TAGAP

By: Derek Yu

On: August 16th, 2007

It took me a while to try this one out, mainly because of my prejudice against cartoon animals with guns in games. But TAGAP, or “The Apocalyptic Game About Penguins,” is one balls nasty, hard-boiled “little” action game! The first thing you notice is how nice the graphics are. This thing has special effects up the wazoo, and it looks superb. But it’s the frenetic pace of the action that is the game’s true strength. Waves of enemies, a steady supply of new weapons and upgrades, pills to amp up your terror alert level… TAGAP loads up on over-the-top features in a genre where it really makes sense to do so.

The character moves a bit slowly, which I found to be a hindrance at first, but I quickly began to appreciate how intimate and deliberate it felt, I guess? Also, the levels themselves (ten, and pretty massive at that) are extremely varied, with lots of little details, so it’s nice to get to weave slowly through them. Plus, it’s kinda badass!

The only kicker is that it’s a slightly heftly download at 100 Mb. But considering what the game’s got going for it, I definitely think it’s worth it. Plus, you know, broadband and all that!

(Source: Soldat Movies)

Épée

By: Derek Yu

On: August 16th, 2007

I was under the impression that fencing, or “swordfighting for gentlemen,” was about prancing around back and forth and poking your opponent with a thin sword, and possibly leaping onto rocks or kicking over tables to confuse your opponent. You know, like Inigo Montoya does it? But from Épée I gather that you could be 100 pounds overweight and still have a chance, so long as you grunt convincingly in French.

This is one slow, ugly game, that takes about 30 seconds too long to load do to the “real-time 3d fencing interface taking advantage of all the latest bleeding-edge shader programming technologies.” Which basically means that I could make a sandwich in the time it takes my guy to lunge at his opponent. AW HELL NO!

(Source: The Gamer’s Quarter Forums)

Punishment 1 and 2

By: Derek Yu

On: August 15th, 2007

Punishment 1 was one of the 50 Really Good Games in the Indie Game Guide, and of it I wrote:

Now there’s a sequel, of which cactus writes:

And it’s true, my mother did cry. You can find both games here!

Transcendence

By: Derek Yu

On: August 15th, 2007

Transcendence is a space-faring action game that’s, by the author’s account, inspired by two of the (arguably) greatest games of all time, Nethack and Star Control II. Oh boy, do I love those games! Well, while Transcendence doesn’t really match either in terms of depth or sheer enjoyment (but then again, what could), it’s still a gem in its own right.

In the game, you play an anonymous starship captain who must journey to the Galactic Core and unravel some mysteries and stuff. If you’ve played games like Escape Velocity or Flatspace, you know what’s in store… space pirates, galactic federations, mysterious aliens, and laser battles in space. Spend credits to upgrade your ship’s shields and weapons. Earn credits by looting wrecks, escorting freighters, and exploring deep space.

Transcendence is not a terribly deep game, but it’s more than competent all the way around. The clean graphics and simplicity of the interface make it very easy to get into, and the Roguelike-esque randomization and number of options gives it plenty of replayability. Definitely worth checking out.

(EDIT: I should also mention that the game is currently at v0.98 and that the author has a more content planned for future versions.)

A Tribute to the Rolling Boulder

By: Derek Yu

On: August 14th, 2007

I love games that put you in control of unlikely protagonists. Games are so perfect for that. Take Death Worm, for instance. In no other medium could you so effectively capture what it’s like to be a giant sand worm!

Petri Purho, best known for his great, “under a week” experimental games like Crayon Physics, has made a game that puts you in the shoes (er, dirt?) of a giant rolling boulder trap, ala Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. In the game you are charged with defending two golden idols from the hoards of filthy archaeologists trying to defile them.

But they’ll run from you. Oh, how they’ll run. These are some of the fastest fucking archaeologists I’ve ever seen. Screw gold idols… these guys could be winning gold medals. (Zing!)

Fortunately, you can do one thing that the original rolling boulder couldn’t – namely, jump. This will let you get to the upper parts of the temple, which is still not an easy task, due to how small and unwieldy the platforms are at the higher levels. In fact, getting to the platform in the upper right corner can be downright infuriating!

But man, is it fun to slam a group of brownhats and send them flying and screaming. Ragdoll physics for the win! This is a highly inventive and entertaining game.

And, of course, here’s the obligatory video of someone completely and utterly destroying the game.

TIGSource Presents: B-game Competition!

By: Derek Yu

On: August 14th, 2007

It begins!

Dream-Build-Play Winners Announced

By: Derek Yu

On: August 13th, 2007

(Dream-Build-Play is a contest for games built with Microsoft’s XNA Studio.)

Check the results: in a surprise move, D-B-P officials have chosen 2 games for 1st place, and 2 games for 2nd place, offering XBLA publishing deals to all of them! Whoa. That’s kind of a big change to the rules. But more games is never a bad thing.

Congratulations to the winners. Dead Samurai is the one that piques my interest the most, with its gothy atmosphere and sweet, bloody action. It’s made by the guys who did the Zombie Smashers series of games, which I enjoyed.

But hey, no Samurai Soul Hunters? What gives?!

Doujin Shmup Update

By: Tim

On: August 13th, 2007

Mr. Postman has compiled a nifty little list of shmups scheduled for release during the next Comiket. Horizontal, vertical, arena, multi-directional – you name it, he’s got it.

There’s a couple of demos to be found if you browse through the list as well. Undeniably Shoot the Core and the2bears are the places to go for the latest news in doujin shmups releases and Comiket 72 updates.

Sexy Hiking

By: Derek Yu

On: August 13th, 2007

I predict that Sexy Hiking will be (is) a polarizing game. I think it’s going to break down like this: 90% of the people who play the game are going to be horrified by the shit graphics and profane difficulty, and dismiss it as having no redeeming value. 9% are going to get somewhere in the game and appreciate the unique game mechanics and maybe even the inherent humor in it. The last 1% will probably praise the game as pretentious abstract art, calling it the “canonical masterpiece of the Neo-Expressionist Game Movement” or some such nonsense.

Well, as it is with these things, I prefer to think of it as being a little bit of everything. The game definitely has terrible graphics, and when you open the title screen, you’ll think it’s a joke (X-Files theme song in midi format?). And it is extremely difficult… getting past the first obstacle in the game is like playing that board game “Operation” with a pair of pliers. But maybe that’s what makes this game so engaging… the fact that every new area seems totally impossible at first, and there is NOTHING THERE TO HELP YOU SAVE YOUR OWN GRIT. Making ground in this game is grueling, and the satisfaction is paired with equal amounts of frustration.

It’s actually kind of refreshing to see, in this day and age where every game has to hold your hand and breastfeed you until you’re three-fourths of the way through the game.

Banana Nababa

By: Derek Yu

On: August 12th, 2007

Lazrael has finished Banana Nababa (formerly Boss Arena), his boss battling platform game. It’s good! It’s hard, but totally doable, to defeat all of the six bosses.

Most of the bosses have simple patterns, but multiple forms. It can be grueling. This is a good chance to work out your left hand by mashing on the attack button (you know what I’m insinuating). In the game, you can switch back and forth between two weapons – an axe (like the one in Castlevania) and a spear (which flies straight forward).

And if you want to feel really bad about yourself, you can watch Mr. Peckerston beat every boss without getting hit: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 (messed up sound in the Level 3 video)