Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened is an odd hybrid of point-and click and first person engines which powers this adventure, as Holmes is called upon to investigate the seeming decampment of an aborigine manservant. His initial findings draw him and his long suffering whipping gentleman Dr Watson into a web of intrigue that appears to involve... well, the Elder Gods themselves.
From the notionally foggy but angular streets of London to a Swiss Asylum with a surprise inmate to the waterfronts of New Orleans the darkness is closing in. Can Holmes and Watson put a stop to the dark machinations of the old ones, or are they destined to join the ranks of Lovecraft's failed and broken heroes? Only your trusty lens, pocketknife and razor-sharp wits can keep you one step ahead of tentacled doom!
The game is a simple -perhaps too much so in places-but engaging PaC with puzzles that should challenge without frustrating (they reward lateral thinking rather than absurd logic) while the A.C. Doyle meets H.P. Lovecraft setting is certainly intriguing, if only as an exercise in trying to spot inconsistencies between this and the written subject matter.
It's clear a lot of love has gone into this title. The clue finding asides are always brief and satisfying, leaving you with a sense that you really are upon the trail of some Victorian do-badder and each footprint, scrap of cloth and bloodstain is bringing you closer to the denouement and Holmes' customary dose of boredom slaying marching powder.
As I mentioned briefly before, if this game has one weakness aside from the painfully dated visuals (which, lets be honest, count for very little if the game itself is good) it is that the puzzles are too easy. Holmes (or indeed Watson as you play as both at various stages) will always give you verbal queues as to what needs doing where, although they aren't actually giving you the solution on a plate and a little light head scratching is still on the cards.
All in all a decent game and one I strongly recommend to anyone who was able to enjoy Dark Corners of the Earth despite it's age.
Showing posts with label Gaming (PC). Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gaming (PC). Show all posts
Saturday, 19 November 2011
Tuesday, 1 November 2011
Sadly not quite free of taint.
A little while ago I took a slap at the demo for WH40K: Space Marine on PC. It's fair to say I predicted another weak product licence akin to Fire Warrior with little to recommend it over any other game of it's type.
Oddly enough, it turned out that I was right and wrong all at once. Right in the sense that the demo was poorly put together and that it showed off perhaps the weakest of Space Marine's features, wrong in that I fully expected all of these weaknesses to be present in the finished game.
The plot of the game is your standard Relic fare- the Ultramarines (bio-engineered troops of the Emperor of mankind) have turned up to evict some dirty, green, mockney aliens from an important forge world that just happens to also make Titans. The Space Marines don't like the idea of these greasy xeno yobs getting hold of any of these walking death contraptions, so they drop by to kick the invaders' collective teeth in.
Of course it's never that simple for the boys in blue as they push back the Orks and seemingly achieve their objective some gentlemen from the Eye of Terror show up fashionably late and throw a daemonic spanner in the works. Cue a massive battle for the soul of a world with your small squad of marines caught in the middle; will you emerge victorious or will you be just another victim of the ruinous powers?
In terms of gameplay Space Marine has borrowed much from Gears of War, the third person perspective, the aiming, the regenerating shield, the combat system; in fact the only thing it hasn't taken as inspiration is the cover system. It doesn't exist.
I mentioned this in my overview of the demo and thought it might become a real issue in large battles, but I'm happy to say I was a bit premature there. You'll still miss the ability to take cover like a frostbite victim does their toes, but you'll also come to realise that the game compensates for this lack in other ways.
For instance leaping out of danger then capitalising on the enemy's missed swing is a lot more exciting and in keeping with the Space Marine do-or-die idiom (I'm aware of the tabletop game and the PC RTS game's reliance on cover yes, but roll with it a bit). I do still wish the option to block had been included though as here melee combat without blocking feels a little like two children sloshing at each other with nerf bats until one falls over crying.
Other problems have made it over into the finished article as well. The QTE finisher system, while fun for the first twenty or so kills soon becomes a boring hindrance, being the only way you can restore your core health bar which does not share the regenerative abilities of your power armour. The fact that you can't move while executing remains a consideration and will get you killed unless you unleash it at just the right moment. Sadly the right moment is usually when you don't need the health boost.
Although some have argued that it adds a thin layer of tactical thought to the otherwise hack and slash nature of the game I have to stand by my initial thoughts here. The system needed to be thought through a bit better, perhaps having killing blows generate 360 degree knock-back?
Cover isn't the only apparent inspiration Space Marine has taken from Gears. When your squad voxes in to report or give updates you'll slow to a gentle strolling pace a la Marcus Phoenix; even the "hands free" pose is the same. It was almost enough to make me think I'd mistakenly paid money for a fan-made total conversion.
The action is brutal, albeit a bit disjointed; there are some points in the game where you'll be wondering where the millions strong green skin horde have managed to hide themselves; other times you'll be fighting through seas of the damn things. It blends melee and ranged combat well, making chopping up a small horde of enemies (using the limited but effective set of combos) while occasionally taking time out to pot-shot snipers who hang back a joy to experience.
Regarding the hardware you get to play with, it's pretty much a full house. You'll get your hands on all the signature kit like Melta Guns, Plasma Cannon, chain swords and even a skull-mashing daemon hammer. These toys are what made the game for me, as each different melee/ranged weapon combo alters the flow of battle by expanding or restricting your tactical options. It still boils down to simple two-button combos, but the effects are drastically different. For example, choosing to take along the two-handed daemon hammer will rob you of almost all your ranged power, restricting to the puny bolt pistol.
Visually the game is rugged and pleasing, faithfully reproducing the grim industrial mega-structures, post-dystopian habitations and scorched battlefields of the far future. Fans of the Dawn of War RTS series will recognise the art style used also, as familiar structures and units get a nice 3-D makeover. The player characters feel authentically chunky and macho as you stomp along dealing out the Emperor's justice from the muzzle of your chosen murder tool as befits controlling a seven foot tall ubermensch bred for war.
Enough with the gripes I think. Behind all of the niggly problems Space Marine is still a lot of fun to play. It successfully captures the atmosphere of the WH:40K universe as well as we have come to expect from Relic who really do have a lot of love for the licence. Space Marine loses ground for seeming to ape so very much of the Gears of War franchise, for having spotty combat and for being too damn empty in places, but manages to rally a bit with it's solid if predictable gameplay and decent (in form if not in implementation) multi player modes to keep you in the fight.
Oddly enough, it turned out that I was right and wrong all at once. Right in the sense that the demo was poorly put together and that it showed off perhaps the weakest of Space Marine's features, wrong in that I fully expected all of these weaknesses to be present in the finished game.
The plot of the game is your standard Relic fare- the Ultramarines (bio-engineered troops of the Emperor of mankind) have turned up to evict some dirty, green, mockney aliens from an important forge world that just happens to also make Titans. The Space Marines don't like the idea of these greasy xeno yobs getting hold of any of these walking death contraptions, so they drop by to kick the invaders' collective teeth in.
Of course it's never that simple for the boys in blue as they push back the Orks and seemingly achieve their objective some gentlemen from the Eye of Terror show up fashionably late and throw a daemonic spanner in the works. Cue a massive battle for the soul of a world with your small squad of marines caught in the middle; will you emerge victorious or will you be just another victim of the ruinous powers?
In terms of gameplay Space Marine has borrowed much from Gears of War, the third person perspective, the aiming, the regenerating shield, the combat system; in fact the only thing it hasn't taken as inspiration is the cover system. It doesn't exist.
I mentioned this in my overview of the demo and thought it might become a real issue in large battles, but I'm happy to say I was a bit premature there. You'll still miss the ability to take cover like a frostbite victim does their toes, but you'll also come to realise that the game compensates for this lack in other ways.
For instance leaping out of danger then capitalising on the enemy's missed swing is a lot more exciting and in keeping with the Space Marine do-or-die idiom (I'm aware of the tabletop game and the PC RTS game's reliance on cover yes, but roll with it a bit). I do still wish the option to block had been included though as here melee combat without blocking feels a little like two children sloshing at each other with nerf bats until one falls over crying.
Other problems have made it over into the finished article as well. The QTE finisher system, while fun for the first twenty or so kills soon becomes a boring hindrance, being the only way you can restore your core health bar which does not share the regenerative abilities of your power armour. The fact that you can't move while executing remains a consideration and will get you killed unless you unleash it at just the right moment. Sadly the right moment is usually when you don't need the health boost.
Although some have argued that it adds a thin layer of tactical thought to the otherwise hack and slash nature of the game I have to stand by my initial thoughts here. The system needed to be thought through a bit better, perhaps having killing blows generate 360 degree knock-back?
Cover isn't the only apparent inspiration Space Marine has taken from Gears. When your squad voxes in to report or give updates you'll slow to a gentle strolling pace a la Marcus Phoenix; even the "hands free" pose is the same. It was almost enough to make me think I'd mistakenly paid money for a fan-made total conversion.
The action is brutal, albeit a bit disjointed; there are some points in the game where you'll be wondering where the millions strong green skin horde have managed to hide themselves; other times you'll be fighting through seas of the damn things. It blends melee and ranged combat well, making chopping up a small horde of enemies (using the limited but effective set of combos) while occasionally taking time out to pot-shot snipers who hang back a joy to experience.
Regarding the hardware you get to play with, it's pretty much a full house. You'll get your hands on all the signature kit like Melta Guns, Plasma Cannon, chain swords and even a skull-mashing daemon hammer. These toys are what made the game for me, as each different melee/ranged weapon combo alters the flow of battle by expanding or restricting your tactical options. It still boils down to simple two-button combos, but the effects are drastically different. For example, choosing to take along the two-handed daemon hammer will rob you of almost all your ranged power, restricting to the puny bolt pistol.
Visually the game is rugged and pleasing, faithfully reproducing the grim industrial mega-structures, post-dystopian habitations and scorched battlefields of the far future. Fans of the Dawn of War RTS series will recognise the art style used also, as familiar structures and units get a nice 3-D makeover. The player characters feel authentically chunky and macho as you stomp along dealing out the Emperor's justice from the muzzle of your chosen murder tool as befits controlling a seven foot tall ubermensch bred for war.
Enough with the gripes I think. Behind all of the niggly problems Space Marine is still a lot of fun to play. It successfully captures the atmosphere of the WH:40K universe as well as we have come to expect from Relic who really do have a lot of love for the licence. Space Marine loses ground for seeming to ape so very much of the Gears of War franchise, for having spotty combat and for being too damn empty in places, but manages to rally a bit with it's solid if predictable gameplay and decent (in form if not in implementation) multi player modes to keep you in the fight.
Friday, 16 September 2011
Not for the Emperor.
I've had a play through of the demo for Space Marine today and I can't say I'm inspired to part with actual money for it. At least at full price.
It could be that the demo was poorly structured, showing some fairly pedestrian levels that failed to impress; it could be that the game play appears to be a competent but commonplace Gears of War clone without the tactical aspects (there's no way to take cover) or it could be that the game is heavy on melee combat and yet gives you no way to block enemy strikes other than rolling out of the way. Any of those things are a potential turn off to me.
I understand that Relic are not really the go-to guys for action adventure games -Fire Warrior taught me that- but I had hoped that lessons had been learned since their last riff on the genre. It's a pity because their fondness and respect for the WH40K licenced material is as obvious as in their RTS titles, but the player experience fails to match it.
That said, there is fun to be had here, mostly in the form of the CQC execution moves (your main method of healing damage; a nice nod to the Space Marine idiom of ignoring wounds in order to kill some more xenos while the Larriman's organ deals with the injury, but it reveals another of the game's weaknesses- you cannot move while executing and enemies can still harm you!) and the ability to use an assault squad jump pack. These moments are hilarious as you take to the air and come stomping down on the poor hapless orcs with both boots, pasting them across the floor.
Of course, I can't really critique the product as a whole without having played it to the bitter end (a maxim too many net dwelling fans-with-keyboards choose to ignore), so I'll most likely be scouring the bargain bins for it soon.
It could be that the demo was poorly structured, showing some fairly pedestrian levels that failed to impress; it could be that the game play appears to be a competent but commonplace Gears of War clone without the tactical aspects (there's no way to take cover) or it could be that the game is heavy on melee combat and yet gives you no way to block enemy strikes other than rolling out of the way. Any of those things are a potential turn off to me.
I understand that Relic are not really the go-to guys for action adventure games -Fire Warrior taught me that- but I had hoped that lessons had been learned since their last riff on the genre. It's a pity because their fondness and respect for the WH40K licenced material is as obvious as in their RTS titles, but the player experience fails to match it.
That said, there is fun to be had here, mostly in the form of the CQC execution moves (your main method of healing damage; a nice nod to the Space Marine idiom of ignoring wounds in order to kill some more xenos while the Larriman's organ deals with the injury, but it reveals another of the game's weaknesses- you cannot move while executing and enemies can still harm you!) and the ability to use an assault squad jump pack. These moments are hilarious as you take to the air and come stomping down on the poor hapless orcs with both boots, pasting them across the floor.
Of course, I can't really critique the product as a whole without having played it to the bitter end (a maxim too many net dwelling fans-with-keyboards choose to ignore), so I'll most likely be scouring the bargain bins for it soon.
Friday, 9 September 2011
Desert Island Deaths.
Finally it's arrived- Dead Island is here, waiting on my HDD courtesy of online love/hate delivery system Steam. I've been waiting for this for a good long time, dodging the hype and keeping my brain pristine clean for my own close encounter with the sun-drenched getaway hordes.
Ok, that's a lie- I watched the heartbreaking trailer for the game on Steam when it surfaced and was gripped by the grim and unrelenting tone it took. No punches pulled here.
Right from the off the game will have you in familiar territory, with influences from a whole slew of popular games in evidence. We have the scavenging ethic from STALKER, the general setting and player -created weapons from Dead Rising, a few enemies that look a bit Left 4 Dead around the chops and most obvious of all a shedload of mechanics from Borderlands. All of this makes Dead Island sound like an exercise in derivative toss. Dig deeper into the DI chest cavity and sniff the innards however and you'll see how mistaken that assumption is.
You start the game in typical zombie survival form- utterly screwed. One of four separate survivors with their own troubled past and their own reasons for being on Banoi Island, you party hard, get good and drunk and wander off to bed. When you wake up the hotel you are staying in on this holiday is overrun by undead killers and you realise you have got to get out-now. During your frenzied escape you realise you have an advantage over the other "lucky" survivors in that you are immune to whatever is causing people to lose their minds and start eating each other.
From there you are largely free to wander the island, gathering cash, weapons and assorted junk items like wristwatches and mobile phones to name but two, while beating off the infected with whatever weaponry comes to hand. You can sell these items to the various shady types and holdout shopkeepers you'll meet, but that would be a real waste; this junk comes into its own when you use it to soup up your run-of-the-mill weapons into zombie-reaping objects of carnage. Electric katanas, poisoned shivs and incendiary shotguns are just some of what is available for the intrepid survivor who can find the plans to construct them.
A word on the itemisation- apart from borrowing Borderlands' loot colour coding and prefix system, the game has you rely heavily on melee weapons in the first three quarters of the game and the firearms you do run across don't have enough ammunition to reduce DI to another tedious "shoot the horde from miles away" experience. Most fights carry a element of real risk, because you will have to close with the infected to dispose of them, saving your ammo for more serious encounters. This was a stroke of sub genius on the part of Deep Silver, as it keeps the game tense and involved. More close quarter's fun is to be had with the damage modelling on the zombies themselves. You can break limbs so they flap uselessly, sever body parts, gouge streamers of flesh from bodies with a glancing blow; all good unclean fun. All of this has a practical use beyond being satisfyingly unpleasant; enemies with broken legs cannot run and those with broken arms are left only able to bite at you pathetically. As for those you set on fire...
One way that Dead Island wins points is for it's atmosphere, including references, homages and nods to many zombie films and games. Unlike L4D where the action was largely relentless and a bit arcadey, DI goes for the creeping dread and social decay that an extinction-level event like this would cause. It also deals in passing with mature themes such as PTSD and loss of innocence, murder and rape, albeit through a fairly Hollywood-tinted lens.
Levelling is handled in a familiar (*Cough* Borderlands*Cough*) way, with XP being awarded for completing assignments and challenges. Once a level has been earned you can spend a skillpoint in one of three talent trees, unique to each player character. Again the focus on multiplayer is obvious, with complementary skills no solo player would ever choose to waste points on sometimes getting in the way of the useful stuff you want lower down the tree.
In essence a great survival horror experience, perhaps a little too easy once you reach a certain level, but you are never invulnerable and the game will punish you for being cocky. It has definite weak points in its plotting and the intent that it be played as a multiplayer game is often underlined to the point of being logic-breaking (NPCs will always refer to the player as if they are in a group, even when playing solo for instance). Some might dislike the absence of a third person view, I know I did, expecting one after exploring the environments in Risen had proven so interesting.
Be warned also, the game has a sewer level you'll need to visit more than once. In fact, it has something more horrifying than any zombie assault- a sewer level within a sewer level. That's right. A dull, low-visibility, dungeon crawl without the payoff. This is the weakest section of the game in my view and it really should have been replaced with some one kicking your chosen character in the face for twenty minutes while chuckling and playing with themselves.
So, Dead Island isn't without obvious tanlines and it's had it's greasy little paws in the creative till a little too often, but it's still a satisfying and exciting game with loads to recommend it to those of us whose idea of a holiday involves sun, sea, sawnoffs and simulated blood spatter.
Ok, that's a lie- I watched the heartbreaking trailer for the game on Steam when it surfaced and was gripped by the grim and unrelenting tone it took. No punches pulled here.
Right from the off the game will have you in familiar territory, with influences from a whole slew of popular games in evidence. We have the scavenging ethic from STALKER, the general setting and player -created weapons from Dead Rising, a few enemies that look a bit Left 4 Dead around the chops and most obvious of all a shedload of mechanics from Borderlands. All of this makes Dead Island sound like an exercise in derivative toss. Dig deeper into the DI chest cavity and sniff the innards however and you'll see how mistaken that assumption is.
You start the game in typical zombie survival form- utterly screwed. One of four separate survivors with their own troubled past and their own reasons for being on Banoi Island, you party hard, get good and drunk and wander off to bed. When you wake up the hotel you are staying in on this holiday is overrun by undead killers and you realise you have got to get out-now. During your frenzied escape you realise you have an advantage over the other "lucky" survivors in that you are immune to whatever is causing people to lose their minds and start eating each other.
From there you are largely free to wander the island, gathering cash, weapons and assorted junk items like wristwatches and mobile phones to name but two, while beating off the infected with whatever weaponry comes to hand. You can sell these items to the various shady types and holdout shopkeepers you'll meet, but that would be a real waste; this junk comes into its own when you use it to soup up your run-of-the-mill weapons into zombie-reaping objects of carnage. Electric katanas, poisoned shivs and incendiary shotguns are just some of what is available for the intrepid survivor who can find the plans to construct them.
A word on the itemisation- apart from borrowing Borderlands' loot colour coding and prefix system, the game has you rely heavily on melee weapons in the first three quarters of the game and the firearms you do run across don't have enough ammunition to reduce DI to another tedious "shoot the horde from miles away" experience. Most fights carry a element of real risk, because you will have to close with the infected to dispose of them, saving your ammo for more serious encounters. This was a stroke of sub genius on the part of Deep Silver, as it keeps the game tense and involved. More close quarter's fun is to be had with the damage modelling on the zombies themselves. You can break limbs so they flap uselessly, sever body parts, gouge streamers of flesh from bodies with a glancing blow; all good unclean fun. All of this has a practical use beyond being satisfyingly unpleasant; enemies with broken legs cannot run and those with broken arms are left only able to bite at you pathetically. As for those you set on fire...
One way that Dead Island wins points is for it's atmosphere, including references, homages and nods to many zombie films and games. Unlike L4D where the action was largely relentless and a bit arcadey, DI goes for the creeping dread and social decay that an extinction-level event like this would cause. It also deals in passing with mature themes such as PTSD and loss of innocence, murder and rape, albeit through a fairly Hollywood-tinted lens.
Levelling is handled in a familiar (*Cough* Borderlands*Cough*) way, with XP being awarded for completing assignments and challenges. Once a level has been earned you can spend a skillpoint in one of three talent trees, unique to each player character. Again the focus on multiplayer is obvious, with complementary skills no solo player would ever choose to waste points on sometimes getting in the way of the useful stuff you want lower down the tree.
In essence a great survival horror experience, perhaps a little too easy once you reach a certain level, but you are never invulnerable and the game will punish you for being cocky. It has definite weak points in its plotting and the intent that it be played as a multiplayer game is often underlined to the point of being logic-breaking (NPCs will always refer to the player as if they are in a group, even when playing solo for instance). Some might dislike the absence of a third person view, I know I did, expecting one after exploring the environments in Risen had proven so interesting.
Be warned also, the game has a sewer level you'll need to visit more than once. In fact, it has something more horrifying than any zombie assault- a sewer level within a sewer level. That's right. A dull, low-visibility, dungeon crawl without the payoff. This is the weakest section of the game in my view and it really should have been replaced with some one kicking your chosen character in the face for twenty minutes while chuckling and playing with themselves.
So, Dead Island isn't without obvious tanlines and it's had it's greasy little paws in the creative till a little too often, but it's still a satisfying and exciting game with loads to recommend it to those of us whose idea of a holiday involves sun, sea, sawnoffs and simulated blood spatter.
Wednesday, 23 March 2011
Tripping the Rifts- Why World of Warcraft and I are no longer speaking,
I ignored all the Internet kerfuffle about Rift. I ignored it in a hardcore fashion, like I do with most video game buildups. I do this mainly to inoculate myself against the armour-piercing hype that can beguile even the most ancient and hard hearted of gamers if its applied frequently enough. The first I really knew of it is when people I played World of Warcraft with started to disappear. One after another, stoic six year veterans would reduce their presence on Azeroth to nil with only one word of hurried explanation; Rift. I was skeptical in the extreme; these sudden migrations always end in crestfallen players slinking back to WOW which welcomes the prodigal subscribers back with open servers.
Then my real life friends started talking about it. Then they started urging me to get it. They began to close their WoW subscriptions. Finally one of them pressed a crisp twenty on me to allow me to get a copy. Holy Moses in a minefield thought I, this must be something seriously awesome. Then I remembered Age of Conan: Hyborean Adventures and the scepticism returned all at once.
Once installed, the account sign up website and update tool/launcher did little to quiet this anxiety- they frankly look cheap and poorly cobbled together (that said so did LOTRO's front end and that turned out to be fine).
Bish bash bosh I went through the character creation process, which admittedly had just the right level of detail; not so much that you get obstructed choosing details no one will ever see, just enough so you feel your avatar can be made to stand out and not be just another clone.
I entered the game proper, absorbed some of the history of the new world, Telara, and came across the first surprise- the class system isn't a class system as such, its a "soul tree" system. You have base classes such as Warrior, Cleric, Mage and Rogue, but these are just very general descriptions rather than set-in-stone class boundaries. For example, Clerics and Mages can be effective tanks with the right souls equipped and invested in; Warriors can be a hunter-style ranged class complete with pet and Rogues can be ranged DPS or tanks. It's all about how you set up the relevant souls. Despite this, each base class retains a real sense of its core idiom and they don't feel like a clumsy mish-mash trying to cover all bases.
Plot wise you undertake simple quests to steal these souls back from the servitude of Regulos, god of the plane of death (dun dun duuurrrrrr) and the Game's current Great Satan. Each soul represents a fallen hero from the history of Telara and reclaiming their essence via a death rift gifts you with their knowledge and experience. So, reclaiming a hunter type soul will unlock the hunter abilities for use and so on. In total (as far in as I've played) you can get seven different souls per base class and have three of these on your soul tree at any one time, giving you incredible diversity and scope for experimentation. Later character advancement sees you able to switch these souls about for a fee and also to set up several "roles" (read as specs) to be called on at will allowing you to potentially fill any need in a group or quest. Bloody marvellous.
I mentioned a death rift earlier- these titular anomalies are one of the game's central conceits. Boiled down, Telara is under constant siege from the elemental planes; Earth, Air, Water, Fire, Life and Death. Each plane wants to convert Telara to its own element, but unknowingly they serve the ends of Regulos who wants everything, everywhere to be dead. The dastard!
In game play terms, this means elemental themed tears in reality appear at certain locations in the game world. Left unattended these tears form full on Rifts and spill similarly themed monsters into the world. Further neglect sees these monsters begin to form war bands, charge towards NPC settlements, kill everyone and take them over. Telara has no UN; if this is allowed to happen it's up to the players to liberate these outposts before they can be used for questing, shopping or crafting again. Worse, new sub invasions can spawn from these occupied areas, spreading the incursion exponentially.
Stopping the rifts is simple in theory, tough in practise. The approved method is to roll up to a rift and kill everything you see. This will work well for minor, low level rifts, but the larger ones require more firepower to seal as the waves of defending enemies become harder all the time, often peaking with a tough miniboss.
Luckily this is where one of Rift's* best features kicks in; if a number of players turn up at a rift, they will be offered the chance to join a "public group". Accepting groups you with these other players, increasing your ability to co-ordinate to close the tougher Rifts faster (Closing the rifts quickly earns you the right to attempt bonus waves, increasing the loot payoff ).
Coupled with this is the participation meter- if you hang around rifts, not grouping, tagging mobs and letting others kill them you'll get squat but the lint in the beast's pockets. The guys in the group will top the participation meter and when the rift closes, they'll get the goodies rained down on them- literally. I love this on a personal level as I despise the culture of infantile selfishness that survives in most MMOs, often to the point where being a relentless asshat is considered normal behaviour. Someone will probably find a way to break this in the future to make Telara safe for preteen morons, but right now its working well. Incidentally, everyone gets a share of the proceeds anyway, only things like BOE items are rolled for in traditional N/G/P style. (Update: This system has since been altered and the P.M.removed, or at least made invisible to players)
As well as rifts and minor invasions from enemy faction NPCs (I'll talk about them at a later date) there are Critical invasions, led by a boss creature. These are zone wide events that see large groups of players (20 or so) banding together under the public group system to fend off a general assault from a particular elemental plane. These are perfectly telegraphed to the players giving them to option to join in or go about their business as they like. There's great fun to be had charging about the zones in a massive group smiting the Outsiders and throwing them back, then picking a fight with their leader and beating a deluge of loot out of him.
I'm only a little way into the game at this point and there's still a lot to see and do. What I've seen so far has pleased me so much that I cant see myself returning to the comfortingly familiar but frankly limited model of WoW- In fact I've canceled my sub. Here's a twenty. Try Rift. What's the worst that could happen?
*I know, I know, Rift has taken "inspiration" from the best features of previous MMOs like WAR and WoW and even LOTRO, but those were small pluses in games crammed with meh.
Then my real life friends started talking about it. Then they started urging me to get it. They began to close their WoW subscriptions. Finally one of them pressed a crisp twenty on me to allow me to get a copy. Holy Moses in a minefield thought I, this must be something seriously awesome. Then I remembered Age of Conan: Hyborean Adventures and the scepticism returned all at once.
Once installed, the account sign up website and update tool/launcher did little to quiet this anxiety- they frankly look cheap and poorly cobbled together (that said so did LOTRO's front end and that turned out to be fine).
Bish bash bosh I went through the character creation process, which admittedly had just the right level of detail; not so much that you get obstructed choosing details no one will ever see, just enough so you feel your avatar can be made to stand out and not be just another clone.
I entered the game proper, absorbed some of the history of the new world, Telara, and came across the first surprise- the class system isn't a class system as such, its a "soul tree" system. You have base classes such as Warrior, Cleric, Mage and Rogue, but these are just very general descriptions rather than set-in-stone class boundaries. For example, Clerics and Mages can be effective tanks with the right souls equipped and invested in; Warriors can be a hunter-style ranged class complete with pet and Rogues can be ranged DPS or tanks. It's all about how you set up the relevant souls. Despite this, each base class retains a real sense of its core idiom and they don't feel like a clumsy mish-mash trying to cover all bases.
Plot wise you undertake simple quests to steal these souls back from the servitude of Regulos, god of the plane of death (dun dun duuurrrrrr) and the Game's current Great Satan. Each soul represents a fallen hero from the history of Telara and reclaiming their essence via a death rift gifts you with their knowledge and experience. So, reclaiming a hunter type soul will unlock the hunter abilities for use and so on. In total (as far in as I've played) you can get seven different souls per base class and have three of these on your soul tree at any one time, giving you incredible diversity and scope for experimentation. Later character advancement sees you able to switch these souls about for a fee and also to set up several "roles" (read as specs) to be called on at will allowing you to potentially fill any need in a group or quest. Bloody marvellous.
I mentioned a death rift earlier- these titular anomalies are one of the game's central conceits. Boiled down, Telara is under constant siege from the elemental planes; Earth, Air, Water, Fire, Life and Death. Each plane wants to convert Telara to its own element, but unknowingly they serve the ends of Regulos who wants everything, everywhere to be dead. The dastard!
In game play terms, this means elemental themed tears in reality appear at certain locations in the game world. Left unattended these tears form full on Rifts and spill similarly themed monsters into the world. Further neglect sees these monsters begin to form war bands, charge towards NPC settlements, kill everyone and take them over. Telara has no UN; if this is allowed to happen it's up to the players to liberate these outposts before they can be used for questing, shopping or crafting again. Worse, new sub invasions can spawn from these occupied areas, spreading the incursion exponentially.
Stopping the rifts is simple in theory, tough in practise. The approved method is to roll up to a rift and kill everything you see. This will work well for minor, low level rifts, but the larger ones require more firepower to seal as the waves of defending enemies become harder all the time, often peaking with a tough miniboss.
Luckily this is where one of Rift's* best features kicks in; if a number of players turn up at a rift, they will be offered the chance to join a "public group". Accepting groups you with these other players, increasing your ability to co-ordinate to close the tougher Rifts faster (Closing the rifts quickly earns you the right to attempt bonus waves, increasing the loot payoff ).
Coupled with this is the participation meter- if you hang around rifts, not grouping, tagging mobs and letting others kill them you'll get squat but the lint in the beast's pockets. The guys in the group will top the participation meter and when the rift closes, they'll get the goodies rained down on them- literally. I love this on a personal level as I despise the culture of infantile selfishness that survives in most MMOs, often to the point where being a relentless asshat is considered normal behaviour. Someone will probably find a way to break this in the future to make Telara safe for preteen morons, but right now its working well. Incidentally, everyone gets a share of the proceeds anyway, only things like BOE items are rolled for in traditional N/G/P style. (Update: This system has since been altered and the P.M.removed, or at least made invisible to players)
As well as rifts and minor invasions from enemy faction NPCs (I'll talk about them at a later date) there are Critical invasions, led by a boss creature. These are zone wide events that see large groups of players (20 or so) banding together under the public group system to fend off a general assault from a particular elemental plane. These are perfectly telegraphed to the players giving them to option to join in or go about their business as they like. There's great fun to be had charging about the zones in a massive group smiting the Outsiders and throwing them back, then picking a fight with their leader and beating a deluge of loot out of him.
I'm only a little way into the game at this point and there's still a lot to see and do. What I've seen so far has pleased me so much that I cant see myself returning to the comfortingly familiar but frankly limited model of WoW- In fact I've canceled my sub. Here's a twenty. Try Rift. What's the worst that could happen?
*I know, I know, Rift has taken "inspiration" from the best features of previous MMOs like WAR and WoW and even LOTRO, but those were small pluses in games crammed with meh.
Thursday, 3 February 2011
Today in Gaming Part II
As promised I have been undertaking strenuous research in order to discuss the new features of World of Warcraft: Cataclysm. I have left no stone unturned and left no feature unprodded.
First and foremost in many casual player's minds are the new races; are they just tired re-skins of existing races with a few naff racial abilities? No. Not even close. Each race gets its own brand new and unique starter quest chain, a little like the Death Knight area in Wrath of the Lich King, but a whole lot better thought out. These serve as training areas for new players to test out their classes as well as tying the newcomer races into the existing Lore.
On top of that each race has some truly unique abilities that go beyond the new character models. The Worgen do not require ground mounts, they simply hunker down on all fours and belt around the place, something akin to the Druid travel form. They also have a distinct advantage in melee combat due to a slight critical hit bonus and an ability that lets them skin animals in a split second using their bare paws. Goblins have numerous tricks that compliment their racial background, like rocket boots, rocket barrages and a Hobgoblin they can summon to access their bank anywhere they choose!
Blizzard have also lifted some of the race to class restrictions now; if you ever fancied being a Gnomish Priest (who wouldn't?), a Human Hunter or a Dwarfish Shaman, now is your chance, although this is largely a matter of personal taste, maxmin freaks will like having more options for racial traits.
The shattering has brought on many changes, building on the popular overhaul seen in WOTLK. Firstly, as you might expect after a giant dragon nuts its way out of the planet's crust, some familiar areas have been changed. Many places have been swallowed by the tidal waves unleashed by Deathwing's reappearance, drowning some starter areas almost entirely. Others are scarred by magma and deep fissures while some of the more barren areas have been strangely renewed and sport new wildlife and plant growth.
Along with these cosmetic changes come renovations in game play- quest chains are much less bitty and rambling on Azeroth, there are fewer frustrating drop quest slogathons to find and one zone tapers more naturally into the next. Essentially this means a lot less aimless wandering and a lot more action. Some people see this as a loss of depth, but I'd argue that the "depth" consisted of largely empty and redundant space, so its better off this way. Exploring is still very possible though- and some of the new zones will repay your curiosity in spades with Vash'yr being probably the best example of this.
Classic instances have also been overhauled; some of the least popular have been hugely truncated, making for a smoother and less stressful clear. Quest givers now helpfully live at the entrance to dungeons (Not Outland ones though for some unknown reason), making reaping XP for your character that much easier.
Others have been completely lore-rolled- new story lines run through The Deadmines and Shadowfang Keep for instance; both of these also have heroic modes for intrepid level 85 types to take on. Other new dungeons are a mixed bag, some harking back to the bad old days of TBC as being dull uni-themed corridors, packs and bosses, little more than loot bags waiting to be plundered. Heroic modes are a little different and will present an actual challenge to most, at least until they out gear the encounters.
The new PVP area, Tol Barad, is worth a brief mention, if only for it's infamy. Upon Cataclysm's release Tol Barad was horribly unbalanced in favour of the first faction who won. Once the faction was in control, the mechanics of the battle meant that it was child's play for them to retain control in each successive battle, essentially denying the the other side the chance to access new content through no lack of skill or tactics.
In any case, TB is also the new destination for daily quests; a little bit like a blend of Quel' Danas, Wintergrasp and Alterac Valley. Victory in the PVP aspect allows a raid boss to be attempted and bonus dailies to be unlocked, but as you might imagine its often a frustrating campfest despite Blizzard kindly allowing anyone who causes damage to a quest target to gain credit once it is dead or loot the requisite item. This only works on named quest NPCs however, you'll still need to queue to kill X number of X for X reason.
The stand out addition has to be the new guild system- a guild now levels up like a character, with each member's victories counting towards a daily maximum. Once certain levels are achieved, useful guild-wide rewards are unlocked along with extra special items for those members who prove their loyalty by earning guild rep- those lucky souls can win the right to purchase roaming bank chests and mounts like the Dark Phoenix!
One thing that doesn’t really add much to the game is the new “profession” namely Archaeology. Ill call it how I see it; its a very well thought out time sink within a time sink. To get anything out of it you must move from dig site to dig site accumulating fragments of McGuffin according to the directions of a magical traffic light theodolite. Once you have enough pieces of eight or shards of Gnome tooth or whatever you can “complete” an item. You may then randomly get something nice, or a hunk of garbage worth a few coins. You just have to keep on endlessly grinding the same areas until your luck turns. Honestly, I wouldn’t have cared if this idea was lost at sea during whatever brainstorms Blizzard had to generate ideas for Cataclysm.
All in all it's an expansion that was worth waiting for. Many terrible mistakes that haunted the game since The Burning Crusade have been excised and many excellent features (and one or two stand-out duffers) have made it in. Blizzard have worked hard to retain a balance between the casual players who help pay for their platinum toilet paper and the increasingly irrelevant raiding hardcore. If TBC or WOTLK drove you away, give Cataclysm a chance to make it up to you.
Monday, 20 December 2010
Today in Gaming.
Today in Gaming:
World of Warcraft Cataclysm- why should you care?
You've played the game since the servers first opened, you and your friends have battled gods, dragons, Satan and something with a face like an inside-out Bear's arse. You've lol'd, you've QQ'd and you've requested popcorn for the guild drama matinees.
You've watched the game spiral into a hell of whining, quasi-competitive fan boys and outrageous liars. You've seen the little circle of light that was once Blizzard quality control shrink as Activision stuck their thumb into Blizzard's money hole.
You've seen dungeons devolve into tubes with loot pinatas at regular intervals and raids turn into miserable hit and hope affairs that still, somehow manage to be cordoned off for the near exclusive use of the top 30% of most snotty and prickish players.
You've come out of Wrath of the Lich King tired, disillusioned and psychically battered. "Stuff this game" you snarl, swearing to yourself that this was the kick in the arse you needed to end your Warcrack habit and move on with your gaming life. Why, on all that's holy, would you ever want to come back? Why stick your head in that snake pit again?
Oh, so many reasons.
Cataclysm is... lets say it's like not getting anything for Christmas, but then a truck arrives on January 2nd with more gifts than you could hope to deal with. It's late and that desolate December 25th still haunts you, but woah, look at some of this stuff! I'm just beginning to dig in now and what I've seen so far is marvellous. Detailed observations will follow.
World of Warcraft Cataclysm- why should you care?
You've played the game since the servers first opened, you and your friends have battled gods, dragons, Satan and something with a face like an inside-out Bear's arse. You've lol'd, you've QQ'd and you've requested popcorn for the guild drama matinees.
You've watched the game spiral into a hell of whining, quasi-competitive fan boys and outrageous liars. You've seen the little circle of light that was once Blizzard quality control shrink as Activision stuck their thumb into Blizzard's money hole.
You've seen dungeons devolve into tubes with loot pinatas at regular intervals and raids turn into miserable hit and hope affairs that still, somehow manage to be cordoned off for the near exclusive use of the top 30% of most snotty and prickish players.
You've come out of Wrath of the Lich King tired, disillusioned and psychically battered. "Stuff this game" you snarl, swearing to yourself that this was the kick in the arse you needed to end your Warcrack habit and move on with your gaming life. Why, on all that's holy, would you ever want to come back? Why stick your head in that snake pit again?
Oh, so many reasons.
Cataclysm is... lets say it's like not getting anything for Christmas, but then a truck arrives on January 2nd with more gifts than you could hope to deal with. It's late and that desolate December 25th still haunts you, but woah, look at some of this stuff! I'm just beginning to dig in now and what I've seen so far is marvellous. Detailed observations will follow.
"This is Jimmy".
I finally managed to get a hold of a copy of Starcraft 2: Wings of Liberty. Now it's important to note that I originally decided on a half-hearted boycott of the game, due to the business model and pricing plan (that's a can of worms I could bore you with all day) involved in this latest installment of Blizzard's space-going IP. However, after a few months of pretending I didn't care and practising my "not listening" face in the mirror I have caved like a meringue under a blowtorch.
I know, it's ugly and wrong to see it, but I'm first and foremost a gamer, and Starcraft was one of the earliest PC games I had. The plot was engaging, even if the action was occasionally stilted and predictable. It was a soap opera with tiny space marines instead of chavs or salt of the earth types with faces like a litter of suicidal bulldog puppies. I had to know what happened next. Would Jimmy succumb to alcoholism? Would Kerrigan ever discover who delivered the second grand piano to her secret hive lair on Char? Would anyone ever run a bus service to Aiur again?
Blizzard have taken this most venerable of plots and applied what I like to call Blizzard sanding. They've polished it to such a wild degree that even the flaws shine. They've taken the meat and potatoes of SC and ladled on gravy overwhelming.
I love it- and that's a problem; now I'll have to stump up for the next installment and the next. Kotick has me in his grubby little palm. I already play World of Warcraft- don't you have enough money now Bobby? Please, stop leaving your chubby fingerprints on IP that formed my gaming psyche- it makes me feel filthy just for enjoying my hobby.
I know, it's ugly and wrong to see it, but I'm first and foremost a gamer, and Starcraft was one of the earliest PC games I had. The plot was engaging, even if the action was occasionally stilted and predictable. It was a soap opera with tiny space marines instead of chavs or salt of the earth types with faces like a litter of suicidal bulldog puppies. I had to know what happened next. Would Jimmy succumb to alcoholism? Would Kerrigan ever discover who delivered the second grand piano to her secret hive lair on Char? Would anyone ever run a bus service to Aiur again?
Blizzard have taken this most venerable of plots and applied what I like to call Blizzard sanding. They've polished it to such a wild degree that even the flaws shine. They've taken the meat and potatoes of SC and ladled on gravy overwhelming.
I love it- and that's a problem; now I'll have to stump up for the next installment and the next. Kotick has me in his grubby little palm. I already play World of Warcraft- don't you have enough money now Bobby? Please, stop leaving your chubby fingerprints on IP that formed my gaming psyche- it makes me feel filthy just for enjoying my hobby.
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