So as stated in a previous post, I’ve achieved a hell of a lot this year – shipped two top 10 AAA games with Ubisoft (Watch_Dogs and Far Cry 4) as well my own first indie game, Jack B. Nimble (yes, this is me giving myself a pat on the back).
Somehow I even managed to play through and finish a bunch of games too – less than I was planning from last year (and mostly different), but still a healthy chunk of gaming. One observation is the large increase in indie titles that I’ve gobbled up over the year – significantly more than last year anyway. Another thing that is clear is how I’ve shifted my focus from almost exclusively Xbox 360 to PC and PS4. I’ve barely touched the Xbox One this year, something I think is down to Killzone: Shadowfall being my multiplayer game of choice rather than Titanfall – it just meant my PS4 was switched ‘on’ more often.
Xbox One
- Super Time Force
Xbox 360
- Gears of War 3
- The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct
- Metal Gear Solid 2
- The Walking Dead: Season 2
- The Wolf Among Us (Episode 1)
Playstation 4
- Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare
- Call of Duty: Ghosts
- Wolfenstein: The New Order
- Watch_Dogs
- Watch_Dogs: Bad Blood
- P.T.
- Flower
- Games of Thrones (Episode 1)
Playstation 3
- Uncharted 3
- Journey
Playstation Vita
- Thomas Was Alone
PC
- Quake
- Quake Mission Pack 1: Scourge of Armagon
- Half-Life 2
- Half-Life 2: Episode One
- Half-Life 2: Episode Two
- Home
- Gunpoint
- Gone Home
- Savant – Ascent
- Jazzpunk
- Dear Esther
- Organ Trail
While I didn’t finish FTL, Don’t Starve or Heavy Bullets, their rogue-like nature had me pouring hundreds of hours into them between them (especially FTL).
So yeah, I basically didn’t even touch my pile of shame or do even a tenth as many game jams as I wanted – as a result my plans for 2015 are a little more restrained than last year (but still probably too much).
- Start working on a new indie game (!!!)
- Finish the final content updates for Jack B. Nimble
- Port Jack B. Nimble to other platforms
- Android
- Windows 8 and Mobile
- PC, Mac and Linux
- Submit something to Pixel Dailies at least once a week
- Participate in the following game jams
- EVERY One Game A Month jam
- Global Game Jam 2015
- Ubisoft Game Jam (if there is another)
- Play through the following games
- Quake Mission Pack 2
- Portal 2
- STALKER
- FEAR
- Battlefield 4
- Far Cry 4
- Metal Gear Solid 3
- Assassin’s Creed Revelations
There are a few things that I totally dropped from last year; I decided to stop taking part in Ludum Dare/One Game A Month in favour of shifting my focus to Jack B. Nimble. Even taking part in a weekend jam had consequences on development, so around April I just stopped jamming. I also put One Day From Retirement on ice; I wasn’t very happy with the progress I was making and again, couldn’t give up time that I needed for other projects. It may come back in some form…
It’s rather unlikely that I will experience the same level as achievement in 2015 as I did in 2014, but I will be hitting the age of 30 – which is pretty good going, aye?
From the get go Enslaved is impressive both stylistically and visually, from the futuristic menus that prefix gameplay to the rich and colourful world you crash into in the games opening - you won't find a prettier apocalypse. This is not the post apocalyptic wasteland of fallout, it’s more akin to I am legend or twelve monkeys. It's an interesting refreshing alternative to the dreary wastelands that we have become accustomed to; it’s colour palette is vibrant and the environments varied.
I feel it’s also worth calling out the stunning quality of the character models, particularly Pigsy (whom I believe is the star of the first DLC pack).
It's impossible to fall from ledges, the player can jump from specific marked up areas of the environment (yes, that means you can run against an edge hammering the “A” button until you find a valid jumping spot), and this is how the majority of navigation plays out, hammering the “A” button. It's a small price to pay to remove the frustration of constant failure (and it almost always looks pretty aside from the aforementioned issues).
You can block, reverse and pull off an attack that can dizzy your foes for a short period. It's a step in the right direction allowing for accessible gameplay and some depth without bloating the combat system as found in Heavenly Sword.
The level design was solid, sporting some amazing visuals and very impressive environmental effects. Most importantly, the weapon damage felt spot on – I was able to compete and rank quite highly in a very short amount of time. Very positive, and a refreshing change from the beating I usually receive in the Modern Warfare 2.
And then I tried the single player…
I like what they were trying to do, being so current and at times, edgy. There was a single brief moment of genius, where I felt they actually nailed an atmosphere and did something ballsy in the meantime. I refer to the mission at a midpoint of the game where you and your squad are pinned down in a hut attached by waves of Taliban from all sides, the walls literally falling from their rockets and even one point a car (which couldn't be shot) that hurtles through one of the ruined walls. Though this drama was diluted somewhat by my random death (without being shot) that was seemingly issued for not following the objective to the letter – though it would not surprise me if this was a bug, not sure....
Kane and Lynch: Dead Men is still quite fresh to me, having replayed it on Games for Windows just this weekend. I’ve always thought it was an underrated title. I don't particularly want to get into the whole Jeff Gerstmann controversy; however, it is worth noting that the game suffered somewhat critically. Kane and Lynch’s visuals weren’t great, but they weren’t offensive by any means. They were functional and worked relatively well in combination with the intentionally clinical environments. Said environments heavily supported gameplay scenarios sometimes directly replicating the source material touching on scenes from Michael Mann’s Heat and Collateral. It’s true strength was in it’s protagonists – a pair of seemingly unlikeable criminals with a penchant for the old ultra-violence. Through the course of the game I got quite attached to these two potty mouths and was greatly anticipating their next outing together.
Fortunately I was one of the lucky people who got their hands on an early demo code for the follow up, Kane and Lynch 2: Dog Days. Here are my impressions.
This is a good thing. I’ve not even started the game and I’m feeling the atmosphere.
As I manoeuvre around the environment I realise just how smooth and responsive the game feels. The camera rotates looks where I want it to look and all of the controls are where I would expect them. This is a huge improvement. The previous game was condemned for it’s clunky controls and often odd automatic cover system. Sure there are a few pops in animation when switching to different player actions/states, but this time responsiveness takes priority, and that’s more important.
I clip a couple of cops in the distance and take down an attack dog with a spray of machine gun fire. Satisfying. The weapon accuracy isn’t a problem. The weapons respond just right. I feel taking my time with shots makes all the difference in popping heads at a distance. I’ve let my crew do the dirty work so far so I need to catch up – it’s not long until the next pick up. I don’t want to be left behind.
I sprint ahead taking the odd stray shot from the remaining cops. I’m hit in the leg, and artifacts are thrown across the screen. I’m shot in the shoulder and blood spatters across the camera lens. This is intense. I slam back into cover and pop the remaining cops in the head before escaping in the getaway car. It’s like I’m in a fucking Michael Mann film. My dick is officially hard.
I am aware I have only touched upon the multiplayer portion of the game; I’ll leave the single player for when the demo goes public (hint: it’s really good).
It's an honest game. The plot is fully aware of it's ridiculous existence and comes across as nothing more than tongue in cheek, sometimes resulting in genuinely funny moments. Could a rap act fighting terrorists in the middle east ever be seen as serious? It's just an amusing and palatable method of stringing together set pieces without getting in the way of game play.It's not pretending to be deep or compelling - it's just some light hearted, foul-mouthed fun featuring Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson and the members of G-Unit (no, I don't know what G-Unit is, but I'm sure they're behind the viral outbreak in Raccoon City).
It's no walk in the park though, the combo system (see: The Club) relies on Curtis executing as many terrorists in as short a time as possible to combo their deaths, but not only that, pull off as many cool moves and environmental deaths as possible, taunting all the while. This is where the game's depth lies. Money is collected from the numerous kills, item pick ups, and loot crates - this can then be used at various payphones placed in the world to purchase new weapons, CQC moves and taunts. The weapons aren't too dissimilar to those found in Gears of War and the CQC moves are simply strings of "B" button presses which when timed correctly will play a (rather nice) melee takedown sequence to execute the enemy - the real fun is found with the taunts. The taunts are simply verbal barks from our boy Curtis which when used in conjunction with a kill offer a cash reward. After the first 5 or 6 kills it becomes second nature. Think Gears of War's active reload - I think it's that good and that natural. Blind firing your hand cannon over the crumbling middle eastern walls whilst shouting one of the many colourful phrases included in the game is refreshing as much as it is amusing - it adds that extra level of interactivity with the play space, and the cash bonus reward makes it an essential part of advanced play within the game. Here's a list of inspirational quotes from Curtis courtesy of several clicks of the left stick:
Its not all rainbows and blow jobs though. As technically sound the game is and as beautiful it is to look at, there are some odd inconsistencies. The cash pick ups are cell shaded which looks a little odd in the otherwise photo realistic setting. The same goes for the rather strange Resident Evil esque pre rendered red blood cells in the backdrop of the 'You Died' screen, completely clashing with the tongue in cheek nature of it all. The animation is a little rough, popping regularly and missing details such as lip syncing - no, Curtis won't be mouthing bitch towards the screen when he is in cover. The co op man ladder and door sequences are also a little rough where the player must stand on (what I call) a G-Spot and hit "A" to perform an action. Whether this be the co op move or the door opening sequence it almost always results in the teleporting of Curtis - it just feels a little rough.
On a lighter note, the Wheelman demo is now up on Xbox Live Marketplace and the Playstation Store. Please take the time to download it whether or not you currently intend to buy it - a lot of hard work went into it and many of my nights were spent at work finishing it off. Do it for the kids. It's completely new custom designed content for the demo; the first mission from Wheelman amalgamated with elements from later parts of the game and two new side missions (events).
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