episode and thinking about this background information now I appreciate that the developer to some extent didn't put it in the first episode to get the player all sorts of invested in this story. Another thing to note is that as the game progressed in the final episode we see the addition of a relationship meter to gauge Erica's trust with the other characters. This is entirely new and I'm not sure how necessary as it's a late mechanic addition. The way people respond to you or things they will do is directly connected to how full the gauge is. I noticed this doesn't drastically change the outcome of the story with the exception of two scenes. Both of which are near the end.  Would have been nice to have this in Episode 1 and carried throughout.


One of the biggest issues I had was the lack of character development in the first two chapters of this story. Erica for lack of a better term was a bit of a cold bitch. She even admits to it in Episode 2 so at least we were in agreement there. She went around half cocked, without much care for those around her who weren't in perilous danger. Character flaws though are good and it didn't make her any less likable as a character.


Almost all the characters from Episode 3 return and we backtrack a little bit into time before the events of Episode 1 but unlike Episode 3, for the most part you are playing entirely in the present. Once again making her return is Cordelia, however it's now present her instead of her past self. Thank goodness the developers fully fleshed out her character in Episode 3. The writing for this game is excellent. Sure you aren't going on an epic adventure with an barely legal teenager to save the world, so the quest isn't drawn out and doesn't bore you to death. There are certain scenes where you'll ask "why did I pick up that random pile of drugs" or is there a reason why the two main characters are kissing. Which even though is hot doesn't really have any purpose other than fodder for fanfiction  but other than those one or two things just about everything you find will be connected in some way and actually useful to you getting one step closer to the end.


The ending, like everything else was also very nicely done. There aren't any glaring plot holes, maybes, or  "what if" moments that leave things open to interpretation. Cognition does a good job in that what you see is what you get. There's room for another Erica Reed thriller but for the most part the developers did well in giving a complete adventure experience in four episodes. I found this game incredibly enjoyable. Even if ultimately your choices don't matter I still felt fully invested in the hunt for the Cain Killer. Down to the last fight and a heartfelt ending.

Story: (^__^) - It's a good length of game for the price. You get puzzles that make sense a tough as nails protagonist and a good story. If you've played any of Tell Tale games this would fit nicely into that group only it's not based on any current intellectual property and the story is at least 4 hours longer compared to those kinds of games.

Sound: ^__^ - The score is awesome and the voice acting is done really well. Boston accents and all. Episode 4 gets a slightly more sinister soundtrack that gives this episode a darker tone but it's good that you aren't listening to the same thing for 4 straight episodes. Erica's evolved so much, naturally the music should evolve too.

Overall: (^__^) - I'm really glad I bought this game. Excellent story, characters, music. If you're into adventure games this is something you'll enjoy. If you like games that don't have zombies this is something you'll enjoy. Even if you do like games with zombies you should take a break in between killing the undead and play this game. I look forward to whatever titles Phoenix Online Studios are developing next and hope they return with another incredible story for Erica in the future.

Buy It On: Steam, DRM Free Direct, Indiegamestand 


Monday, September 23, 2013

Costume Quest - Reminding you of a Time When Halloween was Charming and Cute



Double Fine has done alright with this gem of a game. Don't let the cuteness of the characters or the story fool you. Costume Quest is fun for children of any age. You play as siblings who go out for a harmless night of trick or treating only to have one of the kids kidnapped by monsters mistaking them for candy. Children obviously are just too sweet! Then proceeds a quest through 3 different neighborhoods for the search to get your bro/sis back.


While you only get a party of three what's really fun about Costume Quest is finding different outfits to fight bad guys in. You start off with your initial robot costume but to gain others you have to find materials throughout your journey to assemble them. They serve two purposes. The basic one is the fighting aspect. When you go into battle wearing a certain costume you're transformed into your fighter form personified with a special power unique to each costume. The other is a side ability that is an environmental aspect such as using a power to help you see in particularly dark spaces or a shield so you can go under sewer drains without getting drenched in water. The variety of costumes and abilities is what really makes this a fun game.


You can tell this game is meant to be a little bit eerie but its mostly just good hearted, wholesome fun. Fighting is pretty repetitive. Kill the monsters as quickly as possible because their attacks hurt you just as much as yours them, rinse and repeat. The only boss battle that was a bit challenging was the final boss and once you find the right combination of tactics and accessories that'll be simple too.


After you finish the main game there is the Grubbins on Ice expansion which the kids travel to Repuggia to rescue a kidnapped friend. Yes, you are doing the same exact thing as the main story only in a different location with a few new costumes and bad guys to fight. While I don't mind the repetitive story, because that's not why I'm playing Costume Quest to begin with, I do mind that the developers left the ending in limbo, literally. Here I am at the end of this expansion watching the credits role, expecting there to be a little "gotcha" or "surprise" moment. Something to indicate a proper ending. Alas, my ending never comes. It would be a cruel joke had I not gotten a solid 10 hours of gameplay. So I was satisfied. But those guys at Double Fine better have a sequel planned with more super awesome costume quest goodness. There's a lot of potential in this little game.


Story: ^__^ - Generic as hell but still a fun story to play through. In all honesty I was more interested in finding new costumes to fight in and all the quirky things you can do with them. Although it was lukewarm it didn't keep me from enjoying this game. It keeps you busy with side quests as well as optional bobbing for apples / eyeballs mini-game.

Sound: (^__^) - There's no voice acting but things like sound effects and music fit wonderfully setting the overall mood of the environment.

Graphics: ^__^ - This game is pretty polished. Environments look vibrant even when you're running around in the dark. Battle screen takes on a comic strip like view with players and bad guys having really good looking animations.

Overall: ^__^ - I was thoroughly entertained playing this game. I would have liked it more if there was a proper ending to the DLC but got a solid amount of time and I had fun. The dialogue and quests were generally well written and the game never got boring. You can't go wrong playing this game but consider getting it in a Double Fine bundle with a couple of this developer's other great games.

Buy it On: Steam, Amazon

Monday, September 16, 2013

Sword of the Stars: The Pit - Deeper, Deadly and Disgustingly Addictive


I am not a fan of rogue type games. So I was unaware of this title until it was presented to me in the form of Indie Royale's The Starry Night Bundle. Actually this was the game that made that bundle for me. Now too thrilled about the other prospects of this bundle I was more than eager to try this one out. This is pretty much a keyboard / mouse game (was recently updated with controller support) but the tutorial was helpful in giving a quick rundown of the controls and it was easy to use after that.


So the main premise of this game is to get to the bottom of The Pit to find the cure for a disease that is ravaging the planet, which the intro made me think it was another zombie game. Thank god that wasn't the case. The Pit has many dangerous aliens, monsters, traps, crazed humans but no zombies. At least none that I could discover before I died. The furthest I've made it to was floor 21.


When you start the game you have 3 classes of characters to choose from. The Marine, who is very skilled in combat and with weapons. He's definitely a shoot first ask questions later type of character. What he lacks in brains he more than makes up for in fire power and strength. Begins the game with an assault rifle and an automatic pistol. Next you can choose is the Engineer. This character has got the most brains of the bunch and is skilled with electronics, mechanical and all the technical stuff needed to assist you in using all the fancy technology you'll no doubt discover as you descend into the pit. The third player available in our bunch is the Scout. This character is a little bit from column A and B in the guns and brains department.


Whichever you start with you'll eventually want to build up stats they're lacking as you level up. In this game doubling down on some stats while leaving others to whither away might mean the difference between life and death when you least expect it but you can adjust to your play style. Now this game has a pseudo user friendly inventory system meaning there's lots of room but it's not really intuitive. Some weapons take up three or four vertical spots in your inventory. Only thing is that your inventory sorts itself horizontally and doesn't automatically make space where you need it. This is a slight annoyance but means you will be manually rearranging your items whenever you get a large device or weapon.


Another nice aspect of this game is the crafting system. There's cooking and lab stations all throughout the Pit that will allow you to take random items you discover on your journey to create something useful, like weapons, accessories or food. The game does periodically teach you recipes but I've found in the 20 or so hours I've put into this game I have only ever gotten 2 recipes. I'm a big fan of the SotS Wikia which shows about all the discovered ingredients and what items they craft into.


If you like what you see you should consider the Mind Games expansion DLC. It features 2 new classes of ranger and psion and adds a host of new environments, monsters and weapons. Overall this is a great game whether you're into rogue types or not.

Gameplay: (^__^) - High replayability. The base game, featuring 3 character types and 4 difficulty levels and a randomly generated dungeon means you won't play the same game twice. Extensive craft system, enemies that are tough and will kill you if you don't come at them prepared you'll curse this game every time you die but you'll learn from your mistakes and make your way into the Pit again.

Sound: ^__^ - The music for the Pit is eerie and fits well with the game. What I really like are the various sound effects for the creatures that inhabit the location you're in. Because your field of view is often limted to what you can see in front of you it's nice that you can hear a couple of the monsters or machines that might be in the distance.

Controls: ^__^ - Pretty simple to navigate and you can also remap keys and gamepad buttons as you see fit. There's a button for intuitive targeting (shoot the closest thing) but nothing that is complicated or not covered in the quick tutorial.

Overall:  (^__^) - This game consumed hours of my time to the point where I was playing for 3-5 straight and lost track of time just to go one more floor. Luckily there is a save feature as I'm not sure how many floors this thing goes. There's no game breaking bugs, the inventory layout can be overlooked but this game is awesome. What it might lack in ultra fancy high end graphics makes up for in solid gameplay. Tons of achievements and ways to play makes this game a good deal at any price.

Buy It On: Steam, Desura, DRM Free

Friday, September 6, 2013

Stacking - DoubleFine can Make a Game Out of Anything




Do you remember those Russian stacking dolls that you may or may not have played with when you were younger? Well DoubleFine made a game about them. You play as young Charlie Blackmore as he goes on a quest to fine his kidnapped brothers and sisters that have been sent to work in various places for The Baron to pay back their father's loan.


 The general atmosphere is cute, and reminiscent of old silent films. You have an upbeat orchestra playing while you're on your quest and it makes this game feel classy. There is no better way to describe the art style, from character design to the setting everything about this game feels like something you'd play if games were this sophisticated in the 60's or 70's.


Don't worry though this game doesn't sacrifice gameplay for art. Every doll in your adventure has a power and you will have fun finding out the abilities of all the dolls in the game. Some of them are super useful like a handyman that fixes broken equipment to the more humorous and silly, like the seductress or the doll that has the ability to pass gas.


One thing I really enjoy about Stacking is that there's multiple solutions for every puzzle in the game. There's no one particular answer to solve each problem. The game is even good at giving slight hints from the super obvious solutions to really obscure ones. By no means is this game hard but it gives you the option of finding all possible solutions for a problem or just the one. In addition to the main adventure you can go on little side quests to stack a particular group of dolls as well at perform different in-game actions that go towards your completion total.


The main quest will probably take you a good 6-8 hours, a solid 10 if you don't rush and you're a completionist. The Lost Hobo King DLC gives you a separate quest unrelated to the main and adds another hour ot two of play time. Also I should add that this game is pretty child friendly but you can enjoy it at any age if only for the uniqueness of the concept.


Graphics: (^__^) - It's nothing that will tax your VGA using the latest PhysX technology but I really appreciated the silent film graininess of the cutscenes or using certain dolls like the underwater diver and  having my view switch to how things would look like wearing the clunky helmet.

Story: ^__^ - What starts off as a clique quest to rescue your siblings, turns into starting a revolution to end child labor. Each stage having it's own main objective to complete the story was never grossly complex or convoluted. The story was good but I had more fun discovering all the doll powers I could try.

Music: (^__^) - A wonderful instrumental score that grows on you because it just fits so well with the game. You've got a different idea of nostalgia going on besides the chiptuney stuff you find with most indie games these days.

Overall: (^__^) - I really loved this game and think anyone can appreciate this Double Fine adventure. Its something different. Not too complicated that you can't play for an hour or two, leave it for a day and pick up right where you left off. I highly recommend you either buy this game or find it on sale with a bunch of other Double Fine games.



Buy It on: Steam, Amazon, (activates on Steam)