Review: Hard Reset

Hard Reset is a fast-paced indie shooter with beautiful visuals and an interesting cyberpunk setting. Perhaps what was most impressive about the game was the fact that the presentation was so top-notch and attention to detail so good that it didn't even feel like an indie game. As many would admit, the visual aesthetics are really stunning (even on low graphics settings) and the environments are atmospheric.

The gameplay itself is quite straight-forward. You go round from area to area, fighting off groups of robots, and then upgrading to new weapons and facing a bigger challenge. Although this may seem repetitive, I personally have had a lot of fun, because there was a very decent variety between the different weapons. You have two types: the ballistics type (rifles, rocket launchers, etc) and the energy type (plasma guns, electric blasters, etc). Each type had 5 different weapons you could acquire through upgrading, so that's 10 weapons in total really, plus each weapon had two different firing modes, so in a way you have up to 20 different ways to kill the enemies. And it's not like all the weapons are similar. Each and every weapon could be useful in specific situations, for example electric blaster could make a short work of hoardes of smaller enemies, smartgun was great for small gunships which could move in the air quickly and dodge regular projectiles, whereas bigger enemies like bosses would require you to use charging plasma projectiles or maybe even the rocket launcher. I personally found myself using every single weapon at some point.

The combat in general was a little more engaging than what you might expect. There were a lot of destructible and explosive objects in the environment, so using environmental kills was highly encouraged throughout pretty much the entire game, which was a really nice touch, because many games of this style tend to suffer from the lack of this feature. There were some interesting boss fights which were pretty challenging. In fact the whole game was challenging, but it has 4 difficulty modes, and Easy difficulty is really suitable for someone who wishes a more casual approach to the game.

 As for story, many would say it's nothing too special, but it did add some spice to the game, and the comic-book style cutscenes in between the missions were a really nice addition in my opinion. Admittedly the game isn't very long. It took me about 7 hours to complete the original game plus the Exile DLC, but this is pretty standard for single player FPS games, plus the game was fun enough and I am sure I will be back to it again in the future, especially that there are plenty of Steam achievements to get. And speaking of DLC, I thought it was really decent that the DLC was actually free and comes together with the original game at no extra charge. Now this shows that the developers are really passionate about delivering a good, satisfying game to the fans and not for dishing out extra cash.

My score: 9/10

Dreadmurk - free RPG by me

Thought I'd put another one of my games on here, which was made in RPG maker VX Ace.

Dreadmurk takes place in the Underworld and follows a group of former villains and anti-heroes, who are trying to escape it. The game is about 8-10 hours long, depending on the player's pace, with random encounters and turn-based combat. Includes lots of puzzles, boss fights, and fun moments.

Watch the trailer here!

The game is free and can be downloaded from the following link:

OVER HERE!

or alternatively from here:

Hello hello!

Note: Only works on PC.

Cracklesnap - a short RPG by me

Thought I'd put my first proper game on here. Cracklesnap was made in RPG maker VX Ace, is completely  free to download, and plays like the older RPGs with 2D graphics and random encounters. Should take approximately 4-5 hours to complete.

For the download link, story synopsis, screenshots, and character info GO HERE.

(for anyone who doesn't own RPG maker VX Ace, which is most people, choose the first download link (the larger one))

(PS: I've been told that the game doesn't work on Mac, so PC only at the moment).

Thanks for the support!

Review: Darksiders

At first glance Darksiders (aka Darksiders: The Wrath of War) looked to me just like any other 3rd person adventure hack and slash. In fact in the first level or so there is nothing more to it, but after that the game really picks up and gets interesting. I was mostly drawn in by its great setting that takes place in a post-Armageddon world. You take the role of War, who is one of the four horsemen of Apocalypse, and both angels and demons deem you as an enemy. War is now on an errand to clear his name and to attempt to restore the balance.

 The art style and the environments I thought were really beautiful. There are some really stunning locations in the game, and the characters no doubt were well-developed and interesting. All this greatly helped to enhance the atmosphere in the game.

 As I mentioned already, the game’s first level is just a preview and seems average, but shortly after that is when things start to get much more interesting. That's when your character starts to learn new moves, making combat very fun and engaging. In addition you get some new weapons as well, like the Scythe, for more crowd control, and also a Tremor Gauntlet, if you fancy power punching. Among all the combat, the boss fights especially stood out for me. Each and every boss fight was both challenging and enjoyable at the same time and this is perhaps the game's biggest strength in my opinion. The cool cutscenes and the special kills were an icing on the cake.

 Although there are so many good things about this game that make it incredibly fun and engaging, I also have several criticisms. First of all, the PC version is not exactly a very good console port. The keyboard and mouse control scheme was more or less playable, but it's the fact that you couldn't change graphics options apart from resolution that was really disappointing. Of course this isn't much of a problem for someone with a powerful PC, but for those of us with average machines, even on low resolution there is a noticeable drop in framerate in some areas of the game, making it quite stuttery.

 Another thing that I disliked - some areas were just a bit too long, like the Hollows and the Ashlands. Not sure whose bright idea it was that the sewers and the desert are good candidates for lengthy levels, since those usually tend to be amongst the most boring of the environments in any game. The Black Throne level was perhaps the biggest offender. Although it was a very beautiful level with some cool battles, it had way too much backtracking and also made you do the same thing 3 times!

 All the other areas seemed to be pretty great though. My personal favourite would probably have to be Twilight Cathedral. It was very moody, atmospheric, and had a good balance between fights and puzzles. I also really enjoyed the part that was leading up to it where you had to fly over the destroyed city and some parts of the lava caverns on top of an angelic beast.

 My last criticism would be towards the puzzles, in particular those in the Black Throne level. Although there were some great puzzles in the game, some others were a lot less fun. They weren't hard exactly - you could figure out most of them right away. It's just that to execute those solutions usually took too long, requiring too much running and jumping about, as well as tonnes of trial and error, and hence that was breaking the pace of the game.

 All the criticisms I mentioned stand quite strong for me and I guess if I wasn't so charmed by the game's setting, art style, and combat mechanics, I probably would've gotten less enjoyment out of it. Overall the game is highly entertaining and worth checking out. I can’t wait to start the second one. 

My rating: 9/10

Make your own game with RPG maker

I want to make this post about a program that allows you to create your own role playing games. RPG maker has had many versions over the years and the kind of games that it allows people to create are like the older Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest titles, but if you are knowledgeable in programming then you can make something even more complex.

 Being someone who loves getting creative, I simply knew I had to try this program and I was really impressed. All I needed was to simply check out the features and play around with various tools the program had to offer and before I knew it I was getting hit with ideas and devising my own game on the go.

Screenshot from a game I've been making in RPG maker VX Ace.

 RPG maker is a very user-friendly tool. I personally am not a programmer at all and have no experience making video games. However, I found it that I could pick up on this program’s ins and outs right away. It really is simple enough for the beginners but also offers more than enough for programming gurus as well. Before knowing about it, the whole idea of creating video games sounded really complex and dare I say unattainable for someone with my skills, yet it’s something I always wanted to try. However, now even non-programmers can make their creative dreams come true. I’d say anyone who’s got good imagination and is into video games can get a lot of enjoyment out of RPG maker. It opens up a whole new creative side of you.

Battle screen using VX Ace

 The images you see here are some of the screenshots from the games I’ve been making in this program. If you too want to make your own game, then you should definitely give it a try. Whether making games is a career path you want to follow or whether you just want to do it for fun, RPG maker surely is one of the best places to start - http://www.rpgmakerweb.com/

Screenshot from a game I was making in RPG maker XP

Changes to the blog

Hello everyone.

 It's been a while since my last post on this blog, so I've decided to make some changes. From now on I'll be posting not only lists, but a bunch of other stuff relating to video games as well, whether it's game reviews, game recommendations, or anything else in that sphere. Of course there'll still be lists as well. :)

 For the time being, here's a list of my game reviews on Metacritic: http://www.metacritic.com/user/Matseb2611

Screenshot from Skyrim

 

Top 10 Favourite stages from Trine series

In this list I’ve decided to pick what I thought were the best stages of Trine and Trine 2. Trine series in essence are 2D sidescrolling, platforming adventure games, which can particularly boast with their amazing visuals, music, and fun physics and puzzle elements. And hence these were mostly what I considered as factors for deciding my favourite stages between the two games. Now with the expansion for Trine 2 coming out very soon, I wonder how the newly introduced stages would fare in comparison to these ones.

*Warning. Some spoilers ahead*

10) Mosslight Marsh (Trine 2)

Although very similar to the two levels preceding it, this is quite a good stage as it balances out well between puzzle solving and fighting goblins. It takes place in a jungle-like area, showing a nice sunset and then finally a night time, when the heroes reach the Petrified Tree. As a result this level gives a bit of a transition from all cheery fantasy feel to a more dark and spooky one that comes with the level after it.

9) Crystal Caverns (Trine)

The name pretty much says it all. This stage happens inside a cave which is full of crystals, some of which break off from the ceiling and drop where our heroes pass by. This level has a nice slow pace to it, allowing for a bit of exploration under the water and other places. There is a very fitting lovely music track playing in the background too (I’ll be saying this a lot).

8) Forlorn Wilderness (Trine 2)

The first level in Trine 2, not counting the tutorial, Forlorn Wilderness tries to introduce a bit of everything, giving us tasters of things to come in the game, whether it’s the stunning locations, funny dialogues between the heroes, the first appearance of goblins (the most common enemy in the game), different puzzle elements, and also the oversized creatures, one of which acts as the level boss.

7) Bramblestoke Village (Trine)

This place is pretty much an abandoned village at night. There is nobody there except for the undead, big spiders, and an occasional flock of bats. This stage has somewhat of an offbeat sense to it, maybe because of the choice of music, or maybe because of those awesome Ferris wheels which act as obstacles to the heroes but also as fun places to toy around with the enemies. Whatever the case, this is a lovely transitional level between one tricky stage and an even harder one that follows up.

6) Mushroom Caves (Trine 2)

Finally out of the nasty Hushing Grove, we find ourselves in an absolutely gorgeous cave full of greenery and all sorts of life forms. In fact it does not even feel like a cave, because it’s very bright and beautiful in it. I’d probably combine this entry with the level that follows this one, Mushroom Murk, as they have virtually the same kinds of backgrounds, music, and the latter level is also very short (they could’ve easily been combined into one whole level, I think). Mushroom Cave effectively gives you a sense as if you’re in a paradise of some kind, making it easily one of the best levels in the game.

5) The Final Stage (Trine 2)

Not so much a stage as just the final boss fight against a dragon. This fight is done very well. The dragon is coming literally out of the background and attempts to chomp down on the heroes and to scorch them with flames. All three characters are useful in this fight and there is an overall sense of epic finale to the game, especially with that dramatic music playing on the background. With that kind of music playing, anyone would wish they could fight a real dragon right at that moment.

4) Throne of the Lost King (Trine)

Now this is a castle which has been completely taken over by the undead. This level is at around halfway through the first game and features a lot of different traps and other obstacles, noticeably more than on any level prior to it. It’s got a very bright, thematic red colour and a very epic music track, what to me marks it as a great mid-game climax point. Some of the most common obstacles in this level are massive, spinning gears and also giant axes which swing from the ceiling.

3) Ruins of the Perished (Trine)

The first game overall is impressive visually, and this stage is when the visuals reach their peak, I think. It takes place in the site of the ancient ruins, which look absolutely gorgeous, with a gentle morning light seeping through the trees and in between various gaps, and also lovely backdrops of early morning landscapes. With all that beauty, one would easily wish they could be there adventuring with the protagonists.

2) Searock Castle (Trine 2)

This, in my opinion, is the most visually beautiful level of Trine 2. Searock Castle is exactly as the name suggest – it’s a castle right on the beach, showing a stunning sunset and incredibly lifelike water ripple effects. The level has a nice balance of different puzzles and some unique elements thrown in, such as jumping on platforms which are moved by a giant octopus, as well as using big coconuts to cross bodies of water and avoiding oversized crabs. The music track that plays in this level is also one of my top favourites from the whole game, giving a relaxing, serene atmosphere to an already visually beautiful level. The level ends with a pretty cool boss fight against a goblin king. To me this is the best stage in Trine 2.

1) Dragon Graveyard (Trine)

The original Trine has a solid start, but the first couple of levels mostly take place indoors, in particular in the tunnels and hallways. There isn’t much to gawk at in them. And then, all of a sudden, this level happens and we’re outside, enjoying the scenery of draconian bones lying peacefully, moody weather, golden autumn trees, and what appears to be newly built strongholds of the undead, whilst listening to a fantastic music track and knocking the skellies off the platforms on which they stand. This is simply speaking an amazing stage in every way.