Uncategorized – Page 44 – Waltorious Writes About Games

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

I’ve already mentioned that my playthrough of The Witcher 2 had been stalled by some hardware issues. Those have been solved, and I’ve actually finished the game now, but simply can’t find the time to finish writing about it. I’ll get to it eventually. In the meantime, I wanted to share the most excellent demo for CrossCode, an old-school-styled action role-playing game currently seeking funding on IndieGoGo.

Before going any further, I should state that while the graphical style of the game looks a lot like RPG Maker, CrossCode is definitely not a traditional tile-based Japanese-style role-playing game. It’s a true action role-playing game, playing more like Zelda or Secret of Mana than Final Fantasy. It also looks much cooler in motion than in still screenshots, so you might want to check out some of the cool animated gifs on the IndieGoGo page.

Roguelike Highlights: Dungeonmans

By waltorious

On March 8, 2015

In Uncategorized

Readers unfamiliar with roguelikes may wish to read my introduction to the genre, and possibly browse some of the other highlights. Also, as always, you can click on images to view larger versions.

About a year and a half ago, I wrote a quick post calling attention to the Kickstarter campaign for Dungeonmans, a graphical roguelike with a decidedly humorous tone. Well, the campaign was a success and the game has now been out for a few months. I took a look, got sucked into playing a bunch of characters, and finally managed to win a game (although there’s plenty of room for more replays). Now I’m telling you about it.

The Name Game’s Great Game Names

By waltorious

On February 21, 2015

In Uncategorized

I had hoped to continue chronicling my second playthrough of The Witcher 2 (started here), but I’ve been delayed by hardware issues. What to do while those are resolved? Some more Name Game, of course!

It recently came to my attention that there is a game called Bladestorm: Nightmare. It’s out in Japan, and will release elsewhere soon. First let me say that the game is set during the Hundred Years’ War but has a mode in which an evil Joan of Arc leads “an army of wizards and dragons”. This is awesome. But perhaps even more awesome is the title. Bladestorm: Nightmare. It’s better than Kingdom Come: Deliverance. It’s better than Battlefield 2: Modern Combat. It’s pretty much the perfect example of the ridiculous videogame name.

How will other games find names after this? Never fear, the Name Game is here to help. I present to you The Name Game’s Great Game Names:

Gunsquall: Reckoning
Axehail: Warcry
Hammerwind: Battlefray
Daggertide: Rising
Bulletflood: Full Auto
Arrowrain: Downpour
Boxmove: The Slidening
Laserblast: Planetfall

Click onwards for more names.

Out There Is Pretty Far Out

By waltorious

On February 8, 2015

In Uncategorized

As always, you can click on images to see larger versions.

I’ve said before that it was never my intention to write exclusively about PC games on this blog, it just sort of happened that way since that’s what I spend most of my time playing. But I rectified that with my first post about a mobile game (albeit also available on PC), Super Hexagon. Now I’m going to literally double my posts about mobile games by writing about another game that’s kept me entertained on my phone: Out There. It’s even (almost) timely, given that the new, fancier Ω Edition of Out There recently entered open beta for Windows, Mac and Linux, with a full release planned for this spring. This timeliness is purely accidental, I assure you, as I played the original version on my phone many months ago and simply never got around to writing about it until now. But I am very happy to hear that my mobile version of the game will be updated to the Ω Edition for free once it’s released. Hooray!

Returning To The Witcher 2

By waltorious

On January 24, 2015

In Uncategorized

As always, you can click on images to view larger versions. Also, if you are considering playing The Witcher 2, please use the original Polish voices with English (or other appropriate language) subtitles. They are, in my humble opinion, much better than the English voices.

Over the summer, I wrote a bunch of posts about the bonus Adventures included with The Witcher. I decided to play them before for my long-delayed second playthrough of The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings. This was all in preparation for the imminent release of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, which was originally slated for February. I thought if I played the bonus Adventures over the summer, then I’d have time to get through The Witcher 2 in the fall, and still manage a short break before The Witcher 3 came out. Silly me. Naturally I’ve only had time to get through the first third of The Witcher 2, and February is almost upon us. Fortunately (for me), the Witcher 3 has been pushed back to May, so there’s a chance I’ll actually get through it before the third installment arrives.

Readers unfamiliar with the Witcher series should read my posts about the Adventures first, as they contain copious ruminations on the first game in the series (including an introduction). Returning to the second game now, I am struck by the differences between the two, both good and bad.

Roguelike Highlights: Approaching Infinity

By waltorious

On January 11, 2015

In Uncategorized

Readers who are unfamiliar with roguelikes may wish to read my introduction to the genre, and perhaps peruse a few of my previous highlights. Also, as always, you can click on images to view bigger versions.

Longtime readers may remember that I posted about Approaching Infinity over a year ago, when it was just finishing up its Kickstarter campaign. The campaign was a success and the finished product is now available from Shrapnel Games (the Kickstarter campaign funded the majority of development, with the publishing deal with Shrapnel signed later). I intended to write about the game sooner because I was enjoying the various pre-release builds that were available during development, but once I started playing the official release I couldn’t stop. I had to see what the next few sectors would bring, always afraid I was missing something cool that I would want to write about. Now, having reached one of many possible endings, I can take a break to tell you about it.

First things first: Approaching Infinity ditches the traditional fantasy settings of most roguelikes and instead casts the player as a starship captain, exploring new sectors of space, landing on planets, finding equipment and trade goods, and doing business with various alien races, all in a universe that keeps going forever, without limits. And it’s great.

Outcast 1.1 Released

By waltorious

On December 19, 2014

In Uncategorized

Longtime readers of this blog will know that I am a huge fan of Outcast. It was the subject of one of my earliest History Lessons posts, and when the original developers started a Kickstarter campaign to create an HD remake of the game, I posted about it with excitement. Sadly, that campaign did not succeed, but they didn’t give up on the game. In the meantime they’ve been quietly working on an updated version of the original game, adding support for multi-threading, resolutions up to 1920×1080, and native gamepad support. This updated version has just released on Steam (the first time the game has ever been available there) and GOG (as a free update).

Roguelike Updates: Let It Whip

By waltorious

On December 9, 2014

In Uncategorized

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

It’s been a long time since my last Roguelike Updates post. Actually it’s been a while since I posted anything. I am running behind.

The biggest recent roguelike news (technically roguelike-like news) is that The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth, a remake/expansion of The Binding of Isaac, has been released. But I haven’t played it yet. I haven’t even bought it yet. That is how behind I am. What I have played, however, is the latest version of Brogue (v.1.7.4), which adds many things, including whips.

Six-Sided Sadism: Super Hexagon

By waltorious

On November 12, 2014

In Uncategorized

You can click on images for even bigger hexagons.

When I started this blog over three years ago, I hadn’t intended to only write about PC games. I figured I’d throw a few board games in there, along with any other interesting games I came across. But PC games are what I spend most of my time playing, so I never got around to writing about anything else. It’s high time to break that trend. Recently I’ve been playing games on my phone a lot more often, so I figured I’d highlight the first game I ever bought for it: Super Hexagon by Terry Cavanagh.

It’s About Windowsills: Windosill

By waltorious

On November 4, 2014

In Uncategorized

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

I wonder if the experience of playing with toys on a windowsill is a universal one. Windowsills hold a particular appeal for this purpose. The wide, shallow space evokes a stage, upon which any manner of drama or comedy can be enacted — or indeed, for those of the right age, a side-scrolling video game, offering action or calm exploration depending on one’s mood. And the window itself is (literally) a portal, through which the imagination can conjure anything.

But windowsills are hardly ubiquitous. Not all homes have windows with sills, especially when considering architecture of the non-Western persuasion, and of course there are many people who are not lucky enough to enjoy their own home at all. Would the idea of playing on a windowsill then be foreign? And what about members of the youngest generation, who are growing up in a world of smartphones and other electronic devices, for whom play may take a very different form? Would they still want to play with actual, physical toys, on a physical windowsill? Is there something innate in the windowsill’s appeal, that anyone would understand?

Windosill, by Vectorpark, is a game about playing with toys on windowsills.

Game-related ramblings.

Category: Uncategorized Page 44 of 61

Crossing the Streams: CrossCode Demo (And Crowdfunding)

Roguelike Highlights: Dungeonmans

The Name Game’s Great Game Names

Out There Is Pretty Far Out

Returning To The Witcher 2

Roguelike Highlights: Approaching Infinity

Outcast 1.1 Released

Roguelike Updates: Let It Whip

Six-Sided Sadism: Super Hexagon

It’s About Windowsills: Windosill