Another treatment for writer's block: http://oneword.com
Sunday, July 26, 2009
You can't squeeze blood from a turnip... but you can squeeze music from a tree http://ping.fm/NAA4b
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Curse Village: A Fresh Take On A Rotting Genre
Zombie side shooters are strange beasts. Often a shoddily drawn game can have the best collision detection, while a professional flash game can bog down with an elaborately illustrated but cumbersomely animated character.
Curse Village looks like it was done by some pretty talented 15-year-olds. From the opening graphics to the somber piano music to the rousing intro sequences and subsequent action, the game looks well thought out and pretty solid. It also handles smoothly.
Excitement: A. With plenty of splatter, action sounds, and some pretty fast zombies, Curse Village rocks the house.
Originality: C This isn't to say Curse Village doesn't cover familiar ground well. It's just another version of "pick a zone", "buy and repair", and "give 'em hell". The Luger is the only unusual weapon out of 25 -- you'll see the rest in most shooters -- but Curse Village retreads old ground comfortably. Barricades, traps, and survivor allies help take the boredom out.
Graphics: A-. They have a cool home-brewed look to them and that brings me back to days where I used to draw action scenes in my notebook while I was in Social Studies. Rich and grim.
Controls: A. It seems a little odd at first to be controlling a disembodied gun, but hey, whatever. At least they tied the premise in with what looks like a little psychokinesis and some mysterious hitman. And you're also able to rove the entire play screen with ease, without being worried about getting hit. After a while you'll forget that tiny gun you're shooting is moving all by itself. Best of all you can damage zombies that are stacked on top of each other, which you sometimes can't do in other zombie games.
Sound: A+. Sinister synthesized zombie film music that would fit perfectly in any 1990s horror flick, and crisp gun and knife effects that don't sound like they were played and re-recorded on a microphone at home.
Replay value: A. Though it's partly because there's no save feature, I'll be going back to Curse Village for a couple more rounds, in the hope of seeing what's at the end of level 30.
Overall value: A- Get as involved as you want or walk away after a few rounds; this game is really fun.
Play Curse Village at http://www.kongregate.com/games/belugerin/curse-village.
New iPhone App Columnist Arriving: The Slack Daddy
Ladies and gents, slow payers of rents, slackers high and low, there's a new guy on the show: Slack Daddy. He's hard at non-work compiling a list of fun iPhone apps.
We're going to be ramping up the blog a notch, so stay tuned. If you like our site enough we hope you'll consider becoming a sponsor.
In the meantime, check out this game: Curse Village. We just stumbled on it random eye candy style, so if you don't play it, come back and read the review!
Slacker-1
Monday, June 29, 2009
At It Again: Megaman X RPG: Chapter 1
The first Mega Man game I ever played was a worn-out NES game on its last legs. I had rented it out from a convenience store in Old Town, Maine, when I was in school in Orono in 1990. It had been rented so many times I had to huff on the contacts to make them work, though that ultimately killed it.
Mega Man has come a long way from mutated John Denver cover art, branching into a leggier version while staying faithful to the squat prototype that wowed us all in the late 80s. This fan tribute, while quietly bootleg in the sprites department, throws out an original mash of RPG elements and chop-chop sprite action.
MegamanX RPG offers an improved jump-in setup. Mash enough menu buttons and you can equip your found and purchased gear, spend points to upgrade a ton of chips, each with 5 or 6 abilities, level up techniques, and more. Featuring a lateral, WoW-style talent tree for each of the main characters, there's plenty of leeway for customizing your characters as you go along.
It's really a shame that Capcom hasn't offered this guy a job yet, as seen on the game itself. Fun writing, multiple paths, an upgrade system worthy of a professional game, and deep combat make Megaman X RPG worth checking out once more.
Excitement:B. The RPG elements are about as pulse-pounding as rock-paper-scissors, which can be taken either way. Still, the mad MM soundtrack can't help but snap you out of your lethargy and a lot of the limit breaks are pretty fun. And a lot of times the sharp writing gets you pumped up enough to make it through a menu-driven boss battle.
Originality:Visual content N/A, coding A+. With true-to-genre writing, item descriptions, and game mechanics, this game is a sleeper for the slacker wishing to convert his life into a few hours mastering a game.
Graphics:N/A. Spliced and diced. Nice try overall, though some of the pixellation was never seen in a real MM game.
Controls:A-. A chaotic clutter of options, with some bogdown if you're not 7331 enough to get it all down. Still very sharp and intuitive over time. At least it doesn't say "PC load letter" anywhere.
Sound:A-. Somewhat muffled to keep total file size down, but it's high-octane, original, and two slaps across the mouth because he freakin' likes us.
Replay value:B It's possible, if you want to re-evolve all your characters again. But it's a lot easier to wear a loud necktie and walk outside, too.
Overall value:A- A little constrained by having to patch an existing game into another, but if you can get past the stitching it's a very solid effort. Great for the die-hard Mega Man geek.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Tower's Tactics: Aphelion: Major Originality Points!
I really like finding a home-brewed game system, whether it's a one-page RPG or a Flash game. When I saw Tower's Tactics, I thought "Hm, could be another decent tower defense game". However, TT completely threw off my expectations and turned out to be a fun, well-crafted game with a few very minor edges I wouldn't be any better pressed to fix myself.
Excitement: N/A. This is a meter-based 2-D game, so it's a little on the slow side. It still does have its hectic fun as things warm up.
Originality: A+. While some might think TT could benefit from minor polish here and there, this title is an outstanding fusion of a creative mini combat system with multiple team members, a skill-learning system, and a campy, humorous tale of a medieval dude and his undead servant.
Graphics: A-. A curious mix, something like PHP meets a Renaissance Faire. Competent design with neat touches like a sword falling down when you're killed.
Controls: A-. Responsive enough, but it makes this 37-year-old a little squinty trying to click over and around small characters to point and click where I have to. To be fair, when you click on a special attack, you can mouse over multiple enemies until you find the right one.
Sound: A. Magnificent medieval-themed music with a haunting guitar and chant track for the world map. Combat sounds are a bit low-key but the music more than makes up.
Replay value: Unknown, but there is enough play going through the first time to make it a pleasant play.
Overall value: A
Check out Tower's Tactics: Aphelion at http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/495476.
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