Thursday Morning Video: Division 9 - Gameplay Trailer

Still struggling with my desktop as it appears the memory I was using previously will not function correctly with my new motherboard, so now I've had to throw even more money down this large pit. One of my hard drives failed completely and I'm still seeing what I can pull from the rubble. If I choose to get a replacement for that drive, which I'm not sure I will, the only piece of equipment that hasn't failed will be my processor. Fingers crossed.
Anyway, here's a video of an unfinished and abandoned game that was being developed by Irrational. This appears to be little more than a mod for SWAT 4, which Irrational developed, that I guess functioned as a proof-of-concept, but the idea of a tactical zombie shoot is still intriguing, though many seem to be suffering from zombie fatigue as of late. Enjoy.


-K.

See the rest of this post >>

Collapse

Thursday Morning Video: QI - Stephen Fry Puts Alan in His Place

My desktop is kaput again, now it's deciding not to read any of my hard drives, making it impossible to boot. I've ordered a new motherboard, which is probably the first thing I should have done, but was hoping to avoid that. I wish my computer problems could be solved simply by feeding money directly into it. Anyway, here's a clip from an episode of QI:


-K.

See the rest of this post >>

Collapse

Crazy Flipper Fingers

I've warmed up to The Saboteur considerably since Thursday, it just takes much too long to get going and it wasn't until it finally let me run free about Paris, and thus allowing me to throw Nazis off of very tall structures, that I started to enjoy it. I'll probably have more to say about it later.

Anyway, the point of this post is to talk about the latest indie PC game darling, VVVVVV, the first commercial release by Terry Cavanagh, designer of acclaimed Flash games I've never heard of. The game with the unpronounceable title is all about simplicity. The simple story is that you play a spaceship captain and your ship gets sucked into a different dimension. While abandoning ship the crew is scattered across this dimension, now you must save them. The graphics are very simple, clearly attempting to recreate an old Commodore 64 game. It controls like a simple platformer with one basic mechanic: you cannot jump, you can only flip. The game then finds new ways to change up how you use that mechanic, with each "level" requiring you to use your lone ability in a different way. I say "level" because after the introductory area, the game lets you loose in a large Metroid-esque hub world which you navigate to find the specific "levels" where your fellow crew members are trapped.
It is both a blast to play through and explore, the level design continually testing your abilities in new ways. I was eager to see the next challenge, what kind of variables would be in play and then have to figure out how to navigate the space. Then there are the brutally difficult areas, the kind where you die several dozen times and consider hurling your PC out the window. This area in particular I spent at least twenty minutes trying to clear, which was maddening, but the satisfaction of finally getting it right was palpable.
The music is the only part of the game I wouldn't describe as simple and you can tell how significant I feel it is because I started a new paragraph for it. I've never really been into the whole chiptune scene, but the music in VVVVVV is outstanding, perfectly complimenting the action while emulating the feel of an 8-bit classic. It is strong enough to stand on its own, which is why I'm glad it does.
The only problem I have with the game is the cost, I don't regret spending the money at all, but $15 seems a bit steep for something I cleared in under two hours. There are additional modes to unlock, like time trials and the insane-sounding "no death" mode, but you're still playing the same areas. If you don't mind spending the extra coin to support an indie developer, then by all means pick it up, otherwise you might want to wait and see if this pops up on Steam at a lower price point. At the very least, go take a look at the demo, because it's at least worth your attention.

-K.

See the rest of this post >>

Collapse

Thursday Morning Video: Billy Mays Attacks Garry's Mod

I got a new video card for my desktop, which did not alleviate the random crashing problems I've been having, but I can still play games. I started playing the PC version of The Saboteur, Pandemic's final title (The news broke that EA was laying almost everybody off and assimilating the few who remained before the game was released), and so far my early take on it is don't play The Saboteur.
Anyway, here's your video for this morning, I'm not sure how you'll take it.


-K.

See the rest of this post >>

Collapse

King's Bounty for Less Than a King's Bounty

Though I haven't really been able to crack the seal and get super deep into it, as I've stated more than a couple times, Steam has informed me that King's Bounty and the stand-alone expansion Armored Princess can be purchased together for the absolutely ridiculous price of $11.25, or you can pick up the former for a mere $4.99 and the latter for a slightly-less-mere-but-still-small $9.99 by themselves. I did play through the demo and enjoyed it quite a lot, and by all accounts if you like turn-based strategy games or, specifically, the Heroes of Might and Magic series, you should definitely check this out. This deal only extends through tomorrow, though, so act now!

-K.

See the rest of this post >>

Collapse

Color of Money

Following in the footsteps of 2D Boy's pay-what-you-please sale of their indie hit World of Goo, the folks at Kloonigames have decided to do same thing to celebrate the first year anniversary of their award-winner puzzler Crayon Physics. Until January 15th, you can grab the game for whatever price you like, but if you only give them a penny you should also have to pay by getting punched in the stomach.

-K.

See the rest of this post >>

Collapse

Thursday Morning Video: Danger! 50,000 Volts - Zombies

So I've got a Best of 2009 article in the pipeline, but my desktop is kaput which is keeping me from capturing footage for some of the games I have bestowed with such a prestigious honor. If I can't get it fixed within the next week I'll just find other videos to fill the slots. Speaking of videos, I found this for you (you'll find parts 2 and 3 after the jump):




-K.

See the rest of this post >>

Collapse