Catching Up - Braid and Amnesia: The Dark Descent

A while back that ridiculous Humble Indie Bundle came out with pretty much every good game ever. Even though I already owned several of the games, I bought it anyway, gifted away my duplicates and set to playing two games I should have played already, but never got round to - Braid and Amnesia: The Dark Descent. Spoilers await below.


Braid
Last night at around 2:30am I completed Braid.

I'd like to point out that I actually aided a friend in the completion of the game around the time of release on Xbox Live Arcade back in 2008, so I was up to date on the story, but enough time had passed for me to have no advantage when attempting the puzzles.

But, as those of you who have finished the game will know, Braid isn't about the puzzles. If you are under the impression that it's a quaint little indie Mario-style game with time bending mechanics then I'm afraid you've been horribly misled. I watched Indie Game: The Movie a few weeks ago (something which I would recommend to anyone at all interested in the industry), and learned that Jonathan Blow, the maker of the game actually slipped into depression not long after Braid was released. To an outsider, this would seem utterly ridiculous. The game is the highest rated title on XBLA ever, was the second highest selling game on the service in 2008, and made Blow very rich, very quickly. To him, people were enjoying the puzzles, and that was fine, they just weren't "getting" it. The philosophical and highly mature side of the story only reveals itself fully if you complete the entire game, and that is what a lot of people were missing.

As I say, I knew prior to last night's completion what happened at the end of the game, and I remembered the final level fairly vividly. It speaks to the game's quality that I remember this almost four years after its release, and yet I can't really remember much of what happened in Max Payne 3 which I played and reviewed about two months ago.

Braid is a simple story about Tim, a guy who is trying to save his Princess from an evil monster. To do this he has to solve puzzles while manipulating time. But the thing about time in Braid is that it isn't linear, and it certainly isn't simple. Not only does that relate to the puzzles, but also to the story itself. The final level in the game takes place in World 1. The level begins and Tim sees the evil Knight holding on to the Princess whilst holding onto a vine hanging down from above.

"I got you!" He sneers.

But the Princess manages to escape his clutches and jump up to a ledge above him.

"Get down here!" He shouts after her.

"Help!" She cries out to Tim who is watching all of this from below.

Just then a wall of flame erupts from the left side of the screen, engulfing everything in its path. Tim runs to the right in the lower section of the level, with the Princess above him, and they aid each other by pulling levers and lowering ladders to help each other escape their impending doom.

Tim finally reaches a ladder, and climbs up to his Princess who is on the other side of some glass. And then, whiteness.

The princess is asleep in the room behind the glass, and Tim can't reach her. The only thing that can be done is rewind time, and then everything becomes clear. Time isn't being rewound, but allowed to run forwards.

The Princess is fleeing from Tim, setting traps and blocking off routes up to her which Tim manages to narrowly avoid each time. She then sees her Knight up ahead, and knows that she is going to be safe.

"Help!" She cries out to the Knight, while Tim watches helplessly from below.

"Get down here!" He shouts to her.

The Princess jumps down to from the ledge and into the loving grasp of her Knight.

"I got you!" He soothes her, and they escape up the vine to safety.

The epilogue contains text ambiguously explaining the story of Braid. Blow has never revealed the true meaning, and that is the point - it's very open to interpretation. One of my favourite theories is the Atomic Bomb theory, which can be found by clicking this link. It posits that Tim is a scientist working on the first Atomic Bomb, and that The Princess is the bomb herself. This would explain several references in the text hinting at locations and quotations surrounding the development of the bomb, and the wall of flame at the end of the game, and some of the artwork which suggests a Manhattan setting. My favourite thing about the story though, is that we will never know the exact meaning, and that's how it should stay in my view.

Story aside, the final moments of the game are a masterpiece in level design. The fact that Blow can make a level work both backwards and forwards, and have two entirely different meanings is a very impressive achievement. I'm very much looking forward to the next game that can combine storytelling and gameplay in such a tight way.


Amnesia: The Dark Descent
Again, I've seen the majority of Amnesia being played, so I knew what to expect here. You would have thought that would negate some of the horror impact of the game. Nope.

I haven't really got very far into the game playing on my own. Conceptually I'm a big fan of the game, but then I can never bring myself to put myself through playing it, which is a shame. I did do the water monster bit though, which is no mean feat, as people who have played the game will confirm.

One day I will finish it. Maybe.

The new Amnesia game, A Machine for Pigs got delayed until 2013 recently, and I breathed a sigh of relief. I really want to play it, but at least now I've got more time to prepare for it. You can read my preview of the game I wrote by clicking on this link.

That's it for now, thanks for reading, have a good weekend whatever you're doing. I'm going to see Batman, can't wait.

Holidays (and video games)

Does anyone else find it really hard to walk upstairs while wearing slippers? Nearly went arse over tit just now, which got me thinking about slippers, then about how cold it is, then about Winter, and then about CHRISTMAS!!

It's that time of year when the University has just finished, so you don't want to do any work because it's nearly Christmas, and you've got plenty of time to do it in a couple of weeks. So until then, I'll be sitting around in my pyjamas (with a dressing gown over the top because I can't afford to put the heating on while I'm living alone), playing some video games. It's kind of like the rest of the year, except then I wear normal clothes because sometimes I have to go out places. Also, I'm an adult now, so I can do WHATEVER I WANT (until I have to get a job). People say things like "oh yeah, now I can have chocolate for breakfast, because I don't have stupid rules any more"... Chocolate for breakfast...that would be awful, right? It's not just me?

So I'll be generally just doing whatever for the next couple of weeks, then do some family stuff around the 25th. Then around the 28th I'll think, "hmm maybe I should get on with doing some work...nah it's New Year's in a few days, I'll do it after that," and so on, until the term starts again and I've done nothing. Because that's what the holidays are all about, right?

I'm looking down the list of games that I'll probably be playing over the coming weeks.
Aquaria
Bit.Trip Runner
Cave Story+
Skyrim
Gratuitous Space Battles
Jamestown
NightSky
Shank
Super Meat Boy
Trine 2

Those are the Steam games that I can pretty much just drop in and out of. They're mainly the games from the Humble Bundle that I picked up the other day. I gave my thoughts on them in a previous post, highlighting my misgivings about playing Cave Story+ at all, but I've been persuaded by a couple of people to keep going with it, so I shall, as I'm a trusting person.

Beyond those, I want to get back into Skyrim, simply because I feel it deserves more of my attention. My main aims for that will be to finish off all the Daedric quests, as they seem to be the most interesting stuff past the Thieves Guild and Dark Brotherhood quest lines (which were really cool).

I also picked up Trine 2 the other day, which looks absolutely gorgeous, so I'll continue playing that. I've been playing it co-operatively, which I feel is the best way to play it...as I've said before, if you do things with friends then you can make anything fun. That's not to say it wouldn't be fun without friends, it's a very well made game, and it's great fun to play around with the physics.

I've also been playing a fair amount of FIFA recently, getting back into playing around with some of the online modes. I haven't played it in a good while, and it's very apparent because I SUCK. Either I suck, or I'm just being drawn against people who are really good, hard to say. Sometimes, the only goals I can get are the ones where they accidentally pass it from a goal kick and you just run up, take the ball and score. You think, "oh man, I scored, awesome!" ...and then the wave of shame washes over you.

Trackmania 2 continues to be some of the best value for money that I've ever come across, and I'm sure I'll put many more hours into that game over the coming weeks. Some people don't 'get' it, and I can definitely see the reasons why those people don't. It's also pointless to try and explain the craziness that is Trackmania 2 to those people, because it's the type of game where you see it, and immediately make a decision in your head over whether you think you'd enjoy it or not. So I'll just say that I really enjoy it, and let you make your own mind up.

Let's see... there's also things like Battlefield 3, which I'll pick up again if I can persuade some friends to, as I don't really enjoy it as much when I'm playing on my own (again with the friends -> fun thing). I think I'll also get some people together and check out what's going on in Minecraft v1. But other than that, and dabbling in a few other games for a small amount of time and here and there, that's about it for games. I think I've got all I'm going to get out of Saints Row the Third for now, it was super fun, I might do a review tomorrow or something, haven't decided.

Thanks for reading, later.

Bastion Review

Bastion is the first game by indie developer Supergiantgames. It's an action rpg centered around your character, The Kid, who wakes up after a catastrophic event referred to as The Calamity which has broken apart the world. As you move around, the world forms around your feet, although there is an ever present danger of falling off the edge. This happened a few times as I was exploring, thinking I could step where I couldnt, or when I was dodging around during a particularly intense battle. The only penalty for falling off though is some fall damage when you return to solid ground, so it's not too frustrating, and there is a nice touch where you damage enemies if you fall on them.

The Kid sets out to find the Bastion, a place where people could go in troubled times, but when he gets there he finds almost nothing left of it, much like the rest of the world. He does find an old man, Rucks, who tells the kid they can rebuild the bastion if they find cores which have been scattered around the world. Rucks also acts as the game's narrator, who comments on nearly everything in the game, from actions the kid takes, to the weapons and buffs he chooses. There's a crazy amount of dialogue, I've played through the game twice now, and there were barely any repeated lines, other than the critical story ones. It's a testament to the hard work put in by the developers, in that half (or maybe more!) of this dialogue will never be heard by the player. This is all helped by the fact that the guy who plays Rucks, Logan Cunningham has one of the best narration voices I've heard in a game. You can hear him, and get a feel for the game in this trailer:

The action takes place in various locations around the fictional place Caelondia, which are accessed from the bastion via a skyway. Your job is to find cores which can be used to rebuild the bastion. Each core you bring back allows you to construct a new building on the Bastion, such as an arsenal to change your weapon load-out, a distillery to change which buffs you have, and so on.

At any one time you can have two weapons, a shield and one special power equipped to your character, and there are multiple weapons that you are slowly introduced to along your journey, and the game does a good job of teaching you the best way to use them as you discover them. Combat is an excellent combination of attacking, shooting, countering, blocking and dodging, and it feels very satisfying to pull off all of these fluidly to defeat a large group of enemies. You can find special items in the world, or buy them in the shop once you unlock it in the Bastion, which are used to upgrade specific weapons. Another way of obtaining them is to take part in one of the challenges tailored to each weapon, and if you do well enough in the challenge, you unlock a special skill for that weapon, such as a multiple barrage attack for the musket. Once or twice, the action on screen got a bit hectic, and I ended up spamming the dodge and attack buttons until I had killed enough enemies to figure out what was going on...but for the most part the combat is very impressive.

Bastion has an interesting take on a buff system, whereby the kid carries various alcoholic beverages with him. These have standard abilities such as granting higher damage or critical strike chance, but there are also more interesting ones such as gaining health when you successfully counter-block, or when you damage enemies with your weapons.

The most impressive part of the game for me though is the soundtrack, the story, and how it is told. You are introduced to a small group of characters, who, although silent you feel you grow to know them very well as you learn their past from various items which you find in the world. Most of the story is told through Rucks' narration, there are a few cutscenes, but mostly the narration takes place as you explore the world.

I mentioned the soundtrack, and it is indeed good enough to warrant a soundtrack edition of the game where you can get all of the songs in the game, which I would highly recommend. There is a level where you find Zia, a musician, who plays an absolutely hypnotic song which you can hear throughout the entire area. This sequence was worth the entire price of the game alone for me. There are several similarly poignant moments throughout the game, which break up the action beautifully.

As an aside to the main story, there are three extra dream sequences (four with the free DLC that was released today) in which the kid must fight off waves of enemies. These serve as a good way to make money, test various combinations of weapons, and on top of this the narrator provides extra back story for each of the main characters in between waves. There are online leaderboards for these sequences, which adds a competitive element to the game. The boards are ordered by the amount of shrines that the player has active at any one time. These shrines are similar to the Halo skulls which improve the enemies or decrease the abilities of the character. They can also be activated for the main story levels, with the bonus of gaining extra money or experience for each one active.

I've been playing the PC version of the game, and it runs like a dream, I've noticed next to zero performance issues. I have also been playing with a 360 gamepad, which makes controlling the character a lot easier than with the keyboard.

All in all, Bastion is a game with a beautifully presented world, solid combat and an excellently told story.

If those are things which appeal to you, then I advise you pick it up as soon as possible.

Humble Bundle #4

The new Humble Bundle came out today. Awesome, I can buy some games, spend a few minutes with each of them and then never play them again. At least that's what usually happens, I feel I may be spending some more time with this collection than previous ones though.

If you don't know what the Humble Bundle is (if you do you can skip this paragraph), it's a collection of (usually) independent games which are released in a small group, a bundle if you will, using a 'pay-what-you-want' scheme. As an incentive to pay a bit more, if you pay above the average, you get a couple of extra games thrown in... bargains! During the payment process, there are sliders determining how exactly your money is being split up between the developers of the games, and charity. After all that you can then download the games direct, or enter a code into Steam and get them that way. It's awesome.

So I paid above the average and downloaded the games, and got to work spending a few minutes on each of them to get a feel for how it works and whether I think I'll enjoy it or not. Here's the list:

BIT.TRIP RUNNER
Jamestown
NightSky
Shank
Super Meat Boy

...and the extra two:

Cave Story+
Gratuitous Space Battles

I've actually been wanting to play Super Meat Boy and Bit Trip for a while, just can never be bothered to spend money/ put in the time. I also saw some gameplay of Shank 2 which is being released at some point, and I thought, "hey that looks cool, I wonder what the original game was like"...and then forgot about it. That's part of the reason why I think the Humble Bundle is such a good idea, as even though you can pay as little as you want for the games, its money that the developers wouldn't normally get because of people like me who don't exactly want to pay the full price for their games. So it takes some of the shame of that away for me...kind of.

Anyways, here's my thoughts on the games in the bundle...talk about some unforgiving, yet addictive, games...

BIT.TRIP RUNNER
There's loads of Bit Trip games, and I've never played any of them, which is a shame because I'm big into music, and they are essentially music/rhythm games. My main thing to say about it will become a theme for most of these games... it is hella addictive... but my God is it frustrating. You're this little dude who is constantly running to the right, no reason is given for this... you just kind of go with it since you're dumped straight into the action. While you're running you are faced with obstacles which you either have to jump over, or duck under according to the rhythm of the music (these are the only mechanics I've come across so far, there may be more along the way). You also have to pick up gold (again, no reason is given for this, you don't even have to collect all the gold in the level), and these other pickups which make the music go CRRRAZZZYY and a rainbow comes off of your back while you run because it's CRRRAZZZYY. It's a super simple game, which makes it all the more frustrating when you die (by hitting an obstacle), not only because you have to go aaaaallll the way back to the start of the level. Here's a video which should hopefully explain what's going on a bit.

Jamestown
I haven't played Jamestown yet, because I've seen some videos of it before, and although it looks cool, it's still one of those vertically scrolling shooters where there's usually about 5 pixels on screen which are safe for you to be in at any one time. I'm not saying they're bad games (in fact it does look cool, and I will play it at some point), it's just I have to be in a certain mood to play a game so stressful, and most of the time I'm not in one. The premise for the story looks weird as hell for a game like this... and I kind of like it in a strange way. Anyway, here's the trailer.

NightSky
Now here's a game more up my street. I love the artsy type games where you're not really doing much, it's more about the atmosphere, experience and solving a few basic puzzles. If you like that sort of thing you should play stuff like Machinarium, And Yet It Moves and LIMBO. In NightSky you're a little ball, and pretty much the only thing you can do is roll around in this 2d world... At this point you're either sold on the game, or you've totally zoned out. If you're in the former, poke those in the latter group and tell them this probably isn't the game for them.

So far there have been no enemies, and no Game Over screens. Although there are times where you can get stuck in a level, and the game admits this to you right at the start and tells you how to reset the level if this happens, but you will only lose a few seconds progress because each stage is so short. Beyond rolling you'll be using momentum and gravity to get to the end of the level. Sometimes you get extra powers such as being able to roll faster, slower, or change the direction of the gravity, but so far it's all been very simple and enjoyable.
Here's some gameplay:

Shank
Shank is a side scrolling beat-em up, with the premise being that this big dude called 'The Butcher' has stolen your girlfriend, and you're on a mission to get her back. I'm playing with a gamepad (the game straight up tells you at the start that this is the way it's intended), and your face buttons are mapped to a quick melee knife attack, a heavy chainsaw (hell yeah) attack, and your ranged dual pistols. You've also got a pounce button where you fly through the air and land on your enemies, some grenades and a grapple. The combat is super satisfying, and is made more so by the really cool art style and sound effects. As you get a feel for the controls you begin to start racking up combos against the different types of enemies, and feel really cool while you're doing it. I'm pretty sure I'm going to be playing this game to completion.

Super Meat Boy
Now we're back to the super frustrating, yet annoyingly addictive games. Does anyone remember that game 'N' where you were this little ninja running around and wall jumping and stuff? It's kind of like that. The premise of the game is that this big dude has stolen your girlfriend, and you're on a mission to get her back. Hang on a minute...

So you're this sack of meat running around, jumping off walls and avoiding buzz saws to get to the end of the level. It follows a similar pattern to the Angry Birds style game, where you complete levels within stages, and then there's a mini cutscene at the end of the stage showing something else going wrong for the protagonist. It seems like you unlock extra characters as you go after completing special bonus stages (for example I just unlocked Commander Video, the character from BIT.TRIP RUNNER).

As usual, it's best explained with a video:

Cave Story+
I'm not sure why there's a plus at the end of the title. Maybe there was an original game which this adds features to, I haven't really checked. I haven't played much of this yet, but it's your old style platforming adventure type game. You're running around avoiding enemies / shooting them with your little gun, and that's about as complicated as it's been after my ten minutes or so with it. I'm not even sure what the story is yet...there's a guy in a room somewhere, trying to get in contact with someone called Sue, and she's supposed to be this 'outsider' in this village I've just arrived at. Anyway, I might play some more at some point, I'm not particularly drawn in by the game yet though.

Gratuitous Space Battles
And finally we get to this, a game I haven't played yet... it's got a cool name though. I loaded it up and it looked super complicated for what I was wanting at the time, especially after playing all those really simple, yet addictive games. I believe what happens is, you select certain types of space ship, and build a fleet, and then give them certain orders, or ways to behave...maybe, and then the battle happens and everything looks really cool and explodey. Sorry I'm not more specific, I'll have to play some of it and get back to you, but as always, a gameplay video comes to my rescue:

So overall, a pretty sweet collection of games...and you can pay what you like for them! You've got a couple of weeks before the deal ends, so go and snap it up! Thanks for reading.