Author - Ripper71

Naval War: Arctic Circle Review (PC/Steam)

2012/04/20

The words “strategy game” can bring up a lot of different things in a persons head. The fact is that it is a term almost as general as “RPG” anymore as to what it can represent, some might even call it a catch phrase that fits such a wide number of games that it always has to be qualified to be truly understood. The first way we generally qualify “strategy games” is with turn-based or real time. This narrows the field in half usually and can be further narrowed down but one of the sub-categories is “real real-time” which is almost never heard due to its apparent redundancy. But for the sake of understanding Naval War: Arctic Circle you really need to understand what is fairly unique in this modern game sub-category is and exactly how it works. Or you might find yourself buying a game you hate in the first two hours, hate not being too strong of a word.

There are tons of examples of real-time games out there, you build a base, build some soldiers, find a way to make money and all this takes place in real time, you can slow down the game speed or speed it up but you don’t wait for your enemy to attack before you attack or heal your forces. In the time you are taking to build your forces your enemy is doing the same and so it is known as real time. This really is breaking down the idea to a fundamental that could be argued but for the sake of explanation we will use the above to define real-time strategy gaming. Then there are games like Naval War: Arctic Circle which is a “real real-time” game which means as long as you don’t speed up the gameplay everything will happen at a speed and impact as real life. It may take you five minutes to build a base in a standard strategy game, in Arctic Circle it may take you 30 minutes real life time to drop a sonar buoy off to detect an enemy, and there may be nothing to see for miles around in your shot but your helicopter flying over a choppy sea. There may literally be nothing for you to do until that buoy drops or there may be 50 things you have to do during that period if you want to beat the level, all based on how long it would take in the real world. “Real real-time strategy” games are for a particular breed of gamer, ones who crave the greatest realism possible, ones who want absolute historical and military accuracy on every aspect of the game. Admittedly I am not one who dives into this game style every chance I get but I also believe these are the true chess of video games, these games exercise your mind as much as your body so I never shy away from one.

The view above is what you had better get used to because that is what you see. You can switch the image in the bottom box to the top to see how nice the planes and helicopters you use are rendered but in the end you will wind up putting it down in the little box again because this is not a game of graphics. They can look nice, heck they could have been crap since the key to this kind of game is not in how clean everything looks but the intelligence of your opponent, CPU or player, and whether or not you have the ability to outmaneuver them. First step: read the manual. Learn absolutely everything you can about this game’s mechanics because it is hard. It is meant to be hard. It is meant to be hated and loved at the same time for it’s difficulty and the fact that everything is happening in “real real-time.” You’ll find yourself cursing from a simple misclick or a minor mistake because that might mean the difference between those red plane markers on your screen wiping out your fleet or not. You’ll want to zoom in on an explosion about to happen but you need to think twice because while you are watch a fireball bloom that used to be your enemy’s ship, two more might be joining it. It is your war room, you are calling the shots.

There are two different campaigns, both based in a near future Cold War. It is nice that you aren’t just confined to a NATO campaign and each one has it’s own particular heavy challenges to overcome. Multiplayer is one on one and really does feel like a fastest fingers/best macros kind of contest, but still requires strategy. As with most real real-time games you can preset certain aspects of the games such as standard cruising altitude and speed on aircraft so that you can concentrate on the big picture, though as so often as it is in games it is also in real life: gotta watch those little things or they build up to a big bite in the arse. The option to micromanage is always there, use it wisely.

Last Call:

These are often the dream games of historians and military specialists (or people who consider themselves such). You aren’t just running around with a grunt and his rifle, you are commanding the entire Arctic Circle including that grunt but also a whole theater of men and machines. Some will just shake their heads at this game and go grab their plasma gun. Others will crack their necks and knuckles, get comfortable in their computer chair and spend two hours laying buoys to capture an illusive enemy sub. This game is a hard road to glory, a mental challenge not all can complete and requires the mind of a chess player with the mouse finger of a competitive gamer. Will you answer the call?.

Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition (OnLive/PC/Micro-Console)

2012/04/19

Ripper71

News, Reviews

I remember way back when the Street Fighter franchise started up and my buddies and I fed the machines at the arcade our quarters by the handful. One of the best things to ever happen was console versions of the game thought they were never quite the same since they didn’t have all the buttion in the right places. This resulted in the fighter pads, strange little devices you had to find a solid surface for but overall gave you the arcade experience on your games that used all the buttons. I wonder how many wound up gathering dust after interest in the games began to wane. They are still around as are the Street Fighter games. My questions is how playable is it without one of those pads?

I should probably discuss the game before I get into the gameplay. This game is steeped in a very rich tradition of playstyles, graphics and storylines and it doesn’t fail now. This is technically a revamping of Street Fighter IV but it is done so well that it can be considered a sequel since it has new characters, tweaks to play and and updated feel to it. To put it simply it maintains tradition while updating and expanding. There isn’t much more you can ask from the game. It is well done and fits the Street Fighter family.

I got lucky that I got to play the game on OnLive for the review because that means I got the opportunity to play it solely using the keyboard, then afterwards using a controller with the wireless controller and the micro console. First I tried it out on the keyboard where every button that would be used on a fighting pad had a corresponding assignment on the keyboard so that combos you would remember from the gamepad could be quickly and easily mastered. The lack of control stick caused a bit of a learning curve but I got used to that well enough. The only real problem came in when I started getting my butt handed to me I would sometimes start buttons mashing and let me tell you, you can do some pretty painful and confusing things if you start button mashing, miss your keys and start hitting dozens of hotkeys a second. Luckily I have a sense of humor and sense of my system otherwise I could see that melting some folks down. Heck I didn’t know there was a hotkey for some of the stuff I did. I just had to stop and start laughing.

As you can see I don’t take gaming overly serious. at least not these kind of fighting games. I think I am a challenging player at these type of fighter games, but there are plenty of better players. Occasional wins and shouts of fun and laughter are my key to them. It brings up one quick point I want to make, if you are practicing the game make sure you are not in spectator mode or visible to online players in another way. Not only will they learn your techniques you prefer, but sharks will fish for easier prey and on some systems you may get jeered for not immediately playing someone. It happened to me a lot.

Now the nice thing about OnLive is they also have a micro-console that allows you to not just experience your game on the PC but also on the console as well. There are some definite extras on an OnLive controller such as the ability to record brag clips, play them back, then post them on the internet for others to see but when it comes down to actual playing if you are familiar with an XBox controller or a PC controller then you have the general idea and feel for the console controller and you can pick it up and start playing in no time. For the most part you are ok if you button mash as long as you avoid the brag controls.

Last Call:

This game is just as fun to play on the PC or console as it is with a fighting pad. If you have a fighting pad already around or plan to play the game competitively then you make want to go fighting pad. Otherwise you can get it on OnLive and play it as PC and console and have tons of fun. If you aren’t sure just go to http://www.onlive.com/promote then you can give it a shot for free and decide for yourself.

OnLive Makes Trials Easier (PC/OnLive)

2012/04/19

Ripper71

Articles, News

So I was going through my email and saw an announcement from OnLive that Dead Island was going to be one of their latest additions and my heart kicked it up a notch in both a good and bad way. When Dead Island was available for play at E3 I played the demo twice and my wife who was also there played it several times as well. We had fallen in love with the little girl trailer like many folks and to get hands on was such a great rush. We pre-ordered the game the day pre-orders were available and with child like glee we sat down before our ginormous TV and started it up. Our excitement first turned to bewilderment then anger. NO LOCAL MULTIPLAYER? We tried at first taking turns playing but it just wasn’t the same. The couple that games together stays together (Life Lesson!) and unless we wanted to pick up a second of the same console and a second copy of the same game this would not be an “us” game and when it comes to zombie slaying I always want my wife to have my back.

Fast forward to now and I get an email from OnLive telling me that they now have Dead Island available. After the infuriating lack of local co op on the previous system I played it on I was a bit leery. Then I remembered that OnLive now has a page that is dedicated to all of it’s game free trials at http://www.onlive.com/promote. Pretty easy to remember but I bookmarked it anyways and went to check out the game. It only took me about two seconds because it was on the first page right in front of me. On the right is a search box and right below it was a free trial alphabetical list which had just about all their titles, so around 200. The nice thing is that they are 30 minute trials. better than most demos since they don’t end because a pre-approved cliff hanger spot but because that’s how far 30 minutes get you into the game. Turns out that the co-op is still internet only, so I knew before I bought the game and I found myself playing other demos just because I was there. In some games 30 minutes really is a decent amount of play, in most games it is enough time to tell if you like it or not. It is also a quick way to find out if a game will play on your tablet or smart phone and how well.

Last Call:

OnLive is celebrating having hit the 200 game mark so now is a good time to check out the service and with 30 minute trial play times on that many games you can definitely get a feel for whether you like the service and the games it provides as well as check for features that may or may not be provided. Give it a whirl, doesn’t cost anything!

Confrontation – Review (PC/Steam)

2012/04/05

Ripper71

News, Reviews

Over the years I have played a lot of RPGs and that is putting it pretty mildly. Some turn-based, some realtime, some hack and slash, some requiring quite a bit of tactical strategy. I have learned to love all kinds of different RPGs and found that almost all have some strengths that make them playable, the big question is if they are strong enough to endure. The best ones wind up being played still over a decade later though there are plenty of great ones that slip through the crack simply because they ride in the shadows of the strongly established. So first a game must be great then it must be lucky. The question is whether or not Confrontation winds up being either.

Confrontation doesn’t take very long to show it’s graphically a thing of beauty. The cut-scenes use the same quality of graphics as its game play with immense details and rich colors. The music is well composed and the sound is crisp and excellent from the attacks to the death agony screams. The quality would easily make a great animated series but that is not what they are working for here. We have to face it however that a game can look great but if it doesn’t play well it isn’t going to survive whereas some games that are just plain ugly have an unlimited lifespan because they are fun and found their audience.

Confrontation is a top down real time tactical RPG where you build up your elite squad of Griffin soldiers to fight against the fearsome creatures of the Alchemists of Dirz (the Scorpion), the ferocious Wolfen packs (the Wolf), and the brutal Orcs of Bran-O-Kor (the Jackal) deep inside the continent of Aarklash. Starting with warriors,, and working your way through other classes you recruit and redefine your team to both their advantages and your tactical strengths. This is no “Leroy Jenkins!” game. Every encounter requires planning and squad placement as well as careful consideration of location. Fighting in too tight of quarters can block up your melee from getting strikes in, too loose and your healer might start grabbing aggro and taking melee. There are some skills that the tank class can use to hold aggro but it still comes down to tactical planning. Playing it I had a lot of close call battles and a couple just flat out failures because I didn’t consider flanking issues or let big melee beasties past my tank and onto the hunter and ranged magic user. Personally I like a game that creates such challenges so that I have to stop and think rather than just hack and slash through each battle.

The game also has skill trees with lock-off branches so that once you choose a skill path on the character you had better be sure. One of the more interesting things is upgrades in weapons and armor require finding glyphs on the battlefield which reward credits for each upgrade that go into a pool from which all your characters draw from. So if you put all your upgrading into a particular character you had better plan to hold onto them for the long run because other characters won’t get anything.

Maps are set up fairly linear with little off shoots that can be taken or avoided which creates the option to engage or avoid patrols as well. If you like to clean a map you can methodically work your way through, just make sure you have a method or you could find yourself being attacked by multiple patrols and wishing you had snuck by. Once again this is a tactical RPG and engagement is definitely a factor to consider. To help with this consideration the camera angle is completely adjustable using the mouse wheel though default is above and slightly behind and during movement will revert back to this location. Use this option often though because a treasure chest full of bandages could be tucked in a dark corner. Another nice and helpful feature is the pause located at the space bar that allows you order unit commands and figure out your next move. Some might think this is too much help but features like this are up to the players to choose or ignore.

The game has a multiplayer mode in which you can play any of the four factions and even challenge particular players to fight. Since I am reviewing the game prior to release I had a hard time finding players to try this out with but I can say if it as solid as the single-player campaign it should be a lot of fun to play. It is unfortunate nowadays that a lot of the time the success or failure of a game comes down to how it draws in it’s multiplayer audience more than its single-player campaign though to a degree that is understandable because it does address playtime for your money.

I just have to discuss one feature of this game which doesn’t effect gameplay but to me is one of the most awesome geek touches. Every old school D&D player and probably a few new ones remembers going to get miniatures at the local hobby store to paint and have sit on the table to represent their characters. The game actually has a section called Army Painter that lets you paint all the different characters you use and encounter. As you can see above it looks like a desktop with a coffee cup full of pens and pencils and a couple paint canisters and a styrofoam cup to wash your brush off in. Honestly I spent quite a while just playing with this feature for the sheer fun of it. This was a completely unnecessary touch to the game which really endeared it to me or maybe I should say that deep rooted geek within.

Last Call:

This is a solid tactical RPG game with great graphics, excellent game play mechanics and makes you think before you slash. It has all the makings of a successful game that should appeal to a wide audience. The key is getting word out and surviving in a market place with a lot of RPGs that are shadowed by giants.

OnLive Wireless Controller – Review (Multiple Platforms/OnLive)

2012/04/04

Ripper71

News, Reviews

OnLive has been long committed to being on as many platforms as possible. Those who have no idea what I am talking about when I say OnLive can read our review of the system right here and really should so you have a proper understanding of the scope of the system and how well this peripheral compliments it. To simplify it Onlive is to gaming, and now desktop Microsoft programs, as Netflix is to movies. I became a true believer when I researched them then visited them at E3 in 2011 and I have been nothing but more impressed with them since.

I did have a concern that has been looming on the horizon with me which is the reason I am posting this story tonight, tomorrow I go in for back surgery. Over the years I have found my video game playing often impacted by the condition of my bad back, particularly in the last year. Luckily OnLive allows you to play the same games on your PC, laptop, some tablets and mirco console picking up on one device right where you left off on another. So I would sometimes work on the PC then work a while on the micro console while in a loveseat and when that got to be too much I would lay in bed with the laptop, playing on it as long as I could before my back would start to suffer from the weight of a gaming laptop and I would finally just have to give up for the night. I tried varying solutions to help with this such as wireless keyboard and mouse which worked ok but never had the responsiveness and reliability that I got from a hardwired keyboard itself. The mirco console was great when I was in parts of the house with strong wifi and could sit up to look at a television, but my bedroom in the back of the house where I needed to lie flat in bed didn’t work. Then along came the OnLive Wireless Controller.

The OnLive Wireless Controller comes with a USB dongle that allows it to be plugged into any PC or laptop with a USB port or it can be synced to some phones and most tablets using Bluetooth technology. So for this review, despite my back getting really bad, I was able to continue to push on. This is an extremely important note for disabled or physically impaired individuals, this controller makes gaming with OnLive remote from all their platforms!

I had heard from early discussions and reviews of this controller that it would sometimes give loose or “slushy” response which totally negated OnLive exceptional responsiveness (often faster than consoles). After trying the controller on multiple platforms I had no problem on any of them with bad responsiveness, actually I found it to be equally responsive to a plug in PC controller which has been my go to when I’m laid up.

To test it completely as and find out if there was a situation where it actually would outshine a keyboard I tried out Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition on OnLive. First I tried it with the keyboard and after a bit of a learning curve I found that the keyboard worked great with the game as long as you could keep track of where your fingers were and didn’t start button mashing because inevitably you would find yourself hitting some other hot button. Then I tried playing the game with the controller on the PC and laptop and found that my chance of beating a human or computer opponent doubled and that I stood a chance better than with the keyboard. I could also see this as a benefit for fans of racing games but let’s face it, the best thing this controller does is bridge the gap between PC and console. With a controller remarkably similar to the XBox, console gamers can jump right into the OnLive market without having to worry about getting used to playing on a keyboard. If they really wanted they could use the micro console as well which comes with one controller. Not only is this wireless controller compatible with the mirco console giving you a second controller if you use the USB dongle that comes with the controller you can play up to four people on a single PC, getting the console experience without the console!

If you have a tablet (just about any but iPad, though they do have one ready for that too if it gets cleared) you can play using the Bluetooth connection in those and turn your tablet into your monitor as you control with the wireless controller. This may not seem like that big of a deal but tablets can be sometimes notorious for loose or just unresponsive touch controls and the nice thing about a controller is you can physically feel the button instead of hitting virtual ones. OnLive has actually put out some touch games that work great with the tablet (L.A. Noire Complete Edition) but sometimes there is no substitute for feeling that button push. If that wasn’t enough of a selling point many smart phones are Bluetooth compatible with it too, so your little Android screen can not just play OnLive games but play them with a full size controller! I have played a few console games that got ported to smart phones and I can tell you now that cursing was heavily involved thanks to a combination of a smaller screen and sizable fingers.

Last Call:

After surgery I am going to be laid up unable to sit up enough to have a laptop on me for a while, it will be on a box on the bed next to me and I will be playing games using the OnLive wireless remote just like I wasn’t physically impaired. It is just one more way that the controller, which is compatible with all the devices OnLive is compatible with (micro console, tablet, PC, laptop and most smart phones), will be enabling me to game. Not just on the go like they did before, but on the “no go” as well. The only way it can get better is when the software gets released on the iPad and the iPhone. Don’t worry you will know when that happens because I will be shouting that on every social network I can. In the meantime, see ya in the cloud. Dang OnLive should make that one of their slogans…

OnLive Brings Back Sega Games

2012/03/28

Ripper71

News, Previews

Ok, I am old enough that I played the Atari 2600 and though I had a great deal of love for it the systems that followed were quick to blow it out of the water. As a result my Atari got lost over the years but I still have my Nintendo, Super Nintendo, Sega… well the list goes on. The folks at Sega and OnLive understand the love for old school gaming and so they have teamed up to bring over 40 Sega games to our new tech world over the next month. Best of all they are all part of their $9.99 a month PlayPack! So besides getting over 150 great recent big and indie titles for the low subscription, you get all these Sega titles too.

Alex Kidd In The Enchanted Castle: Alex speeds to Paperock to investigate, but the creatures of Paperock decide to hinder his efforts and try to keep him away from Sky Castle, Ashra’s hideaway. Luckily Alex knows how to jump, punch and kick his way through the most stubborn of enemies. Memories: I actually didn’t play this at the time it came out, I caught it later when it got ported to a later system and at first I thought I might have missed it because it’s uniquely Japanese game feel but apparently it was released in the North America. You punch, jump and kick, but then you also play Rock, Paper, Scissors as part of your battling. It is a must play so that you can tell your friends about this uniquely strange game.

Altered Beast: Athena, the daughter of Zeus, has been captured by the wicked Neff, God of the Underworld, and is being held captive. Summoned from the dead by Zeus himself, it is up to you now to clear five rounds of underlings before taking on Neff, in what promises to be the most grueling of challenges. Memories: One of the coolest things about this game is that you get to be a werewolf basically and be the good guy! How often does that happen?

Comix Zone: Sketch Turner is in it up to his inkwell. Mortus is drawing horrendous creatures to battle Sketch in every panel of the strip. If Mortus destroys Sketch, that megalomaniac mutant will become real and Earth will be doomed to his rule! But there is hope. Now that he’s a comic book superhero, Sketch can kick some serious butt. Instantly, Sketch can fight like a one-man mercenary platoon! Memories: This was a strange side scrolling game with nice graphics for it’s time. You hop from comic book cell to comic book cell to fight the enemies so it is a lot like an interactive comic. Being a bit of a comic geek too I look forward to fighting from page to page again.

Crack Down: Ben and Andy, the two top Special Service agents have accepted a very dangerous assignment – the elimination of Mr.K and his Artificial Life System. Mr. K plans to rid the earth of human life forms using the killer robots he’s created, and no one but Ben and Andy can stop him! Help them to infiltrate the chilling futuristic city, place Clystron bombs and get out before they blow. Memories: None! This game got ported to Genesis but apparently not in the North American market where it has been brought to life in some computer ports and was rumored to maybe hit a console. But for most of us this will be a chance to taste this 16 bit baby for the first time!

Ecco The Dolphin: Life was an adventure for Ecco, the young dolphin. Until one day, all of that changed when a freak whirlpool of air and water tore the life from Ecco’s home leaving Ecco all alone. Now he must fight to stay alive, while traversing the vast ocean in search of clues that will help him save his family and return them to the bay. Memories: Ok who doesn’t remember Ecco? If you lived through that time and had anything to do with video games you heard about this Sega blockbuster. I just remember my girlfriend (now wife) hogging the game. Trivia: They made an Ecco the Dolphin labeled can of tuna as a promotion for one of the games.

Eternal Champions: Unjust deaths were dealt upon nine of history’s greatest and most influential warriors, and the future now stands at the brink of chaos. The Eternal Champion has summoned the souls of the nine and placed them in competition. The winner will be rewarded a second chance to prevent their own death, and in doing so restore balance to a desperate world. Memories: Another huge success for Sega this game was a lot like Mortal Kombat with more emphasis on the story and what I remember most about this game was knocking your enemy off of bridge levels and watching them plummet to a gruesome death.

Gain Ground: The battle-simulation game has gone haywire! All contestants inside the system are trapped and frozen on the battlefields, and the androids are reprogrammed to become hi-tech killing machines! It’s up to three brave fighters to rescue hostages, and to destroy the central computer of the system, the Brain. Memories: This was kinda an arcade strategy game, strange combo for the time but worked and had addictive game play. Sometimes entering a level and seeing how many enemies there were between you and the exit seemed like overkill but if you played it right you somehow made it through.

Galaxy Force II: Halcyon, ruler of the Fourth Empire, has the peaceful and prosperous solar system Junos marked as its final target in the galactic massacre, and has sent the bulk of his attacking force in for the elimination of all life forms in the system, and the construction of a gigantic fortress on each of the five planets from which to rule the galaxy. The galaxy’s recognized governing body, the Space Federation, begins recruiting attack pilots in an effort to reclaim Junos. Strap yourself into your TRX-5 Quasar and turn the tables on Halcyon. Memories: None, I didn’t get to play every game! Hear it was like Star Fox though which was sweet…

Golden Axe: The land of Yuria has been invaded and is now ruled by the iron fist of Death Adder, who secured his throne by seizing the Golden Axe. Three brave warriors now rise to the challenge of defeating Death Adder and his soldiers and returning peace to the Kingdom. Memories: One of those games I blew a ton of money on in the arcade I was so excited to get it on the Genesis and pay one low cost. All three playable character were fun though personally I was always fond of playing the dwarf with his axe.

Kid Chameleon: Heady Metal, the boss of the arcade game Wild Side, has escaped! He’s capturing kids by defeating them at their own game. Take Kid Chameleon into Wild Side and give Heady Metal and his gruesome underlings a taste of their own aspirin. Because Kid Chameleon is about to cause a few headaches of his own! Memories: Another game that slipped by me so I am excited to give it a play!

Ristar: The evil tyrant Greedy holds the galaxy of Valdi under a reign of terror, spreading misery and darkness. But from the depths of space comes Ristar, a shining shooting star who is destined for greatness. Only his special powers can restore happiness to the solar system once again. Memories: A lot of folks missed the release of Ristar because of the next gen systems releasing around the same time and people putting their Genesis aside or selling it. Luckily (?) we didn’t have the money to pick those up yet so Ristar got some playtime in our house. It felt kinda like Sonic but instead of rolling around for attacks you reach out with stretchy arms and pull things to you which get scorched into black lumps. It gave you a feeling of power to cook your enemies to cinders.

Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi: New York City has fallen into the hands of a group of ninja warriors called Union Lizard, and they have taken people hostage. Joe Musashi’s former martial arts student Kato has been mortally wounded while investigating Union Lizard, leaving his faithful dog Yamato. Joe Musashi swears to avenge Kato’s death, and heads for New York. Can you guide Joe Musashi and Yamato through the ring of fire and triumph over this evil force? Memories: I was a Shinobi junkie so all you had to do was throw the name on the game and I gave it a run. I vaguely remember the dog as my backup but it was all about using Shinobi attacks for me!

Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master: Joe Musashi’s sworn enemy the Neo Zeed are secretly rebuilding an organization in Japan after the battle in Neo City. Joe (code name Shinobi) senses the evil power growing and starts to make his way back to fight the Neo Zeed once again. Memories: Sometimes a little short on plot these games were always long on action and one of the nice things about Shinobi III were it’s excellent graphics for the system and it’s use of background and foreground images which gave it an almost 3D depth.

Sonic 3D Blast: Dr. Eggman (AKA Dr. Robotnik) discovers unusual birds known as Flickies that can transport to anywhere using Dimension Rings. Successfully capturing the Flickies, Robotnik turns them all into robots to help him find the Chaos Emeralds. Sonic must save the Flickies by freeing them from their robotic prison and prevent Robotnik from finding the Chaos Emeralds. Memories: Memories for the Sonic games can kind of bleed together because there were just so many with very different takes on them. It didn’t take long to remember this one though because it wasn’t a side scroller so it took a little getting used to and had an original fun feel. Friends who came over were quick to sit down and watch.

Sonic Adventures DX: Director’s Cut: An ancient evil lurking within the Master Emerald has been unleashed from its slumber by the devious Dr. Eggman and is on the verge of becoming the ultimate monster using the 7 Chaos Emeralds. Only Sonic and his friends are heroic enough to put a stop to Dr. Eggman and his evil minions. Hit the ground running in this classic epic adventure in a race against time to save the world! Memories: Another Sonic 3D game but this was from more of a behind him rather on top of him view and had some terrifically wacky characters which is what I remember most. Not sure I played the Director’s Cut, that was a while ago.

Sonic Spinball: Dr. Eggman (AKA Dr. Robotnik) is once again turning the animals of Mobius into robots using his monstrous contraption, the Veg-O-Fortress. Only Sonic can penetrate the Pinball Defense System to free the animals, retrieve the Chaos Emeralds, and put a stop to Dr. Eggman’s fiendish plans! Memories: Sonic Spinball has gone through many incarnations including a real life roller coaster! It also set the more cartoon style that he is most known for now. It gave him more personality I think which has made a household name even more so.

Harrier II: A call for help comes from deep in the universe. Fantasyland has been taken over by destructive forces. Quick on the scene is Space Harrier equipped with his laser, who must attempt to outwit and out maneuver the hoards and prevent Fantasyland from being blown into oblivion! Memories: No offense to the developers but I really have no memory of the Harrier games’ plots what I remember is the vanishing point on the horizon style of game play where an enemy started off tiny in the distance and grew into a huge monstrous thing up close while your distance behind the Harrier remained the same. It is kinda hard to describe and very hard to forget.

Vectorman: By the year 2049, Earth has been turned into a toxic waste dump. Humankind has fled into space leaving behind an army of mechanized “Orbots” to clean up the mess. But when the Orbot leader “WarHead” goes haywire and starts a global revolt against the humans, it falls on the shoulders of the last Orbot loyal to its human masters to save the planet. Memories: Vectorman is a run and gun that is probably most remembered for it’s exceptional graphics which used a few pre-rendering tricks to make them seem next gen. Because of all this the game was a huge success with players and critics alike and definitely won some awards. This one will be fun to play again to remember what “next gen” was considered back then.

Ok those of you who counted might have noticed that I did not list near 40 games. That is because OnLive is releasing new games every weekday for another two and a half weeks! You can got to their Facebook website and vote on the order of release for the week and this week they put up a challenge to get a certain number of votes so that they release them all the first night… maybe they will do that again?

Thursday 3/29/12 Releases: Columns, Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine

Friday 3/30/12 Releases: Ecco Jr., Super Thunder Blade, Fatal Labyrinth, Bonanza Bros.

Next week: ??

Last Call: This really kind of feels like an obvious choice but I’ll go over it so it sinks in. 40 Sega Games as part of a $9.99 monthly subscription deal that includes over 150 other games such as indie hits like World of Goo, big hits like Homefront and selections from hit series like Bioshock, Fallout, F.E.A.R. and Deus Ex. When this promotion is done they will have around 2oo games for $9.99 a month. If you round up a penny that is pretty easy math.

Microsoft Apps Go Cloud – Review (Tablet/OnLive)

2012/03/28

Ripper71

News, Reviews

Ok if you are a regular to the site there is one name that has to have stood out over the months: OnLive. If you are new to the site I’ll give you a real brief overview. OnLive is cloud-based gaming that delivers your same game to multiple locations including your PC, your tablet, some smart phones and even has a micro console around the size of a deck of cards so that you can plug directly into your TV and play like a video game console but at a cheaper console price. In short it is like Netflix for video gaming, even having a subscription service for over 200 video games for only $10 a month and rental and purchase of new games. You can start a game on your PC, resume it on your Android phone or tablet, then start playing it on your micro console all as if you were playing from the same place. You don’t need a state of the art system to play the newest graphic beast of a game, just like Netflix you just need a strong internet connection. I have been raving since I got my hands on the system at E3 last year but I’m not alone, Time Magazine had it as one of the top 50 websites of last year and their latest work with Microsoft is only going to continue to bring it attention.

OnLive teamed up with Microsoft to not just make the future of gaming quick and flexible but also the writing and business uses of the devices as well. It is called OnLive Desktop and provides Microsoft Word, Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint, Internet Explorer and Adobe Reader all through the same account and cloud system you play the video games on. You just download an app, it opens a page with all the links that looks like a computer screen. You pick the program you want and away you go.

Because it is all done via cloud the programs open amazingly fast due to the high quality server they are being opened on and the fact that it is utilizing the same proprietary data transfer system as the games (which can have a faster online response time than consoles). Everything responds as fast as if it were on your computer instead of via cloud, I think in some cases even faster. Your tablet doesn’t get bogged down memory wise, the pull up keyboard is well done and best of all you are getting all this Microsoft software at your fingertips for free! If you leave a program open with some work on it and exit out of the OnLive Desktop on purpose or accident the work is right there again when you open Desktop again. This can definitely come in handy if working on sensitive material you can close the program fast and be right back to where you were when you go back. It also just comes down to it is nice to have all these very useful official Microsoft apps available on multiple tablets including the IPad.

For those of you who like the idea but may find it more work than fun there is also Microsoft Blackboard, Microsoft Garden Pond, Microsoft Rebound (a particularly fun futuristic air hockey style game) and Microsoft Surface Collage to help fight writer’s block or brain cramp while working on that special project. All for free as part of your free OnLive gaming account.

Last Call:

This is a terrific, easy to use collection of tools and games that won’t take up space on your system, provides a lightning fast response to your needs and probably best of all is free. If you have an OnLive account you might as well add this on just in case you find yourself needing one of these tools. If you work a job with writing or in business you never know when Microsoft’s top business products will come in handy. If you don’t have an OnLive account… what are you waiting for?

Yesterday – A Review (PC)

2012/03/21

Ripper71

News, Reviews

I was fortunate enough to get to play the preview for Yesterday and in a very short section of the game I learned it was one of the most twisted point and click games I have ever seen. The characters were disturbed at best, the items you point and clicked together were unusual and it didn’t take long to realize that the subject of who was the “good guys” was blurry at best. And the preview left off at a total “wtf?” moment that had me playing through a few more times to make sure I saw what I thought I saw. So when my esteemed Editor In Chief asked if I might want to play the game itself I jumped at it and had it downloading before the email could go through.

The game is a point and click, picking up items from your environment, combining them or using them on each other, then trying to figure out what to do with them next. There are also dialogue choices for the storyline to click on with different responses for each. Figuring out what to click on can sometimes be the hardest part because some objects you click on multiple times to interact with them in different ways. And sometimes items are just red herrings, you can pick them up but they wind up serving no purpose other than to fill your inventory. Point and click games can vary from obvious choices aimed at a younger audience to real puzzlers that have you scratching your head for quite a while before the cartoon light bulb appears over your head. This one is harder and for good reason, this games puzzles and most definitely it’s themes are aimed at an older audience and your actions as well as the storyline can be downright disturbing.

The story revolves around a few main characters and even divulging who they are would give too much of it away. But you find out in the beginning 30 seconds of the game that homeless people are being burned alive and the first character you are going to play is a volunteer for a reach out program trying to get the homeless off the streets so they aren’t murdered. All normalcy is lost around this point as a story of lunacy, Satan worship and post traumatic stress disorder all work together to create a very messed up story. Though certain elements can be said to have been seen in this movie or this other game there is some very original story telling going on with excellent twists. For every plot development you guess another will hit you out of the blue and some are sheer stunners. I locked myself in a room with no interruptions and played the game on a marathon run in the same night, not because of deadlines or distractions but because I wanted to make sure I was getting the full experience because it became obvious early on that things weren’t as they seemed and plot twists might hang on the simplest of statements. I think I could have enjoyed this as well if I had watched somebody else play it or even if it had been turned into a movie or a mini series because the story is just that strong.

One last thing that needs to be noted and might slip past the casual observer is the very nicely stylistic artwork used in the graphics. The game seems to purposely stay away from straight lines, even in the sides of buildings or door jams as if not only are all the characters in the game slightly off or plain twisted so is everything in the very world they inhabit. The voice acting is great, music is good but next to the storyline it is the twists in graphic style that I think is most notable.

Last Call:

It is hard to write a review about a mystery game where the twists start right at the beginning and keep up until the end leaving very little to talk about that isn’t a spoiler. This is a great story, an excellent game and a challenging point and click puzzler where you really need to pay attention if you want to get through the game without using the hints. The answers are there but you have to be to to get them. When it came to Yesterday I started for the game but marathon played for the storyline.

Gas Guzzlers Combat Carnage Preview (PC/Open Beta)

2012/03/19

Ripper71

News, Previews

So after being down for the count a couple weeks with first pneumonia then a bad cold I have been itching to get into a new game (ed. note: Glad to have you back!!). When Gamespires announced their Open Beta of Gas Guzzlers Combat Carnage I was more than ready to put my Sentra in the garage and get behind the wheel of a dino hogging beast. My first love was my small block Malibu Chevelle and the only thing that could have made her better would have been machine guns (figures California would ban such things right when I got her). So you put some horses under a hood and ammo cases on a roof and there is a good chance I will have at least some love for the game.

Believe it or not, that was my first concern with Gas Guzzlers. It put me in a Fat Ficho (imagine a Fiat). Now if I were pulling a heist in it or driving through insanely narrow European streets I could still probably get behind it but the tracks provided are off road. I understand the idea of starting small and working your way up I really do, but this vehicle doesn’t even begin to live up to the Gas Guzzlers title. It is a slow, squirrely car that if you make the slightest mistake in you will lose the race. The slightest mistake. Your initial weapons are fairly ineffective as well so it comes down to racing a stock Fiat in dirt. The beta luckily also includes a vehicle that looks straight out of the Fast and The Furious and this car handles much tighter plus the first weapons upgrade they give you to try is missiles so that it is possible to eliminate the competition as well as outrace them. The vehicle is still designed more for street racing but it is such a leap above the Fat Ficho that I found myself in my Motor Zen place soon enough.

I do want to mention again that this game has just gone into Open Beta so any issue I might have with the game will probably be resolved by the time it is released or the ability to upgrade performance gear alone will probably help clear these issues when implemented. These issues aside the graphics are excellent, the vehicle damage system looks terrific and the courses are well designed and engaging. I even enjoy the “road kill” bonuses you get when you take out a chicken, rabbit or prairie dog that happen to wander onto the course because it is handled in a fun and cartoony way.

The only other nagging issue I had was the voice over. Sounding straight from the mouth of an old school professional wrestler, the voice over is part commentator, part co-pilot and a bit confusing. At times it seems to be making comments for you about a weapon you picked up for example, then other times it seems to be griefing you like if you hit a wall too hard the game actually said “That wasn’t too fuckin’ smart!” and another time said “Aw, shit!.” The language seems to be raw simply to be raw and uses mature language regardless of whether you are doing well or bad, though the worse you do the more it seems to curse. As an adult I heard far worse language when my dad was working on an engine but it generally wasn’t aimed at me. When I don’t correct enough for a turn and drop back two places in a race I will probably be cursing enough without the game saying “son of a bitch!” or my still favorite “that wasn’t too fuckin’ smart” which I am probably already feeling. It’s adult humor and meant to be funny but it almost feels like it could be abusive to a child. I think the game may continue to tend toward this angle since it appears that it is being marketed in Europe as “Gas Guzzlers Shitload of Gas” as opposed to the U.S. “Gas Guzzlers Combat Carnage.”

Last Call:

I really look forward to reviewing and tearing up some tar on the final game. Gas Guzzlers is in Open Beta which is still a very early process, heck at one point I had a collision error and found myself driving through the sky shooting my machine guns at clouds before the game corrected me back onto track. All it does is give you a taste of the game and an idea in which direction they are going. As a gorgeous, racing game with excellent tracks and fun weapons this game is headed in a great direction. The only question is whether it wants to keep going in the mature direction solely for the purpose of being mature and edgy, which could in the end easily lose them a whole player base. I’ll enjoy it either way, but it is not headed towards family entertainment.

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Vessel Preview (PC/Steam)

2012/02/13

Ripper71

News, Previews

When I first heard about Vessel it sounded interesting, stylish 2D side scrolling action game involving water. That description didn’t really do justice to the game and the exceptional physics involved in it, the grace and style that can be made using water in a Victorian Steam Punk environment.

The story is about an inventor named Arkwright who created Fluro, liquid based mechanical creatures, that have been integrated into every part of our modern life. Arkwright used this knowledge and resulting wealth to improve liquid physics and finish his latest creation “The Device.” He steps outside his home laboratory and finds himself locked outside the house by one of his latest Fluro so he goes to get his tools to get back into his house only to find the Fluro have ran amok all over town particularly causing havoc on the fluid based technology. This technology all looks like Victorian Steam Punk in design though it is actually Victorian Liquid Punk and there is water water everywhere, some of it walking on two feet. All of Arkwright’s inventions run on it including the multiple weapons he uses to set things right throughout town.

The animation style combined with the haunting music creates an atmosphere very similar to Limbo. Where Limbo painted a world of shadow, Vessel paints with a world of water. Water is involved in all the puzzles and Strange Loop Games went to painstaking lengths to plot the physics of all the water, even the ones not involved in puzzles. This world would come to an end if there was ever a drought but anything that can be liquified is put to use to keep the world going. Fans of Penny Arcade may enjoy how much Arkwright looks like he came right out of it.

The puzzles definitely vary in difficulty and some are more a matter of timing than brain work but there seems to be another challenge around every corner and you get so immerse in moving Arkwright through it you can easily lose time. With so many levels and puzzles to solve there is a lot of time to be passed and I was just playing the demo!

Features:
* Fully physically-simulated world of liquid interactions. Experience flowing and splashing water, scalding thick lava, drippy glowing goo, and explosive reactant chemicals, simulated using fluid-dynamics.
* All creatures in the game are composed of simulated liquid, and maintain the fluid’s properties and abilities . Collide water creatures with lava creatures to create steam, use creatures made of glowing goo to navigate dark areas, and mix creatures of reactant chemicals to trigger explosions.
* Solve puzzles by combing the unique behavior of each creature with the fluid they’re made of. Drop a ‘Drinker’ Fluro and lure him by spraying goo. Create a ‘Dark Fluro’ and chase him with light.
* Explore a world of fantastic, detailed machines and strange, wondrous environments. 2D hand-drawn textures combined with 3D normal maps and lighting creates a unique, other-worldly look to the visuals.
* Gain the powers of the creatures you encounter in the field and apply your discoveries to your next great invention, ‘The Device’.

Last Call:

The graphics are beautiful and haunting, the gameplay puzzles are excellent and if you pay attention the liquid physics are almost awe inspiring. Hopefully it will get the notice and gameplay of Limbo because it truly deserves it. Maybe this year it will be on top indie game lists like Limbo was this past year.

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