Play This Now: Spelunky

I'm about ten months late on this recommendation, which is right about when this was making the rounds on the gaming blogs, but I hadn't really gotten around to playing it until just the other night. Since then I've gone well past the 100-death mark, and that might be the most important distinction to make. If you play Spelunky, you're going to die. A lot. Basically, Spelunky is a side-scrolling platformer take on Rogue: the levels and items are randomly generated and placed, and your victory depends on luck just as much as skill. Maybe it's because I just played a bunch of pinball this weekend as well, but there's something about the way the game is structured that reminds me of it; No matter how sharp your focus one mistake can ruin all of your progress, and even though it's frustrating you know you can do better, and that keeps you coming back. It'll probably take a few deaths just to get the hang of the controls and get an idea of the mechanics, like how to successfully navigate one of the stores without an errant button press resulting in the shopkeeper blasting you with a shotgun, but once you do you've got a surprisingly deep time-waster that's perfect for short pick-up-and-play sessions.

Link, TIGSource Spelunky thread.

Link, Spelunky Wiki.

-K.

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Play This Now: Research and Development

I had written a fairly lengthy introduction to this post consisting of my thoughts on the mod scene these days but reading it I realized it was just me yammering on like a deranged loony. So, instead, I'm just going to say that if you have Half-Life: Episode 2, you should really, really play Research and Development. It's a short but very clever "mod" (More like a level pack) that is much more focused on puzzles, more or less iterating on the style of puzzles found in the game already, with only a wee bit of gravity gun combat thrown in. It's very well-designed, very smart and very impressive, especially considering it was made by one guy. And it's free, go check it out.

Link, ModDB.

-K.

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Play This Now: Daggerfall

I don't know if you really need to actually play this now, but probably worth a mention that, for seemingly no reason at all, Bethesda has released Daggerfall, the second game in the Elder Scrolls series, for no pennies. This is not some new fancy updated version, however, and requires the use of DOSBox to get it running. Once you've got that you'll need to follow the 21-step procedure for installing it and getting it run with DOSBox, which if you can muster the patience to struggle through, you'll have a ginormous first-person RPG to play with no cost to you!

-K.

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Play This Now: S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl

I'm unable to check this out for myself while I'm here at work, but I spotted a story over on Rock, Paper, Shotgun which has informed me that S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is now available on GameTap for the low price of zero dollars. I have not jumped on to GameTap since a few months before Turner sold it to French company Exent, so I cannot speak to the quality of the service as it is today, but there are a couple of caveats: Apparently it does not support 64-bit operating systems and does not allow the use of mods. If neither of those presents a problem, by all means check it out, but if you want to give it a go with some of the mods, some of which improve the game significantly, it would still be worth it to pick it up on Steam.

Link, GameTap S.T.A.L.K.E.R. page

-K.

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Play This Now: F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin Demo

Monolith is a developer whose output I've really enjoyed over the years, their body of work including Blood, Aliens vs. Predator 2, No One Lives Forever, and one of my all-time favorites, Condemned: Criminal Origins. Though I was not as enthusiastic about the console-only sequel that followed, nobody's perfect. I also enjoyed the original F.E.A.R. quite a lot, mixing effective horror elements with over-the-top John Woo-style firefights, so much so that I was able to forgive the lack of enemy variety and locations. While retaining the solid gameplay, those concerns, if the demo is any indication, are exactly what Monolith is trying to address in the sequel. While the game feels a bit more console-oriented than the first, with the huge HUD, giant contextual pop-ups and a curious omission of leaning, it looks be shaping up to be a great and thoroughly creepy shooter. I'm not sure of the exact requirements, it wasn't terribly taxing on my machine with everything cranked, so most of you should be able to run it fine. What you will need, though, is hard drive space and patience, because it comes in just under 2 gigs.
As an aside, I also love the way that Monolith has been putting together their demos since the original F.E.A.R.. It is not just the beginning of the game, but an amalgam of parts from different levels from the full game spliced into one.
You can grab it off of Steam, or grab it off of my service of choice, FileShack.

Link, FileShack.

-K.

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Play This Now: Savage 2

Much like my recommendation to check out Overlord, thanks to the pile of new titles I still have not been able to crawl out from under, Savage 2 is a game I have not spent much time with. Or any at all. I did play the first game off-and-on for a bit, and found the concepts and gameplay solid, so a sequel can only be better, right? It's an ambitious hybrid fantasy title, a team-based online multiplayer FPS-RPG-RTS, or TBOMPFPSRPGRTS. From what I'm hearing the player base had been somewhat lacking, but now that the game can be had for the low price of no dollars hopefully it'll give the title a boost. As long as you hold no prior engagements (Like, say, still not finishing Dead Space or Far Cry 2), free should always be a very strong motivating factor to give a professionally-developed title a whirl.

Link, S2 Games' Savage page

-K.

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Play This Now: Night of the Cephalopods

And now to round out this flurry of pre-Turkey Day updates, because I simply can't be bothered to take the time to update while I'm at home, is finally a new Play This Now. Night of the Cephalopods is a fairly straightforward top-down shooter with a Lovecraftian theme, but has an interesting auditory twist: Many of your characters actions are accompanied by a voice-over narration. It's an interesting experiment that is still early in its development, as there's only about half a dozen screens to explore and can be finished in just a few minutes. But it's worth taking a look at just to see a new, unique mechanic at work, and following as the author promises to continue his work on the game.

Link, notc.zip

-K.

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Play This Now: Fallout

Well, I was hoping something would jump out at me by this Friday and boy did it ever. Since the news was made that Turner Broadcasting was looking to sell off their online video game distribution service GameTap or just pull the plug on the entire thing, it's been sort of up in the air about what the fate of the platform would be. Who knew we would look to the French to step up and take the reins? Paris-based Metaboli has agreed to keep the service alive, and, in a decision that had to have been a very calculated move against soon-to-launch Good Old Games, they are now adding the original Fallout to the collection of free titles, a game which GOG is currently offering for $5.99 to the early beta testers.

Anyway, Fallout, one of the most popular RPGs of all time, the game that spawned my love for nuclear apocalypse long before I saw any of the actual films the game was heavily influence by, and also the game that spawned one of the most rabid fanbases filled with more complete fucking raisin cakes than you will ever see. I really don't need to go into detail, do I? If you like RPGs, if you like sci-fi, if you like dark humor, if you like turn-based games, if you like post-apocalyptic atmosphere, if you like guns or just if you haven't even played motherfucking Fallout before, you're doing yourself a grave disservice by not grabbing it right away. All you need to do is download the GameTap client from the link below, you don't even have to set up an account or anything. It's engrossing, it's huge and, now, it's free. What more do you need?

Download, gametap_setup.exe

-K.

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Play This Now: Gang Garrison 2

Putting this up early because I had nothing to update with on Friday, hopefully I'll dig something else up for this week as well.

Probably the most entertaining entry in TigSource's Bootleg Demake Competition, Gang Garrison 2 is a 2D side-scrolling "demake" of Valve's Team Fortress 2, complete with all nine classes and online play. I'm sure most of you will find it immediately reminiscent of Soldat, except much more fun (I wasn't particularly fond of it). Though it's still very much a work-in-progress with only three maps, lack of any chat functions, the engineer can't currently build anything, lag issues and some crashing bugs, but hopefully they'll continue to iron things out and make it grow long after the voting ends and the competition is over. Even though I could fire up actual Team Fortress 2 I've been playing this quite a bit these last two days, because, providing you can find a server, it's really easy to jump into. Give it a shot and keep an eye on its progress, it's free and it'll take no time to download at all.

Download, gg2b19.zip (5.57 MB)

-K.

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Play This Now: Urban Brawl (Action Doom 2)

It warms my heart when clever nerds get together to create something new out of old technology. More often than not it results in little more than great big face lifts, like Tenebrae for the original Quake, while technically extremely impressive does nothing to change or improve actual gameplay. But occasionally you get something like Urban Brawl, the stand-alone prequel to a Doom 2 mod I was previously unfamiliar with (and bears very little resemblance to this). What they've produced is basically an old school 2D beat-'em-up in 3D with the Doom engine, with an art style I could only describe as a poor man's Frank Miller with more color. It also offers branching paths with multiple endings, though, much like an old 2D game, it does get brutally difficult at times. You might also have to look past the not-so-great voice acting and writing that makes Max Payne's hammiest lines seem straight out of a Steinbeck classic, but if you can you've got a unique and admirable (and free!) time-waster.

Download, action2.zip (56.9MB)

-K.

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Play This Now: Zafehouse v1.5

Zafehouse is a very simple game that was created as Kotaku's Game-a-Day event a while back, so the presentation isn't exactly going to blow your pants off, as the screenshot would suggest. But it is a game that I wish we would've seen more of by now: Zombie vstrategy. The goal is to manage a group of survivors until help arrives, and that means finding other survivors, gathering supplies and holding on to safe structures. It's turn-based in a way, where you split survivors up into raiding parties, and those assigned to secure structures, and then let it play out. Each turn represents an hour, with the objective being to survive for 60, and you fail if all survivors die or you lose control of all the buildings. Each structure provides a constant stream of supplies, whether it's medical kits, ammo or water, and the longer individual survivors last they gain perks. Zombies really take a back seat to it being more about party and supply management, but it's a fun and tough little distraction. Now where's my Jagged Alliance game with zombies?

Download, Zafehouse_1.5.zip (65 KB, requires .NET Framework 2.0)

-K.

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Play This Now: DOSBox 0.72

Today was busy, and now I finally have a little time to update, right before I leave.

I've been on a bizarre old game kick lately, and so this week's Play This Now isn't going to highlight one game in particular but rather an application I've been using a lot of recently. DOSBox, in case you aren't aware and as you could probably guess, is a DOS emulator. Many years ago it would've seemed like such a silly concept, but since Microsoft, in their infinite wisdom, decided to strip Windows of DOS functionality entirely after the introduction of XP, it's now necessary. Like Mount&Blade it is continuously being updated and improved, with so many classic titles now running at full compatibility. If your knowledge has been lost to time or you never were particularly DOS-savvy, you can make use of a handy front-end like DOSShell to make your retro life a little easier. Now you're ready to play so many of the non-Windows titles a certain site has to offer. Here's a few choice selections:

Strife - A relatively obscure and under-appreciated FPS masterpiece, for the time at least, that had gameplay elements you wouldn't see again until Deus Ex several years later. Mostly it got lost in the tidal wave that was Quake. I don't know why I'm sticking this here, because even though you can run it perfectly fine in DOSBox, it works even better with ZDoom.

System Shock - The forerunner to one of the greatest games of all time, the original might not have aged particularly gracefully, but it's still fun to see what it was like and how much it compares to the sequel. It is, however, a game that was in dire need of being able to edit the controls.

Crusader: No Remorse & Crusader: No Regret - A pair of atmospheric, isometric shooters that puts you in the bright red armor of an elite soldier with vengeance on his mind. The game also encourages you to shoot everything. It's another game where the controls definitely seem antiquated, but get your head around them and you've still got a pair of solid action games.

Quarantine & Quarantine 2: Road Warrior - Before Grand Theft Auto, before Carmageddon, even before Interstate '76, there was Quarantine. The non-linear post-apocalyptic auto-combat cab-driving action game(s) you've always wanted. Press E to eject your passengers.

Wasteland - Another grandfather to an epic franchise, Wasteland was the game that would later spawn the Fallout series. Still fun to play after all these years.

Blood - This shooter was the debut game for Monolith Productions, which established a mix of wanton violence and absurd humor that would sort of become the hallmark of their titles.

Now there's some entertainment.

-K.

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Play This Now: Choke on my Groundhog, YOU ROBOT BASTARDS

With the release of Geometry Wars 2 on XBLA which I've been playing a lot of lately, this similar twin joystick shooter (Or with a mouse and keyboard, should you desire) hit at the right time and has the added bonus of something else I like: killer robots. Being a Doctor Who fan sort of goes hand in hand with enjoying the idea of murderous machines, whether it's the long running Daleks or Cybermen, or simply one-offs like the clockwork droids or the robot from the charmingly awful episode simply titled Robot. Choke on my Groundhog, YOU ROBOT BASTARDS (I think I would've just gone with the latter portion for the title) not only has you annihilating cold, heartless foes but also has a sort of time travel mechanic in which if you die you start back at the beginning but you get a buddy to help you -- yourself. It replays what you did from that previous life, with the benefit being bonus firepower. Check it out, it's free.

Link, groundhog_r05.zip

-K.

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Play This Now: 8-Bit Killer

If it were even remotely possible for an FPS to appear on the NES, it would probably look like this game. A throwback homage to the olden days of 8-bit gaming and Wolfenstein 3-D, this is a ridiculously colorful and ridiculously plotted shooter, complete with WASD and mouse controls. It's an amusing time waster you should check out, and it don't cost nothin'.

Download, 8bit_killer.zip (15.5MB)

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Play This Now: Deus Ex

This is a game that needs no introduction, or at least if it does it means you haven't played it and you should just skip to the link below. One of only two good things to come out of the ill-fated developer Ion Storm (The other being Tom Hall's Anachronox), Deus Ex is an FPS/RPG hybrid that unashamedly leans more toward the former, but still allows you a sort of range of expression in creating your own character. Just as long as you're comfortable with that range being whether or not you pick people off from a distance or get up close and personal with a shotgun. The game presents you in a slightly dystopic not-too-distant future as a cybernetically enhanced operative working for a government peace-keeping agency trying to thwart the plans of a terrorist organization trying to seize large quantities of a cure to a new disease called the Grey Death, or so it may seem. (That may be the nerdiest sentence I ever wrote.) But even that is selling it short and expanding would spoil things for those who haven't played it. All I'll say is that the game also involves the Knights Templar, the Illuminati and Area 51. The way you choose to hone your skills as you progress also works in tandem with the level design, which almost always allows you to find alternate paths and solutions that best suit your abilities, and while it tends to reward those who are silent and stealthy, it does not directly oppose you from running around with a rocket launcher and a flamethrower. As most who have played it will tell you, it's one of the most immersive and engaging games you will ever play, and now it's completely free. All you have to do is hop on to GameTap (Which you should still have from playing Mr. Robot, right? Right.), you don't have to sign up for an account or anything, just track it down on the free games list and install.

Link, GameTap.

-K.

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Play This Now: Penny Arcade Adventures: On The Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness - Episode One

So, the people behind an internet comic strip about video games decided they could step up and play with the people they've been making fun of for years, surely that should end in tears. You know what? Their game's pretty damn good. Developed by Hothead, a fairly new studio founded by ex-LucasArts members, most notably Ron Gilbert, one of the designers behind the Monkey Island series and Maniac Mansion, and with art and writing by Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik (Or Tycho and Gabe, if you like), it retains the feel of the comic strip (Extreme verbosity combined with crude vulgarity and sometimes, often hopefully, graphic violence) while existing in its own universe. The game is set in the city of New Arcadia, circa 1922, and finds Gabe and Tycho as paranormal investigators, founders of the Startling Developments Detective Agency. After a series of events you become the newest recruit to the agency, and before you can say "deep crow" you're off fighting robots and hobos. The story and game world are essentially a huge spoof of Lovecraft mythos, as if it was brought to you by the makers of Airplane! and The Naked Gun, so it does strike this balance between the idea that you are fighting a cult of mimes, which is silly, but they are trying to bring about the end of the world. The presentation and sound design are impressive, with big sweeping scores for some of the larger battles and comic book style cut-scenes in which your custom created character fits perfectly into. Combat is done in a JRPG turn-based style, but also, like Vagrant Story or the Mario & Luigi games, have some elements that require you to time button presses for maximum effect, like blocking and special attacks. It's something I did not get bored of, mostly because the story and atmosphere and funny and silly enough to keep me playing, unlike other RPGs it does not take itself way too seriously. It took me a little over six hours to get through, which is pretty good for $20 of episodic gaming, and I'm really looking forward to the next installment. At the very least, try the demo, on the site linked below.

Link, Greenhouse.

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Play This Now: Space Hulk Remake

Way back in the early days the PC was the home to niche genres like squad oriented turn-based strategy games and crazy hybrid puzzle-RPGs. Well, I guess they still are, more than ever, but anyway. Also back in these brave, olden times there was a fun but challenging turn-based strategy game set in the Warhammer 40K universe titled Space Hulk, in which you lead your squad of space marines through dark, cramped corridors fighting brutal alien foes. The game would've most likely been lost to time had it not been for the efforts of a little group called Teardown who created a full remake of the game. Titled, cleverly, Space Hulk, it is a carbon copy of the original with some improved visuals. If you like Warhammer 40K or turn-based strategy games it's worth a shot, also mostly because like all the other games, it don't cost nuthin'. Now if some other group of awesome nerds could get to work on a free remake of D/Generation, that would be fantastic.

Download, spacehulk.rar (19MB)

-K.

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Play This Now: Trilby - The Art of Theft

Trilby, the gentleman thief protagonist from the point-and-click adventure 5 Days a Stranger, returns in this stealth action platformer titled Trilby: The Art of Theft. Created by Ben Croshaw of "Zero Punctuation" fame, it's quite a departure from his earlier old school adventure game work, but a decent play nonetheless. It's easy to pick up and get into thanks to a quick tutorial and has a surprising length for a game created by one man. There's no saving in the middle of a mission, demanding you plan and time your movements carefully, but the lack of that feature can get frustrating especially when you're trying to go for a perfect mission rating. The higher the rating you receive the more prestige points you'll earn allowing you to purchase new moves and abilities to make things easier, as well as some unlockable outfits, adding some depth and replayability to a relatively simple game. You'll probably plow through it in an hour or two, but it's worth the download just to see a stealth game doesn't have to be military-themed or be an overwrought mess.

Download, artoftheft.zip (2MB)

-K.

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Play This Now: Rom Check Fail

This is something else I'll try to do every so often, highlight a small, indie game that deserves attention.

Kicking it off will be a simple but unique game called ROM CHECK FAIL, which plays like WarioWare smashed together with your favorite arcade classics. It starts up like a normal game you boot up in MAME, but during the "rom checks" there's a failure, hence the title, which causes the game to mix and match characters, art and sound from different games together in rapid succession. Sometimes you'll start as the ship from Defender shooting Gauntlet ghosts in a Super Mario Bros. level with Bubble Bobble music playing and and five seconds later the screen will scramble and all of a sudden you're the car from Spy Hunter shooting at ships from Space Invaders in a Moon Patrol background to the Double Dragon soundtrack. The levels don't change in design and you'll get the changing mechanics down fairly quickly, so it's not terribly deep or complex, but a fun little nostalgic time-waster.

Download, ROM CHECK FAIL Setup.exe (2MB)

-K.

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