Platform: PC (Windows)
Genre: RPG
Developer: Obsidian Entertainment
Publisher: Atari
Release: 31 October 2006
Rating: Teen
Price $20
Neverwinter Nights is a game that is often fondly remembered, but which, to be honest, has not aged well. It was a hit-or-miss translation of the Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition rule-set to PC format, and the party system (what little there was) left a lot to be desired.
Neverwinter Nights 2 is, gameplay-wise, everything that Neverwinter Nights wanted to be. It is a near-perfect transfer of the D&D 3.5 rules, and it has a rather well-implemented party system that feels a lot like Knights of the Old Republic.
At the time of its release, NWN2's visuals were stunning, but only if you had a high-end computer. The necessary specs are far easier to achieve with modern PCs, so the visuals, while slightly aged, are still very nice to look at.
The plot is very much a storm of cliches: You're an ordinary person growing up in a tiny village, but when the village is attacked, you need to take the magical silver shard that they were after and take it to the eponymous city of Neverwinter so you can get another shard from your uncle and we've all seen this sort of thing before. What makes the story interesting is that the writers seemed to know how cliche it was, so they took every opportunity to poke fun at themselves for it.
Of course, the most important part of any story is its characters, and this game certainly delivers on that front. You will gather the standard Ragtag Bunch of Misfits, but they're all surprisingly well-developed and interesting.
Instead of the kind of "Morality" system that's common to modern RPGs, Neverwinter Nights 2 opts for an "Influence" system instead. Based on your actions, you may curry either favor or scorn from various members of your party, and their actions are determined by how much they like you. This will mainly affect dialogue, but it can affect gameplay as well (having high influence with Neeshka can get her to poison a certain foe, making that boss fight easier, for example). Some allies may even leave the group if they dislike you enough.
The main complaint that I can draw against Neverwinter Nights 2 is the sheer number of game-breaking bugs that it contained upon release. In the years since, most of them have been patched, but not all of them. It's not enough to be a deal-breaker anymore, however.
The Steam-exclusive "Platinum" release also contains both expansions to the game: Mask of the Betrayer and Storm of Zehir. Both of them are excellent and well worth your time once you've completed the main campaign. As a whole, the Platinum version is a great investment if you like Dungeons & Dragons or RPGs. There's a lot of game here, and since it comes with the tools to build your own adventures, there's the fan-made content as well.
You can get Neverwinter Nights 2: Platinum on Steam for $20.
Play, save, and enjoy. See you next week.
--Kotaro
Showing posts with label steam. Show all posts
Showing posts with label steam. Show all posts
Friday, July 22, 2011
Friday, July 8, 2011
Portal
Platform: PC
Genre: Puzzle
Developer: Valve Corporation
Publisher: Valve Corporation
Release: 9 October 2007
Rating: Teen
Price: $10
I personally find it astonishing that there are still people who haven't played this amazing game, which is why I am taking the time to review it. Given its memetic status, you have almost certainly heard of it if you've had any contact with the internet whatsoever in the past three years.
Portal is a difficult game to classify. While it uses a first-pirson perspective, and the engine of a first-person shooter, there is very little combat, and your main tool is a gun that creates wormholes (up to two at a time). Whatever goes in one comes out the other, be it enemies, items, or even you. While this isn't your only tool (you will also use boxes and switches), it is a unique mechanic that you will have to master in order to reach the end of the game and the frankly amazing final boss (which I will not spoil here).
As for the plot, there really isn't a lot. Portal is set in the Half-Life universe, though it has nothing to do with the Half-Life games. You are Chell, a silent test subject in the Aperture Science Laboratiores, where the insane Artificial Intelligence known as GLaDOS guides you through the test chambers (while simultaneously trying to get you killed).
There really isn't anything else I can say about Portal. There really isn't much to it. My one complaint is that it's really short, only about three hours long. But you're only paying $10 for it on Steam, so it's not that big a problem. (There's also a sequel now, but it's best to play this one first.) Regardless, if you're one of the few people out there who hasn't yet played Portal, play Portal, and you will see why the internet was so obsessed with it when it first came out.
Play, save, and enjoy. See you next week.
--Kotaro
Genre: Puzzle
Developer: Valve Corporation
Publisher: Valve Corporation
Release: 9 October 2007
Rating: Teen
Price: $10
I personally find it astonishing that there are still people who haven't played this amazing game, which is why I am taking the time to review it. Given its memetic status, you have almost certainly heard of it if you've had any contact with the internet whatsoever in the past three years.
Portal is a difficult game to classify. While it uses a first-pirson perspective, and the engine of a first-person shooter, there is very little combat, and your main tool is a gun that creates wormholes (up to two at a time). Whatever goes in one comes out the other, be it enemies, items, or even you. While this isn't your only tool (you will also use boxes and switches), it is a unique mechanic that you will have to master in order to reach the end of the game and the frankly amazing final boss (which I will not spoil here).
As for the plot, there really isn't a lot. Portal is set in the Half-Life universe, though it has nothing to do with the Half-Life games. You are Chell, a silent test subject in the Aperture Science Laboratiores, where the insane Artificial Intelligence known as GLaDOS guides you through the test chambers (while simultaneously trying to get you killed).
There really isn't anything else I can say about Portal. There really isn't much to it. My one complaint is that it's really short, only about three hours long. But you're only paying $10 for it on Steam, so it's not that big a problem. (There's also a sequel now, but it's best to play this one first.) Regardless, if you're one of the few people out there who hasn't yet played Portal, play Portal, and you will see why the internet was so obsessed with it when it first came out.
Play, save, and enjoy. See you next week.
--Kotaro
Friday, June 24, 2011
Blade Kitten
Platform: PlayStation 3/Xbox 360/PC (Windows)
Genre: Platformer
Developer: Krome Studios
Publisher: Atari
Release: 22 September 2010
Rating: Teen
Price: $10
Blade Kitten is a side-scrolling platformer based on a webcomic of the same name. It's mostly standard stuff, but there are two twists to make it different: the protagonist Kat can climb walls and ceilings, and her weapon can move independently of her. These ideas don't quite mesh, but manage to create an interesting experience.
The levels are mostly linear, but there is a bit of Metroidvania*-style exploration via the two aforementioned features, so you can find hidden items and money. Unlike most games of that style, there's no real backtracking, which keeps the levels fresh.
The control can be rather floaty at times, and you're going to want a gamepad for the PC version, but it's not bad enough to be deal-breaking. The game is also really easy: Kit's health regenerates when you're not fighting, and there's no limit to your number of lives (unlimited lives is always an appreciated feature, though).
While Blade Kitten is very hit-or-miss, it's amusing, and it tries some new things in an industry that's become increasingly stagnant in recent years.
The game is available in the PlayStation Store, Xbox Live Arcade, and on Steam, for $10.Play, save, and enjoy. See you next week.
--Kotaro
*For those uninformed, the term "Metroidvania" refers to the exploration-heavy gameplay style of the Metroid series and the Castlevania series (post-Symphony of the Night).
Genre: Platformer
Developer: Krome Studios
Publisher: Atari
Release: 22 September 2010
Rating: Teen
Price: $10
Blade Kitten is a side-scrolling platformer based on a webcomic of the same name. It's mostly standard stuff, but there are two twists to make it different: the protagonist Kat can climb walls and ceilings, and her weapon can move independently of her. These ideas don't quite mesh, but manage to create an interesting experience.
The levels are mostly linear, but there is a bit of Metroidvania*-style exploration via the two aforementioned features, so you can find hidden items and money. Unlike most games of that style, there's no real backtracking, which keeps the levels fresh.
The control can be rather floaty at times, and you're going to want a gamepad for the PC version, but it's not bad enough to be deal-breaking. The game is also really easy: Kit's health regenerates when you're not fighting, and there's no limit to your number of lives (unlimited lives is always an appreciated feature, though).
While Blade Kitten is very hit-or-miss, it's amusing, and it tries some new things in an industry that's become increasingly stagnant in recent years.
The game is available in the PlayStation Store, Xbox Live Arcade, and on Steam, for $10.Play, save, and enjoy. See you next week.
--Kotaro
*For those uninformed, the term "Metroidvania" refers to the exploration-heavy gameplay style of the Metroid series and the Castlevania series (post-Symphony of the Night).
Friday, June 3, 2011
Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders
Platform: PC (MS-DOS/Mac OS)
Genre: First-Person Shooter
Developer: Raven Software
Publisher: id Software
Release: 23 December 1994
Rating: n/a*
Price: $5
Doom remains one of the most well-made first-person shooters of all time, and thus, its engine was used in other games for years afterward. Heretic is one of them, and as such, its gameplay is heavily derived from Doom itself. So if you like Doom, you'll enjoy Heretic.
That's not to say that Heretic is a carbon-copy of Doom. It's in a fantasy setting (with weapons to match), and has several features that Doom does not, namely interactive environments, inventory management, the ability to look up and down (that may not seem like much today, but in '94, it was a big deal), and limited flight.
There isn't much else to say about Heretic, so I'll talk about its sequels instead:
Heretic was followed by HeXen: Beyond Heretic, which itself was followed by HeXen II. Both take the basic gameplay of Heretic and add features of their own. A class-system was added in HeXen, with the original Heretic character filed under the Mage class. Fighter and Cleric are also available. Each class was given a unique set of weapons, and different physical stats. HeXen II increases the number of classes to four, with an entirely new set (Paladin, Crusader, Assassin, and Necromancer), and layers RPG-elements on top of that. In addition, HeXen and HeXen II added multiplayer co-operative modes.
This is one of the few cases where talking about the sequels is appropriate, since not only can you buy Heretic (complete with DOS emulator so it can run on Windows) from Steam for $5, or all three games for $10. Either way, it's an excellent deal.
Play, save, and enjoy. See you next week.
--Kotaro
*Heretic was never rated by the Electronic Sofware Ratings Bureau, as the ESRB was only three months old when the game was released, and at the time, it was impossible for them to rate every game.
Genre: First-Person Shooter
Developer: Raven Software
Publisher: id Software
Release: 23 December 1994
Rating: n/a*
Price: $5
Doom remains one of the most well-made first-person shooters of all time, and thus, its engine was used in other games for years afterward. Heretic is one of them, and as such, its gameplay is heavily derived from Doom itself. So if you like Doom, you'll enjoy Heretic.
That's not to say that Heretic is a carbon-copy of Doom. It's in a fantasy setting (with weapons to match), and has several features that Doom does not, namely interactive environments, inventory management, the ability to look up and down (that may not seem like much today, but in '94, it was a big deal), and limited flight.
There isn't much else to say about Heretic, so I'll talk about its sequels instead:
Heretic was followed by HeXen: Beyond Heretic, which itself was followed by HeXen II. Both take the basic gameplay of Heretic and add features of their own. A class-system was added in HeXen, with the original Heretic character filed under the Mage class. Fighter and Cleric are also available. Each class was given a unique set of weapons, and different physical stats. HeXen II increases the number of classes to four, with an entirely new set (Paladin, Crusader, Assassin, and Necromancer), and layers RPG-elements on top of that. In addition, HeXen and HeXen II added multiplayer co-operative modes.
This is one of the few cases where talking about the sequels is appropriate, since not only can you buy Heretic (complete with DOS emulator so it can run on Windows) from Steam for $5, or all three games for $10. Either way, it's an excellent deal.
Play, save, and enjoy. See you next week.
--Kotaro
*Heretic was never rated by the Electronic Sofware Ratings Bureau, as the ESRB was only three months old when the game was released, and at the time, it was impossible for them to rate every game.
Friday, May 27, 2011
Psychonauts
Platform: Xbox/PlayStation 2/PC (Windows)
Genre: Platformer
Developer: Double Fine Productions
Publisher: Majesco Entertainment
Release: 19 April 2005
Rating: Teen
Price: $10-15
It's always a horrid shame when a beautifully-original game like Psychonauts fails to sell, until years later when the entire world simultaneously discovers it. While yes, it's a good thing that the game is finally being bought, the initial lackluster sales tend to really hurt the publisher.
Tim Schafer is a brilliant man, and has created some of the wackiest games this side of Grasshopper Manufacture. Psychonauts was the first time he worked outside the genre of adventure games, and the result is unpolished, but still genuinely fun. The premise of the game is that the hero, Raz, is a kid at a summer camp for psychics. When a conspiracy comes to light, it's up to him to save his fellow campers by using his powers to explore the minds of other people. So each level has an entirely different feel, and they can get rather surreal at times. The conspiracy theorist's mindscape is a warped version of an American suburb with trenchcoat-wearing, CIA-looking guys all over the place; The boot-camp-style counselor's brain is a war-torn battlefield; and the retired actress' subconscious has actors reliving her life in the form of a stage play.
While the difficulty curve is inconsistent, and the gameplay has a slightly unfinished feel, Psychonauts is still a colorful adventure with an insane cast and is definitely worth a look.
GameStop sells the Xbox and PS2 versions of the game at $13 and $15 respectively, while Steam and GOG offer the PC version for $10.
Play, save, and enjoy. See you next week.
--Kotaro
Genre: Platformer
Developer: Double Fine Productions
Publisher: Majesco Entertainment
Release: 19 April 2005
Rating: Teen
Price: $10-15
It's always a horrid shame when a beautifully-original game like Psychonauts fails to sell, until years later when the entire world simultaneously discovers it. While yes, it's a good thing that the game is finally being bought, the initial lackluster sales tend to really hurt the publisher.
Tim Schafer is a brilliant man, and has created some of the wackiest games this side of Grasshopper Manufacture. Psychonauts was the first time he worked outside the genre of adventure games, and the result is unpolished, but still genuinely fun. The premise of the game is that the hero, Raz, is a kid at a summer camp for psychics. When a conspiracy comes to light, it's up to him to save his fellow campers by using his powers to explore the minds of other people. So each level has an entirely different feel, and they can get rather surreal at times. The conspiracy theorist's mindscape is a warped version of an American suburb with trenchcoat-wearing, CIA-looking guys all over the place; The boot-camp-style counselor's brain is a war-torn battlefield; and the retired actress' subconscious has actors reliving her life in the form of a stage play.
While the difficulty curve is inconsistent, and the gameplay has a slightly unfinished feel, Psychonauts is still a colorful adventure with an insane cast and is definitely worth a look.
GameStop sells the Xbox and PS2 versions of the game at $13 and $15 respectively, while Steam and GOG offer the PC version for $10.
Play, save, and enjoy. See you next week.
--Kotaro
Friday, May 20, 2011
Super Meat Boy
Platform: Xbox 360/PC (Windows)
Genre: Platformer
Developer: Team Meat
Publisher: Newgrounds
Release: 20 October 2010
Rating: Teen
Price: $15
Meat Boy was an interesting little platformer published on Newgrounds.com. It possessed an ungodly level of difficulty, but due to several design choices (levels are short, you respawn immediately, and you have unlimited lives), it never really got frustrating. It was a short, but fun, game. And then Steam and Xbox Live Arcade saw its successor: Super Meat Boy. And it's also really fun. Very similar to the original, Super Meat Boy features the same level of difficulty and the same "anti-frustration features." Is it worth $15, though, while the first game is free? Well, SMB is certainly a bigger game: it has more levels and several unlockable characters from other games (such as Commander Video from BIT.TRIP, and Tim from Braid).
Super Meat Boy's insane difficulty is offset by the typical humor of Newgrounds developers, which is a selling point for some people (myself, I don't find it that funny). And the game is fun, so what more could you want? Try the original on Newgrounds, and if you like it, pick this one up. $15 on Xbox Live or Steam isn't too bad a price for it. And I always say to "support the indie developers," so that answers that, I suppose.
Play, save, and enjoy. See you next week.
--Kotaro
Genre: Platformer
Developer: Team Meat
Publisher: Newgrounds
Release: 20 October 2010
Rating: Teen
Price: $15
Meat Boy was an interesting little platformer published on Newgrounds.com. It possessed an ungodly level of difficulty, but due to several design choices (levels are short, you respawn immediately, and you have unlimited lives), it never really got frustrating. It was a short, but fun, game. And then Steam and Xbox Live Arcade saw its successor: Super Meat Boy. And it's also really fun. Very similar to the original, Super Meat Boy features the same level of difficulty and the same "anti-frustration features." Is it worth $15, though, while the first game is free? Well, SMB is certainly a bigger game: it has more levels and several unlockable characters from other games (such as Commander Video from BIT.TRIP, and Tim from Braid).
Super Meat Boy's insane difficulty is offset by the typical humor of Newgrounds developers, which is a selling point for some people (myself, I don't find it that funny). And the game is fun, so what more could you want? Try the original on Newgrounds, and if you like it, pick this one up. $15 on Xbox Live or Steam isn't too bad a price for it. And I always say to "support the indie developers," so that answers that, I suppose.
Play, save, and enjoy. See you next week.
--Kotaro
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Gamers Without Borders: Episode Seven
Yes, I was on it again. This time, we discuss the rumored Wii-successor "Project Cafe," the Portal 2 ARG, and the recent Garry's Mod counter-piracy measures!
Friday, April 1, 2011
Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness
Platform: PayStation 3/Xbox 360/PC (Windows/Mac/Linux)
Genre: RPG
Developer: Hothead Games
Publisher: Hothead Games
Release: 21 May 2008
Rating: Mature
Price: 2 parts for $8 each
Penny Arcade is the original--and best--gaming webcomic out there, and their video game, On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, carries the same brand of black humor that makes the comic such a hit. While the gameplay is rather hit-or-miss (essentially Paper Mario as an Active Time Battle), the plot, characters, and humor are enough to make Rain-Slick worth playing.The game throws our heroes, Tycho and Gabe (and the player), into 1920's America, as supernatural detectives fighting against evil gods. It may sound dark, but Rain-Slick never takes itself seriously. What kind of humor can you expect? The final boss of the first episode is a giant wooden statue of a mime with an octopus head that attacks you by dancing. Yes, it's like that.
There is bad news about this game, and it is very bad. It was intended to be released episodically, in four parts, but only the first two were finished. While this leaves the series without a real conclusion, it still should not be missed.
On the Rain Slick Precipice of Darkness can be bought on the PlayStation Network, Xbox Live Arcade, or Steam, for $8 an episode. The Steam version also has both episodes as a $12 bundle.
Play, save, and enjoy. See you next week.
--Kotaro
Genre: RPG
Developer: Hothead Games
Publisher: Hothead Games
Release: 21 May 2008
Rating: Mature
Price: 2 parts for $8 each
Penny Arcade is the original--and best--gaming webcomic out there, and their video game, On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, carries the same brand of black humor that makes the comic such a hit. While the gameplay is rather hit-or-miss (essentially Paper Mario as an Active Time Battle), the plot, characters, and humor are enough to make Rain-Slick worth playing.The game throws our heroes, Tycho and Gabe (and the player), into 1920's America, as supernatural detectives fighting against evil gods. It may sound dark, but Rain-Slick never takes itself seriously. What kind of humor can you expect? The final boss of the first episode is a giant wooden statue of a mime with an octopus head that attacks you by dancing. Yes, it's like that.
There is bad news about this game, and it is very bad. It was intended to be released episodically, in four parts, but only the first two were finished. While this leaves the series without a real conclusion, it still should not be missed.
On the Rain Slick Precipice of Darkness can be bought on the PlayStation Network, Xbox Live Arcade, or Steam, for $8 an episode. The Steam version also has both episodes as a $12 bundle.
Play, save, and enjoy. See you next week.
--Kotaro
Friday, March 11, 2011
Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale
Platform: PC (Windows)
Genre: Action/RPG/Simulation
Developer: EasyGameStation
Publisher: Carpe Fulgur
Release: 10 September 2010
Rating: n/a
Price: $20
One thing that always bugged me when playing RPGs was how shopkeepers would never just give you stuff, even though you were trying to save the world. Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale made me realize why. The game puts you on the other side of the counter, where there's no point to saving the world if you're left broke afterward.
Having been saddled with an enormous debt by her missing father, Recette converts her house into a shop, to sell items and equipment to the townspeople and to adventurers passing through. To make the money you need to meet the weekly payments, you'll have to buy, sell at a profit, and hire adventurers to escort you into various dungeons.
The gameplay combines standard trading-simulation game mechanics with top-down action-RPG dungeon-crawling, and it works surprisingly well. There are several adventurers to befriend and hire, each with a unique play-style, and hundreds of different items to find and sell.
That's pretty much all there is to Recettear, and it can get very repetitive after a while. But so many things about the game, from its lovable characters, to its brightly-colored world, to its whimsical story, are all so charming and downright fun.
For the amount of play I got out of Recettear, $20 on Steam was a fantastic deal.
Play, save, and enjoy. See you next week.
--Kotaro
Genre: Action/RPG/Simulation
Developer: EasyGameStation
Publisher: Carpe Fulgur
Release: 10 September 2010
Rating: n/a
Price: $20
One thing that always bugged me when playing RPGs was how shopkeepers would never just give you stuff, even though you were trying to save the world. Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale made me realize why. The game puts you on the other side of the counter, where there's no point to saving the world if you're left broke afterward.
Having been saddled with an enormous debt by her missing father, Recette converts her house into a shop, to sell items and equipment to the townspeople and to adventurers passing through. To make the money you need to meet the weekly payments, you'll have to buy, sell at a profit, and hire adventurers to escort you into various dungeons.
The gameplay combines standard trading-simulation game mechanics with top-down action-RPG dungeon-crawling, and it works surprisingly well. There are several adventurers to befriend and hire, each with a unique play-style, and hundreds of different items to find and sell.
That's pretty much all there is to Recettear, and it can get very repetitive after a while. But so many things about the game, from its lovable characters, to its brightly-colored world, to its whimsical story, are all so charming and downright fun.
For the amount of play I got out of Recettear, $20 on Steam was a fantastic deal.
Play, save, and enjoy. See you next week.
--Kotaro
Friday, February 11, 2011
Left 4 Dead 2
Platform: PC (Windows/Mac)
Genre: First-Person Shooter
Developer: Valve Corporation
Publisher: Valve Corporation
Release: 17 November 2009
Rating: Mature
Price: $20
If you ask me, Valve has not made a single bad game. So it follows that Left 4 Dead 2 is good. Actually, it's great. Valve deserves some kind of award for creating two of the best teamwork-based games out there (L4D2 and Team Fortress 2). There's not much to say about Left 4 Dead 2, since it's remarkably simple. Up to four players can play as four "survivors" (with AI controlling those unclaimed) who have to fight their way through a variety of campaigns after the zombie apocalypse. There's a pretty good variety of weapons to choose from, which is the biggest improvement over the first Left 4 Dead, which only had a handful. Only by working together with your allies will you be able to survive the innumerable hordes of zombies that will come after you.
There's also a Versus mode, where some players control the zombies instead, and try to kill off the survivors. There's actually a fun kind of satisfaction in leaping out of nowhere and clawing your hapless victim's face off.
If you like first-person shooters--and Valve's in particular--the download on Steam is priced at $20, so you should really go check it out.
Play, save, and enjoy. See you next week.
--Kotaro
Genre: First-Person Shooter
Developer: Valve Corporation
Publisher: Valve Corporation
Release: 17 November 2009
Rating: Mature
Price: $20
If you ask me, Valve has not made a single bad game. So it follows that Left 4 Dead 2 is good. Actually, it's great. Valve deserves some kind of award for creating two of the best teamwork-based games out there (L4D2 and Team Fortress 2). There's not much to say about Left 4 Dead 2, since it's remarkably simple. Up to four players can play as four "survivors" (with AI controlling those unclaimed) who have to fight their way through a variety of campaigns after the zombie apocalypse. There's a pretty good variety of weapons to choose from, which is the biggest improvement over the first Left 4 Dead, which only had a handful. Only by working together with your allies will you be able to survive the innumerable hordes of zombies that will come after you.
There's also a Versus mode, where some players control the zombies instead, and try to kill off the survivors. There's actually a fun kind of satisfaction in leaping out of nowhere and clawing your hapless victim's face off.
If you like first-person shooters--and Valve's in particular--the download on Steam is priced at $20, so you should really go check it out.
Play, save, and enjoy. See you next week.
--Kotaro
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