Game-a-Day Journal

[MagGnome]

There are sex scenes even in the American version. They cut an explicit shower scene, but there is still at least one sex scene in the game, and I'm nearly positive that there's more than one. The scene I saw was awkward and downright painful.

[Arphahat]

*blows dust off thread*

Now, where were we? Recently, I bought a new house and sold the old one, which took up a considerable amount of my time and effort. Now that most of that is done, I think I could start this back up.

Also, I've been playing a more regular style, in that I've been playing the same game daily, all the way to completion. Grabbed all the achievements in Trine, played a bunch of Aquaria, Battle for Wesnoth, Torchlight and the Fall from Heaven II mod for Civ 4. This was a nice change of pace.

The last game I discussed here was Indigo Prophecy and I did finish that one. When I reviewed it, I was wondering why everyone thought the story was so weird, since it only seemed like a horror / mystery story. I just want to say that if you are playing, and you don't know why everyone thinks the story is bizarre it is because you have not gotten far enough into the game. OMG... what the hell happened? It just completely went off the deep end.

I was wondering why you quit on the game, Gnome? I saw you mention that you were playing with the keyboard, and I doubt I would have continued if that had been my only option, but I was able to use the XBox controller and it made the game playable. Was that the only reason, or was the story so crazy you just lost interest?

With all of that out of the way, I'm going to start this out with just the game I'm planning on playing tonight.

I just bought Sins of a Solar Empire on Impulse, on sale for $4. If you do not have this game yet, you must go purchase it or face the Wrath of the Gnome. Go get it and play tonight. Gnome has suggested that after a couple of rounds in single player, it would be fun to try MP against the AI. I'm sure anyone else interested in joining us would be welcome.

[Hawkzombie]

To touch on Indigo Prophecy...I LOVED that game, until it just jumped the shark and never came back down Seriously...the 'twist' was so out of left field it made no damn sense.

I played it on the PC, so there was an uncut sex scene in the subway towards the end of the game as well, and it was rather explicit (no genitals, but damn close...it was like an episode of Red Shoe Diaries )

[Arphahat]

Originally Posted by Hawkzombie

To touch on Indigo Prophecy...I LOVED that game, until it just jumped the shark and never came back down Seriously...the 'twist' was so out of left field it made no damn sense.

I played it on the PC, so there was an uncut sex scene in the subway towards the end of the game as well, and it was rather explicit (no genitals, but damn close...it was like an episode of Red Shoe Diaries )

Yeah, I loved the game, but... when did it become the Matrix vs Aliens? I... well, it was still fun. I'll leave it at that.

When I was playing, it looked like things had been censored / cut, since the sex scene you describe was faded out quickly. Honestly, I really didn't need / want it in the game, since it felt out of place with the rest of the story (until, of course, the story went crazy, then nothing felt in place.)

[MagGnome]

Hooray, the thread is back! Maybe this time I'll actually play along with more than a couple of the chosen titles.

Originally Posted by Arphahat

Also, I've been playing a more regular style, in that I've been playing the same game daily, all the way to completion. Grabbed all the achievements in Trine, played a bunch of Aquaria, Battle for Wesnoth, Torchlight and the Fall from Heaven II mod for Civ 4. This was a nice change of pace.

Those are all great games. Definitely a good way to spend your free time.

Originally Posted by Arphahat

I was wondering why you quit on the game, Gnome? I saw you mention that you were playing with the keyboard, and I doubt I would have continued if that had been my only option, but I was able to use the XBox controller and it made the game playable. Was that the only reason, or was the story so crazy you just lost interest?

It's been a while now (well over a year), since I quit, so the details are fuzzy. I do remember that all of the QTEs got on my nerves. My main character also killed himself several times, which was pretty unnerving. The story was also getting pretty crazy, and I think I just lost interest.

Originally Posted by Arphahat

I just bought Sins of a Solar Empire on Impulse, on sale for $4. If you do not have this game yet, you must go purchase it or face the Wrath of the Gnome. Go get it and play tonight. Gnome has suggested that after a couple of rounds in single player, it would be fun to try MP against the AI. I'm sure anyone else interested in joining us would be welcome.

Sins is such a fantastic game. I cannot wait to hear your thoughts and opinions on the game. Keep in mind that it can be a little overwhelming at first, but I think that overall it's pretty easy to grasp. You may want to consider grabbing at least the first add-on, Entrenchment, sometime soon as well.

As for MP, I'm definitely up for playing a game once you've got a handle on things. We can always go head-to-head, but I find that teaming up against the AI is more fun. There are fewer hurt feelings that way.

[Arphahat]

As warned by Gnome, I did find the game a bit overwhelming. It was not just the sheer amount of knowledge contained hidden within, but also the time table I was working with. Some games, I am finding, are just not well suited to being played for "a day."

Since my goal in undertaking this was less about a different game every day and more about playing all the games in my library, I am thinking I need to relax my time constriction. My new plan is to continue playing games a day at a time for the ones that it makes sense to do so. For some of the more involved ones, I'll extend it out a couple days to a week and give mini-reports and ask questions along the way.

Sins of a Solar Empire will be the game I spend the rest of this week with. My initial impression is that it has similar elements to Sword of the Stars, but more along the way I'd like to play a galaxy conquest game.

The problem I had with SotS is the dumbed down planet controls -- once you capture a planet, you are pretty much done with it, except for building more ships there. This was necessary to keep the game moving at a reasonable speed, since it was turn based and multiplayer and it would slow down games too much to allow everyone to micromanage every planet. SoaSE's solution of keeping everything running in real-time, but not a crazy-paced RTS.

So, while it has that going for it, the tutorials do a minimalistic job of providing the details necessary to do well. It touches on all the typical conventions you'd find in a RTS game, but none of the subtleties that are unique to this game. For example, trying to quickly flip through the manual, I noticed references to the bounties screen and the black market, neither of which is covered in the tutorials. Also, the tutorial starts you with a capital ship, but then when you are playing, you have to dig and figure out how you'd even build one.

There is a variety of tech that can be learned, and without knowing anything about it, knowing what path to follow while trying to also play is difficult. Combine that with some unique tech trees for each race and the problem is multiplied.

The planets and space are graphically pleasing. The ships seem to be just kinda "meh". I really like the ability to zoom in and out all over the map, and love the "zoom to cursor" option. It is a nice change from having to switch screens.

So, as I'm trying to adapt to this game, what tips do you veterans have? Give me some quick start tips. I decided to start as TEC on a random, small 1v1 map against an easy opponent. I know that I'd benefit from learning some elements of the game and bits and pieces of other elements: what are your suggestions there?

[MagGnome]

I love the look of the ships personally.

Getting a capital ship should be at the top of your list when starting a new game. Thankfully the first one is free after you build a capital ship factory. I usually go with the ship that can colonize planets as my first choice.

While building a capital ship I build 5-10 of the basic attack ships. I then group them with the capital ship and take over the nearby planets, adding on to my fleet as I conquer the weaker worlds. Don't attack planets that are strongly defended until you have a sizable fleet. I also start working on research (I don't have a particular order, and it's been a while since I played so I can't remember the names of techs) concentrating on things that will get me more resources, better defenses (such as the hangers), and allow me to capture ice and volcanic planets.

[jpublic]

I have an interesting relationship with this game. When it was first released, I so massively interpreted the previews/press/word-of-mouth on it that I thought it was one of these games that was only worthwhile as a MP game. Add on to that my usual dislike of RTS games, and I gave it a pass.

Sometime last year, I picked it up on a sale and played it for a bit, and was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the game. My only real complaint was the lack of a campaign mode. While skirmishes are fun, a simple campaign would have added a lot to the game.

As for my strategy, I turtle. In the early parts I explore and conquer as much as I can, and once I feel I've done as much as is safe/wise I build MASSIVE defenses on my edge worlds while I build up my production on the core worlds. Once that's done, and I can start building huge fleets, I build a second capital ship and start making a Battle Fleet and a Home Fleet (which has the colonizer). The Battle Fleet goes and takes an enemy planet, the Home Fleet comes in and holds it while I consolidate it.

It's slow going, but I enjoy playing that way.

[MagGnome]

That's a great strategy, J. I'm not a fan of playing the game online in versus mode, but I think it's a blast to play teamed up with others against the AI. You should give it a try sometime.

Sins is the only RTS in which I don't turtle. I do set up big defenses, but I'm constantly attacking and act very aggressively to the other players (not on my team of course). I don't know exactly why that is, but I love expanding quickly and consolidating as many resources as possible.

[Arphahat]

I did mess around with Sins a little bit more, but I've come to the realization that I don't have much interest in RTS games. This one is graphically nice and I like the interface and the way you can easily see where everything is in your galaxy.

However, for me, anyway, it always ends up with me building a bunch of ships, selecting them all and attacking somewhere. I'm not saying that the game is shallow, howerver: I'm sure that there are reasonable strategies and that someone who really enjoyed the game would be able to destroy me. However, I also don't have much interest in studying, analyzing and strategizing about the different techs and ships in the game.

If RTSs are your thing, and you'd like to play a good one in space, SoSE is a good choice.

Looking forward in my little "game-a-day" experiment, I've decided that I miss the satisfaction of completing games, which is part of the reason that I took such a long break from it. However, I do like the variety that comes with touching so many of these games. So, I think I'm going to continue with the idea that it might not be a daily switch. If I really want to continue with the game, I'll probably play on for a week or so.

That said, I just finished Shadowgrounds and will be discussing it next. Probably later today or tomorrow. I've also looked at Beat Hazard, Shatter, Flotilla, Lugaru, Thief: Deadly Shadows, the Void, Splinter Cell: Double Agent, Vigil: Blood Bitterness and Left 4 Dead 2. There might be others, and I'll have to look through my list to see if I've missed any.

I'm thinking that Shadowgrounds will be "Game 28" and I'll pick and choose whichever one I feel like writing about next for the following day. The only exception would be if someone had comments about a particular game or a preference, then I'd be more likely to touch on that one instead.

[MagGnome]

Rise from your grave!

I'm glad to see you posting in this thread again. I'm disappointed to hear that you didn't care for Sins, as it is one of my favorite games. Still, I know it's not for everyone.

[Arphahat]

Shadowgrounds is a top-down shooter, similar in style to the newly released Alien Swarm. This game is by Frozenbyte, the makers of the very popular game, Trine.

Taking place in the future, you are an ex-space marine, now working as a mechanic for the cars in the fleet on the moon of Titania. Blamed for some catastrophe, you have been demoted. That is, until things go crazy in a way that can only be properly addressed by one man who needs to redeem himself.

The gameplay is somewhat similar to the Zombie Shooter (and Alien Shooter) games that I mentioned way back at the beginning of this journal. The key differences are that the graphics are much better in Shadowgrounds and there are cut-scenes and voice acting. Also, you play from a true top-down view in Shadowgrounds, being much closer to the character and showing you less of the screen. Additionally, you can move the camera if you choose to, but I left it in the default spot. In Zombie Shooter, you were pulled much further from the action and could see much more of the screen. Shadowgrounds did a much better job of catching my attention and I actually played this one all they way through over the course of about a week or two of casual gaming.

You find all the weapons that you use throughout the game, but each one has upgrades you can "purchase" using the upgrade tokens that some of the monsters drop. You can upgrade different weapons based on your play-style, giving a bit of customization. There aren't any trade-offs, so if there were enough tokens, you'd really just want to upgrade everything.

Though a good, fun game, there were some things about the story that were just hard to ignore. For instance, you start as a mechanic for the vehicles on the moon Titania, but you used to be in charge of some squadron or another and were blamed for something or another. However, this isn't supposedly common knowledge among the rest of the staff there, so it is odd that you are constantly being given the toughest, most important missions, especially when there is a space marine with you who could be doing all of this instead.

Also, the ending... it was... odd. It almost seemed like they ran out of time / money and called it good enough. Without revealing too much, it seemed cliched as well, and made me wonder why there wasn't a previous attempt made earlier, instead of after I destroy everything.

And, finally, I never had a good feeling for why it was called "Shadowgrounds." It always sounded close enough to Shadowrun to confuse me into assuming that it was based in that world. (Yes, I bought a game that I knew nothing about because it was on sale cheap. Shocking, right?) But, at no point that I could see did it make sense. It sounds like a parallel dimension type thing, or something along that line. The closest I can come is that a lot of the action in the game takes place while it is dark outside. Maybe that is good enough?

I give it a thumbs up. Liked it a bunch, easy to get into and made me interested in the sequel, which I also have sitting around. It has flaws: there is no in-level save, meaning you have to complete a level in one sitting or you don't progress the story, the shotgun acted odd after I reloaded it unless I switched to a different weapon first and then back, there was a spot where I was able to trigger an event prior to being the mission to do so, screwing up the unlocking mechanic after I did find that mission. However, the fun of the game outweighs them.

Thoughts?

Originally Posted by MagGnome

Rise from your grave!

I'm glad to see you posting in this thread again. I'm disappointed to hear that you didn't care for Sins, as it is one of my favorite games. Still, I know it's not for everyone.

Don't mistake me: it is not that I dislike it. It's just that I have enough other games that I can jump right into that I don't want to devote the effort to strategy. Additionally, it is the type of game that I need to be in the right mood for, and it is not a mood I can easily fake. If you want to try a co-op game together some time, I'd still be up for it.

I've been playing Flotilla again, a little more in depth than last time and will discuss that game tomorrow.

[MagGnome]

Shadowgrounds sounds interesting. I'll have to check it out.

Originally Posted by Arphahat

Don't mistake me: it is not that I dislike it. It's just that I have enough other games that I can jump right into that I don't want to devote the effort to strategy. Additionally, it is the type of game that I need to be in the right mood for, and it is not a mood I can easily fake. If you want to try a co-op game together some time, I'd still be up for it.

I've been playing Flotilla again, a little more in depth than last time and will discuss that game tomorrow.

Fair enough. I'd still be up for playing it co-op sometime.

I bought Flotilla during the big Steam summer sale, but I haven't played it yet. I look forward to reading your thoughts on the game.

[Arphahat]

You just discover that you only have 7 months left to live, due to a terminal illness: what do you do? Do you spend time with your loved ones, do all the things you never had the chance to do and try to make peace with the end? Or, do you hop in a spaceship and fly through a surreal galaxy wreaking havoc and fighting space pirates? If you chose the second option, then Flotilla is the game for you.

I picked this up during the Steam Summer sale and knew nothing about it other than it was super cheap and about space ships. The game is turn-based space combat, with stylized space ships. You start the game with two ships that you can control. You give simple orders like "Move and attack", "Move further without attacking," and "Move a little and attack more" and then choose the location you want to move to, how you want your ship oriented (damage from missiles only affects the rear and underside of the ships, so making sure you aren't exposed is important) and which of the enemy ships (typically just two) you want as your primary target. When you do this for both ships, you hit "end turn" and the game plays for 30 seconds while you watch. At then end of the 30 seconds, you begin the next turn and repeat the process.

What adds to the charm of this game is the ridiculous nature of the "between combat" game. You start the game with it telling you that you only have 7 months left to live and you begin your last adventure. You choose one of the nearby planets that is highlighted and then an encounter of some type happens, often with some choice you have to make. The encounters are things like how you react to chicken space pirates, or fish slavers, or baby yetis that chew through the wiring on your ship. Each of these is accompanied by a picture of sorts. When you finish this, you might then have combat. Afterward, before your next turn, you can see all the steps you've taken to get to that point, like a mini comic of sorts.

At the end of the game (either after you lose all your ships or you reach the 7 month deadline), you see your final score, see if you rank on the global scoreboard and get one final chance to review your "comic." Then, you can start again.

The game play is fun, and though the graphics aren't realistic, they are pleasant and stylized. What makes this game for me are the little charming things, the comic, the silliness of the story. Even that when you start the next adventure, it keeps track of how many you've already played. So, the fifth time you play, instead of "Start Adventure" it says "Start Adventure 5".

However, there are some flaws. There is no save feature: you must play the whole thing in one sitting. With the regular game, this is doable and not too bad most of the time. There is a hardcore option that makes the enemies tougher and the game go longer and the complaints are that it can sometimes take hours to play those. Another complaint is that some want a more endless mode, without the arbitrary 7 month ending. I, however, think it is a good way to keep the game manageable.

I definitely recommend this game. It is a lot of fun and I really enjoy the quirkiness.

Any thoughts? If you have this game but haven't played it yet (*cough*Gnome*cough*), go do so now: it will only take about a half hour, then tell me what you think.

[MagGnome]

I'm definitely going to check it out today in between packing and cleaning!