PAX 2011: Various other games that I played
Matt Hawkins Continuing on with my rundown of stuff played last weekend at PAX 2011 is a random assortment of games from a bunch of different folks! First question: do you like dinosaurs?
Jurassic Park
So Telltale Games, the developer that has found great success in creating adventure games based upon Back to the Future, is back with something starring the last good movie Spielberg made, almost twenty some odd years ago. Sounds like a great plan, right?
Too bad the execution is insanely etarded. The entire game is just one quicktime event after another. Meaning all you do is press random buttons when they’re called up, that’s it. The segment I played depicted the game’s lead and his daughter, plus some chick, all on a roller coaster from the park, trying to avoid raptors.
Because I kept missing the B button, I kept bonking my head and had to replay the stage over and over again. To be honest, QTEs are not so bad, but in God of War, you’re trying to avoid being swallowed whole by some mythical beat. Not trying to not avoid a low-hanging pipe on a roller coaster.
Eventually I made all the right button presses, until the very end, in which a screw-up caused my daughter to plummet to her death. Didn’t care enough to retry for the 17th time (the big issue is how if you mess up 6 minutes into a sequence, you gotta do it all over again). So yeah, avoid.
Rock of Ages
Hey, a game involving a large rolling ball that sweeps up anything that gets in its way, but which doesn’t have wacky Japanese music playing in the background! Katamari Damacy anyone? Rock of Ages, by the same folks who make Zeno Clash (still by far one of the weirdest first person titles ever, definitely worth checking out), is basically what Katamari would be like if Terry Gilliam (of Monty Python fame) was involved. Oh, and if it also had tower defense elements.
You basically guide a gigantic boulder down a hill in an attempt to crush all your enemy’s structures. Do well and you earn money to build up your own defenses. Rock of Ages is definitely one of those “it sounds so simple” games, and it is, but is all about the execution. The wacky (as well as gorgeous) art design is key here. Rock of Ages also reminds me of another game, a super obscure effort on the GameCube, that combined tactical warfare and pinball…
… Anyhow, Rock of Ages actually just came out; nab it on XBLA pronto!
Sine Mora & Black Knight Sword
Some might recall how I’m a diehard Grasshopper Manufacture fan. Some might also recall that I could really care less about their new titles, Lollipop Chainsaw (don’t get me wrong, it looks like a fun time, but I expect more from the studio). Hence why I wasn’t trying too hard to get hands on time with the game at the show.
Instead, I was perfectly content with their not nearly as high profile, downloadable offerings. Like the new shoot ‘em up (or shmup as the cool kids call them), Sine Mora. Which was… okay I guess. Going to have to whip up comparison footage to illustrate my point; first we have the game being played at Gamescom, that other big video game shindig in Germany the weekend prior…
It’s certainly pretty, I’ll give it that. Though the use of blue bullets on a blue background was pretty retarded. And sorry, but I’m just spoiled by the stuff made in Japan by a company called Cave. Here’s just one taste of their offerings…
Meanwhile, their new platformer is MUCH better. Again, instead of me trying to explain, allow me to be lazy and just show you some gameplay footage that IGN captured recently…
It’s hardly revolutionary, just nice and simple, which is good sometimes. The art style once again what brings it all together; I just love the old timey, European children’s book aesthetic. Many don’t know that those too were bloody as hell. And speaking of blood…
Bloodrayne Betrayal
Finally got my hands on the video game comeback of the year, and it’s indeed awesome. Well, mostly. The controls I found to be a tad bit lacking. Doing back flips is much like how one does it in Mario, but not as smooth. Though the real hotness is hacking and slashing, plus sucking blood as well, which it does quite well, and all pretty like.
Sorry, wish I had more to say. It is what it is; again, not something super deep, at least I didn’t get that impression from the few minutes long demo I test-drove. But once again, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.
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