COMMUNITY AND COMMUNICATION IN GAMES-AS-SERVICES

Interesting talk, worth if you're working on an online service:

DEADLIGHT

Here's another one of those nice games you may have missed but actually are quite enjoyable: Deadlight. The first game of a Spanish studio, in which they struggle to finish it for more time they initially expected. I know that of first hand since some friends worked on it.

The final result, in my opinion, is quite good. The visual approach, similar to Limbo, totally works and gives a unique flavor to the experience. The game systems work fine, nothing you haven't seen before but I know for a fact they had huge issues just to have this. It was critizised for being too short and it's indeed: Just can finish it in 4 hours without major issues. Still, for 15 dollars in XBLA I wouldn't feel cheated (admittedly, I paid even less due to my "only games with 75% discount on Steam" purchase policy)

The game is essentially platforming and puzzles. Both systems work reasonably well. You can see little details that require polish but nothing major. The puzzles themselves were not particularly difficult (I completed the game without external help) and I'm actually a fan of that. I see no reason for frustrating users with challenges that at the end of the day internet can solve for you.

I believe they intended to make it much longer, but their scheduling and overall direction was not as precise as it should have, and the experience falls short. The story doesn't hurt but it could have been much better, since it sins where other games do (i.e. Ryse or Castlevania LoS): The most interesting plot twists are left for the end, where most gamers will never reach.

A nightmare mode (no saving), collectibles (often more a nuisance than adding value), leaderboards and achievements complete the pack. As a whole, a good first game of a new studio, and that's not little thing. Good luck!

MONUMENT VALLEY

Being an admirer of Escher’s artwork, it’s no surprise I was attracted by Monument Valley. In essence, the game makes interactive all those geometric fantasies, and creates a wonderful (although short) experience.

I’m kinda envious because I’m not good at designing visual puzzles at all. Sadly, I could have never made this game. However, somehow I aspire to do something similar in the future: Create a brand new gameplay experience that none has imagined before. Monument Valley does that, and it’s so uncommon that you have to admire the effort... and support it if possible, buying the game ;)

The design is remarkable since there are no failing conditions (much like Monkey Island, no matter how much you fail the game always allows you to retry), and with really little elements they manage to create a solid 1-2 hours of gameplay.

Yep, that’s one of the weaknesses of the game, it’s quite short. 10 levels, each of them you can beat in 5-10 min. The story falls onto the ‘poetic’ or ‘suggestive’ category: Few storytelling elements, that evoke more than lead. Think of Braid or Limbo for references. It works as a canvas, but can’t say I found it particularly engaging.

Honor mention for the visuals, simple but extremely beautiful, and the oniric audio. Altogether they create a one-of-a-kind experience. Hopefully they’ll make DLCs, or a sequel. I strongly recommend the game for whoever likes games or art in general. Monument Valley is currently my candidate to GoTY 2014.

GUACAMELEE SUPER TURBO CHAMPIONSHIP EDITION

Holy frijoles! I liked Guacamelee from the first trailer, due to its unique setting: Luchadores against skeletons, very Mexican. However, not that much as to buy it so I waited.

Sometime later, it was on sale on Steam (PC). After 3 frustrating hours I decided to forget about the game. I don't do that often. The problem was the game speed: Seemed to me the enemies and game logic was too fast for my reaction time. I reached an event in which you're running away from an enemy and no matter how many times I tried I died over and over. I watched some internet videos and realized the game speed in the console version was slower, but the player actions were as responsive as in the PC. Weird, right? I somehow suspect there was some issue with the port, then. I've seen that happening with versions of old 8 bit games.

But I liked the setting and so much humor & crazyness the devs put on it, so I promised myself to give it another try if I could get a console version. And thanks to the Xbox One monthly free games, I've got it and finished it. Guess what? I was right. The game is substantially easier, and I beated that event which blocked me on the PC version on the second try.

The game is very good, honestly. It was a very mature design, lots of replayability, some brand new systems and lots of love and humor. It's essentially a metroidvania brawler + platformer, with some side quests, a basic upgrade system and challenges. In the GDC the devs mentioned they were specially proud of the fact that the combat moves were also used for platforming (jumps). How does this work? Some of your punches, like UP+B, also project the character up. This move can be performed together with the normal jump to achieve higher distances. Nice design ;)

Visually speaking is really unique, with a mix of flash-like graphics and Mexican iconography. It has a co-op mode I didn't play, and that's it. On the minor side the difficulty is excessive at times, I don't think it was properly scaled. By the end of the game is almost unbearable. And I could have used some basic multiplayer, but I understand they're a small team and that's a lot of additional work.

I highly recommend the game for anybody who's into brawling games. It has an 88 in metacritics, and today those ratings are not given for free. Well done, Drinkbox!

BATMAN ARKHAM CITY

Great game, for sure. Best thing I can say is when I finished the story mode I thought it was a little short, assuming I finished it in 6-8 hours. Later I checked on Steam and it took me actually 14.

I enjoyed Arkham asylum, and was tempted about this one. Again the combat system was a main reference for Ryse, and the free roaming approached seemed a good fit for the IP. Now I think it's a remarkable sequel since it builds onto the previous one. Practically every game system from Arkham asylum can be found on this one, plus some new gadgets, open world (although relatively small)... and Catwoman.

The pacing is similar to the original, combining combat with stealth & investigation challenges. I may be wrong but I believed there were some more bosses but less exotic gameplay sections (in Asylum you had several scarecrow levels, while in this one you one have one 'dream' section). The story works (although they put together so many villains that I found it a little confusing, and somehow unfinished) and the new free roaming systems (hook / wip) work like a charm.

Some new enemy types, same multiple collectible options and arena challenges makes me think they must have a mature and solid design team, who didn't go crazy but instead kept the foundations from the original, added some well-selected new options and created a decent sequel without excessive ambitions. They knew where the gold was, and mined selectively.

Highly recommendable, in any case. These Rocksteady guys are really something...

DEAD SPACE

aaaaand another game I got very cheap thanks to a work mate. I did play it a little bit back in 2008 at a friend's console, but I'm not a big fan of survival horrors in general so I passed. But since I also have DS2 waiting, I gave it a chance.

I found the game extremely well crafted, and as I usually say "very mature". The devs didn't try to excel on every area, and instead focused on where they thought they would get more gold: The monsters. The enemy design is smart, varied and features a new dismemberment tech. I suspect it sucks most of the rendering power, so the level dressing is very repetitive and doesn't have much windows. But that works fine with the horror genre.

They not only reuse most graphic assets in levels, but also you re-visit 2 scenarios as well. The story was good enough to me (I confused both female characters) and sometimes engaging despite the lack of charisma from the player character. The weapons design is intelligent (they use classic weapons with a Sci-fi twist) and I believe they were pioneers in the integration of the HUD within the game world, since health / statis / ammo are displayed onto the player character.

In summary, lots of little good decisions and well-measured ambition that offer at the end a rounded and mostly satisfying experience. If any, a little more variation on systems out of the basic combat would have been appreciated, and since the game doesn't have MP the 13 hours of gameplay felt a little short, but nothing major.

SAINT'S ROW 3

Thanks to the Xbox gold subscription I got when Ryse was finished, I'm enjoying some free games I had no real intention to buy. I was intrigued by SR3 because of the college humor you could see in promotional videos, but other than that I always took it for another GTA look-alike.

I can't say my opinion has changed much. There are indeed some funny missions and bizarre game options which can make you laugh, but I suspect they'll be more effective in the co-op mode. The game world is glitchier than any Rockstar game, and some of the missions doesn't seem to have been tested enough. But the overall experience is entertaining, as over the top as the developers intended (I attended to one of their GDC talks in which they explained their tools for concept phases, quite interesting) and very varied.

Can't really recommend it unless you're a big fan of free-roaming games, but it's not a waste of time. It holds an 84 in metacritics which I think it's a little inflated, but not too much. In any sense it's worth it particularly if it's on sale (or free) ;P