DAY 127 / GAME 127 Prey

DAY 127 / GAME 127

Prey

          Another early Xbox 360 game that rolled out around the first year of it's release, Prey was a first person shooter that I probably wouldn't have even heard of if it wasn't for a friend of mine.  Matt, who had an Xbox 360 and an HDTV before anyone else I knew, used to have me over regularly to show me his latest audiophile purchase, high-quality blu-ray or new Xbox 360 game.  If it wasn't for Matt, I probably wouldn't have had such a strong desire to jump into the next-gen systems at the time.
         So one day he showed me Prey.  He said that at the very least, I had to watch the introductory portion of the game.  Which is something I'd now say to anyone else, right now, seriously.  Go on youtube and check it out, it may very well be the best use of Don't Fear the Reaper.

             Developed by Human Head Studios as outsourced by 3D Realms, who was responsible for Duke Nukem 3D back in the '90s; Prey is more mature, but still takes some cues from the early FPS classic.  Prey opens up in a little bar on a Cherokee indian reservation where our antagonist, Tommy, complains about being stuck living on the reserve.  The power goes out, everything starts shaking, the jukebox kicks on and as BoC starts playing the lot of you are suddenly lifted up into the sky along with the roof and portions of the bar as you are captured by an unknown alien force. 

           Turns out you are abducted by a giant alien sphere that has been traveling across space, abducting various forms of life which you now find yourself up against as you cross it's bizarre structure in an attempt to save your girlfriend.  The sphere contains a unique world which includes an array of portals, gravity defying walkways, meaty vagina doorways (there's no better way to describe them), terrifying meat grinders and other intense tools for abduction.  Like Duke Nukem 3D before it, Prey is a blend of grotesque horror, sci-fi action and dark humor.  Creature designs are amazing, the world is twisted and unique and the tools for survival are like nothing else in an FPS game.  

           Prey is full of some unique game design ideas.  There are anti-gravity walkways which mean alien troops patrolling on the ceiling, window-like portals providing access to alternate sections of the world and varying gravity within the sphere itself.  The other nice twist to Prey is the idea that for Tommy, there is another spiritual world as described by his ancestors.  Once this is revealed to you the game takes a different path as you gain the upper hand.  Once you die, you have the chance to come back to life by fighting for it in a spirit world.  In our world you have the opportunity to leave your body and travel places you couldn't normally to access switches or the like.  Ultimately this advantage is what lets you defeat the Sphere.

          Prey was one of those great games that may not have been as solid a narrative as Last of Us or feature as unique gameplay as Portal, but is solid fun in it's own right.  I love the dark blend of horror and sci-fi, the simple FPS gunplay and the concepts that are thrown around the game such as the use of a spirit world and a giant alien sphere powered by a star, going around collecting unwilling life.
          Interestingly enough they are making a sequel to this game, where you play as an intergalactic bounty hunter.  It looks incredible, but I'm still waiting to discover how the two are going to connect.  I'm hoping for the best.






          

DAY 126 / GAME 126 Star Wars: X-Wing vs Tie Fighter

DAY 126 / GAME 126

Star Wars: X-Wing vs Tie Fighter

          The X-Wing and Tie Fighter space simulator series seems to me like one of the smarter and more obvious choices for LucasArts.  I mean, really, if you could do anything in Star Wars, your number one choice would have to be that you'd want to get inside an X-Wing and fly down the Death Star trench.
     I always meant to purchase X-Wing when I first saw it in the LucasArts catalogue.  And then when Tie Fighter came out I told myself now I would do it; but I kept putting it off.  Eventually LucasArts took their two space simulators and combined them into a new, more advanced game:  X-Wing vs Tie Fighter.  


       I can't remember what finally pushed me to fork out the cash for this one, but I was glad I finally did.  It may have something to do with the fact that X-Wing was released in '93 when I was only 13 and XvT was released in '97 when I was able to come across a bit more cash for things like video games.  There was also a big draw for me to buy this game as I was older and finally knew some people who would join me online for some four-player dogfighting.  Now, this was back in 1997 so I can't quite remember if this was internet driven online multiplayer, or required one of the players to act as a server and everyone dialed into that player with their modem as was the case with Doom and Quake.

      X-Wing vs Tie Fighter didn't really have a single player campaign unless you purchased the expansion pack Balance of Power, (Which I ran out quickly and grabbed when first released.) but rather allowed you to play missions single or multiplayer allowing you to practice for later.  Balance of Power also expanded your ship selection to now include the B-Wing fighter, which was a very exciting thing for me at the time.  As it stood, you could choose between the X-Wing, Y-Wing and A-Wing as well as an array of Tie-Fighters and an imperial transport for one mission if I remember correctly.  
     XvT was very much a 'space flight simulator' and so things strived to be accurate rather than push for a quicker, flashier more arcade space combat game.  You launch into battle with your teammates, regulate your shield output between front and rear shields.  Regulate power between engines, weapons and shields; opting in a retreat to put full power to rear shields and you run away, or all power to forward shields and weapons for a frontal assault.  Each of the ships vary, acting better as an interceptor, heavy fighter, support role or mid-weight assault.  Considering the age, LucasArts did a great job of capturing the different ships, which as I've mentioned before, are as strong a character in the movies as their animate counterparts. 

        Sadly, my X-Wing vs Tie Fighter experience ended when my Logitech Wingman joystick broke one day during an online battle.  There are two springs that return the joystick to 0 center when not in use, which is important for centering and attacking.  I heard a loud snap while playing against a few strangers online and suddenly my control was way off when one of those springs snapped.  I figured what was wrong, but noone online believe me as my score started to plummet.  That was back in the late '90s and I've never bought a new joystick since.

DAY 125 / GAME 125 The Cave

DAY 125 / GAME 125

The Cave

          Just over a couple years ago Double Fine started a Kickstarter crowd-funding venture for a new adventure game which eventually became Broken Age and was released earlier this year.  (The first half anyway.)  But before the game had a final release title, it was simply known as the Double Fine Kickstarter, or the Double Fine Adventure.  Shortly after things got rolling with the Kickstarter, Double Fine announced The Cave.  An adventure game created by Double Fine and Ron Gilbert of Monkey Island fame.

       Now, hearing "Double Fine" and "new adventure game" during The Cave's announcement, I immediately assumed this was the Kickstarter adventure.  Turns out I wasn't the only one, so I don't feel too silly because of course these two games turned out to be totally unrelated.

          The Cave was published by Sega and developed by a team at Double Fine directed by Ron Gilbert.  Gilbert, an old friend and associate of Tim Schafer, worked at Lucasfilm Games back in the 80's where he ported Atari 800 games to the C64 platform and eventually created the very successful SCUMM game engine.  The Cave, is more of a mix of a platformer and an adventure game with it's own twist.  You start off around a campfire as The Cave (yes, the Cave is sentient) narrates it's backstory to you.  Before you lie seven different characters, three of which you choose to band together and plunge deep into it's depths on a journey of self-discovery.  

         As you make your way through The Cave, it's required that you solve puzzles which block your advance using two or three of the characters you've chosen.  Puzzles may be as simple as a door that requires two levers pulled at the same time across an area, forcing you to place the Knight at one lever and the Scientist at the other; but also more complex puzzles that really get you scratching your noodle.  The Cave's level system is quite fluid.  The entire game plays as one big level, like most adventure games, but with no real cutscenes or the like to blend sections of the cave together.  This wouldn't be so impressive if the game's levels didn't change based on the players you choose, but it does.

      A neat thing about The Cave is how each character's deep dark secret backstory is delivered through the Cave's levels.  Basically, there's a overall plot with it's own levels and then individual levels that bind in with that playthrough.  Depending on which three characters you choose each playthrough ends up being different.  With an alternate ending for each character and 7 characters to choose from, The Cave ends up being a much bigger game than it's first playthrough suggests.  I definitely wanted to see each of them.  The narration, the writing and the characters are all so well put together that I most certainly didn't put it down until I had exhausted all the available writing.

    I love The Cave.  It's simple, yet gorgeous.  The 2D gameplay is enhanced with fantastic 3D sets.  The levels are all build with a cutaway design like all those books you use to look at as a kid with diagrams of the Titanic and engines and cars.  The simple camera means they could push amazing looking graphics with minimal effort creating moody levels chock full of character.  
    The Cave is an inexpensive game, rolling in at about $10-15 depending on the platform and is worth every penny.  It's got the Double Fine feel to it and a uniqueness that makes it really stand out as nothing you've played before.  I had a ton of fun with it and it's easy to recommend since it doesn't take much of an investment to try it out.  It's short(ish), cheap and easy to play for really anyone, regardless of what kind of games you are good at.

DAY 124 / GAME 124 Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath

DAY 124 / GAME 124

Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath

          So, I've always enjoyed the absolutely obscure and terrifically bizarre Oddworld games from developer Oddworld Inhabitants.  (Who else?)  But they had totally disappeared off my radar after their release of Munch's Oddysee for the original Xbox.  During one of our many conversations about some of the finer games in life a friend of mine, Matt, had brought up the last game ever made in that series; Stranger's Wrath.  I never knew it existed but it sounded fantastic.  He told me it was an easy find at this point in the EB used games bin and low-and-behold I took a look and found a copy right away under $10.

            Stranger's Wrath, although very similar to the older titles, is definitely a bit of a departure from them.  The first couple Oddworld games were side-scrolling puzzle-slash-platformers not unlike Prince of Persia.  Equally as difficult, but far more other-worldly.  Munch's Oddysee took the game into three-dimensions by pushing the concept into a third-person perspective as you push around your buddy who is bound to a wheelchair.  Stranger's Wrath moved the series into a full-on first-person perspective and did it with gusto.  

         Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath is the strangest first person shooter I've ever played.  It's definitely the only FPS game where your ammunition is alive, in some cases even insults you.  You fight strategically with your crossbow.  Loading it with various ammunition you can either purchase at shops, or locate all over the fantastical world.  This includes Stunkz (which stun), Boombats, Thudslugs and Bees.  You can load either side of your crossbow with a different creature, making strategic assaults quicker.  

          The whole game follows the Stranger.  A bounty hunter hired to hunt down the last of the Steef, a race of creatures thought to be extinct.  Of course, in Stranger's Wrath, as with the rest of the Oddworld world, everyone is some kind of strange creature.  As you enter town you hunt bounties and turn them in to help fund your long-term goal of getting a mysterious and life changing surgery.  Part of your strategy as a player is attempting to capture your bounties alive for a higher payout.  

             Stranger's Wrath is actually a mix of FPS and Third-Person.  There are platforming elements that require the pulled-back view and shooter elements that require the first-person view.  The game actually takes a bit of a turn near the end which really pushes the need for the mix of a first and third person perspective.

          Stranger's Wrath of course really shines when it comes to it's absolutely mental designs.  From the world they created to the creatures within it, this game is like nothing else.  Wandering around a western inspired town operated by aged and worn looking anthropomorphic chicken people, discussing a vital surgery with a vile and unsettling doctor who appears to be some kind of fleshy insect with toes for legs, discovering an ancient settlement full of nervous lizard people; Oddworld Inhabitants pushes to create the most bizarre setting imaginable and the results are extremely memorable.  

         I may have just muttered this time about a whole bunch of nonsense, I'm a little off game right now, what with just having had a new son a couple days ago.  Point being, Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath is this fantastic, very playable, visually inventive game that features a gorgeous soundtrack, creepy whimsical design.  Perfectly enough it was also recently released alongside the rest of the Oddworld series in gorgeous HD at a cheap price.  So if you're interested in the least, be sure to try it out for PS3, Wii-U (Soon?) Xbox 360 or PC.  There's not much else like it.

DAY 123 / GAME 123 Need For Speed: Shift 2

DAY 123 / GAME 123

Need For Speed: Shift 2

          Need For Speed has been a very long running series that began in 1994 with the first game titled 'The Need For Speed' for MS-DOS and the 3DO.  Over time it's become a huge franchise that includes over 20 games to date and an upcoming feature film adaptation starring Jesse Pinkman.

            Need For Speed games have really splintered off over time.  At first, each game released was produced by EA and released about a year or so apart from each other.  But recently EA has started to outsource more of their games to companies like Criterion in order to produce a wider range of racers.  NFS: Shift and Shift 2: Unleashed was developed by Slightly Mad Studios in the UK and is probably their only simulator style racer.

             The first Shift title restricted your racing view to cockpit only.  Reminiscent of the very first Need For Speed games.  The second Shift title included exterior views, which was new for the series, but still focused primarily on playing from the car's interior view.  Although I'm not big on driving from a first-person perspective, Shift really made a strong game around this viewpoint and does what no other game has.  Pushed me to enjoy driving from behind the wheel.
              There's a few reasons why I enjoy driving from a third-person perspective.  First a foremost, it's easier.  You know exactly where your car is which makes riding your line easier, drifting around corners easier and not hitting other cars easier.  Secondly, I want to see the cars I'm driving.  With Shift, they've gone through the trouble of very extensively modelling the interior of these cars.  Accurate interiors and realistic racing gear on the driver make this game like none other.  I can even vouch for how accurate the interiors are since this game includes a BMW 135i, which is almost identical to my 128i interior.

     They also really pushed the realism of driving from a first-person perspective.  As you round a corner, your head/camera actually looks into the turn like you would if you were driving.  Closing in on a top speed in a straightaway starts to narrow your field of view and blur the edges of the screen as you begin to focus more on the distance.  Getting into a crash, depending on the severity can leave you with a bit of messed up vision, requiring a second to get your bearings again.

    Need For Speed: Shift 2 is great also simply due to it's fantastic car selection.  Over 150 cars including the DLC, some of which are my all time favorites.  Nissan GT-R34, Various BMW's including the 1 series, a few 3 series including my favorite E30 M and the Z4.  Lexus' LFA, various Lamborghinis, Ford Shelby GT-500, Caterham R500, Dodge Challenger R/T and so on.  And with a game that reproduces a car's interior, handling and feel this faithfully, it really is a good substitute for never being able to get behind the wheel of most of these fantastic machines.

    There's also kind of a funny story behind this game.  When I went to PAX East one year they had this on display in a great booth with some fancy driving rigs.  While in line to try it out they had a professional driver there signing autographs and just generally hanging out.  I had figured they had just hired someone local to look good and generally show off, so I had just chatted with him about racing in general and how I hit up the track frequently with my bike.  A year later or so when I finally get the game, it loads up and there's a video introduction to the game by Team Falken driver Vaughn Gitten Jr. who also does the voiceover for the entire game.  Turns out this was the same driver I was chatting up at the time and had no idea he was actually this professional.  
  So that was pretty cool.
     

DAY 122 / GAME 122 Castle of Illusion

DAY 122 / GAME 122

Castle of Illusion

          The Sega Genesis features a whole slew of fantastic games based on Disney properties.  Aladdin, Lion King, Quackshot, Fantasia and Mickey Mania to name a few.  But one of the first of the lot was a game with a unique story not based on any prior film or show, Castle of Illusion, starring Mickey Mouse.  

           Released in 1992, a year after I had first got my Genesis, Castle of Illusion was one of the first few games I ever owned for a console.  It was good timing too, I mean, what could be geared better to a 12 year old who already loved classic Mickey cartoons?  Actually, considering it was developed by a Japanese branch of Sega, I'm impressed at how well the captured this particular American property.



            Castle of Illusion turned out fantastic.  The artwork was translated nicely onto the 16-bit platform.  Opting for a dithering process to accomplish a wider range of colours for better shading and lighting effects, it certainly looks 'of it's time' and still make for really nice art overall.  The animation and character design is faithful and fluid.  All the wait cycles, jumps, swings and throws feel like old Mickey cartoons.  The characters are all on model and definately hold true to the Disney style.  Put it all together and you end up with this amazing package that really feels like perhaps it was overseen by a creative influence at Disney, though I can't find anything that suggests that was the case.

       Castle of Illusion follows the story of Mickey Mouse after the evil witch Mizrabel snatches up Minnie and takes her to the Castle of Illusion.  Mickey pursues her, ending up in the castle where he needs to capture each of the seven magical gems in order to create a rainbow bridge to reach Minnie Mouse and save her from the witch's grasp.  Inside the castle there are 7 different doors with a different magical world behind each.  The levels vary from the Forest of Illusion, ancient ruins, a milk-river sweets land, a toy-soldier miniature world and others.  The music was great and helped sell the atmosphere that was created within this terrific game.  Another piece that was surprising well suited for a Disney game considering it was made overseas.

        The whole game was terrific.  It featured some fantastic art, animation and music.  It played well and featured responsive controls and a nice unique take on the Mario-esque side-scrolling platformer.  It's nice to see that it has recently seen some love by developers in the form of a fresh new 2.5D remake on the current gen systems. (Xbox 360 and PS3.)  As well as a successor in the form of Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion for the 3DS which takes Mickey back to the original Castle of Illusion, featuring similar looking levels and music.    Considering this is one of the earliest console games I've ever played, it sure held up well as far as I'm concerned.

DAY 121 / GAME 121 Sonic the Hedgehog 8-bit

DAY 121 / GAME 121

Sonic the Hedgehog 8-bit

          Shortly after the release of Sonic the Hedgehog on the Sega Genesis, an 8-bit port was created for the Sega Master System and then for Sega's portable system, the Sega Game Gear.  More than just a port though, it was more of an adaptation.  Some levels seems similar, while others are completely different.  

            It was unique enough from the 16-bit title that felt like it's own own game, well worth playing through separate from the original.  Quite possibly the first game I got for my Sega Game Gear, I spent quite a while trying to beat it.  Since the game was similar to the Genesis title but playing on a smaller, lower resolution screen, it made it a little bit harder to navigate.  Plus, as great as the colour backlit screen was, it got a bit blurry with games that ran as fast as this one did.

             Nevertheless Sonic was a great title on the portable.  Even though the specs on the Game Gear were very similar to the Nintendo Gameboy, both 160x144 resolution screens with similar processing power and ram, The Game Gear appeared to produce richer graphics.  It may have simply been colour rendering and the backlight creating better contrast, or just a few games making better use of the available power.  Or maybe it was just my spotty memory.  

          The Game Gear may have been notorious for chewing through batteries, 6 AA's at that.  But the upside is that, unlike the Gameboy, it featured a bright 4096 colour backlit screen.  So all the times you wanted to play the Gameboy but couldn't, you were now able to play Sega's portable.  I remember nudging closer and closer to the table lamp by the couch to try to actually see what was on the screen.  And then I remember staying up late at night while spending the weekend at my Dad's place; playing hours of Sonic the Hedgehog under the blankets while everyone else was asleep.  

         This version of Sonic featured a map, showing your progress through the world.  The only Sonic game that ever did that, oddly enough, but it was a neat touch.  They also changed a ton of the levels; of the 6 zones, 3 of them are completely new.  The 3 levels that existed in the original version are now modified to suit the smaller screen, including signs warning of dropoffs coming up.  The 3 new levels include a Bridge Zone, which was one of Sonic's only ever forced scrolling levels.  A Jungle Zone, which was fairly unique for the series and a Sky Base Zone, which was introduced later in Sonic 2 and Sonic Adventure.

            For a Sonic fan, having a unique adventure for my portable system was really nice.  I played this a ton back when I used my Game Gear regularly.  To a certain degree I found it was even more playable than the sequel on the same system.  I hadn't played my Game Gear for a long time, but I actually dug it out recently.  It has held up quite well and still plays as great as it did 15 years ago.  The other year I actually packed a few rechargeable AA batteries and brought it with me to PAX East in Boston to play in the lines.  I guess batteries have come a long way because I played it a ton and never even went through one set of batteries.  It was certainly a nostalgia trip to play on that screen.  Colour backlit LCD screens have come a long way and this one feels almost more like a CRT than an LCD.