Blog page four

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  Path of Exile – Beta journal entry #2

  By Shane Ryan on Wednesday 6th February 2013

  The witch was fighting her way across the damned beach when the chat window exploded with conversation. Different coloured text flowed as other characters discussed tactics or made trade offers. One that caught my eye suggested another newcomer who was trying to come to grips with what exactly was going on. It seemed we were both in the same boat. Actually we weren’t because the boat had crashed, but that’s beside the point. Replying to one of his messages while fighting off hordes of the undead and aggressive shoreline creatures, the multitasking abilities of mouse and keyboard prevailing, we struck up conversation.

  Soon a blue gem was found. Accessing the inventory displayed equipped and carried items. Most apparel contained coloured sockets, red, green or blue, which allows a corresponding coloured gem to be entered. Doing so then grants the ability. This was to be the first of many intelligent twists on the genre. Instead of gaining spells by levelling up they are acquired in gems that must be allocated to equipment. As you use these gems they’ll then level up independently.

  With the blue gem inserted into the wand that had been scavenged from the shipwreck earlier, the conversation with this stranger continued. He’d messaged to say he’d reached the first town. Soon it was discovered and we met virtual face-to-face. We helped each other search through the options and commands, discovering the ease at which parties could be created on the fly.

  We then took about striking conversation with the few non-playable characters of the town, receiving the initial quests and selling items we’d found. Another strong design choice Grinding Gear Games’ has made is to absolutely remove currency. There’s no gold. This bold step provides a unique experience that is two-fold. Firstly, all items must be traded by players or with NPCs, who will exchange them for shards or scraps of scrolls in return. These can then be stacked to build scrolls of identification or orbs that enhance or augment equipment. Secondly, it removes the constant comparison and change of your loadout.

  With trading and mission searching complete, we headed out into the first area: The Terraces.

  I’ll be continuing to update this journal during my exploration of Path of Exile. Stick around.

  Read journal entry #1

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  Path of Exile - Beta journal entry #1

  By Shane Ryan on Monday 4th February 2013

  I’d been out of PC gaming for a good while until a new machine arrived on Friday. My last time sat gaming at a PC was around the release of the original Far Cry and The Elder Scrolls: Morrowind. With everything set up and running the important decision was what to play first. Previous to my new electronic friend arriving there’d been talk of Path of Exile over on the forum and the open beta had just started. Well, that was my first dilemma resolved.

  What hadn’t been taken into account was just how popular this would be. Grinding Gears Games’ server for downloading came under intense pressure as a new audience was eager to see what it was about, and the current user base took on the latest update. The five gigabyte download took several hours. Some of this time was spent reading the forums, which in hindsight did more harm than good. As mentioned, there’d been a gap in PC gaming and thus a period of time away from more complicated in-game systems. Threads about the difficulty of the game and jargon regarding character builds that made no sense had me confused.

  Still, we all learn differently and for me the hands-on approach is best. An account was created and off we sailed. Aboard the ship were six characters steeped in shadows. Highlighting an individual would have them step forward into the light, their voiceover and appearance then presented. Having recently finished up Torchlight a sorcerer seemed a fitting choice. And so the witch was chosen. My usual gamertag/in-game name was available and with that the ship crashed.

  Shipwrecked, my witch woke on a shore, an injured man by her side. As she began to converse him a corpse by his side came alive and devoured him. Now was the time to defend with a reactive offensive. With no spells, she relied on the power of the fist to knock the undead creature back to the ground. A wooden wand had washed up nearby, and with this equipped, she moved on to find the nearest town. Path of Exile looks and plays smoothly, and my adventures will be recorded here.

  I’ll be continuing to update this journal during my exploration of Path of Exile. Stick around.

  Read journal part #2 here

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  Borderlands 2: The Mechromancer DLC

  By James Dewitt on Friday 1st February 2013

  Originally part of a pre-order incentive, The Mechromancer DLC can be purchased by any Borderlands 2 player. In addition to the fifth playable class, anyone that downloads the pack will get a golden key for unlocking a rare weapon in Sanctuary, the Vault Hunter’s Relic, and Gearbox’s Golden Guns to sweeten the deal. Bear in mind that this piece of DLC isn’t a part of the season pass, so it costs a bit extra assuming you didn’t get in on the original pre-order bonus.

  “A gift for robotics”The Vault Hunter’s Relic increases the chances of finding rare loot, so naturally it comes in handy whenever opening chests, especially the one found in Sanctuary. You’re practically guaranteed something good if you open that chest with the relic equipped. As for the golden guns, they come in handy during the first two levels or so, but quickly become outmoded and are best sold off as soon as something better comes along. Golden guns and the Vault Hunter’s Relic are accessible to all classes once purchased, so they’re not just restricted to the Mechromancer.

  As for the Mechromancer herself, her name is Gaige and she’s a plucky teenager with a gift for robotics. Her backstory is that she fled to Pandora for fame and fortune after her robotic creation—Deathtrap—accidentally killed her rival at a science fair. Her personality is best described as a slightly older and less caffeinated version of Tiny Tina. She’s bright, cheerful, and spouts dialogue stereotypical to a teenager always wired to pop culture and the internet.

  Three skill branches are available and allow the player to scale how hard or easy things are going to be for Gaige. The much talked-about Best Friends Forever branch focuses on support skills. A full ammo click lets Gaige regenerate health or missed bullets will ricochet, damaging enemies. Little Big Trouble is all about triggering elemental damage, mostly focusing on lightning. Ordered Chaos as all about Anarchy: a passive skill that can be stacked for bonus damage depending on what the player does. More Anarchy equates to more damage, but will significantly drop accuracy.

  “A flexible character class ”Deathtrap can serve as offense or defense depending on the situation and what skills have been chosen. His standard method of attack is to go to the nearest enemy and start taking swings, freeing up Gaige and the other vault hunters to revive or focus on other enemies. Though only available for a relatively short time, he can be an invaluable resource and his presence feels like having a fifth player on the team. Depending on the chosen skill, he can heal teammates, deal damage with lasers, or send out orbs that shock enemies.

  The Mechromancer is a flexible character class that can be used by just about anyone, and Gaige is a solid addition to Borderlands 2. Although she doesn’t really serve a specific role on the team, she can fit in with just about anybody no matter which skill branch is pursued. Hopefully, Gearbox will consider adding more classes as time goes on.

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  Pheonix HD

  By Shane Ryan on Wednesday 30th January 2013

  Phoenix HD, a shmup on iOS, does a fine undertaking of conjuring memories of ‘90s shoot’em-ups, injected with a frantic Eastern approach. Letting you man different spaceships, those outside of the starter vehicle requiring an in-app purchase, Firi Games’ entry is a well presented and straight to the action affair. What’s next is chaotically simple: A myriad of bullets.

  

  Procuring inspiration from the great Japanese bullet-hell cousins, there are flowing orbs of red that coast and waltz across the screen, your own artillery on auto-fire. It’s picturesque to watch as you weave and bob through enemy fire, like a needle and thread through neon rose petals.

  “Considerably hectic”For the pilot the reality isn’t as attractive. You’re on a suicide mission. The opposing force comes in a multiplicity of shapes and sizes, all embossed with a crimson red. By taking out their gun turrets they’ll fall faster. And this is where the tactics come in. All but the smallest enemy ships have multiple turrets. By concentrating your fire upon them, you’ll do more damage and be rewarded. Green shards of armour will break away and attach to your ship, boosting your longevity. Once a turret is destroyed all the bullets on-screen that it fired turn to bonus points, which can be used to purchase upgrades for the next battle.

  However, each individual turret has its own attack pattern. Some will fire directly at you, others spray out sun-like rays, shoot boomerang missiles and more. It all becomes considerably hectic. Yet the mechanical precision provides the control necessary to survive and improve. It’s vital for a shmup to control accurately and Firi Games have achieved this.

  To help you out, power-ups from defeated spaceships can be looted to improve your own firepower. EMPs disable enemy fire while Alpha Strikes release a super powered barrage of energy against everything on screen. Your ship holds a single power-up at a time that is launched by tapping the screen.

  “Randomised nature”Taking damage sees the strong colour scheme saturate. As you approach death the screen fades to black and white; however, the red bullets and green health shards remain as vivid as ever. It makes for an artistic twist on a known formula while also letting the player know it’s nearly over.

  What this doesn’t have is the in-depth and initially bewildering score attack systems that modern Japanese entries in the genre do. With leaderboards being the main incentive for replays it’s a missed opportunity that chain attacks and multipliers aren’t involved. At the same time, the randomised nature of each playthrough is a double-edge sword. For quick, on-the-go blasts this extends its life, however, it knocks the balance of score attacks. Two players fighting out for the best score with randomised enemies isn’t impartial.

  

  These leaderboards are localised though, letting you see how you fair globally, in your country or right down to the position in your city. As Cave ports over the big girls, Phoenix HD does well to fend for itself. Well refined, Firi Games have done well without opening their arms and attempting to fully redefine the stars.

  Version 2.0.3 reviewed

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  8-Bit Boy

  By Shane Ryan on Friday 25th January 2013

  A plausibly semi-biographical introduction tells us of a man looking for more in life, looking for art, for creation, for meaning. No more part-time jobs and unfinished dreams. Keyboard choral vocals and a piano score ramps up the sentimentally. He dreams back on greater days and a trusty old companion. That friend now lies packed away in the basement. An 8-bit console of wonder unpacked. A magical cartridge discovered, it’s artwork reminiscent of Sega’s Master System.

  

  Then boom! A holy white light beams from the dusty machine and transports us into an 8-bit world. 8-Bit Boy is a Chrome browser title recreating a simplistic platformer of yesteryear. With two difficulty levels, Retro mode was selected and the adventure began. In this harder setting secret coins must be found that will then autosave your current progress.

  “ Distinctly Nintendo influenced”Upon first taking on the world and its creatures the frame rate would take a dramatic dip whenever defeating a monster or using a jump pad. This was particularly painful when attempting to make a jump at the same time as defeating an enemy. By adjusting the zoom in Chrome the performance was improved.

  Restarting the game again in Kiddy Mode - I’ll take a patronising title over banging my head off of the desk - where it autosaves each level and grants more time to explore, this chubby man-sprite started his leaps over deadly water and onto the bonces of fat birds once more. Jumping on enemies, blocks that turn to boxes containing coins, secret locations, disappearing platforms, deadly water, chirpy audio, fire power-ups, and worlds to explore. This is distinctly Nintendo influenced.

  Upon reaching the second world there was some anticipation in how the unoriginal lands of the first would be cast aside for something more radical. The first enemy was another bird, and many of the others returned. It was too obvious a reskin in sand brown. This didn’t feel like a new world worth fighting through. Using older titles as a complete template without revision inherits their negative elements too. The respawn and game over speeds now feel anarchic, the animations simplistic and lacking charm, and the power of nostalgia is borrowed from those it mimics, rather than that of its own.

  “No-frills retro platformer”From the time my eyes first opened video games have been around me and there’s no denying memories of Alex Kidd and Mario had me forgive much of 8-Bit Boy’s weakness and continue to plough through past the usual point of calling. Mediocre in execution, and perhaps willingly so, there are other retro-influenced titles out there doing some new with the formula.

  

  And this is part of the struggle. As a Mario clone, Awesome Blade has set itself a rather high watermark to achieve. The mechanics and level design certainly aren’t as tight, and there’s nothing new added. That doesn’t completely rule out 8-Bit Boy, however, and if you’re looking for a straight-up no-frills retro platformer then you’ll find comfort in this. Otherwise you’ll undoubtedly become frustrated in how straight this is.

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