Author: waltorious Page 11 of 34

History Lessons: Star Trek: Judgment Rites

On July 11, 2018

You can read other History Lessons posts here. And, as always, you may click on images to view larger versions.

Oh dear. When I wrote my History Lessons post about Star Trek 25th Anniversary, I intended to play its sequel Star Trek: Judgment Rites soon afterwards, with only a short break between. A few months at most. But it’s been over a year now. What happened? Oh, right: Solium Infernum happened. I suppose that justifies some delays. Now I’ve finally played through Judgment Rites, although it was too late to fit into my Star Trek watching spree which served as motivation for playing Star Trek 25th Anniversary. I’ve not only finished watching all the old shows and films, I also watched the debut season of the new show, Star Trek: Discovery (brief synopsis: I had many reservations at the beginning but by the end I was entirely on board). Since Discovery serves as a prequel to the original series, and is hinting at more direct connections to original series characters in its upcoming second season, I figured it was high time to finish my adventures with Captain Kirk and his crew.

It’s Been A Long Time: Iconoclasts

By waltorious

On June 10, 2018

In Uncategorized

As always, you may click on images to view larger versions.

I’ve been waiting for Iconoclasts for a long time. I first found out about Konjak’s games around 2007 or so, playing through Noitu Love, Legend of Princess, and some of his unfinished projects like Mina of the Pirates and Ivory Springs — the latter of which was his first attempt at the concept which eventually became Iconoclasts. Later, I enjoyed Noitu Love 2 (and wrote about it), as well as Konjak’s playable teaser for Iconoclasts (back when it had a “The” in front of the name) which arrived way back in… actually I’m not sure when it appeared, but I mentioned it in my 2012 post about Noitu Love 2, so it was sometime before that. Iconoclasts has been in development since 2010, you see, and given that Konjak had released a few unfinished and abandoned games before, I feared Iconoclasts had followed suit. I was wrong. Iconoclasts finally appeared in January, and I’ve finally played it.

Going Inside

By waltorious

On May 21, 2018

In Uncategorized

As always, you may click on images to view larger versions.

Inside is Danish developer Playdead’s follow-up to Limbo, which was released way back in 2010. I wrote about Limbo in the early days of this blog. Looking at that now, I see that I honored the stylized all-caps naming for that game, but I cannot bring myself to do so here, for Inside or Limbo. Sorry.

Inside has obvious similarities to Limbo. In both games, players control a small boy in a dangerous and creepy environment, presented through highly stylized art. Inside has evolved that artistic style, translating the visuals into a 3D, flat-shaded style that is predominantly — but unlike Limbo, not entirely — monochrome. The boy is also more realistically proportioned this time around, without the exaggerated large head from Limbo. But the art is similar enough to be recognizable, and in both games the boy begins in dark woods, with no explanation. Players can move left or right, jump, and perform context-sensitive interactions with the environment, and must use these simple controls to explore and survive.

The Mysteries Of Superbrothers: Sword and Sworcery EP

By waltorious

On May 13, 2018

In Uncategorized

As always, you may click on images to view larger versions.

Superbrothers: Sword and Sworcery EP is one of those games that I picked up not long after release but never got around to playing, until now. Its distinctive art style made an impression on me at the time, and I recall seeing lots of discussion surrounding it after its 2011 release, but somehow I never read much about it, and when I finally decided to play it I went in knowing almost nothing. Having everything be a surprise was a real pleasure, so I have tried to write about it without revealing too much.

The Future Sound Of Mushroom 11

By waltorious

On April 29, 2018

In Uncategorized

As always, you may click on images to view larger versions.

When I first heard about Mushroom 11, I was intrigued by its core concept: players control a strange amoeba-fungus creature by erasing it, using a glorified version of the eraser tool found in most graphics editing software. Erasing the creature causes it to regrow itself from the opposite side, so the creature can be made to move around and change shape. A puzzle platform adventure based on this idea sounded interesting. But what really got my attention was when I watched a trailer and recognized the music. It was The Future Sound of London, one of my favorite electronic music artists. Some quick searching online revealed that The Future Sound of London provide the entire score for the game, mostly in the form of previously released tracks, but also with a few that can’t be found elsewhere.

Well, then.

The Complete Infernal Medicine

By waltorious

On April 18, 2018

In Uncategorized

At long last, the epic Solium Infernum diary known as Infernal Medicine is complete! There are links to each portion of it below. I’d like to extend the warmest thanks to my contributors Anonymoeba, Baleygr, and Codename Duchess for making this possible. They are fine, upstanding citizens… er, I mean vile, conniving fiends.

Part 1 (Turns 1-10)
Part 2 (Turns 11-20)
Part 3 (Turns 21-30)
Part 4 (Turns 31-40)
Part 5 (Turns 41-49 and the epilogue)

Solium Infernum is available directly from developers Cryptic Comet. If you like what you see, and you think you’re ready to step into the inferno, drop me a line and I’ll be happy to host a new game.

Read on for a few (spoiler-free!) final thoughts on Infernal Medicine.

Infernal Medicine: Another Solium Infernum Diary (part 5)

By waltorious

On April 18, 2018

In Uncategorized

Readers unfamiliar with Solium Infernum may wish to read my original post about the game, as well as my first, massive Solium Infernum diary, Hell Or High Water, before continuing. And you should definitely read part 1, part 2, part 3 and part 4 of Infernal Medicine to get up to speed. Lastly, as always, you may click on images to view larger versions.

Last time, Hell was rocked by scandal. First, Kivah made an audacious and unexpected move: a suicide run at Pandemonium, using the Orb of Oblivion to level the capital city. The Infernal Conclave survived, but now no one can try to take the throne by force. Kivah was excommunicated for his crimes, and Anonymoeba and Baleygr moved in to conquer his holdings. Baleygr lost his legion to ill luck in combat, and Anonymoeba took it all, banishing Kivah to the Abyss. Later, Codename Duchess managed to win a second vendetta against Anonymoeba, one that they had mutually agreed to via a behind-the-scenes deal. On turn 39, Codename Duchess revealed his Playing For Keeps perk (conspicuously not reported by Anonymoeba’s spies) by declaring Blood Feud on Anonymoba with only two (instead of the usual three) vendetta victories under his belt. He held initiative advantage, so there was nothing Anonymoeba could do, and on turn 40 Codename Duchess captured Anonymoeba’s stronghold, banishing him to the Abyss.

Only four archfiends remain.

Codename Duchess is poised to take Anonymoeba’s former territory and Places of Power, which include those that used to belong to Kivah. But Baleygr, who had all but given up on the game, saw another chance to capture some of Kivah’s old Places of Power. And the Magistrate’s plan to win through wealth is finally paying off; he’s taken the lead in Prestige. But he’s been hit with curses and thievery from Beowulf, including the theft of his star duelist praetor, Morax. Now The Magistrate faces a duel against his former champion, but he’s sending in Vassago, a praetor he stole from Anonymoeba (before his banishment) and trained with powerful combat moves.

Here is what happened.

Revisiting Adelpha: Outcast 1.1

By waltorious

On February 18, 2018

In Uncategorized

As always, you may click on images to view larger versions.

A few months ago, I posted the news that Outcast: Second Contact — a high-resolution remaster of the 1999 game Outcast — had been released. This was exciting news, since the original Outcast was the subject of one of my first ever History Lessons posts; a game I played for the first time in 2009 and absolutely loved. Before trying the new version, however, I wanted to revisit the original, this time taking advantage of the 1.1 update that developers Appeal / Fresh3D released in 2014, which allows for modern resolutions (the original’s awkward 512×384 is difficult to display on today’s monitors), improved performance, and fixes issues relating to processor speed. It is, in theory, the ultimate way to play the original game, and I’m planning to directly compare it to the Second Contact remaster.

Infernal Medicine: Another Solium Infernum Diary (part 4)

By waltorious

On February 6, 2018

In Uncategorized

Readers unfamiliar with Solium Infernum may wish to read my original post about the game, as well as my first, massive Solium Infernum diary, Hell Or High Water, before continuing. And you should definitely read part 1, part 2 and part 3 of Infernal Medicine to get up to speed. Lastly, as always, you may click on images to view larger versions.

Things are heating up in Hell. Last time, The Magistrate’s plans to win by being the richest archfiend around hit a snag when Beowulf cursed his praetor Morax, temporarily blocking his special combat moves just before his duel with Anonymoeba’s champion. Anonymoeba began to focus on secret objectives, and opened a dialogue with Codename Duchess to end hostilities so he can direct his aggression at Kivah and The Magistrate. Codename Duchess continued his attempts to win two vendettas against the same archfiend, so he can use his Playing For Keeps perk to claim Blood Feud and eliminate them from the game. So far, he’s managed one win against Anonymoeba. And Baleygr, who has a huge territory but lower income, planned an eventual assault on the Pit of Tartarus, the last remaning unconquered Place of Power on the map. His plan involves some diplomatic action against The Magistrate.

Here is what happened.

Console History: Dragon Quest

By waltorious

On January 8, 2018

In Uncategorized

This is Console History, a special sub-series of my more general History Lessons series, covering console role-playing games, action role-playing games, Metroidvanias, and action-adventure games in nominally chronological order starting in the late 1980s. The chronology is garbled in the beginning as the scope of the series expanded, but it gets more organized later on. As always, you may click on images to view larger versions.

Well, this is getting ridiculous. When I wrote my History Lessons post about Final Fantasy, I outlined an ambitious plan to give the same treatment to the rest of that series (or at least the older entries). Now, nearly two years later, instead of finally tackling the second Final Fantasy game, I decided I really should go through the Dragon Quest series (known as Dragon Warrior in the United States until 2005) too. Maybe I’ll be finished with all of these in a decade or two.

But there is some method to my madness. Dragon Quest was released before Final Fantasy (1986 to Final Fantasy’s 1987, although the games didn’t come to the United States until 1989 and 1990, respectively), and is widely regarded as the game that set the mold for the entire genre of Japanese-style role-playing games. It could be cited as a direct inspiration for Final Fantasy, and it spawned its own long-running series (eleven main games plus a bunch of spin-offs) to rival the behemoth that is the Final Fantasy franchise. While I played some of the original Dragon Quest — which had to change its name to Dragon Warrior in the United States to avoid infringing on the trademark of the tabletop game DragonQuest — I never got far, and I’m less familiar with the series as a whole than I am with Final Fantasy. Playing Final Fantasy for its History Lessons post sparked my interest in the evolution of the Dragon Quest series as well.