Retro City Rampage - A Well Made Parody of all Things 80s

I really wasn't sure what to make of Retro City Rampage before I bought it. I knew it was definitely going to go for the "retro tribute" genre that we've seen pop up a lot these past few years with indie games. Which has started to get stale for me in these past few months just from watching a lot of the submissions on Steam Greenlight. From the outside this game will remind you of old Grand Theft Auto. Nothing's wrong with that but the last thing I'd want to play is an old GTA clone when Rockstar offers the original for almost free.

However, RCR embraces it's retro roots in a really unique way. Everything from the user interface to graphics and has chock full of movie references. But don't think this game sells itself short just because it's a parody (which it itself states at the beginning). It's a surprisingly well developed parody. You'll find unmistakable references to everything from TV, movies and games but the developers do get a little witty in their delivery as they also blatantly poke fun at the gaming, indie and pirating industry. All of which are casually integrated into the story.

As for the story, it's nothing deep. You play a criminal who's looking to make some cash in a city called Theftropolis and end up traveling back in time. The plot is pretty much ripped from several 80's (Back to the Future, Bill and Ted)  films and stitched together into a funny hybrid. You do some odd jobs, get to know a couple of the locals some of whom you'll recognize visually but have a slightly altered name (Dr. Von Buttnick for example looks like Sonic's Dr. Robotnik's evil buff twin) and go on a search for the missing parts to repair your time machine.

If you aren't much into the story that's okay as there's many things to do to waste time in Theftropolis City 20XX. There are kill spree mini-games littered throughout the city, an arcade to play several retro styled indie classics and the random open world sand box violence that games are known for. What I find myself doing often is playing Bit.Trip.Runner in the in-game arcade. It's a little more forgiving than the original but just as much fun.

Gameplay: (^__^) - I genuinely enjoyed my time in Theftroplois. Everything from running down people in cars to chilling out in the arcade. The story missions were also full of humor and irony. This game is a parody but the developer took it serious enough to be enjoyable for a couple hours more than most parody games.

Graphics: (-__-) - While I have no qualms about playing top down 8 bit games it's still an 8 bit game so what you see is what you get. But a nice touch was being able to play on different in-game monitors. I remember when you had to get up and turn a knob on the TV to change the channel. Crazy times.

Controls: (^__^) - Fully mappable controls make things a bit easier. Also controller support. So if you're a keyboard junkie or a gamepad kid you shouldn't have any trouble with the controls for this game. Tailor it to how you want to play.

Overall: (^__^) - I know when I hear the word "parody" I set the game bar low. However, this game isn't to be underestimated. You'll get a good full game well worth it's $15 price tag. There's enough variety that can keep even the most picky gamer occupied for quite some time.

Find Retro City Rampage on Steam, Direct DRM Free

Rogue Legacy - A Family Tree Worth Fighting For

A couple months back I saw this quirky game on Steam Greenlight. and the trailer had me a little bit skeptical as there's a lot of games on there that are funny but have no substance. And after watching the initial trailer I was on the fence as this being one of those joke games. The idea sounded ingenious. You fight until you die then your progeny takes up the fight to avenge your death. This itself is the premise for a lot of games. Castlevania and Legend of Zelda was built on the very idea of it being the family thing to kill all supernatural stuff.

The thing that sets Rogue Legacy apart are 2 things. One is your children all have different biological traits. These can make gameplay challenging, awkward or downright funny. For instance you can have a color blind, near sighted, gay, hero with IBS dwarfism and brittle bones. Being gay doesn't really have any effect on your fighting as far as I can tell but color blindness causes your screen to be monochromatic during your play session. Near sighted makes everything outside your immediate field of vision blurry and brittle bones might mean you get knocked farther back when hit. Death is a big part of this game. You will die... often. So there will be plenty of children to choose from to continue your legacy.

In this game something like dwarfism works to your advantage as you can get into small spaces that regular sized heroes cannot. And IBS well that just causes your hero to fart. Not so much useful but makes the game funny. Also like many action rpg rogue types your heroes will have different classes, such as mage, paladin and barbarian, adding different attributes.

Of course there are other things in this game that are helpful despite whatever flaws your child might have. That brings me to the other thing that sets you apart. While you're fighting your way through the castle your next hero inherits whatever gold coins your previous descendant gained in the castle. With that you can upgrade your keep to include things like an Enchantress, Architect and Blacksmith. You have to make sure you spend as much as possible before heading back into the fight as every time you enter the castle you pay the remainder of your funds as a toll to go back in the castle, to die.

With procedural generated rooms the castle is indeed different every time you fight. But don't worry as there are other locations and environments you'll be able to die in, if you make it that far. And an array of enemies all wanting to kill you and increase in difficulty the farther in you get. Boss battles are challenging and even if there isn't much in the way of health power-ups there is plenty of loot to be had. Including rooms with rare chests that have certain challenges to be met before opening.

Now I'm not a big fan of rogue type games but as I said the game intrigued me enough to try it. Definitely something I've never played before. I encourage anyone who's thinking about it to try the demo. This game is hard. There is no easy mode. You will die a lot and there are times I got frustrated at having to start over I wanted to toss my gamepad. But that's part of the appeal. It's a hard game. If you hear anyone say different they either don't know what they're talking about and have never played the game. Or they've sank 70+ hours into it that hard for them is normal. The dungeons, unless doing some stuff beforehand are never quite the same each playthrough. There's a light story as you come across journals throughout your journey in the castle.

Gameplay: (@__@) - It fits well into the rogue-lite category. Platforming qualities are reminiscent of Ghost and Ghouls, early Castlevania variety but also features a number of side challenges to keep a player entertained. There is only one difficulty level and that's hard but the challenge makes up for lack of story. In most cases your goal will be don't die. Or die, depending on what character you end up with. The giant SHIELD sword spell did NOT defend against projectiles. I got mad finding about that the hard way.

Graphics: (^__^) - Splendid. Sometimes you wonder how a disability would manifest itself visually and the developers did a wonderful job in representing almost all the game's traits.

Controls: (>__<) - Playing with a gamepad is a must and even with a controller I found myself overreaching that all too important jump or missing the final blow but controls are straightforward and easy to use. Can't map your own though.

Sound: The music is decent. Better than the average chiptune-y stuff most "retro" titles have but this isn't a retro game so the music should be good in the first place.

Overall: If you buy this game it will not disappoint you. Unless you were looking for something more comical than the serious hardcore game that is Rogue Legacy. Don't curse your bloodline for not taking my advice.

Find Rogue Legacy on Steam, Direct DRM Free

Cognition: The Oracle - Shedding a Light on the Mystery

I am a fan of Cognition. After playing the second episode there were a lot more questions than answers as Erica Reed's main case was left in limbo. In the third episode though things start to slowly come together, piece by piece, pulling together parts from the previous episodes and intertwining them into a believable story.

This case picks up the same place we were left off at the end of Episode 2 and brings Erica to The Enthon Towers. In fact, pretty much the entire case takes place here. Once you enter you'll never leave. That is the makings of any ominous thriller. But that's alright because even though the entire story takes place here it not the only time it takes place. In this episode we finally get something that was sorely lacking in the first two episodes, character development.

When this series began I was a bit disappointed that Erica was pretty much the only character with any substance. This is remedied by the developers introducing a new power but also an enigmatic cast of characters. Making a more prominent return is Cordelia, a mysterious woman Erica befriended in the first episode, as well as Agent McCoy and McAdams but also some new faces are introduced through past events. This story isn't only about Erica anymore as Cordelia plays a prominent role as well.

Like the previous episodes you have a number of puzzles to figure out that are challenging enough to be very rewarding when you uncover them. Rose replaces Erica's dad as the hint system but for a psychic she was hardly any help and gave incredibly vague responses like "Keep going and you'll figure it out." Kudos though to the developers for making puzzles that made sense.

While we finally find out who the Cain killer is in this episode there were a few things that didn't make sense. Hopefully things that will be rectified in the last episode. But for someone who could see the past and partially the future, the way things came to a conclusion you have to wonder that if Erica was such a good cop she should have seen some things coming. If the player realizes who's the killer three steps ahead of the main character and the character sorta just does the actions the same anyway it's a bit defeating the whole purpose of being able to see the future when you can't change it.

Cognition maintains the high quality of adventure we've grown to love and definitely keeps the suspense up when they need it most.

Story: (^__^) - Like all great mysteries this one builds up a lot of suspense and never lets you down. Great until the end. Not to mention the characters that are introduced fit even this late into the game.

Graphics: (>__<) - Overall the same as the first two games but for some reason this episode had some strange lighting in certain areas that were just too bright, and no it wasn't my computer. Also some floating elements that clearly were out of place.

Gameplay: (@__@) - Smart puzzles that actually fit with the story. Some were a bit of a challenge and I swear just refused to work properly until I tried the same thing 4 times. Frustrating as hell, especially with a hint system that didn't give hints. However, that made it all the more rewarding.

Overall: ^__^ - Solid adventure game delivers. And even though you're left with a few questions at least this episode tidies up a couple of answers by the end.

You can find Cognition: An Erica Reed Thriller on Desura, Phoenix Online Studios website and vote for it on Steam Greenlight.

Ratings System

I've decided to start using a ratings system. Most people seem to put a lot of stock in arbitrary numbers but since I think numbers are a silly way to quantify an experience I'll make up an equally arbitrary rating system of my own. I call it the Smilie System. After every review I'll list my thoughts on a couple of gaming elements such as music, graphics, gameplay and story. Not all will be mentioned every time. But it'll give you general idea of my thoughts, if words weren't enough.

(^__^) - Excellent
^__^ - Good
(>__<) - What the hell happened
(@__@) - Mind Melting
(T__T) - What a Waste of Time
(-__-) - What a Waste of Money

Spy Leaks

I admit I didn't know I owned Spyleaks. I got it as a bonus to the game Doom & Destiny, I bought during one of the promotions on Indie Game Stand. And I proceed to forget all about it until I noticed it in a promotion on Amazon's new Indie Games section. Despite it's rough appearance Spy Leaks is a nice little top down puzzle action game. Reminds me of MacGuffins' Curse only with lower graphics and not as good a story.


 Mainly you'll play the character Spy as he goes on missions infiltrating top secret bases to uncover a terrorist plot. You'll get vague glimpses of the plot in between missions as it slowly unfolds but it's largely forgettable. This mostly involves stealthy evasion of robots and guards, all of which will kill you on sight and force you to start over again and again. The funny thing about gameplay is that guards don't have peripheral vision. So you can effectively be smack in the middle of a bunch of guards but as long as you aren't in their direct line of sight they won't even notice you, but of course you can push crates and the like to help keep you hidden.  The puzzles start out fairly simple and gradually increases in difficulty. This is one of those games where you learn by dying, a lot.

 Jacques is the other piece of this dynamic duo. He's the brains of the operation and generally you'll see his face on every level in the UI as you go through Spy's mission. Sometimes he'll direct Spy to a new obstacle in a level or something you can use to get past guards. He also briefs you on the primary mission objective. When you've reached the end of a set of missions usually you'll get to hack a computer. This involves Spy's partner and boss Jacques and you get to play a level in which you do a Space Invader type scrolling shooter. These are fun and generally help to break up the monotony between missions.

The real challenge comes after the hack, when Spy has to break out of whatever stronghold he's in and he only has 3 mins to do it. You're now faced with an extra long puzzle and not a lot of time to figure out how to get through it. Way to up the pressure. Usually most of the puzzles will take nearly the entire 3 mins and you'll curse and want to toss your controller if you get near the exit only to not have seen the Tesla coil that you forgot to block and it kills you on sight.

Overall I enjoyed playing Spy Leaks. The story might be lacking but the gameplay is solid and addictive. Music is a upbeat chiptune album that doesn't get stale as you play. There's enough variation for it to not get stale and challenging enough without being disgustingly punishing. Well worth the time and bang for my buck. A good game by Heart Bit Interactive and Benjamin Ficus.

Spy Leaks con be found on: Desura, Amazon, Steam Greenlight

Dust: An Elysian Tail

Dust looks beautiful. If you use the first visuals of this game to determine it's maturity you'd be mistaken. With it's lush, scenic woodland environment, including cute little animals in the background the first idea that comes to mind was Bambi. But Bambi had it's own adult moments and that shouldn't detract from this solid platforming experience. Dust is a someone who wakes up in the middle of a field with a talking sword and seems to have forgotten who he is. With a trusty flying half fox half bat furry sidekick he embarks on a journey to recover his memories.

For only three main characters the voice acting is done extremely well. Dust and Ahrah, the talking sword are usually very serious but it's complimented by Fidget's playful, comic relief personality, who sometimes at points is very aware that this is a video game when she tells Dust to "mash the buttons". The witty dialogue definitely adds a bit to the overall feel of the characters. While some of the voice acting is strange and a bit over the top with different accents in some characters the voice and personality fit perfectly. Things never get to slapstick or feel like something out of the ordinary... whatever is ordinary for talking animals in a made up fictitious setting anyways.

As for the gameplay, you start off with 3 main attacks, your regular melee, a limited whirlwind attack, and energy projectiles that Fidget uses that increase with power when combined with the special attack. At the start of the game you won't have much use for the projectile attack though as a mixture of button mashing and special attacks are usually efficient on their own in dispatching enemies. Further along in the game you'll face enemies that are hard to hit without Fidget's help so don't neglect leveling up her ability. You also discover more abilities allowing you to travel further in your journey like any other Metroidvania type game.

While I consider this largely an action platformer there are RPG elements as well. You can change and craft equipment as you gain materials. Power up attributes after leveling up. There is also no shortage of side quests to keep you occupied between progressing the story. You have your standard fetching quests you'll gain from the town's many eclectic inhabitants but it does mix it up on occasion and give you tasks that have to be completed urgently. There is also a secondary side quest where you have to discover the locations of "friends" who happen be making cameo appearances and provide Dust an HP boost. It would have been cool if they could fight alongside you but a lot of these characters aren't in plain sight and a challenge to find. Though the game does give hints to their whereabouts in cryptic notes you find along your journey.

I played this game on normal and found it fairly easy. But for those who love a challenge there are two harder difficulties. This game is also optimized for gamepad. Although the controls though can't be configured it makes great use of the vibration feature in my wireless Logitech F710 with massive jolts when you get hit or level up for that matter. With it's excellent graphics, solid story and gameplay, with an entertaining and lively cast of characters Dust: An Elysian Tail is a great time killer worthy of the dozen or so hours you'll put into it.

Find Dust: An Elysiain Tail on Steam

Little Inferno is a Firecracker of a Game

I had my reservations but I was curious. Good thing this is one of the games featured in Humble Bundle 8 (going on for another 5 days). The premise of the games is simple. You are in front of a fireplace, you buy various toys from a catalog and light them on fire. When you light things on fire you get more money, rinse and repeat. Really, that is all you do. Can't get any more simple than that. With an objective as concise as that you have to wonder how the developers keep the appeal for this game up. That comes from the wide variety of objects you light up. Everything from food, to a pooping cat, even electronics and bugs. There's no shortage of things you can light on fire. To add an extra layer to the gameplay you can burn things together to create combos that you unlock.

To say the least lighting some of these things on fire gives you hilarious animation sequences. There's no shortage of things to burn and in order to unlock the next shopping catalog you will have to buy everything in the previous one and have unlocked a number of combinations. While you're burning your worldly possessions you will sometimes receive mail from a strange woman named Sugar Plumps, the weather man and even from the CEO of Tomorrow Corporation, Miss Nancy herself.






Also the developers, even though made an excellent game about fire they do their due diligence in constantly reminding you that playing with fire is dangerous. However, that is not the only serious note this game gives. If you happen to continue on to the end, and yes, this game does in fact have an ending. You're treated to a very brilliantly crafted ending that isn't in line with all the silliness that the Little Inferno fireplace brings, bring about deep thought and makes the game that much more compelling.


Little Inferno is a short (only about 3 hours), casual gem. It will make you laugh, think and maybe cry, but mostly laugh. I highly recommend you try it.

Available for PC, Mac, Linux and iOS
Buy it:  Steam, Amazon (DRM Free, Steam Version), iOS, WiiU

Anomaly 2 - Tower Offense has Never Looked So Awesome

 The sequel to Anomaly Warzone Earth came out recently and I decided to grab it up since I was a fan of the first game. Let me start by saying this is what sequels should be like. Bigger, badder, and a lot of cool new stuff to use. First a little bit about the series. Anomaly is a tower offense / defense hybrid. You aren't defending from invaders. Those suckers are already here and they've laid waste to the planet. Your mission is to blast through them with your convoy and get the planet back.

You play this game by essentially switching between two phases. First you plan out your path through a virtual HUD display where you essentially pause the game and have an overall view of where the enemy forces are, checkpoints and your ending destination. This is where a lot of the tactical strategizing takes place. At anytime you can also reorganize and purchase units from the squad menu to the left. The second phase is the real time strategy part. Your troops will traverse the planned path you laid out and attack any enemies they come in contact with.

While the first game had a pretty neutral atmosphere, set in both Baghdad and Tokyo, which looked pretty much the same, Anomaly 2 has upped their game with diverse environments set in iconic locations. You start out in a cold ruins of New York City seeing the remains of the Statue of Liberty on the ground then make your way to the lush tropical climates of Rio. All of which have been transformed into a beautiful disaster by the machines.

In addition to going from point A to B the missions have a bit more variety as some missions you'll have to defend a fort or travel separate from your squad while avoiding traps. Also new to this installment is the unit morph ability. Just about all of your units will have a second transformation mode you can switch to on the fly. Mastering when to make changes can very well make battles a lot more manageable.

Another thing this game has added is an new competitive multiplayer option. You can go against another online player as either the squad or machines. The goal of which is to collect the most points by destroying the other team's generators or by having a difference of 500 points. This adds a new layer of gameplay and gives you a reason to keep playing past the single player game.

I did try a couple of matches and got spectacularly slaughtered by my opponent as both the squad and the machines. If you're playing the squad you more or less have the same attributes available as the single player game, with the exception that you have to purchase new technologies in which to give you an edge against the opposition. But since everything is in real time you have the added pressure about making snap adjustments as you don't stop moving and if you delay you can very well give your enemy time to gather more points getting closer to winning. Using the machines also have a bit of learning curve as they work differently than the squad controls. Controls that aren't as well explained as the single player experience. But learning via dying is good too, can't be spoon fed all the tactics, where's the fun in that.  Overall I thought this is a great game with enough variety to keep things fresh.

Micron - A Puzzling Rhythm to Beat

I started playing Micron from Indie Royal's Lunar Bundle. For those who haven't heard of it, Micron is a puzzle strategy game that has the simple objective broken up into individual levels of guiding moving balls to the target of the stage using various bumps to change the direction of the balls. The early levels are pretty straightforward and simple, increasing in difficulty as you progress.

What's also a nice aspect about this game is that each ball makes a sound every time it hits an object. So you create a rhythm while trying to complete a level. This makes the game all that more interesting as your actions directly influence the game melody. The level begins with a beat and builds from there with every bounce the balls make. And as you progress through the game the level zones change colors as they increase in difficulty.

Overall this is a very mellow casual game that is easy to learn but difficult to master. One of the things I'm surprised this doesn't include is a level editor. Of course at the time of this review I have not completed this game so it could very well be something that is unlocked at end game. While I do enjoy fitting in a game or two on the PC I can't help but think this is better as an Android app. So if you enjoy casual puzzle strategy games I encourage you to check this one out. It's available for PC/Mac, and mobile.

Website

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Ys: Origin - Hack and Slash Dungeon Done Right

I became a fan of the Ys series late in life.  I wouldn't say the Japanese RPG are becoming a dying breed out here in the west but gaming has evolved from just waiting for games to get a translated version from SquareEnix.  There's many others that are sold straight from the Playstation Store in their original Japanese form. Ys is one of those underground cult series that not many people would hear about but are nonetheless widely popular and loved among the fans.

Ys: Origin, the most recent in the series takes place before the events in Ys 1 and gives us a new cast of playable characters different than the main series hero, Adol the Red. On our journey into Ys we get to take control of three different characters as they travel through The Tower in search for the goddesses of Ys and the Black Pearl. Without notifying their protectors the goddesses set off on a quest to Tower with the Pearl and it's your job to find them.

Congratulations! At the beginning you can choose between mid-range ax fighterYunica Tovah or long range magician Hugo Fact. Each unfolds a slightly different story as you climb up The Tower. Yunica is your average impulsive gogetter, who is entirely too perky, wears her heart on her sleeve, and totally devoted to the cause. She's the type who rushes head first into any situation without much thought.

The complete opposite is Hugo Fact. In short Hugo's an cocky prick who believes only in his own power, never asks for any help and just thinks the mass group of heroes are a mindless pile of idiots. Of course you'll find out he's just an insecure brat who is trying to get out of his older brother's shadow. He opens up more to the villain Epona more than any of the other heroes he came to the surface with.

Now if you were wondering, Yes you play this entire game in The Tower. You will not leave The Tower for the entirety of the game. Now if you remembered the tower/school in Persona 3 all that constant fighting got a little bit monotonous and tedious because all the floors pretty much looked the same.  Very little changed until you got near the top no need to worry about that here. There's a lot more variety in the dungeon sections that you won't get bored looking at the same type for too long.

Aside from your simple hack and slash RPG Origin features some really punishing bosses at the end of each section. You'll die at least once on each while you figure out the boss' attack pattern. You won't beat this game going out guns blazing.  And as the story unfolds you'll find yourself really committed to uncovering the reasons of your visit. Who is pulling the strings and answers to all of life's little questions. There's a full cast of NPCs to help you along your journey, either by giving sage advice on what to do next or strengthening your weapon. The other heroes and villains are a decent complement especially as you progress in the game.

In addition the game is easy to pick up and play for an hour or two put it down and pick up where you left off, without getting lost on where you have to go next... which is usually up. After you finish the game with one of our lovely heroes you get the option of playing as one of the villains as you uncover the story from his point of view. There's also your standard Boss Rush and Arena challenges that get unlocked as you complete the game with other people and at higher difficulties. Ys: Origin is a great game and won't disappoint any gamer who's looking for a good hack and slash dungeon crawler.